Li Jue (Han dynasty) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Li Jue
李傕
After Dong Zhuo's death, Guo Si and Li Jue sacked the Han capital at Chang'an. This is a Qing dynasty illustration depicting the attack.
Grand Marshal (大司馬)
In office 195–198
Monarch	Emperor Xian of Han
General of Chariots and Cavalry (車騎將軍)
In office 192–195
Monarch	Emperor Xian of Han
Colonel-Director of Retainers (司隸校尉)
In office 192–195
Monarch	Emperor Xian of Han
Personal details
Born	Unknown Fuping County, Shaanxi
Died	198
Children	Li Shi one unnamed daughter
Occupation	Military general, politician, warlord
Courtesy name	Zhiran (稚然)
Peerage	Marquis of Chiyang (池陽侯)

Li Jue (died May or June 198), also known by his courtesy name Zhiran, was a powerful military general and politician during the late Eastern Han dynasty in China. He was a key follower of the warlord Dong Zhuo. After Dong Zhuo was killed in a sudden takeover, Li Jue became the new leader of his army. He managed to capture the Han imperial capital, Chang'an, and held Emperor Xian as a hostage. Even though Li Jue was a skilled military leader, he wasn't very good at politics. His constant arguments with other generals and his poor decision to let the emperor escape led to his downfall.

Li Jue's Early Military Career

Li Jue came from a place called Beidi Commandery. He joined Dong Zhuo's army very early on. He helped Dong Zhuo in many battles, like putting down the Yellow Turban Rebellion (a large peasant uprising) and fighting against other warlords who had formed a group to oppose Dong Zhuo. Because of his success in these campaigns, Li Jue became known as a strong military leader.

After Dong Zhuo moved the capital from Luoyang to Chang'an, Li Jue, along with other generals like Guo Si and Zhang Ji, were sent to fight on the front lines. At this time, the warlords who were supposed to be fighting Dong Zhuo were actually fighting among themselves. This made it hard for them to work together. Li Jue and his forces raided areas like Chenliu and Yingchuan, taking many people captive.

The Battle for Chang'an

Before Li Jue could return to the capital, Dong Zhuo was killed by Lü Bu in a plot planned by Wang Yun. The soldiers loyal to Dong Zhuo inside Chang'an then surrendered to Lü Bu and Wang Yun. Li Jue and his friends, Fan Chou, Guo Si, and Zhang Ji, asked Wang Yun for mercy. However, Wang Yun only forgave Dong Zhuo's other followers, not these four, because they were Dong Zhuo's closest allies.

So, the four generals planned to hide. But Li Jue's smart advisor, Jia Xu, told them it was a good chance to attack Chang'an. He said the government was weak after the takeover. The four generals gathered thousands of loyal soldiers and marched towards Chang'an. Wang Yun sent his own generals to stop them, but one was killed, and another joined Li Jue's side. More people from the Liang Province joined the rebels, and their army grew to over 100,000 soldiers.

They surrounded the capital. Lü Bu tried to break the siege but was forced back inside. After eight days, some of Lü Bu's soldiers turned against him and opened the city gates for Li Jue's army. Once inside Chang'an, the rebel soldiers looted the city and killed many people. Lü Bu escaped, but Wang Yun was captured and killed a few days later.

Controlling the Emperor

Li Jue's forces took control of the government by holding Emperor Xian hostage. The four generals wanted important positions. Some even thought about killing the emperor to take the throne, but Jia Xu convinced them not to. With Li Jue as the main leader, they controlled the court, promoting and demoting anyone they wished. People who supported them, like Liu Biao and Yuan Shu, were given higher ranks. Li Jue himself was made General of Chariots and Cavalry and Colonel-Director of Retainers, and given special military authority. At the peak of his power, even the powerful warlord Cao Cao sent gifts to show respect.

Conflicts with Other Warlords

In 194 CE, a local warlord named Ma Teng asked the emperor for some supplies but was refused. He then started a rebellion. Li Jue sent his nephew, Li Li, along with Guo Si and Fan Chou, to fight Ma Teng's forces. They defeated Ma Teng's army, causing many casualties. Li Li wanted Fan Chou to chase and destroy the remaining enemy, but Fan Chou refused because he was friends with Ma Teng's ally, Han Sui. Li Li reported this to Li Jue. Later, during a banquet, Li Jue had Fan Chou killed.

Arguments with Guo Si

After Fan Chou's death, other generals became suspicious of Li Jue. However, Li Jue's power remained strong for a while. Meanwhile, Emperor Xian was hoping someone would rescue him from his powerful regents. Eventually, Guo Si's wife became worried about her husband spending too much time at Li Jue's parties. She convinced Guo Si that Li Jue might be trying to harm him. Later, Guo Si felt unwell at one of Li Jue's banquets and became convinced he had been poisoned. This made Li Jue very angry, and the two leaders began to fight.

Battles happened every day inside the imperial city of Chang'an. The fighting was so intense that the emperor's own tent was sometimes caught in the crossfire. The constant battles made Chang'an a dangerous place to live. This chaos gave Emperor Xian a reason to ask Li Jue and Guo Si to let him return to Luoyang. He suggested that Li Jue could keep Chang'an, while Guo Si and other generals could go with the emperor to the damaged city of Luoyang. Jia Xu helped arrange a temporary truce between Li Jue and Guo Si, and they agreed to stop fighting for a short time.

Li Jue's Downfall

After Jia Xu and Zhang Ji convinced Li Jue and Guo Si to stop fighting, Guo Si started moving east with the emperor. However, during the journey to Luoyang, there were disagreements among the generals. This gave general Yang Feng a chance to rescue the emperor. With help from Dong Cheng and Xu Huang, Yang Feng defeated Guo Si and took control of Emperor Xian.

Guo Si returned to Li Jue and convinced him to make one last attempt to recapture the emperor. But when they caught up with the emperor's group, Li Jue and Guo Si were defeated by Yang Feng, who had gained support from the White Wave Bandits (a group of rebels). Yang Feng and the emperor's group were running out of food. Emperor Xian sent messages to other warlords, asking for help. Only a few responded. Zhang Yang sent supplies, and Li Jue and Guo Si's forces were finally defeated in a major battle.

Guo Si retreated and was later killed by one of his own commanders. This commander then brought his remaining soldiers to Li Jue in Chang'an. In 198 CE, the warlord Cao Cao, who now controlled the emperor, sent people to encourage other western warlords to attack Chang'an, Li Jue's home base. One of Li Jue's own commanders, Duan Wei, turned against him and killed Li Jue and his family in the summer of 198 CE. Duan Wei sent Li Jue's head to Xu city as a sign of his loyalty to Cao Cao.

See also

• Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms