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Li Rubai
Second son of Li Chengliang who took Kaesong in the first Korean campaign and led the southern column at Sarhu, then killed himself under impeachment
At dusk on a hilltop, a large tent stands open with a table holding a map marked with small stones inside, a saddled horse tethered outside, and fire stands burning; campfires dot the river plain below, and one tiny sentry stands on the slope.
Also known as Zi Zizhen
- Roles
- Commanders
Li Rubai, courtesy name Zizhen, was the second son of the Liaodong commander Li Chengliang; he entered the Embroidered Uniform Guard through his father's standing and rose to deputy regional commander at Jizhen. In 1588 a censor called him greedy and overbearing and he was relieved. In 1592 he went to Korea with his elder brother Li Rusong and after Pyongyang was retaken early the next year he pushed on and captured Kaesong; later he commanded at Ningxia before retiring on grounds of illness for more than twenty years. When the Jurchen war began, senior ministers recommended him and he was sent back to Liaodong. In the Sarhu campaign of 1619 he led a column out through Yahu Pass, but on hearing that Du Song and Ma Lin had been destroyed Yang Hao recalled him, and on the way back a few enemy scouts blowing conches stampeded his men, killing over a thousand in the crush. Recalled under a storm of impeachments, he killed himself in 1620.
Life and times
Dates Birth unknown–1620 CE