Li Fengji - During Emperor Muzong's Reign

During Emperor Muzong's Reign

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 to serve 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.

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.

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.

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. (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 Book of Tang.)

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.

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.