Everything about Li Keyong totally explained
Li Keyong (
856–
908) was
Shatuo Turk who was a
jiedushi during the late
Tang Dynasty and was key to developing a base of power for the
Shatuo Turks in what is today
Shanxi Province in
China. His son,
Li Cunxu, became the founder of the
Later Tang Dynasty, the first of many
Conquest Dynasties in
China.
Service to the Tang Dynasty
A Tang official named Duan Wenchu was hated by the subordinate officials serving under him. Those officials asked Li for aid, and he responded by bringing more than ten thousand soldiers, defeating and killing Duan. The
Tang Dynasty responded by sending armies against Li.
However, from the
870s, China’s
Tang Dynasty was racked by numerous rebellions. Among the most serious was one led by
Huang Chao, who sacked
Chang'an in
880. The Tang emperor Xizong asked Li Keyong for assistance and granted him amnesty. Realizing this as an opportunity to expand Shatuo power into central China, Li Keyong sent the Likejun, a 40,000-strong cavalry force, to attack the Huang camp at Tongzhou. Li categorically defeated 150,000 rebels at the Battle of Liangtianpo in
882 and drove Huang Chao out of Chang'an. In February
884, his troops crossed the
Yellow River and destroyed the rebel army at
Battle of Zhongmou. Rebel commanders
Shang Rang and
Ge Congzhou both surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. Li's Shatuo cavalrymen played crucial roles in suppressing the rebellion and forcing Huang Chao to commit suicide in Langhu Valley (near modern day Laiwu,
Shandong province) in
884, helping Zhu Wen to quell the rebellion. For his assistance to the Tang, the emperor granted Li a base in
Shanxi, and was later named the Prince of Jin in
895.
Zhu Wen was displeased by the rewards granted to Li. Zhu failed in his attempt to have Li killed, and the two former comrades became heated rivals from that point.
Relations with the Later Liang Dynasty
After the fall of the
Tang Dynasty in
907,
Zhu Wen founded the
Later Liang Dynasty. While the Later Liang dominated most of northern China, Li Keyong and the
Shatuo Turks maintained a stronghold in
Shanxi. Called the State of
Jin, they maintained their independence from the
Later Liang Dynasty to the south and east. Li referred to himself as the King of
Jin. He died the following year. His son continued to expand the State of
Jin, and managed to overthrow the
Later Liang Dynasty in
923 to form the
Later Tang Dynasty.
Further Information
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