Birth, old age, sickness and death, human nature. Eventually, everyone has to face the question of death. Although the emperor has the power to kill others, he has no way to control his own death, and immortality is just a beautiful dream for them. Now, Tang Taizong also has to face this problem.

From the twenty-first year of Zhenguan (647), Tang Taizong was infected with wind disease (referring to stroke), and he felt very uncomfortable in the Taiji Palace in Chang'an City, because the Taiji Palace was low-lying and depressing. In order to get as good as possible, he ordered the construction of Cuiwei Palace on the higher Zhongnan Mountain as a palace for recuperation.

Although the environment has changed, the disease has not only not recovered, but has become more and more serious. One of the important reasons is that Tang Taizong abandoned the traditional formal treatment methods, and instead became obsessed with a kind of elixir refined by Taoist priests, hoping to be immortal, and even asked Master Xuanzang, who returned from Indian boxing, to teach the art of immortality.

The emperor is the supreme ruler, sitting on the world, enjoying the greatest happiness in the world, and the greatest luxury is to live forever in the world. Therefore, there is a general psychology of pursuing immortality, but this is just a dream.

Therefore, Tang Taizong's self-deception hastened the process of his death.

Soon, Tang Taizong's condition suddenly worsened, and he felt that he didn't have many days left, so he hurriedly summoned the prime minister, Sun Wuji and Chu Suiliang, to Cuiwei Palace to explain the aftermath.

The eldest grandson Wuji, the word auxiliary machine, Han nationality, Luoyang, Henan Province. The ancestor was the Xianbei Tuoba clan, a branch of the Northern Wei royal family, and later changed to the eldest grandson. He is the brother-in-law of Tang Taizong and the elder brother of Empress Changsun. In the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, twenty-four heroes were in Lingyan Pavilion. The eldest grandson Wuji ranked first. He played a special role in the Zhenguan Dynasty and was entrusted with assisting Gaozong. He is a special figure in the history of the early Tang Dynasty.

∫ Suiliang, the word Dengshan. His ancestral home was Yangzhai, Henan (now Yuzhou, Henan), and he moved south to Qiantang, Hangzhou (now west of Hangzhou, Zhejiang) at the end of the Jin Dynasty. He is well-versed in literature and history, proficient in calligraphy, and moved from secretary Lang to Julang. He successively served as the doctor of the relocation of the counselor, the waiter of the Yellow Gate, the history of the assassin of the same state, and the secretary of the history department.

With these two important ministers assisting Li Zhi, Tang Taizong can look at it.

On May 26, the twenty-third year of Zhenguan (649), Tang Taizong died of illness in Cuiwei Palace in Zhongnan Mountain at the age of 52. According to historical records. The direct cause of Tang Taizong's death was "dysentery", that is, diseases such as diarrhea and enteritis. However, some historians believe that the real cause of Tang Taizong's death was caused by taking pills. There are also people who believe that Tang Taizong was seriously injured by an arrow in the battle of Zhenguan in the 19th year of the expedition to Goryeo, and he was not cured for a long time, and his body became weaker due to the indiscriminate consumption of pills, and finally died. Anyway, Tang Taizong closed his eyes. has completed his legendary life.

The political situation is most dangerous during the transfer of power, and now, the emperor is sick and dies outside the palace, which can have a very negative impact on the government. If those with ulterior motives take advantage of the chaos. A power upheaval is inevitable.

In order to avoid the bloodshed of the palace coup, and also to allow Li Zhishun to ascend the throne. The eldest grandson Wuji and Chu Suiliang followed the will of Tang Taizong, and arranged for the forbidden army to escort the crown prince Li Zhi back to Chang'an to stabilize the situation; On the one hand, he led the entourage of the brigade to escort Taizong's coffin back to Chang'an. After arriving in Chang'an. Only then did it announce to the world and announce the news of the emperor's death.

June 1. Li Zhi ascended the throne in the Taiji Palace, and he was the Tang Gaozong in history.

It's hard to get started. The same is true of being an emperor.

When Emperor ÷ ascended the throne, he naturally had to be busy. On the one hand, Li Zhi has to handle his father's funeral; On the other hand, it is necessary to deal with military affairs. He has a lot to learn, and how to keep this superpower developing healthily is a question he must think about.

In addition, he must inherit his father's fine tradition of being diligent in government and loving the people, and govern the country with virtue, so in addition to dealing with major affairs of the court, he also has to come out of the deep palace, visit the people's feelings, and observe the people's suffering. …

In general, Li Zhi also tried to be a good emperor, but because of his limited ability, he wanted to surpass his father Tang Taizong's great achievements, and he was a little powerless.

Latent Ganye Temple

Press Li Zhi, let's look at Wu Zetian again, does Tang Taizong's death have an impact on her? The answer is yes, and it's very significant.

Tang Taizong is gone, and his concubines are faced with the question of where to go in the future, including Wu Zetian, of course.

According to the practice since the Northern Dynasties, there are generally three ways to place the concubines of the deceased emperor.

Concubines with children follow their children to live outside the palace and enjoy their old age in peace.

Concubines who had no children but had special talents continued to serve the new emperor in the palace. For example, Xue Jieyu, who raised Li Zhi, she is actually the Jieyu of Tang Gaozu Li Yuan, because of her outstanding intelligence and virtue, she did not enter the temple as a nun after Li Yuan's death, but was left in the palace by Tang Taizong Li Shimin to educate his son Li Zhi.

Concubines who had neither children nor special talents could only become nuns or Taoist priests.

Among these three destinations, the best is the first, which can stay away from the deep palace and have a good old age, and the worst is the third, which is equivalent to jumping from one fire pit to another, reciting scriptures from the Buddha, and dying alone. And there are very few concubines who can get the second kind of home, either the ancestors have accumulated virtue, or they have taken shit luck.

Wu Zetian has no children, the first road is impassable, and the third road is like a nightmare for her, so she is very eager to take the second road, can her dream come true?

She has talent, the key is to see if she has this opportunity.

At this moment, she pinned her hopes on Li Zhi, after all, they had a lingering experience, she was very confident in her charm, and she waited for Li Zhi's call to her.

But Li Zhi at this time was not Li Zhi at that time, and the heavy state affairs made him leave Wu Zetian behind, and his promises were even more thrown out of the clouds.

In the eyes of men, career is always more important than love, and women are just a dispensable plaything, holding you in the palm of your hand when you need it, and leaving you in the corner when you don't need it. Is this true for all men in the world?

In the face of Li Zhi's ruthlessness, Wu Zetian was very sad, and her self-esteem was ruthlessly torn in half.

In August of this year, I saw that Tang Taizong was about to be buried in Zhaoling. But Wu Zetian hadn't waited for any news from Li Zhi, she felt like an abandoned chess piece. I can't help but despair.

In this way, with the burial of Tang Taizong. Wu Zetian, who has been 26 pairs, and other unborn concubines of Tang Taizong entered the Ganye Temple as nuns, and began the darkest and most confused years of her life, and her life once fell into the lowest point.

Regarding the specific location of Ganye Temple, this is a question that has been widely discussed in academic circles. Here, we take a statement that most people agree with.

Ganye Temple is located in the southwest corner of West Chongde Fang, Zhuque Street, Chang'an City, close to Qingming Canal. The surrounding terrain is flat and shaded, and the environment is very nice. But the small Buddha House can't compare to the tall Imperial Palace, and not only the living conditions here are difficult. And there are all kinds of puritans and precepts in the temple. The concubines, who are accustomed to a life of affluence, feel like they have gone to hell when they come here.

It is easy to go from thrift to luxury, and it is difficult to go from luxury to thrift. It took time for the women who had lived in the court to get used to this hard life.

When a nun first has to shave her hair and become bald, this makes it difficult for these young beauties to accept. But ants still steal life, let alone people. In order to survive, they could only silently accept this qiē, watching their beloved jet-black hair being shaved to the ground one by one.

If you cut your hair and receive ordination, you can be considered a nun. Since she became a nun. There is no concubine frame, and you have to act according to the precepts. In addition, you must get up earlier than the master, and you can't listen to the scriptures and read the scriptures. This kind of life is not what Wu Zetian wants. She wants to break through this confinement, and she dreams of returning to the palace one day. …

Despite adversity, we do not give up hope. If you want to change this life. has to rely on one person, he is the current emperor Li Zhi. So. Wu Zetian, who was lurking in the Ganye Temple, worked hard to maintain his relationship with Li Zhi, no matter how much hope there was. She had to work hard because it was her only straw.

Driven by this complex feeling, Wu Zetian wrote a love poem "Ruyi Niang":

Seeing Zhu Chengbi's thoughts, he was haggard and fragmented as Yijun.

I don't believe that I often cry, and I open the box to check the pomegranate skirt.

It is to the effect that I am in a state of confusion, in a trance, and I see all the red as green. I'm so haggard because I think about you all day. I cry silently every day because I miss you, if you don't believe it, open the box and look at my pomegranate red dress, the mottled tears on it are the best proof.

This poem is the true feelings of Wu Zetian, who is almost desperate, and it is written sincerely, and there is a sour feeling in my heart when I read it. It is said that after the later great poet Li Bai saw this poem, he felt that he was inferior to Wu Zetian.

A monk cannot be forced, if the fate is not over, even if he shaves his baldness, he can only have nothing to show for it, and there is no monk's life. Wu Zetian is like this, although she was influenced by Buddhism when she was a child, but being a nun was forced, not out of her own will, so the rules of Buddhism can't imprison her thoughts about Li Zhi, but I don't know if I can meet this man again in this life.

Someone once said something very philosophical:

You can't change the environment, but you can change yourself; You can't change the facts, but you can change your attitude; You can't change the past, but you can change the present; You can't control others, but you can control yourself; You can't predict tomorrow, but you can grasp today; You can't do everything, but you can do everything; You can't control the weather, but you can change the mood; You can't choose your looks, but you can show a smile; You can't extend the length of life, but you can decide the width of life.

No matter how much injustice you have in your heart, you still have to live day by day. Since there are some things that we can't grasp, and the unknown future makes us a little confused, why don't we start by doing the things in front of us and live each day well?

The gifted and intelligent Wu Zetian realized this, and although she eagerly awaited the appearance of Li Zhi, she did not waste every day in the Ganye Temple. With her profound knowledge of Buddhism, she studied Buddhism in Ganye Temple like a fish in water, and integrated the Buddhist classics, which laid a solid foundation for the implementation of Buddhism after she took power.

Life cannot be smooth sailing, only by being able to bend and stretch can we achieve great things. When we are at a low point, we do not give up our ideals and pursuits, this is the attitude of life that Wu Zetian showed us in Ganye Temple. Even in the darkest moments of her life, her spirit and will will not be destroyed by the hope in her tears

People's hearts are flesh and blood, and the emperor is also a human being. Could it be that Li Zhi really forgot Wu Zetian, who once haunted him and couldn't sleep? The answer is no. In fact, Li Zhi has always been obsessed with Wu Zetian, but reality does not allow him to do anything that has anything to do with Wu Zetian. He also has unspeakable grievances.

First of all, he has just ascended the throne. The foundation is unstable, and he has always been controlled by the eldest grandson Wuji, Chu Suiliang and other ministers. He only has the share of being the emperor with his tail between his legs, although he also wanted to keep Wu Zetian behind, but he just thought about it, because he didn't have this ability yet.

Secondly, he was timid and weak, lacked his father's courage, and did not have the courage to leave Wu Zetian behind. Moreover, his father left Xue Jieyu for work, but he left Wu Zetian for a disgraceful private relationship. The name is not right, he does not dare to do this.

But put the beloved woman in the Ganye Temple as a nun. This is a piece of Li Zhi's heart, and he has been looking for an opportunity to take Wu Zetian back to the palace. Therefore, Li Zhi is a man who values love and righteousness, but because of the identity of the emperor, he has to be subject to some constraints when he starts doing things. …

When Li Zhi saw the love poem "Ruyi Niang", he almost couldn't control himself, and wanted to go to Ganye Temple to meet Wu Zetian immediately. But impulse is the devil, he can't just rush to Ganye Temple, he needs a reason. You need to wait for the right time.

It was a custom in the Tang Dynasty society to wear incense on the day of death, so the emperor who succeeded the heir would go to the temple to pray for blessings on the anniversary of the death of the first emperor, and at the same time express his thoughts.

Tang Taizong is also about to celebrate the first anniversary of his death. This is an opportunity, and Li Zhi will naturally seize it. No matter how you say it, he is also an emperor. He still has the right to choose which temple to incense, and he finally decided to go to Ganye Temple.

In fact. There are many famous temples in Chang'an City, but Ganye Temple is not Li Shimin's mausoleum and temple. Why did Li Zhi choose the little-known Ganye Temple? The ministers were confused, but Li Zhi was very excited, because he could finally meet Wu Zetian, who worried him.

On May 26, the first year of Yonghui (650), the anniversary of Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Li Zhi held a grand memorial ceremony and went to the Ganye Temple to make incense.

Li Zhi's arrival made Wu Zetian feel that this man had not forgotten her. That little bit of tenderness and promise made her feel like she had returned to the past. This life-saving straw, she has to hold on to it.

What can these two people do in Ganye Temple? "Tang Hui Yao" recorded: "Because of the death of the day, the incense is seen, the Wu family cries, and the Shang is also soothing." ”

Meeting, tears, without too many words.

For Wu Zetian, life is like a year, and he doesn't know where to start with his stomach full of grievances, so he has to use tears to express his feelings. For Li Zhi, how could it not be so, seeing his beloved like this, and thinking about the past in the last years of Zhenguan, he couldn't help but burst into tears.

Li Zhi came to his father in a group this time, and he couldn't make too big a move. After all, Wu Zetian had become a nun, and he couldn't find a suitable reason to take her back to the palace, so Wu Zetian had no choice but to continue to stay in Ganye Temple.

It's not easy to meet each other, and the next time we meet, I don't know what year or month it will be. However, through this matter, Wu Zetian understood that Li Zhi still had her in his heart, so she was even more convinced that she would soon end this dark day and return to the palace. She vaguely felt that the familiar city behind her was already beckoning to her, and a better day should not be far from her.

Harem storm

A woman who doesn't understand amorous feelings

At this time, Wu Zetian played the role of Li Zhi's "lover", although she was outside the palace and Li Zhi was in the palace, but the two had been disconnected, should they always watch over love like this? When will this kind of separation be the end?

Don't worry, what should come will come.

No, Tang Gaozong Li Zhi's wife and concubine made a big conflict, giving Wu Zetian a great opportunity to return to the palace to create a zào. There are two people who have to be mentioned here, they are Queen Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu.

Let's take a look at Queen Wang first.

Since she can be a queen, whether it is her background or appearance, she is naturally impeccable.

Empress Wang was a native of Qi (now Qi County) in Tang Dynasty and was the great-great-granddaughter of Wang Sizheng, a general of the Western Wei Dynasty. Her grandmother was Li Yuan's sister and Li Shimin's aunt, Princess Tong'an. His father, Wang Renyou, was originally the county commander of Luoshan (now Luoshan, Henan), and was later promoted to the assassin of Chenzhou (now Huaiyang County, Henan). Mother Liu was also from Gaomen, and was later named Lady of Wei. Uncle Liu 奭 (shì) official to the Zhongshu order (正三品). It can be seen that the identity of Queen Wang is very noble and has a rather hard backstage.

Empress Wang was not only of noble birth, but also handsome and had a kind personality, and was selected as Li Zhi's concubine on the recommendation of Princess Tong'an. Li Shimin was very satisfied with the well-informed queen Wang, and said "she is my good daughter-in-law" when he meets people. But Empress Wang is not the type that Li Zhi likes, and after Li Zhi ascended the throne, out of respect for the eldest grandson Wuji and other auxiliary ministers, the Zheng clan canonized her as the queen. …

In addition to being virtuous, a woman also has a great responsibility, which is to have children. If you can't have children, it's a woman's lifelong regret.

Coincidentally, this good daughter-in-law in Li Shimin's eyes just can't have children. If you put it now, it's not a big deal, and advanced medicine will help you realize your wish to be a mother. But at the time, it was a big deal. In ancient times, there were three unfilial pieties, and no queen was greater. If a woman is unable to have children, it will be intolerable to the ethics and public opinion of the time.

Gui is the queen but can't have children, even if the queen has a noble background and the beauty of the sunken fish and geese, she can't conquer Li Zhi's heart.

In addition to not being able to have children, there is another reason why Queen Wang fell out of favor, that is, she does not understand amorous customs. According to historical records, Queen Wang "has a simple and serious nature, and does not distort things." It means that she doesn't please others. You are the queen, one person is above ten thousand, there is no need to please others, but there is one person who must be pleased, and he is the emperor. But there is little expression on Queen Wang's beautiful face, let alone being coquettish in front of her husband Li Zhi. Li Zhi is a person who values love, pays attention to the love of children, and the discord of personality makes the relationship between the two more and more cold, and the distance is getting farther and farther away.

In addition, Empress Wang is a descendant of the Guanlong clan and also plays the role of monitoring Gaozong. In the court, Li Zhi had to face the endless exhortations of those old ministers; When you return to the harem, you can't say a few words in your heart in the face of the queen, and you have to be cautious. This made Li Zhi feel very tired, so he chose to escape and often went to the Shufei Palace where Concubine Xiao was located.

In this way, Queen Wang gradually fell out of favor, which made her quite unhappy. If she can keep to herself and do her part well, she will be safe and quiet and will end up in the palace. But she couldn't swallow this breath, and she wanted to compete with Concubine Xiao Shu in the harem.

Who is Concubine Xiao? She is a member of the Lanling Xiao clan of the Southern Dynasty Shi clan and a descendant of the Qiliang royal family. When Gaozong Li Zhi was the crown prince, Xiao was Liangdi. After Gaozong ascended the throne, he became a concubine. gave birth to a son and two daughters, namely King Xu Li Sujie, Princess Yiyang, and Princess Xuancheng. Among the many concubines, she is the one that Li Zhi likes more. (To be continued......)

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