Preface
A woman, from entering the palace to serve in the palace from the cold gate to ascending the throne and becoming the emperor, lasted more than 30 years, and it was a victory in the power game step by step. She is - Wu Zetian.
But even if he fought hard to win the throne, Wu Zetian still gave up power in the end and returned it to the Li Tang Dynasty. Is there something else going on here?
Born in the market, Wu Zetian worked every step of the way
Wu Zetian was born in the eighth year of Taizong Zhenguan of Li Tang Dynasty, his real name is Wu Meiniang, and he was born in the grass people. At the age of fifteen, he was fortunate to be honored by Taizong of Tang and gave birth to a daughter, who was later Zhongzong Li Xian. A woman from a poor family, with her outstanding appearance and intelligence, was favored into the palace. However, the internal struggle in the palace is complicated, and Wu Meiniang must always be cautious in her words and deeds.
The Li Tang Dynasty was still in frequent civil strife, and after the death of Taizong, Wu Zetian relied on his wit and intelligence to repeatedly save the day. She first helped Gaozong Li Zhi seize power, suppressed the prince Li Jiancheng's brothers, and then teamed up with Gaozong to kill Zhang Gong and murder the crown prince Li Xian.
Fighting step by step, Wu Zetian finally helped his sweetheart Gaozong to the throne. And she herself is also in this change of power, gradually paving the way for herself to claim the throne in the future.
Waiting for the opportunity to kill, Wu Zetian's power leaned towards the government and the opposition
But even in a high position, Wu Zetian's position is not stable. She still remembers that the Li Jiancheng brothers also had peace of mind, but they still died. Today's red face, who knows the wind and rain in the future?
So Wu Zetian was thinking about the next step in the game of power all the time. When the opportunity comes, she will seize it. The opportunity was not long in coming. Gojong suffered a stroke and was paralyzed in bed. The crown prince Li Xian is expected to succeed to the throne. Wu Zetian immediately took action, took the opportunity to be regent, deposed the crown prince Li Xian, and tampered with Gaozong's edict.
Whether it is a prince or an emperor, power will never easily give up control. Wu Zetian is well aware of this. In this way, the power is firmly in her hands. Fourteen years later, Wu Zetian finally proclaimed himself emperor and established the Wu Zhou regime. Became the first female emperor in Chinese history.
Fight for power, but can't inherit Wu Zhou
However, in Wu Zetian's later years, she was torn between the two choices - whether to pass the throne to her nephew Wu Sansi or her own son Li Xian? This time, Wu Zetian's power game failed. She was unable to find a perfect heir to the Wu Zhou dynasty she had established.
Wu Zetian has two candidates to pass on the throne, the first is his biological son Li Xian. Li Xian was Wu Zetian's benefactor who helped Gaozong seize power, and he was eligible to inherit the throne. But because Wu Zetian deposed him as the crown prince back then, a knot was formed between mother and son.
Another candidate is his nephew Wu Sansi. Wu Zetian has always valued him and wants him to inherit the unification. However, Wu Sansi's qualifications were mediocre and difficult to handle the burden of imperial power.
As in the Game of Thrones, heirs need to be chosen carefully. The wrong choice of an heir is enough to destroy the dynasty established by the blood feud of the predecessors. It seems that Wu Zetian is clumsy this time, no matter how she chooses, it is difficult to satisfy her.
All kinds of signs show that Wu Zhou is difficult to last
In fact, in the various signs of Wu Zetian's later years, the crisis of the Wu Zhou Dynasty has long been faintly revealed. This made the empress, who had been in power for many years, inevitably feel worried. For example, those descendants of the martial arts family who relied on Wu Zetian to start up. Not only do they not know how to cherish the shade, but they also frequently cause scandals.
Among them, Wu Zetian's grandson actually committed adultery with his elderly and frail grandmother. This is tantamount to an insult to Wu Zetian. There is also a son of a martial artist who forcibly seized the maid of his cousin Princess Taiping. The members of the royal family are actually for such dirty things. These scandals are tantamount to pouring dirty water on Wu Zetian's face, which greatly undermines her trust in the descendants of the Wu family. Only then did she realize that she was working hard, but these martial artists didn't know what to do at all.
What's more serious is that the wind of thinking about Li Tang was prevalent at that time. The people miss the peaceful and prosperous times of the past and hope that the Li Tang Dynasty will return to the country. Under the double blow of Wu Zetian's dogmatic ruling and the mediocre descendants of the martial arts, the people's hearts gradually favored Li Tang. Under the slogan of "opposing the armed forces and recovering the Tang Dynasty," the rebel armies broke out one after another.
These signs all indicate the crisis of the Wu Zhou Dynasty. It seems that the foundation of this country is not strong, and it can be overthrown at any time. Wu Zetian gradually recognized the reality in his heart: the Wu family is impossible to pass on the throne. Otherwise, the Wu Zhou Dynasty would soon fall apart.
Di Renjie woke up the wrong way, and Wu Zetian decided to return to Li Tang
Fighting for power and profit, Wu Zetian has been winning many battles, and his power is tilted towards the government and the opposition. But this time, she went astray on the issue of choosing an inheritor. Fortunately, the important minister Di Renjie woke up in time. He grasped Wu Zetian's weakness at that time, and persuaded from the perspective of family affection and sacrifice.
As soon as Di Renjie's words came out, Wu Zetian suddenly became enlightened. She recognized the reality and realized that Li Xian was the best candidate. This not only reflects the affection between mother and son, but also ensures that Wu Zetian is behind him. When the time comes, Wu Zetian can also appear as the queen - this is a great honor for a woman.
Only the Li dynasty can always cherish and honor her, the empress who has made great contributions. Wu Zetian decided to return to Li Tang and pass on the throne to his own son Li Xian. It was undoubtedly one of the wisest choices of her political career. Even if the power has been in power for many years, she knows that the will of heaven is difficult to disobey.
In 705, under the persuasion of important ministers, Wu Zetian officially announced his abdication to Li Xian. Wu Zhou was destroyed, and Li Tang was restored, which opened the prelude to the Anshi Rebellion. Hundreds of civil and military officials secretly rejoiced, and celebration banquets were held again and again. They all seem to be secretly rejoicing: the dark days of the Wu clan have finally passed!
At the age of 82, Wu Zetian's legendary life also came to an end. As the founder of the Wuzhou Dynasty, she did not have the country she worked hard to build for a long time.
However, at the moment when the crane went west, perhaps this wise empress felt a trace of relief in her heart. It turned out that even after experiencing internal and external troubles, she still won the last dignity for herself.
After her death, she was buried with her husband Li Zhi in Qianling. Wu Zetian was posthumously called "the Holy Empress of Zetianshun", and was able to leave a name as the queen forever in history. After all, the short-lived position of the empress is not as good as the queen's eternal status after all, which makes her feel more at ease.
epilogue
The end of the Wu Zhou Dynasty is like the curtain call of history, marking the end of an era. In the last stage of her life, Wu Zetian chose to return the power to Li Tang, which not only solved the problem of sacrifice after her death, but also to preserve the last dignity and ensure that she could be respected and remembered by the descendants of the Li family.
At this historical juncture, Wu Zetian may have seen through the vanity of power and glory in his heart. She decided to use this move to return the transition of power to the Li Tang family, successfully ending the rule of the Wu Zhou Dynasty. This choice is not only a kind of political wisdom, but also reflects Wu Zetian's thoughtful consideration of personal affairs.
The return of Wu Zetian's regime is not only a conformity to the historical process, but also a contribution to the country's long-term peace and stability. Through this decision, she drew a relatively peaceful end to her old age, so that the transition of power during the Wu and Zhou periods could be carried out relatively smoothly.