Lü Yi (Eastern Wu)

Lü Yi (died 238)[1] was a Chinese politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Highly trusted by Wu's founding emperor Sun Quan, he served as the supervisor of the audit bureau in charge of auditing and reviewing the work of all officials in both the central and regional governments.[lower-alpha 1] A harsh, cruel and treacherous man, he freely abused his powers by falsely accusing many officials of serious offences, resulting in some of them being wrongfully arrested, imprisoned and tortured. Among his victims, the most notable ones were the general Zhu Ju and the Imperial Chancellor Gu Yong. He was eventually executed in 238 after his crimes and abuses of power came to light.

Lü Yi
呂壹
Gentleman Auditor of the Palace Writers (中書典校郎)
In office
? (?)–238 (238)
MonarchSun Quan
ChancellorGu Yong
Personal details
BornUnknown
Died238[1]
Nanjing, Jiangsu
OccupationPolitician
In this Chinese name, the family name is Lü.

Appointment as an auditor

There is nothing recorded in history about Lü Yi's origins and background. However, it is known that he served as a Gentleman Palace Writer (中書郎; an imperial secretary) in the Eastern Wu government during the reign of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Wu. Sun Quan highly trusted Lü Yi and appointed him as the supervisor of a bureau in charge of auditing documents from all the departments in the central government, as well as those from the regional governments. Although the full name of Lü Yi's position was zhongshu dianxiao lang (中書典校郎; "Gentleman Auditor of the Palace Writers"), he was also referred to as xiaoshi (校事; "auditor/inspector") or xiaoguan (校官; "auditing/inspecting official") in short.[lower-alpha 1]

A harsh, cruel and treacherous man, Lü Yi abused the emperor's trust in him by picking on trivialities and falsely accusing numerous officials of committing serious offences. Along with his colleague Qin Bo (秦博),[3] Lü Yi freely abused his powers to investigate and prosecute officials, many of whom were wrongfully arrested, imprisoned and tortured.[4][5]

Abuses of power

Some of the officials who fell victim to Lü Yi's abuses of power were the general Zhu Ju, the Imperial Chancellor Gu Yong, and the commandery administrators Diao Jia (刁嘉) and Zheng Zhou (鄭胄). In Zhu Ju's case, which happened sometime in the 230s, Lü Yi falsely accused him of embezzling military funds when some funds designated for Zhu Ju's army went missing. Zhu Ju, unable to explain himself, suffered in silence. The finance officer in his army also died under torture during interrogation. Later, another inspector discovered the real culprit and cleared Zhu Ju's name.[6][lower-alpha 2]

As for Gu Yong, Lü Yi initially prepared to make a case against him for incompetence and ask Sun Quan to remove him from office. However, after an official Xie Gong (謝厷) pointed out that Pan Jun, the Minister of Ceremonies, would most likely become the next Imperial Chancellor if Gu Yong were to be removed from office, Lü Yi immediately dropped the case against Gu Yong because he knew that Pan Jun resented him and would take action against him if he became Imperial Chancellor.[7]

In Diao Jia's case, Lü Yi falsely accused him of defaming the imperial court, resulting in an angry Sun Quan ordering Diao Jia's arrest. During the interrogation, when Diao Jia's colleagues were asked whether they heard him defame the imperial court, they all said they did, because they feared retaliation from Lü Yi if they said no. Only Shi Yi said he did not, and he eventually managed to convince Sun Quan that Diao Jia was innocent.[8][lower-alpha 3]

In Zheng Zhou's case, earlier on he had arrested and executed Lü Yi's retainer(s) for breaking the law, so Lü Yi bore a grudge against him and spoke ill of him in front of Sun Quan. Sun Quan, believing what Lü Yi said, turned furious and summoned Zheng Zhou to meet him. Pan Jun and Chen Biao spoke up for Zheng Zhou and succeeded in convincing Sun Quan to spare him.[9]

People who spoke up against Lü Yi's abuses of power

Pan Jun, having heard of Lü Yi's abuses of power, sought permission to leave his position and return to the imperial capital, Jianye (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu), for an audience with the emperor Sun Quan. Upon returning to Jianye, he learnt that Sun Deng, the Crown Prince, had already spoken up numerous times about Lü Yi's behaviour, but Sun Quan refused to listen to him. Many other officials, fearing that they would offend Lü Yi by speaking up, remained silent.[10] Pan Jun decided to take matters into his own hands. He pretended to host a banquet, invited all his colleagues to attend, and hoped to use the opportunity to assassinate Lü Yi. However, Lü Yi secretly found out that Pan Jun wanted to kill him, so he lied that he was sick and did not show up.[11]

Apart from Pan Jun and Sun Deng, there were others who stood up to Lü Yi's abuses of power. The senior general Lu Xun, along with Pan Jun,[12] frequently spoke up about Lü Yi's behaviour in front of Sun Quan, to the point of breaking down in tears.[13] Bu Zhi, another high-ranking general, also wrote to Sun Quan on at least four occasions to speak up for Lü Yi's victims, and advise the emperor to rely on capable officials such as Gu Yong, Lu Xun and Pan Jun.[14]

Downfall

Lü Yi's abuses of power finally came to an end in 238[1] when Sun Quan learnt the truth about him and understood the gravity of the situation. Lü Yi was removed from office and imprisoned under the watch of the Ministry of Justice. Sun Quan then put Gu Yong in charge of investigating Lü Yi's crimes. While interrogating Lü Yi, Gu Yong maintained his composure and performed his job professionally. Before Lü Yi was escorted out, Gu Yong asked him, "Do you have anything else to say?" Lü Yi kowtowed and remained silent. When another official Huai Xu (懷叙) started scolding Lü Yi, Gu Yong sternly rebuked him, "As government officials, we should follow the laws. Why must you do this?"[15]

Some officials proposed that Lü Yi be executed by burning or dismemberment – so as to highlight the severity of his crimes – instead of beheading. When Sun Quan sought Kan Ze's opinion on this, the latter replied that burning and dismemberment should be not be used as means of execution in a civilised age. Sun Quan heeded his advice.[16]

Aftermath of the Lü Yi scandal

After the entire scandal was over, Sun Quan sent Yuan Li (袁禮) as his personal representative to meet all his senior generals and make an apology on his behalf. He also tasked Yuan Li with seeking their views on how the system could be reformed and improved. However, to his disappointment, his generals Zhuge Jin, Bu Zhi, Zhu Ran and Lü Dai gave the excuse that they were not in charge of civil affairs and said that civil affairs were best left to civil officials such as Lu Xun and Pan Jun. Sun Quan then wrote an emotional letter to them, blaming himself for the mistakes and urging them to give him honest advice and point out his mistakes.[17]

Throughout the entire scandal, Bu Zhi had written to Sun Quan numerous times to defend those who were wrongly accused and to urge Sun Quan to rehabilitate Lü Yi's victims. Although Sun Quan did not accept every piece of advice, Bu Zhi's efforts ultimately saved many officials from doom.[18][19][20]

See also

Notes
  1. Although zhongshu dianxiao lang (中書典校郎) was a relatively low position within the hierarchy of the bureaucracy, the person holding this position wielded great power because he and the bureau under him had the authority to audit and review the work of all officials in both the central government and regional governments. In some ways, this bureau functioned like a modern secret service and served as a precursor to the censorate of later Chinese dynasties. The supervisor of this bureau must, of course, be someone whom the emperor highly trusted. In this case, it was Lü Yi.[2]
  2. See Zhu Ju's article for more details.
  3. See Shi Yi's article for more details.

References
  1. Sima (1084), vol. 74.
  2. Wang, Yongping (2005). Discussion on the Politics and Cultural History of Sun Wu 孙吴政治与文化史论 (in Chinese). Shanghai: Shanghai Ancient Works Publishing House. pp. 47, 113. ISBN 7532542637.
  3. (乆之，呂壹、秦博為中書，典校諸官府及州郡文書。) Sanguozhi vol. 52.
  4. (壹等因此漸作威福，遂造作榷酤障管之利，舉罪糾姧，纖介必聞，重以深案醜誣，毀短大臣，排陷無辜，雍等皆見舉白，用被譴讓。) Sanguozhi vol. 52.
  5. (初，權信任校事呂壹，壹性苛慘，用法深刻。) Sanguozhi vol. 47.
  6. (後據部曲應受三萬緡，工王遂詐而受之，典校呂壹疑據實取，考問主者，死於杖下，據哀其無辜，厚棺斂之。壹又表據吏為據隱，故厚其殯。權數責問據，據無以自明，藉草待罪。數月，典軍吏劉助覺，言王遂所取， ...) Sanguozhi vol. 57.
  7. (時校事呂壹操弄威柄，奏桉丞相顧雍、左將軍朱據等，皆見禁止。黃門侍郎謝厷語次問壹：「顧公事何如？」壹荅：「不能佳。」厷又問：「若此公免退，誰當代之？」壹未荅厷，厷曰：「得無潘太常得之乎？」壹良乆曰：「君語近之也。」厷謂曰：「潘太常常切齒於君，但道遠無因耳。今日代顧公，恐明日便擊君矣。」壹大懼，遂解散雍事。) Sanguozhi vol. 61.
  8. (典校郎呂壹誣白故江夏太守刁嘉謗訕國政，權怒，收嘉繫獄，悉驗問。時同坐人皆怖畏壹，並言聞之，儀獨云無聞。於是見窮詰累日，詔旨轉厲，羣臣為之屏息。儀對曰：「今刀鋸已在臣頸，臣何敢為嘉隱諱，自取夷滅，為不忠之鬼！顧以聞知當有本末。」據實荅問，辭不傾移。權遂舍之，嘉亦得免。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  9. (文士傳曰： ... 稍遷建安太守。呂壹賔客於郡犯法，[鄭]胄收付獄，考竟。壹懷恨，後密譖胄。權大怒，召胄還，潘濬、陳表並為請，得釋。) Wenshi Zhuan annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 47.
  10. (太子登數諫，權不納，大臣由是莫敢言。) Sanguozhi vol. 47.
  11. (濬求朝，詣建業，欲盡辭極諫。至，聞太子登已數言之而不見從，濬乃大請百寮，欲因會手刃殺壹，以身當之，為國除患。壹密聞知，稱疾不行。) Sanguozhi vol. 61.
  12. (濬每進見，無不陳壹之姦險也。) Sanguozhi vol. 61.
  13. (時中書典校呂壹，竊弄權柄，擅作威福，遜與太常潘濬同心憂之，言至流涕。) Sanguozhi vol. 58.
  14. (後中書呂壹典校文書，多所糾舉，隲上疏曰：「伏聞諸典校擿抉細微， ... 受罪何恨？」 ... 又曰：「天子父天母地， ... 可不深思其意哉！」 ... 又曰：「丞相顧雍、上大將軍陸遜、太常潘濬，憂深責重，志在謁誠， ... 豈敢專擅威福欺負所天乎？」 ... 又曰：「縣賞以顯善， ... 愚以為可一切罷省。」) Sanguozhi vol. 52.
  15. (後壹姦罪發露，收繫廷尉。雍往斷獄，壹以囚見，雍和顏色，問其辭狀，臨出，又謂壹曰：「君意得無欲有所道？」壹叩頭無言。時尚書郎懷叙面詈辱壹，雍責叙曰：「官有正法，何至於此！」) Sanguozhi vol. 52.
  16. (初，以呂壹姦罪發聞，有司窮治，奏以大辟，或以為宜加焚裂，用彰元惡。權以訪澤，澤曰：「盛明之世，不宜復有此刑。」權從之。) Sanguozhi vol. 53.
  17. (壹旣伏誅，吳主使中書郎袁禮告謝諸大將，因問時事所當損益。禮還，復有詔責諸葛瑾、步騭、朱然、呂岱等曰：「袁禮還云： ... 未知諸君於管子何如耳！」) Zizhi Tongjian vol. 74.
  18. (權亦覺梧，遂誅呂壹。隲前後薦達屈滯，救解患難，書數十上。權雖不能悉納，然時采其言，多蒙濟賴。) Sanguozhi vol. 52.
  19. (後壹姦罪發露伏誅，權引咎責躬，乃使中書郎袁禮告謝諸大將，因問時事所當損益。禮還，復有詔責數諸葛瑾、步隲、朱然、呂岱等曰：「袁禮還， ... 匡所不逮。」) Sanguozhi vol. 47.
  20. (江表傳曰：權又云：「天下無粹白之狐，而有粹白之裘，衆之所積也。夫能以駮致純，不惟積乎？故能用衆力，則無敵於天下矣；能用衆智，則無畏於聖人矣。」) Jiang Biao Zhuan annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 47.
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