Chapter 946 Supreme Power
A woman will rule the world, which can be said to be a prophecy passed down by King Su himself. This is Ji Zhao's will.
But in fact, even though the key person, Wu Zhao, was found, even Luo Su had not yet fully figured out how this thing could be accomplished.
Ever since King Su established the patriarchal system more than 1,600 years ago, it has been almost impossible for a female monarch to exist in the land of Zhu Xia.
Zhao Yingluo in the Western Regions, as well as those countries further west with female monarchs, do not have a patriarchal system, a culture that is completely patriarchal.
In the Chinese states, a woman who holds power has to rely on her husband or father. Even so, the two with the most power so far are Ji Lingjun and Lu Zhi. Although one is Duke Yin of Luo and the other is recorded in history books as having real power, in essence, there is a gap of half power. Moreover, if we analyze the source of their power, Ji Lingjun's power comes from her brother, the monarch of Luo State, and Lu Zhi's power comes from her son, Emperor Xiaohui of Han.
It is said that the government is controlled by Lingjun, and the sacrifices are conducted by Luo Jun. Ji Lingjun and Lu Zhi are both walking on half a leg.
Where is the real monarch?
The actual power comes from the subjects who submit to her, and the divine power comes from heaven!
No one would want to let a woman bear the destiny. How can this be done under the current situation in the Tang Dynasty?
The Luo family will not allow the political situation to move towards an unpredictable future just because they are pushing for a woman to rule the world. Forcing something will only lead to an unpredictable outcome in the future. Even Luo Su, although he has always taken the will of the King Su as his own responsibility, will not change his bottom line.
In this situation, Luo Su set his sights on Wu Zhao. He believed that the person chosen by a Su Wang must be different. He also knew Wu Zhao quite well. She was a very outstanding woman.
Apart from being rather ruthless, there are few people in politics who are not ruthless, so this is not a big deal.
Wu Zhao's talent in politics, domestic affairs, and even power struggles was extremely high. It can even be said that few people could match her talent.
She could definitely become the second Lu Zhi, no, she could even surpass Lu Zhi. In terms of ability, Lu Zhi was not as good as her.
When Liu Bang was alive, it was basically difficult for Lu Zhi to interfere in the political affairs of the Han Dynasty. However, just two years after Wu Zhao overthrew Zhangsun Wuji, the prime minister and many ministers had already joined her camp. These ministers were even willing to be driven by her to veto the decisions of Emperor Li Zhi. This ability was shocking.
Queen Wang had lost Li Zhi's favor and was deposed. Lu Zhi's position as queen was secured by the Luo and Lu families and many meritorious officials. But now, Wu Zhao wanted to hold the position of queen in her own hands to the point where even Emperor Li Zhi could not depose her.
Almost everyone watched Wu Zhao's influence grow day by day. The speed of growth made Emperor Li Zhi a little uneasy. Wu Zhao's strong political enthusiasm was simply not like that of a woman. Moreover, Wu Zhao did a good job, which made Li Zhi very satisfied and greatly relieved his pressure.
At this critical moment, it was as if God was helping Wu Zetian. Emperor Li Zhi actually fell ill, and the disease was exactly the same as that of his grandfather Li Yuan and his father Li Shimin in their later years. This disease hidden deep in Li's bone marrow was like a curse. Everyone knew that if he got this disease, it would be difficult for him to continue to work.
In every sense, Wu Zhao truly walked into the center of the empire. The so-called power of the empire lies in that big seal. Whoever holds the seal, whoever approves memorials, and whoever has the power to make the final decision is the king. The affairs that Wu Zhao controls even exceed those of Li Zhi. Who is the real king?
The outer court will react!
…
Taiji Hall is the center of the empire. Wu Zhao sat here openly, but she did not handle government affairs. Instead, she watched Luo Junwei deal with those memorials. She had a group of prime ministers in the outer court, and Luo Junwei helped her in the palace. Some people inside and outside the palace had already called Luo Junwei the inner prime minister.
While Luo Junwei was dealing with the memorials, she said, “Empress, I heard that you and the emperor parted on bad terms the day before yesterday?
After all, he is the emperor, so you have to give him some respect. Otherwise, what happened to Changsun Wuji might have happened to you."
Wu Zhao became even more dissatisfied with Li Zhi after hearing this. She didn't need to pretend in front of Luo Junwei, and said angrily: "Weiwei, you were right at the beginning. Men's promises are really unreliable. If I were like those stupid women now, I would probably be the second person to be abandoned.
Power is only useful if it is in my own hands. I must hold on to it tightly. He is really going too far."
Luo Junwei put down the pen in her hand, sighed slightly, and comforted Wu Zhao. She knew the current relationship between Li Zhi and Wu Zhao best. To be honest, these two people did have true feelings, but it was the true feelings that caused the trouble. If it was really pure interests, then it would be easy to deal with.
Li Zhi felt that Wu Zetian had changed. She no longer had the gentleness and consideration she had before. She wanted to control everything about him, not only in his life, but also in national affairs. He seemed to have returned to the time when he was controlled by Zhangsun Wuji.
Wu Zhao was jealous. She relied on Li Zhi's favor to rise to the top, so she was very clear about the power of the emperor's favor. Over the years, no one else had given birth to a prince for Li Zhi, only her and Li Zhi's children, and she was on guard against them.
But she never expected that Li Zhi would take advantage of her elder sister's entry into the palace to forcibly occupy her elder sister, and also ignored her, which made Wu Zhao completely unable to tolerate. What made Wu Zhao even more unbearable was that Li Zhi also fell in love with her niece, Helan Minyue, the daughter of Lady Han Guo Wu Shun. It would be fine if it was sisters sharing a wife, as there are many such things in the world, but it was too outrageous to take care of her niece. He simply trampled on her face and made her feel that she could not raise her head in front of Luo Junwei.
Helan Minyue was extremely outstanding in appearance. She had been famous since she was young. As she grew up, she was the best among all the beauties. The people of Chang'an called her "Luo Banbian", which meant that the girls of the Luo family and she each occupied half of the beauty of Chang'an. The girls of the Luo family have always been famous for their beauty, and this shows how beautiful she is.
In addition, with her aunt being the queen, there were countless people who wanted to marry her, but no one expected that her uncle would have ideas about her. If he was not concerned about her still being young, he would probably have taken possession of Helan Minyue just like he had taken possession of Lady Korea. From this point of view alone, Li Zhi was definitely a genuine member of the Li family. When it came to beauty, he didn't care about the consequences.
Luo Junwei pondered for a moment, and then slowly said: "Queen, I may be able to help you with this matter. I have a younger brother, the son of Chen Guogong Luo Xuanyun. I wonder if the Queen has any impression of him."
After Luo Xuanyun served as the Acting Grand Protector of Anxi in the Western Regions, he was transferred to Mobei and officially promoted to the Grand Protector of Anbei. He worked together with Yan Wang Li Ke and was considered a standard frontier official in the Tang Empire. From the moment he was transferred to the Grand Protector of Anbei, Luo knew that during Li Zhi's reign, he would not be able to enter the central government and would probably stay in the frontiers.
Wu Zhao naturally had an impression of Luo Xuanyun. At the ceremony of her enthronement as queen, Luo Xuanyun rushed back from Mobei and presented her with a blanket made of the finest white wolf skin.
Seeing this, Luo Junwei glanced around and whispered, "My uncle Luo Xuanyun has a son who is only three years older than your niece, the Queen. There is no engagement yet. Now Helan has no one. You are the Queen, so of course you have the final say on this matter. Why not directly betroth her to my nephew? The Emperor dare not touch my daughter-in-law, and then let Madam Hanguo send Helan Minyue to Mobei. As for Madam Hanguo, as long as the Queen is willing, I can have her appear in Jiangdong, Mobei, or Liaodong within three days. It's all up to you, the Queen."
Wu Zhao's eyes lit up when she heard this. She held Luo Junwei's hand and said with emotion, "Weiwei, you are the only one who really cares about me. The others are all bitches. I'll do as you say and send that girl to Mobei. A little girl, accompanying a sickly man, who is her uncle, will really ruin the rest of her life.
As for my sister..."
Wu Zhao was silent for a moment, and then her eyes fell on Luo Junwei. If Luo Junwei was not there, she would have made Wu Shun disappear directly. Only dead people were the safest. But she knew that Luo Junwei would never let her do that. Besides, that was her sister after all. If she had a choice, she still didn't want to take that last step.
"Let her go to Jiangdong, a place with beautiful mountains and rivers, where she can live comfortably for the rest of her life."
She is a kind-hearted person. She and Li Shimin are very similar in this respect. When their bottom line is not touched, they are more emotional, but when it is touched, they will not hesitate. Wu Shun disregarded her sisterly feelings and endangered her position as queen, which touched her bottom line. Fortunately, there is Luo Junwei below the bottom line. Wu Shun saved his life. Zhangsun Wuji, Queen Wang, Concubine Xiao Shufei and others all saved their lives because of Luo Junwei, so they really should kowtow to Luo Junwei.
Seeing this, Luo Junwei nodded slightly, "Don't worry, Queen. Your sister will soon get a strange disease that no one can cure. She can only recover by recuperating in the Luo Clan in Jiangdong. She will never have the chance to meet the emperor again."
Luo Junwei easily dealt with the matter that had been bothering her, which made Wu Zhao very happy. She hugged Luo Junwei and put her face on Luo Junwei's shoulder, "The emperor handed the government to me, and I will hand it over to you. The emperor is a fake emperor, and the officials in the government hall are fake prime ministers. I am the real emperor, and Weiwei, you are the real prime minister."
Luo Junwei's body stiffened when she heard that, her heart was filled with waves, and then she slowly hugged Wu Zhao back. She suddenly realized why Wu Zhao was the key person. Wu Zhao had very different ideas, and she didn't feel that it was her right.
She doesn't have the idea that the emperor must be a man.
She could proudly say that she was the true emperor, with only pride in her tone, without a trace of fear.
"Queen, please don't say such things again in the future. It would be bad if someone has ears. After all, the emperor is still in power now, and the queen is the most powerful. I just know that."
Luo Junwei patted Wu Zhao gently.
Wu Zhao left Luo Junwei's soft body and straightened her messy hair. "I know, it's just a momentary excitement. I won't say these words in front of outsiders."
Luo Junwei did not feel relieved as Wu Zhao had imagined, but frowned, as if she was struggling with something. This expression rarely appeared on Luo Junwei, which made Wu Zhao very curious. She asked curiously, "Weiwei, do you have anything to say to me?"
Luo Junwei was very conflicted, but thinking back to the various things Li Zhi had done since he ascended the throne, she also remembered that Wu Zhao had talked in her sleep a few nights ago and was also worried about losing her position as queen. She slowly said in a deep voice: "Queen, in fact, if you want to completely keep your position as queen, there is only one way."
Wu Zhao didn't expect that Luo Junwei was thinking about this matter. She was very surprised. Luo Junwei sighed and said, "Before leaving Chang'an, Queen Wang cursed you, saying that if she lost the position of Queen, you would follow in her footsteps. You had a nightmare a few nights ago, and I knew you were very afraid of this matter. The emperor can't give you a sense of security."
"Weiwei, go ahead."
Luo Junwei pondered for a moment and said, "If you and His Majesty had not been able to withstand Changsun Wuji's counterattack, what would have been the result?"
Wu Zhao was a political expert. After a little thought, she said, "Then he must have been completely sidelined. Now Zhangsun Wuji still has the final say in government affairs, and it will be much more difficult to seize power again."
After all, power comes from the bottom up. When Li Zhi and Wu Zhao attacked Changsun Wuji, the ministers who followed them were very important. They gave the two room to maneuver. If they had not been able to hold on and had been a little weak, allowing Changsun Wuji to successfully deal with all the ministers who worked for them, then the ministers after that would have considered this matter and whether they should put the lives of their entire families on the emperor.
Once this kind of consideration comes into play, it will be basically difficult for the king to regain his power. Generally speaking, this kind of merit of supporting the king can only be used once.
Wu Zhao was so smart that she knew what Luo Junwei was going to say as soon as she mentioned this. "Weiwei, do you mean that I have to win a glorious victory in front of everyone?"
Victory over whom?
Of course it’s the emperor’s!
Li Zhi must be thinking of deposing the queen, but if Wu Zetian could make Li Zhi abandon the idea of deposing the queen in front of everyone, and even get rid of the people who helped Li Zhi depose the queen, then everyone would see her power.
From now on, no one will dare to stand on the side of the emperor and propose to depose the queen. At that time, her position as queen will be truly stable. Without the support of court officials, the emperor can do nothing.
Wu Zhao could even imagine that if this incident really happened, the emperor's political prestige would drop greatly, while her political prestige would rise greatly. The current mode of getting along would change again. At that time, the emperor, who already had difficulty handling government affairs, would really have to share the highest power of the empire with her, and her own power would even completely surpass that of Emperor Li Zhi.
"Weiwei, you are so amazing!"
Wu Zhao, who had figured out all the details, could no longer hold back and was overjoyed. "You are really amazing. You can come up with such a brilliant plan. I have seen that none of the prime ministers in the outer court can compare to you. The imperial teacher said that you are the most powerful of this generation of the Luo family, and it is true."
Seeing Wu Zhao so happy, Luo Junwei put away her worries and said with a smile, "I didn't say anything. You were smart enough to think of it yourself."
Wu Zhao patted her big round like a man, stirring up a wave, "I understand, Weiwei, you didn't say anything. We need to find the right person for this matter. Most of the prime ministers nowadays will not do this."
Wu Zhao's position as empress was much more stable than that of Queen Wang. Most of the prime ministers in the current government hall came to power because of the overthrow of Queen Wang and Zhangsun Wuji. These people rose to power by supporting Wu Zhao as empress, so these people would not participate in the dethronement of Wu Zhao.
Seeing that Wu Zhao was still so impatient, Luo Junwei quickly persuaded her, "Queen, don't be so anxious. You just need to spread your spies throughout the palace, and any disturbance in the palace will not escape your eyes. When the time is right, you can take action.
If the emperor doesn't put his ideas into action, there's no need for you to confront him. After all, it's not a good thing. According to the emperor's physical condition, you can get what you want by following the steps."
Wu Zhao forced herself to calm down and composed herself. Luo Junwei was right. This matter could not be rushed. She believed that Li Zhi's idea of deposing the queen was completely out of control. Li Zhi would have to lose his mind to do such a thing.
She is completely different from the previous queens. Although she is the queen now, she is not those queens who do not interfere in politics. She is actually representing Li Zhi's imperial power. Li Zhi has never thought about who to give this power to after deposing her.
As for Li Zhi himself?
If Li Zhi was physically able to rule the country completely, then she would not have such great power. After deposing her, where would he find someone to replace him and rule the country with peace of mind?
There was no one at all. None of the prime ministers in the Council of State was trusted by Li Zhi from the bottom of his heart, let alone handing over the imperial power to him. In the end, after going around in circles, he could only rely on Wu Zetian.
After all, they were husband and wife. Under the patriarchal system, the relationship between husband and wife was very close. Moreover, Wu Zhao was a woman. How could a woman usurp the world?
If power really fell into the hands of ministers, it would be hard to say whether it could be returned in the end. But if power fell into the hands of Wu Zetian, it would eventually be returned to the hands of their two sons.
The Empress Gao of the Han Dynasty was so powerful. She called herself "朕", said "崩" when she died, and her tomb was called "凌". She was completely no different from the emperor. But the next emperor of the Han Dynasty was still Liu Ying.
Wu Zhao understood this point clearly, which is why she was so calm as to sit in the courtyard and watch the flowers bloom and fall. She just watched those jumping clowns commit suicide.
…
Luo Junwei's actions were very quick. When Li Zhi felt something was wrong, Wu Shun and Helan Minyue had not entered the palace for several days. He asked Wu Zhao in confusion, and Wu Zhao said leisurely: "Minyue is a beauty that can overturn a country. When Luo came to ask for marriage, I decided to marry her to the son of Duke Chen.
My sister fell ill some time ago. The famous doctors in Chang'an were unable to cure her, and even the Imperial Hospital was helpless. The best doctor in the world, outside the imperial palace, was the Luo family in Suzhou. I asked my cousin about it, and she said that the lady of the Chu State had extremely high medical skills, so I sent my sister to Suzhou in the south of the Yangtze River to recuperate.
I haven't had time to tell Your Majesty yet, and I'm worried that Your Majesty is already in poor health and this matter has made him too worried."
ah!
Li Zhi was shocked when he heard this, he never expected that Wu Zhao had done so many things in just a few days. He had not had time to react to Wu Shun's illness. After all, Wu Shun was already the woman he had gotten, but Helan Minyue was actually betrothed to the son of Duke Chen, which made him a little confused.
"Min Yue was betrothed, how come I didn't know about it?"
Wu Zhao asked curiously, "Your Majesty is so busy with affairs of state that how can Your Majesty pay attention to the marriage of a little daughter of my concubine's family, who is even just a commoner?
I am the Queen, and the marriage of women in the world is within my responsibility. Moreover, I am her elder. Duke Chen is interested, so I will arrange a marriage for him. There is nothing wrong with this, right? What does your majesty want to say?"
Li Zhi was almost irritated to death by Wu Zhao's pretentious and sarcastic attitude. He grunted for a few breaths, and then said angrily: "After all, I am Min Yue's uncle. Isn't it wrong for me to pay attention to her?"
Wu Zhao pretended to understand something, "So that's how it is. I know your majesty's love for Min Yue. I will give Min Yue a higher title and let her marry in a grand manner. Your majesty's niece and I must not let her be wronged."
Li Zhi almost felt suffocated to death after hearing this, but he couldn't say it out loud. Some things can only be done, but not said, otherwise it would be too embarrassing. He looked at Wu Zhao's still beautiful face, but was very angry. "Queen, you are very good, very good, I will remember it."
After saying that, he turned around angrily and left Jiaolan Hall. No one else in the hall dared to breathe. Wu Zhao's eyes were filled with both pleasure and sadness. The two people who loved each other so much in the past had ended up like this. She was sad and angry, "Men are really unreliable."
Li Zhi was really furious this time. He felt that Wu Zetian had completely dominated him. He was shaking all over. "Wu Zetian, I must destroy you. I must destroy you."
After venting his anger, he felt a little discouraged. How could he get rid of Wu Zhao? Now that this group of prime ministers were useless, he had to use a new prime minister.
But although the prime ministers like power, there have been many political struggles in recent years, and the court officials are a little tired and may not support him in stirring up another political storm.
Moreover, Li Zhi was very worried that keeping the imperial court in such a political storm would lead to the corruption of political atmosphere, which would in turn lead to the surrounding princes eyeing the throne.
Although the political struggles among the upper echelons have been severe in recent years, and one could even say that a large number of people have been killed, there has actually been no change in the middle and lower echelons. Even the positions of provincial governors and provincial governors, which are considered typical high-ranking officials, have seen almost no major changes.
The Tang Dynasty was still on the road to greater prosperity, and because there were so many things going on in the central government, Li Zhi had not launched a foreign war. If we take into account the late Zhenguan period, the Tang Dynasty's Central Plains court had not sent out soldiers for more than ten years, so Li Zhi was still very good in the eyes of ordinary people.
Li Zhi has always wanted to become an emperor who surpasses his father, so he cherishes the current situation in the Tang Dynasty very much and does not want any major fluctuations. He is very clear about the difference between harming a powerful family and harming the people.
In this dilemma, he returned to the bedroom. Looking at everything in the bedroom, he suddenly felt a sense of nostalgia. In this bedroom, just seven days ago, he and Lady Wu Shun of Korea made love here. Her skin, as smooth as cream, seemed to be right in front of him, but now, everything disappeared, and along with these things, his majesty also disappeared, symbolizing the majesty of the emperor and the husband.
He immediately wanted to summon the newly appointed Prime Minister Shangguan Yi into the palace. Now Shangguan Yi was the only one he could use. But after thinking about it, he forced himself to restrain himself and summoned Luo Junzhuo into the palace first. At this critical moment, he hoped to get Luo Junzhuo's judgment.
After Luo Junzhuo hurried into the palace, he saw that the emperor looked pale. His heart suddenly skipped a beat and he wondered what had happened.
After Li Zhi saw Luo Junzhuo, he felt even more uncomfortable, so he told him everything, and then said in a bitter voice: "The queen is overbearing and has disappointed the whole country. I want to depose her. What do you think, Ziyang?"
Luo Junzhuo was horrified when he heard this. He almost didn't care about the relationship between the emperor and his subjects. He said sternly: "Your Majesty, you must not do this, you must not do this!"
Li Zhi didn't expect Luo Junzhuo to react so strongly, "Absolutely not? Ziyang, what do you think?"
Luo Junzhuo knew that Li Zhi must have been stimulated, so he suddenly had such an idea. He said earnestly: "Your Majesty, most of the government affairs are now handled by the Queen. If the Queen is deposed, who will handle these matters?
Should we hand it over to the British Duke?
And the two sycophants Li Yifu and Xu Jingzong, or the prime minister Shangguan Yi who only has literary talent but no practical ability, or someone else?"
Luo Junzhuo's words were like a blow to the head, waking Li Zhi up and making him realize his own recklessness in an instant. The steady progress of the Tang Dynasty in recent years was largely due to Wu Zetian's contribution. She was remarkable in government affairs and extremely mature and tactful in handling various affairs. In other words, Wu Zetian was now indispensable to him, not as a woman, but as a trustworthy political ally.
Seeing Li Zhi's expression change again and again, Luo Junzhuo knew that Li Zhi had heard him, and said softly: "Your Majesty, you and the Queen have a deep love for each other in times of adversity, and there is no knot between husband and wife that cannot be untied?
It really shouldn’t have come to this point.”
Li Zhi held Luo Junzhuo's hand and said tearfully, "Thanks to you, Ziyang, I almost made a big mistake today."
(End of this chapter)
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