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{{for|the PRC politician|Liu Peng (politician)}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Liu]]|lang=Chinese}}
'''Liu Peng''' ({{zh|t=劉怦}}; 727 – November 4, 785<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sinica.edu.tw/ftms-bin/kiwi1/luso.sh?lstype=2&dyna=%AD%F0&king=%BCw%A9v&reign=%ADs%A4%B8&yy=1&ycanzi=&mm=9&dd=&dcanzi=%A9%B0%A5%D3|title=中央研究院}}</ref><ref>''[[Old Book of Tang]]'', [http://www.sidneyluo.net/a/a16/012.htm vol. 12] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081023231250/http://www.sidneyluo.net/a/a16/012.htm |date=2008-10-23 }}.</ref>), formally '''Duke Gong of Pengcheng''' ({{lang|zh|彭城恭公}}), was a general of the Chinese [[Tang dynasty]], who served as military governor (''[[Jiedushi]]'')<ref name=title>According to Liu Peng's biographies in the ''Old Book of Tang'' and the ''[[New Book of Tang]]'', Liu Peng was made deputy military governor with the title ''Fudashi'' (副大使).  See ''Old Book of Tang'', [http://www.sidneyluo.net/a/a16/143.htm vol. 143] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621210605/http://www.sidneyluo.net/a/a16/143.htm |date=2008-06-21 }} and ''New Book of Tang'', [http://www.sidneyluo.net/a/a17/212.htm vol. 212] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202173202/http://sidneyluo.net/a/a17/212.htm |date=2009-02-02 }}.  However, the chronicles of Emperor Dezong's reign in the ''Old Book of Tang'' and the ''New Book of Tang'' both indicated that Liu was made military governor, and this was followed by the ''[[Zizhi Tongjian]]''.  See ''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 12 (which, however, also referred to him as deputy military governor), ''New Book of Tang'', [http://www.sidneyluo.net/a/a17/007.htm vol. 7] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226121815/http://www.sidneyluo.net/a/a17/007.htm |date=2007-12-26 }}, and ''Zizhi Tongjian'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷232|vol. 232]].  As the ''Fudashi'' title would also indicate that he was acting as governor but titularly serving as a deputy to an imperial prince — one of Emperor Dezong's brothers or sons — but none of Emperor Dezong's brothers or sons carried the title of military governor of Zhenwu, it would appear that he was made military governor.  See ''New Book of Tang'', [http://www.sidneyluo.net/a/a17/082.htm vol. 82] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226123045/http://www.sidneyluo.net/a/a17/082.htm |date=2007-12-26 }} [biographies of the sons of 11 emperors].</ref> of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern [[Beijing]]) briefly in 785 following the death of his cousin, the warlord [[Zhu Tao]].
== Background ==
Liu Peng was born in 727, during the reign of [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang|Emperor Xuanzong]].  His family was from You Prefecture (幽州, in modern [[Beijing]]). According to the Gravestone Epitaph of his son Liu Ji, he was a 20th generation descendant of [[Liu Bei]]. His father Liu Gong ({{lang|zh-hant|劉貢}}) at one point served as a commander of Dadou Army ({{lang|zh|大斗軍}}).<ref name=BT143>''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 143.</ref>  In Liu Peng's youth, he served as an officer at Fanyang Circuit (范陽, headquartered in modern Beijing, later renamed Lulong Circuit), but left military service to care for his aging parents.  When [[Li Huaixian]] served as the military governor of Lulong Circuit, he tried to recall Liu back to military service, but Liu declined.<ref name=NBT212>''New Book of Tang'', vol. 212.</ref><ref>Li Huaixian was made military governor in 763 and served until his assassination in 768, and so the attempt to recall Liu must have happened during that time period.</ref>
== Service under Zhu Tao ==
In 772, after Li Huaixian's successor [[Zhu Xicai]] was assassinated, Liu Peng's cousin [[Zhu Ci]] (a son of Liu's mother's brother) became military governor.<ref name=BT143/><ref>''Zizhi Tongjian'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷224|vol. 224]].</ref>  Contrary to the prior independent stand that Li and Zhu Xicai took as to the imperial government, Zhu Ci was more reconciliatory and submissive to the imperial government, and in 774, he went to the Tang capital [[Chang'an]] and thereafter served as an imperial general around the capital, leaving his brother (also Liu's cousin) [[Zhu Tao]] in actual control of the circuit.<ref name=ZZTJ225>''Zizhi Tongjian'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷225|vol. 225]].</ref>  Liu served under Zhu Tao, and through his accomplishments was made the commander of the Xiongwu Army (雄武軍, based on modern [[Chengde]], [[Hebei]]).  Later, he was made the prefect of Zhuo Prefecture (涿州, in modern [[Baoding]], [[Hebei]]).<ref name=BT143/>
In 775, Zhu Tao, per mandate of [[Emperor Daizong of Tang|Emperor Daizong]], attacked [[Tian Chengsi]] the military governor of Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern [[Handan]], [[Hebei]]), along with [[Li Baochen]] the military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern [[Shijiazhuang]], [[Hebei]]).  Because Liu was loved by the army, Zhu put him in command of headquarters before launching his campaign.<ref name=BT143/>  Tian, however, persuaded Li Baochen to turn against Zhu, and late in 775, Li Baochen launched a surprise attack on Zhu's army and then attacked north, hoping to capture Lulong's headquarters.  However, with Li Baochen realizing that Liu had taken precautions, he stopped his attack.<ref name=ZZTJ225/>
After Li Baochen died in 781, Li Baochen's son [[Li Weiyue]] requested imperial sanction to succeed him, but Emperor Daizong's son and successor [[Emperor Dezong of Tang|Emperor Dezong]] refused, and subsequently, Li Weiyue, along with his allies [[Tian Yue]] (Tian Chengsi's nephew, who had succeeded Tian Chengsi in 779), [[Li Na (Tang Dynasty)|Li Na]], and [[Liang Chongyi]], prepared to wage war against the imperial government, and the imperial government responded in kind.<ref>''Zizhi Tongjian'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷226|vol. 226]].</ref>  Emperor Dezong commissioned Zhu to attack Li Weiyue from the north, and Zhu did so; his victories eventually caused Li Weiyue's subordinate [[Wang Wujun]] to assassinate Li Weiyue and surrender.<ref name=ZZTJ227>''Zizhi Tongjian'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷227|vol. 227]].</ref>
After the victory at Chengde, however, Emperor Dezong made a series of moves that simultaneously alienated Zhu and Wang.  He refused to give Chengde's Shen Prefecture (深州, in modern [[Hengshui]], [[Hebei]]) to Lulong, as Zhu had requested.  Rather, he divided the seven prefectures of Chengde into three smaller circuits, making [[Zhang Xiaozhong]], the first major Chengde officer to submit to Zhu and join Zhu's operations against Li Weiyue, the military governor of a newly created Yidingcang Circuit (易定滄, headquartered in modern Baoding, soon renamed to Yiwu ({{lang|zh|義武)}}), consisting of three prefectures, while giving two prefectures each to Wang and Kang Rizhi (康日知, another Chengde general who had submitted to imperial authority during the campaign), with the lesser titles of military prefect (團練使, ''Tuanlianshi'').  Emperor Dezong, on paper, gave Lulong two additional prefectures — De (德州, in modern [[Dezhou]], [[Shandong]]) and Di (棣州, in modern [[Binzhou]], [[Shandong]]) — both still then held by Li Na.  Zhu was angered by Emperor Dezong's refusal to give him any part of Chengde territory (in particular, Shen Prefecture) and requiring him to capture two additional prefectures on his own, while Wang was angered that contrary to Emperor Dezong's implicit promises to give whoever killed Li Weiyue Li Weiyue's offices, he not only received a lesser title, but was in a position where he could easily be destroyed.  Tian, who was then still under imperial attack, thus persuaded Zhu and Wang to join him in an alliance to defend against imperial forces.  When Liu heard that Zhu was planning to turn against imperial forces, he wrote an earnest letter to Zhu trying to change his mind:<ref name=ZZTJ227/>
{{blockquote|Our old home village in Changping [(昌平, in modern Beijing)] has been named by the imperial government as the Situ Neighborhood<ref>Zhu Tao carried the honorary title of ''Situ'' (司徒, one of the [[Three Excellencies]]).</ref> of Taiwei Township.<ref>Zhu Ci carried the honorary title of ''Taiwei'' (太尉, also one of the Three Excellencies).</ref>  This is an eternal accomplishment for men.  If you remain faithful and obedient to the emperor, nothing will go against you.  Within our own times, [[An Lushan]] and [[Shi Siming]] were destroyed and their families slaughtered because they, in arrogance, waged war and not cared about whether they succeeded or not.  I am your closest relative, and if I remain silent and do not let you know what I think, I would not be serving you properly.  I hope you, ''Situ'', will reconsider, so that you do not regret it in the future.}}
Zhu did not accept his suggestion, but it was said that because he knew that Liu was faithful to him, he did not fear that Liu would turn against him.  Subsequently, as he was turning against the imperial government but Zhang refused to join his alliance with Wang and Tian, he had Liu take up position to defend a potential attack by Zhang.<ref name=ZZTJ227/>
By 784, Zhu's campaign had ended in utter failure after Wang and Tian Yue's cousin and successor [[Tian Xu (Tang Dynasty)|Tian Xu]] turned against him and defeated him along with the imperial general [[Li Baozhen]].  Zhu was forced to withdraw with his remaining troops back to Lulong.  As he was arriving back in Lulong, he was filled with shames of defeat and feared that Liu might turn against him in light of his defeat.  As he was arriving at the headquarters at You Prefecture, however, Liu mobilized the remaining troops and exited the city to welcome him in grand ceremony.  Zhu was touched in both sadness and joy when seeing Liu, and the popular opinion at the time credited Liu for his faithfulness.<ref>''Zizhi Tongjian'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷231|vol. 231]].</ref>
Zhu died in summer 785, and the soldiers supported Liu to succeed him.  Emperor Dezong made Liu the military governor<ref name=title/> and also created him the Duke of Pengcheng.<ref name=NBT212/>
== As ''Jiedushi'' ==
Liu Peng himself, however, soon fell ill, and Emperor Dezong had his son [[Liu Ji (general)|Liu Ji]] serve as acting military governor in Liu Peng's illness.  Liu Peng only served for three months before he himself died, in fall 785.  He was given posthumous honors, and Emperor Dezong made Liu Ji military governor to succeed him.<ref name=BT143/>
== Notes and references ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Refbegin}}
* ''[[Old Book of Tang]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20080621210605/http://www.sidneyluo.net/a/a16/143.htm vol. 143].
* ''[[New Book of Tang]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20090202173202/http://sidneyluo.net/a/a17/212.htm vol. 212].
* ''[[Zizhi Tongjian]]'', vols. [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷225|225]], [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷227|227]], [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷231|231]], [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷232|232]].
{{Refend}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Peng}}
[[Category:727 births]]
[[Category:785 deaths]]
[[Category:Tang dynasty jiedushi of Lulong Circuit]]