Liu Rengong
Liu Rengong (Chinese:
Background
[edit]It is not known when Liu Rengong was born—although he was said to be spreading the rumor that he would become a military governor (jiedushi) at age 48 when he later served Li Kuangwei, indicating that he was not yet 48 by that point. His family was originally from Leshou (
It was said that Liu was ambitious, and he spread rumors that he dreamed of a giant Buddha banner coming out of his fingers, and that he was told in the dreams that he would be a military governor at age 48. When Li Kuangwei heard this, he disliked Liu; he stripped Liu of his military position and made him the magistrate of Jingcheng County (
It was said that, as the soldiers at Wei were not promptly rotated back to Lulong's capital You Prefecture (
Service under Li Keyong
[edit]Liu Rengong was said to carefully serve both Li Keyong and Li Keyong's chief strategist Gai Yu,[1] and through Gai, he made repeated suggestions to Li Keyong that Lulong could be conquered, and he asked for 10,000 men for the campaign. However, as during this time Li Keyong was dealing with the rebellion of his adoptive son Li Cunxiao at Xingming Circuit (邢洺, headquartered in modern Xingtai, Hebei), he was only able to give Liu several thousand men, and the campaign failed. This caused Li Kuangchou to become arrogant and feel free to harass Hedong's borders. In anger, in winter 894 (after he had defeated and executed Li Cunxiao and reabsorbed Li Cunxiao's territory), Li Keyong personally launched a major attack on Lulong. You Prefecture fell quickly to him; Li Kuangchou fled to neighboring Yichang Circuit (
In spring 895, Li Keyong formally entered You Prefecture, and he had Liu and an adoptive son, Li Cunshen, surveil and pacify the region. He left Liu in charge of Lulong as acting military governor, and then returned to Hedong.[4] He left an army detachment and a group of associates, headed by Yan Liude (
Through the years that Liu served as Li Keyong's vassal, the officers that Li Keyong left at Lulong managed much of the affairs of the circuit. They collected taxes from the circuit, and, except for what was needed for the Lulong army's supplies, they delivered the rest to Hedong,[5] contrary to the prior customs during Lulong's independence periods where Lulong kept its own revenues.[6] In 897, by which time Emperor Zhaozong had fled from the imperial capital Chang'an to Zhenguo Circuit (鎮國, headquartered in modern Weinan, Shaanxi) due to attacks by the warlord Li Maozhen the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (
As independent warlord
[edit]In fall 897, angry at Liu Rengong's betrayal, Li Keyong commanded the army himself and attacked Lulong. He engaged the Lulong forces commanded by Liu's son-in-law Dan Keji (
Meanwhile, Liu had a running dispute with Lu Yanwei over the two circuits' control of the salt trade. In 898, Liu sent his son Liu Shouwen to attack Yichang's capital Cang Prefecture (滄州). Lu, unable to resist, abandoned it and fled to Weibo Circuit (
I have my own banners and staffs, too. All I want are the authentically-colored ones from Chang'an. Why is it that I have had to make repeated requests and that we still have not received them? Tell them [(i.e., the emperor and the chancellors)] what I said!
In any case, it was said that after the victory over Yichang, Liu Rengong, believing in his military strength, began to have ambitions of controlling the entire region north of the Yellow River. In spring 899, he launched a major attack on Weibo. When he captured Weibo's Bei Prefecture (
In 900, Zhu further had Ge command armies of four circuits (Xuanwu, Weibo, and two other circuits under Zhu's control—Taining (
In winter 900, after forcing Wang to become a vassal, Zhu again had Zhang lead an army, with supplements from Weibo, to attack Liu. Zhang quickly captured Lulong's Ying and Mo (莫州, in modern Cangzhou) Prefectures and Yichang's Jing Prefecture (
In 901, Emperor Zhaozong bestowed the greater honorary chancellor title of Shizhong (
In 903, after Emperor Zhaozong (who had fallen effectively to Zhu's control by that point) ordered a general massacre of eunuchs, Liu did not execute Zhang Juhan the eunuch monitor of the Lulong army; rather, he hid Zhang, and executed a prisoner in Zhang's stead.[9]
Also in 903, Wang Jinghui (
Over the years, it was said that Liu Rengong gained great understanding on Khitan's military operations, and he often sent armies to pillage the Khitan lands, as well as to burn the grazing fields to prevent the Khitan horses from grazing properly. In winter 903, when the Khitan leader Yelü Abaoji sent his brother-in-law Shulü Abo (
In 906, when Zhu again put Cang Prefecture under siege, Liu Rengong, after repeated losses against Zhu's army, felt that he needed even more soldiers, so he ordered all men from age 15 to 70 to serve, tattooing their faces. He also sought aid from Hedong. Li Keyong initially refused to help him, but later, under the advice of his son Li Cunxu, relented; as per Li Cunxu's advice, he requested Liu to send an army to attack Zhaoyi Circuit (
it was said that over the years, as Liu Rengong became more entrenched in his rule of Lulong, he became even more arrogant, wasteful, and violent. Believing the headquarters in You Prefecture to be insecure, he built a grand mansion at Mount Da'an (
Overthrow by Liu Shouguang and subsequent house arrest
[edit]In or sometime before 907, Liu Rengong discovered that Liu Shouguang had been having an affair with Liu Rengong's favorite concubine Lady Luo. He caned Liu Shouguang, threw him out of the household, and disowned him.[11]
In spring 907, Zhu Quanzhong sent Li Si'an to make a surprise attack on You Prefecture. As Li Si'an approached, Liu Rengong was still at the Mount Da'an mansion, and the city was left nearly defenseless. It nearly fell, but Liu Shouguang took troops and entered the city to defend it; he then engaged Li Si'an in battle, forcing Li Si'an to withdraw. He then claimed the title of military governor and had his generals Li Xiaoxi (
Hearing of what Liu Shougguang did, Liu Shouwen launched his troops to attack Liu Shouguang, with initially inconclusive results.[11] (In this fraternal war, Liu Shouguang received aid from Li Cunxu, who had succeeded Li Keyong as the military governor of Hedong and the Prince of Jin after Li Keyong's death in 908, while Liu Shouwen was assisted by the Khitan and the Tuyuhun tribal armies.) In 909, they fought each other at the Battle of Jisu (雞蘇, in modern Tianjin), where Liu Shouwen initially prevailed. However, Liu Shouwen then stepped out onto the battlefield and stated, "Do not kill my brother!" As he did, Yuan, who knew that it was Liu Shouwen, made a surprise attack and captured him. Liu Shouguang put Liu Shouwen under house arrest as well, and then put Cang Prefecture, which was defended by Liu Shouwen's son Liu Yanzuo, under siege. The city fell in 910, so Liu Shouguang took Yichang under his control as well. He then had Liu Shouwen killed, while submitting a petition to Zhu Quanzhong (who had seized the Tang throne by this point and established a new Later Liang as its Emperor Taizu) in Liu Rengong's name, seeking retirement. The Later Liang emperor approved of Liu Rengong's retirement, bestowed the title of Taishi (
Death
[edit]Liu Shouguang, however, was not satisfied with the princely title under Later Liang suzerainty. In 911, he claimed the title of Emperor of Yan. Subsequently, Li Cunxu, who was by that time allied with Wang Rong and Wang Chuzhi the military governor of Yiwu, had Zhou Dewei command a major operation against the new Yan state. By late 913, nearly all Yan cities had fallen to the Jin army, except for You Prefecture. Liu Shouguang claimed that he would surrender to Li Cunxu if Li Cunxu personally arrived to accept his surrender, but when Li Cunxu arrived, Liu Shouguang again refused to surrender, under Li Xiaoxi's advice. However, Li Xiaoxi then himself surrendered to the Jin army and revealed the desperate state the Yan army was in. Li Cunxu then ordered a final attack, and the city fell. Liu Rengong, his wife, and his concubines were taken captive.[13] Liu Shouguang tried to flee to Cang Prefecture (which was then defended by Liu Shouqi, who had become a Later Liang general), but was captured on the way there. (When he was brought back to You Prefecture, Liu Rengong and his wife both spat on him and stated, "Rebellious bandit! Look at what you did to our household!")[14]
In spring 914, Li Cunxu took the Liu household, including Liu Rengong and Liu Shouguang, on a victory tour through Yiwu and Chengde Circuits, at Wang Chuzhi's and Wang Rong's invitation. When they arrived at Chengde Circuit, at Wang Rong's request (as Wang Rong wanted to finally meet Liu Rengong in person), Li Cunxu temporarily removed the shackles from Liu Rengong and Liu Shouguang, and had them attend a feast that Wang Rong held for him. After they arrived back at Hedong's capital Taiyuan, Li Cunxu first executed Liu Shouguang in the capital, along with his wives, and then had his deputy military governor Lu Rubi (
Notes and references
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 135.
- ^ a b Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 256.
- ^ a b Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 259.
- ^ a b Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 260.
- ^ a b c d e Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 261.
- ^ New Book of Tang, vol. 212.
- ^ New History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 39.
- ^ a b c Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 262.
- ^ a b c Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 264.
- ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 265.
- ^ a b c d Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 266.
- ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 267.
- ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 268.
- ^ a b Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 269.
- New Book of Tang, vol. 212.
- History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 135.
- New History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 39.
- Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 256, 259, 260, 261, 262, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269.
- 9th-century births
- 914 deaths
- Tang dynasty jiedushi of Lulong Circuit
- People executed by Jin (Later Tang precursor)
- Later Liang (Five Dynasties) government officials
- People executed by Yan (Five Dynasties period)
- People executed by a Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms state by decapitation
- Executed people from Hebei
- Politicians from Cangzhou
- Tang dynasty generals from Hebei