Li Fuguo

Li Fuguo , né Li Jingzhong , known from 757 to 758 as Li Huguo , formally Prince Chou of Bolu , was a eunuch official during the reign of of the dynasty Tang Dynasty. He had served Li Heng while Li Heng was crown prince under Li Heng's father and later supported Li Heng in ascending the throne during Anshi Rebellion, when Emperor Xuanzong's realm was thrown into confusion. He later became exceedingly powerful, in alliance with Emperor Suzong's wife , but broke with her and killed her in 762 when Emperor Suzong died. He briefly became the paramount figure in the administration of Emperor Suzong's son and successor , but was removed and then killed by assassins sent by Emperor Daizong later that year.

During Emperor Suzong's reign

After Emperor Suzong took the throne, while he did not at that point make his oldest son the Prince of Guangping crown prince, he gave Li Chu the title of supreme commander of the armies, and he gave Li Jingzhong dual titles on Li Chu's staff -- serving as the head of the crown prince's household and acting assistant of military affairs to the supreme commander . Emperor Suzong entrusted Li Jingzhong with the important secrets, and Li Fuguo became in charge of receiving important reports, as well as distributing military command seals and signs. He also changed Li Jingzhong's name to Huguo . By this point, Li Huguo ate a vegetarian diet and often acted as Buddhist monks did; further, when he was taking a break, he would often hold prayer beads, and people believed at that point he was benevolent. Later, when Emperor Suzong, while still fighting Yan forces, moved his headquarters from Lingwu to Fengxiang in spring 757, he gave Li Huguo a slightly greater title as the head of the crown prince's household , and changed his name again to Fuguo .
After joint Tang and Huige forces recaptured Chang'an later in 757 under Li Chu's command, Emperor Suzong returned to Chang'an. He bestowed on Li Fuguo a number of titles that gave him responsibility over a number of financial affairs of the state. He also gave Li Fuguo the honorific title of ''Kaifu Yitong Sansi'' and created him the Duke of Cheng. The officials' reports continued to go through Li Fuguo, and Li Fuguo established a bureau with a number of agents with the responsibility of secretly finding out officials' faults. Even criminal cases were ruled on by Li Fuguo, and he was often making orders, in Emperor Suzong's name, reversing officials' decisions. No official dared to speak against him or even to refer to him by official title, instead addressing him as "Master Five," using a form of address from a servant to a master. Even the chancellor , who was from a highly honored household, paid him respect as a son or a nephew would, calling him, "Father Five." Emperor Suzong also gave Li Fuguo, despite his eunuch status, the grandnephew of the deceased official Yuan Xisheng as his wife, and promoted Lady Yuan's uncle.
After Emperor Xuanzong's return to Chang'an, he took residence at Xingqing Palace , which was converted from his residence as an imperial prince. Gao Lishi and the general Chen Xuanli attended to him, as did Emperor Xuanzong's younger sister Li Chiying the Princess Yuzhen, the lady in waiting Ru Xianyuan , and the eunuchs Wang Cheng'en and Wei Yue . These attendants of Emperor Xuanzong did not respect Li Fuguo. To retaliate, Li Fuguo began to try to convince Emperor Suzong that Emperor Xuanzong and his attendants were plotting to seize power back. In 760, with Emperor Suzong's tacit, although not explicit, approval, on one occasion when Emperor Xuanzong was out riding, Li Fuguo intercepted him and forced him to move back to the main palace. Even on that occasion, however, Gao would not submit to Li Fuguo, and even yelled at Li Fuguo to force him to get off his horse and to escort Emperor Xuanzong on foot, along with Gao. Soon after Emperor Xuanzong was forcibly moved, Li Fuguo forced Chen to retire, Li Chiying to return to her temple , and exiled Gao, Wang, Wei, and Ru. Emperor Suzong had his daughters Princesses Wan'an and Xianyi attend to Emperor Xuanzong, but Emperor Xuanzong, depressed over his forced movement and the exile of his attendants, began to be ill. Emperor Suzong regretted this and considered killing Li Fuguo, but feared the fact that Li Fuguo had command of the imperial guards, and therefore did not act.
Throughout the years, Empress Zhang and Li Fuguo's alliance held. However, as of spring 762, when both Emperors Xuanzong and Suzong were seriously ill, Empress Zhang and Li Fuguo had begun to be rivals. She summoned Li Chu and tried to persuade him to join her in killing Li Fuguo and his ally Cheng Yuanzhen. Li Yu declined, and she instead tried to persuade his younger brother Li Xi the Prince of Yue, to join her. Li Xi agreed. She and Li Xi thereafter had the eunuch Duan Hengjun selected some 200 strong eunuchs, ready to ambush Li Fuguo and Cheng. On May 14, Empress Zhang issued an order in Emperor Suzong's name, summoning Li Yu. Cheng found out and informed Li Fuguo, who intercepted Li Yu at the palace gate and then escorted him to the camp of the imperial guards under Li Fuguo's command. The guards under Li Fuguo's command then entered the palace and arrested Empress Zhang and Li Xi; the other eunuchs and fled, leaving Emperor Suzong without care. On May 16, Emperor Suzong died, and Li Fuguo thereafter executed Empress Zhang and Li Xi, as well as Li Xian the Prince of Yan, and then declared Li Yu emperor .

Li Jingye

Li Jiancheng , formally Crown Prince Yin , nickname Pishamen , was a crown prince of the dynasty Tang Dynasty. He was the oldest son of the founding emperor and therefore was designated crown prince after the founding of the dynasty in 618. However, although he himself was fairly capable as a general, he was overshadowed by the contributions of his younger brother the Prince of Qin, and the brothers contended for power for years, with Li Jiancheng aided by another younger brother, Li Yuanji the Prince of Qi. In 626, Li Shimin, fearing that Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were about to kill him, laid an ambush for them at outside the palace and killed them. Li Shimin then effectively forced Emperor Gaozu to yield the throne to him .
Li Yuan made both Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin key generals, and in nine days, they captured Xihe Commandery , impressing their father. Subsequently, Li Yuan divided his forces into six armies, having Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin command three each. He also created Li Jiancheng the Duke of Longxi and Li Shimin the Duke of Dunhuang. Subsequently, Li Yuan advanced toward Chang'an, but when he got near to Hedong, his army could not advance due to torrential rains. With rumors running rampant that Liu Wuzhou and Eastern Tujue were about to attack Taiyuan, Li Yuan began ordering a retreat back to Taiyuan; it was only at Li Jiancheng's and Li Shimin's urging that Li Yuan changed his mind and stayed, and Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin then captured the fortress of Huoyi , eventually convincing Li Yuan to bypass Hedong and directly advance toward Chang'an. After he crossed the Yellow River into Guanzhong , he sent Li Jiancheng with Liu Wenjing east to guard Tong Pass and Yongfeng Storage and to stop any potential Sui reinforcements from the eastern capital Luoyang. Once Li Yuan himself approached Chang'an, he summoned both Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin to Chang'an to join him in sieging Chang'an. In winter 617, Li Yuan captured Chang'an and declared Yang You emperor . He had himself created the Prince of Tang, become the regent over Emperor Gong.

Rivalry with Li Shimin

Meanwhile, an intense rivalry had developed between Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, who carried the title of Prince of Qin, as while Li Jiancheng had some contributions toward Tang's reunification of China, a number of the more major contenders, including Xue Rengao the Emperor of Qin, Wang Shichong the Emperor of Zheng, and Dou Jiande the Prince of Xia, were all defeated and/or captured by Li Shimin, causing him to possess the greater reputation among the army. Li Yuanji, who was also often relied on by Emperor Gaozu as a general and had been created the Prince of Qi, supported Li Jiancheng in this rivalry, and often pushed Li Jiancheng toward a more hardline position against Li Shimin, wanting to be crown prince when Li Jiancheng would become emperor. Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji had better relations with Emperor Gaozu's favored young concubines than Li Shimin did , and those concubines helped rehabilitate Li Jiancheng's standing before Emperor Gaozu, causing him to no longer consider making Li Shimin crown prince instead, as he considered at one point.

By winter 622, Liu Heita the Prince of Handong, previously a Xia general who rose against Tang after Emperor Gaozu had executed Dou Jiande, posed the only remaining major threat against Tang rule even though he had been defeated by Li Shimin earlier in the year. At the suggestion of his staff members Wang Gui and Wei Zheng, who argued that Li Jiancheng needed some victories himself to establish his reputation, Li Jiancheng volunteered to command the army against Liu Heita. Emperor Gaozu thus sent Li Jiancheng, assisted by Li Yuanji. Around the new year 623, with Liu's forced bogged down while attacking Tang's Wei Prefecture , Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji engaged him at Guantao , crushing him. Liu fled north toward Eastern Tujue, but was ambushed and captured by his own official Zhuge Dewei , who delivered him to Li Jiancheng. Li Jiancheng executed Liu. China was by this point almost completely unified by Tang.
In 624, Li Jiancheng requisitioned a number of soldiers from the general the Prince of Yan, to supplement his guard corps, against Emperor Gaozu's regulations. When this was revealed to Emperor Gaozu, Emperor Gaozu rebuked Li Jiancheng and exiled his guard commander Keda Zhi . When, subsequently, Li Jiancheng nevertheless requested the commandant at Qing Prefecture , Yang Wen'gan , to conscript troops, presumably to guard against Li Shimin, the officers Erzhu Huan and Qiao Gongshan informed Emperor Gaozu that Li Jiancheng was encouraging Yang to start a rebellion so that they could seize power together. Emperor Gaozu, then at Renzhi Palace , was incensed, and summoned Li Jiancheng, then at Chang'an, to Renzhi Palace. Li Jiancheng briefly flirted the idea of occupying Chang'an and not accepting the order, but eventually reported to Renzhi Palace to request forgiveness. Emperor Gaozu put him under arrest. When Yang heard this, Yang rebelled, and Emperor Gaozu, after promising Li Shimin that he would be made crown prince, sent Li Shimin to attack Yang. Once Li Shimin left, however, Li Yuanji, Emperor Gaozu's concubines, and the chancellor Feng Deyi, all spoke on Li Jiancheng's behalf, and Emperor Gaozu changed his mind, released Li Jiancheng, and allowed him to return to Chang'an and remain as crown prince. Instead, Emperor Gaozu only blamed the discord between his sons on Li Jiancheng's staff members Wang Gui and Wei Ting , and Li Shimin's staff member Du Yan, exiling them. Yang was subsequently assassinated by his own subordinates.
In summer 626, Eastern Tujue was making another attack, and under Li Jiancheng's suggestion, Emperor Gaozu, instead of sending Li Shimin to resist Eastern Tujue as he first was inclined, decided to send Li Yuanji instead. Li Yuanji was given command of much of the army previously under Li Shimin's control, further troubling Li Shimin, who believed that with the army in Li Yuanji's hands, he would be unable to resist an attack. Li Shimin had Yuchi summon Fang and Du back to his mansion secretly, and then on one night submitted an accusation to Emperor Gaozu that Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were committing adultery with Emperor Gaozu's concubines. Emperor Gaozu, in response, issued summonses to Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji for the next morning, convening the senior officials Pei Ji, Xiao Yu, and Chen Shuda to examine Li Shimin's accusations. As Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji approached the central gate leading to Emperor Gaozu's palace, Xuanwu Gate , Li Shimin carried out the ambush he had set. He personally fired an arrow that killed Li Jiancheng. Subsequently, Yuchi killed Li Yuanji. Li Shimin's forces entered the palace and, under the intimidation of Li Shimin's forces, Emperor Gaozu agreed to create Li Shimin crown prince, and two months later passed the throne to him . Li Jiancheng's five sons were all executed as well.

Li Kaigu

Li Kaigu , formally the Duke of Yan , was a general during the reign of Wu Zetian. He was of Khitan ethnicity.

In 696, the Khitan rose against Chinese hegemony under the leadership of Li Jinzhong and Li Jinzhong's brother-in-law Sun Wanrong. Li Kaigu was then a general under Li Jinzhong. By 697, Li Jinzhong had died and Sun had been defeated and killed. Li Kaigu and fellow Khitan general Luo Wuzheng surrendered to Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty. Initially, Zhou generals wanted to put Li Kaigu and Luo to death, in retaliation for their victories over Zhou forces previously, but the Di Renjie intervened and persuaded Wu Zetian to make them her generals. Li Kaigu was subsequently able to suppress the remaining Khitan forces who were still resisting Zhou forces, and in 700 was created the Duke of Yan and bestowed the surname of Wu. However, he was unable to defeat , who eventually established the kingdom of Balhae. It is not known when Li Kaigu died.

Li Tan

Li Tan , known by his princely title of Prince of Jianning , posthumously honored as the Prince of Qi and then Emperor Chengtian , was an imperial prince of the Tang Dynasty. He was a son of who was credited with suggesting to his father the idea of fleeing to Lingwu during the Anshi Rebellion, allowing Emperor Suzong to eventually reestablish a power base and defeat the rebellion. He was also credited with protecting his father on the way to Lingwu. However, he offended Emperor Suzong's favorite concubine and the powerful eunuch Li Fuguo by accusing them of crimes; in turn, they accused him of having designs on the life of his older brother the Prince of Guangping, causing Emperor Suzong to order him to commit suicide. After Li Chu became emperor in 762 , he posthumously honored Li Tan, first as the Prince of Qi, and then as Emperor Chengtian, to recognize him for his contributions.

During Anshi Rebellion

In 755, the general An Lushan rebelled against Emperor Xuanzong's rule, and by 756 was approaching the Tang capital Chang'an, forcing Emperor Xuanzong to flee with his family and close associates. Emperor Xuanzong intended to flee to Jiannan Circuit , but as he reached Mawei , the imperial guards escorting him, blaming An's rebellion on Emperor Xuanzong's favorite concubine Consort Yang Yuhuan and her cousin, the , Yang Guozhong, slaughtered the Yang household and forced Emperor Xuanzong to execute Consort Yang. After the incident, Emperor Xuanzong was intent on continuing to Chengdu . Li Heng did not follow Emperor Xuanzong, and initially remained at Mawei in response to the people of the region's request that he remain to fight against An. Li Heng initially stated that he wished to follow Emperor Xuanzong to Chengdu, but Li Tan convinced him to stay, saying:

Posthumous recognition

In 762, Li Chu succeeded Emperor Suzong as emperor . He posthumously honored Li Tan as the Prince of Qi. In 768, Emperor Daizong and Li Mi discussed further posthumously honoring Li Tan, and Li Mi initially suggested posthumously honoring Li Tan as a crown prince, citing the example of Emperor Xuanzong honoring his younger brothers in that manner. Emperor Daizong, believing that Li Tan's contributions far exceeded those princes, decided instead to posthumously honor Li Tan as emperor and rebury him with ceremony due an emperor. He also Lady Zhang, the daughter of his aunt Princess Xinxing, to Li Tan, honoring her as Empress Gongshun. He had Li Tan worshipped at the same temple that Emperor Suzong had dedicated to his older brother Li Cong, whom Emperor Suzong posthumously honored as an emperor as well.

Chen Yuanguang

Joining the army

At the age of 13, he accompanied his father Chen Zheng , commander of the Southern China military expeditionary force, on a march to Fujian, for the purpose of setting up a regional administration. In April of the second year of the Emperor Gaozong of Tang , Chen Zheng died in the line of duty, Chen Yuanguang took over his father's duties, and led the troops in place of his father. At this time, the emperor granted him the title "General of the left guard, and jade bell defender of the county seat". He then proceeded to quell uprisings by local ruffians such as Chen Qian of Guangdong, as well as Miao Zicheng and Lei Wanxing , both of whom were leaders of a bandit gang named the "savage colleagues" . As a result, the southern Fujian region was pacified, and Chen Yuanguang was promoted to the rank of senior magistrate of upright character, and granted the title of commander of the Southern China military expeditionary force.

Settling Zhangzhou

Respect and admiration from his descendants

Chen Yuanguang's efforts at developing the regions near Zhangzhou and Chaozhou, received praise from numerous succeeding emperors. In the first year of the Emperor Xuanzong of Tang , the emperor granted Chen Yuanguang the title of "the great general, and defender of the leopard scabbard". He also gave him the title of "Marquis of Zhangzhou, the serene, loyal, resolute, and beneficent". Later he also gave him the title "Marquis of the Ying River", and ordered a great shrine built in his honor. The donated a horizontal inscription which read, "Temple of Awesome Kindness" . The Emperor Xiaozong of Song granted Chen Yuanguang the title "Defender Prince of Guangdong and brilliant spirit who accommodates brightness and ferocity". In the Ming Dynasty, his title was again changed, this time to "Marquis of brightness and ferocity". The people of the Zhangzhou region call him the "Sacred Prince, Developer of Zhangzhou." Temples dedicated to him have proliferated in Fujian, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. There are more than 100 "Sacred Prince Temples" in Zhangpu County alone. There are also more than 100 temples dedicated to Chen Yuanguang in Taiwan. Many people still burn incense at temples dedicated to him. In recent years, the Zhangzhou municipal government commemorated Chen Yuanguang by naming one of its main city streets Yuanguang North Road.

Cui Zhiwen

Cui Zhiwen , courtesy name Liren , was an official of the dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a during the reign of .

Local government service

During 's ''Linde'' era , Cui Zhiwen became the military advisor to the prefect of Ling Prefecture . At that time, within the boundaries of the prefecture were two nomadic tribes, the Hun and the Huxue , who were submissive to the Tang, but nevertheless were pillaging the residents of the prefecture. As a result, the residents could not spend their time on agriculture, and had to take up riding and archery to defend against Hun and Huxue pillages. Cui proposed that the Hun and the Huxue be moved north of the Yellow River -- a proposal that the Hun and the Huxue were unwilling to agree to, because they did not want to relocate, and the non-Han general Qibi Heli spoke on their behalf, and so Emperor Gaozong initially rejected Cui's proposal. Cui resubmitted the proposal 15 times, and eventually it was approved. When the Hun and the Huxue reached the new location, they found the pastures fertile and appreciated them. On one occasion, when the Huxue chiefs were going to the capital Chang'an to greet Emperor Gaozong, they visited Ling Prefecture and thanked Cui for his proposal, as it in fact benefited the tribes.

At a later time, Cui served as the prefect of Lan Prefecture . On one occasion, Dangxiang forces were attacking Lan Prefecture, and there were few Tang forces within the prefecture capital, causing a great panic. Cui opened up the city gates and acted as if nothing was happening, and this caused the Dangxiang forces to believe that there were troops hidden within, and therefore went past Lan Prefecture. Later, the general Quan Shancai arrived with a relief force and defeated the Dangxiang. Much of the Dangxiang army surrendered, and Quan initially wanted to slaughter them, stopping only after Cui pointed out that it was unfair to slaughter them all and also that this may cause a violent reaction. Quan, thankful for the suggestion, wanted to give 500 of the surrendered households to Cui as personal property, and Cui declined, pointing out that his proposal was for the state's benefit, not personal benefit. Later, because of this, the remaining Dangxiang submitted to Cui.

Dou Kang

Dou Kang , courtesy name Daosheng , was an official and general during the dynasties Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty who briefly served as a early in the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Tang.
In 604, Emperor Wen died -- a death that traditional historians generally believe to be a murder ordered by his son and crown prince , although they admitted a lack of direct evidence. Yang Guang took the throne as Emperor Yang. Immediately thereafter, another son of Emperor Wen, Yang Liang the Prince of Han, rebelled against Emperor Yang at Bing Province . Emperor Yang, for reasons not stated in historical accounts, suspected Dou of collaborating with Yang Liang and sent the general Li Zixiong rushing to You Province to arrest Dou and replace him. Li subsequently alleged that Dou had received letters from Yang Liang urging him to join the rebellion but had not reported them to Emperor Yang. However, after an investigation, Emperor Yang concluded that there was a lack of evidence that Dou collaborated with Yang Liang, but nevertheless removed him from governmental service and further stripped him of the title of Duke of Chen, bestowing that title on his younger brother Dou Qing instead.