Gao Ying - During Emperor Dezong's Reign

During Emperor Dezong's Reign

After the general Li Huaiguang became the military governor of Binning Circuit (邠寧, headquartered in modern Xianyang) in 779, during the reign of Emperor Daizong's son Emperor Dezong, he invited Gao Ying to serve as a secretary, and Gao was eventually promoted to be his assistant. When Li rebelled against Emperor Dezong (who was then also battling a rebellion by Zhu Ci and who had been forced to flee to Liang Prefecture (梁州, in modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi) in response to Li's rebellion) in 784, Gao tried to get him to change his mind and again submit to Emperor Dezong, but Li refused. When Li gathered his troops at his base Hezhong (河中, in modern Yuncheng) and prepared to again attack west against the Tang general Hun Zhen, Gao and fellow staff member Li Yong spoke against it, and Gao further persuaded Li Huaiguang's son Li Wei (李琟) as well, and while Li Wei was fearful of the consequences of acting against imperial forces, he was also unable to persuade Li Huaiguang. Later in 784, after Zhu was destroyed by another imperial general, Li Sheng, Gao was able to get Li Huaiguang to agree to resubmit to Emperor Dezong. However, when Emperor Dezong's emissary Kong Chaofu (孔巢父) arrived at Hezhong, he angered Li Huaiguang and his soldiers by not immediately offering the command back to Li Huaiguang, and the soldiers, with Li Huaiguang's tacit approval, killed Kong and the eunuch Dan Shouying (啖守盈). Li Huaiguang thereafter continued to stand against imperial forces. In 785, when Gao's colleague Lü Mingyue (呂鳴岳) secretly submitted to imperial forces and was discovered by Li Huaiguang, Li Huaiguang killed Lü and his family and arrested Gao and Li Yong when they revealed that, they, too, had been in communication with imperial forces, but as Li Huaiguang was unwilling to execute them as well, he kept them imprisoned. After Li Huaiguang, after defeats at the hands of the imperial general Ma Sui, committed suicide later in 785, Ma invited Gao and Li Yong to serve on his own staff.

Not long after that, Gao was recalled to Chang'an to serve as Zhuke Yuanwailang (主客員外郎), a low-level official at the ministry of rites (禮部, Libu). He later successively served as Xingbu Langzhong (刑部郎中), a supervisorial official at the ministry of justice (刑部, Xingbu), and then Zhongshu Sheren (中書舍人), a mid-level official at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng), where he served for nine years. He was then made deputy minister of rites (禮部侍郎, Libu Shilang), and he was put in charge of the imperial examinations. It was said that at that time, the examinees often neglected their studies and spent their time on feasting and associating with officials to receive preferential treatment. Gao had long despised this trend, and after he became in charge of the imperial examinations, he refused the other officials' intercessions on part of the examinees, and it was said that within three years of Gao's becoming in charge of the examinations, the habits of the examinees had changed for the better. Gao later served as the minister of worship (太常卿, Taichang Qing). Around the new year 804, Gao was made Zhongshu Shilang (中書侍郎), the deputy head of the legislative bureau, and given the designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事), making him a chancellor, along with Zheng Xunyu. He was also given the honorific title Yinqing Guanglu Daifu (銀青光祿大夫).