Chapter 33 Feng Chan: The Grand Ceremony of the Empress

Linde's abolishment incident in the first year was like a ridiculous farce. After a short period of noise and commotion, everything quickly returned to its original state. Li Zhi and Wu Mei seemed to be fighting fiercely, but the husband and wife fought at the head of the bed and at the end of the bed. After a few days, they respected each other again, but they suffered a lot of courtiers who were loyal to the emperor——Shangguan Yidiu After losing his head, Liu Xiangdao gave up his job as a minister, and the others were demoted or exiled. They gained nothing, but lost the fame and wealth that they had worked hard for most of their lives.

Such a lesson is really profound! In order to learn a lesson, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty have since become deaf and dumb—whether your husband and wife are fighting or reconciling, it is your own family's business. Therefore, since the "two sages came to court", the world seemed to be peaceful all of a sudden, and the courtiers also learned that silence is golden, which made Gaozong Li Zhi both puzzled and depressed. In February of the second year of Linde (AD 665), Li Zhi finally couldn't help complaining to the prime ministers: "Emperor Yang died after refusing to remonstrate. ?”

The prime ministers exchanged glances with each other and continued to remain silent.Only Sikong and Li Ji answered the emperor's question. He said: "Your Majesty has done the best, and the officials have nothing to admonish." (Volume 201) Li Zhi was at a loss for words. What's the meaning?Isn't it the same as not saying such a beautiful thing?Are you satirizing me, or are you playing bureaucracy with me? Li Zhi knew that this was not the real thought in Li Ji's mind at all.However, after so many unsatisfactory things happened, what answer could he expect from Li Ji?

At this moment, Gaozong Li Zhi couldn't help but smile wryly in his heart—the world is really like a helpless reincarnation!Thinking back when he repeatedly raised similar questions with Changsun Wuji, the old guy would repeatedly talk to him in an official style. He didn't expect that he had spent a lot of effort, tossing for so many years, and he wanted to create a loyal and straight-forward relationship between the monarch and his ministers. Admonitions and admonitions are benign and interactive, but in the end there is still silence in the court, even his most trusted veteran Li Ji is fighting him with such politically correct haha, this is so depressing!

Although depressed, Li Zhi had nothing to do.The monarchs and ministers of the Tang Dynasty endured another two years in this lifeless silence. Gaozong Li Zhi couldn't bear it again, and blamed the ministers at court meetings several times for not fulfilling the responsibility of "advancing talents". When the prime ministers heard the words, they kept silent as usual. In the end, it was Li Anqi, the Shaochang Bo (the Minister of the Ministry of Officials), who couldn't bear it, and told the emperor a few truths: "There is no such thing as a world without talents, and it is not because the officials dare Cover up talents. Just because recently, whenever the ministers made recommendations, those who were recommended were not appointed, but those who recommended were convicted, so everyone kept silent. If Your Majesty really treats talents with sincerity, who would not want to share his knowledge? The key lies with His Majesty, not with the ministers."

Li Zhi was at a loss for words again. The official accent is not pleasant, but is the truth pleasant? Obviously, the truth is harder to hear. Therefore, Li Zhi gave up. From then on, regardless of whether the ministers entered into admonishment or into virtuous persons, Gaozong himself remained silent anyway. In the winter of the second year of Linde, the ceremony of enshrining Zen that Gaozong's court had been planning for several years was finally going to be held. The so-called Fengchan is a grand ceremony for emperors to sacrifice to heaven and earth. It is said that it has existed as early as the period of the Three Emperors and Five Emperors.The ancients believed that Mount Tai was the highest mountain in the world, so the ceremony of enshrining Zen was usually held on Mount Tai—a round altar was set up on Mount Tai to worship the sky, which was called Feng, and a square altar was set up on the hill next to Mount Tai to worship the ground, which was called Zen.In ancient China, Fengchan Taishan was not only a symbol of peace and prosperity, but also a symbol of the peak of the emperor's achievements.

However, not all emperors are eligible for this honor.Before the Tang Dynasty, only a few emperors who thought they had made great achievements, such as Qin Shihuang, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, dared to hold the ceremony of enshrining Zen. During the Zhenguan period, Taizong's monarchs and ministers also proposed to enshrine Mount Tai many times, but firstly, because Emperor Taizong cared about the power of the people, and secondly, because of the continuous war and the tense surrounding situation, it was never implemented.Emperor Gaozong's first proposal of enshrining Zen was in the first year of Longshuo. At that time, Yizhou and other places reported the auspiciousness of seeing the dragon. Therefore, when the court changed the Yuan to Longshuo, it announced that the enshrining of Zen would be held in the first month of the third year of Longshuo. The use of troops against Goryeo and Baekje was suspended.

In July of the first year of Linde, because the Tang army defeated the Japanese navy at Baijiangkou and successfully pacified Baekje. Yue Qi gathered at the foot of Mount Tai and ordered the kings to gather in the eastern capital to prepare for matters related to enshrining Zen. For this grand ceremony, Empress Wu of course has always been in favor of it.Because this is not only a high degree of affirmation of her political achievements since she participated in the government, but also can greatly enhance her political status and personal prestige. The Fengchan Grand Ceremony is mainly composed of two parts of the ceremony, one is the ceremony of offering sacrifices to God Haotian (sacrificing the sky), and the other is the Zen ceremony of offering sacrifices to the emperor Dizhi (sacrificing the land).According to the ancient practice, both kinds of sacrificial ceremonies are offered by the emperor at the beginning, and then by the ministers at the second and final ceremonies.In other words, since ancient times, Feng Chan has been a man's business, and women are not qualified to participate at all. Even if you are a queen, you can only stay on the sidelines and watch the fun.

Empress Wu was naturally deeply dissatisfied with this.So in October of the second year of Linde, Empress Wu resolutely went to the table and criticized the "Old Ritual of Fengchan".She believes that since the ceremony stipulates that the empress should enjoy the ceremony of sacrificing the land, and it is really "unsettled" to ask the minister to perform it on her behalf, she solemnly asked Gaozong—"At the end of the day, the concubine will ask the general to order the wife." Lianxian." (Volume 201) Of course, Gaozong did not dare not agree to Empress Wu's request.He issued an edict on the same day, announcing that the part of the sacrifice ceremony held at Sheshou Mountain would be presented by the Empress Xingya, and the concubine Yan of the State of Yue (the biological mother of King Li Zhen of Yue, the only surviving concubine of Emperor Taizong) one) a final tribute.

This is the first time since the beginning of the world that a woman participated in and presided over the highest-level sacrificial ceremony in the empire!Throughout China's thousands of years of history, Empress Wu's move is not only unprecedented, but also unprecedented! The political significance reflected in such a pioneering work is of course self-evident.It marks that Empress Wu's political status in the Tang Empire has risen to an unprecedented height, and no one can shake it anymore. On October 28th of the second year of Linde, Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi and Empress Wu Mei, together with hundreds of civil and military officials and six palace concubines, set off from Luoyang, the eastern capital, to Mount Tai.The entire guard of honor stretches for hundreds of miles, with flags unfurled, drums and music singing together, camps set up and curtains stretched across the wilderness.In addition, from Koryo in the east to Persia in the west, including Turks, Khotan, Tianzhu, Japan, Silla, Baekje and other countries, the heads of state, chiefs, and envoys also set off with their subordinates. Dome tents, camels, horses, cattle and sheep filled the roads .With such a lineup, it can be said that the event is unprecedented and unprecedented!

On the first day of the first lunar month of the third year of Linde, the solemn and grand ceremony of enshrining Zen was officially held in Mount Tai. The ceremony lasted for five days.On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Emperor Gaozong accepted congratulations from civil and military officials and the princes of Siyi at the altar of pilgrimage.On the same day, it was announced that all civil and military officials who were above the third rank would be awarded the first rank, and those below the fourth rank would be promoted to the first rank. Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, all officials have to pass the performance assessment, and when they are promoted to the fifth and third ranks, they must be judged by the emperor himself.However, this time Taishan Fengchan opened a precedent for "wide-ranking". The Zen ceremony in the first month of Qianfeng's first year (666 AD) is undoubtedly one of the most brilliant memories in Empress Wu's life. Standing on the towering altar of meditation on Sheshou Mountain, Empress Wu sometimes looked up at the clear and clear sky, and sometimes overlooked the vast and boundless land. A sense of contempt for the world and pointing to the country suddenly surged in her chest. At that moment, Empress Wu seemed to hear a call from heaven in the dark. She couldn't really understand the full meaning of this call, but she vaguely saw a world that belonged to her waiting for her in the not-too-distant future. , there is a different kind of heaven and earth, as well as a different kind of mountains, rivers, sun and moon, which made her fascinated and excited inexplicably. It was this Fengchan that allowed Empress Wu to have a more vivid experience of power, status, dignity, prestige and other things, and at the same time have a stronger and more ardent desire! During the grand ceremony, many ministers coincidentally noticed that Empress Wu Mei's eyes were burning with unprecedented passion, and her face was also shining with a strange and magnificent red light. Against this red light, Emperor Li Zhi's face became more and more haggard and pale. People can't help but put a big question mark in their hearts: Whose grand ceremony is this? Is it the pale male protagonist, or the red-faced leading lady? This time, in addition to enjoying the great pleasure brought by the supreme authority, Empress Wu also had a small extra gain.That is - taking the opportunity to get rid of her little nephew and rival in love He Lanshi. Many years ago, Empress Wu had demoted several ignorant elder brothers and cousins ​​from the imperial court and released them as governors of distant places. Brothers Wu Weiliang and Wu Huaiyun are still alive.This time, the imperial court required governors from all over the country to participate in the enshrining of Zen. Wu Weiliang, who was then the governor of Shizhou, and Wu Huaiyun, the governor of Zizhou, also rushed to Mount Tai to participate in the grand ceremony.After the ceremony, they returned to the capital with Luanjia.All the officials of the Tang Dynasty had the habit of offering food to the emperor and concubines after some major celebrations, so the Wu brothers also offered food according to the custom. The Wu brothers never expected that it was this ordinary food offering that gave Empress Wu a good opportunity to strike.Thus, a plan to kill three birds with one stone quickly took shape in her mind. When the delicacy dedicated to Mrs. Wei was sent to the palace, Empress Wu secretly ordered her subordinates to poison Helan's food.The unsuspecting He Lanshi was poisoned and died that day.Since ancient times, confidante's fate is so poor, poor this young and beautiful Helan family, who didn't even have a formal title of concubine, just like this, she died and died in Huangquan. Once He Lan's family died, Wu Weiliang and Wu Huaiyun would not be able to wash away even if they jumped into the Yellow River.Since they had too much unhappiness with Queen Wu, people have every reason to suspect that the Wu brothers originally wanted to poison the queen, but they killed Mrs. Wei by mistake. The death of the Helan family made the emperor Li Zhi heartbroken and distraught.When the murderer could not be found, he could only vent his grief and anger on the Wu brothers.A few days later, Emperor Gaozong issued an edict without trial, beheading Wu Weiliang and Wu Huaiyun, and confiscating his wife and daughter in the court. Empress Wu made a small plan to remove several thorns in her eyes in one fell swoop. For Empress Wu who had just returned from the Fengchan ceremony, it was a kind of icing on the cake. After killing the Wu brothers, Empress Wu still felt that it was not enough, so she changed their surname to Viper. She hoped that they would turn into two dirty and ugly poisonous snakes, and crawl humblely in the dark tomb from now on, never to be reborn forever! In the ten years since Gaozong Lizhi came to the throne, although the political high-level situation of the empire has changed and the power struggle has never stopped, all this has not affected the national economy and the people's livelihood.Since the Tang Dynasty under Gaozong's rule inherited the powerful national power of the Zhenguan era, the Tang Empire has generally maintained a stable, prosperous and strong situation over the years. What is particularly exciting is that the military power and national prestige of the Tang Dynasty also reached their peak during this period, even surpassing that of Emperor Taizong.By the first year of Xianheng (AD 670), the territory of the empire under Gaozong's rule had reached its apex, and it was wider than in previous and subsequent periods. The influence of the Tang Dynasty also expanded to most of Central and East Asia. So, how did this page of glorious history come to be? Next, let us turn our eyes back to the early years of Yonghui, and let us follow the heroic Tang soldiers to leap horses and swords, gallop on the battlefield, expand the territory, and promote the country's prestige together, to compose a brilliant story. Heroic epic, to create an immortal war legend...