Gao Pian (; 821? – 24 September 887Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter .Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 257.), courtesy name Qianli (), formally the Prince of Bohai (), was a Chinese military general, poet, and politician of the Tang dynasty. He initially gained renown for defeating Nanzhao incursions, but later became known for his failure to repel the rebel army under Huang Chao and his mismanagement of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu), which he governed as military governor (jiedushi). A rebellion against him in 887 resulted in intense internal warfare in Huainan Circuit and his imprisonment by Qin Yan, who eventually put him to death.
Background Gao Pian might have been born in 821.Gao Pian's article on Vietnamese Wikipedia and article on Chinese Wikipedia both indicated that he was born in 821, but neither cited a source. He was a grandson of the famed general Gao Chongwen,Old Book of Tang, vol. 182. who had suppressed the rebellion of Liu Pi during the reign of Emperor Xianzong.Old Book of Tang, vol. 151. Gao Pian's father was named Gao Chengming (), and served as an officer of the imperial Shence Armies. It was said that, although Gao Pian's family had served for generations in the Shence Armies, he was good at writing in his youth and often had discussions with Confucian scholars. He was also considered intelligent, and was respected by the honored officers in the Shence Armies, including the eunuchs who commanded the Shence Armies. At some point, he became the discipline officer in the Right Shence Army. While he served at the Shence Armies, he had a friendship with fellow officer Zhou Bao, and he honored Zhou as an older brother.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 254.
Early in the reign of Emperor Xianzong's grandson Emperor Yizong, there was a Dangxiang rebellion. Gao was put in command of 10,000 men stationed at Changwu (長武, in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi). It was said that few officers distinguished themselves against the Dangxiang at the time, but Gao often took opportunities to attack the Dangxiang and was often successful. He was thereafter promoted to be the prefect and defender of Qin Prefecture (秦州, in modern Tianshui, Gansu), and was again successful there.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 250.
Campaign against Dali at Annan In 863, a major attack by Dali forces captured Annan District (安南, headquartered in modern Hanoi, Vietnam). Several successive Tang operations failed to make any headway against Dali forces. In 864, the chancellor Xiahou Zi recommended Gao Pian, who had by that point become a general of the imperial guards, to take over the Tang forces then under Zhang Yin () the military governor of Lingnan West Circuit (嶺南西道, headquartered in modern Nanning, Guangxi), to attack Annan. He was given the title of protector general of Annan.
As of fall 865, Gao was still training his army at Haimen (海門, in modern Hai Phong, Vietnam) and not yet attacking Annan's capital Jiaozhi (, modern Hanoi). The eunuch monitor of his army, Li Weizhou () disliked Gao and wanted him to leave, so Li hurried Gao into action. Gao thus agreed to take 5,000 men to head west toward Annan and asked Li to follow up with the remaining forces, but after Gao departed, Li took over the remaining troops and did not render him any aid. Hearing that Gao was arriving, the Dali emperor Qiulong () sent his general Yang Jisi () to aid the general defending Annan, Duan Qiuqian (). Gao, meanwhile, was joined by the eunuch Wei Zhongzai (), and their joint forces repeatedly defeated Dali forces. When his reports of victory reached Haimen, however, Li Weizhou intercepted them and refused to relay them to the imperial capital Chang'an. As a result, Emperor Yizong was surprised that Gao was submitting no reports at all. Li then submitted a report stating that Gao was stopping at Feng Prefecture (峯州, in modern Vĩnh Phúc Province, Vietnam) and refusing to advance. Emperor Yizong was outraged, and in summer 866, sent the general Wang Yanquan () to replace Gao, intending to summon Gao back to Chang'an to punish him.
Receiving the order to turn his command over to Wang, Gao left his army, which by this point was sieging Jiaozhi, with Wei, while heading back to Haimen to meet Wang and turn over the command. Meanwhile, though, the messengers that Gao and Wei had sent previously to submit reports to Emperor Yizong, the officer Zeng Gun () and the eunuch Wang Huizan (), believing that Li Weizhou would again intercept them, took a roundabout route and avoided Li's and Wang Yanquan's camp, and then headed for Chang'an. Upon Zeng's and Wang Huizan's arrival in Chang'an, Emperor Yizong was pleased by the reports, and issued another order promoting Gao and allowing him to keep his command. When Gao received the edict at Haimen, he returned to the Jiaozhi front—where Li Weizhou and Wang Yanquan had taken over but had lifted the siege. He resumed the siege, and finally captured it in winter 866, killing Duan and the local chieftain Zhu Daogu (), who was allied with Dali forces. Upon Gao's capture of Jiaozhi, Emperor Yizong converted Annan District to a new circuit, Jinghai Circuit, and commissioned him the military governor of Jinghai. It was said that Gao then rebuilt Jiaozhi's defenses such that Dali did not attack again. He further carried out a major project to remove obstacles for sea transportation between Jinghai and Lingnam East Circuit (嶺南東道, headquartered in modern Kwangzhou, Kwangdung), such that the difficulties for supplying Jiaozhi in the past were removed.
As military governor of Tianping, Xichuan, and Jingnan Circuits In 868, Gao Pian was recalled to Chang'an to serve as a general of the imperial guards. At his recommendation, his grandnephew Gao Xun (), who fought in the campaign against Dali and had much contributions, was made the military governor of Jinghai to replace him.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 251.New Book of Tang, vol. 224, part 2. Gao Pian was subsequently made the military governor of Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern Tai'an, Shandong) and was said to have governed it well. In 873, when Emperor Yizong died and was succeeded by his son Emperor Xizong, Gao was still at Tianping, and was given the honorary chancellor title of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi ().Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 252.
In 874, Dali launched a major attack on Tang's Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu, Sichuan), and the Tang military governor of Xichuan, Niu Cong (), was unable to resist the attack. Dali forces reached Xichuan's capital Chengdu Municipality and withdrew, but Niu, in fear of another Dali attack, gathered the people of the surrounding regions into Chengdu. Emperor Xizong ordered several circuits to send forces to aid Xichuan, while ordering Gao to head to Xichuan to handle the matters involving Dali. He subsequently made Gao the military governor of Xichuan to replace Niu, as well as the mayor of Chengdu. Gao, realizing that he was looking at a potential major epidemic if the people were all confined to the city of Chengdu, ordered, even before he could reach Chengdu, that the city gates be opened and the people allowed to exit, and it was said that the people were initially very pleased by his arrival. Upon arrival in spring 875, Gao launched a minor retributive strike against Dali, and then built a number of key forts on the border with Dali. It was said that because of his defensive buildup, Dali did not further make attacks against Xichuan, although Gao's petition to launch a major attack against Dali was rejected by Emperor Xizong.
However, Gao soon precipitated a mutiny against him. When Dali had previously attacked Chengdu in 870, the officer Yang Qingfu () had recruited a group of soldiers known as the "Raiders" () to aid in the defense of Chengdu. Upon Gao's arrival, he withdrew the commissions of the Raiders, and even stopped supplying them with food. He, a devout Taoist, further angered the soldiers by employing sorcery before battles and announcing the reason why sorcery was needed as that the Xichuan soldiers were weak and cowardly. He also withdrew commissions from officials who had initially served as non-commissioned administrators, and employed heavy punishment. In summer 875, the Raiders attacked Gao's headquarters, although Gao hid himself and was not injured in the attack. Gao thereafter issued a public apology restoring the Raiders' commissions and salaries. Later that month, at night, he had the Raiders and their families arrested and massacred. A woman, before she was executed, was said to have proclaimed thus against Gao:
Gao was said to have even considered executing Raiders who were not at Chengdu at the time of the mutiny, and he only stopped when his subordinate Wang Yin () pointed out that they could not have participated in the mutiny, and that he, as a Taoist, should be more merciful.
In 876, Gao built a ring of outer walls for Chengdu. He also sent the Buddhist monk Jingxian () to Dali, assuring peace and that Tang would eventually give Qiulong a Tang princess to marry. It was said that because of these initiatives, Dali made no attempt to interfere with his defensive buildup.
In 878, Gao was transferred to be the military governor of Jingnan Circuit (荊南, headquartered in modern Jingzhou, Hubei). He was also made the director of the salt and iron monopolies and the food supplies for the two capitals (i.e., Chang'an and Luoyang).Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 253.
As military governor of Zhenhai Circuit In 878, after the general Zeng Yuanyu () defeated and killed the agrarian rebel Wang Xianzhi, Wang's followers scattered, and a substantial portion pillaged Zhenhai Circuit (鎮海, headquartered in modern Zhenjiang, Jiangsu). Because many of Wang's followers were from Tianping Circuit, and Gao was respected by the Tianping people, Emperor Xizong transferred Gao to Zhenhai Circuit to serve as its military governor, as well as the prefect of its capital Run Prefecture (). He was also given the honorific title of acting Sikong (司空, one of the Three Excellencies) and created the Duke of Yan, hoping that Wang's followers would submit to him. Most of Wang's followers, however, joined another rebel leader, Huang Chao. In 879, Gao sent his officers Zhang Lin () and Liang Zuan () to attack Huang, and they had a victory over Huang. A number of Huang's followers surrendered to Zhang and Liang, including Qin Yan, Bi Shiduo, and Li Hanzhi. This defeat caused Huang to head south, toward Lingnan East Circuit.
With Huang approaching Lingnan East's capital Guang Prefecture (), Gao submitted a petition to Emperor Xizong. He suggested that with Zhang stationed at Chen Prefecture (郴州, in modern Chenzhou, Hunan) and Wang Zhongren () at Xun (循州, in modern Huizhou, Guangdong) and Chao (潮州, in modern Chaozhou, Guangdong) Prefectures, he could take his own forces and head directly toward Guang Prefecture to face Huang. He further proposed that the chancellor Wang Duo, who had been put in charge of the operations against Huang, station his troops at Wu (梧州, in modern Wuzhou, Guangxi), Gui (桂州, in modern Guilin, Guangxi), Zhao (昭州, in modern Guilin), and Yong (永州, in modern Yongzhou, Hunan) Prefectures to intercept Huang when the latter flees. Emperor Xizong, however, declined Gao's proposal. Gao subsequently captured Guang Prefecture and held it for some time. Meanwhile, Emperor Xizong transferred Gao to Huainan Circuit to serve as its military governor; Gao also continued to serve as the director of the salt and iron monopolies and food supplies for the two capitals. Zhou Bao replaced him at Zhenhai.
As military governor of Huainan Circuit
Campaign against Huang Chao