Dong Zhang

Dong Zhang (died June 10, 932 ) was a Chinese military general and politician of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period Later Liang and Later Tang states. After submitting to Later Tang after Later Liang's destruction, he became a general favored by both Later Tang's founding emperor Li Cunxu and Li Cunxu's chief of staff Guo Chongtao, causing Guo to commission Dong as the military governor (jiedushi) of Dongchuan Circuit (東川, headquartered in modern Mianyang, Sichuan) after Guo's conquest of Former Shu. Because of this, after Li Cunxu's downfall and succession by his adoptive brother Li Siyuan, Li Siyuan's chief of staff An Chonghui came to suspect both Dong and Meng Zhixiang, the military governor of neighboring Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu, Sichuan). Dong and Meng jointly rebelled against Li Siyuan and were successful military, forcing the imperial government to eventually move into a reconciliatory posture. Dong, however, as his son Dong Guangye and Dong Guangye's family were slaughtered, refused the imperial overture, and later launched an attack on Meng, as Meng was moving to reconciliation with the imperial government. Meng defeated him, and he was later killed by his own subordinates.

Background It is not known when or where Dong Zhang was born, but it was known that he, along with later prominent political figures Gao Jixing and Kong Xun, served as servant boys under the merchant Li Rang of Bian Prefecture (汴州, in modern Kaifeng, Henan). While the late-Tang dynasty major warlord Zhu Quanzhong (who would later take over the Tang throne and establish Later Liang) served as the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered at Bian Prefecture), Zhu took Li as an adoptive son (changing his name to Zhu Yourang , and Li's servants thus got the chance to serve in Zhu Quanzhong's army. Dong later was promoted to be an officer in the army.

During Later Liang As of 923, Zhu Quanzhong's son Zhu Zhen was Later Liang's emperor. That year, Li Jitao (the son Li Sizhao, the deceased cousin of Later Liang's archrival Later Tang's emperor Li Cunxu), who then controlled Anyi Circuit (安義, headquartered in modern Changzhi, Shanxi), in fear that Li Cunxu would eventually act against him, surrendered his circuit to Later Liang. Pei Yue , the prefect of Ze Prefecture (澤州, in modern Jincheng, Shanxi), which belonged to Anyi, refused to abide by this decision, and instead remained faithful to Later Tang. Zhu sent Dong Zhang to attack Ze, later sending the major general Wang Yanzhang to reinforce his troops. Li Cunxu sent his general Li Shaobin to try to aid Pei, with the explicit instruction to give up Ze to Later Liang, only rescuing Pei. Before Li Shaobin could arrive there, though, Dong had already captured the city, and Pei was killed in the city's fall. Zhu commissioned Dong as the prefect of Ze. Overall, Dong served at Ze for more than a year there before being replaced and recalled to then-Later Tang capital Luoyang. At that time, the paramount figure at court was Li's chief of staff Guo Chongtao, and Guo treated him well as well. In the summer of 925, Dong was first made acting military governor of Jingnan Circuit (靜難, headquartered in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi), and shortly after made its full military governor.

Shortly after, though, Guo himself fell under the suspicions of both Li Cunxu and Li Cunxu's wife Empress Liu—that he was planning to take over Shu lands and rebel. Li Cunxu was reluctant to act against Guo without further evidence, but Empress Liu decided to act. She issued an order herself, ordering Li Jiji to put Guo to death. After some hesitation, Li Jiji carried out her order and put Guo to death. After Guo's death, Dong was briefly apprehensive of Li Shaochen and apologized to him. However, subsequently, it was Dong, not Li Shaochen, who received Li Cunxu's order to carry out the execution against Zhu Lingde the military governor of Wuxin Circuit (武信, headquartered in modern Suining, Sichuan), the son of Guo's ally Zhu Youqian, who was also put to death when Guo was killed. Dong was subsequently again disrespectful to Li Shaochen, causing Li Shaochen to, in fear and anger, rebel against Li Jiji. (However, Li Shaochen was shortly after defeated by Ren Huan, whose forces were reinforced by Dong and Meng Zhixiang, whom Li Cunxu had commissioned as the military governor of Xichuan; he was then captured and executed.) Dong Zhang was apparently initially submissive to Li Siyuan, and was granted the honorific title of acting Taifu , and in 927 was given the honorary chancellor designation of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi .

By 929, though, the relationship between Dong and the imperial government had deteriorated. Li Siyuan was about to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth (as was traditional for emperors), and he had the official Li Renju go to Xichuan and Dongchuan to order them to submit tributes for the expenses of the sacrifices, commanding Xichuan to submit one million strings of money and Dongchuan 500,000. Both declined, claiming a lack of revenues, with Xichuan submitting only 500,000 and Dongchuan submitting only 100,000. Meanwhile, when Li Renju arrived at Dongchuan, Dong was preparing to hold a grand feast in his honor, but Li Renju, taking no heed, did not go to the feast on time and was instead frolicking with women. Dong, in anger, seized him and rebuked him, threatening to kill him. While Dong subsequently released Li Renju and tried to bribe him with gifts, when Li Renju returned to Luoyang, he still retaliated by accusing Dong of improprieties. Shortly after, there was another occasion when another imperial messenger, Li Yanxun , made ceremonial faux pas while at Dongchuan, and Dong arrested his subordinates, causing Li Yanxun to flee. These incidents caused the imperial government to become displeased at Dong. Li Renju made the military governor of a new Baoning Circuit (保寧, headquartered in modern Langzhong, Sichuan), carved out of Dongchuan and Xichuan's neighboring Shannan West Circuit (山南西道, headquartered in modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi), and An's brother-in-law Wu Qianyu the prefect of Mian Prefecture (綿州, in modern Mianyang), in the heart of Dongchuan itself. When An thereafter, in fall 930, sent the officer Xun Xian'ai to reinforce Baoning's capital Lang Prefecture , Dong publicly declared his rebellion, and he and Meng joined their forces to prepare to attack Baoning, Wuxin, and Zhaowu (昭武, headquartered in modern Guangyuan, Sichuan) Circuits, which were loyal to the imperial government. When the news came, An advocated a general campaign against them, and Li Siyuan agreed. He commissioned his son-in-law Shi Jingtang as the commander of the forces against Dongchuan (and, later, after Meng also publicly joined the rebellion, against Xichuan). He also ordered Dong Guangye and Dong Guangye's family executed.

Dong quickly captured Baoning's capital Lang Prefecture and killed Li Renju and Li Renju's family. Meng's general Li Renhan, at the same time, put Xia under siege at Wuxin's capital Sui Prefecture . Dong then attacked Zhaowu's capital Li Prefecture , but with his attacks hampered by torrential rains, withdrew to Lang—which caused Meng's consternation, as he believed that Dong's movement was leaving the important Jianmen Pass (which imperial forces must pass through if they were to attack Dongchuan and Xichuan) unguarded, but Meng's offers of troops to help defend Jianmen Pass was declined by Meng. In winter 930, Shi, finding Jianmen Pass not guarded well, sent a small detachment to launch a surprise attack against it and captured it, causing much alarm for both Dong and Meng. However, when Shi's subordinate Wang Hongzhi then also captured nearby Jian Prefecture , he found Shi's main forces still far away, causing him to raid Jian's supplies but then withdraw. When the joint Dongchuan/Xichuan forces then arrived at Jian, the imperial forces lost their initiative, and the forces went into a stalemate.

By this time, though, An's political enemies were launching accusations against him—specifically, that he provoked Dongchuan and Xichuan into rebelling and led the imperial government into a draining war. An sought to head to the frontline to oversee the campaign, which Li Siyuan initially agreed. However, after An's departure from Luoyang, even one of An's allies, Zhu Hongzhao the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi) accused him of planning to take over Shi's army, and with Shi himself arguing against the campaign, Li Siyuan ordered An's retirement, and made peace overtures to Dongchuan and Xichuan. Shi further thought the campaign against Dongchuan and Xichuan was hopeless when, in spring 931, Sui fell, and Xia Luqi committed suicide. Without first seeking approval from Li Siyuan, he withdrew the imperial forces, and Zhaowu's military governor Li Yanqi abandoned Zhaowu and fled. Effectively, the joint Dongchuan/Xichuan forces had prevailed.

Attack on Meng Zhixiang and death Shortly after, Li Siyuan put An Chonghui to death. He then issued a conciliatory edict, blaming the issues that the imperial government had with Meng Zhixiang, Dong Zhang, and Qian Liu the Prince of Wuyue on An. Hearing of this, and also hearing that his own family members remaining in imperial territory had been spared, Meng sent a dispatch to Dong, suggesting that they both resubmit to the imperial government. Dong refused, as his son Dong Guangye had already been killed, and from this point on the rivalry between the two circuits resumed. Dong, further, blocked off the communication paths between Xichuan and the imperial government. Meng, not yet wanting to turn against Dong, made several more overtures to Dong to jointly resubmit, with Dong refusing each one.

In summer 932, Dong decided to attack Xichuan's capital Chengdu. This initially caused apprehension in Meng's mind, as Dong was viewed as a fearsome general. However, Meng's deputy military governor Zhao Jiliang pointed out that Dong, while a ferocious soldier, did not actually inspire loyalty in his soldiers' mind, so Meng decided to resist. The two circuits' armies engaged at Han Prefecture (漢州, in modern Deyang, Sichuan). Initially, Dongchuan forces were victorious, but when Dong tried to advance further, he was defeated by Xichuan forces and suffered heavy losses. He fled back to Dongchuan's capital Zi Prefecture . After he arrived there, his officer Wang Hui and nephew Dong Yanhao mutinied. When Dong Zhang tried to summon another officer, Pan Chou , to combat the mutineers, Pan instead killed and beheaded him, offering his head to Wang. Wang then surrendered to Meng's general Zhao Tingyin.

Notes and references

History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 62. New History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 51. Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277.