Chapter 436 You Are Not Allowed to Fight for What Is Not Given to You

"Please pardon the charge! Hey.

Pang Tong shook his head:

"It seems that Wu Zhao is very clear about what she has done."

What she did was like a farce. When it was about to end and return to the right track, she did not promote talented people to rule the world and apologize to the people, but instead began to think about going to the Lord of Mount Tai to make arrangements after her death.

What he saw was an old and death-fearing woman, not a king who could lead thousands of borders and hundreds of nations.

At this time, Zhang Fei raised his hand weakly. Seeing his elder brother's eyes glancing over, he became more cautious in his words:

"Although I don't know what the Three Officials and Nine Palaces are...but isn't this old lady a Buddhist? ”

After being reminded of this, everyone suddenly realized:

When you ascended the throne, you said that you were the reincarnation of Maitreya. Why do you want to be forgiven now but don’t follow the Buddhist rituals?

For a moment, everyone felt both amused and confused.

Jian Yong had traveled a lot and was not surprised, so he said:

“Her behavior is just like the people. She offers sacrifices to hundreds of gods but only asks for one spirit.”

Kong Ming is not very interested in these things now. He shook his head and said:

“If she had been diligent and worked hard earlier, her reputation might not be inferior to that of Empress Hexi. "

Pang Tong and Liu Bei nodded in agreement.

Last year, after listening to Guangmu talking about Zhang Heng, Cai Lun and other scientific masters, they talked about the Empress of Emperor Xiaohe in their spare time.

As the granddaughter of Deng Yu, the leader of the 28 generals of Yuntai, Empress Hexi Deng Sui was in power for 16 years, similar to Wu Zhao.

It's just that she didn't change the country's name, but ruled the country in the name of "female monarch", leaving a series of achievements.

Suppressed the Qiang rebellion internally, and conquered Wuhuan, Xianbei, and Southern Xiongnu externally.

She promoted Cai Hou to make paper, ordered Zhang Heng to understand astronomy, and was able to comfort the country and save the people. .

And the Empress Hexi of our Han Dynasty actually brought the Western Regions back into the hands of the Han family, not the two saints of the Tang Dynasty who did it repeatedly.

People at that time praised Empress Hexi for her ability to "revive and destroy a country" and "continue the unrivaled world".

In terms of position, Empress Hexi was indeed not as ambitious and ruthless as this old lady.

In terms of achievements, Empress Hexi was more than a hundred times stronger when she was in power.

Fa Zheng raised his head and refuted:

"Empress Hexi is worthy of Emperor Xiaohe, and she does not violate the will of the country and the people. She does not treat the country of ten thousand chariots as a child's play, and she saved the country from disaster."

"How can such a person compare? "

Fa Zheng's statement attracted more people to nod in agreement, and Lu Su also said from a fair perspective:

"If I were to choose, even if there were natural disasters when Lady Hexi was in power, it would be better for everyone to be united in restoring the Han Dynasty than to see the old lady of Wu Zhou being arrogant and extravagant, using cruel officials to control all officials, and also worrying about being involved in the dispute between Li and Wu, which would make it difficult to do anything."

Lu Su's sigh also made everyone agree. At least now it seems that if you stay in Wu Zhou, your life and property will be difficult to be preserved, let alone do anything.

...

In Ganlu Hall, Li Shimin approached and took a closer look at the golden slip that was projected on the light curtain, and every word on it could be seen very clearly.

Finally, he shook his head and sighed:

"It's a good thing, but it's a pity that it's a dead thing. ”

From what later generations have learned, there is no such thing as the Three Officials and Nine Palaces in this world.

Perhaps, Li Shimin had a slightly malicious thought, or perhaps the immortals did not want to remove the sins of this "king".

Which sins did Wu Zetian want to remove? There may be different opinions, but what is certain is that the sins are definitely not in the Three Officials and Nine Palaces of the immortals.

"Instead of asking the heaven to remove the sins with the golden tablet, why not follow the example of Emperor Han Wu to issue an edict to the world?"

Li Shimin commented, then returned to the couch and sat down, no longer interested in it.

But soon he had a special thought:

"This thing can become the treasure of the town hall, I don't know what I can leave for future generations, where to keep it as a treasure?"

"But in this case, gold is immortal, otherwise I will also leave a golden tablet to take into the tomb?"

"But what words should be written on it? ”

【In theory, the Wu and Li families, who have a deep blood feud, will never reconcile.

Also in theory, if the two sides have a common and unprecedentedly powerful enemy, then the old grudges will not matter.

So who is the common enemy of the two sides? Of course it is Wu Zetian... Oh no, cross it out, of course it is the Zhang brothers who are proficient in singing and dancing and have extraordinary verbal skills.

After the old lady came back from Songshan in 701, she looked older and older, and even the handling of government affairs became more and more difficult, so it was natural to entrust the daily government affairs to the two Zhang brothers.

Perhaps it was because of the large-scale marriage between the two sides that the Wu family adjusted their attitude again:

If they can't be the orthodox of Wu Zhou, it's not bad to be the relatives of Li Tang.

According to the "Old Book of Tang", in this year, the legitimate son of the crown prince Li Xian, Li Chongrun, the sixth daughter, Princess Yongtai, and Her husband, Wu Yanji, the son of Wu Fengxian, also stood up to drum up support, saying that the Zhang brothers were dictating the government.

It makes sense. After all, the old lady is old, and the heir has been appointed. Even if he wants to take over the government affairs, it should be the heir. What are the two Zhangs?

Wu Zetian's response was thunderous. She beat Li Xian's children and Wu's son to death with sticks - at least that's what the "Old Book of Tang" wrote.

But in fact, the details of this case are very complicated, and whether the Wu and Li families eased the conflict is secondary.

The tomb of the person involved, Princess Yongtai Li Xianhui, was discovered in 1960. After archaeological excavations, it was inferred from the epitaph of Princess Yongtai that the details were very different from the records in the "Old Book of Tang".

First of all, her husband Wu Yanji's death in the epitaph was "lost his heroic sword", that is, he committed suicide or died by sword, not by sticking to death.

After archeology of Princess Yongtai's coffin, scholars determined that Li Xianhui's death was caused by dystocia and not by a stick.

An extra comment here is that in ancient times, from the royal family to the common people, difficult childbirth due to marriage too early was very common, and many women lost their lives as a result.

Gynecology in ancient Chinese medicine has been developing throughout the dynasties, which is worthy of recognition, but the progress in obstetrics and gynecology has always been quite slow.

This point was at the forefront in the West after the Renaissance. Around the 16th century, forceps began to be used to assist in childbirth to avoid difficult births. By the 18th century, the use of forceps in the West had become relatively common.

Looking back, it is not too difficult to look at the principles and ideas of making forceps. If female doctors could be trained in ancient times, or if stereotypes were abandoned and doctors could be more involved in the entire process of obstetrics and gynecology, I believe that similar developments might be possible.

Let’s go ahead and talk about the real cause of Li Chongrun’s death.

"Zi Zhi Tong Jian" records a sentence said by Empress Wei later, saying that "the death of Chong Run is the result of Chong Fu".

The records of Zizhi Tongjian cannot be fully trusted, but firstly, Li Xian did not refute it, and secondly, Empress Wei directly expelled Li Chongfu after the Shenlong Coup, and Li Xian did not recall him until his death, which shows that there is still some credibility.

Li Chongfu's identity is also quite special. He is two years older than Li Chongrun and is the eldest son of Li Xian, the emperor's heir.

Li Xian's first wife, Empress Wei, only had one son and four daughters, which meant that Li Chongrun only had one legitimate son. If Li Chongrun died, then according to the ancient rule of giving priority to the legitimate son and then the eldest son, Li Chongfu would be extremely close to the throne.

After re-examining the relationship between the characters, and combining it with the statement in the "Old Book of Tang", we can make a more realistic guess. Princess Yongtai went to visit her brother when she was pregnant, and Wu Yanji went with her. During the dinner, they talked about how powerful the two princesses were. There were complaints, which were overheard by Li Chongfu and reported to Zhang Yizhi. Wu Zetian then ordered Wu Yanji and Li Chongrun to die.

Does Li Chongfu have any motive for doing this? Of course, his wife is Zhang Yizhi's biological niece, and Er Zhang is his backer.

Also in the old Tang books, there is a record of a scrap that is also very thought-provoking when combined with the time.

In August 701, Su Anheng, a scholar in Jizhou, went to Wu Zetian and asked him to return the prince to power and depose the prince surnamed Wu. The old lady's attitude was to "send him off with food and comfort".

In September of the same year, the emperor's grandson Li Chongrun was sentenced to death.

In May 702, Su Anheng, a bachelor in Jizhou, sent a petition to return the prince to power. This time the old lady's attitude was "refuse to accept".

The two attitudes can be said to be completely opposite, and you can clearly see the change in the old lady's attitude.

The change from "welcome" to "defensive" attitude toward the Li family's heir also directly led to Wu Zhou's final end: the Shenlong Coup. 】

"The battle for the right to inherit the throne..."

Changsun Wuji actually felt that it was not too unexpected.

For those of them who had witnessed the struggle for power with their own eyes, it certainly sounded possible for the empress to kill the emperor's heir in front of his face.

But it was still the same situation where the concubines in the East Palace fought for the throne, hooked up with powerful eunuchs outside and connected with relatives inside, and finally led to the emperor's intervention. This kind of development is more acceptable.

After all, that is the throne of the Tang Dynasty!

Put yourself in his shoes, the Wu family has always wanted to be the crown prince and strive to be the first in everything. It can be seen that the life of Li Xian's lineage must not be very satisfactory. Under such circumstances, he suddenly became a royal nobleman, and there was only one legitimate son between him and the throne... …

Changsun Wuji licked his lips, letting himself not think about these things for the time being, and instead thinking from the perspective of a qualified Tang minister: Is there a system and method to avoid such a battle for the right to inherit the throne?

Queen Changsun first sympathized with the princess who died in childbirth.

Both her brother and her husband suffered disaster, and he himself also died in childbirth. In the end, it would take future generations to open the coffin and examine the bones to gradually piece together the record that is difficult to explain, and he is also his unlucky descendant.

However, Xuanjie opened her eyes wide. Although she did not understand what the forceps was, she understood its function almost at a glance, and immediately begged:

"When Yan is about to make a painting, he must draw it carefully."

Yan Liben nodded, feeling that it was natural.

In comparison, Sun Simiao understood its function at a glance. On the one hand, he lamented its simplicity and ease of use, and on the other hand, he derived more ideas.

For example, since we can borrow foreign objects, we can also imitate the method of retrieving stillborn fetuses. Maybe we can also borrow this object to treat difficult births of cattle and sheep?

After all, he has also been in court in the village. The cattle and sheep are the treasures of the people. If they suffer from illness, the people will not care whether he is a doctor or an animal doctor. They will only kneel in front of them and ask for help. He is also soft-hearted...

As for the female doctor... Sun Simiao shook his head inwardly and felt that this matter was more difficult, but if he went to talk to His Majesty, maybe there would be a solution?

But because of this, Sun Simiao also came up with more ideas. It seems that doctors in later generations used foreign substances to treat many diseases.

Maybe he should also ask His Majesty to come to the Imperial Medical Office so that the general can buy some things that are convenient for practicing medicine?

I'm still coughing violently, so I must be on guard against influenza A and don't take it lightly.