1. Li Keyong's father was the Shatuo chieftain Zhuye Chixin, whose people were then living in the Shenwu River region.
90 Facts About Li Keyong
1. 2.
Li Keyong's mother was Lady Qin, and it is not clear whether she was Zhuye Chixin's wife or concubine.
3.
Zhuye agreed, and then-14-year-old Li Keyong fought in the campaign so fiercely that he became known as the "Son of the Flying Tiger".
4.
Li Keyong presumably took the imperial surname of Li at that time as well.
5.
Li Keyong went to Zhenwu as well to serve under his father.
6.
Li Keyong soon arrived, executed Duan and four of his subordinates, and claimed the title of defender of Datong.
7.
Li Keyong sought imperial commission, but then-ruling Emperor Xizong refused.
8.
However, Li Guochang was hoping that he and Li Keyong would be allowed to retain two circuits, and therefore, when he received the transfer order, he tore up the edict and rose in rebellion as well, joining forces with Li Keyong.
9.
Li Keyong tried to return to Shuo to recapture it, but was intercepted by Li Keju's officer Han Xuanshao and defeated, with Li Jinzhong and Cheng killed in battle.
10.
Li Keyong heard of this, but, pretending not to know about it, feasted with the Dada nobles.
11.
Zheng, while not openly hostile to Li Keyong, was suspicious of him, and therefore closed the gates of Hedong's capital Taiyuan Municipality and refused to provide Li Keyong with anything more than limited supplies.
12.
Li Keyong captured Xin and Dai Prefectures and made Dai his headquarters.
13.
Emperor Xizong had Wang Chucun the military governor of Yiwu Circuit, who was friendly with Li Keyong, write Li Keyong, informing him of imperial displeasure and suggesting that he cease his pillages and return to Shuo Prefecture.
14.
Yang Fuguang, the eunuch monitor of the army in the Hezhong region, suggested to Wang Chongrong the military governor of Hezhong that another attempt be made to invite Li Keyong to join the operations against Huang.
15.
In winter 882, Li Keyong passed through Hedong without further hostilities.
16.
Li Keyong was given the title of military governor of Yanmen Circuit, controlling what is northeastern Shanxi.
17.
Li Keyong executed the monks, but burned Huang's edict and distributed his treasure to the officers.
18.
Li Keyong continued to advance into Huang's territory, stationing himself at Tong Prefecture around the new year 883.
19.
Li Keyong then continued his advance toward Chang'an, defeating Huang's brother Huang Kui on the way.
20.
Li Keyong joined forces with those from Hezhong, Yiwu, and Zhongwu Circuits, and defeated the major Qi general Shang Rang.
21.
Li Keyong sent his cousin Li Kexiu, who captured Lu and took it over.
22.
Li Keyong thus took 50,000 soldiers and advanced south to cross the Yellow River, but had to take a roundabout route through Hezhong when Zhuge Shuang the military governor of Heyang Circuit refused to grant him passage.
23.
Li Keyong eventually rendezvoused with the armies of Zhongwu, Ganhua, Xuanwu, and Taining Circuits and headed toward Chen Prefecture, whose prefect Zhao Chou had been under siege by Huang for some 300 days.
24.
In summer 884, Li Keyong defeated Shang and then Huang Chao's brother Huang Siye, and Huang Chao abandoned his siege on Chen.
25.
Li Keyong's army became worn out during the chase and he broke the chase and returned to Bian Prefecture.
26.
At the feast after Li Keyong became drunk, he used arrogant language that offended Zhu.
27.
Li Keyong initially did not wake up, and his guards had to wake him up so that they could fight out of the siege.
28.
Li Keyong sent a letter to Zhu condemning the attack.
29.
Subsequently, Li Keyong sought food supplies from Zhou, but Zhou refused, claiming to lack food himself.
30.
Li Keyong thus crossed the Yellow River north and returned to Hedong.
31.
Li Keyong nevertheless sent Kang Junli to aid Wang Chucun, and subsequently went to Wang Chucun's aid himself.
32.
Li Keyong defeated Chengde forces at Wuji, forcing them to withdraw.
33.
Li Keyong initially indicated that he was preparing for a campaign against Zhu Quanzhong, and that he would come to Wang Chongrong's aid after defeating Zhu Quanzhong.
34.
Li Keyong thus submitted a petition to Emperor Xizong condemning Zhu Mei and Li Changfu.
35.
Li Keyong then took his troops south and joined Wang Chongrong.
36.
Li Keyong agreed, and therefore publicly announced continued loyalty to Emperor Xizong.
37.
When Li Keyong's declaration reached Xingyuan, it calmed the hearts of the officials at Xingyuan, who were fearful that Li Keyong would support Li Yun.
38.
Immediately thereafter, Li Keyong attacked Helian Duo at Yun Prefecture, but Helian, with aid from Li Quanzhong's son and successor Li Kuangwei, repelled Li Keyong's attack.
39.
Li Keyong made his younger brother Li Kegong the acting military governor of Zhaoyi, but the people of the circuit missed Li Kexiu's kindness and resented Li Kegong's harshness and therefore resented Li Keyong over Li Kexiu's death.
40.
Li Keyong disrespected Zhang, and Zhang therefore resented him.
41.
Li Keyong stripped Li Keyong of all of his imperially granted titles and offices.
42.
Zhu sent his officer Zhu Chongjie to defend Lu, and Li Keyong immediately had Kang Junli and Li Cunxiao put Lu under siege.
43.
Li Keyong then submitted a petition to Emperor Zhaozong that Sun, who had been named the military governor of Zhaoyi, be ordered to report to Zhaoyi.
44.
In light of Zhang's defeat, Emperor Zhaozong, to appease Li Keyong, exiled Zhang and Kong in spring 891 and restored all of Li Keyong's titles, further bestowing the honorary chancellor title of Zhongshu Ling on him.
45.
Li Keyong resumed his campaign against Helian in summer 891, putting Yun Prefecture under siege.
46.
Li Keyong took over Datong Circuit and made his officer Shi Shanyou the defender of Datong.
47.
Li Keyong withdrew, and later in the year repelled an effort by Li Kuangwei and Helian to recapture Datong.
48.
In spring 893, Li Keyong put Li Cunxiao's headquarters at Xing Prefecture under siege, and when Wang Rong sent troops to try to aid Li Cunxiao, Li Keyong defeated them, and then shifted his attention to sieging Wang Rong's headquarters at Zhen Prefecture.
49.
Li Kuangwei did, and defeated Li Keyong, who returned to Xing and again put it under siege.
50.
In fall 893, when Wang again tried to come to Li Cunxiao's aid, Li Keyong defeated him and again attacked Zhen.
51.
Li Keyong ran out of supplies in spring 894 and offered to surrender, and did actually do so when Li Keyong sent Lady Liu inside the city to escort him out.
52.
Meanwhile, after Li Keyong initially failed in sending the Lulong officer Liu Rengong, who had fled to him after Li Kuangchou's mutiny against Li Kuangwei, back to Lulong to take it over, Li Kuangchou attacked Hedong.
53.
In winter 894, Li Keyong launched a major counterattack and captured Lulong, forcing Li Kuangchou to flee.
54.
Meanwhile, Li Keyong became involved in another confrontation with other military governors that started over a succession struggle at Hezhong Circuit.
55.
Li Keyong submitted a petition citing Wang Chongrong's contributions and asking that Wang Ke be made the military governor of Hezhong, and Emperor Zhaozong approved it.
56.
However, by this point, they heard that Li Keyong had already mobilized his troops and therefore decided they needed to concentrate on defending against him.
57.
Li Keyong, hearing the news of the actions that Wang Xingyu, Li Maozhen, and Han took at the capital, launched his troops and issued a declaration accusing them of treason.
58.
Li Keyong first attacked Wang Yao, killing him, and then advanced to Hezhong to rendezvous with Wang Ke.
59.
Li Keyong then attacked Han at his headquarters at Hua Prefecture and was poised to take it, when news arrived that Wang Xingyu and Li Maozhen had launched their own troops and were planning to seize the emperor.
60.
Li Keyong thus lifted the siege of Hua Prefecture and advanced toward Chang'an.
61.
Li Keyong sent his officer Shi Yan to Emperor Zhaozong to protect him, while advancing to Wang Xingyu's possession Liyuan Camp.
62.
Li Maozhen, despite sending the emissaries to the emperor and Li Keyong, sent troops to aid Wang.
63.
Li Keyong thus asked Emperor Zhaozong to extend the campaign to Li Maozhen as well.
64.
Wang then abandoned Bin Prefecture and fled; he was killed in flight by his own officers, and Li Keyong took Bin, but instead of taking control of it, recommended the imperial officer Su Wenjian to be the military governor, and Emperor Zhaozong gave the circuit to Su.
65.
Emperor Zhaozong consulted with imperial officials, and a number of them feared that if Li Keyong destroyed Li Maozhen, he would be impossible to control, and Emperor Zhaozong therefore, while greatly praising Li Keyong, declined his proposal.
66.
Li Keyong then left the Chang'an region and returned to Hedong.
67.
In spring 896, he again tried to send Li Cunxin to aid Zhu Xuan and Zhu Jing, but Zhu Quanzhong warned Weibo's military governor Luo Hongxin that Li Keyong had designs on the entire region north of Yellow River, including Weibo.
68.
In summer 896, Li Keyong tried to react by attacking Luo, and he enjoyed initial successes in his attack on Luo's capital Yu Prefecture.
69.
Li Keyong tried to sue for peace with Zhu Quanzhong, hoping to ransom Li Luoluo; Zhu Quanzhong refused, and instead gave Li Luoluo to Luo, who executed him.
70.
Li Keyong was not able to again engage Luo, and withdrew.
71.
Meanwhile, Li Keyong prepared for another campaign to rescue Emperor Zhaozong.
72.
Li Keyong ordered Liu Rengong to contribute troops, while inviting Wang Rong and Wang Chucun's son and successor Wang Gao to join in the campaign as well.
73.
Li Keyong thus lost his last foothold east of the Taihang Mountains.
74.
In fall 898, Li Keyong sent Li Sizhao, Zhou Dewei, and Li Siyuan to try to recapture Xing, but they were defeated by Ge and forced to withdraw.
75.
Li Keyong was able to recapture Lu after Li Hanzhi's death in fall 899, but only with great difficulty.
76.
In 900, when Zhu tried to attack north to capture Yichang, which was then under control by Liu's son Liu Shouwen, Li Keyong decided to come to the Lius' aid by having Zhou again attack Xing and Ming Prefectures, but Zhou was unsuccessful in capturing them.
77.
Li Keyong thus had Zhang Cunjing attack and capture Jin and Jiang Prefectures to cut off the potential aid from Li Keyong, while he himself attacked Huguo's capital Hezhong Municipality directly.
78.
Li Keyong sent peace emissaries to Zhu, and while Zhu initially received them and sent emissaries of his own, decided against peace afterwards.
79.
However, during the campaign, Meng Qian, whom Li Keyong had given Zhaoyi, surrendered Zhaoyi to Zhu, and Zhu was thereafter able to retain Zhaoyi.
80.
Li Keyong's situation became desperate enough that he considered a proposal by Li Cunxin to abandon Taiyuan and flee to Yun Prefecture.
81.
Li Keyong only decided against the proposal due to the urging of Lady Liu, Li Sizhao, Li Siyuan, and Zhou.
82.
Shi and Zhu Youning eventually withdrew when their army was stricken by illnesses, and it was said that thereafter, for several years, Li Keyong did not dare to again confront Zhu Quanzhong.
83.
When Wang Shifan the military governor of Pinglu Circuit did rise against Zhu in 903 at the urging of Han and Li Maozhen, Li Keyong wrote him and praised his actions, but made only minor exploratory attacks against Jin Prefecture thereafter before terminating his own campaign after hearing that Zhu had already forced Li Maozhen to surrender Emperor Zhaozong to him and returned to Chang'an with Emperor Zhaozong.
84.
Subsequently, when Emperor Zhaozong, under Zhu's pressure, issued an edict that all eunuchs in the empire be slaughtered, Li Keyong saved the eunuch monitor to Hedong, Zhang Chengye, and executed another inmate in Zhang's stead.
85.
Li Keyong initially refused to aid Liu, but after advice by his son Li Cunxu, who pointed out that if Zhu destroyed the Lius, no one else could stand up against Zhu.
86.
Li Keyong thus requisitioned troops from Liu Rengong and attacked Lu Prefecture.
87.
When he reached Lu, Ding Hui, whom Zhu had given the command of Zhaoyi but who had mourned Emperor Zhaozong's death bitterly, surrendered, allowing Li Keyong to regain control of Zhaoyi, whose command he gave to Li Sizhao.
88.
Kang built walls and trenches around Lu Prefecture to cut off communications with the outside, and subsequent relief forces that Li Keyong sent under Zhou Dewei's command, while having some minor successes against Later Liang forces, were unable to lift the siege.
90.
Li Keyong then died and was succeeded as the Prince of Jin by Li Cunxu.