Sui and Tang · General

Li Cheng 李澄

c. AD 733 - AD 786

Passages: 18
Chapters: 1
Histories: 1

Overview

Li Cheng was a general.

Life and dates

Death

AD 786 貞元二年
Age 54
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 141, passage 102

Age

54
Reckoning Sui
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 141, passage 102

Attested activity

AD 784 興元元年
Dated from the passage context · New Book of Tang 141, passage 190
AD 786 貞元二年
Dated from the passage context · New Book of Tang 141, passage 102
AD 785 貞元初
Dated from the passage context · New Book of Tang 141, passage 101

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Descendant of Li Kuan (李寬)
distant descendant 遠胄
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 141, passage 186
Parent of Li Kening (李克寧)
son 子
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 141, passage 96

Career and standing

minister of justice; military commissioner of Bian and Hua 刑部尚書、汴滑節度使
AD 784 興元元年 · Appointed
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 141, passage 191
military governor of Yicheng army 義成軍節度使
AD 785 貞元初 · Appointed
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 141, passage 101
prefect of Huazhou 滑州刺史
Appointed
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 141, passage 188
prince of Wuwei commandery 武威郡王
Granted
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 141, passage 194
Duke of Longxi 隴西公
Held
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 141, passage 103

Places and affiliations

At Xiangping in Liaodong 遼東襄平
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 141, passage 186

Events and relationships

Surrendered Bian to Li Xilie
Military · Surrendering commander · With Li Xilie (李希烈)
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 141, passage 189

Assessments and attributes

Assessment rustic manners · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 141, passage 103

References in the histories

Search passages

History

18 passages

New Book of Tang, Chapter 141Volume 141 Biographies 66: Cui, Deng, Wei, Wei, Li Han, Lu, Gao · 18 passages

崔鄧魏衛李韓盧高 Cui, Deng, Wei, Wei, Li, Han, Lu, and Gao

李澄，遼東襄平人，隋蒲山公寬之遠胄。 Li Cheng was a native of Xiangping in Liaodong, a distant descendant of Duke Kuan of Pushan in the Sui dynasty.

又從永平節度李勉軍，勉帥汴，表澄滑州刺史。 He later followed Yongping military commissioner Li Mian's army. When Mian took Bian as headquarters, he memorialized for Cheng to be prefect of Huazhou.

李希烈陷汴，勉走，澄以城降賊，希烈以為尚書令，節度永平軍。 Li Xilie took Bian. Mian fled, and Cheng surrendered the city to the rebels. Xilie made him chancellor and military commissioner of Yongping Army.

興元元年，澄遣盧融間道奉表詣行在。 In the first year of Xingyuan, Cheng sent Lu Rong by a hidden route bearing a memorial to the mobile court.

德宗嘉之，署帛詔內蜜丸，授澄刑部尚書、汴滑節度使，澄未即宣，乃行勒訓士馬。 Dezong commended this, placed the silk edict within a wax pellet, and appointed Cheng minister of justice and military commissioner of Bian and Hua. Cheng did not announce it at once, but went out drilling and training troops and horses.

賊急攻寧陵，邀澄至石柱，澄密令焚營為驚遁者，養子輩果乘以剽掠，澄盡斬之，以告，希烈不能詰。 The rebels pressed hard against Ningling and summoned Cheng to Shizhu. Cheng secretly ordered the camp burned as though in panicked flight. The adopted sons indeed took advantage to loot, and Cheng had them all beheaded and reported it. Xilie could not pursue the matter further.

賊遣將翟崇暉率精兵寇陳州，未還，汴軍寡，澄度不能制己，又中官薛盈珍持節至，封澄武威郡王，賜實封，乃燔賊旗節自歸。 The rebels sent general Zhai Chonghui with elite troops to raid Chenzhou. Before he returned, Bian had few troops, and Cheng judged that Xilie could no longer control him. Moreover the palace eunuch Xue Yingzhen arrived bearing credentials, enfeoffing Cheng as prince of Wuwei commandery and granting a permanent fief. Cheng thereupon burned the rebel banners and credentials and returned to allegiance.

希烈既失澄，而崇暉復敗，由是奔汝南。 Xilie having lost Cheng, and Chonghui again defeated, on this account fled to Runan.

澄引兵將取汴，屯其北門不敢進，及劉洽師屯東門，賊將田懷珍納之。 Li Cheng led troops intending to take Bian, camped at its north gate and dared not advance; when Liu Qia's army camped at the east gate, the rebel general Tian Huaizhen surrendered to him.

比澄入，洽已保子城矣。 By the time Cheng entered, He had already held the inner city.

澄乃舍浚儀，兩軍士日爭忿，未能安。 Cheng then abandoned Junyi; the soldiers of the two armies quarreled daily in resentment and could not settle down.

會鄭州賊將孫液送款於澄，澄遣子清馳赴。 When Zhengzhou rebel general Sun Ye sent terms to Cheng, Cheng sent his son Qing galloping to respond.

清助守，殺河陽兵數千，希顥焚陽武去，澄遂如鄭。 Qing helped defend, killed several thousand Heyang troops; Xixian burned Yangwu and left; Cheng then went to Zheng.

貞元初，遷澄檢校尚書左僕射、義成軍節度使。 At the beginning of the Zhenyuan era, Cheng was made acting left vice director of the Department of State Affairs and military governor of the Yicheng army.

澄始封隴西公，後乃進王爵，每上章，必疊署二封，士大夫笑其野。 Cheng was first enfeoffed as Duke of Longxi and later advanced to princely rank; whenever he submitted a memorial he would sign it twice, and the scholar-officials laughed at his rustic manners.

澄之喪，克寧不發，閱旬日，欲自領事，其行軍司馬馬鉉不許，克寧殺之，墨绖，加卒嬰城，將為亂。 When Cheng died, Kening did not begin the funeral rites; after ten days he wished to take command himself, but his campaigning deputy Ma Xuan would not permit it, so Kening killed him, wore ink mourning, reinforced the walls with troops, and was about to rebel.

詔以賈耽代鎮，克寧乃護喪歸，悉索府中財夜出，軍士從剽之殆盡，澄柩至京，猶賜克寧莊一區、錢千緡、粟麥數千石雲。 An edict appointed Jia Dan to replace him in command; Kening then escorted the coffin home, searched out all the headquarters wealth by night and carried it away, and the soldiers followed in plundering until nearly nothing remained. When Cheng's coffin reached the capital, Kening was still granted an estate, a thousand strings of cash, and several thousand piculs of grain and wheat.