Misplaced Pages

#57942

142-694: Xu Wen was born in 862, during the reign of Emperor Yizong of Tang . His family was from Qushan (朐山, in modern Lianyungang , Jiangsu ). When he was young, he was a salt privateer. His parents' names were lost to history, although it is known that his mother was surnamed Zhou. At some point, he became a soldier under Yang Xingmi , who was then the prefect of Lu Prefecture (廬州, in modern Hefei , Anhui ). Xu Wen initially did not distinguish himself in Yang Xingmi's campaigns — as while there were 36 officers under Yang who were considered to have distinguished themselves, led by Liu Wei ( 劉威 ) and Tao Ya ( 陶雅 ), Xu

284-487: A campaign against Zhu Quanzhong, but his orders drew no immediate reactions. Meanwhile, Zhu Quanzhong had long wanted to kill Li Yu, outwardly on the account that Li Yu had once improperly taken the throne (albeit under the eunuchs' pressure), but truly because he was apprehensive of Li Yu's status as the emperor's oldest son and his handsome appearance. Emperor Zhaozong resisted Zhu's wishes on this issue. Further, at that time, Li Maozhen, Li Jihui, Li Keyong, Liu Rengong

426-442: A ceremony cost too much money, Xu pointed out the necessity of it but agreed that the traditional Tang ceremonies were too wasteful and had ceremonies conducted in a much more frugal manner.) In 923, Li Cunxu claimed imperial title as the emperor of Tang (establishing Later Tang as its Emperor Zhuangzong). With Later Tang and Later Liang poised for a final confrontation, the new Later Tang emperor invited Wu forces to jointly launch

568-522: A corps of Fengxiang troops at Chang'an to counteract the eunuchs; Li Maozhen agreed, and left his adoptive son Li Jiyun ( 李繼筠 ) in command of the Fengxiang soldiers at Chang'an. Despite this setback, Cui continued to try to plan to slaughter the eunuchs. The eunuchs headed by Han eventually became aware of this, and, in order to reduce Cui's power, they had the Shence Army soldiers claim that Cui

710-465: A diplomatic row over the name of the Nanzhao king Qiulong ( 酋龍 )—as it violated naming taboo for Emperor Yizong's ancestor Emperor Xuanzong (Li Longji). Emperor Yizong thus refused to issue an edict formally bestowing Qiulong his kingly title. Qiulong responded by changing his state's name to Dali and declaring himself emperor (thus positioning himself as an equal to Emperor Yizong) and by attacking

852-473: A few years the Later Tang emperor would lose his reign. Meanwhile, when the Later Tang emissary delivered Emperor Zhuangzong's communique as an edict (i.e., treating Wu as a subordinate), Wu officials refused to receive it. Emperor Zhuangzong, not yet wanting to break with Wu, instead resent his communique as a letter (i.e., treating Wu as an equal state) that started with the greeting of, "The letter of

994-407: A food supply, and had porridge cooked and distributed to the hungry people of Xuan Prefecture. In 895, when Yang, who had by that point taken Huainan and was serving as its military governor ( Jiedushi ), captured Hao Prefecture (濠州, in modern Chuzhou , Anhui ), the soldiers captured a seven-year-old child, whom Yang initially took into his household. However, Yang's oldest son Yang Wo disliked

1136-440: A group of Yang Wo's close associates and then, while not physically acting against Yang Wo himself, effectively took control of the headquarters. If other officers disagreed with them, they found reasons to execute those officers. Later in 907, the powerful warlord Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng , Henan ) forced Emperor Zhaozong's son and successor Emperor Ai to yield

1278-489: A major attack against Later Liang with him. Xu initially considered sending a fleet north but not commit it to battle yet, waiting to see which side would prevail. Yan Keqiu pointed out that such a position would be untenable if Later Liang then asked for aid, as he would then have to commit to a position anyway. Xu thus stopped his plan. Later in the year, Later Tang forces captured the Later Liang capital Daliang in

1420-589: A number of Tang outposts. Meanwhile, the agrarian rebel Qiu Fu ( 裘甫 ) and his followers were overrunning Zhedong Circuit (浙東, headquartered in modern Shaoxing , Zhejiang ). Qiu's rebellion was suppressed by the imperial general Wang Shi in 860, but the Dali attacks would become more intense, and Dali briefly captured the important city Yong Prefecture (邕州, in modern Nanning , Guangxi ) in 861 and then captured Jiao Prefecture (交州, in modern Hanoi , Vietnam ) in 862, retaining it. Despite these crises, Emperor Yizong

1562-716: A peace agreement with Tan. When Liu reported this to Xu, however, Xu was incensed, and, after giving 3,000 soldiers to Liu's son Liu Yingyan ( 劉英彥 ), stated to Liu Yingyan, "Your father is upstream from here, but could not even capture one city with soldiers 10 times the number of defenders. Clearly, he intends treason. Take this army and commit treason with your father!" When Liu Yingyan arrived at Liu Xin's camp and relayed what Xu stated, Liu Xin became fearful, and again put Qian Prefecture under siege. Qian Prefecture fell, and Liu took Tan captive, allowing Wu to take over Baisheng. Meanwhile, Xu, under advice from Yan Keqiu, who pointed out that, with Later Liang suffering repeated losses at

SECTION 10

#1732766163058

1704-497: A proposal to Yang to trick Zhu Yanshou by having Yang pretend to be blind, even before Lady Zhu, and then issuing an order to summon Zhu Yanshou back from Shou Prefecture under the pretense of entrusting the affairs of the circuit to him. Zhu Yanshou believed this to be true and returned to Huainan's capital Yang Prefecture ( 揚州 ), where he was killed in an ambush that Yang had Xu lay for him. After Zhu's death, Yang made Xu one of his two guard commanders. In 904, when Tai Meng ( 臺濛 )

1846-551: A side effect of those pills, he had a large ulcerous boil on his back, such that he was bedridden and could not meet with the chancellors or other officials. He entrusted Li Zi to three high-level eunuchs that he favored—the directors of palace communications ( Shumishi ) Wang Guizhang ( 王歸長 ) and Ma Gongru ( 馬公儒 ) and the director of the southern court affairs (宣徽南院使, Xuanhui Nanyuanshi ) Wang Jufang ( 王居方 ). After Emperor Xuanzong died, Wang Guizhang, Ma, and Wang Jufang did not initially announce his death, and were set to send one of

1988-543: A surprise attack. Later Liang's last emperor Zhu Zhen (Emperor Taizu's son and successor) committed suicide, ending Later Liang. When Later Tang notified both Wu and Former Shu (then ruled by Wang Jian's son and successor Wang Zongyan ) of his victory, both states were terrified, and Xu initially complained to Yan that he should not have dissuaded Xu from the joint attack plan. Yan pointed out that Later Tang's Emperor Zhuangzong had grown arrogant in his victory and had lost proper ways of governance, so he believed that within

2130-503: A vassal was impractical due to the long distance between Jingnan and Wu proper (whereas Jingnan was close to Later Tang's capital Luoyang ), declined to accept Gao as a vassal. Throughout the years, many of Xu's advisors, including Yan, Chen Yanqian ( 陳彥謙 ), and Xu Jie, had long advocated having Xu Wen replace Xu Zhigao as junior regent with one of his biological sons, and the oldest surviving among them, Xu Zhixun (younger) , also had long requested to replace Xu Zhigao. Xu Wen did not have

2272-522: Is through a messenger that I send with the Prince's own writing, be careful and do not return. Yang Wo, believing Xu was advising him out of good faith, wept and thanked him. In 905, when Yang Xingmi became even more ill, he was set on summoning Yang Wo back from Xuan Prefecture and entrusting the affairs of the circuit to him. Yang Xingmi's secretary Zhou Yin ( 周隱 ), however, citing Yang Wo's frivolousness, opposed, instead suggesting that Yang Xingmi entrust

2414-618: The Guanzhong region fell one by one to Zhu, while Shannan West and nearby holdings fell to Wang. Still, Fengxiang's defenses were holding, and by fall 902, Zhu, with his attacks hampered by rains and illnesses to the soldiers, was considering a withdrawal. A trap advocated by and set by Zhu's officer Gao Jichang , however, induced Li Maozhen to send his troops outside the city walls to attack Zhu's troops, where they were crushed by Zhu's troops. From this point on, Li Maozhen could not fight back against Zhu any more, and by winter 902, Fengxiang

2556-713: The Qinling Mountains with his officials, and the people of Chang'an followed in droves. Meanwhile, Li Keyong engaged and defeated Wang's and Li Maozhen's troops, then put Wang's capital Bin Prefecture ( 邠州 ) under siege. Wang fled and was killed by his own subordinates in flight. Li Maozhen and Han capitulated, sending apologies and tributes to Emperor Zhaozong. Emperor Zhaozong, who returned to Chang'an, bestowed great honors on Li Keyong and his key subordinates, but hesitated when Li Keyong proposed to attack Li Maozhen, believing that if Li Keyong destroyed Li Maozhen,

2698-519: The Shatuo chieftain Zhuye Chixin (who was bestowed the imperial surname of Li, as well as a new name of Guochang because of his contributions), was able to defeat Pang in 869 was the rebellion suppressed. (Subsequently, though, Kang, due to the false accusations of the chancellor Lu Yan and the imperial scholar Wei Baoheng (the husband of Emperor Yizong's favorite daughter Princess Tongchang),

2840-632: The Chang'an region) Wen Zhang ( 溫璋 ) tried to intercede, both were exiled; in response, Wen committed suicide. Princess Tongchang was buried in a grand ceremony that demonstrated Emperor Yizong's wastefulness. As described in the Zizhi Tongjian : The members of the Wei household fought over the ashes of the items burned as offerings to the Princess, in order to sieve out the gold and the silver among

2982-403: The Dali border at Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu , Sichuan ) led to a major misstep on the part of Emperor Yizong, as he was misled by the official Li Shiwang ( 李師望 ) into carving out seven border prefectures out of Xichuan into a new Dingbian Circuit (定邊, headquartered at Xi Prefecture ( 巂州 ), in modern Chengdu) and commissioning Li Shiwang as its military governor despite

SECTION 20

#1732766163058

3124-518: The Hongong emissary to Qi and Jin (to announce Yang Wo's death), Wan Quangan ( 萬全感 ), returned to Yang Prefecture, and announced that Li Maozhen had, in his capacity as representative of the Tang emperor, bestowed the titles of Prince of Wu and Zhongshu Ling ( 中書令 ) on Yang Longyan. Yang Longyan accepted those titles; thereafter, Hongnong was known as Wu. Also in 910, Xu's mother Lady Zhou died. When

3266-509: The Later Liang army. In 915, Xu commissioned his oldest son Xu Zhixun (elder) as deputy commander of the Huainan forces, and then had himself made the commander of the operations against Wuyue as well as acting Shizhong ( 侍中 ), stationing himself at Run Prefecture and leaving Xu Zhixun at Yang Prefecture to govern the general affairs of the state, effectively serving as its junior regent, while he himself still ruled on major matters. Xu Wen

3408-511: The Prince of Wuyue (Wu's neighbor to the southeast), sent his sons Qian Chuanguan , Qian Chuanliao ( 錢傳鐐 ), and Qian Chuanying ( 錢傳瑛 ) to attack Chang Prefecture. Xu himself went to the front to combat Wuyue forces and repelled them. Later in 913, the Later Liang general Wang Jingren launched a major attack against Wu, heading for Shou and Lu Prefectures. Xu and Zhu Jin led the Wu army against him and defeated him, inflicting great casualties on

3550-504: The Prince of Qi. After Xu Zhigao eventually seized the Wu throne and established Southern Tang , while he changed his name to Li Bian, he honored Xu Wen as Emperor Wu with the temple name of Yizu. Emperor Yizong of Tang Emperor Yizong of Tang (December 28, 833 – August 15, 873), né Li Wen , later changed to Li Cui ( Chinese : 李 漼 ), was an emperor of the Tang dynasty of China. He reigned from 859 to 873. Emperor Yizong

3692-560: The Xichuan campaign) and Li Xi , whom they perceived to be behind Emperor Zhaozong's decision. The actions of Li Maozhen, Wang Xingyu, and Han, in turn, drew a strong reaction from Li Keyong, who launched his army, crossed the Yellow River , and prepared to attack the three of them. Rumors developed that Li Maozhen and Wang Xingyu both wanted to seize the emperor and take him to their domains. Emperor Zhaozong, in response, fled into

3834-458: The Xusi soldiers to mutiny under the leadership of Pang Xun . They headed northeast home, and when they reached Xusi's capital Xu Prefecture ( 徐州 ), they attacked and captured it. After Pang's initial attempts to obtain an imperial commission was rebuffed, the mutineer army attacked the nearby regions, with the imperial forces unable to stop them. Not until Kang Chengxun, with major assistance from

3976-523: The Yangs fled (and were eventually captured by Han and delivered to Chang'an to be executed). Li Maozhen wanted to add Shannan West to his territory, so he requested to be Shannan West's military governor, fully expecting that Emperor Zhaozong would allow him to retain both Fengxiang and Shannan West. Instead, Emperor Zhaozong issued an edict making him the military governor of Shannan West and Wuding (武定, headquartered in modern Hanzhong) Circuits, while making

4118-774: The Yellow River to Hedong from there; he also sent Li Jiepi to Hedong to prepare for his arrival. However, after he left Chang'an, Han Jian sent emissaries, and then personally arrived to meet with him, to persuade him to go to Zhenguo's capital Hua Prefecture ( 華州 ) instead, promising to do all he could to uphold imperial power. As both Emperor Zhaozong and his officials were fearful of the lengthy trek to Hedong, Emperor Zhaozong agreed and headed for Hua Prefecture instead. Once Emperor Zhaozong arrived at Hua Prefecture, however, he became effectively under Han's control, and Han stopped any real imperial attempt to engage Li Maozhen militarily. Further, he forced Emperor Zhaozong to disband

4260-540: The armed forces and, despite his being ill at the time, defeated Wuyue forces at Wuxi and captured many Wuyue soldiers. In the aftermaths of the victory, Xu Zhigao advocated attacking and trying to capture Su Prefecture (蘇州, in modern Suzhou , Jiangsu ). However, Xu Wen, stating that he wanted the people to rest, decided to release the Wuyue soldiers and get Qian Liu to commit to a long-term peace. Qian agreed, and also released previously captured Wu soldiers back to Wu. It

4402-450: The army against Li Yu and Xu Zhigao serving as Chai's deputy. He arrested Li Yu's youngest son, who was serving as a Huainan officer, and sent Li Yu's son to the front to show to Li Yu. He then sent the official He Rao ( 何蕘 ) to persuade Li Yu to surrender. After Li Yu did so, however, Xu ordered Chai to kill Li Yu and his family. It was said that after this incident, the other officers did not dare to oppose Xu any further. Meanwhile, Xu

Xu Wen - Misplaced Pages Continue

4544-522: The army collapsed. Li Maozhen approached Chang'an, demanding Du's death. Emperor Zhaozong capitulated, ordering Du to commit suicide and allowing Li Maozhen to retain Fengxiang, Shannan West, Wuding, and Tianxiong. It was said that after this point, Li Maozhen and Wang Xingyu, in alliance with the chancellor Cui Zhaowei , were heavily influencing imperial governance, such that the emperor would not dare to carry out any measures that they opposed. The next point of contention came in 895, when Wang Chongying

4686-465: The ashes. The clothing, jewelry, and toys burned filled 120 wagons each. The paper ceremonial guards and paper guard corps were decorated with colorful silk, jewelry, and jade, as were the items that she would be using in the underworld, such that the light reflected from them from as far as 20 li away. The Emperor awarded the funereal household over 100 hu [(斛, a unit of fluid volume) of wine, and cakes that required 40 camels to bear them, to supply

4828-476: The assassination of Yang Wo on Zhang alone, and effectively took over as Yang Longyan's regent as the sole commander of the guards. He entrusted the military matters to Yan and the financial matters to Luo Zhixiang ( 駱知祥 ), and it was said that both Yan and Luo were capable at their jobs, allowing Hongnong to be governed well. Xu himself was said to be calm, resolute, and frugal. While he was illiterate, when he had to rule on legal matters, he would have others read

4970-448: The balance of power would be lost. He therefore forbade Li Keyong from attacking Li Maozhen. Li Keyong withdrew to Hedong Circuit, and, owing to his eventual defeats at the hands of Zhu Quanzhong, would not be able to return again. With Li Keyong gone from the region, Li Maozhen, who had been intimidated into an apologetic posture to the imperial court, again became arrogant. He became suspicious of Emperor Zhaozong's attempts to rebuild

5112-473: The campaign against Chen in a stalemate—the imperial army had put Xichuan's capital Chengdu under siege and caused a terrible famine within the city, but had not been able to capture it—the imperial treasury was being drained, and Emperor Zhaozong decided to end the Xichuan campaign as well. He pardoned Chen and recalled Wei, while ordering Gu and Wang (for whom he had created a Yongping Circuit ( 永平 ) out of parts of Xichuan territory) back to their circuits. Wang

5254-414: The capital to serve as the military prefect of Chu Prefecture (楚州, in modern Huai'an). It was said that, despite his declaring independence under Xu's advice, Yang Longyan was actually displeased about doing so, and after doing so, he began to drink in excess and became ill. In 920, with Yang Longyan becoming seriously ill, Xu Wen returned to Yang Prefecture. Some of his subordinates suggested that he take

5396-425: The capital to the eastern capital Luoyang , Han and Li Maozhen became apprehensive that he would launch an army to seize the emperor, and therefore repaired the palaces and governmental offices at Chang'an (which Li Maozhen's army had destroyed). In fall 898, Emperor Zhaozong returned to Chang'an, but with no army around him now other than the eunuch-controlled Shence Armies. Meanwhile, also rising in power at court

5538-496: The chancellor Xu Yanruo the military governor of Fengxiang. Despite the misgivings of the chancellor Du Rangneng , Emperor Zhaozong launched a campaign against Li Maozhen, with Du in charge of the logistics and Li Sizhou ( 李嗣周 ) the Prince of Qin in command of the imperial guards, which Emperor Zhaozong had rebuilt with new recruits. The imperial army had low morale and little battle experience, however, and when Li Sizhou set to engage Li Maozhen and Wang Xingyu's experienced armies,

5680-484: The child, and Yang decided to give the child to Xu; Xu named the child Xu Zhigao and had his second wife Lady Li raise the child as hers. As Xu Zhigao was said to be diligent and filially pious, Xu Wen loved him. Xu first distinguished himself in Yang's eyes in 902 when Yang was planning a major campaign against Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng , Henan ). During

5822-589: The circuit to Liu Wei with a promise from Liu to transfer it to another son of Yang Xingmi's. Xu and the other guard commander, Zhang Hao , however, opposed Zhou's proposal, pointing out that Yang had fought these years to leave the state to his family. When Yang Xingmi subsequently issued an order and ordered Zhou to dispatch it to Yang Wo, Zhou did not send it for some time; when Xu and Yan found Yang Xingmi's order still on Zhou's desk, they took it and had it delivered to Yang Wo, who subsequently returned to Yang Prefecture. Yang Xingmi subsequently died, and Yang Wo, with

Xu Wen - Misplaced Pages Continue

5964-435: The commander of the Huainan armed forces and governor of Run Prefecture (潤州, i.e., the capital of Zhexi). Meanwhile, Xu's hold on power brought resentment from a number of Yang Xingmi's old officers — Liu Wei, who was then the military governor of Zhennan; Tao Ya, who was then the governor of She Prefecture (歙州, in modern Huangshan , Anhui ); Li Yu ( 李遇 ), who was then the governor of Xuan Prefecture; and Li Jian ( 李簡 ), who

6106-406: The commander of the forces against the Yangs. Emperor Zhaozong, while inimical to the Yangs, was hesitant to give Li Maozhen more authority and territory, and therefore initially denied the request. However, Li Maozhen and Wang Xingyu launched an attack anyway, forcing Emperor Zhaozong into approving Li Maozhen as the commander against the Yangs. By winter 892, Xingyuan had fallen to Li Maozhen, and

6248-491: The control of Xichuan but was unable to prevail against Chen by himself.) Still resenting Tian, who was then sheltered by Chen from edicts that Emperor Xizong had previously entered ordering Tian into exile, Emperor Zhaozong ordered Chen back to Chang'an and commissioned Wei Zhaodu as his replacement. When Chen refused to be replaced, Emperor Zhaozong ordered a general campaign against him, with Wei in command, assisted by Wang, Gu, and Yang Fugong's adoptive nephew Yang Shouliang

6390-499: The dancers, and some 800 pi [(匹, a unit of textile length)] of silk serving as the carpet they danced on. After their dance was over, the jewelry that fell off them covered the ground completely. Despite Princess Tongchang's death, Emperor Yizong continued to remain close to Wei Baoheng, who became extremely powerful and corrupt late in Emperor Yizong's reign. Emperor Yizong also reacted in anger whenever Consort Guo's family

6532-495: The deputy military governor of Huainan that Zhang was intending to eliminate them and starting by sending Xu out of the capital; Xu thereafter found excuses to stay at Yang Prefecture. After Zhang then failed in an assassination attempt against Yan, Yan and Xu plotted to overthrow him. Xu subsequently got the officer Zhong Taizhang ( 鍾泰章 ) to join the plot. On the night of June 18, Zhong took his soldiers and entered headquarters, killing Zhang and his close associates. Xu then blamed

6674-437: The emissary to show that he was not seriously ill. After the meeting, Xu decided not to attack Wuyue. After the death of Later Tang's Emperor Zhuangzong and the succession of Emperor Mingzong, Gao Jixing , the ruler of Later Tang's vassal state Jingnan , turned more independent. In 927, he seized horses that Emperor Mingzong was awarding to Ma Yin and offered to submit to Wu as a subject. Xu, deciding that having Jingnan as

6816-409: The emperor and the chief eunuch, leading to a public argument between Yang and the chancellors Kong Wei on one occasion over Kong's accusation that Yang was disrespecting the emperor. Nothing further came of the dispute publicly at this point, however. Nevertheless, at the suggestion of Kong's colleague Zhang Jun , who advocated that a strong imperial army directly under the emperor was essential for

6958-445: The emperor of the great Tang to the lord of Wu." Wu's return communique started with the greeting of, "The respectful letter of the lord of the great Wu to the emperor of the great Tang," to show respect and yet equality. (Yan's predictions would come true in 926, when Emperor Zhuangzong's killing of several generals and inattentiveness to his soldiers provoked a major rebellion, led by his adoptive brother Li Siyuan ; Emperor Zhuangzong

7100-473: The emperor. In fall 904, he had his associate Jiang Xuanhui ( 蔣玄暉 ), along with his adoptive son Zhu Yougong ( 朱友恭 ) and officer Shi Shucong ( 氏叔琮 ), take soldiers to the palace and assassinate Emperor Zhaozong. Jiang initially issued a declaration blaming the assassination on Emperor Zhaozong's concubines Pei Zhenyi ( 裴貞一 ) and Li Jianrong ( 李漸榮 ), but Zhu later blamed it on Zhu Yougong and Shi and forced them to commit suicide. Emperor Zhaozong's son Li Zuo

7242-543: The eunuch commanders of the Shence Armies ( 神策軍 ), Wang Zongshi ( 王宗實 ), who was not on good terms with them, out of Chang'an to Huai'nan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou , Jiangsu ) to serve as the eunuch monitor for Huai'nan. Wang Zongshi, however, reacted by intruding into the palace; finding that Emperor Xuanzong had already died, he arrested Wang Guizhang, Ma, and Wang Jufang for falsely issuing edicts, and then put them to death. He welcomed Li Wen to

SECTION 50

#1732766163058

7384-413: The eunuchs. Zhu agreed, and began mobilizing his army. Han and the other eunuchs, hearing of Zhu's impending arrival, believed that Zhu's forces were intending to slaughter them. They, with the cooperation of Li Jiyun, Li Jihui, and Li Yanbi (but not Li Jizhao, who refused to align with them), seized Emperor Zhaozong and his household, and took them to Fengxiang's capital Fengxiang Municipality. Cui and

7526-434: The fleet there. Later that year, when Wei Quanfeng the prefect of Fu Prefecture (撫州, in modern Fuzhou, Jiangxi ), who had nominally submitted to both Hongnong and Later Liang, rose against Hongnong and claimed the title of military governor of Zhennan, Xu, at Yan's recommendation, sent Zhou Ben against Wei. Subsequently, Zhou defeated and captured Wei, allowing Hongnong to take Fu Prefecture under actual control. In 910,

7668-539: The general Qin Pei ( 秦裴 ) in Qin's operations to pacify Zhennan, and then sent an officer, Chen You ( 陳祐 ) to execute them at Qin's camp under false charges of treason. When Yang Wo heard of this, he prepared to kill Xu and Zhang, but before he could act, they acted first. In spring 907, they took 200 guards under their command into the mansion, claiming to be carrying out bingjian (兵諫, i.e., "correction by force"). They executed

7810-508: The governor (觀察使, Guanchashi ) of Xuan Prefecture died, Yang Xingmi commissioned Yang Wo to be the governor of Xuan. Xu privately spoke with Yang Wo, stating: The Prince [(i.e., Yang Xingmi, who then carried the title of Prince of Wu as bestowed by Emperor Xizong's brother and successor Emperor Zhaozong )] is chronically-ill, but his oldest heir is being sent out to another circuit. This must be according to plan of some treacherous subjects. If you receive an order summoning you back, unless it

7952-471: The guards, commanded by Xu's subordinate Zhai Qian ( 翟虔 ), surrounding him, Zhu committed suicide. Xu Zhigao, whose Run Prefecture was just across the Yangtze from Yang Prefecture, quickly headed for Yang Prefecture to calm the city. Xu Wen himself subsequently arrived and, believing that Li Yan and the general Mi Zhicheng ( 米志誠 ) to be complicit with Zhu, killed them. He further considered slaughter all of

8094-454: The hands of Li Keyong's son and successor Li Cunxu , who was posturing at claiming imperial title as a new Tang emperor and that Wu, which still at that point remained a Tang vassal, needed to assert its own political independence, began to try to persuade Yang Longyan to claim imperial title first. In 919, Yang Longyan, while refusing to claim imperial title, claimed the greater title of King of Wu and began to take on imperial trappings. Xu Wen

8236-458: The hard feelings. Meanwhile, Zhai Qian, as Xu Wen's close associate and Yang Pu's palace guards, had been keeping a close watch on the king. When Xu went to pay homage to Yang Pu in 924, Yang Pu politely, but firmly, objected to Zhai's doing so, stating that while he knew that Xu was loyal to Wu, Zhai was acting in excess of his authority. Xu apologized to the king and initially offered to put Zhai to death. Yang Pu instead suggested exile, so Zhai

8378-438: The headquarters, and Yang Wo was hoping to, but unable to, eliminate them. They considered their own positions precarious, however, and they resolved to kill Yang Wo, divide the domain between themselves, and then submit to Later Liang. On June 9, 908, Zhang sent his subordinate Ji Xiang ( 紀祥 ) into Yang Wo's mansion with soldiers under Zhang's command and killed him in his bedroom. (The reason why only Zhang's soldiers were used

8520-409: The heart to do so due to Xu Zhigao's diligence and filial piety. In 927, however, Xu Wen made up his mind to do so, so he prepared to head to Jiangdu (i.e., Yang Prefecture) to pay homage to Yang Pu and persuade Yang Pu to claim imperial title, and then carry out the replacement. As he was about to depart Jinling, however, he grew ill, so he wrote a petition urging Yang Pu to take imperial title and had

8662-408: The imperial army was suffering repeated defeats at the hands of Li Keyong's Hedong army, and the supplemental troops from Jingnan (靜難, headquartered in modern Xianyang , Shaanxi ) and Fengxiang (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji , Shaanxi ) Circuits abandoned the imperial army and withdrew by themselves, eventually leading to a total collapse of the imperial army, with Zhang and his deputy, Han Jian

SECTION 60

#1732766163058

8804-463: The imperial government's authority effectively disappeared. In the midst of all this, Emperor Zhaozong tried to salvage the dying dynasty. However, his efforts to reassert imperial power generally backfired, as his unsuccessful campaigns against Li Keyong , Chen Jingxuan , and Li Maozhen , merely allowed them to re-affirm their power. Eventually, the major warlord Zhu Wen seized control of the imperial government and in 904 had Emperor Zhaozong killed as

8946-586: The imperial guards and putting them under the commands of imperial princes, including Li Sizhou, Li Jiepi ( 李戒丕 ) the Prince of Yan, and Emperor Zhaozong's uncle Li Zi the Prince of Tong. In summer 896, he launched an attack on Chang'an. Emperor Zhaozong immediately sought aid from Li Keyong, but with Li Keyong being unable to launch an army at that time and Li Maozhen's forces having defeated Li Sizhou's, Li Sizhou recommended fleeing to Hedong. Emperor Zhaozong initially agreed and prepared to head for Fu Prefecture (鄜州, in modern Yan'an , Shaanxi ), preparing to cross

9088-416: The imperial guards corps that Cui was trying to rebuild. In spring 904, he acted, writing to Cui and his associates Zheng Yuangui ( 鄭元規 ) the mayor of Jingzhao Municipality (京兆, i.e., the Chang'an region) and the officer Chen Ban ( 陳班 ), and then sending Xuanwu soldiers to surround Cui's mansion and kill Cui and his associates. Then, citing the possibility that Li Maozhen and his adoptive son Li Jihui (not

9230-400: The imperial guards under the imperial princes' control, and, after Li Jiepi returned from Hedong—thus exposing the fact that Li Keyong was in no shape to launch an army to aid the emperor—slaughtered 11 imperial princes. Emperor Zhaozong made peace with Li Maozhen in spring 898, restoring the titles that he had previously stripped from Li Maozhen. With Zhu Quanzhong urging the emperor to move

9372-539: The imperial official sent to take over Zhaoyi, Sun Kui ( 孫揆 ), was intercepted and captured by Li Keyong's adoptive son Li Cunxiao (and subsequently executed when he would not submit to Li Keyong), badly affecting the imperial army's morale. Li Cunxiao subsequently put Zhaoyi's capital Lu Prefecture ( 潞州 ) under siege, forcing Zhu's army to withdraw. Li Kuangwei and Helian's armies were also repelled by Li Keyong's adoptive sons Li Cunxin and Li Siyuan , leaving Zhang's imperial army to face Li Keyong himself. By late 890,

9514-527: The imperial officials largely remained at Chang'an, although some followed the emperor and the eunuchs to Fengxiang. After Zhu arrived at Chang'an to confer with Cui, he advanced to Fengxiang and put it under siege. Li Maozhen sought an alliance with Wang Jian. Wang Jian, however, tried to play both sides—outwardly aligning with Zhu, but secretly encouraging Li Maozhen to resist Zhu, while sending an army to head north to attack Li Maozhen's Shannan West Circuit. With Fengxiang under siege, Li Maozhen's holdings in

9656-410: The imperial officials wanted him to succeed Emperor Xizong, but the powerful eunuch Yang Fugong (who had succeeded Tian as the surveyor of the eunuch-controlled Shence Armies ) wanted Li Jie to succeed Emperor Xizong, so Emperor Xizong issued an edict creating Li Jie crown prince . Shortly after, Emperor Xizong died, and Li Jie, changing his name to Li Min, took the throne as Emperor Zhaozong. During

9798-474: The legal papers to him before ruling on them with proper reasoning. As of 909, Xu was also carrying the title of deputy commander of the Huainan army (行軍副使, Xingjun Fushi ) when he, believing that Jinling was a key location to control the Yangtze River with a fleet, gave himself the additional title of prefect of Sheng Prefecture (昇州, i.e., Jinling) but sent Xu Zhigao there to actually take command of

9940-516: The middle of Emperor Xuanzong's Dazhong era (847–860), and was posthumously created the higher rank of Zhaorong ( 昭容 ), the sixth highest rank for imperial consorts. Li Wen was not favored by his father, whose favorite son was his younger brother Li Zi the Prince of Kui; as a result, Li Wen was sent out of the palace to live at the imperial princes' residence, known as the Sixteen Mansions, while Li Zi and four other princes lived in

10082-414: The military governor of Baisheng Circuit (百勝, headquartered in modern Ganzhou , Jiangxi ) — who nominally submitted to both Wu and Later Liang — to try to take Baisheng under control. Liu was able to repel relief forces from Later Liang's vassals Wuyue, Chu 's prince Ma Yin , and Min 's prince Wang Shenzhi , but unable to capture Baisheng's capital Qian Prefecture ( 虔州 ) itself initially. He thus made

10224-573: The military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan , Shanxi )—one of the most powerful warlords of the realm and archrival to the also powerful Zhu Quanzhong—as both Zhu and Li Kuangwei the military governor of Lulong were at that time also requesting an imperial campaign against the expanding Li Keyong. Emperor Zhaozong, despite his reservations, approved the campaign, which got under way in summer 890, with Zhu's army attacking Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern Changzhi , Shanxi ), then also under Li Keyong's control, from

10366-519: The military governor of Huguo Circuit (護國, headquartered in modern Yuncheng , Shanxi ), died, precipitating a succession struggle between his nephew Wang Ke (the adoptive son of Wang Chongying's brother and predecessor Wang Chongrong and biological son of another brother, Wang Chongjian ( 王重簡 )), whom the Huguo soldiers supported, and his son Wang Gong the military governor of Baoyi Circuit (保義, headquartered in modern Sanmenxia , Henan ), who coveted

10508-425: The military governor of Jingnan Circuit (靜難, headquartered in modern Xianyang , Shaanxi ) and Han Jian, as well as his brother Li Maozhuang ( 李茂莊 ) the military governor of Tianxiong Circuit (天雄, headquartered in modern Tianshui , Gansu ) and Wang Xingyu's brother Wang Xingyue ( 王行約 ) the military governor of Kuangguo Circuit (匡國, headquartered in modern Weinan), submitted a joint petition for Li Maozhen to be made

10650-479: The military governor of Jinshang Circuit (金商, headquartered in modern Ankang , Shaanxi ), Yang Shouzhen ( 楊守貞 ) the military governor of Longjian Circuit (龍劍, headquartered in modern Mianyang , Sichuan ), and Yang Shouhou ( 楊守厚 ) the prefect of Mian Prefecture (綿州, also in modern Mianyang). In response to the Yangs' rebellion, Li Maozhen the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji , Shaanxi ), along with his allies Wang Xingyu

10792-466: The military governor of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing ), Wang Jian, Yang Xingmi, and Zhao Kuangning the military governor of Zhongyi Circuit (忠義, headquartered in modern Xiangyang , Hubei ) were all issuing declarations calling for the emperor's return to Chang'an. Zhu became apprehensive that, as he battled other warlords in campaigns, Emperor Zhaozong might find a way to rise against him at Luoyang, and therefore resolved to remove

10934-547: The military governor of Shannan West Circuit (山南西道, headquartered in modern Hanzhong , Shaanxi ). While the campaign against Chen was starting, another campaign that had been ongoing during the latter years of Emperor Zhaozong's reign was ending. Qin Zongquan , formerly the Tang military governor of Fengguo Circuit (奉國, headquartered in modern Zhumadian , Henan ), had declared himself emperor at Fengguo's capital Cai Prefecture ( 蔡州 ) in 885 and had sent out armies to conquer

11076-431: The military governor of Zhenguo Circuit (鎮國, headquartered in modern Weinan , Shaanxi ) escaping with just a small contingent; the rest of the imperial army was effectively lost. With Li Keyong subsequently threatening an invasion, Emperor Zhaozong was forced to restore Li Keyong to his titles and positions and exile Zhang and Kong, ending the campaign against Li Keyong in disaster. With the defeat against Li Keyong, and

11218-459: The more prosperous Huguo Circuit. Li Keyong supported Wang Ke, while Li Maozhen, Wang Xingyu, and Han supported Wang Gong, and all of them submitted competing petitions on the behalf of the feuding cousins. Emperor Zhaozong approved Li Keyong's petition and made Wang Ke the military governor of Huguo. In response, Li Maozhen, Wang Xingyu, and Han marched on the capital again, killing the chancellors Wei Zhaodu (who had returned to chancellorship after

11360-420: The mourning period, the chancellor Wei Zhaodu served as regent . Emperor Zhaozong's ascension created great anticipation in the people's minds, as he was considered intelligent, handsome, decisive, and talented, with ambitions to restore imperial power that had been lost during Emperor Xizong's reign. Not long after taking the throne, he changed his name further to Li Ye. As soon as Emperor Zhaozong took

11502-475: The nearby Tang circuits. By 888, his power had waned under attacks by Tang's military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng , Henan ), Zhu Quanzhong , and in late 888 he was overthrown in a coup by his officer Shen Cong ( 申叢 ); he was subsequently delivered to Zhu, who then delivered him to Chang'an to be executed. Even though Yang Fugong had been instrumental in having Emperor Zhaozong made emperor, by 889 conflicts had begun between

11644-441: The next day, and Li Yan took the throne (as Emperor Xizong). Consorts and Issue: Emperor Zhaozong of Tang Emperor Zhaozong of Tang (March 31, 867 – September 22, 904), né Li Jie , name later changed to Li Min and again to Li Ye , was the penultimate emperor of China's Tang dynasty . He reigned from 888 to 904 (although he was briefly deposed by the eunuch Liu Jishu in 900 and restored in 901). Emperor Zhaozong

11786-406: The obvious impractical nature of Dingbian's territory—as Xi Prefecture was extremely close to Xichuan's capital Chengdu Municipality and unsuitable to serve as the capital for a circuit intended to concentrate on border defense. The Dingbian debacle demoralized the officers at Xichuan, who went as far as secretly encouraging Dali to attack Dingbian to expose Li Shiwang. Yet more disastrous, though,

11928-404: The officers behind her younger son Yang Longyan . Zhang, rebuffed in his attempt to directly take over, acquiesced and allowed Yang Longyan to take the throne as the new Prince of Hongnong. Subsequently, Zhang Hao tried to send Xu Wen out of the headquarters to be the governor of Zhexi Circuit (浙西, headquartered in modern Zhenjiang , Jiangsu ), but Yan Keqiu persuaded Xu and Li Chengsi ( 李承嗣 )

12070-413: The officers prepared for her funeral, they built a large wooden statue and covered it with silk, intending to burn it as a sacrifice to the gods. Xu pointed out that the silk could be given to the poor and did so, rather than burning the silk. He formally left governmental service to observe a mourning period for her, but shortly after, Yang Longyan formally recalled him to governmental service and made him

12212-448: The officers that he suspected of being in league with Zhu, but after Xu Zhigao and Yan reported to Xu Wen how Xu Zhixun's arrogance had alienated all of the officers, Xu Wen stopped pursuing the matter. With all his other sons still young, he had Xu Zhigao remain at Yang Prefecture to replace Xu Zhixun as junior regent, while he himself returned to Sheng Prefecture. Meanwhile, Xu had ordered the general Liu Xin ( 劉信 ) to attack Tan Quanbo

12354-498: The palace and forced Emperor Zhaozong to yield the throne to his son Li Yu, Prince of De the Crown Prince . Emperor Zhaozong and his wife (Li Yu's mother) Empress He were honored as retired emperor ( Taishang Huang ) and retired empress ( Taishang Huanghou ) but put under house arrest. Li Yu, whose name the eunuchs changed to Li Zhen, was proclaimed emperor, but the eunuchs controlled the court. They wanted to kill Cui, but

12496-542: The palace, and then issued an edict in Emperor Xuanzong's name creating Li Wen crown prince and changing his name to Li Cui. The next day, Emperor Xuanzong's death was announced, and Li Cui became emperor (as Emperor Yizong). Emperor Yizong honored his grandmother (Emperor Xuanzong's mother) Empress Dowager Zheng as grand empress dowager , while posthumously honoring his mother Consort Chao as empress dowager . Meanwhile, long-time lead chancellor Linghu Tao

12638-428: The palace. Emperor Xuanzong also considered creating Li Zi crown prince , but hesitated because Li Wen, not Li Zi, was his oldest son, and therefore went throughout his entire reign without designating an heir. Late in Emperor Xuanzong's reign, he came to favor certain alchemists who promised immortality, and he took pills that they made. It was said that as a result, he became paranoid and easily angered. By 859, as

12780-587: The planning, most officers advocated using large ships to ship food supplies for the army, but Xu opposed, pointing out that the canals that would be utilized had long been silted and would be difficult to pass; he instead advocating using small boats for easy passage. He was not listened to, but when subsequently, Yang's army was hampered by the failure for large ships to arrive with food supplies (while smaller supply ships were getting through) and forced to withdraw, Yang became impressed with Xu and decided to give him greater responsibilities. The first instance where Xu

12922-531: The plans to be too drastic, Cui accused Wang of being in league with the powerful eunuchs Zhu Daobi ( 朱道弼 ) and Jing Wuxiu ( 景務脩 ), who served as the directors of palace communications ( Shumishi ). Upon Cui's accusations, Emperor Zhaozong ordered Wang, Zhu Daobi, and Jing to commit suicide, and it was said that from this point Cui became the leading figure at court, with the eunuchs angry at and fearful of him. The eunuchs also had become fearful of Emperor Zhaozong himself, who, after returning from Hua Prefecture,

13064-488: The prelude of taking over the Tang throne. Zhu also killed many of Emperor Zhaozong's ministers, including the chancellor , Cui Yin . Zhu then placed Zhaozong's 13-year-old son as a puppet emperor (as Emperor Ai ). By 907, Zhu himself took over the throne, ending the Tang dynasty and establishing a new Later Liang dynasty. Emperor Zhaozong's reign lasted almost 16 years and he was buried in the He Mausoleum ( 和陵 ). He

13206-445: The proposal, and put the eunuchs Han Quanhui and Zhang Yanhong ( 張彥弘 ), both of whom had previously served as eunuch monitors of the Fengxiang army, in command of the Shence Armies, and further wanted the retired eunuch Yan Zunmei ( 嚴遵美 ) to serve as the overseer of both Shence Armies, but Yan declined and remained in retirement. Cui, apprehensive of allowing the eunuchs to command the Shence Armies again, requested Li Maozhen to leave

13348-465: The reign of his son Emperor Xizong . Li Wen was born around the new year 834, during the reign of his cousin Emperor Wenzong . His father Li Yi was then the Prince of Guang, and Li Wen was born at Li Yi's mansion. He was Li Yi's first son. His mother was Li Yi's concubine Lady Chao. In 846, after the death of Emperor Wenzong's brother and successor Emperor Wuzong , Li Yi, whose name

13490-508: The remaining eunuchs, regardless of whether they supported Han's actions. This would be the effective end of the Shence Armies. After Emperor Zhaozong returned to Chang'an, the capital became under the military control of the Xuanwu contingent; while Zhu Quanzhong himself returned to Xuanwu's capital Daliang , he left his nephew Zhu Youlun ( 朱友倫 ) in command at Chang'an. Cui Yin began to see signs that Zhu Quanzhong might be intending to seize

13632-405: The request. Li Jie thereafter bore a deep resentment for Tian. In 888, by which time Huang's rebellion had been crushed and the imperial court had returned to Chang'an, Emperor Xizong grew gravely ill. It was said that Emperor Xizong's younger brother and Li Jie's older brother Li Bao ( 李保 ) the Prince of Ji was the oldest among Emperor Xizong's surviving brothers and was considered wise, and so

13774-409: The restoration of imperial power to counteract the warlords and the eunuch-commanded Shence Armies, Emperor Zhaozong began recruiting an imperial army that eventually numbered 100,000 by spring 890. At that point, Kong and Zhang believed that it was time to test this army, to show its strengths in the struggle against Yang at court. Zhang, therefore, advocated a campaign against the warlord Li Keyong

13916-520: The retirement. Soon thereafter, rumors that Yang was planning a rebellion at Chang'an against the emperor, along with his adoptive nephew Yang Shouxin ( 楊守信 ). Emperor Zhaozong sent the imperial guards to preemptively attack Yang Fugong's mansion, and Yang Fugong and Yang Shouxin fled to Yang Shouliang's Shannan West Circuit. Yang Fugong thereafter started a rebellion against the imperial government, along with Yang Shouliang, Yang Shouxin, and other adoptive sons and nephews, including Yang Shouzhong ( 楊守忠 )

14058-552: The same mother as his older brother Li Yan , whose mother was a different Consort Wang, it might have been that he was raised by Li Yan's mother. ) In 872, Emperor Yizong created Li Jie the Prince of Shou. In 877, by which time Li Yan (named Li Xuan by this point) was emperor (as Emperor Xizong), Li Jie was given the honorary titles of Kaifu Yitong Sansi ( 開府儀同三司 ), commandant at You Prefecture (幽州, in modern Beijing ), and military governor ( Jiedushi ) of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered at Beijing). (At that time, Lulong Circuit

14200-411: The same person as the one killed in 903) the military governor of Jingnan Circuit may attack Chang'an, he forced Emperor Zhaozong to abandon Chang'an and move the capital to Luoyang. While on the journey to Luoyang, Emperor Zhaozong sent secret orders to Wang Jian, Yang Xingmi the military governor of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou , Huainan ), and Li Keyong, asking them to start

14342-489: The southeast; Li Kuangwei and Helian Duo the military governor of Datong Circuit (大同, headquartered in modern Datong , Shanxi ) attacking from the northeast; and the main imperial army, under Zhang's command and supplemented by the armies of various circuits around Chang'an, attacking from the southwest. Zhu's army was able to seize Zhaoyi quickly, due to the assassination of Zhaoyi's military governor Li Kegong (李克恭, Li Keyong's brother) by his officer An Jushou ( 安居受 ), but

14484-433: The throne and became fearful, and therefore began to rebuild the imperial guards with himself in command, and a rift began to develop between Zhu and Cui. The rift became deeper after Zhu Youlun died in an accident while playing polo late in 903, which Zhu Quanzhong believed to be a murderous plot set up by Cui. He sent another nephew, Zhu Youliang ( 朱友諒 ), to succeed Zhu Youlun, and further sent Xuanwu soldiers to infiltrate

14626-559: The throne himself, but he rejected the suggestion. Instead, bypassing Yang Meng, he issued an order in Yang Longyan's name welcoming Yang Meng's younger brother Yang Pu the Duke of Danyang to serve formally as regent. When Yang Longyan subsequently died, Yang Pu took the throne as king. In 921, at Xu Wen's urging, Yang Pu offered sacrifices to Heaven to further show his status as an independent ruler. (When officials objected that such

14768-471: The throne to him, ending Tang and starting a new Later Liang with Zhu as its Emperor Taizu. Yang Wo, along with Li Keyong the Prince of Jin, Li Maozhen the Prince of Qi, and Wang Jian the Prince of Shu, did not recognize the new Later Liang emperor as emperor, and continued to use the Tang era name of Tianyou . Without a Tang emperor, however, he was in effect the ruler of a new state of Hongnong. However, Xu and Zhang remained in effective control of

14910-408: The throne, he received petitions from Wang Jian and Gu Yanlang , advocating that Tian Lingzi's brother Chen Jingxuan the military governor of Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu , Sichuan ), be removed from his post. (Wang, who was allied with Gu (the military governor of neighboring Dongchuan Circuit (東川, headquartered in modern Mianyang , Sichuan ), had been fighting Chen for

15052-924: The title of Prince of Hongnong bestowed by Emperor Zhaozong's emissary Li Yan , took over the circuit. After Yang Wo annexed Zhennan Circuit (鎮南, headquartered in modern Nanchang , Jiangxi ) in 906, he became increasingly arrogant and intolerant. He executed Zhou Yin, which caused fear to permeate among his staff members. Despite being still in the mourning period for Yang Xingmi, he spent his time, day and night, in feast and games. When Xu Wen and Zhang Hao tried to tearfully dissuade him from such behavior, he angrily stated to them, "If you believe that I am not capable enough, why do you not kill me and take over yourselves?" This caused them to be fearful as well. They thus planned to act against Yang Wo. They first sent three officers who commanded Yang Wo's personal army (which he brought back from Xuan Prefecture), Zhu Siqing ( 朱思勍 ), Fan Sicong ( 范思從 ), and Chen Fan ( 陳璠 ) to join under

15194-414: The title of Prince of Wu, to make it even more formal than Li Maozhen's commission. Xu himself received the titles of military governor of Zhenhai (i.e., Zhexi) and the honorary chancellor designation of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi ( 同中書門下平章事 ), as well as the commander of Huainan armed forces. He then returned Liu and Tao to their posts, to show that he did not suspect them. In 913, Qian Liu ,

15336-505: The title of supreme commander of all armed forces) and therefore formally a greater position than his own, he established a Jinghuai Circuit ( 靜淮 ) at Si Prefecture (泗州, in modern Huai'an , Jiangsu ), making Zhu its military governor to send Zhu out of the capital. Zhu, incensed, pretended to be ready to give Xu Zhixun his favorite horse. When Xu Zhixun visited Zhu's mansion to receive the horse, Zhu assassinated him, but Zhu's subsequent attempt to get Yang Longyan on his side failed, and with

15478-433: The workers laboring at the funeral. The Emperor and Consort Guo [(Princess Tongchang's mother and Emperor Yizong's favorite concubine )] missed their daughter greatly, and they commissioned the musician Li Keji [(李可及)] to author a music piece entitled, "Lamentation for a Hundred Years," with sad and delicate tones and several hundred dancers set to dance to it. The palace storage provided large numbers of jewels to decorate

15620-489: The year as well as ordering frequent musical performances in the palace. If the entertainment was to his liking, Yizong would not only reward the entertainers greatly but also bestow governmental ranks. Emperor Yizong eventually exhausted the empire's treasury that had accumulated during his father's administration. Extreme hardships, including famines that forced people to resort to cannibalism , led to widespread agrarian rebellions late in his reign. Those rebellions would plague

15762-459: The younger Xu Zhixun prepare to deliver it to Jiangdu, and then remain there to take Xu Zhigao's place. When Xu Zhigao heard this, he knew he could not resist his father, so drafted a petition asking to be made the military governor of Zhennan. However, before the younger Xu Zhixun could arrive at Jiangdu, Xu Wen died, forcing the younger Xu Zhixun to immediately return to Jinling, and Xu Zhigao remained as regent. Yang Pu posthumously created Xu Wen

15904-410: Was 37. Li Jie was born in 867, during the reign of his father Emperor Yizong , in the eastern palace at the imperial capital Chang'an . His mother was Emperor Yizong's concubine Consort Wang, who was said to have come from a humble background and whose rank within the palace was not recorded. She appeared to have died shortly after giving birth to Li Jie. (As Li Jie was also said to have been from

16046-428: Was a mutiny by soldiers for Xusi Circuit (徐泗, headquartered in modern Xuzhou , Jiangsu ), who had been posted to Gui Prefecture (桂州, in modern Guilin , Guangxi ) to defend against a potential Dali attack, with a promise that they would be allowed to return home after three years. When the term was up in 868, however, the governor of Xusi Circuit, Cui Yanzeng ( 崔彥曾 ), ordered that the term be extended one year, causing

16188-443: Was accused of misconduct. In 873, in a grand ceremony, Emperor Yizong welcomed what was claimed to be a relic (a finger bone) of Gautama Buddha to the palace, despite warnings by some that his grandfather Emperor Xianzong died shortly after also welcoming the same relic to the palace. (Emperor Yizong responded to the warnings by stating, "As long as I can see it once while living, I do not have regrets about dying.") The ceremony

16330-481: Was actually governed by the warlord Li Keju . ) It was said that Li Jie was particularly close to Emperor Xizong since they shared the same mother, and he followed Emperor Xizong in flight from Chang'an from the attack of the agrarian rebels led by Huang Chao in 880. While on this flight, Li Jie, who was then 13, ran out of energy and requested a horse from the eunuch Tian Lingzi , who dominated Emperor Xizong's court; Tian refused and whipped Li Jie's attendant for

16472-485: Was also created the Duke of Qi. In 917, he moved his headquarters to Sheng Prefecture and moved Xu Zhigao to be the military prefect of Run Prefecture. Over the next few years, Xu Zhixun gained additional powers gradually, but, unknown to Xu Wen, was acting arrogantly toward other officers and even toward Yang Longyan, formally his sovereign. In 915, Unhappy that Zhu Jin, who carried the title of deputy supreme commander of all armed forces (with Yang Longyan himself carrying

16614-413: Was changed to Li Chen, became emperor (as Emperor Xuanzong). He created five of his sons, including Li Wen, imperial princes, with Li Wen carrying the title of Prince of Yun. Li Wen's mother Lady Chao was created the imperial consort rank of Meiren ( 美人 ), which was only the 15th highest rank for imperial consorts (and there could be as many as nine Meiren at any single point). She died sometime in

16756-456: Was defeated by Xu. (However, Run Prefecture did not fall at this time.) However, Xu's role became even more prominent when, later in the year, Yang received word that his brother-in-law Zhu Yanshou (the brother of his wife Lady Zhu) had agreed to join Tian's and An's rebellion and was set to rebel at Shou Prefecture (壽州, in modern Lu'an , Anhui ). Xu, advised by his guest Yan Keqiu , submitted

16898-480: Was described to be depressed, alcoholic, and unpredictable in his temperament. The four top-ranked eunuchs— Liu Jishu and Wang Zhongxian ( 王仲先 ) the commanders of the Shence Armies, and Wang Yanfan ( 王彥範 ) and Xue Qiwo ( 薛齊偓 ) the new directors of palace communications—began plotting to remove him. After an incident in winter 900 in which Emperor Zhaozong, in a drunken rage, killed several attending eunuchs and ladies in waiting , Liu Jishu led Shence Army troops into

17040-486: Was exiled to Fu Prefecture. In 926, Qian Liu was ill and went to his home town Yijin Base (衣錦軍, in modern Hangzhou) to recuperate, leaving his son Qian Chuanguan in charge of the affairs of state. Xu Wen sent an emissary to wish him well, and initially, Qian Liu's attendants advised him not to meet with the Wu emissary. Qian Liu, believing that Xu was intending to launch an attack if he were seriously ill, decided to meet with

17182-465: Was exiled.) Meanwhile, late in 869, Li Shiwang provoked Dali by killing its emissary Yang Qiuqing ( 楊酋慶 ). Dali's emperor Qiulong thus launched a major attack on Dingbian, and neither Li nor his successor Dou Pang ( 竇滂 ) was able to repel it. The Dali forces quickly arrived at Chengdu's vicinity and put Chengdu under siege. Emperor Yizong commissioned Gao Pian as Xichuan's military governor, and Dali forces thereafter withdrew, but both Dingbian (which

17324-643: Was fearful that Cui's ally Zhu Quanzhong might react violently, so they only relieved Cui from his secondary posts as the director of finances and the director of salt and iron monopolies. Cui, in turn, was in communications with Zhu, plotting to restore the emperor. He also persuaded the Shence Army officer Sun Dezhao ( 孫德昭 ) to join his cause, and Sun in turn persuaded his fellow officers Dong Yanbi ( 董彥弼 ) and Zhou Chenghui ( 周承誨 ) to join. In spring 901, they acted. They first ambushed and killed Wang Zhongxian, and captured Liu and Wang Yanfan, who were then killed by caning. Xue tried to commit suicide by drowning, but

17466-480: Was given the titles of prime minister (大丞相, Da Chengxiang ), overseer of all military matters (都督中外總軍事, Dudu Zhongwai Zongjunshi ), supreme commander of the circuits, military governor of Zhenhai and Ningguo, acting Taiwei (太尉, one of the Three Excellencies ), Zhongshu Ling ( 中書令 ), and Prince of Donghai. Later in the year, Wuyue again launched a major attack on Chang Prefecture. Xu personally led

17608-479: Was hearing rumors that Liu was also planning on resisting him, and prepared for a campaign against Liu. Liu tried to deflect the suspicion by heading to Yang Prefecture, along with Tao, to pay homage to Yang Longyan. Xu treated both Liu and Tao with respect, with ceremonial greetings that would have been due to Yang Xingmi, and further granted them additional titles. He, along with Liu and Tao, then visited Li Yan and requested that Li Yan formally bestow on Yang Longyan

17750-406: Was in such a desperate shape such that the residents were resorting to cannibalism. In spring 903, Li Maozhen sued for peace with Zhu, surrendering Emperor Zhaozong and the imperial household to him while killing Han and the other leading eunuchs, as well as Li Jiyun, Li Jihui, and Li Yanbi. Zhu took the emperor back to Chang'an, where one of the first actions Zhu and Cui carried out was to slaughter

17892-719: Was killed, and Li Siyuan then took the throne as Emperor Mingzong.) Also in 923, after Zhong Taizhang, then serving as the military prefect of Shou Prefecture, was accused of embezzling funds from the sale of official horses. Xu Zhigao had the official Wang Ren ( 王稔 ) replace Zhong and demoted Zhong to the post of prefect of Rao Prefecture (饒州, in modern Shangrao , Jiangxi ). Xu Wen himself had Zhong interrogated at Jinling, but when Zhong refused to defend himself, released him. Xu Zhigao wanted to further punish Zhong, but Xu Wen, pointing out that without Zhong, he would have died at Zhang Hao's hands, refused. Rather, he had Xu Zhigao's son Xu Jingtong marry Zhong's daughter to try to resolve

18034-403: Was not among them. His first known act while serving under Yang was in 889, during Yang's lengthy struggle against Sun Ru for the control of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou , Jiangsu ), when Yang captured Xuan Prefecture (宣州, in modern Xuancheng , Anhui ) after a lengthy siege. It was said that the other officers all hunted for spoils in gold and silk, but only Xu found

18176-415: Was not giving them the proper winter uniforms. Emperor Zhaozong was forced to again remove Cui from his post as the director of salt and iron monopolies. Moreover, by this point they had persuaded Li Jiyun and his Fengxiang soldiers to be on their side. Cui, realizing that the eunuchs were intending to destroy him, became fearful, and wrote Zhu Quanzhong, urging him to bring troops to Chang'an to act against

18318-613: Was recorded to have distinguished himself in battle was in 903, when Yang was facing rebellions by his subordinates Tian Jun the military governor of Ningguo Circuit (寧國, headquartered at Xuan Prefecture) and An Renyi ( 安仁義 ) the military prefect of Run Prefecture (潤州, in modern Zhenjiang , Jiangsu). Yang initially sent Wang Maozhang to attack An at Run Prefecture, but Wang could not defeat An. He sent Xu to reinforce Wang's army, and Xu had his soldiers change into identical uniforms as Wang's. An, not knowing that reinforcements had arrived, had no reservations about reengaging Wang's army, and

18460-444: Was relieved of his chancellor position and replaced with the former chancellor Bai Minzhong , although Bai, when recalled to the capital Chang'an , fell and suffered an injury while he was climbing up the stairs at the imperial meeting hall, and therefore never actually assumed chancellor position before resigning in early 861. Meanwhile, Emperor Yizong was immediately met with two military crises. Tang and Nanzhao had gotten into

18602-418: Was said that for the next 20 years there was no warfare between Wu and Wuyue. Meanwhile, both Xu Wen and Yang Longyan wrote Qian to try to persuade him to declare independence from Later Liang as well, to no avail. Meanwhile, Xu heard that Yang Longyan's younger brother Yang Meng the Duke of Lujiang was lamenting the Yang clan's loss of power, and became apprehensive of Yang Meng; he thus sent Yang Meng out of

18744-415: Was said to be spending much of his time in feast and games, ignoring the affairs of state, despite his officials' urging to attend to them, although he was sending generals to the Dali front (including Kang Chengxun and Gao Pian ), without initial success. Over the course of 865–866, however, Gao Pian was able to defeat Dali forces and recapture Jiao Prefecture. Meanwhile, though, the tense situation on

18886-487: Was said to bring out great offerings by the households of Chang'an. Emperor Yizong himself walked toward the relic and bowed on the ground in tears. Later in the year, Emperor Yizong became critically ill. With his not having designated an heir, the eunuchs Liu Xingshen ( 劉行深 ) and Han Wenyue ( 韓文約 ) supported his 11-year-old son Li Yan the Prince of Pu as his heir. Liu and Han had an edict issued in Emperor Yizong's name creating Li Yan crown prince. Emperor Yizong died

19028-522: Was still at Chang'an, Cui Yin made a proposal intending to eliminate the control that the eunuchs had over the Shence Armies—that he and fellow chancellor Lu Yi be put in command of the Shence Armies. This proposal was opposed by Li Jizhao, Li Jihui, and Li Yanbi, however, and as Cui cited, as a rationale, the possibility that the Shence Armies could thus counteract the warlords, Li Maozhen was also suspicious of it. Emperor Zhaozong therefore rejected

19170-468: Was taken out of the water and decapitated. Emperor Zhaozong was restored to the throne. In gratitude to the three officers, he bestowed the imperial clan name of Li on them, renaming them Li Jizhao ( 李繼昭 ), Li Yanbi ( 李彥弼 ), and Li Jihui ( 李繼誨 ) respectively. Shortly after Emperor Zhaozong's restoration, Li Maozhen showed an intent of reestablishing his relationship with the emperor by visiting Chang'an to pay homage to Emperor Zhaozong. While Li Maozhen

19312-479: Was that Xu pointed out that if they mixed soldiers, the soldiers may not cooperate with each other, and Zhang did not want to let Xu's soldiers conduct the assassination.) Zhang and Xu subsequently declared that Yang Wo had died of a sudden illness. When Zhang postured at taking over command of the domain, however, Yan Keqiu spoke up against it and subsequently produced a document, which he claimed to be from Yang Wo's mother Lady Dowager Shi , pleading for allegiance of

19454-410: Was the chancellor Cui Yin , who hated the eunuchs ardently and who was allied with Zhu Quanzhong. By 900, Emperor Zhaozong, who had come to trust Cui and who would later describe him as "faithful but trickier" (than Han Wo , the official the emperor was making the comment to) was planning with Cui to slaughter the eunuchs. When Cui's fellow chancellor Wang Tuan urged against such action, believing

19596-619: Was the eldest son of Emperor Xuanzong . After Emperor Xuanzong's death in 859, Emperor Yizong was placed on the throne by the eunuch Wang Zongshi ( 王宗實 ), who killed other eunuchs supporting another son of Emperor Xuanzong, Li Zi the Prince of Kui. According to traditional historians, Emperor Yizong did not pay much attention to governmental affairs but instead chose to live in opulence, became an alcoholic and surrounded himself with women while his government levied heavy taxes on its citizens. A deeply devout Buddhist , even more so than his father, he would hold grand Buddhist ceremonies throughout

19738-469: Was the seventh son of Emperor Yizong and younger brother of Emperor Xizong . Later, Li Jie was murdered by Zhu Wen , who would later become the founding emperor of the Later Liang dynasty . During Emperor Zhaozong's reign, the Tang dynasty fell into total disarray and rebellions, which had been ongoing since the reign of his older brother, Emperor Xizong, as they erupted throughout the country while

19880-444: Was then merged back into Xichuan) and Xichuan had been deeply wounded. Princess Tongchang died in 870, and this caused a major display of Emperor Yizong's caprice at the capital Chang'an , as Emperor Yizong, in anger that the imperial physicians were not able to cure her, executed some 20 imperial physicians and had some 300 of their relatives imprisoned. When the chancellor Liu Zhan and the mayor of Jingzhao Municipality (京兆, i.e.,

20022-454: Was then the prefect of Chang Prefecture (常州, in modern Changzhou , Jiangsu ). Li Yu was particularly vocal in his objections to Xu's regency. In 912, Xu tried to have Xu Jie convince Li Yu to come to Yang Prefecture to pay homage to Yang Longyan, but Li Yu, after initially agreeing, refused and accused Xu of murdering Yang Wo after Xu Jie offended him. Xu Wen, in anger, announced a campaign against Li Yu, with Chai Zaiyong ( 柴再用 ) commanding

20164-458: Was unwilling to accept this result, however, and he intimidated Wei into returning to Chang'an by himself, while Wang continued the siege of Chengdu. In fall 891, Chen and Tian surrendered to Wang, and Wang took over Xichuan Circuit. The end of the campaign against Li Keyong, which Yang Fugong had opposed, did not end the tension between Emperor Zhaozong and Yang, but intensified it. In fall 891, Yang sought to retire, and Emperor Zhaozong approved

#57942