Meng Zhixiang (Chinese: 孟知祥; 10 May 874–7 September 934), courtesy name Baoyin (保胤), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Gaozu of Later Shu (後蜀高祖), was the founding emperor of the Chinese Later Shu dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
Meng Zhixiang was originally a general and an in-law of the Later Tang dynasty's ruling family, who went by the family name Li. Meng married the eldest sister or perhaps a cousin of the Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang. Meng served the Later Tang as the military governor (Jiedushi) of Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu, Sichuan), after the conquest of Former Shu. After Emperor Zhuangzong's death, Meng was more distant to the succeeding emperor. The new emperor was Emperor Zhuangzong's adoptive brother, Emperor Mingzong. Meng, fearing accusations by Emperor Mingzong's chief advisor An Chonghui, rebelled, in alliance with Dong Zhang, military governor of neighboring Dongchuan Circuit (東川, headquartered in modern Mianyang, Sichuan). The Meng-Dong alliance repelled subsequent attempts to suppress or control them, although they continued as nominal subjects of Mingzong. Eventually, Meng overpowered Dong, thus assuming control of both allied domains. Meng continued as titular vassal to Mingzong for the rest of that emperor's reign; but, afterwards, Meng Zhixiang declared himself emperor, thereby founding the Later Shu dynasty.
Birth, family, and early career
Meng Zhixiang was born in 874, during the reign of Emperor Yizong of Tang.
His family was from Xing Prefecture (邢州, in modern Xingtai, Hebei), and his ancestors had served for generations as army officers at Xing, including his grandfather Meng Cha (孟察) and his father Meng Dao (孟道). His uncle Meng Fangli become military governor (Jiedushi) of Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered then in Changzhi, Shanxi), which Xing Prefecture belonged to, late in the Tang dynasty, and later moved the circuit's capital from Lu Prefecture (潞州) to Xing in 882, precipitating a mutiny that led to the division of the circuit in two in 883. After Meng Fangli's subsequent suicide in 889, he was succeeded by his younger brother (Meng Zhixiang's uncle) Meng Qian (孟遷), who subsequently surrendered the parts of Zhaoyi he controlled to the major warlord Li Keyong the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi) in 890.
Li later put Meng Qian back in command of (reunified) Zhaoyi Circuit in 899. However, when Zhaoyi came under attack in 901 by Li's archrival Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan), Meng Qian surrendered the circuit to Zhu. Meng Zhixiang's father Meng Dao continued to serve Li, but did not distinguish himself in the Hedong army. Li, however, was impressed with Meng Zhixiang's talent, and eventually gave his eldest daughter to Meng Zhixiang in marriage. (Meng Zhixiang's younger sister later married another younger brother of Li Keyong's, Li Kening.) Meng Zhixiang thereafter became a training officer in the Hedong army.
Political background during Jin
In 907, Zhu Quanzhong had Tang's final emperor Emperor Ai yield the throne to him, ending Tang and starting a new Later Liang with him as its Emperor Taizu. Li Keyong and several other regional governors (Yang Wo the military governor of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu), Li Maozhen the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi), and Wang Jian the military governor of Xichuan Circuit) refused to recognize the new Later Liang emperor, with Li Keyong, Li Maozhen, and Yang continuing to maintain the Tang era name of Tianyou, while Wang shortly after declared himself the emperor of a new state of Former Shu, although Li Keyong was effectively the ruler of his own state of Jin as he carried the title of Prince of Jin. In 908, Li Keyong died and was succeeded as the Prince of Jin by his son Li Cunxu.
Meng Zhixiang continued to serve as training officer. Meanwhile, there was an incident in or around 912, when Li Cunxu, angry that the recently surrendered official Li Yan (李嚴) refused his request for Li Yan to serve as teacher to his son Li Jiji, was considering executing Li Yan. It was at Meng's intercession (pointing out that executing Li Yan would speak poorly for Li Cunxu's reputation) that Li Yan was spared.
In or around 919, Li Cunxu wanted to make Meng Zhixiang chief of staff (中門使, Zhongmenshi) of the recently captured Tianxiong Circuit (天雄, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei). However, as that position was a thankless position, and several prior chiefs of staff had been executed due to accusations of wrongdoing, Meng was fearful and declined the position. When Li Cunxu asked him for an alternative recommendation, he recommended the officer Guo Chongtao, whom Li Cunxu subsequently made chief of staff. Because of this recommendation, Guo, whose career would be greatly bolstered by this commission, became thankful to Meng later. Meng himself was thereafter made the discipline officer at Hedong. At one point, Li Cunxu awarded one of his own concubines, a Lady Li, to Meng Zhixiang, and she gave birth to Meng Zhixiang's third son Meng Renzan, in 919.
During Emperor Zhuangzong's reign
In 923, Li Cunxu declared himself the emperor of a new state of Later Tang (as Emperor Zhuangzong) at Xingtang (興唐, i.e., Weibo's capital). He designated Taiyuan as the western capital and made Meng Zhixiang its mayor, as well as its deputy defender. (Meng's wife, as the new emperor's eldest sister, was created the Grand Princess Qionghua, either at that time or in 925.) Shortly after, Emperor Zhuangzong destroyed rival Later Liang and took over its territory, setting his capital at Luoyang.
In 925, Emperor Zhuangzong was planning to launch a major campaign to destroy Former Shu. He commissioned Li Jiji as the titular commander as its operations, with Guo Chongtao serving as deputy commander, in actual command of the operations. Before departing Luoyang, Guo, still thankful to Meng for having recommended him initially, recommended Meng as the prospective military commander of Xichuan if the campaign would be successful in conquering Former Shu. Later in the year, after Li Jiji and Guo were successful in capturing Former Shu's capital Chengdu and its emperor Wang Zongyan (Wang Jian's son and successor), thus destroying it, Emperor Zhuangzong summoned Meng to Luoyang and made him the military governor of Xichuan, also bestowing on him the honorary chancellor designation of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事), preparing him to send him to Xichuan.
By this point, though, friction had begun to surface between Emperor Zhuangzong and the once highly trusted Guo. Emperor Zhuangzong and his wife Empress Liu were suspicious that Guo had seized the wealth of the Former Shu state and not submitted most of it to the imperial treasury. There were also rumors that Guo would rebel and seize the Shu territory for himself. Thus, when sending Meng on its way, Emperor Zhuangzong commented, "I have heard that Guo Chongtao may have treasonous wishes. When you get there, Lord, execute him for me." Meng responded, "Guo Chongtao is an accomplished old subject of the Empire, and it is not likely that he has such wishes. When I, your subject, reaches Shu, I will examine him. If he has no such wishes, I will send him back." Emperor Zhuangzong, at that time, agreed.
However, Empress Liu became convinced that Guo was about to rebel and would kill her son Li Jiji first. She was unable to persuade Emperor Zhuangzong of this, however, and she decided to issue an edict on her own, to be delivered by her servant eunuch Ma Yangui (馬彥珪) to Li Jiji, ordering Guo's death. When Ma caught up with Meng, he delivered the message to Meng, and then himself rushed toward Chengdu. Meng knew that disaster was about to come, and therefore decided to speed himself to Chengdu as well, behind Ma. Ma arrived in Chengdu shortly after, in spring 926. Li Jiji initially hesitated after receiving Empress Liu's edict, but then carried it out by summoning Guo to him and then killing him and his sons in surprise. This led to a general state of confusion in Chengdu, but Meng arrived shortly after and comforted both the army and the people in the city. Shortly after, Li Jiji left Meng in command of the city, departing it and heading back toward Luoyang with his troops.