The Tang Dynasty is undoubtedly a period of history that makes the people of the country proud, and the world is accustomed to saying: The Tang Dynasty was founded three hundred years ago, but people familiar with the history of the Tang Dynasty know that Wu Zetian changed the Tang Dynasty to Great Zhou for more than ten years, and then in his later years, Wu Zetian returned to Li Tang. According to relevant historical records, Wu Zetian did offer to "return the government to Li Tang" and passed the throne to his son Li Xian.
However, in 705 AD, that is, the first month of the first year of the Shenlong Dynasty, there was also a palace coup that shook the government and the opposition, which was the "Shenlong Coup" recorded in the historical records. This coup was jointly initiated by clan forces such as Li Xian, Li Dan, and Princess Taiping, as well as ministers such as Zhang Kamzhi, and the main purpose was to make Wu Zetian give up power and pass the throne to Li Xian as soon as possible.
As a result, many people in later generations will have doubts in their hearts: In his later years, Wu Zetian explicitly said that he would "return the government to Li Tang and pass on the throne to Li Xian", so why did these people later launch a "Divine Dragon Coup" when Wu Zetian was seriously ill and bedridden? Isn't Li Xian's "superfluous move"? And what are the hidden secrets behind the "Shenlong Coup"?
First, the complicated political situation in Wu Zetian's later years
As we all know, Wu Zetian's lifelong struggle is legendary, from a talented person with no status in the harem, step by step to ascend to the empress throne, and change the dynasty, writing a period of his own profligacy, which is really admirable.
But people who are as strong as Wu Zetian will eventually have the day when they will grow old. It is undeniable that in the early days of Wu Zetian's reign as empress, she did a lot of things for the country and the people. Under her hard work, there were basically no major wars in the entire empire, and there was no situation in which the people did not have a good life. The lives of the people are also constantly improving. From a historical point of view, Wu Zetian also made many contributions to the development of the entire Chinese nation.
However, looking at the emperors who had made achievements in ancient times, in their later years, it was inevitable that there would be a situation of coveting pleasures and giving back to the government, and Wu Zetian was no exception. In his later years, in the imperial court, he somewhat spoiled his nephew Wu Sansi, so that the talentless and virtuous Wu Sansi gained a lot of power, which caused chaos in the government.
In the inner court, Wu Zetian also brought the "second brother surnamed Zhang" to the palace as a male favorite, doting on everything. In addition to allowing the Zhang brothers to enjoy their glory, they also let them also get involved in a lot of power. And many times, Wu Zetian's edicts, or recitals, are conveyed through the Zhang brothers. In this way, the Zhang brothers have become more arrogant and invincible.
Under such circumstances, in Wu Zetian's later years, the political balance of the entire imperial court was obviously broken. Li Xian, Li Dan and other members of the clan, as well as ministers such as Zhang Kamzhi, were very resentful of the Zhang brothers' behavior as regents and even arrogant behavior as male favorites. And after Wu Zetian came to power, the long-term suppression of the clan has not stopped. This greatly weakened the political power of the Lee clan.
When the crowd waited until Wu Zetian was old and frail and still said that he wanted to "return the government to Li Tang", they found that above the court, a large part of the power was in the hands of Wu Sansi, and the male favorite Zhang brothers, whose desire for power was inflated, were also constantly expanding their political power. In this case, the Lee clan and the ministers who supported them were bound to be very dissatisfied.
Looking at the political situation in Wu Zetian's later years, three political forces were formed, mainly wu sansi, the Zhang brothers, and the Li clan. Moreover, because Wu Zetian was more favored and close to the Zhang brothers and Wu Sansi, the political power of the Li clan became weaker and weaker.
Second, the political power of the people is at stake
In ancient Chinese feudal society, once this kind of thing is contaminated, it is often obsessive. In the later years of Wu Zetian's life, various political forces in the DPRK and China also saw the trend that this once powerful empress was about to complete her life. As a result, the stakes in power between the various political forces have become prominent. Under this stake, their contradictions gradually began to intensify.
At that time, the Zhang brothers colluded with Wu Sansi, a powerful minister above the court, to speak ill of the Li clan and other people in front of Wu Zetian, and also constantly suppressed and even used persecution methods against zhang Kamzhi and other ministers of the clan faction.
It is reasonable to say that the Li clan has been suppressed for a long time and seems to be accustomed to it, but the situation at that time was different from ever. After all, Wu Zetian's death and loss of power with his body were just around the corner. And the Li clan is also about to see the hope of regaining supreme power and restoring the "Li Tang Dynasty".
At this critical juncture, Wu Sansi and the Zhang brothers, the male favorites of the two factions, joined forces to suppress the Li clan, and the intention was obvious, that is, to prevent Wu Zetian from passing on the supreme power to Li Xian, so as to achieve the purpose of continuing to control the court.
In this case, in fact, if the Li clan wanted to successfully obtain imperial power, it was also very difficult, and they had to be wary of Wu Sansi and even the Zhang brothers to usurp the throne. Under such stakes, the Lee clan, as well as the ministers who supported them behind them, could only find ways to take risks and use special methods to change this dangerous political situation. And how will they act?
Third, the "Shenlong Coup" added insurance to "returning the government to Li Tang."
On February 20, 705, that is, the first month of the first year of the Shenlong Dynasty, the city of Luoyang, where Wu Zetian was located, suddenly became chaotic, and there was a soldier and horse led by Zhang Kamzhi and others. Through the wide streets, we came to the Xuanwu Gate outside the palace. Led by several generals, these soldiers and horses began to fight with the Xuanwu Gate guards. After a short period of effort, the team led by Zhang Kamzhi took control of xuanwu gate.
Then someone in the army shouted, "Hurry up and ask Prince Li Xian." Immediately afterward, some people in the group, riding fast horses, rushed from Xuanwu Gate to Li Xian's mansion. After a short while, the crowd gathered around Li Xian and came to the xuanwu gate.
At that time, after Zhang Kamzhi and others saw Li Xianlai coming to Xuanwu Gate, it seemed that the spirit of the generals was even more excited. Then the crowd shouted ,"Prince Li Xian has arrived," and surrounded Li Xian to the palace to kill. Li Xian, with these soldiers involved in the coup, first came to the palace where the Zhang brothers lived. At that time, the Zhang brothers were also disturbed by the fight at Xuanwu Gate.
But they did not expect that these coup soldiers would be the first to come to their dormitory. After the people saw the Zhang brothers in the palace, a general immediately stepped forward with a knife and cut off the head of the Zhang brothers without saying a word. Then these people carried the heads of the Zhang brothers and surrounded Li Xian to the palace where Wu Zetian lived.
At that time, Wu Zetian was nearly eighty years old, and she was still seriously ill, and she had been lying in bed for several days, and her body was also very weak. On that day, a group of coup soldiers and horses rushed to Wu Zetian's palace, which really frightened Wu Zetian. Although Wu Zetian was old and very weak, he looked at the soldiers holding swords in front of the bed, and seemed to understand in his heart that the palace had launched a coup d'état.
Wu Zetian was worthy of being an empress of a generation, and in the face of that situation at that time, she did not seem to panic at all, and after being helped to sit up by the maid, Wu Zetian began to question everyone, what happened in the palace? At that time, Zhang Kamzhi stood up and said: The Zhang brothers, who have caused chaos and maimed Zhongliang, have been beheaded.
Then he placed the head of the Zhang brothers in front of Wu Zetian. When Wu Zetian looked at the two male pets he once liked, he didn't seem to show any sadness at all. Instead, he said to Zhang Kamzhi and others: Since they have violated the law of the land, if they kill them, they will be killed. Then Wu Zetian said to the crowd, if there is nothing to do, you can leave the palace. At this time, Zhang Kamzhi said to Wu Zetian: His Majesty is seriously ill and cannot come to the affairs of the imperial court, so please let the crown prince Li Xian supervise the state administration. After Wu Zetian heard this sentence, he did not immediately reply.
Instead, he glanced at the generals of the coup. At this time, Wu Zetian found that there was a general among them, almost a military general cultivated by Wu Zetian, and Wu Zetian had been doubly gracious to both father and son. Therefore, Wu Zetian began to talk to the warrior general about the kindness of their family and other topics, and advised the warrior to leave the palace with the soldiers.
After Wu Zetian's words, the military general looked at Wu Zetian on the sickbed and seemed to be a little moved, and was also ready to leave the palace with his own people and horses. At this time, another general under Zhang Kamzhi immediately drew his sword and cut off the head of the general who was preparing to lead the troops to withdraw. After Wu Zetian saw this situation, he also immediately understood that Li Xianzhang and others had already made up their minds to seize power through a coup d'état. In the face of the soldiers in front of him who had already killed the red-eyed soldiers, Wu Zetian did not say anything more, but all agreed to the request of Zhang Kamzhi and others.
The day after the coup, Li Xian became a "supervisor of the state" and began to take charge of the government. Moreover, the five important people who participated in the coup d'état, including Zhang Kamzhi, were all crowned kings, and history called them "five kings", and the Shenlong coup was sometimes called the "five kings coup".
That winter, a generation of empresses Wu Zetian also completed the course of her life and was arranged to be buried with Li Zhi in Qianling. Li Xian also ascended the throne with that year, changed his name to The Great Tang, and used "Divine Dragon" as the era name. Therefore, the coup d'état that seized power from Wu Zetian was also called the "Shenlong Coup" by later generations.
IV. Conclusion
Judging from the purpose of the Shenlong coup and the results of the coup, Li Xian, who was surrounded by everyone, smoothly obtained imperial power from Wu Zetian through a coup d'état, and at the same time eliminated the political power of the Zhang brothers.
Judging from the political structure of the court at that time and the struggle between the forces of various factions, Li Xian, Zhang Kamzhi and others launched the Shenlong coup, which was not only not superfluous, but very necessary. If you do not directly obtain power through a coup d'état, waiting for Wu Zetian to return to the heavens and naturally pass the throne, there are great risks and uncertainties in it.