Chu Suiliang - During Emperor Gaozong's Reign

During Emperor Gaozong's Reign

It was said that Zhangsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang worked well together and were effective in assisting Emperor Gaozong in governance, and that therefore, early in Emperor Gaozong's reign, the government was as effective as during the reign of Emperor Taizong. Emperor Gaozong created him the Duke of Henan.

In winter 650, Chu was charged by the imperial censor Wei Siqian of forcing a government interpreter to sell his land to Chu. Initially, the deputy chief judge of the supreme court, Zhang Ruice (張叡冊), ruled that Chu had broken no laws because he had paid compensation to the interpreter, but Wei pointed out to Emperor Gaozong that Chu had paid just the amount of compensation equal to government condemnation of the property, not fair market value, and Emperor Gaozong demoted Chu to the post of prefect of Tong Prefecture (同州, roughly modern Weinan, Shaanxi). In spring 652, Emperor Gaozong recalled Chu from Tong Prefecture to serve as the minister of civil service affairs and gave him the de facto chancellor designation of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin (同中書門下三品).

In winter 652, after a plot by Emperor Gaozong's sister Princess Gaoyang and her husband Fang Yi'ai (房遺愛, Fang Xuanling's son) to support her uncle Li Yuanjing (李元景) the Prince of Jing as emperor was discovered, Zhangsun expanded the investigation and falsely executed a number of other people as alleged conspirators in spring 653, including Emperor Gaozong's older brother Li Ke the Prince of Wu, whom Emperor Taizong had considered as possible crown prince at one point and thus viewed by Zhangsun as a threat to Emperor Gaozong. Historical accounts implied, but did not state, that Chu was also involved in these false accusations, as Li Daozong the Prince of Jiangxia, a renowned general, was said to be implicated and exiled because he was a rival of both Zhangsun and Chu.

In fall 653, Chu was made Pushe (僕射), the head of the executive bureau of government, but also continued to be in charge of civil service affairs.

By 655, Emperor Gaozong's wife Empress Wang had lost his favor, and Emperor Gaozong's concubine Consort Wu wanted to displace her, and therefore falsely accused her of using witchcraft and also of killing Emperor Gaozong's infant daughter by Consort Wu. (Traditional historians generally believed that Consort Wu killed her daughter herself in order to falsely implicate Empress Wang.) After one imperial gathering, Emperor Gaozong summoned the chancellors Chu, Zhangsun, Li Shiji (by now known as Li Ji due to naming taboo with Emperor Taizong's name), and Yu Zhining to the palace. Chu correctly guessed that Emperor Gaozong wanted to discuss with them deposing Empress Wang and replacing her with Consort Wu. Li Ji declined to enter the palace. When Chu, Zhangsun, and Yu met Emperor Gaozong, Emperor Gaozong tried to get their concurrence to depose Empress Wang and replace her with Consort Wu. Zhangsun and Yu were silent to implicitly show their disapproval, while Chu was adamantly against it—citing the facts that Emperor Taizong had entrusted not only Emperor Gaozong, but also Empress Wang, to him, and that Consort Wu had previously been Emperor Taizong's concubine, and therefore having her as empress would be considered incest under Confucian principles. During the meeting, he became so emotional that he hit his head repeatedly on the ground while bowing such that he bled, and he also offered to resign, drawing Emperor Gaozong's ire. (Consort Wu, who was listening from behind a screen, could not hold herself back and yelled, "Why not kill him?" Zhangsun responded, "Chu Suiliang was a high level official that the deceased emperor entrusted the emperor to. Even if he committed a crime, he should not be physically harmed.") Two other chancellors, Han Yuan and Lai Ji, also opposed Consort Wu's ascension, to no avail, and eventually, when Li Ji made the comment that this was simply the emperor's own family matter, Emperor became resolved to carry out the change. He demoted Chu out of the capital, to serve as the commandant at Tan Prefecture (潭州, roughly modern Changsha, Hunan), and a month later, in winter 655, he deposed Empress Wang and her ally Consort Xiao, whom Consort Wu had also accused of witchcraft, and created Consort Wu empress to replace Empress Wang. In 656, Han tried to intercede on Chu's behalf to have him recalled to the capital, but Emperor Gaozong, while acknowledging Chu's faithfulness, stated that he was being uncontrollable, and refused Han's request. Meanwhile, Liu Ji's son Liu Hongye (劉弘業), in a move engineered by the chancellor Li Yifu, who despised Chu, submitted a petition asking that his father be posthumously cleared of wrongdoing, accusing Chu of falsely accusing his father. Many officials, wanting to ingratiate themselves with Li Yifu, all agreed with the petition, but Le Yanwei pointed out that clearing Liu would effectively state that Emperor Taizong's punishment was inappropriate. Emperor Gaozong agreed and took no action on Liu Hongye's petition.

Soon thereafter, Empress Wu became exceedingly powerful, and several of her allies were made chancellors. In 657, Chu, while remaining a commandant, had his command moved from Tan Prefecture to the more distant Gui Prefecture (桂州, roughly modern Guilin, Guangxi). Empress Wu's allies Li Yifu and Xu Jingzong then falsely accused Han and Lai of conspiring in treason with Chu—stating that Gui Prefecture was a key military location and that Han and Lai had moved Chu there in preparation for a revolt. Emperor Gaozong demoted Han and Lai to distant prefectural posts, while further demoting Chu to the post of prefect of Ai Prefecture—at the extreme southern border of the empire. Chu, after arriving at Ai Prefecture, submitted a petition pleading his own case, pointing how he had supported Emperor Gaozong as crown prince and later assisted him in governance, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. He died in 658, while still serving as the prefect of Ai Prefecture. In 659, when Zhangsun was falsely accused of treason and exiled (and later forced to commit suicide), Xu and Li Yifu falsely accused Chu of having encouraged Zhangsun to plot. In response, Emperor Gaozong posthumously stripped Chu of all of his posts and exiled his descendants to Ai Prefecture as well; Chu's sons Chu Yanfu (楮彥甫) and Chu Yanchong (楮彥沖) were killed on their way to exile. When Emperor Gaozong died in 683, by his will, Chu's family was allowed to return to his home prefecture. In 705, after Empress Wu's own death (after she had taken over as sovereign for a number of years but had recently been overthrown and replaced by her son Emperor Zhongzong), by her will (although whether she wrote the will was questionable), Chu's titles were restored.