Zhang Renyuan - During Emperor Zhongzong's Second Reign

During Emperor Zhongzong's Second Reign

In 705, Wu Zetian was overthrown in a coup, and her son and crown prince Li Xian (Li Dan's older brother, also former emperor, who had replaced him as crown prince in 698) was restored (as Emperor Zhongzong). In 706, when Emperor Zhongzong was returning from Luoyang, which Wu Zetian had made capital, to the old Tang capital Chang'an, he made Zhang Rendan one of the commanding generals of the imperial guards and the acting secretary general of Luo Prefecture (洛州, i.e., Luoyang), in charge of Luoyang. At that time, grain was expensive at Luoyang, and there were many grain thieves. Zhang captured them and caned them to death, and after the bodies stacked up, no one dared to steal grain any more.

In 707, after another Eastern Tujue incursion that saw the Tang general Shazha Zhongyi (沙吒忠義) defeated by Ashina Mochuo, Emperor Zhongzong commissioned Zhang to replace Shazha as the general in charge of the Shuofang region (i.e., northern Shanxi and northern Shaanxi). When he arrived at the army camp, Eastern Tujue forces were withdrawing, and he made a surprise attack against them, inflicting much losses.

In 708, while Ashina Mochuo was busy fighting with Tuqishi (突騎施) forces in the Xiyu region, Zhang wanted to take advantage of Ashina Mochuo's absence to cross the Yellow River in the bend region (in modern western central Inner Mongolia), which had served as the de facto border of Tang and Eastern Tujue, and he submitted a proposal to build three forts north of the river to cut off the route that Eastern Tujue usually took in invading Tang territory. (Under the proposal, the eastern fort would be built in modern Hohhot; the central fort would be built in modern Baotou; and the western fort would be built in modern Bayan Nur.) The chancellor Tang Xiujing, himself a successful general, opposed, believing that the forts would be difficult to defend and would eventually fall into Eastern Tujue hands, but after repeated requests by Zhang, Emperor Zhongzong approved. The forts were completed in 60 days, and Zhang further built scout stations north of Mount Niutouchaona (牛頭朝那山, in modern Baotou). Apparently also at his suggestion, the ethnically Tufan general Lun Gongren (論弓仁) was made the forward commander of an army that patrolled the Nuozhen River (諾真水, flowing through modern Baotou). It was said that thereafter, Eastern Tujue forces did not dare to cross the Yin Mountains, and the northern prefectures of the empire no longer needed to worry about Eastern Tujue attacks, allowing defense forces to be decreased in size.

The three forts built by Zhang had gates that did not have a secondary gate inside the primary gate, and also did not have defensive bulwarks. When he was asked the reason, he stated:

Military action calls for acting conduct, not defense. If enemies emerged, the soldiers need to fight hard, and those who even dared to look back at the walls should be beheaded. Why should there be defensive bulwarks to allow soldiers to have fearful hearts?

It was only later when another general, Chang Yuankai (常元楷), replaced him that the secondary gates were built, and it was said that the people at the time, as a result, respected Zhang and disrespected Chang. It was also said that while he was commanding the forces in Shuofang, he had retained on his staff such officials as Zhang Jingzhong (張敬中), He Luan (何鸞), Kou Ci (寇泚), Wang Yicong (王易從), Liu Tiwei (劉體微), Liu Yanzhao (柳彥昭), and Chao Liangzhen (晁良貞). These officials were capable, and later became important officials in the administration, leading to people praising Zhang Rendan for his ability to select officials.

Later in 708, Zhang was given the designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin (同中書門下三品), making him a chancellor de facto. He was also created the Duke of Han. Under this arrangement, he would return to Chang'an in the spring to serve as chancellor, and in the fall he would again go to Shuofang to defend the border. On an occasion when he departed, Emperor Zhongzong personally wrote a poem to send him off and awarded him with much treasure.