Diqin Designer

Chapter 362: Becoming an Empress, Merits and Demerits

Li Nian said: "The Tang royal family that was slaughtered by Wu Mei has greatly reduced its strength. It is difficult to stop Wu Mei from ascending the throne. The living Li Dan and others dare not stop her, for fear of being killed by Wu Mei."

"In July of the first year of the Zaichu era, the monks Fa Ming and others from the Eastern Wei State Temple compiled four volumes of the Great Cloud Sutra, claiming that Wu Mei was the incarnation of Maitreya Buddha, who would replace the Tang Dynasty as the ruler of the world."

"This sutra naturally pleased Wu Mei, who ordered the Great Cloud Sutra to be distributed throughout the country, and ordered the establishment of a Great Cloud Temple in each of the two capitals to store the sutra, and ordered monks to explain it to the people of the world."

Meng Tian frowned and asked, "Is there anything Buddhist about this?"

Meng Tian disliked Buddhism very much. He believed that it was an evil way that was useless and would confuse people. If Buddhism took root in Qin, it would become a disaster sooner or later.

Therefore, when he heard these Buddhist monks jump out to support Wu Mei, Meng Tian felt a little unhappy.

Wang Wan said: "The change of dynasties and the transfer of thrones is the best time for Buddhism and other religions to take advantage of the situation. How could they give up such an opportunity?"

Li Nian smiled and said, "The monks Fa Ming and others wrote four volumes of the Great Cloud Sutra for Wu Mei. This is not only a dispute between Buddhism and Taoism, but also another manifestation of the struggle between Wu Mei and the Tang Dynasty."

"The Tang Dynasty highly respected Taoism. At the beginning of the founding of the country, it revered Laozi Li Er as its ancestor and renovated Laozi temples everywhere. Li Yuan also went there to worship in person many times. In the eighth year of Wude, Li Yuan also issued an edict to declare that Taoism was superior to Buddhism."

Meng Tian understood what was going on and continued, "So, Wu Mei chose Buddhism because she wanted to overpower the Tang Dynasty in terms of religion. It looked like a dispute between Buddhism and Taoism, but in reality it was still a fight between Wu Mei and the Tang Dynasty."

Li Nian nodded and said, "That's right. With Wu Mei's personality, she wanted to suppress the Tang Dynasty in all aspects, including religion. The two sides were working in a two-way direction: Wu Mei made Buddhism flourish in the Tang Dynasty, and Buddhism used their influence among the people to promote Wu Mei's legitimacy in replacing the Tang Dynasty."

This Buddhism is really not a good thing. We must not allow Buddhism to develop in Daqin, everyone thought to themselves.

"After this incident, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Wu Mei's ascension to the throne was inevitable."

"In September, the Imperial Censor Fu Youyi of Ji led more than 900 people from Guanzhong to the imperial palace to present a petition, asking Wu Mei to proclaim herself emperor and change the country's name to Zhou. However, Wu Mei refused and promoted Fu Youyi to be the Imperial Secretary instead."

If Wu Mei really didn't want to be emperor, she should have severely punished Fu Youyi, but not only did she not punish him, she promoted him instead. When others saw this, they knew what Wu Mei meant: she actually wanted to be emperor!
"Although Fu Youyi's petition was not successful, it let others know Wu Mei's intentions. As a result, more than 60,000 people including officials, relatives of the emperor, common people from far and near, chieftains of the four barbarians, monks, and Taoists, all submitted petitions to persuade him to ascend the throne, just like Fu Youyi did. Even Li Dan submitted a petition to grant him the surname Wu."

Feng Quji sighed, "If Li Dan had not submitted a petition to grant himself the surname Wu, his life would have been in danger. My son is so afraid of his mother, which shows how powerful Wu Mei is."

Li Nian continued, "The ministers even reported that 'a phoenix flew from Mingtang into Shangyang Palace, and gathered on the phoenix tree on the left platform. After a long time, it flew southeast, and tens of thousands of red sparrows gathered in the court.' They used this strange phenomenon to persuade Wu Mei that it was destiny for her to become emperor."

"Unable to refuse such a generous offer, Wu Mei had no choice but to proclaim herself the emperor. On September 9, she ascended the Zetian Gate Tower, issued a general amnesty, changed the name of Tang to Zhou, and changed the reign to Tianshou. On the 11th, the officials bestowed upon Wu Mei the title of 'Holy and Divine Emperor'. Thus, Wu Mei completed the last step in her journey to becoming an empress!"

Although they knew that this woman would become an empress, when they heard Li Nian talk about Wu Mei's successful enthronement, the First Emperor and others still felt a little sad: Hey, this woman really succeeded!
This was a case of a woman becoming an emperor, and moreover, in the Tang Dynasty, which was a strong dynasty.

The First Emperor and others were even looking forward to what Wu Mei would do next.

"Wu Mei made Luoyang the capital of the gods and Chang'an the vice-capital of the Western Capital. She removed the Tang royal family from the list and made Li Dan the heir to the throne, bestowing the surname Wu on him. She also changed the name of the altar of grain and the flag to red. She also established seven temples for the Wu family in the capital of the gods, and changed the Tang Taimiao in Chang'an and the three temples of Gaozu, Taizong, and Gaozong in Luoyang to Xiande Temples."

"As a woman, Wu Mei ascended the throne as a woman, which was unique in history. Although she was not a top emperor during her reign, she was not a lowly ruler either. She had merits, but also faults."

"In terms of merit, Wu Mei developed the imperial examination system, cracked down on the powerful families, and supported the common people."

"Your Majesty and everyone else know the origins of the aristocratic families, so I won't elaborate on them here. By the Sui and Tang dynasties, the power of the aristocratic families had weakened, but they were still very strong. Both the Sui and Tang dynasties had a close relationship with the aristocratic families, but they became the royal family, which made them different from ordinary aristocratic families."

"During the Sui and Tang dynasties, there was a saying of 'Five Surnames and Seven Ancestral Names', which refers to the most influential aristocratic families in the world, five major surnames and seven major ancestral names, namely Longxi Li, Zhaojun Li, Boling Cui, Qinghe Cui, Fanyang Lu, Xingyang Zheng, and Taiyuan Wang."

"These seven families are powerful and influential. When they were at their peak, their influence was even comparable to that of the imperial family. There is a saying among the people that 'it is better to marry a woman from one of the five families than marry into the imperial family.'"

"It is said that when Emperor Taizong saw in the Clan Records that the Five Surnames and Seven Families were ranked higher than the Tang Dynasty royal family, he was very dissatisfied and ordered the revision of the Clan Records."

"But after this revision, Emperor Taizong saw that the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Names were still ranked first, so he ordered another revision, with the royal family ranked first and relatives by marriage ranked second. As a result, the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Names were demoted to the third tier."

The First Emperor and others found it outrageous after hearing this. These five surnames and seven families actually had the upper hand over the royal family, which showed how great their influence was.

"Although the Clan Records can be revised, the influence of the aristocratic families cannot be eliminated overnight, especially for the aristocratic families like the Five Surnames and Seven Families. At that time, papermaking and printing were not very developed, so it was difficult to spread knowledge, and most of the talents came from the aristocratic families."

"We may not need these people when we are conquering the world, but after we conquer the world, we can't still use generals and soldiers to govern the world, right?"

"The aristocratic families were therefore fearless, because no matter who sat on the throne, they would have to be used in the end. However, Wu Mei broke this situation and dealt them a blow!"

"Wu Mei sent people to various places to search for talents, and sent them to the capital for her personal examination. As long as the results met her standards, they would be hired. She also allowed officials and common people to recommend themselves."

"She also further developed the imperial examination system."

"The imperial examination was established by Yang Jian during the Sui Dynasty. After Yang Guang ascended the throne, he added the Jinshi examination. It also developed to a certain extent during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. Taizong even said, 'All heroes in the world are within my grasp.' However, the imperial examinations at that time had limited impact on the aristocratic families."

The imperial examinations did threaten the status of the aristocratic families, but the imperial examinations during the Sui Dynasty could not do that. "It was only after Wu Mei became emperor that the imperial examinations gradually became a powerful weapon against the aristocratic families. She modified the imperial examination process, added more subjects, and increased the number of admissions."

"In addition, she also set up the military examination and expanded the scope of official selection, so that the imperial examination was no longer monopolized by the aristocratic families, and gave talented people from the common people the opportunity to stand out."

"When he and Li Zhi were in power together, he also issued an edict to revise the "Clan Records", renamed it "Surname Records", and clearly stipulated that 'all those who achieved the fifth rank in the imperial court would be promoted to the gentry', which means that anyone who could achieve the fifth rank could be promoted to the gentry."

Feng Jie saw the power of this method at a glance, and said with a smile: "This method is very good. If it increases the number of nobles, it will not be worth precious!"

It is indeed true. When the Tang Dynasty was stable, the effect of this method was just so-so. But after the An-Shi Rebellion, a large number of civilians and commoners were granted official positions of fifth rank and above, thus rising to the status of gentry. Suddenly the gentry became worthless. Who is not a gentry?
Moreover, these people can confuse people. Those with the surname Cui all claim to be from Boling Cui, and those with the surname Lu all claim to be from Fanyang Lu...

The sudden emergence of so many fakes shattered the unattainable image of the Five Surnames and Seven Families in people's minds, causing them to fall from their perch.

Li Nian said: "But Wu Mei's actions did not completely solve the problem of the aristocratic families. They only weakened the aristocratic families in the Tang Dynasty, making them no longer as powerful as before."

"Because the Tang Dynasty royal family is also a powerful family, and so are other princes and nobles. How can we eradicate them?"

"The aristocratic families were truly crippled and never recovered from this when a ruthless man appeared at the end of the Tang Dynasty. He 'burned the inner treasury to ashes and trampled the bones of the nobles in the streets', bringing the high and mighty aristocratic families down to dust. The aristocratic families that had lingered in China for hundreds of years have since completely declined."

Just by listening to Li Nian's words "the inner treasury was burned to ashes, and the bones of the nobles were trampled underfoot in the streets", one can feel the murderous intent emanating from it. The inner treasury that housed countless treasures was reduced to ashes, and the once prominent and noble nobles were trampled underfoot.

The person described in this sentence is definitely a ruthless person who kills people without hesitation. This kind of person can indeed break the original existing order!

Li Nian did not mention this person, but continued: "Wu Mei also rectified the administration of officials, severely punished corruption, opened up channels for people to express their opinions, paid attention to accepting advice, encouraged agriculture and sericulture, and reduced taxes and labor service. In terms of foreign affairs, there were both victories and defeats. Although the territory of the Tang Dynasty was reduced during her reign, it was not entirely Wu Mei's fault."

"Some people in later generations compared the Tang Dynasty's most extensive territory during Li Zhi's reign with the territory during Wu Mei's reign, saying that the reduction of the Tang Dynasty's territory was all Wu Mei's fault. Little did they know that the reduction of the Tang Dynasty's territory had already occurred during Li Zhi's reign or had already laid the hidden dangers."

"Although the territory of the Tang Dynasty reached its maximum during Li Zhi's reign, many places were not actually controlled by the Tang Dynasty. For example, the Turkic land was once part of the Tang Dynasty, but did it really belong to the Tang Dynasty?"

Meng Tian shook his head and smiled, "The Turks are only nominally affiliated with the Tang Dynasty, so they are considered as the territory of the Tang Dynasty. Once the Turks rebel, they will naturally no longer belong to the Tang Dynasty."

Li Nian said: "But Wu Mei also had many problems while she was making achievements. In order to make her throne more stable, she appointed cruel officials. With her deliberate connivance, these cruel officials fabricated charges and tortured people. They killed countless people."

"Wu Mei was also quite vain. For example, she agreed to the requests of the chieftains of various tribes, collected copper and iron from Luoyang, built the Tianshu outside Duanmen, and established a hymn to commemorate her achievements. She loved pleasure, built a lot of buildings, and renovated palaces and Buddhist temples. She also kept a male lover in the palace..."

In fact, he didn't need to explain, the First Emperor and others all understood what "mianshou" meant, but Li Nian still explained: "Mianshou refers to male favorites and male concubines. Wu Mei had more than one male favorite, including Xue Huaiyi, Shen Nanqiao, Zhang Yizhi and the Zhang Changzong brothers..."

When the First Emperor heard this, he asked a question with a strange look on his face: "At this time, Wu Mei is already quite old, right?"

Wang Wan and others also realized that Wu Mei was fourteen years old when she was summoned into the palace by Emperor Taizong of Tang. After so many years, she must be in her fifties or sixties, right?
This woman is really amazing. At such an old age, not only has she become an empress and is responsible for governing the country, but she also has such strong and vigorous needs. Could it be that she has the technique to replenish her yin by taking yang?
Li Nian laughed and said, "When Wu Mei proclaimed herself emperor, she was already sixty-six!"

Isn't that older than the age of Pei Gong when he proclaimed himself emperor?

Sixty-six years old, most people cannot live to this age, but this woman can still become an emperor and have a lover.

Seeing that the First Emperor did not continue to ask, Li Nian continued: "The first recorded lover of Wu Mei was Xue Huaiyi. He was favored by Wu Mei in his early years. Even the Mingtang was built under his supervision. He was once powerful. But when Wu Mei no longer favored him, he was resentful and set fire to the Mingtang."

"The Mingtang, also known as the 'Wanxiang Palace' and the 'Tongtian Palace', was planned to be built during the Sui Dynasty, but it was never built. When the Tang Dynasty was established, Emperor Gaozu, Emperor Taizong, and Emperor Gaozong were all unable to complete it. However, Wu Mei completed the Mingtang, which was one of her great achievements. However, it was burned down by Xue Huaiyi, who also took his life!"

"Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong were more favored by Wu Mei than Xue Huaiyi because of their youth and good looks. Even Wu Chengsi, Wu Sansi and others had to compete to flatter them. Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi almost became Wu Mei's crown prince."

Wang Wan frowned and asked, "Wu Mei wants to make her nephew the crown prince?"

Li Nian said: "Wu Mei really had this idea, but was persuaded by the then Prime Minister Di Renjie."

"Di Renjie was also an incredible figure. Not only was he able to accomplish great things under Wu Mei, he was also able to keep his life safe. Moreover, he had many students all over the world. Many of those who later launched the Shenlong coup and forced Wu Mei to abdicate were his students."

"Di Renjie advised Wu Mei at the time: 'Who is closer, an aunt or a nephew or a mother and a son? If Your Majesty establishes a son, then after a thousand years, he will be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple and inherit the throne forever; if you establish a nephew, then it has never been heard of a nephew becoming the emperor and enshrining his aunt in the temple.' From then on, Wu Mei no longer had any intention of establishing Wu Chengsi or Wu Sansi as the crown prince."

Wang Wan laughed and said, "What Di Renjie said is absolutely right. No matter how close the Wu family members are, how can they be compared to mother and son? If Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi were to take the throne, they would definitely establish a Wu ancestral temple. Even if they were grateful for their aunt's passing on of the throne, they would not enshrine her in the temple."

"On the other hand, Li Tang's sons are both Li Xian and Li Dan. Even if Wu Mei takes away their throne, she is still their biological mother. If they ascend to the throne again, they will not enshrine Wu Mei in the ancestral temple with the ceremony of the Son of Heaven, but will definitely enshrine her with the ceremony of the Queen Mother."

Li Nian said: "It was because Wu Mei figured this out that she gave up the idea of ​​making her nephew the crown prince."

"But after Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong were favored by Wu Mei, they were not good people. They took advantage of Wu Mei's favor to do whatever they wanted, framed the prime minister, and made enemies with the ministers. This seemed to be the misfortune of the two Zhangs, but it was actually Wu Mei's fault!"

"Another problem with Wu Mei is that she favored Wu Sansi, Wu Chengsi and others. These people were not talented enough, but they were good at flattery and bootlicking. After being favored by Wu Mei, they would naturally use their power to cause trouble."

(End of this chapter)