Yao Chong's Appointment as Chancellor and Early Kaiyuan Governance

Timeline

1. 713Xinfeng · ShaanxiAfter the Xiantian coup, Emperor Xuanzong reviewed troops at Xinfeng and secretly summoned Tongzhou Governor Yao Chong to discuss state affairs, intending to appoint him chancellor and seeking his advice on governing strategy.
2. 713Chang'an · ShaanxiYao Chong presented his ten points of essential advice: emphasize benevolence and forbearance, seek no frontier glory, apply laws first to the near, keep eunuchs out of politics, bar relatives from the Censorate and Department of State Affairs, forbid extra contributions beyond taxes, halt Daoist and Buddhist construction, etc. Xuanzong promised them all and appointed him Attendant-in-Ordinance.
3. 713–716Chang'an · ShaanxiAfter taking power, Yao Chong rectified discipline, cut redundant officials, and curbed contributions from the powerful, eliminating abuses since the Wu Zhou period. Records state: 'At the beginning of Kaiyuan, worthy ministers governed, all four gates were harmonious, and the hundred institutions were upright.'