How did Empress Wu Zetian overthrow the Empress and Consort Xiao Shufei

How did Empress Wu Zetian overthrow the Empress and Consort Xiao Shufei? Interested readers and history encyclopedia editors, let’s take a look together!
Wu Zetian, the only empress in Chinese history, was highly regarded and criticized throughout her life. At the age of 14, she was recognized by Li Shimin as a talented person, and her position remained unchanged for 12 years without change. Her imperial favor was even more extravagant. But perhaps she was unwilling to accept it. At the end of Li Shimin’s life, she secretly developed feelings for future heir Li Zhi, which gave her the opportunity to enter the palace again in the future. So, after returning to the palace for the second time, Wu Zetian had no power or influence. What did she rely on to overthrow Empress Wang and Consort Xiao Shufei?
After Li Shimin’s death, Empress Wu Zetian and a group of childless concubines went to Ganye Temple to shave their hair and become nuns. Later, when Li Zhi went to the Gan Ye Temple to pay tribute to Li Shimin, the two met again and their relationship reignited. Empress Wang was very clear about this. Coincidentally, she was losing to her rival Xiao Shufei at the time, so she wanted to use Wu Zetian’s hand to get rid of Xiao Shufei. So she repeatedly said in front of Li Zhi to bring back Wu Zetian, which Li Zhi couldn’t wait for. So, Wu Zetian returned to the palace for the second time. So, how did she step by step walk towards the harem and even become a winner in life?
1： Capable of bending and stretching. After returning to the palace, Wu Zetian only served the empress and did not have her mother’s family to assist her. Xiao Shufei, on the other hand, came from a prestigious family, and Empress Wang was an old relative of the Tang Dynasty royal family. In comparison, Empress Wu Zetian had no power or support, so at first, she remained obedient and submissive to the Empress.
2： Hard hearted and ruthless. After receiving favor, she became fierce enemies with Xiao Shufei and Queen Wang, and even sacrificed her daughter in order to overthrow the empress. Regardless of whether the princess was truly killed by Queen Wang or Empress Wu Zetian personally strangled and framed her, she relied on her daughter to bring down Queen Wang, but this has also made her highly criticized to this day.
Empress Wang and Consort Xiao became her defeated subordinates and were imprisoned in the cold palace by Li Zhi. One day, Li Zhi suddenly remembered his old feelings and went to visit these two people. Seeing their tragic situation, he felt very heartbroken. Upon learning of this, Wu Zetian was greatly angered and ordered the killing of these two individuals, using methods that were terrifying. Therefore, some people say that she is more ruthless than the generals who fight on the battlefield, but at the same time, she is also very capable and skilled, able to block the mouths of the crowd.
3： Support one’s own power. After Wu Zetian gained exclusive favor, she first requested the emperor to posthumously honor her father to enhance her own identity. In addition, when Li Zhi proposed to make herself the empress and received strong opposition from Changsun Wuji, she did not cry to the emperor, but contacted officials from the previous dynasty who undoubtedly had a bad relationship with Changsun, asking them to submit a letter requesting to be crowned empress. She went step by step from favored concubine to empress dowager, from empress dowager to empress dowager, until she proclaimed herself emperor. With each step taken, she finally made the officials of the previous dynasty bow down to her and become the only empress recognized by orthodox history in feudal history.
Her life was full of power and glory. As an emperor, she created many achievements and continued the glory of the Tang Dynasty. However, as a mother, she was truly unqualified. She used her infant daughter to suppress and depose her own son for the sake of the throne. So the editor thinks that although she gained the world, she lost her family ties. I wonder if she ever regretted for a moment when she lived alone in her later years, regretting that she did anything for power and disregarded family ties?