Li Shouzhen facts for kids

Li Shouzhen (李守貞; died 17 August 949) was a powerful Chinese military general and leader. He lived during a time in Chinese history called the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. This was a period when many different states fought for control.

Li Shouzhen served two main states: Later Jin and Later Han. He also briefly worked with the Khitan Liao dynasty. Later in his life, he became worried about the officials around the young Later Han emperor, Liu Chengyou. Because of this, he started a rebellion. However, the Later Han general Guo Wei defeated his uprising.

Early Life and Career

We don't know exactly when Li Shouzhen was born. He came from a place called Heyang (which is in modern Jiaozuo, Henan). People said he was very smart and had a strong personality, even though he grew up poor.

He started his career as an officer in Heyang. Later, when Shi Jingtang was a military governor (a top military leader) in Heyang, Li Shouzhen became his protocol officer. Li Shouzhen followed Shi Jingtang as he moved to different areas, always serving loyally under him.

Serving the Later Jin Dynasty

Under Emperor Shi Jingtang

In 936, Shi Jingtang overthrew the previous emperor and started his own state, the Later Jin dynasty. Li Shouzhen was made an important officer in the imperial court.

In 940, a military governor named Li Jinquan rebelled against the Later Jin. Emperor Shi Jingtang sent a general named Ma Quanjie to fight him. Li Shouzhen went along as an army supervisor. After Li Jinquan fled, Li Shouzhen was promoted to a high position in the palace.

Under Emperor Shi Chonggui

After Emperor Shi Jingtang died in 942, his nephew Shi Chonggui became the new emperor. Li Shouzhen was given two important jobs. He became the commander of the imperial cavalry guards and a military governor of Yicheng Circuit. Soon after, his guard position changed to discipline officer.

In 944, the Khitan Liao dynasty invaded Later Jin. The Liao emperor, Emperor Taizong, had helped Shi Jingtang start Later Jin. But now, the relationship with Shi Chonggui was bad. Li Shouzhen was one of the generals sent to fight the invasion. He successfully stopped a Liao general who tried to attack Emperor Shi Chonggui directly. After this battle, Li Shouzhen was made military governor of Taining Circuit.

Later, a major general named Yang Guangyuan rebelled with Liao support. Emperor Shi Chonggui sent Li Shouzhen to attack Yang. This was partly because Li and Yang had a past disagreement. Around 945, Yang Guangyuan's son surrendered to Li Shouzhen. Yang Guangyuan himself was secretly executed by Li Shouzhen's men, though it was publicly said he died of illness.

Li Shouzhen received many honors for his victories. He was given a special title, Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi, which was like an honorary chancellor. He also received a very large mansion in the capital, Kaifeng, which he made even grander.

In late 944, Emperor Taizong of Liao launched another big attack. As the Liao army left in spring 945, Emperor Shi Chonggui sent Du Wei and Li Shouzhen to chase them. They went into Liao territory but were soon surrounded. Du Wei was scared, but Li Shouzhen ordered an attack during a sandstorm. This helped hide their smaller numbers. The Later Jin generals fought bravely, and the Liao army panicked and ran away. After this victory, Li Shouzhen became military governor of Guide Circuit.

Li Shouzhen also had disagreements with the chancellor, Sang Weihan. Li Shouzhen, along with the emperor's close friends, falsely accused Sang Weihan of plotting against the emperor. Sang Weihan was removed from his powerful positions. Around this time, Li Shouzhen's military governorship moved to Tianping Circuit.

In 946, there were rumors of another Liao attack. Li Shouzhen was sent to the border to command the army. Although it turned out to be a false alarm, Li Shouzhen often passed through Guangjin. The military governor there, Du Wei, often welcomed Li Shouzhen and gave him gifts. This made them good friends. Li Shouzhen often praised Du Wei to the emperor, suggesting they could work together in future battles against Liao.

Later in 946, there were rumors that a major Liao general, Zhao Yanshou, wanted to switch sides and join Later Jin. Emperor Shi Chonggui's chief of staff believed this and had Du Wei write to Zhao. Zhao replied, asking for a large army to help him escape. Another Liao official also offered to defect.

So, Emperor Shi Chonggui sent Du Wei and Li Shouzhen with a large army to attack north. Their goal was to take back land and destroy the Liao dynasty. However, Emperor Taizong of Liao personally led a large army and surrounded the Later Jin forces. Emperor Taizong promised Du Wei he would make him emperor if he surrendered. Du Wei and Li Shouzhen then surrendered their entire army. This left the Later Jin capital, Kaifeng, almost defenseless. Emperor Shi Chonggui had no choice but to surrender, ending the Later Jin dynasty. Emperor Taizong entered Kaifeng.

Under Liao Rule

When Emperor Taizong entered Kaifeng, he declared himself emperor of the Chinese people too. However, his Khitan soldiers started stealing from the countryside, which made the Chinese people angry. To try and fix this, he sent some former Later Jin military governors, including Li Shouzhen and Du Chongwei, back to their regions.

While Li Shouzhen was in Kaifeng, people would curse him and Du Chongwei when they saw them in public. Neither of them seemed ashamed.

Serving the Later Han Dynasty

Later in 947, a former Later Jin military governor named Liu Zhiyuan declared himself emperor, starting a new state called Later Han. Emperor Taizong of Liao had grown tired of the Chinese resistance and decided to go back to his own land. He died on the way. This created a power vacuum, and Liu Zhiyuan quickly took over the former Later Jin territory.

Around summer 947, Li Shouzhen formally submitted to Liu Zhiyuan. Liu Zhiyuan made him military governor of Huguo Circuit and gave him another honorary chancellor title.

In 948, Liu Zhiyuan died, and his son Liu Chengyou became emperor. Before he died, Liu Zhiyuan had left instructions for a group of high-ranking officials and generals to help the young emperor. He also warned them to "defend against Du Chongwei." These officials understood this as an order to execute Du Chongwei, which they did after Liu Zhiyuan's death.

Since Li Shouzhen had been good friends with Du Chongwei and they had surrendered to Liao together, Li Shouzhen feared he would be next. He began to prepare to fight the Later Han government. He also thought he was a respected general and could convince the imperial guards to join him. He secretly sent letters to the Liao court, but Later Han border guards intercepted them. This made the Later Han government aware of his plans. A Buddhist monk and a fortuneteller also told him he would be emperor, which encouraged him even more.

Rebellion Against Later Han

In summer 948, Li Shouzhen started his rebellion against Later Han at Huguo. He called himself the Prince of Qin. He also convinced two other regions, Fengxiang and Yongxing, to join his rebellion.

The Later Han government first sent a general named Bai Wenke to fight the rebels. But the Later Han generals didn't work well together. Concerned, the government decided to have Guo Wei lead the imperial guards against Li Shouzhen. Guo Wei gave the soldiers a lot of treasure to make sure they were loyal to him, not Li Shouzhen.

Guo Wei decided to focus on defeating Li Shouzhen at Huguo first. He believed that if Li Shouzhen was defeated, the other two rebellious regions would collapse.

Guo Wei's troops soon arrived at Huguo's capital. Li Shouzhen had expected the soldiers to join him, but they were loyal to Guo Wei because of the gold they received. This made Li Shouzhen very upset. Guo Wei decided not to attack quickly, as Hezhong's defenses were strong. Instead, he planned a long siege to cut off Li Shouzhen's food and lower morale.

As the siege tightened, Li Shouzhen tried several times to break out, but he failed each time. He also tried to send messages to other states for help, but his messengers were caught. When he asked the monk Zonglun about his predictions, Zonglun said that Huguo would suffer greatly but that Li Shouzhen would eventually win. Li Shouzhen believed him and continued to resist.

In spring 949, Li Shouzhen tried another breakout attempt, but it failed. By summer 949, the food supplies in Hezhong had run out. It was said that about half of the people had died. Li Shouzhen made one more attempt to fight his way out, but he was defeated again.

After this defeat, Guo Wei decided to make a final attack on the city. In fall 949, the outer city fell, and Li Shouzhen retreated into the inner city. Guo Wei surrounded the inner city. Soon after, Li Shouzhen, his wife, and several family members, including his son, took their own lives. Guo Wei then entered the inner city. He captured Li Shouzhen's surviving sons and other officials. They were sent to Kaifeng and executed.