In the first year of Tang Long (710), Emperor Zhongzong of Tang died violently, and Empress Wei wanted to emulate Wu Zetian's regent and seize power. Li Longji, the king of Linzi, and Princess Taiping naturally did not allow Li Tang's regime to fall into the hands of Empress Wei, so they launched the "Tanglong Coup" with lightning speed, killing Empress Wei, Princess Anle, and his henchmen. Subsequently, Li Longji ignored the obstruction of The Prime Minister Liu Youqiu and killed a generation of talented women, Shangguan Wan'er.
(Shangguan Wan'er stills)
Shangguan Wan'er was not a member of the royal family, nor was there a threat to power. Moreover, she made a contribution to wei after she killed her. But why did Li Longji want to kill her?
Speaking of which, Shangguan Wan'er and the Li Tang Dynasty really had a constant grudge.
When Shangguan Wan'er was still in her infancy, shangguan yi, who was in a high position, and her father, Shangguan Tingzhi, were killed for drafting an edict of abolition for Emperor Gaozong of Tang, offending Wu Zetian, and Shangguan Wan'er was also enslaved in the court.
Wu Zetian was Shangguan Wan'er's enemy, but Wu Zetian was also Shangguan Wan'er's benefactor.
It turned out that although Shangguan Wan'er had been a pariah and had been a slave all her life, she had the guidance of her mother Zheng Shi, and she was exceptionally intelligent, so when she was 14 years old, the reputation of "being able to write poetry and be wise" reached the ears of Wu Zetian.
Later, after Wu Zetian's personal examination, it was found that she was indeed literate, and there was a lack of a female official who wrote edicts around her, so she was dismissed from her status as a lowly slave and let her take charge of the palace commandments.
In order to seize this hard-won opportunity, Shangguan Wan'er disregarded her father's vendetta and flattered Wu Zetian and served him meticulously. In addition, the edict she wrote was very good for Wu Zetian's heart, so she gained the trust and favor of Wu Zetian.
After Wu Zetian was proclaimed empress, Shangguan Wan'er not only took charge of the Hundred Divisions, but also participated in the government affairs with the permission of Wu Zetian. Shangguan Wan'er began to gain power in the middle of the dynasty.
Immediately afterward, the "Shenlong Coup" that occurred once again changed the fate of Shangguan Wan'er.
(Tang Zhongzong stills)
After the Shenlong coup, Wu Zetian was forced to abdicate. Emperor Zhongzong of Tang was able to restore the throne with the help of the chancellor Zhang Kamzhi and others.
It is undeniable that Shangguan Wan'er was born beautiful and talented. In addition, wu Zetian had once taught her to handle the song chapter by hand, so there was no one stronger than her professional ability in the affairs of the imperial court. Therefore, after Emperor Zhongzong of Tang succeeded to the throne, he continued to appoint her to draft edicts and edicts and other matters, and also made her Zhaorong, and her birth mother Zheng Shi was also given the title of Lady Peiguo.
In this way, Shangguan Wan'er's power was further enhanced. It is said that it was Tang Zhongzong who gave her all this, and she should be loyal to Tang Zhongzong. However, she soon discovered that Tang Zhongzong had a cowardly personality, was incompetent, relied on Wei Hou for everything, and almost all power was in the hands of Wei Hou and Princess Anle.
In order to gain more power, Shangguan Wan'er once again chose to side with Wei Hou and Princess Anle. He not only helped Wei Hou to establish his power in the dprk, but also persuaded Wei Hou to do more good governance to win the hearts and minds of the people. Therefore, Empress Wei and Princess Anle relied heavily on her, so that Shangguan Wan'er was so powerful in the court that she could almost influence the affairs of the military and the country.
Shangguan Wan'er was not satisfied. In order to consolidate her power, she also introduced Wu Sansi, who had a private affair, to Wei Hou to please her.
Originally, Wu Sansi was Wu Zetian's nephew and cousin of Tang Zhongzong, and he was also the father-in-law of Princess Anle, and this relationship between relatives and relatives made Tang Zhongzong defenseless against Wu Sansi and allowed him to enter and leave the palace freely.
With the help of Shangguan Wan'er, Wu Sansi soon hooked up with Wei Hou and became adulterous. The three men's behavior of fornicating in the harem was well known to everyone in the world. Only Emperor Zhongzong did not think so, and even introduced Wu Sansi as a confidant, regarded him as a confidant, and gave him a lot of power. Shangguan Wan'er also assisted in the abuse of the dprk and did some activities to worship martial arts and suppress the Tang.
However, one thing that made Li Tangzong and Shangguan Wan'er completely turn their faces was the death of The Crown Prince Li Chongjun.
(Lee Chung-joon stills)
Li Chongjun was originally the son of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, not born to Empress Wei, and was made crown prince in his early years.
Wu Sansi, who was bent on seizing power, regarded Li Chongjun as a stumbling block on the road to seizing power, so he instigated his daughter-in-law Princess Anle to ask Emperor Zhongzong of Tang for the title of "Imperial Lady" in the hope that he would be able to seize power and ascend to the throne in the future.
Although Emperor Zhongzong of Tang did not finally agree to make Princess Anle the Crown Princess, Li Chongjun's position as crown prince was still threatened. He had to be forced to raise an army, kill Wu Sansi first, and accidentally let Shangguan Wan'er escape. As a result, after Shangguan Wan'er ran to the palace, she said that Li Chongjun was plotting rebellion. Wei Houzheng was bent on getting rid of him and took the opportunity to slander Li Chongjun in front of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang.
Emperor Zhongzong of Tang believed this to be true, and in a fit of rage, he immediately sent troops to attack Li Chongjun and kill him.
This incident made Shangguan Wan'er, who was in the imperial court, fearful of Li Tangzong's room, and after weighing it, she turned to the Princess Taiping, whom Wei Hou feared.
In the fourth year of Jinglong (710), Wei Hou and Wu Sansi were accused of scandal by Emperor Zhongzong of Tang. Emperor Zhongzong of Tang was displeased, and Wei Hou was afraid and conspired with Princess Anle to poison him.
Subsequently, in order to seize power and regency, Empress Wei ordered Shangguan Wan'er to write a succession edict.
Shangguan Wan'er knew that Wei Hou's power and prestige could not be the same as Wu Zetian's, and in order to protect herself, she found Princess Taiping and drafted a will together. After consultation, three contents were written on the will: one was that Li Chongmao, the youngest son of Emperor Zhongzong, was made emperor; the second was the regent of Empress Dowager Wei; and the third was that Li Dan, the Prince of Xiang, was assisted by the government.
Shangguan Wan'er thought that in this way, she had not offended Wei Hou, but also expressed her loyalty to Li Tangzong's room, and whether Wei Hou gained power or Li Tangzong's room gained power, she would not be implicated by the other side.
This edict did not satisfy Wei Hou, so the henchman Wei Zhao revised the edict and changed Li Dan to a famous and powerless prince.
(Lee Long-ki stills)
Seeing that Wei Hou was about to gain power, Li Longji, the king of Linzi, and Princess Taiping of course did not agree, and they joined forces to launch the Tang Long coup and killed Wei Hou, Princess Anle, and a group of henchmen with great speed.
After Shangguan Wan'er learned that Wei Hou had been killed, in order to show her loyalty to Li Tangzong's room, she immediately led the palace people to welcome Li Longji and others into the palace, and at the same time showed the edict written to Li Longji's confidant Liu Youqiu, hoping that he could defend himself in front of Li Longji.
However, Li Longji said: "How can this adulterous and molested the palace be forgiven?" Today, if you don't blame it, you won't regret it. ”
In this way, Shangguan Wan'er, who had been under several rulers and had stood firm in the middle of the dynasty, died under Li Longji's sword.
So, why did Li Longji kill Shangguan Wan'er?
In fact, the secret is all in the will.
The will was to make Li Chongmao emperor. If Li Longji approved of the edict, then it would be Li Chongmao who would succeed him, and this was obviously contrary to his ambition to claim the title of emperor, so he had to kill Shangguan Wan'er to have a reasonable reason to support his father Li Dan as emperor, so that the throne could be justifiably passed to him.
In addition, because Li Longji had ambitions to become emperor, after joining forces with Princess Taiping to launch a coup d'état, the cooperation between the two people tended to end. In order to get the throne, he certainly did not want Princess Taiping, who was already entangled in the power of the DPRK and China, to have such a powerful helper as Shangguan Wan'er.
In addition, the ugly affairs of Shangguan Wan'er and Wei Hou's adulterous palace affairs were known to the whole world, and they simply disgraced the face of the Li Tang royal family. Moreover, the direct cause of Li Chongjun's death was also caused by Shangguan Wan'er.
Therefore, various factors intertwined, which eventually prompted Li Longji to execute Shangguan Wan'er.
(Reference historical materials: "New Book of Tang", "Old Book of Tang")