Fu Gongshi
Encyclopedia
Fu Gongshi (died 624) was an agrarian rebel leader who served as Du Fuwei
Du Fuwei
Du Fuwei , known during service to Tang Dynasty as Li Fuwei , was an agrarian leader who rose against the rule of Emperor Yang of Sui at the end of the Chinese dynasty Sui Dynasty. At one point, he had ambitions to take over the region south of the Yangtze River for himself, but he later chose to...

's lieutenant during the disintegration of the Chinese
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...

 dynasty Sui Dynasty
Sui Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....

, who later followed Du in submitting to Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

. In 623, while Du (by that point known as Li Fuwei after being bestowed the imperial surname) was at the Tang capital Chang'an
Chang'an
Chang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...

, Fu rose against Tang rule at Danyang (丹楊, in modern Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

, Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...

) and declared himself emperor of a new state of Song. In 624, he was defeated by the Tang general Li Xiaogong
Li Xiaogong
Li Xiaogong , formally Prince Yuan of Hejian , often referred to by his earlier title as Prince of Zhao Commandery , was an imperial prince and general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty...

. He fled, but was captured and delivered to Li Xiaogong, who executed him.

Initial uprising

Fu Gongshi was from Qi Province (齊州, roughly modern Ji'nan, Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...

). He often stole sheep from his uncle to give to his best friend Du Fuwei
Du Fuwei
Du Fuwei , known during service to Tang Dynasty as Li Fuwei , was an agrarian leader who rose against the rule of Emperor Yang of Sui at the end of the Chinese dynasty Sui Dynasty. At one point, he had ambitions to take over the region south of the Yangtze River for himself, but he later chose to...

, who was younger than he was, causing both of them to come to the attention of the police. They fled, and they became agrarian rebels against Sui Dynasty
Sui Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....

 rule, in or briefly before 613. Du eventually became a major rebel leader, and Fu served as his lieutenant. In 613, it was Fu who, at Du's direction, persuaded another rebel leader, Miao Haichao (苗海潮), to submit to Du's leadership, and he also contributed to Du's subsequent surprise attack and killing of another rebel leader, Zhao Pochen (趙破陳).

Submission to Tang

After the death of Emperor Yang of Sui
Emperor Yang of Sui
Emperor Yang of Sui , personal name Yang Guang , alternative name Ying , nickname Amo , known as Emperor Ming during the brief reign of his grandson Yang Tong), was the second son of Emperor Wen of Sui, and the second emperor of China's Sui Dynasty.Emperor Yang's original name was Yang Ying, but...

 in 618, Du Fuwei initially contended for supremacy of the lower Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...

 region with fellow rebel leader Li Zitong
Li Zitong
Li Zitong was an agrarian leader who claimed the title of emperor in the aftermaths of the death of Emperor Yang of Sui, at the hands of Emperor Yang's general Yuwen Huaji in 618. After Yuwen then vacated the city of Jiangdu , the region was in a state of confusion, and in 619, Li captured...

 the Emperor of Wu and the former Sui officials Shen Faxing
Shen Faxing
Shen Faxing was an official of the Chinese dynasty Sui Dynasty who, after Emperor Yang of Sui was killed in a coup led by the general Yuwen Huaji in 618, seized the modern Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu region, declaring himself the Prince of Liang...

 the Prince of Liang and Chen Leng (陳稜), but after he was defeated by Li in 619, he submitted to Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

. Emperor Gaozu of Tang
Emperor Gaozu of Tang
Emperor Gāozǔ of Táng , born Lǐ Yuān , courtesy name Shūdé , was the founder of the Tang Dynasty of China, and the first emperor of this dynasty from 618 to 626. Under the Sui dynasty, Li Yuan was the governor in the area of modern-day Shanxi, and was based in Taiyuan.In 615, Li Yuan was assigned...

 (Li Yuan) commissioned Du as the commandant of the region, and in summer 620, Emperor Gaozu created Du the Prince of Wu, bestowed on him the imperial surname of Li, and made him the head of the branch imperial government for the region, while creating Fu Gongshi the Duke of Shu and making him Du's deputy.

Later that year, Li Fuwei commissioned Fu to lead an army against Li Zitong, with Li Fuwei's officers (whom he had formally adopted as sons) Wang Xiongdan (王雄誕) and Kan Leng (闞稜) as Fu's assistants. Fu was quickly able to capture Danyang, and he had initial further battle successes against Li Zitong. However, after a Li Zitong counterattack, Fu stopped engaging Li Zitong. Wang, against Fu's orders, counterattacked himself and defeated Li Zitong, forcing him to flee and take over Shen's territory, while Li Zitong's former territory came under Li Fuwei's control.

Rebellion against Tang

Meanwhile, friction had been developing between Li Fuwei and Fu Gongshi. It had been that for years, the army, knowing the great friendship between Li Fuwei and Fu, honored Li Fuwei as its father and Fu as its "uncle." Eventually, however, Li Fuwei became suspicious of the respect the army had for Fu, and began to give more authorities to Wang Xiongdan and Kan Leng, giving them effective command of the army. When Fu realized that Li Fuwei was suspecting him, he became resentful, but pretended to lose interest in the army, instead studying alchemy
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...

 with his friend Zuo Youxian (左遊仙).

In 622, Li Fuwei, fearful that Emperor Gaozu might doubt his loyalty, went to the Tang capital Chang'an
Chang'an
Chang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...

 to pay homage to Emperor Gaozu, taking Kan with him. Before he departed, he left Fu in command, with Wang as Fu's deputy, in actual command of the forces, secretly warning Wang, "If I suffer no ill consequences, make sure that Fu does nothing rash." When Li Fuwei got to Chang'an, Emperor Gaozu gave him the special treatment of allowing him to sit with Emperor Gaozu on the imperial seat and, at other occasions, honor even above Emperor Gaozu's son Li Yuanji
Li Yuanji
Li Yuanji , formally Prince La of Chao , more commonly known by the title of Prince of Qi , nickname Sanhu , was an imperial prince of the Chinese Tang Dynasty...

 the Prince of Qi. However, he did not permit Li Fuwei or Kan to return to Danyang, making Kan a general.

Once Li Fuwei left Danyang, Zuo persuaded Fu into planning a rebellion. However, Wang had actual command of the army, and therefore, Fu decided to trick Wang by claiming that Li Fuwei was doubting Wang's loyalty. Wang, angry over the revelation, gave up command of the army, and Fu took control and then tried to persuade Wang to join his plot. Wang, realizing that he had been tricked, nevertheless refused to join Fu, so Fu strangled him. In fall 623, Fu, claiming that Li Fuwei had been detained by Emperor Gaozu and had ordered him to rebel, did so. He soon declared himself the Emperor of Song, and he was able to get another rebel leader who had submitted to Tang as well, Zhang Shan'an (張善安), who controlled the modern northern Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...

 and eastern Hubei
Hubei
' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...

 region, to submit to him. Emperor Gaozu sent his generals Li Xiaogong
Li Xiaogong
Li Xiaogong , formally Prince Yuan of Hejian , often referred to by his earlier title as Prince of Zhao Commandery , was an imperial prince and general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty...

 the Prince of Zhao Commandery (the son of his cousin), Li Jing
Li Jing
Li Jing , né Yaoshi , formally Duke Jingwu of Wei , was a general and one time chancellor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty...

, Huang Junhan (黃君漢), and Li Shiji
Li Shiji
Li Shiji , né Xu Shiji , later known in the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang as Li Ji , courtesy name Maogong , formally Duke Zhenwu of Ying , was one of the most celebrated generals early in the Chinese Tang Dynasty...

 against Fu, with Li Xiaogong in overall command. In winter 623, Zhang was captured by the Tang general Li Daliang (李大亮), cutting off a flank support for Fu.

Defeat and death

For several months, Tang and Song forces battled on the border, but as the main forces under Li Xiaogong and Li Jing approached, Fu had his generals Feng Huiliang (馮慧亮) and Chen Dangshi (陳當世) take up defense positions at Mount Bowang (博望山, in modern Ma'anshan
Ma'anshan
Ma'anshan , also written as Maanshan, is a prefecture-level city in the east of Anhui province in Eastern China. An industrial city stretching across the Yangtze River, Ma'anshan borders Hefei to the west, Wuhu to the southwest, and Nanjing to the east...

, Anhui
Anhui
Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...

), preparing for the assault. Fu's orders to Feng and Chen were to refuse engagement and to wear the Tang forces out, but Li Xiaogong cut off their food supplies, and so they abandoned the strategy and challenged Li Xiaogong. Most of Li Xiaogong's subordinates believed that Feng and Chen had a strong army and could not be easily defeated, and so that Li Xiaogong should bypass them and attack Danyang directly. However, Li Jing opposed, pointing out that if Tang forces did not defeat Feng and Chen first, they would not be able to siege the well-fortified Danyang easily. Li Xiaogong agreed and engaged Feng and Chen directly, defeating them, as the Song forces lost morale when they saw that Kan was fighting on the Tang side. Feng and Chen fled back to Danyang.

Li Xiaogong and Li Jing trailed them and approached Danyang. Fu, in fear, abandoned Danyang and fled east, heading toward Kuaiji (會稽, in modern Shaoxing
Shaoxing
Shaoxing is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. Located on the south bank of the Qiantang River estuary, it borders Ningbo to the east, Taizhou to the southeast, Jinhua to the southwest, and Hangzhou to the west. It was once known as "越"...

, Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...

), then defended by Zuo. On the way, however, his army began to desert, and he only had 500 men left when he reached Chang Prefecture (常州, roughly modern Changzhou
Changzhou
Changzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling, Jinling, and Wujin. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Zhenjiang to the...

, Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...

). There, his subordinate Wu Sao (吳騷) considered seizing him and surrendering. When Fu discovered this, he fled with less than 100 guards; when he reached Wukang (武康, in modern Huzhou
Huzhou
Huzhou is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province of Eastern China. Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzhou to the south, and the provinces of Anhui and Jiangsu to the west and north respectively.-Administration:...

, Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...

), he was attacked by the men of the country. After his confidant, Ximen Junyi (西門君儀), was killed in the battle, he was captured. He was delivered to Danyang, where Li Xiaogong executed him. (Before he died, he falsely implicated Kan in his plot as well, and Li Xiaogong, already in conflict with Kan over Kan's opposition to his confiscation of property, executed Kan as well.)
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