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Chapter 175 The Dragon Coup
  Wu Zetian went from a weak woman to a queen. This legendary experience amazed the ancients of all dynasties.

The ancients before Wu Zetian never thought that a woman could achieve such great achievements.

Regardless of Wu Zetian's ability to govern after ascending to the throne, this alone is enough to be famous throughout the ages.

As for people after Wu Zetian's period, most of them were deeply surprised. They did not expect that the Demon Queen recorded in history books would have such a legendary story.

Li Shimin: Anchor, how did Wu Zetian return power to the Tang Dynasty in the end? Was it a smooth transition when she passed the throne to her son?

"The process can be said to be thrilling. Wu Zetian served as emperor for fifteen years, and finally ended the Wu Zhou regime in a famous coup, and the world returned to Li Tang's hands again."

"In 698, Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi sought the position of crown prince and told Wu Zetian many times that since ancient times, the emperor has never used a different surname as his successor."

"Prime Minister Di Renjie said to the hesitant Wu Zetian, which one is closer to the aunt and nephew or the mother and son? If your Majesty makes a son, then he will be worshiped as an ancestor in the Ancestral Temple for thousands of years. If you make a nephew, then I have never heard that the nephew is a After the death of the emperor, I enshrined my aunt in the Ancestral Temple."

"Since then, Wu Zetian had no intention of making Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi the crown prince, and secretly took Li Xian back to Luoyang to make him the crown prince."

Ancient people from all dynasties agreed with what Di Renjie said, and the truth is indeed this.

No matter how close a nephew is to a son, there is no doubt that he must give his son something good.

However, in this way, Wu Zetian's original attempt to snatch the throne from his son seemed a bit redundant, and she had to return the throne to her son in the end. The whole process seemed a bit unnecessary.

Originally, Wu Zetian was the empress dowager who had sole power. Whether she was the emperor or not, she would still have all the power. There was no need to take the final step.

Everyone couldn't help but sigh, maybe this is the limitation of being a woman.

Because Wu Zetian was a woman, she ascended the throne and became the only empress, so she could gain everyone's admiration.

But also, because Wu Zetian was a woman, she finally had to pass the throne to her son and return power to the Tang Dynasty.

"In her later years, Wu Zetian began to neglect government affairs and pursue pleasure. She favored brothers Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi. Her contact with the outside world decreased, and her control over government affairs also declined."

"However, the two brothers gradually broke through the restrictions of male favors and intervened in the government affairs. The intervention of male favors caused tensions between Wu Zetian's mother and son, as well as the relationship between the emperor and his ministers. As a result, the court regime fell into turmoil and people's hearts were unstable."

"Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong relied on the Queen's favor and were tyrannical and domineering. All officials in the court were afraid of them."

"When the two brothers targeted Crown Prince Li Xian, the court's pro-Tang forces could no longer sit still."

"On the one hand, they are worried that Li Xian's position as crown prince will be shaken, and on the other hand, they are worried that the Erzhang brothers will take advantage of the Queen's critical illness to create political trouble."

"In this context, getting rid of the Zhang brothers is imperative and urgent for Li Xian."

When ancient people from various dynasties heard that Wu Zetian had two male favorites, they couldn't help but smile meaningfully.

I heard before that Wu Zetian had a male favorite, Xue Huaiyi, but everyone didn't think much of it.

But now when they heard about the two brothers Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi, everyone had to sigh with emotion. She is indeed a queen, she is really good at playing, and she is already very old, but she still wants to find two male favorites.

But there are also many ancient people who thought it was normal. After all, many emperors were gray-haired and still kept their concubines, and it was understandable for the queen to find male favors when she was very old.

Zhu Yuanzhang: These two Zhang brothers were also stupid. They actually provoked the Crown Prince Li Xian. Once Wu Zetian dies of illness and Li Xian ascends the throne, will he be able to let them go?
  Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and could only say that the two Zhang brothers were too complacent and had forgotten that Li Xian was Wu Zetian's successor.

The two brothers did not want to curry favor with Li Xian, but wanted to deal with Li Xian, and the man seeking death could not stop them.

However, relying on this alone, it seems unreasonable that Zhang Jianzhi and others would force Li Xian to launch the Dragon Coup.

He had carefully studied the entire process of the Shenlong coup, and felt that Zhang Jianzhi and others were more likely to launch a coup for the great success of the world, rather than for the great Tang Dynasty.

At that time, Wu Zetian was seriously ill and had only a few days to live, and her life was counting down.

Once Wu Zetian dies of illness, the throne can only belong to the Crown Prince Li Xian, and it is impossible for it to fall into the hands of the two brothers.

So for Li Xian, he just had to wait for his mother to die of illness, and there was no need to launch a dragon coup.

Moreover, there is a risk of failure in launching a coup. Once the coup fails, Li Xian's position as crown prince will definitely not be preserved, and the throne will eventually fall into the hands of Li Dan.

Therefore, Li Xian had no reason to launch a coup, and it was all coerced by Zhang Jianzhi and others.

In order to support Li Xian, Zhang and Cambodia forced Li Xian to launch the Dragon Coup.

"In the first year of Shenlong (705), Prime Minister Zhang Jianzhi and others led more than Yulin soldiers on the left and right to Xuanwu Gate, and sent Li Zhan and Wang Tongjiao to the East Palace to greet the crown prince Li Xian."

"Li Xian was suspicious and afraid, and hid in the East Palace and did not dare to come out."

"Wang Tongjiao: It has been twenty-three years since the late emperor passed the throne to His Highness. Your Highness was imprisoned and deposed for no reason. The emperor, the emperor, the emperor, the emperor, the people, and the people were all filled with righteous indignation. Now the hearts of the people of heaven are in the Tang Dynasty, and the Yulin generals at the north gate I am able to work together with the Nanya courtiers, determined to kill the evil villains and restore the Li family's country. I hope that His Highness will go to Xuanwu Gate to meet everyone's expectations."

"Li Xian: The evil villain should indeed be eradicated, but the emperor's holy body is not in good condition. Can you do this without frightening the emperor? Please don't think about this again in the future."

"Li Chen: You generals, generals and prime ministers are willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the country. Why do you have to let them face the torture of failure? Please go and stop them personally."

"Li Xian then agreed to come out. Wang Tongjiao carried Li Xian onto the horse and accompanied the prince to Xuanwu Gate. He cut off the door bolt and entered the palace." Now that we have reached this point, we are still thinking about escaping.

Previously, Li Xian said that he would give the country of Tang Dynasty to his father-in-law, but now he is ready to do so but is timid and weak. This Li Xian does not look like an emperor at all.

It's no wonder that the throne finally fell into the hands of Li Longji. Now it seems not surprising at all.

Li Xian: Hey, what's the matter? I acted well as the crown prince at that time. I successfully ascended the throne after my mother died of illness. I didn't want to launch a coup at all, but I had no choice. So many people brought me to the stage, so I had no choice but to The duck is on the shelves.

The reason why he didn't want to make a coup was because his mother couldn't survive much longer and the throne was about to fall into his hands, so there was no need for a coup.

There is another most important reason, that is, he has been afraid of this powerful mother since he was a child, and he does not dare to go against her at all.

If he had not been forced to do so and so many people were trying to support him, he would not have been willing to launch a coup at all.

"At this time, Wu Zetian was in Yingxian Palace. Zhang Jianzhi and others beheaded Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong in the corridor of Jixian Palace. Then they came to Jixian Palace where Wu Zetian lived and surrounded her with guards."

"Wu Zetian sat up in surprise and quickly asked who was causing trouble."

"Zhang Jianzhi: The two brothers of Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong conspired to rebel. I have killed them on the order of the prince. I did not report it to you because I was worried that the news might be leaked. I raised troops to kill the rebels in the forbidden area of ​​the palace, alarming the emperor. , I deserve death for my crime!"

"Wu Zetian saw Li Xian among the crowd and said to him: Did you ask him to do this? These two boys have been killed. You can go back to the East Palace."

"Huan Yanfan: How can the prince return to the East Palace? The emperor entrusted his beloved prince to His Majesty. Now that he is old, he has been serving as the prince in the East Palace. God's will and the people's hearts have long missed the Li family. The ministers are not I dare to forget the kindness of Taizong and the Emperor, so I respect the prince to punish the rebellious ministers who rebelled against the superiors. I hope that your majesty will pass the throne to the prince to obey the wishes of heaven and the people!"

"Wu Zetian looked at Li Yifu's son Li Zhan and said: Are you also the general who killed Zhang Yizhi? I usually treat you father and son very well, but I didn't expect what happened today!"

"Wu Zetian said to Cui Xuanwei again: Everyone else was promoted after being recommended by others, but you were the only one promoted by me. Why are you here?"

"Cui Xuanwei (wei): I am doing this just to repay Your Majesty for your great kindness to me."

"Next, Zhang Jianzhi and others arrested Zhang Changqi, Zhang Tongxiu, Zhang Changyi and others, beheaded them all, and showed their heads to the public along with Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong at the south side of the Tianjin Bridge in the sacred capital."

"On the 23rd of the first lunar month, Wu Zetian issued a document, deciding that Prince Li Xian would handle state affairs on his behalf and grant amnesty to the whole country."

"Wu Zetian calmly issued an edict and pardoned Queen Wang, Concubine Xiao Shu, Chu Suiliang and other people who had been enemies."

"On the 24th of the first lunar month, Wu Zetian passed the throne to the prince, Li Xian was officially restored to the throne, and the country was restored to the Tang Dynasty, marking the end of the Wu-Zhou era."

After hearing this, the ancients from all dynasties were filled with sighs and sighs. This was how a generation of legendary queens came to an end, and she was forced to abdicate by her own son.

Everyone felt a lot of emotion for a while. Wu Zetian snatched the throne from his son, but was forced to abdicate by his son in his later years. How unpredictable things are!
  Not to mention other people's sighs, even Wu Zetian herself had a complicated expression and was silent.

She knew that power would eventually be returned to the Tang Dynasty, but she did not expect that it would be in the form of a coup.

Especially when she learned that so many ministers she usually trusted betrayed her in the end, she didn't know how to feel.

Should you be angry? But she didn't seem to, instead she looked calm, neither happy nor sad.

He just felt a little emotional that under her rule, no matter whether it was the ministers or the common people, the last thing they thought about was Li Tang.

Maybe this is her helplessness. Her generation of queens can change dynasties, but she cannot change the hearts of the people in the world.

She wanted to continue Wu Zhou, but in the end she had no choice but to return power to the Tang Dynasty.

Since the general trend of the world is unchangeable and will eventually return to Li Tang's kingdom, perhaps she can make plans early to hand over the power to Li Tang smoothly.

"The Shenlong Coup marked the end of Wu Zetian's political career, and all legislative systems returned to the period of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty."

"The change of Wu Zhou's regime restored the Li Tang Dynasty ahead of schedule. The regime returned to the Li Tang royal family and returned to the era of male rule."

"In November of the first year of Shenlong, Wu Zetian died of illness in the Xianju Hall of Shangyang Palace at the age of eighty-two."

"The imperial title was omitted from the imperial edict, and she was called the Great Sage Queen of Zetian. She was buried in the Qianling Mausoleum with Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi as queen, leaving an unmarked monument."

Wu Zetian died of illness at the age of eighty-two, and the legend belonging to Wu Zetian also came to an end.

Ancient people from all dynasties were all filled with emotion. A generation of queens left the scene sadly, and everyone felt empty in their hearts.

Liu Che: A monument without words, the merits and demerits of which are left to future generations to comment on.

He could also understand Wu Zetian's sadness and helplessness in leaving a monument without words. For a woman to be the emperor, it was already full of controversy, and everyone had mixed opinions about it.

No matter what the inscription is, whether it is praise or derogation, it seems inappropriate. Only the wordless stele is the most suitable.

When Li Zhi, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, heard that Wu Zetian was buried together in Qianling Mausoleum as queen, his expression was particularly complicated and he sighed deeply.

(End of this chapter)