Is “Xu Jingzong vigorously supported the establishment of Empress Wu and uttered the words about exchanging a wife.” true?
According to the biography in Old Book of Tang, Volume 82, and the section on empresses in Old Book of Tang, when Emperor Gaozong wanted to depose the empress and establish Consort Wu, 'soon he also adopted Li Yifu's strategy,' and Xu Jingzong, standing by, agreed, saying that a farmer who harvested an extra ten hu of wheat would still want to exchange his wife. In Romance of Sui and Tang, Chapter 071, Xu Jingzong is depicted as praising from the side, saying, 'A farmer who harvests an extra ten hu of wheat still wants to exchange his wife, let alone the Son of Heaven?' This helped fulfill Gaozong's intention to depose and establish, which is consistent with the official history.
In the official history, Xu Jingzong fawned on the empress's faction and vigorously supported the deposition of the empress; the novel faithfully adopts his flattering words about a farmer exchanging his wife.
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