For those who are very interested in Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, the History Encyclopedia editor brings detailed articles for your reference.
At that time, as a talented person, Wu Zetian also had a good sisters, Xu Hui. Both of them entered the palace when they were young, but their personalities are indeed different. At that time, Li Shimin liked the gentle and considerate Xu Hui, while Wu Zetian was not prominent and no one cared about her. It was only after 12 years that the later Crown Prince Li Zhi began to pay attention to Wu Zetian. At that time, Changsun Wuji passed away, and Li Zhi was always taken by Li Shimin and raised by himself. Because he knows his son’s personality, he spoils Li Zhi very much. Because they often walked around the palace, the two of them ignited a spark of love, and Li Zhi fell in love with Wu Zetian.
They went against common sense and secretly dated each other. Not only that, Li Zhi also relied heavily on Wu Zetian. Even Wu Zetian, who was forced to go to the Gan Ye Temple, had a certain attraction to Li Zhi. The old relationship between the two reignited, and Li Zhi completely disregarded his father and Wu Zetian’s identity, insisting on connecting Wu Zetian to the harem. After entering the harem, Wu Zetian rose step by step and even defeated Queen Wang. Wu Zetian, with her outstanding talent and appearance, received the attention of Li Zhi, and even possessed superb political literacy. She could serve as a helper for Li Zhi, but gradually Li Zhi tacitly allowed her to interfere in court affairs.
Due to suffering from headaches, Li Zhi always had headaches when dealing with political affairs, and he pushed all these things onto Wu Zetian. From this point on, Wu Zetian became a legitimate ruler of the court. Even at that time, Li Zhi had a relationship with her sister. After Li Zhi’s death, because her son Li Xian succeeded to the throne, Wu Zetian felt that she often managed political affairs and handled them well. She didn’t want to be in the harem anymore and wanted to become the emperor, so she seized her son’s throne.
However, this person’s appearance also makes everyone very curious. Why could such a woman attract the emperor’s son? Some experts have tried to restore Wu Zetian’s appearance through books and portraits. We can see from the restored result that this is a very beautiful woman, but also reveals a kind of dominance. It is precisely because of her unique temperament that she can prove that she can become the Empress.
This unique temperament made Li Zhi like her, but Li Shimin himself was an emperor and had a long reign. He didn’t look up to Wu Zetian at all, so he preferred gentle women. That’s why Wu Zetian remained unknown in the imperial harem until Li Zhi ascended to power and was gradually excavated later. Wu Zetian had a very strong personality, and she could not stay at ease in the palace. It was impossible for her to just be a woman who cared for her husband and children. Li Shimin was very domineering. He didn’t like women like Wu Zetian.
Conclusion: Because he lost his mother since childhood, Li Zhi, who was pampered and raised, likes such a strong woman. However, he disregarded etiquette and insisted on bringing back Wu Zetian, which is also very surprising. Even if the courtiers tried to stop him, they were unsuccessful. He still brought Wu Zetian back, and the two of them later had children. Wu Zetian even ascended to the throne and took control of the Tang Dynasty at that time. However, she also made contributions to the government and did not neglect it, which is much better than other men ascending to the throne, because some incompetent emperors may not be able to handle it as well as Wu Zetian.
