China knows everything for 5000 years

Chapter 36

In 683 A.D., Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty Li Zhi passed away, Prince Li Xian ascended the throne as Zhongzong, and respected Wu Zetian as Empress Dowager.The next year, Wu Zetian abolished Li Xian and made Li Dan emperor on the pretext that Li Xian made his father-in-law Wei Xuanzhen the prime minister.Later, Wu Zetian put Li Dan under house arrest again, and personally ruled on political affairs, no matter how big or small.In 690 AD, when Wu Zetian was 67 years old, she abolished Li Dan, established herself as emperor, changed the name of the country to Zhou, and established herself as Emperor of the Holy God.Because she had the honorary title of "Emperor Zetian Dasheng" after her death, so later generations called her "Wu Zetian".

After Wu Zetian became emperor, she believed in Buddhism and spent a lot of manpower and material resources to build temples, which greatly increased the burden on the people.Wu Zetian also ruled out dissidents. During his reign, he enfeoffed the kings of the Wu family, and reused cruel officials, severely punished and severely punished, resulting in many unjust prisons.

In her later years, Wu Zetian was very happy, lived extravagantly, loved the Zhang brothers, and ignored the government.In 705 AD, Prime Minister Zhang Jianzhi launched a coup, forcing Wu Zetian to abdicate, and Li Xian was restored to restore the Tang Dynasty.When Wu Zetian was dying, she made a will, announcing that she would remove the title of emperor, and be buried with Li Zhi in Qianling, and ordered to erect a monument for her, but not to make a biography.

In the feudal history of China, it is not uncommon for the empress dowager to take power.However, Wu Zetian was the only one who claimed to be emperor and changed dynasties.She ruled Zhou for decades, which can be said to have created a miracle in Chinese history.

●Di Renjie and Wu Zetian
Di Renjie, courtesy name Huaiying, was born in Taiyuan (now Taiyuan, Shanxi).At the beginning of 676 AD, Di Renjie was promoted to Dali Cheng, in charge of the trial of the case.He handles cases impartially without fear of power. At that time, there was a backlog of many entangled unjust and strange cases. Di Renjie handled more than 17000 cases within a year with his outstanding talent.His outstanding ability and excellent cases in handling cases are still widely praised today and have been used for reference by later generations of judicial departments.

Wu Zetian appreciated Di Renjie very much and made him prime minister.When the cruel official Lai Junchen gained power, he falsely accused Di Renjie of treason and sent Di Renjie to prison.Wu Zetian exempted Di Renjie from the death penalty and demoted him to other places as a county magistrate. He was not transferred back to be a prime minister until Lai Junchen was killed.After reinstatement, on the issue of choosing the prince, Di Renjie opposed Wu Zetian's appointment of her nephew Wu Sansi as the prince, and persuaded her to appoint her own son Li Xian.Di Renjie lived until he was 93 years old. When he was in office, he asked many times to retire from his old age and return to his hometown, but Wu Zetian always refused.Wu Zetian respected Di Renjie very much and called him "the old man of the country".After Di Renjie's death, Wu Zetian often sighed and said: "Why did God take away my old man so early!"

Empress Wei followed Empress Wu as regent
In 710 AD, Empress Wei and Princess Anle poisoned Li Xian.On the second day of June, Li Xian died violently in the Dragon Hall at the age of 55.Empress Wei was not in a hurry to mourn for Li Xian, but suppressed the matter.The next day, Empress Wei summoned the prime ministers into the palace, recruited 5 government soldiers to garrison the capital, and took charge of the government by herself. She also sent 500 troops to Junzhou, the general of Zuojianmen and servant Xue Sijian, to guard against the king Li Chongfu. , and promoted Pei Tan, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and Zhang Xitong, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, to the third rank of Zhongshumen, who are still stationed in Luoyang, Tokyo;

After Princess Taiping learned of Li Xian's death, she conspired with Shangguan Wan'er to draft an edict, making Wen Wang Li Chongmao the crown prince (Li Xian's youngest son, who was not born to Empress Wei), the queen knew the political affairs, and the prime minister Li Dan participated in the political affairs.On the fourth day of June, Li Xian's coffin was moved to Tai Chi Hall.Empress Wei summoned civil and military officials to make a formal funeral. She followed the example of Empress Wu and became regent.A few days later, Li Chongmao came to the throne, that is, Emperor Shao, and empress Wei was the empress dowager.

Empress Wei's wish to be regent was finally fulfilled.

●Li Longji raised troops against Wei
Li Xian died of a sudden illness, and Empress Wei took charge of the government as empress dowager.In fact, all the power in the court and China is in her hands.Empress Wei's troubles in the court soon aroused the dissatisfaction of the Li clan.Among them, a royal family member who was talented in civil and military affairs and had great courage and insight came forward. He was Li Dan's third son, Li Longji, the king of Linzi.Before the age of 20, Li Longji lived in the era when Wu Zetian was in power.It can be said that he, his father and many Li family members are in a kind of adversity.However, unlike his father Li Dan and other uncles, he was unwilling to be a weak person. Instead, under the strict education of his father Li Dan, he studied poetry and books, rode horses and practiced archery, determined to rise in adversity and revive Li Dan Emperor Wei.

Li Xian died suddenly, and Li Longji immediately realized that there must be some shady activities involved.And he had heard about Webster's promiscuous harem for a long time, especially when he saw her messing with the arrogant Princess Anle, he realized that he and his father were in a dangerous situation. Be mentally prepared and actively plan secretly.Ge Fushun and Chen Xuanli, military attaches of the Imperial Forest Army, had a good personal relationship with Li Longji.One day, the two told Li Longji that Wei Bo (Empress Wei's younger brother), the commander of the Imperial Forest Army, often beat the soldiers of the Imperial Forest Army, and at the same time expressed strong dissatisfaction.Li Longji thought that the opportunity had come, so he conspired with the two to kill Wei Bo and rectify Chao Gang.The two of them had intended this for a long time, but they were suffering from the lack of a suitable person to lead the army. When they heard Li Longji's words, they immediately agreed.

Li Longji knew that the strength of the three of them alone was not enough to achieve great plans.So he joined forces with Liu Youqiu, Zhong Shaojing and others to prepare for a big palace coup.During this period, some people advocated that the uprising could involve the influential emperor Li Dan who was deposed by Wu Zetian at that time.Li Longji knew his father's weak and tolerant character very well, so he said impassionedly to everyone: "We did this not for ourselves, but for the society of the Tang Dynasty. Once we succeed, it will be the blessing of King Xiang (referring to Li Dan) , If you let Xiang Wang get involved, if you fail, you will be implicated. Moreover, if you tell Xiang Wang, if he doesn't agree, won't it destroy our action?" Everyone agreed with Li Longji's plan as soon as they heard the reason.

One night, Ge Fushun stabbed the sleeping Wei Bo to death in the Imperial Forest Barracks.Then he said to the generals and soldiers: "Empress Wei poisoned the late emperor to death, fornicated the harem, disrupted the government, and violated the great etiquette of the monarch and his ministers. For the sake of the Tang Dynasty, we will enter the palace tonight and kill all the people surnamed Wei, and support the king. Everyone see How is it?" The soldiers could not stand Wei Bo on weekdays, and when they saw this situation, they all cheered in response.

At this time, Empress Wei was drinking and laughing with several of her lovers in the harem.Ever since Li Xian was murdered, she has become more unscrupulous. Every night, she will lead several of her lovers to take turns to serve her bed. Even during the day, she will do such careless things with her lovers in front of many court ladies and eunuchs. Many servants in the harem are deeply ashamed. .Moreover, Empress Wei is fierce and blames everyone at every turn, so there are almost no people in the palace who do not hate her.Tonight, when she was still indulging in her lewdness, Li Longji suddenly led troops to kill, and shouted the slogan "Kill Wei Empress, Li Xiangwang".When everyone in the palace heard this, they immediately joined in.Empress Wei and her lovers were frightened and panicked when they heard the shout.Several men put on their clothes and hats, left Wei Hou and fled in despair.Empress Wei was anxious and angry, and ran out of the palace with disheveled clothes and disheveled hair.She was still sober at this moment, and knew that she should go to her younger brother who commanded the Imperial Forest Army.But she didn't know that Wei Bo had already gone one step ahead of her.She just ran to the gate of the Yulin Army camp, just in time for the soldiers of the Yulin Army to rush out to join Li Longji.Ge Fushun, the leader, saw Empress Wei in a state of embarrassment at a glance, shouted "bitch", stepped forward, raised a knife in his hand, and cut off Empress Wei's head.At this point, Empress Wei's dream of being a queen was completely shattered.

Princess Anle, who killed her father, also failed to escape being killed.Empress Wei's lovers were all pulled out by the soldiers and stabbed to death with random swords.Prime Minister Zong Chuke escaped by chance and disguised himself as a peddler, trying to sneak out of the city the next day, but was recognized by the city gate guards and beheaded on the spot.The members of the Wei family were executed by Li Longji, and those who relied on the power of the Wei family to do their best were also executed.Therefore, Li Longji ordered the gates of the palace and the capital to be closed, and sent Wanqi to search and kill Zhu Wei and his buddies separately.On that day, the ministers of the court and the central government took Li Longji, the king of Linzi, as the king of Ping.

Tang Ruizong became emperor again
Tang Ruizong Li Dan is the younger brother of Tang Zhongzong Li Xian.In 684 A.D., Wu Zetian deposed Li Xian and established Li Dan, but political affairs still depended on Wu Zetian, and Li Dan could not interfere.In 689 A.D., Li Dan changed his title to King Xiang.

In 710 A.D., Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian died, and Linzi King Li Longji raised his troops to pacify the situation. He called for "establishing a prime minister together to secure the world" and welcomed Li Danren to assist the young emperor Li Chongmao.On the third day of the extermination of Webster, Princess Taiping gave way to Li Dan under the orders of Li Chongmao.On the fourth day after Webster's extermination, Princess Taiping and Liu Youqiu coaxed and coerced the young emperor from the throne next to Zhongzong Li Xianzi's palace in the Taiji Hall, and Tang Ruizong Li Dan was reinstated.Like Li Xian, Li Dan is also the second emperor this time.The first time he was a puppet, and the real power was in the hands of his mother, Empress Wu Zetian. At this time, I had mixed feelings in my heart.Then, Li Dan will establish the crown prince, and Li Chengqi, the king of Song, will be the heir. However, Li Longji, the king of Ping, has made great achievements, so he cannot be decided.Li Chengqi resigned firmly, saying: "If the country is safe, the heirs will be the first, and if the country is in danger, the first will be meritorious. If you violate this principle, the world will be disappointed." Therefore, Li Longji, the king of Liping, became the prince.

●Ruizong began to set up Jiedushi
On October 710th of the first year of Emperor Ruizong Jingyun (AD [-]), Xue Na (son of Xue Rengui), the ambassador of Youzhou Township Jinglue Jiedu, was appointed as the general of Zuowuwei and the governor of Youzhou.From then on, the Tang Dynasty began to set up Jiedushi.

In accordance with the regulations of the Tang Dynasty, the prince was appointed as the Jiedu ambassador.As long as the prince himself does not deal with daily affairs in his position, but still lives in the capital as an official, he must set up another post of "deputy ambassador" in the place he guards.Under other Jiedushi, Jiedu deputy envoys can also be set up to help Jiedushi handle daily affairs.

The establishment of the post of Jiedu envoy in the Tang Dynasty played a role in stabilizing the frontier and strengthening border defense, but it also laid the root for the later Jiedu envoys to support their own self-respect, not to be under the jurisdiction, and even to rebel.

●Tang Xuanzong Kaiyuan flourishing age

During the period of Wu Zetian, Tang Zhongzong, and Tang Ruizong, the politics were dark and there were many disadvantages.Tang Xuanzong Li Longji reigned for 44 years. Aiming at social ills, he appointed politicians Yao Chong, Song Zhang and others to carry out reforms during the Kaiyuan period, and achieved remarkable results.

First, re-emphasize the development of agricultural production.Construct water conservancy, eliminate locusts and stop disasters.In 721 A.D., Li Longji sent Yu Wenrong as an envoy to persuade farmers to seize escaped households and hidden fields all over the country, and found more than 80 customers and many fields.Free 6-year rent adjustment and labor service for customers, and the states will arrange it on the average land.As a result, increased national income.

Secondly, Li Longji eliminated redundant officials, rectified the administration of officials, paid attention to the selection of officials, emphasized the appointment of officials based on merit and talent, and paid special attention to the selection and appointment of county magistrates who were directly adjacent to the people.Strengthen the assessment of officials, and the inspectors of various provinces will carry out performance assessments on local officials according to their names and facts, as the basis for dismissal.

Again, Li Longji accepted Yao Chong's suggestion to suppress Buddhism, rectify finances, and advocate thrift.After the reforms in the Kaiyuan period, the Tang Dynasty under the rule of Li Longji entered its heyday, with economic prosperity, social stability, cultural prosperity, and strong national power.

During the Kaiyuan period, the Tang Dynasty recovered 21 prefectures in western Liaoning from Khitan. Japan and the Korean peninsula had frequent contacts with the Tang Dynasty. After Tubo and Xiaobolu were conquered, the prestige of the Tang Dynasty spread far and wide in West Asia.

Du Fu described the prosperity of the Kaiyuan period in his poem "Recalling the Past": "Recalling the heyday of Kaiyuan in the past, there are still thousands of houses in the small town. The rice is fat and the corn is white, and the public and private warehouses are full. There are no jackals and tigers on the roads of Kyushu. The sun rises without labor. Qi, Wan, Lu, and Lu have a regular car, and men who farm and women who weave do not lose each other." During the Kaiyuan period, prices were relatively low and stable, and the national storage was full, so that "the left and right storehouses were full of wealth, which is incomparable."Until the last years of Tianbao, prices were stable for a long time, and low and stable prices had a positive effect on social stability.During this period, the hukou increased significantly.

During Li Longji's reign, the Tang Dynasty flourished day by day.People call the early years of Li Longji's reign the "Golden Age of Kaiyuan", and believe that the "Great Age of Kaiyuan" is comparable to the "Rule of Zhenguan" that appeared during Li Shimin's reign.

●Jianzhen travels to Japan
Cultural exchanges between the Tang Dynasty and neighboring countries were very frequent. Foreign countries sent Tang envoys to China, and Tang Dynasty people also went abroad for cultural exchanges.During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the Chinese eminent monk Jianzhen traveled eastward at the invitation of Emperor Shomu of Japan. After six efforts, he went through hardships and dangers, and finally arrived in Japan with his disciples in 6 A.D. when he was nearly 754 years old. .

Jianzhen introduced the Vinaya sect of Buddhism to Japan, and at the same time imparted Buddhist temple architecture, sculpture, painting and other arts to the Japanese, which had an important influence on the later architecture of Japan.At the same time, Jianzhen was proficient in medicine, especially herbal medicine. Although he was blind, he could distinguish various medicines by nose and smell. He passed his medical knowledge to Japan, which promoted the development of Japanese medicine.

●Three thousand pets in one

In the history of Chinese emperors, Li Longji was a prosperous Ming emperor, so he was called Tang Minghuang.However, he was also a romantic son, and had a sad and bizarre love affair with Yang Yuhuan, which was passed down through the ages as a classic love story.

In 737 AD, Li Longji's favorite concubine Wu Hui died.Since then, Li Longji has lost his soul. Although there are 3000 concubines in the palace, who can replace Concubine Wu Hui?No, Li Longji thinks there is none.He used to be physically strong and energetic, but now he feels bored all the time, and his heavy steps are gradually aging.Wrinkles are densely covered, and white hair has increased suddenly... All of this was seen by the confidant eunuch Gao Lishi.Gao Lishi was Li Longji's most capable assistant when he was still the prince.For more than 20 years since Li Longji came to the throne, Gao Lishi has been loyal to him, never playing tricks, and whenever he encounters any problems, Gao Lishi always thinks of the emperor with all his strength.

Now, seeing that Li Longji has been in depression for a long time, Gao Lishi is very disturbed, so he said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, the dead cannot be brought back to life, so it is not appropriate to harm yourself. In the view of a slave, such a big world will not find no To someone His Majesty likes!" After hearing this, Li Longji smiled wryly and shook his head.Gao Lishi smiled again and said: "I know that only Concubine Wu Hui really likes His Majesty, and there will never be only one Concubine Wu Hui in the world!" Li Longji widened his eyes and asked: "Who?" Gao Lishi whispered: "Your Majesty, I Look at Prince Shou's concubine Yang Yuhuan, she looks exactly like Concubine Wu Hui back then!" When Gao Lishi mentioned it, Li Longji remembered it.It was in the first month of the previous few years, when he was recuperating with Concubine Wu Hui in Lishan Hot Spring, he had seen Yang Yuhuan once, and saw her with white cheeks, bright eyes and white teeth, slim and graceful, really like a fairy.At this time, after Gao Lishi mentioned it, Li Longji was immediately excited, but suddenly the temperature dropped again: "She is a daughter-in-law, and it is impossible to replace Concubine Wu Hui!" Li Longji tried his best to forget Yang Yuhuan, but After Gao Lishi mentioned it, he will never forget it.

One day after the Chinese New Year in 739 AD, under the arrangement of Li Longji's younger sister, Princess Yuzhen, Yang Yuhuan, Princess of Shou Wang, was invited to Yuzhen Temple.While eating, a waitress suddenly came to report Princess Yuzhen: "The emperor is here!" Yang Yuhuan was very nervous after hearing this, and Princess Yuzhen said: "The emperor's brother was riding a horse in the garden after finishing his business, and suddenly remembered me. Yes, I said I want to have lunch here. We are all one family, and this is not a palace, so you don't have to avoid it." Just as he was speaking, Li Longji came in.Before dinner was served, Li Longji was sitting in front of the dining table, with Princess Yuzhen and Yang Yuhuan sitting on both sides.Seeing Princess Shou's embarrassment, Li Longji deliberately found a topic and asked: "I heard that Princess Shou knows Brahman music?" Yang Yuhuan was taken aback, and thought: "How does he know my details?" After Yuhuan, because she couldn't forget, people had already found out her details.Yang Yuhuan is from Sichuan, the land of abundance. She has loved music since she was a child and learned a lot of singing and dancing. Five years ago, she married her son, the birthday king Li Mao, as a concubine.

Today, when the emperor asked about music, Yang Yuhuan broke the embarrassment and replied calmly and a little cautiously: "I only learned a little, so I can't talk about it!" Princess Yuzhen said: "Why should Yuhuan be polite? He knows music." Li Longji said: "In this case, let's go hungry for a while and play two pieces first!" Princess Yuzhen hurriedly fetched a flute.Li Longji took the flute and played a tune first.It doesn't matter if this piece of music is important, it immediately attracted Yang Yuhuan's interest, completely forgetting the etiquette between father-in-law and daughter-in-law, and blurted out: "You have changed this piece of music, transfer Nan Lu to the palace!" Li Longji Smiled happily: "You know music very well. I have changed it. What do you think of the change? You can also play this piece and have a look!" Yang Yuhuan seemed to have returned to her childhood at this time, took over the flute, and showed her The unique talent blows up.Before the melody was finished, Li Longji, who was half a hundred years old, clapped his hands and shouted like a child.One person, one song, one back and forth, the flute sounds the heart, and the voices are connected.Li Longji laughed, Yang Yuhuan laughed, and Princess Yuzhen laughed too.

Afterwards, Li Longji returned to the palace, out of his mind, thinking about Yang Yuhuan with all his heart.It was Gao Lishi again who advised and made arrangements for him.Afterwards, Yang Yuhuan returned to the mansion. She seldom eats and eats, sleeps uneasy, breaks up with Shou Wang, makes a lot of noise, and must be a monk in the nunnery...

On the second day of the first lunar month of the second year, the imperial court sent an imperial edict to Shou Wang's mansion, agreeing that Yang Yuhuan should go to Wanshou Temple (Taizhen Temple) to become a monk, taking the name Taizhen.On the sixth day after Yang Yuhuan became a monk at Wanshou Temple, she was taken to Lishan Hot Spring to meet Li Longji.For the next 5 years, the two were inseparable almost every day. Yang Yuhuan was "loved by three thousand people" and lived a life as sweet as honey.

After the five-year cohabitation ended, in 5 A.D., Li Longji publicly announced that Yang Yuhuan, a female Taoist priest, was registered as a noble concubine.Since then, Yang Yuhuan, whose identity is unknown, has finally rectified her name.

(End of this chapter)