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111-480: Yang Longyan was born in 897, during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang ; he was the second son of Yang Xingmi , who, by the time of his birth, was a major warlord as the military governor ( Jiedushi ) of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou , Jiangsu ). His mother was Yang Xingmi's concubine Lady Shi , who was also the mother of his older brother Yang Wo . (Yang Longyan's four younger brothers all appear to be born of different mothers; Yang Pu

222-487: 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

333-484: A ceremony where they would remove mourning clothes that they had put on for Xu Wen's death; Xu Zhigao refused, claiming that Yang Pu would not let him leave the capital. Xu Zhixún, meanwhile, was tricked by Xu Zhigao to go to Guangling. Once he arrived there, Xu Zhigao detained him and did not allow him to return to Jinling, sending the officer Ke Hou ( 柯厚 ) to lead the Jinling forces back to Guangling, thus consolidating

444-522: 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

555-431: A fire that was set using it to be immune to being put out by water. The Khitan emperor was pleased with the gift and immediately considering attacking Jin's You Prefecture (幽州, in modern Beijing ), using the oil, but was dissuaded by his wife Empress Shulü Ping . In 917, Later Liang's erstwhile vassal Liu Yan the military governor of Qinghai Circuit (清海, headquartered in modern Guangzhou , Guangdong ) declared himself

666-460: A general campaign against him, with Wei in command, assisted by Wang, Gu, and Yang Fugong's adoptive nephew Yang Shouliang 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

777-465: A major victory against invading Wuyue troops at Wuxi . Xu then sent the Wuyue captives back to Wuyue and agreed to peace with Wuyue, and it was said that Wu would not be engaged in war with Wuyue for some 20 years thereafter. Both Yang Longyan and Xu frequently wrote Wuyue's prince Qian Liu , who was then a vassal to Later Liang, to urge him to declare independence from Later Liang, but Qian refused. It

888-468: A new Later Liang dynasty. Emperor Zhaozong's reign lasted almost 16 years and he was buried in the He Mausoleum ( 和陵 ). He 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

999-404: A new state later known as Southern Tang . When Xu Zhigao, after taking the throne, submitted a petition to Yang accepting the throne and still treating Yang Pu like an emperor and his lord, it was Xu Jie who delivered Xu Zhigao's petition to Yang. When, subsequently, many officials were submitting petitions to Xu Zhigao asking to change place names containing "Yang" or "Wu" as part of the name, it

1110-456: A river cruise. On yet another occasion, when they were both watching flowers at Chanzhi Temple ( 禪智寺 ), Xu Zhixun was drunk and became very insulting toward Yang Longyan, such that the prince became fearful and began to cry. The prince's attendants quickly put him on a boat and left the scene. Xu Zhixun tried to give chase, and when he could not catch up to Yang Longyan, he killed some of Yang Longyan's attendants. Once, when Xu Zhixun heard that

1221-424: A senior general, was at that point carrying the high title of deputy supreme commander of the southeastern circuits (with Yang himself carrying the title of supreme commander) and therefore formally carried a higher position than Xu. Xu was displeased with this and therefore decided to send Zhu out of the capital. He therefore established a Jinghuai Circuit ( 靜淮 ) at Si Prefecture (泗州, in modern Huai'an) and made Zhu

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1332-425: Is this Xu Wen? I have not even met him, and now he is in control of the state!" In 912, when Xu Jie, then serving as the director of travel pavilions (館驛使, Guanyishi ), was on a diplomatic mission to Hongnong's southeastern neighbor Wuyue , Xu Wen had him visit Li Yu at Xuan to try to persuade Li Yu to go to the capital Guangling ( 廣陵 ) to pay homage to Yang Longyan. Li Yu initially agreed. However, Xu Jie, during

1443-618: 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

1554-550: The Prince of Gaoping ( 高平王 ), was a Chinese military general and politician. He was an officer of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period states Wu and Southern Tang , serving as a chancellor during the reign of Southern Tang's first emperor Li Bian (Xu Zhigao). Xu Jie was born in 868, during the reign of Emperor Xizong of Tang . He was from Pengcheng (彭城, in modern Xuzhou , Jiangsu ). He

1665-713: 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,

1776-455: The Shizhong [(i.e., Yang Wo)]?" When Xu Wen heard this, he became angry and sent the general Chai Zaiyong ( 柴再用 ), with Xu Wen's adoptive son Xu Zhigao serving as Chai's deputy, to attack Li Yu at Xuan. Li Yu's initially was able to hold against Chai's attacks, but Xu Wen put Li Yu's youngest son, who was serving as an officer at Huainan headquarters, under arrest, and had him displayed at

1887-634: The Fu Prefecture (撫州, in modern Fuzhou , Jiangxi ) region, rose to challenge Hongnong's control of Zhennan Circuit (鎮南, headquartered in modern Nanchang , Jiangxi ). After the Hongnong general Zhou Ben defeated, captured, and delivered Wei to the Hongnong capital Guangling ( 廣陵 ), Yang Longyan released Wei on the account of his having aided Yang Xingmi on one of his campaigns and also gave Wei many gifts. In spring 910, Wan returned from his mission to Jin and Qi. He also announced that Li Maozhen

1998-628: The Prince of Hui was first declared crown prince, and then emperor (as Emperor Ai). By 907, Emperor Ai would be forced to yield the throne to Zhu, ending Tang and starting Zhu's new Later Liang . The Hu family of Xidi are descended from Hu Shiliang, from Wuyuan, who was a descendant of Hu Changyi, a son of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang who was adopted by the Wuyuan Hu family. Consorts and Issue: Xu Jie (Southern Tang) Xu Jie ( 徐玠 ) (868-943), courtesy name Yungui ( 蘊圭 ), formally

2109-505: The Prince of Qi had, under the authority of the Tang emperor, bestowed the greater honorary chancellor title of Zhongshu Ling ( 中書令 ) and authorized him to inherit Yang Xingmi's title of Prince of Wu. Yang Longyan accepted the titles and issued a general pardon. Xu Wen continued to maintain control of the Wu governance. This led to resentment by a number of Wu's senior generals — Liu Wei ( 劉威 )

2220-414: 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 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

2331-560: 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

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2442-523: 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

2553-774: 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

2664-509: The advice of his guest Huang Na ( 黃訥 ) and went to Guangling to pay homage to Yang Longyan. Tao, hearing of Li Yu's death, also became fearful and therefore arrived with Liu. Xu Wen showed the both of them great respect, acting as if they were Yang Xingmi, and also granted them additional honors. Thereafter, Xu Wen, Liu, and Tao went to meet with Li Yan and requested Li Yan to, in Emperor Zhaozong's name, formally bestow Yang Longyan

2775-729: The aftermaths of Xu Zhixun's death, Xu Wen was initially suspicious that many generals and officials were involved in Zhu's plot. He put Li Yan and the general Mi Zhicheng ( 米志誠 ) to death and considered carrying out many more executions. However, Xu Zhigao and Yan Keqiu convinced Xu Wen that Xu Zhixun brought disaster on himself with his improper behavior, and Xu Wen's anger was abated. Because all of his other biological sons were young, Xu Wen left Xu Zhigao in charge at Guangling as junior regent, succeeding Xu Zhixun, while he himself returned to his headquarters (which had been moved to Sheng Prefecture (昇州, in modern Nanjing , Jiangsu ) by this point). It

2886-522: 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

2997-590: The army. Xu Wen then sent the official He Rao ( 何蕘 ) to, in Yang Longyan's name, state to Li Yu: "If you, Lord, are planning on rebelling, please execute He Rao to show yourself. Otherwise, follow him out of the city." Li Yu thus surrendered. Xu Wen had Chai kill Li Yu and slaughter his household, and it was said that after this event, all the generals were fearful of Xu and did not dare to resist him further. Meanwhile, Liu also came under suspicion, and Xu Wen considered attacking him. Liu, knowing this, followed

3108-399: 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 the request. Li Jie thereafter bore a deep resentment for Tian. In 888, by which time Huang's rebellion had been crushed and

3219-448: 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

3330-473: 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

3441-425: 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

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3552-496: 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,

3663-468: The command under Xu Zhigao himself. Given Xu Jie's allegiance to Xu Zhigao at this point, Xu Zhigao became closely associated with him, with the resentment between them gone. When Xu Zhigao himself later took up his headquarters in Jinling, Xu Jie was made the commander of his army. As of 934, he, along with Li Jianxun , was beginning to encourage Xu Zhigao to take over the throne from Yang Pu. When, as part of that transition process, Xu Zhigao received

3774-406: 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

3885-506: The conversation, stated, "If you do not do so, Lord, people will believe that you are rebelling." Li Yu angrily responded, "You, sir, said that I, Li Yu, would be rebelling. Is it not the case that one who killed the Shizhong [(i.e., Yang Wo, who carried that title)] would be rebelling?" Xu Wen, subsequently, had the general Chai Zaiyong ( 柴再用 ) attack Xuan. When Li Yu subsequently surrendered, Xu Wen had Li Yu's family slaughtered. Li Yu's son had married one of Yang Xingmi's daughters, who

3996-399: The emperor of a new state of Yue (soon to be renamed to Han and therefore known as Southern Han in traditional histories). He sent emissaries to Yang to announce his doing so and also to urge Yang to also claim imperial title. Yang did not react to this suggestion. By 918, Xu Zhixun had also alienated Zhu Jin. On one occasion, Xu tried to rape one of Zhu's servant girls. Further, Zhu, as

4107-473: 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

4218-413: 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

4329-410: 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 the southeast; Li Kuangwei and Helian Duo the military governor of Datong Circuit (大同, headquartered in modern Datong , Shanxi ) attacking from

4440-527: The food supply officer, and after the successful campaign was made the prefect of Ji Prefecture (吉州, in modern Ji'an , Jiangxi ). By 912, Tang had fallen, and Yang Wo's domain was now ruled by his brother and successor Yang Longyan , who carried the title of Prince of Hongnong , as an independent state. However, the governance of the Hongnong state was actually in the hands of Xu Wen , who had along with Zhang Hao , assassinated Yang Wo and become regent. Several of Yang Xingmi's old generals — Liu Wei ( 劉威 )

4551-423: The general Li Decheng had many singing girls in his household, he sent a demand to Li that the singing girls be given to him. When Li responded that these singing girls were too old for Xu and that he would try to find younger and more beautiful ones for Xu, Xu responded to Li's messenger, "One day I will kill Li Decheng and take even his wife!" These unlawful deeds, however, were said to be unreported to Xu Wen as

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4662-415: The general Zhu Jin , arrived. When Zhu called out to the mutineer soldiers to surrender, they panicked and fled. Ma and Li were captured and executed. In or around 917, there was an occasion when Yang Longyan sent an emissary to Emperor Taizu of Liao , the emperor of a newly established Khitan Empire . Yang's emissary delivered, as a gift, a kind of oil that, according to historical accounts, would make

4773-605: The government is so important that you cannot trust it to someone of a different surname. You should let your proper son Xu Zhixún [(Xu Wen's second biological son)] replace him." But as Xu Wen was considering the matter and resolving to replace Xu Zhigao with Xu Zhixún, he fell ill and died in 927. Shortly after Xu Wen's death, then-Wu emperor Yang Pu (Yang Longyan's younger brother and successor) split Xu Wen's titles between Xu Zhigao and Xu Zhixún, with Xu Zhigao assuming Xu Wen's title as overseer of all military matters (都督中外總軍事, Dudu Zhongwai Zongjunshi ), while Xu Zhixún took on

4884-408: 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

4995-402: 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 the imperial officials wanted him to succeed Emperor Xizong, but the powerful eunuch Yang Fugong (who had succeeded Tian as

5106-586: 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

5217-468: 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

5328-400: 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

5439-527: 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

5550-570: The largest army of the state, and he, wielding that authority, contended for decision-making with Xu Zhigao, who tried to curb Xu Zhixun's military power. Given Xu Zhixún's military strength, Xu Zhigao feared him, but Xu Zhixún's arrogance alienated his younger biological brothers. Xu Jie, who had previously supported Xu Zhixún, also realized that Xu Zhixun lacked the proper abilities to lead, and instead turned his allegiance to Xu Zhigao, informing Xu Zhigao of Xu Zhixún's shortcomings. Later in 929, Xu Zhixún tried to summon Xu Zhigao to Jinling to attend

5661-412: The major warlord Zhu Wen seized control of the imperial government and in 904 had Emperor Zhaozong killed as 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

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5772-467: The middle of Zhu's mansion, where Zhu's wife Lady Tao came out to greet him as well as a sign of respect. Xu Zhixun was pleased and took no further precautions, while Zhu already had his elite guards surround the hall. As Lady Tao bowed to Xu Zhixun and he bowed back, Zhu struck him and, as he fell to the ground, Zhu's elite soldiers entered and cut off his head. After Zhu took the head and showed them to Xu Zhixun's soldiers, they all fled. Zhu then entered

5883-519: 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

5994-425: 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

6105-479: 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

6216-466: 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

6327-652: 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 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

6438-431: 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

6549-428: The military governor of Zhennan Circuit, Tao Ya ( 陶雅 ) the governor (觀察使, Guanchashi ) of She Prefecture (歙州, in modern Huangshan , Anhui ), Li Yu ( 李遇 ) the governor of Xuan Prefecture (宣州, in modern Xuancheng , Anhui ), and Li Jian ( 李簡 ) the prefect of Chang Prefecture (常州, in modern Changzhou , Jiangsu ) — each of whom had greater accomplishments and had higher standing in the army than Xu did when Yang Xingmi

6660-455: The military governor of Zhennan, Tao Ya ( 陶雅 ) the governor of She Prefecture (歙州, in modern Huangshan , Anhui ), Li Yu ( 李遇 ) the governor of Xuan Prefecture (宣州, in modern Xuancheng , Anhui ), and Li Jian ( 李簡 ) the prefect of Chang Prefecture (常州, in modern Changzhou , Jiangsu ) — were dissatisfied with the situation and were particularly not respectful of Xu Wen. Li Yu was particularly upset with Xu Wen's governance, often stating, "Who

6771-407: The military governor. Zhu became hateful of Xu Zhixun as well, but outwardly pretended to continue to honor Xu Zhixun. As Zhu was (outwardly) preparing to leave Jiangdu, Xu Zhixun went to bid him farewell. Zhu held a feast for him, offered him wine, had Zhu's favorite concubine come outside to greet him and sing for him, and presented Zhu's favorite horse as a gift to him. Zhu then invited him into

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6882-483: The military prefect of Chu Prefecture (楚州, in modern Huai'an , Jiangsu ), to be the military prefect of Shu Prefecture (舒州, in modern Anqing , Anhui ). Yang Longyan died shortly after, and Yang Pu took the throne. 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

6993-459: 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

7104-447: The most important matters. As junior regent, Xu Zhixun grew arrogant, alienating the Wu officials and officers. He was even disrespectful to Yang Longyan, who was formally his sovereign. For example, once he put on a canjunxi play with himself playing the joker ( canjun ) and with Yang Longyan playing the canghu , or the butt of jokes, following him around abjectly. He also once fired slingshots at Yang Longyan when they both went on

7215-534: The name of the Tang emperor, made Yang Longyan the full military governor of Huainan, the supreme commander of the southeastern circuits, the Prince of Hongnong, and honorary chancellor (同中書門下平章事, Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi ). After he took the throne, Yang Longyan sent the officer Wan Quangan ( 萬全感 ) to covertly go through hostile (i.e., Later Liang) territory to notify nominal allies Jin and Qi (both of which had also refused to recognize Later Liang) of his ascension. In 909, Wei Quanfeng , who controlled

7326-406: 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 the imperial official sent to take over Zhaoyi, Sun Kui ( 孫揆 ),

7437-498: 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

7548-484: The palace and showed the head to Yang, stating, "I, your servant, have removed a harm to Your Majesty." However, Yang, in fear of the consequences, fled and stated, "You, Uncle, take care of yourself! I know nothing about this." (Yang referred to Zhu as uncle because Yang Xingmi's first wife Lady Zhu had the same surname, although she was unrelated to Zhu Jin.) Shortly after, Zhu was cornered by soldiers under Xu Wen's associate Zhai Qian ( 翟虔 ), and committed suicide. In

7659-409: 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 the throne, he received petitions from Wang Jian and Gu Yanlang , advocating that Tian Lingzi's brother Chen Jingxuan

7770-531: 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,

7881-508: 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

7992-561: The regency by himself, reassuring an alarmed Lady Dowager Shi (who requested to yield the seat of power to Xu himself and have the Yang household return to their ancestral home of Lu Prefecture (廬州, in modern Hefei , Anhui )) that he had no intent to seize power. In effect, though, the command of the domain was in Xu's hands. Thereafter, the Wu officials met with Li Yan , the official representative that Emperor Zhaozong had sent to Huainan, and Li, in

8103-446: The reign of his older brother, Emperor Xizong, as they erupted throughout the country while 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,

8214-508: 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

8325-520: 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 )

8436-411: 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

8547-469: The staff members were fearful of the consequences of reporting. In 916, the Wu officers Ma Qian ( 馬謙 ) and Li Qiu ( 李球 ) tried to start a coup against Xu Zhixun. They seized Yang Longyan and ascended a tower, ordering the soldiers to attack Xu Zhixun. Xu Zhixun was about to flee, when the official Yan Keqiu advised him not to, arguing that for him to flee would cause a massive panic. Soon, relief forces launched by Xu Wen from Run Prefecture, commanded by

8658-417: 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 the mourning period, the chancellor Wei Zhaodu served as regent . Emperor Zhaozong's ascension created great anticipation in

8769-433: 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

8880-466: The title of Generalissimo and established a headquarters in 936, Xu Zhigao made Xu Jie and a long-time advisor, Song Qiqiu , the military advisors at the Generalissimo headquarters. In 937, with Xu Zhigao's having received the title of Prince of Qi, Xu Jie and Song were made the principality's chancellors. In fall 937, Yang Pu yielded the throne to Xu Zhigao, ending Wu, with Xu Zhigao starting

8991-559: The title of deputy supreme commander of all circuits (諸道副都統, Zhudao Fu Dutong , with Xu Wen having been supreme commander before, and that post now left open) and military governor of Ningguo (寧國, headquartered in modern Xuancheng , Anhui ) and Zhenhai (鎮海, headquartered in modern Zhenjiang , Jiangsu ) Circuits, which Xu Wen had been; he also took the greater honorary chancellor title of Shizhong ( 侍中 ). Even though Xu Zhigao remained in control of Wu's imperial government, Xu Zhixún, at Jinling (金陵, in modern Nanjing , Jiangsu ), controlled

9102-577: The titles of Taishi ( 太師 ) and Prince of Wu (apparently regarding Li Maozhen's bestowment to be insufficiently formal). Xu Wen also treated Yang Longyan with respect. However, things changed in 915, when Xu Wen, who was then carrying the titles of military governor of Zhenhai Circuit (鎮海, headquartered at Run Prefecture ( 潤州 ) in modern Zhenjiang , Jiangsu ) and Duke of Qi, left Guangling and established his headquarters at Run Prefecture. He left his oldest biological son Xu Zhixun in command at Guangling as junior regent, with Xu Wen himself only ruling on

9213-528: Was Yang Meng the Duke of Lujiang, Xu had often been suspicious at Yang Meng's intent if he took the throne since Yang Meng was known to have complained about the Xus' hold on power, and therefore decided to skip Yang Meng. Instead, he issued an order in Yang Longyan's name summoning his next younger brother, Yang Pu the Duke of Danyang, to Guangling to formally serve as regent, while moving Yang Meng, who had been made

9324-473: Was Xu Jie who spoke against such petitions, stating, "Your Imperial Majesty accepted the throne in accordance with the will of heaven and man, without seizing it by improper means. The flattering and evil people are concentrating on changing minute matters. This is not a priority, and you should not follow them." Xu Zhigao agreed with his assessment. Xu Jie was subsequently made the military governor of Ningguo Circuit (寧國, headquartered at Xuan Prefecture). It

9435-714: Was alive. Li Yu was particularly unhappy, often stating, "Who is this Xu Wen? I do not even remember his face, and now he is ruling the state!" On an occasion when the officer Xu Jie was on a diplomatic mission to Wu's southeastern neighbor Wuyue , Xu Wen had Xu Jie stop by in Xuan Prefecture to try to persuade Li Yu to show submission by going to Guangling to pay homage to Yang Longyan. Li Yu initially agreed, but Xu Jie inadvertently stated, "If you, Lord, do not do so, people will say that you are committing treason." Li Yu angrily responded, "You, sir, are saying that I, Li Yu, am treasonous. Is it not more treasonous to murder

9546-416: Was assassinated by the officers Zhang Hao and Xu Wen . In the aftermaths of Yang Wo's death, Zhang postured taking command formally himself, but was urged not to by the official Yan Keqiu , who subsequently wrote and issued an order in the name of Yang Wo's and Yang Longyan's mother Lady Dowager Shi naming Yang Longyan acting military governor of Hongnong. Shortly after, Xu assassinated Zhang and took over

9657-470: Was briefly deposed by the eunuch Liu Jishu in 900 and restored in 901). Emperor Zhaozong 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

9768-480: 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

9879-503: 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 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

9990-643: 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

10101-456: Was forcing Cui Hong into submitting to him. They coerced Cui Hong into abandoning Fengguo's capital Cai Prefecture ( 蔡州 ) and fleeing to the domain of another major warlord, Yang Xingmi the military governor of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou , Jiangsu ). As they approached Yang's domain, Cui Hong sent Xu in advance to meet Yang to submit. Yang subsequently retained Xu to serve as an officer under him. By 906, Huainan

10212-452: 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 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

10323-406: 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

10434-474: 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,

10545-509: Was known to be born of Lady Wang , while the mothers of the other three brothers were lost to history.) After Yang Xingmi's death in 905, Yang Wo inherited his domain and carried the title of Prince of Hongnong. In 908, Yang Wo — whose Hongnong state was effectively an independent state after rival warlord Zhu Quanzhong had seized the Tang throne in 907 and established a new Later Liang as its Emperor Taizu but whose legitimacy Yang Wo and several other regional warlords refused to acknowledge —

10656-453: Was made the junior regent. Xu Zhigao considered Xu Jie's governance of Ji Prefecture to be poor, and found him to be corrupt and obscene, and therefore removed him from the post. However, Xu Wen himself considered Xu Jie to be a good assistant, and therefore invited Xu Jie to serve on staff, as the deputy commander of Xu Wen's army; and Xu Jie became a close associate to him. As Xu Jie resented Xu Zhigao, he often told Xu Wen, "The regency of

10767-508: Was near death. Xu Wen arrived from Run Prefecture to oversee the transition. Some of Xu's followers urged that he take over the throne himself, but Xu himself disavowed such an intent, stating, "If I had the intent to do so, I would have done so when I killed Zhang Hao and would not have waited until today. Even if the Yangs were out of males, I would have supported a female to take the throne. Anyone who says anything else will be decapitated!" However, while Yang Longyan's oldest younger brother

10878-415: 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

10989-438: 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 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

11100-429: 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 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

11211-601: Was said that Xu Zhigao was respectful to Yang and comforted the people and the officials. Meanwhile, Xu Wen urged Yang to take imperial title. Yang refused, but in 919 took on the greater title of King of Wu. He changed the carry-over Tang era name of Tianyou to a new era name of Wuyi , in effect ending the vassal relationship to the defunct Tang Dynasty. He also established an imperial administration, honored his mother Lady Dowager Shi as queen dowager, and created his brothers and his son Yang Jiming (楊繼明, who would later be renamed Yang Fen ( 楊玢) ) dukes. Also in 919, Xu Wen had

11322-460: Was said that over the years, Yang displayed a serious, magnanimous, and respectful personality. He displayed no displeasure at Xu and Xu's sons' having the actual reins of the state, and Xu did not suspect him of intent to seize power personally. However, it was said that after the declaration of the independent Wu state, which he himself did not want to see, he became depressed. He drank often and ate little, and thus became ill. As of summer 920, he

11433-492: Was said that when this was announced, his wife Lady Yang, remembering what had happened with her first husband and his family, died due to her distress and anger. He was later moved to Zhennan Circuit and given the honorary chancellor title of Zhongshu Ling ( 中書令 ). He was later recalled to the Southern Tang imperial government to serve as chancellor with the titles of Situ ( 司徒 ) and You Chengxiang ( 右丞相 ), but

11544-477: Was said to be dextrous, capable, and a good speaker. At some point, he became an officer under the general Cui Hong ( 崔洪 ), who was, as of 899, serving as the military governor ( Jiedushi ) of Fengguo Circuit (奉國, headquartered in modern Zhumadian , Henan ). In 899, a number of Fengguo officers, led by Cui Jingsi ( 崔景思 ), were fearful of the major warlord Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng , Henan ), who

11655-439: Was spared from execution because she was the prince's sister. She subsequently married Xu Jie as his wife. In 918, Xu Wen's oldest biological son Xu Zhixùn , whom Xu Wen had made junior regent and in day-to-day control of the state (which by that point was known as Wu), was assassinated by the general Zhu Jin , who subsequently committed suicide. As Xu Wen's other biological sons were all young, Xu Wen's adoptive son Xu Zhigao

11766-522: 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

11877-468: 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

11988-410: 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

12099-471: 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 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

12210-424: Was under the rule of Yang Xingmi's son and successor Yang Wo . That year, Yang Wo, taking advantage of a succession struggle at Zhennan Circuit (鎮南, headquartered in modern Nanchang , Jiangxi ) after the death of its military governor Zhong Chuan between Zhong Chuan's son Zhong Kuangshi and adoptive son Zhong Yangui ( 鍾延規 ), launched a major attack on Zhennan and captured it. During the campaign, Xu served as

12321-458: 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

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