Luo Hongxin

Luo Hongxin (836-898 ), courtesy name Defu , formally Prince Zhuangsu of Beiping , was a warlord in the late Tang dynasty, who controlled Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei) as its military governor (Jiedushi) after seizing control in 888 after taking advantage of the soldiers' discontent with the prior military governor Le Yanzhen and Le's son Le Congxun . He started a three-generation control by his family over Weibo (with his son Luo Shaowei and grandson Luo Zhouhan), spanning into the post-Tang Later Liang.

Background Luo Hongxin was from Guixiang , one of the two counties making up the main city of Weibo Circuit's capital Wei Prefecture . His great-grandfather Luo Xiu , grandfather Luo Zhen , and father Luo Rang all served as officers at Weibo Circuit. Luo Hongxin himself did so as well from his youth, and he successively served under the military governors Han Jian and Le Yanzhen.

Le Yanzhen, sensing the tension and fearing that the headquarters guards were about to mutiny, tried to avoid the mutiny by resigning and becoming a Buddhist monk. The headquarters guards supported the officer Zhao Wenbian (趙文㺹) as acting military governor. Le Congxun, however, had amassed 30,000 troops by this point and tried to contest this succession by marching on Wei Prefecture. Zhao refused to engage Le Congxun in battle, and the soldiers killed him. With there having been a rumor spread around that a god had foretold that Luo would be the new military governor, Luo stepped forward to take the leadership role. He engaged Le Congxun and defeated Le Congxun. Le Congxun withdrew to Neihuang (內黃, in modern Anyang, Henan). Luo put Neihuang under siege. However, in 890, after Luo again denied Zhu permission to mount an offensive against Hedong through his territory, Zhu attacked Weibo, and after five defeats at Zhu's hand in spring 891, Luo sued for peace, and thereafter he was submissive to Zhu. and again did so in 895 (commanded by his officers Li Chengsi and Shi Yan .

In 896, Li Keyong again sent relief troops for Tianping and Taining through Weibo, commanded by his adoptive son Li Cunxin, initially with Luo's permission. However, Zhu Quanzhong wrote Luo to warn him that Li Keyong had the ambition of ruling all of the territory north of the Yellow River and that he believed that Li Cunxin was intending an attack once the Tianping/Taining campaign was over. Further, Li Cunxin aggravated Luo by pillaging Weibo's countryside. Luo, in anger, ambushed Li Cunxin's troops in the night, forcing him to flee. (This was considered the turning point in Zhu Quanzhong's campaign against Zhu Xuan and Zhu Jin, as from this point Li Keyong was no longer able to aid Zhu Xuan and Zhu Jin through Weibo territory. Zhu Quanzhong further cemented his relationship with Luo by respectfully referring to Luo, as if he were an older brother.) At some point, Luo was created the Prince of Linqing.

Later in 898, Luo died. The Weibo soldiers supported his son Luo Shaowei as acting military governor, and this was later confirmed by Emperor Zhaozong. Luo Hongxin was posthumously honored and created the Prince of Beiping.

Notes and references

Old Book of Tang, vol. 181. New Book of Tang, vol. 210. Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 257, 258, 259, 260, 261.