Zhu Zhen

Zhu Zhen (20 October 888 He was described to be handsome, not talkative, and favoring scholars. In 900, he received the title of military advisor at Henan Municipality (河南, i.e., the Luoyang region). Around that time, Emperor Taizu had just established a corps of imperial guards known as the Tianxing Army , and he made Zhu Youzhen one of the two commanders of the Tianxing Army.

In 915, Yang Shihou died. As Zhu Zhen had long been apprehensive of Yang's hold over the army, he outwardly mourned Yang but was in fact pleased. Zhao Yan and the official Shao Zan advocated using this opportunity to weaken Tianxiong Circuit, as it had, for most of Tang history up to this point, been a circuit that was de facto independent and difficult to control. Zhu Zhen agreed, and ordered that Tianxiong be divided into two circuits, with three of Tianxiong's six prefectures to belong to a new Zhaode Circuit (昭德, headquartered at Xiang Prefecture , in modern Handan as well). The Tianxiong soldiers resented this division, and mutinied under the leadership of the officer Zhang Yan , holding the Later Liang-commissioned military governor He Delun hostage. Zhu Zhen sent a eunuch, Fu Yi , to try to comfort the Tianxiong soldiers, but was not receptive to Zhang's request that Tianxiong's division be cancelled. Zhang thus decided to surrender the circuit to Jin. Li Cunxu shortly thereafter arrived at Tianxiong and took over control of the circuit. Intense campaigns between the Later Liang army, under Liu Xun's command, and the Jin army subsequently were waged, but the Jin army was continuously victorious over the Later Liang army, and two ambitious surprise-attack attempts by Liu and Wang Tan on the Jin capital Taiyuan were repelled by Jin. By fall 916, nearly all of the Later Liang territory north of the Yellow River had fallen to Jin. (During the campaign, the Later Liang morale was sufficiently shaken such that there was even a mutiny against Zhu Zhen at Daliang itself, led by the officer Li Ba , during which Zhu Zhen had to personally lead guards to defend the palace gate, but the general Du Yanqiu shortly after crushed the mutineers.) who had long wanted to displace him, tried to use the occasion of Consort Zhang's funeral as an opportunity to rise to assassinate Zhu Zhen. The emperor, however, discovered this as the assassination was about to take place, and, after fleeing, had the imperial guards locate and kill the hidden assassins, and then executed Zhu Youjing. After this incident, it was said that Zhu only trusted Zhao, as well as Consort Zhang's brothers Zhang Handing and Zhang Hanjie and cousins Zhang Hanlun and Zhang Hanrong , such that he only listened to their advice, to the exclusion of others, including the senior chancellor Jing Xiang and director of imperial governance Li Zhen, both greatly trusted by Emperor Taizu previously.

Also in 917, Liu Xun, who had for some time refused to report to Daliang after his defeats at Li Cunxu's hands,

In 921, Li Cunxu's major ally Wang Rong the Prince of Zhao was assassinated by his adoptive son Wang Deming, who then took over Zhao lands and changed his name back to the birth name of Zhang Wenli. Zhang initially pretended to continue to submit to Li, but fearing (correctly) that Li would act against him, secretly made overtures to both Later Liang and Khitan Empire in preparation for a campaign of resistance. Jing Xiang, pointing out that this was the prime opportunity to counterattack against Jin, argued for launching an army to aid Zhang, while Zhao Yan and the four Zhangs argued against it, reasoning that the Later Liang forces were needed to protect Later Liang's own territory. Zhu Zhen ended up not aiding Zhang Wenli, Zhang Wenli subsequently died and was succeeded by his son Zhang Chujin, who held out against Jin forces until late 922, but was eventually defeated, with Li absorbing Zhao territory into Jin. During Jin's campaign against Zhao, the new Later Liang supreme commander Dai Siyuan was able to attack Wei Prefecture (衛州, in modern Puyang, Henan) and surprise the Jin garrison there, capturing it; this allowed Later Liang to regain its foothold north of the Yellow River and greatly recover in its morale.

Personal information Father Zhu Wen Mother Lady Zhang, posthumously honored Empress Yuanzhen Wife Consort Zhang, imperial consort title Defei Major Concubine Consort Guo Daughter Princess Shouchun Princess Shouchang Princess Jin'an

Notes and references

Old History of the Five Dynasties, vols. 8, 9, 10. New History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 3. Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 266, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272.