Case of Vice Director Liu Yizhi of Fengge Resisting Imperial Envoy and Governor Wang Benli of Suzhou Being Granted Death

In 687 AD during the Tang Dynasty, Fengge Vice Director Liu Yizhi privately criticized Empress Dowager Wu Zetian's rule, stating she should return power to the emperor. When Suzhou Governor Wang Benli arrived as an imperial envoy bearing an edict to interrogate him, Liu Yizhi refused to accept the summons, defiantly declaring he would only recognize edicts issued through proper chancellery channels. This act of open resistance against imperial authority enraged Wu Zetian. Though Liu Yizhi was a trusted former advisor who had drafted many edicts for her, his challenge to her legitimacy and procedural defiance were deemed unforgivable. Wu Zetian ordered him imprisoned and subsequently granted him death at home, forcing him to commit suicide.

Liu Yizhi was arrested and imprisoned. Empress Dowager Wu Zetian subsequently issued an edict granting him death at his residence, a coerced suicide marking the termination of his official career and life.

The central dispute revolved around whether Liu Yizhi's procedural objection to an improperly issued imperial edict constituted legitimate bureaucratic remonstrance or criminal defiance of imperial authority. The case highlighted the tension between established administrative protocols and the absolute personal power of the Empress Dowager.

This case signaled Wu Zetian's uncompromising consolidation of power and terrified the Tang bureaucracy, demonstrating that even high-ranking former confidants would face capital punishment for any hint of disloyalty. It reinforced a climate of political surveillance and accelerated her path toward formal emperorship, solidifying the ruthlessness of her reign.