Ever since Li Zhi entrusted the affairs of the country to Empress Wu, Empress Wu fell in love with this job. Although the territory of the Tang Empire is constantly expanding, the household registration is increasing, and the military and political affairs are becoming increasingly busy.

As time passed, Empress Wu's fascination with power deepened.

In addition to the internal and external wives who had to greet her every day, the princes, the prime ministers, the assassins, the left and right sixteen guard generals, and the Beiya forbidden army had to report to her for instructions.

This feeling of overlooking the world far exceeded what she had seen and heard standing on the Hanyuan Palace, and only the feeling she felt when she turned into a parrot and traveled to Mount Meru in her dream could be compared.

After Li was cured, he went to play around the palace and found that the palace maids had changed, and they were very unhappy that they had no taste for themselves, and only Helan Minyue, who entered the palace by chance, could arouse his interest.

In April of the first year of Longshuo, the emperor and queen dealt with military and political affairs in Luoyang Hebi Palace, and mobilized 35 armies such as Su Dingfang and Qibi He Li to attack Goguryeo.

Considering that Li Zhi had just recovered from a serious illness, Empress Wu and Xu Jingzong and other scholars analyzed and felt that the time was not yet ripe, and advised the emperor not to conquer Goguryeo in person, and Li Zhi reluctantly agreed.

A month later, Empress Wu heard that female artists engaged in music, dance and comedy often encountered sexual harassment by men, and the scene was filthy, so she asked for a ban on women from all over the world from engaging in the haiyu opera industry.

The edict was implemented under the rule of Li, and no one said anything at that time, and since then there have been a lot fewer entertainment activities among the people. This is the reason why there are no memoirs of geisha in China, and the Wa Kingdom, which worshiped the Sui and Tang dynasties, carried the geisha forward.

In the first month of the second year of Longshuo, Empress Wu set up a member of the Shaoqing of Taifu Temple in Luoyang, and added Guozijian to be equal to Chang'an. In February, Empress Wu instigated Li Zhi to change the title of the civil and military officials on a large scale, and he also announced the change of the name of the internal official in the palace.

Li Zhi thought it was funny, if the name change was successful, and the government and the people accepted and liked the new name, then he would be remembered forever as the founder, and if it didn't succeed, he would change it back, so he readily agreed.

On February 4, Li Zhi issued an edict to change the names of the civil and military officials:

Shangshu Province is Zhongtai, Menxia Province is Dongtai, Zhongshu Province is Xitai, Shangshu left and right servants shoot for the left and right Kuangzheng, left and right Cheng is Suji, Shizhong is the left phase, Zhongshu Ling is the right phase, Shangshu is Taichang Bo, Shilang is Shaochang Bo; The remaining 24 divisions, the Imperial Historical Observatory, the Nine Temples, the Seven Eunuchs, and the Sixteen Guards were all renamed according to the principle of easy to understand, and their powers and tasks remained the same.

Empress Wu ordered to change the names of the officials in the harem:

The four concubines of Gui, Shu, De and Xian were changed to two people of Zand, which are the same product. Zhaoyi, Zhaorong, Zhaoyuan and other nine concubines were changed to four Xuanyi, and they were two products. The four beauties were changed to five boudoirs, and there were four products. Five talented people were changed to five people, and five products were made. Twenty-seven people in Baolin were changed to six people in Weixian, and they were six products. Twenty-seven maidens were changed to eight people, and there were seven products. Twenty-seven women were changed to twenty waiters, and there were eight grades. Thirty additional scarves were added, and nine products were added.

Looking at the names and numbers of officials in the harem after the reform of the Empress Wu, you can know what she is worried about and what her intentions are.

What is it? She was worried that the emperor's body was getting worse and worse, and he would not be able to stand the temptation of too many beauties and ascend to heaven early; The unclear authority of the concubines will cause groups of relatives to interfere with the emperor's impartial law enforcement; Therefore, she changed her name to make it clear that the duties of the concubines were to sponsor the queen to govern yin and virtue, declare the queen's etiquette, undertake the emperor's orders, and wait to comb her hair and pass the scarf.

In other words, the concubines must change their previous concept of treating themselves as fertility machines and entertainment tools, cheer up their spirits to manage various affairs of the harem, serve their superiors, educate their subordinates, do a good job of passing on their help, and solve problems for the emperor and queen.

On August 8, the right minister Xu Jingzong asked for retirement, and he was already 70 years old this year. He is the father of the pro-martial faction, and he is a moving encyclopedia, and has made a significant contribution to the reign of the emperor, of course, the emperor did not agree, and kept him together, and named him the prince and young master.

On the eleventh day of the first month of the third year of Longshuo, Li Yifu, a close confidant of the Empress Wu, was appointed as the right minister.

But Li Yifu was greedy and refused to change his teachings, and still mobilized the whole family to sell his official beard, Li Zhi advised him to restrain himself, but he didn't listen. He also asked Mr. Feng Shui Du Yuanji to look at feng shui for his house and watch the wind everywhere.

His son, Li Jin, the right Si Yilang, actually dared to accept a bribe of 700 copper coins from Changsun Yan, the grandson of Changsun Wuji, to help Changsun Yan obtain the position of Sijin Supervisor. Right: Jin Wucang, Cao joined the army, and Yang Xingying reported the matter to Li Zhi.

On April 2, Li Yifu was arrested and imprisoned, and Liu Xiangdao, the chief of the punishment department, and the supervising imperial history and the detailed punishment doctor were sent to interrogate him, and ordered the Sikong Li Tao to supervise the trial.

After finding out the facts, Li Yifu was removed from his name and exiled to Shanzhou; Li Jin was removed from his name and exiled to Zhenzhou; The other sons and sons-in-law were removed and exiled to Tingzhou.

Li Yifu's wife entered the palace to intercede with Empress Wu, but Empress Wu didn't dare to come out like this. After her cronies Li Yifu and Mr. Dongyue were taken down one after another because of violations of law and discipline, Empress Wu felt that Li Zhi had doubts about her ability to recognize and employ people, and there was a rift in the relationship between husband and wife, so how to make up for it?

Empress Wu recalled March 12 of the fifth year of Yonghui, on this day, in order to appease her pain of losing her beloved daughter, Li Zhi deliberately took her family to Linyou County Wannian Palace for an outing, and caressed her, which was also her most touching moment and the most impressive day.

Empress Wu sang in a low voice: "Love is so beautiful, my heart is intoxicated, and the feeling of being loved ......" and then went to persuade Li Zhi to go to the Wannian Palace for a leisure vacation. On weekdays, he is sick and tired of state affairs, and of course he needs to play to adjust and relax, so Li Zhi immediately agreed when he heard Dayue.

On February 10 of the first year of Lin De, the emperor and queen went to the Wannian Palace together for an outing, touring the mountains and rivers, and enjoying the "Liquan Ming of Jiucheng Palace" again. Seeing things and thinking about the past, Empress Wu guided Li Zhi to think about his daughter, if her daughter is alive, she will be ten years old this year, ten years have passed, and the days have passed so fast!

Li Zhi had tears in his eyes, hugged and cried with the Empress Wu under the pine tree on the top of the mountain, and the spring breeze blew and lifted the yellow robe and the xia curtain of the two.

In a blink of an eye, on March 3, the Qingming Festival, the emperor and queen led the three dukes, Jiuqing, and doctors to hold a big shooting ceremony in Liquan Square of Wannian Palace, and the chieftains of the feudal domains and the envoys of the four Yi were also invited to participate.

A few days later, Li Zhi posthumously crowned his daughter as the princess of Anding, and moved her tomb from Deye Temple to Chongjing Temple, and the funeral rites such as the promotion and offering of sacrifices referred to the prince's ritual system.

Li Zhi did this to announce to the outside world that the emperor's feelings had been reunited, and Empress Wu's plan to make up for it was successful, and soon after, Empress Wu became pregnant again.

The reunion of the emperor and queen was originally a gratifying thing, but some courtiers were very unhappy, such as the Xitai squire Shangguanyi and the bachelor who had poetry and lyrics and correspondence with him.

Because of their common belief in feudal etiquette, these courtiers formed an anti-martial group, doing everything possible to separate the intimate relationship between the emperor and the queen, sending people abroad to reconnoiter the movements of the envoys of the martial queen, and ambushing the chess piece of the inner temple Bowang Fusheng to supervise the harem.

Shangguan Yi and Wang Fusheng also have a special identity compared with other anti-military courtiers, Shangguan Yi once served as a counselor to King Chen during the Zhenguan period, giving advice to King Chen Li Zhong, and after being moved to the secretary and young eunuch, he still guided Li Zhong's knowledge and had feelings with Li Zhong.

At the beginning of Shangguanyi's entry, he served in the Jin Mansion to join the army, the East Pavilion sacrificed wine, and assisted Li Zhi for a long time, and he was an old man in the East Palace, so he was able to be promoted by Li Zhi and promoted to prime minister. But he sympathized with the plight of the crown prince Li Zhong, and was dissatisfied with the Empress Wu.

Wang Fusheng was a guard at the gate of the Sixth Bureau Courtyard in the early days of entering the palace, and later transferred to the Chen Wangfu to serve, and once served Chen Wang Li Zhong for a long time, and the two sides established a deep relationship.

Therefore, Shangguan Yi and Wang Fusheng are not only anti-martial, but also want to help the abolished prince Li Zhong restore.

Seeing the emperor and queen reunited, Shangguan Yi was very anxious, and criticized Empress Wu's bad policy in front of Li Zhi at every opportunity. One day, Li Zhi summoned Shangguanyi to the academy north of the right Yintai Gate of Penglai Palace to be called on duty to discuss the gains and losses of the policy with him.

Shangguan Yi took the opportunity to say: "It is a big mistake for Your Majesty not to personally conquer in the first year of Longshuo, if Your Majesty does to conquer in person, the army of the queen of the palace will inevitably become the last straw that crushes Goguryeo!" We have missed such a good opportunity, and we will make a big move in the future. Li Zhi sighed and said slowly: "It's strange that I'm not in good health, and the country can't be moved lightly!" ”

"I think it's also debatable to ban women from engaging in haiyu plays!" Shangguan Yi said again.

Li Zhi nodded approvingly: "Banning women from engaging in haiyu plays, in the short term, is to avoid sexual harassment of female artists, but in the long run, it is equivalent to cutting off a way for women to make a living, and it is a choking and abandoning food." ”

Shangguan Yi said meaningfully: "A woman has long hair and short knowledge!" "What do you think about the name of the civil and military officials who reformed the year before last? What's going on out there? Li Zhi asked.

Shangguan Yi said: "Hey, you can't talk too much about this. The names of the three provinces and six departments originated from Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and after the Three Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it was formally established in the hands of Emperor Wen of Sui. Therefore, His Majesty's reform is also indispensable, but the scholars of the foreign dynasty are not very accustomed to it, and the records of historians are different from before, and they often have to turn the book to find it, which may not be a long-term strategy. Especially the name of the internal official, hey, don't say it! ”

"What is the name of the internal officer? Say it. Li Zhi said urgently.

"Does Your Majesty think that the names of Zand, Xuanyi, Chengboudoir, and Chengzhi can arouse His Majesty's sexual interest and association? What would the world be like without Lenovo? Li Zhi was silent for a long time and motioned for Shangguan Yi to step down.

After Empress Wu became pregnant, she sometimes had to help deal with government affairs, and her temper was good and bad, and after reuniting with Li Zhi, she did not relax the control of Li Zhi's spare time.

Li Zhi often felt the ridicule and ridicule of the courtiers, and after returning to the harem, he really couldn't find a rich nightlife, so he often got angry.

Shangguan Yi saw it in his eyes and was happy in his heart, and kept adding oil and vinegar to help the fire.

At the end of the year, the cold wind is howling. Li Zhi quarreled with Empress Wu because of some court trivialities, and returned to the Jinluan Palace to rest, and the more he thought about it, the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to go, so he ordered Kong Nei to go to the academy to summon Shangguan Yi, who was to be called on duty, to come to see him.

After Shangguan Yi came, Li Zhi said: "I had a fight with that mother-in-law just now, hey, I think that at the beginning, she could bend down and endure humiliation and obey my will, so I tried my best to set her up against public opinion." Who knows that when she gets her ambition, she will be constrained by both the blessings and blessings, and I also feel that I am a nest, so how can I see it? ”

Originally, Li Zhi wanted to ask Shangguan Yi to make a move to scare Empress Wu, let her know the emperor's authority, and relax the constraints on him, just like when he won Mr. Dongyue last year.

Unexpectedly, Shangguan Yi thought that the long-awaited time for the abolition of the queen had arrived, and blurted out the words in his heart: "The minister thinks that the queen is tyrannical and wanton, and the famous people at home and abroad do not agree, please abolish her!" ”

Li Zhi was stunned for a moment, and thought to himself: Shangguan Yi, your brain teaser caught me off guard, do you know how hard I worked with her and how much resistance I fought to win her? There is a way in heaven that you don't take, and there is no door to hell, you come to it, you are looking for death by yourself, Hugh is weird!

Li Zhi showed a sneer, you must know that teaching the queen and abolishing the queen are two different concepts, the idea of teaching the queen is on his side, and abolishing the queen is on the side of the late captain!

Li Zhi sacrificed the old routine of luring the snake out of the hole, and ordered Shangguanyi to draft an edict after the abolition of the post, so as to leave ironclad evidence.

Shangguan Yi immediately returned to the academy to draft the edict with great interest, he had seen several post-abolition edicts in the Hongwen Pavilion, and vaguely remembered some words and formats, so the drafting speed was very fast.

The attendant of the upper Kong Nei and Cao Shaojian in the Jinluan Hall looked at each other, nodded and confirmed the eyes, and Cao Shaojian quietly retreated and notified the female Shi Chunlan and Qiu Ju under the corridor. Chunlan and Qiu Ju immediately rushed to the Chengxiang Hall in the north, reporting that the martial arts were not good.

Empress Wu was walking in the garden with a big belly, and was shocked when she heard the report, and immediately walked in the direction of the Jinluan Palace.

Empress Wu stopped, was helped by everyone to the phoenix, and rushed towards the Jinluan Palace.

During this period, Shangguan Yi had already written the edict of the abolition of the queen and put it on the case table of the Jinluan Palace, and then returned to the academy to standby. Li Zhi just put it down after reading the edict, and Empress Wu came in with a big belly.

Li Zhi was taken aback, got up and said with a forced smile: "Lady, don't rest in the harem, what are you doing here?" ”

Empress Wu didn't say a word, came over and grabbed the edict to watch it, threw the book to the ground, and cried in a broken voice: "What did the concubine do to be sorry for the Li family, Your Majesty wants to abolish the concubine?" The concubine is in the wrong place, and she is in Lanye, and the total rate of the six palaces is to live inside and outside the women, and to worship the silkworms. In the palace, he set up a program of Chen Ji, kept strict internal teaching, and helped Xuan Wanghua. His Majesty is in charge of Yang Dao outside, and the concubine is in the harem to govern Yin and Virtue. Your Majesty's dragon body is sick, the concubine acts as the agent of the state government, eats and eats at night, and works tirelessly all night! ”

With tears in his eyes, Li Zhi supported Empress Wu and listened to her quietly. "Your Majesty doesn't really want to abolish concubines, does you? Right? Empress Wu suddenly pulled out the sword tied to the dragon robe and wiped it off her neck.

Li Zhi was shocked, grabbed the sword and threw it on the floor tiles with a "clang", and said: "It's not true, it's not true, the lady will always be my queen!" I didn't have this intention at first, it was all taught by Shangguan Yi! ”

Empress Wu said angrily: "Shangguan Yi? The courtiers dared to sow discord against the emperor and queen, what should he be guilty of? Li Zhi said: "Forget it, forget it, my Chrysostom is open, he is just carrying out orders!" ”

"Why did Your Majesty open Chrysostom? It's not because of Shangguan Yi's demagogy and instigation, since he has personally exposed his conspiracy and purpose, he should be held accountable, investigated to the end, and will not be tolerated! Li Zhilian claimed that it was.

Empress Wu's mood gradually stabilized, calmly thought about her next move, picked up the edict on the floor tile and looked at it again, and said, "That's right, this is Shangguanyi's words!" "Order the guards on the left and right to arrest Shangguan Yi and put him in prison. He also summoned the young master of the crown prince Xu Jingzong to the palace to discuss.

Shangguan Yi's struggles and cries were faintly heard from the academy: "Since ancient times, I can't keep my affection, and I always have a routine to win people's hearts." The farthest road the minister has traveled is your routine, Your Majesty! ”

When Xu Jingzong heard that Shangguan Yi had an accident, he smiled and ordered the servant to bring a yellow wooden box into the palace, which was full of letters, poems, and resignations exchanged between Shangguan Yi and other courtiers. After entering the palace, Empress Wu asked him how to deal with the matter of Shangguan Yi's conspiracy to abolish the queen, and he asked Empress Wu to look at the box first.

Empress Wu and Xu Jingzong flipped through the manuscripts of the letters in the box together, and actually found a letter written by Li Zhong, a Shuren who was far away in Qianzhou, to Shangguanyi, as well as a letter from Master Xuanyi of Helin Temple to reply to Shangguanyi.

Empress Wu exclaimed, "Oh my God, this is amazing! How did Mr. Xu get this? ”

Xu Jingzong smiled and said: "The old minister followed the queen's instructions and widely monitored political enemies, and Shangguan Yi was the key monitoring target." Lao Chen had long found out that Shangguan Yi was organizing an anti-military clique, but these letters alone were not enough to convict him. Today, Shangguan Yi jumped out to expose his target and killed himself, which is really gratifying! ”

Empress Wu highly praised Xu Jingzong, and said: "I didn't expect Shangguan Yi and Wang Fusheng to plan the restoration with Li Zhong of Qianzhou, and they are in the next big game of chess!" I didn't expect Shangguan Yi to go to Master Xuanyi to inquire about my experience in Ganye Temple and collect my black materials, hehe, it's really insidious! ”

Xu Jingzong then wrote a volume of chapters, reporting on the crimes of Shangguanyi, Wang Fusheng, and Li Zhong plotting the restoration together, and presented it with a box. Li Zhi was also shocked when he saw it, he didn't expect that there was such a big conspiracy behind it.

On December 13, Shangguan Yi's son Zhou Wangfu and eunuch Wang Fusheng were arrested, and their families were confiscated. Subsequently, Shangguan Yi and others were executed. Shangguan Tingzhi's daughter Shangguan Wan'er was just a few months old and was still in infancy, and was confiscated into the Yeting Palace as a slave with her mother Zheng.

On the 15th, Li Zhong, a member of the concubine, committed suicide in the former residence of Li Chengqian in Qianzhou.

Li Zhong is the eldest son of Li Zhi, who was first crowned King Chen, and was later made the crown prince, and was soon deposed as the crown prince after the Canadian dollar service, and was demoted to the king of Liang and the assassin of Liangzhou, and was reappointed as the assassin of Fangzhou.

After the eldest grandson Wuji committed suicide in Qianzhou, Li Zhong was deposed as a commoner and moved to live in Qianzhou. Before his death, Li Zhong looked back on his short life and sighed: "The ups and downs of life change too fast, it's really exciting!" ”

Some courtiers who exchanged letters and sang poems with Shangguanyi were also punished.

The right prime minister Liu Xiangdao dismissed political affairs and was demoted to the priest Taichangbo; Zuo Suji, Zheng Qintai, Si Lie, Wei Xuantong, and Chang'an Wei Cui Daomo, were assigned to Liuling; Jianzhou Thorn Shi Xue Yuan Chao Changliu Shanzhou.

Even Li Zhi's enlightenment teacher, Master Xuanyi, who turned out to be Gaozu Xue Jieyu and Mrs. Hedong County, was also stripped of his title and imprisoned in Jing'an Palace, Gaozu Temple.

Smashing the anti-martial arts group, the Empress Wu once again won a big victory, and after being excited, he talked to Li Zhi and said: "Back then, Chu Suiliang bled on the ground to prevent Lang Jun from establishing a concubine as the queen, but fortunately, the concubine hung the curtain behind, and shouted angrily, reversing the unfavorable situation. Unexpectedly, today Lang Jun listened to the nonsense of the courtiers, and almost repeated the mistakes of the past, Lang Jun was often dizzy, in case the government failed, how to be good? ”

Li Zhi touched the back of his head and said, "Well, it's reassuring that the lady is still in the back!" But your stomach, is it convenient? Pointing to Empress Wu's big belly, Empress Wu smiled and said no problem.

From then on, when Li Zhi was in charge of the government, the Empress Wu also hung the curtain behind, heard all kinds of political affairs together, and jointly decided on the matter of dethronement and life and death. Li Zhi saved the trouble of going back to the harem to discuss with Empress Wu, and Empress Wu also ensured his own safety, which was a win-win result. Both inside and outside the palace and the envoys of the Four Yi respectfully called the two "two saints".