How did Li Zhi and Wu Zetian know each other in history Is there love between them

Wu Zetian was the only legitimate female emperor in Chinese history. For those who are very interested in this, the History Encyclopedia editor brings detailed articles for your reference.
Marriage is the tomb of love, and this statement is not only suitable for ordinary people, but also for emperors and generals. Whether there is true love between Li Zhi and Wu Zetian depends on the stages.
It’s not that people’s hearts are fickle, but that people’s hearts are bound to change. No one will remain unchanged forever. Li Zhi didn’t know that he would one day become the crown prince, after all, his elder brother Li Chengqian and second brother Li Tai were much better than him.
But suddenly both the Crown Prince and Li Tai were deposed, and Li Zhi, who had always been unknown, was suddenly pushed to the forefront by Changsun Wuji and became the Crown Prince of the Tang Empire. Everyone knew that Li Zhi was weak in culture, and the group of ministers led by Changsun Wuji actually wanted to find a weak emperor.
During Li Shimin’s serious illness, as the Crown Prince, Li Zhi must show more filial piety and care for his father than usual. Only in this way can he highlight his position as the Crown Prince. Otherwise, Li Zhi, who is nothing, would not be able to sit firmly in his position as the Crown Prince.
The love between Li Zhi and Wu Zetian was at this time, one was a concubine who had been neglected for many years, and the other was the future emperor. Wu Zetian took a risky move, and everyone wanted to curry favor with the future emperor. The question is whether you can catch up with this line depends entirely on your ability.
Wu Zetian succeeded. After 12 years in the palace, she was almost desperate and knew that such opportunities were rare. With all her abilities, she could finally come in handy here. During this period, there was true love between Li Zhi and Wu Zetian.
Immediately after Li Shimin’s death, Wu Zetian followed the tradition and became a nun. Li Zhi became the emperor and had a lot of things to deal with. It seemed that she had forgotten about Wu Zetian, who was a nun in the temple.
But Wu Zetian, who was unwilling to settle for this, would never give up. She took the risk of having an affair with the Crown Prince in order to make a comeback and return to the palace today. During this period, Wu Zetian once wrote a love poem for Li Zhi, and Li Zhi seemed to have not forgotten Wu Zetian. Then she came to the temple to offer incense, and Li Zhi and Wu Zetian rekindled their old relationship.
The struggle in the harem has always been cruel. In order to restrain Xiao Shufei, Empress Wang tried her best to get Wu Zetian into the palace. However, from then on, Wu Zetian was like a dragon entering the sea, completely crushing Empress Wang and Xiao Shufei with her abilities and means.
Especially Wu Zetian was full of ambition. After Wu Zetian used means to persuade Li Zhi to depose Empress Wang, the matter of appointing Wu Zetian as empress was put on the agenda.
At this time, Li Zhi and Wu Zetian were in the honeymoon period of their relationship. They were not only husband and wife, but also close comrades in arms. Because the emperor wanted to establish an empress, Changsun Wuji did not allow it. This kind of back and forth turned the matter into a struggle between the monarch’s power and the prime minister’s power. Wu Zetian, of course, firmly stood by Li Zhi’s side.
These two people finally overthrew Changsun Wuji through a series of means and successfully regained power. During this period, Wu Zetian and Li Zhi had the best relationship because they had a common enemy Changsun Wuji. However, with Changsun Wuji’s downfall, cracks gradually appeared between the emperor and empress.
Li Yifu is a typical example. Li Yifu was one of the earliest foreign ministers to lean towards Wu Zetian during the Wang Fei Li Wu Incident, which made Wu Zetian very grateful. Li Yifu also rose rapidly. In a few years, he became a powerful prime minister in both the court and the public.
But Li Yifu was more capable of acting recklessly, thinking that with the support of the empress, he could act recklessly. However, Li Zhi was not satisfied with this matter. He was the emperor himself, so he found an excuse to dismiss Li Yifu. From this incident, we can see that there was already a rift between Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, and at this time, Wu Zetian was not enough to argue with Li Zhi.
As time passed, Wu Zetian’s desire for power grew stronger, and Li Zhi’s health deteriorated. He could only entrust many government affairs to Wu Zetian, and the two began to trust each other, gradually developing into some conflicts and competition.
In the later stage, Wu Zetian had basically taken control of the court situation, and Li Zhi, who was not in good health, could only sigh deeply. However, Li Zhi also knew that Wu Zetian’s actions were understandable. After all, Li Zhi’s idea was to raise her son well, but later even this wish could not be realized. Li Zhi’s series of behaviors in the later stage had already caused him to have a fear of Wu Zetian, hoping that after his child succeeded to the throne, Wu Zetian would gradually retire. After all, no matter how strong you are, you are still a woman.
Fortunately, Li Zhi died early. After his death, Wu Zetian completely controlled the court, gradually tearing off the fig leaf and mask, and eventually became the emperor.
The power of the emperor cannot be shared with others, nor can his wife. Li Zhi and Wu Zetian were once true lovers, and they lived a sweet life together after marriage. They even fought together, but unfortunately Li Zhi’s health was not good. Gradually, their relationship and feelings became more complicated. In the end, even Li Zhi was unable to change the fact that Wu Zetian was in power, and he only hoped that his child could succeed to the throne smoothly.
Unfortunately, Li Zhi’s wish came to nothing, and her two children were deposed. Wu Zetian became emperor, but in the end, it seemed that Wu Zetian had returned to the essence of Li Zhi’s wife and was buried with Li Zhi.
Imperial power is a peculiar thing, and talking about emotions in front of him is indeed somewhat presumptuous and ridiculous.