Gao Jixing () (858 – January 28, 929), born Gao Jichang (高季昌), known for some time as Zhu Jichang (朱季昌), courtesy name Yisun (貽孫), also known by his posthumous name as the Prince Wuxin of Chu (楚武信王), was the founding prince of Jingnan during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of China.
During Tang Dynasty
Background Gao Jichang was born in 858, during the reign of Emperor Xuānzong. He was from Shanshi (陝石, in modern Sanmenxia, Henan), and, in his youth, became a servant of a rich man at Bian Prefecture (汴州, in modern Kaifeng, Henan) — although the identity of his master received divergent reports in traditional sources. According to the History of the Five Dynasties, which the Zizhi Tongjian also adopted, he became a servant of Li Qilang (), who later became an adoptive son of Zhu Quanzhong the military governor (Jiedushi) of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered at Bian Prefecture) and had his name changed to Zhu Yougong ().History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 133.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 263. According to the New History of the Five Dynasties, which the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms () also adopted, he became a servant of Li Rang (), who later loaned money to Zhu and became an adoptive son of Zhu's, with his name changed to Zhu Yourang (); the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms further indicated that also serving as Zhu Yourang's servants then were later prominent military/political figures Dong Zhang and Kong Xun.Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms (十國春秋), vol. 100. Under both accounts, when Gao managed to meet Zhu, Zhu was impressed by his talent, and had his master adopt him as a son — thus making him Zhu's adoptive grandson and having him take on the surname of Zhu.
Service under Zhu Quanzhong In 902, Zhu Jichang was serving as an officer under Zhu Quanzhong, who was then sieging his rival Li Maozhen the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi), at Fengxiang's capital Fengxiang Municipality. (Zhu Quanzhong had initiated the siege after the powerful eunuchs, led by Han Quanhui, an ally of Li Maozhen's, forcibly seized then-reigning Emperor Zhaozong and took him from the imperial capital Chang'an to Fengxiang after they became apprehensive that Emperor Zhaozong and the chancellor Cui Yin were about to slaughter the eunuchs. Cui, an ally of Zhu Quanzhong's, then summoned Zhu Quanzhong to attack Fengxiang.)Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 262. As of fall 902, Zhu Quanzhong had had Fengxiang under siege for about a year, but was unable to capture it, with his siege efforts hampered by rain and his soldiers becoming ill. He thus considered withdrawing to Huguo Circuit (護國, headquartered in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi), which he also possessed. Zhu Jichang and fellow officer Liu Zhijun, however, opposed, pointing out that Li Maozhen was in desperate straits. Zhu Quanzhong, however, was concerned about Li Maozhen's strategy of refusing to engage the Xuanwu troops and putting up a strong defense at Fengxiang. At Zhu Jichang's suggestion, Zhu Quanzhong decided to try trickery — and asked for a volunteer soldier to try to trick Li Maozhen into engaging the Xuanwu army. One Ma Jing () volunteered, and pretended to surrender to the Fengxiang army. Ma then informed Li Maozhen that Zhu Quanzhong had already left, leaving only about 10,000 ill soldiers to pretend to be still putting up a siege, and that even they would depart that night. He suggested that Li Maozhen attack the Xuanwu camp. Li Maozhen agreed and attacked — and his army immediately fell into a trap set by the Xuanwu army, suffering large losses. From this point on, Li Maozhen, while not surrendering immediately, began to negotiate with Zhu Quanzhong for peace, promising to give the emperor to him (which occurred eventually in spring 903). For Zhu Jichang's contributions to this victory, Zhu Quanzhong made him the military prefect (團練使, Tuanlianshi) of Song Prefecture (宋州, in modern Shangqiu, Henan). Zhu Jichang subsequently participated in the Xuanwu army's campaign against Wang Shifan the military governor of Pinglu Circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern Weifang, Shandong) and was made the defender (防禦使, Fangyushi) of Ying Prefecture (潁州, in modern Fuyang, Anhui). His surname was changed back to Gao.
In 905, Zhu Quanzhong had conquered Zhongyi (忠義, headquartered in modern Xiangyang, Hubei) and Jingnan (荊南, headquartered in modern Jingzhou, Hubei) Circuits, then ruled by brothers Zhao Kuangning and Zhao Kuangming, respectively. Zhu initially made his officer He Gui the acting military governor of Jingnan. However, later in the year, when Lei Yangong the military governor of Wuzhen Circuit (武貞, headquartered in modern Changde, Hunan) repeatedly made incursions into Jingnan territory and He Gui reacted by merely defending Jingnan's capital Jiangling Municipality without engaging Lei, Zhu believed He to be fearful. He sent Gao to replace He Gui, while sending the officer Ni Kefu () to Jingnan as well to help defend against Lei. Lei then withdrew.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 265.
During Later Liang
During Emperor Taizu's reign In 907, Zhu Quanzhong had Emperor Zhaozong's son and successor Emperor Ai yield the throne to him, ending Tang and starting a new Later Liang as its Emperor Taizu. He commissioned Gao Jichang as the full military governor of Jingnan. By this point, Jingnan, which formerly consisted of eight prefectures (counting Jiangling Municipality as a prefecture), had suffered much through warfare, and most of its prefectures had been taken by warlords ruling other circuits. Even Jiangling itself had its walls and buildings in disrepair, and its population greatly reduced. When Gao arrived at Jiangling, he comforted the people and encouraged them to return, and it was said that the people's lives began to return to normal.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 266.
In fall 907, Lei Yangong, with aid from Ma Yin the Prince of Chu (even though that Ma was formally a Later Liang vassal), attacked Jiangling. Gao stationed troops at Gong'an (公安, in modern Jingzhou) to cut off Lei's food supply route, and then defeated him. He withdrew, as did Chu troops. Later, Lei attacked Cenyang (涔陽, also in modern Jingzhou) and Gong'an, but could not capture them.
After these attacks by Lei, Emperor Taizu resolved to destroy him, as he was then often pillaging the nearby circuits, and also was a vassal to one of Later Liang's rival states, Hongnong. Emperor Taizu therefore ordered that his titles be stripped, and ordered Gao and Ma to attack him. In winter 907, Gao sent Ni Kefu to rendezvous with the Chu general Qin Yanhui () to attack Wuzhen's capital Lang Prefecture (). Lei sought aid from Hongnong, and Yang Wo the Prince of Hongnong sent his generals Ling Ye () and Li Rao () to try to aid him. Ling and Li, however, were intercepted by the Chu general Xu Dexun, who captured them; Ma subsequently executed them. Subsequently, Yang, apparently again trying to save Lei, sent troops to attack Later Liang's Zhongyi and Jingnan Circuits, but both attacks were repelled, with Gao defeating the Hongnong general Li Hou (). By summer 908, Lang Prefecture fell to Qin, and Lei fled to Hongnong. Wuzhen was absorbed into Chu territory. Apparently in response, Gao stationed troops at Hankou to cut off the tributary route between Chu and Later Liang's capital Luoyang. Ma subsequently sent Xu to attack the Jingnan troops stationed there, but before Xu could arrive, Gao sued for peace.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 267. Later that year, Emperor Taizu bestowed the honorary chancellor designation of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi on Gao.
Also in 908, one Liang Zhen, who had passed the imperial examinations in the Jinshi () class in the late Tang years, was returning from Luoyang to his home region, then ruled by Former Shu. When he went through Jiangling, Gao met him and was impressed by him, and so wanted to keep him at Jingnan to be secretary. Because of Gao's low birth, Liang considered it a humiliation to serve on Gao's staff, but did not dare to leave without Gao's permission, as he feared that Gao would kill him if he did. He therefore stated to Gao:
Gao agreed. For the rest of Liang's life, he referred himself as "former Jinshi" and did not accept title positions offered to him by Gao (and later, by Gao's son Gao Conghui). Gao valued Liang's advice greatly and effectively made Liang his chief strategist.
In 909, the soldiers at Zhongyi mutinied and killed the acting military governor Wang Ban (), supporting one of their own, Li Hong (), to be acting military governor. Li Hong submitted to and sought aid from Former Shu. He also subsequently attacked Jingnan, but Gao sent Ni to repel him. Emperor Taizu subsequently sent the officer Chen Hui () to rendezvous with Jingnan troops to attack Li Hong. They soon captured Zhongyi's capital Xiang Prefecture (), taking Li Hong captive and sending him to Luoyang to be executed.
In 910, Ma sent an army to attack Jingnan, but Gao defeated it and repelled it.
By 912, it was said that Gao was beginning to contemplate making Jingnan his own personal possession, and therefore, after receiving approval to do so, added a second layer to Jiangling's city walls to add to its defensive capabilities.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 268.
After Emperor Taizu's reign In summer 912, Emperor Taizu was assassinated by his son Zhu Yougui the Prince of Ying, who, after blaming the assassination on his adoptive brother Zhu Youwen the Prince of Kang and killing Zhu Youwen, took the throne.
In late 912, Chen Zhang (), a general of Wu — i.e., formerly Hongnong but now known as Wu — attacked Chu's Yue Prefecture (岳州, in modern Yueyang, Hunan) and captured it. Chen then attacked Jingnan, but could not capture it and so withdrew. Jingnan and Chu troops then converged at the mouth of where Han River flowed into the Yangtze River, trying to intercept him, but he went past them during the night and escaped their attempt to stop him.
Around the same time, Gao Jixing, announcing that he was joining the campaign of Later Liang forces then fighting against Later Liang's archenemy Jin to the north, took his army and advanced north, but instead was attacking Xiang Prefecture (), the capital of Zhongyi — which by this time had reverted to its older name of Shannan East Circuit. Kong Qing () the military governor of Shannan East repelled him. It was said that after this battle, Gao stopped submitting tributes to the Later Liang imperial government.
In 913, Zhu Yougui's younger brother Zhu Youzhen the Prince of Jun overthrew Zhu Yougui and took the throne himself (and then changed his name to Zhu Zhen). He tried to placate Gao by creating Gao the Prince of Bohai. However, Gao still began to build a fleet that eventually grew to 500 ships, and further enhanced his defenses and the soldiers' armors and weapons. Further, he began to enter into diplomatic communications with Former Shu and Wu, with the Later Liang imperial government unable to stop him.
In 914, Gao launched his fleet and headed west on the Yangtze, trying to capture four prefectures that were previously part of Jingnan but which had become Former Shu territory — Kui (), Wan (), Zhong (), and Fu (涪州, all in modern Chongqing). However, when he attacked Kui first, he was defeated by the Former Shu prefect of Kui, Wang Chengxian (), and withdrew with heavy losses. In light of Gao's attack, there was suggestions made to the Former Shu emperor Wang Jian that Former Shu destroy a dam on the Three Gorges to let the water destroy Jiangling, but Wang, listening to the advice of his official Mao Wenxi that doing so would kill innocent civilians, did not do so.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 269.
In 917, Gao and Kong repaired their relationship, and he resumed submitting tributes to the Later Liang imperial government.