page_title: Li Sheng (Tang dynasty)
section_title: After Zhu Ci's rebellion
hierarchical_section_title: Li Sheng (Tang dynasty) / During Emperor Dezong's reign / After Zhu Ci's rebellion
caption_attribution_description: 中文: 位于高陵县南一学校的操场内，高陵塔西北侧
context_page_description: Li Sheng, courtesy name Liangqi, formally Prince Zhongwu of Xiping, was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, mostly known for his service under Emperor Dezong in destroying the rebel Zhu Ci and restoring Emperor Dezong.
context_section_description: When Li Sheng's report of victory reached Emperor Dezong at Liang Prefecture, Emperor Dezong was touched and stated, "Heaven granted Li Sheng for the sake of the empire, not me."  Li Sheng executed a number of Zhu Ci's officials and welcomed Emperor Dezong back to Chang'an.  Emperor Dezong gave Li Sheng the honorary title of Situ (司徒, one of the Three Excellencies) and made him Zhongshu Ling (中書令), the head of the legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng), a post considered one for a chancellor.
  After Emperor Dezong's return to Chang'an, he made Li Sheng the military governor of Fengxiang and Longyou (隴右, headquartered in modern Tianshui, Gansu) Circuits, stationed at Fengxiang to defend against Tufan attacks.  He also created Li Sheng the Prince of Xiping.  In the celebrations of the victory over Zhu, when Emperor Dezong was honoring the generals, Li Sheng was honored first, and Hun Jian was honored second.  Subsequently, Li Sheng, after arriving at Fengxiang, executed a number of officers who had previously killed the former military governor Zhang Yi, to restore military discipline.  Subsequently, in 785, when many officials suggested, in light of the imperial government's weakened state, that Emperor Dezong pardon Li Huaiguang, Li Sheng strenuously opposed, pointing out that there were five main reasons why Li Huaiguang could not be pardoned:
  That, after the pardon, if a large army were posted between Chang'an and Hezhong, it would appear as the imperial government did not trust Li Huaiguang, but if a large army were not posted, Chang'an would be exposed to an attack by Li Huaiguang if Li Huaiguang turned against the imperial government again.
  That, after the pardon, territory that the imperial troops had already captured from Li Huaiguang would have to be returned to Li Huaiguang, and there would be nothing left to reward Hun Jian and Kang Rizhi, to whom Emperor Dezong had already promised Li Huaiguang's territory.
  That Tufan, Huige, and another rebel, Li Xilie, were all watching the imperial government's moves, and a pardon would show weakness.
  That, after the pardon, Li Huaiguang's Shuofang Army soldiers would have to be rewarded for their contributions in lifting the siege on Fengtian, and the imperial treasury lacked the resources for such rewards.
  That Hezhong lacked food at the time, and Li Huaiguang was close to defeat in any case.
  Li Sheng further offered to attack Li Huaiguang himself without further supplies from the imperial treasury.  Emperor Dezong thus ruled against pardoning Li Huaiguang, but did not accept Li Sheng's offer to attack Li Huaiguang himself, instead sending Hun and Ma Sui against Li Huaiguang.  Li Huaiguang soon committed suicide under threat of impending attack from Ma and Hun, and his territory was reintegrated into imperial control.
  Meanwhile, a past grudge that Li Sheng had with Zhang Yanshang, the military governor of Xichuan, began to affect Li Sheng's position at court.  Previously, Li Sheng had, after his campaign against Tufan and Nanzhao at Xichuan, brought the military prostitute Gao Hong (高洪) with him.  Zhang, angry with this, sent messengers to chase after Li Sheng's army to demand Gao back, thus causing a grudge between Li Sheng and Zhang.  Late in 785, with the chancellor Liu Congyi ill, Emperor Dezong, who was happy with how Zhang had kept his court in exile well-supplied during the time he was at Liang Prefecture, considered making Zhang a chancellor.  Li Sheng vehemently opposed and submitted a petition listing a number of Zhang's crimes.  Emperor Dezong, not willing to go against Li Sheng at this point, still summoned Zhang back to Chang'an but only made him Zuo Pushe (左僕射), one of the heads of the executive bureau (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng), but not chancellor.
  In 786, the Tufan chancellor Nanam Shang Gyaltsen Lhanang ("Shang Jiezan" (尚結贊) in Chinese), who believed that Li Sheng, Hun, and Ma were the only three people standing between him and a conquest of Tang, developed a strategy to create suspicions in Emperor Dezong's minds against the three.  Thus, durin
caption: The Li Sheng Stele (李晟碑), erected in 839 to commemorate his victories against Zhu Ci, located in Gaoling County, Shaanxi
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