Li Congke (simplified Chinese: 李从珂; traditional Chinese: 李從珂; pinyin: Lǐ Cóngkē) (11 February 885 – 11 January 937), also known in historiography as the Last Emperor of Later Tang (後唐末帝), Deposed Emperor of Later Tang (後唐廢帝), Wang Congke (王從珂) (particularly during the succeeding Later Jin dynasty, which did not recognize him as a legitimate Later Tang emperor), or Prince of Lu (潞王, a title Li Congke carried prior to his reign), childhood name Ershisan (二十三, "23") or, in short, Asan (阿三), was the last emperor of the Later Tang dynasty of China. He was an adoptive son of Li Siyuan (Emperor Mingzong) and took the throne after overthrowing Emperor Mingzong's biological son Li Conghou (Emperor Min). He was later himself overthrown by his brother-in-law Shi Jingtang, who was supported by Liao troops (and whose Later Jin succeeded his). When the combined Later Jin and Khitan forces defeated Later Tang forces, Li Congke and his family members, as well as the guards most loyal to him, ascended a tower and set it on fire, dying in the fire.
Li Congke was born in 885, during the reign of Emperor Xizong of Tang, in Pingshan (平山, in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei). His biological father was a man with the surname of Wang. His mother was a Lady Wei; it seems likely, although not completely clearly stated in historical records, that Lady Wei was Wang's wife.
During the subsequent Jingfu era (892-893) of Emperor Xizong's brother and successor Emperor Zhaozong, there was a time when Li Siyuan, then an officer under his adoptive father, the major warlord Li Keyong the military governor (Jiedushi) of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Hebei), was pillaging the Pingshan region under Li Keyong's command. He happened to encounter Lady Wei and Li Congke, and he captured them. He made Lady Wei either a co-wife (with Lady Cao, the mother of a daughter who later married Shi Jingtang and would later be empress during Later Jin, and possibly with Lady Xia, the mother of his biological sons Li Congrong and Li Conghou) or a concubine subordinated to Lady Cao. He took Li Congke as an adoptive son and named him Congke. (Li Congke was older than all of his biological sons, and it is not known whether any of them were born at this point, as the age of his two oldest biological sons, Li Congshen (李從審) and Li Congrong, were not recorded in history, although Li Conghou and another biological son, Li Congyi, were born long later.) As he was born on the 23rd day of the first lunar month of 885, he received the nickname of "Ershisan" (23), or "Asan" in short.
In his childhood, Li Congke was said to be cautious and silent. According to an account that Li Siyuan gave later, Li Siyuan's household was not wealthy at that time, and there was often not enough money for household expenses. Li Congke took on part of the household financial burdens by collecting lime and horse manure, for family use and/or for sale. Lady Wei died a few years after she was captured and was buried at Hedong's capital Taiyuan.
After Tang fell in 906, Li Keyong's domain became the state of Jin and was ruled by Li Keyong, and then, after Li Keyong's death, by Li Keyong's biological son Li Cunxu, as its princes. Li Siyuan was one of Li Cunxu's major generals, and Li Congke served under him. It was said that Li Congke was tall and strong, and had an impressive appearance; it was also said that Li Siyuan loved him greatly. He became well known for his battle prowess, leading Li Cunxu (who was the same age as Li Congke and who was himself a ferocious warrior) to state, "Not only is Asan the same as I am in age, but he is like I am in daring to battle." Li Congke participated in a major Jin victory over the Khitan Empire in 917, serving under his father.
In late 918, Li Cunxu wanted to carry out a major campaign to destroy Jin's southern archrival Later Liang, and personally took an army south toward Later Liang's capital Daliang. He encountered the main Later Liang army, under the command of the general He Gui, at Huliu Slope (胡柳陂, in modern Heze, Shandong), south of the Yellow River (which then served as the de facto boundary between Jin and Later Liang). The Jin army was initially victorious, but a subsequent confusion in communications led the Jin army to believe that it was being defeated, and the army collapsed. In the confusion, the major general Zhou Dewei was killed, and Li Siyuan lost communications with Li Cunxu, while Li Congke was in the small group of soldiers accompanying Li Cunxu himself. Li Siyuan, believing that Li Cunxu had already crossed the Yellow River north back into Jin territory, headed north across the river, while Li Cunxu, in actuality, was still trying to battle out of the confused rout. Li Congke, serving under Li Cunxu, subsequently assisted Li Cunxu in capturing an earthen mound, allowing Li Cunxu to have superior positioning to launch a counterattack. The Jin counterattack was successful, allowing the Jin army to kill a large number of Later Liang soldiers and leading to the overall battle being effectively a draw, with both armies having lost two-thirds of their soldiers and unable to attack each other again for some time. At the end of the battle, Li Cunxu was able to capture Puyang (濮陽, in modern Puyang, Henan) as a waypoint to his eventual withdrawal back to his own territory. Li Congke also contributed to the successful counterattack. When Li Siyuan subsequently heard that Li Cunxu was at Puyang, he turned back south and rendezvoused with Li Cunxu there. Li Cunxu, displeased, stated, "Lord, you believed that I was dead? Why did you cross the river?" Li Siyuan had to bow and apologize. It was said that Li Cunxu acted like he forgave Li Siyuan due to Li Congke's contributions, but did not completely do so in his heart, distancing himself from Li Siyuan for several years.
During Li Cunxu's reign as emperor of Later Tang
In 922, Li Cunxu claimed the title of emperor of a new state of Later Tang. However, at that time, Later Tang was facing military pressure both from Later Liang and Khitan, and the military food supply and morale were low. At that time, the main Later Liang army was commanded by Dai Siyuan, who also served as the military governor of Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern Tai'an, Shandong). He left his officers Lu Shunmi (盧順密), Liu Suiyan (劉遂嚴), and Yan Yong (燕顒) at Tianping's capital Yun Prefecture (鄆州) to defend it. Shortly after Li Cunxu's declaration of imperial title, however, Lu defected to Later Tang and revealed that Yun was defended by less than 1,000 soldiers and that Liu and Yan lacked support from the soldiers. He advocated that Later Tang attack it by surprise. As Yun was deep in Later Liang territory south of the Yellow River, however, most of Li Cunxu's generals, including his chief of staff (Shumishi) Guo Chongtao, opposed Lu's proposal, believing that it would be dangerous and futile. Li Siyuan, however, wanting to repair his relationship with Li Cunxu, offered to command this mission by himself. Li Cunxu agreed, and allowed him to take 5,000 soldiers to, under cover of darkness, rapidly descend on Yun to attack it. Li Siyuan's army managed to evade Later Liang detection, and when they reached Yun, Li Congke led the soldiers in scaling the walls. The city fell to Li Siyuan, who was commissioned the military governor of Tianping and held it for Later Tang over the next several months as the Later Liang army (by then under the command of Wang Yanzhang) futilely tried to cut off the supply route from Later Tang proper to Yun.
Later Liang's emperor Zhu Zhen then decided to replace Wang with Duan Ning. Duan crossed the Yellow River and headed for Chan Prefecture (澶州, in modern Anyang, Henan) and prepared an ambitious four-prong attack against Later Tang:
Dong Zhang would head toward Taiyuan.
Huo Yanwei would head toward Zhen Prefecture (鎮州, in modern Baoding, Hebei).
Wang Yanzhang and Zhang Hanjie (張漢傑) would head toward Yun.