Why was Xue Shao killed by Wu Zetian? Below, the History Encyclopedia editor will provide a detailed introduction to the relevant content.
Who is Xue Shao? Many people are not clear about it. His mother was Princess Chengyang, daughter of Li Shimin and Empress Changsun, which means he was the grandson of Emperor Taizong of Tang. However, he also had another identity, which was Wu Zetian’s son-in-law. He married Wu Zetian’s daughter, Princess Taiping. And the reason why he was executed by Wu Zetian was mainly because his brother Xue Di participated in the rebellion of Li Chong, the Tang royal family. He was implicated and eventually starved to death in prison.
Empress Wu Zetian’s daughter, Princess Taiping, had a noble status, but Xue Shao was not an unknown person. He was the grandson of Li Shimin, and Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, was his uncle. This identity was more than enough to match Princess Taiping’s reputation. Anyway, the two of them are also a perfect match, talented and beautiful.
But from a political perspective, this identity has no blessing for Wu Zetian. At that time, dealing with the descendants of the Li surname was already a matter of her own hands, so she did not want Princess Taiping to marry Xue Shao, but she did not object much.
The wedding of the two was very grand, and the lighting torches even burned the trees along the way. In order to allow the spacious wedding car to pass, the walls of the Wannian County Hall had to be demolished.
If there were no unexpected circumstances, the two of them should have lived a happy life together, but unfortunately, something happened to Xue Shao. Later on, we all learned that Empress Wu Zetian declared herself emperor, which led to an irreconcilable conflict between the Li family and her. After all, the world was hard-earned by the people of the Li family. It is natural for the Li clan to be unwilling to let a woman take over the world like this.
The accession of Empress Wu Zetian to the throne posed a huge threat to the personal interests of the Li clan. As the Wu family gained power, the Li family naturally suffered. So many people rose up in opposition, including one Langya King Li Chong. He is the grandson of Li Shimin and the eldest son of King Li Zhen of Yue. At that time, Li Zhen joined forces with her father to rebel against Wu Zetian, but was ultimately defeated.
And Xue Shao’s brother Xue Di was good friends with Li Chong. At that time, Li Chong wrote to him hoping that he could actively respond, so Xue Di actively recruited troops and horses to respond to Li Chong’s uprising. But in the end, it still failed.
So Xue Di was executed by Wu Zetian. As his younger brother, regardless of whether he rebelled or not, he was also implicated and arrested and imprisoned.
Princess Taiping also went to plead with Wu Zetian, but Wu Zetian did not give anyone face and did not directly execute him. After being beaten a hundred times, Xue Shao starved to death in prison.
After all, for Empress Wu Zetian, this was just her son-in-law, but this son-in-law’s family did not have the same heart as her and instead rebelled, so keeping this son-in-law was of no use.
But in fact, there is another reason besides this one. It is said that Empress Wu Zetian was determined to marry Princess Taiping to the Wu family, which would be more in line with her own interests. And in the end, Princess Taiping really married Wu Youji.