Li Song (politician)

However, it is known that by 923 — at which time Li Cunxu had declared himself emperor of a new Later Tang and had commissioned his oldest son Li Jiji the defender of Zhending (真定, in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei) and the director of Xingsheng Palace (興聖宮)[3] — Li Song was serving on Li Jiji's staff as an officer. At that time, Li Jiji's secretary Li Rao (李蕘) was in charge of Li Jiji's correspondences. Li Song had seen some of Li Rao's writings and considered them poorly written, He secretly spoke with the head of Li Jiji's household, Lü Rou (呂柔), stating, "The Lord Chancellor [(as Li Jiji carried an honorary chancellor title)] is the Emperor's son. The whole realm looks at him. Both his correspondences and his records need to be logically and properly written. The drafts written by Censor Li [(as Li Rao carried an honorary censor title)] lacked perfection." Lü asked Li Song to try to write for Li Jiji on a trial basis, and then showed what Li Song had written to Li Cunxu's secretaries Lu Zhi (盧質) and Feng Dao, both of whom praised Li Song's writing. Li Song was therefore soon promoted to be the surveying officer for Xingsheng Palace, and put in charge of Li Jiji's correspondences.[2] After Li Cunxu conquered archrival Later Liang later in the year and made Luoyang his capital, he gave Li Song the title of Xielü Lang (協律郎).[2]

In 925, Li Cunxu commissioned Li Jiji, who carried the title of Prince of Wei by that point, as the supreme commander of an army against Later Tang's southwestern neighbor Former Shu, with the major general Guo Chongtao serving as Li Jiji's deputy and actually in charge of the operation.[4] Li Jiji made Li Song his secretary on the campaign.[2] The Later Tang army was soon able to destroy Former Shu. However, after Former Shu's fall, both Li Cunxu and his wife (Li Jiji's mother) Empress Liu suspected Guo of plotting rebellion, and Empress Liu, even though she did not have agreement from Li Cunxu, issued an order to Li Jiji that he kill Guo. Li Jiji, after receiving her order, ambushed Guo and killed him. Hearing this, Li Song quickly went to see Li Jiji, lamenting to him, "Now the army is 3,000 li away from the capital. Why did Your Royal Highness carry out the dangerous act of killing a major general without an imperial edict? Why cannot you wait until getting back to Luoyang?" Li Jiji responded that he regretted the decision, but it had already been done. Li Song then summoned several scribes and secretly forged an imperial edict, using Li Jiji's seal to pretend to be an imperial seal in stamping the edict. Only after that did the army acquiesce.[5]

The deaths of Guo and, subsequently, his ally and fellow major general Zhu Youqian, however, spawned a number of mutinies in the Later Tang army.[5] In summer 926, Li Cunxu was killed in a mutiny at Luoyang itself. His adoptive brother Li Siyuan entered Luoyang and claimed the title of regent. Li Jiji, who was then withdrawing his army back from Former Shu's capital Chengdu back to Luoyang, headed for Luoyang, trying to contend for imperial title, but his army began to desert him. He committed suicide, and the army subsequently returned to Luoyang under the command of his general Ren Huan and submitted to Li Siyuan.[6]

Ren Huan subsequently became a chancellor for Li Siyuan. He also was in charge of the three financial agencies (taxation, treasury, and salt and iron monopolies),[6] and he made Li Song his assistant for salt and iron monopolies. Later, when Li Song's mother died, Li Song left governmental service to observe a mourning period for her. After the mourning period was over, Fan Yanguang, who was then the military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered at Zhending), made Li Song his secretary, in charge of the communications. When Fan was later recalled to the imperial government to serve as chief of staff (Shumishi), Li Song became a member of the office of chief of staff. While serving there, his title gradually rose from Shiyi (拾遺), to Bujue (補闕, both consultant titles), to imperial chronicler (起居郎, Qiju Lang), to a supervisory position at the executive bureau of government (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng). Near the end of Li Siyuan's Changxing era (930-933), Li Song became an imperial scholar (翰林學士, Hanlin Xueshi).[2]

As of 932, Later Tang's northern rival Khitan Empire was making repeated incursions into Later Tang territory. Li Siyuan wanted an appropriate military governor for Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi) to combat the Khitan incursions. Li Siyuan's son-in-law Shi Jingtang, who wanted to avoid conflicts with Li Siyuan's oldest surviving son Li Congrong the Prince of Qin, wanted the Hedong military governorship, but Fan and his fellow chief of staff, Zhao Yanshou (also a son-in-law to Li Siyuan) wanted to commission the general Kang Yicheng (康義誠), and therefore the matter was unsettled for a while. During a meeting at the office of the chief of staff, it was Li Song who spoke up in favor of commissioning Shi. Li Siyuan happened to be sending emissaries to the meeting at that time to rush the decision, so Fan and Zhao acquiesced. Shi was then made the military governor of Hedong.[7] When Shi became aware that it was Li Song who advocated for his commission, he sent Li Song a message of appreciation.[2]

Li Siyuan died in 933 (after a disturbance in which Li Congrong tried to seize power but was defeated and killed). Another of his sons, Li Conghou the Prince of Song, succeeded him as emperor.[7] In 934, LI Siyuan's adoptive son Li Congke the Prince of Lu overthrew Li Conghou and became emperor. Li Song became one of the officials Li Congke frequently consulted, along with Li Zhuanmei (李專美), Lü Qi (呂琦), Xue Wenyu (薛文遇), and Zhao Yan'ai (趙延乂).[8]

Li Congke and Shi had long disliked each other.[8] Li Congke frequently suspected Shi of plotting rebellion, and a major concern at the time in Li Congke's inner circle was that Shi would seek aid from the Khitan in such a rebellion. Li Song and Lü advocated entering into a peace treaty with the Khitan by returning a number of Khitan officers that Later Tang had earlier captured and giving a large amount of money to the Khitan. The chancellor Zhang Yanlang, who then oversaw the three financial agencies, supported the idea. Li Congke initially was in favor as well, and had Li Song and Lü draft a proposed letter to Khitan's Emperor Taizong to suggest the treaty. However, Xue opposed, and argued that the Khitan emperor would insist on having Li Congke's young daughter marry him (or his son). Li Congke thus changed his mind, and one day thereafter summoned Li Song and Lü to rebuke them. They apologized profusely and were spared, but their proposal was not considered again. Li Congke also distanced himself away from Lü, although apparently Li Song remained part of the inner circle.[9]

Li Congke then considered moving Shi to another circuit. Then-chief of staff Fang Gao and Li Song (and Lü, prior to Lü's departure from his inner circle) all strenuously opposed, believing that would provoke Shi into a rebellion. However, one night, when Li Song was had the night off and Xue was on duty, Li Congke consulted Xue by himself, and Xue argued that Shi would eventually rebel anyway — that having him rebel earlier was better than having him rebel later. Li Congke agreed. Shortly after, he issued an edict moving Shi from Hedong to Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern Tai'an, Shandong). Shi, as expected, rebelled and sought aid from Khitan's Emperor Taizong. Emperor Taizong launched an army to aid him, and their joint forces defeated the Later Tang army Li Congke sent, under the command of the general Zhang Jingda. Zhang was killed by his deputy Yang Guangyuan, who then surrendered to the joint Khitan/Hedong forces. Emperor Taizong declared Shi the emperor of a new Later Jin, and they advanced south. Believing the situation to be hopeless, Li Congke committed suicide with his family, ending Later Tang. Shi entered Luoyang and took over Later Tang territory.[9]

At the time that Shi Jingtang entered Luoyang, Li Song and Lü Qi hid themselves among the people at Yijue (伊闕, in modern Luoyang). Shi discovered this. He was still grateful to Li Song for having spoken for his military governorship at Hedong and also respected Lü for what he believed to be Lü's correct recommendation to Li Congke to enter into a peace treaty with the Khitan, and therefore restored both of them to governmental positions. In Li Song's case, he was made the deputy minister of defense (兵部侍郎, Bingbu Shilang) and put in charge of taxation. Shortly after, he further promoted Li Song to be Zhongshu Shilang (中書侍郎, the deputy head of the legislative bureau (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng)) as well as chancellor, with the designation of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事). He was also made chief of staff, serving with Sang Weihan. However, this displeased Liu Churang (who wanted to be chief of staff) and Yang Guangyuan, who was then sieging Fan Yanguang at Tianxiong Circuit (天雄, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei) as Fan had rebelled against Shi earlier in the year (as Sang was putting curbs on Yang's power). Yang thus submitted a petition arguing that chancellors should not also be chiefs of staff. Shi felt compelled to remove both Sang and Li Song as chiefs of staff. Li Song was given the additional title of minister of public works (工部尚書, Gongbu Shangshu), while Liu was made chief of staff.[10]

In 941, Shi made his general Liu Zhiyuan, who was then the commander of the imperial guards, the military governor of Hedong. At the recommendations of Li Song and Feng Dao (who was then also chancellor), Shi's brother-in-law Du Chongwei, whom Liu despised, succeeded Liu as the commander of the imperial guards. It was said that Liu resented Li and Feng from this point on.[11] Li accompanied Shi to Yedu (鄴都, i.e., Tianxiong's capital, also known as Wei Prefecture (魏州)) later in the year, as Shi was then anticipating a rebellion by An Chongrong the military governor of Chengde. Apparently while Li was at Yedu, his father died, and he left governmental service briefly to observe a mourning period, but Shi immediately recalled him to the imperial government without a lengthy mourning period.[2]

Shi Jingtang died in summer 941 and was succeeded as emperor by his nephew Shi Chonggui the Prince of Qi. One immediate question was how the Later Jin court would report this news to Emperor Taizong[12] (who had changed his state's name from Khitan to Liao by this point). Shi Jingtang had earlier, not only submitted to Liao as a subject, but referred to Emperor Taizong as "father emperor" while referring to himself as "son emperor."[10] The officials largely wanted Shi Chonggui to submit a report (as a subject) and refer to himself as "subject." The general Jing Yanguang, who supported Shi Chonggui's ascendency and who was then made a chancellor as well, however, opposed, suggesting that Shi Chonggui merely write a letter (i.e., to show equality between the states, rather than submission) in which he would merely refer to himself as "grandson" and not subject. Li Song opposed Jing, pointing out that this would lead to discord and war between the two states. Feng Dao took no position, and Shi Chonggui eventually agreed with Jing. This led to Emperor Taizong to angrily respond, through an emissary, "How do you dare to take the throne without first reporting to me?" Jing authored the response, with rudeness, to that rebuke, precipitating an eventual war between Later Jin and Liao, particularly given that Zhao Yanshou, then a Liao general, was urging Emperor Taizong to wage a war, as he himself wanted to become emperor of China.[12]

By 944, Sang Weihan was again chief of staff and chancellor, and was said to control the army with discipline, enabling its effectiveness in battles against Liao. Shi Chonggui's brother-in-law Feng Yu and another close associate, Li Yantao (李彥韜), however, disliked Sang, and frequently defamed him before Shi. Shi thus considered removing Sang, but did not do so, at the urging of Li Song and Liu Xu. However, he made Feng also a chief of staff, to divide Sang's power.[13] In late 945, Shi finally removed Sang as chief of staff and chancellor, making him the mayor of then-capital Kaifeng. Li Song was made chief of staff to replace Sang in that capacity, while Zhao Ying, who already carried a chancellor title but was acting as mayor of Kaifeng, was made full chancellor to replace Sang in that capacity.[14]

In 946, Emperor Taizong decided to create a trap for Later Jin. He spread false news that Zhao Yanshou was intending to defect to Later Jin, rumors that were believed by Feng and Li Song. They had Du Chongwei (whose name had been changed to Du Wei by that point due to naming taboo for Shi Chonggui's name), who was then the military governor of Tianxiong, write a secret letter to Zhao, to see if Zhao intended to defect. Zhao, who was part of Emperor Taizong's plan, wrote back and indicated that, indeed, he wanted to defect, along with his Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in Beijing — which had previously been Later Tang territory but which Shi Jingtang, as part of the agreement in which Emperor Taizong aided him to become emperor, ceded to Emperor Taizong); in his letter, he asked for a major Later Jin army to be launched to support his defection. After discussions between Shi Chonggui, Feng, and Li Song, it was agreed that a large army would be launched, commanded by Du, with Li Shouzhen serving as his deputy. (This was opposed by Zhao Ying, who believed that Du was untrustworthy due to his unthankful nature, but Zhao Ying was not listened to.)[14]

Du's army was soon launched, but as it approached Liao territory, was met by a large, highly mobile Liao army commanded by Emperor Taizong himself. It tried to retreat, but became encircled by the Liao army at Zhongdu Bridge (中度橋, in modern Baoding, Hebei). After Emperor Taizong made a promise (which he would eventually repudiate) to have Du made emperor, Du and Li Shouzhen surrendered with their army. As virtually the entire Later Jin imperial army was under Du's command, Kaifeng was left defenseless, and the Liao army advanced quickly toward it. Shi Chonggui surrendered, ending Later Jin.[14]