Before his death, Tang Gaozong Li Zhi chose to let the talented Wu family succeed to the throne, which caused many controversies in later generations. Although the Wu family is an ordinary woman, she has extraordinary wisdom and strategy, and she ascended to the emperor's throne step by step, calling Wu Zetian. Although the empress was skillful, she was also troubled by the choice of an heir. How exactly does she solve this puzzle? And why did you make a strange will before you died? After seeing Li Xian's decision, he suddenly realized Wu Zetian's cleverness.
1. Wu Zetian's road to the throne was rugged and troubled
When it comes to Wu Zetian's life, it is really ups and downs, which is breathtaking. She was originally a palace maid during the Li Yuan and Li Shimin periods, surnamed Wu Ming, and entered the palace to serve Li Shimin at a young age. With her outstanding talent and beautiful appearance, Wu Yuan was soon appreciated by Li Shimin, was named a talented person, and became Li Shimin's confidant.
It was a huge turning point in my life. After Li Shimin's death, Wu Yuan should have quit the court and lived an ordinary life, but she was unwilling to do so and was determined to show her strength in the palace. So she took advantage of the opportunity of having an affair with Li Zhi that year, and came to Ganye Temple to visit Li Zhi after several twists and turns, and the two regained their old relationship in the name of holding a transcendent puja.
This move angered Li Zhi's empress Wang, who ordered Wu Yuan to be placed under house arrest in the palace, but he did not expect that this decision inadvertently opened the door for Wu Yuan to return to the court. Wu Yuan first skillfully helped the Wang family to attack the favorite concubine Xiao Shufei, and further gained the trust of the Wang family, and then encouraged the Wang family to depose the crown prince Li Chongye and put Li Zhi on the throne of the crown prince. Once Li Zhi succeeds to the throne, Wang will undoubtedly become the empress of the new dynasty. Wu Yuan is obviously planning for the future.
Sure enough, Li Zhi ascended the throne as emperor in 676 AD, and the Wang family became Wu Zetian, and Wu Yuan also worshiped the concubine. However, Wu Yuan's ambitions do not stop there. Taking advantage of Wang's old age and illness, she began to secretly gather forces, intending to replace him. After seven or eight years of careful layout, Wu Zetian finally launched a coup d'état in 690 AD, and the court staff Wang clan established himself as the emperor, known as the "Wu Zhou" dynasty in history.
This process can be described as difficult and tortuous, full of intrigue and ruthless power struggle, but Wu Zetian finally relied on her extraordinary wisdom and determination to ascend the throne step by step and become the founding emperor. Her life is legendary, allowing us to see the extraordinary courage and courage of an ordinary woman.
2. The choice of heir is in a dilemma
In the early days of Wu Zetian's reign, her power was not yet stable, and the government and the opposition were still wary of her, and she urgently needed to identify a reliable successor to consolidate her dominance. However, this choice has troubled Wu Zetian for a long time.
She originally planned to canonize her nephew Wu Sansi as the prince. Wu Sansi is her half-nephew, who is both related by blood and surnamed Wu, so it seems to be the most appropriate choice. But Wu Zetian knew that once his nephew succeeded to the throne, he would inevitably imprison the bloodline of the martial arts family, and he would not be able to sacrifice to his ancestors in the future.
So Wu Zetian turned to consider his son succeeding him. The eldest son, Li Xian, is smart and capable, with a wealth of experience, and seems to be the best candidate. Although the second son Li Dan is still young, he is docile and sensible, which is not a bad choice. However, Wu Zetian was soberly aware that no matter who succeeded to the throne, it was inevitable that she would return to the Li Tang Dynasty, and then her Wu family would be replaced by the Li family and lose her foundation.
In these two dilemmas, Wu Zetian repeatedly weighed the pros and cons and was in a dilemma. Whether she can find the best of both worlds is a thorny question. As a generation of empresses, Wu Zetian is indeed facing an unprecedented predicament.
3. There is a deep meaning in making a strange will
Faced with the problem of heirs, Wu Zetian did not stop moving, but left a very special will before her death, demonstrating her superb wisdom.
In this will, Wu Zetian first said that he would forgive those who had serious conflicts with her, including the former empress Wang, the favorite concubine Xiao Shufei, and the descendants of the ministers who opposed her back then, Chu Suiliang, Han Ying and others. This undoubtedly opened the eyes of the government and the opposition.
In order to seize power, Wu Zetian did many hurtful things to these people, such as putting the Wang family and Concubine Xiao Shufei in an urn to rot to death, and humiliating their relatives. Now she took the initiative to choose forgiveness and resolved too many grudges with a benevolent attitude.
What's even more surprising is that Wu Zetian personally asked in his will to "go to the emperor and call Zetian the Great Holy Empress". This indicates that she will return to Li Zhi's status as an empress and no longer claim to be the emperor. For an empress who has been in charge of the government for decades and is well-known throughout the country, this is undoubtedly a huge decision and let go.
This will released two important signals: first, Wu Zetian took the initiative to admit his mistakes and was determined to make up for his past sins; The second is that she deliberately downplayed the identity of the emperor to clear the way for her heirs to inherit the imperial power. From this will, it can be seen that Wu Zetian was open-minded and wise at the end of his life. She did not rest on her laurels, but also took into account the overall situation and the interests of the family, which is really shrewd.
Fourth, the will of the awakening world has another high plan
Wu Zetian's will, in addition to forgiving old wrongs and letting go of the emperor's title, also contains some seemingly ordinary but actually well-intentioned content, which contains her far-reaching considerations for the long-term development of the family.
In the will, Wu Zetian specially instructed: "The descendants of the Wu family will always be called the Wu family for generations." On the surface, this clause requires future generations to inherit the Wu family's surname forever, but in a deeper sense, Wu Zetian is laying a foundation for himself to ensure that the martial arts family will continue to burn for generations.
She is concerned about the foundation of the martial arts family and earnestly hopes that the surname Wu can continue to be passed on in the long river of history. In this way, regardless of whether the enthroned emperor was a son or a nephew, the samurai family would not be replaced by someone else's surname. It can be seen that Wu Zetian had foresight and foresight for the future of the family.
In addition to maintaining the foundation of the family, Wu Zetian's will also emphasized the point that "the world should be clear". She hoped that after her death, the government and the opposition should unite to avoid the haze of civil strife.
Wu Zetian knew very well that if the heir issue could not be resolved well, it would very likely lead to a re-confrontation between the ruling and opposition fronts, or even cause chaos. In order to avoid a repeat of the mistakes she made when she seized power, she had to make it clear in her will that she urged this vision to be realized.
It can be seen that when Wu Zetian is about to die at the end of his life, he still has the lofty ambition of his family and the country, and earnestly hopes for the long-term stability of the country. Her will is all-encompassing, and it is truly shocking.
Fifth, Li Xianshan will protect his mother's will
In the face of all the entrustment in Wu Zetian's will, his eldest son Li Xian showed extraordinary wisdom and determination, and successfully fulfilled his mother's wishes.
After Wu Zetian's death, many ministers advocated that she be buried in the Qianling Tomb, not the imperial tomb. They think that Wu Zetian is just a woman, how can she be on an equal footing with the emperor, and it is unseemly to be buried in the Qianling Mausoleum. However, Li Xian insisted on respecting his mother's will and buried her with his father Li Zhi in the Qianling Mausoleum.
For this reason, he did not hesitate to severely reprimand the ministers who held opposing views, and made a solemn military deployment, and finally forced the ministers to comply. This decision not only demonstrates Li Xian's supreme reverence for his mother's will, but also reflects his cherishing of the family's honor.
On the issue of heirs, Li Xian is even more wise and martial. He first respectfully asked Wu Zetian's nephew Wu Sansi to be the prince, so as to appease the hearts of the government and eliminate doubts about the succession of the Wu family. A few months later, he took the initiative to give way to Wu Sansi and abdicated himself as the crown prince.
This series of elaborate arrangements greatly resolved the suspicion and dissatisfaction of the government and the opposition against the samurai dynasty. Li Xian's superb political skills are the best interpretation of his mother's will. While respecting his mother's wishes, he also tried his best to maintain the reputation and ruling foundation of the samurai family among the government and the opposition.
Looking at Li Xian's series of actions, he implemented the spiritual essence of Wu Zetian's will and was worthy of the title of a generation of wise princes. It was precisely because of his bravery that Wu Zetian's last wish was realized, and the foundation of the Wu dynasty was consolidated for a long time. It can be seen that when Wu Zetian made his will, he had already seen through Li Xian's extraordinary bearing and decided that he was the best candidate to implement his mother's training and inherit the family business.