Lu guan

At the service of Early Qin

Lu Guang was a disco . He was born in 337, when his father, Luy Polow, served with Pu Hong (who later changed his surname from Pu to Fu), the late state commander of Zhao . When Fu Jian (I) (the son of Pu Hun) founded the Early Qin state , then Lu Pulou served with his nephew - Donghai prince Fu Jiang (II) . In 357, the Prince of Donghai overthrew Fu Sheng then occupying the throne and became emperor himself, and Lu Pulou became one of his trusted advisers. At that time, Lu Guang was not much respected, since he preferred hunting and horseback riding to study, but Chief Minister Wang Meng nevertheless made him a general.

Lu Guang first became famous in 358, when fighting against Zhang Ping, he defeated and killed his adoptive son Zhang Hao. When the imperial relatives of Fu Sow, Fu Liu, Fu Wu and Fu Shuang raised the uprising in 367, then Lu Guang was one of those sent against Fu Wu and Fu Shuang, and he made a great contribution to the suppression of the uprising. In 370, he took part in a campaign that destroyed the state of Early Yan and received the title of "Dutin Hou " (都 亭侯).

In 378, Lu Guang served with Beihai Prince Fu Chong (the nephew of the emperor), who was governor of Yuzhou Province and, in particular, was responsible for the important city of Luoyang . Upon learning that Fu Chun planned to rebel, the emperor ordered Lu Guang to arrest him, which was done. However, in 380, the emperor placed Fu Chun at the head of Jicheng . When Fu Chun rebelled with his brother Fu Luo, Lu Guang was among those who were thrown to crush the rebellion. He managed to defeat and kill Fu Chun, which led to the surrender of Fu Luo.

In 382, ​​at the request of the rulers of the states of Shanshan and Chesha, the emperor sent Lu Guang at the head of an army of 100,000 foot soldiers and 5,000 horsemen to the Western Territory to form a governorship there as during the Han empire . The army left the Qin capital of Chang'an in the spring of 383, and in 384 the Western Territory was ready to fully officially recognize the power of the Early Qin, but at that time the Early Qin itself began to fall apart after the defeat in the battle of the Fei River from the army of the Jin empire . Lu Guang, meanwhile, was in the conquered state of Kucha , where he met with Kumarajiva . Upon learning of what was happening in the empire, he decided to stay in Kucha, but Kumarajiva dissuaded him, saying that Kucha was an unlucky place and that he could find a haven to the east. In obedience to him, in 385, Lu Guang moved east, taking with him all the prey he had obtained in the Western Territory.

Liang Xi, the Qin governor of Liangzhou Province, refused to let Lu Guang into his territory, but Lu Guang nevertheless entered Liangzhou with his troops, quickly took the provincial capital city of Guzang , and then began to conquer the local petty rulers. In 386, when he learned about the death of Fu Jiang, Lu Guang changed the name of the era of government - this moment is considered the foundation of the state of Late Liang (although Lu Guang did not make any declarations of independence).

Strengthening Late Liang

With the onset of 387, Lu Guang proclaimed himself “Jiuquan Gong” (酒泉 公) and began to strengthen his power over the territory of Liangzhou province without paying attention to the struggle that the remnants of the Early Qin state waged with the Late Qin state . In the fall of 387, he seized and executed Zhang Dayuy, the son of the last ruler of the Early Liang state, Zhang Tianxi . In 389, Lu Guang proclaimed himself the Sanhe prince (三河 王).

In 391, Lu Guang launched an unexpected attack on the state of Western Qin , whose ruler Tsifu Gangui was busy fighting the rebellious Mo Egan, but Tsifu Gangui quickly reacted to the attack, and Lu Guang had to retreat. However, this led to a series of battles between Late Liang and Western Qin.

In 394, Lu Guang admitted as his overlord the Syanbian leader of Tufa Ugu . In the fall of 395, Lu Guang launched a major attack on Western Qin, and Tsifu Ganggui also recognized himself as his vassal (soon, however, breaking the vassal ties).

In 396, Lu Guang proclaimed himself "the heavenly prince" (that is, practically, emperor).

Late Liang's gradual decline

Deciding to punish Tsifu Ganggui, Lu Guang launched a major attack on Xicheng , the capital of Western Qin. Tsifu Gangui, however, was able to trap and destroy General Luy Yan, the brother of Lui Guang, and the Liang troops were forced to return to their homes. Soon after, Tufa Ugu proclaimed independence from Late Liang and founded the state of South Liang .

After the death of Lu Yan, Lu Guang believed in false accusations against his assistants - the brothers Juqui Lochou and Juqui Quzhou - and executed them. Their nephew Juju Mensun raised a revolt of the Hun tribes. Lu Guang sent Lu Zuan against him, but while Lu Zuan persecuted him in the mountains, his cousin Juqui Nancheng besieged the administrative center of Jiankang County. Juquan Nancheng managed to persuade Duan E (the ruler of Jiankang County) to join the rebellion, and he proclaimed himself the prince of Jiankang, thereby establishing the state of North Liang . At the same time, the forecaster Guo Nen, who was joined by General Yang Gui, revolted in the capital Guzang, and Lu Zuan had to abandon everything and return to the capital. The rebellion of Yang and Guo was suppressed, but from that moment, Late Liang became the object of constant attacks from the South Liang, Northern Liang and Western Qin.

In 400, Lu Guang became seriously ill, and ordered his son, Lu Shao, to take the throne and take on the title of “heavenly prince”. Soon after, he passed away.

• Official Biographies of the Late Liang Rulers in the Book of Jin ( Chinese )
• The official biographies of the rulers of Late Liang in “ Springs and Autumn of Sixteen States ” ( Chinese )