Li Decheng (李德誠) (863[1]-August 5, 940[2][3]), formally Prince Zhongyi of Zhao (趙忠懿王), was a prominent general of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period Wu state.
He and his family would remain highly honored during the time of Wu's successor state Southern Tang.
[1][4] In his youth, he came under the service of the late-Tang warlord Zhao Huang, who was then the governor (觀察使, Guangchashi) of Xuanshe Circuit (宣歙, headquartered in modern Xuancheng, Anhui).
Yang then entered into an alliance with the major warlord Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan), against Sun Ru.
[4] Subsequently, when another warlord, Shi Pu the military governor of Wuning Circuit (武寧, headquartered in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu) tried to head south to take over Huainan, Yang sent Li and Zhang Xun to face him, and they defeated and repelled him at Chu Prefecture (楚州, in modern Huai'an, Jiangsu), forcing him to withdraw; they also then used this opportunity to seize Chu's prefect Liu Zan (劉瓚) and take over that prefecture for Yang.
Tian was soon defeated and killed by Yang's general Tai Meng (臺濛), and another Yang general, Wang Maozhang then put Run under siege,[6] but because An was a capable defender, the city's defense held up to spring 905, when Wang's forces finally entered the city by digging a tunnel in.
[1] In 919, when Yang Longyan declared himself the King of Wu (as an independent ruler away from any titles bestowed by the now defunct Tang state),[10] Li Decheng was given the honorary chancellor title of Zhongshu Ling (中書令) and Pingnan Dajiangjun (平南大將軍).
As he believed Li and Zhou Ben to be the most senior generals of the realm and that having their outward support would affirm his power, he had them go to Guangling to lead the officials in petitioning Yang Pu to do so, and then go to Jinling (where Xu was then stationed as regent) to petition him to accept.
This led the senior official Song Qiqiu, who was a long-time friend of Xu's but opposed all this, to state to Li Jianxun, "Your honored father was a great contributor to Emperor Taizu [(i.e., Yang Xingmi)], but now his accomplishments are destroyed.
[13] Xu bestowed on Li Decheng the honorary title Taishi (太師) and created him the Prince of Nanping.
[1] After the transition, for some time, Yang Pu, whom Xu still honored with the title of "Rang Huang" (讓皇, "emperor who yielded"), continued to reside at Wu's former palace at Guangling, but he was apprehensive and wanted to move out.