Li Yichao

Li Yichao (; died 935), né Tuoba Yichao (拓跋彝超), was an ethnic Tangut warlord of the Chinese Later Tang dynasty, serving as the military governor of Dingnan Circuit (headquartered in modern-day Yulin, Shaanxi) from 933 to his death in 935 in de facto independence.

Background It is not known when Li Yichao was born. He was the second son of Li Renfu. During Li Renfu's rule of Dingnan Circuit, he served as an officer at Dingnan's capital Xia Prefecture (夏州, in modern Yulin, Shaanxi).

Campaign against Later Tang forces When Li Renfu died in 933, the officers of the circuit supported Li Yichao to succeed him, and he claimed the title of acting military governor, and thereafter sought to be officially commissioned as military governor from Later Tang.

However, Li Siyuan, the emperor of Later Tang, to which Li Renfu was formally a vassal, had long suspected Li Renfu of being in secret communications with Later Tang's northern rival the Liao dynasty, and therefore wanted to dislodge Li Yichao from Dingnan. So, he issued an edict commissioning Li Yichao as the acting military governor of nearby Zhangwu Circuit (彰武, headquartered in modern Yan'an, Shaanxi), while commissioning Zhangwu's military governor An Congjin as the acting military governor of Dingwu. He also had Yao Yanchou the military governor of Jingnan Circuit (靜難, headquartered in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi), command 50,000 soldiers, to try to escort An to Dingnan. He also issued an edict addressing the people of Dingnan, stating that he felt that Li Yichao was too young to defend the border region that Dingnan was, stating that if he followed the imperial orders, he would receive the great honors that Li Congyan and Gao Yuntao received (after their respective fathers' deaths) and if he disobeyed them, he would receive the disasters that Wang Du and Li Kuangbin received. —or younger, according to the Old History of the Five Dynasties ), Li Yiyin, be put in charge of Dingnan. He died shortly after, and then-ruling Later Tang emperor, Li Congke (Li Siyuan's adoptive son) made Li Yiyin the military governor of Dingnan.