[2][4] By 923, Li Cunxu had declared himself emperor of a new Later Tang, and at that time was facing off against the army of archrival Later Liang across the Yellow River.
In the aftermaths of Tianping's fall, the Later Liang officer Kang Yanxiao, formerly a Jin subject, sent a secret letter to Li Siyuan, offering to surrender.
[2] After Li Cunxu captured Daliang in a surprise attack later in the year and the Later Liang emperor Zhu Zhen committed suicide, ending Later Liang, Li Cunxu rewarded him with the honorary titles Yinqing Guanglu Daifu (銀青光祿大夫) and minister of public works (工部尚書, Gongbu Shangshu).
[2] Meanwhile, one of the rebel leaders against Li Cunxu at Yedu (鄴都, in modern Handan), Zhao Zaili (趙在禮), had wanted to accept Li Siyuan's subsequent commission as military governor (Jiedushi) of Yicheng Circuit (義成, headquartered in modern Anyang, Henan), but was coerced by the Yedu troops into not accepting it.
In spring 927, Li Siyuan thus commissioned his own son Li Congrong as the defender of Yedu and had Fan command troops to escort him to Yedu, while commissioning Zhao Zaili as the military governor of Henghai Circuit (橫海, headquartered in modern Cangzhou, Hebei) and two of the main rebel officers under him, Huangfu Hui (皇甫暉) and Zhao Jin (趙進) as prefectural prefects elsewhere.
During the mutiny (which was induced by the general Fang Zhiwen (房知溫), who however subsequently suppressed it with An Shentong (安審通)), Fan requisitioned Yicheng troops to help defend a potential mutineer return to Yedu.
At that time, Li Siyuan publicly declared that he was going from Luoyang to Bian Prefecture (汴州, i.e., Daliang), and there were rumors that he was either intending to attack Later Tang's southeastern neighbor Wu, or to strike at one of the military governors in the east that he suspected the loyalty of.
In fear, Zhu Shouyin the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered at Bian Prefecture) decided to resist his arrival, and put up defenses to do so.
[8] After An was finally removed (and subsequently killed) in 931, Zhao Yanshou, also a son-in-law of Li Siyuan's, took over as the other chief of staff, serving with Fan.
Nevertheless, it was said that because An had suffered his fate due to his domination of the political scene, neither Fan nor Zhao dared to overly involve themselves with policy decisions, such that the eunuch Meng Hanqiong (who took over as the director of palace affairs), and Li Siyuan's favorite concubine Consort Wang, became highly influential in policy decisions.
[8] In 932, it was said that it was at Fan's urging that Li Siyuan sent the generals Yao Yanchou (藥彥稠) and Kang Fu (康福) against Dangxiang tribesmen, to try to stop them from pillaging against imperial messengers and foreign ambassadors in the region between Ling (靈州, in modern Yinchuan, Ningxia) and Bin (邠州, in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi) Prefectures.
Yao and Kang were said to be successful in their mission in defeating and capturing Dangxiang tribesmen, although the long-term maintenance of peace in the region was not mentioned.
Li Congrong, however, thought that it was Fan and Zhao who drove the proposal, and was not happy himself with it, both because he knew it displeased his father and because he saw as an attempt to have him confined to the crown prince's palace and unable to command troops.
Shortly after, Fan and Zhao were both given the greater chancellor designation Shizhong (侍中, head of the examination bureau of government (門下省, Menxia Sheng)).
Subsequently, in winter 933, Fan was also allowed to resign, and was made the military governor of Chengde; he was replaced by Feng Yun.
(Only as Li Siyuan was sending him off did Fan dare to bring up the fact that Meng Hanqiong was being too dominant in the palace, but even then he only did so circumspectly).
While Fan's reaction to these transfers was not clearly stated in history, Li Congke suspected that this series of orders were targeted toward him, and therefore rebelled.
In spring 935, however, he sent Fan back out to serve as the military governor of Xuanwu, also giving him the greater honorary chancellor title of Zhongshu Ling (中書令).
Moreover, Shi resolved to seek Khitan aid, offering to cede to Khitan's Emperor Taizong (Yelü Deguang) 16 prefectures on Later Tang's northern borders (in effect, Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing) and other prefectures north of Yanmen Pass) if Emperor Taizong would help him overthrow Li Congke.
The news of Zhang's defeat and envelopment greatly troubled Li Congke, and he ordered Fan, Zhao Dejun the military governor of Lulong, and Pan Huan (潘環) the defender of Yao Prefecture (耀州, in modern Tongchuan, Shaanxi), to all launch troops toward Jin'an to aid Zhang.
[11] With Zhao not heading to aid the Later Tang imperial army at Jin'an, Zhang was killed by his deputy Yang Guangyuan, who then surrendered to the joint Khitan/Later Jin forces.
[11] After Zhao Dejun's defeat, Fan Yanguang returned from Liao Prefecture to Yedu, and sent a petition to Shi Jingtang, submitting to him as a subject.
Shi subsequently refused to let Mi stay at Chengde, but gave him another post, as the defender of Qi Prefecture (齊州, in modern Jinan, Shandong).
He launched his troops in summer 937 and headed toward the Yellow River ford at Liyang (黎陽, in modern Hebi, Henan), with Sun and Feng serving as his commanders.
Shi's other generals Du Chongwei and Hou Yi (侯益) then defeated and killed Zhang Congbin, quelling that part of the rebellion.
[12] Believing the situation to be hopeless, Fan blamed the rebellion on Sun and slaughtered him and his family, and submitted a petition to surrender to Yang.
Shi commissioned Fan as the military governor of Tianping and bestowed on him an iron certificate, promising to pardon a future death sentence.