Wu Zetian was the first and last female emperor of China. At the age of 76, Wu Zetian got the younger and beautiful brothers Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi. Just as the so-called pear blossom presses the begonia, the three people spend the day drinking and chanting poems against each other, such a grandchild love, it is really amazing.
As an indispensable empress, Wu Zetian was not without troubles. Since she ascended the throne, she has been wondering who will pass the throne to. Whether it was his own son Li Xian, or his nephew Wu Sansi.
Regarding Wu Zetian's troubles, Di Renjie once told her a truth that even the old ladies in the countryside understood, and the Zizhi Tongjian recorded:
"Aunt and nephew and mother and son?" His Majesty lizi, after a thousand years of age, with food taimiao, inherit infinity; nephew, then unheard of the nephew for the son of heaven and the temple also. ”
The simple translation is, is it the aunt and nephew, or the mother and son? Your Majesty has made his son crown prince, and after a long time, you can still enjoy the temple and enjoy the incense of the world; if you make your nephew a prince, I have never heard of anyone who will sacrifice his aunt in the family temple.
From the perspective of the customs of the time and even in modern times, Di Renjie's statement is very appropriate. When worshipping ancestors, how many nephews will worship their aunts for a long time? Listening to Di Renjie's words, Wu Zetian pondered for a long time, and finally took Li Xian from Luling back to Chang'an and restored him as crown prince.
So Wu Zetian really didn't know the truth that "sons are closer than nephews"? The answer is no. In fact, from the very beginning, Wu Zetian wanted to return the throne to the Li clan, but he did not know how to return it. If the Li clan is established in a hurry, Li Xian, Li Dan, Princess Taiping and others will definitely counterattack the Wu clan.
During the Western Han Dynasty, Lü Hou had just died, and the once-prominent Lü clan was slaughtered in the counterattack of the Liu clan and the Gongchen clique. With the lessons of the past, Wu Zetian naturally did not want his mother's family to follow in the footsteps of the Lü family. Therefore, Wu Zetiancai occasionally revealed the idea of establishing Wu Clan as the crown prince. But she knew very well that if the Wu clan was in power, her sons and daughters would definitely not have a good end.
After Wu Zetian restored the Li clan, he had no choice but to use a method that was not a solution. First of all, Wu Zetian married Li and Wu to each other, Princess Taiping married Wu Youji, Li Xian's daughter Princess Anle married Wu Yanxiu after descending to Wu Chongxun, The Lord of Yongtai County married Wu Yanji, and the Lord of Xindu County married Wu Yanhui.
At the same time, Wu Zetian also asked Li Xian, Li Rui, Princess Taiping, Wu Youji, and others to swear to heaven in the Ming Hall and hide the iron coupon of the inscription "Li Wu shall not kill each other" in the history museum. Through marriage and oath to heaven, it is to make Li Wu's two families merge into one.
However, marriage can be divorced, and vows are broken. The so-called "Li-Wu alliance" is only a product of Wu Zetian's hard work, and it is not reliable at all. If there is no better way, the two families will have to merge sooner or later. Whether it was the extinction of the Li clan or the extinction of the Wu clan, it was something that Wu Zetian could not bear.
Therefore, Wu Zetian, the master of power plotting, came up with a peculiar method to take in male pets. In 697, the handsome man Zhang Changzong was favored by Princess Taiping. Later, Princess Taiping introduced Zhang Changzong to her mother. The 76-year-old Wu Zetian really had a good feeling for Zhang Changzong and arranged him by his side. Later, Zhang Changzong told Wu Zetian that his brother Zhang Yizhi was far superior to him in appearance and talent. So Wu Zetian summoned Zhang Yizhi to his side, and Erzhang accompanied Wu Zetian through a happy old age.
So, what are Wu Zetian and the Zhang brothers doing every day? Tao Tao believes that Wu Zetian, as a 76-year-old woman, should have lost interest in the affairs of men and women long ago. Therefore, Wu Zetian just liked the youth and vitality of the Zhang brothers. Whenever Wu Zetian feasted and gathered, then Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong waited together, gambling with dice to get pleasure, sometimes laughing and slandering the Gonghou Qingxiang, making Wu Zetian unhappy and rewarding countless money and cloth.
In addition, Wu Zetian not only gave the Zhang brothers a lot of money, but also gave them power. According to the Zizhi Tongjian, Wu Zetian changed the Zhang brothers' control of the Crane Mansion to Fengchen Mansion, which was specifically responsible for revising the book. Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong were thus made dukes by Jin. In this way, the Zhang brothers, with the acquiescence of Wu Zetian, set up a museum to recruit literati in order to form a new political group.
With the support of Wu Zetian, the Zhang brothers seized the power that originally belonged to the Li and Wu clans. The elderly and frail Wu Zetian used the Li brothers to control the government and contain the Li Wu clique.
Due to the growing power of the Zhang brothers, both the Li and Wu clans were very dissatisfied. According to the Zizhi Tongjian:
Emperor Zhongzong was the crown prince, and the crown prince Shao Wang Chongrun, the King of Wei, and his female brother Yongtai Commandery secretly talked about the dictatorship of Erzhang. Yi Zhi sued Zetian, and the prince fu asked himself to dispose of it, and the prince hanged himself. ”
It turned out that Li Xian's son Li Chongrun, his daughter Yongtai Commandery and the Wei king Wu Yanji conspired to oppose the dictatorship of Erzhang, and as a result, after the matter was leaked, Zhang Yizhi complained to Wu Zetian about the three of them. It is said that Li Chongrun and Yongtai County were the grandsons of Wu Zetian, and Wu Yanji was a nephew. No matter how you look at it, Wu Zetian will stand by the side of his relatives.
However, Wu Zetian was really a very person, and in the dispute, he favored the Erzhang brothers and executed Li Chongrun, Yongtai Junjun, and Wu Yanji. (According to the epitaph and bone fragments of Yongtai County, she may have died due to difficult childbirth)
As a politician, Wu Zetian's first concern is his own power. Although Li Chongrun, Yongtai Junjun and Wu Yanji were close relatives, they dared to oppose the Zhang brothers, whom they regarded as their right and left arms. Obviously, they were committing crimes against Wu Zetian's power. Therefore, Wu Zetian disregarded his family affection and killed them.
In addition, from a deep point of view, Wu Zetian is actually doing this to save his mother's family and promote the unity of the Li and Wu clans. This is because the best way to unite two hostile forces is to create a common enemy. The emergence of the Erzhang forces threatened the interests of the two families, and the contradictions within Li Wu's ruling clique must be temporarily reconciled, and they would divide the power and turn to jointly deal with the Zhang brothers after achieving a new balance.
In addition, the "second zhang" entering the stage of political history as an abnormal identity will certainly attract all kinds of criticism and hostility. The courtiers would also temporarily abandon their hostility to the Wu clique and turn to the Zhang brothers.
In 705, 8 years after Wu Zetian met the Zhang brothers. Zhang Kamzhi and others launched the Shenlong Revolution, killing Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, and at the same time ousting Wu Zetian from power and making Li Xian emperor. In fact, the reason why Zhang Kamzhi and others were able to succeed was inseparable from the acquiescence and help of Li Xian, Wu Sansi and others.
After Li Xian's restoration, Zhang Kamzhi and others threatened: "Lü Lu and Lü Chan are still here!" In fact, it is implied that Li Xian will kill Wu Sansi and others together and completely eliminate the Wu clique. But what was surprising was that Li Xian not only did not kill Wu Sansi and the others, but entrusted them with heavy responsibilities. Although Wu Zetian stepped down and died, the "Li-Wu Alliance" she advocated remained. On the contrary, Zhang Kamzhi and others who launched the Shenlong Revolution were successively demoted and died in exile.
After Wu Zetian's death, the Wu clique still shared power with the Li clan and happily became the prince. Even if they eventually disappear from the stage of history, they will avoid being swept away like Lu Shi.
Wu Zetian used the Zhang brothers to serve him, used them to control the government, and finally turned them into sacrifices for the realization of the alliance of Li and Wu. Two male pets died, what a pity? I have to say that her 8-year layout is really a chess game, worthy of being the only female emperor in China.