Di Renjie introduced the 70-year-old man to Wu Zetian, why did Wu Zetian say that he was fooled before he died? Who is this 70-year-old man? What skills did he rely on to gain Wu Zetian's appreciation? And how did Wu Zetian launch a coup d'état in his later years and remove him from the throne?
Lee's unexpected episode
Li Yuan, the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, was a generation of British lords. He endured hardships and hardships, and finally established the prosperous Tang Dynasty in 618. During Li Yuan's reign, he laid the foundation for the rule of the Tang Dynasty and opened up a broad road for future generations to achieve great causes. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long, and after Li Yuan died, his son Li Shimin inherited the unification and changed the name of the country to "Tang". During his reign, Li Shimin was diligent and conscientious, committed to the prosperity and strength of the country, which made the Tang Dynasty and the opposition revitalize and the hundred courts prosperous.
However, history is always unpredictable. In Li Shimin's later years, his wife Wu began to meddle in government politics with her skills and resourcefulness. After the death of her husband Li Shimin, she inherited the throne of the emperor in the name of "Prince Chengqian" and called herself the "Holy Spirit Emperor". In this way, Wu Zetian went against tradition, broke the old system of male superiority and inferiority of women, and became the first female emperor in Chinese history.
At the beginning of his ascension to the throne, Wu Zetian made drastic changes in a big way. She was well aware of the difficulty of dominating the government alone, so she implemented political, military, and cultural reforms to consolidate her dominance. Under her auspices, the Tang Dynasty ushered in a new period of prosperity. For example, a new provincial and state system was established, many policies benefiting the people were promulgated, and a talent selection mechanism similar to the imperial examination system in later generations was established.
Although Wu Zetian was suspected of tyranny and tyranny during his reign, she was after all a brilliant and enlightened ruler. It is precisely with Wu Zetian's reform and pioneering measures that the foundation of the prosperous era has been laid. In her hands, the territory of Datang continued to expand, the national strength was unprecedentedly strong, and the unprecedented golden age began.
Until Wu Zetian's later years, due to his advanced age, increasing energy, and blindness, the power of the state had to be gradually handed over to promising ministers. And this is the beginning of an unexpected episode in the Li family.
Di Renjie's foresight
In the later period of Wu Zetian's reign, she relied on and reused a very insightful advisor - Di Renjie. Di Renjie is not only a veteran of officialdom, but also a wise man with profound knowledge and rich experience. He once served as the prime minister under Wu Zetian, and he was an important strategist for Wu Zetian's decision-making.
The reason why Di Renjie was favored by Wu Zetian was largely due to his extraordinary insight and extraordinary talent. Legend has it that Di Renjie was brilliant since he was a child, he could read group books at the age of 7, and at the age of 10, he was already proficient in the encyclopedia of scriptures and history. Although he is young, he is well-read and has learned both Chinese and Western. He has not only immersed himself in Confucian classics for many years, but also dabbled in Taoism, Buddhism and other academic fields.
In addition to a solid academic background, Di Renjie also has a pair of fiery eyes that are accustomed to observing words and colors. He is a man of human nature and a master of scheming, often predicting the course of events accurately. It was this extraordinary wisdom and foresight that made Wu Zetian look at him differently and reuse him.
In the late period of Wu Zetian's reign, Di Renjie, as her confidant minister, often gave advice to Wu Zetian. In terms of talent recommendation, Di Renjie can be said to be even more outstanding. What he strongly recommended to Wu Zetian was a septuagenarian named Zhang Cambodia.
Zhang Cambodia is a little-known hermit, although he is old, he has the demeanor of a late bloomer. The reason why Di Renjie recommended this septuagenarian is because he has a deep meaning. It turned out that Zhang Cambodia had served under Li Yuan and Li Shimin in his early years, and was an old minister who firmly supported the Li Tang Dynasty. Although Zhang Cambodia had retired in the early days of Wu Zetian's rejuvenation, he always had the will to revive Li Tang's country.
Di Renjie strongly recommended Zhang Cambodia to take up important positions, precisely because he took a fancy to Zhang's loyalty and determination to revive Li Tang. And although Di Renjie himself is loyal to Wu Zetian on the surface, he has always been loyal to the Li Tang royal family in his heart. He recommended Zhang Cambodia to Wu Zetian, probably with ulterior motives, and wanted to use Zhang Cambodia's hand to leave a ray of light for the revival of Li Tang's country.
However, at that time, it seemed that Wu Zetian had doubts about whether Di Renjie could fully trust him. She couldn't be sure if Di Renjie was genuinely loyal to her or if she harbored other thoughts. But Wu Zetian was finally impressed by Di Renjie's talent, and soon promoted Zhang Khan Zhi to the prime minister. It can be seen that Di Renjie is both a thinker and a confidant for Wu Zetian, and a valuable strategist talent.
Zhang Cambodia's forbearance and counterattack
Although Zhang Cambodia was reused in the later period of Wu Zetian's administration, he also experienced many hardships and twists along the way. Since he was young, he had the ideal of reviving the Li Tang Dynasty, and Zhang Cambodia's life was full of hardships.
In his early years, Zhang Cambodia served under Li Yuan and Li Shimin, and was an important minister of the dynasty. But after Wu Zetian flourished, he was snubbed and marginalized. As Li Tang's old department, Zhang Cambodia's situation can be imagined. In order to survive, he had to choose to live in seclusion in the countryside, concentrate on cultivation, and secretly wait for the opportunity.
Despite adversity, Zhang never gave up his beliefs. He has always cherished the long-cherished wish of revitalizing Li Tang Jiangshan, but he lacks the opportunity and resources to realize it. It wasn't until Di Renjie recommended him to Wu Zetian that Zhang Cambodia's life ushered in a turning point.
Di Renjie was able to see through the essence of Zhang Cambodia precisely because the two had similar backgrounds and pursuits. They are all the old Li and Tang departments, and they all have the long-cherished wish to revive the Li dynasty. It's just that Di Ren is outstanding in his kindness to Wu Zetian, so he has to temporarily suppress the loyalty in his heart. As a retired scholar, Zhang Cambodia pursued his ideals and ambitions without scruples.
Zhang Cambodia was allowed to return to office at a young age, which can be described as a late bloomer. With his extraordinary wisdom and talent, he quickly won Wu Zetian's appreciation. Wu Zetian attached great importance to Zhang Cambodia, not only appointed him as the prime minister, but also planned to pass on the power to Zhang Cambodia in the early stage of his death.
Under Wu Zetian's weight, Zhang Cambodia gradually got rid of the predicament of being trapped in prison and regained the resources and opportunities to revitalize the Li Tang Dynasty. Although Wu Zetian was domineering, Zhang Cambodia still chose to temporarily forbear and wait for the time to come.
All along, Zhang Cambodia has been secretly planning a coup d'état, with the aim of regaining the Li dynasty's rightful Jiangshan Sheji. To this end, he spared no effort to win over his colleagues in the government and the opposition and to form a wide range of party members. When Wu Zetian was dying, Zhang Khan Zhi thought that the opportunity had finally come, so he united his henchmen to launch a Shenlong coup that shocked the government and the opposition.
In this coup, Zhang Cambodia's henchmen held Wu Zetian hostage, forcing her to abdicate. Although Zhang Khan Zhi was unable to take power personally, he finally cleared the way for the revival of the Li dynasty. The reign of Wu Zetian's generation of female emperors came to an end, and the Li dynasty reopened a new era.
Wu Zetian's deathbed confession
The victory of the Shenlong coup d'état means that Wu Zetian's more than 20-year dictatorship has officially come to an end. In the process of this coup, although Zhang Cambodia did not personally wave the army, he was the mastermind and mastermind behind the coup. He united with Di Renjie and other old subordinates to launch this massive coup d'état, and finally forced Wu Zetian to abdicate.
At the moment when Wu Zetian was deposed, she finally realized that she had been deceived. It turned out that Di Renjie, a confidant minister, had always harbored the intention of reviving the Li Tang Dynasty, and strongly recommending Zhang Khan Zhi to an important position was a coup d'état that was carefully laid out.
When he was forced to abdicate, Wu Zetian was disappointed and angry with Di Renjie and Zhang Cambodia. She never imagined that her confidants would betray her like this, let alone that all this was a long-planned conspiracy. Wu Zetian hated himself for falling for Di Renjie's tricks, and he also hated himself for being young and seeing the threat of Li Tang's old department.
However, it was too late at this point. Under the heavy pressure of political enemies, Wu Zetian had no choice but to abdicate and return to the Li dynasty. In this way, she was imprisoned in her own dormitory, living a life of house arrest and surveillance.
Despite this, Wu Zetian still has no complaints about his life. As the first female emperor in Chinese history, she made many reforms and pioneering measures during her reign, which brought the Tang Dynasty to unprecedented glory. It's a pity that the good times didn't last long, and she was framed by Di Renjie and Zhang Cambodia in her later years.
During the days of house arrest, Wu Zetian often recalled the hardships of his life. She prides herself on being a generation of empresses, ambitious and ambitious, but she didn't expect her fate to be so bumpy in the end that she ended up in ruin.
Faced with such an ending, Wu Zetian learned from the pain in his later years and reflected on his own gains and losses. She realized that she had suffered this humiliation in large part because she was too arrogant and domineering in the later years of her administration. It was this arrogance and paranoia that made her finally lose the support of her henchmen, thus laying a well-laid trap for Di Renjie and others.
If we had been able to accept advice with an open mind earlier and share weal and woe with the government and the opposition, perhaps we would not have fallen to such a state. Wu Zetian said with emotion and repentance before his death: "I was completely fooled by others, I really did it myself!"
Di Renjie and Zhang Cambodia have the same path
The victory of the Shenlong coup d'état marked the complete end of the era of Wu Zetian's rule, and also meant that the long-cherished wish of Di Renjie and Zhang Cambodia was finally realized. Although the two played different roles in the coup, they both ultimately made indelible contributions to the revival of the Lee dynasty.
Soon after Wu Zetian was forced to abdicate, Di Renjie and Zhang Cambodia, the former henchmen, embarked on different paths of fate. Di Renjie, as Zhang Cambodia's cronies and behind-the-scenes operators, was named prime minister after the victory of the coup d'état, and continued to be loyal to the government. And Zhang Cambodia himself took the position of Taishi and became the prime minister and national teacher of the Li Yuan and Li Shimin dynasties.
However, while both sides were duly rewarded, their fates were very different. Di Renjie, a scheming minister, was not satisfied after the successful coup. He secretly had other plans, trying to seize the power of the government and the government, dominate the government and the opposition, and become the mastermind behind the scenes.
However, Zhang Cambodia saw through Di Renjie's ambition and did not easily give up power. As a result, the two encountered a tense power struggle in the court. Zhang Cambodia thought that Di Renjie was plotting against him and was difficult to be a minister, so he took strict precautions. And Di Renjie tried his best to get rid of Zhang Cambodia's surveillance and seek control of the government.
The two sides have been grudging the government and the opposition for a long time, and Di Renjie's greed has intensified the intensity of this power struggle. In the end, in a public contest, Zhang Cambodia condemned Di Renjie's ugly deeds to death, and then completely ended Di Renjie. It can be said that from a close friend to a mortal enemy, the grudge between the two ended.
After that, Di Renjie's family was completely purged, and Zhang Cambodia became the chief national teacher and prime minister of the Li dynasty, and was the highest honor among the ministers. In this way, the fate of the two parted ways here, and they ended up in the same place.
Although their fates are very different, Di Renjie and Zhang Cambodia were like-minded and close friends who shared weal and woe when they pursued them in their early years. They were all relics of the old Tang Dynasty, and they shared the long-cherished wish of revitalizing the Li dynasty. It was this shared belief that led them to join forces in Wu Zetian's later years to launch the Shenlong Coup.
If Di Renjie played more of the role of the driving force behind the scenes, then Zhang Cambodia was the protagonist and actual controller of this coup. Although their efforts eventually led to the revival of the Li Tang dynasty, the power struggle between the two sides in the later stages of the coup d'état brought the friendship to naught.
Life is impermanent, and no one could have imagined that the two henchmen who fought side by side and were like brothers and sisters would drift apart after the successful coup d'état and go to such a different ending. And the root of all this is Di Renjie's greedy and unsatisfied heart.