Empress of the Tang Dynasty Wu Zetian was the only female emperor in Chinese feudal history. There were many controversies about this female emperor in her later generations. Some people think that the empress is arbitrary, while others think that Wu Zetian is very wise. During Wu Zetian's reign, there was a person whom Wu Zetian respected and trusted very much. This person was Di Renjie .
There are countless film and television works based on Dee Renjie. Although the themes of these TV dramas are different when describing Dee Renjie, has revealed a message from the film and television works - Dee Renjie has great power and can directly report things to Wu Zetian. In fact, Di Renjie only served as a third-rank official during his lifetime. Why does his power seem so great?
The real Di Renjie
Wu Zetian had many stains in her life. The biggest stain was that she often appointed cruel officials and ministers with not very good character. Wu Zetian also knows the character of these people very well, but in some cases such extraordinary means can only be used.
During Wu Zetian's era, there were some ministers who were highly respected and trusted by Wu Zetian, the most representative of which was Di Renjie. Di Renjie in history can be said to have both ability and political integrity. Wu Zetian not only respected Di Renjie from the bottom of her heart, but also relied heavily on Di Renjie.
Di Renjie has been particularly fond of reading since he was a child. It is not accurate to say that Di Renjie likes reading. It should be said that Di Renjie is obsessed with reading. How obsessed is Di Renjie? There is such a little story circulating among the people about .
When Di Renjie was still very young, officers and soldiers came to his home to interrogate things. The officers and soldiers on duty saw the little Di Renjie holding a book and remained unmoved, so they curiously asked Di Renjie the reason. Di Renjie said that he was talking to the sages in the book. From then on, Di Renjie became famous all over the country, and the locals called him a "bookworm".
In the feudal era, the way out for most scholars was to take the imperial examination. The imperial examination system gradually formed in the Sui Dynasty and became more complete after the Tang Dynasty, and Di Renjie also met the empress Wu Zetian through the imperial examination.
In film and television works, Di Renjie is described as a Sherlock Holmes from the Tang Dynasty, who is very good at investigating cases . Di Renjie's skill in investigating crimes is still beyond the reach of many people now. However, when Di Renjie first entered the officialdom, he did not rely on his ability to solve cases.
At first, Di Renjie offended many colleagues because of his upright character. Fortunately, the gold would not be buried, and Di Renjie was highly appreciated by the Minister of Industry.. At that time, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry believed that Di Renjie had a very strict character and recommended him to the department responsible for punishment in the Tang Dynasty.
In the movie "Di Renjie: The Dragon King of the Dragon King", Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty Li Zhi once said, no wonder you are praised as the pearl of the river meander and the treasure of the southeast. From here we can see that Di Renjie's ability has indeed been recognized.
At that time, the place responsible for detecting criminal investigation cases and administering prison sentences in the Tang Dynasty was called Dali Temple , which was equivalent to the status of the current Supreme Court. In ancient times, the division between public security, prosecution and law was not so clear, so Di Renjie not only had to be in charge of punishment, but also had to solve some cases.
Di Renjie’s performance after entering Dali Temple was very outstanding. Although cases are all small cases, Di Renjie will not protect those who make mistakes, and they will be dealt with according to the criminal law regardless of their identity. At that time, Chang'an could meet the emperor's relatives in just three to five steps. Even so, Di Renjie was still upright in his conduct.
Won Wu Zetian's trust
As Di Renjie's abilities became more and more evident, Wu Zetian trusted Di Renjie very much after she became the empress. Wu Zetian also made exceptions for Di Renjie everywhere. When Wu Zetian became emperor, Di Renjie was already very old and his health was getting worse and worse. So he repeatedly asked Wu Zetian to retire and return to his hometown, but Wu Zetian repeatedly refused to stay.
Considering Di Renjie's health, Wu Zetian deliberately exempted Di Renjie from kneeling down to her. Wu Zetian also said to Di Renjie that every time she saw Di Renjie, she felt very uncomfortable with herself... Wu Zetian also specifically told the civil and military ministers throughout the dynasty not to bother Di Renjie unless it was a particularly important matter.
One of the characteristics of Wu Zetian is that she is always going on a killing spree, and her methods are unmatched by any talented and strategic male emperor in history. As long as her gender is not too tight, Wu Zetian can be regarded as a tough emperor.
Wu Zetian has one word for all those who disobey her: kill! No matter what status a person is, they are not as high as Wu Zetian, but Wu Zetian looks at Di Renjie in a different light and calls Di Renjie the "old man of the country".
Wu Zetian's trust in Di Renjie is also reflected in another aspect, that is, Wu Zetian is such a tough emperor and almost obeys Di Renjie's words. And Di Renjie also has great power. Once when Di Renjie was deciding a case, a general was involved. This general was also deeply loved by Wu Zetian, so the emperor kept saying everything he wanted to put pressure on Di Renjie.
Unexpectedly, Di Renjie looked at the other party's arrogant attitude and said directly, before leaving, he benefited from his actions and acted cheaply. The four words "acting cheaply" are enough to prove that Wu Zetian has great trust in Di Renjie. Di Renjie then said something else, let alone seizing your general seal, even killing you would be cheap.
He was so trusted by Wu Zetian and had high power, but many people didn't know that Di Renjie's highest official position during his lifetime was only a third-grade official. But why do you feel that Di Renjie can even be lower than one person and higher than ten thousand people? In fact, this is related to the official rank system of the Tang Dynasty.
The position is not high and the power is great.
Di Renjie can be said to have a low position and great power. Some people think that is a third-grade official and is not too low. However, the level of official position has a great relationship with personal ability and the emperor's trust. If it is just an ordinary scholar who passes the imperial examination and reaches the third rank of official, that is indeed not low.
However, Di Renjie himself was loved by Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian's respect for Di Renjie far exceeded that of the civil and military ministers of the dynasty. and even some members of the royal family had to be polite in front of Di Renjie. So why does Di Renjie, who holds a third-level position, make all the civil and military officials of the dynasty and the emperor's relatives afraid?
The Tang Dynasty also divided official positions into different grades. Di Renjie achieved the highest level of a third-grade official, with first- and second-grade officials on top of it. However, compared to the first- and second-grade officials in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the first- and second-grade officials in the Tang Dynasty An official is more like a status symbol, but actually has no real power.
Summary
Although Di Renjie's third-rank official is not very high in terms of rank, Di Renjie has real power and can directly advise the emperor. Compared with the first- and second-grade officials in the Tang Dynasty who were only in name only, Di Renjie, who had real power, naturally seemed to have great power, and Di Renjie was in charge of Dali Temple, so his status was naturally extraordinary.
Di Renjie himself is very impartial when deciding cases and will not be lenient to some people because of their special status. This is why Di Renjie seems to have great power even though he is only a third-rank official. Today, people still miss Dee Renjie. Film and television works based on Dee Renjie are emerging one after another. The important reason is Dee Renjie's image of fairness and integrity.
