生平

初平二年（191年），陽人之戰後，董卓派李傕為使者遊說孫堅，欲與孫堅和親，許以高官厚祿，孫堅拒絕。後被董卓女婿牛輔派遣至中牟與朱儁交戰，擊破朱儁，敗軍進至陳留、潁川等地劫掠，大軍所過之處擄殺一空。曹操謀士荀彧是潁川人，在李傕劫掠潁川前就讓族人全部離開逃過一劫。

初平三年（192年）六月至興平二年（195年）八月，李傕任車騎將軍、司隸校尉、開府、假節，和三公共稱四府，有參與「選舉」權力。但李傕並沒有擔任過當時主持朝政大小事宜的「錄尚書事」這位總理朝政的最大職官的職位，而是以朝中舊臣錄尚書事，行使行政權。

文和亂武

初平三年（192年）四月，董卓被王允、呂布謀殺，牛輔也被殺，李傕等人無所依託，欲解散歸鄉，怕得不到赦免，武威人賈詡在李傕軍中任職，對李傕說：「聽長安人議論說欲誅盡涼州人，各位如果棄軍單行，則一個小小的亭長就能抓住你們了。不如率軍西進，攻打長安，為董卓報仇。如果成功，則奉國家以正天下；如不成功，再走也不遲。」李傕等人採納賈詡建議，到處說：「朝廷不赦免我們，我們應當拼死作戰。如果攻克長安，則可以得到天下；攻不下，則搶奪三輔的婦女財物，西歸故鄉，還可以保命。」部下紛紛響應，於是同郭汜、張濟等人結盟，率軍幾千人，日夜兼程，攻向長安。王允派董卓舊部胡軫、徐榮在新豐迎擊。徐榮戰死，胡軫率部投降。李傕沿途收集部隊，到達長安已有十餘萬人。五月，李傕等人又與董卓舊部樊稠、李蒙、王方等人會合，一起圍攻長安，八日後城陷，屯南宮掖門，與呂布巷戰，呂布敗走，殺太僕魯馗、大鴻臚周奐、城門校尉崔烈、越騎校尉王頎，族滅王允三族。李傕等人縱兵劫掠，百姓、官員死傷不計其數。李傕等人佔領長安，挾持漢獻帝封李傕揚武將軍，郭汜為揚烈將軍，樊稠等人皆為中郎將。八月，詔太傅馬日磾、太僕趙岐杖節鎮撫關東。

九月進封李傕為車騎將軍、開府、領司隸校尉、假節、池陽侯，郭汜為後將軍、美陽侯，樊稠為右將軍、萬年侯，張濟被封為鎮東將軍、平陽侯，外出屯駐在弘農，以賈詡為左馮翊。據袁宏《後漢紀·後漢孝獻皇帝紀》記載：初平三年（192年），冬十月，李傕舉博士李儒為侍中，獻帝詔曰：「儒前為弘農王郎中令，迫殺我兄，誠宜加罪。」辭曰：「董卓所為，非儒本意，不可罰無辜也。」李傕、郭汜、樊稠三人共同把持朝政，隨自己喜好任免官員，又常縱兵劫掠，幾年內三輔百姓損失殆盡。

執政時期

興平元年（194年）三月馬騰、韓遂聯合關中部分士大夫共攻李傕，李傕派郭汜、樊稠及侄子李利與馬騰、韓遂大戰於長平觀。馬、韓大敗，損失一萬多人，退回涼州。李傕擊敗馬、韓之後，郭汜、樊稠因有戰功而加「開府」之權，權力大增，跟三公、李傕合為六府，朝廷在關中權力大減。此時是李、郭、樊三人權力最大的時刻。

全國大荒，李傕因軍隊糧食不夠，不聽賈詡所言而侵奪獻帝原本要拿來賑災的錢財。接著李、郭、樊因為軍隊還是缺糧，竟任由軍隊掠奪百姓，造成更嚴重的飢荒，關中百萬以上的人口，各自餓死逃竄，紛紛南遷至劉表、劉焉、張魯等人的領地。

興平二年（195年），李傕等人相互爭權，矛盾激化。二月，樊稠欲帶兵向東出關，向李傕索要更多的士兵，李傕顧忌樊稠勇而得人心，又因當初樊稠私放走韓遂，於是召樊稠、李蒙參加會議，使外甥騎都尉胡封會議上刺死樊、李，兼併部隊，諸將更相互猜忌。李傕經常在自己家宴郭汜，有時留郭汜宿。郭汜妻子害怕李傕送婢妾給郭汜，挑撥他們。一次李傕送酒菜，郭汜妻子把豆豉說成毒藥，食用前郭妻把豆豉挑出來，使郭汜起疑。過幾天李傕再宴請郭汜，把郭汜灌得大醉，郭汜懷疑李傕想毒害他，趕緊喝糞汁催吐解酒。於是率兵相攻，交戰連月，死者萬計。李傕請賈詡為宣義將軍，來幫助自己。漢獻帝派人勸解，沒有成功。

三月，安西將軍楊定害怕李傕謀害，與郭汜合謀劫持漢獻帝到自己的營中，但計劃洩漏，李傕搶先下手，於丙寅日（2月21日）派侄子李暹劫持漢獻帝到自己營中，郭汜劫持前來勸和公卿，二人繼續交戰。李傕對漢獻帝多有怠慢，帝敢怒不敢言，進封李傕為大司馬，位三公之上。

末路

六月，鎮東將軍張濟自陝至，想和解李傕、郭汜，遷天子幸他縣。李傕和郭汜答應和解，並許諾各自愛子做人質。

七月，漢獻帝出長安東歸，李傕引兵出屯池陽，張濟、郭汜以及原董卓部下楊定、楊奉、董承皆隨天子車駕東歸，漢獻帝以張濟為驃騎將軍，開府如三公；郭汜為車騎將軍，楊定為後將軍，楊奉為興義將軍。皆封列侯。又以董承為安集將軍。沿途諸將屢有爭端。

建安元年（196年）七月，漢獻帝輾轉流亡，於甲子日（8月12日）回到了已成為廢墟的洛陽，最後於八月庚申日（10月7日）被曹操迎奉許都。張濟因軍中缺糧，出兵南陽掠奪，攻打穰城，戰死，餘部由侄子張繡率領，駐紮在宛城。

建安二年（197年），左將軍劉備誘殺楊奉。漢獻帝在曹陽逃過一劫，賈詡離開李傕，投奔段煨，不久又歸張繡。郭汜被部將伍習殺死，餘部被李傕兼併。冬十月，曹操派謁者僕射裴茂率領關中諸將段煨、梁興、張橫等討伐逃到黃白城的李傕。

建安三年（198年）四月，李傕被梁興、張橫等人擊敗斬首並送往曹操處，段煨將李傕全家老少200餘口押解許都，曹操下令夷三族。獻帝痛恨李傕一族的狂妄無禮，下令將李傕的首級高掛在許都城上示眾。

家庭成員

子女

• 李式，子，深受其母所寵愛

• 李氏，曾作為人質和郭汜講和

其他親族

• 李應，李傕從弟。

• 李桓，李傕從弟。

• 李利，李傕兄長的長子。

• 李暹，李傕兄長的次子。

• 李維，李傕從弟，任上軍校尉。

• 李進，李傕兄長的兒子，任副車中郎將。

• 胡封，李傕外甥，任騎都尉。受命于會議上殺死右將軍樊稠。

部下

• 左靈，演義中為李傕幕僚，與賈詡一同監察押運天子車駕。

• 胡邈，漢侍中，被李傕重用，詔書讓他改動修飾，亦曾代李傕遊記皇甫酈。

• 王昌，獻帝虎賁。被李傕派去追殺皇甫酈，王昌感其忠義，將皇甫酈放走。

• 宋果，李傕軍吏，與楊奉等密謀殺害李傕，但事跡敗露，於是領兵叛逃，令李催勢力大減。

＊張苞、張龍，李傕中郎將，與郭汜密謀誅殺李傕。

藝術形象

《三國演義》中的李傕

《三國演義》中描寫的李傕與史書記載相差不多，《演義》還提到他是「飛熊軍」的統領者之一，在攻打長安一戰中，他以「彭越撓楚」之法擊敗了呂布，奪取了長安，刻畫了他有智謀的一面。

影視形象

• 香港亞洲電視劇《貂蟬》（1987年）：劉雲峰

• 台灣華視電視劇《三國英雄傳之關公》（1996年）：林誠

• 中國電視劇《三國》（2010年）：龔志學

• 電視劇《曹操》（2014年）：楊天鵬

迷信

《三國志·董卓傳》裴注引《獻帝起居注》記載李傕非常迷信，起居出入大小事都要經過卜祀同意才放心。「常有道人及女巫歌謳擊鼓下神，祠祭六丁，符劾厭勝之具，無所不為。又於朝廷省門外，為董卓作神坐，數以牛羊祠之，訖，過省閤問起居，求入見。」

時有讖語「代漢者，當塗高也」，女巫道人說傕「塗即途也，當塗高者，闕也。傕同闕，另極高之人謂之傕。」

評價

當時的侍中劉艾（《獻帝起居注》的作者）對李傕和郭汜的評價較高，認為其用兵作戰的能力在孫堅之上。在孫堅擊敗胡軫、呂布，斬殺華雄之後，董卓感慨說關東諸侯不堪一擊，但孫堅很不好對付，而侍中劉艾卻不以為意。

艾曰：「堅用兵不如李傕、郭汜。」——《後漢紀》 「堅雖時見計，故自不如李傕、郭汜。」——《三國志·孫破虜傳》裴注引《山陽公載記》。

雖然董卓非常肯定孫堅的軍事才能，但從上述記載可以看出李、郭二人是當時董卓軍隊值得稱道的宿將。

李傕的文化水平不高，據《三國志·董卓傳》裴注引《獻帝起居注》記載，當時的侍中楊琦上奏李傕為「邊鄙之人，習于夷風」，此記載亦出現在周天遊校注的袁宏《後漢紀》，時間是漢獻帝興平二年。（《後漢孝獻皇帝紀卷第二十八》）

李傕曾擊敗與皇甫嵩齊名的名將朱儁，大破呂布，擊殺曾大破「亂世奸雄」曹操和「江東猛虎」孫堅的徐榮，擊敗馬騰、韓遂的聯軍，可見當時也是一大猛將。

朱儁：「傕、汜小豎，樊稠庸兒，無他遠略，又埶力相敵，變難必作。」

沮俊罵李傕等人：「汝等凶逆，逼迫天子，亂臣賊子，未有如汝者！」後被殺死。（《後漢書·董卓列傳》）

《三國演義》裡李傕的效彭越撓楚之法也被毛宗崗父子評為與「毒士」賈詡並列的能謀善算的武將。

註釋

Service under Dong Zhuo

Originating from Beidi Commandery of Liang Province, Li Jue entered Dong Zhuo's Liang Province army as one of the earliest recruits. In helping Dong Zhuo in his many campaigns, including the suppression of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Liang Province Rebellion, and the war with the coalition against Dong Zhuo, Li Jue had earned himself a military reputation.

After Dong Zhuo relocated the capital from Luoyang to Chang'an, Li Jue, along Guo Si and Zhang Ji, were sent to the frontline against the eastern warlords. At the time the alliance had been having internal conflicts, and would not unite in fighting Dong Zhuo; as a result, a senior imperial officer, Zhu Jun, could only ask his old friend, Tao Qian, to give him a hand in a futile effort to fight the pillaging forces under Li Jue. Tao Qian, despite having a general alliance with Dong Zhuo, indeed sent 3,000 elite Danyang troops to Zhu Jun to battle Guo Si and Li Jue at Zhongmu County, where Zhu Jun's force was totally crushed. Li Jue and his comrades then performed raids around Chenliu and Yingchuan commanderies, wherein the defenders, Cao Cao and Xiahou Yuan (Administrator of Chenliu) were also unable to stop them. Many residents there were hijacked and enslaved by Li Jue's forces.

Battle of Changan

Before Li Jue could return to the capital, Dong Zhuo was assassinated by Lü Bu in a plot orchestrated by Wang Yun, and the Liang Province faction inside Chang'an yielded to Lü Bu and Wang Yun. Li Jue and his comrades Fan Chou, Guo Si and Zhang Ji implored Wang Yun to show mercy, but the latter only granted amnesty to Dong Zhuo's other subordinates because Li Jue and his comrades were the closest aides to Dong Zhuo. Therefore, the four planned to relinquish their positions and go into hiding. However, Li Jue's chief adviser Jia Xu suggested that they should take this opportunity to launch a strike at Chang'an since the regime was unstable after the coup. The four then roused several thousand hardcore followers to attack Chang'an. Wang Yun had sent Xu Rong and Hu Zhen (former members of the Liang Province faction) to fight the Liang Province forces en route, but Xu Rong was killed in the first encounter while Hu Zhen led his troops to join the rebels, inflating the size of the rebel force. Along the way, Liang Province residents joined the rebels' course, and the expedition force burgeoned to over 100,000 when they surrounded the capital. Lü Bu attempted to break the siege, but was forced back inside the city gate despite him seriously wounding Guo Si in a duel. Li Jue then announced they would leave if Wang Yun would go with them. Wang Yun, thinking that the four rebels only wanted his life and did not have the ambition to take the city, committed suicide. However, following his death, the rebels continued the siege and breached the city.

Controlling the emperor

Li Jue's forces usurped imperial power by taking Emperor Xian hostage. The four demanded high ranks and even thought about assassinating the emperor to take the throne, but Jia Xu dissuaded them from doing so. With Li Jue as the leader of the Liang Province army, the four took the mace for the court, demoting and promoting anyone they saw fit. People who allied themselves with them, like Liu Biao, Yuan Shu and Li Ru, were all promoted by them. Li Ru also forced the emperor to appoint him as General of Chariots and Cavalry and Colonel-Director of Retainers, give him the ceremonial axe of military authority, and enfeoff him as the Marquis of Chiyang. When Li Jue's power was at its height, even Cao Cao sent emissaries to pay tribute as a token of goodwill.

In March 194, a nominal vassal and local warlord, Ma Teng, requested some private provisions from the Han imperial court but was refused. He then initiated a rebellion in Mei County. An imperial emissary from Emperor Xian was sent to broker peace, but to no avail. Then, Ma Teng's close friend and comrade, Han Sui, was sent to dissuade Ma Teng with an armed force. Once Han Sui arrived at Mei County, however, he joined forces with Ma Teng, and secretly contacted Liu Yan's spies implanted in the court. Liu Yan's cohorts were discovered before they could make a move, but they succeeded in escaping the city and entering Ma Teng's camp. Li Jue sent his nephew Li Li, Guo Si and Fan Chou to counter the allied force. They dealt a major defeat to the allied force about 13 miles west to Chang'an, inflicting casualties of over 10,000. Knowing the allied force was low on grain, Li Li asked Fan Chou to pursue and wipe the enemy out, but Fan Chou refused because of his friendship with Han Sui. Li Li reported this incident to Li Jue upon the army's return. Li Jue threw his officers a welcome banquet, and had Fan Chou openly executed during the revelry.

Quarrel with Guo Si

After the murder of Fan Chou, the Liang Province generals became quite suspicious of Li Jue, but the regime under Li Jue remained unchallenged for some time, wherein Emperor Xian was anxiously waiting for someone capable to get rid of his regents. Yang Biao, a minister loyal to the Han dynasty, came up with a plan to drive Li Jue and Guo Si apart, by making Guo Si's jealous wife Lady Qiong believe that her husband was having an affair with Li Jue's wife, and that Li Jue would kill Guo Si. She made Guo Si believe this himself by poisoning food that Li Jue had given to them and feeding it to a dog. When the dog died, Guo Si believed that Li Jue was attempting to poison him. This drove Guo Si and Li Jue to battle with each other. Battles inside the imperial city of Chang'an were fought every day, and finally Li Jue kidnapped the emperor while Guo Si kidnapped court officials.

The situation deteriorated with each passing day, and had descended into full-blown civil war. There were several tens of battles fought per day in the alleys or market at its peak, on one occasion the emperor's own tent being caught in the crossfire. The frequent battles had rendered Chang'an untenable for its inhabitants. But at the same time, the turmoil provided Emperor Xian with an excuse to ask Li Jue and Guo Si to let him go back to Luoyang, under the provisions that Li Jue could have Chang'an while Guo Si and other generals could follow the emperor to the dilapidated Luoyang. Jia Xu brought the two an imperial edict, and requested a truce between Li Jue and Guo Si, and the duo temporarily ceased fire upon Jia Xu's persuasion.

Downfall

After Jia Xu and Zhang Ji pleaded Li Jue and Guo Si to stop fighting, Guo Si started to move eastward with the emperor. However, on the journey to Luoyang, there were internal disputes, providing general Yang Feng with an opportunity to rescue the emperor. Aided by Dong Cheng and Xu Huang, Yang Feng defeated Guo Si and seized Emperor Xian. Guo Si returned to Li Jue and convinced the latter to make a last-ditch effort to recapture the emperor. When they caught up with the imperial train, Li Jue and Guo Si were defeated by Yang Feng, who had gained support from the White Wave Bandits. However, Yang Feng and the imperial retinue were running out of food, to the point that some court officials had to dig tree roots out from the earth as food. Thus, Emperor Xian sent emissaries to the various warlords, still nominal vassals of his, asking for help; however only a few of them replied with actual assistance. Zhang Yang, one of the warlords who received the edict, quickly sent his staff to support the emperor with supplies, and the forces of Li Jue and Guo Si were defeated in a decisive battle.

Guo Si retreated to Mei County thereafter, and was later murdered by one of his commanders, who brought his remaining troops to Li Jue in Chang'an. In the April of 198, the warlord who now controlled the emperor, Cao Cao, sent envoys to incite the western warlords to attack Chang'an, Li Jue's home base. One of Li Jue's subordinates, Duan Wei (段煨), mutinied and killed Li Jue along with his family in the summer of 198. Duan Wei sent Li Jue's head to Xu city (as a sign of his submission to Cao Cao).