What is Wu Zetian’s harem like Who are her four male pets

The river of time flows endlessly, and history continues to develop. Let the editor of History Encyclopedia take you through the fog of history, back to the era of swords and shadows, and see the story of Empress Wu Zetian.
Wu Zetian’s four male favorites, Xue Huaiyi, Shen Nanqiu, Wu Lang Zhang Yizhi, and Liu Lang Zhang Changzong, all had extraordinary martial arts skills, which made her decadent and unwilling to go to court
As the only legitimate empress in Chinese history, the specific situation of Empress Wu Zetian’s harem is particularly intriguing.
In the eyes of many people, Empress Wu Zetian was debauched in her later years, with countless male pets and nightlife. From then on, the king did not court early.
This view is pure nonsense. What is more credible is that, under the constraints of the basic moral standards at that time, Wu Zetian was destined to find a male pet secretly and slowly, and could not openly engage in the harem like other male emperors.
Moreover, the former emperor Li Zhi has not yet cooled down, and the ministers are eyeing him with covetous eyes, thinking of playing with male pets, which is simply ridiculous.
I’ve been reading for half a day and only found four male pets with names, let’s call them the Four Great Male Pets. Today, I’ll list these four men standing behind Wu Zetian
1. Abbot of Baima Temple, General of the Right Guard, and General of the Auxiliary Country: Xue Huaiyi
You can tell from Lao Xue’s title that he is showered with countless favors, yet he is the only one favored!
Before Xue Huaiyi, Wu Zetian did not have a male pet, and Li Zhi stayed cool for two years. At the age of 61, Wu Zetian lived a lonely life.
Princess Qianjin, the daughter of Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan, was anxious to establish a good relationship with Wu Zetian. She discovered this loneliness and thought of a young and strong handsome man in her mansion.
The handsome guy is Xue Huaiyi, also known as Feng Xiaobao at this time.
Princess Qianjin discovered Feng Xiaobao while he was having trouble with the palace maids. At that time, she vaguely felt that this person was useful and she could use him herself, so she did not deal with him and used him first.
Sure enough, with a brief introduction, Wu Zetian was very interested. After seeing Feng Xiaobao, I tried him out and found that he was handsome and strong, with a powerful and unstoppable aura.
Princess Qianjin is reliable!
Feng Xiaobao is a person who is highly regarded, and Wu Zetian is no exception. For the convenience of use, Emperor Wu ordered Feng Xiaobao to shave his hair and become a monk who could frequently enter and exit the palace. He also obtained double safety and changed his vest to Xue Huaiyi. He also became a relative of Xue Shao, the husband of Princess Taiping, and asked Xue Shao to call him Uncle Xue Huaiyi. His seniority was not disorderly
Being favored for over ten years, Xue Huaiyi became the feared Xue Shi, with various titles assigned to him as if they were free of charge. Xue Huaiyi did not have a big picture either. If such good conditions were not well maintained and he insisted on dying, even the prime minister and imperial censor dared to beat him up. Wu Zetian gradually lost patience and fell in love with someone else.
As a male pet, when the emperor favors you, what do you say; The emperor doesn’t want you anymore. What do you think you are?
Xue Huaiyi couldn’t figure out the situation and wanted to regain his favor, so he planned a grand banquet for the Empress at Mingtang (the main hall of the palace ruled by Empress Wu Zetian, also known as the Wanxiang Shrine) on the 15th day of the first lunar month.
Wu Zetian smiled and didn’t take it to heart, continuing to have fun with her new love.
When did Xue Baobao experience such injustice! On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month the next day, he was burning with jealousy and set fire to Heaven (the Royal Hall of Worship). The fire quickly spread to Mingtang and grew stronger as it burned.
The fire shone on the city like day, surpassing all the brightness, and the violent storm shattered hundreds of bloody images.
When dawn comes, the majestic and magnificent paradise, Mingtang, and Great Buddha will all be burned down and transformed into the Wujiaoba bow, without a single piece of wood.
You dare to burn down the emperor’s office, but the weather is crazy. After more than half a month, Xue Huaiyi’s life will be taken.
Regarding the death of Xue Huaiyi, some say it was killed by Princess Taiping, the daughter of Empress Wu Zetian, some say it was killed by Empress Wu Youning, the nephew of Empress Wu Zetian, and some say it was killed by both of them. Anyway, it can be confirmed that this person died very tragically, very tragically
2. Warm imperial physician: Shen Nanqiu
If it weren’t for Xue Huaiyi’s death, imperial physician Shen Nanqiu probably wouldn’t have risen to power so quickly.
Why? Because Lao Shen is really Lao Shen, much older than Xue Huaiyi and not a few years younger than Wu Zetian, probably around 50 years old.
What was the ancient name for being over fifty years old? Fifty knows fate! Can Lao Shen not know how many pounds and ounces he weighs?
But there’s no other way, who made the queen take notice of you.
Shen Nanqiu, who comes from a royal medical background, is very good at judging people’s appearance and has a professional aura. His whole person exudes a sense of independence and outstanding nobility, as well as a gentle and caring attitude that can cure illnesses. Most importantly, he knows the rules of being low-key and not being too ostentatious. Mixed together, Shen Yuyi’s mature male demeanor captured Wu Zetian’s heart.
According to historical records, Shen Nanqiu was a substitute for Xue Huaiyi. The Tang Dynasty’s “Romance of the Tang Dynasty” referred to Nanqiu’s fangshu, which did not allow Huaiyi, and Wu Shi was also pleased.
After all, in his fifties, Shen Nanqiu’s kung fu may not be the worst among the four male pets, but his endurance is definitely the last. Often, it’s just that Wu Zetian uses it but it’s useless
In the end, during a period of cloud and rain in Wushan, Dr. Shen suffered a complete power outage and died suddenly in the palace. It is estimated that he died on the dragon bed
3. Goro and Rokuro: Zhang brothers
The Zhang brothers, Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, are true fresh meat and were originally the male favorites of Princess Taiping.
As we all know, Princess Taiping’s filial piety can be learned from heaven and earth. She saw that Wu Zetian, who had lost the imperial physician Shen, was too sad, so she recommended Zhang Changzong, whom she had used well, to her mother.
After trying it out, Wu Zetian found that she still had to be a fresh and handsome young man. He was handsome, sunny, proficient in rhythm, and could sing and dance well. Raising him alone was even more satisfying than raising a band. 666!
Zhang Changzong was the sixth child in his family. He reported to Wu Zetian that his fifth brother Zhang Yizhi was also a handsome man. In addition to his appearance, singing and dancing, he could also refine medicine, right? Wu Zetian is very interested. Even one sheep can be driven, and two sheep can be driven. Come on, everyone!
Two young fresh meat, nearing the age of a weak crown, with a jade like appearance and snow-white skin, with picturesque eyebrows and eyes. Their bodies are all snow-white and flawless, thin without revealing their bones, and plump without sagging.
With such personal conditions, the Zhang brothers completely won the favor of Wu Zetian, both in terms of promotion and wealth, and could not stop. Due to Wu Zetian’s advanced age, many political affairs were handled by her two brothers, who gradually gained power over the court and the public, even more domineering than the fake monk Xue Huaiyi.
For example, Prince Shao Li Chongrun and Princess Yongtai secretly criticized the Zhang brothers and were both sentenced to death by hanging. Even Wu Zetian’s nephews Wu Chengsi, Wu Sansi, and others competed to whip and lead horses for the two.
The days of immortals didn’t last long, and Wu Zetian became seriously ill. The Zhang brothers began to panic. Sure enough, in the first year of the Shenlong era (705 AD), Zhang Jianzhi and others led the Yulin Army to welcome Crown Prince Li Xian into the palace. They executed Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong at the Yingxian Palace, and their bodies were publicly beheaded in the south of Tianjin Bridge. Even if they died, there was no complete body left behind
In summary, the common characteristic of these four people is their ease of use, which can be put simply as being able to satisfy Wu Zetian’s physical and mental desires in a certain aspect.
To be honest, I think a generation of queens should not be so shallow in their character, they would only care about that little thing and disregard their overall image. Besides satisfying desires, male pets should also be able to fulfill some of Wu Zetian’s political needs.
For example, Xue Huaiyi’s representative work “The Great Cloud Sutra” was found by him from the vast sea of scriptures, which recorded the story of the female protagonist ruling the country and eventually becoming a Buddha. This provided a classic basis for Empress Wu Zetian to become emperor and engage in public opinion debates. Zhang Changzong also edited books and wrote the book “Three Teachings: Zhu Ying” inside. Twenty six scholars including Li Qiao and Yan Chaoyin, who were experts in citation studies, compiled collections in different schools. In fact, it was Wu Zetian who was cultivating her confidants.
It seems that mastering some cultural knowledge is necessary to win the favor of the queen