He Ning
In 936, Li Siyuan's son-in-law Shi Jingtang, then the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi), rose in rebellion against then-emperor, Li Siyuan's adoptive son Li Congke, and, with aid from Later Tang's northern rival Khitan Empire, defeated Later Tang armies that Li Congke sent against him. Li Congke committed suicide, ending Later Tang, while Khitan's Emperor Taizong declared Shi the emperor of a new Later Jin state, which then took over the former Later Tang lands. He Ning initially continued to serve Shi as imperial scholar, and was in 937 given the greater title of imperial scholar at Duanming Hall (). After his promotion, he initially posted a notice on his door that he would no longer receive any guests (apparently to avoid people's making requests to him). A former low level official, Zhang Yi (), however, wrote him and pointed out that, in serving as the emperor's eyes and ears, if he cut himself off from the public, he would not be able to observe what was occurring in the public properly. He Ning was impressed, and recommended Zhang to the chancellor Sang Weihan. In addition to being imperial scholar at Duanming Hall, he was also put in charge of the imperial treasury. Not long after, when the Duanming Hall positions were abolished, he was made chief imperial scholar (翰林學士承旨, "Hanlin Xueshi Chengzhi"). It was said that Shi often consulted him on key decisions and found his advice helpful.