Xu Wen

Background

Xu Wen was born in 862, during the reign of Emperor Yizong of Tang. His family was from Qushan (朐山, in modern Lianyungang, Jiangsu). When he was young, he was a salt privateer. His parents' names were lost to history, although it is known that his mother was surnamed Zhou. At some point, he became a soldier under Yang Xingmi, who was then the prefect of Lu Prefecture (廬州, in modern Hefei, Anhui).

Service under Yang Xingmi

Xu Wen initially did not distinguish himself in Yang Xingmi's campaigns — as while there were 36 officers under Yang who were considered to have distinguished themselves, led by Liu Wei (劉威) and Tao Ya (陶雅), Xu was not among them. His first known act while serving under Yang was in 889, during Yang's lengthy struggle against Sun Ru for the control of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu), when Yang captured Xuan Prefecture (宣州, in modern Xuancheng, Anhui) after a lengthy siege. It was said that the other officers all hunted for spoils in gold and silk, but only Xu found a food supply, and had porridge cooked and distributed to the hungry people of Xuan Prefecture.

In 895, when Yang, who had by that point taken Huainan and was serving as its military governor (Jiedushi), captured Hao Prefecture (濠州, in modern Chuzhou, Anhui), the soldiers captured a seven-year-old child, whom Yang initially took into his household. However, Yang's oldest son Yang Wo disliked the child, and Yang decided to give the child to Xu; Xu named the child Xu Zhigao and had his second wife Lady Li raise the child as hers. As Xu Zhigao was said to be diligent and filially pious, Xu Wen loved him.

Xu first distinguished himself in Yang's eyes in 902 when Yang was planning a major campaign against Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan). During the planning, most officers advocated using large ships to ship food supplies for the army, but Xu opposed, pointing out that the canals that would be utilized had long been silted and would be difficult to pass; he instead advocating using small boats for easy passage. He was not listened to, but when subsequently, Yang's army was hampered by the failure for large ships to arrive with food supplies (while smaller supply ships were getting through) and forced to withdraw, Yang became impressed with Xu and decided to give him greater responsibilities.

The first instance where Xu was recorded to have distinguished himself in battle was in 903, when Yang was facing rebellions by his subordinates Tian Jun the military governor of Ningguo Circuit (寧國, headquartered at Xuan Prefecture) and An Renyi (安仁義) the military prefect of Run Prefecture (潤州, in modern Zhenjiang, Jiangsu). Yang initially sent Wang Maozhang to attack An at Run Prefecture, but Wang could not defeat An. He sent Xu to reinforce Wang's army, and Xu had his soldiers change into identical uniforms as Wang's. An, not knowing that reinforcements had arrived, had no reservations about reengaging Wang's army, and was defeated by Xu. (However, Run Prefecture did not fall at this time.) However, Xu's role became even more prominent when, later in the year, Yang received word that his brother-in-law Zhu Yanshou (the brother of his wife Lady Zhu) had agreed to join Tian's and An's rebellion and was set to rebel at Shou Prefecture (壽州, in modern Lu'an, Anhui). Xu, advised by his guest Yan Keqiu, submitted a proposal to Yang to trick Zhu Yanshou by having Yang pretend to be blind, even before Lady Zhu, and then issuing an order to summon Zhu Yanshou back from Shou Prefecture under the pretense of entrusting the affairs of the circuit to him. Zhu Yanshou believed this to be true and returned to Huainan's capital Yang Prefecture (揚州), where he was killed in an ambush that Yang had Xu lay for him. After Zhu's death, Yang made Xu one of his two guard commanders.

Service under Yang Wo

After Yang Wo annexed Zhennan Circuit (鎮南, headquartered in modern Nanchang, Jiangxi) in 906, he became increasingly arrogant and intolerant. He executed Zhou Yin, which caused fear to permeate among his staff members. Despite being still in the mourning period for Yang Xingmi, he spent his time, day and night, in feast and games. When Xu Wen and Zhang Hao tried to tearfully dissuade him from such behavior, he angrily stated to them, "If you believe that I am not capable enough, why do you not kill me and take over yourselves?" This caused them to be fearful as well. They thus planned to act against Yang Wo. They first sent three officers who commanded Yang Wo's personal army (which he brought back from Xuan Prefecture), Zhu Siqing (朱思勍), Fan Sicong (范思從), and Chen Fan (陳璠) to join under the general Qin Pei (秦裴) in Qin's operations to pacify Zhennan, and then sent an officer, Chen You (陳祐) to execute them at Qin's camp under false charges of treason. When Yang Wo heard of this, he prepared to kill Xu and Zhang, but before he could act, they acted first. In spring 907, they took 200 guards under their command into the mansion, claiming to be carrying out bingjian (兵諫, i.e., "correction by force"). They executed a group of Yang Wo's close associates and then, while not physically acting against Yang Wo himself, effectively took control of the headquarters. If other officers disagreed with them, they found reasons to execute those officers.

Later in 907, the powerful warlord Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan) forced Emperor Zhaozong's son and successor Emperor Ai to yield the throne to him, ending Tang and starting a new Later Liang with Zhu as its Emperor Taizu. Yang Wo, along with Li Keyong the Prince of Jin, Li Maozhen the Prince of Qi, and Wang Jian the Prince of Shu, did not recognize the new Later Liang emperor as emperor, and continued to use the Tang era name of Tianyou. Without a Tang emperor, however, he was in effect the ruler of a new state of Hongnong.

However, Xu and Zhang remained in effective control of the headquarters, and Yang Wo was hoping to, but unable to, eliminate them. They considered their own positions precarious, however, and they resolved to kill Yang Wo, divide the domain between themselves, and then submit to Later Liang. On June 9, 908, Zhang sent his subordinate Ji Xiang (紀祥) into Yang Wo's mansion with soldiers under Zhang's command and killed him in his bedroom. (The reason why only Zhang's soldiers were used was that Xu pointed out that if they mixed soldiers, the soldiers may not cooperate with each other, and Zhang did not want to let Xu's soldiers conduct the assassination.) Zhang and Xu subsequently declared that Yang Wo had died of a sudden illness. When Zhang postured at taking over command of the domain, however, Yan Keqiu spoke up against it and subsequently produced a document, which he claimed to be from Yang Wo's mother Lady Dowager Shi, pleading for allegiance of the officers behind her younger son Yang Longyan. Zhang, rebuffed in his attempt to directly take over, acquiesced and allowed Yang Longyan to take the throne as the new Prince of Hongnong.

Service under Yang Longyan

Subsequently, Zhang Hao tried to send Xu Wen out of the headquarters to be the governor of Zhexi Circuit (浙西, headquartered in modern Zhenjiang, Jiangsu), but Yan Keqiu persuaded Xu and Li Chengsi (李承嗣) the deputy military governor of Huainan that Zhang was intending to eliminate them and starting by sending Xu out of the capital; Xu thereafter found excuses to stay at Yang Prefecture. After Zhang then failed in an assassination attempt against Yan, Yan and Xu plotted to overthrow him. Xu subsequently got the officer Zhong Taizhang (鍾泰章) to join the plot. On the night of June 18, Zhong took his soldiers and entered headquarters, killing Zhang and his close associates. Xu then blamed the assassination of Yang Wo on Zhang alone, and effectively took over as Yang Longyan's regent as the sole commander of the guards. He entrusted the military matters to Yan and the financial matters to Luo Zhixiang (駱知祥), and it was said that both Yan and Luo were capable at their jobs, allowing Hongnong to be governed well. Xu himself was said to be calm, resolute, and frugal. While he was illiterate, when he had to rule on legal matters, he would have others read the legal papers to him before ruling on them with proper reasoning.

As of 909, Xu was also carrying the title of deputy commander of the Huainan army (行軍副使, Xingjun Fushi) when he, believing that Jinling was a key location to control the Yangtze River with a fleet, gave himself the additional title of prefect of Sheng Prefecture (昇州, i.e., Jinling) but sent Xu Zhigao there to actually take command of the fleet there. Later that year, when Wei Quanfeng the prefect of Fu Prefecture (撫州, in modern Fuzhou, Jiangxi), who had nominally submitted to both Hongnong and Later Liang, rose against Hongnong and claimed the title of military governor of Zhennan, Xu, at Yan's recommendation, sent Zhou Ben against Wei. Subsequently, Zhou defeated and captured Wei, allowing Hongnong to take Fu Prefecture under actual control.

In 910, the Hongong emissary to Qi and Jin (to announce Yang Wo's death), Wan Quangan (萬全感), returned to Yang Prefecture, and announced that Li Maozhen had, in his capacity as representative of the Tang emperor, bestowed the titles of Prince of Wu and Zhongshu Ling (中書令) on Yang Longyan. Yang Longyan accepted those titles; thereafter, Hongnong was known as Wu.

Also in 910, Xu's mother Lady Zhou died. When the officers prepared for her funeral, they built a large wooden statue and covered it with silk, intending to burn it as a sacrifice to the gods. Xu pointed out that the silk could be given to the poor and did so, rather than burning the silk. He formally left governmental service to observe a mourning period for her, but shortly after, Yang Longyan formally recalled him to governmental service and made him the commander of the Huainan armed forces and governor of Run Prefecture (潤州, i.e., the capital of Zhexi).

Service under Yang Pu

In 921, at Xu Wen's urging, Yang Pu offered sacrifices to Heaven to further show his status as an independent ruler. (When officials objected that such a ceremony cost too much money, Xu pointed out the necessity of it but agreed that the traditional Tang ceremonies were too wasteful and had ceremonies conducted in a much more frugal manner.)

In 923, Li Cunxu claimed imperial title as the emperor of Tang (establishing Later Tang as its Emperor Zhuangzong). With Later Tang and Later Liang poised for a final confrontation, the new Later Tang emperor invited Wu forces to jointly launch a major attack against Later Liang with him. Xu initially considered sending a fleet north but not commit it to battle yet, waiting to see which side would prevail. Yan Keqiu pointed out that such a position would be untenable if Later Liang then asked for aid, as he would then have to commit to a position anyway. Xu thus stopped his plan.

Later in the year, Later Tang forces captured the Later Liang capital Daliang in a surprise attack. Later Liang's last emperor Zhu Zhen (Emperor Taizu's son and successor) committed suicide, ending Later Liang. When Later Tang notified both Wu and Former Shu (then ruled by Wang Jian's son and successor Wang Zongyan) of his victory, both states were terrified, and Xu initially complained to Yan that he should not have dissuaded Xu from the joint attack plan. Yan pointed out that Later Tang's Emperor Zhuangzong had grown arrogant in his victory and had lost proper ways of governance, so he believed that within a few years the Later Tang emperor would lose his reign. Meanwhile, when the Later Tang emissary delivered Emperor Zhuangzong's communique as an edict (i.e., treating Wu as a subordinate), Wu officials refused to receive it. Emperor Zhuangzong, not yet wanting to break with Wu, instead resent his communique as a letter (i.e., treating Wu as an equal state) that started with the greeting of, "The letter of the emperor of the great Tang to the lord of Wu." Wu's return communique started with the greeting of, "The respectful letter of the lord of the great Wu to the emperor of the great Tang," to show respect and yet equality. (Yan's predictions would come true in 926, when Emperor Zhuangzong's killing of several generals and inattentiveness to his soldiers provoked a major rebellion, led by his adoptive brother Li Siyuan; Emperor Zhuangzong was killed, and Li Siyuan then took the throne as Emperor Mingzong.)

Also in 923, after Zhong Taizhang, then serving as the military prefect of Shou Prefecture, was accused of embezzling funds from the sale of official horses. Xu Zhigao had the official Wang Ren (王稔) replace Zhong and demoted Zhong to the post of prefect of Rao Prefecture (饒州, in modern Shangrao, Jiangxi). Xu Wen himself had Zhong interrogated at Jinling, but when Zhong refused to defend himself, released him. Xu Zhigao wanted to further punish Zhong, but Xu Wen, pointing out that without Zhong, he would have died at Zhang Hao's hands, refused. Rather, he had Xu Zhigao's son Xu Jingtong marry Zhong's daughter to try to resolve the hard feelings.

Personal information

Mother

Lady Zhou (died 910)

Wives

Lady Bai

Lady Li, posthumously honored as Empress Mingde (honored 939), adoptive mother of Xu Zhigao

Major Concubine

Lady Chen

Children

Xu Zhixun (elder) (徐知訓; Xú Zhīxùn) (killed by Zhu Jin 918)

Xu Zhixun (younger) (徐知詢; Xú Zhīxún) (died 934), Prince Kang of Donghai

Xu Zhihui (徐知誨)

Xu Zhijian (徐知諫) (died 931)

Xu Zhizheng (徐知證), initially created the Prince of Jiang (created 937), later the Prince of Wei

Xu Zhi'e (徐知諤) (905-939), initially created the Prince of Rao (created 937), later the Prince Huai of Liang

Princess Guangde, wife of Li Jianxun (李建勳)

Adoptive Child

Xu Zhigao (徐知誥), later Emperor Liezu of Southern Tang under the name Li Bian (李昪)

Notes and references

New History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 61.

Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 258, 260, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276.

Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms (十國春秋), vol. 13.