In November of the 11th year of Zhenguan (637), Li Shimin, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, heard that the daughter of the former governor of Jingzhou, Wushi Tong (Yuē), was very beautiful, so he issued an order to summon him to the palace.
This woman was Wu Zetian, who was only fourteen years old, and her name was Wu Meiniang at that time.
When she was young, her father Wu Shi Tong died, and Wu Meiniang could only rely on her mother for her life.
When she heard that her daughter was valued by the emperor, her mother Yang burst into tears and kept crying, and she didn't know when Ma Yue would see each other again.
Wu Meiniang was very calm: "Seeing the Son of Heaven, mediocrity is not a blessing, what children are sad?" "It's a great thing to be valued by the Son of Heaven, why grieve for your daughter?
The young Wu Meiniang has already shown a strong ability to make decisions.
After entering the palace, Li Shimin saw Wu Meiniang's beautiful face, so he gave him the name "Wu Mei" and was named a five-grade talent.
Since then, there has been no record of Wu Meiniang in the Taizong Dynasty in the history books, and this period lasted for 12 years.
It wasn't until Wu Meiniang became the empress that she told the ministers about a past incident in the Taizong Dynasty.
That year, Taizong Li Shimin got a BMW named "Lion Skull", the horse was extremely violent, whoever rode it would fall, even Li Shimin was no exception.
At that time, Wu Meiniang stood aside and waited, and she said to Li Shimin, "The concubine can control it."
Li Shimin asked her how to make it?
Wu Meiniang replied that only three things were needed, "one iron whip, two iron stalks, and three daggers".
You can first whip it vigorously with an iron whip until it is served; If they refuse to accept it, they will be beaten to death with a hammer until they are satisfied; If he still refuses, he will be stabbed to death with a dagger.
No matter how good the BMW is, it is also for people to ride, if it is a beast that would rather die than let people ride, what is the use of keeping it!
According to Wu Meiniang's own words, "Taizong's ambition", after Li Shimin heard it, he praised Wu Meiniang for her ambition.
Whether you believe it or not, anyway, I don't believe that Li Shimin would praise Wu Meiniang like this.
Li Shimin was an emperor and was accustomed to all kinds of life and death on the battlefield. But this does not mean that he will like a "overlord flower" type woman like Wu Meiniang.
In terms of choosing women, Li Shimin still likes to be gentle. Like Empress Changsun and Concubine Xu Hui, as well as Concubine Cao, Concubine Yang and others, they are all gentle and lovely, knowledgeable.
And a woman like Wu Meiniang, who is ruthless and vicious, and does not compromise means, will obviously not be Li Shimin's dish.
It can be seen that Wu Meiniang has been neglected for 12 years, which is inseparable from her personality.
Historically, the marriage of emperors has been mixed with political factors, and Wu Meiniang was elected to the palace, and the same is true for being named a talented person.
Wu Meiniang has been snubbed since she entered the palace, and another important reason is the political problem of her father Wu Shitong.
Wu Shi Tong made his fortune in Taiyuan, and became a big businessman by making timber in his early years, and his relationship with Li Yuan was very close.
When Li Yuan raised troops in Taiyuan, Wu Shi Tong vigorously subsidized him, not only giving money but also materials, which won Li Yuan's appreciation.
According to the record of "Shufu Yuan Turtle", Wu Shi Tong once strongly persuaded Li Yuan to raise an army against the Sui, and pretended to hear the immortals say that "Tang Gong is the Son of Heaven", in order to cheer up Li Yuan.
Not only that, but the warrior Tong also dedicated the military book he wrote to Li Yuan. Li Yuan was overjoyed and said that he would share the wealth with him after the matter was completed.
After that, Wu Shi Tong followed Li Yuan all the way to Chang'an, mainly responsible for logistics support.
After Li Yuan became emperor, Wu Shi Tong was awarded the title of Taiyuan County Duke for his meritorious service in the "first participation in the uprising", and was listed as one of the seventeen "Taiyuan Yuanmou Meritorious Heroes".
Three years later, Wu Shi Tong became the secretary of the Ministry of Industry of Zheng Sanpin, participated in the creation of the Tang Dynasty code system, and was promoted to the Duke of the Kingdom.
It can be said that Wu Shi Tong is a die-hard fan of Li Yuan.
In order to repay Li Yuan's kindness, Wu Shi Tong devoted himself to the construction of the Tang Dynasty day and night.
According to the records of the "Shufu Yuan Turtle", the warrior Tong of the early Wude Dynasty held an important position in the forbidden army in the palace. His son was seriously ill until he died, and he insisted on being on duty in the palace, not going home to inquire, just sad.
In the third year of Wude, Samurai Tong served as the secretary of the Ministry of Works, and his wife Xiangli was seriously ill, and he did not ask for leave to go home to visit his wife, and his wife died of illness not long after.
After Li Yuan learned of this, he praised the warrior Tong for his dedication to public service, which was incomparable to the world. And said to Wu Shitong: "I choose a good wife for Aiqing", I will find a good daughter-in-law for Aiqing!
So, he personally guaranteed the media to let him marry his new daughter-in-law Yang, and also ordered Princess Guiyang to marry, and all expenses were paid by the imperial court.
The Yang family's status was much higher than that of Wushi Tong, and he was a member of the Sui Dynasty's royal family, and his father Yang Da was the younger brother of Yang Xiong, the King of Guande of the Sui Dynasty.
Because of his belief in Buddhism, Yang was not married until he was 40 years old, and later met Wu Shi Tong and saw the right eye. Four years after marriage, Yang gave birth to a daughter, Wu Meiniang.
In the eighth year of Wude (625), someone accused Li Xiaogong, the king of Zhao County, who was guarding Yangzhou, of rebellion.
Li Yuan dismissed Li Xiaogong and recalled him to Chang'an for interrogation, and urgently ordered the warrior to go to Yangzhou to inspect the history of the Yangzhou Governor's Office, take over the military and political power of Yangzhou, and handle the daily work of the Governor's Mansion.
Obviously, Li Yuan had a special trust in the samurai tong.
It's just that this trust will become an original sin as Li Yuan becomes the emperor.
On the fourth day of the sixth month of the ninth year of Wude (626), Li Shimin successfully launched the Xuanwumen Rebellion, and after ascending the throne and becoming emperor, he began to purge Li Yuan's old forces.
As a staunch veteran of Li Yuan, Wu Shi Tong naturally could not be spared.
Li Shimin first summoned the warriors to return to the court, rewarded and treated them with courtesy. Soon after, he was appointed as the governor of Yuzhou, a low-ranking governor, and later changed to the governor of Lizhou (in the area of present-day Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province).
In December of the fifth year of Zhenguan (631), Wushi Tong entered Beijing to ask Li Shimin to enshrine Chan, but was not allowed, and then transferred to the governor of Jingzhou.
After Li Shimin ascended to the throne, the status of the warrior Tong experienced a flat, but gradually declining process.
Although he tried hard to gain Li Shimin's trust halfway, it was a pity that the effect was not good. Until his death in the ninth year of Zhenguan (635), the samurai was not reused.
Later, Li Shimin, for the purpose of encircling Li Yuan's old department, recruited Wu Meiniang as a talented person. Because of this, Li Shimin can neither pamper Wu Meiniang, nor let her position be too high.
Giving Wu Meiniang the status of a talented person has been able to achieve the goal of encircling Li Yuan's old department.
This is the fundamental reason why Wu Meiniang sat on the cold bench for 12 years in the Taizong Dynasty.