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Feng Yanlu (馮延魯) (died 972?), also known as Feng Mi (馮謐), courtesy name Shuwen (叔文), was an official of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Southern Tang, and briefly of Southern Tang's northern neighbor Later Zhou.

Background

It is not known when Feng Yanlu was born, but as his older half-brother Feng Yanji was born in 903, he must have been born after. His birth location was likewise uncertain, but whereas Feng Yanji was described as "from Guangling" (廣陵, in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu) in Feng Yanji's biography in the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms and Feng Yanlu's biography in the same work was silent, Feng Yanlu's biography in the History of Song described his ancestors as from Pengcheng (彭城, in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu) but his home as Xin'an (新安, in modern Huangshan, Anhui) — apparently coinciding with his father Feng Lingjun (馮令頵)'s service as the secretary of the bureau of salt and iron monopolies at She Prefecture (歙州, i.e., Xin'an), during Southern Tang's predecessor state Wu, suggesting that Feng Yanlu was born while, or around the time, Feng Lingjun served there. (Feng Yanlu's mother was described as Feng Yanji's stepmother, so Feng Lingjun probably married her after Feng Yanji's mother's death, although that is not completely clear.) While Feng Yanji and Feng Yanlu were half-brothers and would eventually be political allies, they did not have a good relationship, and neither did Feng Yanji with Feng Yanlu's mother.

In his youth, Feng Yanlu was known for his literary talent. During the reign of Southern Tang's founding emperor Li Bian, both he and Feng Yanji served on the staff of Li Bian's oldest son Li Jing. While serving at Li Jing's headquarters, Feng Yanji and Feng Yanlu had often advocated reversing the ban disallowing people from selling their sons and daughters into servitude, but Li Bian, agreeing with the advice of the official Xiao Yan (蕭儼) that that effectively would enslave the children of the poor in favor of the rich, disapproved. The official Chang Mengxi (常夢錫) often spoke to Li Bian against Feng Yanji, Chen Jue, and Wei Cen (魏岑), and Li Bian had considered removing them from Li Jing's staff, but had not yet done so by 943, when Li Bian fell seriously ill and thereafter died. Li Jing then poised to take the throne. Feng Yanji and Feng Yanlu were apparently put in charge of drafting the public will/final edict on Li Bian's behalf, and they inserted the provision allowing the sale of sons and daughters that they had advocated but Li Bian had disapproved of. Xiao submitted a report to Li Jing, pointing out Li Bian's prior disapproval. Li Jing reviewed Li Bian's archives and realized that this was the case, but decided not to strike that provision from the will, as it had already been published.

Before exile

After Li Jing formally took the throne, he entrusted much of the governance to Chen. Feng Yanji, Feng Yanlu, Wei Cen, and Cha Wenhui (查文徽) were all in close association with Chen and influential in decision-making, and they were referred to by their detractors as the "Five Ghosts." Shortly after Li Jing took the throne, Feng Yanlu was promoted from his-then position of Libu Yuanwailang (禮部員外郎, low-level official at the ministry of rites (禮部, Libu)) to be Zhongshu Sheren (中書舍人, a mid-level position at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng)) and imperial scholar at Qinzheng Hall (勤政殿). When the governor Du Changye (杜昌業) heard this, he lamented: "The state uses offices and honors to encourage its subjects. If one could, merely by being favored by the emperor, reach great positions, then how would one reward those who have accomplishments?" However, as Li Jing favored Feng Yanlu as talented, he did not consider the promotions as being too fast, and, as Feng, as Zhongshu Sheren, was in charge of drafting and issuing edicts on Li Jing's behalf, Li Jing would often make the pronouncement, "I am bestowing an edict on the scribe, Feng Yanlu!" Feng Yanlu would dance and take the edict, causing Li Jing to laugh. It was said that Feng Yanlu was often advocating aggressive military campaigns to try to make a name for himself. Feng Yanji questioned him, "If you are diligent and proper at your job, you will surely gain the emperor's favor and honors already. Why do you advocate danger to gain benefit?" Feng Yanlu responded, "I, your younger brother, cannot simply hide myself and wait to be chancellor through seniority!"

In 945, when Cha was commanding an army attacking Southern Tang's southeastern neighbor Min's then-capital Jian Prefecture (建州, in modern Nanping, Fujian), Feng Yanji, Feng Yanlu, and Wei, as his allies, all greatly advocated for his army to be well-supplied, such that it was said that the imperial treasury was entirely drained, and that the people of nearby prefectures — Hong (洪州, in modern Nanchang, Jiangxi), Rao (饒州, in modern Shangrao, Jiangxi), Fǔ (撫州, in modern Fuzhou, Jiangxi), and Xin (信州, in modern Shangrao) — particularly suffered. Cha was eventually able to capture Jian Prefecture and force Min's last emperor Wang Yanzheng to surrender, allowing Southern Tang to take over a substantial part of Min territory. However, Min's traditional capital Fú Prefecture (福州, in modern Fuzhou, Fujian, note different tone) was still in the hands of the warlord Li Hongyi, who was paying nominal allegiance to both Southern Tang and its northern neighbor Later Jin. When Chen volunteered to go see Li Hongyi to persuade him to give up his control of Fú, Li Hongyi was arrogant to him and refused. Chen subsequently forged an order in Li Jing's name, conscripting the troops of Jian, Fǔ, Xin, and Ting (汀州, in modern Longyan, Fujian) Prefectures and putting them under the command of Feng Yanlu so that he could lead a campaign against Li Hongyi. After Feng's letter to Li Hongyi to encourage him to submit was rejected by Li Hongyi, Feng headed toward Fú. He was initially successful in defeating Li Hongyi's general Yang Chongbao (楊崇保), and the Southern Tang forces soon put Fú under siege. Li Jing put the senior general Wang Chongwen (王崇文) in charge of the siege, while making Feng and Wei monitors of the army. While Wang was a renowned general, the campaign was hampered by the fact that Chen, Feng, and Wei were interfering with his authority, and the generals Liu Congxiao and Wang Jianfeng (王建封) were also disobedient of him. Li Hongyi subsequently sought aid from Southern Tang's southeastern neighbor Wuyue, which dispatched a fleet commanded by Yu An (余安) to try to lift the siege. When the Wuyue fleet arrived, its soldiers were initially not able to land because the Southern Tang forces were defending the coast to prevent their landing. Feng allowed them to land so that, in his mind, the Southern Tang forces could defeat them, after which Li Hongyi would feel compelled to surrender, despite opposition by the general Meng Jian (孟堅). Once the Wuyue forces landed, however, they attacked the Southern Tang forces with great ferocity, such that Feng could not resist them, and had to flee. When Feng fled, the entire Southern Tang army withdrew. Feng tried to commit suicide with his sword, but his attendant saved him from death.

In light of the defeat, Li Jing blamed the defeat on Chen and Feng Yanlu for the forged orders, and so he pardoned all of the other generals but considered executing them. However, when the official Jiang Wenwei (江文蔚) submitted an article of impeachment that severely criticized not only Chen and Feng Yanlu, but also Feng Yanji and Wei, Li Jing thought that Jiang was exaggerating and, in anger, demoted Jiang. He had Chen and Feng Yanlu delivered in stockade to the capital Jinling. After the senior chancellor Song Qiqiu requested punishment for himself as well for having recommended Chen to go see Li Hongyi, Li Jing, apparently relenting, ordered that Feng Yanlu be exiled to Qi Prefecture (蘄州, in modern Huanggang, Hubei) and Chen be exiled to Shu Prefecture (舒州, in…