Ren Huan

Ren Huan (; died 927) was a Chinese military general and politician of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Later Tang (and Later Tang's predecessor state Jin). He served as a chancellor during the reign of Later Tang's second emperor Li Siyuan, but became embroiled in a power struggle with Li Siyuan's powerful chief of staff An Chonghui. He eventually was forced into retirement, but An eventually had Li Siyuan order him to commit suicide.

Background It is not known when Ren Huan was born, but it was known that his family was originally from Sanyuan (三原, in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi). His grandfather Ren Qing (任清) served as a deputy mayor of Chengdu. His father Ren Maohong (任茂宏), in order to avoid late-Tang dynasty wars that engulfed the region, fled to Taiyuan, then under the rule of the major warlord Li Keyong the military governor (jiedushi) of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan). Li Keyong recommended him as the magistrate of Xihe County (西河, in modern Linfen, Shanxi).

Ren Maohong had five sons—Ren Tu (任圖), Ren Hui (任回), Ren Huan, Ren Tuan (任團), and Ren Jiong (任冏). All five were said to remarkable in appearance and behavior, impressing Li. He gave a daughter of a clansman in marriage to Ren Tuan. While Li Keyong's adoptive nephew Li Sizhao served under Li Keyong in the Hedong army, he became friendly with Ren Huan. Thus, when Li Keyong put him in charge of Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern Changzhi, Shanxi), at his request, Ren Huan was made his executive secretary in his role as governor (觀察使, Guanchashi). Li Cunxu awarded Ren greatly for this appropriate handling of the situation. Ren subsequently served under the subsequent Jin commanders of the operations, Li Cunjin and Li Cunshen, and served with distinction.

After the Zhen siege, it appeared that Ren returned to Zhaoyi (which, by that point, was under the acting command of Li Sizhao's son Li Jitao and had been renamed Anyi to observe naming taboo for Li Sizhao), as he was described to have been summoned to Li Cunxu's court, then at Wei Prefecture (魏州, in modern Handan, Hebei), from Anyi, along with the eunuch monitor of the army, Zhang Juhan, in anticipation of Li Cunxu's preparations to take the throne as emperor of a new Later Tang. (However, this caused apprehension on Li Jitao's part, as his taking of the circuit was not with the full sanction of Li Cunxu, and he believed that Li Cunxu's summoning of Ren and Zhang were in anticipation of actions against him, and therefore submitted the circuit to the emperor of Jin's archrival Later Liang, Zhu Zhen.)

During Later Tang

During Li Cunxu's reign Shortly after, in 923, Li Cunxu declared himself emperor of Later Tang. He, for the time being, set his capital at Wei (which he made into Xingtang Municipality (興唐)), while making several other cities subsidiary capitals. In particular, he made Zhen the northern capital as a new Zhending Municipality (真定), and made Ren Huan its mayor and defender, as well as the minister of public works (工部尚書, Gongbu Shangshu). Later in the year, Li Cunxu conquered Later Liang and made Luoyang his capital instead. He gave his chief of staff Guo Chongtao the post of military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered at Zhending), and Ren was made the commander of the Chengde army and the director of supplies in the northern circuits, as well as continuing to serve as the acting mayor of Zhending. (It was said that Guo requested Ren's presence on the campaign because he was afraid that if he did not, Ren might speak against him.)

In spring 926, Li Jiji and Guo were about to depart from Former Shu's capital Chengdu back to Luoyang with the army, but Li Jiji was set to leave Ren at Chengdu to serve as acting military governor of Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered at Chengdu), until the military governor that Li Cunxu commissioned, Meng Zhixiang, could arrive and take over. However, at that time, an order issued by Li Jiji's mother (Li Cunxu's wife) Empress Liu arrived, ordering Li Jiji to kill Guo. (Empress Liu had become convinced that Guo was about to rebel, while Li Cunxu, while having his suspicions, refused to believe so, and therefore she decided to issue the order herself.) Li Jiji, after some hesitation, carried out the order to kill Guo, and subsequently had Ren take over Guo's responsibilities as his deputy.

During Li Siyuan's reign After Li Siyuan took the throne, he commissioned Ren Huan and Zheng Jue as chancellors with the designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事). They were also both made Zhongshu Shilang (中書侍郎, the deputy head of the legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng)). Ren, in addition, was also made the acting director of the three financial agencies (taxation, treasury, and salt and iron monopolies). It was said that Ren was very conscious of the importance of his duties, and did his best effort to find virtuous and talent people to serve in government and cut off improper ways of advancement. Within a year, the imperial treasury became replenished, and the imperial government was on solid footing, with both the army and civilians comforted. However, his focus on governance drew jealousy and suspicion from Li Siyuan's powerful chief of staff An Chonghui. He was later given posthumous honors during the reign of Li Siyuan's adoptive son Li Congke.

Notes and references

History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 67. New History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 28. Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276.