Jiang Gongfu
Jiang Gongfu (Chinese:
Biography[edit]
It is not known when Jiang Gongfu was born, but it is known that his family was from Ái Châu (
After Jiang Gongfu passed the imperial examinations he was made Xiaoshulang (
In 783, with Emperor Dezong waging wars against several warlords in the east, the soldiers from Jingyuan Circuit (涇原, headquartered in modern Pingliang, Gansu), were at Chang'an to await deployment to the east. They were angered that they were not given rewards that they felt they deserved, and they mutinied. Emperor Dezong sent his son Li Yi (
Emperor Dezong issued emergency edicts seeking aid from the nearby circuits. Meanwhile, the Jingyuan soldiers did as Jiang predicted and supported Zhu as their leader. Zhu initially claimed that he was merely calming the situation at Chang'an and was ready to welcome Emperor Dezong back to Chang'an, but soon there were rumors that Zhu was planning to claim imperial title himself and attack Emperor Dezong at Fengtian. In light of this, some officials who had fled to Fengtian suggested that Fengtian's defenses be shored up, but the chancellor Lu Qi, misjudging the situation, argued to Emperor Dezong that Zhu would surely remain faithful to Tang and advocated taking no precautions at all and stopping the incoming aid troops. It was only at Jiang's advice Emperor Dezong continued to receive the aid troops into Fengtian. At suggestion of Lu and Bai Zhizhen (
During chancellorship[edit]
In 784, because the general Li Huaiguang also rebelled, Emperor Dezong fled further to Liang Prefecture (
Soon, the capital will be recaptured, and the princess will be able to be reburied properly. We are now on the road, and we need to be frugal and use the money on the soldiers.
Emperor Dezong became angry and wanted to remove Jiang. Despite the intercession of Emperor Dezong's trusted advisor Lu Zhi, Emperor Dezong soon removed Jiang and made him a member of the staff of his crown prince Li Song.[7]
After chancellorship[edit]
Jiang Gongfu's mother soon died, and he left governmental service to observe a period of mourning for her. After the period of mourning, he was returned to Li Song's staff, but went a long time without being promoted.[3] By 792, Lu Zhi was a chancellor. Because he and Lu Zhi were colleagues while they were imperial scholars, Jiang met Lu to request his help. Lu secretly responded:[8]
I had heard that Chancellor Dou [(i.e., Dou Can, who had recently been removed and exiled by Emperor Dezong)] had recommended you a number of times. The Emperor refused, and had a number of angry words about you.
In fear, Jiang offered to resign and asked to become a Taoist monk. When Emperor Dezong inquired as to the reason and found out that he was fearful, he did not dare to state that Lu had told him this information, and instead claimed that Dou told him the information. Angry that his words had been leaked, Emperor Dezong demoted Jiang to be the secretary general of Quan Prefecture (
References[edit]
- ^ New Book of Tang, vol. 152 Archived 2009-02-02 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ New Book of Tang, vol. 73."
漢 川 草 廬 -二 十 四 史 -新 唐 書 -卷 七 十 三 ‧表 第 十 三 ". Archived from the original on 2009-02-02. Retrieved 2009-04-08. [1] Archived 2010-06-20 at the Wayback Machine - ^ a b c d Old Book of Tang, vol. 138 Archived 2008-06-21 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Li Yi was actually Emperor Dezong's nephew — the son of Emperor Dezong's brother Li Miao (
李 邈), but was adopted by Emperor Dezong at the directions of Emperor Dezong. See Old Book of Tang, vol. 150 Archived 2008-06-21 at the Wayback Machine and Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 233. - ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 227.
- ^ a b Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 228.
- ^ a b Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 230.
- ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 234.
- ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 236.
Sources[edit]
- Old Book of Tang, vol. 138.
- New Book of Tang, vol. 152.
- Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 228, 230, 234.