Shi Jingtang

In 923, Li Cunxu declared himself emperor of a new state called the Later Tang. He subsequently carried out a campaign that destroyed Later Liang later in the year—a campaign in wherein Li Siyuan played a prominent role.[9] Shi Jingtang and Li Congke both had battlefield accomplishments during the campaign, but Shi did not receive prominent honors as his contributions were not well-known. According to traditional accounts, it was because he did not like to brag about them. However, Li Siyuan was aware of his contributions.[1]

However, by 926, Li Cunxu's state, which had annexed Former Shu, was thrown into chaos due to his misrule. While a fierce general, he was not a capable ruler, and he had alienated the army by killing two prominent generals, Guo Chongtao and Zhu Youqian. A subsequent mutiny at Yedu (鄴都 in modern Handan, Hebei) was not quickly suppressed. Li Cunxu sent Li Siyuan to suppress it, but Li Siyuan's own soldiers mutinied and forced Li Siyuan to join the Yedu mutineers. While Li Siyuan was subsequently able to escape from Yedu, Shi persuaded him that he could never, after this point, convince Li Cunxu that he was not part of the mutiny from the beginning. With Shi and the others persuading him to act against Li Cunxu, Li Siyuan finally decided to gather his troops and head south, first toward the secondary capital Daliang (Later Liang's former capital) and then the imperial capital Luoyang. During this campaign, both Shi and Li Congke continued to play prominent roles.[10] Before Li Siyuan's and Li Cunxu's armies could engage each other, however, Li Cunxu was killed in a mutiny at Luoyang itself. Li Siyuan subsequently entered the city and claimed the title of regent.[11]

Li Siyuan appeared to be initially hesitant to take the throne himself, as at that time, Li Cunxu's son Li Jiji the Prince of Wei, who had been the commander of the army that destroyed Former Shu, was returning from the Shu lands and heading toward Luoyang with his army, and he initially signaled support for Li Jiji. However, after apparently concluding that he would not be tolerated if Li Jiji became emperor, he sent Shi Jingtang and Li Congke to take up defensive positions at Shan Prefecture (陝州, in modern Sanmenxia, Henan) and Hezhong Municipality (河中, in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi) respectively, to block Li Jiji. Li Jiji's own soldiers began to desert, and he committed suicide. Li Jiji's subordinate Ren Huan took over command of the remaining army and rendezvoused with Shi, signaling support for Li Siyuan. With Li Jiji dead, Li Siyuan claimed the throne.[11]

Li Siyuan commissioned Shi as the military governor of Baoyi Circuit (保義, headquartered at Shan Prefecture) and created him a count.[1] In 927, he recalled Shi to Luoyang to serve the deputy commander of the imperial guards (with Li Siyuan's biological son Li Conghou serving as the commander).[11] Later in 927, when the general Zhu Shouyin the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan) rebelled against Li Siyuan's rule, Li Siyuan initially sent a small dispatch of soldiers under Fan Yanguang to attack Xuanwu's capital Daliang, but then followed that dispatch by sending Shi, and then followed Shi there himself. Zhu, finding the situation hopeless, committed suicide. LI Siyuan subsequently made Shi the military governor of Xuanwu. In 928, Li Siyuan made him the defender of Yedu and the military governor of Tianxiong Circuit (天雄, headquartered at Yedu), and gave him the honorary chancellor designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事).[12]

In 930, the two main military governors of the Shu lands, both commissioned by Li Cunxu before his death—Meng Zhixiang the military governor of Xichuan Circuit (西川 headquartered in modern Chengdu, Sichuan) and Dong Zhang the military governor of Dongchuan Circuit (東川 headquartered in modern Mianyang, Sichuan)—fearing that Li Siyuan's powerful chief of staff An Chonghui was intending to act against them, rebelled together. Li Siyuan sent Shi to command the army against the two circuits—a commission that Shi accepted despite his misgivings about the campaign. Shi quickly advanced to Jianmen Pass, but, after capturing it, could not advance further easily against the Dongchuan and Xichuan armies. When Li Siyuan subsequently sent An to the front to monitor the campaign, Shi took the opportunity to write to Li Siyuan, explaining his misgivings from the campaign, and Li Siyuan began to be convinced. Li Siyuan subsequently forced An into retirement and then killed An, and then recalled Shi's army (although Shi already began to retreat before receiving the retreat orders). Li Siyuan subsequently again made him the deputy commander of the imperial guards (by this point, serving as the deputy to another biological son of Li Siyuan's, Li Congrong the Prince of Qin).[13] He was also given the military governorship of Heyang Circuit (河陽, headquartered in modern Jiaozuo, Henan).[1]

Shi's relationship with Li Congrong was a tense one, as Li Congrong, viewing himself as the natural heir (being older than Li Conghou), was arrogant and violent. Further, Li Congrong and Shi's wife, who at this point carried the title of Princess Yongning, were born of different mothers (Princess Yongning born of Empress Cao while Li Congrong born of Lady Xia, who was deceased by that point) and long despised each other. Shi thus did not want to remain under Li Congrong for long, and repeatedly requested to resign. In late 932, Li Siyuan agreed and sent him to Taiyuan to serve as the defender of Taiyuan and the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered at Taiyuan). He was also given the greater honorary chancellor designation of Shizhong (侍中). Shi entrusted much of the affairs of the circuit to two officers, Liu Zhiyuan and Zhou Gui (周瓌), putting Liu in charge of military matters and Zhou in charge of financial matters.[14]

Li Siyuan became deathly ill in late 933. Li Congrong, believing that Li Siyuan's chiefs of staff Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Yun would try to divert the succession away from him, decided to try to forcibly take power, but his army was defeated by the imperial guards, and he was killed. In the aftermaths, Li Siyuan summoned Li Conghou back from Tianxiong (where Li Conghou was serving as military governor), but died before Li Conghou arrived at Luoyang. Li Conghou subsequently arrived and took the throne.[14]

Upon Li Conghou's assumption of the throne, he gave Shi Jingtang the greater honorary chancellor title of Zhongshu Ling (中書令).[14]

As Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Yun considered themselves responsible for Li Conghou's succession to the throne, they retained power as chiefs of staff after he took the throne. As both Shi and Li Congke had great battlefield accomplishments under Li Siyuan, they were apprehensive of both Shi and Li Congke.[14] In spring 934, Zhu and Feng, not wanting Shi to remain long as Hedong and wanting to recall their ally, the eunuch Meng Hanqiong, from Tianxiong (as Meng was left in charge of Tianxiong when Li Conghou was recalled from there), they issued a series of orders—from their Office of the Chiefs of Staff, rather than by imperial edicts—transferring Fan Yanguang, then the military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei), to Tianxiong; Shi from Hedong to Chengde; and Li Congke, then the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi), to Hedong.[8]

Li Congke, believing that these moves were targeting him, rebelled. Li Conghou sent the imperial army against him, under the command of the general Wang Sitong, but Wang's army collapsed when the officer Yang Siquan (楊思權) led the soldiers under him and defected to Li Congke. Wang was captured, and Li Congke marched quickly toward Luoyang.[8]

With Li Congke approaching Luoyang and the imperial general Kang Yicheng (康義誠), whom Li Conghou sent against Li Congke in a last-ditch attempt to resist Li Congke's advance, also having surrendered to Li Congke, Li Conghou fled the capital with just 50 cavalry soldiers. Meanwhile, Shi was on the way from Taiyuan to Luoyang to pay homage to Li Conghou. They rendezvoused at Wei Prefecture (衛州, in modern Anyang, Henan). Realizing that Li Conghou was now completely without his imperial army, Shi consulted the prefect of Wei, Wang Hongzhi (王弘贄), who advised Shi that Li Conghou's cause was hopeless. When Li Conghou's guards Sha Shourong (沙守榮) and Ben Hongjin (奔弘進) heard of this, they cursed Shi for being faithless, and Sha tried to assassinate Shi, but he and Shi's guard Chen Hui (陳暉) ended up killing each other in mutual combat. Ben committed suicide. Liu Zhiyuan then slaughtered all of Li Conghou's guards, leaving Li Conghou alone at the imperial messenger station at Wei, while Shi himself and his followers continued on to Luoyang (to offer their allegiance to Li Congke). Shi's mother-in-law Empress Dowager Cao issued an edict deposing Li Conghou and ordering Li Congke to take the throne, and Li Congke did. He then sent an emissary to force Li Conghou to commit suicide; when Li Conghou refused, he was strangled to death.[8]

Li Congke's quick victory over Li Conghou left Shi Jingtang in a precarious spot – because it was obvious that he was initially intending on supporting Li Conghou and because of the long-standing, if latent, rivalry between him and Li Congke while both served under Li Siyuan. He remained at Luoyang for the funeral of his father-in-law Li Siyuan, and after the funeral, did not dare to personally bring up the idea of returning to Hedong. Empress Dowager Cao and her daughter, Shi's wife, who by this point was carrying the greater title of Princess of Wei (and soon would receive the even greater title of Grand Princess of Jin), repeatedly begged on his behalf, however, but Li Congke's close associates, who accompanied Li Congke from Fengxiang, mostly suggested that Li Congke detain Shi and not allow him to return to Hedong. Li Congke's chief of staff Han Zhaoyin and imperial scholar Li Zhuanmei (李專美), however, believed that keeping Shi at Luoyang would cause apprehension in the minds of another brother-in-law of Li Congke's, Zhao Yanshou the military governor of Xuanwu, and Zhao's father Zhao Dejun the military governor of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing). As Shi had recently been ill and appeared frail, Li Congke decided that he needed not be concerned with Shi as a potential threat, and therefore thereafter agreed to let him return to Hedong, stating, "Master Shi is not only a close relative, but had also shared all difficulties of mine when we grew up. Now I am the Son of Heaven; who else can I depend on but Master Shi?"[8] (Shi, and his supporters, would later claim that at this time, Li Congke also made a personal promise to him that he would never be moved away from Hedong for the rest of his life, although historical records, besides Shi's later claim, do not state the such.)[15]

After Shi's return to Hedong, there were repeated incursions of Later Tang's northern circuits by Later Tang's northern rival Khitan Empire. Both Shi and Zhao Dejun repeatedly requested reinforcements, and they were allowed to amass troops and supplies at their circuits. As Shi was still apprehensive that Li Congke might be suspicious of him, Shi maintained an information network at Luoyang to keep himself informed of the emperor's actions—the network included two of Shi's own sons, who served in the imperial guards (whose names were variously recorded, and one of whom might have been a brother whom he adopted as a son), and the servants of Empress Dowager Cao.[8] (The two sons were recorded in the New History of the Five Dynasties as Shi Chongying (石重英) and Shi Chongyin (石重胤),[16] and in the Zizhi Tongjian as Shi Chongyin (石重殷) and Shi Chongyi (石重裔).[15]) In 935, there was an incident in which, when the imperial envoy was at the front to review Shi's army and to deliver the imperially-bestowed supplies to the army, the soldiers began to chant, "May you live 10,000 years!" at Shi—a chant that should be reserved for the emperor. Shi became fearful, and under the advice of his staff member Duan Xiyao (段希堯), had Liu Zhiyuan behead 36 of the soldiers leading the chant, to try to alleviate the suspicion might be cast on him, but that did not stop Li Congke from suspecting him of having greater ambitions upon receiving the report from the imperial envoy. As Shi was formally the commander of the army to the north, Li Congke commissioned the general Zhang Jingda to serve as his deputy to divide his command.[8]

The local military governors throughout the Later Tang realm initially all formally submitted to Shi Jingtang. Among them was Fan Yanguang, who, however, felt insecure in his position as the military governor of Tianxiong, and who also had ambitions to be emperor, and therefore was considering rebelling. Realizing that Fan was considering doing so, in spring 937, under Sang Weihan's advice, Shi moved the capital from Luoyang to Daliang, as Daliang was closer to Tianxiong's capital (which Shi had renamed Guangjin (廣晉)) and, upon the expected revolt by Fan, he would be able to react much more quickly.[17]

Fan rebelled in summer 937. Shi mobilized his army against Fan, with the main armies under Yang Guangyuan and Shi's brother-in-law Du Chongwei. The central Later Jin realm was, for a time, thrown into disarray, after Fan was able to persuade another Later Jin general, Zhang Congbin (張從賓), into rebelling at Luoyang, and Zhang was even able to kill Shi's son Shi Chongxin (石重信) and Shi Chong'ai (石重乂), during his revolt. Yang's soldiers also tried to persuade him to rebel against Later Jin as well, offering to support him as emperor, but Yang refused their overture. Du was soon thereafter able to defeat Zhang, who drowned as he was retreating, ending his part of the rebellion. Fan, believing that he was nearing defeat, offered to surrender. Shi initially refused to accept his surrender. Yang could not capture Guangjin quickly, however. In fall 938, Shi agreed to accept Fan's surrender, and Fan subsequently did, ending the rebellion.[17]

Meanwhile, Shi sent the senior chancellors Liu Xu and Feng Dao to Khitan—whose state name had been changed to Liao by this point—to offer honorary titles to both Emperor Taizong and his mother Empress Dowager Shulü. He referred to Emperor Taizong as "father emperor" while referring to himself as "son emperor." He also fostered relationships with high level Khitan generals and officials by giving them gifts and using humble words toward them. This caused the Later Jin officials and commoners to both feel humiliated, but was also credited by historians as what preserved the peace between Later Jin and Liao during his reign.[17]

In summer 940, when Shi Jingtang tried to have Li Jinquan the military governor of Anyuan Circuit (安遠 headquartered in modern Xiaogan, Hubei) replaced by the general Ma Quanjie (馬全節), Li rebelled and submitted to Later Jin's southeastern neighbor Southern Tang. Southern Tang's emperor Li Bian commissioned his general Li Chengyu (李承裕) to aid Li Jinquan—but with instructions not to try to retain possession of Anyuan; rather, Li Chengyu was to rendezvous with Li Jinquan and escort him safely back to Southern Tang, leaving Anyuan in Later Jin control. Li Chengyu, however, disobeyed Li Bian's orders and tried to defend Anyuan's capital An Prefecture (安州). Ma defeated, captured, and executed him. Li Bian subsequently wrote Shi, explaining that Li Chengyu had disobeyed orders. There was subsequent peace between the two states.[18]

Meanwhile, An Chongrong the military governor of Chengde, who had viewed Shi's submissive attitude toward Liao as a sign of weakness, was himself considering rebelling against Later Jin. He entered into an alliance with An Congjin the military governor of Shannan East Circuit (山南東道, headquartered in modern Xiangyang, Hubei), who was similarly considering to rebel. He also continuously provoked Liao by intercepting its emissaries and killing them. In summer 941, he issued a declaration in which he called on Shi to renounce the peace agreement with Liao and attack it to recapture the territories and peoples that Liao had previously captured, but was not yet openly breaking with Shi. In response, Shi, under Sang Weihan's advice, headed to Guangjin—since then renamed back to Yedu—to prepare for a potential campaign against An Chongrong. Anticipating that An Congjin might rebel when he left Daliang, Shi, under the advice of He Ning, left his nephew Shi Chonggui in charge of Daliang with authority to immediately commission generals to act against An Congjin.[18]

In winter 941, hearing that Shi Jingtang had left Daliang for Yedu, An Congjin rebelled. Shi Conggui immediately, under authority previously given to him by Shi Jingtang, commissioned the general Gao Xingzhou to assume overall command against An Congjin. Upon hearing of An Congjin's rebellion, An Chongrong also rebelled, and Shi sent Du Chongwei against him. Gao quickly defeated An Congjin's advance army, forcing An Congjin into returning to Shannan East's capital Xiang Prefecture (襄州) to try to defend it. Meanwhile, Du engaged An Chongrong, and An Chongrong was initially successful in the engagement. At this time, though, An Chongrong's officer Zhao Yanzhi (趙彥之) tried to surrender to the imperial forces—and while the imperial forces killed him, Zhao's attempted surrender caused a general panic in An Chongrong's army, causing a collapse and forcing An Chongrong to flee back to Chengde's capital Zhen Prefecture (鎮州).[18] In spring 942, an officer of An Chongrong's opened up the city and surrendered; the imperial forces then entered and put An Chongrong to death. (An Congjin, however, would not be defeated until after Shi Jingtang's death.)[3]

Meanwhile, Shi fell ill. He entrusted his young and only surviving son Shi Chongrui to Feng Dao, wanting Feng to support Shi Chongrui in succeeding to the throne. After Shi Jingtang's death in summer 942, Feng, in consultation with the imperial general Jing Yanguang, came to the conclusion that the state, in disarray at the time, needed an older emperor. They thus supported Shi Chonggui to succeed Shi Jingtang.[3]