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Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang (), personal name Li Cunxu (), nickname Yazi (),
stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...
Li Tianxia (), was the ruling prince of the Former Jin dynasty (r. 908–923) and later became the founding
emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
of the
Later Tang dynasty Tang, known in historiography as the Later Tang, was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China and the second of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Chinese history. The first three of the Later Tang's four e ...
(r. 923–926) during the
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...
of
Chinese history The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the ''Book of Documents'' (early chapter ...
.Cihai: Page 1266. He was the son of
Li Keyong Li Keyong () (October 24, 856 – February 24, 908) was a Chinese military general and politician of Shatuo ethnicity, and from January 896 a Prince of Jin (, ''Jin Wang''), which would become an independent state after the fall of the Tang dyn ...
, an ethnic
Shatuo The Shatuo, or the Shatuo Turks (; also transcribed as Sha-t'o, Sanskrit SartZuev Yu.A., ''"Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms (Translation of Chinese composition "Tanghuyao" of 8-10th centuries)"'', Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, I ...
Jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", " legate" ...
of the
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
. Li Cunxu was considered one of the most militarily capable rulers of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. When he succeeded his father Li Keyong as the Prince of Jin, Jin had been weakened in the late years of Li Keyong's rule and not considered capable of posing a military threat to its archrival to the south, Later Liang, whose founding emperor
Zhu Quanzhong Emperor Taizu of Later Liang (), personal name Zhu Quanzhong () (December 5, 852 – July 18, 912), né Zhu Wen (), name later changed to Zhu Huang (), nickname Zhu San (朱三, literally, "the third Zhu"), was a Chinese military general, mona ...
had seized the Tang throne. Li Cunxu carefully rebuilt the Jin state, using a series of conquests and alliances to take over most of the territory north of the
Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...
, before starting a lengthy campaign against Later Liang. Li Cunxu conquered the Later Liang in 923 and proclaimed himself emperor of the Later Tang, which he referred to as the “Restored Tang.” As a part of “restoring Tang,” the capital was moved back to the old Tang eastern capital of
Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...
. As with all of the other dynasties of the
Five Dynasties The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...
, Later Tang was a short-lived regime lasting only thirteen years. Li Cunxu himself lived only three years after the founding of the dynasty, having been killed during an officer's rebellion led by Guo Congqian () in 926. He was succeeded by his adoptive brother
Li Siyuan Li Siyuan (李嗣源, later changed to Li Dan (李亶)) (10 October 867 – 15 December 933), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang (後唐明宗), was the second emperor of the Later Tang dynasty of China, reigni ...
.


Background

Li Cunxu was born in 885, at Jinyang (i.e.,
Taiyuan Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. ...
), during the reign of
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 the Tang dynasty of China. He reigned from 888 to 904 (although he was briefly deposed ...
. His father was the late-
Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
major warlord
Li Keyong Li Keyong () (October 24, 856 – February 24, 908) was a Chinese military general and politician of Shatuo ethnicity, and from January 896 a Prince of Jin (, ''Jin Wang''), which would become an independent state after the fall of the Tang dyn ...
the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan,
Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...
). His mother was Li Keyong's concubine Lady Cao. He was Li Keyong's oldest biological son. In 895, when Li Keyong was on a (eventually successful) campaign against the warlords
Wang Xingyu Wang Xingyu () (d. 895) was a warlord late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who controlled Jingnan Circuit (靜難, headquartered in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi) from 887 to his death in 895. At his prime, he and his ally Li Maozhen the military g ...
the military governor of Jingnan Circuit (靜難, headquartered in modern
Xianyang Xianyang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now integrated into the Xi'an metrop ...
,
Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...
),
Li Maozhen Li Maozhen (; 856 – May 17, 924), born Song Wentong (), courtesy name Zhengchen (), formally Prince Zhongjing of Qin (), was the only ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Qi (901–924). He had become a powerful w ...
the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern
Baoji () is a prefecture-level city in western Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China. Since the early 1990s, Baoji has been the second largest city in Shaanxi. Geography The prefecture-level city of Baoji had a population of 3,321,853 accordin ...
,
Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...
), and Han Jian the military governor of Zhenguo Circuit (鎮國, headquartered in modern
Weinan Weinan () is a prefecture-level city in the east central Shaanxi province, China. The city lies on the lower section of the Wei River confluence into the Yellow River, about east of the provincial capital Xi'an, and borders the provinces of S ...
,
Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...
)—who, earlier, had entered the capital
Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...
and executed the chancellors
Wei Zhaodu Wei Zhaodu (韋昭度) (died June 4, 895Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 260.), courtesy name Zhengji (正紀), formally the Duke of Qi (岐公), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serv ...
and Li Xi over Emperor Zhaozong's objections—Li Keyong sent Li Cunxu to pay homage to the emperor. Emperor Zhaozong, upon seeing Li Cunxu's appearance, caressed him and stated, "You, son, will be a pillar for the state. Please be faithful to the imperial house."''
Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...
'', vol. 260.
After Li Keyong defeated the three warlords (killing Wang and forcing Li Maozhen and Han to nominally resubmit to the emperor), Li Cunxu was given the honorific title of acting ''Sikong'' () and made the prefect of Xi Prefecture (隰州, in modern
Linfen Linfen is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shanxi province, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the west. It is situated along the banks of the Fen River. It has an area of and according to the 2020 Census, a population of 3,976, ...
,
Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...
), and later successively the prefect of Fen () and Jin () Prefectures (both in modern Linfen), but as he did not report to those prefectures, the titles were honorary. He was said to understand music, and often sang or danced before his father. He had a rudimentary understanding of the ''
Spring and Autumn Annals The ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' () is an ancient Chinese chronicle that has been one of the core Chinese classics since ancient times. The ''Annals'' is the official chronicle of the State of Lu, and covers a 241-year period from 722 to 481 ...
''. When he grew older, he became capable at riding and archery. Li Cunxu was said to be intelligent, brave, and alert even in his youth. In or around 902, seeing his father's distress at years of losses against archrival
Zhu Quanzhong Emperor Taizu of Later Liang (), personal name Zhu Quanzhong () (December 5, 852 – July 18, 912), né Zhu Wen (), name later changed to Zhu Huang (), nickname Zhu San (朱三, literally, "the third Zhu"), was a Chinese military general, mona ...
the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern
Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...
,
Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
), he pointed out that his father's public display of distress would merely distress the troops and the people as well, and that it was better to lie low and wait for Zhu to make a mistake before trying to react, allowing the troops and the people to rest for the time. He also spoke to Li Keyong about what he saw as the issue of the ethnically
Shatuo The Shatuo, or the Shatuo Turks (; also transcribed as Sha-t'o, Sanskrit SartZuev Yu.A., ''"Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms (Translation of Chinese composition "Tanghuyao" of 8-10th centuries)"'', Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, I ...
soldiers pillaging the civilian populace—although Li Keyong was unwilling to curb the soldiers' behaviors at that time, pointing out that if he did, the soldiers might scatter and be unable to be gathered again.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 263. In 906, Zhu was on campaign against another major warlord,
Liu Rengong Liu Rengong () (died 914) was a warlord late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who controlled Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing) from 895 (when his one-time lord Li Keyong conquered Lulong and left him in charge of it) to 90 ...
the military governor of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
), and he put Liu Rengong's son
Liu Shouwen Liu Shouwen () (died 910) was a warlord who ruled Yichang Circuit (義昌, headquartered in modern Cangzhou, Hebei) as its military governor (''Jiedushi'') late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and early during Tang's succeeding dynasty Later ...
the military governor of Yichang Circuit (義昌, headquartered in modern
Cangzhou Cangzhou () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Hebei province, People's Republic of China. At the 2020 census, Cangzhou's built-up (''or metro'') area made of Yunhe, Xinhua districts and Cang County largely being conurbated had a populatio ...
,
Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
) under siege at Yichang's capital Cang Prefecture (). Liu Rengong sought aid from Li Keyong—whom he had previously rebelled against and thereafter became independent from. Li Keyong, bearing that grudge, initially refused to aid Liu. Li Cunxu pointed out that Zhu had become so strong at that point that nearly all of the other warlords had submitted to him as vassals, and that Hedong and Lulong were two of the few remaining holdouts. He advocated aiding Liu to stop Zhu's expansion, while at time helping Li Keyong gain a reputation for magnanimity. Under Li Cunxu's advocacy, Li Keyong agreed, and requested Liu send troops to him to jointly attack Zhu's possession Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern
Changzhi Changzhi () is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Shanxi Province, China, bordering the provinces of Hebei and Henan to the northeast and east, respectively. Historically, the city was one of the 36 administrative areas (see Adminis ...
,
Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...
) to open a second front. Liu did so. Subsequent, when Li Keyong attacked Zhaoyi's capital Lu Prefecture (), Zhaoyi's military governor Ding Hui, who had secretly resented Zhu for having killed Emperor Zhaozong in 904, surrendered Zhaoyi to Li Keyong, forcing Zhu to abandon his campaign against Liu.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 265. In 907, Zhu had Emperor Zhaozong's son and successor Emperor Ai yield the throne to him, ending Tang and starting a new Later Liang as its emperor. He claimed to be the proper ruler for all of the former Tang realm, but Li Keyong, as well as Li Maozhen,
Yang Wo Yang Wo () (886 – June 9, 908), courtesy name Chengtian (), formally Prince Wei of Hongnong (), later further posthumously honored King Jing of Wu () and then as Emperor Jing of Wu () with the temple name Liezu (), was the first independent ruler ...
the military governor of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern
Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yan ...
,
Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
), and Wang Jian the military governor of Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern
Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...
,
Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
), refused to recognize him as emperor, effectively becoming sovereigns of their own realms ( Jin, Qi, Hongnong, and
Former Shu Great Shu (Chinese: 大蜀, Pinyin: Dàshǔ) called in retrospect Former Shu (Chinese: 前蜀, Pinyin: Qiánshǔ) or occasionally Wang Shu (王蜀), was one of the Ten Kingdoms formed during the chaotic period between the rules of the Tang dynas ...
, respectively). Zhu thereafter sent his general Kang Huaizhen () to put Li Cunxu's adoptive cousin
Li Sizhao Li Sizhao () (died May 23, 922''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 271.Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calenda ...
, whom Li Keyong had made the military governor of Zhaoyi, under siege at Lu. Kang built walls and trenches around Lu to cut off communications with the outside, and subsequent relief forces that Li Keyong sent under
Zhou Dewei Zhou Dewei () (died January 28, 919''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 270.Academia Sinica Chinese-Western C ...
's command, while having some minor successes against Later Liang forces, were unable to lift the siege. By spring 908, Li Keyong had fallen seriously ill. He entrusted Li Cunxu, whom he designated as his heir, to his brother
Li Kening Li Kening () (died March 25, 908''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 266.Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calen ...
, the
eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...
monitor
Zhang Chengye Zhang Chengye (張承業) (846'' History of the Five Dynasties'', vol. 72. – November 23, 922''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 271.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), né Kang (康), courtesy name Jiyuan (繼元), was an importan ...
, Li Cunxu's adoptive brother
Li Cunzhang Li Cunzhang (李存璋) (died 922) was a military general in imperial China's Tang dynasty, and later the Jin territory in the ensuing Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period after Tang's collapse. He served the Shatuo leaders Li Keyong — who ...
, the officer Wu Gong (), and the secretary general Lu Zhi (), while repeatedly stating to Li Cunxu that the immediate urgency after his death would be to rescue Li Sizhao. He then died and was succeeded as the Prince of Jin by Li Cunxu.


As Prince of Jin


Initial consolidation of power

After Li Keyong's death, Li Kening initially took over the discipline of the army, and no one dared to create a disturbance. By contrast, the officers and the soldiers did not then respect the young (then 22) Li Cunxu, and they were constantly commenting about him. Li Cunxu, in fear, offered the command of the army to Li Kening, but Li Kening declined, pointing out that he was Li Keyong's lawful heir. Under Li Kening's and Zhang Chengye's insistence, Li Cunxu took the titles of Prince of Jin and military governor of Hedong. Many of Li Keyong's adoptive sons who served as officers, however, were older and more accomplished militarily than Li Cunxu, and they did not respect him; many refused to meet him to pay homage, and some refused to bow to him. One of those, Li Cunhao (), tried to persuade Li Kening to take over the command himself, but Li Kening refused Li Cunhao's overture, going as far as to threaten him with execution. However, Li Cunhao and several other adoptive sons sent their wives to persuade Li Kening's wife Lady Meng. Lady Meng agreed with their idea, and therefore urged Li Kening to go with the idea, causing Li Kening's resolve to support Li Cunxu to be shaken. Further, he was also encountering policy disagreements with Zhang and Li Cunzhang and argued with them frequently. He thereafter killed an officer, Li Cunzhi (), without Li Cunxu's approval, and also requested to be made the military governor of Datong Circuit (大同, headquartered in modern Datong,
Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...
). Li Cunxu agreed. Despite Li Cunxu's agreement with Li Kening, the conspiracy around Li Kening continued. Li Cunhao specifically planned, with Li Kening's understanding, to seize Li Cunxu when Li Cunxu would visit Li Kening's mansion, deliver Li Cunxu and his mother Lady Dowager Cao to the Later Liang emperor, and take over Hedong Circuit. Li Kening met the officer Shi Jingrong () to try to get Shi to join the plot and to surveil Li Cunxu. Shi pretended to agree, and then informed the plot to Li Cunxu. Li Cunxu met with Lady Dowager Cao and Zhang and initially offered to resign to try to avoid a conflict, but Zhang persuaded him to act against Li Kening. Zhang summoned Li Cunzhang, Wu Gong, as well as the officers Li Cunjing () and
Zhu Shouyin Zhu Shouyin (朱守殷) (died November 7, 927''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 276. Academia SinicaChinese-Western Calendar Converter), nickname Hui'er (會兒), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period sta ...
to prepare against Li Kening. On March 25, 908, Li Cunxu held a feast at his own mansion, and all the high-level officers attended. At the feast, soldiers that Li Cunxu had previously hidden seized Li Kening and Li Cunhao, and then executed them. Meanwhile, the crisis of Lu being under siege continued. However, believing that Lu would fall by itself without aid from the outside in light of Li Keyong's death (particularly because Li Cunxu withdrew Zhou Dewei from the area back to Taiyuan for some time), Zhu Quanzhong left the siege, leaving his generals to continue the siege against Lu. Li Cunxu decided to lead the army himself to try to lift the siege. With he himself attacking the Later Liang forces from one side and Zhou from the other, the surprised Later Liang forces collapsed, ending the siege on Lu. Li Cunxu thereafter instituted policies that, during the next several years, gradually let Jin regain its strength from the nadir late in the Li Keyong years. As described by the
Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
historian
Sima Guang Sima Guang (17 November 1019 – 11 October 1086), courtesy name Junshi, was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer. He was a high-ranking Song dynasty scholar-official who authored the monumental history book ''Zizhi Tongjian''. Sima was ...
in the ''
Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...
'': Li Cunxu also began to exercise imperial powers, in the name of the Tang emperor (even though there was no Tang emperor at that time any more)—an authority that Emperor Zhaozong had previously granted Li Keyong, but which Li Keyong never exercised. He trusted Zhang Chengye greatly, honoring him as an older brother. For some time thereafter, Li Cunxu did not wage major campaigns, although he did involve himself in the war between Liu Shouwen and his younger brother
Liu Shouguang Liu Shouguang () (died February 16, 914) was a warlord early in the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period who controlled Lulong (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing) and Yichang (義昌, headquartered in modern Cangzhou, Hebei) Circui ...
by aiding Liu Shouguang,''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 267. after Liu Shouguang had overthrown Liu Rengong and taken over Lulong Circuit. (Liu Shouguang eventually captured Liu Shouwen at the
Battle of Jisu The Battle of Jisu was a battle fought in 909 between the brothers Liu Shouguang and Liu Shouwen following Liu Shouguang's overthrow of their father Liu Rengong. Liu Shouguang won the battle and subsequently killed Liu Shouwen Background During ...
, uniting Lulong and Yichang under his control.) He also jointly attacked Later Liang with Li Maozhen's Qi state after the major Later Liang general
Liu Zhijun / ( or ) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: in Mandarin Chinese, in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'kill', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the classic text ...
submitted to Qi. Li Cunxu's major opportunity to assert himself against Later Liang came in late 910. Zhu Quanzhong had come to suspect his vassals Wang Rong the Prince of Zhao, who controlled Wushun Circuit (武順, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang,
Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
), and
Wang Chuzhi Wang Chuzhi (王處直, Wade–Giles: Wang Chʻu-chih) (862–922), courtesy name Yunming (允明, Wade–Giles: Yün-ming), formally the Prince of Beiping (北平王, Wade–Giles: Prince of Pei-pʻing), was a warlord late in the Chinese dynasty T ...
the military governor of Yiwu Circuit (義武, headquartered in modern
Baoding Baoding (), formerly known as Baozhou and Qingyuan, is a prefecture-level city in central Hebei province, approximately southwest of Beijing. As of the 2010 census, Baoding City had 11,194,382 inhabitants out of which 2,176,857 lived in the b ...
,
Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
), of potentially turning against him, and therefore decided to seize the circuits by trick. As Liu Shouguang was threatening Yiwu at that time, he launched an army north, pretending to be helping Yiwu and Wushun in defending against a potential Liu Shouguang attack, but then seized Wushun's Shen () and Ji () Prefectures (both in modern
Hengshui Hengshui () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Shandong to the southeast. At the 2010 census its population was 4,340,373 inhabitants whom 522,147 lived in the built-up (''or metro'') are ...
,
Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
) and slaughtered Wushun's garrison at those prefectures. Wang Rong, surprised by this turn of events, immediately sought aid from both Li Cunxu and Liu Shouguang. Liu Shouguang refused, but Li Cunxu launched armies commanded by Zhou and later, himself. In spring 911, a joint Jin/Zhao/Yiwu army crushed the Later Liang army, commanded by the major Later Liang general
Wang Jingren Wang Jingren (), né Wang Maozhang (王茂章, name changed 906?), was a major general during the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period Later Liang state. He was originally a general under Yang Xingmi, the Prince of Wu in the late Tang D ...
, at Boxiang (柏鄉, in modern
Xingtai Xingtai (), formerly known as Xingzhou and Shunde, is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It has a total area of and administers 4 districts, 2 county-level cities and 12 counties. At the 2020 censu ...
,
Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
). In the aftermaths of the victory, Li Cunxu decided to advance further, and he briefly put Wei Prefecture (魏州, in modern Handan,
Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
), the capital of Later Liang's important Tianxiong Circuit (), under siege. However, apprehensive that a major Later Liang army under the command of the major general
Yang Shihou Yang Shihou () (died April 23, 915Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), formally the Prince of Ye (), was a major general of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Later Liang, serving as the main obstacle to t ...
was approaching, and more apprehensive that Liu Shouguang (who by this point was making noise about joining forces with him but demanding a leadership role in the army) might create trouble for him, he soon gave up the siege on Wei, ending the confrontation with Later Liang for the time being. From this point on, Zhao and Yiwu became effectively independent polities, but in close alliance with Jin, all still using the Tang era name of ''Tianyou'' () to signify opposition against Later Liang.


Conquest of Yan

Meanwhile, Liu Shouguang, believing himself to be strong enough to declare himself emperor, tried to persuade Wang Rong and Wang Chuzhi to honor him as ''Shangfu'' (尚父, "imperial father"). Li Cunxu, in order to further encourage Liu into megalomania to be able to defeat him later, thereafter signed a joint petition with Wang Rong, Wang Chuzhi, as well as three other governors under his command—Li Sizhao, Zhou Dewei (whom he had made the military governor of Zhenwu Circuit (振武, headquartered in modern Datong)) and Song Yao () the defender of Tiande Circuit (天德, headquartered in modern Hohhot,
Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...
)—offering Liu the title of ''Shangfu''. Zhu Quanzhong, while knowing that Liu was inflating himself, tried to keep him nominally in the fold by naming him the surveyor of the circuits north of the Yellow River.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 268. All of these honors offered to him, however, did not stop Liu from claiming the title he actually wanted, and in fall 911, he declared himself the emperor of a new state of
Yan Yan may refer to: Chinese states * Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty * Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC * Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed indepe ...
. He also launched an army to attack Yiwu. When Wang Chuzhi sought aid, Li Cunxu sent Zhou to rendezvous with the Zhao and Yiwu armies, to jointly attack Yan. Zhou was able to advance deep within Yan territory. Li Cunxu himself later also headed to the Yan front. (In his absence, Zhu tried to avenge himself by attacking Jin and Zhao, but his army was tricked into collapsing on itself due to posturing by the Jin generals
Li Cunshen Li Cunshen () (862'' History of the Five Dynasties'', vol. 56.-June 16, 924Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), né Fu Cun (), often referred to in historical sources as Fu Cunshen (), courtesy name Dexiang (), was a Chinese ...
(Li Cunxu's adoptive brother), Shi Jiantang () and Li Sigong () (pretending that a major Jin army was about to attack the Later Liang army under Zhu), and eventually gave up on the idea of aiding Liu.) While the Yan campaign was going on, in late 912, Zhu Quanzhong was assassinated by his son
Zhu Yougui Zhu Yougui () (c. 888? – March 27, 913), nickname Yaoxi (), often known by his princely title Prince of Ying (), was briefly an emperor of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Later Liang. He became emperor after assa ...
the Prince of Ying, who thereafter declared himself the emperor of Later Liang. The major Later Liang general
Zhu Youqian Zhu Youqian () (died March 9, 926''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 274.Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Cale ...
the military governor of Huguo Circuit (護國, headquartered in modern
Yuncheng Yuncheng is the southernmost prefecture-level city in Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It borders Linfen and Jincheng municipalities to the north and east, and Henan (Luoyang and Jiyuan to the east, Sanmenxia to the south) and Shaan ...
,
Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...
), refused to submit to Zhu Yougui, and instead submitted to Jin, seeking Li Cunxu's aid. When Zhu Yougui subsequently sent the general Kang Huaizhen () to attack Zhu Youqian, Li Cunxu went to Zhu Youqian's aid and repelled Kang's attack, forcing Kang to withdraw. (Zhu Youqian would subsequently return to the Later Liang fold after, in 913, Zhu Yougui's brother
Zhu Youzhen Zhu Zhen (朱瑱) (20 October 888 – 18 November 923), often referred to in traditional histories as Emperor Mo of Later Liang (後梁末帝, "last emperor") and sometimes by his princely title Prince of Jun (均王), né Zhu Youzhen (朱友貞), ...
the Prince of Jun overthrew Zhu Yougui in a countercoup and became emperor, but would yet later revert to Jin.)''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 271. By summer 913, Zhou had put Yan's capital You Prefecture () under siege. Liu, desperate, claimed that if Li Cunxu himself came to You, he would surrender. When Li Cunxu arrived, however, he did not do so, despite Li Cunxu's assurance that his life would be spared if he surrendered. Li Cunxu subsequently intensified the siege, and You fell. Liu fled with his wives and children, but was subsequently captured.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 269. Li Cunxu took him and his family, including his father Liu Rengong (whom he had put under house arrest) back to Taiyuan, and then executed them there. He commissioned Zhou as the military governor of Lulong and added Yan territory to his own. In light of his victory, Wang Rong and Wang Chuzhi offered the title ''Shangshu Ling'' () to him—a title that no Tang subject had dared to accept because it had been at one point held by Tang's second emperor Emperor Taizong. After initially declining, Li Cunxu accepted the title, and also established a provisional central government, exercising imperial powers in the manner that Emperor Taizong did (while he was still the Prince of Qin under his father, Tang's founder Emperor Gaozu).


Initial campaign against Later Liang

After Yan's destruction, with the fear of a Yan attack no longer in sight, Li Cunxu decided to commence his campaign against archrival Later Liang, in conjunction with Zhao and Yiwu. His initial attack toward Later Liang's Tianxiong Circuit in late 914 was repelled by Yang Shihou (who was then the military governor of Tianxiong). However, Yang's death in 915 would bring a major opportunity for Jin. Zhu Youzhen—who had changed his name to Zhu Zhen by this point—was apprehensive of the power that the Tianxiong army had, and decided to weaken it by dividing in into two circuits, each with three of the six prefectures that Tianxiong previously possessed, with a smaller Tianxiong Circuit headquartered still at its long-time capital Wei Prefecture () with He Delun () as its military governor, and a new Zhaode Circuit () headquartered at Xiang Prefecture (相州, in modern Handan) with Zhang Yun () as its military governor. The Tianxiong army was apprehensive and angry about the division, and therefore mutinied under the leadership of the officer Zhang Yan (), taking He Delun hostage. When Zhu refused to meet Zhang Yan's demands that the division be cancelled, Zhang Yan forced He Delun to write Li Cunxu, offering to surrender Tianxiong to him. Li Cunxu subsequently arrived at Tianxiong and, after killing Zhang Yan for his violent behavior, assumed the military governorship of Tianxiong himself and incorporated into Jin. Subsequent Later Liang counterattacks commanded by the generals Liu Xun and Wang Tan () were defeated by Li Cunxu and his generals. (Tianxiong subsequently became a major source of human and material resources for Li Cunxu's campaigns.) Tianxiong's fall to Jin left the other Later Liang circuits north of the Yellow River (Baoyi (保義, headquartered in modern
Xingtai Xingtai (), formerly known as Xingzhou and Shunde, is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It has a total area of and administers 4 districts, 2 county-level cities and 12 counties. At the 2020 censu ...
,
Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
, which Jin later renamed Anguo (), and Shunhua (順化, i.e., Yichang, which Later Liang had taken during the Jin campaign against Yan and renamed, and which Jin later renamed Henghai () isolated, and by late 916, they had fallen to Jin as well, leaving a single city (黎陽, in modern
Hebi Hebi ( ; postal: Hopi) is a prefecture-level city in northern Henan province, China. Situated in mountainous terrain at the edge of the Shanxi plateau, Hebi is about south of Anyang, northeast of Xinxiang and north of Kaifeng. As of the 202 ...
,
Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
) north of the Yellow River that was still held by Later Liang. However, Jin was soon challenged by the
Khitan Empire The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...
to the north as well, with Khitan's Emperor Taizu (Yelü Abaoji) launching a major attack on Lulong in 917, putting You Prefecture under siege. While Li Cunxu and his generals (his adoptive brothers
Li Siyuan Li Siyuan (李嗣源, later changed to Li Dan (李亶)) (10 October 867 – 15 December 933), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang (後唐明宗), was the second emperor of the Later Tang dynasty of China, reigni ...
and Li Cunshen, as well as Yan Bao () subsequently repelled the Khitan attack, Lulong's vulnerability to Khitan attacks had been exposed, and in the future, there would be recurrent Khitan incursions against Lulong.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 270. In winter 917, Li Cunxu, believing that he was in shape to destroy Later Liang once and for all, gathered all of his major generals, preparing to cross the then-frozen Yellow River and attack Later Liang's capital Daliang. However, he then apparently changed his mind, wanting to destroy the main Later Liang army, which was then under the command of
He Gui He Gui (; 858'' History of the Five Dynasties'', vol. 23. – 28 August 919''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 270.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), courtesy name Guangyuan (), was a major general for the Chinese Five Dynasties and T ...
, first, and he spent several months pillaging the Later Liang territory on the Yellow River. Around new year 919, the two armies met at Huliu Slope (胡柳陂, in modern
Heze Heze, formerly known as Caozhou, is the westernmost prefecture-level city in Shandong province, China, it borders Jining to the east and the provinces of Henan and Anhui to the west and south respectively. History Caozhou was at the center ...
,
Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
), just south of the Yellow River. Disregarding Zhou Dewei's advice that he should wear out the Later Liang forces first before engaging them, Li Cunxu ordered a direct attack, which was disastrous for the Jin army, with Zhou killed in battle. During the initial rout, however, Li Cunxu took position on a hill and used it to counterattack, inflicting much losses against Later Liang, fighting the battle to an essential draw. It was said that both Jin and Later Liang lost two thirds of their soldiers that day, and both were weakened for quite some time.


Integration of Zhao and Yiwu into Jin

At the same time, a crisis was developing within Jin's ally Zhao. Wang Rong, in his old age, was described to be superstitious and spending much efforts on immortality, not attending to the affairs of his state, and spending much time at his vacation estate. He also greatly trusted the eunuch Shi Ximeng (), who encouraged him in such tendencies. In late 920, when he remained for months at his vacation estate and refused to return to Zhao's capital Zhen Prefecture (), his military commander Li Ai () and eunuch Li Honggui () felt compelled to mobilize soldiers to force him to return—and the soldiers, in the disturbance, killed Shi. Wang subsequently killed Li Ai and Li Honggui, entrusting the authority of the state to his son and heir
Wang Zhaozuo Wang Zhaozuo () (died 921) was the oldest son and heir apparent of Wang Rong, the only ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state of Zhao. During Tang Dynasty It is not known when Wang Zhaozuo was born. His family had ...
and adoptive son Wang Deming. The remaining soldiers feared that they would also be punished, and, in spring 921, they mutinied and slaughtered Wang Rong and his family, supporting Wang Deming (who then changed his name back to his birth name of Zhang Wenli) as their leader. Zhang offered to submit as a vassal to Li Cunxu, and Li Cunxu, while greatly saddened by Wang Rong's death, initially commissioned him as the acting military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, i.e., Zhao). However, Zhang himself was apprehensive of how Li Cunxu viewed him, and therefore made overtures to both Later Liang's emperor Zhu Zhen (premised on the fact that he spared Wang Zhaozuo's wife, who was a sister to Zhu Zhen and who carried the title of Princess Puning), and Khitan's Emperor Taizu. Zhu, however, was dissuaded from aiding Zhang by his associates, despite his
chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
Jing Xiang's advocacy for doing so. Eventually, Li Cunxu, encouraged by the Zhao general Fu Xi (), who commanded the Zhao detachment in Li Cunxu's army and who wanted to avenge the Wang family, declared a general campaign against Zhang. Zhang died in shock when the campaign was declared, but under the leadership of his son
Zhang Chujin Zhang Chujin () (died 922) was a ruler of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei, also known as Zhao) early in the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. His father Zhang Wenli had taken over the circuit aft ...
, the Chengde mutineers resisted. Meanwhile, a similar crisis was developing at another Jin ally, Yiwu Circuit. Wang Chuzhi feared that if Jin conquered Zhao lands, Yiwu would inevitably also be incorporated into Jin territory, and therefore advocated pardoning Zhang Wenli. When his proposal was rebuffed by Li Cunxu, Wang Chuzhi decided to secretly make an overture to Khitan's Emperor Taizu to invite him to invade Jin, through his son Wang Yu (), who was then a Jin officer on the Khitan border. Wang Yu agreed, but extracted a promise from Wang Chuzhi that he be made heir, displacing Wang Chuzhi's adoptive son
Wang Du Wang Du () (died March 26, 929''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 276.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter/ref>), né Liu Yunlang (), was a warlord during the early Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of China as the military governor ('' ...
, whom Wang Chuzhi had designated as heir. However, the Yiwu officers did not want to see a Khitan invasion, and Wang Du used this sentiment to lead a coup against Wang Chuzhi. He put Wang Chuzhi and Wang Chuzhi's wife under house arrest, while slaughtering Wang Chuzhi's descendants at Yiwu's capital Ding Prefecture (). He then reported what happened to Li Cunxu. Li Cunxu commissioned him as the acting military governor of Yiwu, thus effectively turning Yiwu into a vassal. Subsequently, the Khitan emperor invaded, enticed by Wang Yu's description of Chengde and Yiwu as rich lands that he could pillage. Li Cunxu, leaving his generals to siege Zhen Prefecture, personally led an army to confront the Khitan army. He defeated the Khitan army, forcing Emperor Taizu's withdrawal and leaving the Chengde mutineers without outside allies. Despite the seeming inevitability of success, the Jin forces suffered several major losses against the Chengde mutineers: * Shi Jiantang was killed in battle. * Yan Bao was defeated and forced to retreat. (Yan subsequently died in shame.) * Li Sizhao suffered a mortal injury and died from it. * Li Cunxu's adoptive brother
Li Cunjin Li Cunjin (李存進) (855 – 24 September 922), originally Sun Chongjin (孫重進), was a military general in imperial China's Tang Dynasty, and later the Jin territory in the ensuing Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period after Tang's coll ...
was also killed in battle. Meanwhile, Li Cunshen and Li Siyuan fought off a Later Liang army commanded by Dai Siyuan, which tried to take advantage of the situation. Li Cunxu subsequently commissioned Li Cunshen to attack the Chengde mutineers, and Zhen fell to him. Li Cunxu killed Zhang Chujin and his brothers, and incorporated Chengde into his territory. Li Sizhao's death, however, created another crisis for Li Cunxu, who, at this time, was preparing to claim imperial title. After Li Sizhao's death, his sons, against Li Cunxu's orders to have Li Sizhao's casket escorted to Taiyuan for burial, instead took it back to Lu Prefecture. Thereafter, Li Sizhao's son
Li Jitao Li Jitao (; died 20 January 924''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 272. = 20 January 924.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), nickname Liude (), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms ...
seized power at Zhaoyi, and Li Cunxu, not wanting to create another disturbance, changed the name of the circuit to Anyi () (to observe
naming taboo A naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons, notably in China and within the Chinese cultural sphere. It was enforced by several laws throughout Imperial China, but its cultural and possibly r ...
for Li Sizhao) and commissioned Li Jitao as the acting military governor. However, subsequently, fearing that Li Cunxu would act against him, particularly when Li Cunxu recalled the eunuch monitor
Zhang Juhan Zhang Juhan (張居翰) (858-928), courtesy name Deqing (德卿), was a senior eunuch of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Later Tang (and Later Tang's predecessor state Jin), serving as a chief of staff for Later Tang's fou ...
and the secretary general Ren Huan to his provisional imperial government, Li Jitao submitted Anyi to Later Liang. Zhu Zhen was very pleased, and renamed the circuit to Kuangyi (), commissioning Li Jitao as its military governor.


As Emperor of Later Tang


Conquest of Later Liang

Shortly after, in spring 923, Li Cunxu declared himself emperor of a new Later Tang—using the Tang name for his state to claim legitimate succession from Tang—at Wei Prefecture. He renamed Wei to Xingtang Municipality () and made it his temporary capital. At that time, though, the outlook for the new Later Tang state was not a positive one—as it was facing the reality of regular Khitan incursions that laid Lulong bare and Anyi's recent rebellion. However, at that time, the Later Liang officer Lu Shunmi () defected to Later Tang, revealing that Later Liang's Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern Tai'an,
Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
)—south of the Yellow River and deep behind Later Liang lines—was not well-defended and could be taken. Li Cunxu believed that this was an opportunity to change the tide of the war, and put Li Siyuan, who supported the plan, in charge of an army to launch a surprise attack on Tianping's capital Yun Prefecture (). Li Siyuan was shortly thereafter able to capture Yun in a surprise attack. Shocked by Yun's fall, Zhu Zhen relieved Dai Siyuan, who was the military governor of Tianping but who was then commanding the main Later Liang army against Later Tang, of his command, and, at Jing Xiang's recommendation, commissioned Wang Yanzhang to replace him. Wang quickly attacked and captured the border fort Desheng (德勝, in modern Puyang,
Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
), intending to use it to cut off the supply line between Later Tang proper and Yun. However, his subsequent battles against Li Cunxu himself were indecisive; further, Wang's commission caused much apprehension in the hearts of Zhu's close associates—his brother-in-law Zhao Yan (Later Liang), Zhao Yan and four brothers/cousins of his late wife Consort Zhang (Zhu Zhen), Consort Zhang—as Wang had long despised what he saw as their wickedness. Zhao and the Zhangs thus defamed him before Zhu, who then removed him and replaced him with Duan Ning. Meanwhile, Zhu also destroyed the Yellow River levee at Hua Prefecture (滑州, in modern Anyang,
Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
), causing a flood area, believing that it would impede further Later Tang attacks. Duan prepared an ambitious plan for a four-prong counterattack against Later Tang: # Dong Zhang would head toward Taiyuan. # Huo Yanwei would head toward Zhen Prefecture. # Wang and Consort Zhang's brother Zhang Hanjie () would head toward Yun Prefecture. # Duan himself, along with Wang Yanqiu, Du Yanqiu, would confront Li Cunxu. However, the Later Liang officer Kang Yanxiao, at this junction, defected to Later Tang, revealing Duan's plan to the Later Tang emperor and pointing out that the plan left the Later Liang capital Daliang defenseless, and pointing out that Wang's and Zhang Hanjie's army was the weakest of the four prongs and could easily be defeated. Li Cunxu decided to take the risky move himself, and advanced to Yun to join forces with Li Siyuan, and then engage Wang and Zhang Hanjie. He defeated them, capturing both Wang and Zhang Hanjie at Zhongdu (中都, in modern Jining,
Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
), and then headed directly toward the defenseless Daliang. With Duan's army trapped north of the Yellow River and unable to come to his rescue, Zhu saw the situation as hopeless. He ordered his general Huangfu Lin () to kill him; Huangfu did, and then committed suicide himself. This thus ended Later Liang. Li Cunxu subsequently entered Daliang and claimed all of Later Liang territory.


Governance at Luoyang

Li Cunxu set his capital at
Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...
. He also notified the other main independent states—Wu and Former Shu—of his victory over Later Liang, causing much fear in both of those states. Also shocked by his victory was Qi's prince Li Maozhen, who, in fear that he might be the next target, submitted as a vassal. Li Cunxu accepted Li Maozhen's submission and created him as the Prince of Qin. After Li Maozhen's death in 924, Li Cunxu allowed his son Li Congyan, Li Jiyan to inherit Fengxiang Circuit as military governor,''Zizhi Tongjian'', :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷273, vol. 273. but did not bestow Li Jiyan a princely title, and this was thus viewed as the end of Qi as an independent state. The Later Liang military governors all submitted to him, and in effect, he had merged the two states. (That included Li Jitao, although, after he later discovered the Li Jitao was still planning to control his realm independently, he put Li Jitao to death. However, despite being a capable general, Li Cunxu was not capable at governance. He, and particularly his favorite consort Empress Liu (Li Cunxu's wife), Empress Liu, whom he created empress, were gathering wealth to be stored despite the burden it was creating for the people. He also alienated his army by trusting performers (as he himself had a passion for performing) and eunuchs, such that he made three performers prefectural prefects, while soldiers who had followed him for hundreds of battles were not similarly rewarded. This phenomenon was also observed as such by Wu's emissary to Later Tang, Lu Ping (), and a former Later Liang warlord, Gao Jixing the military governor of Jingnan Circuit (荊南, headquartered in modern Jingzhou, Hubei, not the same Jingnan Circuit referred to earlier), who would eventually, after Li Cunxu's death, effectively become independent of Later Tang, as well as Southern Han's emissary He Ci (). Meanwhile, Li Cunxu planned to conquer Former Shu and, in late 925, put his plans into action. He commissioned his oldest son with Empress Liu, Li Jiji, as the titular commander of the operations, but put his chief of staff, Guo Chongtao, in actual command of the operations as Li Jiji's deputy. The attack caught Former Shu's emperor Wang Zongyan by surprise as he thought that the two states were coexisting peacefully. The Later Tang forces repeatedly defeated the forces Former Shu sent to resist it, and, by the end of 925, the situation had become so desperate that the Former Shu major general Wang Zongbi (Wang Yan's adoptive brother) seized Wang Yan and his family and forced Wang Yan to surrender the Former Shu realm to Later Tang, thus ending Former Shu, whose territory was taken over by Later Tang.''Zizhi Tongjian'', :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷274, vol. 274.


Downfall

After the conquest of Former Shu, however, both Li Cunxu and Empress Liu came to suspect Guo Chongtao of wanting to occupy the Shu lands and rebel. Li Cunxu, however, was unwilling to act against Guo without further proof. However, Empress Liu went ahead and issued an order to Li Jiji, ordering him to kill Guo. Li Jiji did so. With Guo dead, Li Cunxu went ahead and issued an edict condemning him and ordering his sons be killed as well. Subsequently, with the eunuchs and performers accusing the major general Zhu Youqian, Li Jilin of having plotted rebellion with Guo, Li Cunxu killed Li Jilin and his family members as well. Guo's and Li Jilin's death sent fear and anger throughout the Later Tang army ranks. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the central Later Tang territory was going through a terrible famine at the time, and, with Empress Liu unwilling to release the funds for famine relief, many soldiers' families starved, further causing them to be angry at the emperor and empress. These resentment spawned a number of revolts, the most serious of which were one led by Kang Yanxiao in the Shu lands (as he was one of the generals under Guo in the Former Shu campaign), and one by the soldiers at Yedu (鄴都, i.e., Xingtang). Kang's rebellion was quickly put down by Ren Huan, but the imperial troops under Yuan Xingqin, Li Shaorong had difficulty putting down the Yedu rebellion, and it threatened to become even more problematic. When Li Cunxu subsequently sent Li Siyuan to take over the operations, Li Siyuan's own soldiers mutinied and forced him to join the Yedu mutineers. Li Siyuan tried to send messengers to Li Cunxu to explain he had not intended to rebel, but his messengers were intercepted by Li Shaorong. He decided to attack south and occupy Bian Prefecture (汴州, i.e., formerly Daliang), and Li Cunxu mobilized an army to try to intercept him. Bian Prefecture's defender Kong Xun decided to play both sides, and sent emissaries to both of them, welcoming them. When Li Siyuan reached Bian first, Kong welcomed him in, and rejected Li Cunxu. Hearing this, Li Cunxu dejectedly returned to Luoyang. After he returned to Luoyang, the officer Guo Congqian () led a mutiny, and Li Cunxu tried to fight the mutineers. He suffered an arrow wound in the battle and shortly after died from it. Li Siyuan shortly thereafter arrived at Luoyang and, after initially claiming only the title of regent, eventually took the throne. Empress Liu fled Luoyang but was tracked down by Li Siyuan's emissaries and ordered to kill herself. Li Jiji tried to head to Luoyang to contest Li Siyuan's succession, but on the way, his soldiers deserted him, and he committed suicide. Li Cunxu's younger sons later became monks and fled to Meng Zhixiang, who would treat them as his own sons.''Qing Yi Lu'', Tao Gu


Poetry

Li Cunxu's 4 ''ci (poetry), ci'' poems were preserved in a
Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
book called ''Zun Qian Ji'' (尊前集; ''Collection of Respecting the Old'').


Family

Parents: * Father:
Li Keyong Li Keyong () (October 24, 856 – February 24, 908) was a Chinese military general and politician of Shatuo ethnicity, and from January 896 a Prince of Jin (, ''Jin Wang''), which would become an independent state after the fall of the Tang dyn ...
 (李克用) (24 October 856 – 24 February 908)  * Mother: Empress Dowager Cao (Li Cunxu's mother), Empress Zhenjian , of the Cao clan (貞簡皇后曹氏) Consort and their respective issue(s): * Empress Liu (Li Cunxu's wife), Empress Shenminjing , of the Liu clan (神閔敬皇后 劉氏, d. 926), personal name Yuniang (劉玉娘) ** Li Jiji (魏王 李繼岌, 909 – 28 May 926), Prince of Wei, third son *Consort Han (Later Tang), Pure Consort Han, of the Han clan (韓淑妃 韓氏, d. 947) *Virtuous Consort, of the Yi clan (伊氏, d. 947) *Zhaorong, of the Xia clan ( 昭容夏氏), later the Lady of Guo, later wife of Li Zanhua *Zhaoyi, of the Hou clan (昭儀侯氏), later the Lady of Qian *Zhaoyuan, of the Bai clan (昭媛白氏), later the Lady of Yi *Chushi, of the Deng clan (出使鄧氏), later the Lady of Xu *Yuzheng, of the Zhang clan (御正張氏), the Lady of Liang *Shizhen, of the Zhou clan (侍眞周氏), later the Lady of Song *Shizhen, of the Wu clan (侍真吳氏), later the Lady of Yanling *Lady of Honorable Talent, of the Wang clan (懿才王氏), the Lady of Taiyuan *Xianyi, of the Han clan (咸一韩氏), later the Lady of Changli *Yaofang, of the Zhang clan (瑤芳张氏), the Lady of Qinghe *Lady of Honorable Moral, of the Wang clan (懿德王氏), later the Lady of Langye * Xuanyi, of the Ma clan (宣一馬氏), the Lady of Fufeng * Shizheng, of the Guo clan (誓正 郭氏) * Unknow: ** ''Two Unnamed son'' ** Li Jitong (守王 李繼潼), Prince of Shou, fourth son ** Li Jisong (光王 李繼嵩), Prince of Guang, fifth son ** Li Jichan (真王李繼嶦), Prince of Zhen, sixth son ** Li Jiyao (川王李繼嶢), Prince of Chuan, seventh son ** Princess Yining (義寧公主, d. 953) ***married Song Tinghao () and had issue ( a sons)


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Sources

* Ci hai bian ji wei yuan hui (). Ci hai (). Shanghai: Shanghai ci shu chu ban she (), 1979. * ''Old History of the Five Dynasties, History of the Five Dynasties'', vols. :zh:s:舊五代史/卷27, 27, :zh:s:舊五代史/卷28, 28, :zh:s:舊五代史/卷29, 29, :zh:s:舊五代史/卷30, 30, :zh:s:舊五代史/卷31, 31, :zh:s:舊五代史/卷32, 32, :zh:s:舊五代史/卷33, 33, :zh:s:舊五代史/卷34, 34. * ''New History of the Five Dynasties'', :zh:s:新五代史/卷05, vol. 5. * ''
Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...
'', vols. :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷260, 260, :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷263, 263, :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷265, 265, :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷266, 266, :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷267, 267, :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷268, 268, :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷269, 269, :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷270, 270, :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷271, 271, :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷272, 272, :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷273, 273, :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷274, 274, :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷275, 275. * Davis, Richard L., Fire and Ice: LI Cunxu and the Rise of Later Tang. (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2016) , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Cunxu 10th-century Chinese monarchs 885 births 926 deaths Jin (Later Tang precursor) jiedushi of Chengde Circuit Jin (Later Tang precursor) jiedushi of Hedong Circuit Jin (Later Tang precursor) jiedushi of Lulong Circuit Jin (Later Tang precursor) jiedushi of Tianxiong Circuit Jin (Later Tang precursor) princes 9th-century Turkic people 10th-century Turkic people Later Tang emperors Politicians from Taiyuan Generals from Shanxi 10th-century Chinese poets Poets from Shanxi Founding monarchs Medieval performers