One day in 698, Wu Zetian said to Di Renjie: "I dreamed of a big parrot, but both wings were broken. At that time, it was a sensitive period for establishing an heir, and Di Renjie had been working hard to restore Li Tangsheji, so Di Renjie said: "Wu is Your Majesty's surname, those two wings are like His Majesty's two sons, as long as you use two sons, you can fly into the sky!" ”
Wu Zetian was silent, but he already had the answer in his heart. Compared with his nephew Wu Chengsi, of course, he is still the closest to his son, since ancient times, where there were nephews who built a temple for their aunt, after all, Wu Zetian still restored Li Xian as the crown prince.
The appointment of Li Xian as crown prince shows that Wu Zetian already has plans to return the government to Li Tang.
Since Li Xian had already become the crown prince and would inherit the throne sooner or later if there were no accidents, why did the five ministers still risk killing their heads and coerce Li Xian into launching a Shenlong coup?
- Wu Zetian (624 – 16 December 705)
Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzongquan fell to the opposition and acted recklessly
The reason why Wu Zetian was able to become the only orthodox female emperor in history had a great relationship with her outstanding political skills. Before taking the throne, Wu Zetian struggled to drill the camp, win over the forces of all sides, and strengthen his own strength.
At the beginning of his reign, Wu Zetian exercised high-handed rule and used cool officials to severely suppress opposition forces. With the stabilization of the situation, Wu Zetian promoted some talented people, such as Wei Yuanzhong, Di Renjie and others, and it was these people of insight who put the empire back on track.
Wu Zetian has quite a political talent, she is shrewd and strong, quick thinking, and never procrastinates in doing things, but people are not machines after all, and the day when they will eventually be old cannot be avoided, and the elderly Wu Zetian has also slipped from the peak to the trough.
Pictured_ Wu Zetian and the Maid Mural
Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong are Wu Zetian's favorite two male pets, generally speaking, women are the serious red face disaster, but Wu Zetian's two male pets are not fuel-saving lamps.
Historical records
"Yi Zhi and Chang Zongjing won with luxury. Di Changyi is the Luoyang Order, please subordinate to all. ”
Gaining the favor of Wu Zetian, Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong were out of control, competing to compete for wealth and nobility, and even more misbehaving in the imperial court, and for a time the imperial court was full of smoke and miasma. Zhang Changzong had a younger brother named Zhang Changyi, who held the power of his elder brother, and as long as someone bribed him, he would accept all the orders and those who came would not refuse.
Figure_ Tang Dynasty official
Once, a candidate official surnamed Xue found Zhang Changyi and bought an official position with fifty taels of gold. After that, Zhang Changyi handed over the appointment document to Zhang Xi, the heavenly official attendant, and Zhang Xi was careless and lost the appointment document. Zhang Changyi knew about it and scolded Zhang Xi, but Zhang Changyi had long forgotten the name of the person who had bribed him, so he asked Zhang Xi to give the surname Xue all the officials.
Zhang Changyi's move is really ironic, and we can also see from this how powerful Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong are. Wu Zetian is getting older and older, his health is not as good as before, many government affairs have been handed over to Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, if Zhang Yizhi is only a male favorite and does not give power, they will not make much trouble, but once they are delegated, the nature of the matter will change.
For a time, Zhang Yizhi's brothers fell to the opposition, and even framed Wei Yuanzhong, the prime minister of the dynasty, but fortunately, Wei Yuanzhong was loyal and upright, and he escaped the disaster.
With the development of the situation, Zhang Yizhi's brothers have become a stubborn disease of the empire, and if they do not undergo surgery again, the consequences are unpredictable.
Therefore, Zhang Kamzhi, Cui Xuanhe, Jinghui, Huan Yanfan, and Yuan Shuji decided to kill Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong through a coup d'état, of course, this is only one of the reasons for the coup d'état.
Huan Yanfan (653–706), courtesy name Shize, was a native of Qu'a County, Runzhou (present-day Danyang, Jiangsu Province).
Wu Zetian was old and dim
People will die and their words are good, people will become sluggish in their actions, and their work will become dull, and their work will become dim, and from ancient times to the present, even the most outstanding emperors will inevitably have problems in their old age, such as Liu Che of the Han Wu Emperor and Li Longji of Xuanzong.
"Empress Dowager Chunqiu Gao, brother of Zhang Yizhi, who has many political affairs"
Wu Zetian's desire for power was extremely strong, and since she entered the palace for the second time, she had never stopped her pursuit of power until he was old and physically weak. Wu Zetian, whose face was full of wrinkles and described as withered, no longer had the energy and courage he had before, and he gave power to the two male pets.
Although Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong were so bad that they had no so-called political minds, it was relatively easy to deal with them, while Wu Ze was old and gave the five ministers the opportunity to stage a coup. When you are sick and want your life, when the enemy is weak and we are strong, it is the best time to launch a coup d'état.
Moreover, if Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong were indulged, once Wu Zetian died suddenly, then the power might fall directly into the hands of Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong
If that were the case, it would be very dangerous. If some last will and testament were to be sent out from the palace and so-and-so would be appointed as emperor, then Zhang Kamzhi and the other five ministers would have the heart to die.
The elderly Wu Zetian was no longer suitable to be emperor and should be eliminated, while Li Xian's succession to the throne was reasonable and legal and must be supported.
Picture_ Wu Zetian Meng Hanliang seal carving
The five ministers feared that the transition to power would not be smooth
Wu Zetian had four sons, the death of the eldest son Li Hong, and the second son Li Xian, all of which were directly related to Wu Zetian, so why could Li Xian and Li Dan escape the disaster? That's because Li Xian and Li Dan know how to be a person with their tails between their legs, this strong mother is not so easy to provoke, those who go along with her may not be prosperous, and those who oppose her will die.
King Chongrun of Shao and his sister Yongtai Commandery and son-in-law Wu Yanji of Wei secretly discussed the matter. Yi Zhi sued the Empress Dowager, September, Nongshen, and the Empress Dowager all forced them to commit suicide. ”
Although Li Xian was made crown prince, his position was not so stable. The elderly Wu Zetian delegated a lot of power to Zhang Yizhi's brothers. Once, Li Chongrun, the Prince of Shao, the Lord of Yongtai County, and her husband Wu Yanji discussed the affairs of the imperial court privately, which may involve the elderly Wu Zetian and Zhang Yizhi's brothers.
When Zhang Yizhi learned of this, he reported it to Wu Zetian, who was furious and forced the three men to commit suicide. Li Chongrun was Li Xian's son, and the lord of Yongtai County was Li Xian's daughter, and this killing of chickens and monkeys frightened Li Xian. Thus
Li Xian's position as crown prince could be deposed at any time, and Wu Zetian could change his mind at any time, and once this happened, the great cause of Supporting Li Tang could be in vain.
As loyal supporters of Li Tang, the five ministers saw one scene after another of the imperial court, the knife had been put on the neck, and if they did not react again, they might really become political victims.
Pictured_ Zhang Kam's Monument
The five ministers are also thinking about their future
Seeing that crown prince Li Xian was in danger, the courtiers began to consider their future. If the imperial court did not commit adultery, Li Xian's throne should have been preserved, but this was not the case, if Li Xian was deposed, then these ministers would inevitably be affected by Chiyu, so under Zhang Kamzhi's proposal, the five ministers made up their minds to seize power in the most concise way.
"The empress dowager was in the Yingxian Palace, and the Khmer rouge and others, Changzong Yu, entered the Hall of Eternal Life where the empress dowager was sleeping, and surrounded the guards."
Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong were directly killed, and Wu Zetian's imperial power was taken away and he was placed under house arrest in the palace. The five ministers supported Li Xian as emperor and made great contributions, and all of them were made the king of the county.
The five ministers may really take it as their duty to support Li Tang, but they also have selfish intentions, for their own career, in order to keep rich and noble forever, they are willing to take this risk to fight and kill.
The Shenlong coup d'état killed the traitors of the imperial court, and also ended Wu Zetian's political career, and since then the Li Tang Dynasty has gradually returned to the right track, for which the five ministers have contributed indispensably!
author:
Nine Fish Pavilion
Correction/Editing:
Lilith
References: Zizhi Tongjian Vol. 206, Zizhi Tongjian Vol. 207
The text was created by the History University Hall team, and the picture originated from the Internet and the copyright belongs to the original author