Late in Emperor Yang's reign, the Sui state was engulfed in agrarian rebellions, and Hao Chujun's father Hao Xianggui (郝相貴) and maternal grandfather Xu Shao (許紹), who was a Sui official, seized and controlled a significant amount of territory in modern Hubei and Chongqing.
By 664, Empress Wu's influence on the governance of the country had angered Emperor Gaozong so much that he had Chancellor Shangguan Yi draft an edict for her deposition.
Hao, who was said to be obese, did not panic, and instead pulled out a chair and sat down to eat his rations, while secretly ordering his elite troops to attack Goguryeo forces, defeating them.
Hao spoke against it, pointing out that immortality is impossible and that taking such medicine could have caused Emperor Taizong's death previously.
At times, when Emperor Gaozong was at the eastern capital Luoyang, he would put the crown prince Li Hong in charge of the capital Chang'an, and generally, all of the chancellors remained at Chang'an to assist Li Hong, except that Hao attended to Emperor Gaozong.
In 672, Hao was given the honorific title Yinqing Guanglu Daifu (銀青光祿大夫) and made Zhongshu Shilang (中書侍郎), the deputy head of the legislative bureau of government.
This is no way to honor rightful behavior and seek accord.Both Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu was surprised by but agreed with Hao, and both cancelled the competition.
Over the many years, especially in 675, Emperor Gaozong, suffering from a dizzying illness (may be hypertension) that caused serious headaches, considered making his powerful and domineering wife Empress Wu regent and she would formally rule the empire.
I hope you will accept my words.Another official, Li Yiyan, also spoke against the idea, and Emperor Gaozong did not carry it out and still Empress Wu continued to "Ruling behind the curtain".
Later in 675, Emperor Gaozong made Hao Zhongshu Ling (中書令), the head of the legislative bureau and a post considered one for a chancellor.
Empress Dowager Wu put one of her favorite secret police officers Zhou Xing (周興) in charge of the investigation.
On the way to the execution field, Hao Xiangxian cursed Empress Dowager Wu and accused her of all kinds of adulterous and otherwise inappropriate behavior, and at one point jumped out of the cart and took firewood to combat the soldiers escorting him.
From this point on, until Empress Dowager Wu's death, every time that a prisoner was to be executed, the executioners would stuff his or her mouth with a wooden sphere.