Yang Fan had ignored Wu Chengsi's warning. In Wu Chengsi's view, this was a clear statement from Yang Fan that he would stand on Wu Sansi's side. If that was all, he would have to retaliate. Moreover, his general Pan Ziwen had fallen from grace, so Wu Chengsi hated Yang Fan even more.
However, Wu Chengsi was not stupid enough to immediately retaliate against Yang Fan. Yang Fan was in the limelight after this case, and it was obvious that the Emperor was also protecting him. Counterattacking now would not be worth it, so Wu Chengsi could only suppress his anger and temporarily put Yang Fan aside, continuing to arrange his plan to gain favor.
He and the Wind Pavilion's Zhang Jiafu had already started this plan when Crown Prince Li Dan fell out of favor. It would not be easy for him to gain favor from Wu Zetian. The Empress was already wealthy, so what else could move the Empress' heart? Wu Chengsi thought about it and felt that he could only start with the "name."
Back then, in order to create momentum for Wu Zetian's ascension to the throne, Wu Chengsi had once forged an 'auspicious stone' and carved the words' The Holy Mother descends upon the people, the establishment of the Yong Chang Empire 'on it. He had first thrown it into the Luo River, then had someone fish it out and offer it to Wu Zetian. As expected, Wu Zetian was overjoyed. She named the Luo River divine water, forbade fishing, and gave herself the honorific title "Holy Mother Divine Emperor."
This was Wu Chengsi's first attempt to make a big deal out of the "name," and he benefited greatly from it. The reason why Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi stood out among the Wu Clan's many nephews and became the strongest candidates for the position of Crown Prince was because they had contributed the most during Wu Zetian's ascension to the throne.
Now, in order to seize the position of Crown Prince, Wu Chengsi used the same trick again. In the season when the osmanthus flowers were in full bloom and the city was filled with their fragrance, he held a petition signed by five thousand citizens of Luoyang and respectfully asked the Emperor to give him the honorific title "Golden Wheel."
Since Wu Zetian ascended the throne, she had changed from Holy Mother Divine Emperor to Divine Emperor. Now, Wu Chengsi was asking the Emperor to add "Golden Wheel" in front of the words "Divine Emperor." Wu Zetian gladly accepted it and gave herself an honorific title, becoming "Golden Wheel Divine Emperor!"
Seeing this, Wu Sansi did not dare to be negligent. After the Crown Prince had fallen out of favor with the Crown Prince, his strategy was to solidify the Crown Prince's favor. He had been preparing for this all along. Seeing that Wu Chengsi had taken the lead, Wu Sansi immediately made arrangements. Soon, the chiefs of the four barbarians he had already begun to contact arrived at the capital, including the Western Turkic Khagan Ashina Husero.
Wu Sansi led the chiefs of the Four Barbarians to meet the Emperor with great fanfare, asking the Emperor to allow them to build a giant pillar made of copper and iron outside the Duanmen Gate, called the Tian Shu, to praise the Empress's great achievements. Wu Zetian had always been fond of grandiose achievements, so she naturally agreed and handed this matter over to Wu Sansi.
When Wu Chengsi saw that Wu Sansi had reaped even more benefits than him, he was not willing to let the matter rest. He immediately gathered the several thousand people of Luoyang and once more went to the Gate of Heaven to petition the Emperor to add the two words "Yue Gu" to the honorific title of "Golden Wheel Divine Emperor", becoming "Yue Gu Golden Wheel Divine Emperor"!
When it came to honorific titles, the more the better. Wu Zetian's dragon face was filled with joy, and she readily accepted the advice. Seeing this, Wu Sansi hurriedly discussed it with his five dogs and once more petitioned the Emperor to allow them to build the Three Yang Palace on Mount Song and the Xingtai Palace on Mount Longevity for the Empress to use when she was touring. Wu Zetian nodded in agreement and handed these two projects over to Wu Sansi.
The struggle for power between Yang Fan and Chen Dong in the Ministry of Justice was limited to the open and veiled struggle between the two of them. If the three Law Divisions wanted to compete, they were merely making use of the cases to make a fuss. The battle between Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi was different. With a wave of one's hand, the honorific title of the Emperor changed, and with a stomp of the foot, a grand building rose from the ground. That was a great mystical ability.
Wu Chengsi gave the Emperor two honorific titles, while Wu Sansi fought for three major projects. It was easier to give honorific titles. The Emperor only needed to hold a ceremony and give himself a honorific title, but it was not the same for the huge pillar and palace. It was a huge project that would take a long time and cost a lot.
Wu Zetian had always liked the feeling of grandeur when it came to buildings. She built "Ming Tang", "Heaven", and "Lushna Buddha", all of them reflected this kind of preference of hers. Wu Sansi wanted to build a huge pillar and palace, so he naturally had to cater to this kind of preference of Wu Zetian.
According to his design, this bronze pillar named "Dubhe" would have a diameter of ten feet and a height of one hundred and five feet. It would be engraved with a coiling dragon and a Qilin. Then, he would engrave an essay that praised the Empress' merits and virtues on it, and also engrave the names of the civil and military officials as well as the monarchs of the four countries. The amount of copper and iron consumed by such a copper pillar was simply too great.
Wu Sansi used both hard and soft tactics from the chiefs of the four barbarians and the barbarian merchants to get donations in the hundreds of millions. However, this much money was not enough to buy enough copper and iron. Furthermore, the output of copper and iron was not enough. Wu Sansi had no choice but to forcefully plunder from the people, requisitioning the farmers' farm tools and utensils for free. This caused many of the commoners to have no other copper and iron utensils other than an iron pot.
As for the construction of the Sanyang Palace and Xingtai Palace, it also required a large number of laborers and laborers. The consumption was naturally immeasurable, causing the commoners to sigh in sorrow and seethe with resentment. However, these matters of the commoners would not reach Wu Zetian's ears. No one dared to take the risk of offending Wu Sansi or even the Empress to impeach him.
Seeing that Wu Sansi was working in full swing, Wu Chengsi could not sit still. After he offered up his title, there was nothing for him to do. However, what Wu Sansi had done was not something that could be done in a year or so. The Empress saw it every day. Would she think that Wu Sansi was more filial than him?
Wu Chengsi thought about it and came up with a solution. He decided to help Wu Zetian with one thing that she had wanted to do but had not been able to do in the past. In order to invite Wu Zetian, this thing was: to invite the Zen Sect's Zen Master Hui Neng or Zen Master Shen Xiu to the capital and live here for a long time.
Although Wu Zetian's personality was straightforward and domineering, she was not without respect. She believed in reincarnation and Buddhism. When she ascended the throne, she had strongly invited the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng to attend her ascension ceremony. Zen Master Hui Neng did not come. Although his senior brother Zen Master Shen Xiu came, he also declined Wu Zetian's invitation to stay after the ceremony and returned to the Jade Spring Temple in Dangyang.
The reason why Hui Neng did not come and the reason why Shen Xiu left was because Wu Zetian had become the Empress as a woman. This was unprecedented and contained great risks. Although Wu Zetian believed in Buddhism, this was an excellent opportunity to promote Buddhism, which had been suppressed by Taoism since Li Tang's time. However, they were worried that once Buddhism became the Empress's weapon in her political struggle, and if the Empress failed, it would bring a heavy blow to Buddhism. Thus, they were unwilling to get involved too deeply.
Wu Chengsi pondered. Now that the world was settled, and the Empress's throne was stable, these two Buddhist masters would definitely change their minds. As long as one of them could be invited to live in Luoyang, the Empress would worship Buddha every day and ask for guidance on Buddhism. Naturally, she would not forget that this was his credit, so he immediately started to make preparations.
Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi, these two nephews, fought to be the first to flatter his aunt. Even Feng Xihui, who was the best at flattery in the Ministry of Justice, couldn't catch up to them.
In order to win the crown prince, Wu Chengsi was extremely concerned about the Empress's spiritual life. He made a big fuss about "fame" and "faith". Wu Sansi built "Tianshu" to sing the Empress's praises, but he built Sanyang Palace and Xingtai Palace to let the Empress have a comfortable and enjoyable old age.
In order to prevent them from winning the crown prince, Princess Taiping also made painstaking efforts. Of the two nephews of Wu Zetian, one offered his fame, and the other offered his house. Princess Taiping only had one method left: offering beauties!
…
Jishan Square was the square closest to the Imperial Palace in Luoyang, across the Luo River from the Imperial Palace. Not only was it close to the Luo River with beautiful scenery, but it was also close to the inner court of the Imperial Palace, so it was the best choice of residence for the rich and officials in Luoyang.
On the day of Chinese Valentine's Day, Princess Taiping and Yang Fan saw the three cruel gourmets on Ding Ding Street, who were more beautiful than women, lived in Jishan Square.
According to their age, the three youths were called Zhang Yizhi, Zhang Changzong, and Zhang Changyi. Among the Zhang brothers, Zhang Yizhi was the fifth, Zhang Changzong was the sixth, and Zhang Changyi was the seventh. They were all the grandsons of Prime Minister Zhang Xingcheng of the early Tang Dynasty. The descendants of the Prime Minister were naturally the sons of aristocratic families.
Zhang Yizhi was now twenty years old. Relying on the merits of his ancestors, he was promoted to Minister Shangcheng. This position did not have any real position, and was only an official who received a salary. Zhang Changzong and Zhang Changyi were his cousins. Because they were not yet twenty years old, they did not have any official positions.
Prime Minister Zhang Xingcheng was also a famous figure in the past, but when it came to his grandchildren, he had already declined. This generation of Zhang descendants did not have any real power. Although the Zhang brothers were friends with many sons of aristocratic families, in the Jishan Square where high officials were as common as clouds, their family was far from prominent.
After Princess Taiping inquired about their identity and origins, she felt somewhat embarrassed.
That day, when she saw the three brothers, especially Zhang Changzong's beauty, Princess Taiping was moved. At present, the position of Crown Prince was about to be lost, but her Crown Prince brother was at his wit's end. All he had left was to save his own life.
The Royal Brother of Fangzhou, Li Xian, was even more incompetent. As soon as he heard that the Emperor had sent envoys to Fangzhou, he was afraid that they were people sent by her mother to kill him. Worried that he would be tortured before his death, he immediately wanted to commit suicide and hang himself. Li Tang was the last flame of the Imperial Clan, and his two brothers could not be counted on. As a girl, she could only stir up this matter.
Although she was worried about the current situation, in front of her powerful and overbearing mother, there was nothing she could do. It was not until she saw the evildoer Zhang Changzong that she thought of an idea: If she could use this Zhang Changzong as a helper and offer him to the Empress, would he be able to influence the Empress?
She was a daughter, but she had to choose a gigolo for her mother. It was inevitable that she would feel uncomfortable. However, Wu Zetian already had Xue Huaiyi and Imperial Physician Shen, two gigolos. Would she still need Zhang Changzong? Now, Princess Taiping could not let the last of Li Tang's bloodline have a way to survive by following the normal path. In front of the country and the inheritance of incense, this little detail was nothing.
However, after inquiring about this person's identity, Princess Taiping felt that her plan was somewhat difficult to carry out. Zhang Changzong was the descendant of a famous family. He lived a carefree life, dressed in luxurious clothes, and was in the prime of his youth. Would he be willing to serve an old woman with wrinkled skin and white hair?
Of course, to curry favor with the Empress, one could obtain supreme power and wealth. Some men would not care about her age. For example, the great scholar Song Zhiwen, who was famous for his poetry, once took the initiative to express to the Empress that he was willing to serve as a gigolo. Unfortunately, although he was elegant and talented, he had a bad breath, which the Empress hated.
Would this Zhang Changzong serve the Empress as a young man in order to obtain power? Even if he coveted power and was willing to serve the Empress, would he be willing to work for the fallen Li Tang and become the enemy of the Wu Clan?
At that time, Princess Taiping offered Xue Huaiyi to Wu Zetian. After Xue Huaiyi gained power, he immediately got rid of Princess Taiping. Princess Taiping could not instruct him at all. She had to learn from the mistakes of others.
Thinking of this, Princess Taiping did not act rashly. She had to first ensure that this person could be used by her. After some investigation, she found that among the several families adjacent to the Zhang Residence, one of them belonged to the Kuaiji County Prince, Wu Youwang. Thus, she came up with a plan.
…
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
