Background
It is not known when Li Siye was born. His family was from Jingzhao Municipality (京兆) -- i.e., the area including the Tang Dynasty capital Chang'an. He was said to be over two meters tall, and was strong and brave. Early in Emperor Xuanzong's Tianbao era (742-756), he conscripted in the army and was stationed at Anxi Circuit (安西, headquartered in modern Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang), and soon gained much battle experience. At that time, Tang soldiers had just adopted the use of a heavy sword known as the "Mo sword" (陌刀), and it was said that Li Siye was particularly skillful at employing it. He often served as a forward commander and was usually successful in battle. The military governor (jiedushi) of Anxi, Fumeng Lingcha (夫蒙靈詧), knew of his capabilities and often had him serve in military campaigns. Because of his accomplishments, he was eventually promoted to be a commanding officer with the rank of Zhonglangjiang (中郎將).
In 748, when Gao Xianzhi, then the deputy military governor of Anxi, led an army against Lesser Bolü (小勃律, a city state centering modern Gilgit, Pakistan), then a vassal of Tang's rival Tufan, Gao selected Li Siye and Tian Zhen (田珍) to serve as his deputies. The Tufan army trying to aid Lesser Bolü was then stationed at Suole (娑勒), near Lesser Bolü's capital. At Gao's direction, Li Siye and Tian launched a surprise attack on Suole by leading their soldiers in climbing a cliff. They caught the Tufan army by surprise and killed 80%-90% of the Tufan soldiers. They then advanced to Lesser Bolü's capital and captured its king and queen (a Tufan princess). As a result of the battle, 72 city states in the region submitted to Tang. For this contribution, Li Siye was made a general.
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