Chapter 6 Li Linfu: The Struggle History of a Troubled Youth

Li Linfu was born in Li Tang's clan. In terms of seniority, Xuanzong Li Longji had to call him uncle. Although he came from a noble background, Li Linfu's starting point was very low.Because their branch is a collateral branch of the Li Tang royal family, and they are not doing very well, it can be said that one generation is not as good as the other. Li Linfu's great-grandfather, Li Shuliang, was the cousin of Li Yuan, Emperor Gaozu of Tang Dynasty. Unhappy, in his whole life he was only a member of the Yang family to join the army, and he was the seventh rank.In Li Linfu's generation, although he still has the qualifications of grace, but when he first entered the official position, he was just a small qianniuzhichang (palace guard).

Because of the decline of his family, Li Linfu had a strong desire to stand out and be famous since he was a child. But what does it take to get ahead? His father's end is useless, and a small Yang family joining the army can't help him at all.Fortunately, Li Linfu's mother's lineage can be regarded as a famous figure. This person is Xuanzong's early friend and later favorite minister - Chu Guogong Jiang Jiao. He is Li Linfu's uncle. Relying on the help of his uncle Jiang Jiao, Li Linfu became the prince Zhongyun in the early years of Kaiyuan, and he was a fifth-rank official, which can be regarded as entering the ranks of "Tonggui" in one fell swoop.It is conceivable that if Jiang Jiao hadn't died unexpectedly in the turmoil of the abolishment in the tenth year of Kaiyuan, Li Linfu would have been able to advance a few more levels with this relationship, and his official career would have been much smoother.

However, once the big shade tree fell, he had to find another tall branch. After some hard work, Li Linfu climbed up to Yuan Jie, the son of Prime Minister Yuan Qianyao, and became friends with him.At that time, Yuan Qianyao was a servant and was the second in command of the imperial court.Li Linfu asked Yuanjie to intercede with his father, and wanted to transfer a position as a doctor of the door.The so-called Simen Langzhong refers to the middle-level officials of the three provinces and six ministries, which is equivalent to the directors of various ministries and commissions today. Although the official rank is not very high, they hold real power in their hands, which is much better than an idle position like Prince Zhongyun.

Li Linfu thought that this matter was a sure thing, but Yuan Qianyao turned it down straight away. Moreover, Yuan Qianyao also said a very unkind word, which made Li Linfu unforgettable all his life. He said: "The Lang Guan must be held by a person with good character, talent, and reputation. Is Ge Nu (Li Linfu's nickname) expected to be a Lang Guan?!" The implication is that in his eyes, Li Linfu is a person with poor character, talent and reputation, and he is simply a problematic youth. Undoubtedly, this sentence deeply hurt Li Linfu. In our experience, if a person encounters strong mental stimulation in a certain aspect when he is young, he will inevitably have a strong rebound in this aspect in the future.In other words, it is a good thing to be stimulated when you are young, because it will stimulate people's fighting spirit and force people to grow faster.In Buddhist terminology, the positive support a person encounters in the process of growth is called "increasing upper edge", and the negative help is called "reverse increasing upper edge".For Li Linfu, Jiang Jiao is his upper edge, and Yuan Qianyao can almost be regarded as his upper edge.In this sense, Yuan Qianyao's very self-respecting words may not be one of the main motivations for Li Linfu to climb up.

You said that my elder brother slave is not expected to be an official, so let's wait and see what kind of material I am in the future! Later facts proved that Li Linfu was expected to be prime minister. Moreover, the gold content of his prime minister is obviously much greater than that of Yuan Qianyao. Because he sat on the prime minister's seat for nearly twenty years, he was the prime minister with the longest serving time, the greatest power, the most favored, and the most profound influence on later history in Xuanzong's first dynasty. Of course, Yuan Qianyao would never have thought of this level anyway.

In the next few years, Li Linfu successively held the positions of Prince Yude and Guozi Siye, and his official rank was slightly improved, but his power was still not great.It wasn't until the fourteenth year of Kaiyuan that Li Linfu climbed up to Yu Wenrong, a big celebrity in front of Xuanzong at that time, and he took office as Yushi Zhongcheng under his citation, and really entered the real power department. It was in one year that Li Linfu and Yu Wenrong teamed up to overthrow Zhang Shuo, made his debut in the imperial political arena, and won the attention of the government and the public in one fell swoop.Later, Li Linfu successively served as the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment and the Ministry of Officials. Although his official rank was only fourth rank, the power he possessed was obviously greater each time.

The little-known Ge Nu back then stepped up to the top political ranks of the empire step by step.However, he is by no means satisfied with this. His goal is - Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty. In order to achieve this goal, Li Linfu began to spare no effort to build his own network.Unlike ordinary officials, Li Linfu did not form cliques among courtiers.In his opinion, it is obviously unwise to do so with the suspicion of forming cronies, which is likely to arouse the suspicion of the emperor and the attacks of political enemies.Therefore, Li Linfu turned his attention from the outer court to the inner palace, and specially made friends with two types of people: one was eunuchs, and the other was concubines.

These two kinds of people are closest to the emperor, know the emperor's temperament, likes and dislikes, and thoughts best, and are most likely to have a subtle influence on the emperor's various decisions.In this regard, their influence on the government is sometimes even greater than that of the ministers in the court.Therefore, whoever made friends with these two kinds of people also had all the first-hand information about the emperor.Let me ask, if such a person wants to vote for the emperor, isn't he right every time he votes? Since the eunuchs and concubines in the palace have benefited a lot from Li Linfu, and also fed back a lot of valuable information to him, every time Li Linfu enters the palace to perform affairs, he always conforms to the emperor's wishes.Gradually, Xuanzong's favor for him grew day by day, and Li Linfu also strongly felt the emperor's appreciation and trust for him.

But Li Linfu knew that this was just the beginning.In order to ascend to the throne of prime minister, a stronger political alliance must be found in the palace.In other words, it is not enough to make friends with concubines, you must also make friends with the most favored one; it is not enough to make friends with eunuchs, you must also make friends with the most favored one! In today's harem, who is the most favored concubine? Of course it was Concubine Wu Hui.But how did Li Linfu get close to Concubine Wu Hui?Everyone knows that although Concubine Wu Hui does not have the name of empress, she is the de facto mistress of the harem, and Xuanzong's favor for her cannot be increased.A woman like this, who wants the wind and the rain, has almost everything. Why should Li Linfu make friends with others?

Yes, on the surface, this is a problem. But in Li Linfu's view, this is not a problem. Because no matter how dense the eggs are, there are seams.To put it bluntly, Concubine Wu Hui is just a woman who is favored because of her beauty. Although she has a great reputation in front of people, in fact, she always has the fear of fading and falling in love.Therefore, although she seemed to lack everything, there was only one thing she lacked - security. If the prince cannot be overthrown before the emperor grows tired of her, and his son Shou Wang Li Mao can enter the East Palace, then once the emperor moves on, everything she owns will be instantly swallowed by the tide like a sandcastle on the beach .

However, how easy is it to abolish the crown prince? !Although Concubine Wu Hui is the lord of the harem, no matter how long her hands are, they cannot reach the East Palace or the outer court.Therefore, if she wants to change the owner of the Eastern Palace, she must find reliable supporters among the ministers of the outer dynasty, and there is no other way. Based on the above reasons, Li Linfu believed with 100% confidence that Concubine Wu Hui would never reject the olive branch he threw in the past. Soon, Li Linfu got on the line with Concubine Wu Hui through some eunuchs, and then asked someone to send her a sentence-willing to protect King Shou. These five words are far-reaching and meaningful, enough to make Concubine Wu Hui feel great comfort. Concubine Wu Hui smiled.Mr. Li is loyal to the country, has far-sightedness and foresight, and his future is bound to be limitless. I hope you will take care of him in the future! Li Linfu also laughed.You don't have to be polite, empress, as long as it is something that Li can do, I will do my best and do my best! In order to let Mr. Li, the servant of the Ministry of officials, "do" more things, Concubine Wu Hui immediately blew the pillow wind in Xuanzong's ear, praising Li Linfu to the utmost, wishing to make him the prime minister overnight.Soon, Li Linfu was transferred from the Ministry of Officials to Menxia Province as the Minister of Huangmen.Although it is a flat transfer in terms of official rank, but in terms of power, this is by no means an ordinary transfer, but a very important step in promotion. So far, Li Linfu is only half a step away from the position of prime minister. After forming an alliance with Concubine Wu Hui, Li Linfu quickly turned his attention to Gao Lishi, Xuanzong's most favored eunuch. Compared with Concubine Wu Hui, how to find Gao Lishi's weakness made Li Linfu take a lot of painstaking efforts. Because to some extent, Gao Lishi is the spokesperson of the emperor.The power he possesses is not only unmatched by civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty, but even the prime minister would be ashamed of himself.Where should a man like this start?If you want to curry favor with him, there are many people waiting to flatter him. Li Linfu may not be the number one;In short, it is even more difficult to find out the weakness of Gao Lishi! However, the reason why Li Linfu is Li Linfu is that his insight into human nature is much more subtle and profound than others.So he always firmly believes that as long as he is human, he has weaknesses. "When we are dealing with a human being, we should remember that we are not dealing with a theoretical animal, but with an emotional animal." Although Li Linfu didn't have time to read Carnegie's Theory of Success, he knew very well that not everyone in this world is suitable to settle with profit.For most people, you can only start with interests, otherwise you are pedantic; but for some people, you must start with feelings, otherwise you are stupid. Concubine Wu Hui belongs to the former, while Gao Lishi belongs to the latter. According to Li Linfu's observations, Gao Lishi is cold on the outside and hot on the inside, with a delicate mind, empathy, and most importantly - he is very nostalgic. Who does he miss? Wu Sansi. Back then, Gao Lishi was expelled from the palace by Wu Zhao and lived on the streets. He was adopted by the eunuch Gao Yanfu under Wu Sansi's sect. Later, it was Wu Sansi who interceded with Wu Zhao, and Gao Lishi returned to the palace.Therefore, Gao Lishi was grateful for Wu Sansi's kindness all his life, and always wanted to find an opportunity to repay him. When Gao Lishi gained power, Wu Sansi and several sons had been dead for many years. Gao Lishi had no way of repaying his kindness, so he took special care of Wu Sansi's daughter (the wife of the servant Pei Guangting). yes. It can be seen from this that the little girl Wu is the weakness of the great eunuch Gao Lishi. As long as the Wu family is dealt with, it is not difficult to deal with Gao Lishi. However, how to deal with the Wu family? Of course, this question is not difficult for Li Linfu.Although the Wu family already has a husband, Pei Guangting, who is the prime minister, it does not mean that the Wu family will stick to one for the rest of his life.Especially in the Tang Dynasty when extramarital affairs were popular, it was not new for a lady to find one or two more lovers besides her husband. It turns out that Wu Shi did have a lover. This person is Li Linfu. Obviously, the reason why Li Linfu had an extramarital affair with Wu was not out of pure love, but purely to take advantage of the special relationship between Wu and Gao Lishi. In the spring of the 21st year of Kaiyuan, Pei Guangting died of illness, and Wu managed to squeeze a few tears, but before she could bear the pain of losing her husband, she impatiently went to Gao Lishi and asked him to recommend Li Linfu as his successor. Gao Lishi felt embarrassed. After all, this is the position of prime minister, how could he, a eunuch, be able to dictate? Although Gao Lishi is unparalleled in honor and favor, and has power inside and out, his greatest advantage is that he is cautious, no matter how proud he is, he will not forget himself.It was because Xuanzong took a fancy to him that he gave him such great favor and power.Therefore, Gao Lishi dared not agree to Wu's request no matter what. This matter was not done, and Gao Lishi inevitably felt guilty towards Wu.In order to alleviate this guilt, Gao Lishi often said good things about Li Linfu in front of Xuanzong.In addition, he has been looking for an opportunity to make up for it.Soon, Xiao Song recommended Han Xiu as Prime Minister, and Xuanzong agreed, but the outside world did not know the news. Gao Lishi realized that the opportunity for compensation had come, so he disclosed the news to Wu Shi at the first time, and Wu Shi informed him immediately Li Linfu. Before the official announcement of the prime minister candidate, of course it is the top secret of the court.Of course, Li Linfu also knew that Gao Lishi revealed this secret to him in order to please him in front of the new prime minister. Li Linfu immediately went to find Han Xiu, and congratulated him over and over again as soon as they met. Han Xiu was baffled and asked him why he liked it. With a mysterious smile on his face, Li Linfu said, "My lord, you don't need to ask any more questions. Within three days, something good will come to your door. Only then will you know what Li said is true." Sure enough, the next day, Han Xiu's imperial edict arrived.Han Xiu was surprised and delighted at once, and since then he developed a great affection for Li Linfu.Although later Han Xiu also knew that the person who recommended him was Xiao Song, not Li Linfu, but because of work conflicts with Xiao Song, he didn't want to be grateful to him, so he unconsciously regarded Li Linfu as the hero of his life. nobleman. A year later, Han Xiu stepped down from the position of prime minister and said nothing when he resigned. He only said one thing to Xuanzong-Li Linfu was worthy of great use and could be a prime minister. Well, so far, Li Linfu has dealt with three types of people around the emperor: concubines, eunuchs, and ministers.To be precise, it is the representative of these three types of people. After doing all this, Li Linfu has created a complete encirclement around Xuanzong. In this invisible and solid encirclement, Xuanzong repeatedly heard the praise of Li Linfu from his most beloved concubine, the praise of Li Linfu from his most trusted eunuch, and finally the praise of Li Linfu from his most awe-inspiring prime minister. Solemn recommendation... So many things, it can be described as "the hope of everyone"; such a variety, how can Xuanzong remain indifferent? If even such a well-received minister is not qualified to be prime minister, who else is more qualified than him? What's more, Xuanzong himself has always had a good impression of Li Linfu.All these good comments from around him coincided with his thoughts, further confirming his perception of Li Linfu. So, don't say anything, the Prime Minister didn't discuss it! In May of the 22nd year of Kaiyuan (AD 734), Li Linfu was appointed by Xuanzong as Minister of Rites and the third rank of Tongzhong Shumen. character. After years of struggle, Li Linfu finally succeeded. Back then, the brother slave who was regarded as a problematic youth by Yuan Qianyao has finally achieved a positive result and has become a dignified prime minister of the empire. Perhaps in the eyes of others, this is already an unimaginable great success, but in Li Linfu's view, this is just the starting point of a new round of struggle. In other words, compared to Li Linfu, entering the cabinet can only be regarded as a qualification to compete in the arena. His ultimate goal is - to defeat everyone, to become the leader of the imperial arena that no one can match, and no one dares to challenge; to overcome all obstacles, to become the chief prime minister under one person and above ten thousand people!