Li Linfu was born in the Xunwang Mansion of the Tang Dynasty's royal family. His surname Li is the same as the Li in Li Tang. His great-grandfather, King Changping Li Shuliang, was the cousin of the Tang Dynasty's founding emperor, Li Yuan. So, Li Linfu is also Li Yuan's great-great-grandson. Although he was a member of the Tang Dynasty's royal family, Li Linfu's family gradually declined. With the help of his ancestors, he only obtained a seventh-rank official position as a Zhichang. Li Linfu's father died early, so he couldn't rely on his father's connections. Fortunately, he had a good uncle, Duke Chu Jiang Jiao. As early as when Emperor Xuanzong was still the Prince of Linzi, Jiang Jiao had a good relationship with him. After Emperor Xuanzong ascended the throne, their relationship remained good, so it was no problem for Jiang Jiao to help his nephew. During the Kaiyuan period, Li Linfu was promoted to the position of a middle-ranking official in the Crown Prince's Office.
If you want to go far, you can't stay in one place and struggle. Li Linfu obviously would not be satisfied with being a seventh-rank official. Soon, his uncle Jiang Jiao passed away, and Li Linfu turned to Yuan Qianyao, who had a family relationship with Jiang Jiao, and expressed his intention to become a Langzhong. However, he was mocked for not having the talent to become a Lang official. Li Linfu was obviously someone who couldn't be provoked. The more you looked down on him, the more determined he was to achieve this. He was a complete ambitious person.
In the fourteenth year of Kaiyuan, Li Linfu was promoted again under the recommendation of Yushi Zhongcheng Yu Wenrong. Yushi Zhongcheng was one of the highest-ranking officials in the Yushi Tai, ranking among the Three Excellencies. This time, Li Linfu finally achieved his wish. However, he did not stop there. He probably understood that after reaching the position of Yushi Zhongcheng, it was inconvenient to socialize with officials everywhere, as it would arouse suspicion of forming factions and be feared by Emperor Xuanzong. So he changed his approach and extended an olive branch to eunuchs and favored concubines in the palace. At that time, the most famous favored concubine Li Linfu befriended was Empress Wu.
In an era where having a son was highly valued, Li Linfu quickly seized the opportunity with Empress Wu's son, Prince Shou Li Mao. He showed great enthusiasm towards Empress Wu and expressed his willingness to protect Prince Shou. During their cooperation, Empress Wu was responsible for influencing Emperor Xuanzong's decisions and understanding his thoughts. Therefore, Li Linfu was good at grasping Emperor Xuanzong's intentions, and a series of actions made Emperor Xuanzong satisfied. He later became the longest-serving prime minister during Emperor Xuanzong's reign. The eunuch who had helped Li Linfu the most was Gao Lishi. Gao Lishi was extremely loyal to Emperor Xuanzong and difficult to bribe, but everyone has weaknesses. Once indebted to someone, they would be restrained in every aspect. Gao Lishi had received favors from Wu Sansi, and after Wu Sansi's death, his gratitude shifted to Wu Sansi's daughter. Li Linfu grasped this point and had a secret relationship with the Wu family, indirectly gaining Gao Lishi's assistance.
At that time, under the recommendation of Xiao Song, Emperor Xuanzong decided to appoint Xiang Hanxiu, but due to a misunderstanding, Han Xiu mistakenly thought that Li Linfu had recommended him to the emperor, so he also recommended Li Linfu later. With the help of Empress Wu and others, Li Linfu was promoted to the position of Huangmen Shilang, specifically responsible for assisting the emperor in handling government affairs, getting closer to the emperor's power.
In the twenty-third year of Kaiyuan, Pei Yaoqing, Zhang Jiuling, and Li Linfu became prime ministers at the same time. Li Linfu, who held great power, began a series of manipulations, suppressing anyone who opposed him. Zhang Jiuling and Pei Yaoqing had a good relationship and had high standards and strict requirements. They had some criticisms about Li Linfu's actions. For example, at that time, the three sons of Emperor Xuanzong, Crown Prince Li Ying, Prince E Li Yao, and Prince Guang Li Ju, had grievances against Empress Wu due to their mother's loss of favor. With a slight breeze of influence, Emperor Xuanzong immediately thought of deposing the three princes. Zhang Jiuling and others strongly opposed it. However, Li Linfu said that this was a family matter of the emperor, and he could make the decision himself without asking others.
Another time, Emperor Xuanzong wanted to appoint Niu Xianke as a prime minister. Niu Xianke was not talented, and Zhang Jiuling argued against it, expressing his opposition. The position of prime minister was a core position that required orderly operation and was not something to be taken lightly. Li Linfu, with his "whatever the emperor says is right, whatever the emperor wants is fine" attitude, supported Niu Xianke and asked, "What's wrong with Niu Xianke being a prime minister if he has the talent? Zhang Jiuling's view is limited and doesn't understand the big picture. As long as the emperor likes it, it's fine." In fact, using literary talent as a way of selection was a low-cost method. The people selected through this method may not be the most outstanding politicians, but it certainly filtered out a large number of people with poor qualities. So Zhang Jiuling's considerations were reasonable. Unfortunately, at this time, Emperor Xuanzong could no longer tolerate any disobedience. Compared with the straightforward advice of Zhang Jiuling and others, which became annoying, Emperor Xuanzong gradually distanced himself from Zhang Jiuling.
In the twenty-fourth year of Kaiyuan, under the slanderous accusations of Li Linfu, Zhang Jiuling and Pei Yaoqing were dismissed, and then Niu Xianke worked with him and became Li Linfu's follower to protect himself. Later, it was Li Shi, who also couldn't escape Li Linfu's calculations. Li Linfu told Li Shi that there was a gold mine being mined in Mount Hua, which could enrich the country. Emperor Xuanzong didn't know about it, and Li Shi was impulsive and eager to achieve something. So when he mentioned the gold mine in the court, Li Linfu changed his wording, saying that he had known about the gold mine in Mount Hua for a long time, but Mount Hua was the emperor's sacred mountain, and mining would affect the royal aura. Emperor Xuanzong compared the two statements and felt that Li Shi was too reckless, and he criticized him. After that, Emperor Xuanzong gradually distanced himself from Li Shi.
It is not difficult to see that all of Li Linfu's actions were aimed at catering to Emperor Xuanzong as the ultimate goal. In the workplace, he not only couldn't get along peacefully with outstanding colleagues but also as a superior, he was unwilling to support outstanding juniors. He would do everything possible to eliminate anyone who threatened his position. He himself was ignorant and once wrote "弄璋之喜" (nòng zhāng zhī xǐ) as "弄麞之喜" (nòng zhān zhī xǐ), which became a joke. Therefore, he became even more disgusted with scholars. There were several times when Emperor Xuanzong wanted to appoint new talents, but just mentioning it, Li Linfu immediately took action to suppress any signals, telling Emperor Xuanzong, "There are no talented people left in the world. The saints have used them all in the court." The phrase "野无遗贤" (yě wú yí xián) was so ironic, erasing the prospects of many scholars. The famous poet Du Fu was one of the well-known victims.
So, why didn't anyone stand up to attack and expose Li Linfu, despite his arrogance and evil deeds? Of course, there were people, but the result can be imagined. With power over the court, Li Linfu was above everyone else, and Emperor Xuanzong turned a blind eye. The ministers could only report to Li Linfu in front of him. They couldn't complain in front of the parties involved. Li Linfu also knew that he had left too many handles. He once threatened the remonstrating officials, saying, "Haven't you seen the standing horse? You can enjoy the third-rank salary without making a sound. Once you make a sound, you will be dismissed." As long as they kept quiet, they could peacefully collect their salaries. If anyone dared to be a troublemaker, they would be kicked out immediately. This is the famous "standing horse." It may seem enjoyable for today's workers to collect salaries while doing nothing. But as a result, Li Linfu controlled the court alone, and the Tang Dynasty became a one-man show by Li Linfu.
Of course, if Li Linfu only knew how to flatter, he would never have been a prime minister for 19 years. Emperor Xuanzong didn't want to work anymore, but it didn't mean he was foolish. Some of Li Linfu's actions were also Emperor Xuanzong's indulgence. Emperor Xuanzong once said, "I haven't left Chang'an for nearly ten years, and there have been no major issues in the country. I want to live a high life without doing anything and entrust all political affairs to Linfu. What do you think?" Li Linfu did have remarkable achievements. His series of reforms in the economy, law, and military indeed promoted the development of the Tang Dynasty. The Old Book of Tang recorded that he was "very cautious in everything, organized various tasks, increased and revised rules and regulations, relocated officials both domestically and abroad, and maintained consistency." Such a person who had both the ability to handle affairs and firmly supported himself, who wouldn't like him?
However, after the An Lushan Rebellion, Emperor Xuanzong and the Pei clan in Yan'an discussed the previous prime ministers. When they talked about Li Linfu, Emperor Xuanzong said, "He is jealous of the talented and envious of the capable, and there is no one comparable to him." Li Linfu was jealous of the talented and envious of the capable, and he recommended people who were inferior to him, fearing that someone would surpass him. Blaming the An Lushan Rebellion solely on Li Linfu is somewhat unfair, but Li Linfu is indeed to blame.
According to the system of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, minority ethnic group generals were not appointed as important positions such as Jiedushi. However, Li Linfu was worried that border generals would become prime ministers, which would dilute his power. In the eleventh year of Tianbao, Li Linfu remonstrated to Emperor Xuanzong, "Scholars as generals are timid in battle, so it is better to use ordinary people from the minority ethnic groups. Ordinary people are good at fighting and brave, and minority ethnic groups are not easy to form factions." Li Linfu believed that most minority people were not talented and had no chance of becoming prime ministers, so it would not affect his power. This opening of the system supported the rise of minority ethnic group generals such as Gao Xianzhi and Ge Shuhan, but it also paved the way for the later rise of An Lushan. The An Lushan Rebellion caused the decline of the Great Tang, and Li Linfu became the target of public criticism. Song Dynasty poet Xu Jun once wrote a poem criticizing Li Linfu's use of Hu generals: "Although Guo Zhong is clever, Guo Lue is a treacherous chicken. How can we use them? Hu children? Only knowing how to seek favor for personal gain, not considering the chaos in Yuyang."
Li Linfu always believed that the minority generals were not to be feared, and he was able to control them during his lifetime. Even the arrogant An Lushan was respectful and obedient when he saw him, showing great respect. As mentioned earlier, Li Linfu was best at guessing people's minds, and he could anticipate An Lushan's thoughts. Every time they talked, Li Linfu could grasp An Lushan's intentions and say what he wanted to say before An Lushan. An Lushan, after all, was a Hu person, and he thought that Li Linfu, who seemed to know everything in advance, was a deity. So every time they talked, An Lushan was very nervous, even afraid. Li Linfu would even break out in a cold sweat in the middle of winter.
Anything that has been done, whether strong or weak, will leave traces. Li Linfu quickly faced the consequences. In the twelfth year of Tianbao, Li Linfu passed away due to illness, and Yang Guozhong became the prime minister. Li Linfu's body was not yet cold, and before he was buried, Yang Guozhong and An Lushan colluded to accuse Li Linfu of plotting with the rebel general Abusi to rebel. They presented evidence, and the dead cannot defend themselves. In this way, Li Linfu was stripped of his official position and his family's assets were confiscated. Emperor Xuanzong even ordered someone to split open his coffin, remove the purple gold court dress symbolizing glory, and use a small coffin for burial, according to the burial customs of a commoner.
In fact, Li Linfu's son, Li Xiu, had long been worried about this outcome. Once, he saw a cart driver pulling a cart full of goods, and suddenly the cart collapsed under the weight. Seeing this scene, Li Xiu said to his father Li Linfu, "You have been in the position of prime minister for a long time, and you have made too many enemies. Once disaster strikes, I'm afraid I won't be spared either." Li Linfu seemed to sense something, but at this point, he was powerless to change the situation. The situation was already like this, was there any way to turn back? After Li Linfu's assets were confiscated, his son was also exiled to a remote place. His words became a prophecy.
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