Shi Siming, or Shi Sugan, was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician during the Tang dynasty who followed his childhood friend An Lushan in rebelling against Tang, and who later succeeded An Lushan's son An Qingxu as emperor of the Yan state that An Lushan established.
37 Facts About Shi Siming
2.
Shi Siming was of Tujue extraction, and was said to be thin with smooth skin, with an impatient disposition.
3.
Shi Siming later served under the general Zhang Shougui, along with An.
4.
Early in Emperor Xuanzong's Tianbao era, because of Shi Siming's repeated military accomplishments, he was made a general at Pinglu Army.
5.
Shi Siming later served as the governor of Beiping Commandery.
6.
In 752, at An's recommendation, Shi Siming was made Bingma Shi Siming, a commanding officer of Pinglu soldiers.
7.
In 755, An Lushan rose against Emperor Xuanzong's rule, and Shi Siming served under him.
8.
Lu Quancheng, the governor of Raoyang Commandery refused to submit, and Shi Siming put Raoyang under siege but could not quickly capture it, and was forced to lift the siege when the Tang general Li Guangbi arrived with relief troops from Hedong Circuit.
9.
Guo and Li Guangbi abandoned their campaign against Shi Siming and went to Lingwu as well, thus allowing Shi Siming to largely repacify the region north of the Yellow River for Yan.
10.
When Liu Zhengchen, who had risen against An at Pinglu, made a surprise attack on Fanyang, Shi Siming defeated Liu, forcing him to flee back to Pinglu.
11.
Meanwhile, though, Shi Siming, who had not received the news of An Lushan's death, attacked Taiyuan, where Li Guangbi was at that point, along with Cai Xide, Gao Xiuyan, and Niu Tingjie, with 100,000 troops total.
13.
Shi Siming induced the elite Yeluohe troops, as well as various other tribes, to submit to him, but the Tongluo forces refused, and he then defeated them.
14.
Shi Siming commissioned Shi as the military governor of Fanyang and created him the Prince of Guiyi.
15.
Shi Siming sent the eunuch Li Sijing and Wu Zhiyi's son Wu Cheng'en to comfort Shi.
16.
Shi Siming did not initially formally turn against Tang, but made an ultimatum demanding Li Guangbi's death.
17.
Shi Siming quickly captured Wei Prefecture from the Tang general Cui Guangyuan, and then declared himself "the Great Holy Prince of Yan" in spring 760.
18.
Meanwhile, An sent the general Xue Song to Fanyang to seek aid from Shi Siming, offering the throne to him.
19.
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 Siming, who gathered his troops and again approached Yecheng, admittance.
20.
Shi Siming himself was not communicating with An, but was feasting his soldiers and watching Yecheng.
21.
Shi Siming, instead, suggested to him that perhaps they could both be emperors of independent, allied states.
22.
An, pleased, exited Yecheng and met with Shi Siming to swear to the alliance.
23.
Shi Siming then executed An Qingxu, his four brothers, Gao, Sun, and Cui.
24.
Shi Siming took over An's territory and troops, but returned to Fanyang and left his oldest son Shi Chaoyi in charge of Yecheng.
25.
Shi Siming soon claimed for himself the title of emperor of Yan.
26.
Shi Siming created his wife Lady Xin empress, Shi Chaoyi the Prince of Huai, and made Zhou Zhi his chancellor and Li Guiren, the main chieftain who of the non-Han forces that had submitted to him in 757, his chief general.
27.
Shi Siming soon left Empress Xin's son Shi Chaoqing in charge of Fanyang and headed south.
28.
Shi Siming quickly captured Bian Prefecture and Luoyang, but his further attempts to advance were rebuffed by Tang forces at Heyang and Shan Prefecture, and the sides stalemated.
29.
Shi Siming favored Shi Chaoqing over Shi Chaoyi and considered creating Shi Chaoqing crown prince and killing Shi Chaoyi.
30.
In spring 761, Shi Siming began another attempt to attack Shan Prefecture, wanting to attack Chang'an.
31.
Shi Siming had Shi Chaoyi serve as his forward commander, but Shi Chaoyi was repeatedly repelled by the Tang general Wei Boyu.
32.
Shi Siming was angered by Shi Chaoyi's failures and considered punishing him and the generals below him.
33.
Shi Siming ordered his own servants to stay and watch the plastering.
34.
That night, Luo led 300 soldiers and ambushed Shi Siming, binding him and then beginning a return to Luoyang with the troops.
35.
Shi Siming was eventually defeated by Tang forces and committed suicide in 763.
36.
Shi Siming's wife was Empress Xin, mother of Crown Prince Chaoqing.
37.
Shi Siming had three children: Shi Chaoyi, the Prince of Huai and later emperor of the state of Yan.