History Interpretation of the Five Dynasties - Reading History to Observe the World. Interpretation of the Twenty-Five Histories

Author: Bai Yulin, Zeng Zhihua, Zhang Xinke / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-07-01
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22. How did Li Kuiyong rise to power? Li Kuiyong (856–908), originally surnamed Zhuye, was a descendant of the Jinyang Jincheng (now northwest of Lanzhou, Gansu) in the Western Hexi region and belonged to the Shatuo tribal aristocracy. His father, Zhuye Chixin, was rewarded by the Tang court with the name Li Guochang for his contributions in suppressing Pang Xun. At the age of fifteen, Li Kuiyong accompanied his father in the campaign against Pang Xun, where he fought bravely at the forefront, surpassing other generals, and earned the nickname "Flying Tiger Son" in the army. After pacifying Pang Xun, Li Kuiyong was appointed as a yajiang (local military official) in Yunzhou. In the third year of the Qianshu era (876), the Tang court appointed Duan Wenchu as the Defense Commissioner of Yunzhou. During a famine, Wenchu reduced military rations, causing widespread resentment among the troops. His subordinates, such as Cheng Huaisu, Wang Xingshen, Gai Yu, Li Cunzhang, Xue Tieshan, and Kang Junli, then supported Li Kuiyong in seizing Yunzhou. The city's garrison joined them, capturing Duan Wenchu and presenting him to Li Kuiyong, who declared himself the acting governor of Yunzhou. The court rejected this and dispatched troops from various regions to suppress Li Kuiyong.
In the fifth year of the Qianshu era (879), Huang Chao crossed the Yangtze River with overwhelming force, and Emperor Xizong of Tang finally appointed Li Kuiyong as the Military Commissioner of Datong and the acting Minister of Works. Later, his father Li Guochang led troops to suppress the Dangxiang tribes, but Tu Hun He Lian Duo seized the opportunity to attack and capture Zhenwu, depriving Li Guochang of his base. Li Kuiyong then set out from Yunzhou to greet his father, but the garrison commander refused to let them enter when he returned. Forced to act, Li Kuiyong and his father looted between Weizhou and Shuozhou, recruiting three thousand soldiers and seizing Xincheng and Weizhou. He later defeated He Lian Duo's siege, regaining his momentum.
Emperor Xizong then sent a large army to attack Li Kuiyong and his father, who were defeated and fled to the Tatar tribes. In the Tatar lands, Li Kuiyong felt frustrated and feared betrayal, so he often went hunting with local heroes or practiced archery, hitting targets from a hundred paces with remarkable accuracy, earning their admiration as a marvel.
After Huang Chao captured the capital in the first year of the Zhonghe era (881), Chen Jingsi, the Military Commissioner of Daibei, conscripted ten thousand former Shatuo soldiers and Tu Hun, Anqing troops to march to the capital. However, the Shatuo army rebelled at Jingshou, looting their way back. Realizing that only Li Kuiyong could control the Shatuo, Chen Jingsi requested Emperor Xizong to issue an edict summoning Li Kuiyong and appointing him as the Military Commissioner of Daizhou and the commander of the northern Yanmen campaign.
In the eleventh month of the second year of the Zhonghe era (882), Chen Jingsi and Li Kuiyong led seventeen thousand infantry and cavalry to the capital. In the first month of the third year, they advanced from Hezhong to Qiankeng, where Huang Chao's army panicked, shouting, "The Crow Army is here!" In the second month, they defeated Huang Chao's general Huang Ye at Shiyigul, and in the third month, they crushed Zhao Zhang and Shang Rang at Liangtianpo, leaving thirty miles of corpses in the field. At that time, troops from various regions converged in Chang'an to fight Huang Chao's army at Weiqiao, forcing him to flee and restoring peace to the capital. Li Kuiyong's contributions were immense, and Emperor Xizong appointed him as the acting Vice Minister of the Left and Military Commissioner of Hedong. From then on, Li Kuiyong established his own territory and used it as a base to launch his bid for dominance.
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