Li Guangbi
Supreme General of the Tang
"A city well held is worth ten thousand horsemen."
Biography
Of Khitan descent, Li Guangbi was, with Guo Ziyi, one of the two great Tang commanders who saved the dynasty — and by many measures the finer battlefield tactician. He masterminded brilliant defensive victories, most famously the defence of Taiyuan, where with a small force and ingenious use of tunnels and stratagems he held the city against a vastly larger rebel army. He fought throughout the war, sharing in the reconquest of the capitals and the grinding campaigns in the north, and was ranked the foremost general of the age for his skill. But unlike the politically deft Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi fell foul of court intrigue and the suspicion of eunuchs late in the war; disgraced and fearful, he died in 764, a reminder of how the dynasty devoured even the men who saved it.
Did you know?
His ingenious defence of Taiyuan — using counter-mines and clever ruses against a far larger army — is studied as one of the classic siege defences of Chinese military history.
Key Battles
The Recapture of the Capitals
Tang Dynasty victoryOctober – November 757 · 70,000 total casualties
The recapture of both capitals in the autumn of 757 was the great turning point that saved the dynasty and drove the rebels back into their northern strongholds. But the price — dependence on the Uyghurs and the sack of Chinese cities by allied troops — revealed how far the once-mighty empire had fallen.
The Battle of Xiangzhou (Siege of Yecheng)
Yan Rebels victoryMarch 759 · 100,000 total casualties
The debacle at Xiangzhou — a colossal army wrecked by the court's fatal distrust of its own generals — prolonged the war by years. It allowed the rebellion to revive under Shi Siming just as it had seemed near collapse.
Life Journey
Timeline
708
🌅 Birth
Born of Khitan descent on the frontier
757
⚔️ Battle
Defends Taiyuan against a far larger army
764
✝️ Death
Dies in disgrace after court intrigue