In the late years of Empress Wu Zetian’s reign, there was a coup d ‘é tat by ministers, who supported Crown Prince Li Xian and restored the Li Tang dynasty. But apart from Empress Wu Zetian herself retiring to the harem, the Wu family was not liquidated, and the core figure of the Wu family, Wu Sansi, who was once expected to ascend to the throne, continued to hold high positions and enjoy generous salaries. Li Xian even married his daughter Princess Anle to Wu Sansi’s son and allowed his wife to have an affair with Wu Sansi. Instead, he persecuted and killed Zhang Jianzhi and other meritorious officials one after another. Does Li Xian have a pit in his head?
In Li Xian’s opinion, it is probably the ministers such as Zhang Jianzhi who staged a coup and supported him to power who have the real brain hole, so Zhang Jianzhi and these people did not have a good ending in the end.
Firstly, the direct reason for Wu Zetian’s downfall was the Shenlong Coup, which was rooted in the overbearing behavior of her two favored brothers, namely the death of Li Chongrun. The killing of two Zhang was actually agreed upon by both Li and Wu families. In other words, the nature of Wu Zetian’s downfall was that Zhang Jianzhi and other courtiers joined forces with the Li Wu group led by Li Xian, Li Dan, Princess Taiping, and Wu Sansi to launch a coup. In this coup, the Li family and the Wu family were one. However, the true purpose of the Li and Wu families was to kill Er Zhang, not to overthrow Wu Zetian.
Overthrowing Wu Zetian was Zhang Jianzhi’s personal gain. According to the “Zizhi Tongjian”, when Emperor Zhongzong of Tang came to see it, he was greatly shocked. The Empress Dowager (Empress Wu Zetian) wept and said, ‘I have come from Fangling to welcome you, and I believe that the world has bestowed upon you. However, the Five Thieves’ greed for merit has shocked me to this point.’. Crying uncontrollably, bowing to the ground to express gratitude for the death penalty. Therefore, after careful consideration and waiting, one can grasp their plan.
The mentality of Emperor Tang Zhongzong is clearly stated here: Wu Zetian is already in her twilight years, Li Xian’s position is stable, he does not want to bear the stigma of forcing his mother, and people like Wu Sansi would not have such thoughts.
The main purpose of the Shenlong coup was to kill Erzhang and force Wu Zetian to abdicate, which should not have been part of the pre planned plan. Emperor Tang Zhongzong believed that his succession to the throne was natural and did not require a coup.
Therefore, Tang Zhongzong was very dissatisfied with ministers like Zhang Jianzhi. That’s why I said he thinks Zhang Jianzhi has a mental pit.
