A noble queen actually spread rumors and made trouble, which is undignified; The appearance of a concubine but no concubine is unreasonable. Tang Gaozong was very disappointed in these two women, and looking at Wu Zetian's maturity, introverted and extremely self-contained, Tang Gaozong wondered, why is there such a big difference between the same women of his own?

As a result, Tang Gaozong regarded Wu Zetian as the treasure of his own palm and believed in Wu Zetian alone. (The emperor did not accept the words, and Zhaoyi favored the day)

Although it was two against one, Wu Zetian's counterattack strategy was quite successful, and she won a small victory for the time being. But if she wants to fundamentally knock down Wang and Xiao, Wu Zetian still has more than enough strength but not enough strength, because, compared with Wang and Xiao, her power is still very weak, and she can't fight them for the time being.

Perhaps, you will say, there is Tang Gaozong, there is nothing to be afraid of. But Wu Zetian knew in his heart that men were unreliable, especially as the emperor. Li Zhi loves her very much now, it doesn't mean that he will love her forever, when she is old, will Li Zhi still hold her in the palm of his hand? Therefore, Li Zhi is unreliable and unreliable.

The battle in the harem is getting more and more intense, and if he is defeated by Wang and Xiao, he will die a miserable death. Instead of waiting to die, it is better to knock them to the ground first.

Pity for the enemy is to be cruel to himself, and Wu Zetian, who is competitive by nature, is ready to throw a heavy punch and completely knock the enemy at his feet.

If Wang and Xiao can really be defeated, then the position of queen must be Wu Zetian. However, this matter is quite difficult, and if she messes up, it will put her in a dilemma.

Wu Zetian is a positive and enterprising person, and she never frowns because of difficulties. Since he was forced to do this, he could only fight to the death.

At this time. Waiting for the opportunity may never have a chance, so. Wu Zetian was ready to create an opportunity to create an opportunity that was enough to defeat Wang and Xiao.

Capture the thief and capture the king first. As long as she hits Queen Wang, Concubine Xiao Shu will not be able to jump up. Wu Zetian tried her best to find the flaws of Queen Wang, but this steady and dignified woman could not find any fatal fault except for not being able to have children and speaking ill of Wu Zetian. This made Wu Zetian a little helpless.

However, people always make mistakes, and the queen is no exception. If you want to wronged a person, the crime can always be fabricated. What's more, the people who are targeted by Wu Zetian have no way to escape.

At the end of the fourth year of Yonghui (653), Wu Zetian gave birth to a daughter. This daughter is Princess Anding, who was posthumously crowned by her 11 years later. Li Zhi loves this daughter very much, regards her as the pearl of his palm, and loves Wu Zetian even more.

I wanted to defeat Wu Zetian, but I didn't expect Wu Zetian to raise his value because he gave birth to a daughter, which made Queen Wang very depressed and extremely unhappy.

Why can't I have children? God gave him the title of mother, but deprived himself of the right to be a mother. If you can't have the best of both worlds, why can't you let yourself choose? If I had a choice, I would rather be a mother.

Maybe it's a woman's nature to be a mother. Since Wu Zetian gave birth to a daughter, Queen Wang, who has no children and no daughters, has an urge to go and see it. Although she knew that she and Wu Zetian were not comrades-in-arms in the same trench, her every move might become an excuse for Wu Zetian to make trouble. But can you still cause any trouble by going to the door? After thinking about it, Queen Wang felt that there would be no problem with this trip. In the end, he couldn't help but look at the newly-born little princess.

It is said that impulsiveness is the devil, and the queen will definitely pay a heavy price for her impulsiveness. Because Wu Zetian's viciousness was something she could never have dreamed of.

Soon after Princess Anding was born, Queen Wang came to Wu Zetian's residence to see the chubby little princess. It just so happened that Wu Zetian was not there. The child was indeed very cute, and she couldn't help but touch the little princess's face a few times. After the queen left. Wu Zetian came back. When she learned that the queen was coming, a smile appeared on her face, and a poisonous plan was born.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and if it is missed, the next opportunity will not be until the Year of the Monkey. But tiger poison still doesn't eat children, looking at the lively little daughter, Wu Zetian hesitated. However, she only hesitated for a moment, and then covered her little daughter and covered her with a quilt as if nothing had happened.

After a while, Li Zhi also came. Wu Zetian smiled all over his face, walked to the bed to hug the princess, and after uncovering the quilt, he cried in panic.

Okay, what's the cry about? Li Zhi was puzzled, and when he found out that Princess Anding was no longer breathing, he was extremely angry. At this time, Queen Wang became the only suspect, Wu Zetian saw that the conspiracy succeeded, and sobbed and told Queen Wang's guilt again, claiming that Queen Wang killed Princess Anding.

What kind of person is this, she can't have children, and she has to come to murder my own flesh and blood, such a vicious woman is not worthy of being a queen at all.

From then on, the image of the queen was greatly reduced in Li Zhi's heart, and he began to hate this woman in sheep's clothing but with a wolf-like vicious heart, and had the idea of abolishing her.

In fact, the death of Princess Anding is an unsolved mystery, and there are two versions of the record of this incident in the history books: one is that Wu Zetian killed his daughter to marry Queen Wang in order to compete for the position of queen; The second is that Princess Anding died of a violent illness, and Wu Zetian blamed Queen Wang for killing her young daughter.

Both claims are possible and are still debated to this day. However, it is somewhat far-fetched to say that Princess Anding died of a violent illness, and Queen Wang happened to catch up, and was wrongfully framed. Because this is too coincidental, Queen Wang is too much to carry it.

Relatively speaking, the first version was more realistic. There is a way that children are reluctant to trap wolves, and in the political struggle, many people have inexplicably become victims. In order to pave the way to imperial power, the poor princess Anding became an abandoned pawn. For a newborn child, this is too unfair, but she has no right to choose, she only blames herself for being born in the emperor's family, and if there is an afterlife, I only wish she could be born in an ordinary people's family.

Look at Queen Wang again, her opponent is Wu Zetian, if she kills Wu Zetian, it can be justified, she has no motive to attack an unarmed child who is still in swaddling clothes. Besides, in broad daylight. Killing people in a heavily guarded palace is tantamount to suicide. The queen is not stupid enough to be this far.

None of that matters anymore. The key is that Queen Wang is the most suspicious, and she is difficult to argue. Li Zhi believed that Princess Anding's death was the work of Queen Wang. Wu Zetian's goal was achieved. But her heart was very disturbed, and she could only pray for the blessings of Princess Tranquility to ask God to forgive her cruel behavior and comfort her conscience, which would never be at peace.

It is better to rely on oneself than to rely on heaven and earth

Climbing up the corpse of his young daughter, many people doubt the authenticity of this story, and everyone can judge it according to their own understanding. However, one thing is for sure, at this time, the prelude to the deposed queen has begun.

Now he has completely fallen out with Queen Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu, and continues to succumb to these two. This is not Wu Zetian's style. If you want to climb to the position of empress, you must get the support of important ministers in the court. In Wu Zetian's view, the most important thing is to get through the link of the eldest grandson Wuji. Because this man is both an uncle and a minister. If he nodded, there would be a lot less resistance. Wu Zetian fantasized about gaining the support of the eldest grandson Wuji, so she took Tang Gaozong Li Zhi to visit the eldest grandson Wuji's mansion.

Although you are the emperor, since you are asking someone to do something, you have to express something. Tang Gaozong made an exception to promote the three sons of the eldest grandson Wuji to the Chaosan doctor (Wensan official name. In order to go down from the five grades, the thirteenth rank of civil officials), in addition, a cart of gold and silver treasures was also given. Ten cars of Ayajin.

The emperor's reward, which is a kind of affirmation and appreciation for the courtiers, the eldest grandson Wuji is very happy.

When the wine is hot. Tang Gaozong sighed and said:

"A great sin, no heir. It's a pity that Queen Wang has no children. ”

Tang Gaozong's meaning is very clear. hinted at the eldest grandson Wuji, hoping that he would agree to abolish the queen and establish the Wu clan.

The eldest grandson Wuji is not stupid. He naturally understood the deep meaning of Tang Gaozong, and also understood the true intention of the emperor to seal the official and reward him this time. However, the abolition of the queen is a major national affair, which involves the interests of all parties, and must be cautious and cautious. So, the eldest grandson Wuji estimated that he would be interrupted and talk about him left and right.

What an old fritter.

Tang Gaozong and Wu Zetian touched the nail and felt bored, so they had to go home.

Facing the stubborn eldest grandson Wuji, Tang Gaozong was very angry, but he couldn't help this person, so he had to swallow his anger and put aside his thoughts for the time being. But Wu Zetian couldn't swallow this breath, she didn't give up, and asked her biological mother Yang to come forward and pray at the eldest grandson Wuji's mansion, but it was also in vain. Then, he asked Xu Jingzong to talk about things, but he also touched his nose.

At this time, Wu Zetian is sober, except for Tang Gaozong's favor, he has no excellent backstage, and he can't count on the support of these old people of the wang family.

It is better to rely on oneself than to rely on heaven and earth. So, Wu Zetian lost her illusions, she wanted to use the card of Tang Gaozong's favor, and with her own wit, she realized her dream of becoming a queen.

Looking at Li Zhi again, although he is the emperor, due to the constraints of all forces in the court, he can't let his beloved woman become the queen, and he is extremely unhappy in his heart.

Since it is not justifiable to be the queen directly, then, it is always okay to be promoted to the next level. Wu Zetian's position at that time was Zhaoyi, and the positions closer to the queen included the four concubines of "noble, lady, virtuous, and virtuous", but these four positions were full.

In order to reduce resistance as much as possible, Tang Gaozong added another concubine on top of the four concubines and named it "Concubine Chen", that is, the emperor's concubine, which means that only the Wu family is worthy of being Gaozong's concubine, so that Wu Zetian is only one step away from the empress.

It can be said that this is an innovation of Tang Gaozong, which not only did not harm the interests of other concubines, but also improved Wu Zetian's status, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone, but it also attracted a lot of opposition.

Prime Minister Han Ai and Lai Ji desperately objected, saying that there were customizations in the harem, and the new appointment of Concubine Chen would destroy the etiquette of the Tang Empire. (There are several concubines, and now they have another name, not allowed)

Tang Gaozong didn't want to cause more trouble because of this, so he canceled Concubine Chen's title. Although Wu Zetian hated Han Ying and Lai Ji to the core, he couldn't help it. In this way, she could only watch the cooked duck fly.

Hiding a knife in the smile, Li Yifu

As the saying goes: a fence has three piles, and a hero has three gangs. After all, the strength of individuals is limited, and the flame is high when everyone gathers firewood. In order to make your dreams come true, you have to find some helpers.

In the outer court, because of his father's early death, Wu Zetian had no foundation, and lacked a group of courtiers to echo, so it was difficult to deal with the eldest grandson Wuji group who stubbornly adhered to the position of protecting the king and empress.

Even if he has the emperor's face, an important minister like the eldest grandson Wuji will not buy Wu Zetian's account, will anyone still stand on Wu Zetian's side? The answer is yes. Just when Wu Zetian was at a loss. An official named Li Yifu took the initiative to ask Ying to wave the flag and shout for her.

Li Yifu, a native of Raoyang, Yingzhou (now Hebei) in the Tang Dynasty. From a humble background, there is a resignation. Kindness is the text. During the Zhenguan period, Li Daliang, the patrol ambassador of Jiannan Province, recommended that the Yifu countermeasures be promoted, and then awarded the provincial ceremony, and since then he has embarked on a career in office. Later, he was promoted to supervise the imperial history and worked part-time in the Jin Palace. Like Gao Yu in "Water Margin", Li Yifu's luck was surprisingly good, and Li Zhi, the king of Jin, was promoted to the crown prince and later ascended to the throne as Gaozong. He also followed all the way to the rank of knight.

In the New Tang Dynasty Book. In "The Biography of the Traitorous Minister", Li Yifu ranked second, and he was also a famous white-faced traitor in the early Tang Dynasty. The traitors in TV dramas are often described as obscene. Li Yifu is the opposite, he was born with clear eyebrows, gentle and elegant, and is a well-known beautiful man.

There is an idiom called "hiding a knife in a smile", which is about Li Yifu. You must not be fooled by his handsome appearance, it would be a big mistake to make friends with him from the bottom of your heart. Because what Li Yifu is best at is calculating people without revealing a trace, so that you don't know how you died. Li Yifu has a soft appearance. But when he harmed people, he was ruthless, and his temperament and behavior were similar to those of cats, so people gave him the nickname "Li Mao".

Although Li Yifu's character is not good, he is outstandingly talented. The style of poetry is clear and beautiful, with a typical style of the early Tang Dynasty. "New Words of the Tang Dynasty" accused Zhang Huaiqing of eating alive, and the evidence cited was plagiarism of Li Yifu's poems. Other than that. He and the prince Si Lang came to Jiji to be famous for their articles, and the time name was "Lai Li". Although his personality is scornful. But when we read, "The moon becomes a singing fan, and the clouds are cut into dance clothes." Self-pity back to the Snow Shadow. It's good to take Luochuan back. When he writes such soft and beautiful verses, I have to admire his literary talent.

In the early Tang Dynasty, the election of officials paid attention to both ability and political integrity, although Li Yifu was quite talented, but he was a big difference in morality, so he was famous at the same time as Laijidu had already achieved the Zhongshu Ling (Zheng Sanpin), and he was only a Zhongshu Sheren (Wupin), and he also studied the history of the country, and Xu Jingzong was a colleague.

Li Yifu's talent is on par with Laiji, but his position is not as high as his family, and his heart is naturally depressed. He is not satisfied with the status quo and dreams of climbing up.

I don't know what the reason is, Li Yifu offended the eldest grandson Wuji, who even let the emperor give three points, and there must be no good fruit to eat. Sure enough, the eldest grandson Wuji intended to demote him out of Chang'an and go to the remote Jiannan to be the Sima (Wupin official) of Bizhou, that is, to work in today's Sichuan Province. Although it is a level-level transfer, working in Sichuan, which is far away from the capital, is equivalent to a demotion.

Besides, in the early Tang Dynasty, people generally valued Beijing officials and looked down on local officials. In the capital, there are many opportunities to contact the emperor, and you may be able to win the jackpot; As a magistrate, the mountain is high and the emperor is far away, even if you are very literate, who can remember that there is such a person as you, and the chance of promotion is almost zero.

I dreamed of being promoted, but I didn't expect to be sent to a local official. Li Yifu was conceited and talented, and his ambitions were quite big, and he was unwilling to become a local official if he was killed. In the face of this huge blow, he immediately panicked.

The three stinkers beat Zhuge Liang, and Li Yifu was really out of options, so he went to find a way to find a way for his good friend Wang Dejian, a scholar in the middle school.

After understanding the cause and effect of the matter, Wang Dejian said: "The emperor loves Wu Zhaoyi very much, and he wanted to make her the queen, but he was worried that the prime minister would not agree, so this proposal was shelved." If you can stand up and ask Liwu Zhaoyi to be the empress, the emperor will definitely be happy, and you may be able to turn the disaster into a blessing. (After wanting to establish Wu Zhaoyi, those who hesitate are afraid of the dissent of the ministers.) If you can make a plan, you will turn misfortune into blessing. ）

Here, it is necessary to understand the administrative procedures at that time, and the edict of appointment was drafted by the Zhongshu Province and then forwarded to the Menxia Province for review. Due to his position, Li Yifu knew about his appointment in advance. This must be done before the appointment takes effect, otherwise it will be too late to say anything.

Confronting the eldest grandson Wuji, this requires taking a lot of risks, and if you don't get it right, even Bizhou Sima has nothing to do. But high risk has high rewards, and if Emperor Li Zhi can stand on his side, he may be a blessing in disguise.

Stretching out the head is a knife, shrinking the head is also a knife, once out of Beijing, it is more difficult to turn over than to ascend to the sky. In this case, it is better to give it a go, and if you are lucky, you can fight for a good future.

In order to curry favor with the emperor and keep his official position, Li Yifu immediately wrote a seal quickly, and took advantage of Wang Dejian's duty in the palace to knock on the pavilion late at night to write a book, and went straight to heaven, imploring the emperor to abolish the queen and Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, who were worried about the affairs of the poster, were overjoyed because they had found supporters. It seems that the officials are not monolithic, and the appearance of Li Yifu made Wu Zetian even more convinced that he would definitely be able to win this battle.

Li Zhi immediately summoned Li Yifu, encouraged him to make persistent efforts, and gave him a bucket of pearls to stay in his original position. The eldest grandson Wuji had no objection to this, because he did not dare to disobey the holy decree. The next day, Wu Zetian also personally sent people to comfort Li Yifu. Soon, Li Yifu was promoted to Zhongshu Shilang (second only to Zhongshu Ling's deputy governor).

It is really a village with no way out, and the willows and flowers are bright. A book changed Li Yifu's life, and his spring came like this.

A son falls, and the plate is full of life.

Tang Gaozong Li Zhi and Wu Zetian's actions told the ministers: Supporting Wu Zetian means being promoted to become rich. It is no secret that most officials want to climb to the pinnacle of power and have more wealth. Therefore, a group of bureaucrats quickly gathered around Wu Zetian, such as Wei Weiqing Xu Jingzong, Zhongshu Sheren Wang Dejian, Yushi Zhongcheng Yuan Gongyu, Yushi Dafu Cui Yixuan, and so on. Among these people, Xu Jingzong became a leading figure because he was the oldest and had the highest official rank.

Xu Jingzong, the word Yan nationality, Hangzhou Xincheng people. There are few literary names, and in the great cause of Sui, he shows talents. He is Wang Dejian's uncle, and his eldest grandson Wuji is a generation. His experience has been very bumpy, with ups and downs. At that time, his colleagues were already in power, but he was only a Wei Weiqing (Sanpin official), an administrative official in charge of the emperor's chariots and horses, and he had no real power. In this eventful autumn, Xu Jingzong, relying on his intuition of being in politics for half his life, decided to stand on the emperor's side to support Liwu Zetian and fight a beautiful turnaround.

In this way, Wu Zetian had the power of Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu as the core in the outer court, and her journey as an empress began to take a turn for the better. (To be continued......)