Chapter 2 Harem War

No matter from which point of view, Tang Xuanzong and Queen Wang should be regarded as a couple in need. As early as when Xuanzong was still the king of Linzi, the queen was her concubine.At that time, Empress Wei was in power, Li Dan was squeezed out, and the fate of the entire Li and Tang royal family was somewhat uncertain. As for the little Linzi King Li Longji, there was no great future.Normally speaking, even if Li Dan had a bright future, Li Longji, as the third son of a concubine, would at best be a happy prince. Therefore, under the circumstances at that time, Wang's marriage to Li Longji meant that he had to face the unknown fate with him and bear the unforeseen misfortunes and blessings together.In other words, in order to have a bright future, Wang must start a business with Li Longji and create a world of his own.

Later, when Li Longji began to plan Tang Long's coup, Wang became his indispensable and important assistant. "The Shang (Xuanzong) will start an incident, and (Wang) is quite premeditated and agrees with the great cause." ("Old Tang Book·Empress Biography") It can be seen that Wang is not a young lady who sits and enjoys her success, but a person who can reconcile with others. Li Longji is a virtuous housemate who shares weal and woe and fate. However, it was such a virtuous housemate who had been in trouble together, only enjoyed the glory and wealth with Xuanzong for a few years, and was completely left out in the cold.

The superficial reason is that she is infertile. If it is today, women's infertility is not a big disadvantage at all. Even many women are unwilling to have children, and they will not be discriminated against by their husbands or condemned by public opinion.However, in ancient times, this was a very fatal mistake.Because the ancient sages stipulated that as long as a woman commits any of the "seven reasons" (seven reasons for a husband to divorce his wife), her husband can divorce her in a grandiose manner.And "no child" is the second item in the "seven outs", only after "disobedience to parents", it is more serious than "prostitution", "jealousy", "disease" and "theft".

What's more, the Wang family is still the queen of the world, and "childlessness" is an unforgivable shortcoming, which is enough to make her unable to hold her head up in front of the emperor and the people of the world. However, the reason why the queen was left out in the cold was not just childlessness. There is another more important reason-Xuanzong fell in love with other women. This woman is Wu Shi. The Wu family is the grand-niece of Empress Wu Zhao, the youngest daughter of Wang Wu Youzhi of Hengan, and she is considered to be Xuanzong's cousin.Wu Youzhi died early, so the Wu family was taken to the palace to be raised at a very young age.In the first year of Kaiyuan, when Wu was about fifteen years old, he was brought into the harem by Li Longji.

Maybe it's because the Wu family has inherited Wu Zhao's genes to some extent, or because he grew up in the palace and received a better cultural education, so he is not only beautiful and gentle, with elegant manners, but also familiar with ancient books, classics and history, and always quotes classics in his speech , quite talented woman demeanor, so soon won Xuanzong's favor.Since entering the harem in the first year of Kaiyuan, in just a few years, the Wu family gave birth to two sons and one daughter for Xuanzong, and each of them was upright, beautiful, lively and cute, which made Xuanzong overjoyed and couldn't put it down, and at the same time made him infertile. The queen's eyes glowed green with jealousy, and she almost wanted to go crazy.

But what Xuanzong never expected was that these cute little princes and princesses died one after another not long after they were born, and no one knew the reason. Xuanzong was very sad about this, but his favor for the Wu family continued unabated. Soon, the Wu family gave birth to the longevity king Li Mao (originally named Li Qing).Out of a woman's unique intuition, Wu believes that it is a very dangerous thing to leave a child in the palace to be raised, and maybe it will die without a problem like the previous ones.So Wu thought of a way. After obtaining Xuanzong's consent, he sent the child out of the palace and placed him in the home of the child's uncle, King Ning Li Xian. Even the breastfeeding was done by Li Xian's wife Yuan Shi.

Later, Li Mao grew up peacefully and lived in Prince Ning's Mansion until he was more than ten years old before being taken into the palace by Xuanzong. With Li Mao's healthy growth, Wu's ambitions gradually expanded.She knows very well that it is impossible for a woman to keep a man's heart for a long time just by her appearance.The only way to keep the prosperity and wealth in front of him forever is to seize the queen's position by all means like Wu Zhaoyi did back then, and then try to let his son enter the East Palace. Regarding Wu's ambition to seize the throne, Queen Wang certainly knows better than anyone else.

For this she fell into deep sorrow and fear. Whenever she thinks of Wu's alluring face, Queen Wang will tremble with anger.But apart from cursing over and over again in her heart, she really didn't know how to deal with this rival in love, let alone how to avoid the fate of being dethroned.Instinctively, Queen Wang showed her hatred for the Wu family more than once in front of Xuanzong, and she often added harsh words, and sometimes she would speak rudely when talking about sad or angry places, and put Xuanzong in the wrong. It is conceivable that Queen Wang's behavior of "shrew cursing the street" can only lead to Xuanzong's deeper dislike for her.

It's been said that hating someone is like burning down your own house to catch a mouse, but the mouse isn't necessarily caught yet. Today, Queen Wang uses this instinctive way to vent her hatred, which is indeed useless in catching mice, and faces the danger of burning down her own house. Originally, Xuanzong was just indifferent to her; now Xuanzong almost despises and loathes her. So Xuanzong began to put the matter of deposing the queen on the agenda. Of course, Xuanzong would not discuss this matter in public.After all, abolishing the empress is a major matter, and he didn't want to easily reveal his intentions before he had maturely considered it.Therefore, he just secretly started a related plan with a close courtier.

This courtier was one of the heroes of the congenital coup, Jiang Jiao, who was the Secretary and Superintendent at the time. Jiang Jiao followed Xuanzong for many years. As early as the time of King Linzi, he was Xuanzong's good friend.After Xuanzong came to the throne, on the surface he was commensurate with his monarch and his ministers, but in fact the friendship remained the same. He was still regarded as a buddy, and he was often called into the bedroom to "share the bed with the concubine", to fight cockfights, feast and have fun together, and reward him back and forth. "The court ladies, famous horses and all kinds of treasures are innumerable". ("Old Tang Book·Jiang Jiao Biography") In the second year of Xiantian, in the process of eradicating the Taiping Party, Jiang Jiao actively participated in the planning.

In the early years of Kaiyuan, Emperor Xuanzong began to depose the heroes. Jiang Jiao was also "relegated to the countryside" because of "too much favored by power", but was reappointed after a few years, first as Zong Zhengqing, and later as secretary and supervisor. For such a person who has been followed for many years, who is both a hero and a buddy, Xuanzong is naturally very relieved.Moreover, Jiang Jiao knew everything about the situation in the harem. Xuanzong had stopped treating him as an outsider a long time ago, so no one was more suitable than Jiang Jiao to discuss with someone at this moment. However, Xuanzong never expected that it was this reassuring buddy who learned that he wanted to dethrone the queen, not only didn't help him with any ideas, but even leaked the matter as soon as he left the palace. History books do not record whether Jiang Jiao leaked the matter intentionally or unintentionally, but judging from the objects he leaked, it seems that he did it on purpose.Because the other party is Teng Wang Li Qiao, with a special status, he is both the clan prince and the queen's brother-in-law, which is equivalent to being both a cousin and a brother-in-law with Xuanzong.Therefore, Jiang Jiao probably didn't agree with Xuanzong's deposing of the queen, but he didn't dare to persuade him face to face, so he had to communicate with Li Qiao, hoping that he could persuade Xuanzong to change his mind. Whether this is the case, we don't know today, but one thing is certain - Jiang Jiao is finished. After Xuanzong learned that he had leaked the matter, he had already sentenced him to death in his heart. Xuanzong didn't expect that Jiang Jiao would be such a person who failed to achieve success but failed to achieve success. Before the abolishment of the post-abolishment, this kid spread the word. Is he in a completely passive position? ! Xuanzong didn't bother to delve into Jiang Jiao's motives for doing this. Even if he did it out of good intentions, it would be unforgivable. In a rage, Xuanzong ordered Jiang Jiao to be arrested immediately.Decades of brotherhood and master-slave love, this is the end of the debt, and it will be written off!A few days later, Xuanzong beat Jiang Jiao to sixty sticks and exiled him in Lingnan on the charge of "talking about the palace". Sima, in addition to several people close to the party, were either exiled or given to death, and suffered an unreasonable disaster together. Jiang Jiao embarked on the road of exile with stick wounds all over his body, but he died with hatred before going far. Because of this unexpected turmoil, Xuanzong had to temporarily put aside the matter of abolishing the empress. However, this is only temporary.Once the time is right, Xuanzong will still abolish this yellow-faced woman without hesitation! It is said that once a man changes his mind, nine cows cannot be pulled back.Li Longji will soon use his actual actions to prove this eternal truth to us again. The death of Jiang Jiao is a vivid footnote to the old saying "Accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger".This incident tells us how difficult and dangerous it is to live by the emperor's side.As for Queen Wang, the Jiang Jiao incident made her terrified all day long.Through this unexpected storm, Queen Wang strongly felt the determination, cruelty and ruthlessness of the emperor, and at the same time, she also had a stronger premonition——Jiang Jiao's today is likely to be her tomorrow! Fortunately, Queen Wang usually stays around well, so no one will make trouble at this time.Although Xuanzong always wanted to catch the queen's pigtails, but because everyone in the harem loyally protected the lord and was cautious in words and deeds, he could not find a strong excuse to abolish the empress, so he had to let this matter drag on. In the autumn of the twelfth year of Kaiyuan, two full years had passed since Jiang Jiao's death, Xuanzong's harem was always calm and nothing happened. It seemed that the emperor had given up the idea of ​​abolishing the empress. But Queen Wang knew that this was an illusion.Unless one's own stomach is up to date and immediately gives birth to a fat boy for the emperor, leaving everyone speechless, the danger of being deposed will not be eliminated for a day. However, does it mean that a son can be born as soon as he is born?When I was young, I stayed with the emperor every day and there was no movement. Now the emperor only comes to perfunctory for a year or so, so how could it be possible to conceive? Barring a miracle... At a loss, Queen Wang had no choice but to consult with her brother Wang Shouyi. For the situation of his sister, Wang Shouyi also felt the same and was extremely anxious.Because once his sister is deposed, his good life will come to an end.Although he was also a hero of the congenital coup, but since Xuanzong took charge, hero has been synonymous with bad people, as far as Liu You begging them, and as close as Jiang Jiao, which one doesn't step down as soon as they say it, and die as soon as they say it?Therefore, if you want to keep your glory and wealth, the only way is to pray for God's mercy and let your sister give birth to a son as soon as possible! For this reason, Wang Shouyi secretly found a monk named Mingwu, and asked him to practice magic spells to see if he could create miracles. Master Mingwu slapped his chest, this matter is on the poor monk!Then he helped the queen to do a "sacrifice to the South Beidou" ceremony.The specific method is: take a piece of "Perak wood"①, write the words "Heaven", "Earth" and "Li Longji" on the wood, and then use this piece of wood to worship the Southern Beidou, wear it on the body of the king and queen, and finally let it Queen Wang recited a mantra, and it was done. Indeed, after Master Mingwu completed this dharma event, the protracted abolition event finally came to an end. In other words, someone has finally done it. who? Xuanzong. Of course, there is also the Wu family who is eyeing the position of empress. Xuanzong and the Wu family have been staring at the queen for so long, isn't it just such a flaw?Now that Queen Wang is so selfish, how can she escape the eyes of Xuanzong and Wu?What's more, asking monks to cast spells in this way was called "weariness of victory" at the time, and it was a very serious crime.The queen and queen of Gaozong's era was exposed by Wu Zhaoyi because of her distaste for winning, which led Gaozong to make up her mind to abolish the empress.Now that the queen is still doing this, how can she not repeat the mistakes of the queen back then? What is especially ridiculous is that after the Dongchuang incident, the relevant departments investigated and learned that the mantra recited by monk Mingwu and the Queen was actually: "Wear this to have a son, and be the Queen of Heaven!" (Volume 212) What does that mean? That is to say: wearing this piece of Perak wood, you will definitely be able to have a son, and you will be like Queen Zetian in the future! Like Queen Zetian? Even fools know that, of course, it is like Queen Zetian who listens to the government and monopolizes power. If the incantation said something like "the sky is spirited, the earth is spirited, the Taishang Laojun is in a hurry like a law", maybe Xuanzong would not be furious, but Master Mingwu, who is so ingenious and calculating, made such a sentence, so let's stop. Blame the emperor for being ruthless! On July 22, the twelfth year of Kaiyuan, Xuanzong officially issued an edict, abolishing the queen and queen as a commoner and putting them in the cold palace. Wang Shouyi sat in the carriage of relegation in misery, but just halfway there, Xuanzong chased down another edict, ordering him to die on the spot. Three months later, the abolished Empress Wang died in depression in the cold palace.Up and down the harem, everyone who served the Wang family shed tears of sorrow and thought about it endlessly. Hearing the news of Wang's death, Xuanzong Li Longji couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. After all, they are a married couple, after all, they have experienced a period of love together, and now that the Sri Lankan is gone, Xuanzong is leaning on the railing alone, and he can't help but feel a little sad and regretful. (Volume 212: "The abolished queen Wang died, and the harem yearned for her endlessly, and the emperor also regretted it.") History is always so strikingly similar. For the first time in more than seventy years, two kings and empresses, two incidents of abolishing queens, and two scenes of court tragedies all seem to have come out of the same mold!Seeing such similar plots, the audience seems to have a reason to ask: Why is the old man in history so poor in his imagination, always allowing the same stories to be staged frequently on the same stage? Back then, Gaozong directed a big drama of "abolishing the king and establishing martial arts". Could it be that today's Xuanzong will do it again like this? Fortunately, the old man's imagination has not yet completely exhausted.Before the audience was about to lose their sense of freshness, the old man in history finally made a timely move and revised the ending of the second scene. ——Xuanzong abolished the king, but did not establish martial arts. It's not that he doesn't want to stand, but that he can't stand. Because the ministers would not let him stand. In the summer of the fourteenth year of Kaiyuan, that is, Taishan Fengchan returned. Zhang said that not long after he stepped down, Xuanzong was busy with major affairs in the court and was about to canonize Wu as the queen. Since the Wang family was abolished, the harem has been vacant for a long time, and there is not a single day when the Wu family does not talk about it by his bedside.It has been more than a year since Mrs. Wang passed away, and the little nostalgia left in Xuanzong's heart has gradually faded with the passage of time. Therefore, it is time to register as Mrs. Wu. However, Xuanzong just revealed this idea, and immediately met with strong opposition from the ministers.They said: "The Wu family is the unshakable enemy of the Li and Tang royal families. How can it be established as the mother of the country? Moreover, there are rumors in the government and the public that Zhang Shuo is trying to secretly support the Wu family in order to return to the throne. Although it is groundless, it is impossible. No defense. Besides, the current crown prince is not born of the Wu family, and the Wu family has a son, once established as the queen, the crown prince will be in danger! Your Majesty Wanwang, think twice." The minister's attitude is so firm, and the reasons for opposition are so strong, what else can Xuanzong do? Xuanzong knew better than anyone else how far-reaching the impact Empress Wu had had on the empire.Does he still want to learn from Emperor Gaozong of the past and fight to the death with civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty for another woman surnamed Wu? Although Xuanzong at this time was not as self-disciplined and abstinent as in the early Kaiyuan period, he was far from being extravagant and abolishing public affairs for personal reasons as in the later period. Therefore, after repeated consideration, he decided to compromise with the minister. Later, Xuanzong gave Wu the title of "Concubine Hui". Although he did not have the name of empress, "the court's etiquette is just like that of empress", which can be regarded as a compromise between the minister and Wu. As soon as the dust settles on this harem battle, another life-and-death struggle ensues.This new struggle is between two camps. On one side is a favorite minister who was born as a domestic slave, and the representative is Wang Maozhong. On one side is the powerful eunuch, whose representative is Gao Lishi, the great eunuch who will become powerful in the future. Both factions are the emperor's confidants and close ministers, and both are inner court forces that are favored by Xuanzong.Their duel, although there is no shadow of swords and swords, is more thrilling than fighting with real swords and spears. For the weapon that ultimately plays a decisive role in this duel is more invisible than a sword, but sharper than a sword; softer than a sword, but deadlier than a sword. Its name is Tongue. Killing with a sword is cruel and violent, not suitable for children. Killing people with their tongues, without seeing blood, very gentle, without taboos.