Li Congke

Li Congke was born in 885, during the reign of Emperor Xizong of Tang, in Pingshan (平山, in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei). His biological father was a man with the surname of Wang. His mother was a Lady Wei; it seems likely, although not completely clearly stated in historical records, that Lady Wei was Wang's wife. During the subsequent Jingfu era (892-893) of Emperor Xizong's brother and successor Emperor Zhaozong, there was a time when Li Siyuan, then an officer under his adoptive father, the major warlord Li Keyong the military governor (Jiedushi) of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Hebei), was pillaging the Pingshan region under Li Keyong's command. He happened to encounter Lady Wei and Li Congke, and he captured them. He made Lady Wei either a co-wife (with Lady Cao, the mother of a daughter who later married Shi Jingtang and would later be empress during Later Jin, and possibly with Lady Xia, the mother of his biological sons Li Congrong and Li Conghou) or a concubine subordinated to Lady Cao. He took Li Congke as an adoptive son and named him Congke. (Li Congke was older than all of his biological sons, and it is not known whether any of them were born at this point, as the age of his two oldest biological sons, Li Congshen () and Li Congrong, were not recorded in history, although Li Conghou and another biological son, Li Congyi, were born long later.) As he was born on the 23rd day of the first lunar month of 885, he received the nickname of "Ershisan" (23), or "Asan" in short. In his childhood, Li Congke was said to be cautious and silent. According to an account that Li Siyuan gave later, Li Siyuan's household was not wealthy at that time, and there was often not enough money for household expenses. Li Congke took on part of the household financial burdens by collecting lime and horse manure, for family use and/or for sale. Lady Wei died a few years after she was captured and was buried at Hedong's capital Taiyuan. == During Jin ==

After Tang fell in 906, Li Keyong's domain became the state of Jin and was ruled by Li Keyong, and then, after Li Keyong's death, by Li Keyong's biological son Li Cunxu, as its princes. Li Siyuan was one of Li Cunxu's major generals, and Li Congke served under him. It was said that Li Congke was tall and strong, and had an impressive appearance; it was also said that Li Siyuan loved him greatly. He became well known for his battle prowess, leading Li Cunxu (who was the same age as Li Congke and who was himself a ferocious warrior) to state, "Not only is Asan the same as I am in age, but he is like I am in daring to battle." Li Congke participated in a major Jin victory over the Khitan Empire in 917, serving under his father. In late 918, Li Cunxu wanted to carry out a major campaign to destroy Jin's southern archrival Later Liang, and personally took an army south toward Later Liang's capital Daliang. He encountered the main Later Liang army, under the command of the general He Gui, at Huliu Slope (胡柳陂, in modern Heze, Shandong), south of the Yellow River (which then served as the de facto boundary between Jin and Later Liang). The Jin army was initially victorious, but a subsequent confusion in communications led the Jin army to believe that it was being defeated, and the army collapsed. In the confusion, the major general Zhou Dewei was killed, and Li Siyuan lost communications with Li Cunxu, while Li Congke was in the small group of soldiers accompanying Li Cunxu himself. Li Siyuan, believing that Li Cunxu had already crossed the Yellow River north back into Jin territory, headed north across the river, while Li Cunxu, in actuality, was still trying to battle out of the confused rout. Li Congke, serving under Li Cunxu, subsequently assisted Li Cunxu in capturing an earthen mound, allowing Li Cunxu to have superior positioning to launch a counterattack. The Jin counterattack was successful, allowing the Jin army to kill a large number of Later Liang soldiers and leading to the overall battle being effectively a draw, with both armies having lost two-thirds of their soldiers and unable to attack each other again for some time. At the end of the battle, Li Cunxu was able to capture Puyang (濮陽, in modern Puyang, Henan) as a waypoint to his eventual withdrawal back to his own territory. Li Congke also contributed to the successful counterattack. When Li Siyuan subsequently heard that Li Cunxu was at Puyang, he turned back south and rendezvoused with Li Cunxu there. Li Cunxu, displeased, stated, "Lord, you believed that I was dead? Why did you cross the river?" Li Siyuan had to bow and apologize. It was said that Li Cunxu acted like he forgave Li Siyuan due to Li Congke's contributions, but did not completely do so in his heart, distancing himself from Li Siyuan for several years. == During Li Cunxu's reign as emperor of Later Tang ==

In 922, Li Cunxu claimed the title of emperor of a new state of Later Tang. However, at that time, Later Tang was facing military pressure both from Later Liang and Khitan, and the military food supply and morale were low. At that time, the main Later Liang army was commanded by Dai Siyuan, who also served as the military governor of Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern Tai'an, Shandong). He left his officers Lu Shunmi (), Liu Suiyan (), and Yan Yong () at Tianping's capital Yun Prefecture () to defend it. Shortly after Li Cunxu's declaration of imperial title, however, Lu defected to Later Tang and revealed that Yun was defended by less than 1,000 soldiers and that Liu and Yan lacked support from the soldiers. He advocated that Later Tang attack it by surprise. As Yun was deep in Later Liang territory south of the Yellow River, however, most of Li Cunxu's generals, including his chief of staff (Shumishi) Guo Chongtao, opposed Lu's proposal, believing that it would be dangerous and futile. Li Siyuan, however, wanting to repair his relationship with Li Cunxu, offered to command this mission by himself. Li Cunxu agreed, and allowed him to take 5,000 soldiers to, under cover of darkness, rapidly descend on Yun to attack it. Li Siyuan's army managed to evade Later Liang detection, and when they reached Yun, Li Congke led the soldiers in scaling the walls. The city fell to Li Siyuan, who was commissioned the military governor of Tianping and held it for Later Tang over the next several months as the Later Liang army (by then under the command of Wang Yanzhang) futilely tried to cut off the supply route from Later Tang proper to Yun. Later Liang's emperor Zhu Zhen then decided to replace Wang with Duan Ning. Duan crossed the Yellow River and headed for Chan Prefecture (澶州, in modern Anyang, Henan) and prepared an ambitious four-prong attack against Later Tang: (Apparently it was around this time that, on an occasion when Li Congke was at Zhen Prefecture – which served as the capital of Chengde Circuit (), which his father Li Siyuan was the military governor of – LI Congke and Li Siyuan's close associate An Chonghui got into a dispute at dinner. Li Congke punched An hard in the head, and An only avoided further injury by fleeing. Li Congke later regretted and apologized, but while An accepted the apology, he bore a grudge against Li Congke from that point on.) Before he could reach there, though, Li Cunxu was killed in a mutiny at Luoyang itself. Li Siyuan entered Luoyang and took the title of regent, as he was apparently undecided at that time whether to support Li Cunxu's son Li Jiji the Prince of Wei, who was returning from an expedition that destroyed Later Tang's southwestern neighbor Former Shu. == During Li Siyuan's reign ==

However, Li Siyuan subsequently became resolved to resist Li Jiji, and he sent Li Congke to Huguo Circuit (護國, headquartered in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi) and Shi Jingtang to Baoyi Circuit (保義, headquartered in modern Sanmenxia, Henan), to serve as their acting military governors and to defend against potential attacks by Li Jiji. Li Jiji's own army abandoned him, however, and he committed suicide, ending the possibility of a confrontation. Li Siyuan then took imperial title. An then induced the chancellors Zhao Feng and Feng Dao to suggest that, due to the loss of the control of the circuit, Li Congke should be punished. Li Siyuan, however, refused, and he did as well when An himself spoke on the issue, but ordered Li Congke to return to his mansion at the capital. After Suo was subsequently made the military governor of Huguo, An encouraged him to make false reports that Li Congke was making weapons without permission. It was said that it was only due to efforts of Li Siyuan's favorite concubine Consort Wang that Li Congke escaped further punishment. The officials did not dare to associate with Li Congke, except for Li Qi, who lived close to Li Congke, and during this period of home living, Li Congke often consulted Li Qi before submitting monthly reports to Li Siyuan. In late 933, Li Siyuan fell deathly ill. Li Congrong, fearing that he would not be able to inherit the throne, tried to seize power, but was defeated and killed by the imperial guards. Li Siyuan died shortly after, and Li Conghou inherited the throne. == During Li Conghou's reign ==

Li Conghou's administration was dominated by his chiefs of staff Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Yun, who were apprehensive of both Li Congke and Shi Jingtang, who was then the military governor of Hedong, as both had served Li Siyuan far longer and had greater popularity among the imperial troops. Their suspicions were stoked by the failure of Li Congke to come to Luoyang to attend to Li Siyuan's funeral. They decided to place greater control on Li Congke's family by sending Li Congke's son Li Chongji (), who had been an imperial guard officer, to Bo Prefecture (亳州, in modern Bozhou, Anhui) to serve as its prefect, and by summoning Li Congke's daughter Li Huiming (), who had become a Buddhist nun at Luoyang, into the palace to keep her under guard. These moves caused Li Congke to be fearful of their intentions. In spring 934, Zhu and Feng, not wanting Shi and Li Congke to become entrenched at their circuits, issued orders as chiefs of staff – without an imperial edict – transferring Li Congke to Hedong, Shi to Chengde, and Chengde's military governor Fan Yanguang to Tianxiong Circuit (天雄, headquartered at Yedu). Fearful of the implications – particularly because Li Congzhang was to serve as acting military governor of Fengxiang, and Li Congzhang was known for violence, including personally killing An Chonghui with his hands – Li Congke consulted his staff members, most of whom advised him to rebel. He therefore did so, issuing a declaration that targeted Zhu and Feng for improper administration, killing Li Congrong, and supporting Li Conghou. Li Congke's declaration initially drew little support from other regional governors, most of whom arrested his messengers while some were acting ambiguously. Li Conghou subsequently commissioned Chang'an's defender Wang Sitong to head the imperial army against Li Congke. The imperial army quickly arrived at Fengxiang's capital Fengxiang Municipality and put it under siege. As the city's walls were low and difficult to defend, the city came close to falling. Li Congke, hoping to sway the imperial army's morale, went up city walls and tearfully stated to them: Many of the imperial soldiers had already been inclined to support Li Congke, and the speech touched them. When the imperial general Zhang Qianzhao () subsequently forced soldiers to scale Fengxiang's walls by threatening them with swords, the soldiers mutinied. The officer Yang Siquan () took the opportunity to defect to Li Congke with his troops, leading to a general panic among the imperial troops. Most surrendered to Li Congke, while Wang and Yao fled but were eventually captured. Li Congke advanced toward Luoyang. Li Conghou had Li Chongji and Li Huiming executed, and put his remaining troops under the command of Kang Yicheng (), who was to head west to resist Li Congke. However, when Kang's army encountered Li Congke's, Kang, as he had previously planned, surrendered to Li Congke as well. Hearing of this and believing that he had no further means to resist, Li Conghou fled the capital. When the officials remaining at Luoyang then offered the throne to Li Congke, Li Congke initially declined. However, Empress Dowager Cao then issued an edict deposing Li Conghou and declaring Li Congke emperor, and Li Congke accepted. Li Conghou initially tried to resist by enlisting aid from Shi, who had headed south, initially with the intent of supporting Li Conghou, but Shi, judging the situation to be untenable, had Li Conghou's guards killed, leaving him defenseless. Li Congke subsequently sent messengers to Wei Prefecture, where Li Conghou had fled, to have Li Conghou killed. Li Conghou's wife Empress Kong and their four sons were also killed. == Reign ==

One immediate issue for Li Congke to confront was that the imperial treasury lacked the resources for him to give out rewards of what he promised both his initial own Fengxiang soldiers and the imperial soldiers who submitted to him. Listening to the imperial scholar Li Zhuanmei (), he gave out a reduced amount of rewards within the means of the imperial treasury, which drew resentment. Another issue he had to confront was what to do with Shi Jingtang, whom, while a brother-in-law, he had long had a rivalry with. Empress Dowager Cao and Shi's wife the Princess of Wei both requested that Shi be allowed to return to Hedong, but Li Congke's own close associates mostly advocated keeping Shi at Luoyang. Li Congke's chief of staff Han Zhaoyin and Li Zhuanmei, however, believed that keeping Shi at Luoyang would cause both another brother-in-law, Zhao Yanshou the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered at Daliang) and Zhao's father Zhao Dejun the military governor of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing), to become apprehensive. As Shi appeared physically feeble at the time (after a lengthy illness), Li Congke considered him unlikely to be a future threat, and therefore sent him back to Hedong. Throughout 935, there were repeated Khitan raids into Later Tang territory. Further, there were various floods and droughts in the realm, such that, as a combination, there were famines and refugee flights. With Shi and Zhao Dejun repeatedly asking for reinforcements and supplies, the people were becoming overburdened. Further, during a time when an imperial emissaries were delivering military uniforms to Shi's soldiers, Shi's soldiers were repeatedly chanting at Shi, "May you live 10,000 years!" (That was a statement that was only supposed to be stated to emperors.) While Shi executed 36 soldiers who led the chant, Li Congke nevertheless became more suspicious of Shi, and therefore commissioned Zhang Jingda the military governor of Wuning Circuit (武寧, headquartered in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu) to be Shi's deputy as the commander of the armies in the north, to divide Shi's authority. == Defeat and death ==

By spring 936, the tension between Li Congke and Shi had become very strong – as Shi was gathering up his wealth and consolidating them at Hedong, and it was commonly believed that Shi would rebel. Li Congke aggravated the situation when Shi's wife – whose title had by that point had become the greater title of Grand Princess of Jin – came to Luoyang to celebrate Li Congke's birthday. After she offered Li Congke wine to wish him long life, she asked to take leave of him and return to Hedong. Li Congke was already drunk, and he made the comment, "Why do you not stay longer? You wanted to return so quickly. Is it that you are about to rebel with Master Shi?" When she returned to Taiyuan and informed Shi, Shi became even more apprehensive. == In fiction==

Li Congke's background was the basis of a 14th-century zaju by the Yuan Dynasty playwright Guan Hanqing titled "Madame Liu Hosts the Celebration Feast for the Five Marquesses" (). == Personal information ==

• Father • Lord Wang (), personal name unknown • Mother • Lady Wei, posthumously honored the Lady of Lu, later further honored Empress Xuanxian (honored 935), personal name unknown • Adoptive Father • Li Siyuan • Wife • Empress Liu, initially the Lady of Pei, later empress (created 934, committed suicide 937) • Children • Li Chongji (), born by Empress Liu (killed by Li Conghou 934) • Li Chongmei (), the Prince of Yong (created 936, committed suicide 937) • Li Huiming (), Buddhist nun with the dharma name Youcheng () (killed by Li Conghou 934) • A daughter, still young when Li Congke died == References ==