Li Daliang (李大亮; 586–4 January 645[1]) was a Chinese military general and politician during the early Tang dynasty, noted for his benevolence and virtue.
In 617, he was serving under general Pang Yu (龐玉) near the eastern capital Luoyang, when he was defeated and captured by rebels under Li Mi.
Li Daliang sold his horses to aid the poor and needy, encouraged farming, and led his soldiers to eradicate bandits.
Once, knowing that he couldn't resist an incursion by a large Göktürks force numbering more than 1,000 men, Li Daliang went to the enemy camp by himself on a horse.
The Tang emperor was very pleased by his accomplishment, and promoted Li Daliang to Adjutant of Area Command (總管府司馬) in Jin Prefecture.
Li Daliang immediately led his men towards Hong Prefecture, defended by Fu Gongshi's general Zhang Shan'an (張善安).
With their armies on opposite sides of the Gan River, Li Daliang talked to Zhang Shan'an and tried to induce him to surrender.
In February 624, Li Daliang led his soldiers to You Prefecture (猷州; around modern Xuancheng), where Fu Gongshi had laid a siege.
Later he returned to the capital to serve as Chief Minister of the Court of the Imperial Treasury (太府卿), before being sent out to Liang Prefecture in the western parts of the empire as Commander-in-Chief.
Li Daliang then secretly wrote a letter to the emperor, which said:[3] You banned hunting a long time ago, but your messenger is looking for an eagle.
Li Shimin had wanted to win over chieftains by providing them with food, cloth and titles, with the plan of resettling them south of the Yellow River.
Giving resources in China to the Four Barbarians is like uprooting a tree and thinking it would benefit the branches and leaves.Li Shimin listened to his advice and left the Göktürks outside of Tang's border.
[7] For his merits in this campaign, Li Daliang received a sumptuous gift including 150 maidservants from the emperor, but he gave everything to his relatives.
With three concurrent appointments, Li Daliang worked even harder to guard both the emperor's and the crown prince's palaces, often sleeping upright for entire nights when his soldiers were on duty.
[3] It was around this time Li Daliang reencountered Zhang Bi, the general who spared his life in the Sui dynasty, by chance on the street.
On his deathbed, Li Daliang wrote a petition to the emperor, advising him to abandon the campaign against Goguryeo and instead focus on properly managing the Chang'an area.