Li You

Li You (died June 22, 829 ), courtesy name Qingzhi , was a general of the Chinese Tang dynasty. He started his career serving under the warlord Wu Yuanji but, after his capture by the imperial general Li Su in Li Su's campaign against Wu, became instrumental in Li Su's victory over Wu. He subsequently served the imperial government until his death immediately following his campaign against the warlord Li Tongjie.

Background and service under Wu Yuanji Little is known about Li You's background, including when he was born or where his family was from. It is known that he came to serve as an officer under Wu Yuanji, who controlled Zhangyi Circuit (彰義, headquartered in modern Zhumadian, Henan), and fought in Wu's campaign of resistance against the imperial government after the imperial government refused to sanction Wu Yuanji's takeover of the circuit after the death of his father Wu Shaoyang in 814. It was said that Li You was fierce in battle, and that the imperial forces feared him. He was also said to have inflicted many casualties on the imperial forces during the campaign.

Participation in Wu Yuanji's defeat By 817, one of the imperially-controlled circuits that was near Zhangyi and which thus continuously battled Zhangyi forces in the campaign, Tangsuideng Circuit (唐隨鄧, headquartered in modern Zhumadian as well), had seen two military governors (jiedushi)—Gao Xiayu and Yuan Zi—defeated by Zhangyi forces in rapid succession; in response, then-reigning Emperor Xianzong commissioned the less-known general Li Su as Tangsuideng's military governor. One of Li Su's tactics, while battling Zhangyi forces, was to capture Zhangyi officers that he considered capable, endearing them, and retaining them on his staff so that he could learn intelligence about Zhangyi. After he first captured Ding Shiliang , Ding suggested that if he targeted and captured Chen Guangqia , the strategist for the key Zhangyi officer Wu Xiulin , Wu would surrender—and after Ding captured Chen, Wu indeed surrendered. Li Su endeared himself to Wu and asked for Wu's input on how to capture Zhangyi's capital Cai Prefecture . Wu responded, "If you, Lord, want to capture Cai Prefecture, you need Li You. I, Wu Xiulin, am not sufficiently capable." Thereafter, because there was a Tufan incursion, Li You was sent to the front to serve as the military governor of Jingyuan Circuit (涇原, headquartered in modern Pingliang, Gansu).

Li Tongjie, knowing that his defeat was at hand, sent messengers to Li You, offering to surrender. Li You agreed and submitted Li Tongjie's offer to surrender to the imperial government, while sending his officer Wan Hong to Cang Prefecture to take control of the city from Li Tongjie. The imperial officer Bo Qi was sent to Cang Prefecture to comfort the region, but Bo, fearing that Li Tongjie was trying to trick imperial forces, led several hundred cavalry soldiers himself into Cang Prefecture. He found an excuse to kill Wan, and then had Li Tongjie and his families arrested and bound, to be delivered to Chang'an. On the way of delivering Li Tongjie to Chang'an, he heard rumors that Wang was intending to try to rescue Li Tongjie, so he beheaded Li Tongjie and delivered just the head to Chang'an.

By this point, Li You was ill, and when he heard the news of Wan's death, he was so shocked that his conditions fell worse. Meanwhile, various generals also submitted accusations against Bo, for having killed Wan for no reason and for appearing to want to take the credits of defeating Li Tongjie for himself. Emperor Wenzong commented, "If Li You dies, it is Bo Qi who kills him!" When Li You did die on June 22, Emperor Wenzong ordered Bo to commit suicide.

Notes and references

Old Book of Tang, vol. 161. New Book of Tang, vol. 214. Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 240, 243, 244.