Han Jian

Han Jian (; 855 – August 15, 912 ), courtesy name Zuoshi (佐時), was a warlord and official of the Tang and Later Liang dynasties of China. He is most well known for having had Emperor Zhaozong of Tang under his control at his power base at Hua Prefecture (華州; in modern-day Weinan, Shaanxi) from 896 to 898 and slaughtering the imperial princes while Emperor Zhaozong was there. He served as chancellor of the Later Liang dynasty.

During Tang dynasty

Background and early career Han Jian was born in 855, during the reign of Emperor Xuānzong of Tang. He was from Xu Prefecture (許州, in modern Xuchang, Henan). His ancestors, including his father Han Shufeng , had served for generations in the army. he encouraged people to join his army, and Han Jian did. Wang, Han, Zhang, Jin, and Li followed him as well. Later in 883, Lu captured Xingyuan (興元, in modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi) the capital of Shannan West Circuit , expelling the military governor Niu Xu and claiming the title of acting military governor.

Governance at Hua Prefecture

Prior to Emperor Zhaozong's stay at Hua Prefecture At that time, the Tang empire was divided between warlords, most of whom were only interested in battling and seizing more territory. However, as the prefect of Hua Prefecture, Han Jian encouraged the refugees from the wars to settle in Hua and promoted agriculture. It was said that within a span of a few years, both the Hua prefectural government and the people of Hua were wealthy. The popular sentiment at the time greatly praised him, along with Cheng Rui the military governor of Jingnan Circuit (荊南, headquartered in modern Jingzhou, Hubei).

By 890, Han was carrying the title of military governor as well, of a newly created Zhenguo Circuit , which included only Hua Prefecture and nearby Tong Prefecture (同州, also in modern Weinan). That year, when Emperor Xizong's brother and successor Emperor Zhaozong declared a general campaign against Li Keyong the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi) and put the chancellor Zhang Jun in command of the operations, Han personally led his army to join Zhang's and was also responsible for supplying the army. The imperial army, however, was dealt a blow when Zhang's deputy commander, Sun Kui , was captured in an ambush by Li Keyong's adoptive son Li Cunxiao. Subsequently, when the imperial army and Li Keyong's main army met, Han carried out a nighttime attack against Li Cunxiao but was repelled. After Han's defeat, the armies from Fengxiang (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi) and Jingnan (靜難, headquartered in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi, not the same circuit Cheng ruled) deserted the imperial army. After Li Keyong's army further defeated Zhang and forced the imperial army into a defensive posture at Jin Prefecture (晉州, in modern Linfen, Shanxi), the armies from Baoda (保大, headquartered in modern Yan'an, Shaanxi) and Dingnan (定難, headquartered in modern Yulin, Shaanxi) Circuits also abandoned the imperial army, leaving Zhang and Han defending Jin Prefecture with troops sent by Li Keyong's archrival Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Shanxi). Li Cunxiao put Jin under siege, but after deciding that capturing a chancellor would be a bad idea, he lifted the siege and allowed Zhang and Han to flee, and they did. To flee back west across the Yellow River, they were forced to tear down local residents' homes and use the building material to construct rafts. The defeat left the imperial army in shambles, although the extent of damage to Han's own army is unclear. Subsequently, Li Keyong, as a condition for resubmitting to the imperial government, demanded the exiles of Zhang and fellow chancellor Kong Wei; however, instead of going into exile, both Zhang and Kong fled to Hua, where Han put them under his protection.

In 895, a succession dispute that rose after the death of Wang Chongying the military governor of Huguo Circuit (護國, new name for Hezhong) brought Han and his allies Li Maozhen and Wang Xingyu into direct dispute with the imperial government and Li Keyong. Wang Chongying's brother and predecessor Wang Chongrong had adopted Wang Ke, the biological son of his brother Wang Chongjian , as his own son, and after Wang Chongying's death, the soldiers at Hezhong, with Li Keyong's backing, wanted Wang Ke to succeed Wang Chongying. However, Wang Chongying's own biological sons Wang Gong the military governor of Baoyi Circuit (保義, headquartered in modern Sanmenxia, Henan) and Wang Yao the prefect of Jin had wanted Wang Gong to take over instead, and thus induced Han, Li Maozhen, and Wang Xingyu to lobby Emperor Zhaozong on Wang Gong's behalf. Emperor Zhaozong approved Li Keyong's request and rejected that of Han and his allies, leaving the three feeling humiliated. Wang Xingyu and Han were further displeased that their requests to take over two Shence Army bases were rejected as well. In summer 895, Han, Li Maozhen, and Wang Xingyu decided to march on Chang'an. They accused the former chancellors Wei Zhaodu and Li Xi, whom they viewed to be against them, of corruption, and when Emperor Zhaozong refused to execute Wei and Li Xi, they executed Wei and Li Xi anyway. They also forced Emperor Zhaozong to issue an edict transferring Wang Ke to Kuangguo, Wang Gong to Hezhong, and Wang Xingyue to Baoyi, before returning to their own circuits (but leaving troops at Chang'an to watch over Emperor Zhaozong).

Han's and his allies' actions spurred Li Keyong into action. He quickly defeated and killed Wang Yao, and then advanced across the Yellow River, putting Hua Prefecture under siege. Han's pleas to Li Keyong to lift the siege were initially spurned by Li Keyong, but Li Keyong, after hearing that Li Maozhen and Wang Xingyu were both intending to capture Emperor Zhaozong, advanced quickly toward Jingnan. (Li Maozhen's and Wang Xingyu's forces at Chang'an did, in fact, dispute among themselves and each attempted to capture Emperor Zhaozong, but Emperor Zhaozong, under protection by the imperial guards, fled into the Qinling Mountains instead and eluded capture.) Li Keyong put Jingnan's capital Bin Prefecture under siege; Wang Xingyu tried to flee, but was killed in flight by his own subordinates. Li Maozhen and Han, in fear, became very submissive in their attitude toward the imperial government. Li Keyong subsequently requested permission from Emperor Zhaozong to destroy Li Maozhen as well, but Emperor Zhaozong, wanting to maintain a balance of power, forbid him, and he subsequently withdrew — and it was said that after Li Keyong's withdrawal, Li Maozhen and Han again became arrogant.

In summer 897, Li Maozhen, whose ally Gu Yanhui the military governor of Dongchuan Circuit (東川, headquartered in modern Mianyang, Sichuan) had suffered repeated defeats by Wang Jian (who by that point had taken over neighboring Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu) and was expanding his territory), submitted a petition urging Emperor Zhaozong to punish Wang for attacking Dongchuan. In response, Emperor Zhaozong, trying to use this as an excuse to recover Fengxiang, issued demoting Wang to be a prefectural prefect, transferring Li Maozhen to Xichuan, and making Li Sizhou the military governor of Fengxiang. When Li Sizhou headed for Fengxiang, Li Maozhen refused to let him take over the circuit, and put him and his soldiers under siege. It was only after Han wrote a letter to Li Maozhen that Li Maozhen lifted the siege against Li Sizhou to allow Li Sizhou to return to Zhenguo. Subsequently, as Wang also refused to yield Xichuan to Li Maozhen, the orders were cancelled.

Meanwhile, as Zhu's forces approached the region, Han Jian's subordinate Sima Ye , whom Han had made the acting military governor of Kuangguo, surrendered Kuangguo to Zhu. Zhu sent Sima back to Zhenguo to have him relay Zhu's message — that if Han did not surrender, Zhu would attack. In fear, Han sent his deputy military governor Li Juchuan to surrender. The retired chancellor Zhang Jun met with Zhu and persuaded him that Han, who had long been allied with Li Maozhen, must be removed. When Zhu met him to rebuke him for his past deeds, Han blamed them on Li Juchuan. Zhu executed Li Juchuan but spared Han. Wanting to remove Han from the scene, however, he made Han the military governor of Zhongwu and transferred Zhongwu's military governor Zhao Xu to Kuangguo. It was said that the large amount of tax revenue that Han had obtained and saved during Emperor Zhaozong's stay at Hua Prefecture (Xingde Municipality having been abolished by this point) now fell into Zhu's hands. Zhu, with the emperor in his hands, began to consider usurping the throne. He first forced Emperor Zhaozong to kill Cui (who by now was aware of his intentions and were trying to raise an imperial army to counter it) and then forced Emperor Zhaozong to abandon Chang'an and move the capital to Luoyang. As Emperor Zhaozong went on the journey to Luoyang, he stopped at Hua Prefecture and stayed for some time there. At one point, Zhu went to meet him, along with Han, and he held a feast in their honor. Han, however, warned Zhu that Emperor Zhaozong might be planning to assassinate him at the feast (Han did so by stomping on Zhu's feet during the feast), and therefore Zhu cut the feast short and left it. Zhu thus became grateful to Han.

During Later Liang In 907, Zhu Quanzhong forced Emperor Aizong to yield the throne to him, ending Tang and starting a new Later Liang as its Emperor Taizu. He made Han Jian acting Situ (司徒, one of the Three Excellencies) and gave him the designation of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi , making Han a chancellor, and in 908 gave Han the greater chancellor title of Shizhong . It was said that by this point, Emperor Taizu was often violent and unreasonable, and very few officials dared to make suggestions to him. Han, however, would do so, and he appreciated Han's advice. In 910, with Zhongwu and Kuangguo's names having been swapped in 908, Han was made the military governor of Kuangguo (i.e., the old Zhongwu Circuit).

In 912, Emperor Taizu was assassinated by his son Zhu Yougui the Prince of Ying, who falsely claimed that the assassination was by Emperor Taizu's adoptive son Zhu Youwen the Prince of Bo and had Zhu Youwen killed. Zhu Yougui then took the throne. In the aftermath of Emperor Taizu's death, the armies throughout the Later Liang realm became disturbed, but Han took no precautions against any disturbances at Kuangguo. Soon thereafter, his officer Zhang Hou started a mutiny and killed Han. Han's son Han Congxun , whom Zhu Yougui had sent to Kuangguo to announce the news of Emperor Taizu's death, was also killed in the mutiny.

Notes and references

History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 15. New History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 40. Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 254, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268.