Li Linfu, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty royal family, was the great grandson of Prince Changping Li Shuliang.
Li Linfu first started his career through the position of Qianniu Zhichang, during which he held various positions such as Crown Prince Zhongyun, Crown Prince Yude, Guozi Siye, Imperial Censor Zhongcheng, Deputy Minister of Justice, Deputy Minister of Personnel, and Deputy Minister of Huangmen.
Li Linfu was naturally gentle and skilled in power and strategy. He had a deep friendship between eunuchs and concubines. Moreover, he was well versed in the actions of the emperor, Emperor Xuanzong, and could guess his intentions. Therefore, he was highly appreciated by Emperor Xuanzong.
At that time, the favored woman in the harem was Empress Wu Huifei, and Li Linfu approached her through eunuchs and expressed that he would do his best to protect Prince Shou Li Mao. As a token of gratitude, Empress Wu Huifei also secretly helped him.
Afterwards, this person designed to expel Zhang Jiuling from the capital. What is the relationship between Zhang Jiuling’s resignation and Li Linfu?
The direct reason was still due to the Yan Ting incident, and Li Linfu seized the opportunity. In addition, the emperor did not like him in the first place, so he was demoted to a non official position due to suspicion of forming a party and engaging in private activities.
Due to Li Linfu’s ability to observe people’s facial expressions and always following Emperor Xuanzong’s wishes, Emperor Xuanzong began to trust him more and more. Later on, Emperor Xuanzong, who was solely focused on entertainment, simply delegated all political power to Li Linfu.
After the prime minister, the power in his hands also increased. In order to monopolize the power, he eliminated dissidents and constantly suppressed others.
So how much importance and trust did Tang Xuanzong place on Li Linfu? In other words, the prime ministers during Tang Xuanzong’s reign did not serve for more than four years. And this person is willing to make do with twenty years of time.
Compared to Yao Chong and others who had not served for a long time but had a very good reputation before, Li Linfu could be said to be extremely bad, to the point where people at that time described him as “sweet tongued but cunning”.
During his 19 year tenure as prime minister, while persecuting talented individuals, he also suggested reusing Hu generals to make An Lushan’s power increasingly strong. Under the arbitrary and domineering rule of Li Linfu, coupled with Emperor Xuanzong’s own incompetence and indulgence, the relatively clear political atmosphere in the early Tang Dynasty underwent a change, laying the seeds for the later “An Lushan Rebellion”.
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