Guo Chongtao
It is not known when Guo Chongtao was born, but it is known that he was from Yanmen (present-day Daixian, Shanxi). All that is known about his family origins is that his father was named Guo Hongzheng (). Guo Chongtao started his military career serving as a follower of Li Kexiu (), a cousin of the major late-Tang Dynasty warlord Li Keyong the military governor ("Jiedushi") of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi). While Li Kexiu served as the military governor of Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern Changzhi, Shanxi), Guo was in charge of much of the affairs of his headquarters and became known for capability and honesty.