背景

李鄘出自江夏李氏，從李鄘的高祖父李元哲（李善父）起定居廣陵。李鄘的曾祖父名李昉，祖父李睦任鄆州司戶參軍，父親李暄任起居舍人。李鄘至少有一兄李鄆。與楊憑、穆質、許孟容、王仲舒為友，號「楊穆許李」，都任氣自負。

唐代宗大曆年間（766年-779年），李鄘中進士，在書判的考試中被評為高等，被任為秘書正字，後被李懷光所闢，累遷監察御史。

唐德宗年間

唐代宗之子唐德宗在位時，興元元年（784年），李懷光反叛，占領河中。李鄘認為再跟著李懷光對自己家不利，于是稱兄長在東都洛陽染病，母親思念兄長。李懷光雖然同意他的母親離開，並沒有放行李鄘的妻兒。李鄘卻把母親和妻兒都送到洛陽。當李懷光為此責罵他時，李鄘說：「我李鄘在軍中，不能侍奉老母，但你為什麼不讓我的妻子侍奉婆婆呢？」李懷光無言以對。李鄘與同在軍中的前宰相高郢勸止河中、絳州節度使渾瑊孤軍抗擊叛軍，又密奏李懷光軍虛實及攻取之勢，德宗賜手詔相勞。貞元元年（785年）三月，李懷光都虞候呂鳴岳被發現和奉誠軍、晉、慈、隰節度使充管內諸軍行營副元帥河東節度使馬燧私通，李懷光殺其全家，還發現李鄘、高郢也牽扯其中，集結軍隊公開詰問他們，李鄘和高郢則稱他們只忠于皇帝。李鄘詞激氣壯，三軍義之，李懷光不敢殺，將他們拘押。八月，李懷光自殺，所部向馬燧投降，馬燧釋放了李鄘和高郢，致禮，表李鄘為從事。後因馬燧不聽從自己的建議，李鄘離開他，在洛陽退隱。時任山南東道節度使的曹王李皋致禮闢他做幕僚，署從事，奏兼殿中侍御史。隨後他被召回京城長安，任吏部員外郎。

十六年（800年），徐泗濠節度使張建封去世，所部士兵拒絕朝廷詔令，迫張建封子張愔繼任，殺了知留後徐州判官鄭通誠、大將段伯熊等數人，拘押了監軍宦官。張愔自稱兵馬留後。德宗下詔選擇臨危不懼者慰諭徐州軍，以李鄘剛敢，命為徐州宣慰使。李鄘說服他們釋放了監軍宦官並使後者複為監軍，徐州亂軍不敢相犯。張愔向朝廷上表，求李鄘轉交。李鄘見張愔在表章中自稱兵馬留後，指出此職未被朝廷認可，要求削去此稱呼，然後將表章轉交。隨後，德宗任張愔為徐州團練使。李鄘回長安後，任吏部郎中。

唐順宗年間

唐德宗于貞元二十一年（805年）正月駕崩後，重病的太子繼位為唐順宗，李鄘進位御史中丞，八月，順宗內禪于皇太子唐憲宗。

唐憲宗年間

永貞元年（805年）十月，李鄘任京兆尹。元和（806年-821年）元年（806年）二月，李鄘改任尚書右丞。八月，長安匪患嚴重，李鄘再任京兆尹。李鄘整肅奸暴，很樹立威望。二年（807年）六月，他又被拜為檢校禮部尚書、鳳翔隴右節度使、鳳翔尹。之前的鳳翔節度使經常兼神策行營，並在就任前先謁見神策軍中尉。李鄘認為這不妥，在他的上表請求下，憲宗去其神策行營號。在任上曾徵辟前湖南從事于敖。四年（809年）二月，宰相裴垍向憲宗指出河東節度使嚴綬在位無所作為，薦李鄘取代，三月，憲宗同意了，並將嚴綬召回長安。六月，李鄘也被召回，任刑部尚書、兼御史大夫、充諸道鹽鐵轉運使。

七月，李夷簡劾奏時任京兆尹的楊憑之前為江西觀察使時所犯贓罪及其他不法事，敕付御史台，李鄘與大理卿趙昌查案，又逮捕楊憑前江西判官、監察御史楊瑗，最終楊憑被貶。衢州人余常安為報殺父、叔之仇，殺同鄉謝全，刺史元錫奏請輕判，李鄘執意不可，余常安被處死。

十月，憲宗命當權宦官左神策中尉吐突承璀為左、右神策、河中、河陽、浙西、宣歙等道行營兵馬使、招討處置等使，統軍討伐控制成德鎮的軍閥王承宗，李鄘和度支使李元素、京兆尹許孟容、御史中丞李夷簡、諫議大夫孟簡、給事中呂元膺、穆質、右補闕獨孤鬱及其他諫官段平仲、白居易等都在延英殿反對，最後憲宗仍然維持任命，但將吐突承璀的職銜由行營招討處置使降為招討宣慰使，削四道兵馬使。

五年（810年）十二月，李鄘任檢校吏部尚書，兼揚州（淮南軍部）大都督府長史，充淮南節度使。李鄘在鳳翔和河東任職時嚴格而且時常變更舊制度，使人心不安，所以任期都不長。在淮南，他被加檢校左僕射，仍然嚴格，但卻令行禁止，把地方管理得很好且府庫充盈。闢藍田主簿崔戎及羅讓等。但同時他在管理上很粗暴，他的參佐無法阻止軍吏粗暴行法乃至冤殺居民。李鄘的名聲因此受損。當朝廷討伐控制彰義軍的軍閥吳元濟時，吳元濟的盟友平盧節度使李師道調兵對淮南邊境施壓，李鄘從楚州和壽州調集約二萬軍隊防止吳、李進攻，花費很多，卻沒有向有司請要。由于國庫在對吳元濟的作戰中耗盡，憲宗派鹽鐵轉運副使程異去各鎮徵收軍用。李鄘貢上了淮南鎮的盈餘，只保留一年的儲蓄，其他鎮也照做，緩解了國庫的危機。

六年（811年），吐突承璀被貶為淮南監軍。他和李鄘彼此尊重，互不冒犯。九年（814年），吐突承璀被召回長安，推薦李鄘任宰相。十一年（816年）十一月，新羅派遣入朝的王子金士信等遇惡風，一行人飄至楚州鹽城縣界，李鄘上報此事。十二年（817年）十月，憲宗召李鄘征拜門下侍郎，授同中書門下平章事，拜為宰相。但李鄘出入顯重，自認為不適合當宰相，年紀也大了，更為被宦官薦舉感到恥辱。當僚屬準備奏樂慶祝時，李鄘哭著說：「我老了，想在地方上安享晚年，宰相不是我能勝任的！」他去長安的行程很慢，十二月到達長安後稱病回家，沒有參與宰相事務，不入見憲宗，也不見來官邸探病的下屬，不停上表請辭。十三年（818年）三月，憲宗改授他守戶部尚書，其相位由李夷簡替代。十四年（819年）十一月，他改任檢校左僕射，兼太子李恆賓客，分司東都，不久以太子少傅致仕。

後南宋監察御史顏師魯上奏引宋璟不與楊思勖交談、李鄘恥為吐突承璀所薦而堅辭相位不拜之事，認為士大夫的立身之節當以宋璟、李鄘為法，表示自己羞于和受宦官推薦為御史者為伍，使得這些人沒有被任為御史。

唐穆宗年間

十五年（820年），李鄘去世，這時在位的是繼位為唐穆宗的李恆。李鄘謚號肅，贈太子太保。

子孫

兒子李拭（《舊唐書》本傳誤作李柱）官至浙東觀察使、起居舍人。李拭之子李磎在唐昭宗年間也擔任宰相。李磎有子李沇，字東濟。

注釋

Background

It is not known when Li Yong was born, but it is known that his family was originally from Jiangxia (江夏, in modern Wuhan, Hubei). His family claimed to be descended from the Warring States period State of Zhao general Li Mu and also claimed ancestry through a line of officials of Qin Dynasty, Han Dynasty, and Jin Dynasty (266–420). By the time of Li Yong's great-great-grandfather Li Yuanzhe (李元哲), the family had relocated to Guangling (廣陵, in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu). Li Yong's grandfather Li Pu (李璞) served as a prefectural military officer, while his father Li Xuan (李暄) served as an imperial archiver. He had at least one older brother, Li Yun (李鄆).

Li Yong himself passed the imperial examinations during the Dali era (766-779) of Emperor Daizong, and he scored high in the class of those who were capable of rendering legal judgments. He was made Mishu Zhengzi (秘書正字), a copyeditor at the Palace Library. He was later invited by the general Li Huaiguang to serve on Li Huaiguang's staff.

During Emperor Dezongs reign

After Li Huaiguang rebelled against the rule of Emperor Daizong's son Emperor Dezong in 784 and took up position at Hezhong (河中, in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi), Li Yong was concerned that his continuing to serve under Li Huaiguang would cause harm to his family, and therefore informed Li Huaiguang that his older brother was ill at the eastern capital Luoyang and that his mother wished to see his older brother. Li Huaiguang agreed, but forbid Li Yong from sending his wife and children as well. Instead, Li Yong sent his mother, wife, and children to Luoyang. When Li Huaiguang became aware of this and rebuked him, he responded, "I, Li Yong, belongs to this army and therefore cannot follow my mother to serve her, but why would you not let my wife serve her mother-in-law?" Li Huaiguang could not fault him. In 785, after Li Huaiguang's officer Lü Mingyue (呂鳴岳) was found to be secretly in communications with the imperial general Ma Sui, Li Huaiguang massacred Lü's family and further discovered that Li Yong and his colleague Gao Ying were also involved. When Li Huaiguang gathered the troops and publicly rebuked Li Yong and Gao, both of them responded that they were merely being faithful to the emperor. Li Huaiguang did not kill them, but put them under arrest. After Li Huaiguang committed suicide later in the year, and his troops surrendered to Ma, Ma released Li Yong and Gao and invited them to serve on his staff. Later, after his advice was not accepted by Ma, he left Ma's staff and retired to Luoyang. Li Gao (李皋) the Prince of Cao, who then served as the military governor (Jiedushi) of Shannan East Circuit (山南東道, headquartered in modern Xiangfan, Hubei), then invited him to serve on staff, and he did so. He was later recalled to the capital Chang'an to serve as Libu Yuanwailang (吏部員外郎), a low-level official at the ministry of civil service affairs (吏部, Libu).

In 800, after Zhang Jianfeng the military governor of Xusihao Circuit (徐泗濠, headquartered in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu) died, the soldiers rejected the imperial orders and supported Zhang Jianfeng's son Zhang Yin (張愔) as Zhang Jianfeng's successor, killing several officers who were obeying imperial orders and putting the eunuch monitor under arrest. Zhang Yin thus claimed the title of acting military governor. Emperor Dezong sent Li Yong to Xusihao's capital Xu Prefecture (徐州) to try to comfort the troops. Li Yong persuaded the soldiers to release the eunuch monitor. Zhang Yin submitted a petition and asked Li Yong to relay it for him. Li Yong, seeing that Zhang Yin referred to himself as acting military governor, pointed out that it was not an imperially sanctioned office and told him to delete the reference, before agreeing to relay the petition for Zhang Yin. Subsequently, Emperor Dezong made Zhang Yin the military prefect (團練使, Tuanlianshi) of Xu Prefecture. After Li Yong's return to Chang'an, he was promoted to be Libu Shilang (吏部侍郎), a supervisorial official at the ministry of civil service affairs.

During Emperor Shunzongs reign

After Emperor Dezong died in 805 and was succeeded by his severely ill son Emperor Shunzong, Li Yong was made deputy chief imperial censor (御史中丞, Yushi Zhongcheng). He was then made the mayor of Jingzhao Municipality (京兆, i.e., the Chang'an region) and then Shangshu You Cheng (尚書右丞), one of the secretaries general of the executive bureau of government (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng).

During Emperor Xianzongs reign

Early in the Yuanhe era (805-821) of Emperor Shunzong's son Emperor Xianzong, at a time when there was much banditry at Chang'an, Li Yong was again made the mayor of Jingzhao. It was said that he made much improvement in the safety at Chang'an and became well known for it. He was soon made the military governor of Fengxiang (鳳翔) and Longyou (隴右) Circuits (both headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi), as well as the mayor of Fengxiang Municipality (i.e., the capital of Fengxiang Circuit). Previously, the military governors of Fengxiang often also carried the title of commander of the Shence Army soldiers stationed at Fengxiang, and thus often went to meet the eunuch commanders of the Shence Army prior to going to Fengxiang. Li Yong found this to be inappropriate, and at his request, Emperor Xianzong did not give him the title of commander of Shence Army soldiers at Fengxiang. In 809, after the chancellor Pei Ji pointed out to Emperor Xianzong that Yan Shou (嚴綬) the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi) was incompetent and recommended Li Yong as his replacement, Emperor Xianzong recalled Yan to Chang'an and made Li Yong the military governor of Hedong. He was later recalled to serve as the minister of justice (刑部尚書, Xingbu Shangshu), chief imperial censor (御史大夫, Yushi Daifu), and the director of the salt and iron monopolies and grain supplies. In 809, when Emperor Xianzong was set to commission the powerful eunuch Tutu Chengcui as the commander of the imperial forces against the warlord Wang Chengzong, who controlled Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei), Li Yong, along with other officials Li Yuansu (李元素), Xu Mengrong (許孟容), Li Yijian, Meng Jian (孟簡), Lü Yuanying (呂元膺), Mu Zhi (穆質), and Dugu Yu (獨孤郁) all opposed, and Emperor Xianzong, while still putting Tutu in command, reduced Tutu's title.

In 810, Li Yong was made the military governor of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou) and the secretary general of its capital Yang Prefecture (揚州). It was said that Li Yong did not serve long at either Fengxiang or Hedong because he was stern and often changed regulations, causing the people to be unsettled. At Huainan, he was also stern, but it was said that the circuit was well-governed and wealthy. However, he was also said to be harsh in his governance, and his staff members could not stop the officers and technocrats under him from exercising the laws harshly, including carrying out many executions. His reputation thus suffered. When the imperial government waged a campaign against the warlord Wu Yuanji, who controlled Zhangyi Circuit (彰義, headquartered in modern Zhumadian, Henan), and Wu Yuanji's ally Li Shidao the military governor of Pinglu Circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern Tai'an, Shandong) dispatched troops to pressure Huainan's borders, Li Yong dispatched some 20,000 soldiers from Chu (楚州, in modern Huai'an, Jiangsu) and Shou (壽州, in modern Lu'an, Anhui) Prefectures to defend against possible actions by Wu and Li Shidao, without requesting funds from the imperial government. Further, at that time, as the imperial treasury was being depleted by the campaign against Wu, Emperor Xianzong sent the deputy director of monopolies, Cheng Yi to tour the circuits to look for additional sources of revenue. Li Yong submitted the surpluses that Huainan had, and the other circuits followed, thus relieving the imperial treasury from depletion.

Meanwhile, in 811, Tutu had been demoted and made the eunuch monitor at Huainan. It was said that he and Li Yong respected each other and did not offend each other. After Tutu was recalled to Chang'an in 814, he recommended Li Yong as chancellor. Late 817, Emperor Xianzong recalled Li Yong to be Menxia Shilang (門下侍郎), the deputy head of the examination bureau (門下省, Menxia Sheng) and chancellor de facto with the title Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事). However, Li Yong did not consider himself capable to be chancellor and further felt ashamed to have been recommended by a eunuch. When the staff members played music to celebrate, Li Yong wept and stated, "I like being secure in a circuit in my old age, and a chancellorship is not properly mine." When he arrived in Chang'an around new year 818, he claimed to be ill and did not attend to the duties of chancellor. He further declined an audience with Emperor Xianzong, and when his subordinates arrived at his mansion to see him, he declined to see them. He submitted repeated offers to resign. In spring 818, Emperor Xianzong made him the minister of census (戶部尚書, Hubu Shangshu) and removed him from his chancellor position, replacing him with Li Yijian. He was subsequently made an advisor to Li Heng the Crown Prince but ordered to report to Luoyang, and soon retired.

During Emperor Muzongs reign

In 820, by which time Emperor Xianzong had died and been succeeded by Li Heng (as Emperor Muzong), Li Yong died. He was given posthumous honors and the posthumous name Su (肅, "solemn"). His grandson Li Xi later served as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong.

Notes and references

• Old Book of Tang, vol. 157.

• New Book of Tang, vol. 146.

• Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 231, 232, 235, 237, 238, 240.