Li Keyong's Alliance with the Tang Court to Suppress the Rebellion

Timeline

1. 882–883Taiyuan · ShanxiAfter Huang Chao occupied Chang'an, the Tang court fled west to Chengdu and urgently summoned regional governors to defend the throne. Li Keyong, already appointed Military Commissioner of Yanmen, was granted the imperial surname Li and the name Keyong, and ordered to lead Shatuo cavalry into the passes to campaign against Huang Chao.
2. 883Liangtianpo · ShaanxiLi Keyong led Shatuo elite forces south from Taiyuan, joining Tang armies under Wang Chongrong and Zhuge Shuang, and decisively defeated Huang Chao's forces at Liangtianpo. The charge of the Shatuo cavalry turned the tide, forcing Huang Chao to abandon Chang'an and retreat east.
3. 883–884Chang'an · ShaanxiAfter Huang Chao withdrew, Tang forces entered Chang'an and Emperor Xizong was briefly restored. Li Keyong was appointed Military Commissioner of Hedong and Shatuo power grew. However, after the Shangyuan Courier Station incident, Li Keyong and Zhu Wen became bitter enemies; though the court relied on the governors to suppress the rebellion, it could not control them, and relations between imperial authority and the regional governors grew ever more tense.