An Qingxu, ne An Renzhi, was a son of An Lushan, a general of the Chinese Tang dynasty who rebelled and took the imperial title, and then established his own state of Yan.
13 Facts About An Qingxu
1.
2.
An Qingxu was eventually defeated by Tang forces and cornered at Yecheng in present-day Hebei.
3.
An Qingxu was An Lushan's second son, and his mother was An Lushan's first wife Lady Kang.
4.
In 755, when An Lushan rebelled at his post at Fanyang Circuit, An Qingxu was apparently with his father and accompanied his father south.
5.
An considered letting An Qing'en be his crown prince, instead of An Qingxu, who was otherwise in line to receive that honor.
6.
An Qingxu often feared that An Lushan would put him to death.
7.
An Qingxu tried to ingratiate his generals by promoting their positions.
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Meanwhile, with the major general Shi Siming besieging the Tang general Li Guangbi at Taiyuan, An Qingxu ordered Shi to return to his base of Fanyang and leave the general Cai Xide at Taiyuan to watch Li Guangbi's actions.
9.
An Qingxu sent the general Yin Ziqi to attack the city of Suiyang, then under the defense by the Tang generals Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan, intending to capture Suiyang first and then send Yin south to capture Tang territory south of the Huai River.
10.
Many other cities previously under Yan's control submitted to Tang, and An Qingxu's territory shrank to just Yecheng and the surrounding area.
11.
An Qingxu tried to fight out of the siege, but was defeated by Tang forces, and his brother An Qinghe was killed.
12.
An Qingxu's forces gathered the food and supplies abandoned by Tang forces, and An thereafter considered, with Sun Xiaozhe and Cui, the possibility of refusing Shi, who gathered his troops and again approached Yecheng, admittance.
13.
An Qingxu took over An's territory and troops and soon claimed for himself the title of emperor of Yan.