Campaigns against Zhang Yuxian and Min
In 943, by which time Li Bian's son and successor Li Jing was emperor, there was an incursion by the agrarian rebels, led by Zhang Yuxian (as their king) and initially against Southern Tang's southern neighbor Southern Han, that entered Southern Tang territory. Zhang put Southern Tang's Baisheng Circuit (百勝, headquartered in modern Ganzhou, Jiangxi) under attack and built for himself a capital at Baiyun Cave (白雲洞, in modern Ganzhou), sending the agrarians under him to roam and pillage the territory. Li Jing commissioned the officer Yan En (嚴恩) to command the army against Zhang, with Bian Hao serving as Yan's army monitor (and, apparently, in actual decision-making capacity). Bian, employing Bai Changyu (白昌裕) as his chief strategist, repeatedly defeated Zhang, and, under further advice from Bai, cut a road through the forest and attack Zhang's army from the rear. Zhang fled to his follower Li Tai (李台), who, seeing the situation as hopeless, arrested Zhang and surrendered him to Southern Tang. (Zhang was subsequently taken to Jinling and executed.) [2]
Li Jing, originally Xu Jingtong (徐景通), briefly Xu Jing (徐璟) in 937–939, courtesy name Boyu (伯玉), also known by his temple name Yuanzong (元宗), was the second ruler of imperial China's Southern Tang state during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He reigned his state from 943 until his death.
Southern Han, originally Great Yue, was one of the ten kingdoms that existed during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was located on China's southern coast, controlling modern Guangdong and Guangxi. The kingdom greatly expanded its capital Xingwang Fu (Chinese: 興王府; pinyin: Xìngwángfǔ,. It attempted but failed to annex the Tang province of Annam.
Ganzhou, formerly romanized as Kanchow, is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangxi, China, bordering Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, and Hunan to the west. Its administrative seat is at Zhanggong District. Its population was 8,361,447 at the 2010 census whom 1,977,253 in the built-up area made of Zhanggong and Nankang, and Ganxian largely being urbanized.
Subsequently, Bian apparently became the discipline officer of the Southern Tang army stationed at Hong Prefecture (洪州, in modern Nanchang, Jiangxi). In 944, with Southern Tang's southeastern neighbor Min deeply divided by a civil war (with the general Zhu Wenjin having assassinated the emperor Wang Xi and claimed the title of Emperor of Min himself at Min's traditional capital Fu Prefecture (福州, in modern Fuzhou, Fujian), and with Wang Xi's younger brother Wang Yanzheng having claimed the title of Emperor of Yin at Jian Prefecture (建州, in modern Nanping, Fujian), although after Zhu's subsequent assassination he reclaimed the title of Emperor of Min), the Southern Tang general Cha Wenhui (查文徽) advocated a campaign against Wang Yanzheng. Li Jing agreed and commissioned Cha to command the army against Wang. Bian was assigned to serve under Cha, as the army's discipline officer. In fall 945, Bian captured Xin Prefecture (鐔州, in modern Nanping), [3] and participated in the subsequent capture of Jian, which forced Wang's surrender. It was said that all of the officers argued for credit for their achievements during the campaign, but Bian was silent. [1]
Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi Province in southeastern China. Nanchang is the largest city in Jiangxi Province. Nanchang is located in the central part of Jiangxi Province, with a history of more than 2,200 years. It was called “Yuzhang”in Han Dynasty, “Hongdu” and “Hongcheng” from Tang Dynasty to Song Dynasty. It is located in the hinterland of Yuzhang Plain.
Jiangxi is a province in the People's Republic of China, located in the southeast of the country. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north into hillier areas in the south and east, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to the northwest.
Zhu Wenjin (朱文進) was a general of, and later a claimant of the throne of, the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Min. In 944, he assassinated the emperor Wang Yanxi and tried to take over control of the Min state, but his officer Lin Renhan (林仁翰) assassinated him less than a year later and submitted to Wang Yanxi's brother Wang Yanzheng, who had been warring with Wang Yanxi.
Takeover of Chu and subsequent abandonment
By 951, another Southern Tang neighboring state — Chu, to its southwest — had been devastated by a civil war between brothers Ma Xiguang and Ma Xi'e. Ma Xi'e eventually prevailed, with Southern Tang support, and therefore, in 951, sent his secretary Liu Guangfu (劉光輔) to Jinling to submit tributes to Li Jing. Li Jing welcomed Liu with respect, and Liu secretly told him, "Hunan [(i.e., the Chu realm)] has tired people and an arrogant lord. It can be taken." Li thereafter commissioned Bian Hao as the prefect of Xin Prefecture (信州, in modern Shangrao, Jiangxi), but stationed him and his troops at Yuan Prefecture (袁州, in modern Yichun, Jiangxi), in anticipation of a potential chance to strike. [4]
Ma Xiguang (馬希廣), courtesy name Depi (德丕), was the fourth ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Chu.
Ma Xi'e (馬希萼), formally Prince Gongxiao of Chu (楚恭孝王), was the fifth ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Chu.
Later in the year, Ma Xi'e, who angered the people by his viciousness, particularly against prior enemies, and was himself overthrown in a coup led by his brother Ma Xichong, who seized the throne. However, he faced armed opposition from the general Liu Yan, who controlled Wuping Circuit (武平, headquartered in modern Changde, Hunan), and of a group of generals who supported Ma Xi'e and redeclared him prince in the Mount Heng region. Further, Ma Xichong himself alienated the people by being unfair in his governance and by his frivolousness and drunkenness. Several generals who supported Ma Xichong's coup, led by Xu Wei (徐威), were concerned that Ma Xichong could not possibly prevail against the Wuping and Mount Heng forces, and therefore considered killing him. Ma Xichong became aware that a plot was occurring. In fear, he sent his officer Fan Shoumu (范守牧) to the Southern Tang court, offering to submit the realm. Li thereafter ordered Bian to take his army into the Chu capital Changsha. When Bian arrived, Ma Xichong opened the city and welcomed him in, surrendering the realm to him and ending Chu. As the people were then suffering from starvation due to the lengthy civil war, Bian opened up the food storage and distributed the grain previously stored by the Chu princes to the people, gaining their support. [4]
Ma Xichong (馬希崇) was the sixth and final ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Chu.
Changde is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Hunan province, People's Republic of China, with a population of 5,717,218 as of the 2010 census, of which 1,232,182 reside in the built-up area (metro) made of 2 urban districts of Dingcheng and Wuling. In addition to the urban districts, Changde also administers the county-level city of Jinshi and six counties. Changde is adjacent to Dongting Lake to the east, the city of Yiyang to the south, Wuling and Xuefeng Mountains to the west, and Hubei province to the north.
Hunan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed in South Central China; it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Guangdong and Guangxi to the south, Guizhou to the west, and Chongqing to the northwest. With a population of just over 67 million as of 2014 residing in an area of approximately 210,000 km2 (81,000 sq mi), it is China's 7th most populous and the 10th most extensive province-level by area.
In the aftermaths of Ma Xichong's surrender, Ma Xi'e hoped that Li would restore him to power at Changsha. However, the people of Changsha were resentful of Ma Xi'e's rule, and therefore submitted a petition that Bian be put in command. Li therefore commissioned Bian as the military governor ( Jiedushi ) of Wu'an Circuit (武安, headquartered at Changsha). He subsequently ordered Ma Xichong and his clan to move to Jinling. They tried to bribe him to be able to stay at Changsha, but he, with a sarcastic smile, stated to Ma Xichong: [4]
The Empire and Your Lordship's state had been enemies for over 60 years. But the Empire did not dare to even think of coveting Your Lordship's state. Now, Your Lordship and your brothers had fought this internecine war, and you decided to submit because you are in extreme distress. If you are allowed to recover even two or three tenths of your strength, what might happen cannot be predicted.
Ma Xichong had no convincing response to him. Shortly after, they were placed on ships and sent to Jinling, with both they and their senders-off crying bitterly and loudly. He subsequently also sent the officer Li Chengjian (李承戩) to Mount Heng to order Ma Xi'e to report to Jinling as well. Ma Xi'e, apparently intimidated, took his army and, after first visiting Changsha, reported to Jinling as well. [4]
In the aftermaths of Chu's fall, Chu's southern neighbor Southern Han's emperor Liu Sheng also had design on parts of Chu territory, and in winter 951, the Southern Han generals Pang Chongche (潘崇徹) and Xie Guan (謝貫) captured Chen Prefecture (郴州, in modern Chenzhou, Hunan), notwithstanding Bian's attempt to resist the attack. Subsequently, at Bian's request that prefects be commissioned at Quan (全州, in modern Guilin, Guangxi) and Dao (道州, in modern Yongzhou, Hunan) to defend against future attacks by Southern Han, Li commissioned the general Liao Yan (廖偃, one of Ma Xi'e's supporters) as the prefect of Dao and the officer Zhang Luan (張巒) as the acting prefect of Quan. [4]
Trouble would soon brew for Bian at Changsha itself as well. After Bian's takeover, much of the treasures and stored wealth of Chu were delivered to Jinling. The official Yang Jixun (楊繼勳) collected taxes from the people of the Hunan region to pay the expenses of the occupying army, disappointing the people of Hunan. Further, the supply officer Wang Shaoyan (王紹顏) was decreasing the food and money supplies to the soldiers. Two officers, Sun Lang (孫朗) and Cao Jin (曹進), thereafter entered a conspiracy to kill Bian and Wang, and then submit to Later Zhou. When they rose in uprising in spring 952, however, Bian realized what was occurring and successfully defended against the attack. Sun and Wang, realizing they could not defeat him, fled to Wuping's capital Lang Prefecture (朗州) and submitted to Liu Yan. They revealed to Liu's general Wang Kui that the Southern Tang imperial administration itself was deeply flawed with corruption and improper policies and argued that Changsha could be easily taken. [4] Later in the year, one Ouyang Guang (歐陽廣) submitted a petition to Li Jing, pointing out that Bian was indecisive, incompetent, and unable to rein in his subordinates and arguing that Bian needed to be replaced, or that the former Chu realm would be lost. Li took no heed. [5]
Meanwhile, though, as Liu was nominally submissive to Li, Bian did not expect a potential attack from him. When Li sent emissaries to Lang to summon Liu to Jinling, however, Liu refused, and, after informing Wang and another general, Zhou Xingfeng, that he would thus expect an attack from Southern Tang, Wang and Zhou advocated an attack against Bian. Liu decided to launch an attack, and sent Wang, Zhou, and eight other generals, with Sun and Cao serving as their guides, quickly toward Changsha. The Southern Tang positions along the way quickly collapsed, and Bian, after briefly defending the city but having no prospect of reinforcement, decided to abandon Changsha and flee, allowing Wang to enter Changsha and take it over and ending Southern Tang's brief control of the region. [5]
In the aftermaths, Li stripped Bian of his commissions and exiled him to Rao Prefecture (饒州, in modern Shangrao). [5] It was said that, because Bian was a devout Buddhist, he often guided his actions by Buddhist principles of mercy. When he followed Cha in the campaign against Min, he tried to save as many people from death as possible, and therefore gained the nickname of "Arhat Bian" from the people of Jian. When he took over Changsha, he made sure that the people were comforted and that not even the daily business routines were disrupted, and therefore gained the nickname of "Bodhisattva Bian" from the people of Changsha. But after he became governor, his rule lacked proper principles, and he spent all day offering sacrifices to deities. In disappointment, the people of Changsha nicknamed him, "Monk Bian." [1] [5]
Campaign against Later Zhou
In 956, with Southern Tang facing a major invasion by Later Zhou's emperor Guo Rong, Li Jing commissioned his younger brother Li Jingda the Prince of Qi to command an army resisting the Later Zhou invasion, but with the official Chen Jue as Li Jingda's army monitor and effectively in actual command of the army. Bian Hao was made the army commander serving below Li Jingda and Chen. Li Jingda's army subsequently headed for the vicinity of Shou Prefecture (壽州, in modern Lu'an, Anhui), which had been under Later Zhou siege from the start of the war, as it sat on the Later Zhou/Southern Tang border. However, Li Jingda's army was unable to lift the siege against the Later Zhou general Li Chongjin. As another Later Zhou army, commanded by Guo himself, was set to arrive to renew the effort to capture the city, Shou's defender Liu Renshan proposed that Bian enter the city and defend it, while Liu himself make a preemptive attack against the Later Zhou army, but Li Jingda refused to grant approval. [6]
As of spring 957, Shou Prefecture was in a desperate position, as it was running out of food, and Liu himself was falling ill. However, the Later Zhou army was still not able to defeat the Southern Tang army, until the Southern Tang general Zhu Yuan, fearful that he would be stripped of his command because of his strained relationship with Chen, defected to Later Zhou. The Later Zhou army then attacked Li Jingda's army, and it collapsed. Li Jingda and Chen fled back to Jinling. Bian, along with other generals Xu Wenzhen (許文稹) and Yang Shouzhong (楊守忠), was captured. With Liu deathly ill, the Shou garrison surrendered. [6]
In winter 958, after a peace agreement had been entered between the two states (with Li Jing submitting to Guo as a vassal and ceding the land north of the Yangtze River to Later Zhou), Guo returned Bian, Xu, and Liu's army monitor Zhou Tinggou (周廷構) to Southern Tang. However, Li Jing considered Bian and Xu to be losing generals unworthy of restoration, and therefore did not restore their commissions for the rest of their lives. [7] Bian later died at Jinling. [1]
Liu Yan, né Liu Yan (劉巖), also known as Liu Zhi (劉陟) and briefly as Liu Gong (劉龔), formally Tianhuang Dadi (天皇大帝) with the temple name Gaozu (高祖), was the first emperor of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Southern Han.
Ma Yin, courtesy name Batu (霸圖), formally King Wumu of Chu (楚武穆王), was a warlord late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who became the first ruler of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Chu and the only one who carried the title of "king." He initially took control of the Changsha region in 896 after the death of his predecessor Liu Jianfeng, and subsequently increased his territorial hold to roughly modern Hunan and northeastern Guangxi, which became the territory of Chu.
Li Bian, known as Xu Gao between 937 and 939 and Xu Zhigao before 937, and possibly Li Pengnu during his childhood, also known posthumously by his temple name Liezu, was the founder and first emperor of the Southern Tang. In traditional histories, he is also often referred to as the First Lord of Southern Tang (南唐先主). He was an adopted son and successor of the Wu regent Xu Wen who usurped power from the Wu emperor Yang Pu.
Xu Wen (徐溫), courtesy name Dunmei (敦美), formally Prince Zhongwu of Qi (齊忠武王), later further posthumously honored Emperor Wu (武皇帝) with the temple name Yizu (義祖) by his adoptive son Xu Zhigao after Xu Zhigao founded the state of Southern Tang, was a major general and regent of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Wu. He took over the reins of the Wu state after assassinating, with his colleague Zhang Hao, Yang Wo, the first Prince of Hongnong, and then killing Zhang. Xu was in essence the decision-maker throughout the reign of Yang Wo's brother and successor Yang Longyan and the first part of the reign of Yang Longyan's brother and successor Yang Pu. After his death, Xu Zhigao inherited his position as regent, eventually seizing the Wu throne and establishing Southern Tang.
Han Xizai (韓熙載), courtesy name Shuyan (叔言), was an official of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period states Wu and Southern Tang, who was known for his writing and calligraphy skills.
Sun Sheng (孫晟), né Sun Feng (孫鳳), known as Sun Ji (孫忌) at one point, formally Duke Wenzhong of Lu (魯文忠公), was an official of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period states Later Tang, Wu, and Southern Tang, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Southern Tang's second emperor Li Jing. When Southern Tang came under attack of its northern neighbor Later Zhou, Li Jing sent him as an emissary to Later Zhou to try to persuade Later Zhou's emperor Guo Rong to end his campaign, but Guo, after being unable to get Sun to give him secrets of the Southern Tang state, executed him.
Chen Jue (陳覺) was a key official of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period states Wu and Wu's successor state Southern Tang, becoming chief of staff to Southern Tang's second emperor Li Jing. He was considered an ally of the senior statesman Song Qiqiu, and after Song lost power, Chen was exiled and killed on the way to exile.
Li Decheng (李德誠), formally Prince Zhongyi of Zhao (趙忠懿王), was a prominent general of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Wu. He and his family would remain highly honored during the time of Wu's successor state Southern Tang.
Template:Infobox Chinese name
Li Jianxun, courtesy name Zhiyao (致堯), known late in life as the Duke of Zhongshan (鍾山公), was an official of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period states Wu and Wu's successor state Southern Tang, serving as a chancellor during Southern Tang and possibly during Wu.
Li Jingda (李景達) (924-971), né Xu Jingda (徐景達), courtesy name Zitong (子通), nickname Yushi (雨師), formally Crown Prince Zhaoxiao (昭孝太弟), was an imperial prince of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Southern Tang.
Liu Congxiao, formally the Prince of Jinjiang, was a general of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Min. After Min's fall, he initially submitted to Southern Tang, but eventually, taking advantage of Southern Tang's inability to fully control the region, took the southern part of the former Min realm under his own control, albeit in nominal submission to Southern Tang. After Southern Tang's repeated defeats by Later Zhou, he also nominally submitted to Later Zhou's successor state Song.
Chen Hongjin (陳洪進) (914–985), courtesy name Jichuan (濟川), formally Duke Zhongshun of Qi (岐忠順公), was a warlord late in the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, who controlled Qingyuan Circuit. After a series of conquests by the Song dynasty, Chen, who was a vassal to Song, believed that it would be wise for him to surrender his realm, and did so. He subsequently remained honored as a Song general until his death.
Li Renda (李仁達), also known by the names of Li Hongyi (李弘義) (945–946), Li Hongda (李弘達) (946), Li Da (李達) (946–947), and Li Ruyun (李孺贇) (947), was a warlord of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. He was initially an officer for the state of Min. In Min's last years, he rebelled against its last emperor Wang Yanzheng and seized control of the Fu Prefecture region, initially in nominal allegiance to both Southern Tang and Later Jin. When Southern Tang's emperor Li Jing tried to force to yield actual control to the Southern Tang imperial government, however, he turned his allegiance to Wuyue and fought off the Southern Tang attack with Wuyue aid. When his relationship with the Wuyue general Bao Xiurang (鮑修讓) eventually broke down, he considered killing Bao and resubmitting to Southern Tang, but Bao discovered this and killed him first, allowing Wuyue to take actual control over the region.
Feng Yanji (馮延己) or Feng Yansi (馮延巳) (per the New History of the Five Dynasties and Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms, alternative name Feng Yansi, courtesy name Zhengzhong, was a famed poet and politician of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Southern Tang, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Southern Tang's second emperor Li Jing.
Ma Guanghui (馬光惠) was a member of the Ma ruling house of Chu, one of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period states of China. During Chu's final days, he was declared the military governor (Jiedushi) of one of Chu's main circuits, Wuping by officers disaffected with his uncle Ma Xi'e, but was soon removed by the same officers.
Ma Xiyin (馬希隱) was a member of the Ma ruling house of Chu, one of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms states of China. After Chu's fall, he briefly continued to hold control of Chu's Jingjiang Circuit before abandoning it in face of a Southern Han attack, allowing Southern Han to seize control of the circuit.
