In the seventeenth year of zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty, Tang Taizong Li Shimin presented the portraits of twenty-four founding heroes into the Ling yan pavilion, which is known in history as the "twenty-four heroes of the Ling yan pavilion". With the passage of time, twenty-four heroes have passed away, the last of which can be said to be a famous general of the Tang Dynasty, and also a key figure who affected the fate of the Tang Dynasty, he helped Wu Zetian become an empress, but later, Wu Zetian killed his full door, what is the matter?
The last hero of this Ling Yan Pavilion was the famous general Li Ji! Li Ji's original name was Xu Shixun (徐世勣), the character 懋功, which is the archetypal character of Xu Maogong in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Completely different from the image in the novel, Li Ji was a famous general with both wisdom and courage, who first served in the Wagang Army, then defected to the Tang Dynasty, and was given the surname Of Li. Li Ji went through the three dynasties of Tang Gaozu, Tang Taizong, and Tang Gaozong, and his military achievements were outstanding, and he was deeply valued by the emperor.
After Emperor Gaozong of Tang ascended the throne, Li Ji was also appointed as the prime minister and in charge of the affairs of the imperial court, and it can be said that he was one of the key figures in the imperial court at that time. Because Li Ji was old, Emperor Gaozong of Tang issued a special edict, "Take a pony in and out of the east and west platforms, and send a lowly official to the day." In the sixth year of Yonghui, Emperor Gaozong of Tang planned to depose Empress Wang and make Wu Zetian empress, but was opposed by his ministers.
Therefore, Emperor Gaozong of Tang summoned several elders of the imperial court to discuss, "Summoning Xun and the eldest grandson Wuji, Yu Zhining, and Chu Suiliangzhi." Everyone else went, but Li Ji said that the illness did not go. Li Zhi said, "The empress is childless. No sin is greater than the extinction, and it will be abolished. As a result, Chu Suiliang resolutely opposed it, and Yu Zhining "did not look at it correctly", that is to say, no old minister supported Li Zhi. Emperor Gaozong of Tang was not satisfied and secretly summoned Li Ji to seek his opinion.
At this time, Li Ji's opinion was very important, and Tang Gaozong said: "Zhaoyi will be established, and the ministers who care for their fate will think that it is impossible, and it will be stopped now!" Unexpectedly, Li Ji said a very crucial sentence, "Your Majesty's family affairs, there is no need to ask outsiders." "How can the empress dowager's mother be said to be the emperor's family affair?" After listening to Li Ji's words, Li Zhi was like eating a reassuring pill, "The emperor's will is determined, and the queen is abolished."
Li Zhi also issued an edict, "Zhao Xun and Zhi Ning feng li wu clan." After that, the eldest son Wuji and Chu Suiliang fell successively, were demoted to the south, and died of death, while Li Ji was unharmed, trusted and treated favorably by the emperor and empress. In December of the second year of the general chapter, Li Ji came to the end of his life at the age of seventy-six. Li Zhi was very sad, "The emperor mourned for his actions, quit the dynasty for seven days, and gave it to Taiwei and the governor of Yangzhou."
In the matter of Wu Zetian becoming empress, Li Ji had made a contribution, but his family was tragically slaughtered by Wu Zetian. It turned out that after Li Zhi's death, his son Li Xian took the throne, but was soon deposed by Wu Zetian, after which Wu Zetian took the throne, causing dissatisfaction among many people, including Li Ji's grandson Xu Jingye. Xu Jingye contacted some people and rebelled in Yangzhou against Wu Zetian's rule.
When the news came, Wu Zetian was very angry, and immediately issued an edict, "Pursue Li Jingye's ancestral examination official, send a tomb to a coffin, and restore the surname xu", at the same time, Li Ji's descendants were also killed. In order to escape the killing, some of Xu Maogong's descendants even fled to Tubo territory. In 705, wu Zetian stepped down, and Emperor Zhongzong of Tang ascended the throne for the second time, and he formally issued an edict to restore Li Ji's official title and reburied him.
References: 1. Old Book of Tang; 2. New Book of Tang; 3. Zizhi Tongjian