Li Jiji facts for kids

Li Jiji (李繼岌), also known by his nickname Hege (和哥), was an important prince in the Chinese state of Later Tang during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He was the oldest son of Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang (Li Cunxu), who founded the Later Tang dynasty. Many people at the time thought he would be the next emperor. Li Jiji was the official leader of the Later Tang army that conquered the neighboring state of Former Shu. However, the real command was held by the great general Guo Chongtao. After Former Shu was defeated, Li Jiji, following orders from his mother Empress Liu, had Guo Chongtao killed. This event led to a series of rebellions that eventually caused the downfall of the Later Tang dynasty.

Early Life

We don't know the exact year Li Jiji was born. However, we do know he was the oldest son of Li Cunxu, who was then the Prince of Jin. His mother was Lady Liu, who was one of Li Cunxu's wives. At first, Lady Liu was not Li Cunxu's favorite. But when she gave birth to Li Jiji, Li Cunxu thought the baby looked a lot like him. Because of this, Lady Liu became his favorite wife.

Childhood and Early Mentions

The first time Li Jiji is mentioned in history was around 917. One story says that Li Cunxu had Li Jiji dance for a court official named Zhang Chengye. Zhang gave Li Jiji a gift to show his thanks. However, Li Cunxu was not happy because he thought the gift was too small. This disagreement was settled when Li Cunxu's mother, Lady Dowager Cao, convinced him that Zhang was a loyal official.

In 922, Li Cunxu met with an important ally, Wang Du, who was a regional governor. Wang Du suggested that his daughter marry Li Jiji, and Li Cunxu agreed. It is said that Li Jiji became ill as a child and was unable to have children himself.

Becoming a Prince

In 923, Li Cunxu declared himself emperor of a new dynasty called Later Tang. He believed he was the rightful successor to the old Tang dynasty. He named his capital Xingtang and also set up other important cities as capitals. Li Jiji was given the title of defender of Zhending and director of Xingsheng Palace. However, it seems Li Jiji stayed with his father, Emperor Zhuangzong, and the army at that time.

The New Later Tang Dynasty

Later in 923, Emperor Zhuangzong planned a surprise attack on Later Liang's capital, Daliang. He knew this attack was very risky. If it worked, they would win completely, but if it failed, they would lose everything. So, he sent Lady Liu and Li Jiji back to Xingtang and said goodbye to them. Soon after, Emperor Zhuangzong defeated the Later Liang army and quickly took Daliang. The Later Liang emperor, Zhu Zhen, took his own life, ending the Later Liang dynasty.

All the land of Later Liang then came under Later Tang control. An important official from Later Liang, Zhang Quanyi, came to Daliang to show respect to Emperor Zhuangzong. To show respect to Zhang, Emperor Zhuangzong had both Li Jiji and his uncle, Li Cunji, treat Zhang like an older brother. This shows that Li Jiji must have been brought to Daliang by then. Soon after, Emperor Zhuangzong made Li Jiji the defender of Xingtang and gave him an important government title. Later that year, he also had Li Jiji treat another major general, Zhu Youqian (who was renamed Li Jilin), as an older brother.

In 924, Emperor Zhuangzong sent Li Jiji and another uncle, Li Cunwo, to Taiyuan. Their mission was to bring his mother, Empress Dowager Cao, and Li Keyong's wife, Consort Dowager Liu, to Luoyang, which was now the capital. They successfully brought Empress Dowager Cao to Luoyang. However, Consort Dowager Liu refused to go and stayed in Taiyuan. Later that year, Li Jiji took command of the imperial guards. In 925, after his mother Lady Liu became empress, Li Jiji was given the title of Prince of Wei.

The Campaign to Conquer Former Shu

In the winter of 925, Emperor Zhuangzong planned a military campaign to conquer Former Shu, a state to the southwest of Later Tang. His main advisor, Guo Chongtao, suggested that Li Jiji be named the overall commander. Guo believed this would help Li Jiji gain a good reputation among the generals. So, Li Jiji was made the official commander, but Guo Chongtao was his deputy and was in actual command of the army.

The Later Tang army quickly won many battles against Former Shu. Before the year ended, a Former Shu general named Wang Zongbi forced the Former Shu emperor, Wang Zongyan, to surrender to the Later Tang army. Wang Zongbi tried to please Li Jiji and Guo Chongtao by offering them beautiful women and treasures from Wang Yan's palace. He hoped they would recommend him to become the regional governor of Xichuan. However, Li Jiji replied, "These things now belong to my house. Why are you 'offering' them?" He kept the gifts and sent Wang Chengban, Wang Zongbi's son, away. When Li Jiji arrived in Chengdu, the capital of Former Shu, Wang Yan officially surrendered to him, which marked the end of Former Shu.

Tensions and Suspicions

Because Guo Chongtao was in real command of the army, generals and officials who had requests always tried to meet with him. They would pay their respects to Li Jiji in the mornings, but their real business was with Guo. This made Li Jiji's attendants, especially a palace official named Li Congxi, very unhappy. The situation got worse when Guo and Li Jiji set up their headquarters in Chengdu to manage the newly conquered Former Shu lands. Former Shu officials tried to get better treatment by sending gifts and bribes to Guo and his son. Meanwhile, Li Jiji mostly received decorative items that were not worth much, like saddles and dusters. This made Li Congxi and the other attendants even angrier.

Also, Wang Zongbi, who couldn't get Guo to promise him the regional governorship, tried to pressure Guo. He led a group of Former Shu officials to meet with Li Jiji and asked that Guo be made the regional governor. This made Li Jiji believe that Guo wanted to take over Former Shu lands for himself. To show his good intentions, Guo, after getting permission from Li Jiji, soon had Wang Zongbi and his allies executed. But this did not completely remove Li Jiji's suspicion of him. Li Jiji also took action himself, executing two Former Shu generals, believing they were responsible for unnecessary deaths.

The Order to Kill Guo Chongtao

Meanwhile, Emperor Zhuangzong kept ordering Li Jiji and Guo to return to Luoyang with the army. However, at that time, groups of bandits had risen up in the mountains after Former Shu's fall. Guo feared that if the Later Tang army left, they would lose control of the Former Shu lands. So, he sent generals to fight these bandits, which delayed their return. This delay led to suspicions, both among Li Jiji's attendants and in Emperor Zhuangzong's mind. Emperor Zhuangzong suspected that Guo was keeping treasures from Former Shu instead of sending them to the emperor.

Emperor Zhuangzong decided to send a palace official named Ma Yangui to Chengdu to observe the situation. He told Ma that if he believed Guo intended to take over Former Shu, he should meet with Li Jiji and act against Guo. However, Ma met with Empress Liu, Li Jiji's mother, who believed rumors that Guo planned to rebel. She tried to convince Emperor Zhuangzong to order Guo's death, but the emperor refused. So, Empress Liu decided to issue an order in her own name, telling Li Jiji to kill Guo.

Guo Chongtao's Death and Its Consequences

In the spring of 926, Ma arrived in Chengdu. Li Jiji and Guo were making their final preparations to leave Chengdu when Ma delivered Empress Liu's order to kill Guo. Li Jiji hesitated. He thought it was wrong to execute the army's commander, especially without an imperial order from his father. However, Li Congxi and others argued that if the news leaked, they would all be in danger. Li Jiji reluctantly agreed. He called Guo for a meeting, and when Guo arrived, Li Jiji's guard killed him. Guo's sons were also killed. After Guo's death, Li Jiji left Chengdu with the army.

The deaths of Guo Chongtao and another general, Li Jilin (whom Emperor Zhuangzong later killed), caused many rumors among the imperial troops. False rumors spread that Guo had killed Li Jiji and was rebelling, and that Empress Liu had killed Emperor Zhuangzong. This led to a rebellion in Xingtang. Soldiers forced an officer named Zhao Zaili to lead the rebellion. Soon, when Emperor Zhuangzong sent a major general, Li Siyuan (his adopted brother), to fight the rebels, Li Siyuan's army also rebelled and forced him to join them.

As the situation became desperate, Emperor Zhuangzong tried to order Li Jiji to return to Luoyang as quickly as possible. However, Li Jiji himself had to deal with a rebellion. A general serving under him rebelled, forcing Li Jiji to stop and send another general to defeat the rebel before he could continue his journey back to Luoyang. The situation in and near Luoyang worsened for Emperor Zhuangzong. In the summer of 926, Emperor Zhuangzong was killed when the army in Luoyang itself rebelled.

After Emperor Zhuangzong's Death

When Li Jiji heard about his father's death, he had reached Xingping. He decided to move westward and thought about using Fengxiang as a base. When he reached Wugong, Li Congxi suggested that he should go ahead and try to take over Luoyang. However, by this point, the defender of Chang'an had turned against him and destroyed the bridge over the Wei River. This forced Li Jiji's army, which was north of the river, to swim across it.

Once they reached Weinan, Li Jiji's attendants began to leave him. Even Li Congxi told him, "It is over. You, Prince, need to decide what to do for yourself." Another general took command of the army and led it back to Luoyang, surrendering to Li Siyuan.