Fan Yanguang

Fan Yanguang (范延光) (died September 30, 940), courtesy name Zihuan (子環) (per the History of the Five Dynasties) or Zigui (子瓌) (per the New History of the Five Dynasties), formally the Prince of Dongping (東平王), was a general from the state of Later Tang and Later Jin during the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He was a close associate of the Later Tang's second emperor Li Siyuan, serving three terms as Li Siyuan's chief of staff (Shumishi), and subsequently continued to serve as a general. After the Later Tang's final emperor Li Congke (Li Siyuan's adoptive son) was overthrown by Li Siyuan's son-in-law Shi Jingtang, who founded Later Jin, Fan initially formally submitted, but later rebelled against Shi. His rebellion, however, was not successful, and after Shi promised to spare him, he surrendered. He was, nevertheless, later killed by Shi's general Yang Guangyuan, probably with Shi's implicit, if not explicit, approval.

It is not known when Fan Yanguang was born, but it is known that he was from Linzhang (臨漳, in modern Handan, Hebei). In his youth, he came to serve as a guard at the prefectural government of Xiang Prefecture (相州), which Linzhang belonged to. When Li Siyuan, then a general of Jin under his adoptive brother Li Cunxu the Prince of Jin, was serving as the prefect of Xiang Prefecture, Fan became part of his guard corps.

By 923, Li Cunxu had declared himself emperor of a new Later Tang, and at that time was facing off against the army of archrival Later Liang across the Yellow River. In spring 923, he sent Li Siyuan to launch a surprise attack across the Yellow River against Later Liang's Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern Tai'an, Shandong), and Li Siyuan was able to surprise Tianping's garrison and capture it. In the aftermaths of Tianping's fall, the Later Liang officer Kang Yanxiao, formerly a Jin subject, sent a secret letter to Li Siyuan, offering to surrender. Li Siyuan believed that it was important to inform Li Cunxu right away, but as Tianping was deep in Later Liang territory, he did not know whom he could send to deliver the letter. Fan volunteered, and was able to deliver the letter to Li Cunxu. As the Later Liang general Wang Yanzhang at that time was attacking the Yangliu (楊劉, in modern Liaocheng, Shandong), a fort on the Yellow River then held by Later Tang, hoping to cut off the supply route between Tianping and Later Tang proper entirely, Fan argued that Yangliu's defense was strong and suggested to Li Cunxu that another fort be built at Majiakou (馬家口, also in modern Liaocheng) while Yangliu was being sieged, rather than to go to Yangliu's aid immediately. Li Cunxu agreed and built Majiakou, which Wang then attacked. Li Siyuan again sent Fan to suggest to Li Cunxu to reinforce Majiakou, but Fan was captured by Later Liang sentry soldiers on the way and taken to the Later Liang capital Daliang. There, he was whipped several hundred times and threatened with swords, but did not reveal Later Tang military secrets. After Li Cunxu captured Daliang in a surprise attack later in the year and the Later Liang emperor Zhu Zhen committed suicide, ending Later Liang, Li Cunxu rewarded him with the honorary titles Yinqing Guanglu Daifu (銀青光祿大夫) and minister of public works (工部尚書, Gongbu Shangshu).

In 926, Li Cunxu was killed in a mutiny at then-Later Tang capital Luoyang. Li Siyuan, who had led one of the rebellions against him, quickly arrived at Luoyang and claimed imperial title. He commissioned Fan Yanguang as one of the directors of palace affairs (宣徽使, Xuanhuishi).

Meanwhile, one of the rebel leaders against Li Cunxu at Yedu (鄴都, in modern Handan), Zhao Zaili (趙在禮), had wanted to accept Li Siyuan's subsequent commission as military governor (Jiedushi) of Yicheng Circuit (義成, headquartered in modern Anyang, Henan), but was coerced by the Yedu troops into not accepting it. However, he sent secret messengers to Li Siyuan, again requesting to be moved. In spring 927, Li Siyuan thus commissioned his own son Li Congrong as the defender of Yedu and had Fan command troops to escort him to Yedu, while commissioning Zhao Zaili as the military governor of Henghai Circuit (橫海, headquartered in modern Cangzhou, Hebei) and two of the main rebel officers under him, Huangfu Hui (皇甫暉) and Zhao Jin (趙進) as prefectural prefects elsewhere. Apparently in fear of the troops that Fan and Li Congrong had with them, the Yedu troops did not dare to resist. Upon Fan's arrival, nine corps of Yedu troops were dispatched to Lutai Base (蘆臺軍, in modern Cangzhou) to defend against a possible Khitan incursion, but mutinied once they reached there and killed the commander of the base, Wu Zhen (烏震). During the mutiny (which was induced by the general Fang Zhiwen (房知溫), who however subsequently suppressed it with An Shentong (安審通)), Fan requisitioned Yicheng troops to help defend a potential mutineer return to Yedu.

Fan appeared to have then returned to Luoyang to again serve as a director of palace affairs, for that was the office he was described as having in winter 927. At that time, Li Siyuan publicly declared that he was going from Luoyang to Bian Prefecture (汴州, i.e., Daliang), and there were rumors that he was either intending to attack Later Tang's southeastern neighbor Wu, or to strike at one of the military governors in the east that he suspected the loyalty of. In fear, Zhu Shouyin the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered at Bian Prefecture) decided to resist his arrival, and put up defenses to do so. Li Siyuan was initially sending Fan to try to see if he could persuade Zhu not to resist, but Fan believed that he needed to attack the Bian defenses quickly so that the defenses could not be solidified, and so, at his request, he was given 500 soldiers to accompany him. When he arrived at Bian, he launched an attack with his limited number of troops, surprising the Bian defenders. When Li Siyuan's son-in-law Shi Jingtang subsequently also arrived with reinforcements, followed by Li Siyuan himself, the Bian defenders began surrendering in droves. Zhu, finding the situation hopeless, killed his family and then committed suicide.

In 928, Fan was made one of Li Siyuan's chiefs of staff (Shumishi). He was soon thereafter made the military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei). He was also given the honorary title of acting Taibao (太保). He was apparently subsequently recalled to the imperial government, for, as of fall 930, he was referred to as the former military governor of Chengde without being referred to by other titles. At that time, Li Siyuan was considering replacing then-chief of staff An Chonghui (who was the most dominating figure at court for Li Siyuan's entire reign up to that point) due to accusations that An was overly domineering of the political scene. Fan urged against removing An, and when Li Siyuan responded, "Can you not do so?" Fan responded, "I, your subject, have not served you as long, and I am not as talented as An Chonghui. How would I dare replace him?" Li Siyuan subsequently kept An as chief of staff, but also made Fan a chief of staff, serving with An. After An was finally removed (and subsequently killed) in 931, Zhao Yanshou, also a son-in-law of Li Siyuan's, took over as the other chief of staff, serving with Fan. Nevertheless, it was said that because An had suffered his fate due to his domination of the political scene, neither Fan nor Zhao dared to overly involve themselves with policy decisions, such that the eunuch Meng Hanqiong (who took over as the director of palace affairs), and Li Siyuan's favorite concubine Consort Wang, became highly influential in policy decisions. In fall 931, Fan was given the designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事), thus also designating him as a chancellor.

In 932, it was said that it was at Fan's urging that Li Siyuan sent the generals Yao Yanchou (藥彥稠) and Kang Fu (康福) against Dangxiang tribesmen, to try to stop them from pillaging against imperial messengers and foreign ambassadors in the region between Ling (靈州, in modern Yinchuan, Ningxia) and Bin (邠州, in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi) Prefectures. Yao and Kang were said to be successful in their mission in defeating and capturing Dangxiang tribesmen, although the long-term maintenance of peace in the region was not mentioned. Also in 932, Dong Zhang the military governor of Dongchuan Circuit (東川, headquartered in modern Mianyang, Sichuan) was attacking Meng Zhixiang the military governor of Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu, Sichuan). (Both Dong and Meng were by that point de facto independent from the imperial government, although Dong was in a confrontational posture with the imperial government while Meng was more conciliatory.) Fan advocated trying to take advantage of Dong's attack to try to recapture both circuits. However, when Meng quickly defeated Dong thereafter, Fan changed his recommendation and recommended taking a conciliatory posture with Meng, which Li Siyuan accepted. Subsequently, Meng became nominally submissive to the imperial government again.