Chancellorship
At the time that Zheng Tan and Li Shi served as chancellors, the eunuchs, led by Qiu Shiliang, often tried to humiliate the imperial officials by citing the examples of Li Xun and Zheng Zhu. It was said that Li Shi and Zheng Tan responded by pointing out that Li Xun and Zheng Zhu had initially been recommended to Emperor Wenzong by the eunuch Wang Shoucheng. Thereafter, it was said that the eunuchs' arrogance subsided somewhat, and the imperial officials depended on Li Shi and Zheng Tan to protect them. Soon thereafter, there was an incident in which, when the eunuch Tian Quancao (田全操) returned to the capital, he had remarked that when he got to the capital he would slaughter the officials, causing a general panic in Chang'an. Zheng suggested to Li Shi that they find refuge when Tian was approaching Chang'an, but Li Shi refused, pointing out that if even the chancellors fled, the panic would overtake the capital entirely, and that if there were to be disaster, they would not be able to get away anyway. Zheng agreed. Subsequently, Zheng and Li Shi urged that the relatives of Li Xun and the other executed officials be no longer pursued.
Meanwhile, as many of the chancellors' guards were killed in the Ganlu Incident, the governors of Jiangxi (江西, headquartered in modern Nanchang, Jiangxi) and Hunan (湖南, headquartered in modern Changsha, Hunan) offered uniforms and salaries for 120 guards to allow the chancellors' guard corps to be reassembled. Li Shi submitted a petition to Emperor Wenzong declining the two circuits' offer:
If the chancellors are faithful and righteous, without wickedness, the gods will protect them, and even if they encountered bandits, they would not be injured. If they have wickedness and deceit inside them, even if they had grand guards, ghosts would kill them. Your subject is willing to use all of his heart for the state. Based on past regulations, it is sufficient to use the Jinwu [(金吾), part of the imperial guards] guards. I beg that you order the two circuits to take back their offers of uniforms and salaries.
(Li Shi's petition was often viewed traditionally as a model of modesty, but the modern historian Bo Yang severely criticized it for overly arrogant language that did not conform with Li Shi's own behavior several years later.)
However, the eunuchs continued to be in control of the government, and it was said that the imperial officials worried about being slaughtered on a daily basis. It was not until spring 836, when Liu Congjian the military governor of Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern Changzhi, Shanxi), submitted harshly worded petitions protesting the innocence of Wang Ya and Jia Su and accusing Qiu of crimes, did Qiu and the other eunuchs began to cut back on their behavior and allow Emperor Wenzong, as well as Li Shi and Zheng, to exercise their authority. In addition to being chancellor, Li Shi was given the office of Zhongshu Shilang (中書侍郎, the deputy head of the legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng)), as well as acting director of salt and iron monopolies, and imperial scholar at Jixian Hall (集賢殿).
In spring 836, there was an incident when there were rumors that Emperor Wenzong was prepared to give the chancellors commands of the armies to again act against the eunuchs, and tensions rose again. It was only after Li Shi proposed that Emperor Wenzong convene a meeting between the chancellors and the eunuchs, allowing Li Shi and Zheng to explain what was happening to the eunuchs, that Qiu and the others were less suspicious of the chancellors.
Also in 836, with Li Guyan, a former chancellor, serving again as chancellor with Zheng and Li Shi, Li Shi advocated the posthumous rehabilitation of the former chancellor Song Shenxi, whom Wang Shoucheng and Zheng Zhu had previously accused of treason, leading to Song's exile. Zheng and Li Guyan joined Li Shi in his petition, and Emperor Wenzong agreed, restoring Song's offices posthumously.
Meanwhile, Li Shi had commissioned the official Han Yi (韓益) to take over, on an acting basis, his responsibilities as director of finances, but Han was corrupt and, after the corruption was discovered, was imprisoned. Li Shi stated to Emperor Wenzong, "I thought that Han Yi was familiar with monetary and food supply matters, and that was why I used him. I did not know that he is this greedy." Emperor Wenzong responded, "Chancellors are supposed to use those whom they know the abilities of and punish those who have faults. Only then can you find capable people. You, Lord, do not hide the wickedness of those you commissioned, and this is righteousness. In the past, when chancellors commissioned people, they often hid their faults and stopped them from being indicted. That was a major problem." Subsequently, Han was exiled. Li Shi also suggested that Emperor Wenzong show greater favor to two eunuchs who were virtuous, Liu Hongyi (劉弘逸) and Xue Jileng (薛季稜).
As Li Shi had been willing to stand up to the eunuchs on policy issues, Qiu began to resent him deeply. In 838, Qiu sent assassins to try to kill Li Shi, but the assassination failed. Despite the failure, Li Shi became fearful and offered to resign his chancellor position. Emperor Wenzong reluctantly agreed, making Li Shi the military governor of Jingnan Circuit (荊南, headquartered in modern Jingzhou, Hubei) instead, as well as the mayor of Jingnan's capital Jiangling Municipality (江陵).