the general Liu Xun against Zhang. Liu Xun quickly put Taining's capital Yan Prefecture () under siege. By winter 919, the city was in desperate situation, but as the Jin and Later Liang forces were battling intensely on the Yellow River border, Jin was unable to send a relief force deep into Later Liang territory to save Zhang. Zhang sent Liu Churang to Li Cunxu's camp to beg relief. Li initially did not agree. Liu Churang went to the threshold of Li's tent and cut off one of his own ears, wailing, "If my request is not listened to, to live is worse than to die!" Li was impressed and was set to, despite the dangers, launch an army to try to save Zhang, but news arrived at that time that Liu Xun had already captured Yan and slaughtered Zhang's household, so the Jin army was never launched. Still, impressed with Liu Churang, Li made him a general in the Jin army. Shortly after, he was made the deputy protocol officer. In 923, Li Cunxu declared himself the emperor of a new state of Later Tang (as, he claimed, the legitimate successor to Tang), and shortly after conquered Later Liang. Liu received an honorary minister title, and was often put in charge of delivering orders to major generals on Li Cunxu's behalf. He continued to serve in that role after Li Cunxu's death and succession by his adoptive brother Li Siyuan, and soon was given the title of director of protocol (引進使, Yinjinshi). In 932, he was given an imperial guard general title in addition to being director of protocol. In 933, with the warlord Meng Zhixiang the military governor of Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu, Sichuan) having cut off communications with the imperial government, Li Siyuan sent Liu on a mission to Xichuan to persuade Meng to at least nominally submit. In 934, by which point Li Siyuan had died and been succeeded by his son Li Conghou, Liu was made the prefect of Xin Prefecture (忻州, in modern Xinzhou, Shanxi) as well as the director of the military storage on the northwest front, to help defend against the Khitan Empire. However, after Li Conghou was shortly after overthrown by his adoptive brother Li Congke, Liu was recalled to the capital in 935 to continue to serve as a general of the imperial guards. In 936, when