Ge Congzhou

Biography

Family Background and Early Life

Ge Congzhou came from an official family in Juancheng, Puzhou (present-day Juancheng, Shandong). His great-grandfather was Ge Ruan, his grandfather Ge Yuxian, and his father Ge Jian; all were successively granted the posthumous title Minister of War. Historical records preserve little detail about the family beyond the brief statement in the sixth biography chapter of the Old History of the Five Dynasties: his great-grandfather was Ruan, his grandfather Yuxian, and his father Jian, who were repeatedly posthumously honored as Ministers of War. His mother, Lady Song, was later captured by Liu Xun during Ge's siege of Yanzhou and was treated well.

As a youth, Ge was broad-minded and generous and showed intelligence and strategic ability. During the turmoil at the end of the Tang dynasty, when the Huang Chao Rebellion spread across the empire, he joined Huang Chao's army and gradually rose to become an officer. During this period he befriended Huo Cun, Zhang Guiba, Zhang Guihou, Zhang Guibian, and others as sworn brothers. They later surrendered to Zhu Wen together and went on to serve as important commanders under Later Liang.

Surrender to Zhu Wen and Early Campaigns

In March 884, the fourth year of the Zhonghe era, Zhu Wen heavily defeated Huang Chao at Wangmandu, north of present-day Zhongmu in Henan. Ge Congzhou, Huo Cun, and the Zhang brothers then led their troops in surrender to Zhu Wen. In July, Ge followed Zhu Wen to Xihua, in present-day Xihua County, Henan, and heavily defeated Qin Zongquan's Wangxia stockade.

In a battle soon afterward, Ge displayed exceptional courage and loyalty. Zhu Wen was unhorsed in combat as Qin's troops pressed hard, placing him in extreme danger. Ge rushed forward, helped Zhu Wen mount again, and then fought the enemy at close quarters. He was wounded in the face, struck by several arrows from elbow to shoulder, and pierced by several spears, yet refused to retreat and fought desperately to protect Zhu Wen. Another commander, Zhang Yanshou, eventually turned back to help, enabling Ge and Zhu Wen to escape. After the battle, Zhu Wen withdrew to the Yin River. Although many subordinate commanders were demoted for the defeat, Ge and Zhang Yanshou alone were promoted for their efforts in saving him.

Ge thereafter won repeated distinction. He fought with Zhu Wen at Changge and Lingjing and heavily defeated the Caizhou army; advanced to Jingou and the Fei River, killed Qin Zongquan's general Yin Tielin and more than three thousand of his men, and captured Wang Juan, chief military officer of the Nine Stockades. He also suppressed the Huanghuazi rebels at Wengu, defeated Qin Xian's forces at Xingyang, and assisted Zhu Zhen in taking Zizhou and Qingzhou. At Rencheng he heavily defeated the Yanzhou army under Qi Kerang and captured the officer Lü Quanzhen; when troops at Zizhou rebelled again, he captured the fierce commander Gong Yue. When ten thousand Qingzhou infantry and cavalry held the three stockades at Jinling, Ge and Zhu Zhen routed them and captured five generals, including Yang Zhaofan. Returning to Bianzhou, he immediately rushed to Banqiao to attack Caizhou forces, broke Lu Tang's camp, and caused Lu Tang to drown while attempting escape; at Chigang he killed more than twenty thousand Caizhou troops.

Defeating Regional Powers and Rising in Rank

Ge campaigned against Xie Yin at Bozhou and captured him alive, then turned back in a surprise attack on Caozhou and carried off its prefect, Qiu Hongli. At Liuqiao near Linpu, he met the armies of Yanzhou and Yunzhou, attacked fiercely, and killed tens of thousands. Zhu Xuan, Military Commissioner of Tianping Army, and his younger brother Zhu Jin barely escaped, while more than fifty officers including Zou Wuqing were captured. This battle removed the greatest obstacle to Zhu Wen's eastward expansion. Ge subsequently fought Zhu Xuan again at Fan County and captured Yin Wanrong and two others, pacified Puzhou, and, together with Zhu Zhen, heavily defeated Caizhou troops between Chenzhou and Bozhou, capturing commander Shi Fan.

In 888, the first year of Wende, disorder broke out in the Weibo army and Le Congxun appealed for aid. Ge followed Zhu Wen north, captured Liyang, Ligu, Linhe, and other strongpoints, defeated more than ten thousand Weibo troops at Neihuang, and captured more than ten officers including Zhou Ru. That same year, Li Hanzhi brought a Hedong army to besiege Zhang Quanyi at Heyang, in present-day Meng County, Henan. Ge was ordered to reinforce the city with Ding Hui, Zhang Cunjing, and Niu Cunjie. They heavily defeated the Hedong forces, killing twenty thousand non-Han and Han soldiers and lifting the siege. For this achievement Ge received the acting title Minister of Works. He later followed Zhu Zhen against Shi Pu at Xuzhou, crushed Shi Pu's troops at Wukang, seized their supplies, and received the acting title Minister of Justice. He also assisted Pang Shigu against Sun Ru in Huainan, advancing to Luzhou, Shouzhou, and Chuzhou, taking Tianchang and Gaoyou and breaking Shaoboyan. On the return march he attacked Haozhou, killed its prefect Wei Xun, and seized ten supply boats.

In August 890, the first year of Dashun, the Hedong army besieged Luzhou. Ge led picked men on a silent night march through the siege lines into the city. After a setback at Malaochuan, however, he abandoned Shangdang and returned. In December that year he campaigned against Weizhou with Ding Hui and others and recovered ten counties. In the first month of the next year he heavily defeated the Wei army at Yongding Bridge, inflicting five defeats and taking more than ten thousand heads. In October he assisted Ding Hui in attacking Suzhou, dammed water to flood the city, and received the surrender of its prefect Zhang Yun. He later campaigned against Yanzhou and defeated Zhu Jin at Magou. In February 893, the second year of Jingfu, Ge and other generals heavily defeated the armies of Xuzhou and Yanzhou at Shifo Mountain. In August he joined Pang Shigu in another attack on Yanzhou.

Fighting Hedong and Establishing His Reputation in Hebei

In March 894, the first year of Qianning, Ge reached Xintai County. Zhu Jin sent Zhang Yue and Li Hujiao with three thousand troops to oppose him, but Ge and Zhang Cunjing launched a full attack and captured dozens of commanders, including Zhang Yue and Li Hujiao. In October 895, the second year of Qianning, Ge besieged Yanzhou, while the Zhu brothers did not dare leave the city. Ge spread word that reinforcements from Bingzhou and Yunzhou were approaching and marched his troops toward Gaowu, only to secretly return to camp in the middle of the night. Zhu Jin indeed sent troops to attack the trenches outside the city; Ge's forces suddenly struck, killing more than a thousand and capturing commander Sun Hanjun. Through accumulated merit, Ge successively served as prefect of Huaizhou, Caozhou, and Suzhou and was promoted to acting Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs.

In May 896, the third year of Qianning, Li Keyong led a large army against Weizhou and sent his son Luoluo with two thousand cavalry to camp at the Huan River. Ge attacked with two thousand infantry and cavalry, nearly annihilated them, and captured Luoluo in front of the lines. Li Keyong withdrew wailing and in tears. The victory greatly enhanced Ge's reputation, giving rise in Hebei to the saying, “There is one Ge in Shandong; do not provoke him without cause.” Ge then crossed the Yellow River with Pang Shigu to attack Yunzhou, which they captured in January 897, the fourth year of Qianning. They pressed on to Yanzhou while Zhu Jin was away campaigning at Xuzhou. Kang Huaiying surrendered Yanzhou with its soldiers and inhabitants, and Ge was appointed acting military governor of Yanzhou and acting Minister of State over the Masses.

In April 898, the first year of Guanghua, Ge led a campaign in Shandong. Li Keyong stationed a large army at Xingzhou and Mingzhou. Ge met the Hedong troops at Julu and won a major victory, forcing Li Keyong to flee. Pursuing to Qingshankou, he captured Xing, Ming, and Ci prefectures within several days, took twenty thousand heads, captured 150 officers, and concurrently became acting military governor of Xingzhou. In October he defeated five thousand Hedong cavalry at Zhanggong Bridge. The Jin commander Li Sizhao then attacked Xingzhou urgently and deployed outside the city gate, but Ge heavily defeated him and captured more than one hundred non-Han officers, including Ben Jintie and Murong Teng.

Defeating Yan, Relieving Wei, and Governing Yanzhou

In the spring of 899, the second year of Guanghua, Liu Rengong of Youzhou invaded Weizhou with one hundred thousand Yan troops and massacred Beizhou. Ge rushed from Xingtai into Weizhou. After the Yan army broke through the Shangshui Pass and attacked the Guantao Gate, Ge and He Delun rode out with five hundred cavalry. Ge told the gate guards, “A powerful enemy is before us; we will not return alive,” and ordered the gate shut. The five hundred men committed themselves to a fight to the death and routed the Yan army, capturing commanders Xue Tujue, Wang Kuilang, and others. The next day they broke eight Yan encampments and pursued the enemy to Linqing, while Liu Rengong fled toward Cangzhou. Ge was rewarded with appointment as Marching Army Director of Xuanwu Army.

In April 900, the third year of Guanghua, Ge led an army against Cangzhou, first attacking and taking Dezhou. When he advanced on Fuyang, Liu Rengong led a large relief force. Army supervisor Jiang Xuanhui proposed allowing the enemy into the city and waiting until its provisions were exhausted. Ge replied, “The use of troops depends on seizing the moment, and authority to seize the moment rests with the supreme commander; it is not as Supervisor Jiang says.” He therefore ordered Zhang Cunjing and Shi Shicong to guard the camp while he personally met the Yan army at Laoyadi in Qianning Army. He crushed it, took thirty thousand heads, captured more than one hundred officers including Ma Shenjiao, and seized three thousand horses. In August, when Hedong troops attacked Xingzhou and Mingzhou, Ge followed Zhu Wen in defeating them, pursued them to Qingshankou, took five thousand heads, captured Wang Helang, Yang Shiyue, and others, and seized one thousand horses. He was appointed acting Grand Protector and concurrently acting head of the two commissions at Xuzhou, and soon became Military Commissioner of Yanzhou.

Confrontation with Liu Xun and Later Years

During the Tianfu era, while Zhu Wen was campaigning in the west against Li Maozhen at Fengxiang, Wang Shifan, Military Commissioner of Pinglu, took the opportunity to send his general Liu Xun to seize Yanzhou. Yanzhou belonged to Ge's jurisdiction, and Zhu Wen ordered him to recover it. Liu Xun, known for his resourcefulness, first sent a spy disguised as an oil peddler to investigate the city. Discovering that a water culvert could be used for entry, he sent soldiers swimming through it and captured Yanzhou in a single stroke. Ge then besieged the city, but his mother and family were inside and were captured by Liu Xun. Liu did not harm them; instead, he cared for Ge's mother as if she were his own. When Ge reached the city, Liu had Ge's mother helped up onto the wall to show that she was being treated well. Torn between his duties, Ge wept and withdrew his troops to camp. Although the siege later continued, Ge never gained the upper hand over Liu, who eventually surrendered to Zhu Wen only after running out of provisions and relief.

In 907, the first year of Kaiping, Zhu Wen displaced the Tang and founded Later Liang. For his service, Ge was appointed Senior General of the Left Jinwu Guard. Because of illness he requested retirement, and he was later appointed Senior General of the Right Guard, resided in Yanshi County, and received the title Grand Preceptor of the Heir Apparent. Zhu Wen specially permitted him not to attend court on a fixed schedule. During the Qianhua era, after Zhu Youzhen, the last emperor of Liang, came to the throne, Ge received especially courteous treatment. He was appointed acting Grand Preceptor and concurrently Palace Attendant, promoted to Prince of Chenliu, and eventually granted a fief assessed at seven thousand households. Ge died at home in the early Zhenming era (915–920) and was posthumously appointed Defender-in-chief.

Major Activities

Military Campaigns

From his surrender to Zhu Wen until the establishment of Later Liang, Ge participated in nearly all of Zhu Wen's major campaigns. Early in his career he fought Qin Zongquan, rescued Zhu Wen in a moment of danger, and refused to retreat despite multiple wounds. He later helped defeat the regional forces of Caizhou, Yunzhou, and Xuzhou and repeatedly distinguished himself against powerful adversaries such as Li Keyong of Hedong and Liu Rengong of Youzhou. His best-known actions included capturing Li Keyong's son Luoluo at the Huan River, taking Xing, Ming, and Ci prefectures within several days after the Battle of Julu, defeating Liu Rengong's one-hundred-thousand-man Yan army with five hundred cavalry at Weizhou, and taking thirty thousand heads at Laoyadi. The Hebei saying “There is one Ge in Shandong; do not provoke him without cause” reflected his contemporary reputation.

Loyal Rescue of His Lord

One of Ge's most celebrated deeds occurred when Zhu Wen was unhorsed in battle and Qin's troops pressed in. Ge rushed forward, helped Zhu Wen remount, and fought the enemy at close quarters. Though wounded in the face, struck by arrows in the arm, and pierced by several spears, he continued to protect his commander. Afterward Zhu Wen demoted many officers for the defeat, but promoted Ge and Zhang Yanshou for their role in saving him. This incident established Ge's central position in Zhu Wen's army.

A Conflict Between Filial Duty and Loyalty

During Ge's siege of Yanzhou, his mother was captured by Liu Xun. Liu treated her well and had her brought to the city wall to meet her son. Ge wept on seeing her and initially withdrew his troops to camp. The episode became a widely told story, highlighting both Liu Xun's humane conduct and Ge's filial devotion. Liu Xun later surrendered to Zhu Wen and became a Later Liang general, serving in the same court as Ge.

Anecdotes

Wang Renyu's Yutang Xianhua records an anecdote about Ge. A guard captain became absorbed in looking at Ge's beloved concubine, but Ge did not become angry. Grateful for Ge's tolerance, the man later led several dozen cavalry in breaking the enemy formation during a battle against Tang forces and secured victory. Ge then rewarded him with the concubine and a dowry worth several thousand strings of cash. The story resembles the tale of King Zhuang of Chu extinguishing the lamps after a broken hat-string incident in the Han Shi Waizhuan and was used to illustrate Ge's breadth of mind. Feng Menglong later adapted it into the story “Lord Ge Sends Away Nongzhu While Still Alive” in Stories to Caution the World.

His later career and the honours after it were as follows: in 901, during the Tianfu years, he faced Liu Xun at Yanzhou and withdrew temporarily because his mother had been captured by Liu Xun; in 907, after Zhu Wen took the imperial title, he was made senior general of the left golden guards, retired on grounds of illness, was transferred to senior general of the right guards and given the additional title of grand tutor to the crown prince; in 911, on the accession of Zhu Youzhen, he was made acting grand preceptor and concurrent attendant of the palace and enfeoffed as Prince of Chenliu Commandery; in 915, in the early Zhenming years, he died at home and was granted posthumously the title grand commandant. From a garrison officer of the late Tang to a prince of the Later Liang, his life ran almost parallel with the rise and founding of Zhu Wen's regime.

The accumulation of his military record is precisely dated as well: in the spring of 899 (second year of Guanghua) Liu Rengong advanced on Weizhou with a hundred thousand Yan troops, and Ge Congzhou and He Delun rode out with five hundred cavalry, shut the gates and fought to the death, breaking the Yan army and capturing the commanders Xue Tujue, Wang Kuailang and others, then destroying eight more Yan camps the next day and pursuing them to Linqing, so that Liu Rengong fled to Cangzhou; in the fourth month of 900 (third year of Guanghua) he led troops against Cangzhou, took Dezhou first and heavily defeated the Yan at Laoyati in the Qianning army district, killing thirty thousand, capturing more than a hundred officers including Ma Shenjiao and taking three thousand horses; in the eighth month of the same year he joined Zhu Wen in defeating the Bing army, pursued them to Qingshankou, killed five thousand, captured their commanders Wang Helang, Yang Shiyue and others and took a thousand horses, being recommended for the title acting grand guardian and made acting administrator of the two Xuzhou commissions and soon military commissioner of Yanzhou.

His military record belongs almost wholly to the passage of Zhu Wen's regime from a garrison command to a dynasty.

Personal Relations

• Great-grandfather: Ge Ruan
• Grandfather: Ge Yuxian
• Father: Ge Jian (repeatedly posthumously honored as Minister of War)
• Mother: Lady Song
• Sons: He had five sons. Because the spirit-way inscription is damaged, only two names are known, Ge Yanxun and Ge Yanpu; the others are unknown
• Adopted son: Xie Yanzhang (whether he was one of the five sons remains to be investigated)
• Zhu Wen (Emperor Taizu of Later Liang): Lord; Ge was one of his most trusted generals
• Zhu Youzhen (last emperor of Liang): Ruler who treated Ge with exceptional courtesy
• Huo Cun and Zhang Guiba: Sworn brothers who surrendered to Zhu Wen together with Ge
• Zhang Yanshou: Comrade who helped rescue Zhu Wen
• Pang Shigu, Ding Hui, Zhang Cunjing, Niu Cunjie, He Delun, and Shi Shicong: Fellow commanders
• Liu Xun: Initially an enemy, later a fellow general in the same court
• Huang Chao: Ge initially served in his army before surrendering to Zhu Wen
• Qin Zongquan, Zhu Xuan, Zhu Jin, Shi Pu, Li Keyong, Liu Rengong, Yang Xingmi, and Wang Shifan: Major opposing forces

Historical Assessment

Five Dynasties / Contemporary

• Zhu Wen placed great trust in Ge. After Later Liang was established, he granted Ge exemption from regular court attendance, appointed him Senior General of the Left Jinwu Guard, transferred him to Senior General of the Right Guard, and added the title Grand Preceptor of the Heir Apparent, reflecting his recognition of Ge's service.
• After Zhu Youzhen took the throne, he appointed Ge acting Grand Preceptor and concurrently Palace Attendant, promoted him to Prince of Chenliu, and eventually granted him a fief assessed at seven thousand households, treating him with exceptional courtesy.
• The Hebei saying, “There is one Ge in Shandong; do not provoke him without cause,” reflected Ge's contemporary fame.

Song and Yuan Periods

• The Old History of the Five Dynasties described him as “broad-minded in youth and possessed of intelligence and strategy” and recorded his military achievements in detail, affirming his place as a founding general of Later Liang.
• The New History of the Five Dynasties included him in its “Biographies of Liang Officials.” Although Ouyang Xiu was broadly critical of Later Liang, he nevertheless recorded Ge's military achievements.
• Wang Renyu's Yutang Xianhua preserved the story of Ge's broad-minded conduct and praised his refusal to let a private grievance interfere with public affairs.

Ming and Qing Periods

• Feng Menglong adapted the story of Ge's magnanimity into “Lord Ge Sends Away Nongzhu While Still Alive” in Stories to Caution the World, turning him into a figure in popular literature.
• Ming and Qing historians generally regarded him as a representative general of the Five Dynasties who combined loyalty and courage.

Modern Period

• Modern historians generally regard Ge as an important military figure of the Five Dynasties and one of the key commanders who enabled Zhu Wen to consolidate the Central Plains and establish Later Liang.
• Some scholars note that Ge's career provides an important case for studying regional military separatism and warlord conflict at the end of the Tang and during the Five Dynasties.