1. Li Shiji, courtesy name Maogong, posthumously known as Duke Zhenwu of Ying, was a Chinese military general and politician who lived in the early Tang dynasty.
59 Facts About Li Shiji
1. 2.
Li Shiji is referred to as Xu Maogong and Xu Ji in the historical novels Shuo Tang and Sui Tang Yanyi.
3.
Li Shiji was initially a follower of Li Mi, one of the rebel rulers rebelling against the preceding Sui dynasty, and he submitted to the Tang Empire after Li Mi did so, upon which Emperor Gaozu, impressed with his loyalty to Li Mi, granted him the imperial family name "Li".
4.
Li Shiji later participated in destroying Xu Yuanlang and Fu Gongshi, two of the Tang Empire's competitors in the campaign to reunify China.
5.
Li Shiji's clan was originally from Cao Province, but late in the Sui dynasty moved to Hua Province.
6.
Xu Shiji's father Xu Gai was a member of the landed gentry, and both he and Xu Shiji were said to be generous, using the food yields of their land to help others regardless of whether those were related to them.
7.
Xu Li Shiji joined Zhai, and suggested to him that instead of pillaging the people of the region, which Zhai had done to maintain himself and his own men, it was inappropriate to be robbing people of their homeland.
8.
Li Shiji personally attended to Xu's injuries, and had Xu, Shan, and Wang Bodang take over Zhai's troops.
9.
Li Shiji therefore sent Guo to Chang'an to report to Li Mi.
10.
Li Shiji summoned Guo and questioned him, and Guo relayed what Xu's intents were.
11.
Li Shiji created Li Shiji the Duke of Cao and his father Xu Gai the Prince of Jiyin, although Li Gai declined the honor and was created the Duke of Shu.
12.
Li Shiji remained in charge of the Liyang region to resist against Wang and Dou Jiande.
13.
Emperor Gaozu sent messengers to Li Shiji explaining why Li Mi was killed.
14.
Li Shiji mourned Li Mi and requested that he be allowed to bury Li Mi with honor.
15.
Li Shiji, still using ceremonies due a ruler, buried Li Mi in a grand funeral south of Liyang.
16.
When Dou then was on the way to attack Tang's Wei Prefecture, Li Shiji tried to ambush him, and his officer Qiu Xiaogang nearly killed Dou before Dou's guards killed him.
17.
Li Shiji was able to fight his way out, but several days later, because his father Li Gai had been captured, surrendered to Dou.
18.
Li Shiji put Li Shentong under house arrest, as an honored guest.
19.
Li Shiji soon considered how he could again submit to Tang, but worried that Dou would kill his father Li Gai.
20.
Li Shiji agreed, and in winter 619, he attacked the city of Huojia, held by Wang Shichong and captured much goods and persons to present to Dou, including Dou's childhood friend Liu Heita.
21.
Li Shiji then suggested to Dou that he should attack the agrarian leader Meng Haigong, who was then nominally submitting to Zheng, arguing that if Xia could first capture Meng's holdings, it could then next have designs on Zheng.
22.
Dou himself would follow, and Li Shiji planned that, as soon as Dou himself arrived, he would ambush Dou's camp and kill him, and then try to find and save his father Li Gai.
23.
One of them, Li Shanghu, and Li Shanghu's mother Lady Huo, urged Li Shiji to carry out his plan as soon as possible, and when Li Shiji hesitated, Li Shanghu and Lady Huo acted on their own, ambushing Cao Dan, but while they killed many of Cao's generals, Cao himself was not harmed and soon prepared to counterattack.
24.
Li Shanghu notified Li Shiji and asked him to attack Cao, but Li Shiji, saw that Cao had already taken precautions, fled to Tang territory with Guo.
25.
Li Shiji was captured by us, but still remembered his former lord and was faithful.
26.
In spring 620, Li Shiji served under Emperor Gaozu's son Li Shimin the Prince of Qin in resisting a major offensive by Liu Wuzhou the Dingyang Khan, and in an engagement against Liu's general Song Jin'gang, Li Shiji was unsuccessful, but was saved by Li Shimin.
27.
In winter 620, with Li Shimin having launched a major offensive against Wang's Zheng state, the Zheng general Yang Qing surrendered Guan Prefecture, and Li Shimin sent Li Shiji to take over Guan Prefecture.
28.
When Wang Shichong's son and crown prince, Wang Xuanying, heard of this, he headed to Guan from Hulao, but Li Shiji repelled him, and then had Guo write a letter to Wei Lu, Zheng's prefect of Ying Prefecture, to persuade Wei to surrender.
29.
Further, in spring 621, Wang Shichong's officer Shen Yue surrendered to Li Shiji, allowing Li Shiji's subordinate general Wang Junkuo to capture Hulao and capture Wang Shichong's nephew, Wang Xingben the Prince of Jing.
30.
Li Shiji's sworn brother Shan Xiongxin, whom Li Shimin considered treacherous because Shan had turned against Li Mi, was set to be executed as well.
31.
Li Shiji begged Li Shimin to spare Shan, arguing that Shan was a capable general who could be useful to Tang and offering to surrender all of his own honors to save Shan from death.
32.
Li Shiji was united with his father Li Gai, who managed to survive the collapse of the Xia regime and return to Tang territory.
33.
Liu quickly captured most of former Xia territory, and when Liu approached the former Xia capital Ming Prefecture, Li Shiji, who was then at nearby Zongcheng, abandoned Zongcheng and entered Ming to assist its defense, but despite that, Liu defeated him and captured Ming, seizing it as his capital and forcing Li Shiji to flee.
34.
Li Shiji subsequently served under Li Shimin in attacking Liu, who had by now declared himself the Prince of Handong, in spring 622, and in a battle, Li Shiji's officer Pan Mao killed Liu's major general Gao Yaxian, who had persuaded Liu to rise against Tang in the first place.
35.
Li Shiji took his head and sent it to Emperor Gaozu.
36.
Li Shiji participated in the campaign against Fu, commanded by Emperor Gaozu's distant nephew Li Xiaogong the Prince of Zhao Commandery.
37.
In spring 630, after Li Shiji defeated Eastern Tujue forces at Baidao and after Li Jing defeated Ashina Duobi's main forces and forced Ashina Duobi to flee, he met with Li Jing and decided to, despite the fact that Ashina Duobi claimed to then seek peace, attack Ashina Duobi, defeating him again and capturing most of Ashina Duobi's remaining forces.
38.
Meanwhile, as Emperor Taizong's son Li Zhi the Prince of Jin was made the nominal commandant of Bing Prefecture, Li Shiji's title became the secretary general of Bing, but he continued to effectively serve as commandant.
39.
In 637, as part of Emperor Taizong's scheme to bestow prefectures on his relatives and great generals and officials as their permanent domains, Li Shiji's title was changed to Duke of Ying, and he was given the post of prefect of Qi Prefecture, to be inherited by his heirs, but Li Shiji remained at Bing and did not actually report to Qi.
40.
Soon with many objections to the system, the strongest of which came from Zhangsun Wuji, Emperor Taizong cancelled the scheme, although Li Shiji's title remained Duke of Ying.
41.
Soon even before Li Shiji could leave for Chang'an, Xueyantuo's Zhenzhu Khan Yi'nan, believing that Emperor Taizong was about to carry out a major sacrifice to the gods of Mount Tai and therefore would not have time for military action, launched a major attack against Tang's vassal, the Qilibi Khan Ashina Simo, whom Emperor Taizong had created the khan of a reestablished Eastern Tujue in 639.
42.
Around the new year 641, Li Shiji engaged Xueyantuo forces, under the command of Yi'nan's son Dadu, at Nuozhen River, defeating Xueyantuo forces and forcing them to flee.
43.
In 643, when Emperor Taizong commissioned the Portraits at Lingyan Pavilion to commemorate the 24 great contributors to Tang rule, Li Shiji's was one of the portraits commissioned.
44.
Li Shiji was given the additional title as the new crown prince's head of household, and was given a newly created title of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin, which title designated him as a chancellor de facto.
45.
Historical accounts indicated that at one point, when Li Shiji was suddenly ill, medical books indicated that ashes from beards could benefit him, and therefore Emperor Taizong cut off his own beard and burned it to mix it with the medicine.
46.
Also at that feast, when Li Shiji became drunk and fell asleep, Emperor Taizong took off his own imperial robe to cover Li Shiji.
47.
In spring 644, when the Tang emissary to Goguryeo, Xiangli Xuanjiang, returned from Goguryeo, indicating that the Yeon Gaesomun, the Goguryeo general who then controlled the political scene there, was unwilling to stop his attacks against Silla, then a Tang vassal, Li Shiji advocated an attack against Goguryeo, and Emperor Taizong agreed, despite opposition by other officials, including Chu Suiliang.
48.
In spring 645, Li Shiji reached You Prefecture, and then headed into Goguryeo territory.
49.
Li Shiji then considered directly attacking Pyongyang itself, but Li Shiji believed that if Ansi was not captured first, the general in command of Ansi, might attack Tang forces from the rear.
50.
Li Shiji delivered Duomozhi to Chang'an, where Emperor Taizong made Duomozhi a general.
51.
In summer 649, Emperor Taizong was gravely ill, and he, not fully trusting Li Shiji, stated to Li Zhi:.
52.
Li Shiji then demoted Li Shiji to the post of the commandant of Die Prefecture.
53.
Li Shiji intentionally demoted Li Shiji to test his response.
54.
Years later, when Gaozong tried to make Wu Zetian his empress against the opposition of most high officials, Li Shiji decisively put the issue in Wu Zetian's favor by saying that's an internal issue of Gaozong.
55.
Almost immediately after taking the throne, Emperor Gaozong promoted Li Shiji to be the general in charge of Luoyang.
56.
Li Shiji spoke no further, and not long after, around the new year 670, he died.
57.
Li Shiji was buried with extraordinary honors near Tang Zhaoling, the tomb of Emperor Taizong; by Emperor Gaozong's orders, his tomb was made into the shape of several great mountains within Eastern Tujue and Xueyantuo territory, to commemorate his victories over them.
58.
Li Shiji always selected, as his officers, those with proper appearances and who were tolerant and serious.
59.
Li Shiji is sometimes venerated as a door god in Chinese and Taoist temples, usually in partnership with Wei Zheng.