Thus, at the beginning of her reign, Wu Meiniang extensively employed cruel officials, persecuting court ministers and instilling widespread fear throughout the empire. Everyone lived in dread of being accused and having their entire families executed.
As a result, the focus of courtly opinion shifted from whether a woman should be emperor to how to guard against the persecution by cruel officials.
No one cared who became emperor or whether the ruler was male or female; they were only concerned with their own self-preservation.
They endured this situation until everyone was trembling and grumbling in resentment. Then, Wu Meiniang made her move, apprehending the cruel officials, led by Lai Junchen and Zhou Xing, in one fell swoop.
Seeing the Sword of Damocles removed from above their heads, all the civil and military officials knelt down and shouted, "The Emperor is wise! Long live the Emperor, may he live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"
Wu Meiniang, portrayed by Jiang Ling, sat on the high imperial throne, her crown adorned with twelve jade pendants that perfectly concealed the hint of a profound smile playing on her lips.
The vast audience erupted in praise upon witnessing this scene.
"Amazing! So the Empress relied on cruel officials to divert conflict!"
"Before, when I read history books and saw Wu Zetian using cruel officials to persecute ministers, I couldn't help but criticize her, thinking this empress was too foolish and didn't know the harm cruel officials could cause. Now, seeing Jiang Ling's portrayal of Wu Meiniang employing this tactic, I realize how brilliant it was."
"As expected of the Empress, this method of diverting conflict is truly masterful!"
"This is a brilliant drama. Perhaps the empresses in history who used cruel officials weren't foolish, but employed a very astute political strategy. The Wu Zetian in this drama is truly too clever!"
However, for Wu Meiniang, who had inherited the true essence of her husband Li Zhi's teachings and even surpassed him, this was merely a minor maneuver.
The greatest problem facing the Empress was the establishment of an heir apparent.
According to tradition, the son succeeds the father; it is only natural for a son to inherit the throne after the father's death.
But the issue was that the current occupant of the dragon throne was an Empress. Father to son succession was based on the fact that both father and son shared the same surname, and the empire was passed down from one generation to the next within the same lineage.
Now, with the mother as emperor, the mother and son did not share the same surname, while the nephew shared the same surname as his aunt. This presented a dilemma for the Empress.
Should I pass the throne to my son who shares a different surname, or to my nephew who shares the same surname?
Both the Li and Wu families recognized the Empress's difficulty in choosing an heir, and to contend for the throne, they ignited one bloody struggle for succession after another.
In the end, the son prevailed, and the Empress appointed her third son, the Prince of Luling, Li Xian, as the Crown Prince.
After years of deliberation, the Empress had come to understand that the throne must be passed to a son.
This was because she was acutely aware that imperial power was brutal and ruthless. Some princes would even dare to kill their own fathers for the throne, let alone relatives with different surnames.
If the throne were passed to the Wu family, all the direct descendants of her Li family lineage would be annihilated.
Furthermore, it was a son's natural duty to be filial to his parents. Only by appointing a son as Crown Prince could she ensure the continuous worship and offerings of future generations after her demise.
However, Wu Meiniang's decision to appoint a Crown Prince was made too late.
After years of power struggles, the Li and Wu families had become irreconcilably hostile.
At this point, the two families were merely maintaining a superficial balance. Once the Empress passed away, a bloody palace coup was inevitable.
To resolve this issue, the Empress devised another plan.
When Wu Meiniang was over seventy years old, she issued an imperial decree to bring two young handsome men into the palace. Disregarding the convention of widows' chastity, she openly kept male consorts.