牛僧孺
Also in 841, when a flood damaged Xiang Prefecture (), the capital of Shannan East Circuit, which Niu Sengru was then the military governor of, Li Deyu used the opportunity to blame the destruction on Niu and had him stripped of his authorities. In spring 842, there was another event that the later Song Dynasty historian Hu Sanxing pointed out showed the partisan side of Li Deyu. The official Liu Gongquan was friendly with Li Deyu, but when Cui Gong recommended Liu to be an imperial scholar to be in charge of Jixian Institute (), Li Deyu was displeased because this recommendation was not made by him. He therefore found an excuse to have Liu made "Taizi Zhanshi" () — an entirely honorary post with no authorities.