Li Jingsui (Chinese: 李景遂; 920 – 17 September 958), né Xu Jingsui (徐景遂), courtesy name Tuishen (退身), formally Crown Prince Wencheng (文成太弟), was an imperial prince of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Southern Tang. He was a son of Southern Tang's founding emperor Li Bian (Emperor Liezu). During the reign of his brother Li Jing (Emperor Yuanzong), he was initially designated the heir, but, having never embraced that role, repeatedly offered to yield the position to Li Jing's son Li Hongji. Eventually, Li Jing agreed, but Li Hongji, still fearing that Li Jing would change his mind again, had Li Jingsui poisoned to death.
During Wu Xu Jingsui was born in 920, during the reign of Yang Longyan the King of Wu. His father, then known as Xu Zhigao, was serving as Wu's junior regent at the Wu capital Guangling (廣陵, in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu), with his adoptive father (Xu Jingsui's adoptive grandfather) Xu Wen the regent taking up position at Jinling and in actual control of the Wu state. His mother was Xu Zhigao's second wife Lady Song Fujin, who was also the mother of his older brothers Xu Jingtong and Xu Jingqian and younger brother Xu Jingda. Xu Jingsui was the third son overall. By 936, Wu's titular ruler was Yang Longyan's younger brother Yang Pu, who had taken imperial title by that point; Xu Jingsui's father Xu Zhigao was the regent, stationed at Jinling, with Xu Jingtong also there serving as his deputy. The role that Xu Zhigao formerly had during Xu Wen's regency, as junior regent at the Wu capital Guangling, was held by Xu Jingqian, who was Xu Zhigao's favorite son. However, in 936, Xu Jingqian fell ill, and was removed from the junior regency and recalled to Jinling in hopes of recuperation. Xu Jingsui, then 16, was sent to Guangling to serve as junior regent, carrying the titles of Menxia Shilang (門下侍郎) and Can Zhengshi (參政事), as a de facto chancellor. (Xu Jingqian would not recover, however, and would die in 937.)
During Southern Tang
During Li Bian's reign In 937, Yang Pu yielded the throne to Xu Zhigao, ending Wu. Xu Zhigao took the throne as emperor of a new state of Southern Tang. He created Xu Jingsui, who had arrived at Jinling as part of the procession of Wu officials offering the throne to him on Yang's behalf, the Prince of Ji. He also commissioned Xu Jingsui the titles of Shizhong (侍中), defender of the eastern capital (as Jinling became the Southern Tang capital, with Guangling becoming the eastern capital with the name of Jiangdu (江都)), and mayor of Jiangdu. He had Xu Jingsui lead the officials who were assigned offices in Jiangdu back to Jiangdu. In 938, Xu Zhigao recalled Xu Jingsui to Jinling, to participate in the matters of the office of chancellors, overseeing the executive bureau of government (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng). When Yang died later in 938, it was Xu Jingsui that Xu Zhigao sent to attend to the funeral train. Xu Jingsui was overcome with grief, and those who saw him were touched. In 939, Xu Zhigao changed his surname back to his birth name of Li, and took a new name of Li Bian. His children also changed their names to Li, and Xu Jingsui thus took the name of Li Jingsui. Not long after, Li Jingsui's title was changed to Prince of Shou. In 942, when the senior statesman Song Qiqiu insisted on taking over the executive bureau, Li Bian had Li Jingsui yield the oversight of the executive bureau to him, and instead had Li Jingsui oversee the legislative (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng) and examination (門下省, Menxia Sheng) bureaus instead, but also having Li Jingsui's older brother Li Jingtong (whose name had been changed to Li Jing by this point) oversee all three bureaus. Shortly after, Song's close associate Xia Changtu (夏昌圖) was involved in a corruption scandal, but Song initially did sentence him to death. Li Bian, in anger, personally ordered Xia's death. Song thus resigned his oversight over the executive bureau and was no longer meeting the emperor. Li Bian had to send Li Jingsui to his mansion to comfort him and promise to make him the military governor of Zhennan Circuit (鎮南, headquartered in modern Nanchang, Jiangxi) in order for him to come to the palace, upon which Song was given the Zhennan command.
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