Li Shi

Li Shi (李石), courtesy name Zhongyu (中玉), formally the Count of Longxi (隴西伯), was a Chinese politician of the Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Wenzong. He was credited with stabilizing the political scene in the aftermaths of the Ganlu incident, a failed attempt by Emperor Wenzong to slaughter the powerful eunuchs.

Background It is not known when Li Shi was born. He was a member of the Tang imperial Li clan, as his ancestry came from Li Liang , one of the sons of Li Hu , the father of Tang's founding emperor Emperor Gaozu. His grandfather Li Jian served as a prefectural prefect, while his father Li Peng served as a county magistrate.

Early career In 818, during the reign of Emperor Xianzong, Li Shi passed the imperial examinations in the Jinshi class. As of 822, during the reign of Emperor Xianzong's son Emperor Muzong, Li Shi was serving as a staff member under Tian Bu the military governor of Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei). That year, when Tian, loyal to the imperial government but facing soldiers ready to mutiny against him for being loyal, felt he had no choice but to commit suicide, he wrote a final petition urging immediately imperial assistance to two other generals loyal to the imperial government, Li Guangyan and Niu Yuanyi and entrusted the petition to Li Shi, before committing suicide.

After Tian's death, Li Shi served on the staff of Li Ting the Duke of Liang, and he followed Li Ting at four different circuits. It was said that Li Shi was good at speaking and had strategies, and was particularly capable in his administrative skills. Whenever Li Ting was out conducting campaigns, Li Shi often remained at headquarters to oversee operations in Li Ting's absence. In 834, Li Shi was made an imperial attendant (給事中, Jishizhong). In summer 835, Li Shi was made acting mayor of Jingzhao Municipality (i.e., the Chang'an region). In winter 835, he was made the deputy minister of census (戶部侍郎, Hubu Shilang), and was also acting director of finances.

Soon thereafter, the plot by Emperor Wenzong, Li Xun, and Zheng Zhu (later known as the Ganlu Incident) failed, with the eunuchs slaughtering many imperial officials, including Li Xun, Zheng, and three of Li Xun's chancellor colleagues — Wang Ya, Jia Su, and Shu Yuanyu. In the aftermaths of the incident, Li Shi and Zheng Tan were made chancellors with the designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi , and Li Shi retained his authorities as the director of finances as well. )

However, the eunuchs continued to be in control of the government, and it was said that the imperial officials worried about being slaughtered on a daily basis. It was not until spring 836, when Liu Congjian the military governor of Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern Changzhi, Shanxi), submitted harshly worded petitions protesting the innocence of Wang Ya and Jia Su and accusing Qiu of crimes, did Qiu and the other eunuchs began to cut back on their behavior and allow Emperor Wenzong, as well as Li Shi and Zheng, to exercise their authority. as well as the mayor of Jingnan's capital Jiangling Municipality .

In light of Yang's uprising, there were immediate calls among the imperial officials to stop the campaign against Zhaoyi, and even Wang Zai was calling for accepting Liu's surrender. The chancellor Li Deyu opposed, and again reiterated that Liu's surrender should only be accepted if he and his family bound themselves. Under further advice by Li Deyu, who argued that Yang's uprising could not be tolerated, Emperor Wuzong ordered that the focus of the campaign be shifted, to concentrate on Yang first. To those ends, he ordered Li Shi and Lü to gather troops from nearby prefectures and try to recapture Taiyuan, while ordering Wang Feng to leave Hedong troops at Yushe and instead take troops previously sent by Yiwu (義武, headquartered in modern Baoding, Hebei), Xuanwu, and Yanhai (兗海, headquartered in modern Jining, Shandong) Circuits to head toward Taiyuan. He also ordered Wang Yuankui to divert troops toward Taiyuan as well. This set a panic into the Hedong soldiers at Yushe, who were fearful that the soldiers from other circuits would slaughter their families if Taiyuan fell, so they volunteered to attack Yang with Lü as their commander. In less than a month after Yang took over Taiyuan, the Hedong troops under Lü recaptured the city and arrested Yang, who was subsequently delivered to Chang'an and executed. but to have his office at the eastern capital Luoyang.

Notes and references

Old Book of Tang, vol. 172. New Book of Tang, vol. 131. Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 242, 245, 246, 247.