As we all know, after Wu Zetian usurped Tang as a zhou, he was particularly vigilant against the rebellion of the kings of the Tang dynasty, and as long as he found dissatisfaction, he would copy and behead without mercy. After she came to power, Tang Zong's noble relatives alone killed hundreds of people, and even the crown prince Li Xian and the two imperial grandsons were not spared.
However, for Li Longji, Wu Zetian's grandmother was particularly fond of him, and even praised him as the "Taiping Heavenly Son". Why did Wu Zetian love Li Longji so much and really want him to be the heir?
Wu Zetian's favor for Li Longji was a miracle
Among the many imperial grandchildren, Wu Zetian loved him the most. When he was less than a year and a half old, Wu Zetian held him on the tall building of the palace overlooking Luoyang, and without paying attention, the child fell to the ground, frightened and crying, and the people around him hurriedly picked him up to check if there was any injury. Who expected, Li Longji immediately broke into laughter, but he was unscathed, still naughty and lively. Wu Zetian was very surprised, and couldn't help but kiss his little face and gently embrace him into his arms.
Another time, Wu Zetian summoned the emperors and grandsons to sit on the palace, took out rare treasures for them to choose, and what they snatched belonged to them. At the sound of an order, only to see the children flocking up and grabbing a bunch of treasures one by one, only Li Longji sat there unmoved. Wu Zetian walked over in amazement, stroked his back, and said, "This is the Taiping Heavenly Son." So he ordered someone to take out the ancestral treasure Jade Dragon Zi and give it to him.
In the first year of Tianzhi (690), Wu Zetian officially became emperor, and Li Longji's father Li Dan was deposed from the throne. When he moved out of the palace, Li Longji visited his grandmother, but was stopped by the janissary Wu Yizong. Li Longji, who was only six years old, actually scolded loudly: "This is my family's court, what are you doing?" How dare they stop my retinue! Li Dan was terrified, who knew that Wu Zetian was not angry, but instead praised: "Worthy of being my grandson!" He also said to the people around him with joy: "This son's spirit should eventually be the taiping tianzi of my family." ”
Wu Zetian's love for Li Longji is both innocent and cunning
Li Longji's "extraordinary" behavior, Wu Zetian not only did not kill people and destroy his mouth, but on the contrary, he was particularly fond of him, which cannot but be said to be a miracle, is it true that Wu Zetian expected things to be like gods, and really wanted him to become emperor?
1. Wu Zetian has always loved talents and is not right about things
Being able to become a generation of empresses, Wu Zetian's heart can be described as broad-minded. When she was empress, after the chancellor Shangguan Yi seduced Li Zhi and deposed, she was executed by order of Wu Zetian, and the whole family was buried in the harem, and Shangguan Yi's granddaughter Shangguan Wan'er was among them. When Shangguan Wan'er grew up, because of her outstanding ability, Wu Zetian used her as his personal secretary, not afraid of her retaliation.
In the first year of Guangzhai (684), the famous Tang Dynasty poet Luo Binwang wrote the "Discussion of Wu Zetian" for Xu Jingye's crusade against Wu Zetian, because the article was logically clear and magnificent, and was known as the first text in the ages. After seeing the insult to himself, Wu Zetian not only did not blame him, but instead sighed: "There is such a talent, and it is not a coincidence that it has fallen into disgrace, and it is also the fault of the prime minister!" ”
These two things all show that Wu Zetian is a person who is not right about things and has the heart of loving talents, while Li Longji has both wisdom and wisdom, and his personality of not being afraid of heaven is more similar to Wu Zetian, so she has a good feeling in her heart and has a feeling of attraction of the same kind.
2. Li Longji's position at that time did not threaten Wu Zetian at all
Li Longji was young at the time and was not a threat to Wu Zetian at all, and this "illusion" actually came from Li Longji's father, Li Dan.
Li Dan had a cowardly personality, and when the emperor let his mother decide on current affairs, he had the emperor's false name. After Wu Zetian ascended the throne, Li Dan was expelled from the palace and imprisoned, but Wu Zetian still did not reassure him.
In the second year of his life (693), Wu Zetian's favorite concubine Wei Tuan'er falsely accused Li Dan's concubines Liu Shi and Dou Shi of cursing Wu Zetian with witchcraft. Wu Zetian secretly executed them and buried them in the palace, but Li Dan did not dare to mention the disappearance of the two concubines, acting in front of Wu Zetian as if nothing had happened.
The dead Dou Clan was Li Longji's biological mother, who was only a seven- or eight-year-old child at that time, which left an indelible shadow on his heart. Helplessly, at that time, he was weak, and his father Li Dan was also a secret birth, if it were not for the family slave An Jinzang's public dissection to show that Li Dan did not rebel, I am afraid that he would have been killed by Wu Zetian's cool official Lai Junchen.
3. Wu Zetian wanted to use Li Longji as a pawn, causing a split in Li Tang's clan
In addition to the above reasons, Wu Zetian's special favor for Li Longji also had considerations for balancing political forces.
Wu Zetian had a total of 4 sons, and later the eldest son Li Hong and the crown prince Li Xian died one after another, leaving only the third son Li Xian and the fourth son Li Dan. If you want to choose the heir of the royal family surnamed Li, it must be Li Xian, and it can also be seen from the later prime minister Di Renjie's suggestion that Li Xian be the crown prince.
Li Xian's competitiveness is stronger than Li Dan's.
However, Wu Zetian praised Li Dan's son Li Longji in every way, which made the two sons feel suspicious and caused a split in Li Tang's clan. Sure enough, Wu Zetian's trick was very useful, and after Li Xian ascended the throne, Empress Wei Shi was always uneasy about Li Longji, and also demoted him and let him be the driver of Luzhou. Wei Hou's actions were the result of Wu Zetian's deliberate actions.
epilogue
However, Wei Hou was secretive and eventually died at the hands of Li Longji, and even Princess Taiping, wu Zetian's own daughter, died at the hands of Li Longji. In the darkness, Wu Zetian hit the ending, but was this really what Wu Zetian expected? I'm afraid not! If Wu Zetian had expected things to be like gods, I am afraid that he would have dealt with Li Longji long ago. This is really not as good as heaven, everything is predestined!