Even the most brilliant and brilliant kings of the early years could not avoid the fainting and pleasure-indulgent behavior in their old age. Looking back at the ancient times, qianlong, Xuanzong, and Wudi were mostly like this, and there were too few who could maintain political clarity in their later years, and the only female emperor in history, Wu Zetian, could not guarantee that she would be wise all her life. In her later years, as she grew older, she also began to be content with pleasure, palaces, Buddhist temples, remodeling, conniving at male pets, and wanton behavior.
And her two male favorites also began to meddle in the government, which caused dissatisfaction among the ministers, which also made the matter of Wu Zetian's succession to the throne and his return to Li Tang difficult. After that, the relationship between Wu Zetian and his courtiers and his children began to become worse and worse, and even there were royal family members who died because of Erzhang, and some princes and princesses were anxious about it. Later, in order to ensure the return of Li Tang, the ministers Jinghui, Huan Yanfan, Yuan Shuji, and the chancellor Zhang Kamzhi and Cui Xuanwei, the five ministers joined forces with other ministers to launch the Shenlong Incident in the first month of the first year of the Shenlong Dynasty (705).
At this time, Wu Zetian was sick in bed, and Wu Zetian gradually lost control of the imperial court, and she had to let the crown prince Li Xian inherit the throne. The Shenlong Incident was undoubtedly a very successful reform, and just as the five people of The Prime Minister Zhang Kamzhi began to celebrate, one of the things that was already happy, their companion Yao Chong began to cry bitterly. Adding a bit of gloom to the atmosphere at that time, Zhang Kamzhi and others were puzzled and surprised by Yao Chong's crying, so they said: Isn't today a day that should be happy? Why cry? I'm afraid there will be disaster on you.
Yao Chong, while wiping his tears, replied to them, "I have been with Emperor Zetian for some time, and now I am sad that I have suddenly left." In the past, as a courtier, I should have followed you to eradicate the thief, and today I weep and say goodbye to the old Lord, which is also a moral discipline that should be had. Even if I had been charged with it, I was convinced. This weeping and grief-stricken Yao Chongke was a famous minister of the Tang Dynasty, and his father was Yao Yi, who was the governor of Jiaozhou. Why did Wu Zetian value him so much? Mainly because he was very cultured and knowledgeable. If Wu Zetian is Bo Le, then he is Qianliju, and Yao Chong's promotion to prime minister has only taken three years, and it is precisely because of Wu Zetian's appreciation of him that he has this opportunity.
Wu Zetian was kind to him after all, how could this not make Yao Chong miss Wu Zetian, don't look at him betraying Wu Zetian, but he had endless guilt in his heart, but he had to do this in the current situation. I don't know whether it was providential or by the will of others, at that time, except for Yao Chong, who cried bitterly for her, the rest of those who did not cry and did not shed tears were all dead, and they were all related to the martial family. Initially, all five of them were crowned as princes and generals, and they were knighted, because the success of this incident made all five people very proud.
However, after the incident, Wu Zetian was not without a patron in the dynasty, on the contrary, she still had her own forces, which was not the same as Li Yuan. She also had many martial families who were also involved in political affairs and served the imperial court for the Jiangshan Society, and the martial family still had many rights. One of them, Wu Sansi, was the nephew of Wu Zetian, and Wu Sansi was worried that these five courtiers would gradually eradicate the Wu clan after sealing the king, so he wanted to attack them first, and at the same time hated Zhang Kamzhi and others for forcing Wu Zetian to abdicate.
First, the five men were given the title of a county king. But they were removed from their position as prime minister, which left them with empty titles and no real power. The following year, he began to marry these five people, and exaggerated the absurdity of The Harem of Empress Wei, and Emperor Zhongzong was furious when he learned of this. All five were demoted because they had been wronged, Zhang Kamzhi and Cui Xuanwei were angry to death, and Zhou Lizhen slaughtered Jinghui, Huan Yanfan, and Yuan Shuji, all five of whom ended in tragedy.
It may be that he thought of Yao Chong's crying, and then remembered that Yao Chong did not participate too much in forcing Wu Zetian to abdicate, and the Wu family did not kill him. Later, Yao Chong's life to the Xuanzong dynasty, and instead of what they said, "disaster has befallen you", Yao Chong laid the foundation for the kaiyuan prosperity and died in the ninth year of the new century (721).
References: Zizhi Tongjian, New Book of Tang, Old Book of Tang