Li Fengji

Li Fengji was born in 758, during the reign of Emperor Suzong.^[4] His family was part of the Li clan of Longxi—which was descended from Li Gao the founder of the Western Liang state during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, as the Tang dynasty imperial clan was but considered distant enough from the imperial lineage that he was not considered part of the imperial clan.^[5] After Li Gao, Li Fengji's family traced its ancestry to a line of officials of Jin dynasty (266–420), Northern Wei, Northern Qi, Sui dynasty, and Tang, although Li Fengji's grandfather Li Yan (李顏) and father Li Guiqi (李歸期) were both listed without offices.^[6][7]

As Li Yan was chronically ill and Li Fengji tended to him, Li Fengji studied the medical books of the time and became knowledgeable in medicine.^[8][9] After Li Fengji passed the imperial examinations, the general Fan Xichao (范希朝) invited him to serve as a scribe on his staff when Fan served as the military governor (jiedushi) of Zhenwu Circuit (振武, headquartered in modern Hohhot, Inner Mongolia).^[10] Fan subsequently recommended Li Fengji to then-reigning Emperor Dezong (Emperor Suzong's grandson), and Li Fengji was made a Zuo Shiyi (左拾遺), a low-level consultant at the examination bureau of government (門下省, Menxia Sheng).^[8] He was later promoted to Zuo Bujue (左補闕), also consultant at the examination bureau, and then made an imperial censor with the title Shiyushi (侍御史). He later served as the deputy emissary on a mission to Tufan.^[4][11]

In 808, by which time Emperor Dezong's grandson Emperor Xianzong was emperor, Li Fengji served as the deputy to Duan Pingzhong (段平仲) on a diplomatic mission to Nanzhao.^[4][12][13] After Li Fengji returned from the mission in 809, he was made Cibu Langzhong (祠部郎中), a supervisorial official at the ministry of rites (禮部, Libu), and later Yousi Langzhong (右司郎中), a supervisorial official under the secretaries general of the executive bureau (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng). In 811, he was made an imperial attendant (給事中, Jishizhong). In 812, he was made an attendant scholar to the studies of the crown prince Li Heng and other imperial princes, along with Li Ju (李巨). In 814, he was made Zhongshu Sheren (中書舍人), a mid-level official at the legislative bureau (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng). In 816, he was put in charge of the imperial examinations for that year. Later that year, he was made Menxia Shilang (門下侍郎), the deputy head of the examination bureau, and de facto chancellor with the title Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事); he was also given the honorary title of Chaoyi Daifu (朝議大夫).^[4][14] According to the Old Book of Tang, Li Fengji was treacherous and used his machination to harm others.^[4]

In 817, by which time Emperor Xianzong was waging two simultaneous campaigns against warlords—Wang Chengzong, who controlled Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei), and Wu Yuanji, who controlled Zhangyi Circuit (彰義, headquartered in modern Zhumadian, Henan)—Li Fengji advocated ending the campaign against Chengde and concentrating on the campaign against Zhangyi. Emperor Xianzong agreed, and ordered the troops then attacking Chengde to withdraw back to their own circuits. Later in the year, Li Fengji further advocated ending the campaign against Zhangyi as well, but Emperor Xianzong accepted the advice of Li Fengji's fellow chancellor Pei Du and further, as Pei volunteered, sent Pei to the front to oversee the campaign. Pei was concerned that Li Fengji and the imperial scholar Linghu Chu would work together to interfere the campaign, and therefore accused Linghu of using inappropriate language on the edict for Pei's commission and had Linghu demoted. Later in the year, both because of Li Fengji's disagreements with Pei, whom Emperor Xianzong trusted, and because Emperor Xianzong wanted to commission an associate of his while he was still an imperial prince, Zhang Su (張宿), as a high-level consultant and Li Fengji strenuously objected, Emperor Xianzong sent Li Fengji out of the capital Chang'an, making him the military governor of Dongchuan Circuit (東川, headquartered in modern Mianyang, Sichuan.^[15]

After Emperor Xianzong died in 820 and was succeeded by Li Heng (as Emperor Muzong), Li Fengji was moved to be the military governor of Shannan East Circuit (山南東道, headquartered in modern Xiangfan, Hubei) as well as the prefect of its capital Xiang Prefecture (襄州). As he had previously attended to Emperor Muzong's studies, he sent messengers to plead with Emperor Muzong's close associates, requesting to be recalled. In 822, he was recalled serving as minister of defense (兵部尚書, Bingbu Shangshu). At that time, Pei and Yuan Zhen were serving as chancellors, despite Pei's having previously severely criticized Yuan. It was said that Li Fengji believed that Pei and Yuan would turn against each other, and therefore had it reported that Yuan had conspired with the official Yu Fang (于方) to assassinate Pei. After Yu was arrested and interrogated, no positive evidence of such a conspiracy was found, but both Pei and Yuan were removed from their chancellor positions, and Li Fengji was again made Menxia Shilang and chancellor.^[4][16]

Later in the year, when mutineer soldiers at Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan) expelled the military governor Li Yuan (李愿) and supported the officer Li Jie (李㝏), Li Fengji advocated sending a replacement for Li Yuan and, if Li Jie did not accept the replacement, then attacking Xuanwu, pointing out that while the imperial government had been forced to allow certain circuits north of the Yellow River to decide on their own military governors, allowing Xuanwu to do so would cause the gradual erosion of the imperial control over the Yangtze River-Huai River region, while Du Yuanying and Zhang Pingshu (張平叔) advocated commissioning Li Jie to avoid a war. Emperor Muzong initially could not decide, but soon thereafter, when the prefects of three of Xuanwu's prefectures, Song (宋州, in modern Shangqiu, Henan), Bo (亳州, in modern Bozhou, Anhui), and Ying (潁州, in modern Fuyang, Anhui), requested that a new military governor be sent, Emperor Muzong came to believe that Li Fengji was correct. Li Fengji thus suggested summoning Li Jie to serve as an imperial guard general, while transferring Han Chong (韓充) the military governor of Yicheng Circuit (義成, headquartered in modern Anyang, Henan), whose brother Han Hong had served as Xuanwu's military governor for a long period, to Xuanwu. Li Jie resisted the orders but was soon killed by his own subordinate Li Zhi (李質), who surrendered the circuit to Han Chong.^[16]

Late in the year, after Emperor Muzong suffered a stroke after being shocked by the fall of an eunuch at a polo game, it was at Li Fengji's and Pei's request that Emperor Muzong created his oldest son Li Zhan the Prince of Jing as crown prince.^[16]

In 823, after Emperor Muzong made Niu Sengru a chancellor, over Li Deyu, who also wanted to be chancellor, Li Deyu believed that it was at Li Fengji's recommendation that Niu was made chancellor over him, and therefore resented both Niu and Li Fengji.^[17] (The Song dynasty historian Sima Guang, the author of the Zizhi Tongjian, believed that it was because of this resentment that Li Deyu later had his associate Li Yirang (李夷讓), write defamatory remarks about Li Fengji and Li Fengji's associates in the imperial chronicles, which were then adopted into the Old Book of Tang.^[18])

It was said because Li Fengji disliked Pei, Li Fengji's associates, including Zhang Youxin (張又新), frequently attacked Pei, such that also in 823, Pei was sent out of the capital to serve as the military governor of Shannan West Circuit (山南西道). Customarily, when former chancellors were sent out to a circuit to serve as a military governor, he would be given an honorary chancellor title to carry, but because of Li Fengji's dislike of Pei, Pei was not given such a title.^[17]

Meanwhile, it was said that Li Fengji closely associated with the powerful chancellor Wang Shoucheng (王守澄). The imperial scholar Li Shen (李紳), whom Emperor Muzong trusted as an advisor, often opposed Li Fengji's and Wang's proposals. Li Fengji thus decided to try to remove Li Shen. At that time, it happened that there was no deputy chief imperial censor, so Li Fengji recommended Li Shen for the post. Per regulations at the time, when the mayor of Jingzhao Municipality (京兆, i.e., the Chang'an region) were commissioned, he were to report to the office of the imperial censors to pay homage. At that time, however, Han Yu was both mayor and chief imperial censor. Li Fengji issued an order exempting Han from the homage visit as he was also chief imperial censor, believing that soon Li Shen and Han would engage in a dispute over this matter, and indeed, the two of them did. Li Fengji thus reported to Emperor Muzong that the two were unable to work together. As a result, Emperor Muzong was initially set to send Li Shen out of the capital to serve as governor of Jiangxi Circuit (江西, headquartered in modern Nanchang, Jiangxi), until he had the chance to personally hear from Li Shen and Han to realize the reasons for their dispute, and therefore kept Li Shen at the capital to serve as deputy minister of census.^[17]