Wang Shuwen
However, Emperor Shunzong remained seriously ill, and he was often attended to only by the eunuch Li Zhongyan (李忠言) and his concubine Consort Niu. Much of the decisions on important matters of state were entrusted to Wang Pi and Wang Shuwen, both of whom were named imperial scholar and was largely making decisions at the Hanlin Institute (翰林院). Under Wang Shuwen's recommendation, Wei Zhiyi was made a chancellor, and it was said that Wei, Wang Shuwen, Wang Pi, Li Zhongyan, and Consort Niu formed a group of decision makers. It was said that much authority were also delegated to Han Tai, Liu Zongyuan, and Liu Yuxi, and that Wang Shuwen was effectively the leader. His associates were also said to be praising each other and comparing each other to such great historical figures as Yi Yin, the Duke of Zhou, Guan Zhong, and Zhuge Liang. Many officials were being promoted and demoted based on their recommendations. Meanwhile, Wang Shuwen, believing that the key to getting the support from the soldiers and the people to affirm their power was control over the imperial treasury, had himself made the deputy director of finances, serving under the senior chancellor Du You. Wang Shuwen was said to be so insolent in his exercise of power that, at one point, breaching the protocol that chancellors were to have lunch together, he demanded that Wei meet him during lunch time — angering Wei's senior colleague Zheng Xunyu so much that Zheng went home and refused to exercise chancellor responsibilities from that point on.