After Wu Zetian became emperor, why did she move to Luoyang?

In the fourth year of Wude (AD 62 1), he led the army to conquer /klock -2/ and defeated Wang and Dou Jiande, which made great contributions to the unification of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, Tang Gaozu appointed Li Shimin as General Ce Tian and allowed him to set up his own office in Luoyang. After that, the political, economic and military foundations laid the foundation for him to finally ascend to the throne. Therefore, Li Shimin has a great influence on Luo Yang, which is a special feeling. As soon as he ascended the throne, he designated Luoyang as the palace.

After the death of Emperor Taizong, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong, Luoyang was officially designated as the eastern capital, and the whole court moved to Luoyang seven times to handle the affairs of the whole empire. Although he had formal ideas about moving the capital, he cancelled it under the opposition of the minister. But the huge palace, bloated government, relatives and followers of officials at all levels, and a large number of security forces have become a powerful team. Wherever he went, he passed like a locust and ate all the counties along the way. Although these places can get tax-free compensation for one or two years, they are basically not worth the loss, and the people complain.

After the death of the emperor, Wu Zetian changed Luoyang, the "East Capital", to the "God Capital" of the imperial court. In fact, it has become capital. In 690, it was changed to "Wuzhou" and became the real dynasty capital of Luoyang.

It can be seen that Wu Zetian especially liked Luoyang and hated Chang 'an, the western capital, and finally completed the work of moving the capital. So, what is the reason behind it?

The following reasons can be summarized from relevant history books: politics, economy and psychology.

Let's start with politics.

Chang 'an, located in the northwest, belongs to the base of Guanlong Group in the traditional sense, and occupied the power center of the empire from the Northern Dynasties to the early Sui and Tang Dynasties. In the process of Wu Zetian's rise, most of the nobles in this group were basically opposed or even hostile. In order to check and balance, Wu Zetian can only select talents from other parts of the empire, especially the middle and lower gentry in kanto region, and send them to the court. However, the location of Chang 'an determines that the local forces around Beijing are still under the control of Guanlong Group, and the best solution is to get rid of them.

However, as Wu Zetian ascended the queen's throne and finally won the throne, the challenge of Guanlong Group became more troublesome and the proportion of political considerations was not high.

Let's look at the economic reasons.

From Sui Dynasty to early Tang Dynasty, the plain area in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River where Luoyang was located was effectively developed, with fertile land and a large population. In addition, the complex canal system built in Yang Di can effectively transport materials in the southeast, thus increasing the effective supply to the capital and reducing the burden on people in the surrounding areas.

In addition, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong, there were more natural disasters in Guanzhong than in the Central Plains, so it was easier to collect enough taxes and food to support the huge imperial court in the capital.

Finally, psychological factors!

In my opinion, this is the most fundamental and important reason why Wu Zetian moved to Luoyang.

Shortly after Wu Zetian was officially authorized, she killed her former opponent and queen in this unusual and cruel way. He imitated Lu and Han in the Western Han Dynasty and shaped them into a "person". For Wu Zetian, this can be regarded as the realization of revenge desire, but their tragic situation and the curse of resentment before dying: "Ah, Wu Yao is very cunning, even here!" May he give birth to me like a cat, give birth to me like a dog and strangle their throats! " This still has a great influence on their spirit. According to historical records, Wu Zetian often saw their ferocious faces in her sleep.

As we all know, Wu Zetian is different from Emperor Gaozong. He likes Taoism. She is a very devout Buddhist, and Buddhist teachings emphasize karma, which increases her psychological burden. In Chang 'an Palace, the familiar scenery reminds her of the scenes that have been happening, which makes Wu Zetian forget the Queen and Xiao Shufei, and makes her forget that their escape is the only choice. After Luoyang established its capital, she raised the status of Buddhism to the same level as Taoism, built Buddhist temples on a large scale, excavated Buddha statues, and sponsored and supported the development of Buddhism with atonement, repentance and praying for protection as the same main line.

To sum up, Wu Zetian decided that Luoyang obviously had political and economic considerations, but these two reasons were not decisive factors. What really prompted her to make up her mind was great mental pressure.