Liu Rengong

Liu Rengong (劉仁恭) (died 914) was a warlord late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who controlled Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing) from 895 (when his one-time lord Li Keyong conquered Lulong and left him in charge of it) to 907 (when he was overthrown by his son Liu Shouguang and put under house arrest). He was initially a Lulong officer, but later fled to Li Keyong's Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi). After Li conquered Lulong and left him in charge, he turned against Li and became an independent warlord, although at times he and Li would still act in concert. His domain later became the basis of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Yan that Liu Shouguang established. In 913, however, Li Keyong's son and successor Li Cunxu the Prince of Jin conquered Yan and captured both Liu Shouguang and Liu Rengong; he put them to death the next year.

It is not known when Liu Rengong was born — although he was said to be spreading the rumor that he would become a military governor (Jiedushi) at age 48 when he later served Li Kuangwei, indicating that he was not yet 48 by that point. His family was originally from Leshou (樂壽, in modern Cangzhou, Hebei), which was not a part of Lulong Circuit, although he would follow his father Liu Sheng (劉晟) to Lulong Circuit, as Liu Sheng served under the military governor Li Keju. It was said that Liu Rengong was already shown to be full of tactics in his youth, and often made military suggestions. When Li Keju sent the officer Li Quanzhong to attack Yi Prefecture (易州, in modern Baoding, Hebei), which belonged to neighboring Yiwu Circuit (義武, headquartered in modern Baoding) in 885, Liu Rengong served under Li Quanzhong. When Li Quanzhong's subordinate Yu Yan (于晏) put Yi under siege but could not capture it for months, it was Liu who came up with the idea of digging a tunnel into the city to capture it. For this act, he became known under the nickname of Liu Kutou (劉窟頭, i.e., "Liu who headed into the tunnel"). Later that year, when Yiwu forces recaptured Yi, Li Quanzhong, in fear of punishment by Li Keju, overthrew Li Keju and took over the circuit; Li Quanzhong then died in 886 and passed the circuit to his son Li Kuangwei.

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