Li Jingye (李敬業) (died December 29, 684), also known as Xu Jingye (徐敬業), was a Chinese military general and politician who was a grandson of the Tang Dynasty general Li Shiji who, after Emperor Gaozong's powerful wife Empress Wu (later known as Wu Zetian) had seized personally all power after Emperor Gaozong's death, rose in rebellion against her, but who was quickly defeated and killed in flight.

Background 
It is not known when Li Jingye was born.  He was probably the oldest son of Li Shiji's oldest son Li Zhen (李震), who had predeceased Li Shiji (who then had changed his name to Li Ji to observe naming taboo for Emperor Taizong).  After Li Ji's death in 669 during the reign of Emperor Taizong's son Emperor Gaozong, Li Jingye, as Li Ji's oldest grandson, inherited Li Ji's title as the Duke of Ying.

Rebellion against Empress Dowager Wu

Preparation 
Emperor Gaozong died in 683 and was succeeded by his son Li Zhe (as Emperor Zhongzong), but actual and superior power was in the hands of Emperor Gaozong's powerful wife Empress Wu (later known as Wu Zetian), as empress dowager.  In spring 684, after Emperor Zhongzong showed signs of independence, she deposed him and reduced him to the title of Prince of Luling, replacing him with his brother Li Dan the Prince of Yu (as Emperor Ruizong).  Thereafter, she wielded power even more tightly, and she, not Emperor Ruizong, was the one that officials reported to, with Emperor Ruizong not even nominally approving official actions.

Meanwhile, it was said that members of the Li imperial clan were all fearful of the developments, and the people were distressed at Emperor Zhongzong's removal.  Around this time, Li Jingye and a number of people who he had known happened to be demoted based on various accusations not recorded in historical accounts:

 Li Jingye was demoted from being the prefect of Mei Prefecture (眉州, roughly modern Meishan, Sichuan) to be the military advisor to the prefect of Liu Prefecture (柳州, roughly modern Liuzhou, Guangxi).
 Li Jingye's brother Li Jingyou (李敬猷) was removed from his post as magistrate of Zhouzhi County (盩厔, in modern Xi'an, Shaanxi).
 Tang Zhiqi (唐之奇) was demoted from being supervising imperial attendant (給事中, Jishizhong) to be the magistrate of Guacang County (栝蒼, in modern Lishui, Zhejiang)
 Luo Binwang was demoted from being a secretary at the county government of Chang'an County (one of the two counties making up the capital Chang'an) to be the secretary general of Linhai County
 Du Qiuren (杜求仁), a nephew of the deceased chancellor Du Zhenglun, was demoted from being an auditor under the head of the household at the palace of the crown prince to be the magistrate of Yi County (黟縣, in modern Huangshan, Anhui)
 Wei Siwen (魏思溫), a one-time assistant imperial censor, had been demoted to be the sheriff of Zhouzhi County, and now was again demoted (although historical accounts do not state where he was demoted again)

These people all met in Yang Prefecture (揚州, roughly modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu).  Displeased over their demotions, they planned to start a rebellion against Empress Dowager Wu, declaring as their goal Emperor Zhongzong's restoration.

Wei, as the group's strategist, had their cohort Xue Zhongzhang (薛仲璋), who was then an assistant imperial censor, request an assignment to Yang Prefecture to investigate matters there.  Another cohort, Wei Chao (韋超), made a public accusation against the military advisor to the prefect of Yang Prefecture, Chen Jingzhi (陳敬之) of plotting treason, and Xue used this as an excuse to arrest Chen.  Several days later, Li Jingye arrived by government courier service and claimed that he had been made the new military advisor to the prefect of Yang Prefecture and that he had been commissioned by Empress Dowager Wu to prepare a military action against the tribal chief Feng Ziyou (馮子猷).  He thereafter opened up the military depot and had his assistant Li Zongchen (李宗臣) to conscript prisoners and workers at the imperial mint at Yang Prefecture into service.  He also executed Chen and another official, Su Chuxing (蘇處行).  The other officials did not dare to oppose him, and he took control of Yang Prefecture.

Launch 
Li Jingye mobilized the troops from Yang Prefecture and declared the restoration of Emperor Zhongzong's Sisheng era name, to show that he intended to restore Emperor Zhongzong.  He declared himself the Great General for Restoration (匡復府上將, Kuangfu Fu Shangjiang).  He quickly gathered over 100,000 men within 10 days.  He also had Luo Binwang draft a declaration against Empress Dowager Wu that was distributed to other prefecture, that stated:

Li Jingye also found a person who was similar in appearance to Emperor Zhongzong's older brother Li Xian—who had previously been crown prince but who had been deposed in 680 and whom Empress Dowager Wu had forced to commit suicide earlier in 684—and claimed that Li Xian was still alive and approved of the rebellion.

Meanwhile, Wei Siwen suggested to Li Jingye that he head toward Luoyang quickly to show that his intent was to destroy Empress Dowager Wu's regime quickly.  however, Xue Zhongzhang advocated attacking Chang (常州, roughly modern Changzhou, Jiangsu) and Run (潤州, roughly modern Zhenjiang, Jiangsu) Prefectures first, and then seizing Jinling, to use the Yangtze River as a natural defense, and despite Wei's pleas that doing so would show that Li Jingye was already looking for a place to hide after defeat and would discourage people from joining the rebellion, Li Jingye accepted Xue's suggestion and headed south to attack Run Prefecture.  He quickly captured it—despite defensive efforts by his uncle Li Siwen (李思文), who was then its prefect.  (After capturing Li Siwen, he stated to Li Siwen, "Uncle, you are serving as a cohort of the Wus, and you should change your family name to Wu."  After Li Jingye's eventual defeat, Empress Dowager Wu did, as a sign of her favor, change Li Siwen's family name to Wu, but eventually exiled him.)

Upon hearing of Li Jingye's rebellion, Empress Dowager Wu commissioned the general Li Xiaoyi (李孝逸), assisted by the generals Li Zhishi (李知十) and Ma Jingchen (馬敬臣), to attack Li Jingye.  She also dug up the graves of Li Jingye's grandfather Li Ji and father Li Zhen, posthumously stripped them of their titles, and ordered that the clan have their family name changed from Li back to Li Ji's original family name of Xu.  (Li Ji had been granted the imperial family name of Li after submitting to Tang's founder Emperor Gaozu in 619.)

Defeat and death 
Meanwhile, once Li Jingye heard that Li Xiaoyi was set to arrive, he returned from Run Prefecture to Yang Prefecture, and set his camp at Xia'a (下阿, at modern Tianchang), Gaoyou to prepare to defend against Li Xiaoyi's attack, while sending Li Jingyou to attack Huaiyin (淮陰, in modern Huai'an, Jiangsu) and Wei Chao and Yuchi Zhao (尉遲昭) to defend Mount Duliang (都梁山, in modern Huai'an as well).  As Li Xiaoyi arrived, his officer Lei Renzhi (雷仁智) attacked but initially failed against the resistance forces, and this caused Li Xiaoyi to hesitate and stop his advance.  He continued his advance only after his subordinate Wei Yuanzhong warned him that continuing to halt will cause the perception that the rebellion was a more serious threat  than it was—and pointed out that Empress Dowager Wu might send another general to replace him.  Soon, Ma Jingchen was able to kill Yuchi in battle.  (Empress Dowager Wu, indeed, commissioned another general, Heichi Changzhi, against Li Jingye, although Li Jingye would be defeated before Heichi could arrive.)

Meanwhile, Li Xiaoyi, under the suggestions of Wei Yuanzhong and Xue Kegou (薛克構), decided to attack both Wei Chao and Li Jingyou first, to shake the confidence of the resistance forces.  He was successful, and both Wei Chao and Li Jingyou fled.  He then attacked Li Jingye's main forces and was initially unsuccessful—with his subordinate Su Xiaoxiang (蘇孝祥) dying in battle in the initial attack.  Several subsequent attacks by Li Xiaoyi were also unsuccessful.  However, after the resistance forces had been worn out, Li Xiaoyi, at the suggestion of Liu Zhirou (劉知柔), used favorable wind conditions set fire to the surrounding grass toward Li Jingye's forces and then attacked along with the fire.  Li Jingye's forces were defeated; 7,000 were killed in battle, while many died by drowning while fleeing.  Li Jingye and his close associates fled back to Jiangdu (江都, Yang Prefecture's capital) and took their families south to Run Prefecture, planning to head out to sea and then to the Korean Peninsula.  Li Xiaoyi quickly took Jiangdu and sent forces to chase after Li Jingye.  As Li Jingye's party fled to Hailing and met headwind, his subordinate Wang Naxiang (王那相) changed his mind about fleeing and instead killed Li Jingye, Li Jingyou, and Luo Binwang, surrendering to governmental forces with their heads.  Tang Zhiqi and Wei Siwen were captured and beheaded.

Notes and references 

 Old Book of Tang, vol. 67.
 New Book of Tang, vol. 93.
 Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 201, 203.

7th-century births
684 deaths
Tang dynasty generals
이경업(李敬業, 636년－684년) 또는 서경업(徐敬業)은 중국 당(唐) 왕조 초기의 무장 이적(李勣)의 손자이다. 예종(睿宗) 때 천후 무씨(天后 武氏)의 통치에 반대해 반란을 일으켰다.

생애 
조주(曹州) 이고현离狐县(현 산동성 하택시 견성현 남서쪽) 출신으로 어려서부터 기사(騎射)에 뛰어났고 재주와 지혜가 있었다. 그의 집안은 원래 서씨로 할아버지 이적이 두 차례에 걸친 고구려 원정에서 총관(總管)으로써 활약하는 등 당 왕조의 무장으로써 출세, 당의 국성(國姓)인 이씨 성을 사성 받았다. 이경업은 아버지 진(震)이 요절하면서 할아버지인 영공 이적의 작위를 그대로 물려받고 미주자사(眉州刺史)가 되었다가 후에 류주사마(柳州司馬)로 좌천되었다.

중종(中宗)이 천후 무씨에 의해 폐해지고, 황족 단(旦)이 예종으로 즉위한 뒤, 천후는 황제 예종이 표문을 올려 스스로 물러나기를 청한 것을 계기로 조정에 나와 칭제(稱制)하게 되었다. 이경업은 동생 경헌(敬猷)과 당지기(唐之奇)、두구인(杜求仁)、낙빈왕(駱賓王) 등과 함께 684년 9월에 양주(揚州)에서 거병하였다. 스스로를 광복부대장군(匡復府大將軍) 영양주대도독(領揚州大都督)이라 칭한 그는 천후에게 폐위당하고 노릉왕(盧陵王)으로 강등당한 중종을 복위시킨다는 명분을 내걸었고, 그에게 가담한 낙빈왕이 유명한 격문 《토무조격》(討武曌檄)을 지어 천하에 뿌렸다. 이경업이 거느린 군사는 삽시간에 10만이 넘는 수로 불어났다.

천후 무씨는 이경업이 가지고 있던 관직을 모두 깎아 없애고 그가 가진 이씨 성까지 몰수해 원래의 성인 서씨로 되돌렸다. 그리고 이경업 진압을 위해 양군공(梁郡公) 이효일(李孝逸)과 위원충(魏元忠)을 각각 원수와 부원수로 삼은 30만 군사를 급파했다. 한편 서경업(이경업)의 진중에서는 위사온(魏思溫)이 곧장 동도(東都, 낙양)으로 진격할 것을 청했지만 설장(薛璋)이 주장한 대로 먼저 남쪽으로 장강을 건너 상주(常州)、윤주(潤州, 지금의 강소 성 진강鎮江)을 차지하는 안이 채택되었다. 남쪽으로 윤주를 차지한 서경업은 다시 북쪽으로 진격해 고우(高郵) 땅에서 이효일의 군과 맞붙게 되었고, 초반에는 서경업이 우세했지만 차츰 병사들이 지치며 사기가 떨어져 갔고 마침내 11월에 이효일이 화공(火攻)으로 서경업의 군을 대패하는 데 성공, 서경업은 윤주로 달아나 배를 타고 고구려(신라?)로 달아나려다 부하의 배신으로 살해되고 말았다.

백제 무장이자 유민으로 당 왕조에 내투해 번장(藩將)으로 기용된 흑치상지(黑齒常之)가 이경업 반란에 참가한 것으로 알려져 있다.

《구당서》(舊唐書)에는 정원(貞元) 17년(801년) 토번군이 당 조정의 요청으로 염주(塩州)에 왔을 때, 토번군 장군 가운데 서 사인(徐舍人)이라는 한 장군이 스스로를 서경업의 5대 손으로 멸문지화를 피해 토번으로 달아나 살아남은 자손이라 소개했는데, 앞서 토번에 들어갔다가 포로로 잡혔던 승려 연소(延素)와 한인 포로 천백 인을 돌려보냈다고 한다.

일화 
당의 유속이 지은 《수당가화》(隋唐嘉話)에는 이경업의 일화 한 가지가 수록되어 있다. 고종(高宗) 때에 남쪽에서 만족(蠻族)들이 모여 노략질하는데 이를 좀처럼 막지 못하자 조정은 이경업을 자사로 삼아 보냈다. 이경업은 주(州)에서 뽑은 병졸들도 마다하고 말 한 필만 탄 채 적진으로 들어갔다. 태연히 다른 일을 마친 뒤 적은 모두 어디 있느냐고 물었고, 남쪽 물가에 있다는 말에 가까운 관리 한두 사람만 데리고 적이 있는 곳으로 갔다. 처음에는 무기를 들고 경계하며 맞았던 만족들은 이경업이 탄 배 안에 아무것도 없자 스스로 군영을 버리고 숨어버렸고, 경업은 곧장 적의 영내로 들어가서 "국가는 너희들이 탐욕스런 관리에게 고통 받은 것뿐 다른 악이 없음을 안다. 그러니 이제 모두 각자의 생업으로 돌아가라. 늦게 가는 자는 적으로 간주한다."고 선언, 만족의 수괴만 따로 불러 꾸짖고 장 수십 대를 쳐서 보냈다. 이렇게 경내의 소란은 진정되었지만, 이경업의 행동을 전해 들은 할아버지 영공 이적은 손자의 담력과 지략을 장하게 여기면서도 자신이었다면 이렇게까지는 하지 않을 거라는 우려를 비치고, "우리 집안이 망한다면 필시 이 녀석 때문일 것이다."라고 하였다는 것이다. 해당 일화는 훗날 명(明)의 풍몽룡(馮夢龍)이 지은 《지낭전집》(智囊全集)에도 수록되었다.

또한 단성식이 쓴 《유양잡조》(酉陽雜俎)에는 이적이 이경업을 데리고 사냥을 나갔을 때, 이경업이 풀숲으로 가서 짐승을 몰도록 보내놓은 사이에 풀숲 사이에 불길이 일었고, 이경업이 이를 눈치챘을 때는 이미 불길이 사방에서 이경업을 에워싸고 있는 상황이었다. 이경업은 자신이 타고 있던 말을 죽여서 배를 가르고 피를 뒤집어쓴 다음 말의 뱃속으로 들어가 웅크려 있다가, 불길이 사그라들었을 때 바깥으로 나와서 목숨을 건질 수 있었다고 한다.

가계 
 조무 : 이세적(李世勣, 594~669)
 조모 : 미상
 아버지 : 이진(李震)
 어머니 : 미상
 무신 : 이경업(李敬業, 636~684)
 부인 : 미상
 동생 : 이경헌(李敬猷)

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