Li Weiyue
Encyclopedia
Li Weiyue (died March 9, 782) was the son of the Chinese
Tang Dynasty
general Li Baochen
. After Li Baochen's death in 781, Li Weiyue tried to succeed his father as the de facto ruler of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang
, Hebei
) and waged a campaign against the imperial government when Emperor Dezong
refused to let him do so. In 782, with his losses mounting, his own officer Wang Wujun
killed him and submitted to the imperial government.
Li Baochen had been a general of the rebel state Yan
during the Anshi Rebellion, but in 762 submitted to Tang imperial authority and was made the military governor (Jiedushi
) of Chengde Circuit. He effectively ruled the circuit as his own domain, semi-independent from the imperial government, and he wanted to eventually pass the circuit to Li Weiyue. During the time that Li Baochen served as military governor, Li Weiyue served as commander of the forces (行軍司馬, Xingjun Sima) as well as the prefect of Chengde's capital prefecture Heng Prefecture (恆州). Li Weiyue was considered young and weak in personality, so, as Li Baochen aged, he began to kill a number of officers that he viewed as potential threats to Li Weiyue. The only two major officers who escaped this fate were Zhang Xiaozhong
(who escaped the fate by remaining at his garrison at Yi Prefecture (易州, in modern Baoding
, Hebei
), refusing to return to Heng Prefecture even when Li Baochen summoned him multiple times) and Wang Wujun
(whose son Wang Shizhen
was a son-in-law to Li Baochen and brother-in-law to Li Weiyue).
refused and sent the imperial official Ban Hong (班宏) to visit Li Baochen. When Ban arrived in Chengde, he realized that Li Baochen had died, and Li Weiyue tried to bribe him to make a recommendation that Li Weiyue be allowed to inherit Li Baochen's position. Ban refused, and after he returned to the capital Chang'an
and reported this to Emperor Dezong, Li Weiyue announced Li Baochen's death and claimed the title of acting military governor. He had his subordinates submit a petition requesting that he be made military governor; Emperor Dezong rejected that petition as well.
Li Weiyue thus prepared for war against the imperial government, along with several military governors who were also ruling their circuits semi-independently and who had previously entered into alliances with Li Baochen — Li Zhengji
the military governor of Pinglu Circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern Tai'an
, Shandong
), Tian Yue
the military governor of Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan
, Hebei
), and Liang Chongyi
the military governor of Shannan East Circuit (山南東道, headquartered in modern Xiangfan
, Hubei
). Li Baochen's secretary Shao Zhen (邵真), hearing of these plans, tearfully begged Li Weiyue to reconsider, and suggested that he arrest Li Zhengji's messengers and deliver them to Chang'an, believing that by doing so, Li Weiyue might gain sufficient imperial trust that his request might be accepted. The secretary general Bi Hua (畢華), however, argued that the imperial government might still not trust Li Weiyue anyway, and if Li Zhengji then attacked, Chengde would be defenseless, and Li Weiyue agreed with Bi. Li Weiyue's uncle Gu Congzheng (古從政) also opposed resisting the imperial government; he suggested that Li Weiyue should leave Li Weicheng temporarily in charge of the circuit and personally head to Chang'an to pay homage to Emperor Dezong in order to gain imperial trust. Li Weiyue refused, and Gu committed suicide. Subsequently, Tian sent his officer Meng You (孟祐), along with 5,000 soldiers, north to aid Li Weiyue in defense of Chengde, while he himself launched preemptive attacks on Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in Changzhi
, Shanxi
), then controlled by the imperial general Li Baozhen
.
By fall 781, however, Tian himself was suffering defeats at the hand of Ma Sui
and Li Baozhen, such that he actually needed aid from both Li Weiyue and Li Zhengji's son and successor Li Na
(Li Zhengji's having died by that time as well). Meanwhile, pursuant to Emperor Dezong's orders, Zhu Tao
the acting military governor of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing
), had launched a campaign against Chengde. Zhu was quickly able to persuade Zhang Xiaozhong to surrender Yi Prefecture to the imperial cause. Emperor Dezong named Zhang the new military governor of Chengde and ordered that Li Weiyue escort Li Baochen's casket to Chang'an. Li Weiyue refused. In winter 781, Emperor Dezong formally declared Li Weiyue a renegade and removed all of his titles; he also decreed that those who turned against Li Weiyue would be pardoned and awarded.
In spring 782, despite the defense put up by joint Chengde and Weibo troops, Zhu and Zhang captured Shulu (束鹿, in modern Shijiazhuang) and then put Shen Prefecture (深州, in modern Hengshui
, Hebei
) under siege. Li Weiyue became deeply worried, and Shao again suggested to him that he submit to the imperial government — that he first send Li Weijian to Chang'an to declare his intent, and then kill the officers who would not agree, leave his father-in-law Zheng Shen (鄭詵) in charge of the circuit, and personally head to Chang'an to pay homage to Emperor Dezong. Li Weiyue agreed and had Shao draft a petition. However, the news leaked, and Meng informed this to Tian. Tian was incensed and sent his staff member Hu Ji (扈岌) to Li Weiyue, demanding Shao's death. Li Weiyue, in fear, beheaded Shao in Hu's presence, with Bi's encouragement. He then commanded 10,000 soldiers himself and joined forces with Meng, trying to recapture Shulu, with Wang Wujun as his forward commander. By this point, though, there had been rumors that Wang would turn against Li Weiyue. Wang, fearing that Li Weiyue would believe these rumors, intentionally did not use his best efforts in attacking Shulu. Subsequently, Zhu and Zhang arrived and defeated Li Weiyue, forcing him to flee back to Heng Prefecture.
Li Weiyue began to suspect Wang, particularly after yet another officer, Kang Rizhi (康日知), surrendered Zhao Prefecture (趙州, in modern Shijiazhuang) to the imperial cause, but his staff members urged him not to suspect Wang, as Wang was the only officer he could depend on by this point. Li Weiyue agreed, and put Wang Shizhen in charge of security while putting Wang Wujun in command of an army, assisted by Wei Changning (衛常寧), to try to recapture Zhao Prefecture.
As soon as Wang Wujun left Heng Prefecture, however, he considered surrendering to Zhang. Wei, however, persuaded him that it would be his best course to simply turn against Li Weiyue and capture him. Wang agreed, and therefore turned his army around and headed for Heng Prefecture. Wang Shizhen and Wang Wujun's associate Xie Zun (謝遵) opened the city gates to welcome Wang Wujun in. Wang Wujun captured Li Weiyue and executed his close associates, including Bi, Zheng, and the powerful servant Wang Tanu (王它奴). Initially, because of Wang Wujun's prior service under Li Baochen, he considered sparing Li Weiyue and delivering him to Chang'an. Wei pointed out that if he did so, Li Weiyue might blame the entire rebellion on Wang instead. Wang therefore strangled Li Weiyue to death, and then cut off his head and delivered it to Chang'an.
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
general Li Baochen
Li Baochen
Li Baochen , originally named Zhang Zhongzhi , courtesy name Weifu , known as An Zhongzhi during the Anshi Rebellion and Zhang Baochen 778–779, formally the Prince of Longxi , was a general of the Chinese rebel state Yan, who later submitted to and became a general of Tang Dynasty, from...
. After Li Baochen's death in 781, Li Weiyue tried to succeed his father as the de facto ruler of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang
Shijiazhuang
Shijiazhuang is the capital and largest city of North China's Hebei province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about south of Beijing...
, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
) and waged a campaign against the imperial government when Emperor Dezong
Emperor Dezong of Tang
Emperor Dezong of Tang , personally name Li Kuo , was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and the oldest son of his father Emperor Daizong. His reign of 26 years was the third longest in the Tang dynasty...
refused to let him do so. In 782, with his losses mounting, his own officer Wang Wujun
Wang Wujun
Wang Wujun , courtesy name Yuanying , né Monuogan , formally Prince Zhonglie of Langye , was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a long-time Jiedushi of Chengde Circuit during the reign of Emperor Dezong and ruling Chengde in a de facto independent manner...
killed him and submitted to the imperial government.
Background
It is not known when Li Weiyue was born. He was not Li Baochen's oldest son — as his half-brother Li Weicheng (李惟誠) was older than he was — but as Li Weiyue was born of Li Baochen's wife and Li Weicheng was not, Li Weiyue was considered Li Baochen's proper heir. Li Weiyue also had at least one younger brother, Li Weijian (李惟簡).Li Baochen had been a general of the rebel state Yan
Yan (Anshi)
Yan , also known as the Great Yan , was a state established in 756 by the Tang Dynasty general An Lushan, after he rebelled against the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang in 755. The state was extinguished in 763, with the death of An Lushan's former subordinate, Shi Siming's son, Shi Chaoyi, who...
during the Anshi Rebellion, but in 762 submitted to Tang imperial authority and was made the military governor (Jiedushi
Jiedushi
The Jiedushi were regional military governors in China during the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. Originally set up to counter external threats, the jiedushi were given enormous power, including the ability to maintain their own armies, collect taxes, and pass their...
) of Chengde Circuit. He effectively ruled the circuit as his own domain, semi-independent from the imperial government, and he wanted to eventually pass the circuit to Li Weiyue. During the time that Li Baochen served as military governor, Li Weiyue served as commander of the forces (行軍司馬, Xingjun Sima) as well as the prefect of Chengde's capital prefecture Heng Prefecture (恆州). Li Weiyue was considered young and weak in personality, so, as Li Baochen aged, he began to kill a number of officers that he viewed as potential threats to Li Weiyue. The only two major officers who escaped this fate were Zhang Xiaozhong
Zhang Xiaozhong
Zhang Xiaozhong , né Zhang Alao , formally Prince Zhenwu of Shanggu , was a general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, of Xi extraction. Initially he served the rebel state Yan, during the Anshi Rebellion, and later served the warlord Li Baochen...
(who escaped the fate by remaining at his garrison at Yi Prefecture (易州, in modern Baoding
Baoding
-Administrative divisions:Baoding prefecture-level city consists of 3 municipal districts, 4 county-level cities, 18 counties:-Demographics:The Baoding urban area has a population of around 1,006,000 . The population of the Baoding administrative area is 10,890,000. The considerable majority are...
, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
), refusing to return to Heng Prefecture even when Li Baochen summoned him multiple times) and Wang Wujun
Wang Wujun
Wang Wujun , courtesy name Yuanying , né Monuogan , formally Prince Zhonglie of Langye , was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a long-time Jiedushi of Chengde Circuit during the reign of Emperor Dezong and ruling Chengde in a de facto independent manner...
(whose son Wang Shizhen
Wang Shizhen (Tang Dynasty)
Wang Shizhen , formally Prince Jingxiang of Qinghe , was a general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty who served as a military governor of Chengde Circuit and ruled it in a de facto independent manner from the imperial regime.- Background :It is not known when Wang Shizhen was born...
was a son-in-law to Li Baochen and brother-in-law to Li Weiyue).
Resistance against Emperor Dezong
Li Baochen died in spring 781, and initially, Li Weiyue did not announce Li Baochen's death but forged a petition from Li Baochen, requesting that Li Weiyue be allowed to succeed him. Emperor DezongEmperor Dezong of Tang
Emperor Dezong of Tang , personally name Li Kuo , was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and the oldest son of his father Emperor Daizong. His reign of 26 years was the third longest in the Tang dynasty...
refused and sent the imperial official Ban Hong (班宏) to visit Li Baochen. When Ban arrived in Chengde, he realized that Li Baochen had died, and Li Weiyue tried to bribe him to make a recommendation that Li Weiyue be allowed to inherit Li Baochen's position. Ban refused, and after he returned to the capital Chang'an
Chang'an
Chang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...
and reported this to Emperor Dezong, Li Weiyue announced Li Baochen's death and claimed the title of acting military governor. He had his subordinates submit a petition requesting that he be made military governor; Emperor Dezong rejected that petition as well.
Li Weiyue thus prepared for war against the imperial government, along with several military governors who were also ruling their circuits semi-independently and who had previously entered into alliances with Li Baochen — Li Zhengji
Li Zhengji
- Background :Li Huaiyu was born in 733, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. He was born in Tang's Pinglu Circuit...
the military governor of Pinglu Circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern Tai'an
Tai'an
Tai'an is a prefecture-level city in western Shandong province, People's Republic of China.Centered around Mount Tai, the city borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the north, Laiwu to the northeast, Zibo to the east, Linyi to the southeast, Liaocheng to the extreme west and Jining to the south...
, Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
), Tian Yue
Tian Yue
Tian Yue , formally the Prince of Jiyang , was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who, from 782 to 784, claimed the title of Prince of Wei independent from the Tang regime...
the military governor of Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan
Handan
Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwestern part of Hebei Province of China.- History :Handan was the capital of the State of Zhao during the Warring States period , after the capital moved from Zhongmu. The city was conquered by the State of Qin after the virtual annexation of...
, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
), and Liang Chongyi
Liang Chongyi
Liang Chongyi was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Daizong, Liang took advantage of the army's discontent after the death of the general Lai Tian to seize control of Shannan East Circuit and hold it semi-independently from the imperial regime...
the military governor of Shannan East Circuit (山南東道, headquartered in modern Xiangfan
Xiangfan
Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in Hubei Province of the People's Republic of China. It was formed from two famous ancient cities, Xiangyang and Fancheng...
, Hubei
Hubei
' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...
). Li Baochen's secretary Shao Zhen (邵真), hearing of these plans, tearfully begged Li Weiyue to reconsider, and suggested that he arrest Li Zhengji's messengers and deliver them to Chang'an, believing that by doing so, Li Weiyue might gain sufficient imperial trust that his request might be accepted. The secretary general Bi Hua (畢華), however, argued that the imperial government might still not trust Li Weiyue anyway, and if Li Zhengji then attacked, Chengde would be defenseless, and Li Weiyue agreed with Bi. Li Weiyue's uncle Gu Congzheng (古從政) also opposed resisting the imperial government; he suggested that Li Weiyue should leave Li Weicheng temporarily in charge of the circuit and personally head to Chang'an to pay homage to Emperor Dezong in order to gain imperial trust. Li Weiyue refused, and Gu committed suicide. Subsequently, Tian sent his officer Meng You (孟祐), along with 5,000 soldiers, north to aid Li Weiyue in defense of Chengde, while he himself launched preemptive attacks on Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in Changzhi
Changzhi
Changzhi is a prefecture-level city in Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. It lies between the city of Huozhou in Shanxi and the city of Hebi in Henan....
, Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
), then controlled by the imperial general Li Baozhen
Li Baozhen
Li Baozhen , né An Baozhen , courtesy name Taixuan , formally the Prince of Yiyang , was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. He initially distinguished himself as deputy for his cousin Li Baoyu, and after Li Baoyu's death came into command of his own...
.
By fall 781, however, Tian himself was suffering defeats at the hand of Ma Sui
Ma Sui
Ma Sui , courtesy name Xunmei , formally Prince Zhuangwu of Beiping , was a Chinese general who served during the Tang dynasty. He was known mostly for his battles against the rebel generals Li Lingyao , Tian Yue, Zhu Tao, and Li Huaiguang.- Background and early career :Ma Sui was born in 726,...
and Li Baozhen, such that he actually needed aid from both Li Weiyue and Li Zhengji's son and successor Li Na
Li Na (Tang Dynasty)
Li Na , formally the Prince of Longxi , was a general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. Inheriting the post from his father Li Zhengji, he served as the military governor of Pinglu Circuit semi-independently from the imperial government.- Background :Li Na was born in 758, during the reign of...
(Li Zhengji's having died by that time as well). Meanwhile, pursuant to Emperor Dezong's orders, Zhu Tao
Zhu Tao
Zhu Tao , formally the Prince of Tongyi , was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who initially served imperial causes during the reigns of Emperor Daizong and Emperor Dezong, but later turned against imperial rule in alliance with Wang Wujun, Tian Yue, and Li Na...
the acting military governor of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
), had launched a campaign against Chengde. Zhu was quickly able to persuade Zhang Xiaozhong to surrender Yi Prefecture to the imperial cause. Emperor Dezong named Zhang the new military governor of Chengde and ordered that Li Weiyue escort Li Baochen's casket to Chang'an. Li Weiyue refused. In winter 781, Emperor Dezong formally declared Li Weiyue a renegade and removed all of his titles; he also decreed that those who turned against Li Weiyue would be pardoned and awarded.
In spring 782, despite the defense put up by joint Chengde and Weibo troops, Zhu and Zhang captured Shulu (束鹿, in modern Shijiazhuang) and then put Shen Prefecture (深州, in modern Hengshui
Hengshui
Hengshui is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, China. It has an urban population of 460,240 in the built up area and a population of 4,340,373 at the 2010 census in its administrative area...
, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
) under siege. Li Weiyue became deeply worried, and Shao again suggested to him that he submit to the imperial government — that he first send Li Weijian to Chang'an to declare his intent, and then kill the officers who would not agree, leave his father-in-law Zheng Shen (鄭詵) in charge of the circuit, and personally head to Chang'an to pay homage to Emperor Dezong. Li Weiyue agreed and had Shao draft a petition. However, the news leaked, and Meng informed this to Tian. Tian was incensed and sent his staff member Hu Ji (扈岌) to Li Weiyue, demanding Shao's death. Li Weiyue, in fear, beheaded Shao in Hu's presence, with Bi's encouragement. He then commanded 10,000 soldiers himself and joined forces with Meng, trying to recapture Shulu, with Wang Wujun as his forward commander. By this point, though, there had been rumors that Wang would turn against Li Weiyue. Wang, fearing that Li Weiyue would believe these rumors, intentionally did not use his best efforts in attacking Shulu. Subsequently, Zhu and Zhang arrived and defeated Li Weiyue, forcing him to flee back to Heng Prefecture.
Li Weiyue began to suspect Wang, particularly after yet another officer, Kang Rizhi (康日知), surrendered Zhao Prefecture (趙州, in modern Shijiazhuang) to the imperial cause, but his staff members urged him not to suspect Wang, as Wang was the only officer he could depend on by this point. Li Weiyue agreed, and put Wang Shizhen in charge of security while putting Wang Wujun in command of an army, assisted by Wei Changning (衛常寧), to try to recapture Zhao Prefecture.
As soon as Wang Wujun left Heng Prefecture, however, he considered surrendering to Zhang. Wei, however, persuaded him that it would be his best course to simply turn against Li Weiyue and capture him. Wang agreed, and therefore turned his army around and headed for Heng Prefecture. Wang Shizhen and Wang Wujun's associate Xie Zun (謝遵) opened the city gates to welcome Wang Wujun in. Wang Wujun captured Li Weiyue and executed his close associates, including Bi, Zheng, and the powerful servant Wang Tanu (王它奴). Initially, because of Wang Wujun's prior service under Li Baochen, he considered sparing Li Weiyue and delivering him to Chang'an. Wei pointed out that if he did so, Li Weiyue might blame the entire rebellion on Wang instead. Wang therefore strangled Li Weiyue to death, and then cut off his head and delivered it to Chang'an.