courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...
Yuanzhi (), formally Duke Wu of Liang (), was a Chinese military general and politician during the
Tang Dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
. He was most well—known for his surprise attack on Cai Prefecture (蔡州, in modern
Zhumadian
Zhumadian (; postal: Chumatien) is a prefecture-level city in southern Henan province, China. It borders Xinyang to the south, Nanyang to the west, Pingdingshan to the northwest, Luohe to the north, Zhoukou to the northeast, and the province of An ...
,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
), then held by the warlord
Wu Yuanji Wu Yuanji (吳元濟) (783''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 145. or 793''New Book of Tang'', vol. 214. – December 12, 817Emperor Daizong. His father was Li Sheng, who would later rise to prominence as a major general during the reign of Emperor Daizong's son Emperor Dezong. When Li Su was young, on account of his father's accomplishments, he was first made ''Xielü Lang'' (), a low-level official in charge of music at the ministry of worship (太常寺, ''Taichang Si''), and later the deputy minister of army supplies (衛尉少卿, ''Weiwei Shaoqing''). His birth mother died early, so he was raised by another
concubine
Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive.
Concubi ...
of Li Sheng's, Lady Wang, who was created the Lady of Jin. When Lady Wang died, Li Sheng, because she was not his wife, did not have Li Su observe the mourning rites for a mother, but Li Su tearfully requested to be allowed to observe those rituals, and Li Sheng agreed.''
Old Book of Tang
The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...
'', vol. 133.
After Li Sheng died in 793, Li Su and his brother Li Xian () built a tent next to Li Sheng's tomb, intending to observe the mourning period there. Emperor Dezong, believing the conditions were too harsh, ordered them to return to their own mansion, but after they went home for one night, the next day they were at the tomb again, and Emperor Dezong allowed them to continue to observe the mourning period there. After the mourning period was over, Li Su was made a member of the staff of Li Song the
Crown Prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
. He later served successively as the prefect of Fang (坊州, in modern
Yan'an
Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an ...
,
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...
) and then Jin (晉州, in modern
Linfen
Linfen is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shanxi province, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the west. It is situated along the banks of the Fen River. It has an area of and according to the 2020 Census, a population of 3,976,4 ...
,
Shanxi
Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...
) Prefectures, and was given the honorary title ''Jinzi Guanglu Daifu'' () on account of his virtues. He later was recalled to again serve on the Crown Prince's staff, and later served as the head of the Crown Prince's household.
During Emperor Xianzong's reign
During the campaign against Wu Yuanji
It was said that Li Su was full of strategies and capable in horsemanship and archery. In 816, during the reign of Emperor Dezong's grandson
Emperor Xianzong
Emperor Xianzong of Tang (4 March to 1 April 778''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 14. – 14 February 820; r. 805 – 820), personal name Li Chun, né Li Chun (), was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. He was the eldest son of Emperor Shunzon ...
, imperial troops were conducting a campaign against the warlord
Wu Yuanji Wu Yuanji (吳元濟) (783''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 145. or 793''New Book of Tang'', vol. 214. – December 12, 817Zhumadian
Zhumadian (; postal: Chumatien) is a prefecture-level city in southern Henan province, China. It borders Xinyang to the south, Nanyang to the west, Pingdingshan to the northwest, Luohe to the north, Zhoukou to the northeast, and the province of An ...
,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
)) without imperial approval, two successive imperial generals put in command of nearby Tangsuideng Circuit (唐隨鄧, headquartered in modern Zhumadian) — Gao Xiayu () and
Yuan Zi Yuan Zi () (739 – July 19, 818), courtesy name Deshen (), formally the Duke of Huaiyang (), was an official and general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, serving briefly as chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Shunzong and Emperor Xianzong.
Backg ...
— had suffered defeats by Zhangyi troops. Li Su volunteered to serve in the campaign, and the
chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
Li Fengji
Li Fengji (; 758 – February 27, 835), courtesy name Xuzhou (虛舟), formally Duke Cheng of Zheng (鄭成公) or Duke Cheng of Liang (涼成公), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of ...
also knew of Li Su's abilities, and therefore recommended him. Emperor Xianzong thus made Li Su the military governor (''
Jiedushi
The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", "legate", ...
'') of Tangsuideng Circuit, as well as the prefect of its capital Tang Prefecture (), replacing Yuan.
When Li Su reached the front in spring 817, it was said that the Tangsuideng soldiers, having suffered many defeats, were fearful of war. Li Su first comforted them by stating that his intentions were not to engage in battles immediately, and further personally attended to the wounded, to try to raise the morale. He also acted as if he was not taking military discipline seriously and not taking precautions toward Zhangyi troops, in order to get Zhangyi's guards down toward him. With Li Su not being well-known and the Zhangyi troops having just defeated Gao and Yuan, Zhangyi did not take particular precautions toward Li Su.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 240.
Li Su, meanwhile, requested and received reinforcements from several circuits. He then began to carry out military actions in which he targeted Zhangyi officers, captured them, and then treated them well and incorporated them into his command structure, using their familiarity with Zhangyi's defenses against Zhangyi. Such Zhangyi officers he thus captured included Ding Shiliang (), Chen Guangqia (), Wu Xiulin (), Li Xian (李憲, whose name Li Su changed to Li Zhongyi (), and Li You. His soldiers were particularly displeased at his endearment of Li You, pointing out that Li You had killed many imperial soldiers, and further accused Li You of being an agent of Wu. Li Su, in order to calm the soldiers, delivered Li You to Chang'an, ostensibly for Emperor Xianzong to execute him — and instead sent a secret petition to Emperor Xianzong, stating that he could not succeed if Li You were executed. Emperor Xianzong thereafter pardoned Li You and delivered him back to Li Su. Li Su further abolished the former orders that those who took in Zhangyi spies would be executed — instead ordering his people that if Zhangyi spies arrived, they were to be treated with kindness. As a result, the Zhangyi spies were turned toward Li Su and informed him about the status of Zhangyi troops.
By summer 817, Li Su was formulating the strategy of making a surprise attack on Zhangyi's capital Cai Prefecture with Li You and Li Zhongyi, and he set apart 3,000 elite soldiers, calling them the ''Tujiang'' (), and trained them for this purpose. After a battle in which he failed in capturing Langshan (朗山, in modern Zhumadian), the Tangsuideng troops were depressed, but Li Su stated happily, "This fits within my plans." However, he could not launch his attack on Cai Prefecture at that time, with heavy rains drenching the land at that time.
In fall 817, in a battle where Li Su attacked Wufang (吳房, in modern Zhumadian), Li Su launched the attack on a day considered to be ''wangwang'' (往亡, i.e., a particular inopportune day for military action) on the
Chinese calendar
The traditional Chinese calendar (also known as the Agricultural Calendar 曆; 农历; ''Nónglì''; 'farming calendar' Former Calendar 曆; 旧历; ''Jiùlì'' Traditional Calendar 曆; 老历; ''Lǎolì'', is a lunisolar calendar ...
, against his officers' reservations, he caught the Wufang defenders unaware and quickly captured the outer city, forcing them to withdraw within the inner city. Li Su then withdrew to try to draw them out. Their commander Sun Xianzhong () thereafter attacked Li Su's rear. When Li Su's own soldiers panicked, Li Su got off his horse and sat on a chair, stating, "Anyone who dares to retreat further will be beheaded." His soldiers thereafter fought back and killed Sun. When they then suggested that he attack Wufang's inner city and capture it, he responded, "That is not within my plan." He then withdrew back to his own camp.
Meanwhile, with another imperial general,
Li Guangyan Li Guangyan () (761–826), courtesy name Guangyuan (), né Ädiz Guangyan (), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Tang Dynasty. He was known for his participation in various campaigns against regional warlords during the reigns of ...
the military governor of Zhongwu Circuit (忠武, headquartered in modern
Xuchang
Xuchang (; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province of China, province in Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe to the s ...
,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
), frequently prevailing over Zhangyi forces, the most elite Zhangyi troops were stationed at Huiqu (洄曲, in modern
Luohe
Luohe (; postal: Loho) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province, China. It is surrounded by the cities of Xuchang, Zhoukou, Zhumadian and Pingdingshan on its north, east, south and west respectively. Its population was 2,367,490 inha ...
,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
), to defend against a possible Li Guangyan advancement. Li You thus suggested to Li Su that the defenses of Cai Prefecture would be particularly weakened and that the opportunity was right for an attack. Li Su reported his plan to the chancellor
Pei Du
Pei Du () (765 – April 21, 839), courtesy name Zhongli (), formally Duke Wenzhong of Jin (), was a Chinese politician. He served a government official of the during Tang dynasty, as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Xianzong, Emperor Xian ...
, who had by this point been put in charge of the operations against Zhangyi, and Pei approved.
On November 27, 817, at dusk, Li Su launched the attack, from his then-base of Wencheng Fence (文成柵, in modern Zhumadian), without informing anyone other than Li You and Li Zhongyi what the intended target was. He had Li You and Li Zhongyi command the 3,000 ''Tujiang'' soldiers as first stage troops, with himself and the
eunuch
A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function.
The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...
monitor of the army commanding 3,000 soldiers as the second stage troops and the officer Li Jincheng () commanding 3,000 soldiers as the third stage troops. He attacked the village Zhangchai () and killed the Zhangyi soldiers stationed there, and then, with 500 soldiers requisitioned from Yicheng Circuit (義成, headquartered in modern
Anyang
Anyang (; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively.
It had a ...
,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
) remaining there to block off potential aid troops from Langshan and Ding commanding 500 soldiers to destroy bridges between Cai Prefecture and Huiqu, he continued to advance. After the soldiers had dinner, he announced that the target was Cai Prefecture itself — drawing much alarm from the officers and causing the eunuch monitor to cry bitterly, "We have fallen into Li You's trap!" At that time, there was a heavy snowstorm, such that Li Su's banner was torn, and some of his soldiers and horses were freezing to death, but he ordered continuing march forward.
Just before dawn on November 28, Li Su's forces reached the walls of Cai Prefecture. Li You and Li Zhongyi led their soldiers in climbing up the walls, catching the wall defenders in their sleep and killing them. Li You and Li Zhongyi then entered the city and opened the gates to allow the rest of Li Su's forces in. Li Su took over Wu's headquarters and had the inner city, his mansion, where he was, surrounded. Believing that Wu's only hope was if the key Zhangyi commander Dong Chongzhi (), who was in command of the forces at Huiqu, quickly advanced back to save him, he visited Dong's household and comforted Dong's family, sending Dong's son Dong Chuandao () to Huiqu to summon him back. Dong Chongzhi immediately abandoned his troops and returned to Cai Prefecture to surrender to Li Su. Li Su had Li Jincheng attack the inner city, and by this point, the residents of Cai Prefecture were assisting Li Su's attack. On November 29, Wu surrendered, and Li Su arrested him and delivered him to Chang'an.
Several days later, Pei arrived with the Zhangyi soldiers at Huiqu, who surrendered after Wu's capture. Li Su waited by the road to be ready to pay proper respect to Pei by military ceremony. Pei initially, in humility, wanted to avoid having Li Su bow to him, but Li Su pointed out that it was proper for them to demonstrate the proper etiquette for the imperial army before the surrendered soldiers and people of Cai Prefecture. Pei thus agreed.
Li Su then returned to Wencheng Fence. His officers asked him the reasons why he was not displeased about the failure to capture Langshan, the decision not to capture Wufang, and the decision to march forward in the snowstorm. Li Su responded:
After the campaign against Wu Yuanji
In the aftermaths of the campaign, Li Su's Tangsuideng Circuit was merged back into the circuit that it was split from — Shannan East Circuit (山南東道, headquartered in modern
Xiangfan
Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...
,
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
) — and he was made the military governor of Shannan East. He was also created the Duke of Liang. At his urging, Emperor Xianzong, who had initially wanted to execute Dong Chongzhi, spared Dong but still exiled Dong to Chun Prefecture (春州, in modern
Yangjiang
Yangjiang (, ), alternately romanized as Yeungkong, is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Guangdong Province in the People's Republic of China. It borders Maoming to the west, Yunfu to the north, Jiangmen to the east, and looks out to the ...
,
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
) to serve as its census officer. When Li Su subsequently submitted a list of 150 officers who contributed to the victory, requesting that Emperor Xianzong promote them, Emperor Xianzong was displeased by the lengthy list, stating to Pei, "While Li Su accomplished an uncommonly great achievement, he recommended too many people. Based on this, then, imagine how many people Li Sheng and Hun Jian could have recommended!" Emperor Xianzong thus did not act on Li Su's recommendations.
Soon thereafter, with Emperor Xianzong considering a campaign on the western border against Tufan, in summer 818, he made Li Su the military governor of Fengxiang (鳳翔, headquartered in modern
Baoji
() is a prefecture-level city in western Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China. Since the early 1990s, Baoji has been the second largest city in Shaanxi.
Geography
The prefecture-level city of Baoji had a population of 3,321,853 accordin ...
,
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...
) and Longyou (隴右, then also headquartered in modern Baoji) Circuits. Before Li Su could head to Fengxiang, however, Wu Yuanji's ally
Li Shidao
Li Shidao (; died March 8, 819''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 241.) was a Chinese military general and politician of the medieval Chinese Tang dynasty, who, as the successor to his brother Li Shigu, ruled Pinglu Circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern ...
the military governor of Pinglu Circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern
Tai'an
Tai'an () is a prefecture-level city in Western Shandong Province of the People's Republic of China. Centered on Mount Tai, the city borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the north, Zibo to the east, Linyi to the southeast, Liaocheng to ...
,
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
), who had, in fear after Wu's defeat, initially offered to surrender three of Pinglu's 12 prectures to imperial control, reneged on his offer. Emperor Xianzong, in anger, announced a campaign against Pinglu. Li Su was thereafter swapped in his posting with his brother Li Yuan () the military governor of Wuning Circuit (武寧, headquartered in modern
Xuzhou
Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...
,
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
), which bordered Pinglu to the south, as well as the prefect of Wuning's capital Xu Prefecture (). Once Li Su got to Xu Prefecture, he reorganized the troops into greater efficiency. At Li Su's request, Emperor Xianzong pardoned Dong and recalled him, and Li Su subsequently made Dong a commander in his army. Li Su subsequently engaged in 11 battles with Pinglu forces, prevailing each time. Around the new year 819, he captured the key Pinglu city of Jinxiang (金鄉, in modern
Jining, Shandong
Jining () is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong province. It borders Heze to the southwest, Zaozhuang to the southeast, Tai'an to the northeast, and the provinces of Henan and Jiangsu to the northwest and south respectively. Jinin ...
), and thereafter continued to capture Pinglu cities.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 241. Li Shidao was thereafter killed by his own subordinate Liu Wu, who submitted to imperial authority.
While Li Su was still at Wuning, one of his subordinates recommended the physician
Zheng Zhu
Zheng Zhu (鄭注) (died December 18, 835Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter./ref>''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 245.), probably né Yu Zhu (魚注), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. He became a trusted advisor to ...
to him, as he was often ill. Li Su's conditions improved after taking Zheng's medication, and he became closely associated with Zheng, such that Zheng became powerful over his staff members and were often interfering with governance. When the eunuch monitor
Wang Shoucheng
Wang Shoucheng (王守澄) (died November 3, 835) was a powerful eunuch of the Tang dynasty of China, wielding substantial powers during the reigns of Emperor Xianzong, Emperor Muzong, Emperor Jingzong, and Emperor Wenzong. By 835, however, two ...
found the situation to be inappropriate and asked Li Su to remove Zheng from his staff, Li Su told him, "While Zheng Zhu is frivolous, he is talented. You should try to meet with him. If you really find him to be useless, I will remove him." Wang initially did not want to meet Zheng, but eventually agreed. After he did so, he was also pleased by Zheng's amusing speech, and therefore also became closely associated with Zheng. Zheng, not wanting others to know about how he first became associated with Li Su and Wang, subsequently falsely accused the officer who had initially recommended him, and Li Su executed the officer.
During Emperor Muzong's reign
In spring 820, Emperor Xianzong died and was succeeded by his son Emperor Muzong. Soon thereafter, Li Su was given the honorary chancellor title of ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (). Further, in anticipation of potential further actions against two other circuits governed ''de facto'' independently — Chengde (成德, headquartered in modern
Shijiazhuang
Shijiazhuang (; ; Mandarin: ), formerly known as Shimen and romanized as Shihkiachwang, is the capital and most populous city of China’s North China's Hebei Province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about southwest of Beijin ...
,
Hebei
Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
) and Lulong (盧龍, headquartered in modern
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
) — Emperor Muzong made Li Su the military governor of Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern
Changzhi
Changzhi () is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Shanxi Province, China, bordering the provinces of Hebei and Henan to the northeast and east, respectively. Historically, the city was one of the 36 administrative areas (see Adminis ...
,
Shanxi
Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...
). Later that year, when
Wang Chengzong
Wang Chengzong () (died 820) was a general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty who served a military governor (''Jiedushi'') of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei). He, like his grandfather Wang Wujun and father Wang ...
the military governor of Chengde died, his brother
Wang Chengyuan
Wang Chengyuan () (801 – February 3, 834http://dbo.sinica.edu.tw/ftms-bin/kiwi1/luso.sh?lstype=2&dyna=%AD%F0&king=%A4%E5%A9v&reign=%A4%D3%A9M&yy=7&ycanzi=&mm=12&dd=&dcanzi=%AC%D1%A5f''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 17, part 2.), formally the Duke of ...
offered to return control of the circuit to the imperial government. Emperor Muzong, in response, moved
Tian Hongzheng
Tian Hongzheng () (764 – August 29, 821), né Tian Xing (), courtesy name Andao (), formally Duke Zhongmin of Yi (), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Tang Dynasty. Under his governance, Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered i ...
the military governor of Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern
Handan
Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shando ...
,
Hebei
Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
) — itself having previously been semi-independent from imperial rule but which had submitted to imperial command during Tian Hongzheng's governance — to Chengde, Wang Chengyuan to Yicheng, Liu Wu from Yicheng to Zhaoyi, Li Su from Zhaoyi to Weibo, and Tian Hongzheng's son Tian Bu to Heyang Circuit (河陽, headquartered in modern
Jiaozuo
Jiaozuo ( ; postal: Tsiaotso) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Henan province, China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yellow River, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the south, Xinxiang to the east, Jiyuan to the ...
,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
).
The Chengde soldiers, however, had long resented Tian Hongzheng, as during Emperor Xianzong's reign Chengde and Weibo forces had often battled each other. Initially, with Weibo soldiers accompanying Tian Hongzheng to Chengde and protecting him, they did not act, but as soon as Weibo soldiers returned to Weibo in summer 821, the Chengde officer
Wang Tingcou
Wang Tingcou (王廷湊 or 王庭湊; died 834), formally the Duke of Taiyuan (), was a general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty who, in 821, during the reign of Emperor Muzong, took over control of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shi ...
rose in mutiny and killed Tian Hongzheng. Upon hearing of Tian Hongzheng's death, Li Su changed into mourning clothes, and he stated to his soldiers:''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 242.
The soldiers all wept in sadness. Meanwhile, Niu Yuanyi () the prefect of Shen Prefecture (深州, in modern
Hengshui
Hengshui () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Shandong to the southeast. At the 2010 census its population was 4,340,373 inhabitants whom 522,147 lived in the built-up (''or metro'') are ...
,
Hebei
Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
), was not willing to follow Wang. Li Su, hearing this, sent his sword and jade belt to Niu, sending a message to him: "My father had used this sword to accomplish great things. I have also used this sword to capture Cai Prefecture. Now I give it to you, Lord, and you should use it to destroy Wang Tingcou." Niu was touched, and showed the sword and belt to his soldiers and stated, "I am willing to die for the empire." Li Su was then preparing an attack against Wang in conjunction with Niu, but suddenly fell ill again. Emperor Muzong thus made Tian Bu the military governor of Weibo to succeed him. Li Su was given the title of advisor to the
Crown Prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
,However, as there was no crown prince at the time, the post was entirely honorary. and allowed to return to the eastern capital
Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...
to try to recover from illness. However, he died there in winter 821. He was buried with great honors.
Notes and references
* ''
Old Book of Tang
The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...
New Book of Tang
The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...
Zizhi Tongjian
''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...
'', vols.
239
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Year 239 ( CCXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gordianus and Aviola (or, less frequently, year 992 ''A ...
243
__NOTOC__
Year 243 ( CCXLIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Arrianus and Papus (or, less frequently, year 996 '' Ab ...