In today's words, this problem discovered by Wu is a completely false problem. Zong Rui emperor Li Dan still lives in the East Palace. Wu Zetian only temporarily robbed her son of the throne. Is the heir to the throne still unclear? But Wu doesn't think so. He raised this issue to the theoretical level, showing a heavy theoretical color. He not only wanted to establish a prince, but also solved the theoretical understanding of establishing a prince. It's no good crossing the river to establish a prince by feeling the stones.
Why? Because the existing system has existed for a long time, but the emperor belongs to the family, and it is an unshakable basic principle that descendants should not pass on different surnames. Liu Bang, the Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty, also developed it to the extreme, saying that "the world is not ruled by Liu Zhi." But Wu Zetian has her particularity. In Wu's view, the existing theory cannot solve this new problem. The descendants of Wuhou and her surname are separated, and the concept of "home" can be used as a theoretical article. Wu Zetian is the daughter of the Wu family. My surname is Wu, and I grew up in Wu's parents. The Wu family is her home, and the surname Wu is her real name. Her throne should be passed on to Wu's family. As for surnames, if women take their husbands' surnames when they get married, as in foreign countries or Hong Kong now, Wu would not have a "theory".
Defenders of the Li family said that Wu Zetian was the daughter-in-law of the Li family. She/kloc-entered the Li family at the age of 0/4 and has lived in Li's husband's family ever since. Her children and grandchildren are all surnamed Li, and Li is her home. Li is the surname of her own children, and the throne belongs to the Li family. In this way, we have encountered new situations and new problems that we have never encountered before, and there is no precedent to follow. When necessary, people show unprecedented theoretical courage and solve problems creatively.
Wu first studied this problem, and it is unprofitable to get up early. A discerning person knows at a glance that he wants to be the crown prince himself. Behind the theory is his naked greed, and the discussion of the theory is only that he must first create public opinion, so is the revolutionary class and so is the counter-revolutionary class. He consulted Zhang Jiafu, Wu Zetian's confidant, to see how to propose to Wu Zetian that he be made a prince. Zhang believes that it is not appropriate for this issue to be endorsed by a person with great voice, and the supreme ruler often considers their opinions. He was raised by Wu himself and the marquis of Wu. So they bribed Wang Qingzhi, a native of Luoyang, to give him a theoretical explanation and take the opportunity to put it forward. Wang Qingzhi's theoretical accomplishment is not very high, but he has to take other people's money, just like our current "urban pollution is caused by bicycles." It's not decent, but he still wants to take it out. So Wang Qingzhi directly colluded with hundreds of people in Luoyang to jointly write a letter, demanding that Wu be the prince.
Signing letters easily affects social stability. The prime minister of the dynasty was disgusted. "The heir to the throne (that is, the original emperor Li Dan) is still sitting in the East Palace, and he is the natural heir to the throne. There is no problem of re-establishing a prince." This sentence was rejected by Wang Qingzhi. The Prime Minister also requested that these petitioners be dealt with.
Because Wang Qingzhi didn't explain it in depth in theory, although Wu Zetian turned to the Wu family, she still couldn't make up her mind, so she asked officials further. As a result, the ministers thought it was impossible and Wu Zetian gave up. However, this incident angered all the military forces headed by Wu, who had the right to discuss the issue beyond measures and ordered cruel officials to come to the Prime Minister and others for rebellion. This move is much more beneficial than saying that you are opposed to reform when we reflect on reform now. Dozens of ministers were punished and the court was empty.
Taking this opportunity, Wu arranged for Wang Qingzhi to meet the marquis of Wu again, and told the queen mother about his "theory of the king of Wu". Wang Qingzhi said: "God does not bless descendants of different races, and people do not sacrifice ancestors of different races. Now that the Wu family is in the world, how can I make Li an heir? " After the last failure, Wang Qingzhi increased her theoretical thinking and really tested Wu Zetian. Her husband's family's thoughts began to waver, indicating that she wanted to study again. In order to facilitate the study, Wuhou also specially gave one of Wang Qing a pass. He said, "If you want to see me, you can use this card to get in and out." From then on, Wang entered the palace almost every day to discuss the "theoretical problems" of establishing a prince with Wuhou.
Just when Wang Qingzhi's theory was huge and the marquis of Wu hesitated, Li Zhaode, assistant minister of Fengge, also put forward his tit-for-tat theoretical viewpoint to Wu Zetian: "The emperor (high school Li Zhi), the husband of your majesty, the heir (Zong Rui Li Dan) and the son of your majesty. Your majesty won the world, of course, to his own children and grandchildren. How can he pass it on to others for future generations? Let's not say that there is no precedent for aunt to pass it on to nephew. Since ancient times, I have never heard of my nephew building a temple for my aunt. " Li Zhaode's theory is amateur, of course, and his attainments are not very high, but he grasped one thing, that is, the "vital" interests of Wu Hou, who had to be tempted by it and decided not to establish a new heir. The victorious Li Zhaode also killed Wang Qingzhi with a stick by means other than academic.
Wu failed for the first time in establishing an heir, but he didn't give up. He and his cousin Liang Wang Wu think twice, sum up experience and lessons, so as to fight again. He felt that the important reason why Wang Qingzhi's theory did not use force was that it was not specific enough and concentrated enough. In their view, we can't talk about our own families, and we can't talk about building temples to worship our ancestors. On the basis of Wang Qingzhi's theory, the starting point should be: no emperor in history passed the throne to a person with a different surname, and then discussed and persuaded Wuhou.
Wu et al. created a powerful public opinion atmosphere of "since ancient times, the son of heaven has not adopted a different surname as an heir" in the eighth year after the failure of establishing a prince for the first time through great public opinion in theory and careful arrangement in action. This time, it hit the soft spot of Wuhou again. Zhu Wu was right. Although Wu Zetian was married to the Li family, she was still surnamed Wu and did not change her surname to Li. After all, Wu and his surname Li are only husband and wife, and there is no common surname for intermarriage. How can I give something to the Wu family to the Li family?
Wu Zetian began to waver again. After repeated persuasion by De, she made up her mind not to make Zhu Wu her heir, but to welcome the returning Luling King (Zhongzong). At this point, this farce ended successfully with the life of the initiator Wu.
This farce still has some significance. Later, during the period of Empress Xiao Zhuang and Empress Dowager Cixi, we never saw similar farce again, which saved taxpayers a lot of hard-earned money.