Background and seizure of Yichang Circuit

Little is known about Lu Yanwei's background, as neither of the official histories of Tang Dynasty — the Old Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang — contained a biography for him. The first reference to him in the Zizhi Tongjian was in 885, when a mutiny at Yichang's capital Cang Prefecture (滄州) led to the expulsion of the previously military governor Yang Quanmei (楊全玫), who fled to neighboring Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing). The soldiers supported Lu to be their acting military governor. Then-reigning Emperor Xizong, however, did not make Lu military governor, instead commissioning the imperial guard officer Cao Cheng (曹誠) as military governor and Lu as the prefect of one of Yichang's three prefectures, De Prefecture (德州, in modern Dezhou, Shandong).

However, it appeared that Lu refused to allow Cao to report to Yichang, and continued to request a military governor commission; the imperial government repeatedly rejected his request. In 890, by which time Emperor Xizong's brother Emperor Zhaozong was emperor and was launching a general campaign against the major warlord Li Keyong the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi), Lu's neighbors Wang Rong the military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei) and Luo Hongxin the military governor of Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei) petitioned the imperial government on his behalf again. The imperial government, already locked in a campaign against Li Keyong, decided to commission Lu as military governor.

As military governor

In late 894, Li Keyong attacked and conquered Lulong. Lulong's military governor Li Kuangchou fled to Yichang. Instead of taking Li Kuangchou under his protection, however, Lu Yanwei was envious of the amount of wealth that Li Kuangchou brought from Lulong, and so attacked Li Kuangchou at Jingcheng (景城, in modern Cangzhou) and killed him, seizing his wealth and his followers, including his concubines.

As the years went by, Lu developed a reputation for being cruel and insolent in his relations with neighboring circuits. As of 898, he was locked in a dispute over the salt trade with Lulong's then-military governor Liu Rengong (whom Li Keyong installed). Liu sent his son Liu Shouwen to attack Cang Prefecture. Lu could not resist the attack, and therefore abandoned the city and fled to Weibo Circuit with his family. When Luo Hongxin refused to receive him, he further fled to Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan). That was the last reference in history about Lu, and it is not known what his fate was once he fled to Xuanwu.

Notes and references

背景及奪取義昌

盧彥威家世不詳，官修史書《舊唐書》《新唐書》均無他的傳。《資治通鑑》在光啟元年七月首次提及他：當時，義昌軍部滄州兵變，節度使楊全玫被逐，逃往鄰鎮盧龍。士兵推時任牙將的兵變頭領盧彥威為留後。在位的唐僖宗並未任盧彥威為節度使，而是任保鑾都將曹誠為節度使，而任盧彥威為義昌下轄三州之一德州的刺史。

但盧彥威拒絕讓曹誠來義昌赴任，仍要求獲任節度使；朝廷則一直回絕。大順元年（890年）六月，僖宗弟唐昭宗在位時，興兵討伐大軍閥河東節度使李克用，盧彥威鄰鎮成德節度使王鎔和魏博節度使羅弘信再度上表朝廷請求任盧彥威為節度使。朝廷鐵心要討伐李克用，于是任時為權知滄州兵馬留後的盧彥威為檢校尚書右僕射，兼滄州刺史、御史大夫，充義昌軍節度、滄德觀察處置等使。

任節度使

乾寧元年（894年）十二月，李克用攻占盧龍。盧龍節度使李匡籌奔義昌，想逃奔京師長安。盧彥威不但不保護李匡籌，還嫉妒李匡籌從盧龍帶來的巨額輜重，攻殺李匡籌于景城，奪取了他的輜重、部眾、僮僕、姬妾。

數年後，盧彥威殘虐，不禮鄰鎮。五年（898年）三月，他和李克用扶植的盧龍節度使劉仁恭爭奪鹽利。劉仁恭仗著先前剛打敗李克用，有吞併河朔之心，遣子劉守文攻滄州。盧彥威抵擋不住，率家眷棄城奔魏博，劉守文遂據滄州、景州、德州，自稱留後。羅弘信不接納盧彥威，盧彥威逃到更遠的宣武軍軍部汴州。

天祐二年（905年），盧彥威在左金吾上將軍任上被改任為左威衛上將軍。後事不詳。

鎮守滄州期間，盧彥威曾署李愚為安陵簿。但李愚因丁母憂去職。

軼聞

後晉開運二年（945年）正月，都城汴州封丘門外壕水東北隅水上有圖案，是大樹花葉發散香氣的樣子，相連數十株，仿佛圖畫，全汴州的人都去看。有認得圖案的人說：「唐朝景福年間，盧彥威治下的浮陽壕水也有這樣的圖文，當時就有高深的尼姑辭別郡人說：『此地當有兵難。』到了光化年間，其郡果然為燕帥劉仁恭所陷。」四年（947年），契丹滅晉。

注釋及參考文獻