Did Wu Zetian really kill Li Zhi’s three children? Interested readers and history encyclopedia editors, let’s take a look together!
Wu Zetian had a unique style from a young age compared to other women, and was intelligent, studious, and beautiful. She was chosen by Li Shiming to become a talented person in the palace, but after following Li Shimin for 12 years, her status did not improve, and she was only a fifth grade talent. She did not give birth to a male or female child, indicating that Li Shiming did not favor her. It can be said that she did not have any favor at all. After Li Shiming’s death, Li Zhi had a special fondness for her. With the help of Empress Wang, she was brought back by Li Zhi, who was originally a nun at the Gan Ye Temple, and was conferred the title of Zhao Yi, which became a major turning point in her life. Gradually, Her life is gradually reaching its peak.
However, despite being granted the title of Second Rank Zhaoyi, she was not limited to her current position. As an ambitious woman, she had always favored the position of empress in her heart, so she tried her best to win the position of empress. Li Zhi himself had always favored her and naturally wanted to make her the empress, but the most important reason was to seize power from ministers and eliminate the aristocratic group in the court to show his authority. Because the emperor doted on her and she was also very capable, she gradually intervened in court affairs, which allowed Wu Zetian to accumulate experience in handling court affairs. After gaining great power, her ambition became even greater, and she began to look towards the supreme throne.
According to the tradition of the imperial family, the throne should be inherited by the descendants of the emperor. At that time, the crown prince was Li Zhong, the eldest son of Li Zhi, so he naturally became a thorn in Wu Zetian’s side. At that time, Xu Jingzong, the Minister of Rites, was a loyal follower of Wu Zetian. Seeing that the empress intended to curry favor with him, he wrote to the emperor that although Li Zhong was the eldest son, he was illegitimate and should abolish his crown prince position and change Li Hong, the son of Wu Zetian, to crown prince. Li Zhi agreed after hearing this, so he abolished his crown prince position and changed it to Prince Liang. Wang Fusheng, the eunuch who served Li Zhong, had offended Wu Zetian. Therefore, Wu Zetian asked Xu Jingtian to do the same. Zong submitted a memorial to the emperor stating that Wang Fusheng and Li Zhong had intentions of rebellion and wanted to betray the court. Therefore, Li Zhi ordered his son to be executed. In fact, the mastermind behind Li Zhong’s death was undoubtedly Wu Zetian.
After becoming the crown prince, Li Hong was greatly favored by Li Zhi due to his filial piety from a young age. He was also the eldest son of his favored concubine Wu Zetian, and naturally cultivated him as an heir, gradually giving him increasing power. Wu Zetian saw this situation and believed that he would become a stumbling block for herself. Although he was still her biological son, her ultimate goal was not to become the empress dowager. Just as she was feeling melancholy, Li Hong suddenly passed away. Although he had been weak and sickly since childhood, his age did not end with sudden death. Although his cause of death is still unknown, according to the records in the New Book of Tang, his death was closely related to that of Wu Zetian. Close relationship, and rumors suggest that Wu Zetian killed him.
As soon as he died, the position of crown prince became vacant, so Li Xian was appointed as the crown prince. He was a talented person, but his relationship with Wu Zetian was very tense. Ming Chongyan was deeply trusted by the emperor and Empress Wu at that time, but he told the emperor that Li Xian did not have the ability to inherit the throne. On the contrary, Li Dan had a strong resemblance to Emperor Taizong, and Li Xian was very angry when he learned of this. Later, Ming Chongyan was killed by bandits, and Wu Zetian suspected that it was Li Xian’s hand, thinking that he was retaliating. She found several armors in his palace as evidence of murder, and Li Zhi immediately abolished his crown prince position. Helpless, Li Xian was then killed. He committed suicide.
Wu Zetian persecuted Li Zhi’s three sons for her future power, but why did Li Zhi remain indifferent? The editor believes that one reason is that Li Zhi trusted her very much, and he was weak and sickly. Many times, when he went to court, he felt dizzy and unable to handle political affairs. Instead, Wu Zetian assisted her on the side and handled it very well, so he trusted her even more. And the deaths of his three sons were one due to illness, two due to rebellion, and one of them was personally executed by herself.
Emperors of all dynasties could not tolerate rebellion, and anyone who violated his power would die, no matter who it was. Therefore, regarding the deaths of his three sons, especially after Wu Zetian presented evidence of their rebellion, Li Zhi chose to remain silent and allow it silently.
