Historical Records of the Five Dynasties by Ouyang Xiu; Davis Richard;

Author:Ouyang, Xiu; Davis, Richard;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HIS003000, History/Asia/General, HIS050000, History/Asia/Central Asia
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2004-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

Li Cunjin

Native to Zhenwu, Li Cunjin [d. C.E. 922] had the original surname Sun and personal name Chongjin. Taizu obtained him in the conquest of Shuozhou, only to confer a new name and raise him as a son. He joined Taizu in penetrating the passes to suppress the rebel Huang Chao, becoming commissioner for his Army of Righteous Sons.

Cunjin attended Taizu in battles at Baixiang, winning advancement to inspector-in-chief of forces at large, as well as prefect for Cizhou‡ and Qinzhou†. He became chief officer of the Tianxiong command once Zhuangzong had acquired Wei and Bo prefectures. There he ended turmoil in the old Liang military and applied the law in all matters: for those guilty of crimes, Cunjin moved promptly to expose their heads or dismember their bodies at the marketplace, causing the people of Wei to hold their breath in awe. He joined in battles along the Yellow River, his merit acknowledged by promotion as Zhenwu governor. At the time, Jin forces were lodged at Desheng Commandery, where they erected barricades to the north and south, seeking to sap the energies of sailors trying to pass through. Because of the absence of bamboo and stone north of the Yellow River, Cunjin used reed fasteners to tie together large boats [at the side] and form a pontoon bridge—his inventiveness relished by Zhuangzong, who removed his own shirt to give to Cunjin.

When the Jin campaigned against Zhang Wenli at Zhenzhou, the city did not capitulate even after a long siege [C.E. 921]. Moreover, the battlefield claimed the lives of Shi Jiantang, Yan Bao, and Li Sizhao, in succession, so the Jin replaced Sizhao with Cunjin as commissioner of bandit suppression. He quartered his men at Dongyuan Crossing. The poor soil at Dongyuan proved unfit for constructing ramparts, forcing Cunjin to harvest trees for making palisades instead. Jin troops emerged in the early morning to graze animal herds, whereupon more than a thousand troops led by Zhang Chuqiu, the son of Wenli, harassed the palisades of Cunjin. Cunjin appeared atop a bridge to do battle and decimated Chuqiu’s entire army. He died in battle, the rank of grand marshal conferred on him posthumously.

The son of Cunjin, Li Hanshao, reverted to his original surname during the era of Mingzong, becoming governor of Yangzhou‡. Congke the Prince of Lu having rebelled at Fengxiang, Hanshao and Zhang Qianzhao allied with government regulars to suppress him. Tang armies all eventually surrendered to Congke. The armies of Hanshao and Qianzhao singularly refused capitulation, later fleeing to Shu, where Hanshao was governor of the Yongping, Xingyuan, and Wuxin commands. He was over seventy sui old when stricken by death in Shu.

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