Meng Chang
Meng Chang , originally Meng Renzan, courtesy name Baoyuan, posthumously honored as Prince Gongxiao of Chu by the Emperor Taizu of Song, was the second and last emperor of the Later Shu dynasty of China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He ruled from 934 until 965, when his state was conquered by the Northern Song dynasty. He died soon afterwards.
Meng ruled largely peacefully for three decades. The Later Shu became one of the centers for the arts and literature, where it flourished with support from the court. An anthology of lyric poetry known as the Amidst the Flowers Anthology was compiled in 940. It was also among the most stable of the southern states, but it also stagnated militarily and politically. When the Northern Song usurped the Later Zhou dynasty, the last of the Five Dynasties, in 960, the Emperor Taizu of Song made it his mission to reunify China proper. Northern Song forces forced Meng Chang to surrender in 965.
Background
Meng Renzan was born in 919, in Taiyuan. His father Meng Zhixiang was then an officer under Li Cunxu the Prince of Jin, and had married Li Cunxu's cousin as his wife. Meng Renzan, however, was not born of her, but rather of a different Lady Li—one who had previously been a concubine of Li Cunxu's, but whom Li Cunxu had awarded to Meng Zhixiang as a concubine. He was Meng Zhixiang's fifth son but the third to grow up.During Later Tang
In 923, Li Cunxu declared himself emperor of a new Later Tang, and shortly after destroyed archrival Later Liang and took over its territory. In 925, he further sent an army and destroyed Later Tang's southwestern neighbor Former Shu. He commissioned Meng Renzan's father Meng Zhixiang as the military governor of Former Shu's main territory Xichuan Circuit. However, shortly after, the entire Later Tang realm was thrown into confusion due to a series of mutinies, and Li Cunxu himself was killed in a mutiny at the capital Luoyang in 926. He was succeeded as Later Tang's emperor by his adoptive brother Li Siyuan.Meng Zhixiang, while legally a subject of the new Later Tang emperor, shortly began to develop frictions with Li Siyuan's regime, particularly with Li Siyuan's powerful chief of staff An Chonghui, who suspected both Meng and Meng's neighboring military governor, Dong Zhang of the Dongchuan Circuit, and tensions began to escalate, particularly after Meng executed an official that Li Siyuan sent to be the monitor of the Xichuan army, Li Yan, in 927. At that time, Meng had sent messengers to escort his wife, Meng Renzan's mother Lady Li, and Meng Renzan to Xichuan. When they reached Fengxiang Circuit, the news of Meng's execution of Li Yan reached Fengxiang. Fengxiang's military governor Li Congyan thus detained them at Fengxiang for some time, but Li Siyuan subsequently ordered that they be allowed to continue to proceed to Xichuan. After reaching Xichuan, Meng Renzan, considered to be intelligent in his young age, was given the title of military commander of the Xichuan army.
During Meng Zhixiang's reign as emperor of Later Shu
Meng Zhixiang later consolidated his control over the region, taking control of Dongchuan and nearby smaller circuits as well, and also carried the Later Tang-bestowed title of Prince of Shu. In 934, shortly after Li Siyuan's death, Meng Zhixiang declared himself emperor of a new state of Shu. He bestowed on Meng Renzan the titles of acting Taibao, military governor of Dongchuan, director of Chongsheng Palace, and honorary chancellor.Meng Zhixiang, however, had been suffering from a stroke for years, and by fall 934, he was extremely ill. He created Meng Renzan Crown Prince and regent. After entrusting Meng Renzan to the chancellor Zhao Jiliang, the generals Li Renhan and Zhao Tingyin, the chief of staff Wang Chuhui, and the commanders of the imperial guards Zhang Gongduo and Hou Hongshi, he died that same night. Three days later, Meng Renzan took the throne and, pursuant to the will Meng Zhixiang left, changed his name to Meng Chang. He was 15 at that time.
Reign
Early reign
Immediately after Meng Chang's assumption of the throne, Li Renhan insisted on being put in command of the imperial guards. Meng Chang initially reluctantly agreed and put him in command, making Zhao Tingyin his deputy. However, Zhang Gongduo and several of Meng Chang's close associates thereafter accused Li Renhan of plotting treason. After consulting with Zhao Jiliang and Zhao Tingyin, Meng decided to arrest him while he was attending an imperial meeting, and then put him to death, along with his son Li Jihong and several associates. Shocked by the development, the senior general Li Zhao, who had previously refused to bow to the young emperor, changed his attitude and became very submissive. Meng's associates advocated putting Li Zhao to death, too, but Meng did not do so, instead forcing Li Zhao into retirement.In 935, Meng honored his mother Consort Li empress dowager. Meanwhile, the new Later Tang emperor Li Congke launched an army and tried to recover Shannan West Circuit, which had surrendered to Later Shu in the last days of Meng Zhixiang's reign. The attack, however, was repelled by the Later Shu general Li Yanhou.
In 936, Li Congke was overthrown by his brother-in-law Shi Jingtang, ending Later Tang. Shi established his own Later Jin, and, in 937, sent emissaries to Later Shu to notify Meng of this. Meng wrote back, using protocols fitting for coequal states.
In 939, the non-Han chieftain Peng Shichou, who was formally a Later Shu vassal, attacked two prefectures belonging to Later Shu's southeastern neighbor Chu —Chen and Li —and sought aid from the Later Shu imperial government to further advance. Meng refused, finding that the campaign was too far away from Later Shu proper. Forces sent by Chu's prince Ma Xifan subsequently defeated Peng, who surrendered to Chu. His territory became Chu territory.
Ever since Later Shu's founding, major generals had been frequently given military governorships but would remain at the capital Chengdu to continue to oversee imperial army operations. This led to their neglect of the governance of the circuits as they left the governance to staff members, who were often corrupt and unresponsive to the concerns of the people. Meng became aware of this and, in 941, he reformed the situation by stripping Zhao Tingyin, Wang, and Zhang of their military governorships while giving them other honorary titles. He subsequently sent five civilian officials to five circuits to serve as their acting military governors.
Also in 941, when Later Jin's military governor of Shannan East Circuit, An Congjin, was plotting to rebel against Shi, he sent emissaries to Meng seeking aid, requesting that Later Shu attack Later Jin's Jin and Shang Prefectures to distract Later Jin's forces. After discussing with his officials, Meng concluded that sending a small army would not substantially aid An, and sending a large army would create great logistical problems. He thus declined to aid An.
In 943, Meng issued an edict for general selections of females ranging from age 12 to 19, to fill his palace with concubines. This greatly disturbed the people, and there were many households that quickly married off their daughters to avoid having the daughters selected. When the county magistrate Chen Jizhi submitted a petition urging the cancellation of the edict, Meng rewarded Chen for his honesty, but did not end the selection process. The women who were selected were sorted into 14 ranks of concubines.
In 944, for reasons not stated in history, Meng reversed his earlier reform with having actual acting military governors at the circuits, and again had major generals and chancellors assume military governorships remotely.
Later in 944, the Later Jin officer Wang Junhuai defected to Later Shu and volunteered to guide a Later Shu army to capture Later Jin's Jie and Cheng Prefectures. A subsequent Later Shu army incursion, however, was repelled by an army launched from Later Jin's Qin Prefecture.
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 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 the military governor of Xiongwu Circuit refused to submit to Liao, and, after executing a Liao emissary to his circuit, surrendered his circuit to Later Shu. Subsequently, as He Chongjian advocated, Later Shu forces also attacked Feng Prefecture, and Feng's defender Shi Fengjun —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. He soon had control over most of the former Later Jin territory—as Emperor Taizong withdrew and later died. However, the Liao-commissioned military governor of Jinchang Circuit, Zhao Kuangzan —a son of the major Liao general Zhao Yanshou—feared that the Later Han emperor would not tolerate him, and therefore instead sent emissaries submitting his circuit to Later Shu. At Zhao's request, Meng Chang launched a large army and put it under the command of the former Later Jin general Zhang Qianzhao, who had submitted to Later Shu, to aid Zhao. He also had Wang Chuhui write Hou Yi the Later Han military governor of Fengxiang, persuading Hou to submit to Later Shu as well. Hou agreed, and the Later Shu army approaching Jinchang's capital Jingzhao Municipality appeared to be ready to add large amounts of territory to Later Shu. However, Zhao's staff member Li Shu persuaded Zhao to change his mind and submit to Later Han instead; he sent Li to Later Han's capital Kaifeng to beg Liu's forgiveness. Hearing Zhao's change of mind, Hou also sent messengers to Liu, begging forgiveness as well. Liu sent the general Wang Jingchong toward Jinchang and Fengxiang to prepare to combat the Later Shu troops, with instructions to attack Zhao and Hou if they again change their mind. Zhao, however, left for Kaifeng quickly, and Hou, after some hesitation, also did so, allowing Wang's army to take over control of their circuits. Wang subsequently defeated the Later Shu army in relatively minor engagements, leading to the Later Shu army's withdrawal, ending Later Shu's hopes of large territorial gains for the moment.
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 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. Meng then launched a larger army under the command of An Siqian 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 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, who had previous conflicts with Zhang, thus submitted an accusation to Meng that Zhang and his son Zhang Jizhao 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, 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 950, Meng created his brothers and sons imperial princes.
In 951, at Gao's insistence, he was removed from the post of acting chief of staff. Meng put his cousin, 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.
Later in 952, there was a disturbance at Wude Circuit. The acting military governor of Wude, Shao Yanjun had been disrespectful to the monitor of the Wude army, Wang Chengpi, such that Wang became very resentful of him. He took the officer Sun Qin —who was not aware of his plot—to see Shao. At the meeting, Wang killed Shao and then ordered his family be slaughtered, claiming to Sun that he had been given a secret imperial edict to execute Shao. Sun initially believed him, but when Sun then insisted on seeing the edict, Wang stated, "I can make you powerful. Do not question me too much." Sun, by this time aware that there was no such edict, fled, and mobilized the army. They attacked and captured Wang. He then executed Wang and delivered Wang's head to Chengdu.
In 953, at Wu Zhaoyi's advocacy, Meng agreed to authorize printings of the Four Books and Five Classics, to promote learning—as the study of these Confucian classics had been neglected since the fall of the Tang dynasty. It was said that after this, literature was again valued in the Shu realms.
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 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.