Li Keyong - During Emperor Zhaozong's and Emperor Ai's Reigns - Protracted Warfare Against Neighboring Circuits

Protracted Warfare Against Neighboring Circuits

Li Keyong also resumed his campaign against Helian in summer 891, putting Yun Prefecture under siege. By fall 891, Helian had run out of food supplies, and he fled to Li Kuangwei's Lulong Circuit. Li Keyong took over Datong Circuit and made his officer Shi Shanyou (石善友) the defender of Datong. Meanwhile, at the suggestion of Li Cunxiao (who had now been made the military governor of Xingming Circuit — i.e., Meng Fangli's old territory), Li Keyong also launched an attack on Wang Rong's Chengde Circuit in fall 891, but after Li Kuangwei launched troops to aid Wang, Li Keyong withdrew back to Ming Prefecture. Wang and Li Kuangwei subsequently counterattacked in spring 892, but Li Keyong repelled them. Li Keyong and Wang Chucun subsequently attacked Chengde with indecisive results. He withdrew, and later in the year repelled an effort by Li Kuangwei and Helian to recapture Datong.

Meanwhile, by winter 892, Li Cunxiao had become fearful and resentful after Li Cunxin had accused him of being in secret communications with Wang Rong and Zhu Quanzhong. In reaction, Li Cunxiao in fact entered into a pact with Wang Rong and Zhu, and also submitted a petition to Emperor Zhaozong, offering the three prefectures that he controlled to the imperial government and asking for another campaign against Li Keyong. Emperor Zhaozong commissioned Li Cunxiao as the military governor of the three prefectures, but refused to declare a campaign against Li Keyong. In spring 893, Li Keyong put Li Cunxiao's headquarters at Xing Prefecture under siege, and when Wang Rong sent troops to try to aid Li Cunxiao, Li Keyong defeated them, and then shifted his attention to sieging Wang Rong's headquarters at Zhen Prefecture (鎮州). Li Cunxiao joined Wang in defending against Li Keyong, and both sought aid from Zhu, but Zhu was then locked into a prolonged confrontation with Shi Pu and could not come to their aid. Li Kuangwei, however, did, and defeated Li Keyong, who returned to Xing and again put it under siege. (The battle was costly for Li Kuangwei, however, as his brother Li Kuangchou used the opportunity to mutiny at Lulong's capital You Prefecture and seized the circuit. Li Kuangwei, for some time, remained at Zhen Prefecture as Wang Rong's honored guest, but when he then tried to seize the circuit from Wang Rong, Wang's guards killed him.)

In fall 893, when Wang again tried to come to Li Cunxiao's aid, Li Keyong defeated him and again attacked Zhen. Wang, in fear, agreed to stop aiding Li Cunxiao and agreed to supply Li Keyong's troops with food and reinforcements. Thereafter, Li Cunxiao became without outside aid, and soon was trapped inside Xing's city walls. He ran out of supplies in spring 894 and offered to surrender, and did actually do so when Li Keyong sent Lady Liu inside the city to escort him out. Li Keyong put Li Cunxiao under arrest and took him back to Taiyuan, ordering that he be publicly executed by drawing and quartering — but actually intending to spare Li Cunxiao, due to his past accomplishments. Li Keyong expected that at the execution, someone would speak up on Li Cunxiao's behalf, and then he could spare Li Cunxiao without losing authority, but all of the other officers were jealous of Li Cunxiao and therefore did not speak up — and the execution proceeded. After Li Cunxiao was executed, another fierce officer, Xue Atan (薛阿檀), whom the other officers similarly were jealous of and who was in secret communications with Li Cunxiao, committed suicide, and it was said that it was from this point on that Li Keyong's strength began to wane — although around this time, he was able to defeat and finally kill Helian.

Meanwhile, by this point, Zhu had defeated Shi and taken over Shi's Ganhua Circuit, and was further trying to conquer Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern Tai'an, Shandong), under the control of Zhu Xuan, and Taining Circuit, under the control of Zhu Xuan's cousin Zhu Jin. Both Zhu Xuan and Zhu Jin sought aid from Li Keyong, and Li Keyong repeatedly sent aid troops to them, with the permission of Luo Hongxin the military governor of Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan). Meanwhile, after Li Keyong initially failed in sending the Lulong officer Liu Rengong, who had fled to him after Li Kuangchou's mutiny against Li Kuangwei, back to Lulong to take it over, Li Kuangchou attacked Hedong. In winter 894, Li Keyong launched a major counterattack and captured Lulong, forcing Li Kuangchou to flee. (Li Kuangchou was subsequently killed by Lu Yanwei the military governor of Yichang Circuit (義昌, headquartered in modern Cangzhou, Hebei), when he tried to flee to Yichang.) Li Keyong installed Liu as Lulong's acting military governor.