李抱真
In fall 783, after not being given rewards after being summoned to Chang'an in anticipation of further service to the east, the army of Jingyuan Circuit (涇原, headquartered in modern Pingliang, Gansu) rebelled at Chang'an, forcing Emperor Dezong to flee to Fengtian (奉天, in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi). The Jingyuan army supported Zhu Tao's brother Zhu Ci, then at Chang'an, as emperor of a new state of Qin, and Qin forces subsequently put Emperor Dezong under siege at Fengtian. When this news reached the armies fighting the rebels in the east, the collective Tang forces in the east scattered, with Ma and Li Qiu returning to their circuits, Li Baozhen taking defensive position at Linming, and Li Huaiguang heading toward Chang'an, hoping to save Emperor Dezong. Subsequently, when Tian tried to persuade Wang and Zhu Tao's subordinate Ma Shi () to attack Li Baozhen's position at Linming with him, Li Baozhen had Jia secretly persuade Wang that such a battle would not be to Wang's benefit—as if Linming fell, it would become part of Weibo territory, while a defeat would damage Hengji's army. Wang thus declined Tian's invitation and returned to Hengji. Subsequently, at Jia's further persuasion—pointing out that Zhu Tao's title of Prince of Ji showed an implicit ambition to take Wang's Ji Prefecture (冀州, in modern Hengshui, Hebei) and that Zhu Tao was planning to involve Huige forces and attack south to join with Zhu Ci—Wang made a secret pact with Li Baozhen and Ma Sui to turn against Zhu Tao. Wang was further able to persuade Tian and LI Na to turn against Zhu Tao as well. In 784, when Wang, Tian, and Li Na publicly renounced their princely titles, Emperor Dezong, then still at Fengtian although no longer under siege by Zhu Ci, accepted Wang's, Tian's, and LI Na's pledge of allegiance and officially made them military governors again, while honoring Li Baozhen with an honorary chancellor title. Tian Yue was subsequently assassinated and succeeded by his cousin Tian Xu, who continued to be aligned with imperial forces. When Zhu Tao and Huige forces subsequently attacked Tian Xu, Li Baozhen and Wang arrived to aid him. It was said, however, that despite the pact, Li Baozhen's army and Wang's army still viewed each other as enemies due to their long-time rivalry, and the armies suspected each other. Li Baozhen, in order to show Wang his good faith, took only a few soldiers with him and went into Wang's camp to meet him, further showing his good faith by sleeping there. Wang, touched by Li Baozhen's display, stated, "My body has been promised to Brother Ten and will die for you." Together, they defeated Zhu Tao, forcing him to flee back to Lulong and end his campaign to take over the region. (Zhu Tao subsequently renounced his princely title as well and died shortly thereafter.) For Li Baozhen's contributions, Emperor Dezong created him the Duke of Ni, and then the Prince of Yiyang. After the end of the wars, early in Emperor Dezong's "Zhenyuan" era (785–805), Li Baozhen visited Chang'an to pay homage to Emperor Dezong but returned to Zhaoyi thereafter. In 787, when Emperor Dezong tried to put him in charge of an operation to regain the western prefectures lost to Tufan, Li Baozhen declined. (The Song Dynasty historian Sima Guang attributed this to Li Baozhen being displeased that Emperor Dezong had, earlier in the year, relieved Li Sheng of his military command at the suggestion of the chancellor Zhang Yanshang.)