Li Sheng 李勝

After Emperor Ming died and the Prince of Qi came to the throne, Cao Shuang's younger brothers became Central Commander of the Army, General of the Martial Guard, Cavalier Regular Attendant and the like, and went in and out of the palace. Chen Shou wrote that He Yan, Deng Yang and Li Sheng of Nanyang, Ding Mi of Pei State and Bi Gui of Dongping all had reputations and sought advancement by following the fashions of the time, but that Emperor Ming suppressed and dismissed them all as showy and superficial, and that when Cao Shuang took power he employed them again and made them his confidants. Records, Wei 9 §72–73

Deng Yang and the others urged Cao Shuang to attack Shu so as to establish his prestige and fame throughout the realm, and Sima Xuanwang (Sima Yi) tried to stop him but could not. In the 5th year of Zhengshi (244) Cao Shuang went to Chang'an, levied 60,000 to 70,000 troops on a large scale and entered by the Luo Valley, but the enemy held fast to the mountains and he could not advance. When the Army Adviser Yang Wei said they must hurry back, Deng Yang argued with him in front of Cao Shuang, and Yang Wei said, 'Deng Yang and Li Sheng are about to ruin the affairs of the state; they should be beheaded.' Cao Shuang was displeased, but led his army back. Records, Wei 9 §74–75

At first, because Sima Xuanwang was senior in both age and virtue, Cao Shuang served him like a father. When He Yan and the others were employed, they together exalted Cao Shuang and persuaded him that since his authority was weighty it must not be entrusted to others. Thereupon He Yan, Deng Yang and Ding Mi became Masters of Writing, with He Yan in charge of selecting officials, Bi Gui became Colonel-Director of Retainers and Li Sheng became Intendant of Henan, and few matters passed through Sima Xuanwang any more. In the end Sima Xuanwang pleaded illness to avoid Cao Shuang. Chen Shou goes on to record that He Yan and the others monopolized the government, divided among themselves the mulberry fields of the agricultural colonies, and secretly made off with government property. Records, Wei 9 §76

Sima Xuanwang was secretly making preparations. In the winter of the 9th year of Zhengshi (248), Li Sheng, about to leave as Inspector of Jing Province, called on Sima Xuanwang. Sima Xuanwang claimed that his illness was grave and showed himself frail, and Li Sheng, failing to see through it, believed it to be true. Records, Wei 9 §79

In the 1st month of the following year, when the imperial carriage went to pay homage at the Gaoping Tomb and Cao Shuang and his brothers all accompanied it, Sima Xuanwang marshaled his troops, first seized the arsenal and stationed himself at the floating bridge over the Luo River, and then memorialized that the officials and troops of Cao Shuang and his brothers be dismissed and that they return to their residences as marquises. Cao Shuang accepted the persuasion of the Palace Attendant Xu Yun and the Master of Writing Chen Tai and admitted his guilt, and Cao Shuang and his brothers were dismissed from office and returned to their residences. Records, Wei 9 §80 · 83 · 85

Earlier, the eunuch of the Yellow Gate Zhang Dang had given Cao Shuang Talented Ladies he had privately selected; when Zhang Dang was arrested and tried for this, he testified that Cao Shuang had secretly plotted rebellion with He Yan and the others, had even trained troops in advance, and intended to strike in the 3rd month. After deliberation by the high ministers and court officials, Cao Shuang, Cao Xi, Cao Xun, He Yan, Deng Yang, Ding Mi, Bi Gui, Li Sheng, Huan Fan, Zhang Dang and others were all executed and their three sets of kin exterminated. Records, Wei 9 §87–88

The Annals of the Three Young Emperors record that on the day wuxu in the 1st month of the 1st year of Jiaping (249) the officials in charge arrested Zhang Dang and handed him over to the Commandant of Justice, and that examination of his statements confirmed that Cao Shuang had plotted rebellion with him. They add that the Masters of Writing Ding Mi, Deng Yang and He Yan, the Colonel-Director of Retainers Bi Gui, the Inspector of Jing Province Li Sheng and the Minister of Agriculture Huan Fan had all shared in Cao Shuang's treacherous plots, and so their three sets of kin were exterminated. Records, Wei 4 §28

In his assessment at the end of Records of Wei 9, Chen Shou said only that Cao Shuang's virtue was thin while his position was exalted and that he sank into excess, and did not assess Li Sheng separately. Chen Shou's main text does not record Li Sheng's courtesy name, his career before he became Intendant of Henan, or his age. Records, Wei 9 §132 · 73–88