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120-645: Li Cunxu was considered one of the most militarily capable rulers of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. When he succeeded his father Li Keyong as the Prince of Jin, the Former Jin had been weakened in the late years of Li Keyong's rule and not considered capable of posing a military threat to its archrival to the south, Later Liang , whose founding emperor Zhu Quanzhong had seized the Tang throne. Li Cunxu carefully rebuilt

240-466: A campaign to assist the emperor. He thus requisitioned troops from Lulong, but Liu declined his requisition request, claiming that the soldiers were needed to defend against Khitan incursions. For several months, Li Keyong sent repeated letters, and Liu continued to decline. When Li Keyong sent a harshly worded rebuke, Liu threw the letter onto the ground, put the Hedong emissary under arrest, and tried to kill

360-539: A coup by his brother Li Kuangchou , Liu decided to take advantage of the confusion by leading his army to attack You Prefecture. However, when he reached Juyong Pass , the headquarter's army defeated his. He thereafter fled to Hedong Circuit, where he was treated well by Hedong's military governor Li Keyong . Liu Rengong was said to carefully serve both Li Keyong and Li Keyong's chief strategist Gai Yu , and through Gai, he made repeated suggestions to Li Keyong that Lulong could be conquered, and he asked for 10,000 men for

480-449: A direct attack, which was disastrous for the Jin army, with Zhou killed in battle. During the initial rout, however, Li Cunxu took position on a hill and used it to counterattack, inflicting much losses against Later Liang, fighting the battle to an essential draw. It was said that both Jin and Later Liang lost two thirds of their soldiers that day, and both were weakened for quite some time. At

600-408: A feast at his own mansion, and all the high-level officers attended. At the feast, soldiers that Li Cunxu had previously hidden seized Li Kening and Li Cunhao, and then executed them. Meanwhile, the crisis of Lu being under siege continued. However, believing that Lu would fall by itself without aid from the outside in light of Li Keyong's death (particularly because Li Cunxu withdrew Zhou Dewei from

720-470: A feast, but ambushed them there once they became drunk and captured them. The Khitan were forced to pay Liu Rengong a large ransom to get them released. In 906, when Zhu again put Cang Prefecture under siege, Liu Rengong, after repeated losses against Zhu's army, felt that he needed even more soldiers, so he ordered all men from age 15 to 70 to serve, tattooing their faces. He also sought aid from Hedong. Li Keyong initially refused to help him, but later, under

840-582: A group of associates, headed by Yan Liude ( 燕留德 ), at Lulong, to accompany Liu. However, the Hedong soldiers soon ran into conflicts with the Lulong officer Gao Siji ( 高思繼 ) and Gao Siji's brothers, as they bullied the Lulong people. The Gao brothers executed a number of them, drawing Li Keyong's displeasure, and Li Keyong rebuked Liu. Liu, blaming all of the executions on the Gao brothers, delivered them to Hedong, where Li Keyong executed them. Liu, however, in order to pacify

960-464: A joint Jin/Zhao/Yiwu army crushed the Later Liang army, commanded by the major Later Liang general Wang Jingren , at Boxiang (柏鄉, in modern Xingtai , Hebei ). In the aftermaths of the victory, Li Cunxu decided to advance further, and he briefly put Wei Prefecture (魏州, in modern Handan , Hebei ), the capital of Later Liang's important Tianxiong Circuit ( 天雄 ), under siege. However, apprehensive that

1080-496: A major Later Liang army under the command of the major general Yang Shihou was approaching, and more apprehensive that Liu Shouguang (who by this point was making noise about joining forces with him but demanding a leadership role in the army) might create trouble for him, he soon gave up the siege on Wei, ending the confrontation with Later Liang for the time being. From this point on, Zhao and Yiwu became effectively independent polities, but in close alliance with Jin, all still using

1200-472: A major attack on Lulong. You Prefecture fell quickly to him; Li Kuangchou fled to neighboring Yichang Circuit (義昌, headquartered in modern Cangzhou) and was killed by Yichang's military governor Lu Yanwei . In spring 895, Li Keyong formally entered You Prefecture, and he had Liu and an adoptive son, Li Cunshen , surveil and pacify the region. He left Liu in charge of Lulong as acting military governor, and then returned to Hedong. He left an army detachment and

1320-490: A new Later Liang as its Emperor Taizu) in Liu Rengong's name, seeking retirement. The Later Liang emperor approved of Liu Rengong's retirement, bestowed the title of Taishi ( 太師 ) on Liu Rengong, and subsequently created Liu Shouguang the Prince of Yan. Liu Shouguang, however, was not satisfied with the princely title under Later Liang suzerainty. In 911, he claimed the title of Emperor of Yan . Subsequently, Li Cunxu, who

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1440-681: A new Later Liang as its emperor. He claimed to be the proper ruler for all of the former Tang realm, but Li Keyong, as well as Li Maozhen, Yang Wo the military governor of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou , Jiangsu ), and Wang Jian the military governor of Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu , Sichuan ), refused to recognize him as emperor, effectively becoming sovereigns of their own realms ( Jin , Qi , Hongnong , and Former Shu , respectively). Zhu thereafter sent his general Kang Huaizhen ( 康懷貞 ) to put Li Cunxu's adoptive cousin Li Sizhao , whom Li Keyong had made

1560-399: A number of officers, including Liu Shouguang's younger brother Liu Shouqi ( 劉守奇 ), nephew Wang Sitong , and the officer Li Chengyue ( 李承約 ), fled to Hedong Circuit. Hearing of what Liu Shougguang did, Liu Shouwen launched his troops to attack Liu Shouguang, with initially inconclusive results. (In this fraternal war, Liu Shouguang received aid from Li Cunxu, who had succeeded Li Keyong as

1680-486: A pillar for the state. Please be faithful to the imperial house." After Li Keyong defeated the three warlords (killing Wang and forcing Li Maozhen and Han to nominally resubmit to the emperor), Li Cunxu was given the honorific title of acting Sikong ( 司空 ) and made the prefect of Xi Prefecture (隰州, in modern Linfen , Shanxi ), and later successively the prefect of Fen ( 汾州 ) and Jin ( 晉州 ) Prefectures (both in modern Linfen), but as he did not report to those prefectures,

1800-604: A princely title, and this was thus viewed as the end of Qi as an independent state. The Later Liang military governors all submitted to him, and in effect, he had merged the two states. (That included Li Jitao, although, after he later discovered the Li Jitao was still planning to control his realm independently, he put Li Jitao to death. However, despite being a capable general, Li Cunxu was not capable at governance. He, and particularly his favorite consort Empress Liu , whom he created empress, were gathering wealth to be stored despite

1920-417: A second front. Liu did so. Subsequent, when Li Keyong attacked Zhaoyi's capital Lu Prefecture ( 潞州 ), Zhaoyi's military governor Ding Hui , who had secretly resented Zhu for having killed Emperor Zhaozong in 904, surrendered Zhaoyi to Li Keyong, forcing Zhu to abandon his campaign against Liu. In 907, Zhu had Emperor Zhaozong's son and successor Emperor Ai yield the throne to him, ending Tang and starting

2040-444: A surprise attack on Tianping's capital Yun Prefecture ( 鄆州 ). Li Siyuan was shortly thereafter able to capture Yun in a surprise attack. Shocked by Yun's fall, Zhu Zhen relieved Dai Siyuan, who was the military governor of Tianping but who was then commanding the main Later Liang army against Later Tang, of his command, and, at Jing Xiang's recommendation, commissioned Wang Yanzhang to replace him. Wang quickly attacked and captured

2160-416: A vassal to Li Cunxu, and Li Cunxu, while greatly saddened by Wang Rong's death, initially commissioned him as the acting military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, i.e., Zhao). However, Zhang himself was apprehensive of how Li Cunxu viewed him, and therefore made overtures to both Later Liang's emperor Zhu Zhen (premised on the fact that he spared Wang Zhaozuo's wife, who was a sister to Zhu Zhen and who carried

2280-588: A vassal, Zhu again had Zhang lead an army, with supplements from Weibo, to attack Liu. Zhang quickly captured Lulong's Ying and Mo (莫州, in modern Cangzhou) Prefectures and Yichang's Jing Prefecture (景州, in modern Cangzhou). (In the latter battle, the prefect Liu Renba ( 劉仁霸 ), who might have been a brother to Liu Rengong, was captured.) Zhang prepared to next attack You Prefecture, but subsequent weather conditions stopped him, and he instead attacked Yiwu and forced that circuit into submission (despite Liu Shouwen's attempts to assist Yiwu). In 901, Emperor Zhaozong bestowed

2400-539: Is it that I have had to make repeated requests and that we still have not received them? Tell them [(i.e., the emperor and the chancellors)] what I said! In any case, it was said that after the victory over Yichang, Liu Rengong, believing in his military strength, began to have ambitions of controlling the entire region north of the Yellow River . In spring 899, he launched a major attack on Weibo. When he captured Weibo's Bei Prefecture (貝州, in modern Xingtai), he slaughtered

2520-517: The Battle of Jisu , uniting Lulong and Yichang under his control.) He also jointly attacked Later Liang with Li Maozhen's Qi state after the major Later Liang general Liu Zhijun submitted to Qi. Li Cunxu's major opportunity to assert himself against Later Liang came in late 910. Zhu Quanzhong had come to suspect his vassals Wang Rong the Prince of Zhao , who controlled Wushun Circuit (武順, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang , Hebei ), and Wang Chuzhi

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2640-531: The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Yan that Liu Shouguang established. In 913, however, Li Keyong's son and successor Li Cunxu the Prince of Jin conquered Yan and captured both Liu Shouguang and Liu Rengong; he put them to death the next year. It is not known when Liu Rengong was born—although he was said to be spreading the rumor that he would become a military governor ( jiedushi ) at age 48 when he later served Li Kuangwei , indicating that he

2760-659: The Later Liang ( simplified Chinese : 后梁 ; traditional Chinese : 後梁 ; pinyin : Hòu Liáng ) (1 June 907 – 19 November 923) or the Zhu Liang ( Chinese : 朱梁 ), was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period . It was founded by Zhu Wen (Emperor Taizu), after he forced the last emperor of the Tang dynasty to abdicate in his favour (and then murdered him). The Later Liang would last until 923 when it

2880-504: The Yan state ) and Shanxi (controlled by Shatuo Turks state Jin) remained largely outside Later Liang control. The Later Liang maintained a tense relationship with the Shatuo Turks , due to the rivalry between Zhu Quanzong and Li Keyong , a relationship that began back in the time of the Tang dynasty. After Li Keyong 's death, his son, Li Cunxu , continued to expand his State of Jin . Li

3000-402: The eunuch monitor Zhang Chengye , Li Cunxu's adoptive brother Li Cunzhang , the officer Wu Gong ( 吳珙 ), and the secretary general Lu Zhi ( 盧質 ), while repeatedly stating to Li Cunxu that the immediate urgency after his death would be to rescue Li Sizhao. He then died and was succeeded as the Prince of Jin by Li Cunxu. After Li Keyong's death, Li Kening initially took over the discipline of

3120-643: The Chengde mutineers without outside allies. Despite the seeming inevitability of success, the Jin forces suffered several major losses against the Chengde mutineers: Meanwhile, Li Cunshen and Li Siyuan fought off a Later Liang army commanded by Dai Siyuan , which tried to take advantage of the situation. Li Cunxu subsequently commissioned Li Cunshen to attack the Chengde mutineers, and Zhen fell to him. Li Cunxu killed Zhang Chujin and his brothers, and incorporated Chengde into his territory. Li Sizhao's death, however, created another crisis for Li Cunxu, who, at this time,

3240-598: The Da'an mansion. He also retained alchemists to try to achieve immortality. He hoarded the money from the people of the circuit, instead making coins out of clay, and he prohibited purchasing tea leaves from south of the Yangtze River , instead using the leaves of the circuit's trees as tea substitutes. In or sometime before 907, Liu Rengong discovered that Liu Shouguang had been having an affair with Liu Rengong's favorite concubine Lady Luo. He caned Liu Shouguang, threw him out of

3360-457: The Five Dynasties . Several justifications were given for this, and successive Five Dynasties regimes, to be conferred the Mandate of Heaven . Among these was that these dynasties all controlled most of the traditional Chinese heartland. However, the Later Liang was an embarrassment in the brutality it employed, causing many to want to deny it this status, but doing so would break the chain through

3480-504: The Former Jin state, using a series of conquests and alliances to take over most of the territory north of the Yellow River , before starting a lengthy campaign against Later Liang. Li Cunxu conquered the Later Liang dynasty in 923 and proclaimed himself emperor of the Later Tang, which he referred to as the "Restored Tang". As a part of "restoring Tang", the capital was moved back to the old Tang eastern capital of Luoyang . As with all of

3600-511: The Former Shu major general Wang Zongbi (Wang Yan's adoptive brother) seized Wang Yan and his family and forced Wang Yan to surrender the Former Shu realm to Later Tang, thus ending Former Shu, whose territory was taken over by Later Tang. After the conquest of Former Shu, however, both Li Cunxu and Empress Liu came to suspect Guo Chongtao of wanting to occupy the Shu lands and rebel. Li Cunxu, however,

3720-558: The Hedong officers stationed at Lulong, who fled and escaped death, according to the Zizhi Tongjian . (The History of the Five Dynasties and the New History of the Five Dynasties indicated that Liu did in fact kill a number of them, including Yan.) In fall 897, angry at Liu Rengong's betrayal, Li Keyong commanded the army himself and attacked Lulong. He engaged the Lulong forces commanded by Liu's son-in-law Dan Keji ( 單可及 ), but

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3840-585: The Jin army and revealed the desperate state the Yan army was in. Li Cunxu then ordered a final attack, and the city fell. Liu Rengong, his wife, and his concubines were taken captive. Liu Shouguang tried to flee to Cang Prefecture (which was then defended by Liu Shouqi, who had become a Later Liang general), but was captured on the way there. (When he was brought back to You Prefecture, Liu Rengong and his wife both spat on him and stated, "Rebellious bandit! Look at what you did to our household!") In spring 914, Li Cunxu took

3960-708: The Jin campaign against Yan and renamed, and which Jin later renamed Henghai ( 橫海) ) isolated, and by late 916, they had fallen to Jin as well, leaving a single city (黎陽, in modern Hebi , Henan ) north of the Yellow River that was still held by Later Liang. However, Jin was soon challenged by the Khitan Empire to the north as well, with Khitan's Emperor Taizu (Yelü Abaoji) launching a major attack on Lulong in 917, putting You Prefecture under siege. While Li Cunxu and his generals (his adoptive brothers Li Siyuan and Li Cunshen, as well as Yan Bao ( 閻寶) ) subsequently repelled

4080-497: The Khitan attack, Lulong's vulnerability to Khitan attacks had been exposed, and in the future, there would be recurrent Khitan incursions against Lulong. In winter 917, Li Cunxu, believing that he was in shape to destroy Later Liang once and for all, gathered all of his major generals, preparing to cross the then-frozen Yellow River and attack Later Liang's capital Daliang . However, he then apparently changed his mind, wanting to destroy

4200-414: The Khitan lands, as well as to burn the grazing fields to prevent the Khitan horses from grazing properly. In winter 903, when the Khitan leader Yelü Abaoji sent his brother-in-law Shulü Abo ( 述律阿缽 ) to attack Shanhai Pass , Liu Rengong's son Liu Shouguang , who was then defending Ping Prefecture (平州, in modern Qinhuangdao , Hebei ), pretended to be parlaying with the Khitan officers and invited them to

4320-509: The Later Liang fold after, in 913, Zhu Yougui's brother Zhu Youzhen the Prince of Jun overthrew Zhu Yougui in a countercoup and became emperor, but would yet later revert to Jin.) By summer 913, Zhou had put Yan's capital You Prefecture ( 幽州 ) under siege. Liu, desperate, claimed that if Li Cunxu himself came to You, he would surrender. When Li Cunxu arrived, however, he did not do so, despite Li Cunxu's assurance that his life would be spared if he surrendered. Li Cunxu subsequently intensified

4440-418: The Later Liang officer Lu Shunmi ( 盧順密 ) defected to Later Tang, revealing that Later Liang's Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern Tai'an , Shandong )—south of the Yellow River and deep behind Later Liang lines—was not well-defended and could be taken. Li Cunxu believed that this was an opportunity to change the tide of the war, and put Li Siyuan, who supported the plan, in charge of an army to launch

4560-426: The Later Tang army ranks. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the central Later Tang territory was going through a terrible famine at the time, and, with Empress Liu unwilling to release the funds for famine relief, many soldiers' families starved, further causing them to be angry at the emperor and empress. These resentment spawned a number of revolts, the most serious of which were one led by Kang Yanxiao in

4680-498: The Later Tang emperor and pointing out that the plan left the Later Liang capital Daliang defenseless, and pointing out that Wang's and Zhang Hanjie's army was the weakest of the four prongs and could easily be defeated. Li Cunxu decided to take the risky move himself, and advanced to Yun to join forces with Li Siyuan, and then engage Wang and Zhang Hanjie. He defeated them, capturing both Wang and Zhang Hanjie at Zhongdu (中都, in modern Jining , Shandong ), and then headed directly toward

4800-556: The Liu household, including Liu Rengong and Liu Shouguang, on a victory tour through Yiwu and Chengde Circuits, at Wang Chuzhi's and Wang Rong's invitation. When they arrived at Chengde Circuit, at Wang Rong's request (as Wang Rong wanted to finally meet Liu Rengong in person), Li Cunxu temporarily removed the shackles from Liu Rengong and Liu Shouguang, and had them attend a feast that Wang Rong held for him. After they arrived back at Hedong's capital Taiyuan , Li Cunxu first executed Liu Shouguang in

4920-475: The Lulong army's supplies, they delivered the rest to Hedong, contrary to the prior customs during Lulong's independence periods where Lulong kept its own revenues. In 897, by which time Emperor Zhaozong had fled from the imperial capital Chang'an to Zhenguo Circuit (鎮國, headquartered in modern Weinan , Shaanxi ) due to attacks by the warlord Li Maozhen the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji , Shaanxi ), Li Keyong planned

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5040-402: The Lulong people, took in the Gao brothers' sons as officers in the Lulong army. In summer 895, then-reigning Emperor Zhaozong formally made Liu the military governor of Lulong. Through the years that Liu served as Li Keyong's vassal, the officers that Li Keyong left at Lulong managed much of the affairs of the circuit. They collected taxes from the circuit, and, except for what was needed for

5160-527: The Prince of Ying, who thereafter declared himself the emperor of Later Liang. The major Later Liang general Zhu Youqian the military governor of Huguo Circuit (護國, headquartered in modern Yuncheng , Shanxi ), refused to submit to Zhu Yougui, and instead submitted to Jin, seeking Li Cunxu's aid. When Zhu Yougui subsequently sent the general Kang Huaizhen ( 康懷貞 ) to attack Zhu Youqian, Li Cunxu went to Zhu Youqian's aid and repelled Kang's attack, forcing Kang to withdraw. (Zhu Youqian would subsequently return to

5280-508: The Shu lands (as he was one of the generals under Guo in the Former Shu campaign), and one by the soldiers at Yedu (鄴都, i.e., Xingtang). Kang's rebellion was quickly put down by Ren Huan, but the imperial troops under Li Shaorong had difficulty putting down the Yedu rebellion, and it threatened to become even more problematic. When Li Cunxu subsequently sent Li Siyuan to take over the operations, Li Siyuan's own soldiers mutinied and forced him to join

5400-519: The Tang era name of Tianyou ( 天佑 ) to signify opposition against Later Liang. Meanwhile, Liu Shouguang, believing himself to be strong enough to declare himself emperor, tried to persuade Wang Rong and Wang Chuzhi to honor him as Shangfu (尚父, "imperial father"). Li Cunxu, in order to further encourage Liu into megalomania to be able to defeat him later, thereafter signed a joint petition with Wang Rong, Wang Chuzhi, as well as three other governors under his command—Li Sizhao, Zhou Dewei (whom he had made

5520-445: The Tang name for his state to claim legitimate succession from Tang—at Wei Prefecture. This Tang is known in historiography as "Later Tang". He renamed Wei to Xingtang Municipality ( 興唐 ) and made it his temporary capital. At that time, though, the outlook for the new Later Tang state was not a positive one—as it was facing the reality of regular Khitan incursions that laid Lulong bare and Anyi's recent rebellion. However, at that time,

5640-465: The Xingming region (which had fallen to Zhu earlier) to try to divert Zhu's forces. When Liu Rengong himself tried to lift the siege by engaging Ge, Ge defeated him. However, when weather turned against the siege army, and mediators were sent by Wang Rong the military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang , Hebei ), Ge withdrew. In winter 900, after forcing Wang to become

5760-1022: The Xuanwu forces defeated them, killing Dan and nearly killing Liu Shouwen as well. When Xuanwu generals Ge Congzhou and He Delun ( 賀德倫 ) subsequently arrived as well and again engaged Lulong forces along with Weibo forces, the Lulong forces were again defeated, and the Lulong officers Xue Tujue ( 薛突厥 ) and Wang Guilang ( 王鄶郎 ) were captured. Liu Rengong and Liu Shouwen were forced to flee back to their territory. In 900, Zhu further had Ge command armies of four circuits (Xuanwu, Weibo, and two other circuits under Zhu's control—Taining (泰寧, headquartered in modern Jining , Shandong ) and Tianping (天平, headquartered in modern Tai'an , Shandong )) to attack Liu Rengong's territory. Ge quickly captured Yichang's De Prefecture (德州, in modern Dezhou , Shandong ) and put Liu Shouwen under siege at Cang Prefecture. When Liu Rengong sought aid from Li Keyong, Li Keyong responded by sending his officer Zhou Dewei and his nephew Li Sizhao to attack

5880-589: The Yedu mutineers. Li Siyuan tried to send messengers to Li Cunxu to explain he had not intended to rebel, but his messengers were intercepted by Li Shaorong. He decided to attack south and occupy Bian Prefecture (汴州, i.e., formerly Daliang), and Li Cunxu mobilized an army to try to intercept him. Bian Prefecture's defender Kong Xun decided to play both sides, and sent emissaries to both of them, welcoming them. When Li Siyuan reached Bian first, Kong welcomed him in, and rejected Li Cunxu. Hearing this, Li Cunxu dejectedly returned to Luoyang. After he returned to Luoyang,

6000-535: The Zhangs thus defamed him before Zhu, who then removed him and replaced him with Duan Ning . Meanwhile, Zhu also destroyed the Yellow River levee at Hua Prefecture (滑州, in modern Anyang , Henan ), causing a flood area, believing that it would impede further Later Tang attacks. Duan prepared an ambitious plan for a four-prong counterattack against Later Tang: However, the Later Liang officer Kang Yanxiao , at this junction, defected to Later Tang, revealing Duan's plan to

6120-403: The acting military governor of Yiwu, thus effectively turning Yiwu into a vassal. Subsequently, the Khitan emperor invaded, enticed by Wang Yu's description of Chengde and Yiwu as rich lands that he could pillage. Li Cunxu, leaving his generals to siege Zhen Prefecture, personally led an army to confront the Khitan army. He defeated the Khitan army, forcing Emperor Taizu's withdrawal and leaving

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6240-487: The acting military governor. However, subsequently, fearing that Li Cunxu would act against him, particularly when Li Cunxu recalled the eunuch monitor Zhang Juhan and the secretary general Ren Huan to his provisional imperial government, Li Jitao submitted Anyi to Later Liang. Zhu Zhen was very pleased, and renamed the circuit to Kuangyi ( 匡義 ), commissioning Li Jitao as its military governor. Shortly after, in spring 923, Li Cunxu declared himself emperor of Tang —using

6360-500: The advice of his son Li Cunxu , relented; as per Li Cunxu's advice, he requested Liu to send an army to attack Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern Changzhi , Shanxi ) – which had previously been Li Keyong's territory but had fallen to Zhu earlier – with him, to divert Zhu's army. Liu agreed, and the Hedong and Lulong forces attacked Zhaoyi. Ding Hui , the Zhaoyi military governor that Zhu commissioned, surrendered, forcing Zhu to lift

6480-406: The area back to Taiyuan for some time), Zhu Quanzhong left the siege, leaving his generals to continue the siege against Lu. Li Cunxu decided to lead the army himself to try to lift the siege. With he himself attacking the Later Liang forces from one side and Zhou from the other, the surprised Later Liang forces collapsed, ending the siege on Lu. Li Cunxu thereafter instituted policies that, during

6600-765: The army, and no one dared to create a disturbance. By contrast, the officers and the soldiers did not then respect the young (then 22) Li Cunxu, and they were constantly commenting about him. Li Cunxu, in fear, offered the command of the army to Li Kening, but Li Kening declined, pointing out that he was Li Keyong's lawful heir. Under Li Kening's and Zhang Chengye's insistence, Li Cunxu took the titles of Prince of Jin and military governor of Hedong. Many of Li Keyong's adoptive sons who served as officers, however, were older and more accomplished militarily than Li Cunxu, and they did not respect him; many refused to meet him to pay homage, and some refused to bow to him. One of those, Li Cunhao ( 李存顥 ), tried to persuade Li Kening to take over

6720-465: The border fort Desheng (德勝, in modern Puyang , Henan ), intending to use it to cut off the supply line between Later Tang proper and Yun. However, his subsequent battles against Li Cunxu himself were indecisive; further, Wang's commission caused much apprehension in the hearts of Zhu's close associates—his brother-in-law Zhao Yan and four brothers/cousins of his late wife Consort Zhang —as Wang had long despised what he saw as their wickedness. Zhao and

6840-435: The burden it was creating for the people. He also alienated his army by trusting performers (as he himself had a passion for performing) and eunuchs, such that he made three performers prefectural prefects, while soldiers who had followed him for hundreds of battles were not similarly rewarded. This phenomenon was also observed as such by Wu's emissary to Later Tang, Lu Ping ( 盧蘋 ), and a former Later Liang warlord, Gao Jixing

6960-540: The campaign was declared, but under the leadership of his son Zhang Chujin , the Chengde mutineers resisted. Meanwhile, a similar crisis was developing at another Jin ally, Yiwu Circuit. Wang Chuzhi feared that if Jin conquered Zhao lands, Yiwu would inevitably also be incorporated into Jin territory, and therefore advocated pardoning Zhang Wenli. When his proposal was rebuffed by Li Cunxu, Wang Chuzhi decided to secretly make an overture to Khitan's Emperor Taizu to invite him to invade Jin, through his son Wang Yu ( 王郁 ), who

7080-489: The campaign. However, as during this time Li Keyong was dealing with the rebellion of his adoptive son Li Cunxiao at Xingming Circuit (邢洺, headquartered in modern Xingtai , Hebei ), he was only able to give Liu several thousand men, and the campaign failed. This caused Li Kuangchou to become arrogant and feel free to harass Hedong's borders. In anger, in winter 894 (after he had defeated and executed Li Cunxiao and reabsorbed Li Cunxiao's territory), Li Keyong personally launched

7200-422: The circuit. Liu Rengong commissioned Liu Shouwen as acting military governor, and then made a request to Emperor Zhaozong that Liu Shouwen be given a formal commission as military governor, the imperial government initially refused. In response, Liu Rengong made an irreverent statement to the imperial emissary: I have my own banners and staffs, too. All I want are the authentically-colored ones from Chang'an. Why

7320-598: The command himself, but Li Kening refused Li Cunhao's overture, going as far as to threaten him with execution. However, Li Cunhao and several other adoptive sons sent their wives to persuade Li Kening's wife Lady Meng. Lady Meng agreed with their idea, and therefore urged Li Kening to go with the idea, causing Li Kening's resolve to support Li Cunxu to be shaken. Further, he was also encountering policy disagreements with Zhang and Li Cunzhang and argued with them frequently. He thereafter killed an officer, Li Cunzhi ( 李存質 ), without Li Cunxu's approval, and also requested to be made

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7440-422: The defenseless Daliang. With Duan's army trapped north of the Yellow River and unable to come to his rescue, Zhu saw the situation as hopeless. He ordered his general Huangfu Lin ( 皇甫麟 ) to kill him; Huangfu did, and then committed suicide himself. This thus ended Later Liang. Li Cunxu subsequently entered Daliang and claimed all of Later Liang territory. Li Cunxu set his capital at Luoyang . He also notified

7560-458: The fear of a Yan attack no longer in sight, Li Cunxu decided to commence his campaign against archrival Later Liang, in conjunction with Zhao and Yiwu. His initial attack toward Later Liang's Tianxiong Circuit in late 914 was repelled by Yang Shihou (who was then the military governor of Tianxiong). However, Yang's death in 915 would bring a major opportunity for Jin. Zhu Youzhen—who had changed his name to Zhu Zhen by this point—was apprehensive of

7680-524: The greater honorary chancellor title of Shizhong ( 侍中 ) on Liu Rengong. In 903, after Emperor Zhaozong (who had fallen effectively to Zhu's control by that point) ordered a general massacre of eunuchs , Liu did not execute Zhang Juhan the eunuch monitor of the Lulong army; rather, he hid Zhang, and executed a prisoner in Zhang's stead. Also in 903, Wang Jinghui ( 王敬暉 ), an officer at Li Keyong's Yun Prefecture (雲州, in modern Datong , Shanxi ), assassinated

7800-511: The honorary chancellor designation of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi ( 同中書門下平章事 ) on Liu. However, Liu also wrote a letter to Li Keyong apologizing for what happened. Meanwhile, Liu had a running dispute with Lu Yanwei over the two circuits' control of the salt trade. In 898, Liu sent his son Liu Shouwen to attack Yichang's capital Cang Prefecture ( 滄州 ). Lu, unable to resist, abandoned it and fled to Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan , Hebei ), allowing Liu Shouwen to take

7920-453: The household, and disowned him. In spring 907, Zhu Quanzhong sent Li Si'an to make a surprise attack on You Prefecture. As Li Si'an approached, Liu Rengong was still at the Mount Da'an mansion, and the city was left nearly defenseless. It nearly fell, but Liu Shouguang took troops and entered the city to defend it; he then engaged Li Si'an in battle, forcing Li Si'an to withdraw. He then claimed

8040-446: The issue of the ethnically Shatuo soldiers pillaging the civilian populace—although Li Keyong was unwilling to curb the soldiers' behaviors at that time, pointing out that if he did, the soldiers might scatter and be unable to be gathered again. In 906, Zhu was on campaign against another major warlord, Liu Rengong the military governor of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing ), and he put Liu Rengong's son Liu Shouwen

8160-415: The main Later Liang army, which was then under the command of He Gui , first, and he spent several months pillaging the Later Liang territory on the Yellow River. Around new year 919, the two armies met at Huliu Slope (胡柳陂, in modern Heze , Shandong ), just south of the Yellow River. Disregarding Zhou Dewei's advice that he should wear out the Later Liang forces first before engaging them, Li Cunxu ordered

8280-448: The military governor of Jingnan Circuit (荊南, headquartered in modern Jingzhou , Hubei , not the same Jingnan Circuit referred to earlier), who would eventually, after Li Cunxu's death, effectively become independent of Later Tang, as well as Southern Han 's emissary He Ci ( 何詞 ). Meanwhile, Li Cunxu planned to conquer Former Shu and, in late 925, put his plans into action. He commissioned his oldest son with Empress Liu, Li Jiji , as

8400-451: The military governor of Datong Circuit (大同, headquartered in modern Datong , Shanxi ). Li Cunxu agreed. Despite Li Cunxu's agreement with Li Kening, the conspiracy around Li Kening continued. Li Cunhao specifically planned, with Li Kening's understanding, to seize Li Cunxu when Li Cunxu would visit Li Kening's mansion, deliver Li Cunxu and his mother Lady Dowager Cao to the Later Liang emperor, and take over Hedong Circuit. Li Kening met

8520-491: The military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji , Shaanxi ), and Han Jian the military governor of Zhenguo Circuit (鎮國, headquartered in modern Weinan , Shaanxi )—who, earlier, had entered the capital Chang'an and executed the chancellors Wei Zhaodu and Li Xi over Emperor Zhaozong's objections—Li Keyong sent Li Cunxu to pay homage to the emperor. Emperor Zhaozong, upon seeing Li Cunxu's appearance, caressed him and stated, "You, son, will be

8640-465: The military governor of Hedong and the Prince of Jin after Li Keyong's death in 908, while Liu Shouwen was assisted by the Khitan and the Tuyuhun tribal armies.) In 909, they fought each other at the Battle of Jisu (雞蘇, in modern Tianjin ), where Liu Shouwen initially prevailed. However, Liu Shouwen then stepped out onto the battlefield and stated, "Do not kill my brother!" As he did, Yuan, who knew that it

8760-405: The military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng , Henan ), he pointed out that his father's public display of distress would merely distress the troops and the people as well, and that it was better to lie low and wait for Zhu to make a mistake before trying to react, allowing the troops and the people to rest for the time. He also spoke to Li Keyong about what he saw as

8880-415: The military governor of Yichang Circuit (義昌, headquartered in modern Cangzhou , Hebei ) under siege at Yichang's capital Cang Prefecture ( 滄州 ). Liu Rengong sought aid from Li Keyong—whom he had previously rebelled against and thereafter became independent from. Li Keyong, bearing that grudge, initially refused to aid Liu. Li Cunxu pointed out that Zhu had become so strong at that point that nearly all of

9000-726: The military governor of Yiwu Circuit (義武, headquartered in modern Baoding , Hebei ), of potentially turning against him, and therefore decided to seize the circuits by trick. As Liu Shouguang was threatening Yiwu at that time, he launched an army north, pretending to be helping Yiwu and Wushun in defending against a potential Liu Shouguang attack, but then seized Wushun's Shen ( 深州 ) and Ji ( 冀州 ) Prefectures (both in modern Hengshui , Hebei ) and slaughtered Wushun's garrison at those prefectures. Wang Rong, surprised by this turn of events, immediately sought aid from both Li Cunxu and Liu Shouguang. Liu Shouguang refused, but Li Cunxu launched armies commanded by Zhou and later, himself. In spring 911,

9120-444: The military governor of Zhaoyi, under siege at Lu. Kang built walls and trenches around Lu to cut off communications with the outside, and subsequent relief forces that Li Keyong sent under Zhou Dewei 's command, while having some minor successes against Later Liang forces, were unable to lift the siege. By spring 908, Li Keyong had fallen seriously ill. He entrusted Li Cunxu, whom he designated as his heir, to his brother Li Kening ,

9240-473: The military governor of Zhenwu Circuit (振武, headquartered in modern Datong)) and Song Yao ( 宋瑤 ) the defender of Tiande Circuit (天德, headquartered in modern Hohhot , Inner Mongolia )—offering Liu the title of Shangfu . Zhu Quanzhong, while knowing that Liu was inflating himself, tried to keep him nominally in the fold by naming him the surveyor of the circuits north of the Yellow River. All of these honors offered to him, however, did not stop Liu from claiming

9360-568: The military governorship of Tianxiong himself and incorporated into Jin. Subsequent Later Liang counterattacks commanded by the generals Liu Xun and Wang Tan ( 王檀 ) were defeated by Li Cunxu and his generals. (Tianxiong subsequently became a major source of human and material resources for Li Cunxu's campaigns.) Tianxiong's fall to Jin left the other Later Liang circuits north of the Yellow River (Baoyi (保義, headquartered in modern Xingtai , Hebei , which Jin later renamed Anguo ( 安國 ), and Shunhua (順化, i.e., Yichang, which Later Liang had taken during

9480-414: The mutiny. Li Kuangwei was very pleased, made him an army officer again, and gave him command of a garrison at Wei Prefecture (蔚州, in modern Zhangjiakou , Hebei ). It was said that, as the soldiers at Wei were not promptly rotated back to Lulong's capital You Prefecture ( 幽州 ) after a number of years, they became resentful, as they missed their families. In 893, when Li Kuangwei was himself overthrown in

9600-589: The name of the Tang emperor (even though there was no Tang emperor at that time any more)—an authority that Emperor Zhaozong had previously granted Li Keyong, but which Li Keyong never exercised. He trusted Zhang Chengye greatly, honoring him as an older brother. For some time thereafter, Li Cunxu did not wage major campaigns, although he did involve himself in the war between Liu Shouwen and his younger brother Liu Shouguang by aiding Liu Shouguang, after Liu Shouguang had overthrown Liu Rengong and taken over Lulong Circuit. (Liu Shouguang eventually captured Liu Shouwen at

9720-522: The next several years, gradually let Jin regain its strength from the nadir late in the Li Keyong years. As described by the Song dynasty historian Sima Guang in the Zizhi Tongjian : He ordered the prefectures and counties to recommend people who were good and talented; he also deposed the greedy and the cruel, relaxed the tax burden, comforted the weak and the poor, corrected injustice and excesses, such that

9840-434: The nickname of Liu Kutou (劉窟頭, i.e., "Liu who headed into the tunnel"). Later that year, when Yiwu forces recaptured Yi, Li Quanzhong, in fear of punishment by Li Keju, overthrew Li Keju and took over the circuit; Li Quanzhong then died in 886 and passed the circuit to his son Li Kuangwei. It was said that Liu was ambitious, and he spread rumors that he dreamed of a giant Buddha banner coming out of his fingers, and that he

9960-440: The officer Li Quanzhong to attack Yi Prefecture (易州, in modern Baoding , Hebei ), which belonged to neighboring Yiwu Circuit (義武, headquartered in modern Baoding) in 885, Liu Rengong served under Li Quanzhong. When Li Quanzhong's subordinate Yu Yan ( 于晏 ) put Yi under siege but could not capture it for months, it was Liu who came up with the idea of digging a tunnel into the city to capture it. For this act, he became known under

10080-475: The officer Guo Congqian ( 郭從謙 ) led a mutiny, and Li Cunxu tried to fight the mutineers. He suffered an arrow wound in the battle and shortly after died from it. Li Siyuan shortly thereafter arrived at Luoyang and, after initially claiming only the title of regent, eventually took the throne. Empress Liu fled Luoyang but was tracked down by Li Siyuan's emissaries and ordered to kill herself. Li Jiji tried to head to Luoyang to contest Li Siyuan's succession, but on

10200-478: The officer Shi Jingrong ( 史敬鎔 ) to try to get Shi to join the plot and to surveil Li Cunxu. Shi pretended to agree, and then informed the plot to Li Cunxu. Li Cunxu met with Lady Dowager Cao and Zhang and initially offered to resign to try to avoid a conflict, but Zhang persuaded him to act against Li Kening. Zhang summoned Li Cunzhang, Wu Gong, as well as the officers Li Cunjing ( 李存敬 ) and Zhu Shouyin to prepare against Li Kening. On March 25, 908, Li Cunxu held

10320-482: The other Five Dynasties, and thus to the Song dynasty , which itself was the successor to the last of the Five Dynasties. Liu Rengong Liu Rengong ( Chinese : 劉仁恭 ) (died 914) was a warlord late in the Chinese Tang dynasty who controlled Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing ) from 895 (when his one-time lord Li Keyong conquered Lulong and left him in charge of it) to 907 (when he

10440-408: The other dynasties of the Five Dynasties , Later Tang was a short-lived regime lasting only thirteen years. Li Cunxu himself lived only three years after the founding of the dynasty, having been killed during an officer's rebellion led by Guo Congqian ( 郭從謙 ) in 926. He was succeeded by his adoptive brother Li Siyuan (Emperor Mingzong). Li Cunxu was born in 885, at Jinyang (i.e., Taiyuan ), during

10560-484: The other main independent states—Wu and Former Shu—of his victory over Later Liang, causing much fear in both of those states. Also shocked by his victory was Qi's prince Li Maozhen, who, in fear that he might be the next target, submitted as a vassal. Li Cunxu accepted Li Maozhen's submission and created him as the Prince of Qin. After Li Maozhen's death in 924, Li Cunxu allowed his son Li Jiyan to inherit Fengxiang Circuit as military governor, but did not bestow Li Jiyan

10680-428: The other warlords had submitted to him as vassals, and that Hedong and Lulong were two of the few remaining holdouts. He advocated aiding Liu to stop Zhu's expansion, while at time helping Li Keyong gain a reputation for magnanimity. Under Li Cunxu's advocacy, Li Keyong agreed, and requested Liu send troops to him to jointly attack Zhu's possession Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern Changzhi , Shanxi ) to open

10800-441: The population of the entire city and threw the bodies into the river. In response, all of the subsequent Weibo cities he attacked defended themselves to the death. He decided to, instead, directly attack Weibo's capital Wei Prefecture. Weibo's military governor Luo Shaowei sought aid from both Zhu and Li Keyong. When Zhu's generals Li Si'an ( 李思安 ) and Zhang Cunjing ( 張存敬 ) arrived first, Liu had Liu Shouwen and Dan engage them, but

10920-534: The power that the Tianxiong army had, and decided to weaken it by dividing in into two circuits, each with three of the six prefectures that Tianxiong previously possessed, with a smaller Tianxiong Circuit headquartered still at its long-time capital Wei Prefecture ( 魏州 ) with He Delun ( 賀德倫 ) as its military governor, and a new Zhaode Circuit ( 昭德 ) headquartered at Xiang Prefecture (相州, in modern Handan) with Zhang Yun ( 張筠 ) as its military governor. The Tianxiong army

11040-414: The prefect Liu Zaili ( 劉再立 ) and submitted to Liu Rengong. Li Keyong sent Li Sizhao and Li Cunshen to attack Wang. Liu sent forces to aid Wang, forcing Li Sizhao and Li Cunshen to retreat some distance, allowing Wang to abandon Yun and flee to Liu Rengong's territory. Over the years, it was said that Liu Rengong gained great understanding on Khitan's military operations, and he often sent armies to pillage

11160-456: The realm became well-governed. As Hedong was a small territory that lacked resources for military recruitments, he strengthened the training for the soldiers. He ordered that cavalry soldiers walk on marches, and that, without seeing the enemy, they not mount their horses. Once orders and duties were distributed, all soldiers were to follow them and not exceed their bounds, not exchange duties, not linger in places, and not avoid dangers. Whenever

11280-496: The reign of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang . His father was the late- Tang dynasty major warlord Li Keyong the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi ). His mother was Li Keyong's concubine Lady Cao . He was Li Keyong's oldest biological son. In 895, when Li Keyong was on a (eventually successful) campaign against the warlords Wang Xingyu the military governor of Jingnan Circuit (靜難, headquartered in modern Xianyang , Shaanxi ), Li Maozhen

11400-613: The same time, a crisis was developing within Jin's ally Zhao. Wang Rong, in his old age, was described to be superstitious and spending much efforts on immortality, not attending to the affairs of his state, and spending much time at his vacation estate. He also greatly trusted the eunuch Shi Ximeng ( 石希蒙 ), who encouraged him in such tendencies. In late 920, when he remained for months at his vacation estate and refused to return to Zhao's capital Zhen Prefecture ( 鎮州 ), his military commander Li Ai ( 李藹 ) and eunuch Li Honggui ( 李弘規 ) felt compelled to mobilize soldiers to force him to return—and

11520-466: The siege on Cang Prefecture and withdraw. it was said that over the years, as Liu Rengong became more entrenched in his rule of Lulong, he became even more arrogant, wasteful, and violent. Believing the headquarters in You Prefecture to be insecure, he built a grand mansion at Mount Da'an (大安山, in modern Beijing), which was built like an imperial palace. He selected many beautiful women and put them in

11640-399: The siege, and You fell. Liu fled with his wives and children, but was subsequently captured. Li Cunxu took him and his family, including his father Liu Rengong (whom he had put under house arrest) back to Taiyuan, and then executed them there. He commissioned Zhou as the military governor of Lulong and added Yan territory to his own. In light of his victory, Wang Rong and Wang Chuzhi offered

11760-475: The soldiers were to be divided into several prongs of attack, they were to rendezvous at the appointed time, and that if they were late for more than 15 minutes, they would be executed. This was how he was able to eventually conquer the territory east of the Taihang Mountains and occupy the lands south of the Yellow River —he had well-disciplined soldiers. Li Cunxu also began to exercise imperial powers, in

11880-474: The soldiers, in the disturbance, killed Shi. Wang subsequently killed Li Ai and Li Honggui, entrusting the authority of the state to his son and heir Wang Zhaozuo and adoptive son Wang Deming . The remaining soldiers feared that they would also be punished, and, in spring 921, they mutinied and slaughtered Wang Rong and his family, supporting Wang Deming (who then changed his name back to his birth name of Zhang Wenli) as their leader. Zhang offered to submit as

12000-471: The title Shangshu Ling ( 尚書令 ) to him—a title that no Tang subject had dared to accept because it had been at one point held by Tang's second emperor Emperor Taizong . After initially declining, Li Cunxu accepted the title, and also established a provisional central government, exercising imperial powers in the manner that Emperor Taizong did (while he was still the Prince of Qin under his father, Tang's founder Emperor Gaozu ). After Yan's destruction, with

12120-502: The title he actually wanted, and in fall 911, he declared himself the emperor of a new state of Yan . He also launched an army to attack Yiwu. When Wang Chuzhi sought aid, Li Cunxu sent Zhou to rendezvous with the Zhao and Yiwu armies, to jointly attack Yan. Zhou was able to advance deep within Yan territory. Li Cunxu himself later also headed to the Yan front. (In his absence, Zhu tried to avenge himself by attacking Jin and Zhao, but his army

12240-518: The title of Princess Puning), and Khitan's Emperor Taizu. Zhu, however, was dissuaded from aiding Zhang by his associates, despite his chancellor Jing Xiang 's advocacy for doing so. Eventually, Li Cunxu, encouraged by the Zhao general Fu Xi ( 符習 ), who commanded the Zhao detachment in Li Cunxu's army and who wanted to avenge the Wang family, declared a general campaign against Zhang. Zhang died in shock when

12360-422: The title of military governor and had his generals Li Xiaoxi ( 李小喜 ) and Yuan Xingqin attack Liu Rengong's mansion at Mount Da'an. Li Xiaoxi defeated the troops that Liu Rengong sent to defend against the attack, and then captured Liu Rengong and returned with him to You Prefecture, where Liu Shouguang put him under arrest. Liu Shouguang killed many of Liu Rengong's close associates whom he did not like. Therefore,

12480-460: The titles were honorary. He was said to understand music, and often sang or danced before his father. He had a rudimentary understanding of the Spring and Autumn Annals . When he grew older, he became capable at riding and archery. Li Cunxu was said to be intelligent, brave, and alert even in his youth. In or around 902, seeing his father's distress at years of losses against archrival Zhu Quanzhong

12600-421: The titular commander of the operations, but put his chief of staff, Guo Chongtao , in actual command of the operations as Li Jiji's deputy. The attack caught Former Shu's emperor Wang Zongyan by surprise as he thought that the two states were coexisting peacefully. The Later Tang forces repeatedly defeated the forces Former Shu sent to resist it, and, by the end of 925, the situation had become so desperate that

12720-478: The way, his soldiers deserted him, and he committed suicide. Li Cunxu's younger sons later became monks and fled to Meng Zhixiang , who would treat them as his own sons. Li Cunxu's 4 ci poems were preserved in a Song dynasty book called Zun Qian Ji (尊前集; Collection of Respecting the Old ). Parents: Consort and their respective issue(s): Later Liang (Five Dynasties) Liang , known in historiography as

12840-430: Was Liu Shouwen, made a surprise attack and captured him. Liu Shouguang put Liu Shouwen under house arrest as well, and then put Cang Prefecture, which was defended by Liu Shouwen's son Liu Yanzuo , under siege. The city fell in 910, so Liu Shouguang took Yichang under his control as well. He then had Liu Shouwen killed, while submitting a petition to Zhu Quanzhong (who had seized the Tang throne by this point and established

12960-465: Was able to destroy the Later Liang in 923 and found Later Tang . Generally through Chinese history, it was historians of later kingdoms whose histories bestowed the Mandate of Heaven posthumously on preceding dynasties. This was typically done for the purpose of strengthening the present rulers' ties to the Mandate themselves. Song dynasty historian Xue Juzheng did exactly this in his work History of

13080-419: Was apprehensive and angry about the division, and therefore mutinied under the leadership of the officer Zhang Yan ( 張彥 ), taking He Delun hostage. When Zhu refused to meet Zhang Yan's demands that the division be cancelled, Zhang Yan forced He Delun to write Li Cunxu, offering to surrender Tianxiong to him. Li Cunxu subsequently arrived at Tianxiong and, after killing Zhang Yan for his violent behavior, assumed

13200-501: Was by that time allied with Wang Rong and Wang Chuzhi the military governor of Yiwu, had Zhou Dewei command a major operation against the new Yan state. By late 913, nearly all Yan cities had fallen to the Jin army, except for You Prefecture. Liu Shouguang claimed that he would surrender to Li Cunxu if Li Cunxu personally arrived to accept his surrender, but when Li Cunxu arrived, Liu Shouguang again refused to surrender, under Li Xiaoxi's advice. However, Li Xiaoxi then himself surrendered to

13320-543: Was defeated when his army was ambushed by the Lulong officer Yang Shikan ( 楊師侃 ) at Mugua Creek (木瓜澗, in modern Baoding), at great losses; it was only the inclement weather at the time that prevented the Lulong forces from inflicting greater damage. Li Keyong was forced to abandon this attempt to retake Lulong. Thereafter, Liu formed a relationship with Li Keyong's archrival Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng , Henan ), and under Zhu's recommendation, Emperor Zhaozong bestowed

13440-547: Was deposed three years later. Emperor Ai of Tang was murdered in 908, also ordered by Zhu. Meanwhile, Zhu Wen declared himself emperor of the new Later Liang in Kaifeng in 907. The name Liang refers to the Henan region in which the heart of the regime rested. The Later Liang controlled most of northern China , though much of Shaanxi (controlled by the Qi ) as well as Hebei (controlled by

13560-481: Was destroyed by the Later Tang dynasty . Zhu Wen initially allied himself as Huang Chao 's lieutenant. However, he took Huang's best troops and established his own power base as a warlord in Kaifeng . By 904, he had exerted control over both of the twin Tang dynasty capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang . Tang emperor Zhaozong was ordered murdered by Zhu in 904 and the last Tang emperor, Ai Di ( Emperor Ai of Tang ),

13680-415: Was not yet 48 by that point. His family was originally from Leshou (樂壽, in modern Cangzhou , Hebei ), which was not a part of Lulong Circuit, although he would follow his father Liu Sheng ( 劉晟 ) to Lulong Circuit, as Liu Sheng served under the military governor Li Keju . It was said that Liu Rengong was already shown to be full of tactics in his youth, and often made military suggestions. When Li Keju sent

13800-400: Was overthrown by his son Liu Shouguang and put under house arrest). He was initially a Lulong officer, but later fled to Li Keyong's Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan , Shanxi ). After Li conquered Lulong and left him in charge, he turned against Li and became an independent warlord, although at times he and Li would still act in concert. His domain later became the basis of

13920-438: Was preparing to claim imperial title. After Li Sizhao's death, his sons, against Li Cunxu's orders to have Li Sizhao's casket escorted to Taiyuan for burial, instead took it back to Lu Prefecture. Thereafter, Li Sizhao's son Li Jitao seized power at Zhaoyi, and Li Cunxu, not wanting to create another disturbance, changed the name of the circuit to Anyi ( 安義 ) (to observe naming taboo for Li Sizhao) and commissioned Li Jitao as

14040-622: Was then a Jin officer on the Khitan border. Wang Yu agreed, but extracted a promise from Wang Chuzhi that he be made heir, displacing Wang Chuzhi's adoptive son Wang Du , whom Wang Chuzhi had designated as heir. However, the Yiwu officers did not want to see a Khitan invasion, and Wang Du used this sentiment to lead a coup against Wang Chuzhi. He put Wang Chuzhi and Wang Chuzhi's wife under house arrest, while slaughtering Wang Chuzhi's descendants at Yiwu's capital Ding Prefecture ( 定州 ). He then reported what happened to Li Cunxu. Li Cunxu commissioned him as

14160-426: Was told in the dreams that he would be a military governor at age 48. When Li Kuangwei heard this, he disliked Liu; he stripped Liu of his military position and made him the magistrate of Jingcheng County (景城, in modern Cangzhou). At one point, when a mutiny at the prefectural capital of Ying Prefecture (瀛州, in modern Cangzhou) resulted in the prefect's death, Liu conscripted a thousand inexperienced soldiers and put down

14280-407: Was tricked into collapsing on itself due to posturing by the Jin generals Li Cunshen (Li Cunxu's adoptive brother), Shi Jiantang ( 史建瑭 ) and Li Sigong ( 李嗣肱 ) (pretending that a major Jin army was about to attack the Later Liang army under Zhu), and eventually gave up on the idea of aiding Liu.) While the Yan campaign was going on, in late 912, Zhu Quanzhong was assassinated by his son Zhu Yougui

14400-515: Was unwilling to act against Guo without further proof. However, Empress Liu went ahead and issued an order to Li Jiji, ordering him to kill Guo. Li Jiji did so. With Guo dead, Li Cunxu went ahead and issued an edict condemning him and ordering his sons be killed as well. Subsequently, with the eunuchs and performers accusing the major general Li Jilin of having plotted rebellion with Guo, Li Cunxu killed Li Jilin and his family members as well. Guo's and Li Jilin's death sent fear and anger throughout

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