Wu Zetian did not show up for three days in a row, which aroused countless speculations from the courtiers. The courtiers did not dare to discuss it publicly, and they all discussed this rather strange incident in their own small circles.
Some people say that the Holy One was sickened by Wu Sansi's boldness. Others say that the Holy One was disheartened by the Wu family and was rethinking her choice. But others said that the Holy One still supported Wu Sansi and was just delaying the change. In the end, the matter was settled.
But no matter what kind of speculation, it is inseparable from the factors of Wu Sansi. Indeed, in the past few days, all kinds of disadvantages to Wu Sansi have surged like wild waves. Prophecies and announcements have exposed Wu Sansi's various evil deeds.' The word "virtue and evil" has been deeply engraved on Wu Sansi. In addition, Wu Sansi was the mastermind behind Wang Xiaojie's death in battle. This involves a bigger charge of treason.
In any case, the deterioration of Wu Sansi¡¯s reputation has made many people who originally supported Wu Sansi begin to reflect. Do they really want to support such a person to ascend to the top of the Ninth Five-Year Plan?
On the fourth day, public opinion continued to ferment, and the voices against Wu Sansi were overwhelming. In the morning, a carriage drove to the front of Zhenguan Hall. Di Renjie got out of the carriage and walked up the steps to the main hall.
He had just received the decree, and the Holy Emperor wanted to summon him. This was expected by him. After all, he was the head of the officials. When it came to establishing a prince, it was impossible for the Holy Emperor to ignore the opinions of the officials.
In fact, it is not that Di Renjie did not have any objections to Wu Sansi's establishment of the crown prince. For example, he only had to call on all officials to resign and return to their hometowns in protest, and at least half of the ministers would respond, including local officials.
It¡¯s just that the cost of doing so is too high, it will drag the Tang Dynasty into the abyss of darkness, lead to the outbreak of civil war, and the decline of the prosperous age. This is not the result that Di Renjie wants to see.
Although the methods used by Li Zhen were not very fair and vicious, Di Renjie had to admit that the cost of doing so was small. As the saying goes, fight fire with fire, and Wu Sansi died because of the evil things he had done.
So Di Renjie had no objection in the end. He wanted to see the final effect.
At this time, a eunuch rushed out, bowed and said: "Xiangguo Di, your Majesty is waiting in the Lianxin Pavilion."
Di Renjie nodded and followed the eunuch quickly towards Lianxin Pavilion.
In the past few days, Wu Ze was not sick, nor was she waiting for changes and letting the matter settle. She was indeed rethinking and weighing things up again and again.
Of course Wu Zetian knew that this was a fierce offensive launched by someone against Wu Sansi. Wu Zetian had never shown pity for such slanderous behavior in the past. As soon as she found out about it, she would definitely strike hard, but this time she couldn't stand up. She knew very well in her heart that this was the Li family's counterattack against the Wu family. If she attacked, she would be injured. But if she didn't attack, the Li family would definitely become more arrogant and prosperous, eventually threatening her throne.
Wu Zetian hoped to achieve a balance, and she hoped to break the balance and then form a new balance. But this time, she was a little confused. Could it be that after breaking the balance between Li and Wu, a new balance could no longer be formed?
At this time, a eunuch reported at the door: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Di is here."
Wu Zetian nodded, "Inform him to come in!"
After a moment, Di Renjie hurriedly walked in, bowed and saluted: "Old minister Di Renjie is here to see your majesty!"
Wu Zetian sighed, "Di Xiangguo, I'm having a really hard time these days!"
"Is Your Majesty worried about that letter?"
Wu Zetian shook his head, "How can a letter make me so troubled? I am worried about Li Wu in the future. Whether Li destroys Wu or Wu destroys Li, this is a result I don't want to see. Frankly In other words, I consider establishing Wu Sansi as his heir, which is a balance that I have repeatedly considered."
Di Renjie pondered for a moment and asked: "What kind of balance does your Majesty want to see?"
"I hope to see Li and Wu living in harmony from generation to generation."
Di Renjie nodded. He knew that the Holy One would say this. He had been thinking very hard these past two days about how to persuade the Holy One to change his decision. He said slowly: "Your Majesty, who is stronger or weaker in Li Wu?"
"Why bother asking, it is natural that Li Qiang is weak, so I consider helping the weak."
"The question is here. Once the weak takes control of the country, will it treat the strong well? When Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty came to the throne, the Yang family was the weak one. How did he treat the strong Yuwen family? Couldn't your Majesty have thought of it?"
Wu Zetian didn't say anything for a long time. Yang Jian ascended the throne and wiped out the Northern Zhou royal family. It was only a hundred years apart. It is still vivid in his mind. Di Renjie said again: "On the contrary, when the strong rises to power, because there is no threat, it will treat the weak well and win over the reputation. I believe your majesty knows this better than Wei Chen."
Wu Zetian walked to the window with her hands behind her back and silently stared at the sky in the distance. Di Renjie knewHow to untie the last knot of the Holy Spirit, he advised again: "Your Majesty is the aunt of King Liang. From ancient times to the present, no nephew would put his aunt at the highest place on the altar. On the contrary, King Xiang and King Luling He is the son of His Majesty. As sons, how can they not respect their mother? Do they dare to violate human ethics and disregard filial piety? "
Wu Zetian was shocked. Di Renjie's straightforward words pierced her heart. She suddenly remembered that Wu Sansi imitated the imperial mausoleum and built his father's tomb a few years ago. If Wu Sansi came to power, he might not be the one enjoying the honor of the imperial mausoleum a hundred years later. He is Wu Sansi's father.
Wu Zetian was immediately upset, and her last bit of confidence in Wu Sansi completely collapsed under Di Renjie's persuasion. Wu Zetian let out a long sigh, "I am lucky to have Di Qing as my prime minister!"
Di Renjie knew that Wu Sansi's appointment as crown prince had turned around. He was secretly happy in his heart and bowed: "I will not disturb your majesty. I will leave."
"Go! Let me think about it carefully."
Di Renjie retreated, and Wu Zetian stood in front of the window with her hands behind her hands. She was silent for a long time. She didn't know how long it had passed. If she felt something, she turned around and saw Zhang Changzong standing at the door with his hands hanging down. Wu Zetian smiled softly and said, "Why is Liu Lang here? "
"I am here to help your Majesty solve your problems."
Wu Zetian waved to him and asked him to sit next to her. She put her arms around Zhang Changzong's waist and said with a smile, "What do Liu Lang have to say?"
Wu Zetian has been hesitant in the past few days. Similarly, the Zhang brothers have also been discussing repeatedly. They have reached a consensus that they did make a mistake regarding Wu Sansi. They should not express their position prematurely and let Wu Sansi take over. They should let Li Wu continue. It is in their interest to continue the fierce fight, and let Li Wu lose both sides, so that they can finally benefit.
Therefore, we must not establish a prince anymore. We should use the prince's position as a bait for Li Wu to fight for it. For this reason, they desperately want to please their brothers. Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi have already made a decision. They will use their special status to influence Wu Zetian.
Zhang Changzong said in a low voice: "Establishing a prince is the foundation of the country. It is related to the survival of the country. It is true that we cannot easily decide who to establish or not to establish. For example, Wu Sansi was almost appointed as the prince despite his immorality. This is the biggest lesson. Wulang and I both think Your Majesty should think more carefully and observe carefully, so that Wu Sansi¡¯s lesson cannot be repeated again. In fact, whether it is the Wu family or the Li family, it has nothing to do with our brothers. The key is not to ruin your Majesty¡¯s reputation for generations to come. "
Wu Zetian nodded. The words of the Zhang brothers touched her heart. She had realized that whether the Wu family or the Li family came to power, it would cause a huge impact and even war. She would need time to adjust the contradiction between Li and Wu. In the end, even if When the Li family takes over, the Wu family must also be properly arranged.
At this moment, Wu Zetian made up his mind and temporarily gave up the idea of ????making Wu Sansi the prince.
At this time, Zhang Changzong said again: "There is also the case of our brother's murder, and I hope that your Majesty can handle it properly."
"This sentence reminded Wu Zetian that Li Shi did go too far this time. If he didn't teach them a lesson, they might do something even more outrageous next time.
And since Wu Sansi¡¯s opportunity to become the prince has been blocked, it is also necessary to attack the Li royal family and give the Wu family some comfort, which is also a kind of balance.
Thinking of this, Wu Zetian immediately issued an order: "Publish my decree and quickly announce that Cheng Jixu, the censor, will come to see you."
The eunuch who announced the decree ran away quickly, and Wu Zetian smiled at Zhang Changzong and said, "You and Wulang should be well prepared. We will drink at night and we will not stop until we are drunk!"
Zhang Changzong understood what Wu Zetian meant, smiled softly, stood up and left quickly. As soon as Zhang Changzong left, Wu Zetian's face sank, and murderous intent was revealed in his eyes. After a moment, Ji Xu hurriedly walked into the room, bowed and said: "Wei Chen Ji See you, Your Majesty!"
"Ji Zhongcheng, I gave you three days to investigate the murder of Zhang Jingxiong. Now that four days have passed, you should give me an explanation!"
Of course Ji Xu knew why the Holy Master summoned him. In the past few days, he had been repeatedly investigating and verifying the details of Zhang Jingxiong's murder case. More importantly, Princess Taiping had given him clear instructions, so he knew the direction of this case. Where is it?
He took out a volume of documents and presented it to Wu Zetian respectfully, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this is my preliminary investigation plan. Because some details need to be verified, I could not report it to Your Majesty in time."
The eunuch forwarded Ji Xu's report to Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian opened it and looked at it, frowning slightly and said, "Are you really sure that Li Chongrun did it?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, there was no evidence at the murder scene. However, Wei Chen found some jewelry that had been stolen at the same time in a jewelry shop in Nan City. After repeated tracing, Wei Chen finally found out that these jewelry belonged to a guard of the Luling Palace. Sold, now the guard has confessed?, he participated in the murder of Zhang Jingxiong. "
Wu Zetian thought for a moment and said: "You mean, the King of Luling may also be involved in this assassination?"
"Weichen hasn't reached that stage of the trial yet. We can only confirm that Li Chongrun is related to this case."
Wu Zetian walked a few steps with her hands behind her back. This investigation report came in time, and Li Chongrun also appeared at the right time. Even if the matter was secretly instigated by King Luling, she could not implicate the matter to King Luling. She had to stop. .
Thinking of this, Wu Zetian said slowly: "There is no need to continue the investigation, let's use Li Chongrun to close the case!"
In early May of the first year of Dazu, Wu Sansi was deposed from the royal title for interfering in military affairs and was demoted to Liang Guogong, and his qualifications to discuss the emperor's heirs were suspended. At the same time, Li Chongrun, the eldest son of King Luling, was executed by Wu Zetian's imperial edict for being good at discussing government affairs. At Tianmen, his father, King Li Xian of Luling, taught his son not to speak, and ordered him to shut up and reflect on his mistakes, and was fined a year's salary.
At this point, the uproarous issue of Wu Sansi establishing the crown prince finally died down, and there is no further story.
But another rumor came out that Princess Taiping and the Prime Minister strongly requested the emperor to canonize Er Zhang as a prince, but in the end they did not get the emperor's consent. Zhang Changzong was named the Duke of Ye, and Zhang Yizhi was named the Duke of Heng, with three hundred households.
On the eighth day of May, white flags were hung in Di Renjie's house. Mrs. Di died at the age of eighty.