Chapter 363: Wu Mei Ends
“Wu Mei became an emperor as a woman, which left a problem for the Tang Dynasty. Many concubines, queens, and even princesses of the Tang Dynasty imitated her and wanted to become the next empress.”

Wu Mei set a bad example. After her, there will certainly be many women who want to follow the same path. However, their road will be more difficult because the emperor, the royal family, and the ministers of the time will be more cautious to prevent these women from repeating Wu Mei’s past deeds.

It can be said that Wu Mei’s ascension to the throne not only set a precedent for women to become emperors, but also cut off the possibility for other women to become emperors. Not to mention becoming an emperor like Wu Mei, even if they wanted to take power and become a powerful empress dowager, it would be much more difficult than before Wu Mei became emperor.

In modern terms, the old fairy Wu Mei successfully blocked the upward path of other sisters by herself.

“History has a mixed evaluation of Wu Mei, with more critics than praises. I think Su Anheng’s evaluation is more pertinent. He said, ‘At the beginning of the revolution, Your Majesty was diligent in government affairs, personally in charge of all affairs, and consulted with many people. Therefore, the whole country regarded Your Majesty as a ruler who accepted advice! In your old age, you have been lazy in politics and education, and slanderous people have formed factions, causing disasters such as floods and fires. The people are not close to you, and the fifth rank is not humble. Therefore, the whole country regards Your Majesty as a ruler who accepts flattery!'”

“That person’s evaluation of Wu Mei was also very pertinent. He believed that Wu Mei was not an ordinary woman, she had talent and had faults. The unofficial history described her as very promiscuous, which is worth discussing.”

Hearing Li Nian mention “that person” again, Meng Tian, ​​Wang Jian and others felt itchy in their hearts, but looking at the expressions of the First Emperor and Li Nian, it was obvious that they had no intention of answering their questions, so they could only suppress their surging curiosity.

“During Wu Mei’s reign, she was indeed as good as Su Anheng’s evaluation. In the early days, she was quite wise in governing the country, and was no less capable than a man as emperor. However, in her old age, she became lazy and incompetent, causing the court of Wu Zhou to become a mess.”

“But this is also related to Wu Mei’s age. She was already sixty-six when she ascended the throne. Although she was unwilling to admit her age, she was still a mortal after all. Time would still take its toll on her, and her energy would still be less than before.”

Time makes people grow old, heroes grow gray-haired, and beauties fade with age. This problem is not only faced by the female emperor Wu Mei, but also by male emperors.

“In the first month of the first year of the Shenlong reign, Wu Mei was seriously ill and was bedridden in the Jixian Hall of the Yingxian Palace. Only the brothers Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong were by her side.”

“Taking advantage of this opportunity, Prime Minister Zhang Jianzhi, General of the Left Feathered Guard Jing Hui, Inspector of the Left Feathered Guard Huan Yanfan, Junior Minister of Justice Yuan Shuji, and Imperial Guard Commander Li Duozuo pretended that the two Zhangs were plotting a rebellion and launched a coup. They led the Left and Right Feathered Guards to suppress the rebellion, rushed into the palace, killed the two Zhangs and their followers, and then surrounded the Jixian Palace to force Wu Mei to abdicate. This is known in history as the ‘Shenlong Coup’!”

“Since many of the people who launched the coup were Di Renjie’s students, some people in later generations also attributed this achievement to Di Ge Lao, saying that although he failed to directly overthrow Wu Mei and return the throne to the Tang Dynasty, he left behind a spark, and his disciples completed the task on his behalf.”

“Seeing the soldiers surrounding the Jixian Palace, Wu Mei knew that the situation was no longer in her favor. People hoped that the throne would return to the Li Tang Dynasty, so on the 23rd, she let Li Xian take charge of state affairs, issued a general amnesty, and changed the reign title to Shenlong. On the 24th, she passed the throne to Li Xian. On the 25th, Li Xian ascended the throne in Tongtian Palace. At this point, Wu Mei, who had been in power for 15 years, abdicated, and the Wu Zhou Dynasty once again became the Li Tang Dynasty!”

Although Wu Mei changed the name of Tang to Zhou, in the eyes of people at that time, Wu Zhou and Li Tang were essentially the same. Wu Mei just sat on the throne for a few years, and the country eventually returned to the hands of the Tang Dynasty. It could not be considered a real change of dynasty.

If Wu Mei really wanted to change the dynasty from top to bottom, I’m afraid she would not be able to ascend to the throne. Those who originally did not want to rebel against her would have no choice but to rebel against her. Even if she could eventually ascend to the throne, the country’s strength would become very weak due to internal strife, giving foreign races an opportunity to take advantage.

Wu Mei is an extremely intelligent woman. She knows what she needs and where those people’s bottom lines are.

“On November 26, the first year of the Shenlong reign, Wu Mei died of illness in the Xianju Hall of Shangyang Palace at the age of 82. In her last will and testament, Wu Mei gave up her imperial title and called herself ‘The Great Saint Empress Zetian’, and pardoned the families of Empress Wang and Consort Xiao Shufei, as well as the relatives of Chu Suiliang, Han Yuan, and Liu Shi.”

“In May of the second year of the Shenlong reign, Wu Mei was buried with Li Zhi in Qianling Mausoleum as an empress.”

From the young girl who entered the palace during the Zhenguan period to the charming Concubine Wu and Empress Wu during the reign of Li Zhi, to the empress who reached the pinnacle of her career, and finally to the old woman who died on her sickbed, the life of Empress Wu Mei ended here.

Wang Wan nodded and commented: “Although Wu Mei is old, she is still wise. She knows to give up her imperial title and be buried with Li Zhi as the empress. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened.”

Even though the Li Tang emperors who came to the throne later were her descendants, Wu Mei insisted on retaining the title of emperor, so they might not necessarily make good arrangements for her after her death.

How could this be arranged? Would she really be buried with the rites of an emperor? But Wu Mei changed the Tang capital to Zhou, so we can’t build a mausoleum for Wu Mei as the emperor of Wu Zhou, right? Wouldn’t that be equivalent to recognizing the legitimacy of Wu Zhou?
Instead of building an imperial tomb for Wu Mei, and placing her in the imperial tombs of Li Tang, that would be even more impossible. What would Taizong and Gaozu think of including her in the imperial temple of Li Tang?
At that time, Li Xian and others might just bury Wu Mei in the entire mausoleum. On the contrary, if he acknowledged her status as the queen, his descendants would be able to give her a decent arrangement because of their blood relationship.

No matter what, the later emperors of the Li Tang Dynasty were all her descendants and had her blood flowing in their veins!

“After the Shenlong coup, Li Xian was restored to power, but he was a strange man. As I have said before, he was probably too deeply influenced by Empress Wu Mei, who doted on him very much. He did not learn any lessons from his mother Empress Wu Mei at all.”

“Soon after his restoration, Li Xian made Empress Wei his empress and made an exception by posthumously conferring the title of king on Empress Wei’s father, allowing Empress Wei to participate in government affairs, but he did not trust meritorious officials such as Zhang Jianzhi.”

Meng Tian asked: “Does Li Xian have a headache?”

Li Nian smiled and said, “Perhaps, he not only favored Empress Wei, but also did not pursue Wu Sansi and others. He even trusted Wu Sansi because of Empress Wei and married his and Empress Wei’s daughter Princess Anle to Wu Sansi’s son. Speaking of which, Wu Sansi was Empress Wei’s adulterer…”

When the First Emperor and the others heard this, their expressions immediately became strange. The royal family of the Tang Dynasty was a bit chaotic. They really knew how to play. Brothers killed brothers and brothers, robbed their brothers’ wives, sons married their father’s women, the empress openly kept male favorites in the palace, and Li Xian’s queen found an adulterer again…

Wang Jian was old but not old at heart, and asked curiously, “Does Li Xian know about this?”

Li Nian smiled and said, “It doesn’t matter if you know it or not. With Li Xian’s personality, he would turn a deaf ear and pretend not to know even if he knew it. The reason why Empress Wei and Wu Sansi hooked up was because of Shangguan Wan’er, a woman who acted as a matchmaker.” “Shangguan Wan’er is one of the famous talented women in Chinese history. She is not only talented, but also beautiful. Her father is Shangguan Yi, who persuaded Li Zhi to abolish Wu Mei. After Shangguan Yi’s death, Shangguan Wan’er and her mother were sent to the palace as slaves. However, her mother carefully trained her. Although she was a slave, Shangguan Wan’er was familiar with poetry and books. History records that ‘when she grew up, she had literary skills and was familiar with official affairs.'”

“She was favored by Wu Mei and rose to prominence after that. She once committed a capital crime under Wu Mei’s command, but was pardoned by Wu Mei because of her talent and was only sentenced to tattooing. When Li Xian was restored to the throne, Shangguan Wan’er was not convicted for being Wu Mei’s minister. Instead, Li Xian trusted her very much and let her take charge of drafting imperial edicts and appointed her as Zhaorong.”

“When Shangguan Wan’er was with Wu Mei, she had an ambiguous relationship with Wu Mei’s male favorite. After becoming Li Xian’s concubine, she had an improper relationship with Wu Sansi.”

Feng Quji commented: “She is worthy of being raised by Wu Mei. She is not inferior to Wu Mei. No matter how talented she is, she is not worth it!”

Emperor Li Xian had a miserable life. Both of his women betrayed him and had affairs with other men, but Li Nian thought that Li Xian did not deserve sympathy.

Li Nian said: “Under the influence of Empress Wei, Wu Sansi and others, Li Xian not only distrusted Zhang Jianzhi, Jing Hui, Cui Xuanwei, Huan Yanfan, Yuan Shuji and others, but also suppressed these five ministers who had contributed to his restoration. On the surface, he conferred the title of prince on the five, but in fact dismissed them from their political affairs, so that they would not lose their honor and favor on the outside, but actually deprived them of their power on the inside.”

“These five are also known as the ‘Five Kings of Tang’, but due to the slander of Empress Wei, Wu Sansi and others, they all met with a bad end. Zhang Jianzhi died of grief and anger on the way to exile in Longzhou, Cui Xuanwei died of illness on the way to exile in Guzhou, Jing Hui, Huan Yanfan and Yuan Shuji were all brutally killed by Zhou Lizhen under the instruction of Wu Sansi. For example, Huan Yanfan was tied and dragged on a bamboo raft, and his flesh was eaten out before being beaten to death.”

The First Emperor said: “If this is the case for a meritorious minister, then even if Li Xian is deceived by Empress Wei, Wu Sansi, Shangguan Wan’er and others, his position will not last long!”

Li Nian said: “Wu Sansi dared to instruct Zhou Lizhen to kill these five people. He really deceived Li Xian. He colluded with Empress Wei and Shangguan Wan’er. When Li Xian didn’t know, Shangguan Wan’er issued a false edict to order Zhou Lizhen to kill the five people.”

“Shangguan Wan’er repeatedly persuaded Empress Wei to do the Wu Mei thing. Empress Wei herself also had this idea. At that time, Li Xian made his son Li Chongjun the crown prince. Chongjun was not born by Empress Wei, and Empress Wei hated him very much. Therefore, Empress Wei, Wu Sansi and others conspired to get rid of Li Chongjun.”

“So, Wu Sansi’s son Wu Chongxun often instigated his wife Princess Anle to insult Chongjun, calling him a slave because he was not the daughter of Empress Wei. She even asked Li Xian several times to depose Li Chongjun and make her the crown princess.”

Wu Mei had indeed set a bad example. All the women of the Li Tang Dynasty wanted to be the next Wu Mei, including Empress Wei and Princess Anle. They asked to be the Crown Princess. Didn’t they just want to ascend the throne and become the empress?
“Li Chongjun certainly could not stand this insult and was very hostile to Empress Wei, Princess Anle, Wu Sansi and others. In July of the third year of Shenlong, Li Chongjun’s left Yulin army general Li Duozuo and Cheng Wang Li Sichong launched a coup. In this coup, Li Chongjun first killed Wu Sansi, Wu Chongxun and more than ten of their followers, and then attacked the palace.”

“If Li Chongjun had not killed Wu Sansi and others first, his coup might have succeeded. When he arrived at the palace, he had a chance, but Li Chongjun and others squandered it. After Li Chongjun and others led their troops into the palace, they should have controlled Li Xian as soon as possible, but they wasted time trying to capture Empress Wei and look for Princess Anle and Shangguan Wan’er.”

“By the time Li Xian and the others reacted, they still had a chance. At that time, Prime Minister Yang Zaisi, Su Gui, Li Jiao, Zong Chuke, and Ji Chu’ne led more than 2,000 soldiers to guard the Taiji Palace. Li Xian, Empress Wei, Princess Anle, and Shangguan Wan’er climbed up the Xuanwu Gate Tower to hide. Only General Liu Renjing of the Right Imperial Guards led more than 100 Imperial Guards to protect them under the gate tower. With the strength of Li Chongjun and the others at that time, they had a chance to attack.”

“But Li Chongjun and his men did something that was mind-boggling. They did not attack Xuanwu Tower immediately. Instead, they hoped that Li Xian would come out and ask them why they started the rebellion and seek justice for them.”

This plot, which only happens in novels oriented to women, actually happened in the Tang Dynasty!

The First Emperor commented coldly: “Foolish and ignorant, at this moment, either you die or I die, how can you retreat? Isn’t this putting your life and property in the hands of others? If Li Xian comes out and helps Empress Wei and others, how will they deal with it?”

These people have been kicked in the head by a donkey. The situation is in their hands, but they insist on asking Li Xian to come out and ask them why they started the rebellion and to seek justice for them.

Li Nian said: “As your majesty said, although Li Chongjun is a descendant of Emperor Taizong, he does not have the spirit of Emperor Taizong at all. You must know the inheritance law of Xuanwu Gate. If you don’t advance, you will die. How can there be a way out?”

“Li Chongjun and his men did wait for Li Xian to come out, but they did not wait for Li Xian to stand on their side. Li Xian stood on the gate tower and said to the thousand riders: ‘You are my minions, why are you suddenly causing trouble? There will be a reward for those who can kill the bandits.’ Then the soldiers turned against their own side and killed Duo Zuo, and Li Chongjun and his men were defeated.”

The First Emperor said: “When Li Xian stands out, Li Chongjun and others still have a chance to fight back!”

Wang Jian, Wang Wan and others naturally knew where Li Chongjun’s opportunity to counterattack was, but they were not in a position to say it because they were ministers. Only the First Emperor, as the emperor, could say it.

The First Emperor said, “You only need to promise your soldiers a greater reward than Li Xian’s, and then threaten them. They are rebelling tonight, and Li Xian and his men will not easily pardon them. If you are not afraid that they will pursue you in the future, not only will you kill one of them, but also exterminate their entire clan. How can the soldiers turn against you?”

The merit of following the emperor and the threat of rebellion and treason were both capital crimes. With these two heavy blows, the soldiers who followed Li Chongjun would never dare to defect and could only follow Li Chongjun all the way to the end.

But it was a pity that Li Chongjun and others had lost their IQ at that time, so they handed over this good situation to others. Otherwise, the Tang Dynasty would have had one more emperor retired that night, and Xuanzong, who was secretly accumulating strength, might not have had the chance to ascend to that position.

“After seeing that the situation was hopeless, Li Chongjun fled to Mount Zhongnan, intending to seek refuge with the Turks. Li Xian ordered Zong Chuke to send Guoyi Zhao Sishen to pursue him. Chongjun rested in the wild and was killed by his attendants.”

“Li Zhongjun’s head was cut off by Li Xian’s order and presented to the Imperial Ancestral Temple as a sacrifice to Wu Sansi and Wu Chongxun.”

This Li Xian was really outrageous. After all, Li Chongjun was his son. Yet he cut off his son’s head and offered sacrifice to a man like Wu Sansi.

(End of this chapter)