Preface
The battlefield is smoky, the drums of war are constant, who is the Tang Dynasty? Li Ke used this Shatuo fierce general who has endured for half his life, is he a loyal minister or a traitor? How many contradictions and legends is his life full of?
How are his heroic deeds and the dark side behind them distorted and beautified by later generations? From a small cockfighting platform incident to the three arrows that shocked the government and the opposition to help Tang Liguo, how magnificent is the story of Li Keyong's Shatuo giant?
Among the countless warlords who are unscrupulous for power and profit, how did Li Keyong become the legendary figure who will not be forgotten by future generations? Let's unveil the mystery of this hero in the last years of the Tang Dynasty and walk into the life of this legendary figure together.
Shatuo is heroic, the sharp blade of the country
When it comes to Li Keyong, we must first realize that he is not a simple historical figure. Just like what he has experienced in his life, the contradictions and complexities in Li Keyong's body have always troubled the evaluation of him by later generations. But this is also the epitome of his magnificent life.
From the very beginning, Li Keyong was not an ordinary Tang courtier. As a native of Shatuo, Li Keyong was wary and distrusted by the Tang Dynasty court since he was a child. In the eyes of the Tang Dynasty, "Sha Tuo is not my race, and his heart must be different", such prejudice and distrust are reflected in Li Keyong's life's encounters.
The early rebellion of the Shatuo giant
Li Keyong was born in the reign of Emperor Xizong of the Tang Dynasty, during the turbulent times at the end of the Tang Dynasty. As a descendant of the Shatuo nation, Li Keyong has shown strong military talent and leadership since he was a child.
In the Yunzhou Doujitai Incident in 862, the sixteen-year-old Li Keyong led the Shatuo army to rebel and killed Duan Wenchu, the envoy of Daibei Jiedu sent by the imperial court. This incident not only established Li Keyong's position among the Shatuo people in the future, but also made him confront the imperial court for the first time.
The Tang Dynasty court was naturally shocked and angry about this. Li Ke used this open rebellious behavior to bring a lot of shadows to his life path after that. However, after careful analysis, the cause of the Yunzhou Fighting Console incident was not entirely due to Li Keyong's subjective will.
At that time, the Daibei region was suffering from a severe famine, coupled with the harsh administration of the imperial court, and the resentment of the local military and civilians had accumulated for a long time. And the young Li Keyong has just become a concentrated outlet for these dissatisfactions.
At this point, we can't completely characterize Ricky as a pure rebel. On the contrary, he is more like an innocent who has to get involved in the chaos, but with his own ability and influence, he has gradually grown into a leader in the Shatuo army.
offended Zhu Wen and dealt with Zhaozong
After experiencing the Yunzhou Fighting Console incident, Li Ke's rebellious name was already resounding in the Tang Dynasty. But what is surprising is that Li Keyong has assisted the imperial court against the enemy many times since then, and has made a lot of great contributions. Especially in the confrontation with Zhu Wen, who later usurped the Tang Dynasty, Li Keyong performed exceptionally well.
In 885, Wang Chongrong, the envoy of the Hezhong Festival, used slanderous rumors to provoke Li Keyong to oppose the imperial court. Li Ke was filled with righteous indignation, and repeatedly asked for a crusade against Zhu Wen. Although Emperor Xizong at that time was unwilling to offend the powerful Zhu Wen, Li Keyong relied on his military strength to defeat the troops sent by the imperial court many times, forcing Xizong to flee south to Hanzhong.
In 890, the imperial court finally made up its mind to crusade against Li Keyong. The newly enthroned Emperor Zhaozong, at the instigation of Prime Minister Zhang Jun, ordered a large army to crusade against Li Keyong. The result, of course, was a great revenge, and Li Ke defeated the Tang army with his subordinate Li Cunxiao, which shook the capital. The defeat of the Tang Army this time not only made Li Ke ashamed, but also made Zhaozong ashamed, so he had to thank him again.
Such repeated Tang-Li confrontations can't help but make people doubt Li Keyong's loyalty. But after careful analysis, Li Keyong's behavior is not entirely out of rebellious nature. On the contrary, he did so more out of the need to protect his own interests.
As a powerful separatist warlord, Li Keyong is naturally unwilling to easily submit to the imperial court, let alone be checked and balanced by the imperial court. Therefore, he will confront the imperial court again and again to ensure his status and strength in the Central Plains.
At this point, although Li Keyong seems to be loyal on the surface, he is actually more of a warlord who pursues power and profit maximization at heart. The reason why he assisted the imperial court many times was only because he could protect his own interests to the greatest extent.
At the same time, we cannot ignore some of Li Keyong's evidence-based performances in the face of the imperial court. For example, in the battle for the succession of the envoy of the Hezhong Jiedu in 895, when Emperor Zhaozong asked for help, Li Keyong did not take the opportunity to enter Chang'an in the end, but only appeased his relatives Wang, "King Qin, why bother".
This move shows that although Li Keyong is powerful, he is not as unscrupulous as ordinary warlords, but he is sensitive to the threats to the court and the feelings of the people.
A life-and-death duel with Zhu Wen
Over time, Li Keyong's main opponents changed from the warlords Zhaozong and Guanzhong to the increasingly powerful Zhu Wen. This warlord, who later usurped the Tang Dynasty as emperor, had an irreconcilable deep hatred with Li Keyong.
From 898 onwards, the confrontation between Li Keyong and Zhu Wen became increasingly fierce. In this series of confrontations, Li Keyong suffered repeated defeats, and even his son-in-law Wang Ke was captured by Zhu Wen. In 901, Zhu Wen attacked Shanxi on a large scale, almost forcing Li Keyong to a desperate situation. Fortunately, God blessed Shatuo, and Zhu Wen's army suffered from an epidemic and had to retreat.
This series of battles once again demonstrated Li Keyong's military talent. In the face of the powerful Zhu Wen, although the fierce general Shatuo suffered repeated defeats, he finally survived this difficult battle of life and death with his resourcefulness and perseverance.
Later, when Zhu Wen finally usurped the Tang Dynasty and established the Later Liang Dynasty, Li Keyong completely broke up. He not only refused to submit to the Later Liang, but instead held high the banner of resistance against the Liang, echoing Yang Xingmi in Huainan and Wang Jian in Shu, and conspired against Zhu Wen.
Although none of these ambitious warlords were able to truly join forces in the end, Li Keyong still relied on his own strength to firmly oppose Hou Liang's rule. Until his death at the age of 57 in 908, Li Keyong still maintained his loyalty to the Tang Dynasty and refused to submit to Hou Liang. This kind of adherence to the old lord also once again proves that Li Keyong is different from other separatist warlords.
"Heroes of the World" in the eyes of posterity
Li Keyong's life is undoubtedly magnificent. From the early rebellion, to the later meritorious service of King Qin, and then to the last sworn enemy against Liang, Li Keyong's life trajectory made later generations evaluate him mixed.
Some history books describe him as a "rebellious and stubborn" Shatuo rebel, while others call him a "hero of life" and praise his great contributions to the Tang Dynasty. This polarization in evaluation also reflects the complexity of Li Ke's character.
The reason may be because Li Keyong experienced the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty, so he played different roles in different periods. In the early days, his rebellion and arrogance did make the Tang court deeply hateful. But in the later period, especially in the face of the usurper Zhu Wen, Li Keyong became a righteous teacher to defend the Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, when later generations evaluate Li Keyong, they will naturally make completely different judgments according to different historical positions and periods. But what we can't ignore is that no matter how you evaluate it, Li Keyong has always been an important figure in the last years of the Tang Dynasty. His life has undoubtedly left a lot of value for future generations to think about and explore.
And the best embodiment of this is Li Ke's last words with a small thing before his death - three arrows. On his deathbed, Li Keyong gave his three arrows to his son Li Cunxuan, representing the three wishes of crusading against Liu Rengong, defeating the Khitan, and destroying Zhu Wen. Such last words not only reflect Li Keyong's loyalty to Datang, but also fully demonstrate his deep concern for Jiangshan Sheji.
Li Cunmiao really lived up to his father's will, completed these three goals successively, and finally won the country of the Later Tang Dynasty. This legendary story not only makes Li Keyong's heroic image more distinct, but also makes future generations have a deeper understanding of his loyalty.
The "whitewashing" of post-Tang historians
Of course, the image of loyalty and righteousness used by Li Ke is not entirely the result of the objective evaluation of later generations. In fact, in the eyes of the rulers of the Later Tang Dynasty, how to beautify and downplay Li Keyong's early rebellious image was also a very important political task.
Li Keyong's son, Li Cunxuan, founded the Later Tang Dynasty in 923. As a new dynasty at that time, the rulers of the Later Tang Dynasty naturally hoped to establish an orthodox historical image, and Li Ke would undoubtedly become their "heart disease" with such a complex figure.
For this reason, Zhang Zhaoyuan, a historian of the Later Tang Dynasty, took great pains to beautify and downplay Li Keyong's early rebellious behavior when compiling the "Old Tang Book" and "New History of the Five Dynasties". For example, when describing the Yunzhou Doujitai incident, Zhang Zhaoyuan pushed it forward by several years, portraying the 16-year-old Li Keyong as an ignorant teenager, and putting the main responsibility on the other Shatuo generals.
For example, when describing Li Ke's archery skills, Zhang Zhaoyuan is even more beautiful, comparing him to great heroes such as Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, and Cao Cao of the Wei State. It can be said that it was through such conscious historical shaping that the rulers of the Later Tang Dynasty were able to establish a positive image of Li Keyong as a "hero of life".
Of course, this does not mean that Li Keyong really has no loyalty at all, but that later generations consciously rendered and beautified him, making his image more three-dimensional and distinct. It is precisely because of the deliberate beautification of Li Keyong by later generations that the heroic image of this Shatuo fierce general has been passed down to this day.
His former rebellious behavior, although it cannot be completely erased, has been rendered as a righteous rebellion. And his loyalty to Datang in the end has become the most beautiful stroke of his life.
epilogue
Throughout Li Keyong's life, we can find that he is indeed a historical figure full of contradictions and legends. From early rebellion to loyalty in his later years, from his dealings with the imperial court to his life-and-death duel with Zhu Wen, Li Keyong's life trajectory is undoubtedly magnificent.
But because of this, his story has also become a historical classic worthy of repeated contemplation for future generations. Perhaps, it is precisely because Li Keyong's life is so magnificent that it will be difficult for future generations to grasp his true image. But perhaps this is the truest Li Keyong - a legend that cannot be easily defined.
Let's imagine together, if Li Keyong can really become a hero of the Tang Dynasty like those "Qi Huan and Jin Wen" in history, what kind of scene will it be? This question also makes us have to sigh how many regrets and helplessness Li Keyong's life is full of.