"She is the only female emperor of China, why is she trembling with excitement after pampering her male pet for the first time" This topic has attracted widespread attention and heated discussions. As the only female emperor in Chinese history, Wu Zetian's words and deeds have been controversial and questioned. When she pampered a male pet for the first time, she was so excited that she trembled, which made people can't help but have many questions. As a generation of empresses, why is she so gaffe? Is it out of love or something else? How did she step by step to the throne and finally become the heroine who monopolized power? What did she do during her reign to put history in the spotlight? What's the story behind this? Let's find out and unravel this historical mystery.
The family background is rough and the fate is uncertain
Speaking of Wu Zetian's life experience, it is really a sigh. She was born in a merchant family, and although her family was not too bad, she was not wealthy. The most terrible thing is that when she was young, her father died young, and she lived a poor but bright life with her mother.
At that time, the social atmosphere and the idea of patriarchy were deeply rooted, especially in small families such as the samurai. As a girl, her status in the family is naturally the lowest. Although the samurai family also has some gate valves in the local area, once the family fortune plummets, the dignity of this gate valve will be gone.
Although Wu Zetian's mother is in charge of housework, after all, the woman is talentless and it is difficult to support the entire family. In order to support their families, the mother and daughter often have to look at other people's faces. Sometimes I go to other people's houses to help, and sometimes I do some rough work to make money, and life is naturally very difficult.
Although her family is poor, Wu Zetian has been smart since she was a child, and she was born with a stunning appearance, which makes her the icing on the cake in this environment. There are many children of scholarly families in the local area, and when they see her, they all praise the beautiful woman who came out of Huaiyang.
However, this stunning face also brought a lot of disasters to Wu Zetian. Some local gentlemen who are angry and have nothing to do seriously, when they see her beauty, they often follow and harass her, causing trouble. On several occasions, Wu Zetian was almost subjected to unbearable things, and her mother had to move to escape.
Spoil the prince and know that he has returned
Although Wu Zetian's family is poor, her extraordinary beauty is widely praised. At that time, between the government and the opposition, there was a good family affair for Wu Zetian, a peerless beauty. The hard work paid off, and finally a eunuch mentioned her name, saying that she was beautiful and could enter the palace to serve the emperor.
The news soon reached the ears of the emperor of the dynasty, Li Shimin. As the founder of the country, Li Shimin himself is over half a hundred years old, but he is still eager for beauty. As soon as he heard that Wu Zetian was so standard, he immediately ordered someone to summon her into the harem.
When Wu Zetian learned of this God-given opportunity, he was naturally grateful. No matter how poor she is, she is also a well-connected family, and when she enters the harem, she has a way to get ahead. So, she said goodbye to her mother, washed and dressed up, and was led into the Forbidden City by the eunuch.
As soon as he entered the palace, Wu Zetian's peerless face shocked the entire harem. At that time, there were not a few resentful women in the harem, and when they saw Wu Zetian's beauty, they were secretly jealous, for fear that this newcomer would snatch the emperor's favor.
Sure enough, after Li Shimin saw Wu Zetian, he was full of praise for her. At that time, Wu Zetian was still young, his skin was better than snow, and he had a beautiful woman in the first generation. Seeing this, Li Shimin immediately included her in the harem and gave her the nickname "Wu Meiniang".
In this way, Wu Meiniang's status in the harem has also risen. Although she was young but intelligent, she soon struck while the iron was hot, worshipped Li Shimin as a teacher, and learned piano, chess, calligraphy and painting and other boudoir arts, in order to win more favor from the emperor.
Every time she met Li Shimin appreciating poetry, Wu Meiniang could answer fluently, leaving a good impression on the emperor. In this way, her fame became louder and louder, and she became one of the best beauties in the harem.
However, the good times did not last long, but Wu Meiniang completely lost Li Shimin's favor in one thing. That was one time, Li Shimin was strong in riding when he was playing horses, and Wu Meiniang watched from the sidelines, and couldn't help but applaud again and again.
Who knows, this kind compliment made Li Shimin very annoyed. He believes that Wu Meiniang, as a woman, has lost her duty as a gentle and virtuous woman in her daughter's family. Since then, he has been cold to Wu Meiniang, and gradually has no intention of fighting.
Instigated a coup d'état and abolished a new dynasty
Not long after Wu Meiniang was snubbed by Li Shimin, the crown prince Li Zhi formed an indissoluble bond with her. Since the two met, they have secretly had feelings, you and me, but I don't know if it is deeper.
At that time, Li Shimin was getting old and his health was deteriorating, and the power of the government gradually fell into the hands of Li Zhi. As the prince, Li Zhi has his own ambition to rule the world. And Wu Meiniang, the concubine, has just become a big thorn in his heart.
Although Li Zhi has some pity for Wu Meiniang, he is more sympathetic. In his opinion, Wu Meiniang is not a thing in the pool, she is resourceful, which is exactly what he wants, and can assist him in taking charge of the government in the future. So, Li Zhi tried his best to suppress Wu Meiniang, hoping that she could save herself.
Wu Meiniang naturally saw Li Zhi's intentions, so she had a nightly whisper with him. It's just that Li Shimin is still there right now, and she doesn't dare to make a mistake, so she has to secretly send Qiu Bo and express her feelings with her eyes. Until one day, Li Shimin died, and the crown prince Li Zhi finally officially succeeded to the throne, and Wu Meiniang's future was also raised.
When the new emperor ascended the throne, he naturally had to choose a concubine to be assisted, and Wu Meiniang was the first choice. However, the government and the opposition are naturally opposed to Wu Meiniang, a low-born woman. wrote to the petition, thinking that she was debauched and not qualified to hold the power of the harem.
Li Zhi naturally couldn't resist the courtiers, so he had to drive Wu Meiniang out of the harem and order her to become a nun. Although Wu Meiniang has eaten all the warmth and cold in the palace, she is a shrewd woman after all, and she also understands the selfishness in it. So she made a plan and secretly used some small means, which finally touched Li Zhi's heart.
After several rounds, Li Zhi finally ignored the opposition of the government and the opposition, and took Wu Meiniang back to the harem and gave her the honorific title of "Wu Family". Since then, the power of the Wu family's harem has been firmly seated, and together with the power of the court, it has gradually been controlled by her.
Autocracy and tyranny, the people are not able to make a living
Once she grasped the real power, Wu Zetian revealed her domineering side. She not only acted recklessly in the court, but also was unscrupulous in the civil and military affairs of the government and the opposition, which was simply a respect.
In order to consolidate his dominance, Wu Zetian first wantonly cut down the feudal domains in the imperial court and uprooted those dissidents. Any minister who had the slightest suspicion or dissatisfaction with her was killed by Wu Zetian on various charges, and sometimes even the nine clans were punished.
Even those closest to them often suffer. Once, Wu Zetian's only daughter accidentally leaked some of her privacy, so she was furious and ordered someone to strangle the poor little girl on the spot.
Such killing and bloodshed have shrouded the entire Chang'an City in an atmosphere of panic and fear, and everyone is in danger. As long as there is a little disobedience to Wu Zetian's will, he will immediately be punished by the law, and his family will be ruined.
In terms of purging dissidents, Wu Zetian did a very good job, and indeed made the entire government and the opposition bow down to their subordinates, and no one dared to have a little disobedience. But at the same time, her various practices in economic policy have also put people's lives in a more difficult situation.
In order to accumulate wealth for an extravagant and wasteful life, Wu Zetian increased the taxes of the people, and even more than doubled the amount of grain levied each year. The people are naturally complaining, and there is a dissatisfaction with her everywhere.
Wu Zetian also knew the seriousness of the people's grievances at this time, so he ordered the government and opposition officials to arrange some false political achievements and play them for her. She herself often travels around the country, preparing to be whitewashed to hide the insecurity inside.
Just when the military and civilians were in dire straits, Wu Zetian himself was living a free life in the palace. She has accepted a lot of pet girls and male pets, and she has nothing to do all day long. Among them, her love for the male pet Xue Huaiyi is the most excessive.
The power swelled and was abandoned by everyone
Wu Zetian has been in power for many years, his power has become more and more inflated, and his work has become more and more perverse. Not only did she act recklessly in government affairs, but she was also extremely disrespectful to the Buddhas and religions.
At that time, Buddhism had spread for hundreds of years in the Central Plains and was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Although Wu Zetian herself was a devout Buddhist, in the later years of her reign, she did some absurd things that made Buddhism look aside.
One year, Wu Zetian suddenly claimed that he was the reincarnation of a "real person" for thousands of years, the incarnation of the Buddha. For this reason, she also ordered that in various temples throughout the country, her real figure must be enshrined, which had to be from. Whoever disobeys this will will be punished severely.
In the face of Wu Zetian's unreasonable order, Buddhism could not be bullied, so he had to obey it. But the people in Buddhism are indignant about this, and they have privately classified Wu Zetian as a "demon", thinking that she is blaspheming the Holy Sect of Buddhism.
Even other sects at that time, such as Taoism, were deeply suppressed by Wu Zetian. She only wanted to promote Buddhism throughout the country, but she didn't want other sects to be an important part of folk beliefs. As a result, Wu Zetian ordered that Taoism be banned nationwide and all Taoist temples should be demolished.
Such a suppressive act of religion has brought many resentments to Wu Zetian. By the end of the day, she had been seen as a blasphemost, the common enemy of all religions. Under the dual pressure of the military, civilians and religious followers, Wu Zetian's dominance was naturally even more precarious.
Sure enough, with the passage of time, Wu Zetian's Jiangshan Sheji began to retreat. The meritorious generals who followed her to fight the world back then, such as An Lushan, Li Linfu and others, have returned to the new royal family, causing her to be embattled and troubled internally and externally.
Finally, in a war, Wu Zetian was forced to abdicate, and the newly established Zhou Dynasty under her reign perished. She herself was finally exiled to Yunnan, and lived a lonely life in her old age, and the resentment of her life ended here.