Lü Hou was the true emperor of the Han Dynasty after Liu Bang and before Emperor Wen of Han, and although he experienced three emperors in the middle, Liu Ying, the former Shao Emperor, and Liu Hong, the Later Shao Emperor, people almost forgot the three men and remembered a woman. And Lü Hou only did not bear the name "emperor".
There is no doubt that from the death of Liu Bang in 195 BC to 180 BC, the scepter of the Great Han Jiangshan belonged to this woman surnamed "Lü". However, Lü Hou made "trespassing" to the appropriate scale, so that the Han Dynasty always had the surname "Liu". Therefore, Lü Hou is more like a starlight in the sky, and after the shining, it will quickly disappear into the night sky of history.
Wu Zetian was emperor for 15 years, and she actually held the authority of the Tang Dynasty for more than twenty years. Compared with Lü Hou's quiet and inactive Huang Lao's politics, Wu Zetian almost gave the Tang Dynasty a major blood change with an iron wrist.
Therefore, during the reign of Wu Zetian, the Guanlong aristocracy, which was related to the history of China, gradually disintegrated, and then the Hanmen clan began to appear on the political stage. In addition, even the "Tang Dynasty" also put on the cloak of "Great Zhou". Wu Zetian's move is like a "carbuncle" born on the body, and even if it is healed, it will leave a striking scar.
Therefore, some people wondered why Wu Zetian's fate was better than that of Lü Hou, who was also "usurping power and seizing the throne". After Lü Hou's death, the entire family was liquidated, but after Wu Zetian's death, his family was safe and sound? In fact, this reason is not complicated, we can answer it in four parts.
First, the difference in historical background has created different interests and demands of the parties, and the final results are also very different
Liu Bang served as emperor for six years and died in 195 BC. And almost all of the "brothers" who fought with him in the world are still alive, that is, the so-called "military merit group." In this way, the Han Dynasty faced the risk of changing hands.
The reason is very simple, because the members of the "Military Merit Group" and Liu Bang are the same origin, the same starting point, since Liu Bang can become the emperor, why can't they live an "emperor addiction"! There is also a fatal reason, that is, the "immunity" of the imperial power is too low, because the power of the clan is too weak.
Liu Bang thought of this problem before his death, so the first step was to take the overall situation into account, eliminate the princes of different surnames, and eliminate the possibility of the Han Dynasty being divided; the second step was to focus on the subtleties and formulate the "White Horse Alliance Oath" to eliminate the hidden dangers of the authority of the imperial family by people with different surnames calling themselves kings.
Obviously, these two measures were not enough, so Liu Bang also dispelled the idea of "changing the crown prince", so that the heir to the throne could have a strong mother to escort him. So we can see that although Lady Qi, who made Liu Bang's beloved, tossed and turned for half a day, her son still did not become the emperor's successor. Because Liu Bang knew in his heart that the combination of his ten-year-old son and a weak Liu Fufeng mother was not at all the opponent of the deceitful ministers.
So can Lü Hou calm down the "military merit clique"? The answer was yes, but her heart was still bottomless. Therefore, when Liu Bang died, Lü Hou's first thing was not to mourn and announce to the world, but to plan how to sweep away the "military merit group". Obviously, there is an uncontrollable risk in doing so, and in the end, it is weighed again and again, and it is not resolved.
After that, Lü Hou began to cut the "meat" on the body of the clan to supplement the "nutrition" of his people. Because only when the strength of foreign relatives is strong, Lü Hou's heart can have a sense of security, and the Han's Jiangshan Sheji can be guaranteed. So in the end, her nephews Lü Lu, Lü Tong, Lü Chan and others were carrying the princes Suixi on the outside and holding the tiger rune military power on the inside.
However, with The Death of Lü Hou, the defensive net that she had spent 15 years of painstaking efforts to weave suddenly collapsed. Because her family generally lacked the same shrewd and capable courage as her, she was quickly wiped out by the joint attack of the "Military Merit Group" and the backbone of the clan.
So why were the Lü hou people killed? Because the "military merit clique" headed by Zhou Bo, Chen Ping, and Dou Bao, and the "Liu Clan Family" represented by Liu Xiang, the King of Qi, and his brothers, wanted to reshuffle the imperial power. Therefore, they did not even spare a few sons of Liu Ying, the Emperor of Han Hui, only because they were the grandsons of Empress Lü.
However, in the end, it was the "Military Merit Group" that controlled the leading power in the distribution of benefits, and even Liu Xiang, the King of Qi, who had his brothers Liu Zhang and Liu Xing as internal responses in the capital, helplessly "folded the sand" in front of them. Therefore, we can see that when Lü Shi was reprimanded, the "Military Merit Group" had an absolute say in the question of who to choose as emperor.
Next, they picked and fought like a fruit stall in the posture of a local tycoon, and finally pinched a substitute king Liu Heng with a good feel. Obviously, the more "soft" the future emperors, the more their interests will be maximized. If the Lü hou people are all preserved intact, can the "Military Merit Group" still have that calmness and calmness? Can you still make a lot of money? Obviously not.
At this point, some people may have questioned: Why did the "military merit group" not usurp power? In fact, it is not that they do not want to usurp, but reality does not allow it, because at this time, the strength of the clan is also strong, and they can only pinch the measure in place and play a game of interest "wiping the edge ball". As a result, the Lühou people became victims.
In turn, look at the end of the Wu Zetian people. At that time, Wu Zetian was ousted by a group of ministers of culture and military affairs led by Zhang Kamzhi, the Fengge attendant, Cui Xuanhui, the general of Luantai, the general Ofe Yulin, the general of Zuo Yulin, The general Huan Yanfan, the young secretary of the Punishment Yuan Shuji, the general of the Right Yulin Wei, Li Duozuo, the general of the Right Yulin, and Li Xingzong, the general of the Left Yulin. Their goal is very clear, that is, to help Li Xian come to power and restore Li Tangsheji. Therefore, they did not harm Wu Zetian himself, nor did they hurt Wu Zetian's people, but they swept away the five brothers Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi, who prevented Wu Zetian from giving way to Li Xian, and their comrades.
In essence, Zhang Zhizhi and others were only supporters of Li Tang, and most of them were promoted by The Prime Minister Di Renjie, so they did not have a sense of superiority like the "founding heroes" of the Western Han Dynasty, nor did they have the strength to reshuffle the imperial power, let alone the ambition to put their own interests first. Therefore, the purpose of their "Shenlong Coup" was much simpler, as long as Li Xian was reinstated, the rest could be stopped.
In summary, compared with the fate of the Lü hou people, most people believe that Wu Zetian's people should be eliminated like the Lü Hou people in the first round of strangulation. However, due to the difference in historical backs, the interests of the parties concerned are different, so Wu Zetian's family can survive.
Second, Wu Zetian's people were no longer direct threats to imperial power
Because when Wu Zetian decided to pass on his son in 698 AD, Wu Zetian's two nephews who jumped up and down in order to win the imperial heir, Wu Sansi and Wu Chengsi also disappeared. Especially not long after, Wu Chengsi drove to the west of the crane again, and the remaining Wu Sansi alone did not dare to toss it hard. Therefore, in the end, the most joyful around the imperial power was not the Wu family, but the Zhang family brothers, the male favorite of Wu Zetian. It was precisely because Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi obstructed it that the date of Wu Zetian's biography in Li Xian was delayed again and again. So we found that when the Shenlong coup was launched, Zhang Chenzhi's gang directly bypassed Wu Sansi and killed the Zhang family brothers.
Third, Wu Zetian's buffering effect before his death and Li Xian's worries
After Wu Zetian was ousted from power, she gasped in her hospital bed for another 10 months, and although she was no longer the emperor, she still had a trace of majesty that made Li Xian feel jealous from the bottom of her heart. In this way, Li Xian, who was weak by nature, did not have the courage to kill the Wu family. On the other hand, Lü Hou disappeared at the same time as power and people, while Wu Zetian disappeared power for nearly a year before her life ended. Therefore, it is not excluded that it was a buffer period before Wu Zetian's death, which greatly reduced Li Xian's hatred for his people. What's more, just after Li Xian was welcomed back from Fangzhou, he had been doing things to please the Wu family, and the most direct manifestation was to marry the Wu family. Therefore, in the end, Li Xianlian did not even have the courage to turn the other cheek with the Wu family.
IV. After Wu Zetian's death, Li Xian, who was weak and confused, became the "protector god" of the Wu family.
Undoubtedly, if Zhang Zhizhi and others had exterminated the Wu Zetian Clan at that time, they did not want to kill more people, but also wanted to give Li Xian a chance to establish his authority. But Li Xian's final approach made Zhang Zhizhi and others have blue intestines. Because Li Xian, instead of killing Wu Sansi and others, reused them. As a result, Wu Sansi not only killed Empress Wei and Shangguan Jieyu with one stone, but also basically slaughtered the backbone members who launched the Shenlong coup.
Therefore, from another point of view, the reason why Li Xian did not kill the Wu family may be to counter the "proud of their achievements" led by Zhang Zhizhi and others. Because Li Xian was so weak that he was completely a man without blood, position, and principles. Therefore, Li Xian's move was not wise, but a big mistake, and he acted as the "protective god" of the Wu family. As a result, in the five years since Li Xian's restoration, there have been few political achievements to be recorded, and the government has also been messed up by Wu Sansi and Empress Wei' group.
In short, it was not the "pro-Li faction" represented by Zhang Zhizhi and others who spared the Wu family, but the sleepy Li Xian himself. In 707, the intolerable crown prince Li Chongjun led an army to kill wu Sansi's family, and when he was about to settle accounts with Empress Wei, he was defeated by his father Li Xianren and eventually died at the hands of anti-water generals. In 610, Li Dan was restored to the throne, and Wu Sansi was killed in a coffin. After that, the internal contradictions and struggles of the Tang Dynasty returned to the Li family themselves, so no one cared about the remaining forces of the Wu family.
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