After Empress Wu Zetian abdicated, why could her nephew Wu Sansi still act arrogantly? Below, the History Encyclopedia editor will bring you a detailed article introduction.
In January 705 AD, the only female emperor in Chinese history, Empress Wu Zetian, was permanently ousted from the throne by a “divine dragon coup” on her sickbed in the palace. As the Wu family that usurped the Li Tang dynasty and slaughtered the Li Tang royal family, they were not held accountable or implicated by the nine clans due to the downfall of their leading elder sister. On the contrary, the Wu family still lives very comfortably, and the new leader of the Wu family, Wu Sansi, is even more reckless, even venturing into the harem and putting a green hat on Tang Zhongzong Li Xian. Why is this happening?
The Bonds of Li Wu’s Marriage Alliance
According to the “Zizhi Tongjian”, Di Renjie once persuaded Wu Zetian to appoint the Li family (Prince of Luling Li Xian) as the crown prince. “If Your Majesty appoints Prince of Luling, he will enjoy the ancestral temple for thousands of years to come; if you think twice about it, the temple will not accommodate his sisters. The name used is that after Wu Zetian for thousands of years, there will always be descendants to offer sacrifices. Later on, Wu Zetian did not bestow the position of crown prince to her nephew Wu Sansi or Wu Chengsi. According to the Old Book of Tang, Wu Chengsi passed away due to his desire to become an emperor in the future being cut off.
Although Wu Zetian closed the door for the Wu family to ascend to the throne, she left a window for the future of the Wu family, which was called the “Li Wu Marriage”. In fact, such marriages facilitated for political purposes were common in ancient times, but there were not many mass-produced ones like Wu Zetian’s. Her daughter, Princess Taiping, was originally married to Xue Shao, the nephew of Emperor Gaozong of Tang. However, Wu Zetian, for her own purposes, took the opportunity to force Xue Shao to death and remarried Princess Taiping to Wu Chengsi. After Wu Chengsi’s death, she remarried Wu Youji and prematurely executed Wu Youji’s original spouse.
After Wu Zetian confirmed the appointment of Li Xian as the crown prince, she also appointed Li Xian’s daughters, Princess Anle and Princess Yongtai
Princess Xindu married her nephews Wu Chongxun, Wu Yanji, and Wu Yanhui respectively. She was also worried that relying solely on in laws would not be able to bind the relationship between the Li and Wu families, so she “ordered (representatives of the Li family, including Crown Prince Li Xian, and representatives of the Wu family, including Wu Sansi) to take oaths in Mingtang”. So, after Li Xian ascended the throne, would it be because of this kind of marriage alliance or oath that he would hold the Wu family in his palm and generously open up the palace, making Wu think twice about planting grass on his own head? Camels believe that the answer is negative.
Compromise for the sake of interests
Although Li Xian was appointed as the crown prince by Wu Zetian, he did not ascend to the throne until Wu Zetian voluntarily handed over power. He took the initiative to overthrow Wu Zetian’s rule and ascended the throne on her old and sick body. This kind of power seeking and usurpation is not something that a well behaved baby like Li Xian can do. Cai Dongfan, the author of “The Popular Romance of Chinese Dynasties”, once said that he was “originally mediocre and gentle in nature, and was made by a tough mother. How could he challenge himself to the throne?” So, who helped him ascend to the throne?
The “Divine Dragon Coup” that overthrew the rule of Empress Wu Zetian actually has a name called the “Five Kings Coup”. The Five Princes refer to Huan Yanfan, Jinghui, Cui Xuanwei, Zhang Jianzhi, and Yuan Shuji. Before the coup, they were only ministers in power. After the coup, they were conferred the title of Prince of Different Surnames by Li Xianfeng for their support and establishment
As a courtier, the title of Prince with a different surname is a high honor, but it is also a dangerous signal. Generally, non royal officials who obtain this title are not far from retirement.
Before being enfeoffed, they held onto power and even excluded the former prime ministers Wei Anshi, Wei Chengqing, Yao Yuanzhi, and others from the power core. Although the “Five Kings” were already mesmerized by victory at this moment, there were clear people under their command, including one named Yang Yuanyan. He had an old relationship with Zhang Jianzhi and was also a key member of the “Five Kings Coup”. After the success of the coup, he was also promoted to a higher position. Once he reminded Jinghui, ‘Success and fame will lead to danger if you don’t retreat,’ but ‘Hui knows what it means, and Qu Ran is unhappy.’.
Yang Yuanyan did not persuade the unhappy Jinghui and others anymore, but chose to silently withdraw from the court. He should not have thought at this moment that his withdrawal would bring longevity, wealth, and the title of Duke. These are all things to be discussed later. Let’s talk about Li Xian after ascending to the throne. Li Xian saw that although he had ascended to the throne and become the emperor, he could become a puppet of the “Five Kings” in just a minute, and he was naturally very unhappy. However, his rich experience in political struggles gave him the answer to solving problems.
The enemy of the enemy is a friend. Li Xian may not have heard of this sentence, but he still knows how to limit the dominance of one party in the court. He turned his gaze towards Wu Sansi, or more precisely, the Wu family behind Wu Sansi. Although Wu Zetian fell from power, she did not give many red envelopes to the Wu family during her lifetime, so the strength of the Wu family still existed in the court. Therefore, Li Xian planned to use the Wu family power represented by Wu Sansi to confront the “Five Kings”. Although he may wish to eradicate the Wu family, he had to choose compromise at this time.
The front door rejects tigers, the back door attracts wolves
In order to restrain the “Five Kings”, Li Xian did not put all the eggs in Wu Sansi’s basket. He also delegated power to Empress Wei, Consort Shangguan Wan’er, and others, allowing the imperial harem relatives to join his battle group, and even recalled Wei Anshi and others. These people were very powerful, and soon the “Five Kings” were awarded honorary titles such as Pingyang King, while their power was also taken back by Li Xian. Politicians who only have honor but no power are like fish on a chopping board, they can only be slaughtered by others.
They were first demoted, then exiled, and finally all died in a foreign land. However, Li Xian did not become happy because of the dismissal of the “Five Kings”. On the contrary, he was living a life worse than death. At first, in order to restrain the “Five Kings”, he tolerated the close unity of Empress Wei, Shangguan Wan’er, and Wu Sansi, but the development of the situation exceeded his expectations. The “Zizhi Tongjian” once recorded that “Empress Wei and Sansi were on both sides of the land, and they considered themselves to be on the side of planning. Sansi then communicated with Empress Wei”. Besides Wu Sansi and Wei Hou openly planting grass on Li Xian’s head, it is said that Shangguan Wan’er and other concubines have also fertilized this vast grassland.
Living in such a suffocating state is extremely luxurious for Li Xian, because soon after, his Empress Wei and his (suspected) daughter Princess Anle conspired to enter the underworld… the emperor was poisoned and died in the Divine Dragon Palace. The most tragic emperor of the Tang Dynasty passed away like this.
Summary
So the camel believed that after Wu Zetian stepped down, the Wu family could continue to prosper, and Wu Sansi could cause chaos in the palace, not because of Li Wu’s relatives and vows; But it was a kind of exchange of benefits, but Li Xian did not grasp the right balance.
