People familiar with the history of Tang know that the first year of Tang Xuanzong's reign was the peak of the Tang Dynasty.
At that time, the combat effectiveness of the Great Dynasty Empire dominated East Asia, and ordinary people had some small money in their hands. During the first century, China was truly a strong country and a rich people, and even if you look at the entire history of China, it is one of the best in the world.
However, the node of the Tang Dynasty's transformation from prosperity to decline was the Anshi Rebellion, which also occurred during the Tang Xuanzong period, and this chaos was all caused by a woman. Throughout the Tang Dynasty, there were still many women who could leave their names and surnames in the historical records. Before there was Wu Zetian, who usurped power, then there was Yang Guifei, who was in turmoil, and when Tang Xuanzong's son Tang Suzong Li Heng arrived, there was also Zhang Liangdi, who wanted to depose the crown prince, all of whom were women who were in a hurry.
It is said that during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the woman of the Zhang clan of Nanyang was elected to the Eastern Palace and became the concubine of The Crown Prince Li Heng. What is the title of "Liangdi"? It is the concubine of the crown prince, and the prince generally has many concubines, among them, the concubine with the higher rank and the status second only to the princess is called "Liangdi".
Speaking of which, Zhang Liangdi's family is also a big family, her grandmother Dou is Tang Xuanzong's aunt, and Tang Xuanzong and Tang Suzong are father and son, so, seriously calculated, Zhang Liangdi and Tang Suzong Li Heng still have some blood relations. However, Li Heng's initial favorite was crown princess Wei Shi, and later for various reasons, Li Heng and Wei Shi were separated, and Zhang Liangdi gradually gained the favor of Tang Suzong.
At the beginning, Zhang Liangdi always appeared in front of Tang Suzong with a virtuous face. During the Anshi Rebellion, Li Heng did not have any retinue around him, so when Li Heng stopped at a certain place at night, Zhang Liangdi slept next to Li Heng. Li Heng knew that she wanted to protect her own safety, so he said to her: "Usually nothing happens at night, even if something goes wrong, there are other people there, and I don't need you to help me resist the enemy." ”
However, Zhang Liangdi did not comply, she explained: "This is an extraordinary period, if there is really any emergency, I can also help you buy a little time." ”
Later, Li Heng arrived in Lingwu, just as Zhang Liangdi gave birth, originally, after the average woman gave birth to a child, she was seriously injured and had to be recuperated for some time. However, Zhang Liangdi only rested for three days, and after three days, she got up to sew clothes for the soldiers on the front line. A standard woman in the eyes of a politician like Zhang Liangdi, no matter which emperor meets, will feel that it is a blessing that he has cultivated.
Therefore, not long after Li Heng ascended the throne, Zhang Liangdi became Empress Zhang. However, what no one expected was that after she became empress, she would no longer be the respectful, gentle and virtuous Zhang Liangdi she had been before. Taking advantage of Tang Suzong's favor for herself, she began to collude with Li Fu at home and abroad, persecuting the children of the imperial family and the ministers of the DPRK everywhere, and even Li Bi, who had always been highly meritorious and low-key, wanted to get rid of him.
Tang Suzong was not unaware of these things, but Nian had followed Zhang Liangdi for many years and was also a meritorious person to himself, so there was not much interference in what she did. Over time, Empress Zhang was no longer satisfied with her existing power, and she began to have a more long-term political pursuit, that is, to make her son the heir of the Tang Empire.
At that time, the prince was not her biological son, and he had been established for a long time, and he had not made any major mistakes.
However, in order to achieve her own ulterior motives, Empress Zhang blew the wind in Tang Suzong's ear at the first opportunity, saying how the prince was incompetent and how he should choose another talented person.
Fortunately, Tang Suzong's mind was still quite sober, and he knew that deposing the crown prince was a big thing, and if he did not do well, he would shake the foundation of the world. Although he was very fond of Empress Zhang, he did not easily change this major event related to the national fortune because of her few words. In addition, Empress Zhang's two sons, one died prematurely, one was still young, and was not qualified to assume the position of prince at all, so the matter was shelved.
Since the bad things have begun, they can only be done to the end. Because, once the current crown prince ascends the throne in the future, it is inevitable that some people around her will poke out the abolition of Empress Zhang, and when the time comes, no one will be able to help her. Seeing that Tang Suzong was seriously ill and could have a life at any time, Empress Zhang plotted to make the then King of Yue the crown prince, and secretly communicated with some of her cronies in advance.
She planned: "First, on the grounds that the emperor is seriously ill, the prince will be summoned to the palace, and then, inside the palace gate, the good hands will be hidden, and once the prince enters the palace, he will be taken down in one fell swoop." This news somehow reached Li Fuguo's ears, although Zhang and Li had cooperated a lot before because of the need to eliminate political enemies, but now it is different from the past, and now the two have long turned against each other. Among the series of courtiers that Empress Zhang planned to kill, Li Fuguo was among them.
Therefore, for the sake of his immediate safety and for his future glory, Li Fuguo immediately led people to protect the prince. Moreover, without doing anything, he led the troops into the palace that night and controlled all the yue kings and empresses and empress Zhang's cronies, which completely destroyed a shocking conspiracy. Soon, Emperor Suzong of Tang died, and the crown prince succeeded to the throne as Emperor Daizong of Tang.
Empress Zhang, on the other hand, was placed under house arrest in the palace, powerless, and depressed for a few days, ending her hypocritical and sinful life. All in all, after Empress Zhang became a country, in the end, she ended up with such a sad end, which was entirely her own fault. Just think, if when she became an empress, she could clarify her position, not arbitrarily meddle in the affairs of the court, and not be so arrogant, then the evaluation of her by posterity may be another term.
Cai Dongfan commented on it: "After Yang Guifei, there was Zhang Liangdi, the Tang Chambermaid, and He Di rose up without having it. Gu Yangfei was proud of her jealousy, and repeatedly confessed her will, but she still had exclusive favor, and the king was unknown, and everyone knew it... The pity of love, because of the indulgence, the feminine and cunning women's temple, often out of the guard, otherwise Yang Concubine will bring misfortune to the country, the rut is not far away, and although Suzong is foolish, he should not be confused by Liang Di again. ”
Empress Zhang of Tang Suzong spent her life working hard to change her destiny, climbing from a concubine to the position of empress, but she lacked Wu Zetian's city government and great talent, nor did she have Wu Zetian's mind and means. In the end, he could only lose his life and end in tragedy.
Resources:
[Old Book of Tang, Vol. 52, Liechuan No. 2, Houfei, Zizhi Tongjian, Old Book of Tang, Suzong Benji]