Li again tried to visit the rebel leaders to try to persuade them to follow his strategies. Most of the leaders considered Li's strategies overly grandiose, and they initially did not respect him. However, as time went by, some of them began to respect Li, particularly when they heard prophecies that the next emperor would be named Li, some speculated that Li, who was of noble birth and who had many times escaped death, would be the one. He became particularly close to the rebel leader Wang Bodang ().