Top ten famous generals in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period

Mondo History Updated on 2024-02-23

The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-979) was a great period in Chinese history. This title comes from the History of the New Five Dynasties, which is a collective name for the Five Dynasties (907-960) and the Ten Kingdoms (902-979).

The Five Dynasties refer to the five regimes in the Central Plains that were successively replaced after the fall of the Tang Dynasty in 907, namely the Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, and Later Zhou. In 960, Zhao Kuangyin of the Later Zhou Dynasty launched the Chenqiao Mutiny, and the yellow robe was added, usurping the Later Zhou to establish the Northern Song Dynasty, and the five dynasties ended.

At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and the beginning of the Song Dynasty, there were many secessionist regimes outside the Central Plains, among which more than ten secessionist regimes, such as the former Shu, Later Shu, Southern Wu, Southern Tang, Wu Yue, Fujian, Chu, Southern Han, Nanping (Jingnan), and Northern Han, were collectively referred to as the Ten Kingdoms by the History of the New Five Dynasties and later historians.

During this period, there were also many famous generals, so let's take stock today, the top ten famous generals in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, let's take a look!

Note: This ranking is an unofficial ranking and is for reference only.

10. Gu Quanwu (866-930), also known as Monk Gu, was a native of Yuyao, Yuezhou (now Yuyao, Zhejiang), and a famous general of Wu Yue during the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties.

Gu Quanwu was a monk in his early years, and later served in the army under Qian Biao, because he was able to fight well, accumulated merit and continued to be promoted, and has been serving in the Qian regime of the two Zhejiang, after the establishment of Wu Yue by Qian Biao, the king of Wusu, appointed Gu Quanwu as a general, often serving left and right, and then awarded Wu Yongdu soldiers and horses, the southern expedition and the northern expedition, repeatedly made military exploits, and was the first general of the two Zhejiang.

In the third year of Qianning (896), Qian Biao's top boss Dong Chang proclaimed himself emperor in Yuezhou and stationed soldiers as Marquis of Shi. Qian Biao was edicted to beg for thieves, ordered Gu Quanwu to supervise the division, besieged Yuezhou in May, Dong went to the emperor, and was renamed the Jiedu envoy. The whirling division broke through Yuezhou, captured and killed Dong Chang, and inspected the Taibao and Mingzhou assassinations with merit. In the following year, he led the army to break the rest of Dongchang from the sea route outside the city of Jiahe (now Jiaxing), and then took Suzhou and Wuxi counties, and the official was the commander. Later, he sent an envoy to Huainan to promote the marriage between Zhejiang and Huainan, so that Qian Biao successfully quelled the rebellion of Wuyongdu. In the first year of Changxing (930), Gu Quanwu died of illness at the age of sixty-five.

According to historical records, Gu Quanwu repeatedly led his troops to fight against the state of Wu established by Yang Xingmi, and was basically undefeated except for one defeat by Li Shenfu, a famous general in Huainan.

Representative battles: the battle of Luo Pingguo in Dayue, the capture of Dong Chang, the battle of recovering Zhou, the defeat of the Southern Wu generals Tian Bao and Zhou Ben, and the capture of Qin Pei.

9. Shi Jianjiao (875-921), a national treasure, a native of Daizhou, Yanmen County (now Dai County, Shanxi), the son of Shi Jingsi, the governor of Jiufu, and a famous general of the Shatuo clan in the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties.

Shi Jianjiao served in the army under the care of Li Keyong and in the campaign. Shi Jianjiao must take the lead in every battle, and soon became a famous general who has repeatedly made military exploits, wisdom and bravery, and is known as the "pioneer of history". In the first year of Longde (921), Zhang Wenli from Yan Bao conquered Zhenzhou, and died in the army at the age of forty-six.

8. Guo Chongtao (c. 865-926), a native of Yanmen, Daizhou (now Daixian, Shanxi Province). After the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Tang Mouchen, prime minister, famous general, military strategist, and strategist.

In the later period of the Tang Dynasty, as a confidant of Li Kexiu, the envoy of Zhaoyi Jiedu, he was honest and capable. In the first year of Dashun (890), after Li Kexiu's death, he was reappointed as Li Keyong's pawn. In the fourteenth year of Tianyou (917), Li Cunqiao thought that he was the deputy envoy of Zhongmen, and participated in the confidential information together with Meng Zhixiang and Li Shaohong.

Guo Chongtao is both civil and military, and full of strategy. After he became the envoy of the middle gate, he was promoted step by step and became an important minister under Li Cunqiao. In the twentieth year of Tianyou (923), Li Cunqiao was proclaimed emperor, and after the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Guo Chongtao worshiped the military department and the privy envoy.

Later Liang and Jin confronted each other for forty years, and Guo Chongtao made many achievements in battles with Hou Liang. Later, it was Guo Chongtao who offered Li Cunqiao to attack Bianzhou, the capital of the Later Liang Kingdom, and destroyed the Later Liang in World War I, making the first contribution. Under the leadership of this strategic, the 60,000-strong Tang army was overwhelmed, and it took only two months to destroy Qianshu. He used the merits of the ministers to add the service to the middle and Jizhou festivals, and awarded the prince of Zhao County, 2,000 households, gave iron coupons, and forgave ten deaths.

The destruction of Shu is a great achievement, Guo Chongtao is complacent, and he doesn't pay much attention to some small details, so he offended the eunuchs around Li Jiqi, this group of people is the best at sowing discord, originally Li Jiqi and Guo Chongtao had a good relationship, and later under the eunuch's oil and vinegar slander, Li Jiqi buried an ambush and hammered Guo Chongtao to death on the ground. All five of Guo's sons were killed, while his two grandsons survived.

Seven, Ge Congzhou, the word Tongmei, Puzhou Juancheng (now Juancheng County, Shandong). During the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, Zhu Wen's generals participated in the Huangchao Rebellion at the beginning. In the fourth year of neutralization, Zhu Wen defeated Huang Chao and Wang Mandu. Ge Congzhou then took refuge in Zhu Wen, from the Ping Qin Zongquan, broke Zhu Xuan, defeated Shi Pu, and went down to the three states (Zhaozhou, Xingzhou, Cizhou), repeatedly made military exploits, and was crowned as the envoy of the Taining Army, and inspected the school.

After Zhu Wen became the emperor, he worshiped the general of the left Jin Wuwei, and worshiped the general of the right guard, and lived in the Yanshi. Zhu Youzhen ascended the throne, awarded the Luzhou Festival Envoy, and awarded the inspection school Taishi, and served as the king of Chenliu County, died at home, and was posthumously awarded the Taiwei.

Representative battles: the battle of Caizhou, the pacification of Qin Zongquan, the help of Zhu Wen to pacify the Tianping army, the destruction of Zhu Xuan, the conquest of Xuzhou, and the defeat of Shi Pu.

Sixth, Fu Cunxian, formerly known as Cun, the word Dexiang, a native of Wanqiu, Chenzhou (now Huaiyang, Henan), a famous general in the former Jin and later Tang dynasties during the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties. Because he was given the surname Li, the annals were recorded as Li Cunxian.

Biography Introduction: Fu Cunxian is a famous Tang general after five generations. Fu Cunxian was accepted by Li Keyong as his righteous son and given the surname of the country, so the annals of history also recorded him as Li Cunxian. It was not until the Later Jin Dynasty that his son Fu Yanrao returned to his original surname. Fu Cunxian has gone through a hundred battles in his life, but he has not tasted defeat, and has fought with Houliang many times and defeated Zhu Wen, expelled the Northern Desert Khitan, and is as famous as Zhou Dewei. And in the "New History of the Five Dynasties" written by Ouyang Xiu, he is the only person in the biography who has been able to retain his original surname, and the rest of the people are recorded as the surname "Li" because they have been given the national surname.

When Fu Cunxian was a teenager, he had a very heroic personality, a chivalrous spirit, and he was resourceful and liked to discuss the art of war with everyone. In the late Tang Dynasty and the middle of the Tang Dynasty, robbers rose everywhere in Henan, and the people were struggling to make a living. Born in troubled times, Fu Cun judged the world and was compassionate, and he followed the Gwangju assassin Li Han on the battlefield. Later, Li Hanzhi gave up Gwangju and defected to Zhuge Shuang because he was defeated by Cai Wenquan, and Fu Cunxian also followed him to Heyang to serve as a small school, and he made many meritorious contributions. After Zhuge **, Li Hanzhi and others fled to Huaizhou, and his subordinates were dissatisfied with his brutal nature and scattered, Fu Cunxian followed Li Keyong, the king of Jin, at this time, and began his war career in the southern and northern expeditions.

In April of the second year of Tongguang, the imperial court had already decided to grant Fu Cun to judge the Xuanwu Festival envoy and the head of the Fan Han Ma Bu Army, but unfortunately the edict did not arrive, and Fu Cun Shen died in Youzhou on May 15, at the age of sixty-three, and was buried in Taiyuan. Fu Cunxian's last words and statements did not get the holy pilgrimage, the words were sad, Zhuang Zong suffered for a long time after hearing the news, abolished the dynasty for three days, and posthumously presented Fu Cunxian as a Shangshu order, and was posthumously named the hero of the same martyr's Futian Qiyun, and was posthumously named the king of Qin.

5. Zhou Dewei was a famous general in the Five Dynasties period, following the Jin King Li Keyong to fight the world, and was a fierce general in the Later Jin Dynasty. When Li Keyong was fighting for hegemony in the Central Plains, he reused Zhou Dewei, who fought against the Later Tang Dynasty and the Khitan, and made great contributions. In the war period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Zhou Dewei was a shining star. But in the battle of Huliupo, Zhou Dewei unfortunately sacrificed his life.

Biography of the character: Zhou Dewei was born in Hebei, which was the land of the four wars at that time, and because it was an agricultural base, it was looked down upon by all forces. Zhou Dewei participated in the war in the border area since he was a child, and practiced a martial arts, and was later learned by Li Keyong, the king of Jin, and Li Keyong began to reuse Zhou Dewei.

Zhou Dewei was extremely brave when he fought against the Later Liang army, and the Later Liang army at that time knew Zhou Dewei's name. Later Liang general Chen Zhang wanted to capture Zhou Dewei alive in exchange for the position of assassin promised by Zhu Wen. When Zhou Dewei was fighting Chen Zhang, he used the method of pretending defeat to lure Chen Zhangzhong into his plan, and finally defeated Chen Zhang.

Fighting the Khitan is also something that must be mentioned in Zhou Dewei's profile. The Khitan were nomads in the north, and their army was dominated by cavalry. Zhou Dewei faced the Khitan cavalry, asked the infantry to use a large formation to deal with the Khitan cavalry, and let his cavalry attack the Khitan cavalry. The Khitan repeatedly invaded Hebei, but they were all thwarted by Zhou Dewei.

Zhou Dewei is a fierce general. In the Battle of Huliupo, Li Ke attacked Houliang's large camp with only a small number of cavalry, but was besieged by Houliang's army. After Zhou Dewei heard about it, he led the cavalry to rescue Li Keyong, although Zhou Dewei saved Li Keyong, but he lost his life.

Character evaluation: Zhou Dewei is not only brave, but also strategic. Li Keyong, the king of Jin, commented that Zhou Dewei was brave and strategic. When fighting with Hou Liang in Handan City, Zhou Dewei feigned defeat and withdrew from Handan City. Later Liang's army captured the city of Handan, believing that Zhou Dewei was not as powerful as the legend said, but only in vain, so Later Liang's army entered Hebei in a big way. Zhou Dewei took advantage of the opportunity of the Hou Liang army's pride to underestimate the enemy and divide his troops into multiple routes, and annihilated the Hou Liang army in one fell swoop.

Zhou Dewei needs to mention his loyalty in his evaluation. Zhou Dewei is a very loyal person, Li Keyong promoted him, and he has always been loyal to Li Keyong. Later Liang Emperor Zhu Wen sent people to woo Zhou Dewei many times, but Zhou Dewei was unmoved, at that time Zhu Wen occupied five provinces in the Central Plains, while Li Keyong had only one province. Zhou Dewei was not moved by Zhu Wen's ** Houlu at all.

Zhou Dewei's evaluation should also mention his military talent. Zhou Dewei fought in the Hebei region for a long time, and fought against the Khitan army in the north, which was dominated by cavalry. In the south, he fought against the Later Liang army, which was dominated by infantry. Therefore, Zhou Dewei has accumulated a lot of combat experience. He was familiar with cavalry tactics and infantry tactics, and won many victories in battles with the Khitan and Houliang.

Zhou Dewei was born in the period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, and the period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms was a period of military generals. Zhou Dewei lived in war for a long time, cultivated extraordinary military talents, and was a famous military general during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

Fourth, Yang Xingmi (852 905), the first name Xingshu, the source of the word, was a native of Luzhou (now Hefei, Anhui). He was the founder of the state of Wu in the fifth dynasty. When he was young, he was lonely and poor, and when he grew up, he was tall and strong, and it was said that he could lift 300 pounds and travel 300 miles a day. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Huangchao peasant rebel army passed through Luzhou, and Yang Xingmi was called into the army, and was later captured by the Tang soldiers. The Luzhou assassin Zheng Di released him with "strange appearance", and was recruited by the Luzhou government as a state soldier, guarding Shuofang (now Lingwu, Ningxia), and promoted to captain. When he returned to Luzhou at the end of the term, he would be asked to go out again. Before leaving, he asked what he was still missing, and Yang Xingmi said angrily: "Only the young prince! He immediately beheaded him, raised troops for chaos, he "recruited more than 100 people, all of whom were brave and incompatible", commanded the state soldiers, and called himself the eight battalions to know the soldiers and horses. Luzhou Thorn Shi Lang Youfu fled, and he occupied Luzhou. In the third year of Zhonghe (883), he was appeased by Tang and named the assassin of Luzhou. From then on, he took Luzhou as his base and began to expand his territory, and his power expanded to the south of the Huai River.

In the third year of Guangqi (887), Yang Xingmi was appointed as the marching Sima by Gao Biao, the envoy of Huainan Jiedu, and led thousands of troops to be stationed in Shugang (now west of Yangzhou, Jiangsu), to lure the enemy to attack the camp of ambush warfare, defeated the Bi Shiduo department, and occupied Yangzhou. He sent an envoy to Daliang to show his return to Zhu Wen, who was also the envoy of Huainan Jiedu, and Zhu Wen had to appoint Yang Xingmi as the queen of Huainan.

In the first year of Wende (888), Yang Xingmi led his troops to attack Xuanzhou and won, and the following year, the Tang court appointed him as an observer of Xuanzhou. Yang Xingmi sent the general Tian Hao and others to capture Suzhou, Changzhou, and Zhenjiang respectively. In the second year of Dashun (891), he captured Chuzhou and Hexian, and his power continued to expand. In the first year of Jingfu (892), Yang Xingmi captured Chuzhou (present-day Huai'an, Jiangsu) and threatened Sun Ru, who occupied Yangzhou. Sun led 500,000 soldiers, attacked Xuanzhou, besieged Yangzhou City, Yang Xingmi with "avoid its front, back to the city fence, to wait for work" tactics, so that Sun Ru "soldiers hunger, and epidemic", was defeated and killed. Yang Xingmi and his subordinates selected 5,000 soldiers as personal soldiers, gave special treatment, and became the main force of "driving them to fight and not competing for the first". After regaining Yangzhou, the Tang court appointed Yang Xingmi as the envoy of Huainan Jiedu.

In the second year of Qianning (895), Tang Tingjia Yang Xingmi was the school inspector Taifu (second Taishi), and the same Zhongshu Men Pingzhangshi (the post of prime minister). Tang Zhaozong once named Yang Xingmi as the king of Hongnong County. In the same year, Shengzhou (now Nanjing) assassinated Feng Hongduo to attach, and he sent Tian Bao to attack and plunder various places, so "all the states south of Huai and east of the river were under it". Yang's Wu regime has taken shape. Zhu Wen, who occupied Daliang (now Kaifeng), first sent Zhu Yougong, a member of the Bianjun army, to lead 10,000 cavalry to the south to fight Yang. In August, he sent the Bianjun Ge Congzhou to lead 10,000 cavalry to cross the Huai River from Huoqiu as the west road, and ordered the army to be stationed in Huaiyin, Jiangsu Province as the east road, and attacked Yang Xingmi's department from north to south. Yang Xingmi first hit the east road, on the one hand, he flooded the enemy army with the method of breaking the weir and longitudinal water, and on the other hand, he ordered Zhu Jin to lead the elite to raid, as a result, the Bianjun army was defeated, the famous general Feng Shigu was killed, and the rest of the armies reluctantly returned north. In the first year of Tianfu (901), Yang Xingmi sent Li Shenfu to Lin'an, Zhejiang, defeated Qian Biao, captured his general Gu Quanwu and returned to the division, and the following year, Feng Hongduo led his troops to mutiny, and after being defeated, Yang tolerated and appointed him as the envoy of Shengzhou (now Nanjing).

In the second year of Tianfu (902), Yang Xingmi was appointed as the commander of the eastern provinces, the school inspection of the Taishi, and the Zhongshu order, and entered the king of Wu. In the following year, he fought with Zhu Wenbian's army in Qingzhou (now Yidu, Shandong), and later suppressed the rebellion against Qian Biao in Nanjing, and put down the rebellion against An Renyi in Changzhou. From then on, Yang Xingmi officially became the vassal king of the Tang Dynasty, and he twice led his army to defeat the invasion of Later Liang, twice quelled the rebels, consolidated his own power, and unified the land of Wu.

After Yang Xingmi unified Wudi, he attached great importance to agriculture and mulberry, and adopted the method of "saving and reassuring the people" to pacify the Jianghuai and recreate the prosperous scene of the thousands of miles of Jianghuai. As an envoy of the Huainan Festival, he also wears clothes with patches. When he was the king of Wu, he had a palace in Dashu Mountain, Hefei.

In October of the fifth year of Tianqi (905), Yang Xingmi was seriously ill, and his son Yang Wu was appointed as the queen of Huainan, and Yang Xingmi died of illness in November at the age of 54, nicknamed Wuzhong. His eldest son Yang Wu and his daughter Princess Baihua escorted the coffin back to Luzhou. Qing Jiaqing's "Hefei County Chronicles" contains: "Yang Xingmi's tomb, sixty miles northwest of the city, Wushan Temple set east. In the eleventh year of Zhenguan (920), his fourth son Yang Pu succeeded his brother, and in the seventh year of Shunyi (927), the year name was changed to Qianzhen, that is, the emperor's throne, called the Ruisheng Civilization Guangxiao Emperor, and Yang Xingmi was posthumously honored as Emperor Taizuwu, and the mausoleum was called Xingling.

3. Gao Siji (860-895), a famous general of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the founder of Four Seasons Boxing, the first gun, known as the "White Horse Silver Gun". A native of Later Tang Dynasty (now Zhuolu, Hebei), he was the son of Gao Shunli. and his brother Gao Sixiang are both known for their martial arts. At the beginning, he was the commander of Li Congwei for the Youzhou Festival. Later, it was used by Li Ke, and he was the commander of the Chinese army, and Kunzhong was in charge of the Yan soldiers.

Gao Siji has been working for Hou Tang all his life, and even he himself died tragically in the battle with Hou Liang.

In other words, Gao Siji and Wang Yanzhang have fought twice in their lives, the first time they met, and the two fought for 300 rounds without winning or losing, and finally they had to return to the camp separately. In the second battle, in order to defeat Gao Siji, Wang Yanzhang had to make the trick defeat to lure Gao Siji to chase after him, so he returned to the horse and shot him.

In this way, Gao Siji died tragically at the hands of Wang Yanzhang, but this did not affect his and Wang Yanzhang's ranking as the first gun in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, and the Gao family gun shocked the world.

It's a pity that his descendants are high and powerful, and the power is tilted to one side, and the whole family was finally slaughtered by the Later Tang Emperor.

2. Wang Yanzhang (863-923), a famous general of the Later Liang Dynasty during the Five Dynasties. Yunzhou Shouzhang (now northwest of Liangshan, Shandong) people, the word is virtuous, a son Ming. Brave and powerful. Zhu Wen, every battle, with an iron spear rushed into battle, and the army was called "Wang Iron Spear". Later Liang was established, successively for Pu, Lanzhou Thorn History, Ru, Zhengzhou Defense Envoy, Xu, Huazhou Jie Du Envoy. He is often the vanguard and confronts Li Cunqiao's army. In the third year of Longde (923), Li Cunqing, the king of Jin, called the emperor to build the Later Tang Dynasty, and the Later Liang lost Yunzhou, and he was ordered to recruit envoys for the north. After the Tang Dynasty has all Hebei, with the iron lock to break the mouth of Desheng, build Henan and north as two cities, and the number is sandwiched. Wang Yanzhang captured the southern city of Desheng, led the boat division to attack Yang Liu, where more than 100 battles, and the Tang Dynasty retreated with a large army to help. The realm of Yan and Yun was attacked by Li Siyuan, and he surrendered to Zhongdu, but he was defeated and captured. Zhuang Zong wanted to live all of it, so he said: "How can there be a dynasty and a twilight affair", so he was killed.

Representative Battle: The Battle of Deshengkou, which repelled the Jin army in three days and won the southern and northern cities of Desheng.

1. Li Cunxiao (858 894), whose original surname was An and his name was Jingsi, was a native of Feihu County, Daizhou (now Lingqiu County, Shanxi Province), and was of Sogdian nationality. A famous fierce general at the end of the Tang Dynasty.

Biography Introduction: Li Cunxiao lived in the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, his real name was An Jingsi, Turkic nationality, born with great strength, brave and good at fighting, and good at kung fu. King Li Keyong of Jin took a fancy to his talent, adopted him as a righteous son, and became one of the many Taibao, because he ranked thirteen, so he was called the Thirteen Taibao.

At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the previous unification situation was gradually broken, and many forces occupied one side, and Li Keyong, the king of Jin at that time, and Meng Fangli were at war with Meng Fangli for the perennial wars of the prefectures of Wei, Xing, and Ci. In 889 AD, Li Keyong raised an army against Meng Fangli again, and Li Cunxiao also participated in it, and together with Li Hanzhi, defeated Meng Fangli's cousin Meng Qian, and occupied Cizhou and Zhaozhou. The Jin army defeated Meng Fangli's army, Meng Fangli committed suicide, Meng Qian succeeded him, and asked Zhu Wen for help. After Li Keyong found out, he immediately sent Li Cunxiao to attack Xingzhou, and Meng Qian's troops were defeated and surrendered.

After that, Li Cunxiao participated in the war between Li Yan and Li Hanzhi, rescued Li Hanzhi, captured the new Luzhou Jiedu envoy Sun Kui, repelled the Bianjun Li Yan, and captured Chuzhou. Li Cunxiao complained about Li Keyong because he did not appoint him as Zhaoyi's queen. Later, Li Cunxiao occupied Jinzhou, Jiangzhou and other places, and made a lot of contributions to the Jin army.

Then he led his troops to attack Wang Rong, the king of Zhao, and was framed by Li Cunxin, surrendered to Tang Zhaozong, and served as the envoy of Xing Zhuo. In the first year of Qianning (894), he was besieged by Li Keyong, defeated and surrendered, and died in Taiyuan.

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