When it comes to Di Renjie, most people's impression is: judging a case is like a god, if there is divine help. But is the real Di Renjie really just a detective in history? The answer is no! Di Renjie, also spelled Huaiying, and a native of Taiyuan, was a famous minister during the Tang and Zhou dynasties. However, Di Renjie's official road was not smooth, and he was reprimanded several times before finally paying homage to the prime minister. In 700 AD, Di Renjie died at the age of 71. After Di Renjie's death, Wu Zetian, because of his upset mood, not only resigned for three days, but also posthumously awarded Di Renjie the title of Wenchang's right minister.
Portrait of Di Renjie
From this record, it can be seen that Di Renjie was definitely a vassal of Tang Zhou, especially during the reign of Wu Zetian. Otherwise, when Di Renjie died, Wu Zetian would not have lost his temper to the point that even the Shang Dynasty was deposed. At the same time, it can also be seen from here that Di Renjie and Wu Zetian's monarchs have a very deep relationship. This was an absolutely rare situation during the reign of Wu Zetian. Then, why did Wu Zetian, who was so fierce that he even killed his own son, value Di Renjie so much, was it really because of their special relationship? No, the reason is simple!
First of all, Di Renjie was loyal to the king and loved the people, not only had a very good reputation in the court, but also had great prestige in the people. During the Yifeng period, Di Renjie was promoted to the post of Dali Temple, the highest official in charge of the Tang Zhou Criminal Law at that time. In just one year of Di Renjie's tenure at Dali Temple, he solved a large backlog of cases, of which more than 10,000 people were involved, but in the end, none of them were wronged. How can such an official who serves the country and the people not leave a good reputation in the people?
Moreover, from Di Renjie's means of handling things, we can also see Di Renjie's ability to do things. Moreover, this is not the only political achievement that Di Renjie can get his hands on, but it is just a very ordinary thing in Di Renjie's decades as an official. How could such a talented man who put the interests of the people and the country in his heart not be recognized by the Tang and Zhou monarchs?
Secondly, Di Renjie not only has strong ability to do things, but also has a very good eye and can see the mind of the monarch. After Wu Zetian ascended the throne, as he grew older, he was also very worried about the matter of establishing a successor: Wu Zetian's surname was Wu, and naturally wanted to pass the throne to the Wu family, after all, in the eyes of the ancients, the family inheritance was also quite important. However, after passing the throne to the Wu family, Wu Zetian was worried that the fierce opposition of the courtiers would cause turmoil in the court. Just when Wu Zetian was very contradictory, Di Renjie bravely entered the speech: Is it possible for an aunt and nephew to be related to mother and son? His Majesty lizi, then after a thousand years of age, he will eat the temple and inherit infinity; if he establishes a nephew, he will not hear that the nephew is the son of heaven and the one who is in the temple is also.
Portrait of Wu Zetian
Di Renjie's words not only pointed out the difference between his aunt and mother, but also pointed out the thing that Wu Zetian was most worried about: it was because Wu Zetian valued the family inheritance that he would think of passing the throne to the Wu family, but also because Wu Zetian valued inheritance, he would worry that he would not get incense after his death. It can be seen from this that Di Renjie is not only a loyal and capable minister, but also a master of negotiation, and from the perspective of Wu Zetian, he used the things that Wu Zetian was most worried about to defeat the thoughts that Wu Zetian had in his heart, thus making the imperial power return to the hands of Li.
From these few small things, it is enough to see that this Di Renjie is not only able to do things, but also has the ability to see, dare to speak, and can speak. Only such a capable courtier would allow a fierce monarch like Wu Zetian to turn a blind eye to him, not only reusing him while he was alive, but also remembering him after his death. Moreover, Di Renjie was not only recognized by Wu Zetian, but also recognized and posthumously awarded by other monarchs of the Li clan: during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, Di Renjie was posthumously awarded the title of Sikong, and after Tang Ruizong succeeded to the throne, he posthumously awarded Di Renjie the title of Duke of Liang.