Yan Keqiu (嚴可求) (died November 19, 930Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 277.Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter.) was a key official of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Wu, as the chief strategist for the Wu regent Xu Wen and each of Wu's three rulers, Yang Wo, Yang Longyan, and Yang Pu.
Background It is not known when Yan Keqiu was born. His family was from Tong Prefecture (同州, in modern Weinan, Shaanxi), but his father Yan Shi () had served as an assistant to a Tang dynasty director for Yangtze River-Huai River shipping, and therefore settled at the future Wu capital Guangling (廣陵, in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu), which was then the capital of Tang's Huainan Circuit (). It was said that Yan Keqiu was intelligent and capable of strategies in his youth, and became a guest of the Huainan officer Xu Wen, then serving under Huinan's military governor (Jiedushi) Yang Xingmi. Through Xu's relationship with Yang, Yan became a member of Yang's staff and often offered advice to Yang.Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms (十國春秋), vol. 10.
Service under Yang Xingmi Even though Yan Keqiu was directly serving under Yang Xingmi, he remained closely allied with Xu Wen. In 903, when Yang's brother-in-law and subordinate Zhu Yanshou the military governor of Fengguo Circuit (奉國, headquartered in modern Lu'an, Anhui) was planning to join the rebellion started by two other Yang subordinates, Tian Jun the military governor of Ningguo Circuit (寧國, headquartered in modern Xuancheng, Anhui) and An Renyi () the military prefect (團練使, Tuanlianshi) of Run Prefecture (潤州, in modern Zhenjiang, Jiangsu), it was Yan who suggested to Xu a plan to trick Zhu into a trap, which Xu then suggested to Yang and which Yang then accepted — that Yang would pretend to be blind to his wife (Zhu's sister) Lady Zhu and be preparing to offer the command of Huainan to Zhu. When Zhu believed so and went to Guangling to accept Yang's offer, Yang had Xu seize and execute him.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 264. After Zhu's death, Yang promoted both Xu and Yan.
When Yang became gravely ill late in 905, he directed Yan to meet with him privately on one occasion. At the meeting, he stated to Yan that he was waiting for the arrival of his oldest son Yang Wo, who was then serving as the governor (觀察使, Guanchashi) of Xuan Prefecture (宣州, i.e., the capital of Ningguo Circuit) and that he had directed his key advisor Zhou Yin () to issue an order summoning Yang Wo. Subsequently, Yan and Xu went to see Zhou, and they realized that Zhou, who opposed Yang Wo's succession, had drafted the order but had left the order on his desk. They took the order from Zhou's desk and had it delivered to Yang Wo, who then returned to Guangling. When Yang Xingmi subsequently died, Yang Wo succeeded him as the military governor of Huainan Circuit.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 265.
Service under Yang Wo and in the aftermaths of Yang Wo's assassination In 907, the powerful warlord Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan) forced Tang's final emperor Emperor Ai to yield the throne to him, ending Tang and starting a new Later Liang as its Emperor Taizu. Yang Wo, along with several other regional warlords, refused to recognize the Later Liang emperor and continued to use the Tang era name of Tianyou, but by this point was effectively the ruler of his own domain, then known as Hongnong (as he carried the title of Prince of Hongnong) and later known as Wu (as Yang Xingmi carried the title of Prince of Wu). Nevertheless, by this point, his own powers were limited, as Xu Wen, who was then one of the headquarters guard commanders, as well as fellow guard commander Zhang Hao, had effectively taken over most of Hongnong's governance after killing a number of Yang Wo's associates in a coup earlier in 907.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 266. Yan Keqiu's role in the early parts of Yang Wo's administration, if any, is not clear.
In 908, fearing that Yang Wo would seize power back and act against them, Zhang and Xu assassinated Yang Wo, while claiming that Yang Wo had died of an illness. Their original plan was to divide Hongnong between themselves and then submit to Later Liang, but once the assassination occurred, Zhang postured at taking over the rule over Hongnong himself. Yan pointed out to him, however, that several senior generals posted away from Guangling, including Liu Wei (), Tao Ya (), Li Yu (), and Li Jian (), could hardly be expected to support his takeover, and therefore advocated having Yang Wo's younger brother Yang Longyan take over the Hongnong throne — and he subsequently made a public declaration, which he wrote in the name of Yang Wo's and Yang Longyan's mother Lady Dowager Shi, asking the generals and officials to support Yang Longyan. Zhang was depressed at this public display and acquiesced to Yang Longyan's taking the throne. It was said that the senior general Zhu Jin was so impressed by Yan's public display of bravery in standing up against Zhang that he honored Yan like an older brother. (This might imply that Yan was older than Zhu; if so, Yan would have been born before 867, when Zhu was born.)New History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 42.
Zhang, however, maintained control over the Hongnong governance, and soon made Xu the governor of Zhexi Circuit (浙西, headquartered at Run Prefecture). Yan pointed out to Xu, however, that once Xu left Guangling, Zhang would blame Yang Wo's death on him. Xu agreed with Yan's analysis and asked for Yan's help. Yan persuaded another senior general, Li Chengsi () the deputy military governor of Huainan to meet with Zhang and Xu (persuading Li that once Xu left Guangling, Li himself would be isolated); at that meeting, Yan openly cursed at Xu for wanting to leave Guangling and not supporting Yang Longyan's new reign; Xu "apologized" and offered to stay at Guangling, and Zhang acquiesced. Zhang soon thereafter realized that Yan was working in league with Xu, and so sent an assassin to kill Yan. When the assassin arrived, Yan did not beg for his life, but instead begged to write a letter to Yang Longyan to bid farewell. After he did so, the assassin read the letter and was touched by it, and therefore spared him, taking only his treasure.
Meanwhile, Xu and Yan were planning on eliminating Zhang. They persuaded the officer Zhong Taizhang () to join the plan, and Zhong gathered 30 soldiers and assassinated Zhang. Shortly after, Xu publicly stated that Zhang was the one behind the plot to assassinate Yang Wo, and pledged loyalty to Yang Longyan. Effectively, he became Hongnong's regent. He divided up the administrative responsibilities between Yan (who became in charge of military matters) and Luo Zhixiang () (who became in charge of fiscal matters). Both were capable in what they did, and their abilities were appreciated by the people.
Service under Yang Longyan In 909, when Wei Quanfeng, a semi-independent warlord who was nominally submitting to both Hongnong and Later Liang and who controlled the region around Fu Prefecture (撫州, in modern Fuzhou, Jiangxi), rose against Hongnong and claimed to be the military governor of Zhennan Circuit (鎮南, headquartered in modern Nanchang, Jiangxi), Hongnong's rival state Chu (a vassal to Later Liang) sent an army to aid Wei by attacking Hongnong's city of Gao'an (高安, in modern Yichun, Jiangxi). As Wei put Zhennan's capital Hong Prefecture () under siege, Zhennan's military governor Liu Wei sought aid from the Hongnong headquarters. Xu Wen sought Yan Keqiu's advice on whom to send, and Yan recommended Zhou Ben — who, however, had refused to accept any military commands and claimed to be ill since he was defeated by Wuyue forces at Su Prefecture (蘇州, in modern Suzhou, Jiangsu) in 908. Yan went to visit Zhou and went directly into his bedroom, forcing a meeting. Zhou confessed his opinion that the defeat at Su Prefecture occurred because he was not given full command powers. Yan promised to get him full authority, and Zhou accepted the command. Zhou subsequently defeated and captured Wei, and Chu forces withdrew, allowing Hongnong to take full control of Wei's territory.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 267.
Wei's defeat left one semi-independent warlord in the Zhennan region — Lu Guangchou, who controlled the region around Qian Prefecture (虔州, in modern Ganzhou, Jiangxi), who, like Wei previously, was nominally submitting to both Hongnong (which became named Wu in 910 when Yang Longyan claimed the title of Prince of Wu that his father carried) and Later Liang. In 911, Lu died, and his son Lu Yanchang inherited his domain, still nominally submitting to both Wu and Later Liang. Yan proposed posting an army to Xingan (新淦, in modern Ji'an, Jiangxi) to plot an eventual campaign against Qian Prefecture, and that each time a new corps is rotated to the Xingan post, that a small increase be made in the number of soldiers. Yan's plan was carried out, and as the Wu army at Xingan gradually increased, the Qian Prefecture army did not realize Wu's intent.
By 916, Xu was remotely controlling the Wu command decisions from Sheng Prefecture (昇州, in modern Nanjing, Jiangsu), leaving his son Xu Zhixun in command at Guangling as the junior regent. Early that year, the officers Ma Qian () and Li Qiu () seized Yang Longyan one night and intended to attack Xu Zhixun. Xu Zhixun wanted to flee Guangling that night, but Yan pointed out that if he did, the situation would become uncontrollable, so Xu Zhixun did not. The headquarters officials were still panicking, but Yan comforted them and then went to sleep himself in the open, showing that he was not fearful, and this calmed the other officials. The next morning, Zhu Jin arrived with an army from Run Prefecture, and the mutineers under Ma and Li collapsed in fear, and Ma and Li were captured and killed.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 269.
In 918, Wu finally launched an operation to capture Qian Prefecture and the surrounding region, which by that point was controlled by Lu Guangchou's old associate Tan Quanbo, with the general Wang Qi () in command. Prior to the attack's being launched, Yan hired engineers to open up the Gan River rapids at Ganshi (贛石, in modern Ji'an), allowing the Ganshi rapids to be navigated by the Wu fleet and allowing the Wu attack to quickly reach Qian Prefecture. (Wang Qi would subsequently be stymied by Tan's defense and would eventually die in illness while still sieging Qian, but the succeeding commander Liu Xin () was able to defeat Tan and capture Qian Prefecture, allowing Wu to take over the region.)Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 270.