Chancellorship
As of 864, Lu Yan was already both deputy minister of defense (兵部侍郎, Bingbu Shilang) and chief imperial scholar (翰林學士承旨, Hanlin Xueshi Chengzhi), when he was given the designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事), making him a chancellor de facto at the remarkable age of 35. It was said that Emperor YIzong, by that time, was not diligent in paying attention to the affairs of state, entrusting the decisions to Lu and, later, Lu's chancellor colleague Wei Baoheng (the husband of Emperor Yizong's favorite daughter Princess Tongchang). Lu took advantage of this to be corrupt and become extremely rich, and his attendants also often received bribes. The people came to despise him and Wei, comparing their attendants to the attendants of the deity of death, Yama. In 869, Chen Fansao (陳蟠叟) the magistrate of Zhide County (至德, in modern Chizhou, Anhui) submitted a petition in which he accused Lu's attendant Bian Xian (邊咸) of being so corrupt that, if the imperial government would seize Bian's properties, it would be sufficient to pay for the salaries of the entire imperial army for two years. Emperor Yizong reacted with anger, exiling Chen to Ai Prefecture (愛州, in modern Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam). It was said that thereafter no one dared to criticize Lu any further. It was at the false accusations by Lu and Wei that the general Kang Chengxun, who had just suppressed the serious rebellion by Pang Xun, was exiled in 870. Further, later in 870, after Princess Tongchang died, when fellow chancellor Liu Zhan tried to intercede with Emperor Yizong to spare the lives of imperial physicians who had failed to save Princess Tongchang and whom Emperor Yizong, in anger, was set to execute, Lu took the opportunity to make false accusations that Liu had conspired with physicians, leading to Liu's being exiled to the extremely distant Huan Prefecture (驩州, in modern Nghe An Province, Vietnam). When the chief imperial scholar Zheng Tian, in drafting the edict exiling Liu, used language that appeared to rebuke Liu but in reality was praising Liu for his frugality, Lu also had Zheng demoted.
Throughout the years, Lu and Wei had cooperated to hold onto power, but by 871, the men had a fallout, and Wei thus spoke to Emperor Yizong against Lu. In summer 871, Lu was therefore sent out of the capital to serve as the military governor of Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu, Sichuan), still carrying the Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi title as an honorary title. It was said that as Lu was heading out of the city, the people of Chang'an, despising him, were throwing rocks and brick shards at him. When Lu complained about this to the acting mayor of Jingzhao Municipality (京兆, i.e., the Chang'an region), Xue Neng (薛能), whom Lu had promoted, Xue mockingly bowed and responded, "There is no precedent for the municipality government to protect chancellors as they leave the city," embarrassing Lu.
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