Tutu Chengcui
Encyclopedia
Tutu Chengcui (died 820), courtesy name Renzhen (仁貞), was a powerful eunuch of the Chinese
dynasty Tang Dynasty
, during the reign of Emperor Xianzong
.
), it would appear doubtful, as Tutu was largely a Xianbei
surname. Early in his career as an eunuch
, he served at the eastern palace (i.e., the Crown Prince
's palace) and later served as a supervising eunuch at the textile agency (掖庭局, Yiting Ju) within the eunuch bureau (內侍省, Neishi Sheng). It was said that he was dextrous, intelligent, and capable. While he was serving at the Crown Prince's palace, he served under Li Chun
the Prince of Guangling, a son of then-crown prince Li Song
(who was a son of then-reigning Emperor Dezong
).
, Emperor Dezong died, and Li Song became emperor (as Emperor Shunzong), but as Emperor Shunzong was himself severely ill at that point, he yielded the throne to Li Chun later in the year (as Emperor Xianzong). Emperor Xianzong made Tutu Chengcui Neichangshi (內常侍) — the secretary general of the eunuch bureau, serving as the acting head of the eunuch bureau. In 806
, Tutu was also made the commander (中尉, Zhongwei) of the Left Shence Army
(左神策軍), as well as the director of religious affairs (功德使, Gongdeshi).
In 809
, one of the key military governors (Jiedushi
) who had been ruling their circuits in a de facto independent manner — Wang Shizhen
the military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang
, Hebei
) — died. Wang Shizhen's son Wang Chengzong
declared himself acting military governor. In the past, these successions were routinely approved by the imperial government, but Emperor Xianzong, wanting to reassert imperial authority, hesitated in doing so and considered taking the control of Chengde back by force. The chancellor Pei Ji
opposed military action, but Tutu volunteered to command an army against Wang Chengzong. Meanwhile, Lu Congshi (盧從史) the military governor of Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern Changzhi
, Shanxi
) wanted imperial favor, and offered, through Tutu, to attack Wang as well, causing Emperor Xianzong to consider military action further.
Meanwhile, around the same time, there was an incident where Tutu, in his role as director of religious affairs, remodeled Anguo Temple (安國寺) and, in the process, built a magnificent stele
and asked for Emperor Xianzong to designate an official to author the text of the stele, to praise Emperor Xianzong. Emperor Xianzong asked the imperial scholar Li Jiang
to do so, but Li Jiang pointed out that of the great rulers of antiquity, none erected monuments to praise himself, and the poorly-regarded Qin Shi Huang
did. Emperor Xianzong thus ordered Tutu to destroy the stele.
To resolve the standoff, Wang Chengzong offered to surrender two of Chengde's six prefectures — De (德州, in modern Dezhou
, Shandong
) and Di (棣州, in modern Binzhou
, Shandong
) — to imperial control as a new Baoxin Circuit. Emperor Xianzong was set to accept the offer and make Wang military governor, but Wang soon retracted the offer and arrested Xue Changchao (薛昌朝), whom Emperor Xianzong was set to commission as the military governor of Baoxin. In winter 809, Emperor Xianzong stripped Wang of his titles and commissioned Tutu as the commander of the forces against Chengde. Many officials, including Bai Juyi, Li Yuansu (李元素), Li Yong, Xu Mengrong (許孟容), Li Yijian
, Meng Jian (孟簡), Lü Yuanying (呂元膺), Mu Zhi (穆質), and Dugu Yu (獨孤郁), opposed the commission, arguing that generals would feel ashamed serving under a eunuch. Emperor Xianzong reduced Tutu's title slightly but kept him in command.
In spring 810
, Tutu arrived at the northern front against Chengde, but it was said that he lacked the respect of the generals, and the military actions were therefore less than successful. In particular, after one key imperial general, Li Dingjin (酈定進) was killed in battle, the morale took a major blow. Meanwhile, Tutu and Emperor Xianzong became aware that while Lu Congshi had initially encouraged military action against Chengde, he was actually secretly in communications with Chengde and interfering with the military action. Tutu thus befriended Lu by giving Lu various treasures as gifts. Once Lu's guard was down, on one occasion when Lu was at Tutu's headquarters, Tutu had him arrested and had Lu's subordinate Wu Chongyin
take control of the Zhaoyi army. Tutu subsequently recommended Wu to succeed Lu, but at the suggestion of Li Jiang, Emperor Xianzong made Wu the military governor of Heyang Circuit (河陽, headquartered in modern Luoyang
, Henan
) and made Meng Yuanyang (孟元陽) the military governor of Heyang Circuit the new military governor of Zhaoyi. After Lu's arrest, Wang submitted a petition offering to submit and accusing Lu of having alienated him from the imperial government. As imperial forces were having no success against Wang by that point, Emperor Xianzong recalled Tutu's army and exonerated Wang and his soldiers, making Wang the military governor of Chengde.
After Tutu returned to the capital Chang'an
, Emperor Xianzong initially had him resume the command of the Left Shence Army. However, Pei, Duan Pingzhong (段平仲), Lü, and Li Jiang all advocated that, because Tutu was unable to defeat Wang as he promised, he should be punished. Emperor Xianzong, in response, demoted Tutu to be the director of armory supplies (軍器使, Junqishi). It was said that people celebrated Tutu's demotion.
In 811
, Tutu's subordinate Liu Xiguang (劉希光) was found to have received bribes from the general Sun Rui (孫瑞) to help make Sun a military governor. Liu was forced to commit suicide, and during the investigation, Tutu was implicated. Emperor Xianzong thus demoted Tutu out of the capital to serve as the monitoring eunuch at Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou
, Jiangsu
).
While Tutu was at Huainan, Li Yong served as military governor. It was said that while Li Yong was strict and stern, he and Tutu respected each other and did not interfere with each other. Meanwhile, in 814
, with Li Jiang, who was then chancellor, repeatedly offering to resign due to a foot illness, Emperor Xianzong removed Li Jiang from his chancellor position and made him the minister of rites, with an eye toward recalling Tutu after that. He soon did so, and Tutu was again made the director of armory supplies as well as the commander of the Left Shence Army. Appreciative of the mutual respect that he had with Li Yong, in 817
, he recommended Li Yong to be chancellor, and Emperor Xianzong thus recalled Li Yong to be chancellor. However, Li Yong found it shameful to be recommended by a eunuch, and upon arrival in Chang'an, he offered to resign and refused to meet his subordinates as chancellor or to carry out the duties of chancellor. Emperor Xianzong made Li Yijian chancellor instead. Meanwhile, in 818
, also at Tutu's recommendation, Emperor Xianzong made Huangfu Bo
a chancellor as well.
, who was not born of his wife Consort Guo
, crown prince, but Li Ning died in 811. After Li Ning's death, Tutu suggested that Emperor Xianzong's next oldest son, Li Kuan (李寬) the Prince of Li (whose name was later changed to Li Yun (李惲)), be created crown prince. Emperor Xianzong disagreed and created Consort Guo's son Li You
the Prince of Sui (whose name was soon changed to Li Heng) crown prince instead. Despite this, Tutu continued to advocate for Li Yun's ascension, particularly after his recall. In 820
, when Emperor Xianzong grew ill, it was said that Tutu was plotting to have Li Yun become emperor, such that Li Heng feared for his own safety.
In spring 820, Emperor Xianzong died suddenly — and historians generally believed that it was the eunuch Chen Hongzhi (陳弘志) who murdered him. The eunuchs Liang Shouqian (梁守謙), Ma Jintan (馬進潭), Liu Chengjie (劉承偕), Wei Yuansu (韋元素), and Wang Shoucheng
, had Tutu and Li Yun killed, and they supported Li Heng to succeed to the throne (as Emperor Muzong). During the reign of Emperor Muzong's son Emperor Jingzong
, the eunuch Ma Cunliang (馬存亮) submitted a petition listing the accomplishments of Tutu, and Emperor Jingzong allowed Tutu's adopted son Tutu Shiye (吐突士曄) to have Tutu Chengcui reburied properly. During the subsequent reign of another of son of Emperor Xianzong's, Emperor Xuānzong
, Tutu Shiye was further promoted to be commander of the Right Shence Army (右神策軍).
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...
dynasty 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...
, during the reign of Emperor Xianzong
Emperor Xianzong of Tang
Emperor Xianzong of Tang , personal name Li Chun , né Li Chun , was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty...
.
Background
It is not known when Tutu Chengcui was born — or whether he was originally surnamed Tutu, although, as it is known that he was from the Min region (閩, roughly modern FujianFujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
), it would appear doubtful, as Tutu was largely a Xianbei
Xianbei
The Xianbei were a significant Mongolic nomadic people residing in Manchuria, Inner Mongolia and eastern Mongolia. The title “Khan” was first used among the Xianbei.-Origins:...
surname. Early in his career as an eunuch
Eunuch
A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...
, he served at the eastern palace (i.e., the Crown Prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
's palace) and later served as a supervising eunuch at the textile agency (掖庭局, Yiting Ju) within the eunuch bureau (內侍省, Neishi Sheng). It was said that he was dextrous, intelligent, and capable. While he was serving at the Crown Prince's palace, he served under Li Chun
Emperor Xianzong of Tang
Emperor Xianzong of Tang , personal name Li Chun , né Li Chun , was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty...
the Prince of Guangling, a son of then-crown prince Li Song
Emperor Shunzong of Tang
Emperor Shunzong of Tang , personal name Li Song , was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. He was created crown prince in 779 and became emperor in 805 after the death of his father Emperor Dezong, of whom he was the oldest son...
(who was a son of then-reigning 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...
).
During Emperor Xianzong's reign
In 805805
Year 805 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Byzantine Empire :* Emperor Nicephorus I of Byzantium suffers a major defeat against the Saracens at Crasus.- Asia :...
, Emperor Dezong died, and Li Song became emperor (as Emperor Shunzong), but as Emperor Shunzong was himself severely ill at that point, he yielded the throne to Li Chun later in the year (as Emperor Xianzong). Emperor Xianzong made Tutu Chengcui Neichangshi (內常侍) — the secretary general of the eunuch bureau, serving as the acting head of the eunuch bureau. In 806
806
Year 806 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* Emperor Heizei succeeds Emperor Kammu as Emperor of Japan....
, Tutu was also made the commander (中尉, Zhongwei) of the Left Shence Army
Shence Army
The Shence Army was a Tang Dynasty Chinese army unit based in Chang’an City which formed the primary imperial guard responsible for protecting the emperor. It was set up in 754 CE by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and placed under the command of Longyou Military Governor Geshu Han...
(左神策軍), as well as the director of religious affairs (功德使, Gongdeshi).
In 809
809
Year 809 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* Emperor Saga succeeds Emperor Heizei as emperor of Japan.* Nagabhatta is defeated in India.- Births :* date unknown...
, one of the key military governors (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...
) who had been ruling their circuits in a de facto independent manner — 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...
the military governor 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...
) — died. Wang Shizhen's son Wang Chengzong
Wang Chengzong
Wang Chengzong was a general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty who served a military governor of Chengde Circuit...
declared himself acting military governor. In the past, these successions were routinely approved by the imperial government, but Emperor Xianzong, wanting to reassert imperial authority, hesitated in doing so and considered taking the control of Chengde back by force. The chancellor Pei Ji
Pei Ji (Late Tang)
Pei Ji , courtesy name Hongzhong , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xianzong.- Background :...
opposed military action, but Tutu volunteered to command an army against Wang Chengzong. Meanwhile, Lu Congshi (盧從史) the military governor of Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern 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....
) wanted imperial favor, and offered, through Tutu, to attack Wang as well, causing Emperor Xianzong to consider military action further.
Meanwhile, around the same time, there was an incident where Tutu, in his role as director of religious affairs, remodeled Anguo Temple (安國寺) and, in the process, built a magnificent stele
Stele
A stele , also stela , is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerals or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living — inscribed, carved in relief , or painted onto the slab...
and asked for Emperor Xianzong to designate an official to author the text of the stele, to praise Emperor Xianzong. Emperor Xianzong asked the imperial scholar Li Jiang
Li Jiang
Li Jiang , courtesy name Shenzhi , formally Duke Zhen of Zhao Commandery , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xianzong.- Background :...
to do so, but Li Jiang pointed out that of the great rulers of antiquity, none erected monuments to praise himself, and the poorly-regarded Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang , personal name Ying Zheng , was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC...
did. Emperor Xianzong thus ordered Tutu to destroy the stele.
To resolve the standoff, Wang Chengzong offered to surrender two of Chengde's six prefectures — De (德州, in modern Dezhou
Dezhou
Dezhou is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Liaocheng to the southwest, Binzhou to the northeast, and the province of Hebei to the north....
, 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...
) and Di (棣州, in modern Binzhou
Binzhou
Binzhou is a prefecture-level city in northern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yellow River with two arms extended to the southern bank, Binzhou borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southwest, Dezhou to the west, Zibo 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...
) — to imperial control as a new Baoxin Circuit. Emperor Xianzong was set to accept the offer and make Wang military governor, but Wang soon retracted the offer and arrested Xue Changchao (薛昌朝), whom Emperor Xianzong was set to commission as the military governor of Baoxin. In winter 809, Emperor Xianzong stripped Wang of his titles and commissioned Tutu as the commander of the forces against Chengde. Many officials, including Bai Juyi, Li Yuansu (李元素), Li Yong, Xu Mengrong (許孟容), Li Yijian
Li Yijian
Li Yijian , courtesy name Yizhi , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xianzong.- Background :Li Yijian was born in 756...
, Meng Jian (孟簡), Lü Yuanying (呂元膺), Mu Zhi (穆質), and Dugu Yu (獨孤郁), opposed the commission, arguing that generals would feel ashamed serving under a eunuch. Emperor Xianzong reduced Tutu's title slightly but kept him in command.
In spring 810
810
Year 810 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.- Byzantine Empire :* October 1 – A man with a sword makes an attempt on emperor Nicephorus I's life...
, Tutu arrived at the northern front against Chengde, but it was said that he lacked the respect of the generals, and the military actions were therefore less than successful. In particular, after one key imperial general, Li Dingjin (酈定進) was killed in battle, the morale took a major blow. Meanwhile, Tutu and Emperor Xianzong became aware that while Lu Congshi had initially encouraged military action against Chengde, he was actually secretly in communications with Chengde and interfering with the military action. Tutu thus befriended Lu by giving Lu various treasures as gifts. Once Lu's guard was down, on one occasion when Lu was at Tutu's headquarters, Tutu had him arrested and had Lu's subordinate Wu Chongyin
Wu Chongyin
Wu Chongyin , courtesy name Baojun , formally Duke Yimu of Zhangyi , was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty.- Background :...
take control of the Zhaoyi army. Tutu subsequently recommended Wu to succeed Lu, but at the suggestion of Li Jiang, Emperor Xianzong made Wu the military governor of Heyang Circuit (河陽, headquartered in modern Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
, Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
) and made Meng Yuanyang (孟元陽) the military governor of Heyang Circuit the new military governor of Zhaoyi. After Lu's arrest, Wang submitted a petition offering to submit and accusing Lu of having alienated him from the imperial government. As imperial forces were having no success against Wang by that point, Emperor Xianzong recalled Tutu's army and exonerated Wang and his soldiers, making Wang the military governor of Chengde.
After Tutu 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...
, Emperor Xianzong initially had him resume the command of the Left Shence Army. However, Pei, Duan Pingzhong (段平仲), Lü, and Li Jiang all advocated that, because Tutu was unable to defeat Wang as he promised, he should be punished. Emperor Xianzong, in response, demoted Tutu to be the director of armory supplies (軍器使, Junqishi). It was said that people celebrated Tutu's demotion.
In 811
811
Year 811 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Byzantine Empire :...
, Tutu's subordinate Liu Xiguang (劉希光) was found to have received bribes from the general Sun Rui (孫瑞) to help make Sun a military governor. Liu was forced to commit suicide, and during the investigation, Tutu was implicated. Emperor Xianzong thus demoted Tutu out of the capital to serve as the monitoring eunuch at Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou
Yangzhou
Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou to the east, and Zhenjiang across...
, Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
).
While Tutu was at Huainan, Li Yong served as military governor. It was said that while Li Yong was strict and stern, he and Tutu respected each other and did not interfere with each other. Meanwhile, in 814
814
Year 814 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Charlemagne dies in Aachen, aged 67 or 72...
, with Li Jiang, who was then chancellor, repeatedly offering to resign due to a foot illness, Emperor Xianzong removed Li Jiang from his chancellor position and made him the minister of rites, with an eye toward recalling Tutu after that. He soon did so, and Tutu was again made the director of armory supplies as well as the commander of the Left Shence Army. Appreciative of the mutual respect that he had with Li Yong, in 817
817
Year 817 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Louis the Pious divides his empire among his sons; Louis the German becomes king of East Francia, Lothar I becomes co-emperor.* The Bulgarian siege of Constantinople ends.- Religion :* The Council of Aachen is...
, he recommended Li Yong to be chancellor, and Emperor Xianzong thus recalled Li Yong to be chancellor. However, Li Yong found it shameful to be recommended by a eunuch, and upon arrival in Chang'an, he offered to resign and refused to meet his subordinates as chancellor or to carry out the duties of chancellor. Emperor Xianzong made Li Yijian chancellor instead. Meanwhile, in 818
818
Year 818 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.-Europe:* Al-Andalus: Grave rebellion in the suburbs of Cordoba against the Umayyads.- Religion :...
, also at Tutu's recommendation, Emperor Xianzong made Huangfu Bo
Huangfu Bo
Huangfu Bo was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xianzong. He was viewed by traditional historians as a wicked official who pleased Emperor Xianzong by submitting revenues for Emperor Xianzong's personal use and who used...
a chancellor as well.
Death
Meanwhile, Tutu Chengcui also injected himself into Emperor Xianzong's succession plans. Emperor Xianzong had initially, in 809, created his oldest son Li NingLi Ning (Tang Dynasty)
Li Ning , briefly known as Li Zhou in 809, formally Prince Crown Huizhao , was a crown prince of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty during the reign of his father Emperor Xianzong.- Background :...
, who was not born of his wife Consort Guo
Empress Dowager Guo (Muzong)
Empress Dowager Guo , formally Empress Yi'an , was an empress dowager of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty...
, crown prince, but Li Ning died in 811. After Li Ning's death, Tutu suggested that Emperor Xianzong's next oldest son, Li Kuan (李寬) the Prince of Li (whose name was later changed to Li Yun (李惲)), be created crown prince. Emperor Xianzong disagreed and created Consort Guo's son Li You
Emperor Muzong of Tang
Emperor Muzong of Tang , personal name Li Heng , né Li You , was an emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China. He reigned from 821 to 824. Emperor Muzong was the son of Emperor Xianzong...
the Prince of Sui (whose name was soon changed to Li Heng) crown prince instead. Despite this, Tutu continued to advocate for Li Yun's ascension, particularly after his recall. In 820
820
Year 820 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* Tahir, the son of a slave, is rewarded with the governorship of Khurasan for supporting the caliphate...
, when Emperor Xianzong grew ill, it was said that Tutu was plotting to have Li Yun become emperor, such that Li Heng feared for his own safety.
In spring 820, Emperor Xianzong died suddenly — and historians generally believed that it was the eunuch Chen Hongzhi (陳弘志) who murdered him. The eunuchs Liang Shouqian (梁守謙), Ma Jintan (馬進潭), Liu Chengjie (劉承偕), Wei Yuansu (韋元素), and Wang Shoucheng
Wang Shoucheng
Wang Shoucheng was a powerful eunuch of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, wielding substantial powers during the reigns of Emperor Xianzong, Emperor Muzong, Emperor Jingzong, and Emperor Wenzong...
, had Tutu and Li Yun killed, and they supported Li Heng to succeed to the throne (as Emperor Muzong). During the reign of Emperor Muzong's son Emperor Jingzong
Emperor Jingzong of Tang
Emperor Jingzong of Tang , personal name Li Zhan , was an emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China. He reigned from 824 to 827...
, the eunuch Ma Cunliang (馬存亮) submitted a petition listing the accomplishments of Tutu, and Emperor Jingzong allowed Tutu's adopted son Tutu Shiye (吐突士曄) to have Tutu Chengcui reburied properly. During the subsequent reign of another of son of Emperor Xianzong's, Emperor Xuānzong
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang , also commonly known as Emperor Ming of Tang , personal name Li Longji , known as Wu Longji from 690 to 705, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756. His reign of 43 years was the longest during the Tang Dynasty...
, Tutu Shiye was further promoted to be commander of the Right Shence Army (右神策軍).