Diqin Designer

Chapter 361: Li Zhi Dies, Wu Mei Takes Control
Li Nian also answered this question. He said: "The main reasons are as follows. First, for the Tang Dynasty, that area is far away from the core ruling area of ​​the Tang Dynasty. It is a barbarian land. The gains from controlling it are not as good as the costs. The benefits obtained are not much, but they have to pay for it. "

"Second, the Tang Dynasty still has other enemies. We must focus our efforts on dealing with them. For example, Tubo was also a threat to the Tang Dynasty at that time, and it was a greater threat to the Tang Dynasty than Silla..."

"In addition, the king of Silla sent envoys to the court to apologize and pay a large amount of tribute, which gave the Tang Dynasty face and a way out. The Tang Dynasty then took advantage of the situation and acknowledged the fact that Silla "took much of Baekje's land and reached the southern border of Goryeo," and lost control of that area."

Hearing that Tubo was a threat to the Tang Dynasty, Wang Wan said solemnly: "Even if these foreign races can be quiet for a while, it will be difficult for them to be quiet forever. We, the Great Qin, must not learn from the Tang Dynasty and do things that aid the enemy!"

This is talking about the fact that the Tang Dynasty married Princess Wencheng to Songtsen Gampo, bringing a large amount of advanced Tang technology to Tubo, and that the Tang Dynasty allowed Songtsen Gampo to send people to study abroad.

These promoted the development of Tubo, making it more powerful to compete with the Tang Dynasty again.

If this isn’t aiding the enemy, then what is it?
Wang Jian asked again: "Does the Tang Dynasty still have many enemies?"

Li Nian said, "Not too many, but not too few. In the early days of Li Zhi's reign, he was very successful and almost all of the Tang Dynasty's enemies were pacified. But in the middle and late stages of Li Zhi's reign, the number of enemies increased again. Some of the enemies that could have been resolved were even created by Li Zhi and the Tang Dynasty themselves."

"Like the Eastern Turks, in the first year of Yonghui, Gao Kan captured Chebi Khan and pacified Mobei. However, in the first year of Kaiyao, Ashina Funian of the Turks proclaimed himself Khan and joined forces with Ashide Wenfu to invade the border of the Tang Dynasty."

"Li Zhi appointed Pei Xingjian as the chief governor of Dingxiang Road, Cao Huaishun and Li Wenliang as deputy generals, and led troops to attack, but the Tang army was defeated, and Cao Huaishun and others almost couldn't return. They bribed Ashina Funian with gold and silk and negotiated peace with him, and only then were they able to return to the court."

"Later, Pei Xingjian used a counter-espionage strategy to make Ashina Funian and Ashide Wenfu suspicious of each other. The two eventually pleaded guilty to Pei Xingjian together, and Pei Xingjian promised Ashina Funian that he would not die, and the Turks surrendered to the Tang Dynasty again."

Taizong also has a share of the blame. After defeating the Turks, he did not implement a reasonable policy toward them, which allowed the Turks to gather strength to resist the Tang Dynasty.

The First Emperor asked, "Did Pei Xingjian fail to save Ashina Funian?"

Li Nian nodded: "Pei Xingjian brought Ashina Funian back to the capital to plead guilty to Li Zhi. A Tang official named Pei Yan instigated Li Zhi to kill Ashina Funian. Li Zhi listened to Pei Yan's words and beheaded Ashina Funian, Ashide Wenfu and 54 others in the market."

Although it was Ashina Funian who proclaimed himself Khan and invaded the Tang Dynasty's borders first, politics is not played that way.

Killing Ashina Funian and others might bring some temporary relief, but the negative impact it brought was obviously greater than the relief.

"In the second year, the remaining Turkic forces, such as Ashina Gudulu and Ashide Yuanzhen, gathered the scattered people, rebelled in Heisha City, invaded Bingzhou and the northern border of Shanyu Prefecture, killed Wang Demao, the governor of Lanzhou, and later attacked Guizhou, besieged Shanyu Protectorate, killed Sima Zhang Xingshi, attacked Weizhou, killed the governor Li Sijian, and captured Cui Zhibian, the governor of Fengzhou. After that, the Turkic invaded the border for many years, and Li Zhi had to send people to guard the border."

This was the subsequent reaction after Li Zhi killed Ashina Funian and others in a moment of thought.

If Ashina Funian and others were allowed to live, although they might not be very loyal to the Tang Dynasty, as long as they were alive, it would be difficult for Ashina Gudulu and others to come to power, and they would not completely break off relations with the Tang Dynasty, which would leave a certain buffer space between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks.

The Qin Dynasty is now using this tactic against the Xiongnu. It is more beneficial to the Qin Dynasty to keep the older generation of people like Touman alive than to kill them.

Because these people have no ambition and are just occupying the toilet without doing anything, they can not only block the upward channels for those knowledgeable people in the Huns, but also attract the anger of the Huns on behalf of the Qin Dynasty, create a high-pressure environment for the Huns, and make the Huns people turn to the Qin Dynasty.

Therefore, Touman and others must not only live, but also live well and healthily.

On the other hand, Li Zhi killed Ashina Funian and others, which not only made it impossible to suppress other Turkic heroes, but also made it difficult for the Turks to trust the Tang Dynasty, creating a trouble in the north that required long-term defense.

"A similar incident also occurred in the Western Regions, which led to the rebellion of Ashina Duzhi of the Western Turkic region. Although Ashina Duzhi was later pacified by Pei Xingjian, the Tang Dynasty abandoned the original Anxi Four Garrisons during this incident, moved the Anxi Protectorate to Xizhou, and re-established the new Anxi Four Garrisons."

Despite the reset, the new one functions the same as the old one, and the location of the territory is different.

Li Nian continued, "The territory of the Tang Dynasty did reach its largest during Li Zhi's reign, stretching from the Korean Peninsula in the east, to the Aral Sea in the west, to the North Sea in the north, and to the Hengshan Mountains in Vietnam in the south. But Li Zhi was unable to maintain such a vast territory!"

"Of course, this cannot be entirely blamed on Li Zhi. To maintain such a vast territory, if there is no supply from these places, it will be a huge drain on the Tang Dynasty itself. This is also the main reason why some dynasties are unwilling to expand outward. Even if they conquer a piece of land, they only have a cursory administration!"

The harvest is not as good as the effort. It is better to guard the Central Plains of China than to invest manpower and material resources in these remote areas after you have enough food.

Li Nian continued, "In addition to his merits and faults in foreign affairs, Li Zhi was also the same in domestic affairs. In his early years, he was not only wise and brave, but also a capable ruler with considerable talent and strategy. Otherwise, even with the legacy left by Taizong, how could there be the 'Yonghui Reign'?"

"But after eliminating the old ministers, Li Zhi began to act arbitrarily and did many things that harmed the Tang Dynasty: he refused to accept advice and covered up his mistakes, allowing loyal and good people to take sides and treacherous people to succeed. At the same time, he built a large number of buildings. For example, after Li Hong died, he built the Gong Mausoleum for Li Hong. The history records: "At first, the construction of the Gong Mausoleum cost a huge amount of money. The people were tired of the work and cried all over the streets, so they threw bricks and tiles everywhere and scattered."

"After his Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, he was instigated by Wu Mei to also seal the Five Sacred Mountains. The Supervisory Censor Li Xiangan advised Li Zhi: 'For several years, grain has not been harvested, starving people are everywhere, the four barbarians are invading, and the army is on the way every year. Your Majesty should be respectful and contemplative to avoid disasters, but you are building more palaces and working tirelessly, which makes everyone in the world disappointed.'"

"However, Li Zhi did not accept it. History says that Li Zhi was 'a wise man before him, but a fool after him', which is quite accurate!"

"Li Zhi was not a stupid emperor. He knew how to fix the country, but it depended on whether he was willing to do so. When Li Zhi was in power, he left many problems for the Tang Dynasty. These problems did not arise after Wu Mei became emperor, but some people put all the blame on Wu Mei."

"For example, the reduction of the Tang Dynasty's territory was already evident during Li Zhi's reign, and became more serious during Wu Mei's reign. It is true that Wu Mei failed to prevent it, but we cannot say that the fault lies entirely with Wu Mei and that Li Zhi is innocent."

"On the evening of the 12th month of the first year of Hongdao, Li Zhi died in the Zhenguan Hall at the age of 56. His ministers gave him the posthumous title of Emperor Tianhuang and the temple name Gaozong. Later generations also called him Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi."

"After Li Zhi died, his son Li Xian ascended the throne. However, Li Xian was deposed by Wu Mei after only 55 days on the throne because Li Xian favored the relatives of his empress Wei and even said that he could hand over the world to Wei's father."

Feng Quji said, "Could this be Li Xian's intention? Although he is the emperor, all power is in Wu Mei's hands. All military and national affairs are decided by Wu Mei. He is worried that Wu Mei will kill him, so he uses this method to save his life!"

Li Nian smiled and said, "From what happened later, it was not Li Xian's intention, but he really thought so. He was too deeply influenced by Wu Mei when he was growing up."

It is very likely that Wu Mei deliberately trained Li Xian and Li Dan to be what she wanted them to be, making them afraid of their mother so that it would be easier for her to control them.

"However, Li Xian's actions may have saved his life. When Wu Mei learned about this, she was furious and deposed Li Xian as King of Luling and made Li Xian's brother Li Dan the emperor. Wu Mei also took charge of the government at that time and made all decisions on political affairs."

"After Li Dan became emperor, he not only had no power, but he could not even walk freely in the palace. He was strictly restricted by Wu Mei. Duke of Yingguo Xu Jingye raised an army in Yangzhou to oppose Wu Mei. Prime Minister Pei Yan took the opportunity to ask Wu Mei to return power to Li Dan. Pei Yan was beheaded by Wu Mei on the charge of treason, and Xu Jingye was also killed because of his defeat." Is it treason again, or is it treason because he asked Wu Mei to return power to the emperor? Doesn't Wu Mei have any new tricks?
"Xu Jingye is the grandson of Li Ji. Li Ji's surname was not 'Li' but 'Xu'. It was Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan, who gave him the surname 'Li' in recognition of his achievements."

"Therefore, when Xu Jingye started his rebellion, he was still Li Jingye, but after his defeat, Wu Mei stripped him of his given surname and title."

"When Xu Jingye started his rebellion, Luo Binwang, one of the Four Great Scholars of the Early Tang Dynasty, wrote for him the "Exhortation to Punish Wu Zhao on Behalf of Li Jingye", which was later known as the "Exhortation to Punish Wu Zhao". This article has been passed down through the ages."

Li Nian immediately recited this immortal manifesto.

Although there are differences between the articles in the Tang Dynasty and those at this time, and many allusions that did not exist at that time were used in the articles, the meaning and spirit contained in the articles could be felt by Qin Shihuang and others.

After listening to it, the First Emperor praised it, saying, "It is truly a magnificent article, with every word being like pearls on a string. Although it uses allusions, it is not dry and difficult to understand. Instead, it makes the facts clear and logical. Even ordinary people can understand it. It is vigorous and decisive, with a righteous spirit. It says that Wu's flattery is the root of the country's demise, and the way to defeat Wu is inevitable!"

The First Emperor asked again: "Is this Wu Zhao also known as Wu Mei?"

Li Nian said, "Yes, there was no such character '曌' originally. Someone created it to flatter Wu Mei. The top part is '日月' and the bottom part is '空', which means 'the sun and the moon are in the sky, shining forever'. Wu Mei liked this character very much, so she used it as her name."

"From the fact that she was named after this character, we can also see Wu Mei's huge ambition. In the first month of the second year of Chuigong, Wu Mei issued an edict to return power to Li Dan."

Meng Tian snorted: "Wu Mei is so ambitious, how could she easily return power to Li Dan? She is just testing him. If Li Dan really dares to accept it, he will be in trouble soon, and may even be charged with treason..."

At this point, Meng Tian showed sarcasm on his face: "If this really happened, it would become the most ridiculous joke in the world: Li Dan, as the emperor, wants to rebel?"

Why did His Majesty rebel?

Li Nian also smiled and said, "General Meng is right. Li Dan also knows this. If he is really ignorant and accepts Wu Mei's return of power, Wu Mei will probably use another way to make him sensible."

"Li Dan submitted petitions several times, refusing his request and asking Wu Mei to continue to rule the country. Wu Mei 'reluctantly' accepted Li Dan's request and continued to rule the country and control the government."

"In fact, if Wu Meiruo was only willing to be a regent queen mother and didn't take that step, the obstacles she would have to face would be much smaller, and her reputation in history would not be good."

"However, Wu Mei is arrogant and ambitious, and wants to be the first female emperor in history!"

If Wu Mei did not proclaim herself emperor and did not change the Tang Dynasty to the Zhou Dynasty, the Tang royal family and ministers might have accepted it reluctantly. After all, she did not cross the line, and the world was still the Li Tang Dynasty. At most, they could just endure her until her death.

But she refused to do so, and ended up hurting many people and the Tang Dynasty as well!

"In the fourth year of Chuigong, Tang Tongtai from Yongzhou presented Wu Mei with a white stone that he said he had obtained from the Luo River. The stone was engraved with the characters 'The Holy Mother is here to help the emperor prosper forever'. However, the stone was actually made by Wu Mei's nephew Wu Chengsi, who instructed Tang Tongtai to present the stone."

"After Wu Mei got the stone, she was overjoyed and named it the 'treasure map'. In May, she issued an edict to personally go to Luoshui to worship and gave it the title of Holy Mother and Divine Emperor. In July, Wu Mei issued a general amnesty and named the 'treasure map' the 'holy map bestowed by heaven'. In December, Wu Mei went to Luoshui to receive the map, and Li Dan and others followed her.

Isn't this just a play directed and acted by Wu Mei herself? Her nephew must have done this with Wu Mei's instructions.

And Wu Mei was too vain. Look at her title, "Holy Mother Divine Emperor". Does she want to become a god?

But after this incident, Wu Mei's desire to become emperor was obvious and everyone knew it!

Feng Jie asked: "Even if Li Dan was afraid of Wu Mei, why didn't the other members of the Li Tang clan react?"

Li Nian said: "Of course there are, but unfortunately they are no enemy of Wu Mei and her subordinates, and Wu Mei also knows that if she wants to become emperor, she must eliminate the obstacle of the Tang royal family."

"Ask, why is there no royal family disaster in the Tang Dynasty?"

"Answer: Almost all of them were killed by Wu Mei!"

"Langya King Li Chong and Yue King Li Zhen rose up against Wu, but were defeated and killed. Han King Li Yuanjia, Lu King Li Lingkui, Huo King Li Yuangui, Jiangdu King Li Xu, Huang Guogong Li Zhuan, Dongguan County Duke Li Rong, Princess Changle, etc., were either forced to commit suicide, beheaded in the market, or died in exile..."

"Prince Ji Li Shen did not raise an army to rebel against Wu, but he was also implicated and exiled to Bazhou in a prison cart, and was forced to change his surname to Kui."

"Li Shen is Taizong's tenth son!"

Wang Wan said, "The Book of Poetry says 'Wei Hu Wei She', Hu is a poisonous snake. Li Shen is the son of Emperor Taizong, and originally a dragon, but Wu Mei changed his surname to 'Hu', which was really intended to humiliate the Tang Dynasty. If Emperor Taizong of the Great Tang knew about this, what would he think?"

Feng Quji said: "Let alone Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, even if Li Zhi were still alive, I wonder what he would think when he saw Wu Mei's behavior. He might even regret it."

If Erfeng and Li Zhi were still alive and knew about Wu Mei's actions, Erfeng would definitely kill Wu Mei and break Li Zhi's legs. Li Zhi might not necessarily kill her, but he would probably destroy Wu Mei at all costs.

However, if Li Zhi did not kill Wu Mei, it was because he did not know what Wu Mei would do next!
Wu Mei's actions were not as simple as killing members of the Tang royal family. She was also humiliating them and humiliating Emperor Taizong of Tang.

If Li Shen's surname was changed to "虺" which means poisonous snake, then what about Taizong, the father of Li Shen?
It makes people think more!
Li Nian felt that it was most likely that Wu Mei hated Taizong, a man who had slept with her but did not favor her and was unwilling to improve her status.

So, revenge is taken at this time!
It not only suppressed the Li Tang royal family, but also avenged the old hatred. It was a win-win situation. Why not do it?

A woman's hatred is truly terrible. It had been forty years since Taizong's death, but Wu Mei still remembered it and took revenge!

(End of this chapter)