Li Daozong - During Emperor Taizong's Reign

During Emperor Taizong's Reign

In 626, Li Shimin, then in an intense rivalry with his older brother Li Jiancheng the Crown Prince and fearful that Li Jiancheng was about to kill him, ambushed Li Jiancheng and another brother, Li Yuanji the Prince of Qi, who supported Li Jiancheng, at Xuanwu Gate and killed them. He then effectively forced Emperor Gaozu to create him crown prince and then yield the throne to him (as Emperor Taizong). He recalled Li Daozong from Ling Prefecture, first to serve as the director of vassal affairs, and then as the chief judge of the supreme court. Later on, when Emperor Taizong was planning to attack Eastern Tujue, he again made Li Daozong the commandant at Ling Prefecture. In 630, when the general Li Jing launched the attack on Eastern Tujue, Li Daozong served under him, and eventually participated in the capture of Eastern Tujue's Jiali Khan Ashina Duobi, with Li Daozong's assistant Zhang Baoxiang (張寶相) carrying out the actual capture. Upon return, Emperor Taizong increased Li Daozong's fief by 600 households and made him the minister of justice.

In 634, Li Daozong again served under Li Jing, this time in an operation against Tuyuhun's Busabo Khan Murong Fuyun. Tang forces achieved initial victories, but Tuyuhun forces then burned the grazing grass to cut the food supplies to Tang horses. Most Tang generals wanted to withdraw, but Li Daozong advocated continued advance, and Li Jing agreed, eventually allowing complete victory, as Murong Fuyun was killed by his subordinates, allowing his son Murong Shun, whom Tang supported, to become khan.

In 637, as part of Emperor Taizong's scheme to bestow prefectures on his relatives and great generals and officials as their permanent domains, Li Daozong's title was changed to Prince of Jiangxia, and he was given the post of prefect of E Prefecture (鄂州, roughly modern Ezhou, Hubei), 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 Li Daozong's title remained Prince of Jiangxia and he remained the Prefect of E Prefecture. At one point, he was accused of corruption, and Emperor Taizong, in anger, removed him from the post and reduced his fief, but permitted him to return to his mansion as a prince. Eventually, he was made the minister of ceremonies. After Hou Junji destroyed Gaochang in 640, allowing Tang to annex Gaochang, Hou was unhappy that Emperor Taizong did not reward him as much as he expected and had further investigated him for stealing from the Gaochang treasury. Li Daozong, knowing that Hou was unhappy, warned Emperor Taizong that Hou may commit treason—a warning that Emperor Taizong did not believe, but later, in 643, after Hou was implicated in a plot with the crown prince Li Chengqian and executed, reminded Li Daozong about and thanked him for.

In 645, Li Daozong accompanied Emperor Taizong in attacking Goguryeo, and he served as assistant to the forward commander Li Shiji. In summer 645, they captured Gaemo (蓋牟, in modern Fushun, Liaoning), and then defeated Goguryeo forces at Yodong/Liaodong (遼東, in modern Liaoyang, Liaoning), allowing Emperor Taizong to then capture Liaodong. However, after another victory over Goguryeo forces at Ansi (安市, in modern Anshan, Liaoning), Emperor Taizong became bogged down in his siege of Ansi, and Li Daozong suggested, instead, that he skip Ansi and directly attack the Goguryeo capital Pyongyang. Emperor Taizong initially agreed, but Li Shiji and Zhangsun Wuji opposed, believing that if they did not capture Ansi first, Ansi's defender (a capable general known in Korean popular legends as Yang Manchun, although whether that was his real name is unknown) would attack them from the rear. Emperor Taizong therefore continued to siege Ansi. During Ansi's siege, part of Ansi's city walls collapsed, and Tang forces had an opportunity to enter, but at that time, Fu Fu'ai (傅伏愛), an officer under Li Daozong, was not paying attention, and instead Goguryeo forces fought out from the breach and captured the part of the offensive earthworks that Li Daozong was responsible for, using it instead for defense. For this offense, Emperor Taizong executed Fu, and when Li Daozong, baring his feet to show remorse, requested forgiveness, Emperor Taizong rebuked him but kept him in command of his forces. Subsequently, with Ansi's defenses holding, Emperor Taizong withdrew, with Li Shiji and Li Daozong serving as the rear guard. After returning to Chang'an, Li Daozong offered to resign on account of illness, and Emperor Taizong made him the director of imperial clan affairs, a much less stressful position.