Is “Zhang Jianzhi was the chief plotter of the Shenlong Coup to eliminate the two Zhangs and restore Tang.” true?
The Old Book of Tang, Biography of Zhang Jianzhi, records that Zhang Jianzhi first proposed the coup, 'and when killing Zhang Yizhi and his brother, Zhang Jianzhi was the chief plotter.' After Emperor Zhongzong ascended the throne, he was enfeoffed as Prince of Hanyang. Xue Jichang advised him to eliminate Wu Sansi, but he did not follow; Xue sighed that although the two villains were eliminated, the offspring of Lu and Lu remained. In the 75th chapter of Romance of Sui and Tang, it is written that Zhang Jianzhi and others led troops into the inner palace, 'It turned out that Zhang Jianzhi and others had already led troops to the central palace, and it happened that the two Zhangs were sleeping soundly with Empress Wu, unable to avoid, and were killed by the soldiers, one each, both killed,' and welcomed Emperor Zhongzong to restore the throne. The plot matches the official history.
In the official history, Zhang Jianzhi initiated the Shenlong Coup to eliminate the two Zhangs and restore Emperor Zhongzong, and the novel faithfully dramatizes the course of the coup.
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