Li Mi (; 582–619), courtesy name Xuansui (), pseudonym Liu Zhiyuan (), was a Chinese military general, monarch, poet, politician, and rebel. He was the leader of a rebel movement against the rule of the Chinese Sui dynasty. He initially was the strategist of the Sui general Yang Xuangan, who rebelled against Emperor Yang of Sui in 613 but failed. In 617, Li subsequently led a rebellion against Emperor Yang in his own right and killed Zhai Rang, seizing Zhai's troops.
There was expectation that Li Mi would prevail over Sui forces and establish a new dynasty—so much so that even other key rebel leaders, including Dou Jiande, Meng Haigong (孟海公), Xu Yuanlang, and Zhu Can, were urging him to take imperial title. Even Li Yuan (soon to become the founder of the Tang dynasty as Emperor Gaozu) was writing him in supplicating terms that implicitly supported his imperial claim.
Li Mi tried to gain control of the Sui eastern capital Luoyang, but his forces became stalemated by the Sui forces there, and he never came around to claiming the imperial title, instead accepting the title of Duke of Wei.
In October 618, the Sui general Wang Shichong crushed his forces at Yanshi. Li Mi fled to Tang territory and submitted to Emperor Gaozu, but subsequently rebelled against Tang and tried to revive his own army. The Tang general Sheng Yanshi (盛彥師) captured and executed Li Mi.
Background
Li Mi came from a line that was part of the nobility during successive dynasties Western Wei, Northern Zhou, and Sui Dynasty. By the time of his father Li Kuan (), who carried the Sui-created title of Duke of Pushan, the clan, although not originally from there, lived at the Sui capital Chang'an. Due to his father's position, Li Mi became a guard of Emperor Yang of Sui, and he was said to view money lightly, using it to instead gather friends around him. One day, however, when Emperor Yang saw him, Emperor Yang was apprehensive of his appearance, and told his associate Yuwen Shu the Duke of Xu to have Li Mi removed. Thereafter, Yuwen persuaded Li Mi to resign from the imperial guard corps, and Li instead often traveled around the capital, riding a bull and reading while doing so—particularly the Book of Han. When the prime minister Yang Su the Duke of Yue saw him, Li knew it was the prime minister and he bowed and stated his name. Yang Su took Li to his mansion and talked with him. Yang then told his son Yang Xuangan, "Li Mi's intelligence and capability is far beyond yours." Sometimes, Yang Xuangan would bully Li, and Li responded:
I will be honest and not flatter you. On the battlefield, when two armies were facing off with each other, I am not as good as you at yelling and screaming to cause the enemy to be fearful and submissive. However, as far as gathering the capable men of the earth and letting them serve properly in their capacity, you are not as good as I. Why do you look down on the knowledgeable people just based on your high rank?
Participation in Yang Xuangan's rebellion
In 613, with Emperor Yang at the frontlines attacking Goguryeo, Yang Xuangan, who had been apprehensive since he heard rumors that Emperor Yang had remarked, "If Yang Su did not die, his clan would have eventually been exterminated," considered rebelling. Emperor Yang had put him in charge of keeping the supply lines clear near the eastern capital Luoyang, and Yang Xuangan took the opportunity to seize the gathered food supply and then declare a general rebellion against Emperor Yang. At the same time, he secretly sent his servants to Chang'an to summon Li and his brother Yang Xuanting (). Once Li arrived, Yang Xuangan made Li his chief strategist, and Li gave him three options, in the order of Li's opinion as to their feasibility: