Gao Xingzhou (高行周) (885[1] – September 10, 952[2][3]), courtesy name Shangzhi (尚質), formally Prince Wuyi of Qin (秦武懿王), was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician that served the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period Jin, Later Tang, Later Jin, Liao Dynasty, Later Han, and Later Zhou.
Li Siyuan suggested a surprise attack on Later Liang's Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern Tai'an, Shandong), south of the Yellow River.
Emperor Zhuangzong agreed, and in the subsequent surprise attack on Tianping's capital Yun Prefecture (鄆州), Gao Xingzhou served under Li Siyuan in capturing the city.
[10] After destroying Later Liang, Emperor Zhuangzong made Gao the prefect of Duan Prefecture (端州, in modern Zhaoqing, Guangdong) (i.e., an honorary position, as Duan was then the territory of Southern Han), and later the prefect of Jiang Prefecture (絳州, in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi).
[1] Gao was still serving under Li Siyuan in 926, when the Later Tang realm was overrun with mutinies in light of Emperor Zhuangzong's recent killing of major generals Guo Chongtao and Zhu Youqian without justification.
After the campaign against Wang Du, he was made the military prefect (團練使, Tuanlianshi) of Ying Prefecture (潁州, in modern Fuyang, Anhui).
[1] The next year, as Emperor Mingzong was preparing for an operation against the de facto independent Dingnan Circuit's military governor Li Yichao (李彝超), Gao was made the military governor of Zhangwu Circuit (彰武, headquartered in modern Yan'an, Shaanxi) to prepare for the operation.
With the Zhaos out of the way, nothing was left to block the Liao/Later Jin forces from advancing on the Later Tang capital Luoyang, and so, as Emperor Gaozu did so (Liao's Emperor Taizong opined that if he advanced on Luoyang with Khitan troops, the people would panic, and therefore chose not to), Li Congke and his family committed suicide, ending Later Tang.
[1] In 937, Fan Yanguang the military governor of Tianxiong Circuit (天雄, headquartered at Yedu) rebelled against Emperor Gaozu.
Initially, Emperor Gaozu ordered Gao to attack Yedu from the west, but then decided to attack Fan himself, instead making Gao the defender of Luoyang and the mayor of Henan Municipality (河南, i.e., the Luoyang region) to defend it in Emperor Gaozu's absence.
[16] In 941, as Emperor Gaozu went to Yedu, in anticipation of a rebellion by An Chongrong the military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei), he apparently moved Gao back to Luoyang — for Gao was referred to as the defender of Luoyang when, shortly afterwards, An Congjin the military governor of Shannan East Circuit (山南東道, headquartered in modern Xiangyang, Hubei) rebelled.
Shi Chonggui moved Gao to Guide Circuit (歸德, headquartered in modern Shangqiu, Henan), and gave him the greater honorary chancellor title of Shizhong (侍中).
In 944, during a major Khitan incursion (which, for some time, captured and held Yedu) to aid Yang (who had rebelled at Tianping Circuit), Gao was put in titular charge of the overall operations, but it was said that Shi Chonggui's trusted general Jing Yanguang, the commander of the imperial guards, was actually the one giving orders, causing the other generals to be displeased.
[18] During one of the battles, Khitan forces had Gao, Fu Yanqing, and Shi Gongba (石公霸) under siege at Qicheng (戚城, in modern Puyang, Henan).
Shortly after this battle, Shi Chonggui relieved Jing of his post as the commanding general of the imperial guards, putting Gao in that position instead.
[19] In 946, Shi Chonggui launched a major attack against Khitan, putting his uncle (husband of Emperor Gaozu's sister the Princess Song), Du Wei, in command of the army.
Further, he allowed the Khitan soldiers to pillage the circuits around Kaifeng, causing the people of the former Later Jin realm to rise in agrarian rebellions against Liao.
As an attempt to quell these rebellions, he began to send military governors back to their circuits, but had Khitan soldiers escort them.
[1] Eventually, apparently sick of the rebellions and the heat, in summer 947, Emperor Taizong decided to head back to Khitan proper, leaving his brother-in-law Xiao Han in command at Kaifeng as the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武).
[21] On the way back to Khitan proper, Emperor Taizong died near Heng Prefecture (恆州, Chengde's capital).
[22] Kaifeng was then virtually defenseless, as Xiao only left 1,000 soldiers from Lulong to serve as Li Congyi's guards.
Li Congyi's adoptive mother (Emperor Mingzong's concubine) Consort Dowager Wang knew that the situation was untenable, but initially unsure what to do.
She initially sent messengers to summon Gao from Guide and Wu Xingde (武行德) from Heyang Circuit (河陽, headquartered in modern Jiaozuo, Henan), hoping that they would support Li Congyi, but neither responded.
[22] Du agreed to surrender in winter 947, but Gao initially declined the Tianxiong command, as it neighbored Zhenning and he did not want further dealing with Murong.
To try to assuage concerns that Emperor Taizu may have about him, he repeatedly sent his attendant Zheng Lin (鄭麟) to Kaifeng to claim loyalty and to also spy on the imperial court, while submitting letters that he claimed were written by Gao in which the writer defamed the Later Zhou imperial government and offered an alliance with Murong.
[2] He was remembered as being brave and righteous, having great accomplishments but not arrogant, willing to personally face enemies in battle, and approachable with his staff members.