Zhou Dewei

He started his service in the late Tang dynasty under Li Keyong the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi) as a cavalry officer.

As he grew up on the northern border, it was said that he gained the experience of watching the dust clouds created by cavalry and being able to judge the strength of the force that was proceeding.

However, they were defeated by Zhu's general Ge Congzhou, who subsequently cut off their escape path back into the Taihang.

[4] In 899, Ge tried to attack Hedong's main territory, and his deputy Shi Shucong (氏叔琮) advanced to Yuci (榆次, in modern Jinzhong, Shanxi).

The city almost fell, but eventually, with Xuanwu forces bogged down by rain and running out of food supplies, Zhu recalled Shi.

Later in the year, Li Keyong sent Li Sizhao and Zhou to capture Xi (隰州) and Ci (慈州, both in modern Linfen, Shanxi, not the same prefecture as the one east of the Taihang Mountains) Prefectures, which had become under Zhu's control when Zhu conquered Huguo Circuit (護國, headquartered in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi) earlier in 901.

[5] Later in 901, the powerful eunuchs at the Tang imperial court at Chang'an, believing that then-reigning Emperor Zhaozong of Tang and the chancellor Cui Yin were able to slaughter them, forcibly seized Emperor Zhaozong and took him to Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi), then reigned by the eunuchs' ally Li Maozhen.

[5] Subsequent battles in spring 902 in which Li Sizhao and Zhou engaged Shi and Zhu's nephew Zhu Youning (朱友寧), however, could not produce conclusive Hedong victories, and Shi was eventually able to defeat Li Sizhao and Zhou at Pu County (蒲縣, in modern Linfen).

Even though Hedong forces were in fact then able to further recapture Ci, Xi, and Fen (汾州, in modern Linfen), it was said that Li Keyong did not dare to again engage Zhu for several years.

Li Keyong, along with Li Maozhen (whose territory became Qi), Yang Wo the military governor of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu) (whose territory became Wu), and Wang Jian the military governor of Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu, Sichuan) (whose territory became Former Shu), refused to recognize the Later Liang emperor, and thereafter was effectively the ruler of his own state of Jin (as he had been previously created the Prince of Jin by Emperor Zhaozong).

Shortly thereafter, the Later Liang emperor sent the general Kang Huaizhen (康懷貞) to put Lu Prefecture under siege.

By spring 908, with Li Keyong having fallen gravely ill, Zhou withdrew to Luanliu (亂柳, in modern Changzhi).

Tell Dewei this for me: if the siege on Lu cannot be lifted, I would not be able to close my eyes even in death.Li Keyong then died, and Li Cunxu succeeded him as the Prince of Jin.

He put Ding Hui in nominal command of the operation, while he himself, Zhou, and Li Siyuan led the main attacks against the Later Liang centipede encampment.

For Zhou's contributions in saving Lu Prefecture, Li Cunxu made him the military governor of Zhenwu Circuit (振武, headquartered in modern Shuozhou).

The joint Qi and Jin forces put Dingnan's capital Xia Prefecture (夏州) under siege.

Liu refused to act, but Li Cunxu immediately sent Zhou to reinforce the defenses of Wushun's Zhao Prefecture (趙州, in modern Shijiazuang) and then prepared to personally aid Wang Rong.

However, Zhou, while dealing the forward Later Liang forces minor defeats, urged caution—pointing out that the area of engagement was not an open field and therefore the Jin cavalry advantage would turn into a disadvantage.

Li Cunxu initially refused to listen, but Zhou persuaded Zhang Chengye to also urge against immediate engagement.

By that point, the Later Liang army was low on food supplies due to Zhou's raids against their food supply route, and after a full day of battle, they were worn out and eventually collapsed when Wang Jingren's immediate forces moved, causing the rest of the army to believe that he had fled.

When Liu Shouguang sent a humbly-worded letter begging for peace, Zhou mocked him, stating:[10] The Emperor of the Great Yan has not yet offered sacrifices to heaven and earth.

)[11] While Zhou Dewei was a renowned general, governing Lulong posed a challenge that he had not faced before—dealing with the growing threat of the Khitan to the north.

However, after Zhou became military governor, he, overly confident of his own fighting abilities, neglected to maintain the defenses at Yu Pass.

However, they withdrew after Yang Shihou arrived and the Jin officer Cao Jinjin (曹進金) defected to Later Liang.

The Tianxiong army, however, did not wish to be divided, and they mutinied, putting the Later Liang-commissioned military governor He Delun (賀德倫) under arrest and forcing him to write to Li Cunxu to submit to Jin.

Li Cunju's urgency in collecting soldiers and horses drew resentment and fear from the people, and as he subsequently advanced south to join Li Cunxu, the soldiers mutinied and killed him, supporting his deputy Lu Wenjin to return to Xin Prefecture, but the defending officer of Xin, Yang Quanzhang (楊全章) refused to receive him.

The Khitan forces subsequently put You Prefecture under siege, and Zhou requested emergency aid from Li Cunxu.

However, it was said that after this battle, You Prefecture became constantly under the threat of Khitan, which would send raiders to cut off food supply routes to You.

Zhou pointed out that the Later Liang army outnumbered Jin troops and was highly motivated due t the closeness to their capital.

Zhou died in the ensuing confusion, along with his son, as did Li Cunxu's secretary, Wang Jian (王緘) the deputy military governor of Tianxiong.