Who are the Tongshan thieves talking about?
Li Yifu used various means to develop his personal power, which caused dissatisfaction among some court officials.
Dream of Entering the Prosperous Gate
Zhongshu Ling Du Zhenglun particularly disliked Li Yifu, so he secretly discussed with Li Youyi, the minister of Zhongshu, to try to find out Li Yifu's criminal activities and then get rid of him. But the news leaked out, and Li Yifu secretly sent someone to report the matter to Gaozong, and a bad guy came to complain first. Emperor Gaozong summoned Du Zhenglun and Li Yifu and asked them face to face about the incident. The two argued endlessly and attacked each other. Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty was very angry and beat them fifty times each. Then, Du Zhenglun was demoted to the governor of Hengzhou (now south of Hengxian County, Guangxi), Li Yifu was demoted to the governor of Puzhou (now Anyue County, Sichuan), and Li Youyi was exiled to Fengzhou (now northwest of Hanoi, Vietnam). At that time, Emperor Gaozong originally wanted to favor Li Yifu, but most of the ministers in the court supported Du Zhenglun, so he had to punish him with "two responsibilities". Although Li Yifu was demoted, he was still protected by Empress Wu. Within a year, he returned to the capital and served as Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, while Du Zhenglun was left alone.
One day, when he had nothing to do, Li Yifu happened to look through the "Clan Chronicles" compiled during Zhenguan, and felt that his family was not included in the Chronicles, which was a pity. So he told Empress Wu about the matter, and Empress Wu also felt that there was something wrong with the "Chronicles of the Clan" and that it should be revised. Therefore, Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu took charge of the reconstruction work, and stipulated that "all the officials of the fifth rank in the dynasty will be promoted to the scholar stream". Li Yifu proposed to Wei Qi for his son many times, but all failed. Out of personal grudges, Li Yifu requested Empress Wu to issue an edict stating that seven prominent families with the surnames Cui, Lu, Li, Zheng, and Wang were not allowed to marry each other, and the "Clan Chronicle" was renamed the "Surname Record".
For Li Yifu, compiling a new clan annals is a key step in joining a famous family. He once said that he was originally from the Li family in Zhao County, and he often discussed kinship and distance with other Li families. Some of the Li family members also tended to follow the trend and agreed with others, and many of them called him uncle. When Li Yifu was demoted to be the governor of Puzhou, Li Chongde erased the Li Yifu branch from the Li family tree in Zhao County. After Li Yifu was reinstated and became prime minister again, Li Yifu retaliated unceremoniously, ordered people to accuse him, put Li Chongde in jail, and forced him to commit suicide.
Exploiting the people, regardless of life and death
Li Yifu was born in a humble family and was well aware of the sufferings of the people. Once he became an official, he turned his back and started to exploit the people. Li Yifu's mother passed away. After a year of mourning, he regained the title of Uncle Siletaichang and Tongdongxitai Third Rank. Soon, Li Yifu wanted to bury his grandfather, and the cemetery was chosen next to Yongkang Mausoleum. The first purpose of his doing this is to honor his ancestors and decorate his appearance; the second purpose is to see how powerful he is. He signaled the nearby counties to dispatch dingfus and oxcarts to build a mausoleum for his grandfather. In order to please Li Yifu, Li Xiaojie, the magistrate of Sanyuan County (now Fuping County, Shaanxi Province), privately recruited a large number of servants to work day and night. When the other county magistrates saw it, no one dared to offend Li Yifu, and they all took action. Zhang Jingye, the magistrate of Gaoling County, was a respectful and honest man. He suffered from the pressure of Li Yifu and worked hard all day long, and died of exhaustion on the construction site.
In this massive relocation event, there were naturally people who contributed, but also materials. Officials at all levels from the prince on down rushed to give him gifts and items needed for his burial. All of a sudden, there was a huge stream of carriages and horses arriving for the burial. On the road of more than 70 miles from Baqiao to Miyuan, there was an endless stream of people cheering and horses barking. Emperor Gaozong also issued an edict on the "Censor Crying Festival", which resulted in "the cuddling of puppets, extravagance and lawlessness, and an unparalleled funeral ceremony for ministers." It became a luxurious funeral that had never been performed by princes and ministers since the Tang Dynasty.
During the period when Li Yifu’s mother was mourning, a Feng Shui master named Du Yuanji said that Li Yifu’s residence had “jail energy” and that he needed to spend 20 million of his savings to become “weary of winning”. , to remove bad luck. Li Yifu believed it to be true, and in order to avoid jail, he was even more eager to collect money and fill his own pockets.
At that time, Emperor Gaozong allowed Li Yifu to take leave on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month to mourn at home. However, Li Yifu did not take the grief to heart, but took this opportunity to change into ordinary people's clothes, sneaked to Dongcheng with Du Yuanji, and climbed to the left tomb in the early morning to observe the Feng Shui. This matter was discovered, and there was a lot of discussion. It was speculated that he came out to peek at the stars and intended to do evil. But Li Yifu ignored people's comments and continued to collect money secretly to atone for his sins. He sent his son Yousi Yilang Li Jin to find Changsun Wuji's grandson Changsun Yan, and said to him: "I can ask for an official position for you, and the edict will be issued in a few days." Five days later, Changsun Yansi was indeed awarded the post. He took the position of Tianjin Supervisor and demanded 700,000 yuan from him.
The Tongshan Thief
Li Yifu's perverse behavior could not but arouse the indignation of the courtiers and the anger of Gaozong. When he was wasting money on major repairs to his ancestors' tombs, Empress Wu also tactfully advised him: "You are digging your own grave by being so inconsiderate of the people. Once things happen, I won't be able to protect you." Li Yifu, who was acquisitive by nature, But he turned a deaf ear and still persisted in his own way. Yang Xingying, a member of the Youjinwu Cangcao army, reported to Emperor Gaozong and exposed the various crimes of Li Yifu. Gaozong ordered Si Kong Li Ji and Si Xingtaichang Bo Liu Xiangdao to supervise the matter. After verification and repeated torture of Li Yifu himself, it was found that the crime committed was true. Gaozong did so with certain determination because of his boldness. Gaozong's rule was endangered. Emperor Gaozong issued an edict to remove all his official titles and exile him for a long time. His eldest son, Li Jin, relied on his father's authority to do evil, bribed endlessly, had bad friendships, and reported secrets secretly. He was also exiled to Zhenzhou (today's west of Ya County, Hainan) for a long time. The second son Li Qia, the third son Li Yang and the son-in-law Liu Yuanzhen were all removed from the imperial family and exiled to Tingzhou (now northeast of Tian'e, Guangxi) for a long time. Li Yifu and his whole family were punished as they deserved, and people celebrated and clapped their hands. Someone wrote "Marshal Liu Xiangdao of the Hejian Road March and defeated the Tongshan Thief Li Yifu's Lubu" in the form of folk rap and posted it in the streets and alleys. The so-called "Big Thief of Tongshan" refers to Li Yifu who plundered copper and iron money and piled it up like a mountain. Later, he was granted amnesty by the imperial court, but those who had been exiled for a long time were not included in this list. Li Yifu had no choice but to stay in his apartment. He became ill with worry and anger. He died at the age of 53.