Zhangsun Wuji - During Emperor Gaozong's Reign

During Emperor Gaozong's Reign

After Emperor Gaozong took the throne, he changed Zhangsun's honorific title to Taiwei (太尉), also one of the Three Excellencies, and ordered that he continued to be in charge of all three bureaus, although Zhangsun declined the responsibility over the executive bureau. Emperor Gaozong also gave him the chancellor de facto designation of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin (同中書門下三品). Early in Emperor Gaozong's reign, it was said that, while there were other men with chancellor designations, Zhangsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang controlled the government, but that they served faithfully and were extending the efficient governance that Emperor Taizong instituted during his "Reign of Zhen'guan." However, perhaps challenging Zhangsun's authority and/or faithfulness, the Tufan king Songtsän Gampo wrote a letter to Zhangsun, stating, "The Son of Heaven has just taken the throne. If there are unfaithful subjects among the officials, I will lead an army to the capital to destroy them." However, Emperor Gaozong trusted both Zhangsun and Chu greatly, and in 650, when a commoner named Li Hongtai (李弘泰) accused Zhangsun of treason, Emperor Gaozong had Li Hongtai immediately beheaded.

In 651, another revision of the laws, with Zhangsun in charge, was completed, and was promulgated by Emperor Gaozong.

In 652, with Emperor Gaozong's wife Empress Wang being sonless, her uncle Liu Shi, also a chancellor, suggested to her that she propose that Emperor Gaozong's oldest son, Li Zhong, whose mother Consort Liu was of low birth, be made crown prince, believing that Li Zhong would be grateful to her. Liu Shi also lobbied Zhangsun to make the request for her. Emperor Gaozong agreed, and in fall 652 created Li Zhong crown prince.

Late in 652, there was a major dispute between Fang Xuanling's oldest son and heir Fang Yizhi (房遺直) and his younger brother Fang Yi'ai (房遺愛), as well as Fang Yi'ai's wife, Emperor Taizong's daughter Princess Gaoyang. Princess Gaoyang accused Fang Yizhi of assaulting her, while Fang Yizhi accused Fang Yi'ai and Princess Gaoyang of treason. Emperor Gaozong ordered Zhangsun to investigate, and Zhangsun discovered that Fang Yi'ai, Princess Gaoyang, the general Xue Wanche (薛萬徹), and another brother-in-law of Emperor Gaozong's, Chai Lingwu (柴令武), had considered to support Emperor Taizong's younger brother Li Yuanjing (李元景) the Prince of Jing as emperor. Fang Yi'ai, knowing that Zhangsun had long wanted to kill Li Ke, whom he viewed as a threat to Emperor Gaozong's throne, falsely implicated Li Ke in the plot as well, hoping that Zhangsun would spare him. Zhangsun, however, used this opportunity to carry out a purge—and in spring 653, Zhangsun persuaded Emperor Gaozong to issue an edict executing Fang Yi'ai, Xue, and Chai, while ordering Li Yuanjing, Li Ke, and Princesses Gaoyang and Baling (Chai's wife) to commit suicide. Further, Zhangsun also had the chancellor Yuwen Jie (a friend of Fang Yi'ai's), Li Daozong (who had long had a rivalry with Zhangsun and Chu), and the general Zhishi Sili (執失思力), Xue's brother Xue Wanbei (薛萬備) as well as Li Ke's mother Consort Yang and Consort Yang's younger son Li Yin, reduced to commoner rank and exiled. (For these actions, he was heavily criticized by Liu Xu, the lead editor of the Book of Tang, who commented that perhaps it was karmic that eventually Zhangsun himself would be falsely accused. Indeed, when Li Ke died, he cursed Zhangsun, stating: "Zhangsun Wuji has stolen imperial power and falsely accused the faithful. The imperial ancestral spirits are watching. Soon your own clan will be slaughtered.")

By 654, Emperor Gaozong had become enamored with Consort Wu -- whom he had, against Confucian definitions of incest, taken as a concubine even though she had been a concubine of Emperor Taizong's. (Empress Wang, who had been jealous of Emperor Gaozong's then-favorite concubine Consort Xiao, had suggested that he take Consort Wu as a concubine, in order to divide Consort Xiao's favors, but as Emperor Gaozong's favors became exclusively concentrated on Consort Wu, she turned to ally with Consort Xiao against Consort Wu, to no avail.) In 654, after Consort Wu's infant daughter died, Emperor Gaozong began considering deposing Empress Wang and replacing her with Consort Wu. (Historians have suggested that Consort Wu murdered her own daughter in order to frame the Empress, however there is no evidence that the infant was actually murdered, and could have died from natural causes). However, Gaozong feared opposition from the high level officials. He visited Zhangsun's mansion along with Consort Wu, bestowing lavish gifts on Zhangsun and making Zhangsun's three sons mid-level officials, and used the opportunity to bring up the topic of replacing Empress Wang with Consort Wu. Zhangsun pretended not to understand and took no actions to endorse Consort Wu, and persisted in this stand despite later lobbying by both Consort Wu's mother Lady Yang and fellow chancellor Xu Jingzong. However, soon, Xu, Li Yifu (who became chancellor over his overt support for Consort Wu), as well as other key officials Cui Yixuan (崔義玄) and Yuan Gongyu, formed an alliance in support of Consort Wu.

In fall 655, after an imperial gathering, Emperor Gaozong summoned Zhangsun, Li Ji (i.e., Li Shiji—he had dropped the character "Shi" by this point by Emperor Gaozong's orders that naming taboo was to be observed as to the characters Shi and Min, not just the sequence "Shimin" as Emperor Taizong had ordered), Chu, and Yu Zhining to the palace—an order that Chu correctly guessed that was intended to call them into a meeting in which he would try to persuade them to agree with his desire to replace Empress Wang with Consort Wu. Li Ji declined to enter. When Zhangsun, Chu, and Yu attended the meeting, Emperor Gaozong did indeed propose to replace Empress Wang with Consort Wu. Chu objected strenuously, while Zhangsun and Yu did not speak but showed no approval. Later, fellow chancellors Han Yuan and Lai Ji also showed opposition, but when Emperor Gaozong asked Li Ji, Li Ji responded, "This is your family matter, Your Imperial Majesty. Why ask anyone else?" Emperor Gaozong, after demoting Chu to a commandant post at Tan Prefecture (潭州, roughly modern Changsha, Hunan), deposed Empress Wang and Consort Xiao to commoner rank and created Consort Wu as empress to replace Empress Wang. (Soon, by Empress Wu's orders, the former Empress Wang and Consort Xiao were tortured and killed.)

By 659, Empress Wu's position was secure, and she resented how Zhangsun and Yu had shown implicit disapproval of her ascension—and Xu, who had been repeatedly rebuked by Zhangsun over this matter, also resented Zhangsun. Xu thereafter, when investigating a report of factionalism by the low level officials Wei Jifang (韋季方) and Li Chao (李巢), manufactured evidence that Zhangsun had plotted treason with them. Emperor Gaozong wanted to interrogate Zhangsun personally, but at Xu's suggestion—pointing out that Zhangsun had been experienced at quick reactions as demonstrated by his achievements—in summer 659, suddenly stripped Zhangsun's posts and fief, and while he officially gave Zhangsun the title of commandant at Yang Prefecture, he instead exiled Zhangsun to Qian Prefecture (黔州, modern southeastern Chongqing) under house arrest. Zhangsun's sons were also exiled. In fall 659, Emperor Gaozong further reopened the investigations, putting Li Ji, Xu, Xin Maojiang, Ren Yaxiang, and Lu Chengqing in charge of investigating the alleged plot. Xu took this opportunity to send Yuan Gongyu to Qian Prefecture, where Yuan forced Zhangsun to commit suicide. His wealth was confiscated. (As part of the same reprisal transactions, Empress Wang's uncle Liu Shi was also executed in exile. Members of the Zhangsun and Liu households, as well as those of Han's, were forced to hard labor, while several relatives of Zhangsun's were also executed.) Later in Emperor Gaozong's reign, in 674, Emperor Gaozong restored Zhangsun's titles posthumously and allowed Zhangsun's great-grandson Zhangsun Yi (長孫翼) to inherit the title of Duke of Zhao. He also had Zhangsun's casket returned to Chang'an, to be buried near Emperor Taizong's tomb.