Li Huaixian

Li Huaixian (died July 8, 768 ) was a general of the Chinese Yan rebel state, who later submitted to and became a general of the Tang dynasty, from which Yan had rebelled. As was in the case of several other Yan generals who submitted to Tang but who had substantial army and territorial holdings, Li was allowed to retain his command and territory, semi-independent of the Tang imperial government structure, but unlike the others, he was unable to hold on to power for long and was assassinated on 8 July 768 by his subordinates Zhu Xicai, Zhu Ci, and Zhu Tao. when Li arrived at Fanyang, Fanyang was in a state of disturbance after various Yan generals in Fanyang had fought and killed each other in street battles in the confusion after Shi Siming's death, and it was Li who put down the disturbance and restored order.

After a joint Tang and Huige army decisively defeated Shi Chaoyi and recaptured Shi Chaoyi's capital Luoyang, Shi Chaoyi fled north toward Fanyang. Before Shi Chaoyi reached Fanyang, however, Li sent messengers to the powerful Tang eunuch Luo Fengxian and offered to submit to Tang. He sent his subordinate Li Baozhong to Fanyang County (a city near, but not the same, as Fanyang) to block off Shi Chaoyi's path, and Shi Chaoyi, after being unable to capture Fanyang County, fled further north. Li Huaixian sent an army to pursue him, and Shi Chaoyi, believing the situation to be hopeless, committed suicide. Li Huaixian cut off Shi Chaoyi's head and presented it to Emperor Xuanzong's grandson Emperor Daizong, ending the Anshi Rebellion.

After the An-Shi Rebellion After Li Huaixian's submission, the Tang imperial government was hesitant to move them, fearing another rebellion, and at the suggestion of the general Pugu Huai'en, Li Huaixian, along with fellow Yan generals Xue Song, Li Baochen, and Tian Chengsi, were allowed to keep their territory, and he was made the military governor (jiedushi) of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing), consisting of six prefectures that he controlled. The four former Yan generals formed alliances among themselves, as well as with two other military governors, Li Zhengji and Liang Chongyi, hoping to be able to pass their territories to their descendants, semi-independent of the Tang imperial government, retaining their armies and taxes without submitting them to the imperial government. However, in summer 768, Li Huaixian's subordinates Zhu Xicai, Zhu Ci, and Zhu Ci's brother Zhu Tao, jointly rose against Li Huaixian and killed him. Zhu Xicai took over command of the circuit. Li Baochen, who was friendly with Li Huaixian and lamented his death, sent an army to attack Zhu Xicai, but was defeated by Zhu Xicai. The Tang imperial government was subsequently forced to recognize Zhu Xicai as the new military governor.

Notes and references

Old Book of Tang, vol. 143. New Book of Tang, vol. 212. Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 217, 222, 223, 224.