Dai Siyuan

Dai Siyuan's biography in the History of the Five Dynasties gave no family background or birthdate for him. However, it described him as a long-time officer under Zhu Quanzhong, who would eventually found the Later Liang. It was said that during the time that he served under Zhu, he was known for his military capabilities. == During Later Liang ==

During Emperor Taizu's reign After Zhu Quanzhong seized the Tang throne in 907, establishing Later Liang (as its Emperor Taizu), Dai Siyuan, who was serving as an imperial guard general, was made the prefect of Jin Prefecture (晉州, in modern Linfen, Shanxi). In 908, he was again made an imperial guard general, and then was made the defender (防禦使, Fangyushi) of Hua Prefecture (華州, in modern Weinan, Shaanxi). In 909, he returned to the imperial guards as a general there. Zhu Yougui made Dai Siyuan the military prefect (團練使, Tuanlianshi) of Ming Prefecture (洺州, in modern Handan, Hebei). Prior to Emperor Taizu's death, the Yan general Zhang Wanjin (張萬進) had killed military governor of Yan's Yichang Circuit (義昌, headquartered in modern Cangzhou, Hebei), Liu Jiwei (劉繼威) (the son of Yan's emperor Liu Shouguang), and then surrendered the circuit to Later Liang. Emperor Taizu then renamed the circuit Shunhua (順化) and made Zhang its military governor, but in 913 Zhang, fearing that he was not being trusted by Later Liang, offered to give up the post and become a military governor south of the Yellow River (i.e., in the heartland of Later Liang territory). Zhu Zhen initially replaced Zhang with Liu Shouguang's brother Liu Shouqi (劉守奇), who was then a Later Liang general, At a later point, Dai was made the military governor of Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern Tai'an, Shandong). However, during his campaigns, Dai left the defense of Tianping's capital Yun Prefecture (鄆州) in the hands of his officers Lu Shunmi (盧順密), Liu Suiyan (劉遂嚴), and Yan Yong (燕顒). In summer 923 — shortly after Li Cunxu declared himself the emperor of a new Later Tang (as its Emperor Zhuangzong), Lu defected to Later Tang and revealed to the Later Tang emperor that Yun was being defended by less than 1,000 soldiers and that neither Liu nor Yan was supported well by the soldiers. The Later Tang emperor commissioned his adoptive brother Li Siyuan to launch a surprise attack on Yun, capturing it. In light of Yun falling to the Later Tang forces, which Zhu Zhen believed Dai was responsible for, he stripped the supreme commander role from Dai and demoted him to be the acting military governor of Xuanhua Circuit (宣化, headquartered in modern Nanyang, Henan). (Dai was therefore sidelined during the campaign over the next few months, in which Later Liang was destroyed by Later Tang.) == During Later Tang ==

Later in the year, after Later Tang's Emperor Zhuangzong captured Daliang and Zhu Zhen committed suicide, ending Later Liang, Dai Siyuan went from Xuanhua's capital Deng Prefecture (鄧州) to Daliang to show submission to the new emperor. Emperor Zhuangzong returned him to Xuanhua. Dai was made the military governor of Wuding Circuit (武定, headquartered in modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi). Dai, as he was a friend of Dong's, wanted to avoid suspicion, so he asked to give up his command. Emperor Mingzong summoned him back to then-capital Luoyang to serve in the imperial guards, and later had him retire because of old age. He died in 935, during the reign of Emperor Mingzong's adoptive son Li Congke. == Notes and references ==

• History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 64. • Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 268, 269, 271, 272.