Chapter 28 New Empress: Wu Zetian

On October 13th, the sixth year of Yonghui, Tang Gaozong Li Zhi issued an edict to depose the Queen and Concubine Xiao Shu: "The Queen and Concubine Xiao Shu conspired to commit poisonous poison, depose them as ordinary people, mother and brother, and expel their names, and go to Lingnan." (volume two hundred) So far, the protracted battle of the harem that has shaken China and the world (in the palace and outside the court) has finally come to an end with the complete defeat of Wang and Xiao. Saying that Wang and Xiao "conspired to commit poisonous poison" is really a bit like "if you want to commit a crime, there is no reason to worry about it".However, when the situation has developed to this point, no one cares about whether what the emperor said is true, and no one dares to speak for these two women who were abandoned by the emperor.The civil and military of the Manchu Dynasty are now only concerned about how to quickly make choices that are beneficial to themselves in a rapidly changing situation.

On October 19th, all the civil and military officials of the Tang Empire jointly petitioned for Wu Zhaoyi to be seated in the Central Palace. On the same day, Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi promulgated an imperial edict announcing that Wu Zhaoyi was canonized as queen. In this historically famous "Edict of Establishing Wu Zhaoyi as the Empress", Li Zhi solemnly introduced his new empress Wu Mei to the people of the world. The edict stated: The general idea of ​​this edict is: Wu's family is distinguished, his meritorious service is outstanding, and his family background is noble.In the past, he was selected into the palace because of his outstanding talents and virtues. His reputation filled the palace, and the light of virtue shone on Yeting.When I was the crown prince in the past, I received the kindness of the late emperor, and I often had to serve around me, and I never left.In the inner palace, I always check my words and deeds; among the concubines, I never communicate with others.The first emperor felt this, and every time he praised him, he bestowed the Wu family on me, just like Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty bestowed Wang Zhengjun on the crown prince.Now, she can be made queen.

Obviously, these nasty rhetoric and flattering words in the imperial edict were piled up by civil servants to help the emperor. They are purely political empty words and are not worth laughing at. In one sentence, it was obviously ordered by Emperor Gaozong, otherwise no one would dare to arrange it like this. However, many people know that the so-called "Given me with the Wu family" is just a big lie Li Zhi told the world.He tried to play down the embarrassing fact that Wu Mei used to be the late emperor's concubine—as long as Wu Mei is said to have been bestowed by the late emperor, then her identity is no longer Li Zhi's concubine, but a legitimate wife and concubine. There is also a legal basis for flattering her as a queen.

However, this beautiful lie is really far-fetched. Although it whitewashed the relationship between Li Zhi and Wu Mei, it also discredited Taizong Li Shimin at the same time. The emperor and his father didn't hesitate to violate the ethics of ethics and ethics, and offered their own women (and those who had already passed away) to their sons to be his wives! However, since Emperor Taizong had passed away, and there was no proof of his death, this matter became a case without a head, which could neither be proved nor falsified.As long as Gao Zong could tell the lie so confidently, so righteously, so that his face would not change color and his heart would not beat, and he would even believe it was true, then who would dare to accuse him openly?

Besides, with the lessons learned from Xiu Suiliang's demotion, who among the officials would want to follow in his footsteps?Of course they were happy to lie with Emperor Gaozong, to share the joy of success and the fruits of victory, to celebrate Wu Zhaoyi's hard work, and to cheer for her in the middle palace. Traditional historians often attribute (or blame) Wu Zhao's personal factors for the result of the harem battle in the sixth year of Yonghui.According to the traditional interpretation, Wu Zhao was able to be in the middle palace purely because he used the art of seduction to confuse Gaozong, and deliberately framed the queen, and spared no effort to win over the courtiers.Gaozong Lizhi is generally described as a fatuous emperor who has no opinion and is purely used by Wu Zhao.

In fact, this was an overestimation of Wu Zhao at that time, and an underestimation of Li Zhi at that time. It is difficult to interpret history without hindsight.It is often because Wu Zhao later created the historical fact that a heroine ascends the throne and a rooster rules the morning, and because Li Zhi indeed bears inescapable responsibility for the future political situation of yin prosperity and yang decline, so people will deduce it from this From the beginning, he regarded Wu Zhao as an out-and-out careerist and conspirator, and he also regarded Li Zhi as a cowardly husband and incompetent emperor from beginning to end.

But in fact, this is a wrong look, because it staticizes the dynamic history and simplifies and masks the complex and changeable people. Although Wu Zhao is confident, persevering, scheming and unwilling to be at the mercy of fate, her life energy is bound to be restricted to varying degrees at different stages of her life, or in different times and situations. It was before she took the position in the middle palace, no matter how much ambition and conspiracy she had, her power and means were limited. Therefore, it cannot be considered that she had already played with Li Zhi in her hands at that time.

Everyone's life is a process of gradual growth and maturity, and Wu Zhao is no exception.From the Wu Cairen in the deep palace, to the nun in the Ganye Temple, to Wu Zhaoyi who entered the palace for the second time, her strong personality traits were developed bit by bit, and her huge life potential was also developed step by step. developing.For Wu Zhao at that time, the future was like a river in mist. No one knew whether the front was a hidden reef, torrent, or an unfathomable whirlpool, so she could only cross the river carefully by feeling the stones. A posture of a future queen rushing forward without any scruples!

This is true of Wu Zhao, and so is Li Zhi. In the early years of Yonghui, Li Zhi was a smug young emperor. He aspired to make achievements like his father Taizong, and he also longed to get out of his father's shadow and create his own era. The young master not only emptied Li Zhi's monarchy, but also firmly bound Li Zhi with his great authority. The identity of Changsun Wuji is unique-uncle of the emperor, hero of the founding of the country, minister of Gu Ming, and chief prime minister. These special identities are like dazzling halos intertwined and shining on him, making everyone in the court and the opposition dare not to admit it. Just look at it.It is conceivable that as many halos as Changsun Wuji has on him, Li Zhi will have as many curses on his head.Therefore, the hot-blooded emperor Li Zhi will inevitably have the desire and impulse to break through, and the harem battle between Wu Zhao and the queen will undoubtedly provide Li Zhi with a chance to release his long-suppressed desire and impulse.

Therefore, in the matter of abolishing the empress, rather than saying that Li Zhi is a man whose brains have been burned out by passionate love, and a cowardly king who is purely used and dominated by Wu Mei, it is better to say that he is borrowing In order to dispel the authority of Changsun Wuji, and support his cronies in the process, and then consolidate the precarious imperial power. Although Wu Mei took advantage of Li Zhi's love for her to seize the queen's position, why didn't Li Zhi use the name of love to regain the power of the once fallen emperor? To put it bluntly, no one is more stupid than the other.

To put it bluntly, in the battle for power during the Yonghui period, Li Zhi and Wu Mei were not only a pair of loving couples attracted by passionate love, but also a pair of political partners bound together by the same interests! After the dust settled in the harem war, all the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty stood on the side of Gaozong Li Zhi and Empress Wu Mei without hesitation. Only the three prime ministers, Changsun Wuji, Han Ai, and Laiji, were left frowning and worried all day long. As if to further stimulate their fragile nerves, Empress Wu Mei deliberately delivered a memorial on the third day after the emperor issued an edict, saying: "Your Majesty planned to appoint concubines as concubines some time ago, and Han Ai and Lai Ji will serve as concubines. It is really commendable to fight this matter with His Majesty, and it can be said that he is deeply affectionate for the country! The concubines beg for their praise." This memorial is like an extremely pungent ridicule, and it is as good as slapping these two big shots. Li Zhi couldn't help being overjoyed when he saw the memorial, and quickly showed it to Han Ai and Lai Ji. Seeing the embarrassing and embarrassing expressions of these two prime ministers, Li Zhi couldn't help feeling a surge of revenge. The two prime ministers couldn't stand this kind of humiliation, and they frequently asked Gaozong to resign afterwards, but Li Zhi always said two words - no. Now that you know you're getting burned, do you want to get out? no way! Where did the energy to remonstrate with death with snot and tears go? If I knew today, why bother? ! On the first day of November in the sixth year of Yonghui (AD 655), Chang'an City seemed to usher in a grand festival. On this day, the Tai Chi Palace held a grand canonization ceremony for the new Empress Wu Mei.The busy ceremonial officials and hard-working palace people began to carefully prepare for this grand ceremony ten days ago. They not only tried their best to make every corner of Tai Chi Palace look brand new and bright, but also collected hundreds of thousands of A golden dragon's claw chrysanthemum adorns this solemn palace charmingly and magnificently.When the first ray of sunlight in the morning suddenly broke through the colorful clouds in the eastern sky and sprinkled warm light on Chang'an in winter, the Taiji Palace was already filled with crowds and flags flying.The civil and military officials of the court, the wives of the outer court and the inner palace, the chiefs of the Siyi in Beijing and the envoys of various countries have been waiting at the Suyi gate of the palace since the dawn of the sky, with a respectful and eager look. eyes, waiting to meet the new empress Wu Mei of the Tang Empire. At this moment, the Queen's Luanjia and guard of honor are marching from the inner hall to Suyi Gate.The harem concubines standing on both sides of the road all looked at the new queen with expressions of half admiration and half jealousy.They saw Empress Wu Mei under the canopy wearing a phoenix crown on her head and a Xiapei, with a graceful and gorgeous smile on her face all the time. When the empress Wu Mei in full makeup finally appeared on the majestic tower of Suyimen, the clocks and drums of the whole Taiji Palace rang together, and the long-awaited people turned their eyes to the tower with infinite fascination.That day, there was a wind blowing from the direction of Zhongnan Mountain, and people saw the clothes and skirts of Empress Wu Mei fluttering in the wind, like a bird with colorful wings spreading its wings. Many officials and envoys who witnessed the queen's appearance for the first time all uttered a sigh of wonder in their hearts.What surprised them was that although the appearance of the new queen was nothing like a fish falling into a wild goose or a shameless flower closing the moon, her temperament, charm and expression clearly made people feel extraordinary and amazing, especially The soul-stirring femininity that naturally exudes from her is something that most women do not have. Amidst the sound of bells and drums resounding through the sky, Sikong Li Ji and Zuo Pushe Yu Zhining presented the Queen's Seal to Wu Mei on behalf of the imperial court.At this moment, the snowy winter day seventeen years ago suddenly flashed before Wu Mei's eyes.She saw the fourteen-year-old girl being taken into the palace by a carriage. The girl's face was half reserved and half sad, and she heard the girl say—seeing the emperor is not a blessing? At this moment, the morning bell and evening drum of Ganye Temple sounded beside Wu Mei's ears.She saw that nun with her black hair all gone and her face up to the sky walking alone through the bleak courtyard of Ganye Temple. Her wide black clothes were blown up by the strong wind and she looked like a lonely flying bird; The sleepless nun always spreads out a piece of plain paper, letting the turbulent tears and desolate pen and ink fall together, pouring out the endless love and pain over and over again... At this moment, seventeen years of sorrow and joy floated in the sky of Wu Mei's memory like changing clouds, and the real sunshine of Yonghui's six years had pierced through the clouds irresistibly, reflecting the bright and peachy beauty of Empress Wu Mei. Her face, and the gleaming golden phoenix crown on her head.The emperor Li Zhi smiled and took the queen's hand and waved greetings to the thousands of subjects who were prostrate at their feet. The crowd immediately responded with cheers and blessings like a tide. Back then, the fourteen-year-old talent Wu Mei was just a budding flower stamen, which was randomly planted in a corner of Ye Ting Palace to grow lonely; but today, the thirty-two-year-old queen Wu Mei has already Standing on the Suyi Gate with the attitude of mothering the world, it accepts the worship of all the people. The canonization ceremony on this day left an indelible impression on many people.Especially the phoenix crown shining brightly in the sun, like a delicate and plump golden peony, blooming scorchingly on the top of the imperial palace, destined to be unforgettable for many subjects of the Tang Dynasty.