Pei Du
As of 817, Emperor Xianzong was engaging a campaign against the warlord Wu Yuanji, who controlled Zhangyi Circuit (彰義, headquartered in modern Zhumadian, Henan). The chancellor Li Fengji, whom Linghu was friendly to, opposed the campaign, but Emperor Xianzong's campaign was supported by the chancellor Pei Du, who volunteered to head to the front to oversee the campaign. Before Pei's departure from Chang'an, as he was concerned that Li and Linghu would work together to impede the campaign, he accused Linghu of using inappropriate language in his (Pei's) commissioning edict. Linghu was thus relieved of his duties as imperial scholar and drafter of imperial edicts, although he remained "Zhongshu Sheren".