Liu Peng

Liu Peng (; 727 – November 4, 785 ), formally Duke Gong of Pengcheng , was a general of the Chinese Tang dynasty, who served as military governor (Jiedushi) of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing) briefly in 785 following the death of his cousin, the warlord Zhu Tao.

Background Liu Peng was born in 727, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. His family was from You Prefecture (幽州, in modern Beijing). According to the Gravestone Epitaph of his son Liu Ji, he was a 20th generation descendant of Liu Bei. His father Liu Gong at one point served as a commander of Dadou Army . In Liu Peng's youth, he served as an officer at Fanyang Circuit (范陽, headquartered in modern Beijing, later renamed Lulong Circuit), but left military service to care for his aging parents. When Li Huaixian served as the military governor of Lulong Circuit, he tried to recall Liu back to military service, but Liu declined.

Service under Zhu Tao In 772, after Li Huaixian's successor Zhu Xicai was assassinated, Liu Peng's cousin Zhu Ci (a son of Liu's mother's brother) became military governor. Contrary to the prior independent stand that Li and Zhu Xicai took as to the imperial government, Zhu Ci was more reconciliatory and submissive to the imperial government, and in 774, he went to the Tang capital Chang'an and thereafter served as an imperial general around the capital, leaving his brother (also Liu's cousin) Zhu Tao in actual control of the circuit. Liu served under Zhu Tao, and through his accomplishments was made the commander of the Xiongwu Army (雄武軍, based on modern Chengde, Hebei). Later, he was made the prefect of Zhuo Prefecture (涿州, in modern Baoding, Hebei). Emperor Dezong commissioned Zhu to attack Li Weiyue from the north, and Zhu did so; his victories eventually caused Li Weiyue's subordinate Wang Wujun to assassinate Li Weiyue and surrender.

After the victory at Chengde, however, Emperor Dezong made a series of moves that simultaneously alienated Zhu and Wang. He refused to give Chengde's Shen Prefecture (深州, in modern Hengshui, Hebei) to Lulong, as Zhu had requested. Rather, he divided the seven prefectures of Chengde into three smaller circuits, making Zhang Xiaozhong, the first major Chengde officer to submit to Zhu and join Zhu's operations against Li Weiyue, the military governor of a newly created Yidingcang Circuit (易定滄, headquartered in modern Baoding, soon renamed to Yiwu , consisting of three prefectures, while giving two prefectures each to Wang and Kang Rizhi (康日知, another Chengde general who had submitted to imperial authority during the campaign), with the lesser titles of military prefect (團練使, Tuanlianshi). Emperor Dezong, on paper, gave Lulong two additional prefectures — De (德州, in modern Dezhou, Shandong) and Di (棣州, in modern Binzhou, Shandong) — both still then held by Li Na. Zhu was angered by Emperor Dezong's refusal to give him any part of Chengde territory (in particular, Shen Prefecture) and requiring him to capture two additional prefectures on his own, while Wang was angered that contrary to Emperor Dezong's implicit promises to give whoever killed Li Weiyue Li Weiyue's offices, he not only received a lesser title, but was in a position where he could easily be destroyed. Tian, who was then still under imperial attack, thus persuaded Zhu and Wang to join him in an alliance to defend against imperial forces. When Liu heard that Zhu was planning to turn against imperial forces, he wrote an earnest letter to Zhu trying to change his mind: of Taiwei Township. This is an eternal accomplishment for men. If you remain faithful and obedient to the emperor, nothing will go against you. Within our own times, An Lushan and Shi Siming were destroyed and their families slaughtered because they, in arrogance, waged war and not cared about whether they succeeded or not. I am your closest relative, and if I remain silent and do not let you know what I think, I would not be serving you properly. I hope you, Situ, will reconsider, so that you do not regret it in the future.

Zhu did not accept his suggestion, but it was said that because he knew that Liu was faithful to him, he did not fear that Liu would turn against him. Subsequently, as he was turning against the imperial government but Zhang refused to join his alliance with Wang and Tian, he had Liu take up position to defend a potential attack by Zhang.

Zhu died in summer 785, and the soldiers supported Liu to succeed him. Emperor Dezong made Liu the military governor and also created him the Duke of Pengcheng.

As Jiedushi Liu Peng himself, however, soon fell ill, and Emperor Dezong had his son Liu Ji serve as acting military governor in Liu Peng's illness. Liu Peng only served for three months before he himself died, in fall 785. He was given posthumous honors, and Emperor Dezong made Liu Ji military governor to succeed him.

Notes and references

Old Book of Tang, vol. 143. New Book of Tang, vol. 212. Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 225, 227, 231, 232.