Yu Di - As Jiedushi of Shannan East Circuit

As Jiedushi of Shannan East Circuit

In 798, Yu Di was made the military governor of Shannan East Circuit (山南東道, headquartered in modern Xiangfan, Hubei) and the prefect of its capital Xiang Prefecture (襄州). Shortly thereafter, Wu Shaocheng the military governor of Zhangyi Circuit (彰義, headquartered in modern Zhumadian, Henan), whose circuit bordered Yu's, rebelled against Emperor Dezong's authority, and Yu was one of the generals commissioned to attack Wu. In 799, Yu captured two counties from Wu — Wufang (吳房) and Langshan (朗山) (both in modern Zhumadian).

Thereafter, however, Yu grew arrogant, and it was said that he recruited more soldiers and acted as if the land south of the Han River was all his domain. It was also said that he killed people at will. As Emperor Dezong was more interested in appeasing the regional governors at the time, he acted as Yu requested, including promoting Xiang Prefecture's status into one where a commandant would be stationed, just as the capital of two other circuits ruled by warlords ruling their realms independently from the imperial government — Yun Prefecture (鄆州, in modern Tai'an, Shandong), the capital of Pinglu Circuit (平盧), then ruled by Li Shigu; and Wei Prefecture (魏州, in modern Handan, Hebei), the capital of Weibo Circuit (魏博), then ruled by Tian Xu. On one occasion, he falsely accused his subordinate Yuan Hong (元洪) the prefect of Deng Prefecture (鄧州, in modern Nanyang, Henan) of corruption. After Emperor Dezong ordered that Yuan be exiled to Duan Prefecture (端州, in modern Zhaoqing, Guangdong), Yu seized Yuan from the eunuch sent to escort Yuan to exile, forcing the eunuch to flee back to Chang'an, and then submitted a petition complaining that Yuan was punished too harshly, and only after Emperor Dezong changed the punishment to demotion to be the secretary general of Ji Prefecture (吉州, in modern Ji'an, Jiangxi) did Yu allow Yuan to leave. On another occasion, when Yu became angry with his assistant Xue Zhenglun (薛正倫), he requested Emperor Dezong to demote Xue to be the secretary general of Xia Prefecture (峽州, in modern Yichang, Hubei), but after Emperor Dezong issued the edict, Yu was no longer angry with Xue by that point, and submitted another petition to keep Xue as assistant. Emperor Dezong agreed with that request as well. After Xue died and before Xue was buried, Yu had soldiers surround Xue's house and forced Xue's daughter to marry Yu's son born of a concubine. While Yu served at Shannan East Circuit, he was eventually created the Duke of Yan and, in 805, after Emperor Dezong's grandson Emperor Xianzong became emperor, Yu was given the honorary chancellor title of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事). It was also said that he, without imperial permission, stationed troops at the important city of Nanyang, causing the imperial government such distress.

With Emperor Xianzong carrying out campaigns to reassert imperial power, Yu became apprehensive, and in or just before 807, he requested that a princess be married to his son Yu Jiyou (于季友). The imperial scholar Li Jiang opposed on the grounds that Yu Di was from Xianbei ancestry and that Yu Jiyou was not even born of Yu Di's wife but of a concubine. Emperor Xianzong, however, saw the advantages of agreeing to the proposal. Around the new year 808, Emperor Xianzong married his daughter Princess Puning to You Jiyou and sent much dowry with her. This surprised Yu Di, who was very pleased. Shortly after, Emperor Xianzong had other officials hint to Yu that he should personally pay homage to the emperor to thank him, a suggestion echoed by Yu Di's son Yu Fang (于方). When Yu Di went to Chang'an to pay homage to Emperor Xianzong later in 808, he was made Sikong (司空) and chancellor, and kept at Chang'an; he was replaced as the military governor of Shannan East Circuit by Pei Jun (裴均).