Li Sizhao (Chinese: 李嗣昭) (died May 23, 922), né Han (韓), known at one point as Li Jintong (李進通), courtesy name Yiguang (益光), formally the Prince of Longxi (隴西王), was a Chinese military general and politician. He served as major general under Li Keyong and Li Keyong's son and successor Li Cunxu, the princes of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Jin. He was an adoptive nephew of Li Keyong's, and served Li Keyong both before and after the destruction of the Tang dynasty.
It is not known when Li Sizhao was born. He was originally a son of a family named Han in Taigu (太谷, in modern Jinzhong, Shanxi). When he had just been born, the warlord Li Keyong the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi), which included the area, happened to be on a hunt and went near the house. Believing that the house was exuding an unusual aura, he conversed with Li Sizhao's father, who indicated that he had just had a son. Li Keyong purchased the infant by giving his father gold and silk, and took the infant back. He gave the child to his younger brother Li Kerou (李克柔), who adopted the child as a son. Li Sizhao's original personal name was Jintong, but was later changed to Sizhao. As he grew, he became a brave soldier even though he had a diminutive stature. He initially favored drinking, but after Li Keyong gave him a mild rebuke, no longer drank for the rest of his life. Li Keyong favored Li Sizhao for his carefulness and tolerance, and made Li Sizhao a commander of his guard corps, often having Li Sizhao accompany him on campaigns.
The first campaign in which historical sources described Li Sizhao as himself leading an army was in 897, when Li Keyong's ally Wang Ke the military governor of Huguo Circuit (護國, headquartered in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi) was attacked by his cousin Wang Gong the military governor of Baoyi Circuit (保義, headquartered in modern Sanmenxia, Henan), who was allied with Li Keyong's archenemy Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan). Both Li Keyong and Zhu sent forces in support of their respective allies, with Li Keyong's army commanded by Li Sizhao. The Xuanwu generals Zhang Cunjing (張存敬) and Yang Shihou were initially able to defeat Wang Ke and put Huguo's capital Hezhong Municipality (河中) under siege, but Li Sizhao was able to then defeat the Baoyi forces at Yishi (猗氏) and then at Zhangdian (張店, both in modern Yuncheng) and lift the siege on Hezhong.
In 898, when Wang Ke was set to marry a daughter of Li Keyong's and went from Hezhong to Hedong's capital Taiyuan Municipality to do so, Li Keyong sent Li Sizhao to defend Huguo in Wang Ke's absence.
Later in 898, when Li Keyong sent Li Sizhao and Zhou Dewei to try to recover three prefectures east of the Taihang Mountains that he had previously lost to Zhu (Xing (邢州, in modern Xingtai, Hebei), Ci (磁州, in modern Handan, Hebei), and Ming (洺州, also in modern Handan)). However, they were defeated by Zhu's general Ge Congzhou, who subsequently cut off their escape path back into the Taihang. It was due to the effort of Li Keyong's adoptive son Li Siyuan in fighting through Ge's blockade that the Hedong army was able to escape. Yet later in the year, Wang Gong made another attack on Huguo, but when Li Sizhao went to Wang Ke's aid, Li Sizhao was able to repel Wang Gong.
Around the new year 899, Li Keyong's subordinate Li Hanzhi the prefect of Ze Prefecture (澤州, in modern Jincheng, Shanxi) seized Lu Prefecture (潞州, in modern Changzhi, Shanxi), then turned against Li Keyong and submitted to Zhu. Li Keyong ordered Li Sizhao to attack Li Hanzhi, and Li Sizhao was able to immediately capture Ze and take Li Hanzhi's family members captive, sending them to Taiyuan. However, Li Keyong subsequently diverted Li Sizhao to try to aid Luo Shaowei the military governor of Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan), who was then under attack from Liu Rengong the military governor of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing). However, as Liu was subsequently repelled by the Xuanwu generals Ge Congzhou and He Delun (賀德倫) (as Luo also requested aid from Zhu) before Li Sizhao could arrive in Weibo territory, Luo again cut off relations with Hedong, and Li Sizhao withdrew.
In Li Sizhao's absence, Li Keyong sent Li Junqing (李君慶) to attack Li Hanzhi at Lu Prefecture, but Li Junqing was defeated by the Xuanwu generals Zhang Cunjing and Ding Hui. Li Keyong executed Li Junqing and again commissioned Li Sizhao to attack Li Hanzhi. Li Sizhao first recaptured Ze (which Ding had captured) and then put Lu under siege. With Ge having been recalled by Zhu by that point, He Delun abandoned Lu, allowing Li Sizhao to recapture it for Li Keyong. Li Keyong commissioned Meng Qian (孟遷) as the acting military governor of Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered at Lu Prefecture).
In late 899, Zhu sent Ge to launch a punitive campaign against Liu, putting Liu's son Liu Shouwen under siege at Cang Prefecture (滄州, in modern Cangzhou, Hebei). In spring 900, Li Keyong sent Li Sizhao to attack Xing and Ming Prefectures to try to relieve the pressure on the Lius. Subsequently, though, Zhu recalled Ge, as Wang Rong the military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei) mediated the dispute, and Ge's army was also itself stalled by rainstorms. By that point, Li Sizhao had captured Ming Prefecture. Zhu sent Ge against Li Sizhao, and subsequently arrived himself with reinforcements. Li Sizhao withdrew but suffered substantial losses.
In fall 900, Zhu himself launched a major attack on Chengde and Yiwu Circuit (義武, headquartered in modern Baoding, Hebei), whose military governor Wang Gao was an ally of Li Keyong's. He first forced Wang Rong to submit, and then attacked Wang Gao. When Zhu defeated Wang Gao's uncle Wang Chuzhi, Wang Gao abandoned Yiwu and fled to Hedong. The Yiwu soldiers subsequently supported Wang Chuzhi to take over the circuit and sue for peace with Xuanwu by submitting to Zhu. During Zhu's campaign, Li Keyong tried to relieve the pressure on Yiwu by sending Li Sizhao to attack Zhu's Heyang Circuit (河陽, headquartered in modern Jiaozuo, Henan). Li Sizhao quickly captured Heyang's Huai Prefecture (懷州, in modern Jiaozuo, Henan) and then put Heyang Circuit's capital Heyang under siege. However, he was subsequently repelled by the Xuanwu officer Yan Bao (閻寶) and forced to withdraw.
In spring 901, Li Sizhao recaptured Ze, which had again fallen to Xuanwu forces. However, in a subsequent major attack by Xuanwu forces, commanded by Shi Shucong (氏叔琮), against Hedong, the Xuanwu forces advanced all the way to Taiyuan and put it under siege. The city almost fell, and it was said that it was due to nightly counterattacks by Li Sizhao and Li Siyuan that the siege was unsuccessful. With Xuanwu forces bogged down by rain and running out of food supplies, Zhu recalled Shi. Further, Zhaoyi Circuit was, for the time being, lost to Zhu, as Meng surrendered to Xuanwu forces during the campaign. Zhu commissioned Ding as Zhaoyi's military governor. Later in the year, Li Keyong did send Li Sizhao and Zhou to capture Xi (隰州) and Ci (慈州, both in modern Linfen, Shanxi, not the same prefecture as the one east of the Taihang Mountains) Prefectures, which had become under Zhu's control when Zhu conquered Huguo earlier in 901.
Later in 901, the powerful eunuchs at the Tang imperial court at Chang'an, believing that then-reigning Emperor Zhaozong of Tang and the chancellor Cui Yin were able to slaughter them, forcibly seized Emperor Zhaozong and took him to Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi), then reigned by the eunuchs' ally Li Maozhen. Cui, who was allied with Zhu, summoned Zhu to attack Fengxiang. Li Maozhen wrote Li Keyong to request aid. Li Keyong sent Li Sizhao to attack Jin Prefecture (晉州, in modern Linfen), and Li Sizhao defeated Xuanwu forces at Jin Prefecture. Subsequent battles in spring 902 in which Li Sizhao and Zhou engaged Shi and Zhu's nephew Zhu Youning (朱友寧), however, could not produce conclusive Hedong victories, and Shi was eventually able to defeat Li Sizhao and Zhou at Pu County (蒲縣, in modern Linfen). They tried to withdraw, but the Xuanwu forces chased them. In the subsequent engagement, Li Keyong's son Li Tingluan (李廷鸞) was captured by Xuanwu forces, who then again advanced to Taiyuan and put it under siege. The situation became so dire that Li Keyong, under the advice of his adoptive son Li Cunxin, considered abandoning Taiyuan and fleeing to the north; only at the urging of his wife Lady Liu, as well as Li Sizhao, Li Siyuan, and Zhou, did Li Keyong resolve to defend the city. Li Sizhao and Li Siyuan again led nightly counterattacks against the sieging Xuanwu forces, and eventually, the Xuanwu forces withdrew. Even though Hedong forces were in fact then able to further recapture Ci, Xi, and Fen (汾州, in modern Linfen), it was said that Li Keyong did not dare to again engage Zhu for several years. (Li Maozhen was subsequently forced to sue for peace by surrendering the emperor to Zhu.)