Zhumadian is a prefecture-level city in southern Henan province, China. It borders Xinyang to the south, Nanyang to the west, Pingdingshan to the northwest, Luohe to the north, Zhoukou to the northeast, and the province of Anhui to the east.
Emperor Dezong of Tang, personal name Li Kuo, was an emperor of the Chinese Tang dynasty and the oldest son of Emperor Daizong. His reign of 26 years was the third longest in the Tang dynasty. Emperor Dezong started out as a diligent and frugal emperor and he tried to reform the governmental finances by introducing new tax laws. His attempts to destroy the powerful regional warlords and the subsequent mismanagement of those campaigns, however, resulted in a number of rebellions that nearly destroyed him and the Tang dynasty. After those events, he dealt cautiously with the regional governors, causing warlordism to become unchecked, and his trust of eunuchs caused the eunuchs' power to rise greatly. He was also known for his paranoia about officials' wielding power, and late in his reign, he did not grant much authority to his chancellors.
Emperor Xizong of Tang, né Li Yan, later name changed to Li Xuan, was an emperor of the Tang dynasty of China. He reigned from 873 to 888. He was the fifth son of his predecessor Emperor Yizong and was the elder brother of his successor Emperor Zhaozong. His reign saw his realm overrun by the great agrarian rebellions led by Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao, and while both were eventually defeated, by the end of Emperor Xizong's reign, the Tang state had virtually disintegrated into pieces ruled by individual warlords, rather than the imperial government, and would never recover, falling eventually in 907.
Huang Chao was a Chinese rebel, best known for leading a major rebellion that severely weakened the Tang dynasty.
Hun Jian, né Hun Jin (渾進), formally Prince Zhongwu of Xianning (咸寧忠武王), was a general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty of Tiele extraction. He was most-well known for his battles to protect Emperor Dezong during Zhu Ci's rebellion.
Ma Sui, courtesy name Xunmei (洵美), formally Prince Zhuangwu of Beiping (北平莊武王), was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician during the Tang dynasty. He was known mostly for his battles against the rebel generals Li Lingyao (李靈曜), Tian Yue, Zhu Tao, and Li Huaiguang.
Li Na, formally the Prince of Longxi (隴西王), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Chinese Tang dynasty. Inheriting the post from his father Li Zhengji, he served as the military governor (jiedushi) of Pinglu Circuit semi-independently from the imperial government.
Wu Shaocheng, formally the Prince of Puyang (濮陽王), was a Chinese military general and politician who served as the military governor of Zhangyi Circuit, ruled the circuit in a de facto independent manner from the imperial regime, at one point engaging a campaign against imperial forces.
Yang Fuguang (842–883), formally Duke Zhongsu of Hongnong (弘農忠肅公), was a Chinese eunuch, military general, and politician of the Tang dynasty, who was considered a major contributor to the Tang cause in finally defeating Huang Chao's rebellion.
Wang Xianzhi was a Chinese military general and rebel. He was a major agrarian rebel during the reign of Emperor Xizong of Tang, whose rebellion, while failing, along with those of his one-time ally Huang Chao, began a series of rebellions that led to the Tang dynasty's disintegration.
Shang Rang (尚讓) was a major follower of Huang Chao, an agrarian rebel leader against the rule of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and carried prominent titles after Huang declared himself the emperor of a new state of Qi. As Huang neared defeat in 884, Shang turned against him and submitted to the Tang general Shi Pu and participated in the final destruction of Huang's army. Shang himself was later killed by Shi.
Qin Zongquan was a Chinese military general, monarch, politician, rebel, and warlord during the Tang dynasty. He was later a claimant to the imperial throne, in competition with Emperor Xizong of Tang and, later, Emperor Xizong's brother Emperor Zhaozong, with his capital at Cai Prefecture. At Qin's prime, he controlled most of modern Henan and parts of modern Hubei, Anhui, and Jiangsu, but he was eventually repeatedly defeated by the Tang general and warlord Zhu Quanzhong. His subordinates turned against him and delivered him to the Tang capital Chang'an, where he was executed.
Zhao Deyin, formally the Prince of Huai'an, was a warlord late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, who initially served as a general under the pretender emperor Qin Zongquan. When Qin neared defeat, Zhao declared loyalty to Tang instead, and was able to retain control of Zhongyi Circuit, which, after his death, was passed to his son Zhao Kuangning.
Zhou Ji was a Chinese warlord of the late Tang Dynasty who seized control of Zhongwu Circuit in 880, briefly submitted to the agrarian rebel Huang Chao's new state of Qi, and later returned the Tang fold, controlling Zhongwu until he was forced to abandon it in 884 due to an attack by Lu Yanhong. Lu might have killed him subsequently.
Li Hanzhi, formally the Prince of Longxi (隴西王), nickname Li Moyun (李摩雲), was a Chinese Buddhist monk, military general, politician, and warlord of the late medieval Tang dynasty. He was initially a follower of the major agrarian rebel Huang Chao, and later became a Tang general, mostly known for his service under Li Keyong. He was known for ferocity in carrying out raids.
Zhao Chou was a warlord late in the Chinese Tang Dynasty, whose power base was at Chen Prefecture. He was a reliable ally of Zhu Quanzhong the military governor (Jiedushi) of Xuanwu Circuit, and his son Zhao Yan became a son-in-law of Zhu's and an official of Later Liang after Zhu established the new dynasty.
Liu Jianfeng, courtesy name Ruiduan (銳端), was a Chinese military general and politician during the Tang Dynasty. He controlled Wu'an Circuit from 894 to his death in 896.
Zhu Yanshou was an officer under, and the brother-in-law of, the major warlord Yang Xingmi the military governor (Jiedushi) of Huainan Circuit late in the Chinese Tang dynasty. He contributed to many of Yang's campaigns and eventually rose to the rank of military governor of Fengguo Circuit. In 903, angry that Yang had previously insulted him, he plotted to rebel against Yang, along with other vassals of Yang's, Tian Jun the military governor of Ningguo Circuit and An Renyi (安仁義) the military prefect of Run Prefecture. Their plot was discovered by Yang, who then tricked his wife Lady Zhu into reporting to Zhu Yanshou that Yang was about to entrust Huainan Circuit to him. When Zhu reported to Huainan's capital Yang Prefecture (揚州) in response, Yang Xingmi executed him.
Zhao Yan (趙巖), né Zhao Lin (趙霖), was an official of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period Later Liang state. As a son-in-law of its founding emperor Zhu Wen and as someone instrumental in the succession of its last emperor Zhu Zhen, he was influential during Zhu Zhen's reign and was traditionally blamed for corruption and misleading the emperor into making critical mistakes that caused Later Liang's fall at the hands of its rival Later Tang.
Wagang Army was a key rebel army in the late Sui dynasty of China. The Wagang Army was primarily led by Zhai Rang before 617, and Li Mi after 617. To its greatest extent, it occupied major territories in the Henan and Shandong provinces. It was one of the three strongest peasant forces of its time, the other two being Dou Jiande's army in Hebei and Du Fuwei's army in the south. The Wagang Army played a significant role in overthrowing the Sui dynasty.
