Yuchi Jingde Yuchi Jingde ( 尉遲敬德 ) ( 585 – 658 ) , formal name Yuchi Gong ( 尉遲恭 ) but went by the courtesy name of Jingde , formally Duke Zhongwu of E ( 鄂忠武公 ) , was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty whose bravery later caused him to be incorporated into Chinese folk religion as a door god , along with Qin Shubao . During Sui Dynasty . Yuchi Jingde was born in 585 , during the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui . His surname was of Xianbei origin , and he was from Shuo Province ( 朔州 , roughly modern Shuozhou , Shanxi ) . When agrarian rebels rose against Sui rule near the end of the reign of Emperor Wen ' s son Emperor Yang , Yuchi initially served in the governmental militia fighting agrarian rebels , and was known and awarded for his bravery . Service Under Liu Wuzhou . When Liu Wuzhou rose against Sui rule in spring 617 at Mayi ( 馬邑 , in modern Shuozhou ) , declaring himself Dingyang Khan , Yuchi Jingde joined Liu and was made a general . In 619 , he served under Liu ' s major general Song Jin ' gang ( 宋金剛 ) in attacking Tang Dynasty territory to the south . Around the new year 620 , Yuchi and another general under Song , Xun Xiang ( 尋相 ) , engaged the Tang general Li Xiaoji ( 李孝基 ) the Prince of Yong ' an ( Emperor Gaozu of Tang ' s distant nephew ) , defeating Li Xiaoji and capturing not only him , but several other key Tang officials , including Emperor Gaozu ' s cousin Dugu Huai ' en ( 獨孤懷恩 ) , Yu Yun ( 于筠 ) , Tang Jian ( 唐儉 ) , and Liu Shirang ( 劉世讓 ) . However , when Yuchi and Xun then engaged the forces under the major Tang general Li Shimin the Prince of Qin ( Emperor Gaozu ' s son ) , they were defeated first by Yin Kaishan ( 殷開山 ) and Qin Shubao , and then Li Shimin himself , escaping just with their lives . Subsequently , at the suggestion of the captured Tang Jian , Yuchi released Liu Shirang in order to negotiate peace with Tang , but those negotiations appeared to go nowhere at the moment . In summer 620 , after Li Shimin achieved further victories against Song , forcing Liu Wuzhou to flee , Li Shimin sent his cousin Li Daozong the Prince of Rencheng and Yuwen Shiji to persuaded Yuchi and Xun to surrender , and they did . Li Shimin , who was impressed by Yuchi ' s battle prowess , was happy about this development and put Yuchi , as well as the 8 , 000 soldiers who surrendered with him , directly under his own command , against the misgivings of the general Qutu Tong ( 屈突通 ) , who feared that Yuchi was not truly submitting . During Emperor Gaozu ' s reign . In 620 , Yuchi Jingde was serving under Li Shimin in Li Shimin ' s campaigns against a major enemy for Tang , Wang Shichong the Emperor of Zheng . During the campaign , many of Yuchi ' s former confederates who served under Liu Wuzhou , including Xun Xiang , defected to Zheng . Li Shimin ' s subordinates thus suspected Yuchi as well and put him under house arrest . Qutu Tong and Yin Kaishan suggested that Yuchi be executed . Li Shimin pointed out that if Yuchi really wanted to defect , he would not have waited to do so after Xun ' s defection . Instead , he released Yuchi and took Yuchi into his own tent , stating , while giving him gold : Later that day , when Li Shimin was examining the battlefield , Zheng forces suddenly arrived and surrounded Li Shimin . The Zheng general Shan Xiongxin ( 單雄信 ) directly attacked Li Shimin himself , trying to hit him with a spear , when Yuchi arrived and hit Shan with a spear , knocking Shan off his horse . Yuchi then escorted Li Shimin out of danger . Tang forces commanded by Qutu then counterattacked as well , defeating Zheng forces . Li Shimin awarded him a box of gold and silver and told him , " How does your repayment come so quickly ! " Thereafter , he trusted Yuchi further . Meanwhile , Li Shimin ' s younger brother Li Yuanji the Prince of Qi , who was himself a ferocious warrior , heard that Yuchi had the particular skill of disarming opponents ' lances , and requested a combat demonstration with Yuchi . Li Shimin ordered that they remove the sharp edges from their lances , but Yuchi responded , " I will obey the order and do so , but the Prince does not need to . " Once they were into combat , Yuchi disarmed Li Yuanji three times . Li Yuanji was impressed but also angry from being humiliated . Meanwhile , Li Shimin selected some 1 , 000 elite soldiers , clad in black uniform and black armor , commanded by Li Shimin himself , to serve as the forward advance corps , with Yuchi , Qin Shubao , Cheng Zhijie ( 程知節 ) , and Zhai Zhangsun ( 翟長孫 ) as his assistants . This corps subsequently accomplished much during the campaign against Wang and Dou Jiande the Prince of Xia , who came to Wang ' s aid . In engagement with Xia forward troops in spring 621 , Yuchi was serving directly next to Li Shimin himself , and after they defeated Dou ' s forward troops , Li Shimin wrote to Dou , trying to dissuade him from aiding Zheng , but Dou did not relent . In summer 621 , the Tang and Xia forces , commanded by Li Shimin and Dou respectively , engaged at the Battle of Hulao . During the early stages of the battle , Wang Shichong ' s nephew Wang Wan ( 王琬 ) the Prince of Dai , whom Wang Shichong had sent to Xia to request aid , was on the battlefield showing off his handsome horse . Li Shimin made the comment , " What an impressive horse ! " Yuchi requested that he be allowed to capture it for Li Shimin , but Li Shimin disallowed it , stating , " How can I lose a great warrior for a horse ? " Yuchi did not relent , however , and he took Gao Zengsheng ( 高甑生 ) and Liang Jianfang ( 梁建方 ) with him ; the three of them made a surprise attack into the Xia frontline and seized Wang Wan , capturing him back along with his horse . Later , in the main engagement , Li Shimin defeated and captured Dou , and Wang Shichong , distressed , surrendered . Zheng and Xia territory were seized by Tang . By fall 621 , however , Dou ' s general Liu Heita had risen against Tang rule and regained most of former Xia territory . At that point , Yuchi was not under Li Shimin ' s command , as he was fighting invading Eastern Tujue forces at Yuan Prefecture ( 原州 , roughly modern Guyuan , Ningxia ) . In 622 , when Li Shimin went to fight Liu Heita , however , Yuchi was again under his command , and once , when Li Shimin tried to aid another Tang general , Li Shiji , Liu had him surrounded . Li Shimin was saved only after Yuchi fought his way in to rescue him . Li Shimin was later able to defeat Liu Heita , forcing him to flee to Eastern Tujue . ( Later that year , however , Liu Heita would return and again take over former Xia territory , only to be later defeated by Li Shimin ' s older brother Li Jiancheng the Crown Prince . ) Yuchi also then followed Li Shimin in his campaign against Liu Heita ' s ally Xu Yuanlang . In 623 , he was again fighting invading Tujue forces , this time at Shuo Prefecture , and then in 624 at Long Prefecture ( 隴州 , modern western Baoji , Shaanxi ) . Involvement at the Incident at Xuanwu Gate . By this point , Li Shimin was locked in an intense rivalry with Li Jiancheng , who was supported by Li Yuanji . Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji , because they saw that Li Shimin had many fierce officers under him , wanted to try to tempt them to leave Li Shimin and follow Li Jiancheng . Li Jiancheng sent large sums of gold and silver to Yuchi to try to persuade him to join Li Jiancheng . Yuchi wrote back , declining the gift , and pointed out that he needed to be faithful to Li Shimin . Li Jiancheng , in anger , cut off his relations with Yuchi , and soon sent assassins against Yuchi . Yuchi took precautions , however , and the assassination was not successful . Li Yuanji then falsely accused Yuchi of crimes , and Emperor Gaozu arrested Yuchi and wanted to execute him ; Yuchi was only saved after intercession by Li Shimin . In summer 626 , Li Shimin , fearing that Li jiancheng would kill him , was considering acting against Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji preemptively but was hesitating . Yuchi , in particular , was a major advocate for preemptive action , and when rumor was reported to Li Shimin that Li Yuanji was planning to first kill Yuchi , Cheng , Duan Zhixuan ( 段志玄 ) , and Qin , Yuchi stated : With particular advocacy from Yuchi and Zhangsun Wuji , Li Shimin decided to take action . Li Shimin tried to summon his strategists Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui , who had been demoted out of his mansion based on accusations by Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji , and when Fang and Du initially resisted ( as they feared Emperor Gaozu ' s wrath ) , Li Shimin sent Yuchi to summon them , with the direction that if they refused , that they be killed . Yuchi was able to persuade Fang and Du that Li Shimin was about to take action and that they should not fear , and then divided up with Fang and Du , arriving at Li Shimin ' s mansion separately . Meanwhile , Li Shimin submitted a secret accusation to Emperor Gaozu that Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were committing adultery with Emperor Gaozu ' s concubines and were planning to kill Li Shimin , and then laid an ambush for Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji at Xuanwu Gate , at the entrance of Emperor Gaozu ' s palace . As Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were approaching Emperor Gaozu ' s palace , ready to answer the charges against them , they sensed that something was unusual , and tried to turn back . By this point , though , Li Shimin had them in a trap , and he killed Li Jiancheng with an arrow . Subsequently , Yuchi arrived with 70 men , and they killed Li Yuanji ' s horse , causing Li Yuanji to fall off his horse . Meanwhile , however , Li Shimin ' s horse was spooked and ran into a forest . Li Shimin fell off his horse , and Li Yuanji tried to strangle him with a bow . Yuchi then arrived , and Li Yuanji fled , trying to get back to his own palace Wude Palace ( 武德殿 ) . Yuchi chased him and killed him with an arrow . Subsequently , Li Shimin ordered Yuchi to lead his men into Emperor Gaozu ' s palace , ostensibly to protect Emperor Gaozu . Yuchi entered in full armor and wielding his lance — considered usually to be a highly improper action — into Emperor Gaozu ' s presence , as Emperor Gaozu was attended by the high level officials Pei Ji , Xiao Yu , and Chen Shuda . Emperor Gaozu was shocked and asked , " Who is committing treason ? What are you doing here ? " Yuchi stated to Emperor Gaozu : Emperor Gaozu , realizing the situation was serious , requested opinions from Pei , Xiao , and Chen . Xiao and Chen suggested that he create Li Shimin crown prince , and he agreed to do so . As Li Jiancheng ' s and Li Yuanji ' s forces were then engaging Li Shimin ' s forces , Yuchi requested that Emperor Gaozu order that the battling stop and that all armies fall under Li Shimin ' s command . Emperor Gaozu agreed . When Li Shimin ' s subordinates wanted to massacre Li Jiancheng ' s and Li Yuanji ' s associates and confiscate their wealth , Yuchi earnestly opposed , stating that this would lead to more turmoil , and Li Shimin agreed . Subsequently , Li Shimin awarded Li Yuanji ' s treasures to Yuchi and promoted him to a major general title . During Emperor Taizong ' s reign . Two months after the Incident at Xuanwu Gate , Emperor Gaozu yielded the throne to Li Shimin , who took the throne as Emperor Taizong . Later that year , when Eastern Tujue ' s Jiali Khan Ashina Duobi launched a major attack against Tang , Yuchi was one of the generals sent to resist Eastern Tujue ; he was able to defeat and kill an Eastern Tujue general that he faced . ( Ashina Duobi , however , was able to penetrate all the way to the Tang capital Chang ' an , forcing Emperor Taizong to personally meet him and promising large tributes before withdrawing . ) Late in 626 , Emperor Taizong created Yuchi Jingde the Duke of Wu and gave him , Zhangsun Wuji , Fang Xuanling , and Du Ruhui the largest fiefs among his supporters . Meanwhile , Yuchi , who was known for being blunt , was proud of his achievements . Whenever he disagreed with Zhangsun , Fang , and Du ( all of whom were made chancellors by Emperor Taizong ) , he would argue with them bitterly , and thus had poor relationships with them . In 629 , Yuchi was made the commandant at Xiang Prefecture ( 襄州 , roughly modern Xiangfan , Hubei ) . In 634 , he was made the prefect of Tong Prefecture ( 同州 , roughly modern Weinan , Shaanxi ) , a nominal demotion but considered a promotion as it was close to Chang ' an . On one occasion , when he attended a feast held by Emperor Taizong at Qingshan Palace ( 慶善宮 , in modern Xianyang , Shaanxi ) , another person , probably Yuwen Shiji , was seated above him , and Yuchi angrily stated , " What achievement do you have that you get to be seated above me ? " Li Daozong , who was seated under Yuchi , tried to intercede , and Yuchi , in anger , punched Li Daozong , almost blinding him . Emperor Taizong was displeased and ended the feast early , and thereafter warned yuchi : Only thereafter did Yuchi began to fear Emperor Taizong and start to modify his behavior . In 637 , as part of Emperor Taizong ' s scheme to bestow prefectures on his relatives and great generals and officials as their permanent domains , Yuchi ' s title was changed to Duke of E , and he was given the post of prefect of Xuan Prefecture ( 宣州 , roughly modern Xuancheng , Anhui ) , to be inherited by his heirs . Soon , however , with many objections to the system , the strongest of which came from Zhangsun Wuji , Emperor Taizong cancelled the scheme , although Yuchi ' s title remained Duke of E . He subsequently served two different terms as commandant . In 643 , he offered to retire , and the retirement was granted , but Emperor Taizong still requested that Yuchi attend imperial gatherings once every five days . Later that year , when Emperor Taizong commissioned the Portraits at Lingyan Pavilion to commemorate the 24 great contributors to Tang rule , Yuchi ' s was one of the portraits commissioned . In 645 , when Emperor Taizong wanted to personally attack Goguryeo , Yuchi submitted a petition opposing it , arguing that he should just send generals and not go himself , lest that someone rises against Emperor Taizong ' s crown prince Li Zhi . Emperor Taizong did not agree , and instead had Yuchi follow him on the campaign , apparently as a consultant . After the end of the campaign , Yuchi returned to retirement . It was said that late in his life , starting from around 642 , Yuchi became an adherent to Taoist alchemy , and regularly consumed mica . He also lived luxuriously within his mansion but did not take in visitors , instead spending time enjoying Qingshang ( 清商樂 ) , a musical style said to originate from Cao Cao . During Emperor Gaozong ' s reign . In 649 , Emperor Taizong died and was succeeded by Li Zhi ( as Emperor Gaozong ) . In 658 , Emperor Gaozong , in recognition of Yuchi Jingde ' s accomplishments , posthumously honored Yuchi ' s father as a commandant . Yuchi Jingde died later that year , and Emperor Gaozong ordered that all mid - level and above officials attend the wake . He buried Yuchi with great honors , near Emperor Taizong ' s tomb . Popular culture . Sun Li and his brother Sun Xin , characters from the Chinese classical novel " Water Margin " , are nicknamed " Sick Yuchi " ( 病尉遲 ) and " Little Yuchi " ( 小尉遲 ) respectively because they resemble Yuchi Jingde in appearance . Yuchi Jingde is one of the 32 historical figures who appear as special characters in the video game " Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI " by Koei . His formal name " Yuchi Gong " is used in the game . A sculpture of Yuchi Jingde , with his counterpart " Qin Shubao " , is featured prominently outside the Hilton Hotel in Singapore . However , his name is incorrectly written on the plaque in front as ' Wei Chi Jing De ' .