Meng Chang

Middle reign Around the new year 947, with a major Khitan Liao dynasty invasion force commanded by its Emperor Taizong approaching the Later Jin capital Kaifeng, the Later Jin emperor Shi Chonggui (Shi Jingtang's nephew and successor) surrendered to Liao. Most Later Jin regional governors quickly submitted petitions to submit to the Liao emperor, as he claimed to be the legitimate emperor over the Han and the Khitan alike. However, one of them, He Chongjian (何重建) the military governor of Xiongwu Circuit (雄武, headquartered at Qin Prefecture) refused to submit to Liao, and, after executing a Liao emissary to his circuit, surrendered his circuit (including Qin, Jie, and Cheng Prefectures) to Later Shu. Subsequently, as He Chongjian advocated, Later Shu forces also attacked Feng Prefecture (鳳州, in modern Baoji), and Feng's defender Shi Fengjun (石奉頵)—a member of Later Jin's imperial clan—also surrendered that prefecture to Later Shu.

Due to the Liao emperor's misrule of the former Later Jin territory, however, many Han rebellions rose against him, with the strongest being led by the Later Jin general Liu Zhiyuan, who claimed imperial title as emperor of a new Later Han.

However, soon came another potential chance for territory gains. Hou, upon arrival at Kaifeng, gave many gifts to the key officials that Liu Zhiyuan instructed to assist the new young emperor Liu Chengyou, and was able to gain substantial influence at the Later Han court, including being made the mayor of the capital. Resentful that Wang considered killing him, he spread rumors to damage Wang's reputation. Upon hearing this, Wang became apprehensive. Further, at that time, two rebellions had risen against Later Han—with the major general Li Shouzhen rebelling at Huguo Circuit (護國, headquartered in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi) and the officer Zhao Siwan rebelling at Jingzhao. Wang thus decided to rebel as well, allying himself with Li and Zhao Siwan, while at the same time also sending emissaries to submit to Later Shu. Zhao Siwan also did so. Later Shu launched troops to try to aid Wang and Zhao Siwan, but the Later Shu army was initially repelled by the Later Han general Zhao Hui (趙暉). Meng then launched a larger army under the command of An Siqian (安思謙) the military governor of Shannan West to try to aid Wang and Zhao Siwan, despite the urging by the chancellor Wu Zhaoyi that doing so was risky. An's army, however, was bogged down at the front with Later Han and, when it ran out of food, was forced to withdraw. With hopes of Later Shu aid gone and Zhao Hui sieging his capital Fengxiang Municipality, Wang committed suicide. Zhao Siwan surrendered to the Later Han forces, but when he did not quickly leave for Kaifeng, the Later Han general Guo Congyi (郭從義) arrested and killed him.

While the Later Shu army was combating Later Han forces, there was also a major shakeup within the Later Shu imperial government. The chancellor Zhang Ye was arrogant and wasteful, and he had seized many people's properties, drawing resentment. He was also protecting fugitives and putting people who owed him money in jail. The imperial guard commander Sun Hanshao (孫漢韶), who had previous conflicts with Zhang, thus submitted an accusation to Meng that Zhang and his son Zhang Jizhao (張繼昭) were plotting treason. Believing in Sun's accusations, Meng arrested and put Zhang Ye and Zhang Jizhao to death. Meanwhile, An also laid similar accusations against Wang Chuhui and Zhao Tingyin. However, Meng did not wish to kill either of them, and allowed them to retire. Believing that much had been hidden from him while Zhang Ye and Wang Chuhui were in control of the government, Meng set up chests in front of the palace, allowing the people to make secret reports to him by putting them in the chests. Li Hao and Xu Guangpu replaced Zhang as chancellor (although Xu was shortly after removed after being accused of having sexually harassed the daughter of Former Shu's founding emperor Wang Jian), while no one immediately succeeded Wang Chuhui as chief of staff—Meng had wanted to make two close associates, Gao Yanzhao and Wang Zhaoyuan his chiefs of staff, but as they were perceived to lack sufficient seniority, gave them lesser offices and made them acting chiefs of staff, while giving them free rein in the matters of finance. Wang Zhaoyuan, in particular, was allowed to take from the treasury at will, with no accounting of what he took.

In 951, at Gao's insistence, he was removed from the post of acting chief of staff. Meng put his cousin (the son of Meng Zhixiang's sister the Princess of Bao), Yi Shenzheng, acting chief of staff to replace Gao. It was said that he entrusted much of the affairs of state to Yi, and while Yi was ambitious and hardworking, he was also greedy and wasteful. With Yi and Wang Zhaoyuan in charge of much of the governance, it was said that Meng's governance of Later Shu began to decline from that point.

In 952, a major flood occurred at the Later Shu capital Chengdu, such that more than 5,000 people drowned and more than 1,000 homes were destroyed. Even four of the halls at the imperial temple were damaged. Meng issued a general pardon and authorized stipends for the victims of the flood.

Meanwhile, the people of the Later Shu realm had been much resentful of An Siqian's involvement in Zhang Ye's death and in the removal of Zhao Tingyin. An was also blamed for the failures of the Later Shu army in aiding Wang Jingchong. By 954, when An was commanding the imperial guards, the security measures at the Later Shu palace itself had been strengthened, and An came to believe that Meng was doing so because Meng suspected him. Further, he was harsh with the imperial guard soldiers, often putting soldiers to death. Indeed, at times when he dismissed soldiers from imperial guard service due to his dissatisfactions with them, but Meng overruled him and kept the soldiers on the imperial guard rolls, he would find ways to have those soldiers killed. Believing the accusations by the official Wang Zao (王藻) that An was plotting treason, Meng had An and his three sons arrested and executed. He also removed Sun Hanshao from his imperial guard command, apparently concerned about Sun as well. The imperial guard command was divided between 10 generals.

Shortly after, Later Zhou launched its attack, with its armies commanded by the generals Wang Jing (王景) the military governor of Fengxiang and Xiang Xun (向訓). On the way to the front, Zhao, hearing of the actual launching of the Later Zhou attack, panicked, and fled back to Chengdu by himself, causing a general panic in the city as well, as the populace to believe that the Later Shu army had already suffered a major defeat. When Meng met him to inquire him as to what was happening on the front, he was unable to answer. In anger, Meng put him to death. Meng sent the generals Li Tinggui (李廷珪) and Gao Yanchou (高彥儔) to the front to combat the Later Zhou army. He also sent emissaries to other rival states of Later Zhou's—Northern Han (which claimed legitimate succession from Later Han) to the north, and Southern Tang to the east—to try to form alliances. Both Northern Han's emperor Liu Jun and Southern Tang's emperor Li Jing agreed to the alliance, but did not appear to actually carry out actions to help counter the Later Zhou attack on Later Shu.

Meng did not listen to her, however.

Meanwhile, Gao Baorong, the ruler of Jingnan, who carried the title of Prince of Nanping as a vassal of Later Zhou, wrote Meng repeatedly, urging him to submit as a vassal to Later Zhou. With his campaign against Southern Tang over (concluding with Southern Tang's submission as a vassal and ceding of its territory north of the Yangtze River to Later Zhou), Guo was also making preparations for another campaign against Later Shu. Meng was concerned sufficiently that he submitted the matter to discussions by his senior officials. All of the senior generals argued that the Shu lands had natural defenses and swore that they were willing to die to defend the state. Meng thus had Li Hao write Gao back, rejecting the overture. Gao subsequently offered his services to Guo in attacking Later Shu. In preparation against the coming Later Zhou invasion, Meng had the generals Zhao Chongtao, his elder brother Meng Yiye (孟貽業), Zhao Sijin (趙思進), and Gao Yanchou take up defensive positions various passes into Shu lands. The invasion never came, though, as Guo fell ill and died in summer 959. Nevertheless, the Later Shu people were frightened about the prospects of the invasion. The junior official Xu Jifu (徐及甫), who was upset at his lack of promotions within the Later Shu government, thereafter tried to use this opportunity to plot a coup—planning to support Wang Jian's grandson Wang Lingyi (王令儀) as the coup leader. When it became clear that Later Zhou was not invading, however, the plot was leaked by its members. Xu committed suicide, and Meng ordered Wang to commit suicide.

In 962, Meng created his son Meng Xuanzhe crown prince.

Later in 962, Meng ordered a closer review of the tax rolls for the prefectures under Later Shu control, hoping to collect more revenues by stricter enforcement of the tax code. The county magistrate Si Chun (四淳) submitted a petition, arguing that stricter enforcement would merely put greater stress on the people and would damage the state, but Meng did not listen to him.

In 964, at Wang's suggestion, Meng wrote secret letters hidden in wax pills and tried to have three covert messengers deliver them to Liu Jun, suggesting simultaneous preemptive strikes on Song. However, once in Song territory, one of the messengers defected to Song and offered the contents of the letter he possessed to the Song emperor. The Song emperor happily stated, "I now have a justification for a campaign!" He pardoned the other two messengers as well, and had all three of them map out the Later Shu geography as well as locations of key garrisons, in preparation for the coming campaign. Shortly after, he launched 60,000 men to attack on two fronts, through Feng Prefecture on the north side of Later Shu (commanded by the general Wang Quanbin (王全斌)), and from Gui Prefecture (歸州, in modern Yichang, Hubei, formerly part of Jingnan's territory, which Song took directly under control in 963), on the east side of Later Shu, commanded by the general Liu Guangyi (劉光義).

Hearing of the coming Song invasion, Meng commissioned Wang Zhaoyuan to command the overall campaign of resistance. At the feast to send Wang off, Wang, who greatly inflated his own abilities, compared himself to the great Shu Han chancellor Zhuge Liang, and boasted that he would not only be able to resist the Song invasion but be able to conquer the Central Plains (i.e., Song proper). Assisting Wang on the campaign were Zhao Chongtao, Han Baozhen, and Li Jin (李進). Han and Li were quickly captured by the Song officer Li Yande (吏延德), and after that, the Later Shu forces under Wang lost battle after battle. Fearful that the Song forces would soon be descending on Chengdu, Meng dispatched another army with Meng Xuanzhe in titular command but with Li Tinggui and Zhang Hui'an (張惠安) in actual command, to set up defense position at Jianmen Pass. Before Meng Xuanzhe's army could reach Jianmen, however, Wang Quanbin's army bypassed Jianmen and to try to cut off Wang Zhaoyuan's path back to Chengdu. Wang Zhaoyuan tried to engage Wang Quanbin, but his army was defeated, and both he and Zhao were captured. Meng Xuanzhe took his army and fled back to Chengdu.

Hearing of Wang Zhaoyuan's and Zhao's capture, Meng Chang was panicking and initially could not decide what to do. He consulted the remaining senior officers. Shi Fengjun advocated defending Chengdu, believing that the Song army could not persist in a siege. Meng, however, rejected that idea, stating:

At Li Hao's suggestion, he sealed the imperial treasury and begged the Song army to allow him to surrender, sending Yi Shenzheng to the front to submit his surrender petition. When Yi reached Wang Quanbin's army, Wang Quanbin accepted the petition, and sent the officer Kang Yanze (康延澤) to Chengdu to assure Meng of his safety. When Wang Quanbin reached Chengdu, Meng surrendered to him, ending Later Shu.

After surrender to Song dynasty At the time he surrendered, Meng Chang also sent his brother Meng Renzhi (孟仁贄) to the Song capital Kaifeng to express his humility and fear, including the language, "I considered myself to have too many sins, and therefore I fear and worry." The Song emperor responded in an edict to try to comfort him, "As you now seek better fortune, your prior offenses are forgiven. We will not go back on our own words. You should not worry." The edict did not refer to Meng Chang by name, to show a degree of respect to him, and also referred to Empress Dowager Li as "the Mother of the State" to also show similar respect to her.

In spring 965, Meng Chang and his family, as well as high level officials, began the trek to Kaifeng, down the Yangtze River to the east. Once they reached Jiangling, they were given special horses and wagons. When they reached Kaifeng, the Song emperor welcomed them in a grand ceremony and again reassured them that they were forgiven. He created Meng the Duke of Qin, and gave him the additional honorary titles of Kaifu Yitong Sansi (開府儀同三司), acting Taishi (太師), and Zhongshu Ling (中書令). However, Meng died a few days later. The Song emperor mourned him and bestowed the posthumous titles of Shangshu Ling (尚書令) and Prince of Chu on him. Upon Meng Chang's death, Empress Dowager Li did not weep, but stopped eating. She died after a few days as well.

Personal information Father Meng Zhixiang (Emperor Gaozu) Mother Consort Li, later honored empress dowager Major Concubines Consort Zhang Taihua (張太華) Consort Xu, also known as Lady Huarui Children Meng Xuanzhe (孟玄喆) (937–991), initially the Prince of Qin (created 950), later the Crown Prince (created 962), later Song dynasty official and general Meng Xuanjue (孟玄珏), the Prince of Bao (created 950), later Song dynasty general (d. 992) Meng Xuanbao (孟玄寶) (944–950), posthumously created the Prince of Sui Princess Fengyi, wife of Li Shaolian (李少連), son of Li Hao Princess Luanguo, wife of Wu Kegong (毋克恭), son of Wu Zhaoyi Princess, wife of Han Chongsui (韓崇遂) Princess, wife of Zhao Wenliang (趙文亮) Princess, wife of Yi Chongdu (伊崇度)