Why was Li Linfu able to serve as prime minister for nineteen years? The history encyclopedia editor brings relevant content to everyone. Interested friends, come and take a look!
In history, prime ministers did not have a term of office, it just depends on the attitude of the emperor. Some prime ministers can indeed hold this position for a long time, and there are various reasons for this. But why did Li Linfu, who was a treacherous prime minister, commit evil deeds and monopolize the court, not do anything good, yet he served as the prime minister in the court for nineteen years?
Speaking of which, Li Linfu was still a member of the Tang Dynasty royal family. He was the great grandson of Prince Changping Li Shuliang. Li Shuliang was the cousin of Li Yuan, the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Although their relationship may not be far apart, by Li Linfu’s generation, they were no longer related, and no emperor of Li Yuan’s lineage cared about them.
So when Li Linfu was a child, it was just like that, and there was still a big gap between him and members of the royal family. Especially when Li Linfu was born, he happened to be under the rule of Empress Wu Zetian, and he had no good impression of the old Li family. Although he was not affected by anything, he was also unhappy.
In his early years, Li Linfu only served as an official in the Qianniu Guard, but he was far behind the official Li Yuanfang. But a few years later, he experienced a turning point, which had nothing to do with him, but with his uncle Jiang Jiao. At that time, just as Li Dan had passed the throne to Crown Prince Li Longji, Princess Taiping was preparing to launch a coup. However, Li Longji took the initiative and suppressed the rebellion, and Princess Taiping was also executed. This was the innate coup. In this coup, Jiang Jiao, who was a close confidant of Li Longji, participated and was also a major participant, so he naturally received more attention from Li Longji.
Li Linfu also relied on his uncle’s strong support and was promoted very quickly. However, not long after, his uncle was exiled, but this did not affect Li Linfu. He was very smooth and lost his uncle’s support. He soon received a recommendation from Yuwen Rong and was appointed as the Imperial Censorate.
Later, he also flattered the eunuch Gao Lishi and befriended the favored concubine Wu Huifei of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Wu Huifei had great ambitions and was determined to overthrow the crown prince and have the emperor replace her son. Li Linfu and Wu Huifei colluded and they hit it off immediately, and Wu Huifei also helped him. It was with the help of these people that Li Linfu successfully took the position of prime minister.
The reason why Li Linfu was able to hold the position of prime minister for such a long time is actually very simple.
Firstly, this is also the most fundamental issue. In the late period of Tang Xuanzong’s reign, he was incompetent and incompetent. He no longer had the ambition he had in the past, and only wanted to enjoy himself rather than manage the government. Therefore, in this situation, capable prime ministers like Yao Chong and Song Jing naturally would not allow Tang Xuanzong to behave like this, and would definitely constantly advise him.
And Li Linfu is more in line with the requirements in this regard, he will only blindly cater. What are Tang Xuanzong’s hobbies and preferences? This guy has a clear family background and even a foolish ruler likes people like him around.
Secondly, objectively speaking, although Li Linfu was a treacherous minister, he still had some abilities. He can help this confused emperor a lot and manage the court affairs well. And his personal strength is also very strong, and he can also provide some useful suggestions.
At the same time, Li Linfu is good at playing with power, excluding dissidents, and suppressing colleagues. He is very skilled. So Tang Xuanzong was surrounded by people who praised him for being good. So naturally, we cannot get in touch with the real situation, let alone understand the real Li Linfu.