Lü Yihao

Biography

On the thirteenth day of the fourth lunar month in 1130, Lü learned that Han Shizhong and Wanyan Zongbi were facing each other at Huangtiandang. He proposed that Gaozong move to western Zhejiang and issue an edict announcing a personal campaign. Zhao Ding opposed this, and the proposal failed. After further pressure from Zhao, Lü was dismissed on the twenty-fifth day of that month and appointed Military Commissioner of Zhennan, Commander Unequalled in Honor, and Commissioner of Liquan Abbey, taking up residence in Taizhou. On the sixteenth day of the sixth lunar month, he became Pacification Commissioner of the Jiankang Prefecture Circuit and prefect of Chizhou, fighting Jin troops and Li Cheng’s bandits. On the fourth day of the eleventh lunar month, he recovered Nankang Military Prefecture and secured Cui Zeng’s surrender. Lü repeatedly called for a northern campaign to recover the Central Plains, but his proposals remained unimplemented. Censorial criticism increased Gaozong’s dissatisfaction, and the emperor approved the abolition of the chief transport office. In the ninth lunar month of 1133, Lü left the chief councillorship on grounds of illness, becoming Military Commissioner of Zhennan, Commander Unequalled in Honor, and supervisor of Dongxiao Palace in Lin’an. He later received the additional titles Special Advancement and Academician of the Hall for the Diffusion of Literature. Lü Yihao began as an examination official and spent more than two decades learning how the Song state collected taxes, supervised grain, and governed military circuits. His family faced financial difficulty after his father's death, and he cultivated the household while waiting for appointment. This background helped shape his concern with practical administration rather than court ceremony alone. The fall of Kaifeng transformed his career. He moved with the court and became involved in the effort to preserve a functioning government during war and displacement. In 1129 the military commanders Miao Fu and Liu Zhengyan seized power at Hangzhou, forced Emperor Gaozong to abdicate temporarily, and threatened the court. Lü worked with loyal commanders and ministers to restore the emperor. His success brought him the chief councillorship, but it also placed him at the centre of disputes over military command and the treatment of rebel officers. Lü argued that the new regime could survive only by combining a defensible capital, reliable revenue, and strong frontier armies. He supported commanders in Sichuan and the Huai region, reorganized fiscal offices, and resisted proposals that would leave the court dependent on a negotiated peace. His position often brought him into conflict with ministers who feared the cost of prolonged war or preferred to concentrate authority in the palace. He was removed and recalled more than once. During his second term as chief councillor he continued to press for military readiness and for the recovery of territory when circumstances allowed. His final years were marked by illness and disagreement over strategy, but Gaozong later honoured him with high titles. His career represents the early Southern Song attempt to turn emergency rule into a durable state.

Major Activities

Suppressing the Miao and Liu mutiny restored Gaozong to the throne and preserved the newly established Southern Song regime. Lü Yihao became chief councillor through his role in the suppression. With his assistance, Gaozong revised the policies associated with Wang Boyan and Huang Qianshan and began measures against Jin rather than continuing to seek peace alone. - Helped suppress the Miao–Liu mutiny.

• Reorganized fiscal and military administration after the southward migration.
• Supported the defence of Sichuan and the Huai frontier.
• Opposed policies that would leave the court militarily dependent on Jin.

Personal Relations

• Emperor Gaozong: Ruler under whom he served twice as chief councillor.
• Zhang Jun and Li Gang: Ministers associated with the resistance policy.
• Miao Fu and Liu Zhengyan: Commanders whose mutiny he helped defeat.
• Early Southern Song generals: Officers whose supply and appointment systems he helped coordinate.

Historical Assessment

Contemporary and traditional records Song records praise Lü for restoring the throne during the 1129 crisis and for taking responsibility when the court was under military pressure. They also record criticism of his factional alliances and repeated disputes with other councillors. ### Later evaluations Later historians grouped him with the early Southern Song ministers who favoured resistance. His repeated returns to office were read as evidence of usefulness, while opponents portrayed him as severe and politically calculating. ### Modern scholarship Modern historians emphasize the institutional problems he faced: a court without its northern tax base, armies controlled by regional commanders, and a foreign power able to exploit every succession dispute. His policies are therefore assessed as attempts to make an emergency regime governable, not simply as a choice between war and peace.