The idiom "Yan pecking at emperor's grandson" refers to the allusion of the Western Han Dynasty's Zhao Feiyan sisters conspiring to poison the emperor's grandson. However, the origin of this idiom is not in the Han Dynasty, but was created by the great poet Luo Binwang of the Tang Dynasty. The real object that Luo Bin wang was referring to was not the Zhao Feiyan sisters, but the empress dowager Wu Zetian, who was in charge of the dynasty.
In the fourth year of the Arch (688), Wu Zetian, in the name of "Heavenly Divine Map", demanded that all the governors of all states in the country, the assassin history, and the Li Tang sect and foreign relatives all rush to the divine capital Luoyang to participate in the ceremony of receiving the map.
Receiving Wu Zetian's edict, the princes of the Li Tang Sect everywhere had a very bad premonition in their hearts. Wu Zetian's usurpation of the throne as the heart of the emperor was already well known, and if she was to take this step in the end, it would inevitably eliminate Li Tangzong's disciples. This time let everyone go to Luoyang together, is it difficult to sweep everyone away?
At that time, there were four other sons of Emperor Gaozu: Li Yuanjia the King of Han, Li Yuanji the King of Huo, Li Yuanming the King of Shu, and Li Lingkui the Prince of Lu; there were two sons of Emperor Taizong: Li Zhen the Prince of Yue and Li Shen the Prince of Ji; and There were four sons of Emperor Gaozong: Li Xian the Prince of Luling (Emperor Zhongzong of Tang), Li Dan of Tang Ruizong, and Li Shangjin and Li Sujie of Shu.
Although Li Xian and Li Dan are one of the former emperors and the other is the current emperor, they have no real name, and their speech is not at all useful. Therefore, the only people who really have the appeal are the four sons of Gaozu, the sons of Emperor Taizong, and their heirs.
Li Yuanjia, the King of Han at the time, was the most senior member of the clan at that time. Seeing that Wu Zetian's intention to usurp the throne was clear, and Li Tang's descendants would face the disaster of extinction, Li Yuanjia decided to fight back. He asked his son to write a secret letter to Li Zhen, the Assassin of Yuzhou and the King of Yue, which read: "The inner people are getting sick and getting sick, and they need to be treated early, and if it is still winter, they are afraid of becoming chronic, it is advisable to start early, and they still report quickly." On the surface, this seems to be an ordinary family letter, but Li Tang's descendants are very clear that the "insider" in this letter is an allusion to Wu Zetian, and "getting sick" means that her intention to usurp the throne is already obvious, so it is advisable to "start early."
At the call of Li Yuanjia, the princes of the Li Tang Sect scattered throughout the country took action one after another, exchanging letters with each other and discussing countermeasures. But because it was so big, the wording in their letters was very obscure. As a result, communication efficiency is naturally very inefficient.
Just as the kings were exchanging letters, one of the things that frightened them the most happened: Wu Zetian learned of it. What is speechless is that it is not outsiders who leak the secret, but Li Xia, the son of Li Lingkui, the King of Lu.
During Wu Zetian's reign, in order to nip the opposition forces in the bud, whistleblowers were greatly encouraged. Li Xia felt that it was too risky to oppose Wu Zetian, and it was better to report to Wu Zetian in exchange for glory and wealth. So he sold all the Li Tang Sect Rooms, including his own father.
Since the kings were not yet ready, they naturally had no resistance when facing the counter-rebel army sent by Wu Zetian. Among them, only Li Zhen, the king of Yue, and Li Chong, the king of Langya, rushed to resist, but they were quickly defeated and killed. The other kings did not dare to make a move, but the result was also to tie their hands.
Li Zhen's father and son raised an army, so that Wu Zetian found an excellent excuse to eliminate the kings of the Li clan. She immediately expanded the matter infinitely and sent the cool official Zhou Xing to be in charge of the trial. Under zhou xing's torture, Li Yuanjia the King of Han, Li Lingkui the King of Lu, and Princess Changle, the daughter of Gaozu, soon died in prison. Li Lingkui's son Li Xia was promoted to the rank of Right Scattered Rider For meritorious service in reporting, but Li Xia's good life did not last long. A few months later, Wu Zetian instructed the cool officials to arbitrarily find a crime and put Li Xia to death. This traitor who betrayed all the clans could also be regarded as having received the retribution he deserved, but he did not know how he should face the ancestors of the Li family under the Nine Springs.
The deaths of Li Yuanjia, Li Lingkui, and others were not the end of the ordeal of the Li Tang Sect, but only the beginning of the tribulation.
In October of the fourth year of the reign (688), Li Rong, the Duke of Dongguan County, was beheaded; in November, Xue Yan and Xue Xu, sons of Princess Chengyang, daughter of Emperor Taizong of Tang, were beheaded, and Xue Shao, because she was the husband of Princess Taiping (Wu Zetian's daughter), was reprimanded for one hundred and finally died in prison; in December, Li Yuanlu, the King of Huo, and his son Li Xu, the Prince of Jiangdu, died of involvement in a conspiracy to rebel.
In the first year of Yongchang (689 AD), 20 clans, including Li Shen the Prince of Ji, Li Xu the Prince of Dongping, and Li Wei the King of Runan, were killed, and all the family letters were exiled to remote areas.
In April of the first year of the reign (690 CE), Emperor Gaozong of Tang's last surviving son, Li Yuanming the Prince of Shu, and his son Li Qi the Prince of Yuzhang were killed. In July of the same year, two of Emperor Gaozong's sons, Li Shangjin the Prince of Ze and Li Sujie the Prince of Xu, were killed. In August, Li Ying, the King of Nan'an, and twelve other members of the clan were killed, and two sons of the crown prince Li Xian (Wu Zetian's own grandsons) were also flogged by Wu Zetian.
King Luo Bin wrote in the first year of Si Sheng(684) that "Emperor Yan pecked at Emperor Sun, and knew that Han Zuo would be exhausted. Who knew that just a few years later, the leafy Li Tang Sect Room was pecked at by Wu Zetian. Moreover, Wu Zetian also expelled all of them from the clan and changed their surnames to "虺".
References: Old Book of Tang, New Book of Tang, Zizhi Tongjian