Han Xizai

However, on the way, news arrived at Fu's camp that Li Siyuan's own army had forced him into joining the mutiny, so he tried to retreat back to Pinglu's capital Qing Prefecture (青州).

At that time, Han made the comment, "If Wu makes me a chancellor, I will surely invade and conquer the Central Plains."

[3] Upon his arrival at the Yang Wu court, Han Xizai submitted a petition in which he, describing his qualifications, used grand language that described himself as being learned in the Spring and Autumn Annals, military strategy from the Six Secret Teachings, having the capability of the Han dynasty strategist Chen Ping and the Warring States period debater Lu Zhonglian (魯仲連), and implicitly comparing himself to Fan Zeng and Jiang Ziya.

He stated to Han: Because you, sir, had long had a well-known reputation but had not had much experience, I labored you with various duties in the prefectures and the counties.

[7] Li Jing, however, did promote him to be Yubu Yunwailang (虞部員外郎), an official at the ministry of public works (工部, Gongbu), as well as an editor of the imperial history.

It was said that edicts that Han drafted were elegant, with style similar to those of the Yuanhe era of Emperor Xianzong of Tang.

After Song's associates Chen Jue and Feng Yanlu (Feng Yanji's brother) eventually were badly defeated by Wuyue forces during the Min campaign, causing Wuyue to be able to seize the former Min capital Fu Prefecture (福州, in modern Fuzhou, Fujian), Han proposed that they be executed, but Li Jing rejected the proposal, only exiling them.

[9] He was later promoted to be an assistant to the military governor of Ningguo Circuit (寧國, headquartered in modern Xuancheng, Anhui), and later restored his positions at Yubu Yuanwailang and editor of history.

Li Jing agreed, and thereafter made him the deputy minister of census (戶部侍郎, Hubu Shilang) as well as the director of the mint (鑄錢使).

[1] In 952, there was a rebellion by Later Zhou's general Murong Yanchao (a half-brother of Liu Zhiyuan, the founder of the predecessor Later Han, which succeeded Later Jin).

[10] Despite what Han pointed out, Southern Tang continued to frequently aid various rebellions against Later Zhou rule, causing irritation against Southern Tang at the Later Zhou court, such that, by the time of the reign of Guo's nephew and adoptive son Guo Rong (also known as Chai Rong), it did eventually launch a major attack against Southern Tang (which, incidentally, Han's old friend Li Gu initially commanded as a chancellor of Later Zhou, although Li Gu eventually had to resign before the end of the campaign due to illness) that greatly weakened Southern Tang by stripping it of its territory north of the Yangtze River.

By 964, however, Han had apparently been restored to be deputy minister of civil service affairs (吏部侍郎, Libu Shilang) and again put in charge of minting, with the intent that his iron-minting proposal be carried out.

Upon the implementation, Li Yu awarded him with 2,000,000 of the new coins, and made him the minister of defense (兵部尚書, Bingbu Shangshu), as well as imperial scholar at Qinzheng Hall (勤政殿).

At one point, Han was accused of not attending imperial meetings under false excuses, and was demoted to the purely honorary post of Taizi You Shuzi (太子右庶子) and sent out to the southern capital Nanchang.

After receiving the demotion, Han dismissed his courtesans, pleasing Li Yu, who then kept him at the capital Jinling as Mishu Jian, and later then restored him as the minister of defense, planning to give him greater responsibilities.

However, upon being restored to that post, Han summoned the courtesans back to his household, causing Li Yu to be exasperated at not knowing what to do with him and ultimately not making him chancellor.

At one point, he offered five volumes of epigrams to Li Yu, who wrote him and thanked him, and then made him Zhongshu Shilang (中書侍郎, the deputy head of the legislative bureau) as well as chief imperial scholar at Guangzheng Hall (光政殿學士承旨).

[1][18] In 968, after Han submitted a number of policy suggestions in the area of criminal law, Li Yu wrote back thanking him for the suggestions, and subsequently made him the military governor of Baisheng Circuit (百勝, headquartered in modern Ganzhou, Jiangxi) and gave him the honorary chancellor title of Zhongshu Ling (中書令).

[19] In 969, there was a time that Li Yu, after a hunt, visited the supreme court (大理寺, Dali Si) and personally interrogated defendants, freeing many of them.