modern Handan, Hebei), and the songs soon became popular. Zu, exploiting the situation himself, added two more lines: The blind man will bear a great axe, The talkative woman will be unable to speak. Both Zu and Lady Lu then reported the song to Gao Wei to further foster his suspicion of Hulü. Gao Wei consulted another favorite, Han Zhangluan, who believed that he should not suspect Hulü, so Gao Wei initially took no action. Zu, however, would not relent, and he had Hulü's subordinate Feng Shirang (封士讓) make a secret submission indicating that when Hulü had brought the army close to Yecheng in 571, he was plotting a coup. Gao Wei believed it this time, and under Zu's suggestion, he awarded Hulü a horse, and then, as Hulü arrived at the palace to thank the emperor, he had his guard commander Liu Taozhi (劉桃枝) seize Hulü and strangle him to death. Hulü's clan was slaughtered except for his youngest son Hulü Zhong (斛律鍾), and Empress Hulü was deposed. Subsequently, Lady Lu tried to have her adoptive daughter Consort Mu Sheli made empress but was forced to compromise with Empress Dowager Hu to have Empress Dowager Hu's niece Consort Hu made empress, a proposal that she had to formally make jointly with Zu. Meanwhile, Zu, controlling the government, wanted to reorganize it to make it more efficient, reducing duplication in official responsibilities and wastefulness. He also wanted to remove incompetent and/or corrupt officials as well as reducing the ranks of eunuchs—but Lady Lu and Mu Tipo opposed. He therefore entered an alliance with Empress Hu's brothers Hu Junyu (胡君瑜) and Hu Junbi (胡君璧), promoting them and hoping that they would assist him. He also had his associate Li Bolü (麗伯律) accuse Mu Tipo's associate Wang Zichong (王子沖) of accepting bribes—knowing that if Wang were convicted, both Mu Tipo and Lady Lu would be implicated. Lady Lu, however, figured out what was happening, and found ways to have Hu Junyu and Hu Junbi demoted, and further had Empress Hu deposed in late 572 and replaced with Consort Mu. Zu began to suffer in his relations with Gao Wei, as the eunuchs were by now defaming him. When Gao Wei consulted Lady Lu and Han, both Lady Lu and Han used the opportunity to accuse Zu of crimes. Gao Wei, because he had sworn an oath to Zu earlier, spared him from