during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. He was a Ba-Di from present-day Gansu, who due to Qi Wannian's rebellion in 296, decided to move back to his ancestral home in Yizhou. His brother Li Xiáng then joined a rebellion in 300 headed by Zhao Xin but was betrayed and killed by Zhao the following year, causing Li Te to retaliate and drive out Zhao from Yizhou before submitting to the Jin dynasty (266–420). Li Te was a popular figure among the refugees of Yizhou, who all sought his protection after the Jin court issued an order forcing them to return to their provinces despite the problems that led to their migration still persisting in those regions. After months of evading the order, Jin forces led by
took action in 301 and attacked Li Te. For the next two year, Li Te fought Luo Shang with consistent success, going as far as reaching Chengdu and declaring a new reign era before he was abruptly killed in an ambush in 303. Even then, his brother
would continue his war with the latter finally driving out Jin forces out from Yizhou in 304. Li Xiong established the state of Cheng (later named Han in 338) and posthumously honoured his father as a king and later an emperor.
Background and Early Life
Li Te's ancestors were originally from Baxi commandery (巴西郡; around present-day Langzhong, Sichuan) but during the rule of Cao Cao after he captured Hanzhong during the end of the Han dynasty, his grandfather Li Hu (李虎) led his people north to submit to him and lived among the Di people of Qinzhou (秦州, modern eastern Gansu), hence the name Ba-Di. Li Te's father was Li Mu (李慕), who had five sons with Te being the second. Li Te was described as 8 chi tall and displayed martial talents such as in horseback archery.
In 296, a Di chieftain named Qi Wannian led a major revolt around Li Te's area. The land was struck by famines and military occupation, so many of its inhabitants decided to migrate including Li Te, who led his followers back to his ancestral homeland in Yizhou. While passing through Jian'ge Pass (劍閣關, in modern Guangyuan, Sichuan), he was marvelled by the sturdy defenses that the region possessed, saying, "Liu Shan had such defenses as this, and yet he still gave himself over in surrender to others. How could he not have been a man of inferior talents?"
Zhao Xins rebellion
At the start of the 4th century in 300, the Inspector of Yizhou, Zhao Xin rebelled against the Jin dynasty, hoping to start his own state much like the Liu family of Shu Han before him by declaring himself Grand General and Governor of Yizhou. Among the first to support him happened to be Li Te's brother Li Xiáng who Zhao made General Who Vanquishes Invaders and had him defend the north. Li Xiáng was very liked among the people for his kind administration, much to the dismay of Zhao Xin. In the end, Zhao had Li Xiáng killed without his brothers' knowledge in 301.
Yet, Zhao Xin even when he killed Li Xiáng, he was still determined to ensure both Li Te and Li Liu's loyalty to him. He sent messengers to console the brothers and tried to justify his actions but this only made the two brothers angry. The two led their forces to attack Zhao Xin's base in Mianzhu. They first raided Zhao Xin's forces at Shiting during the night, setting fire to it and killing many of the soldiers before setting out to Chengdu. Li Te's arrival at caused the city to panic and many of Zhao Xin's officials abandoned him. Zhao Xin fled to Guangdu (廣都; in modern Shuangliu District, Sichuan) by boat with his family but was killed by his subordinates along the way. Li Te entered Chengdu, sacking the city before sending a list of crimes that Zhao Xin had committed to the Jin capital in Luoyang.
Opposing orders to return north
Despite Li Te's attempt to establish friendly relationship with the Jin court, the latter was still sent an army led by Luo Shang in order to crush Li Te and his forces. Li Te sent his brother Li Xiāng (note the different pinyin) to welcome Luo Shang on the road and gift him with presents. Luo Shang was pleased and accepted his token of friendship in spite of objections from his subordinates Wang Dun (王敦, not to be confused with the more famous Wang Dun) and Xin Ran (辛冉). Luo Shang even made Li Xiang his own officer but suspicion between the two sides persisted.
Meanwhile, in the north, the court had decided they call back home the refugees that had fled from the north during Qiwannian's rebellion. However, Li Te's brother, Li Fu (李輔) had just arrived in Shu when he notified his brother that the north was still in chaos. Li Te thus sent Yan Shi (閻式) along with bribes to Luo Shang to negotiate their stay all the way to autumn, which Luo Shang permitted. Li Te was later named General Who Displays Might and made a marquis but the court also unpopularly refused to reward those who had helped Li Te in quelling Zhao Xin. This was proposed by Luo Shang's subordinate Xin Ran, who the refugees now resent.
Luo Shang made preparations to send back the refugees by autumn but the refugees were starting to feel anxious. Li Te sent Yan Shi again to negotiate their stay till winter but this time Luo Shang rejected. Even Luo's subordinate Du Tao sided with Yan Shi and remonstrated him but he was unable to change his mind. Li Te was becoming increasingly popular and was receiving many refugees under his care as autumn approached so he continued to ask Luo Shang for an extension. This angered Xin Ran, who finally took action by setting up notices demanding for the Li family's heads. Li Te acquired these notices and edited them by saying that Xin Ran not only wanted the Li family dead, but also the other major families among the refugees. This quickly caught the refugees' attention and caused further uneasiness, leading to more of them banding together under Li Te for protection.
War with Luo Shang
At the advice of Yan Shi, Li Te readied himself for war. Xin Ran and Li Bi (李苾) also decided to take matters into their own hands. Without the knowledge of Luo Shang, they sent Ceng Yuan (曾元) and others to carry out a surprise attack on Li Te's camp. When Luo Shang found out, he immediately supported Xin Ran and sent Tian Zuo (田佐) to reinforce Ceng Yuan. Li Te remained calm in the face of the attack. He allowed half of the enemies to enter his camp before ambushing them with no way out. Li Te killed Ceng Yuan and the other generals, sending their heads to Luo Shang and Xin Ran as a warning.
The refugees acclaimed Li Te as General Who Guards The North after the war broke out. Li Te appointed his brothers with offices before assaulting Xin Ran at Guanghan County. Luo Shang had sent reinforcements to help Xin Ran but they were too afraid to engage Li Te in battle. Xin Ran was defeated multiple of times before retreating to Deyang County, allowing Li Te to occupy his city. Li Te proceeded to carry out even more appointments to his family members and members of the powerful refugee families. Luo Shang was also at a disadvantage as the people of Yizhou all favored Li Te over him, so to compensate he strengthen his defenses and fought Li Te to a stalemate while calling for reinforcements.
In 302, the Prince of Hejian, Sima Yong sent Ya Bo (衙博) to Zitong to assist Luo Shang in putting down Li Te. Luo Shang ordered his Protector, Zhang Gui (張龜) to march to Fancheng so Li Te went to face Zhang while his son Li Dang fought with Ya Bo. Li Te routed Zhang Gui and received the surrender of Zitong and Baxi. Li Dang drove out Ya Bo and received his soldiers surrender. With his latest victory, Li Te proclaimed himself Grand General, Governor of Yizhou, and Commander of military affairs in Liangzhou and Yizhou.
In autumn, Li Te attacked Zhang Wei (張微) but was repelled and had his camp besieged instead. Li Dang came to his rescue to turned away Zhang Wei. Li Te wanted to retreat but through his son's advice, decided to attack again and this time, he managed to kill Zhang Wei. He also fought with Xu Xiong (許雄) a couple of times, winning in every bout between the two. Li Te's territories and influence only grew, which worried Luo Shang and the Jin court.
Li Te finally reached Chengdu in 303, catching Luo Shang's troops by surprise through the rivers. He occupied the lesser city of Chengdu but did not carry out any plunder. Instead, he granted an amnesty and declared a new reign era. With the situation mellowing down, Luo Shang, who was in the Greater City of Chengdu, decided to negotiate peace with Li Te. Li Te's major, Shangguan Dun (上官惇), doubted the peace talks, as he believed that it would only served to create more enemies. Another thing that Li Te's generals pointed out was that he had dispersed the refugees into separate fortified places, making him susceptible to attacks and betrayal. Li Te simply ignored and scolded them.
Death
Despite Li Te's consistent success, his life would come to an abrupt and brutal end. The Jin court had ordered reinforcements from Jingzhou to help Luo Shang, so Li Te sent his son Li Dang and a few others to defend Deyang. A subordinate of Luo Shang, Ren Rui (任叡) planned with him to ambush Li Te. The two men slipped out from Chengdu, and Ren Rui went around fortified areas telling them Luo Shang's plans and the determined date. Ren Rui then feigned surrender to Li Te and lied to him about Luo Shang's weaknesses. Soon, Ren asked Li for permission to allow him to return to Chengdu so that he could visit his family, and Li permitted him. Ren Rui revealed everything about Li Te's plans to Luo Shang when he came back to Chengdu. At the beginning of 303, Luo Shang with the help of those from the fortified areas made a surprise attack on Li Te's camp. With so little troops, Li Te fought for two days before dying alongside Li Fu and Li Yuan (李遠). Their bodies were burnt and their heads were sent back to the capital.
Li Te's sudden death shook his army, which elected his brother Li Liu to succeed him. The Li family nearly fell after his death but through the works of Li Liu and Te's son Li Xiong, the refugees drove out the Jin forces from Yizhou. Li Xiong would establish his state of Cheng in 304, being the only barbarian state of the 4th century to establish itself in the south and the first of the Sixteen Kingdoms. Li Xiong originally called himself a king, so he posthumously honoured his father King Jing of Chengdu (成都景王). After Li Xiong declared himself emperor in 306, Li Te's title was thus changed to Emperor Jing (景皇帝).
Era names
• Jianchu (建初, jiàn chū) 303
• Father
• Li Mu (second son of)
• Wife
• Empress Dowager Luo
• Children
• Li Shi (李始), eldest son by concubine
• Li Dang (李蕩), died during Li Liu's reign in 303
• Li Xiong (李雄), first emperor of Cheng Han
Li Te (died 303), courtesy name Xuanxiu, posthumously King Jing of Chengdu and later Emperor Jing, was the spiritual founder of Cheng Han during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. He was a Ba-Di from present-day Gansu, who due to Qi Wannian's rebellion in 296, decided to move back to his ancestral home in Yizhou. His brother Li Xiáng then joined a rebellion in 300 headed by Zhao Xin but was betrayed and killed by Zhao the following year, causing Li Te to retaliate and drive out Zhao from Yizhou before submitting to the Jin dynasty (266–420). Li Te was a popular figure among the refugees of Yizhou, who all sought his protection after the Jin court issued an order forcing them to return to their provinces despite the problems that led to their migration still persisting in those regions. After months of evading the order, Jin forces led by Luo Shang took action in 301 and attacked Li Te. For the next two year, Li Te fought Luo Shang with consistent success, going as far as reaching Chengdu and declaring a new reign era before he was abruptly killed in an ambush in 303. Even then, his brother Li Liu and his son Li Xiong would continue his war with the latter finally driving out Jin forces out from Yizhou in 304. Li Xiong established the state of Cheng (later named Han in 338) and posthumously honoured his father as a king and later an emperor.