 By 764, however, most of the Shuofang army had defected back to the imperial cause after Pugu formally rose against the imperial government, and Li was again under Guo's command.In 767, when Guo, under Emperor Daizong's instruction, made a sudden attack against the rebellious general Zhou Zhiguang (), the military governor of Tonghua Circuit (同華, headquartered in modern Weinan, Shaanxi), Guo had Li and Hun Jian command the advance troops, although even before Li and Hun could attack, Zhou's own subordinates killed him and surrendered.During an incursion by the Tibetan Empire in 777, it was Li that Guo sent to repel the Tibetan troops.