Preamble:
Wu Zetian was known for her intelligence and outstanding ability to govern the country, and became the only female emperor in Chinese history.
Under her rule, the Tang Dynasty experienced a period of prosperity, with the people living and working in peace and contentment, and the social atmosphere harmonious.
Behind the glory of Wu Zetian's rule, there are also some dark corners.
The indecent love between her and Li Zhi has become an indelible stain on her way to power.
Wu Zetian's sister Wu Shun, and the emperor Li Zhi of the Tang Dynasty, the emotional entanglement between the three has pulled history into scenes of grievances and hatreds.
Wu Zetian left a "wordless tablet" before he died, and the rights and wrongs are left to our descendants to comment!
Wu Zetian's love affair
In the tenth year of Zhenguan, the eldest grandson Empress died, and the fourteen-year-old Wu Zetian was elected to the palace because of his beauty and became the concubine of Li Shimin, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, and was given the name of "Wu Mei".
However, although Wu Zetian was as beautiful as a flower, he failed to get Taizong's favor because of his stubborn personality and lack of gentleness.
She lived a "semi-solitary life" in the Tang Palace for more than ten years, and it was not until after Taizong's death that she had a turnaround.
In the twenty-third year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin passed away, leaving Wu Meiniang, who was only 25 years old.
According to the practice of the Tang Dynasty, concubines who failed to give birth to children could only become nuns, and Wu Zetian was soon sent to Ganye Temple.
However, on the anniversary of Li Zhi's death when he came to worship at Ganye Temple, they were reunited.
The two hugged each other for a long time and were emotionally lingering, and soon after, Tang Gaozong named the Wu family into the harem as Zhaoyi.
Wu Zetian was not satisfied with this, she used various means to ascend to the throne step by step, even at the expense of her daughter's life.
In the sixth year of Yonghui, Li Zhi successively deposed Empress Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu, and appointed the 31-year-old Wu Zetian as the new queen, completing the reversal of life.
Although this emotional entanglement was unethical, it was regarded as true love at the time.
There is no conclusive record of the specific time when Li Zhi and Wu Zetian came together.
However, according to the "Edict of Liwu Zhaoyi as the Empress", Li Zhi took care of Li Shimin with Wu Zetian when Li Shimin was alive, and saw that there was true affection and love between the two, so he rewarded Wu Zetian.
This statement may be a means for Li Zhi to whitewash himself, but it also reveals that the two had communicated as early as when Li Shimin was alive.
niece, Wu Zetian's sister and Li Zhi's underground affair
In 665 AD, when the Tang Dynasty was in its heyday, a story of an underground affair was quietly staged in the palace.
It is a saga about power, love, and family, and the protagonists are the female emperor Wu Zetian at the time, her sister Wu Shun, and her niece.
This story reveals the twists and turns of life in the ancient harem, and let's walk into this shocking history together.
During the Tang Dynasty, Wu Zetian became the only female emperor in Chinese history with her extraordinary intelligence and courageous actions.
However, her path to power has not been easy.
The marriage between her and Tang Taizong Li Shimin, although she had a prominent status, was full of inner loneliness and struggle.
Tang Taizong didn't really have affection for her, but used her more as a political tool.
In this coldness and loneliness, Wu Zetian's heart longed for sincere emotions, so her eyes turned to her relatives, her sister Wu Shun and her niece.
Wu Zetian's sister, Wu Shun, was a widow whose husband died young, leaving her alone to raise her two children.
However, Wu Shun did not give up hope in life because she was widowed, she still maintained a demure and beautiful demeanor, attracting the attention of countless people.
Her daughter Helan Minyue is also a beautiful and charming girl, and when she is in her prime, she is even more eye-catching.
Such a mother and daughter attracted the attention of Li Zhi in the court, and their appearance plunged him into an emotional whirlpool.
The appearance of Wu Shun brought freshness to Li Zhi, and her coquettishness contrasted sharply with Wu Zetian's maturity.
Li Zhi was attracted by her beauty and gentleness, and frequently interacted with her in private, gradually developing affection.
Wu Shun also has feelings for Li Zhi, and she longs to be favored by the emperor, hoping that she and her daughter can get a higher status because of it.
So a secret and dangerous emotional entanglement unfolded between them, which became a forbidden love in the court.
The affair was discovered by Wu Zetian
However, this forbidden love did not last long, because Wu Zetian soon discovered the affair between his sister and niece and Li Zhi.
She is well aware of the struggle for power, but also of the emotions between her loved ones.
She didn't want to see her sister and niece fall victim to a power struggle, so she decided to fight back.
She sent someone to secretly get rid of Wu Shun and Helan Minyue in order to maintain her status and dignity.
The tragic ending of Wu Shun and Helan Minyue reveals the conflict and contradiction between power and emotion.
Wu Shun and Helan Minyue, as Wu Zetian's relatives, became victims of her power game.
Their love is distorted by political machination, which ultimately leads to a tragic end.
Helan Min's heart was disgruntled
Helan Minzhi is a talented man from an aristocratic family.
His mother, Wu Shun, was the elder sister of the Tang Dynasty empress Wu Zetian, and this relationship made Helan Minzhi fortunate enough to enter the palace and have inextricable ties with the imperial family.
When he was young, Helan Minzhi was talented and highly regarded by the martial arts, and it seemed that he had a bright future.
However, the cycle of fate is often unpredictable.
Empress Wu did not trust the Helan family, but was even more wary of Helan Minzhi.
Perhaps because of He Lanmin's dissatisfaction, or perhaps out of scheming considerations, Empress Wu poisoned He Lanminzhi's mother Wu Shun and niece He Lan.
This cruel act completely changed Helan Minzhi's fate and planted the seeds of revenge in the future.
Under the secret suppression of Empress Wu, Helan Minzhi felt powerless to resist, so he chose indirect revenge.
He resorted to discrediting the samurai in an attempt to discredit the martial queen.
Helan Minzhi actually had an improper relationship with the crown princess, and what was even more shocking was that he actually had an affair with Mrs. Rongguo, the biological mother of the Empress Wu.
These scandals made Empress Wu feel disgusted and angry, but she was helpless, because her mother had always shielded the Helan family.
Wu Zetian's choice
After the death of her mother, Empress Wu finally made up her mind and decided to completely get rid of this corrupt and weathered Helan family.
She first secretly disposed of Helan Minzhi and exiled him to Leizhou.
On the way, Helan Minzhi tragically died under the reins of his horse, ending a legendary fate.
The Helan family also fell into the abyss because of this, and was completely wiped out by the Empress Wu.
Wu Zetian is one of the few female emperors in Chinese history who ruled a great country with her strong will and exceptional talent.
However, the choices she made on the road to power also made people think deeply.
In order to maintain her status, she did not hesitate to sacrifice the happiness and lives of her relatives, which made people have mixed evaluations of her.
She is a politician and a woman at the same time, and her choices are subject to historical and social scrutiny.
Epilogue:
In this environment of intrigue and intrigue, women are often used as instruments of political struggle.
Their emotions are subordinated to political interests, and even fall victim to political schemes.
Wu Zetian's relatives are the representatives of the tragedy of this era, and their love and fate have been brutally destroyed.