Bian Hao

Bian Hao , nickname Kangle (康樂), was a general of the Chinese Southern Tang dynasty. Early in his career, he distinguished himself in campaigns against the agrarian army leader Zhang Yuxian and against Southern Tang's southeastern neighbor Min. Later, during Ma Chu's collapse, Bian was able to enter its territory and, for some time, secured the nominal submission of all former Ma Chu territory to the Southern Tang. However, he was unable to deal with subsequent uprisings in the former Ma Chu realm and had to abandon it, causing him to be exiled for some time. He also fared poorly after he returned to the Southern Tang army, as he was defeated and captured by Later Zhou forces when the Later Zhou invaded the Southern Tang and eventually forced the latter's submission as a vassal. After he was returned to the Southern Tang, he had no further army commissions.

Early career It is not known when Bian Hao was born, but it is known that he was from Sheng Prefecture (昇州, in modern Nanjing, Jiangsu, i.e., the later Southern Tang capital Jinling). When he was born, his father dreamed of the Liu Song official Xie Lingyun coming to see him and offering to be his son. After he woke up, he believed that Bian Hao's appearance looked like the man in the dream, and therefore gave Bian Hao the nickname of Kangle — as Xie's noble title was the Duke of Kangle. Bian Hao later served under the founding emperor of Li Bian for a long duration as his protocol officer (通事舍人, Tongshi Sheren), and became known for his understanding and dexterity. (It is not known whether his service to Li Bian was only during Li Bian's reign, or during Li Bian's prior regency in late Wu times.)

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 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 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 , who, seeing the situation as hopeless, arrested Zhang and surrendered him to Southern Tang. (Zhang was subsequently taken to Jinling and executed.)

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 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), 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.

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 , 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 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.

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.

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 and Yang Shouzhong , was captured. With Liu deathly ill, the Shou garrison surrendered. Bian later died at Jinling.

Notes and references

Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms, vol. 22. Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 283, 284, 290, 291, 293, 294.