In the long history of ancient China, the Tang Dynasty is undoubtedly a dynasty full of legends. During this period, the political struggle of the court was fierce, and the struggle for power and intrigue arose one after another. Among them, the grudge entanglement between Concubine Xiao Shufei and Wu Zetian has become a microcosm of the political struggle in the palace. This article will delve into the tragic fate of Concubine Xiao Shu offending Wu Zetian, her and her children, in order to restore the historical truth and reveal the cruelty of the palace struggle.
Concubine Xiao Shu
Concubine Xiao Shu, a native of Nanlanling County (now Wujin District, Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province), was the concubine of Li Zhi of Tang Gaozong. When she was young, she married the crown prince Li Zhi, and was named Liangdi, and she was deeply loved. After Tang Gaozong ascended the throne, she was promoted to the rank of concubine and successively gave birth to Princess Li Xiayu of Yiyang, King Xu Li Sujie and Princess Xuancheng. However, this once beautiful concubine finally suffered a tragic fate because she offended Wu Zetian.
Entangled with Wu Zetian's grievances
Concubine Xiao Shufei and Empress Wang competed for favor, and both tried to show their charm in front of Tang Gaozong. At first, Queen Wang had no sons, while Concubine Xiao Shu was more favored, which made Queen Wang jealous of Concubine Xiao Shu. "Zizhi Tongjian" said: "At the beginning, the queen had no children, Concubine Xiao Shu was favored, and the queen was ill. "In the face of this unfavorable situation, Empress Wang intends to weaken Concubine Xiao Shufei's position through strategic means," (Later) Yin ordered the Wu family to grow her hair and persuaded her to go to the inner harem, wanting to be the favor of Concubine Shu. In order to bring down Concubine Xiao Shu, Queen Wang secretly asked Wu Zetian to keep her hair, and persuaded Gaozong to enter the palace with Wu Zetian. This move not only failed to achieve the queen's goal, but instead made Wu Zetian a new force in the palace struggle.
After Wu Zetian entered the palace, he quickly won the favor of Gaozong. She was good at observing the situation in the court, and she had a heart-to-heart relationship with the palace people, and the rewards she received were also shared with them. The "New Tang Dynasty Book" recorded: "Zhaoyi will be paid for after serving the queen, and it will be given, and it will be divided." From what the queen and the concubine did, they must be heard, but they are not in the middle. Therefore, Wu Zetian must know every move of Empress Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu, and report them to Tang Gaozong. This made Concubine Xiao's position in the court gradually shaken.
The abolition and death of Concubine Xiao
In the sixth year of Yonghui (655), Tang Gaozong issued an edict saying: "Queen Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu plotted to commit poison, abolished as concubines, and their mothers and brothers were removed from their names and exiled to Lingnan." This edict marked the end of Xiao Shufei's political career.
After sending Queen Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu into the cold palace, Li Zhi once went to see the two of them once because of his thoughts, "taste them, and go to their places from time to time". This meeting, naturally, can't escape Wu Zetian's ears and eyes. And because of this meeting, the lives of the two concubines entered the countdown.
"Zizhi Tongjian" recorded: "When Empress Wu heard this, she was furious, and sent 100 canes to Wang and 100 Xiao, cut off their hands and feet, and caught the wine in the middle, saying: "Make the second concubine drunk!" This cruel punishment is shocking. At the time of the execution, "Concubine Shu scolded and said: 'Ah Wu is cunning, even this!, may he give birth to me as a cat, Ah Wu as a mouse, and choke his throat alive.' ’ ”
Since then, "no cats are raised in the palace", and cats are not allowed in the Tang Palace. "Empress Wu saw Wang and Xiao as troubled, and they were bleeding as if they were dead. After migrating to Penglai Palace, he saw it again, so he was mostly in Luoyang, and he did not return to Chang'an for life. ”
The tragic fate of Concubine Xiao's children
In addition to the tragic fate suffered by Concubine Xiao herself, her children were not spared. "Concubine Xiao Yiyang, Princess Xuancheng Youye Court, don't marry in their forties." Princess Yiyang Li Xiayu, as the first child of Concubine Xiao Shufei and the eldest daughter of Tang Gaozong, was imprisoned in Yeting Palace after her mother lost power. In the second year of Xianheng (671), she married Yijun Quan Yi. However, in the second year of Wu Zhou Tianzhu (691), Quan Yi was killed for being framed for rebellion, and Princess Yiyang also died of depression after Quan Yi's death.
As for Princess Xuancheng. The history books do not contain detailed accounts of her, but it is conceivable that after the misfortune of her mother and brother, her life must have been full of hardships and hardships.
Xu Wang Li Sujie is another son of Concubine Xiao Shu, he is smart and studious, and he is deeply favored by his father Tang Gaozong. However, after his mother's misfortune, his fortunes also changed drastically. Li Sujie was demoted to the post of Shenzhou Assassin History, and later in the first year of "Zaichu, Wu Chenghei made the cool official Zhou Xing falsely accuse Shangjin and Sujie of rebellion, summoned to the capital, and tied to the Imperial History Terrace. "He was killed by Wu Zetian in Longmen Station. His death was tragic and unbearable to read. Not only that, but Li Sujie's sons were not spared. "When Su Jie was killed, Ziying, Wan, Ji, Yi and other nine people were killed by Zetian, but Shao Zilin, Xuan, Xuan, and Qin Gu were young and ordered to ban Leizhou for a long time." The older son was killed, and the younger son was also sent to Leizhou.
It is worth mentioning that Concubine Xiao's clansmen were also punished by exile in Lingnan after she lost power. Later, Liangdi was killed by the military queen, and changed his surname to "python", and Liangdi was "owl". The Wang clan was posthumously changed their surname to "python", and the Xiao clan was posthumously changed their surname to "Xiao". This kind of punishment of the family is undoubtedly a severe blow to Concubine Xiao Shu for offending Wu Zetian.