During Emperor Zhaozong's and Emperor Ai's reigns Li Keyong

1 during emperor zhaozong s , emperor ai s reigns

1.1 expansion of power , confrontation imperial government
1.2 protracted warfare against neighboring circuits
1.3 campaign against wang xingyu , li maozhen
1.4 contraction of power

during emperor zhaozong s , emperor ai s reigns
expansion of power , confrontation imperial government

also in spring 888, emperor xizong died, , brother li jie (who later changed name li min, , li ye) prince of shou became emperor (as emperor zhaozong) yang fugong s support. emperor zhaozong bestowed honorary chancellor title of shizhong (侍中) on li keyong. meanwhile, in spring 889, li keyong had adoptive son li cunxiao , li hanzhi command army against meng fangli, capturing 2 of 3 zhaoyi prefectures meng held—ci prefecture (磁州, in modern handan, hebei) , ming prefecture (洺州, in modern handan). put meng s headquarters @ xing prefecture under siege. meng s officers resentful of heavy-handedness , refused fight him; in fear, committed suicide. supported brother meng qian (孟遷) succeed him try resist li keyong. meng qian sought aid zhu quanzhong, , zhu sent officer wang qianyu (王虔裕) aid meng qian in defending xing. spring 890, meng qian no longer able resist, , arrested wang , surrendered li keyong. li keyong took control of region , commissioned jinjun military prefect (團練使, tuanlianshi) of prefectures took mengs. thereafter, li keyong attacked helian duo @ yun prefecture, helian, aid li quanzhong s son , successor li kuangwei, repelled li keyong s attack. meanwhile, when li keyong subsequently visited zhaoyi review troops there, rebuked , whipped li kexiu on minor matters—food , lodging—causing li kexiu grow ill due anger , humiliation, , li kexiu died. li keyong made younger brother li kegong (李克恭) acting military governor of zhaoyi, people of circuit missed li kexiu s kindness , resented li kegong s harshness , therefore resented li keyong on li kexiu s death.

although emperor zhaozong became emperor due yang s backing, had long wanted restore imperial power on eunuchs , warlords, , therefore came close association chancellors zhang jun , kong wei, had similar ambitions imperial power, resist yang s hold on imperial government. li keyong, however, disrespected zhang, , zhang therefore resented him. in addition, zhang wanted assert imperial power waging successful campaign against warlord. when, in light of li keyong s unsuccessful campaign against helian, helian, li kuangwei, , zhu submitted petitions requesting emperor zhaozong condemn li keyong renegade , declare general campaign against him, zhang advocated same. emperor zhaozong, despite own initial reluctance , yang s advice contrary, agreed zhang and, in summer 890, ordered general campaign against li keyong, putting zhang in command of overall operations against li keyong official sun kui (孫揆) zhang s deputy, while ordering circuits around li keyong attack him. stripped li keyong of of imperially granted titles , offices.

at start of imperial campaign against li keyong, zhaoyi officers jushou , feng ba (馮霸) mutinied , killed li kegong. subsequently killed in disturbance, feng took on lu prefecture , submitted zhu. zhu sent officer zhu chongjie (朱崇節) defend lu, , li keyong had kang junli , li cunxiao put lu under siege. zhu quanzhong sent ge congzhou reinforce lu, while sending other officers attack li hanzhi @ ze prefecture. submitted petition emperor zhaozong sun, had been named military governor of zhaoyi, ordered report zhaoyi. zhang, had taken imperial forces, reinforcements circuits near chang an, , advanced yindi pass (陰地關, in modern jinzhong, shanxi), not wanting zhaoyi fall zhu quanzhong s control, agreed, , sent sun on way zhaoyi in fall 890. li cunxiao ambushed sun on way , captured him, causing great distress morale of imperial troops. (when sun subsequently refused submit li keyong, li keyong put him death.)

after sun s capture, li hanzhi , li cunxiao defeated xuanwu troops zhu sent zhaoyi, , forced abandon zhaoyi , retreat zhu s territory. (li keyong subsequently angered li cunxiao making kang acting military governor of zhaoyi, li cunxiao believed accomplishment warranted being given zhaoyi. li cunxiao began have thoughts of turning against adoptive father, did not act on thoughts @ point.) meanwhile, li kuangwei , helian attacked hedong north , had initial successes, capturing yu prefecture , zhelu base, counterattack li keyong s adoptive sons li cunxin , li siyuan subsequently defeated helian , li kuangwei, , withdrew in fall 890 well.

in winter 890, li keyong s main forces prepared confrontation imperial , western circuits troops @ yindi pass. han jian military governor of zhenguo circuit (鎮國, headquartered in modern weinan) tried ambush li cunxiao, defeated li cunxiao. after han s defeat, forces jingnan , fengxiang circuits abandoned positions , withdrew. remaining imperial/western circuit forces collapsed. zhang tried regroup , make counterattack, defeated hedong troops. troops jingnan, fengxiang, baoda (保大, headquartered in modern yan an, shaanxi), , dingnan (定難, headquartered in modern yulin, shaanxi) fled, leaving imperial, zhenguo, , xuanwu troops zhu had sent zhang, retreated jin prefecture (晉州, in modern linfen, shanxi). li cunxiao put jin under siege, concluded capturing zhang counterproductive—as hedong troops have no way of dealing zhang , imperial troops, whom not slaughter. lifted siege allow zhang , han flee. did so, , li cunxiao subsequently captured region li keyong. in light of zhang s defeat, emperor zhaozong, appease li keyong, exiled zhang , kong in spring 891 , restored of li keyong s titles, further bestowing honorary chancellor title of zhongshu ling (中書令) on him. satisfied, li keyong returned hedong.

protracted warfare against neighboring circuits

li keyong resumed campaign against helian in summer 891, putting yun prefecture under siege. fall 891, helian had run out of food supplies, , fled li kuangwei s lulong circuit. li keyong took on datong circuit , made officer shi shanyou (石善友) defender of datong. meanwhile, @ suggestion of li cunxiao (who had been made military governor of xingming circuit—i.e., meng fangli s old territory), li keyong launched attack on wang rong s chengde circuit in fall 891, after li kuangwei launched troops aid wang, li keyong withdrew ming prefecture. wang , li kuangwei subsequently counterattacked in spring 892, li keyong repelled them. li keyong , wang chucun subsequently attacked chengde indecisive results. withdrew, , later in year repelled effort li kuangwei , helian recapture datong.

meanwhile, winter 892, li cunxiao had become fearful , resentful after li cunxin had accused him of being in secret communications wang rong , zhu quanzhong. in reaction, li cunxiao in fact entered pact wang rong , zhu, , submitted petition emperor zhaozong, offering 3 prefectures controlled imperial government , asking campaign against li keyong. emperor zhaozong commissioned li cunxiao military governor of 3 prefectures, refused declare campaign against li keyong. in spring 893, li keyong put li cunxiao s headquarters @ xing prefecture under siege, , when wang rong sent troops try aid li cunxiao, li keyong defeated them, , shifted attention sieging wang rong s headquarters @ zhen prefecture (鎮州). li cunxiao joined wang in defending against li keyong, , both sought aid zhu, zhu locked prolonged confrontation shi pu , not come aid. li kuangwei, however, did, , defeated li keyong, returned xing , again put under siege. (the battle costly li kuangwei, however, brother li kuangchou used opportunity mutiny @ lulong s capital prefecture , seized circuit. li kuangwei, time, remained @ zhen prefecture wang rong s honored guest, when tried seize circuit wang rong, wang s guards killed him.)

in fall 893, when wang again tried come li cunxiao s aid, li keyong defeated him , again attacked zhen. wang, in fear, agreed stop aiding li cunxiao , agreed supply li keyong s troops food , reinforcements. thereafter, li cunxiao became without outside aid, , trapped inside xing s city walls. ran out of supplies in spring 894 , offered surrender, , did when li keyong sent lady liu inside city escort him out. li keyong put li cunxiao under arrest , took him taiyuan, ordering publicly executed drawing , quartering—but intending spare li cunxiao, due past accomplishments. li keyong expected @ execution, speak on li cunxiao s behalf, , spare li cunxiao without losing authority, of other officers jealous of li cunxiao , therefore did not speak up—and execution proceeded. after li cunxiao executed, fierce officer, xue atan (薛阿檀), whom other officers jealous of , in secret communications li cunxiao, committed suicide, , said point on li keyong s strength began wane—although around time, able defeat , kill helian.

meanwhile, point, zhu had defeated shi , taken on shi s ganhua circuit, , further trying conquer tianping circuit (天平, headquartered in modern tai an, shandong), under control of zhu xuan, , taining circuit, under control of zhu xuan s cousin zhu jin. both zhu xuan , zhu jin sought aid li keyong, , li keyong repeatedly sent aid troops them, permission of luo hongxin military governor of weibo circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern handan). meanwhile, after li keyong failed in sending lulong officer liu rengong, had fled him after li kuangchou s mutiny against li kuangwei, lulong take over, li kuangchou attacked hedong. in winter 894, li keyong launched major counterattack , captured lulong, forcing li kuangchou flee. (li kuangchou subsequently killed lu yanwei military governor of yichang circuit (義昌, headquartered in modern cangzhou, hebei), when tried flee yichang.) li keyong installed liu lulong s acting military governor.

campaign against wang xingyu , li maozhen

meanwhile, li keyong became involved in confrontation other military governors started on succession struggle @ hezhong circuit. wang chongrong had been assassinated in 887 , been succeeded older brother wang chongying. after wang chongying died in spring 895, hezhong soldiers supported wang chongrong s adoptive son wang ke—the biological son of wang chongying s , wang chongrong s older brother wang chongjian (王重簡). wang chongying s sons wang gong military governor of baoyi circuit (保義, headquartered in modern sanmenxia, henan) , wang yao (王瑤) prefect of jin prefecture displeased situation , engaged wang ke in battle; further sought aid zhu quanzhong, claiming wang ke not blood relation wangs. wang ke sought aid both imperial government , li keyong. emperor zhaozong sought mediate dispute. li keyong submitted petition citing wang chongrong s contributions , asking wang ke made military governor of hezhong, , emperor zhaozong approved it. wang gong, on other hand, allied himself wang xingyu (whom emperor xizong had made military governor of jingnan after killed zhu mei), li maozhen military governor of fengxiang, , han jian. wang xingyu, li maozhen, , han submitted petition asking wang gong given hezhong , wang ke transferred smaller baoyi circuit. emperor zhaozong, citing fact had approved li keyong s petition, refused.

this precipitated greater confrontation between wang xingyu, li maozhen, han, , imperial government. wang xingyu , han had each sought control of 2 bases under control of shence armies, , eunuchs in charge of shence armies refused yield them. further, wang gong claimed them wang ke , li keyong act against them. in summer 895, wang xingyu, li maozhen, , han decided force emperor zhaozong s hand taking troops chang an, on auspices of greeting emperor. once @ chang an, forced emperor zhaozong issue edict transferring wang gong hezhong, wang ke kuangguo circuit (匡國, in modern weinan), , wang xingyu s brother wang xingyue (王行約), military governor of kuangguo, baoyi. killed former chancellors wei zhaodu , li xi, whom blamed approving li keyong s petition, , further considered deposing emperor zhaozong , replacing him brother li bao (李保) prince of ji. however, point, heard li keyong had mobilized troops , therefore decided needed concentrate on defending against him. left troops @ chang control emperor zhaozong (under command of wang xingyu s brother wang xingshi (王行實) , li maozhen s adoptive son li jipeng (李繼鵬)), , returned own circuits.

li keyong, hearing news of actions wang xingyu, li maozhen, , han took @ capital, launched troops , issued declaration accusing them of treason. first attacked wang yao, killing him, , advanced hezhong rendezvous wang ke. advanced chaoyi (朝邑, in modern weinan), defeating wang xingyue there, , wang xingyue abandoned kuangguo , fled. when news of arrived @ chang an, wang xingshi , eunuch liu jingxuan (劉景宣) wanted seize emperor zhaozong , flee jingnan s capital bin prefecture (邠州), while li jipeng , eunuch luo quanguan (駱全瓘) wanted seize emperor zhaozong , flee fengxiang. erupted street battles between wang xingshi , li jipeng, along shence armies (which had taken over). emperor zhaozong s own personal guards fought off both wang xingshi , li jipeng, withdrew , headed jingnan , fengxiang respectively. emperor zhaozong, under protection of imperial guard officers li yun (李筠) , li jushi (李居實), fled out of chang , fled qinling mountains.

meanwhile, li keyong entered kuangguo s capital tong prefecture. emperor zhaozong, in flight, issued edict him , wang ke, ordering them attack wang xingyu, while ordering zhang fan (張鐇) military governor of zhangyi circuit (彰義, headquartered in modern pingliang, gansu) block off forces fengxiang. li keyong attacked han @ headquarters @ hua prefecture (華州, in modern weinan) , poised take it, when news arrived wang xingyu , li maozhen had launched own troops , planning seize emperor. li keyong lifted siege of hua prefecture , advanced toward chang an. sent officer shi yan (史儼) emperor zhaozong protect him, while advancing wang xingyu s possession liyuan camp (黎園寨, in modern xianyang). hearing of li keyong s victory, li maozhen became fearful; executed li jipeng , delivered li jipeng s head emperor zhaozong, seeking forgiveness, , sent emissaries li keyong, asking peace. emperor zhaozong agreed, , informed li keyong of decision pardon li maozhen, asking him concentrate on wang xingyu. emperor zhaozong gave 1 of beautiful concubines, consort chen lady of wei, li keyong.

emperor zhaozong declared general campaign against wang xingyu, putting li keyong in command of operations. li maozhen, despite sending emissaries emperor , li keyong, sent troops aid wang. li keyong asked emperor zhaozong extend campaign li maozhen well. emperor zhaozong disagreed, issued edict ordering li maozhen withdraw. winter 895, liyuan fell. wang xingyue , wang xingshi, @ ning prefecture (寧州, in modern qingyang, gansu), abandoned , fled. after li keyong defeated wang xingyu @ longquan camp (龍泉寨, in modern weinan), wang xingyu fled bin prefecture , defended it, while sending offers surrender li keyong. li keyong refused. wang abandoned bin prefecture , fled; killed in flight own officers, , li keyong took bin, instead of taking control of (or, li hanzhi requested, giving li hanzhi), recommended imperial officer su wenjian (蘇文建) military governor, , emperor zhaozong gave circuit su.

for li keyong s accomplishments, emperor zhaozong created him greater title of prince of jin, , bestowed great honors on li hanzhi , li keyong s chief strategist gai yu. meanwhile, li keyong secretly advised emperor zhaozong li maozhen should destroyed—and imperial government never have peace long li maozhen stood. emperor zhaozong consulted imperial officials, , number of them feared if li keyong destroyed li maozhen, impossible control, , emperor zhaozong therefore, while praising li keyong, declined proposal. sent li keyong edict declined have li keyong come chang greet him. li keyong left chang region , returned hedong.

contraction of power

this mark apex of li keyong s status far tang imperial government concerned, however. li keyong waging campaign in west, zhu quanzhong repeatedly defeating zhu xuan , zhu jing, , li keyong made repeated attempts aid zhu xuan , zhu jing. in late 895, sent shi yan , li chengsi (李承嗣), through weibo territory, rendezvous zhu xuan , zhu jing. in spring 896, again tried send li cunxin aid zhu xuan , zhu jing, zhu quanzhong warned weibo s military governor luo hongxin li keyong had designs on entire region north of yellow river, including weibo. further, li cunxin s army had poor discipline , pillaging weibo people went through weibo, angering luo. luo launched surprise attack @ night against li cunxin, defeating him , forcing him withdraw ming prefecture. thereafter, luo no longer permitted hedong forces passage through weibo, causing shi , li chengsi stuck @ tianping , no longer able return hedong, , luo thereafter became ally of zhu quanzhong s.

in summer 896, li keyong tried react attacking luo, , enjoyed initial successes in attack on luo s capital yu prefecture (魏州). zhu quanzhong summoned ge congzhou, attacking zhu xuan @ zhu xuan s capital yun prefecture (鄆州, not 1 in datong) , sent him aid luo. ge had soldiers dig pit traps on battlefield, , during subsequent battle, li keyong s son li luoluo (李落落) fell pit , captured, , when li keyong tried rescue li luoluo, himself fell pit , captured well, barely escaping life. li keyong tried sue peace zhu quanzhong, hoping ransom li luoluo; zhu quanzhong refused, , instead gave li luoluo luo, executed him. li keyong not able again engage luo, , withdrew. (without li keyong s further aid, zhu xuan , zhu jing not able stand zhu quanzhong s repeated attacks, , spring 897, zhu xuan captured , executed zhu quanzhong, while zhu jing, shi, , li chengsi forced flee south territory of yang xingmi, controlled huainan point.)

meanwhile, after li keyong s withdrawal chang region, li maozhen , han jian continued arrogance toward emperor zhaozong s court. in summer 896, li maozhen, believing emperor zhaozong s attempt reorganize imperial guards , putting imperial princes li jiepi (李戒丕) prince of yan , li sizhou (李嗣周) prince of qin in charge of them intended target him. launched attack against chang an. li jiepi advised emperor zhaozong flee hedong join li keyong, after emperor zhaozong left chang an, han made repeated overtures emperor zhaozong, , emperor zhaozong, officials feared long journey taiyuan, relented, , went hua prefecture join han. li maozhen entered chang , burned it. meanwhile, han, after showing deference emperor zhaozong, put emperor zhaozong under arrest, , put imperial princes whom emperor zhaozong had trusted death.

meanwhile, li keyong prepared campaign rescue emperor zhaozong. ordered liu rengong contribute troops, while inviting wang rong , wang chucun s son , successor (wang chucun having died in 895) wang gao join in campaign well. liu claimed not spare troops because needed defend against khitan incursions, despite li keyong s repeated orders. eventually, on 1 occasion, liu threw li keyong s order onto ground , tried assassinate officers li keyong had left @ lulong; barely fled lives. in anger, li keyong launched major attack against liu in fall 897, him taking lulong forces under liu s son-in-law shan keji (單可及) lightly, defeated @ mugua creek (木瓜澗, in modern baoding), losing half of troops, , lulong forces forced withdraw due storm. after battle, liu became independent , no longer under li keyong s command, entering alliance zhu quanzhong instead.

in spring 898, when wang ke went taiyuan marry li keyong s daughter, li keyong had adoptive nephew li sizhao defend hezhong (which point had been renamed huguo (護國)) on wang s behalf. meanwhile, zhu repairing luoyang palace , announcing invite emperor zhaozong move capital luoyang, li maozhen became fearful of potential attack zhu, , therefore repaired palace @ chang , invited emperor zhaozong return chang an, emperor zhaozong did in summer 898. @ same time, zhu rendezvoused weibo troops , launched attack on 3 zhaoyi prefectures formerly controlled li cunxiao (xing, ming, , ci); summer 898, had fallen zhu, put ge in command of them. li keyong lost last foothold east of taihang mountains. therefore, fall 898, when emperor zhaozong sent imperial official zhang youfu (張有孚) mediate enmity between li keyong , zhu, li keyong became willing seek peace, , tried use wang rong intermediary relay hope peace, zhu rejected overture, , enmity continued. in fall 898, li keyong sent li sizhao, zhou dewei, , li siyuan try recapture xing, defeated ge , forced withdraw. subsequently, wang gong, aid zhu, attacked wang ke again, wang ke able fend off attack aid li sizhao.

yet blow come li keyong around new year 899, however, when xue zhiqin (薛志勤), serving military governor of zhaoyi, died. li hanzhi, prefect of ze prefecture, had long wished control circuit again, , took troops , seized zhaoyi s headquarters @ lu prefecture. li keyong, in anger, sent emissaries rebuke li hanzhi, reacted arresting li keyong s officers @ zhaoyi , delivering them zhu, seeking ally zhu. while li sizhao thereafter captured ze prefecture , arrested li hanzhi s relatives, li hanzhi able hold lu aid zhu s officers zhang cunjing (張存敬) , ding hui. meanwhile, @ same time, zhu assisted luo in fending off major attack liu, , in light of victory, ge made incursion hedong territory, fought off zhou. li keyong able recapture lu after li hanzhi s death in fall 899, great difficulty.

in 900, when zhu tried attack north capture yichang, under control liu s son liu shouwen, li keyong decided come lius aid having zhou again attack xing , ming prefectures, zhou unsuccessful in capturing them. meanwhile, zhu attacked wang rong , wang gao in fall 900, forcing wang rong agree terminate relationship hedong, while wang gao fled hedong. wang gao s uncle (wang chucun s brother) wang chuzhi took on yiwu circuit , agreed cut off relations hedong.

in spring 901, zhu further wanted capture huguo put stranglehold on li keyong. had zhang cunjing attack , capture jin , jiang (絳州, in modern yuncheng) prefectures cut off potential aid li keyong, while himself attacked huguo s capital hezhong municipality directly. wang ke sought aid li keyong, zhang in control of jin , jiang, li keyong unable aid him, , when sought aid li maozhen, li maozhen made no response. wang ke forced surrender, , zhu took on huguo. li keyong sent peace emissaries zhu, , while zhu received them , sent emissaries of own, decided against peace afterwards. zhu launched five-pronged attack on hedong s capital taiyuan commanded shi shucong (氏叔琮), putting taiyuan under siege , capturing it. torrential rains caused disease , dwindling supplies zhu s army caused zhu order retreat. however, during campaign, meng qian, whom li keyong had given zhaoyi, surrendered zhaoyi zhu, , zhu thereafter able retain zhaoyi.

meanwhile, @ chang an, emperor zhaozong, had been deposed powerful eunuchs in late 900 , replaced son li yu crown prince, returned throne in spring 901 after being rescued shence army officers loyal him, had been considering proposal chancellor cui yin slaughter eunuchs. powerful eunuch han quanhui considered preemptively assassinating cui. cui, finding out, invited zhu bring troops chang kill eunuchs, , when eunuchs found out, they, point allied li maozhen, in turn seized emperor zhaozong , forced him flee fengxiang. zhu arrived @ chang , headed fengxiang, putting under siege. li maozhen sought aid li keyong. li keyong sent li sizhao , zhou attack jin/jiang region, 902, had been defeated shi shucong , zhu s nephew zhu youning (朱友寧), put taiyuan under siege again. li keyong s situation became desperate enough considered proposal li cunxin abandon taiyuan , flee yun prefecture (in datong). decided against proposal due urging of lady liu, li sizhao, li siyuan, , zhou. shi , zhu youning withdrew when army stricken illnesses, , said thereafter, several years, li keyong did not dare again confront zhu quanzhong. when wang shifan military governor of pinglu circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern weifang, shandong) did rise against zhu in 903 @ urging of han , li maozhen, li keyong wrote him , praised actions, made minor exploratory attacks against jin prefecture thereafter before terminating own campaign after hearing zhu had forced li maozhen surrender emperor zhaozong him , returned chang emperor zhaozong. subsequently, when emperor zhaozong, under zhu s pressure, issued edict eunuchs in empire slaughtered, li keyong saved eunuch monitor hedong, zhang chengye, , executed inmate in zhang s stead.

in spring 904, zhu killed cui , forced emperor zhaozong move capital luoyang. on way luoyang, emperor zhaozong made final attempt seek aid li keyong, yang xingmi , wang jian military governor of xichuan circuit, sending secret emissaries them, neither li keyong nor wang jian acted on call aid. (yang did, after making exploratory attacks gave on campaign well.) later in 904, zhu assassinated emperor zhaozong , replaced him son li zuo prince of hui (as emperor ai), , tang court came under zhu s complete control.

in 906, zhu launched major attack on liu shouwen, , liu rengong sought aid li keyong. li keyong refused aid liu, after advice son li cunxu, pointed out if zhu destroyed lius, no 1 else stand against zhu. li keyong requisitioned troops liu rengong , attacked lu prefecture. when reached lu, ding hui, whom zhu had given command of zhaoyi had mourned emperor zhaozong s death bitterly, surrendered, allowing li keyong regain control of zhaoyi, command gave li sizhao. hearing ding had surrendered zhaoyi, zhu gave campaign against liu shouwen , withdrew.