Zhao Yanshou (; died November 10, 948History of Liao, vol. 5.Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter.), né Liu Yanshou (), formally the Prince of Wei (), was a Chinese military general, monarch, poet, and politician. He served as major general of Later Tang of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, as well as the Khitan Liao dynasty. He first became prominent as a son-in-law of Later Tang's second emperor Li Siyuan, but was captured by Liao's Emperor Taizong when Later Tang fell. He subsequently served Emperor Taizong, who promised him that he would be made the emperor of China if helped Emperor Taizong destroy Later Tang's successor state Later Jin. Emperor Taizong reneged on the promise after doing so, however, leading to Zhao's attempt to seize Liao's Chinese territory after Emperor Taizong's death. He was, however, arrested by Emperor Taizong's nephew and successor Emperor Shizong and held until his death.
Background It is not known when Zhao Yanshou—then carrying the birth surname of Liu and probably already using the personal name Yanshou—was born. However, it is known that his birth father Liu Yuan () served as the magistrate of Xiu County (蓨縣, in modern Hengshui, Hebei), and that his mother was a Lady Zhong. Sometime during the Kaiping era (907-910) of Zhu Quanzhong the emperor of Later Liang, Zhao Xingshi, then an officer under Liu Shouwen the military governor (Jiedushi) of Yichang Circuit (義昌, headquartered in modern Cangzhou, Hebei), raided Xiu and captured both Liu Yanshou and his mother Lady Zhong. Zhao then took Liu Yanshou as an adoptive son.History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 98.
Zhao Yanshou was said to be handsome in his youth. He studied the Confucian classics and history, and was capable in writing poems. He also favored hosting guests. After his adoptive father Zhao Xingshi (after Liu Shouwen had been defeated and captured by his brother Liu Shouguang, who later declared himself the emperor of Yan), defected to Jin, Zhao Xingshi was treated well by Jin's prince Li Cunxu, who bestowed Tang dynasty imperial clan name Li on Zhao Xingshi and gave him a new name of Shaobin. Meanwhile, Zhao Yanshou married a daughter of Li Cunxu's adoptive brother, the major general Li Siyuan.
Service during Later Tang
Before and during Li Siyuan's reign Sometime after Li Cunxu claimed the title of emperor of a new Later Tang and subsequently destroyed Later Liang, taking over its territory, Zhao Yanshou was commissioned a military commander at Bian Prefecture (汴州, in modern Kaifeng, Henan).
In 926, Li Cunxu was killed in a mutiny at the capital Luoyang. Li Siyuan subsequently claimed imperial title. The generals that Li Cunxu previously had bestowed the surnames of Li on all requested to return to their original names, Li Shaobin included. Li Siyuan allowed Li Shaobin, who was then the military governor of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing), to again take his original surname of Zhao, but gave him a new name of Dejun. Meanwhile, Zhao Yanshou's wife was created the Princess Xingping, and on the account of that marital relationship, Zhao Dejun became much favored by Li Siyuan.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 275. Zhao Yanshou himself was commissioned the prefect of Ru Prefecture (汝州, in modern Pingdingshan, Henan). He later successively served as the military governor of Heyang Circuit (河陽, in modern Jiaozuo, Henan) and Guide Circuit (歸德, headquartered in modern Shangqiu, Henan), and then was recalled to the imperial government to serve as the director of palace affairs (宣徽使, Xuanhuishi).
In 931, Zhao Yanshou was promoted to serve as Li Siyuan's chief of staff (Shumishi), serving with Fan Yanguang. However, as Zhao was replacing the long-time chief of staff An Chonghui, whose domination of the court scene eventually led to his downfall and death, both he and Fan feared the same fate and therefore avoided ruling on important matters. That allowed LI Siyuan's favorite concubine Consort Wang and the eunuch Meng Hanqiong to take control over much of the important affairs of state.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 277. While serving as chief of staff, Zhao also carried the military governorship of Wuning Circuit (武寧, headquartered in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu).
In 932, Zhao was given the chancellor designation of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (), and later, both he and Fan were given the greater chancellor title of Shizhong. By that time, Li Siyuan's then-oldest-surviving son Li Congrong the Prince of Qin, who was considered Li Siyuan's likely heir, was showing so much contempt for the imperial officials such that both Liu and Fan requests to leave the imperial administration to avoid conflict with Li Congrong. However, Li Siyuan was angered by their requests, believing that they were abandoning him. After further requests on his behalf by his wife (who by then was carrying the title of Princess of Qi), Li Siyuan relented, and allowed Zhao to leave to serve as the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered at Bian Prefecture), replacing him with Zhu Hongzhao. (Fan was later also allowed to leave to serve as the military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei); he was replaced by Feng Yun.) Subsequently, in Li Siyuan's illness, Li Congrong tried to seize control of the imperial government, but was defeated and killed by the imperial guards under Zhu's and Feng's orders. When Li Siyuan subsequently died, another son of Li Siyuan's, Li Conghou the Prince of Song, succeeded him as emperor.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 278.
After Li Siyuan's reign After Li Conghou took the throne, Zhu Hongzhao and Fen Yun remained the most powerful figures at court. They were suspicious of Li Conghou's older adoptive brother Li Congke the Prince of Lu, who was then the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi), and brother-in-law Shi Jingtang who was then the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi). In spring 934, they, not wanting Shi to remain at Hedong for long and wanting to recall Meng Hanqiong from Tianxiong Circuit (天雄, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei) (where Meng had been ever since being sent there to temporarily overseeing the circuit when Li Conghou, then the military governor of Tianxiong, was recalled to inherit the throne), issued a number of orders in their capacities as chiefs of staff, transferring Li Congke from Fengxiang to Hedong, Shi from Hedong to Chengde, and Fan Yanguang from Chengde to Tianxiong. However, Li Congke, believing that these moves were intended to target him, rebelled. He quickly fought his way to Luoyang. Zhu committed suicide; Feng was killed by the imperial guard general An Congjin; and Li Conghou fled, but was later killed by emissaries sent by Li Congke. Li Congke took the throne as emperor.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 279.
After Li Congke's victory, he considered keeping Shi at Luoyang, as the two of them also did not get along previously. (Shi had launched his own troops from Hedong toward Luoyang, initially intending to support Li Conghou, but with Li Congke quickly becoming victorious, he not only failed to support Li Conghou but, when encountering Li Conghou in flight, killed Li Conghou's guard soldiers and leaving Li Conghou subsequently unable to escape Li Congke's emissaries.) However, his officials Han Zhaoyin and Li Zhuanmei (), believing that showing that he distrusted Shi would cause fear in Zhao Yanshou and Zhao's father Zhao Dejun as well (as both Shi and Zhao were his brothers-in-law), urged against detaining Shi. Li Congke thus sent Shi back to Hedong.
In 935, Li Congke recalled Zhao Yanshou from Xuanwu and made him chief of staff again. He was also given the military governorship of Zhongwu Circuit (忠武, headquartered in modern Xuchang, Henan). (He replaced Fan, who had previously been recalled to serve as chief of staff but was at this point made the military governor of Tianxiong.) Around this time, he was also created the Duke of Lu.History of Liao, vol. 76.
When Zhao was commissioned, he was initially serving as chief of staff concurrently with Han Zhaoyin. However, shortly after he became chief of staff, Han was sent out to serve as the military governor of Huguo Circuit (護國, headquartered in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi), and replaced by Fang Gao. It was said that, though, while Zhao and Fang served as chiefs of staff, their opinions were actually not being listened to much, with the deputy chief of staff Liu Yanlang () and Xue Wenyu (), a scholar in residence at the office of the chief of staff, making more of the actual decisions.
In 936, in order to test Shi's loyalty, Li Congke issued an edict moving him to Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern Tai'an, Shandong) and moving Song Shenqian () the military governor of Heyang to Hedong, to replace him. In response, Shi rebelled and sought aid from Khitan Empire's Emperor Taizong. (The Khitan Empire would later be known as Liao dynasty, but at that time was not yet known as Liao.) Initially, the general that Li Congke sent to attack Hedong, Zhang Jingda, was quite successful, putting Hedong's capital Taiyuan under siege, but after Liao relief force, personally commanded by Emperor Taizong, arrived there, Zhang's army was crushed and itself surrounded by the combined Liao/Hedong forces at Jin'an Base (晉安寨, near Taiyuan). Li Congke ordered Zhao Dejun to aid Zhang's surrounded army, and, at the suggestion of the chancellor Zhang Yanlang and the imperial scholar He Ning, sent Zhao Yanshou with an army to rendezvous with his father.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 280.
Emperor Taizong declared Shi the emperor of China, as the founding emperor of a new Later Jin, intending to have him replace Li Congke. (In return, Shi agreed to cede 16 northern prefectures—modern northern Hebei, northern Shanxi, Beijing, and Tianjin—including all of Lulong, to Liao.) Zhao Dejun, however, was also secretly intending to replace Li Congke, and he sent secret communications with Emperor Taizong, offering peace with Shi if Emperor Taizong would support him instead. He did not try to advance to Jin'an as the negotiations were ongoing, but Emperor Taizong eventually cut off negotiations with him and intensified the siege on Jin'an. Zhang's army's food supplies ran out, and his deputy, the general Yang Guangyuan, killed him and then surrendered. The combined Liao/Later Jin forces then advanced on Zhao's position, and Zhao's army also collapsed. Zhao Dejun and Zhao Yanshou fled and took up position at Lu Prefecture (潞州, in modern Changzhi, Shanxi), but when the Liao/Later Jin forces advanced there, one Later Tang general who had surrendered to Liao/Later Jin with Yang, Gao Xingzhou, persuaded them that defending Lu was futile, so they opened the city gates and surrendered. Emperor Taizong had the two of them locked up and delivered to his capital Linhuang (臨潢, in modern Chifeng, Inner Mongolia), to pay homage to his mother Empress Dowager Shulü Ping. Empress Dowager Shulü rebuked Zhao Dejun for his hypocrisy, and Zhao Dejun, in depression, died in 937, while Zhao Yanshou remained at the Khitan court. (Meanwhile, Shi advanced south to Luoyang. Li Congke, finding the situation hopeless, committed suicide with his family, ending Later Tang and allowing Shi's Later Jin to take over the Later Tang territory.)
Service during Liao dynasty
During Emperor Taizong's reign After Zhao Dejun's death 936, Emperor Taizong commissioned Zhao Yanshou the military governor of Lulong, and created him the Prince of Yan.