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Pan Mei
Pan Mei (潘美) (c. 925 – 20 July 991) was a military general and statesman in the early years of imperial China's Song dynasty. In the 970s, he was the main commander in Song's conquest of Southern Han and also played pivotal roles in the conquest of Southern Tang and Northern Han. Afterwards he fought the Khitan-ruled Liao dynasty on Song's northern border.
In 986 he was demoted by 3 ranks for contributing to the death of fellow Song general Yang Ye during battles against Liao. At this time one of his daughters had married into the imperial House of Zhao. The antagonist Pan Renmei (潘仁美, also known as Pan Hong 潘洪) in the largely fictional Generals of the Yang Family legends is based on Pan Mei from this episode.
Pan Mei's father Pan Lin (潘璘) was a local militia captain (軍校) in Changshan (常山, around modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei). In his 20s, Pan Mei worked as an usher (典謁) at his hometown of Daming (in modern Hebei) during the Later Han (947–951), and often told his close friend Wang Mi (王密) about his ambitions in taking advantage of the turbulent times for fame and riches.
After the establishment of Later Zhou in 951, Pan Mei served Chai Rong, the prefect (府尹) of Kaifeng. When Chai became the emperor in 954, Pan was named a court official. He followed Chai on campaigns against the Northern Han kingdom, and after playing a part in the victory at Gaoping, served in the palace commissions. Later he became the military inspector of an expeditionary army preparing to invade the Later Shu kingdom.
In 960, general Zhao Kuangyin overthrew Later Zhou to found the Song dynasty. As a former friend, Pan was given important tasks by the new emperor and he did not disappoint. First, Pan persuaded military governor Yuan Yan to submit to Song, then supervised the armies in quelling Li Chongjin's revolt in Huainan. Staying behind in Yangzhou after the victory, he was later sent to Qinzhou (秦州, in today's Qin'an County, Gansu) where he became the imperial commissioner of the local militia.
In 963, Pan Mei was named the imperial defense commissioner of Tanzhou (today's Changsha) and sent to Hunan to help control the newly conquered province, which borders the Southern Han kingdom to the south. During the next 7 years, Pan pacified rebellious tribes in the southern half of the province and fought off Southern Han incursions in Guiyang and Jianghua.
In 970, Pan was named the commander of the expeditionary force to invade Southern Han. In Fuchuan, he defeated the 10,000-men strong Southern Han army and subsequently took Hezhou. Quickly the Song army conquered Zhaozhou (昭州, in today's Pingle County), Guizhou (桂州, today's Guilin) and Lianzhou, resulting in the surrender of other prefecture leaders along the Xi River.
Pan Mei's forces killed more than 10,000 enemy soldiers in Shaozhou (韶州, today's Shaoguan) to advance to 120 li north of Guangzhou, Southern Han's capital. Around 150,000 Southern Han soldiers were stationed on a hill for a last battle. Pan Mei rested his soldiers and mentioned to his subordinate generals that the enemy's bamboo fences could best be attacked by fire. On a windy night, he dispatched a few thousand brave men to the enemy's gate, each with 2 torches in hands. Soon great flames engulfed the camps, and as the Song forces attacked from both sides, tens of thousands of Southern Han soldiers perished. The Southern Han ruler Liu Chang was captured in Guangzhou, and the invasion ended 5 months after it began.
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Pan Mei
Pan Mei (潘美) (c. 925 – 20 July 991) was a military general and statesman in the early years of imperial China's Song dynasty. In the 970s, he was the main commander in Song's conquest of Southern Han and also played pivotal roles in the conquest of Southern Tang and Northern Han. Afterwards he fought the Khitan-ruled Liao dynasty on Song's northern border.
In 986 he was demoted by 3 ranks for contributing to the death of fellow Song general Yang Ye during battles against Liao. At this time one of his daughters had married into the imperial House of Zhao. The antagonist Pan Renmei (潘仁美, also known as Pan Hong 潘洪) in the largely fictional Generals of the Yang Family legends is based on Pan Mei from this episode.
Pan Mei's father Pan Lin (潘璘) was a local militia captain (軍校) in Changshan (常山, around modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei). In his 20s, Pan Mei worked as an usher (典謁) at his hometown of Daming (in modern Hebei) during the Later Han (947–951), and often told his close friend Wang Mi (王密) about his ambitions in taking advantage of the turbulent times for fame and riches.
After the establishment of Later Zhou in 951, Pan Mei served Chai Rong, the prefect (府尹) of Kaifeng. When Chai became the emperor in 954, Pan was named a court official. He followed Chai on campaigns against the Northern Han kingdom, and after playing a part in the victory at Gaoping, served in the palace commissions. Later he became the military inspector of an expeditionary army preparing to invade the Later Shu kingdom.
In 960, general Zhao Kuangyin overthrew Later Zhou to found the Song dynasty. As a former friend, Pan was given important tasks by the new emperor and he did not disappoint. First, Pan persuaded military governor Yuan Yan to submit to Song, then supervised the armies in quelling Li Chongjin's revolt in Huainan. Staying behind in Yangzhou after the victory, he was later sent to Qinzhou (秦州, in today's Qin'an County, Gansu) where he became the imperial commissioner of the local militia.
In 963, Pan Mei was named the imperial defense commissioner of Tanzhou (today's Changsha) and sent to Hunan to help control the newly conquered province, which borders the Southern Han kingdom to the south. During the next 7 years, Pan pacified rebellious tribes in the southern half of the province and fought off Southern Han incursions in Guiyang and Jianghua.
In 970, Pan was named the commander of the expeditionary force to invade Southern Han. In Fuchuan, he defeated the 10,000-men strong Southern Han army and subsequently took Hezhou. Quickly the Song army conquered Zhaozhou (昭州, in today's Pingle County), Guizhou (桂州, today's Guilin) and Lianzhou, resulting in the surrender of other prefecture leaders along the Xi River.
Pan Mei's forces killed more than 10,000 enemy soldiers in Shaozhou (韶州, today's Shaoguan) to advance to 120 li north of Guangzhou, Southern Han's capital. Around 150,000 Southern Han soldiers were stationed on a hill for a last battle. Pan Mei rested his soldiers and mentioned to his subordinate generals that the enemy's bamboo fences could best be attacked by fire. On a windy night, he dispatched a few thousand brave men to the enemy's gate, each with 2 torches in hands. Soon great flames engulfed the camps, and as the Song forces attacked from both sides, tens of thousands of Southern Han soldiers perished. The Southern Han ruler Liu Chang was captured in Guangzhou, and the invasion ended 5 months after it began.
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