Chapter 13 The emperor who lived a monogamous life

Gaozong is powerless now, and his wings have been cut off.Empress Wu did not snatch the power away, but the power slipped gently from Gaozong's hands.During the court meeting, Emperor Gaozong was unable to make a decision, and even got confused. At this time, Empress Wu expressed a clear opinion on what should be done. Is this her fault?She gradually participated in government affairs, discussed matters with the officials, expressed her opinions clearly, and made firm conclusions.In this respect, she really helped things a lot.Under such circumstances, Gaozong knew that the opinions of the officials and her were getting closer and more consistent, and he followed her instructions.Now there is no one like Han Yuan and Lai Ji who dissuade him when things happen, and no one who sticks to his own opinion like that.Naturally, the government went smoothly, but it was too smooth.

Profit.The court was very "united and unanimous", there was no voice of dissent, no need to subdue those who refused to compromise, and no one said "no" to Her Majesty Empress Wu.Xu Jingzong, Li Yifu, Yuan Gongyu, and others formed a buddy of friends and worked together.This group of gangsters is completely corrupt and mercenary, robbing people's land and wives, but they don't directly commit crimes.Li Yifu's stealth and plunder are especially well-known far and near.After his mother died, the funeral procession was several miles long.What does it matter?The queen would like to see that those who obey her orders are powerful, rich and prosperous.But this kind of power and glory is taken away by the queen at any time.

When Emperor Gaozong was thirty-two years old, he became weaker and sicker, and the situation in the court became more and more out of control.Five years from Gaozong Yonghui, he suffered from dizziness, arthritis, constant headaches and backaches.Two years later, both arms became numb again, and healed from illness to illness.It is often impossible to meet the officials in the court, and even if they sit in the court, they cannot concentrate.The emperor's energy is declining day by day, and the queen's power is getting stronger day by day.As a result, the private secrets between the emperor and empress became the topic of people's gossip.

In the family, Gaozong was depressed and unhappy, and his life was very lonely.Some people are born virtuous; some people are forced to live a virtuous life.Although Emperor Gaozong had four concubines, nine Zhaoyi, nine Jieyu, four beauties, five talents, and eighty-one royal wives, what's the use of having these women under the vicious jealousy of the Wu family?As long as one remembers the fate of Queen Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu in the past, who would risk his life to share the bed with the emperor?This is the reason why Gaozong's children were all born to the Wu family after the Wu family gained power.This situation is indeed extraordinary.Emperor Taizong had fourteen princes, born to ten mothers, and twenty-one princesses.Taizong's father, Gaozu, had twenty-two princes and nineteen princesses.

Gaozong's married life seemed to have been washed clean by Empress Wu, and Gaozong's life was purely monogamous, as if he was not an emperor.Empress Wu believed that too many women would damage the emperor's health.This system must be reformed, so it was reformed.The imperial concubine, Zhaoyi, Jieyu, talented people, and beauties are all cancelled.But for the emperor's honor, there must be many women in the harem; the emperor's life cannot be like a monk or a poor farmer, otherwise he will be laughed at by the prince.However, the number may be reduced, and the duties are also stipulated separately, becoming a female official who assists Shengde.In order to improve morality, the Wu family created a new system. Of course, the number of concubines was reduced. The number of concubines was changed to two, named "Xiangde", who lived in the first rank; ".The official name is majestic and elegant, and these female officials must persuade the emperor to make the emperor live in virtue and righteousness, and not to go one step further than the famous one. This is a matter of course.The other court ladies also have their own divisions.The task of the maid in the bedroom is to take care of the wardrobe, register gifts, deliver orders, and run odd errands.In this way, the atmosphere of benevolence, righteousness and morality in the court was greatly boosted.In the eyes of the royal brothers, Gao Zong became a pitiful creature.

However, there is one exception.Empress Wu has a sister each, and the younger sister has died.My sister married Helan Yueshi, her husband died, and now she is a widow at home. When the Wu family was the queen, she was conferred the title of Mrs. Han.Because my sister is the queen, she can freely enter and leave the palace and is not restricted by court rules.Dined at the same table with the emperor and queen, and also had a living room in the palace.After such a long period of time, the emperor did not feel that he fell in love with her.So, people whispered.It is said that King Xian was born to Mrs. Korea, not Empress Wu's own son, and I will explain this matter later.

In the palace, there are often cases where the emperor's favorite woman suddenly falls to the ground and dies violently after eating.Mrs. Korea was poisoned one day, fell to the ground and died of convulsions.This may be a coincidence, but some women who were close to Gaozong also died in the same way.In the imperial dining room, there will be no conspiracy, because the royal family has special officials to monitor the cooking in the kitchen, especially to guard against accidents.Gaozong was sullen and angry, but he didn't dare to ask further questions, because he saw Empress Wu, the younger sister of Mrs. Han who died of poisoning, calmly and indifferently.

The poisoning and sudden death of Mrs. Korea caused a sudden change in the relationship between Gaozong and Empress Wu.Gaozong is very lonely now, with no one to talk to, and pour out his depression. He feels that the walls around him are getting tighter and tighter. On the other hand, there is no freedom, and every move is closely monitored and restricted by others, and no woman can get close to them.He hated in his heart that the woman who murdered his lover actually murdered his own sister.He was very disturbed and sad, because of his affair with Mrs. Han, Mrs. Han was murdered and died.He felt ashamed, timid, and afraid of Empress Wu. When he was in front of Empress Wu, he always seemed to be out of place at every turn.

, was corrected by Empress Wu. In order to commemorate Mrs. Korea, Gaozong named Mrs. Korea's young and beautiful daughter as Mrs. Wei.His temper became very bad, and he lost his temper easily, and he never had a moment's peace of mind.That teenage lady, Mrs. Wei Guo, was his only comfort.Why can't he be an upright emperor with power alone?Why can't we do whatever we want? A shrewd and capable wife is only right if she does everything by herself. She is quite sure of everything, which is not the husband's blessing.In front of her, there should be no slack, no moment of debauchery, no moment of carelessness.Gaozong was a little bored with Empress Wu, so he planned a revolution, the last revolution.This is how it happened.

If it is said that the Penglai Palace was built for Gaozong's health, there are some reasons, because he was constantly dizzy, his bones ached, and his muscles were numb.However, the ghosts of women who died violently always appeared in the old palace. It is quite reasonable to say that Empress Wu had to change to a place to avoid the evil spirits, so she built this new palace.The new palace is not just a new house. It has a full set of halls in a pattern, a hall for sitting in court, a special residence, a garden, a palace specially built for the prince on the east side, a study room, a servant and a middle school. Shuling's court and so on.It was built by 100,000 migrant workers recruited from fifteen provinces near Kyoto.Civil and military officials were ordered to donate one month's salary to make up for the construction funds.Everything in the new palace is brand new, much more magnificent than the old palace taken over by the Sui Dynasty.

Empress Wu was active all the time without stopping for a moment, which really tortured Gaozong severely.She likes new palaces, new official titles, and all new things.On February 4, the second year of Emperor Gaozong's Longshuo, after Empress Wu rediscussed the official titles of civil and military officials, there were many changes, but there was no obvious reason.After eight years, it changed back to the old name.In this way, at least she feels that she is making a difference, and she is not following the rules of the emperors of the past dynasties.Convinced of her destiny, she welcomes all signs from heaven, true or false.She has changed Gojong's reign twice.Once a farmer in another province saw a crocodile during a flood. In the muddy water, the crocodile looked like a dragon, and indeed it did.Maybe a dragon.Empress Wu believed that it must be a dragon, which was an auspicious omen for the emperor.So she changed Gaozong's reign name to Longshuo.When the Hanyuan Hall, the court hall in the new palace, was completed, she changed Gaozong's year name again.It is said that when Confucius was born, the spirit beast Qilin appeared.This time, someone saw a deer toe abandoned by the imperial dining room, and it was said that it was probably a lin toe.Empress Wu believed that it must be Linzhi, so she changed Gaozong's Longshuo reign name to Linde. Changing the emperor's year name again and again made it very inconvenient to calculate the age.But this situation is getting worse.Because Empress Wu believed in the magic of words—she repeatedly changed the name of the prince and mentioned it later.The second is that she likes to give orders, and she will issue orders on a whim.For example, after breakfast, she said, "I thought of a new name! Let's call it!" and changed it easily.Looking back, you will know that she changed the calendar and changed November to January.All she had to do was say: "Let the year begin with November." Then she added: "Let the year begin with the first month!" Sometimes in the middle of a year, she changed the emperor's year name twice, so There were three years in that year.For example, it was the Jiashen Year of Empress Wu.She has changed the emperor's year name in total to thirty-three, which is really an anecdote of a woman's capricious behavior.There is usually only one reign title for other emperors. Now there is another strange thing happening in the new palace.The construction of the new palace was to allow Empress Wu to leave the old palace, because the old palace was haunted by ghosts.However, the ghosts of the old palace seemed to follow Empress Wu to the new official.This is also quite reasonable, because the new palace was originally connected to the old palace.Between the old and new palaces, it takes only fifteen minutes for a person to walk, let alone ghosts.Empress Wu found a Taoist priest, Guo Xingzhen, who drew talismans and chanted mantras, and burned paper talismans.The dubious moves followed for several nights.No one can know what Empress Wu intended for these nighttime activities.Night after night, only Empress Wu and Taoist Guo were together.It is said that except Empress Wu, no one can approach, otherwise the ghost will not leave.It has to be cut off from people and make no sound. Empress Wu and the Taoist lived in secret room overnight, and the eunuch Wang Fusheng played Ming Gaozong.Gaozong was furious when he heard this.Leaving aside secret meetings with Taoist priests, begging men and warlocks to do tricks is a serious crime, and that's how Wang and Queen committed crimes to death. An idea appeared in Gaozong's mind, and he was also panicked.Since the death of Mrs. Han, the relationship between him and Empress Wu has been forced and has remained in vain.He suspected that Empress Wu had murdered his lover, Empress Wu's own sister, but he kept the words in his heart and didn't say it out loud.I was melancholy, desolate, and irritable.After five or six years of marriage, Emperor Gaozong had seen that Wu The latter is hard-hearted, cunning and cunning, ambitious, vicious and cruel, and arrogant.In the past, he was flattering and flattering to Gaozong, but now he is arrogant and disrespectful to Gaozong, showing sullen expressions from time to time, and often correcting him, just like talking to a child.As for the privacy of the house, Gaozong was already very indifferent to Empress Wu, just as Empress Wu was to Gaozong.How much Gaozong loved freedom and lust!But, to be honest, he was afraid of Empress Wu.If empress Wu is brought to justice, just like the queen and queen, and charged with the same crime, won't he be free?What an idea!I never thought of it before—to get rid of the shackles of Empress Wu's nepotism.How he would rejoice when his chains were broken!All he needs is courage. Gaozong told Zhongshu's servant, Shangguanyi, a minister he trusted very much.Shangguanyi is a poet. He once created the Shangguan style, which people like to imitate.The poet coincided with Gaozong's meaning. He reminded Gaozong that he was the emperor and urged Gaozong to abolish Empress Wu.Gaozong only needs to issue an imperial decree, and see, where is there any Empress Wu! Gaozong ordered Shangguanyi to say: "Okay, you can draft the edict, but you must keep it secret." However, this matter is not as simple as he thought, it is not as simple as he used to imprison the king and queen.That night, Gaozong sat in front of the desk, and the imperial edict was placed on the desk.In fact, Gaozong was just deceiving himself. He should know that his every move was reported to Empress Wu, although Empress Wu had published a book advocating women's morality, advising women to be respectful and obedient to their husbands.That's another thing. Suddenly, Empress Wu walked in, her eyes were burning with anger, and she stared suspiciously at Gaozong.Gaozong's face turned pale, as if he had seen a ghost. "Is this true or false?" Empress Wu asked. "What is true and false?" "Don't pretend you don't know. Wang Fusheng accused me of seeking witchcraft...don't interrupt...where is the edict?" Empress Wu's eyes saw the yellow paper on the desk.Gaozong sat in a chair panicked and overwhelmed. Gaozong said: "No, no. It's just a draft. It's all Shangguanyi's idea. His idea." Empress Wu roared, "Give it to me!" Gao Zong hurriedly handed it over. The formation of this habit did not happen overnight.Empress Wu tore up the paper immediately. Empress Wu sat down and said: "I have to have a good talk with you. I wanted to talk to you a long time ago, so today is just the time to make it clear. You have never talked to me, but listened to an eunuch. You are so stupid Powerful. I just want to drive out the evil spirits in the new palace, nothing else... I am your wife, is there anything wrong with women?" Gaozong didn't say a word, so he couldn't really say that she was wrong. "That's what I want to say. Now is also a good time to say it. Recently I saw that you were very depressed and lost your temper. I thought it was all because of your poor health, so I didn't say anything. I always I'm very busy, you know, busy with the new palace, and there are thousands of other things to worry about. I wake up at night—thinking about the future, drawing up plans, deciding on the appointment and promotion of civil and military officials, and deciding on major court affairs, isn't it all about helping Do you? If someone wants to take my position, let her come. I wish I could let go of the burden of helping you become a virtuous king..." Gaozong felt upset, trembling and dizzy.Now I don't want to talk about government affairs.Melancholy, silent, like a child having a temper tantrum. Empress Wu continued: "However, I also know that of course there are other reasons behind it. Although I did some things, I actually didn't want to do them, such as the case of Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang. You are too soft-hearted. If I hadn't insisted on their matter, who would dare to say what the troubles would be like today! Fortunately, the chaotic party was caught early. If I hadn't insisted on strict enforcement, would you still be able to sit still today? The important thing is, An emperor should know that he is an emperor and behave like an emperor. I am here to assist you. Why should I build a new palace? Isn’t it for you? I have always worked hard for myself and never sought comfort I just want to help you, let you become a virtuous ruler, heroic and promising, you also need courage and self-confidence. Look at our Tang Empire! Turks, Tubo, and even the barbarians outside the Kunlun Mountains are begging us for peace .It seems that Koryo will be pacified soon. I know I can do it. I have made some great plans for you. We must build a new palace, set up steles to record achievements, confer nobles, reward meritorious officials, and make great achievements. It is far better than the emperors of the previous dynasties. Be a talented emperor! We will go hand in hand, and we will surely succeed. Look at you, listening to an eunuch, doing these boring things, is like a child!" Empress Wu's big lesson made Gaozong dizzy and upset, eager to get rid of the heavy responsibility of the emperor, too lazy to decide the country's major plans, suffering physically and mentally, and urgently needed to rest.Finally, he said sadly: "I believe that without me, you can rule the world by yourself." "I believe I can. But I just want to help you. You look sick. Now go to bed early, ok Have a good sleep.Stop thinking about it. " Gaozong had no choice but to look back, his heart of regaining freedom dissipated, like a lame man leaning on a crutch, it would be nice to have such a strong backrest. With her agility, Empress Wu eliminated a catastrophe invisible.If she had been a mediocre woman, if Gaozong had been another man, the situation would have been quite different.However, this time Gaozong had the idea of ​​abolishing her, which really surprised her.Almost never even dreamed.How could Wu Zetian dream of being wiped out!She went back to the house, more and more angry.What an insult, someone wanted to destroy her!This kind of thing will never happen again! She knows that she has the power in her hands and a sharp knife in her hand.You have to teach the ministers a lesson, once and for all.It is very easy to kill a minister, just make an imperial decree.She called Xu Jingzong into the palace, and Xu Jingzong thought of a clever plan, saying that when Yan Wangzhong was the prince, the eunuch and Shangguanyi had personally served Yan Wangzhong.Then it is obviously Yan Wangzhong's rebellious party!Therefore, Shangguanyi and the eunuch Wang Fusheng were beheaded in the city on the charge of rebellion, and Shangguanyi's family members were used as slaves.Later, Shangguan Wan'er, Shangguanyi's granddaughter, entered the palace as a maid.Later, when Zhongzong was in power, Shangguan Wan'er disturbed the court. This is a later story, which will be shown at the end of this book. The unjust prison for Yan Wangzhong's rebellion is too widely used, and it is too old and tasteless.Empress Wu felt that this method had lost its effectiveness.Later, Yan Wangzhong, an ignorant boy, was always afraid day and night, for fear of being plotted by assassins, and was finally accused of asking witches and divination, and asking people to interpret dreams.In fact, the control is consistent with the facts.The poor man prayed for peace day and night, and finally got it.As a prince, he could not be executed in public, so he was ordered to hang himself with a three-foot white silk.He was only twenty-two years old when he died.Although the biological father is the lord of a country, of course he cannot save him.