李林甫
By 752, however, Chen was instead aligned with the rising Yang Guozhong—the cousin of Emperor Xuanzong's favorite concubine Consort Yang Yuhuan—against Li Linfu. When Li Linfu's close associate Wáng Hóng () was implicated in a rebellion plot contrived by his brother Wáng Hàn (), Li Linfu tried to extricate him, but Chen and Yang insisted that Wang Hong was guilty and should be further investigated, eventually leading to Wang Hong's being forced to commit suicide. Further, both Chen and Geshu Han also accused Li Linfu of associating with another general who rebelled around that time, the ethnically Tujue general Lǐ Xiànzhōng (). This added to the apprehension that Li Linfu had at that point about Yang's rising power, and Li Linfu died in fear around the new year 753.