Yang Zaisi - During Wu Zetian's Reign

During Wu Zetian's Reign

In 694, Yang Zaisi was still serving as censor when he was made Luantai Shilang (鸞臺侍郎), the deputy head of the examination bureau of government (鸞臺, Luantai), and was given the designation of Tong Fengge Luantai Pingzhangshi (同鳳閣鸞臺平章事), making him a chancellor de facto.

In 697, during a rebellion by Khitan's khan Sun Wanrong, Eastern Tujue's khan Ashina Mochuo, who had been at times ally and at times enemy of Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, indicated that he was willing to be aligned with Zhou against Khitan and made a number of requests for return of Tujue people who had surrendered to Zhou, various treasures, and food supplies, which, after Yang and fellow chancellor Yao Shu argued were necessary to maintain an alliance with Eastern Tujue, Wu Zetian agreed to give Ashina Mochuo, allowing him to become even stronger than before.

In 699, Yang was removed from his posts and made imperial censor reviewing central government affairs (左臺大夫, Zuotai Daifu), no longer chancellor.

In 704, troubled by the fact that prefectural prefects were not performing well, Wu Zetian asked the chancellors for suggestions. Li Jiao and Tang Xiujing suggested that this was the result of the tendency at the time for officials to consider central government duties, no matter how menial, to be more honored than local government duties. They further suggested that central government officials be rotated to the prefectures, offering to go first themselves. Wu Zetian ordered that central government officials be put into random drawings, and some 20 officials were drawn out. She allowed them to keep their central government posts, but ordered that they also serve as acting prefects. Yang was one of the officials drawn, although it is not known which prefecture he was given. Later in 704, he was serving as the official in charge of then-capital Luoyang while Wu Zetian was at Chang'an, when he was made Neishi (內史), the head of the legislative bureau (鳳閣, Fengge) and a post considered one for a chancellor.

It was said that, during the years that Yang served as a chancellor under Wu Zetian, he was known for his flattery. Once, when at a feast held by the official Zhang Tongxiu (張同休), an older brother of Wu Zetian's lovers Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, Zhang Tongxiu joked with Yang that he looked like someone from Goguryeo. Yang, taking the joke in stride, immediately made a hat, put it on, and did a Goguryeo-style dance, causing the guests to laugh. At that time, there was someone who praised Yang Changzong's looks, stating, "Liulang has a face that looks like a lotus flower." Yang objected, and when Zhang Changzong asked why, he responded, "It is not that Liulang looks like lotus flower, but rather that the lotus flower looks like Liulang." Later in 704, when Zhang Tongxiu and two other brothers, Zhang Changqi (張昌期) and Zhang Changyi (張昌儀) were accused of corruption, Zhang Changzong was also investigated for corruption. The censors Li Chengjia (李承嘉) and Huan Yanfan proposed that Zhang Changzong be removed from office. Zhang Changzong objected, stating, "I have contributions to the state, and my crimes did not call for removal." Wu Zetian asked the chancellors, "Does Zhang Changzong have contributions?" Yang responded, "Zhang Changzong made medications that are good for Your Imperial Majesty. This is the greatest contribution possible." (Wu Zetian had used the guise that Zhang Changzong was making her medication as the rationale to let him have access to the palace." Wu Zetian was very pleased, and she pardoned Zhang Changzong. This, however, caused the people to view Yang as a flatterer, and a low level official, Dai Lingyan (戴令言), wrote a satirical poem entitled, the Ode to the Two-Footed Fox (兩腳狐賦, Liangjiaohu Fu), satirizing Yang as a two-footed fox. When Yang saw the poem, he was incensed and demoted Dai. During his years serving under Wu Zetian, he also received progressively greater noble titles, from Baron of Hongnong eventually to Duke of Zheng.