Historical Records of the Five Dynasties

Zhijun was heroically virile in physical presence. He could mount his horse while fastening his armor, brandish his sword while charging the enemy, his courage unique among the commanders. At the time, the appellation “Reconnaissance Man Liu” commanded wide respect within military circles. He proceeded to serve successively as prefect of Hai, Huai‡, and Zheng prefectures. He also aided in the conquest of Qingzhou†, Taizu nominating him as governor of the Kuangguo command in reward.

When Yang Chongben of Binzhou deployed a force of sixty thousand to attack Yongzhou and garrisoned his men at Meiyuan, Taizu and the other commanders were engaged in an offensive at Cangzhou. Liu Zhijun and Kang Huaiying thus did not await orders from him, but instead stormed Chongben to sever twenty thousand enemy heads, capture three thousand enemy horses, and apprehend a hundred commanders and assistant commanders.

In the offensive of Li Si’an against Luzhou, the dual ramparts did not succeed in bringing down the prefecture, despite a long siege. Taizu thus dismissed Si’an and named Liu Zhijun bandit-suppressing commissioner for at-large forces. Zhijun had yet to reach Luzhou when the ramparts were breached by the enemy, so he was reassigned as bandit-suppressing commissioner for at-large forces in the western circuits. He defeated troops from Bin and Qi‡ prefectures at Mugu. At the time, Gao Wanxing of Yanzhou‡ had mutinied against Yang Chongben in surrendering to the Liang. Taizu sent Zhijun to rendezvous with Wanxing, attacking and eventually overrunning the four prefectures of Dan, Yan‡, Fu‡, and Fang. Honored as interim grand marshal and concurrent director of the Chancellery, he was invested Prince of Dapeng.

As his merits accumulated, Liu Zhijun grew uneasy, for Taizu had a proclivity for suspicions and jealousies and murdered a succession of commanders, the death of an innocent Wang Chongshi leaving Zhijun ever anxious. Once Taizu descended upon Fu‡ and Fang, he dispatched Zhijun to resume the offensive against Binzhou, but Zhijun could not provision his armies and did not advance. Taizu now departed for Hezhong and ordered the commissioner of palace armies, Wang Yin, to summon Zhijun. In the interval, Zhijun’s younger brother, Liu Zhihuan, a military director in the Imperial Guard, had warned him by messenger against coming, so he mutinied to declare fealty to Li Maozhen. Zhijun also led an attack on Yong and Hua‡ prefectures, apprehending Liu Han and conveying him to Fengxiang. Taizu sent a messenger to inquire of Zhijun, “I have extended myself in treating you. How can you turn your back on me?” “Wang Chongshi did not turn on Your Majesty,” Zhijun responded, “yet he and his family were liquidated. Your Subject did not turn against your virtue, but merely acted on fear of death.” Taizu dispatched another messenger to explain, “I genuinely understand your position. It was bad counsel from Liu Han that caused me to execute Chongshi. I cannot but loathe him for forcing such circumstances upon you! Han is now dead, although this scarcely absolves me of responsibility.” Zhijun did not respond, deploying troops instead to cut off Tongguan.

Taizu dispatched Liu Xun and Niu Cunjie to attack Liu Zhijun, forcing him to take sanctuary with Li Maozhen. The lands of Maozhen were slight, however. Having no place to assign Zhijun, Maozhen instructed him to raid Lingwu to the west. Han Xun consequently informed the Liang of his new emergency, and Taizu directed Kang Huaiying, Kou Yanqing, and others to raid Binning to contain Zhijun. Huaiying was routed at Shengping County by Zhijun, who also killed Liang commander Xu Congshi. An utterly delighted Maozhen appointed Zhijun governor of Jingzhou‡, unleashing him for an offensive against Xingyuan Prefecture. Zhijun proceeded to claim the prefectures of Xing‡ and Feng‡, then encircle Xi County.

Later, aides to Li Maozhen grew jealous of Liu Zhijun and his feats, the ensuing conflicts between them prompting Maozhen to strip Zhijun of his armies. Zhijun now sought sanctuary in the Shu region, where overlord Wang Jian made him governor of the Wuxin command, entrusting a counteroffensive against Maozhen to him. The four prefectures of Qin, Feng‡, Jie, and Cheng were claimed in consequence. Wang Jian treated Zhijun with extreme bounty, even as he privately resented his talents, once saying to aides, “I am old, to be sure. When I die, Zhijun will be beyond the ability of any of you to control. It is better to lay your schemes against him sooner than later.” Many a Shu warrior shared his jealousy. Zhijun had a face dark in color and was born in the year of chou [the bull], while the scions of Wang Jian all had personal names with the character zong or cheng [a homonym for “rope”]. They circulated a rumor among the villages: “A dark bull charges to break the rope on the corral.”¹ Jian’s increased animosity for Zhijun led to his murder.

In the inaugural year of Zhenming [C.E. 915], Yang Shihou died at Weizhou, and Emperor Mo, in response to the arrogant and contrary character of Weizhou authorities, partitioned the prefectures of Xiang‡, Chan, and Wei‡ to form a separate Zhaode command, naming as its governor Zhang Yun. The three prefectures of Wei, Bo, and Bei now formed the Tianxiong command, with Delun serving as governor. Emperor Mo dispatched Liu Xun, with a force of sixty thousand, to cross the Yellow River on the pretext of attacking Zhending. Wang Yanzhang’s five hundred cavalry were to occupy Weizhou, forting at Jinboting in anticipation of a mutiny. Half of the governor’s guard at Weizhou was assigned to Zhaode, while the secretary to the commissioner of revenues was also dispatched to oversee the recruitment of Wei soldiers and manage its treasury. When Delun pressed his guardsmen to prepare for departure, the cries of the soldiers’ relatives parting in grief filled the highways. Zhang Yan, commander of Dedicated forces, plotted with his rank and file, argued, “The court, due to the might and prosperity of our command, has imposed rules to ruin it. Long ago, our six prefectures formed a garrison command, yet never did we leave our canal gate for distant parts. On the day that we leave our own relatives and villages, life becomes worse than death.” Banding together for a nighttime raid on Jinboting, they forced out Yanzhang. By the next morning, Wei armies attacked the inner wall to kill more than five hundred men and seize Delun, carrying him up a tower. Marauding troops pillaged extensively.

Emperor Mo rushed palace-services officer Hu Yi to Weizhou with instructions for Zhang Yan and the promise of a post as prefect. Yan addressed Yi, saying, “Report back to the Emperor, for me, that these three armies did not defy the court; rather, the court betrayed the three armies: the current turmoil emanates entirely from curtailing powers without proper cause. Your Majesty need only restore all six prefectures to Weizhou’s purview and direct Liu Xun’s armies to return—then you can sleep at ease.” Upon returning, Hu Yi reported that an impetuous Yan was of minor concern, such that Xun’s troops should storm him. Emperor Mo thus had a messenger inform Yan that the institutions, already in place, would not be altered. Messengers made three trips, infuriating Yan, who blurted out, “That houseboy has such audacity!” Summoning Sikong Ting, a one-time aide to Luo Shaowei, Yan warned, “Petition the throne for me indicating that if such dickering continues, I personally intend to cross the river to imprison him.” The Emperor responded with an amicably worded edict, “In the wake of Wang Rong’s death, the people of Zhenzhou sought to surrender and Xun was deployed at Zhenzhou with his armies to restore order. I had no other intent. If his presence is inconvenient for Weizhou, I will summon Xun to return.” Yan was also cautioned against creating troubles for the court.

To the extent that Yang Shihou, as Weizhou governor, once held concurrent powers as commissioner of bandit suppression, Zhang Yan pressured He Delun to propose the nomination of a new commissioner. Emperor Mo withheld consent and informed Yan of the decision by imperial edict. Tearing the edict to pieces, Yan tossed it to the floor and insisted, “This idiot of a ruler lets others run a hole through his nose [like a mindless ox]—a man impossible to work with.” He then compelled Delun to surrender to the Jin. Delun declared in horror, “I simply follow my commander’s orders,” sending military attaché Cao Tingyin to present a letter to Zhuangzong.

As the future Zhuangzong approached Weizhou, He Delun secretly dispatched a messenger to apprise him of the previous pressure exerted by Zhang Yan. Thus, before occupying Wei, Zhuangzong arranged for Yan’s beheading at Linqing County. Delun was reassigned as governor of Datong, only to be detained upon reaching Taiyuan by its military overseer, [eunuch] Zhang Chengye. Taiyuan later came under attack by Wang Tan and many men under Delun’s banner defected to him. Chengye worried that Delun might mutiny and killed him.

Native to Daibei, Kang Yanxiao had been a foot soldier at Taiyuan, then cast his fortunes with the Liang after committing some crime. When Emperor Mo dispatched Duan Ning to fort armies north of the Yellow River, he named Yanxiao commander of the Left and Right Vanguard. Yanxiao could observe the band of petty men employed by Emperor Mo, convincing him that the dynasty was destined to soon perish. He defected to Tang, along with a hundred horsemen. Zhuangzong met him at Chaocheng, removing his own royal robe and gold staff to give him. He also appointed Yanxiao as prefect of Bozhou and commissioner of Bracing-the-Sun forces and bandit suppression along the southern front.

Zhuangzong emptied the room to probe Kang Yanxiao about conditions at the Liang court. He spoke at length, stating, “Emperor Mo is ineffectual and entrusts affairs to Zhao Yan, his brother-in-law, and Zhang Hanjie of his wife’s family. Duan Ning is the sinister type, who appoints senior commanders based on how much gold they remit. Influential commanders since the days of his father are all consigned to lesser positions today. Wang Yanzhang is a commander of valor, yet the throne attempts to control his armies by employing Hanjie as overseer. Petty men are advanced to office, as loyal subjects and courageous warriors all end up banished afar. Such conditions are certain cause for debacle.” Zhuangzong also asked about the nature of Liang strategies. Yanxiao responded, “Your Subject, when serving the Liang court, furtively overheard a discussion of a major offensive planned for the second month of winter [the eleventh month]: Dong Zhang will depart from Shihui in an attack on Taiyuan, deploying the multitudes from Shan, Guo, Ze, and Lu prefectures; Huo Yanwei will rush against Zhen and Ding prefectures, deploying troops from the western passes, Ru and Luo, and pillage Xing and Ming prefectures; Wang Yanzhang will storm Yunzhou with troops from the Metropolitan Bodyguard; and Duan will contest you, Your Majesty, with armies along the Yellow River.”

Zhuangzong was initially delighted to hear Yanxiao’s prediction of certain demise for the Liang, yet news of a major offensive made him nervous, so he queried, “How are we to resist them?” “Liang troops are numerous,” Yanxiao continued, “but far less formidable when divided. Your Subject proposes waiting until they have divided, then deploy five thousand cavalry in iron armor to rush Bian Prefecture from the direction of Yun. Your action being unexpected, you can hit him with a surprise strike and successfully settle the world in ten days.” Zhuangzong was immensely impressed by his comments. Later, Dong Zhang’s cohort was not deployed in the action as predicted. Nonetheless, the entire investment of Liang armies along the Yellow River, under Duan Ning’s command, left the capital undefended. Zhuangzong ultimately adopted Yanxiao’s strategy, approaching Bian from Yun Prefecture, to annihilate the Liang within eight days. For such merit, Yanxiao was named defense commissioner for Zhengzhou and conferred the name Li Shaochen. Reassignment as Baoyi governor came in the second year [C.E. 924].

In its campaign against Shu, during the third year, the court named Kang Yanxiao commissioner of military formations and fuel for vanguard units. Overrunning Fengzhou‡, his men also claimed Guzhen County before winning the surrender of Xingzhou‡. He battled [Shu potentate] Wang Yan at Sanquan County, a vanquished Yan severing a suspension bridge at the Jibai River as he fled. Yanxiao built boats to cross the river, then advanced to claim Mianzhou. Wang Yan tore out another suspension bridge across the Mian River. This time, addressing pacification commissioner Li Yan, Yanxiao proposed, “I have led armies across a distant one thousand li to enter enemy territory, so the greater benefit lies in rapid engagement. In exploiting this moment when Wang Yan’s spirit is broken, a mere hundred mounts infiltrating Lutou Pass will suffice to induce the surrender of an endless stream of his commanders. Yet the repair of bridges will surely delay us by several days and enable Wang Yan to seal off the passes and make preparations, leaving the outcome wholly uncertain.” Yanxiao and Li Yan thus climbed their horses and floated across the river. Just over a thousand soldiers to cross the river with them proceeded to penetrate Lutou Pass and fell Hanzhou. Rear contingents began to arrive within three days. Wang Yan’s younger brother, Zongbi, surrendered Shu, in the end, as Yanxiao forted at Hanzhou to await the arrival of Jiji, Prince of Wei.

In the pacification of Shu, the feats of Kang Yanxiao were numerous. Dong Zhang was chief commander of infantry and cavalry for left-wing regiments, his rank lower than Yanxiao’s, but he commanded the special respect of Guo Chongtao. Chongtao only summoned Zhang for consultations on military affairs, never inquiring of Yanxiao. This so infuriated Yanxiao as to prompt the following reprimand against Zhang: “I accomplished the pacification of Shu, you and your cohort merely trailing closely on my heels. Now, at the doors of the Gentleman Guo, you bow your head. As chief commander, I am confounded that I cannot decapitate the likes of you by the rules of martial law!” Zhang complained of the affair to Chongtao, who petitioned the court to appoint Zhang governor of eastern Chuan, relieving him of military commands. The compromise further infuriated Yanxiao, who commented, “To secure the two circuits of Chuan, I confronted naked swords and perilous obstacles of nature. As for Zhang, by what merit does he acquire the banner of governor?” Meeting with Chongtao, he argued against the appointment, but Chongtao roared back, “Shaochen, are you rebelling? How dare you violate my commands!” A cowered Yanxiao retreated. Chongtao died a year later, Yanxiao now asking of Zhang, “At whose door will you bow your head, now?” Zhang sought release from assignment with plaintive pleas.

As the Prince of Wei, Jiji, withdrew his men from Shu, he instructed Kang Yanxiao to form a rear guard with twelve thousand men. Yanxiao had reached Wulian when word of Zhu Youqian’s murder without cause reached him. Youqian had a son at Suizhou‡, Zhu Lingde, and Jiji received orders from Zhuangzong via messenger to execute him posthaste. To carry out the mandate, Jiji did not employ Yanxiao, but rather Dong Zhang—a snub already stirring his suspicions. Moreover, Zhang passed by the camps of Yanxiao without entering to meet him, a livid Yanxiao commenting to a subordinate, “Pacification of Liang to the south and Shu to the west may well emanate from the strategies laid by Gentleman Guo, but the toil of sweating horses, the assaults on cities and the vanquishing of rivals—these are my own. Gentleman Guo is now dead. How am I to survive? Youqian and I both repudiated the Liang to convert to Tang, his own peril destined to be visited upon me, next time around.” The men under Yanxiao’s banner were all one-time commanders under Youqian, news of his liquidation causing them to wail loudly before his barracks in defiance. “Gentleman Zhu committed no crime, yet two hundred members of his family were executed,” they said. “Many a former commander followed him in death, and we will die as well.”

Kang Yanxiao rallied his rank and file, reentering Shu from the direction of Jianzhou‡ and pronouncing himself governor of western Chuan and regional commissioner for the three circuits of Chuan. A summons to war was immediately issued to the people of Shu, causing Yanxiao’s armies to swell in a matter of days to fifty thousand. To pursue him, Jiji sent Ren Huan, with seven thousand cavalry. Huan rendezvoused with Meng Zhixiang at Hanzhou for a pincer action, a defeated Yanxiao apprehended and carted away on a cage-wagon.

Ren Huan held a banquet in his barracks, ordering the cage-wagon to be rolled in and placed before his seat. Pouring wine into a large goblet, Meng Zhixiang extended his hand into the cage to give a drink, then asked of Yanxiao, “The Gentleman had fled the Liang in converting to our mandate, hence acquiring the banner of a governor. There is also your recent merit in the pacification of Shu. Why should worries about wealth and status relegate you to a cage like this?” Yanxiao responded, “Guo Chongtao, a subject to assist in the dynastic mandate, ranked first in merit: without shedding the blood of troops, he captured the two circuits of Chuan. Suddenly, his entire family is slain without commission of a crime. How is it possible for someone like myself to save his own neck? I dared not return to court for this reason.” Ren Huan departed for the east, again, while Zhuangzong dispatched a eunuch to murder Yanxiao as the cage-wagon reached Fengxiang.

His courtesy name Guowei, Zhang Quanyi [C.E. 852–926] was native to Linpu, Puzhou. As a young peasant, he worked as a conscript laborer at Linpu County, but owing to repeated insults and harassment from the county magistrate, Quanyi cast his fortunes with Huang Chao’s rebel bands. Once the capital of Changan fell into the rebel’s hands, Quanyi was appointed minister of personnel and commissioner of water transport. And upon the defeat of Chao and his gang, Quanyi proceeded to Heyang to serve Zhuge Shuang, and later Shuang’s son Zhongfang upon Shuang’s death. Zhuge Zhongfang came to be purged from power by Sun Ru, Quanyi and Li Hanzhi now seizing independent control of Heyang and Luoyang for reversion to Liang sovereignty.

The two men reveled in their individual attainments, yet Li Hanzhi was given to avarice and caprice, preoccupied each day with plundering. In contrast, Zhang Quanyi proved rigorously frugal, imposed laws to regulate the army, and presided over the people’s tilling of lands. For this reason, Hanzhi commonly faced shortages of food while Quanyi often enjoyed surpluses. Hanzhi looked to Quanyi for subsidy, which Quanyi could not provide, creating frictions between the two men. Hanzhi subsequently deployed armies to raid Jin and Jiang prefectures, Quanyi responding with an assault on Heyang, whose occupation forced Hanzhi to take refuge in Jin lands. The Jin assisted Hanzhi militarily by forming an extremely tight blockade around Quanyi, as he turned to the Liang for military relief. The Liang sent a force of ten thousand commanded by Niu Cunjie and Ding Hui: departing from Jiuding, they crossed the Yellow River and stormed Hanzhi’s men at Yanshui. Defeated, Jin armies disbanded and withdrew. The Liang now appointed Ding Hui as custodian of Heyang and Quanyi as metropolitan prefect of Henan. Obliged to the Liang for rendering assistance, Quanyi devoted his heart to it.

In the wake of the ravages of war wrought upon Henan Prefecture by Huang Chao and Sun Ru, the city in ruins contained not even a hundred households. Zhang Quanyi uprooted weeds and brambles in fostering the cultivation of fields, he personally carried wine and food to comfort people toiling on farms and erected ramparts to the north and south to be manned. After some years, the people and the community at Luoyang were completely restored, as residents came to depend immensely upon him. By the time that Emperor Zhaozong of Tang had been forcibly relocated eastward by Liang Taizu, the sound state of Luoyang’s palace quarters, prefectural offices, and grain storehouses all reflected the industry of Quanyi.

His personal name, initially “Yan,” was changed to “Quanyi” by Emperor Zhaozong. He requested a change once the Tang had fallen and he entered service under the Liang, Taizu conferring the personal name “Zongshi.” Despite the suspicions and jealousies of Taizu that grew worse in later years, Quanyi served him with heightened diligence and escaped personal peril even until his last days.

Liang armies faced successive defeats since engaging Jin troops north of the Yellow River. Quanyi’s foraging for foot soldiers and armored cavalry yielded enough recruits each month to cover the shortfall. Taizu’s armies were vanquished at Xiu County, and he took ill on the road, returning to Luoyang. Seeking to escape the summer heat, he visited Quanyi at his Huijie gardens and stayed for ten days, during which Taizu forced himself on Quanyi’s wife and daughter. Zhang Jizuo, Quanyi’s son, could not contain his indignation and shame, so he intended to stab Taizu with a sword. He was stopped by Quanyi, who said, “When Li Hanzhi’s men surrounded us at Heyang and we had to eat shavings of wood to survive, the slaughter of a single horse in our possession was intended to feed an entire army. Death loomed day and night when Liang troops emerged on the scene. Even today I cannot forget this charitable deed.” Jizuo therefore desisted.

Someone once spoke ill of Zhang Quanyi to Taizu, so Taizu summoned him to court to kill him. Quanyi’s wife, née Chu, with her sharp mind and deft polemical skills, abruptly entered to meet Taizu and spoke in a firm voice, “Zongshi is but an old farmer. As custodian at Henan for the past thirty years, he initiated the cultivation of once barren lands, gathering the tax revenues to assist Your Majesty in the dynastic enterprise. Now left decrepit by old age, he is incapable of doing anything. Why does Your Majesty doubt him?” Taizu responded with a smile, “I have no sinister intent, Old Woman. You need say no more.” Under the Liang, Quanyi eventually rose to palace secretary, his fiefs of maintenance swelling to thirteen thousand households. He held provisional authority as governor of the Zhongwu, Shanguo, Zhenghua, and Heyang commands. Named administrator of the Six Armies and deputy marshal for forces empirewide, he was invested Prince of Wei.

In the past, Zhang Quanyi’s defeat by Li Hanzhi caused his younger brother Zhang Quanwu to be apprehended by Jin armies, along with family dependents. The Prince of Jin now provided a rural estate for Quanwu, privileging him to exceptional bounty. Quanyi often sent secret messengers to Taiyuan to inquire after the brother. Once Zhuangzong [Prince of Jin] occupied Bianzhou to purge the Liang, Quanyi left Luoyang to stand for punishment at court, his face covered in mud. Zhuangzong said to him reassuringly, “Today, virtual siblings of a family have the good fortune to meet again.” Quanyi fell prostrate on the floor, moved to tears. He could not proceed forward because of advanced age, so someone lifted him from the floor and up the dais. The ensuing banquet generated such mirth that Zhuangzong instructed his son Jiji and younger brother Cunji to honor Quanyi as elder brother. Quanyi had already abandoned the name conferred by the Liang dynasty and requested to revert to his earlier name. He still felt ill at ease, so he left a sizable bribe with Empress Liu, placing himself in her trust.

Emperor Mo of Liang had once departed for Luoyang in preparation for sacrificing to Heaven at the southern suburbs; he never performed the sacrifice, but the imperial-insignia staff and other regulation paraphernalia were still present. Zhang Quanyi thus requested an imperial progress to Luoyang, characterizing the related ritual paraphernalia as complete. Zhuangzong reveled in the notion and bestowed honors on Quanyi as grand preceptor and imperial secretary, leaving for offerings at the southern suburbs of Luoyang in the eleventh month of the next year.² The ritual implements proved incomplete, in fact, so he changed the date for conducting the rites to the second month of the coming year. Still, he did not reprimand Quanyi for the previous misrepresentation, Quanyi instead enjoying ever-growing bounty through the Empress’s influence. Zhuangzong paid repeated visits to his home, where now the Empress was told to treat Quanyi as father. His investiture was changed to Prince of Qi.

After initially annihilating the Liang, Zhuangzong wanted to plunder the tomb of the Liang founder Taizu, unearthing the coffin to desecrate his corpse. Yet Quanyi argued that its entire royal family had already been massacred—enough to atone for the old vendetta, however bitter. For a king seeking to display great dignity to the world, the desecration of a coffin was inappropriate, he insisted. Zhuangzong was persuaded and settled for simply seizing some tomb paraphernalia from the burial mound.

Zhang Quanyi had a military overseer who once acquired the Pingquan stone for recovering from a hangover, formerly owned by Li Deyu. The grandson of Deyu, Li Yangu, requested Quanyi’s intervention to recover it. The military overseer insisted irately, “Since the turmoil of Huang Chao, even ownership of homes or gardens in Luoyang could not be guaranteed. How can one expect restitution of a simple Pingquan stone?” Quanyi had once consorted with the Huang Chao gang, so the comments seemed as satire against him. In raging anger, he petitioned the palace to have the military overseer flogged to death with light rod, an action deemed unjust by the world. When the case came before legal authorities, the rule existed of “passing favorable judgment for the party to sue first” [regardless of merit], a judgment regarded by the people as oppressive.

In the fourth year of Tongguang [C.E. 926], Zhao Zaili rebelled at Weizhou, and Yuan Xingqin, charged with suppressing him, had not succeeded. Zhuangzong wanted to lead the suppression effort in person, but senior courtiers all admonished against it, proposing instead the future Mingzong for the command. Guo Chongtao and Zhu Youqian had both fallen to murderous plots by then, Mingzong now coming to court from Zhenzhou and staying at a private home. Zhuangzong’s suspicions of Mingzong having been roused, he did not support the assignment and refused even after persistent pleas from the multitude of courtiers. In the end, it was Quanyi’s forceful endorsement of the assignment that caused Zhuangzong finally to concede. Mingzong did mutiny upon reaching Weizhou, and Quanyi died of attendant anxieties at seventy-five sui. He received the posthumous title “Loyal and Solemn.”

His son, Zhang Jizuo [d. C.E. 937], eventually held the title of generalissimo. In the reign of Gaozu of the Jin dynasty, he and Zhang Congbin rebelled at Heyang. This should have entailed extended executions, but chief minister Sang Weihan intervened to spare the lives of the entire family: the one-time service of Weihan’s father, Sang Gong, under Quanyi had left him obliged to the Zhang family. The court refused, but agreed to limit its executions to Jizuo, his wife, and sons.

Native to Xuzhou‡, Zhu Youqian [d. C.E. 926] had the courtesy name Deguang and the original personal name of Jian. Having committed some offense as a foot soldier at Mianchi Garrison, he cast himself into a life of banditry in the area of Shihao and Sanxiang counties, visiting hardship upon merchants traveling its roadways. He moved on to Shanzhou after some time and rose to lieutenant in the military.

Shanzhou governor Wang Gong, a man of savage cruelty, struggled with younger brother Wang Ke to control Hezhong. Upon failing in battle, military attaché for the governor’s guard, Li Fan, assisted Zhu Youqian in a conspiracy that produced the murder of Gong and conversion of the prefecture to Liang sovereignty. The future Taizu petitioned the court for Fan to replace Gong as governor, and once Fan was formally installed, Youqian raised armies in an offensive. Fan managed to abscond and Taizu petitioned the court once again, now for Youqian’s replacement of Fan.

Taizu of Liang often passed through Shanzhou in raids to the west against Li Maozhen, with Zhu Youqian scrupulously dedicated in serving him. He thus asked of Taizu, “It is through the efforts of you, Mr. Marshal that Your Servant, originally lacking in personal merit, can still enjoy such wealth and stature. In that we already share a common surname, I wish to change my personal name in the manner of your sons.” Taizu increasingly empathized with him, changing his name to Youqian and registering him as son. After formally acceding to the throne, Taizu reassigned him as governor of Hezhong with honors as palace secretary and investiture as Prince Ji.

Taizu later succumbed to an act of regicide, as Yougui installed himself and honored Youqian as director of the Chancellery. Although accepting the mandate, Youqian felt ill at ease. Later, Yougui summoned him for a formal appearance at court, which Youqian never undertook, having already converted to the Prince of Jin. Yougui unleashed a sally against him: a force of fifty thousand led by Kang Huaiying, a commander under Han Jing, the commissioner of bandit suppression. The Prince of Jin intervened on Youqian’s behalf. Departing from Ze and Lu prefectures, he engaged Huaiying at Xie County, routing him. The Prince’s men pursued Huaiying to Baijing Ridge, where his men carried torches by night in a storm that defeated Huaiying once again. Liang armies then disbanded. The Prince of Jin, with Youqian asleep in his tent after an inebriating celebration, turned to aides to observe, “The Prince Ji [Youqian] is a valuable asset, although, sadly, his arms are too short!”

With the accession of Emperor Mo, Zhu Youqian resumed fealty to the Liang without rupturing ties with the Prince of Jin. A sally against Tongzhou in the sixth year of Zhenming [C.E. 920], which Youqian entrusted to son Lingde, resulted in the expulsion of governor Cheng Quanhui. Youqian now requested concurrent authority as governor of the new district. Emperor Mo initially declined only later to consent; the rescript of approval had not arrived when Youqian rebelled anew, beginning a formal severing of ties with the Liang and submission to Jin rule. Emperor Mo entrusted Liu Xun with the suppression effort, but Li Cunshen prevailed over him. Youqian was invested Prince of Xiping by the Jin authorities and honored as acting grand marshal. His son, Lingde, became governor of Tongzhou.

Zhu Youqian came to court once Zhuangzong occupied Luoyang and supplanted the Liang dynasty. The court conferred a new name, Li Jilin, as well as tens of thousands in cash gifts. In the next year [C.E. 924], further honors came as acting grand preceptor and imperial secretary, including conferral of an iron writ affirming immunity to capital punishment. His son Lingde was named governor of Suizhou‡ and son Lingxi named governor of the Zhongwu command. Among his sons, commanders, and lieutenants more than ten received posts as prefect. The lavishness of court charity and favor had no parallel in those days.

Eunuchs and actors wielded influence at the time, many of whom demanded bribes from Youqian. Unable to pay, he declined and thereby incurred their wrath. Once the Tang campaign against Shu got under way, Youqian was to inspect crack troops and arranged for his son, Lingde, to lead an accompanying force. Actor Jing Jin now alleged, in the aftermath of Guo Chongtao’s murder: “At the outset of issuing our Tang armies, Youqian worried that the pacification might be directed against him, so his inspection of troops serves as self-preparation.” The actor added, “He was in conspiracy with Chongtao to rebel. Behind Chongtao’s rebellion in Shu was the presumption that Youqian would respond militarily in the capital. Now confronted with Chongtao’s death, Youqian conspires with Li Cunyi to avenge the injustice against Mr. Guo.” Zhuangzong was initially skeptical, but the accusations of actors and eunuchs continued day and night.

News of such allegations left Zhu Youqian dreadfully afraid, so he prepared to appear at court to explain matters. Commanders and aides uniformly counseled against the trip, but Youqian insisted, “Gentleman Guo contributed eminently to the empire, yet died through slander. If I do not personally explain matters, who will speak for me?” He entered the capital riding a single carriage. Jing Jin arranged for someone illicitly to alter a letter, accusing Youqian of rebellion. A deluded Zhuangzong banished Youqian to the Yicheng governorship, dispatching Zhu Shouyin that night to surround his hostel with military regiments. Shouyin forced Youqian beyond the Hui’an gate to murder him, as the court restored his original name.

The court mandated that the Prince of Wei, Jiji, murder Youqian’s son Lingde at Suizhou‡, that Wang Sitong murder son Lingxi at Xuzhou‡, and that Xia Luqi liquidate family dependents at Hezhong. Luqi was met by Youqian’s wife, Woman Zhang, upon arrival at their home, along with two hundred members of her extended family. “The Zhu family must die, but I hope you do not extend punishments needlessly to commoners,” she pleaded. After separating a hundred slaves and servants, a hundred Zhu kinsmen went to their deaths. Woman Zhang had earlier entered the home to show the iron writ to Luqi, as she asked, “This was conferred by the Emperor. The meaning of the words eludes me!” Luqi felt ashamed. In the aftermath of Youqian’s demise, seven of his commanders, including Shi Wu, were executed through association, along with their entire families. The world deemed it an injustice.

Native to Xiayi, Songzhou, Yuan Xiangxian [C.E. 864–923] descended from the Tang-dynasty Prince of Nanyang, Yuan Shuji. His father, Yuan Jingchu, held office under the Liang dynasty as minister of supplemental revenues and commissioner of reserve cavalry, having married the younger sister of Emperor Taizu, the Senior Princess Wang’an. As an in-law of Liang royalty, Xiangxian rose to chief commander of infantry and cavalry at the Xuanwu command. He also served successively as prefect of Su, Ming, and Chen‡ prefectures. The formal accession of Taizu led to promotions as commander-in-general of the Dragonly Martial Left Guard and chief commander of infantry and cavalry in the metropolitan area.

With Taizu falling to regicide as Yougui installed himself in power, the future Emperor Mo continued to defend the eastern capital and consulted Zhao Yan on the strategic challenge. Yan argued, “This matter is as simple as turning the palm of a hand. All you need to succeed is a single directive to the Imperial Guard from the Honorable Mr. Yang.” Emperor Mo thus sent a messenger to Weizhou to apprise Yang Shihou of his plans, Shihou responding by sending his deputy commander, Wang Shunxian, to Luoyang to meet and strategize with Yuan Xiangxian, who consented to join the conspirators.

At the time, Dragon-Prancing contingents commanded by Liu Chongyu, garrisoned at Huaizhou‡, had turned mutinous. Yougui thus dispatched Huo Yanwei to storm them at Yanling. He prevailed and their residuals scattered, an intensive round of arrests ensuing. The future Emperor Mo [Prince of Jun] then called in Dragon-Prancing armies for the eastern capital to inform them, “Because of the Chongyu incident, His Majesty [Yougui] intends to summon all Dragon-Prancing contingents to Luoyang for liquidation.” He also fabricated an edict in Yougui’s name to show them, instilling terror in these men, who could not decide on a course of action. Mo thus proposed, “Yougui has committed regicide against his own father and ruler, making him the world’s premier renegade. If you can rush to Luoyang to apprehend him and offer his head in sacrifice to the Former Emperor, you may well ‘turn peril into prosperity,’ as the adage goes.” The soldiers all leaped in excitement as they cheered, “The Prince’s words are right.” Mo promptly petitioned the court to indicate, “the Dragon-Prancing armies are in mutiny.” The message gave Xiangxian cause to direct a thousand men from the Palace Guard into the palace for an assault on Yougui, who perished. Emperor Mo now acceded to the throne, and Xiangxian became governor of the Zhennan command with nominal powers as chief minister, metropolitan prefect of Kaifeng, and administrator of all metropolitan infantry and cavalry. In the fourth year of Zhenming [C.E. 918], he became the Pinglu governor before reassignment as Xuanwu governor.

Yuan Xiangxian, as Liang commander, had never proven merit in battle, his control of armies based on connections as imperial in-law. His role in executing Yougui now created merit with Emperor Mo. Through ten years or more of administration at Songzhou, he exacted heavily from the people, building a cache worth tens of millions. He attended court at Luoyang upon Zhuangzong’s conquest of Liang, bringing along valuables worth hundreds of thousands to bribe martial ministers, actors, eunuchs, Empress Liu, and the like. In this way, he won uniform praise from those in and away from the capital. Zhuangzong treated him with exceptional bounty, conferring the name Li Shao’an and changing the name of the Xuanwu command to Guide. “I name Guide [Return to Virtue] in your honor,” Zhuangzong once declared. Sent back to his home district, Xiangxian died that year [C.E. 923] at sixty sui, the posthumous rank of grand preceptor conferred.

Xiangxian had two sons: Yuan Zhengci rose in office to prefect and Yuan Yi to Henghai governor during the Zhou-dynasty reign of Shizong. Over his lifetime, Xiangxian had amassed a fortune worth countless millions,³ in addition to four thousand estates and houses. These were not divided among surviving sons upon his death, but given entirely to Zhengci. His father’s standing had initially enabled Zhengci to become deputy commissioner of Flying Dragon forces. He donated to the government some fifty thousand strings of cash, during the Tang reign of Emperor Fei, for which concurrent powers as prefect of Quzhou were conferred. He donated another fifty thousand strings upon the accession of Gaozu of Jin, seeking an appointment as prefect with substantive powers. The court named him prefect of Xiongzhou, a prefecture situated west of Lingwu and east of the Tubo Tibetan border. Zhengci dallied, not wishing to proceed, then presented several tens of thousands in cash for release from the post. Still unable to overcome the sense of indignity, Zhengci tried to use a cloth sash to hang himself, only to be saved by his family’s intervention. The donation of thirty thousand strings of cash and ten thousand ounces of silver won over Emperor Chu, once in power: a post for Zhengci in the interior was planned, but he died beforehand.

Yuan Zhengci’s cash holdings could fill an entire room. Sounds approximating those of oxen were once heard in the room, which people reckoned an evil spirit that would be appeased only if the wealth was scattered. But Zhengci retorted, “When animals make sounds, I am told, they are merely seeking one of their own. By increasing my cash, therefore, the sound will surely cease!” Listeners later passed the story around as a joke.

Duan Ning [d. C.E. 927], a native of Kaifeng, began with the personal name Mingyuan and later adopted Ning. He was once a magistrate’s assistant at Mianchi County. His father had served under Taizu of Liang but had been demoted owing to some incident. Ning later abandoned his own civil office to serve similarly under Taizu’s command, becoming inspecting officer of the armed forces. His attractive younger sister entered the harem of Taizu and later became the “Beautiful Consort.”

Duan Ning was a man clever at flattery and adept at intuiting and accommodating the wishes of others. This, combined with his younger sister’s favor, enabled him gradually to enjoy the intimacy and confidence of Taizu, who named him inspector for a succession of armies. As prefect of Huaizhou‡, Taizu passed through the prefecture during a northern campaign; Ning provided a stunning array of rations, leaving Taizu exhilarated. When he passed through Xiangzhou‡, prefect Li Si’an afforded Taizu’s men rations commensurate with current protocol, but seemingly parsimonious in comparison. Si’an thereby incited Taizu and incurred his wrath, dying in consequence. Ning now became prefect of Zhengzhou, assigned to supervise troops along the Yellow River. Li Zhen petitioned stridently for his dismissal. “Ning has done no wrong,” Taizu insisted. To this, Zhen retorted, “If we wait until some offense is committed, the dynasty and its ritual altars will have perished!” Dismissal never came.

Zhuangzong had already conquered Wei and Bo prefectures and faced off the Liang from opposite sides of the Yellow River. The Liang deployed Wang Yanzhang as commissioner of bandit suppression, Ning serving as his deputy. At the time, a muddled Emperor Mo entrusted affairs to Zhao Yan and Zhang Hanjie, so Ning allied with Yan and cohort to act on his sinister agenda. As commissioner, Yanzhang had employed spectacular strategies to overpower, in only three days, the southern city of Desheng, a commandery under Tang control. Ning nonetheless submitted a report to the court, separate from Yanzhang, where he ruminated on his own feats. Yan and cohort chose to conceal the achievement report of Yanzhang and attribute to Ning all merit in the effort. Ning then plied Yan and cohort with gold, requesting to replace Yanzhang. Emperor Mo was duped by Yan’s words and authorized appointment as bandit-suppressing commissioner. Ning’s armies were stationed at Wangcun.

At the time, Tang armies had overpowered Yunzhou. Duan Ning responded by breaking dikes on the Yellow River to permit its flow eastward from Suanzao County to Yunzhou, cutting off Tang armies in the process—dubbed “waters to protect the imperial progress.” Zhuangzong then rushed from Yunzhou to Bianzhou, where troops were entirely subordinate to Ning. The capital lacked defense preparations, so the court employed Zhang Hanlun as express courier to summon back Ning from the upper Yellow River region. En route, Hanlun was thrown from his horse and sustained injuries that prevented him from advancing. The Liang subsequently collapsed and Ning led fifty thousand crack troops in surrendering to Tang, as Zhuangzong conferred a gown of brocade and an imperial horse. Ning memorialized the court, on the next day, arguing, “When the sinister band of ten led by Zhao Yan and Zhang Hanjie dominated the former Liang dynasty, their power games had cost the lives of many. I beg to have them and their families liquidated.”

Duan Ning felt no awkwardness about his comings and goings at the Tang court, performing like an actor before the dynasty’s commanders and ministers. He bribed Empress Liu through the actor Jing Jin to gain the court’s favor. Zhuangzong loved him enormously and conferred the name Li Shaoqin, appointing him governor of Taining. In just over a month at the command, he spent cash from its treasury totaling several hundred thousand strings, for which the relevant officials at court sought to hold him personally liable for restitution. Zhuangzong forgave the debt, even as Guo Chongtao adamantly insisted on indemnity. An agitated Zhuangzong roared back, “I use you to issue directives—nothing derives from your own authority!” The debt was ultimately forgiven.

Li Shaohong had been sent by Zhuangzong to supervise the preparation of commanders against the Khitan. Duan Ning, garrisoned at Waqiao Pass, used the occasion to flatter Shaohong, who in turn, recommended Ning as a great talent over and again. Each time, Guo Chongtao insisted to the contrary. Ning was governor of the Wusheng command when Zhao Zaili rebelled, Shaohong proposing that Ning lead the suppression. Zhuangzong probed Ning on line advances and strategies, but the officer assignments sought by Ning were all old cronies of his. Zhuangzong came to question his competence, and the appointment never occurred. He was compelled to retire upon the accession of Mingzong. In the next year [C.E. 927], exiled to a remote Liaozhou, he committed suicide at court orders.