Wu Zetian deposed Zhongzong Li Xian, why did he proclaim himself emperor again? What are the subtle reasons behind it?

The events of Zhongzong Li Xian’s deposed and established events spanned 21 years and had a great impact on the history of the Tang Dynasty. When Li Xian was deposed, Wu Zetian took full control of the court. When Li Xian was restored, Wu Zetian left sadly. Therefore, it is the beginning of an era and the end of an era. Throughout the ancient history of our country, if an emperor is dethroned, he will not only lose his future, but even his own life will be difficult to protect. However, Li Xian, after being deposed for 14 years, "recovered from dead trees" and was restored to power again. It cannot but be said that he created a miracle.

Li Xian is the third son of Wu Zetian. Logically speaking, it is not his turn to take the throne, but the Tang Dynasty was a dynasty that did not play by the rules, which means that it has been regarded as the standard for more than a thousand years. The "patriarchal system" failed in the Tang Dynasty. For example, the second-generation emperor of the Tang Dynasty was Li Shimin, the second son of the great ancestor Li Yuan, and the third-generation emperor was Li Zhi, the ninth son (third son) of Li Shimin. Therefore, it also indicates that the successor selection after Emperor Gaozong is still confusing.

However, Gaozong Li Zhi wanted to establish "rules and regulations" after him to change the chaotic history of imperial power disputes. Therefore, he took the lead in making his eldest son Li Zhong the crown prince. However, Li Zhong's mother Liu was just an ordinary palace maid, so he was destined to be a tree without roots. Although Gaozong adopted him to Empress Wang who was infertile at the time, after Empress Wang was deposed, he became a The sourceless water. Therefore, after Li Zhong was deposed, the position of crown prince fell to the eldest son Li Hong (the fifth son of the emperor). Because Wu Zetian had already been established as queen at that time, even though Li Hong was only four years old at the time, his mother gave him a sense of heroism that would make him the queen.

However, what made Gaozong helpless was that Li Hong "suddenly died" in 675 AD at the age of 23, and nearly two decades of hard work in cultivating him were in vain. There are many doubts about Li Hong's death, and Wu Zetian's methods cannot be ruled out. After that, Emperor Gaozong had no choice but to make his second son Li Xian the crown prince. In order to express his determination to let Li Xian inherit the country, Emperor Gaozong also asked him to supervise the country three times, which was equivalent to a skillful rehearsal in advance, and he would be ready in one step. Li Xian was the crown prince for only five years when his mother found him guilty of "rebellion" and was demoted to a commoner and exiled to Bazhou.

Some people may wonder, are Li Zhi’s two sons mediocre people who are not worthy of their responsibilities? Not really. In fact, it was their excellence, benevolence, virtuousness, and wide support that aroused the fear of their mother Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian had long cherished the dream of being emperor, so she could not just sit back and watch her two sons block the way. However, the son would never have dreamed that his mother would do something to him, so he seemed to act a little willful and careless. As a result, Wu Zetian was given the opportunity to make a fuss, and both became the cornerstone of her aspiration for the throne.

Fortunately, Emperor Gaozong still had a son to serve, and Li Xian later helped Li Xian ascend to the throne. This time Emperor Gaozong was more forceful than last time, and soon appointed Li Xian's eldest son Li Chongrun as the emperor's grandson, which was equivalent to planning the order of the queen's successor in advance. Perhaps because of his father's support, Li Xian was a little complacent. He was not aware of his mother's secretly jealous and angry eyes, which doomed him to be deposed.

In December 683 AD, Gaozong Li Zhi passed away, and Li Xian successfully ascended the throne as Zhongzong. It was obvious that he had planned in advance. As soon as Li Xian came to the throne, he planned to give his father-in-law Wei Xuanzhen a triple jump, that is, he would be quickly promoted from joining the army in Puzhou to governor of Yuzhou, then becoming the prime minister, and finally establishing his own core team. On the surface, Li Xian's approach is correct, but it is too hasty or unnecessary. Because it is impossible to rub sand into Wu Zetian's eyes. Therefore, Li Xian was abolished after only 55 days as emperor.

After Li Xian, his younger brother Li Dan was manipulated by Wu Zetian to ascend to the throne. Li Dan is a "cognitive" child and obeys his mother's advice, so his nature as an emperor determines that his existence can be ignored. Therefore, Li Xian's dethronement marked Wu Zetian's official takeover of the imperial power of the Tang Dynasty, and the most vivid moment in her life officially arrived. However, what "complements" Wu Zetian's brilliance is the humbleness and shabbyness of the two brothers Li Dan and Li Xian. Li Dan survived under Wu Zetian's nose, while Li Xian was expelled from the capital and exiled to Fangzhou. Therefore, two brothers, thousands of miles apart, are both fallen people in the world.

In comparison, Li Xian's situation is particularly bad. He is always worried that he will end up like his brother Li Xian. Because in the same month that Li Xian was abolished from confinement, Li Xian was forced to die in Bazhou by Qiu Shenji under Wu Zetian's instruction.

Li Xian, on the other hand, didn't have any strong will. In addition, the Junzhou where he was first exiled was the place where his uncle, King Li Tai of Wei, once died. It was like living in a "haunted house". Moreover, Wu Zetian was not at ease with him and sent envoys to inspect him from time to time. Therefore, what Li Xian devotes his energy to every day is how to save his life. In this way, Li Xian spent 14 years in fear and fear, and one can imagine the suffering he endured. In 698 AD, Wu Zetian welcomed Li Xian back to Luoyang on the grounds that he wanted to treat his illness.

Anyone who has a little knowledge of Tang history knows that Li Xian was welcomed back to the throne and returned to the throne of crown prince inseparable from the work of the detective Di Renjie. But in fact, Di Renjie only played a role in attracting others. There were other factors that really prompted Wu Zetian's determination.

Wu Zetian was already 67 years old when she became emperor, so the moment she sat on the throne of the emperor, she faced the problem of passing the throne. However, whether to pass on Jiangshan Sheji to the surname Wu or the surname Li is a very tangled question. If the surname is returned to Li, it means that many years of hard work for "Wu Zhou" will be in vain. If it is passed on to the surname Wu, but it is not done willingly. Because Wu Zetian actually didn't like the two "best candidates", her nephews Wu Sansi and Wu Chengsi. It was just that the two of them did things to make her feel comfortable and smooth.

Wu Zetian was born in Bingzhou (now Shanxi) in Chang'an. She lived in an unharmonious family since she was a child. Her father, the warrior Xun, gave birth to brothers Wu Yuanqing and Wu Yuanshuang. After the extension of the Yang family, three sisters, Wu Zetian and Wu Zetian were born. After the death of the warrior Xun, Wu Zetian's sisters and mother were bullied by their two brothers. Therefore, after Wu Zetian gained power, she first demoted her two brothers and their heirs. When Wu Zetian was about to ascend the throne, she faced pressure from the Li Tang clan, so she could only recruit her two nephews to help. Therefore, her two nephews, who were in important positions, worked hard for her, often making some spooky prophecies or inciting a group of people to come out to build momentum to prove that her ascension to the throne was God's will.

As far as Wu Sansi and Wu Chengsi were concerned, the reason why they actively helped their aunt was because they actually wanted to get the throne in the future. Because, as Wu Zetian's closest relatives, they demonstrated the feasibility of the matter. For this reason, the two of them not only spoke cleverly to Wu Zetian, but also bowed, bowed, and fawned over her favored Xue Huaiyi, Zhang Changzong, Zhang Yizhi and others. What is dramatic is that it was brothers Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi who actually voted against the two.

It turned out that, after Di Renjie’s earnest persuasion, Wu Zetian had the idea of ??passing it on to her son, but she had not yet made up her mind. Cheng Jixu, the imperial censor, found that the fire was not enough, so he went to the "Er Zhang" brothers and said: "After the Queen has passed a hundred years, you two want to protect yourself? I guess relying on the King of Luling is the only way out!" The two brothers thought about it and felt that it was true. It makes sense. After all, Wu Zetian's return of power to Li Tang was what the people wanted, so she voted for Li Xian in Wu Zetian's favor. Of course Wu Zetian knew that it was the idea of ??her confidant Ji Xu, but she also realized that the succession to the throne was expected by the public, so she decided to welcome her son Li Xian back to her side immediately.

Li Xian returned to Luoyang in 698, and it took another seven years until he ascended the throne in the first month of 705. This was undoubtedly another long testing period. This period was when brothers Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi were most favored by Wu Zetian. In addition, Wu Zetian was old and lacked energy, so many government affairs were handled by the two brothers. Later, Li Xian's daughter Princess Yongtai, son-in-law Wu Yanji, and son Li Chongrun expressed their dissatisfaction with Er Zhang's interference in court affairs. After the two brothers learned about it, they cried and complained to Wu Zetian about their grievances. Wu Zetian sent several children to death in a rage. After Li Xian got the throne, he had no choice but to obey Wu Zetian. But on the other hand, the death of several children was caused by the brothers Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi, so they were destined to have irresolvable hatred with Li Zhi.

After the two brothers "stirred the stove", they found that the situation was irreversible, so they could only set up obstacles in Wu Zetian's rumored position on Li Xian, and even frequently suppressed and framed some ministers who supported Li Xian. . The move of the two Zhang brothers eventually led to two results. First, Wu Zetian's succession to the throne was repeatedly delayed. Second, the conflict with Li Xian and the court officials deepened, blocking their retreat. Therefore, when Wu Zetian's "passion" became confusing, all those who supported Li Xian targeted the Erzhang brothers. However, at this moment, Wu Zetian did not want to abandon the two Zhang brothers, so when the public's calls to impeach the two were rising, she chose to make the big matter a trivial one, and make the matter quiet.

Finally, the 80-year-old Prime Minister Zhang Jianzhi lost his patience, so he joined forces with Cui Xuanwei, Huan Yanfan, Zuo Weiwei General Xue Sixing, Li Duozuo, Li Zhan, Prince-in-law Wang Tongjiao and others to kill Zhang Changzong, Zhang Yizhi and others The clan brothers forced Wu Zetian to step down from the throne and supported Li Xian's restoration.

On the surface, Li Xian's restoration was inseparable from the operation of the "supporting Li faction", such as Di Renjie, Ji Xu, Zhang Jianzhi and others charging at the front desk, and even prime ministers Song Jing and Wei Yuanzhong. Waiting for the help behind the scenes. In the end, Wu Zetian was forced to hand over the throne step by step. In fact, Wu Zetian was still facing pressure from many aspects.

1. Inner pressure. For example, although the person who helped Wu Zetian depose Li Xian was Pei Yan, who was designated as the "Minister of Guan Ming" by Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi, Pei Yan did not support Wu Zetian becoming emperor. The reason why he supported Wu Zetian in deposing Li Xian was completely out of control. It is your own responsibility to choose the most suitable candidate for emperor, but this candidate is not Wu Zetian. Therefore, when Wu Zetian revealed her "true face in Lushan", Pei Yan immediately opposed her, and even bluntly and tirelessly asked Wu Zetian to return to Li Xian as soon as possible.

In fact, there are many people who oppose Wu Zetian, and Pei Yan is just the tip of the iceberg of many opponents. It was precisely because he felt the existence of this huge force that Wu Zetian immediately launched the "Great Purge", with heads rolling in and bloodshed. However, after nearly ten years of suppression, the pro-Lee faction has always existed like a grass that "cannot be burned out by wildfire but grows again in the spring breeze." Therefore, even if Wu Zetian had 10,000 wishes for Jiangshan Sheji to continue to be "Wu", it is impossible to achieve it in reality. If the inheritance is passed to one of the nephews, then what they get is not the throne, but a "bomb", and eventually all the clan members will be blown to pieces. Empress Lu's family in the Han Dynasty is a lesson learned from the past.

2. Clan pressure. Although it was the "fake" clan member Li Jingye who took the lead in revolting, he was like a fuse, detonating the anger of the Li Tang clan. If Li Jingye was the first to capture Luoyang, and if Li Tang's clan was not as mediocre as a pile of sand, Wu Zetian would have been wiped out long ago. Therefore, even though Wu Zetian quickly took control of the situation, the impact on her heart lingered for a long time.

3. External pressure. The Turks were the first country to oppose Wu Zetian's change of Tang Dynasty to Zhou Dynasty. In June 698 AD, three months after Li Xian was welcomed back to Luoyang, the Turkic Khan Ashina Mozu asked that his daughter be married to Li Xian (or Li Xian's brother) as his princess. But Wu Zetian sent her nephew Wu Yanxiu to the Turks to marry the Khan's daughter. As a result, Ashina Mozhu was very angry and cursed Wu Zetian as "the dog's tail continues the mink", and even reduced the "Wu surname" to nothing. In the end, Ashina Mozu used other trivial matters as an excuse to raise troops to harass the Wuzhou border. Wu Yanxiu was detained by the Turks. It was not until the relationship between the Turks and Wu Zhou eased six years later that he was able to return to his homeland. Therefore, although the Turks' opposition to Wu Zetian is an isolated case, it can also reveal Li Tang's status in surrounding countries. Moreover, the relationship between countries such as Khitan and Tubo and Wu Zhou was also unstable, and it cannot be ruled out that there were similar reasons to the Turks.

To sum up, Li Xian's restoration is the general trend. Wu Zetian does not have the ability to "go against the trend", so she can only return to peace after her glory. However, Wu Zetian's tremendous energy as a woman attracted the attention of the entire era, so she is well deserved to be called one of the most outstanding women in history. In the end, Li Xian brought disappointment to people. It was precisely because of his mediocrity and incompetence that the Tang Dynasty continued to move forward in the shadow of swords and swords.