In the first year of Xianqing, that is, in 656, Li Xian was born in Chang'an, initially created the King of Zhou, later changed his title to King of England, and died unexpectedly and suddenly at the age of fifty-five, and was buried in Dingling. Li Xian, the seventh son of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and the third son of Wu Zetian, reigned twice in his lifetime, ruling for a total of seven years. After his two elder brothers were deposed by his mother Wu Zetian, Li Xian had the opportunity to be crown prince.
Wu Zetian's place of origin is Wenshui County, Shanxi, because of his beautiful appearance, well-behaved personality, and cuteness, he is known as "Wu Mei". However, the little woman has great ambitions, and Wu Zetian is very good at playing with power. She was a talented person of Li Shimin, empress of Li Zhi, and the mother of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang and Emperor Ruizong of Tang. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Li Zhi, Wu Zetian assisted Emperor Gaozong in handling state affairs for thirty years.
After Emperor Gaozong's death, Wu Zetian deposed the thrones of his two sons one after another, proclaimed himself emperor, abolished the Tang state name, and changed it to "Zhou". After that, Wu Zetian became the only female emperor unprecedented in Chinese history. The period from 690 to 705 was the fifteenth year of Wu Zetian's reign, so much so that From auxiliary government to ruling, Wu Zetian was in power for nearly half a century.
It can be said that Wu Zetian played a key role in promoting the development of Datang. Her political achievements are very remarkable, just like Song Qingling's evaluation of her: "Wu Zetian was an outstanding female politician in the feudal period. ”
Then, why did Wu Zetian, after he became emperor, reactivate the deposed crown prince Li Xian?
It is said that since 660 AD, Emperor Gaozong of Tang felt unwell, often dizzy, dizzy, and unable to see clearly. After that, Wu Zetian was formally appointed to handle the government and give him decision-making power, and because of this, Wu Zetian and Emperor Gaozong of Tang were jointly known as the "Second Sage".
Wu Zetian's first son died young, so she made her second son Li Xian crown prince. Li Xian was not only talented, but also very prestigious among the ministers. However, his appearance made Wu Zetian feel deeply stressed, and she even believed that Li Xian was a stumbling block on her way to power. So, in 680, Wu Zetian sent people to frame Li Xian, not only deposing him as crown prince, but also sending people to execute him secretly shortly after.
After deposing Li Xian, Emperor Gaozong of Tang wanted to make his third son Li Xian crown prince, but Li Xian's talent and prestige were inferior to those of his brother. Therefore, for a long time, Wu Zetian could accept Li Xian's existence. In 683, Emperor Gaozong of Tang died, and Li Xian naturally succeeded to the throne, while Wu Zetian was enshrined as empress dowager. However, Li Xian was much weaker than his brother, and from the beginning of his reign, he had been at the mercy of his mother.
Because of this, Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian was proclaimed empress dowager, and he wanted to hold real power. Therefore, he appointed his father-in-law Wei Xuanzhen as the prime minister of the dynasty, which immediately caused wu Zetian's dissatisfaction. Wu Zetian immediately summoned his ministers to the Qianyuan Palace to discuss matters, and soon deposed Emperor Zhongzong of Tang as the King of Luling and put him under house arrest. In the end, Wu Zetian had no choice but to push his last son, Li Dan, to the throne, which was later Tang Ruizong.
Although Wu Zetian allowed Li Dan to ascend the throne, he did not give him any real power, and all major matters were still decided by himself, and since then, Li Dan has completely become a puppet emperor. After that, Wu Zetian's ambitions became even bigger and bigger, and she was not satisfied with being the regent empress. Earliest, in 690 AD, Wu Zetian officially ascended the throne, changed the name of the country to "Great Zhou", called himself "Emperor of the Holy Spirit", and changed Luoyang to the capital.
After Wu Zetian ascended the throne, he constantly consolidated his throne and power. However, for a time she began to worry about the heir, and since the establishment of the Great Week, she had used her nephews. Most of Wu Zetian's nephews were assigned to important positions, and Wu Chengsi even served as prime minister, truly controlling the power of the government. And if the minister has merit, he also records the benefits on the "Wu" surname, not on the "Li" surname. In addition, Wu Zetian also specially renamed his hometown "Wenshui County" to "Wuxing County".
Therefore, from the above indications, it is not difficult to see that Wu Zetian wants to pass the throne to people with the surname Of Wu.
Seeing the Wu clan's power in the DPRK and China caused the dissatisfaction of many ministers, and many people formally raised objections to Emperor Wu, which also made Wu Zetian very embarrassed. So, in such an environment, she told Di Renjie what she called a "parrot dream": she dreamed of a large parrot with both wings broken. Thus, I wanted to test Di Renjie's thoughts on the future heir of the Great Zhou.
Di Renjie's reply was that he hoped that Emperor Wu would appoint his own son as his heir. Di Renjie said, "Wu is Your Majesty's surname, and the two wings refer to the second son." His Majesty now only has the second son of King Luling and King Xiang, and as long as the second son is raised, the two wings can be lifted. ”
Di Renjie also explained: "If Your Majesty makes your nephew the crown prince, although it is possible to preserve the power of the Great Zhou, future generations will not enshrine you in the ancestral temple." Because, you are the daughter of the Wu clan, in feudal society, the daughter who marries out is equivalent to an outsider. After weighing it up, Wu Zetian decided to appoint his son Li Xian as crown prince.
If his son Li Xian succeeded to the throne smoothly, then he could still sit on the orthodox throne of the empress dowager, so that he could enjoy the worship of future generations with her husband Li Zhi of Tang Gaozong. Wu Zetian listened to Di Renjie's advice, and finally, in 698, he secretly took Li Xian back to Luoyang and made him crown prince again. She hid Li Xian behind the tent, and then summoned Di Renjie and said to Di Renjie, "Now I will return the crown prince to you." ”
By the first year of shenlong, that is, in 705, the 82-year-old Wu Zetian was seriously ill. In the first month, the chancellor Zhang Kamzhi, the right Yulin general Li Duozuo, the left Wei wei general Xue Sixing, and others launched a Shenlong coup, suddenly leading more than 500 Yulin troops to rush into Xuanwu Gate and kill Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong at the Yingxian Palace. On this day, Li Dan, the King of Xiang, also led the Forbidden Soldiers of the Southern Province to strengthen their guards and cooperate with the action. Wu Zetian was helpless, and the shilling prince supervised the country and passed the throne the next day.
The next day, Li Xian was reinstated as emperor and pardoned the world.
Resources:
[Zizhi Tongjian Tang Ji, New Book of Tang and Later Concubine Biography, New Book of Tang, Volume IV, Benji Iv]