Qian Yuanguan
Qian Yuanguan , born Qian Chuanguan, also known by his temple name as the King Shizong of Wuyue, courtesy name Mingbao, was the second king of Wuyue during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of China. He ascended to the throne in 932, when his father Qian Liu left the state in his hands, to 941. He was the father to all three of Wuyue's subsequent kings.
Early life
Qian Chuanguan was born in 887, during the reign of Emperor Xizong of Tang, at a time when his father Qian Liu was serving as the prefect of Hang Prefecture, loosely as a vassal of the warlord Dong Chang the military governor of Weisheng Circuit. He was Qian Liu's seventh son, and his mother was Qian Liu's concubine Lady Chen.The first significant reference to Qian Chuanguan, historically, was in 902, when his father Qian Liu, then the military governor of both Zhendong and Zhenhai Circuits, was facing a major threat to his control of the region in the forms of a mutiny led by the officers Xu Wan and Xu Zaisi, who were able to obtain the aid of Tian Jun the military governor of Ningguo Circuit, a vassal of the major warlord Yang Xingmi the military governor of Huainan Circuit. Qian Liu was able to get Yang to exert pressure on Tian to withdraw by sending the officer Gu Quanwu and Qian Chuanguan's older brother Qian Chuanliao to Yang to persuade Yang that if Tian became any stronger, he would pose a future threat to Yang, and for Qian Chuanliao to subsequently remain at Huainan to serve as a hostage. Yang therefore warned Tian that if he did not withdraw, he would send another officer to take over the command of Ningguo from him. Tian was forced to withdraw, but extracted from Qian Liu the promise of a monetary tribute, as well as a son to serve as hostage. When Qian Liu gathered his sons and asked them, "Who is willing to be a son-in-law for the Tians?" none responded initially. Qian Liu considered sending Qian Chuanguan's younger brother Qian Chuanqiu, but Qian Chuanqiu refused, drawing Qian Liu's great anger such that Qian Liu almost killed him — at which point Qian Chuanguan volunteered to go. Qian Liu's wife Lady Wu, who considered Qian Chuanguan like her own son as well, wept bitterly, not wanting to send him, but Qian Chuanguan responded, "In order to save the state from disaster, how can I spare my own body?" He thus left with Tian's army as Tian withdrew, and apparently married Tian's daughter.
In 904, Tian, unhappy that Yang was continuously curbing his desire to expand, rebelled against Yang along with An Renyi the military prefect of Run Prefecture. Initially they caused much apprehension within Yang's realm, but Tian shortly after began to suffer repeated defeats at the hands of Yang's generals Li Shenfu and Tai Meng. As Tian's situation became more and more desperate, and perhaps because Qian Liu sided with Yang in this war, each time he suffered a defeat, he considered killing Qian Chuanguan, but Qian Chuanguan escaped death as he was protected by Tian's mother Lady Yin and Tian's brother-in-law Guo Shicong. After Tian was finally defeated and killed in battle by Tai, Qian Chuanguan was able to return to Hang Prefecture with Guo, and Guo thereafter became an officer under Qian Liu.
During Qian Liu's reign
During Later Liang
In 907, the major warlord Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit, who had had Emperor Xizong's brother and successor Emperor Zhaozong, and then Emperor Zhaozong's son and successor Emperor Ai, under his physical control for a number of years, had Emperor Ai yield the throne to him, ending Tang and starting a new Later Liang as its Emperor Taizu. While some independent warlords refused to recognize the new emperor, Qian Liu did so, and thereafter was created by the Later Liang emperor as the Prince of Wuyue; his state thereafter became known as Wuyue.Shortly before taking the title of Prince of Wuyue, Qian Liu sent Qian Chuanliao and Qian Chuanguan to attack Lu Ji, who controlled Wen Prefecture and whose brother Lu Yue controlled Chu Prefecture. Anticipating Qian Chuanliao and Qian Chuanguan to attack by water, Lu Ji placed his fleet at Qing'ao to defend against their attack. Believing that the better strategy was to bypass Lu Ji's fleet, Qian Chuanguan advocated, and thereafter his army did so, advancing to Angu, landing there, and directly attack Wen Prefecture. They were able to quickly capture Wen Prefecture and capture and kill Lu Ji. Qian Liu subsequently ordered them to advance on Chu Prefecture. Subsequently, Lu Yue surrendered Chu Prefecture to Wuyue.
In 913, Li Tao, a general of Wuyue's northern neighbor Wu attacked Wuyue, going over Qianqiu Heights heading toward Qian Liu's hometown Yijin Base. Qian Liu had Qian Chuanguan, who was then the prefect of Hu Prefecture command the defense against the attack while sending Qian Chuanliao to attack Wu's Dongzhou to try to divert Wu's forces. Qian Chuanguan cut off trees on Qianqiu Heights to cut off the path of the Wu army and then attacked it, taking Li and 3,000 Wu soldiers captive. Later in the year, the Wu officers Hua Qian and Wo Xin rendezvoused at Guangde to plan another attack on Yijin. Qian Chuanguan took the initiative and attacked Guangde himself, capturing Hua and Wo. However, when Qian Chuanguan, Qian Chuanliao, and another brother, Qian Chuanying, then attacked Wu's Chang Prefecture together, the Wu regent Xu Wen and the Wu general Chen You defeated them, killing many Wuyue soldiers. Later in 913, then-reigning Later Liang emperor Zhu Zhen created Qian Chuanguan the Baron of Dapeng, and in 914 upgraded the title to marquess.
In 919, at Zhu Zhen's order, Qian Liu sent Qian Chuanguan, who was then serving as his deputy military governor, to attack Wu's Dongzhou with 500 ships. The Wu general Peng Yanzhang defended against the attack. In anticipation for the battle, Qian Chuanguan loaded his ships with ashes, sand, and beans. Furthermore, this battle also witnessed the world's first proper 'flamethrower' that used gunpowder after its recent invention in 850. Having been installed in Qian Chuanguan's dragon ship and decorated with silver, his weapon was readied in a way that would conceal it and hide it from the enemy in the event of his capture. When the fleets encountered each other at the Battle of Langshan Jiang, Qian Chuanguan maneuvered his fleet into an upwind position and then scattered ashes at the Wu fleet, making the Wu soldiers unable to see his ships, and then spread the decks of his own ships with sand while throwing beans at the Wu ships, causing the Wu ships' decks to be covered with beans and the Wu soldiers to thereafter slip and unable to act quickly. He then threw torches at the Wu ships, setting them afire and causing a general rout. Qian Chuanguan's makeshift double pump flamethrower also aided in tearing through the Wu's forces, delivering destruction they have never withstood before. When Peng's deputy Chen Fen did not come to Peng's aid, Peng committed suicide. Qian Liu then ordered Qian Chuanguan to attack Chang Prefecture, and Xu personally defended against the attack. At that time, the weather was dry, and the Wu soldiers were able to set fires against the Wuyue army, causing Wuyue soldiers to panic. The Wuyue generals He Feng and Wu Jian were killed, and Qian Chuanguan was forced to flee. Xu took the opportunity to negotiate peace between the two states by returning the captives that he took, and it was said that for the next 20 years, there were no major confrontations between the two states.
In 920, Zhu Zhen bestowed on Qian Chuanguan the honorary titles of military governor of Qinghai Circuit and chancellor. In 923, when Zhu Zhen created Qian Liu the King of Wuyue and Qian Liu thereafter acted as full sovereign of the state, he commissioned Qian Chuanguan as the acting military governor of Zhenhai and Zhendong and put Qian Chuanguan in charge of the military affairs.
Meanwhile, by the time that Qian Chuanguan was in his 30s, he still had not had a son with his then-wife Lady Ma. At that time, there was an order by Qian Liu in effect in the Wuyue realm that officials were not allowed to have concubines, but Lady Ma went to see Qian Liu to ask for an exemption on Qian Chuanguan's behalf. Qian Liu responded to her happily, "My family's future bloodline is in your hands." He thus allowed Qian Chuanguan to have concubines, and they bore him a large number of sons, whom Lady Ma treated as her own sons.
During Later Tang
Later in 923, Later Liang was conquered by its rival Later Tang. In 924, Qian Liu established tributary relations with Later Tang, formally submitting to Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang as a vassal. Emperor Zhuangzong confirmed all of the titles that Later Liang had bestowed on him. He also confirmed Qian Chuanguan's titles of military governor of Qinghai, as well as acting military governor of Zhenhai and Zhendong, and also bestowed the greater honorary chancellor title of Zhongshu Ling, acting Taishi, and Kaifu Yitong Sansi.In 926, Qian Liu fell ill briefly, and went to Yijin to recuperate, leaving the affairs of the state to Qian Chuanguan, until Qian Liu completed his recovery and returned to Hang Prefecture.
In 928, Qian Liu wanted to formally designate Qian Chuanguan his heir, but to make sure that the other sons agreed, he gathered them and stated to them, "Describe your accomplishments. I will make the one with the most accomplishments my heir." Qian Chuanguan's older brothers Qian Chuanchou and Qian Chuanliao, as well as younger brother Qian Chaunjing, all praised Qian Chuanliao's accomplishments. Qian Liu thus submitted a petition to then-reigning Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang to pass the two circuits to Qian Chuanguan. Emperor Mingzong agreed and issued an edict making Qian Chuanguan the military governor of Zhenhai and Zhendong.
However, by 929, the relationship between Qian Liu and the Later Tang imperial government had been damaged because Emperor Mingzong's chief advisor An Chonghui considered Qian Liu to be arrogant and rude in his letters to An. At An's request, Emperor Mingzong issued an edict ordering Qian Liu to retire with the title of Taishi and stripping him of all his other titles, and further put all Wuyue emissaries to the Later Tang court under arrest. Qian Liu had Qian Chuanguan submit a petition on his behalf claiming innocence, but An ignored Qian Chuanguan's petition. , the Later Tang emissary to Wuyue's southern neighbor Min and this time apologized for his own faults, but the full relations were not reestablished until 931 after Emperor Mingzong forced An into retirement, and Dong Zhang the military governor of Dongchuan Circuit, at which time Emperor Mingzong restored all of Qian Liu's titles.
In May 932, Qian Liu fell deathly ill, and he, to see whether his subordinates were in fact faithful, asked whom they would support as their new leader — at which time the generals and officials all endorsed Qian Chuanguan. Qian Liu thus entrusted the seals and the keys to the treasuries to Qian Chuanguan, left directions that he should serve whichever dynasty controlled the Central Plains with care even if the dynasty changed, and then died.