Empress Wu, constantly replacing crown princes and emperors like a revolving lantern, aimed to become emperor herself. She posthumously honored her five generations of ancestors, established ancestral temples in her hometown, appointed her maternal relatives to important official positions, and demoted officials who opposed her, such as Xu Jingye and Luo Binwang.
Xu Jingye was a descendant of a Tang dynasty meritorious official. From childhood, he was unruly and rebellious. Once, while hunting outside, a fire suddenly broke out on the prairie. Showing remarkable courage, he killed his accompanying horse and hid inside its belly to survive. While others praised his bravery and cleverness, his father only shook his head and sighed bitterly, believing Xu Jingye would be a disaster for the Xu family. Later, Xu Jingye inherited his ancestors' official titles and fiefs. Naturally, he harbored deep resentment after being demoted by Wu Zetian.
Xu Jingye gathered his followers and went to Yangzhou, imprisoning the local officials there. He appointed himself the Grand Commander of Yangzhou and, within a short time, assembled an army of over one hundred thousand troops. He also found a man who resembled Li Xian, claiming that Li Xian was not dead and that he was launching his campaign against Empress Wu on Li Xian's orders. He further commissioned Luo Binwang to draft a proclamation for him.
Luo Binwang was a renowned literary figure, one of the "Four Great Writers of the Early Tang Dynasty." When he was five years old, while playing by a pond with his grandfather, he spontaneously composed the famous poem "Ode to the Goose":
Goose, goose, goose,
Neck curved, singing to the sky.
White feathers float on green water,
Red feet paddle the clear waves.
The poem begins with three "goose" characters, vividly imitating the sound of a goose, cleverly introducing the subject. It then describes the goose's action of "curving its neck toward the sky." The words "float" and "paddle" vividly depict the goose swimming. The use of "white feathers," "green water," "red feet," and "clear waves" not only creates bright, vivid colors but also employs neat parallelism. That such a young child could produce such an outstanding poem is truly incredible and commands great admiration.
This proclamation was exceptionally well-written and has been passed down to the present day as a model text for studying classical Chinese.
The proclamation began: "The usurping regent, Empress Wu..." immediately dismissing Wu's regime entirely. It then accused Wu Zetian of appearing gentle and compliant but being fundamentally cruel and tyrannical, emphasizing her lowly birth and lack of qualifications. It stated she was originally a low-ranking concubine of Emperor Taizong of Tang and later used her charm and flattery to seduce Emperor Gaozong. After harshly condemning Wu Zetian to incite public outrage, the proclamation called upon regional generals. Its main points were: "You are either hereditary high officials of the Tang, or have familial ties to the Tang, or are commanders of armies. The late emperor's last command still echoes in your ears; how can you sit idly by while the nation faces peril without giving your utmost loyalty? Emperor Gaozong's grave is not yet dry, Emperor Zhongzong has been deposed, and Emperor Ruizong is imprisoned. We have decided to rise in arms to protect the Tang dynasty's江山, and we firmly believe victory is assured."
When Wu Zetian read this proclamation, she showed remarkable patience, reading it carefully and even praising it repeatedly: "My temperament is indeed not that gentle, and I am the daughter of a timber merchant, truly of lowly origin." When she finally read the lines "The earth on the imperial grave is not yet dry; to whom can the six-foot orphan turn?" and "Let us see whose world this is today," she could not help but beat time and exclaim, "What brilliant literary talent!" She asked her attendants, "Who wrote this proclamation?" Someone answered, "Luo Binwang." Wu Zetian said, "The writing is excellent, the tone powerful and rhythmic, easy to recite. But it only speaks of my faults and not my virtues; that's not quite fair! Why not give such a talented writer important responsibilities? To let such a fine talent be buried and his abilities turned to evil ends—that is the fault of the chancellor."
Wu Zetian consulted Chancellor Pei Yan on a strategy to counter the rebellion. Pei Yan said, "The current emperor (Emperor Ruizong) is now an adult. If you simply return power to the emperor, Xu Jingye will have no justification for his rebellion." Wu Zetian interpreted Pei Yan's words as a challenge to her authority, seeing them as identical to Xu Jingye's motives, and thus had Pei Yan executed. She then dispatched Li Xiaoyi, a member of the Tang imperial clan, with an army of three hundred thousand troops to suppress Xu Jingye.
Although Xu Jingye's rebellion began with great momentum, few rallied to his cause. Strategically, he made critical errors: he needed to defend against Li Xiaoyi's northern army while also advancing south to capture Jinling (present-day Nanjing) and hastily establish his imperial rule, thus dispersing his forces. Although he won several early victories, his troops dwindled with each battle, while Wu Zetian continuously sent reinforcements. Outnumbered, he was finally defeated. He attempted to flee with his wife to Goryeo (Korea), but was killed by one of his own subordinates near Hailing County (present-day southern Taizhou, Jiangsu) who then presented his head as a trophy. Luo Binwang was also killed at the same time. There is a legend that Luo Binwang escaped and lived in seclusion as a monk in a temple.
In the year 690, at the age of sixty-seven, Wu Zetian saw Emperor Ruizong and all the court ministers submit petitions to her according to her will, urging her to ascend the throne. Wu Zetian issued an edict deposing Emperor Ruizong, changed the state name to "Zhou," changed her name to Wu Zhao, proclaimed herself the "Holy and Divine Emperor," renamed Luoyang as the "Divine Capital," and established a secondary palace. After thirty-six years of painstaking effort (Wu Zetian had returned to the palace at the age of thirty-one), she finally ascended the throne, becoming the renowned female emperor in Chinese history.