Li Sheng (李晟) (727 – September 13, 793[1]), courtesy name Liangqi (良器), formally Prince Zhongwu of Xiping (西平忠武王), was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician during the Tang dynasty, mostly known for his service under Emperor Dezong in destroying the rebel Zhu Ci and restoring Emperor Dezong.

He served under Wang Zhongsi, the military governor (jiedushi) of Hexi Circuit (河西, headquartered in modern Wuwei, Gansu), on a campaign against Tufan.

While serving under Gao, Li was victorious in two campaigns against rebellious Qiang tribes, and was promoted to the rank of general.

[2] Early in the Guangde era (763–764) of Emperor Xuanzong's grandson Emperor Daizong, the then-military governor of Fengxiang Circuit, Sun Zhizhi (孫志直), made Li Sheng the commander of high mobility troops, and after Li defeated the Dangxiang tribal chieftain Gao Yu (高玉), he was given the honorary title of Tejin (特進) as well as honorary position as a minister.

He was soon made the military commander under Ma Lin (馬璘) the military governor of Jingyuan Circuit (涇原, headquartered in modern Pingliang, Gansu), and on an occasion, after Ma was defeated by Tufan troops at Yancang (鹽倉, in modern Pingliang) and could not regroup to return to Jingyuan's capital Jing Prefecture, it was by Li Sheng's efforts that Ma's troops were able to fight past the Tufan troops back to Jing Prefecture.

Emperor Daizong kept Li at Chang'an to serve as a general of the Shence Army (神策軍), which was under direct imperial control.

Meanwhile, Li Weiyue's general Wang Wujun had killed Li Weiyue and submitted to imperial authority, but rebelled again, along with Zhu Tao, who had previously been loyal to the imperial government, over Emperor Dezong's failure to reward them as they believed they deserved.

Subsequently, though, after imperial forces suffered a defeat at the hands of Zhu and Wang and were forced to lift the siege on Wei Prefecture in 782, Li Sheng took his troops and rendezvoused with the troops of Zhang Xiaozhong the military governor of Yiwu Circuit (義武, in modern Baoding, Hebei) to lift the siege that Wang Wujun's son Wang Shizhen had been laying against Zhao Prefecture (趙州, in modern Shijiazhuang), then held by a general loyal to the imperial government, Kang Rizhi (康日知).

This, however, drew a response from Zhu, who left Wei Prefecture and arrived at Qingyuan to battle Li Sheng.

[9] Li Sheng, upon his recovery later in the year, wanted to head immediately toward Fengtian to aid Emperor Dezong, but Zhang Xiaozhong, whose Yiwu Circuit was wedged between Zhu Tao's and Wang Wujun's territory and feared that he would be attacked, tried to keep Li Sheng at Yiwu.

[10] The major general Li Huaiguang soon arrived and forced Zhu Ci to lift his siege on Fengtian.

He, fearing that Li Huaiguang would seize his troops, received permission from Emperor Dezong to return to East Wei River Bridge.

Instead, Li Huaiguang publicly announced that he was rebelling, and Emperor Dezong fled to Liang Prefecture (梁州, in modern Hanzhong).

Prior to fleeing, Emperor Dezong gave Li Sheng the honorary chancellor designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事), effectively making Li Sheng the supreme commander of the troops in the Chang'an region still loyal to the imperial cause.

Li Sheng executed a number of Zhu Ci's officials and welcomed Emperor Dezong back to Chang'an.

[13] Li Huaiguang soon committed suicide under threat of impending attack from Ma and Hun, and his territory was reintegrated into imperial control.

Previously, Li Sheng had, after his campaign against Tufan and Nanzhao at Xichuan, brought the military prostitute Gao Hong (高洪) with him.

[14] In 786, the Tufan chancellor Nanam Shang Gyaltsen Lhanang ("Shang Jiezan" (尚結贊) in Chinese), who believed that Li Sheng, Hun, and Ma were the only three people standing between him and a conquest of Tang, developed a strategy to create suspicions in Emperor Dezong's minds against the three.

How can I not fear this?Meanwhile, Shang continued his incursion, but by spring 787 was running into difficulties with the livestock of his army dying due to illnesses.

Emperor Dezong recalled Li Sheng to Chang'an to serve as Zhongshu Ling and Taiwei (太尉, also one of the Three Excellencies) and relieved him of all of his military duties.

As a result of this debacle, Zhang claimed an illness and retired, while Emperor Dezong recalled Ma to the capital and stripped him of his command.

[14] Later, when Li Mi advocated an alliance with Huige against Tufan, despite Emperor Dezong's longstanding hatred toward Huige—as, during an incident in 762 while he was still the Prince of Yong under Emperor Dezong, a number of his staff members had been arrested and killed by Huige's then-khan Dengli Khan Yaoluoge Yidijian (藥羅葛移地建) over a dispute in the meeting protocol between the young prince and the khan—Li Sheng and Ma spoke in favor of the alliance, finally persuading Emperor Dezong in conjunction with Li Mi's advice.