[4] On account of his birth, even before he went through the rite of passage, he received the titles of deputy commander of the army at Peng Prefecture (彭州, in modern Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan) and commander of the guard corps at his father's Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi).
In the middle of Emperor Zhaozong's Tianfu era (901–904), he was made the acting military governor of Zhangyi Circuit (彰義, headquartered in modern Pingliang, Gansu).
[1] Probably after Tang's fall in 906, Li Maozhen, who was still using Tang's era name to signify his refusal to submit to Zhu Quanzhong (who had forced Emperor Zhaozong's son and successor Emperor Ai to yield the throne to him, establishing Later Liang as its emperor), but was effectively exercising imperial powers as the Prince of Qi,[5] gave Li Jiyan the honorary title of Kaifu Yitong Sansi (開府儀同三司), acting Taiwei (太尉), and military governor of Zhangyi, as well as of the troops originating from the Western Regions (Xiyu); he also gave Li Jiyan the honorary chancellor designation of Shizhong (侍中).
Li Cunxu continued to refer to him in respectful terms, and later in the year, created him the Prince of Qin.
His adoptive brother Li Siyuan, who had earlier rebelled against him as well, quickly arrived at Luoyang and claimed imperial title.
Upon hearing this, Li Jiyan returned to Fengxiang and apparently was able to take control of the circuit back without further resistance.
[1][9] In 927, there was an episode where Meng Zhixiang the military governor of Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu, Sichuan, formed from the main part of former Former Shu territory), who had married a cousin of Li Cunxu's and who was by that point in a strained relationship with Li Siyuan's imperial government, killed Li Yan, who was then serving as an imperial army monitor at Xichuan.
After the ceremony was completed, Li Siyuan moved him to Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered at Daliang).
[10] In 933, he again went to pay homage to Li Siyuan, and was thereafter made the military governor of Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern Tai'an, Shandong).
The imperial government, however, was dominated by his chief of staff Zhu Hongzhao and the chancellor Feng Yun, who were suspicious of Li Conghou's adoptive older brother Li Congke the Prince of Lu, who was then the military governor of Fengxiang, and brother-in-law Shi Jingtang, who was then the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shandong).
[11] Not wanting Shi to stay at Hedong for too long, in spring 934, they issued a series of transfer orders — transferring Fan Yanguang the military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei) to Tianxiong Circuit (天雄, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei), Shi from Hedong to Chengde, and Li Congke from Fengxiang to Hedong.