During the Tang Dynasty (760-761), an Anshi rebel general submitted to the Tang court and was placed in the Shence Army. In the following time, this person made many military exploits, not only participated in the pacification of the Anshi Rebellion, but also led the Shence Army to fight against the Huaixi rebel general Li Xilie, and participated in the pacification of the Zhuzhu Rebellion. The emperor of the Tang Dynasty was very important to him, first giving him the surname Li, and then making him king. So, who is this famous general of the Tang Dynasty's Shence Army?
1. Return to the Tang Dynasty
This person's name is Shang Kegu, he is not Han, but from the Xianbei Yuwen Department. Shang Kegu's ancestors lived between the pine and the desert for generations, which is now the northeast region. During the Tianbao period, Shang Ke led the troops to submit to the Tang Dynasty and was arranged to serve under the command of An Lushan, the envoy of Fanyang Jiedu. In the fourteenth year of Tianbao (755), An Lushan rebelled, and Shang Kegu also participated in this Anshi Rebellion. After An Lushan's death, Shang Kegu worked for another rebel general, Shi Siming.
In the Shangyuan period, the Anshi Rebellion had reached the later stage, and the situation of victory and defeat was already very obvious, Shang Kegu returned to the imperial court, "awarded the left and right Weiwei generals, and named Baishui County Bo", and became the general of the Shence Army. After the Anshi Rebellion was pacified, Shang Ke was alone because of his military exploits before and after, "changed the test to Taichangqing, and still gave one hundred and fifty households." At that time, it was the eunuch Yu Chaoen who was in charge of the Shence Army, and he admired Shang Kegu very much, "I love his courage and I am very committed to it".
2. Serve the country
Yu Chaoen liked Shang Kegu very much, adopted him as his adopted son, and asked the court to change Shang Kegu's name to Yu Zhide. After that, Shang Kegu was ordered to lead 3,000 Shence troops to guard Fufeng County, and not long after, he moved to Wugong County. Shang Ke was alone in Fufeng and martial arts for more than ten years, and he governed the army strictly, "the soldiers were purged, and the army was safe". In the fifth year of the Great Calendar (770), Yu Chaoen was eliminated by the Tang Dynasty. In order to appease Shang Kegu, Tang Dynasty Zong "gave Ke Gu the surname Li and his name Jiaxun".
In the third year of Jianzhong (782), Huaixi Jiedu made Li Xilie launch a rebellion and colluded with the three towns of Heshuo, which was known as the "Rebellion of the Two Emperors and Four Kings" in history. As the so-called national chaos thinks of good generals, Tang Dezong at this time remembered Shang Kegu, so in July of the fourth year of Jianzhong (783), he appointed Shang Kegu as the envoy of Zhongcheng and Jingxiang to aid Huaixi, and led the Shence army to the Shannan region. In the process of fighting with Li Xilie, Shang Kegu won one after another, "tired of military exploits".
3. Be crowned king
However, in October of that year, the Jingyuan army, which was ordered to go to the front, mutiny occurred while passing through Chang'an, and the rebel army elected Zhu Zhu as its leader. The ambitious Zhu Jun took the opportunity to claim the title of emperor and sent troops to besiege Tang Dezong, who had fled to Mukden. The panicked Tang Dezong hurriedly issued an order to let the soldiers and horses from all over the country go to King Qin. After Shang Kegu heard the news, he immediately led his 3,000 people to Lantian. He defeated the invading rebels many times and regained Lantian in one fell swoop.
Tang Dezong added Shang Ke as the secretary of the Ministry of Inspection, the Imperial Historian, and the envoy of the Shence Jinggi Weinan Shangzhou Festival. After that, Shang Kegu, as a pioneer, followed Li Sheng to recover Chang'an. Tang Dezong was very happy, and immediately crowned Shang Kegu as the right servant of the school and the king of Feng Yijun. Shang Kegu has a calm temperament, "he has not tried to make meritorious contributions, and he is strict with the public", and has been praised by Li Sheng many times. Then, the imperial court sent Shang Kegu to participate in the conquest of Li Huaiguang, and when he arrived at Shayuan, he suddenly fell ill and died in the army.
References: 1. "Old Tang Book"; 2. New Tang Dynasty Book; 3. "Information Governance Guide"