Zhang Jun (Tang chancellor)

It is not known when Zhang Jun was born. His family was originally from Hejian (河間, in modern Cangzhou, Hebei) and claimed ancestry from Zhang Er (), an ally of Han dynasty's founder Emperor Gao during the Chu–Han contention, who carried the title of Prince of Zhao in the early Han times, but his traceable ancestry only went back to the Northern Zhou official Zhang Xian (), who was bestowed the Xianbei surname of Chiluo (), but whose son Zhang Zhao () later reverted to the surname of Zhang during Northern Zhou's succeeding dynasty Sui dynasty. Zhang Zhao's descendants served Sui and Tang dynasty. Zhang Jun's grandfather Zhang Zhongsu () served as a Zhongshu Sheren, a mid-level official at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng), but his father Zhang Duo () either did not serve in the imperial government at all, or served in a very minor office. He had at least two younger brothers, Zhang Yong () and Zhang Hang (). It was said that Zhang Jun had an open and careless personally. He studied literature and history extensively, and often spoke in grand terms; because of that latter characteristic, the well-learned did not have good opinions of him. As a result of his poor reputation, he was not initially able to start an official career, and he became a hermit at Mount Jinfeng () and the time studying strategies left by Guiguzi, hoping to use those strategies during troubled times. == Early career ==

During Zhang Jun's time as a hermit, he met the eunuch Yang Fugong, the director of palace communications, and Yang recommended Zhang to be Taichang Boshi (), a scholar at the ministry of worship (太常寺, Taichang Si). Zhang was subsequently made Duzhi Yuanwailang (), a low-level official at the ministry of census (戶部, Hubu). This also offended Yang, as he and Tian were rivals, particularly because Zhang, after ingratiating Tian, was no longer paying attention to Yang. Meanwhile, by 882, the chancellor Wang Duo was put in overall command of the operations against Huang Chao, and he went to Yicheng Circuit (義成, headquartered in modern Anyang, Henan) to oversee the operations. After Huang was defeated and Emperor Xizong returned to Chang'an, Zhang was made the deputy minister of census (戶部侍郎, Hubu Shilang). (When the edict announcing this commission reached the warlord Li Keyong the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi), Li Keyong, who was unimpressed with Zhang, stated, "Lord Zhang likes to talk but has no real abilities, and he is someone who can overturn the empire. The emperor decided to use him because of his reputation, but one day he will surely disturb the empire." After Zhang heard of these remarks, he bore a grudge against Li Keyong.) == Chancellorship ==

Zhang Jun continued to serve as chancellor after Emperor Xizong died in 888 and was succeeded by his brother Emperor Zhaozong, who was supported by Yang Fugong. However, after Emperor Zhaozong became emperor, both Zhang and fellow chancellor Kong Wei advocated a suppression of eunuch power. Emperor Zhaozong agreed, and, as he knew that Yang resented Zhang, trusted Zhang further with his plans of suppressing Yang's power. Zhang often compared himself to the great Jin dynasty (266–420) Xie An and the great Tang chancellor Pei Du. Further, under Zhang's advocacy that the imperial government needed an army of its own, Emperor Zhaozong created an imperial army drawn from the people from Chang'an region, of some 100,000 strong. In 890, after Li Keyong failed in his campaign to attack Helian Duo the defender of Yun Prefecture (雲州, in modern Datong, Shanxi), Helian, Li Keyong's main rival Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan), and Li Kuangwei the military governor of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing), all submitted petitions to Emperor Zhaozong asking him to declare Li Keyong a renegade and declare a general campaign against Li Keyong. When Emperor Zhaozong requested opinions from imperial officials, most opposed, including the chancellors Du Rangneng and Liu Chongwang, but Zhang and Kong, who wanted to try to use this as an opportunity to reassert imperial power, advocated for the campaign against Li Keyong and to then use that power to suppress the eunuchs, strenuously advocated for the campaign. Emperor Zhaozong, despite misgivings, agreed, and he put Zhang in overall command of the operations, assisted by the official Sun Kui (). As Zhang was leaving, he privately stated to Emperor Zhaozong, "Let me first eliminate the external threat for Your Imperial Majesty, and then eliminate the internal threat." These words nevertheless became known to Yang, who became apprehensive of Zhang. Further, when Yang held a feast for Zhang to send him off, Zhang refused to drink when Yang offered wine. Yang sarcastically stated, "Lord Chancellor, you are holding the imperial sword. Why are you so hesitant?" Zhang responded, "Let me first destroy the bandits, and they you will see why I am hesitant." This aggravated Yang further, and he thereafter tried to hinder the campaign. Initially, the imperial government appeared to have the upper hand, as Zhang's imperial army was supplemented by armies sent by Zhenguo (鎮國, headquartered in modern Weinan, Shaanxi), Jingnan (靜難, headquartered in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi), Fengxiang (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baojing, Shaanxi), Baoda (保大, headquartered in modern Yan'an, Shaanxi), and Dingnan (定難, headquartered in modern Yulin, Shaanxi) Circuits, including Zhenguo's military governor Han Jian. Zhu was also attacking Li Keyong's domain from the southeast, and Helian and Li Kuangwei from the northeast. Further, just as Zhang's army was launched, Li Keyong's brother Li Kegong () the military governor of Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern Changzhi, Shanxi), was assassinated by his own officer An Jushou (), who in turn was killed by another officer, Feng Ba (), who surrendered the circuit capital Lu Prefecture () to Zhu Quanzhong's officer Zhu Chongjie (). Hearing the news, Emperor Zhaozong and Zhang, not wanting Zhaoyi to fall into Zhu Quanzhong's hands, commissioned Sun as the military governor of Zhaoyi and ordered him to report to Zhaoyi immediately. As Sun was advancing to Lu Prefecture, however, he took few precautions against a surprise attack. Li Keyong's adoptive son Li Cunxiao made a surprise attack on Sun's procession, capturing him. (When Sun subsequently would not submit to Li Keyong, Li Keyong killed him.) This demoralized the imperial army, and subsequently, with Li Cunxiao putting Lu Prefecture under siege, the Xuanwu forces withdrew from Zhaoyi. Meanwhile, Li Keyong's other adoptive sons Li Cunxin and Li Siyuan defeated Li Kuangwei and Helian, forcing them to withdraw as well, leaving Zhang's forces alone against Li Keyong himself. The imperial forces engaged Li Keyong's at Fen Prefecture (汾州, in modern Lüliang, Shanxi). Han tried to take the initiative by making a surprise night attack on Li Cunxiao, but Li Cunxiao took precautions, and Han's attack was not successful. Thereafter, without battling, the Jingnan and Fengxiang forces suddenly disengaged and left the imperial camp. The imperial forces, demoralized, collapsed. The Hedong forces gave chase, catching Zhang at Jin Prefecture (晉州, in modern Linfen, Shanxi). Zhang tried to engage Hedong forces, but was again defeated. After this defeat, the Baoda and Dingnan forces also fled, leaving Zhang's own imperial forces, along with Han's Zhenguo forces and some Xuanwu forces sent by Zhu Quanzhong. Zhang defended Jin Prefecture, and Li Cunxiao put it under siege. After three days, Li Cunxiao decided that no benefit could come from capturing a chancellor and slaughtering imperial forces, and therefore lifted the siege to allow Zhang and Han to flee, and they did so. As they did, it was said that the imperial army, in effect, disintegrated. Li Keyong submitted harshly-worded petitions to Emperor Zhaozong, outwardly offering to submit himself to judicial proceedings, but clearly accusing Zhang of wrongly attacking him. Emperor Zhaozong tried to placate Li Keyong by demoting Zhang to be the military governor of Wuchang Circuit (武昌, headquartered in modern Wuhan, Hubei), and Kong to be the military governor of Jingnan Circuit (荊南, headquartered in modern Jingzhou, Hubei, not the same circuit that initially joined the imperial cause against Li Keyong), and restoring Li Keyong's titles. When that failed to placate Li Keyong, Emperor Zhaozong further exiled both Zhang and Kong—in Zhang's case, to be the prefect of Lian Prefecture (連州, in modern Qingyuan, Shandong), and then to be the census officer at Xiu Prefecture (繡州, in modern Guigang, Guangxi). == First retirement ==

Zhang Jun set off to his place of exile, but just after he left Chang'an, when he got to Lantian (藍田, in modern Xi'an, Shaanxi), he fled from his escorts, to Han Jian's headquarters at Hua Prefecture (), and both he and Kong Wei wrote to Zhu Quanzhong to ask him to plead for them. Zhu thereafter submitted a petition to plead their case. Emperor Zhaozong decided thereafter to release them from their exile orders, and both Zhang and Kong thereafter resided at Hua Prefecture with Han. == Return to imperial government ==

In 895, after Li Maozhen the military governor of Fengxiang, Wang Xingyu the military governor of Jingnan, and Han Jian, at the instigation of the chancellor Cui Zhaowei, marched on Chang'an to demand the deaths of the former chancellors Li Xi and Wei Zhaodu (and, when Emperor Zhaozong refused, put Li Xi and Wei to death themselves), Emperor Zhaozong wanted to find chancellors who were willing to stand up to the warlords. He thus summoned Zhang Jun, who was then no longer at Hua Prefecture but residing at his vacation estate in Changshui (長水, in modern Luoyang, Henan), and Kong Wei to the capital, initially giving them the honorary post of advisor to the Crown Prince Li Yu, Prince of De, and then making Kong chancellor, while making Zhang the minister of defense () and the director of circuit commerce. Li Keyong subsequently came to Emperor Zhaozong's defense, attacked and killed Wang Xingyu, but at Emperor Zhaozong's orders did not attack Li Maozhen or Han, as he had initially wanted to. In early 896, when Zhu Quanzhong submitted a petition recommending Zhang to be chancellor again, Li Keyong reacted by submitting a petition to ask for a campaign against Zhu, and further stating, "If Zhang Jun were made chancellor in the morning, I will arrive at the palace in the evening!" Emperor Zhaozong thus did not make Zhang chancellor. Later in 896, after Li Maozhen attacked Chang'an again (after a failed campaign by Emperor Zhaozong against him), Emperor Zhaozong fled to Hua Prefecture, and thereafter was under Han's control. == Second retirement ==

Late in 900, the eunuchs Liu Jishu, Wang Zhongxian (), Wang Yanfan (), and Xue Qiwo (), in reaction to Emperor Zhaozong's killing several eunuchs and ladies in waiting in an alcohol-driven rage, forced him to abdicate to Li Yu. When this occurred, Zhang Jun went to meet Zhang Quanyi the military governor of Youguo Circuit (佑國, headquartered in modern Luoyang) to urge him to start a campaign to restore Emperor Zhaozong, and Zhang Jun further wrote to many circuit governors urging the same. (However, early in 901, the Shence Army officers Sun Dezhao (), Dong Yanbi (), and Zhou Chenghui (), at the urging of the chancellor Cui Yin, made a surprise countercoup, killing the eunuchs who removed Emperor Zhaozong and restoring him, without further military campaign by the military governors.) Subsequent to his restoration, Emperor Zhaozong had a brief rapprochement with Li Maozhen, even creating Li Maozhen the Prince of Qi. However, by late 901, Li Maozhen was working with the eunuchs Han Quanhui and Zhang Yanhong () and trying to control Emperor Zhaozong, and in conflict with Cui, who wanted Emperor Zhaozong to slaughter the eunuchs. Cui, in fear that the eunuchs would act against him, wrote to Zhu Quanzhong and asked him to bring an army to support his proposal to slaughter the eunuchs. Upon Zhu's launching of his army, Han and Zhang Yanhong seized Emperor Zhaozong and took him to Fengxiang. Zhu then put Fengxiang under siege (As Zhu went to siege Fengxiang, under Zhang Jun's advice, he seized Han Jian's Zhenguo Circuit and transferred Han Jian to Zhongwu Circuit (忠武, headquartered in modern Xuchang, Henan), as Zhang Jun pointed out that Han was a long-time ally of Li Maozhen's.) Li Yan would remain at Huainan after Yang's death and Tang's destruction, until he was killed by Xu Wen in 918. == Notes and references ==

• Old Book of Tang, vol. 179. • New Book of Tang, vol. 185. • Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 254, 255, 257, 258, 260, 262, 263, 264.