Wang Shifan

Wang Shifan was said to be studious, favoring Confucianism, and fair in his governance. He was also said to be good at maintaining diplomatic relationships with other warlords, allowing his people to rest from the wars of the time, and therefore was much praised by other warlords of the time.[6] There was an occasion when one of his maternal uncles, while drunk, killed someone. The victim's family brought an accusation against Wang's uncle, and Wang initially tried to placate the family by giving them a large cash reward. The victim's family refused the award, and Wang decided that he could not ignore the law, so he had his uncle punished. His mother, in anger, refused to see him for three years, but despite her refusal, he still went to visit her house three to four times a day and bowed to her from outside the house during the duration, hoping to change her mind.[5] Whenever a new magistrate for Qing Prefecture's central county, Yidu, reported for duty, Wang would personally go to pay tribute to the magistrate; he bowed to the magistrate and referred to himself as "your citizen, Wang Shifan." When his staff members tried to stop him, arguing that that was too extreme a show of humility, he responded that this was to show proper respect to the elders of the locale such that his descendants would not forget their roots.[1] Meanwhile, while Wang was able to maintain his control of Pinglu, three nearby circuits (Tianping (天平, headquartered in modern Tai'an, Shandong), Taining (泰寧, headquartered in modern Jining, Shandong), and Ganhua (感化, headquartered in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu)) were conquered by the major warlord Zhu Quanzhong of Xuanwu Circuit, and as a result, by 897, Wang did not dare to disobey Zhu and became, effectively, a vassal of Zhu's.[9]

In 898, Emperor Zhaozong bestowed the honorary chancellor title of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事) on Wang Shifan.[9]

In 901, the powerful eunuchs, led by Han Quanhui, seized Emperor Zhaozong and took him from the imperial capital Chang'an to Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi), then ruled by the eunuchs' ally Li Maozhen, as the eunuchs feared that Emperor Zhaozong and the leading chancellor Cui Yin were about to slaughter them. Cui, who was allied with Zhu, in turn summoned Zhu, who put Fengxiang's capital Fengxiang Municipality under siege.[10][11] In early 903, with Fengxiang's situation becoming increasingly desperate, Han had Emperor Zhaozong issue an edict calling on the military governors around the realm to rise and attack Zhu.[11] The edict particularly singled out Wang as an adherent of Zhu's and, as part of the order to Yang Xingmi the military governor of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu), commissioned Yang's subordinate Zhu Jin, who had ruled Taining at one point, as the military governor of Pinglu.[5] Upon reading the edict, Wang was greatly distressed, and commented, "We are the outer defenses for the Emperor. How can we just sit here and watch the Son of Heaven be trapped and humiliated? Do we have these troops just to defend ourselves?" The retired chancellor Zhang Jun also wrote to Wang and encouraged to rise against Zhu Quanzhong. Wang therefore prepared to do so.[11]

With most of Zhu's elite troops at Fengxiang with him, Wang devised a daring plan to have his own officers disguised at merchants, to simultaneously start uprising at a large number of locations throughout the territory controlled by Zhu, including Xuanwu's capital Bian Prefecture (汴州), Ganhua's capital Xu Prefecture (徐州), Taining's capital Yan Prefecture (兗州), Tianping's capital Yun Prefecture (鄆州), Qi Prefecture (齊州, in modern Jinan, Shandong), Yi Prefecture (沂州, in modern Linyi, Shandong), Henan Municipality (河南, i.e., the eastern capital Luoyang), Meng Prefecture (孟州, in modern Jiaozuo, Henan), Hua Prefecture (滑州, in modern Anyang, Henan), Hezhong Municipality (河中, in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi), Shan Prefecture (陝州, in modern Sanmenxia, Henan), Guo Prefecture (虢州, also in modern Sanmenxia), and Hua Prefecture (華州, in modern Weinan, Shaanxi, not the previously mentioned Hua Prefecture). However, in most circumstances, the Pinglu officers who planned the uprising were informed on by others and arrested in advance. Only Liu Xun was able to surprise the defenders of Yan Prefecture and seize it.[11]

In response, Zhu Quanzhong's nephew Zhu Youning, who was at Bian Prefecture at that time, prepared to attack Wang, and he summoned Ge Congzhou, who was the military governor of Taining at the time but who was then stationed at Xing Prefecture (邢州, in modern Xingtai, Hebei). Zhu Quanzhong also sent additional troops to reinforce Zhu Youning. Wang wrote to Zhu Quanzhong's archrival Li Keyong the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi), but while Li Keyong wrote back, praising Wang for his actions, Li Keyong did not appear to send troops to aid Wang, particularly since, by this point, Li Maozhen had capitulated to Zhu and, after slaughtering the leading eunuchs, surrendered the emperor to Zhu to sue for peace.[11] By late spring 903, Zhu's main troops were back at Xuanwu, preparing for a major attack on Wang, and Zhu Youning had defeated an attack by Wang Shifan's younger brother Wang Shilu on Qi Prefecture and cut off the communications between Wang Shifan and Liu.[7]

With his own defensive positions in danger, Wang sought aid from Yang Xingmi. Yang sent his general Wang Maozhang to aid Wang Shifan. The joint forces of Wang Maozhang and Wang Shifan's brother Wang Shihui were thereafter able to capture Mi Prefecture. However, with Zhu Youning having captured Bochang (博昌, in modern Binzhou) and Deng Prefecture (登州, in modern Yantai, Shandong), Wang Shifan took up defensive positions with troops from Deng and Lai (萊州, also in modern Yantai) Prefectures. Zhu first defeated the soldiers from Deng Prefecture, but wore his own troops out in the process; Wang Shifan and Wang Maozhang then jointly counterattacked, killing Zhu Youning in battle. A subsequent attack by Zhu Quanzhong himself against Wang Shifan and Wang Maozhang was inconclusive, but Wang Maozhang, believing defeat to be inevitable, withdrew in the middle of the night. Yang's general Zhang Xun (張訓), who had taken over Mi Prefecture, also withdrew from Mi, leaving Wang Shifan without outside aid. Further, his brother Wang Shike was then captured in an attack on Linqu (臨朐, in modern Weifang) by Zhu's general Yang Shihou.[7]

The morale of Wang Shifan's army was still quite high at that time, and the officers advocated holding out against Zhu. However, because Wang Shike had been captured by the Xuanwu army, Wang Shifan decided to sue for peace.[5] He sent his deputy military governor Li Siye (李嗣業) and Wang Shiyue to offer to surrender and let Wang Shilu serve as a hostage. With Zhu then fearing a joint attack by a rejuvenated Li Maozhen and Li Maozhen's adoptive son Li Jihui the military governor of Jingnan Circuit (靜難, headquartered in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi), he accepted Wang Shifan's surrender and recommissioned him as the acting military governor of Pinglu — but sent his own officers to take over Deng, Lai, Zi (淄州, in modern Zibo, Shandong), and Di Prefectures, leaving Wang Shifan in effective control of just Qing Prefecture. At Wang's direction, Liu Xun also surrendered Yan Prefecture.[7]