Wu Zetian was wise all her life, why did she fall into the hands of an old man at night? Interested readers and history encyclopedia editors, let’s take a look together!
The Tang Dynasty has been renowned for its unparalleled prosperity, and the reason why it created such a glorious era is because there were numerous civil and military officials guarding the Tang Dynasty, especially the prime ministers. Among them, there are many well-known ones, such as Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Di Renjie, Zhang Jiuling, and so on.
The names of these prime ministers are well-known to later generations because they made significant contributions to the Tang Dynasty, but one prime minister also made a great contribution to the Tang Dynasty. Especially in the restoration of Li Tang’s divine artifacts, he played a great role, but the Tang Dynasty had many famous ministers who always overlooked him, and he was Zhang Jianzhi.
When it comes to this person, everyone will definitely think of the official in the TV series “Detective Dee Renjie” who has a good relationship with Dee Renjie. Compared to Di Renjie’s unwavering loyalty to Wu Zetian, Zhang Jianzhi has always leaned towards the Li Tang family.
Wu Zetian, as the only female emperor in Chinese history, usurped the Tang Dynasty artifact and ascended to the throne as emperor. On her path to the pinnacle of power, countless people became cannon fodder under her feet. Changsun Wuji, Shangguan Yi and other court officials were all defeated in the struggle against Wu Zetian, and their fate was very tragic. So even if someone harbors resentment towards Wu Zetian’s rule, they dare not speak out in anger.
Although Di Renjie tried his best to assist during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, he also hoped that one day Empress Wu Zetian could return the throne to the Li family. So he worked hard to pave the way for this goal during his lifetime, and the person he favored was Zhang Jianzhi, who was talented, courageous, and loyal to the Li Tang Dynasty. If you want to restore Li Tang’s artifact in the future, he is the most useful candidate!
So when Empress Wu Zetian asked Di Renjie to recommend talents, Di Renjie repeatedly recommended Zhang Jianzhi, allowing Zhang Jianzhi’s official position to rise all the way and eventually become prime minister.
Wu Zetian hesitated when selecting an heir, and she also considered appointing descendants of the Wu family as heirs. But this idea was quickly dispelled, and she still chose her son Li Xian as the heir. However, the Wu family had great power in the court, forming a confrontation with the Li family of the royal family.
In the later years of Wu Zetian’s life, she particularly enjoyed raising male pets, among whom the Zhang brothers were the most favored. They were Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi, respectively. The two of them coaxed the elderly Wu Zetian around, so much so that at that time they could control the court and cause chaos, and the courtiers dared not speak out in anger.
The Zhang brothers acted arrogantly, not only causing anger and resentment, but also affecting the interests of the Wu and Li families. I just didn’t expect that both sides could unite and not bring down the Zhang brothers. Wu Zetian’s love for the two had reached an unparalleled level.
The Zhang brothers were arrogant and the task of eliminating them was urgent. At this moment, Zhang Jianzhi stepped forward. Zhang Jianzhi, who was already in his seventies, was already the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty. He knew that as long as Wu Zetian protected him, the Zhang brothers could not be eliminated. Wu Zetian was already in her eighties, and now was a good opportunity for her to step down and assist Li Xian in ascending the throne.
So Zhang Jianzhi led a coup and stormed into the palace with hundreds of soldiers, directly killing the Zhang brothers and forcing Wu Zetian to issue an abdication decree. Wu Zetian had no choice but to abdicate, and Crown Prince Li Xian succeeded to the throne. This is Tang Zhongzong. And this coup is the famous Shenlong coup in the history of the Tang Dynasty. But Wu Zetian never imagined that her lifelong fame would fall into the hands of an old man in his seventies, and she would never rest in peace.
After Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian succeeded to the throne, the Tang Dynasty was not peaceful. Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian was cowardly, while his empress, Empress Wei, and daughter, Princess Anle, were determined to emulate Empress Wu Zetian and control the court’s politics, even becoming a female emperor. Of course, Zhang Jianzhi and others who had made great contributions at this time would never allow another Empress Wu Zetian to rise up, so they tried their best to contain the power of Empress Wei.
The power of the Wu family group, represented by Wu Sansi, is still very strong here. Wu Sansi has never stopped his desire to seize power, but he understands very well that Zhang Jianzhi and others are not willing to let Empress Wei become bigger, nor will they allow themselves to threaten the interests of the Li family. Therefore, it is imperative to eliminate Zhang Jianzhi.
First, Empress Wei blew the wind in front of Emperor Tang Zhongzong Li Xian, openly promoting and secretly surrendering to Zhang Jianzhi and others, depriving them of real power. Then, Wu Sansi came forward to frame Zhang Jianzhi in various ways. In the end, Zhang Jianzhi was exiled and exiled, and soon died of illness, while the civil servants who participated in the Shenlong coup together were almost completely wiped out. The internal turmoil of the Tang Dynasty’s struggle for power and profit has never been quelled, and Empress Wei, Crown Prince Li Chongjun, Wu Sansi, and others have all been annihilated in the wars of mutual attack. It was not until Tang Ruizong and Li Dan succeeded to the throne that the court, which had been in turmoil for a long time, finally found some peace.
After Li Dan succeeded to the throne, Emperor Ruizong of Tang began to exonerate Zhang Jianzhi and others who died unjustly, posthumously conferring upon him the title of Zhongshu Ling and posthumously giving him the posthumous title of “Wenzhen”. This prime minister who devoted his entire life to the Tang Dynasty finally received the deserved honor.
