As Zhu Yuanzhang rushed out like crazy, Song Lian's expression was very interesting.
He took a deep breath and asked, "The Marshal's personality...has it changed a lot?"
Ye Zheng smiled: "General Chen is always so loud and noisy in front of his son."
General Chen... Song Lian's face darkened. Is this old man reminding me that I've let the cat out of the bag?
Song Lian then smiled as well: "General Chen is a man of great temperament. However, anyone with a child like Biao'er would inevitably spoil him a little more."
Chen Wenzhen didn't understand what the two scholars were talking about. He helped Xu Da clean up the traces of Zhu Yuanzhang on the table. Then Xu Da sat casually in the armchair at the top, assuming a particularly majestic posture.
The person in charge now is me, Marshal Xu Da!
It's Chen Guorui, just a general. He has to look up at me!
Chen Wenzheng said bluntly, "Uncle Xu, you'd better not act so arrogantly. As soon as Biao'er leaves, you'll be beaten."
Xu Da said, "If you get beaten later, that's your business. If you don't take advantage of him now, you'll have fewer and fewer opportunities to do so in the future."
Chen Wenzheng was convinced: "That's true."
He began to wonder if he could take advantage of his fourth uncle, but he found to his regret that no matter whether he was Zhu Wenzheng or Chen Wenzheng, with the status of "Chen Guorui", they could beat him at will.
Oh, if only I could accomplish something truly remarkable, surpassing Chen Guorui. Then I'd hold the banner and flaunt my power in front of Chen Guorui, making Fourth Uncle so mad he'd be mad at me.
The rebellious boy Chen Wenzhen happily imagines the future.
In the courtyard.
After Zhu Yuanzhang rushed out, he grabbed Chen Biao from Li Zhen's arms and rubbed him hard.
Chen Biao, like a kitten disdaining its owner, used his two short little hands to push Zhu Yuanzhang's cheeks hard to prevent him from being pricked by Zhu Yuanzhang's beard.
Of course, he was just like a kitten, so no matter how hard he tried, it was useless. Zhu Yuanzhang still managed to prick him with his beard.
After Zhu Yuanzhang rubbed his son, the sky turned blue, the grass turned green, the flowers became colorful, and even the air became fresh. The haze that had accumulated in his heart was swept away, and the bloodshot in his eyes faded a lot.
Chen Biao stopped struggling, and obediently put his arms around Zhu Yuanzhang's neck, hugging Zhu Yuanzhang and his son intimately: "Dad, you have worked hard."
Zhu Yuanzhang sniffed, and for some reason, his nose felt a little sore and his eyes felt a little dry.
He opened his mouth and complained: "Biao'er, you said that dividing the land is such a good thing, why are we still being scolded?"
Chen Biao looked at his father's aggrieved face and took the initiative to touch Zhu Yuanzhang's unshaven face with his soft tofu cheeks: "Didn't I tell you all this? The well-field system is to dig up the roots of the landlords and gentry and to kill the powerful and aristocratic families."
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head: "I'm not talking about those landlords and gentry. They can curse me if they want. I don't care. What I don't understand is that it's a good thing for a woman to have land. Why would a woman curse me? Those people..."
Zhu Yuanzhang named several women in succession.
Zhu Yuanzhang knew that some of the poems and essays criticizing him were written by men pretending to be women.
However, some talented women in Suzhou and Hangzhou were extremely famous. Their poetry, along with that of other scholars, once made paper in Suzhou and Hangzhou extremely expensive. Even the unrefined Zhu Yuanzhang read these poems. They held poetry gatherings and contacted scholars to compile anthologies of poetry and prose to criticize him.
After hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's muttering, Chen Biao rolled his eyes.
Could it be that you're feeling down because you were scolded by a beautiful woman? You thought you did something good and all the beautiful women would admire you, but instead you're being disliked?
Okay, let alone feudal chauvinists, even modern men or women would be sad if they were rejected by beautiful women or handsome guys. Dad, I understand you.
Chen Biao patted Zhu Yuanzhang's rough face with his chubby little hands. "Dad, you know that after the Southern Song Dynasty, the literati transferred the constraints of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism on etiquette to women, right?"
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded: "I know. Son, you said so, I am learning."
Even in the midst of internal and external troubles, Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to rush to Zhang Shicheng's territory and kill Xie Zaixing's entire family every day, but he did not forget to study late into the night.
Chen Biao sighed, "You must know that, let alone the daughters of officials, even the daughters of ordinary people are bound by etiquette. Some women would rather starve to death than leave home to earn a living, fearing they would lose their chastity. Those talented women are all unmarried daughters of wealthy merchants and gentry. How could they mix with a group of men to discuss poetry and songs, and write books together?"
"The renowned female poet Xue Tao was a musician. The renowned female poet Li Qingzhao, before she married, only had her poetry circulated, but she never had any intimate encounters with men other than her husband. Her interactions with scholars began after she married, when she and her husband entertained guests. Within the constraints of Confucian ethics, women who achieved fame and talent were either musicians themselves, or had their works compiled and published by their fathers, brothers, or husbands."
"Dad, what do you think of those unmarried talented women?" Chen Biao asked. "What do you think of those wealthy businessmen and gentry who raise their daughters in a specially built single-family house, set up a small courtyard to entertain men from other families every day? What do they think of them?"
Zhu Yuanzhang's scalp tingled: "That's their own daughter! How could they possibly..."
Chen Biao said calmly, "In ancient times, princesses were married off for foreign purposes. Even the emperor did so, let alone ordinary families. However, the gentry still have to maintain their dignity, and most of the daughters who raise such daughters are wealthy businessmen. The daughters may not be their biological daughters, but adopted daughters. They may not be willing to give up their own biological daughters. Didn't some generals under Marshal Zhu also raise many adopted daughters? But warriors will marry off their adopted daughters well, even if it's just as a concubine. The moral bottom line of wealthy businessmen is much lower than that of warriors."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his son with an indifferent expression and found that his son at this moment really looked like a clay sculpture of a fairy boy in a magnificent temple.
So he rubbed his son's face hard, rubbing away Chen Biao's indifferent expression of a fairy boy who was detached from the world, and turning it back into the lively Biao'er face that glared at him, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.
Chen Biao pinched Zhu Yuanzhang's face and said, "Dad! What are you doing?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said sternly, "Have you forgotten that many of your father's colleagues' wives, including the Marshal, are adopted daughters? Don't compare these adopted daughters with those talented women in Suzhou and Hangzhou! Dad can't save you!"
Chen Biao immediately turned around and looked at Li Zhen who was three steps away: "Uncle! You won't tell mother, will you?"
Li Zhen was bewildered: "What did you say just now?"
Chen Biao immediately smiled ingratiatingly: "Uncle is the best, Biaoer loves you."
Zhu Yuanzhang immediately said: "Why do you love him?"
Li Zhen gave Zhu Yuanzhang a look of contempt.
Chen Biao didn't bother to pay attention to his father's inappropriate jealousy and said, "In short, although this kind of talented woman is famous, she's the least worth paying attention to. The ones we should pay attention to are the talented women who only write poetry and never show their faces, such as the wives of noble families and officials. There are indeed profound reasons behind the attitudes of these people."
As Zhu Yuanzhang walked in, he listened to Chen Biao whispering on his shoulder.
"The people in this world can't be simply divided into men and women. Look, even men will fight for resources. The interests of each class are different, and the same is true for women."
"Women with bound feet don't want to unbind their feet, partly because the world no longer considers small feet beautiful. What will their future hold?"
"Women from well-off families don't want to be granted land, because they have enough to eat and drink, and they won't farm. If they are granted land, even if they don't farm, they will still have to perform corvee labor or pay miscellaneous taxes in lieu of corvee labor."
"Furthermore, after the permanent farmland was converted to contracted land, although wealthy families could still annex land through contracting, the difference between a one-time and permanent seizure and a seizure every thirty years would increase the complexity and complexity of the situation. Women wouldn't want their family interests to suffer."
"Dad, a policy benefits some while harming others, and those who suffer will oppose it. It's normal for the Marshal to not understand it, but why can't you understand it? Have you read the Heavenly Book in vain?" Chen Biao said disdainfully, "I know you've been very busy lately, but you can't stop reading."
Zhu Yuanzhang argued: "I have read it! But I can't understand it because you didn't explain it to me!"
Chen Biao continued to pinch Zhu Yuanzhang's face. "Then why did you leave me alone for over half a month? I'm telling you! I'm still furious! I'm going to complain to my mother when I get home! Yangzhou is such a spooky place, and you actually lived next door to me and didn't even come to keep me company!"
Zhu Yuanzhang was anxious: "Biao'er! Are you a little snitch? How can you tell your mother about something we can handle between us? I'm telling you, you can't be like this!"
Chen Biao persisted: "You're finished! Chen Guorui! I'm telling you, you're finished!"
The father and son went into the study room arguing with each other, and Chen Biao's arrogant howling stopped immediately.
Ye Zheng and Song Lian both wore serious teacher faces and said in unison with a very disapproving tone: "Biao'er, how can you call your father by his name!"
Zhu Yuanzhang's mouth curled up: "That's right!"
Chen Biao was nervous: "Mr. Song, Mr. Song, Mr. Ye, why are you here?"
Damn, my image...
Ah, it’s okay. Isn’t it better to have a worse image?
Chen Biao immediately continued to shake himself: "This is all Dad's fault! Yangzhou is full of gloomy energy, and he left me alone in a deserted neighborhood for more than half a month! I don't believe that the Marshal's Mansion and our Chen family are only separated by Uncle Xu's house, and he didn't even have time to look at me every day!"
After saying this, Chen Biao wanted to cry out for pity, but he had been eating, drinking, and reading as usual for the past half month, and he had his three brothers to keep him company, so he was not lonely at all. He really couldn't squeeze out any space, so he could only wrinkle his nose, be perfunctory, and pretend to be very aggrieved.
Ye Zheng and Song Lian actually believed Chen Biao's careless complaints.
The immortal boy is also a boy, how can you compare him like this, Marshal!
Song Lian immediately disagreed and said, "General Chen, you are doing this wrong."
Ye Zheng also said: "General Chen, you haven't visited Biao'er for more than half a month?!"
Xu Da sat at the head of the table, his hands resting on his chin. "That's right. I've tried to persuade Boss Chen many times, but he always says that without the well-field system, there's no point in having a family. I should emulate Dayu, who passed by his home three times without entering."
Chen Biao pinched Zhu Yuanzhang's face: "Huh? Dad, you said something like that?!"
Zhu Yuanzhang immediately scolded him, "Listen to his nonsense! Marshal Zhu forcibly refused to let me go home. Xu Da's house is right next door to the Marshal's residence, and he couldn't go back either! We all eat and live in the Marshal's residence! Biao'er, believe me. I begged you bitterly, but the Marshal wouldn't allow it. 'Three times passing by the house without entering' is what the Marshal used to scold me. I miss you so much!"
Xu Da: “…” I originally thought that I could always make you fall in front of Biaoer. The boss is the boss. I am not as good as him in lying with his eyes open!
Ye Zheng: "..." Here it comes, here it comes again. Until now, I still haven't gotten used to the way Marshal Zhu is so skilled at letting himself take the blame.
Song Lian: “…” He was so shocked that his mind went blank.
Zhu Yuanzhang cursed and swore, his words full of disrespect for Marshal Zhu.
Chen Biao quickly covered Zhu Yuanzhang's mouth: "Okay, okay, I believe it! Mr. Song and Mr. Ye are still here, don't let people laugh at you!"
He lowered his voice: "Walls have ears! Do you want to be beaten by the Marshal?"
Only then did Zhu Yuanzhang shut up.
He said aggrievedly, "Biao'er, I've missed you so much these days. Life has been so hard."
Now it was Chen Biao's turn to comfort Zhu Yuanzhang: "Okay, okay, I know Dad loves me the most. Dad would never leave me alone next door for half a month without visiting me. This is Marshal Zhu's order. There's nothing we can do."
Chen Biao truly believed his father and was genuinely trying to comfort him. But to the others, his words sounded sarcastic.
Xu Da would not miss any opportunity to complain about Boss Chen Guorui: "Yes, yes, these are all orders from Marshal Zhu, Biaoer, don't misunderstand."
Ye Zheng sighed: "Oh, Marshal..." Marshal, don't you even blush?
Song Lian: “…” He was still so shocked that his mind went blank.
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't blush at all. He just glanced at Xu Da who was gloating over his misfortune. After making a note of this, he carried Chen Biao to the upper seat and said, "Why are you sitting here? Go over here."
Xu Da slammed the table and said, "Chen Guorui! Although you are my boss, I am now the Grand Marshal and I am in charge of Yangzhou! Show some respect!"
Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows, knowing that the old man was itching for trouble.
Song Lian finally came to his senses and looked at Ye Zheng in disbelief: What are they doing? Why has even Marshal Xu changed his personality so drastically? Doesn't he have great respect for Marshal Zhu?
Ye Zheng raised his eyebrows: Just get used to it.
Song Lian withdrew his gaze and took a deep breath.
Get used to it, get used to it, I must get used to it. I can't let that old bastard Ye Zheng laugh at me.
Chen Biao pulled Zhu Yuanzhang's sleeve and asked Zhu Yuanzhang to let him down.
As soon as he got off the ground, Zhu Yuanzhang rushed over, dragged Xu Da down from the chair, kicked Xu Da on the butt, then picked up Chen Biao and sat on the upper armchair.
Chen Biao sat in Zhu Yuanzhang's arms and sighed, "Uncle Xu, every time you provoke Dad you get beaten, why do you keep on doing it?"
Xu Da rubbed his buttocks and bared his teeth. "Is this a provocation? This is the truth. Boss, can you please respect me as the Grand Marshal?"
Zhu Yuanzhang rubbed his son's head, as if playing with a beautiful jade ornament, and said domineeringly: "If I don't respect you, you can go to Marshal Zhu and complain. I'll wait and see who the Marshal supports."
Xu Da rolled his eyes at Zhu Yuanzhang. Yes, yes, you have two identities, you are amazing!
He was very depressed and thought that with Mr. Ye and Mr. Song around, Zhu Yuanzhang would pretend and play a role with him. But it turned out to be a mistake.
Li Zhen waited until the farce was over before speaking: "Biao'er, don't you have something to say to Guo Rui and Marshal Xu? Let's talk about business first."
Chen Biao glanced at Song Lian and Ye Zheng with embarrassment: "Dad still has things to do, let me wait for Dad to come back before we talk. Dad, you must come back today! I have something important to tell you!"
Ye Zheng immediately pulled Song Lian, who was still not in the right state, and said, "Marshal Xu, General Chen, Jing Lian and I will take our leave first. We have other things to do."
Song Lian was pulled by Ye Zheng and immediately said goodbye.
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Okay, we will immediately send your documents to Yingtian by express horse and present them to the Marshal."
Ye Zheng cupped his hands and said, "I'll trouble you, General Chen."
After saying that, he immediately turned around and hurried away, with Song Lian following closely.
The two looked so anxious, as if they had just come here temporarily in the middle of a busy schedule.
But the reality is indeed like this. It's just that they encountered a small setback along the way.
After leaving the Marshal's Mansion and getting into the carriage, Song Lian lowered his voice and asked, "What on earth is going on?!"
Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang had revealed Chen Biao's identity to Song Lian, Ye Zheng no longer hid it and told him everything.
Song Lian frowned: "Immortal...Immortal...Zhu Yuanzhang is indeed destined to be an emperor."
Ye Zheng smiled but said nothing.
The Emperor's fate? Biao'er descended to the mortal world for more than just a trivial matter. The Heavenly Book was the true secret.
Since Song Lian has joined the game, although Ye Zheng is in direct conflict with him, he also regards Song Lian as a comrade-in-arms and hopes that Song Lian can also appreciate the heavenly book.
However, this was not something he could decide. He would later suggest that Zhu Yuanzhang let Song Lian view the Heavenly Book, but for now, he could only keep it a secret.
Song Lian recovered from his shock and said, "Biao'er can't return to his identity as Zhu Biao. How can this be limited? Can Biao'er just change his name? Does Biao'er himself not know? Or does the public not know?"
Ye Zheng said, "This is a big problem. The fortune teller who read Biao'er's fortune said that the divine clues were unclear and that he needed to ponder them for a few days before he could see clearly. But the next day, he got drunk and stepped on empty air, which caused a stroke. He was in a coma for a few days and passed away. The Marshal was dumbfounded and could only figure it out on his own."
Song Lian sighed: "It seems that I have revealed the secret of heaven and have been punished by heaven."
Ye Zheng nodded.
It would be bad enough to leak the secret, but he would count it again after a few days and further leak the secret. This is too crazy.
Song Lian said, "The Marshal's current actions are to prevent the public from knowing Biao'er's identity, making Biao'er 'not returned to his place ' in the eyes of the public; and to conceal Biao'er, making Biao's position not returned from his own perspective. Double protection?"
Ye Zheng nodded again.
Song Lian frowned. "Then why not just hide Biao'er or give him up for adoption? Creating a fictitious Chen Guorui would be too easy to expose."
Ye Zheng said, "Biao'er was born knowing everything. When he was exposed, he already knew who his biological parents were, and he couldn't hide it. And... well, you saw it too. The Marshal and Biao'er have such a good relationship. How could they bear to separate? Even those around the Marshal probably wouldn't want them to be separated."
Song Lian thought of the violent Zhu Yuanzhang during this period, and the "Chen Guorui" who was now holding Chen Biao and talking nonsense, and couldn't help but sigh: "Biao'er is the Marshal's scabbard."
Ye Zheng said, "Not only that. Many of the Marshal's actions that amazed us were all done by Biao'er. The head of the Chen family with a bounty of a thousand gold coins on his head is not Chen Guorui, but Biao'er. The Marshal said that he was just running errands for Biao'er."
Song Lian was dumbfounded: "How could the Marshal exploit a five-year-old child like this!"
Soon, Song Lian remembered: "I remember the Marshal said before that he only needed to conquer the world, govern it, and then hand it over to his son... a five-year-old son?"
Ye Zheng stroked his beard and said, "Why would we need a later time? Our Marshal is currently relying on his son for support."
Song Lian held his forehead, not knowing whether to laugh, worry or sigh.
…
After Ye Zheng and Song Lian left, Chen Biao took out the letter from his arms. "It's from mother. Mother and the Marshal's wife want to organize the women in Yingtian City to support the well-field system, women's foot liberation, and the distribution of land for women. Mother hopes father and Uncle Xu can cooperate. Mother said the Marshal has agreed."
Zhu Yuanzhang and Xu Da's eyelids were twitching.
The Marshal agreed? What did he agree to?
Well, the Marshal’s wife said that the Marshal has agreed, so the Marshal has agreed!
Zhu Yuanzhang opened the letter. Ma wrote down in her mind what she wanted to do and then asked Chen Biao for help.
Although Ma had a plan in mind, she was very nervous, so she wrote to her son seeking his approval. If he agreed, Ma hoped that the women in Yangzhou, where the land had already been distributed, would also join their ranks to support the soldiers on the front lines.
When it comes to verbal battles, common women can never match the eloquence of famous prostitutes and talented women.
Then let's just work hard and show our support for Marshal Zhu with practical actions, so that Marshal Zhu knows that there are many silent women who are looking forward to his policies.
Farming is tiring, and corvee labor can be exhausting to death.
But as long as women can share the land, they won't be drowned at birth, killed in childhood, or sold as girls...
Even if they get the land, they may face exploitation from their families and their husband's families, but at least they will not die early and there is still a glimmer of hope.
It is profitable and also a hope of survival for a civilian woman who has nothing.
Regardless of gender, the vast majority of poor people have very little desire, as long as they can survive.
I don’t need food and clothing, I don’t need dignity, I just want to avoid freezing to death or starving to death.
However, such a faint wish can only be realized during the prosperous period of each dynasty, when there is good weather and good harvests, and when the poor people have land.
Ma said that she could not write any poems or songs. With the few books she had read and the few words she knew, she could only barely tell the ignorant poor women about the good things about our Marshal Zhu, and then lead the poor women who understood the well-field system to do what they could for Marshal Zhu.
Zhu Yuanzhang blinked, and before he knew it, tears rolled down his cheeks, wetting them completely in an instant.
When Chen Biao felt water dripping on his head, he realized that his father was crying.
Chen Biao quickly pulled out a sweat-proof cloth from behind, and regardless of the fact that it was still stained with his sweat, he stood on his father's lap and wiped his father's tears and snot.
A grown man cried so hard that his face was covered with tears and snot, which looked extremely ugly.
Xu Da opened his mouth, then closed it with a desire to survive.
If anyone dares to laugh at the Marshal when he is crying, he will be thrown into the enemy army and hacked to death before the Marshal becomes emperor.
"Biao'er, your mother... while I was fighting in the front, she stayed behind with her men to make clothes and sew leather armor for me. When I first started my army, I didn't have any metal armor to wear, so your mother collected leather and sewed it for me. Thick leather was difficult to sew, and after your mother finished sewing a piece of leather armor, her fingers would be wrapped with strips of cloth."
"Later, when life got better, your mother helped me manage the cloth armor and weapons that were to be distributed, and together with the soldiers' wives, she made clothes, shoes and socks for all the soldiers. People say that I love my soldiers like my own sons, but I don't have the leisure to do so. It's your mother who loves the soldiers like her own sons."
"I just thought, I just thought that when I became rich in the future, I would never let her worry about anything again, and let her live a rich life without any worries. But now I still need your mother to help me, I..."
Chen Biao's eyes widened in disbelief: "Dad, how can you be like this? You repay kindness with enmity."
Zhu Yuanzhang, who was crying, stopped crying.
Chen Biao rubbed the cloth against Zhu Yuanzhang's face several times and said, "I've done so much for you. Now that you're out of trouble, you're going to lock me up in the backyard and just stare at the sky? I'm so capable. Now that you're out of trouble, you should support me even more in doing good things and make me famous."
Zhu Yuanzhang grabbed the cloth that Chen Biao was using to play tricks on his face and asked, "Ah?"
Chen Biao said, "Mother, you can make clothes, so let you manage the cloth shop. Only women know what kind of clothes women need. Mother, you love reading, so let you open a girls' academy to teach them literacy and arithmetic. If father is sent to guard the frontier in the future, there will be fewer restrictions on women in the frontier, so you can let mother help you manage the internal affairs, and you only need to fight the wars..."
Chen Biao stood on Zhu Yuanzhang's lap, folding his arms and saying, "You must not learn from Marshal Zhu. His wife is such a capable person, but when he becomes emperor, his wife will just sit in the palace and endure the days, worrying about the trivial matters of Marshal Zhu's harem of three thousand concubines."
Zhu Yuanzhang silently wiped his tears and snot with a cloth: "The Marshal's wife is the queen, there are many things she can do, what about getting by? You are slandering the Marshal again. Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. How are you going to help your mother?"
Chen Biao clapped his hands, and Li Zhen handed over a large stack of papers.
Chen Biao pointed at his dark circles and said, "It's from staying up late!"
Zhu Yuanzhang was anxious: "No matter how important the matter is, you are not allowed to stay up late!"
Chen Biao said, "It's a rare occasion for mother to ask me for help. I'll do it even if it means I have to go through fire and water, not to mention staying up all night. Let's see if there's anything you want to add."
Zhu Yuanzhang first rubbed his son's head hard for daring to stay up late. He regretted it so much. If he was watching over him, his son would never stay up late.
But he felt very sad.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the advice Chen Biao gave Ma and said sourly, "Every time I ask you to help Dad and Marshal Zhu, you always complain. Why are you so enthusiastic when your mother asks you?"
Chen Biao said disdainfully: "Can you compare yourself to your mother? Can you compare yourself to the Marshal and his wife? Ask yourself, if it were you, who would you be more proactive in helping?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was choked by Chen Biao's words.
Xu Da crossed his arms, came closer, took a peek, and said, "Biao'er is right!"
Zhu Yuanzhang threw the cloth stained with Chen Biao's sweat and his own tears and snot to Xu Da, told Xu Da to wash the cloth and get out quickly, and then continued to read the plan written by Chen Biao.
Li Zhen went back to get a new towel and took away Chen Wenzhen, who was very curious about Zhu Yuanzhang's study and was touching things everywhere.
Chen Biao, who stayed up late, soon felt sleepy and fell asleep in Zhu Yuanzhang's arms.
While Zhu Yuanzhang was protecting his sleeping son, he was also helping his wife to complete the plan.
His son was right. We were not short of money. Perhaps what his wife needed was not a rich but boring life. His wife supported him, and he also supported her.
Otherwise, first, give the wife a name that can be called by others? Most women who have left their names in history have their own names. His wife should also have one if she wants to be famous outside.
…
Zhu Yuanzhang said that he would not let his son stay up late, but in order to perfect the plan for Ma, he also stayed up all night. Early the next morning, he asked Li Zhen to send someone to deliver a letter.
Then Zhu Yuanzhang woke up his son to have breakfast. After breakfast, he hugged his son who fell asleep again and took a nap together.
This was the first dreamless sleep he had after implementing the well-field system.
In Yingtian Prefecture, Ma opened the letter and started talking neither about family matters nor about serious matters.
At the beginning of the letter, Zhu Yuanzhang said that his son once asked him what the Marshal's wife was named, was it Ma Cuihua or Ma Xiuying? He thought the name "Ma Xiuying" was very good and asked what Ma thought of it.
Ma was stunned for a moment, and her heart felt warm.
Most girls only had one nickname when they were young, such as Yatou, Niuniu, Moujie, etc. The same was true for Ma.
When a girl reaches the age of 15, a well-educated and doting father will usually give her a courtesy name. This courtesy name is the new name the girl can use in front of others.
If the father does not give a girl a given name, her husband will give her a name after marriage.
This is what is meant by "waiting to be married in the boudoir".
Ma's biological father died early, and although Guo Zixing raised her, she was not his biological daughter after all, and Zhu Yuanzhang was a rough man. Therefore, Ma only had a nickname until now, and no courtesy name.
Ma first sighed, then smiled and said, "From now on, I will be Ma Xiuying."
Ma Xiuying touched her belly and said sadly, "To have a child like Biao'er, my ancestors have accumulated so much blessing. For Biao'er, I must do more good deeds."
For the sake of the baby in her belly, Ma Xiuying would not tire herself out even if the matter was very important.
While she was looking at the plans that Chen Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang had made to fill in the gaps for her, she gradually began to arrange everything.
Soon, new plays and stories were performed in the teahouses, restaurants and theaters of the Chen family in Yingtian, and catchy nursery rhymes began to spread among the people.
If you have land, you can eat enough; if you have land, you can dress well.
If the mother has land to farm, her children will grow up well; if the sister has land to farm, she will marry well in the future.
The unassuming nursery rhyme quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys, and every child playing could sing a line or two.
The storytellers in the teahouse began to tell stories from the poems of some poets.
For example, the most famous "Song of Pity the Peasants" says, "There is no idle land in the world, yet farmers still starve to death."
They talked about the history of the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty had a rich treasury and vast fertile land south of the Yangtze River, but the common people had no place to live.
What about the land? It all belongs to the powerful families and wealthy businessmen.
Marshal Zhu is going to distribute land to us common people. And every thirty years, there will be another distribution.
Rich people can buy the thirty-year usage rights from others, which is a lifetime for ordinary people; poor people can sell their own lives, but their children and grandchildren can still get a share of the land after they grow up, and they can still have hope.
Even wealthy families may face ruin, but as long as their descendants grow up and share the land, they can rise again.
Besides, the Marshal hadn't even managed to take away the land they already held. Could it be that they wouldn't even share the land they had left with the people who were starving to death?
Let's talk about unbinding women's feet and allocating land. Nowadays, many men are conscripted, resulting in heavy casualties, leaving many families with only widows and children. If we don't unbind women's feet and allocate land, will we let these people starve to death?
A daughter can marry a son-in-law or take in an orphan to inherit the family name, so that the family line can continue to be passed on.
The women of wealthy families don't care about that little piece of land. They won't starve to death, and their family line won't be extinct. So should they ignore the suffering of ordinary women?
Especially for those women whose fathers and brothers died in battle against the Yuan rebels, if they were to starve to death, wouldn’t their fathers’ and brothers’ comrades feel guilty?
But we ordinary people can neither write poetry nor pay famous prostitutes to sing songs. How can we support Marshal Zhu and let him continue to distribute land?
Are we just going to watch those people who have enough to eat every day and don’t care about the lives of the people, writing nonsense and misleading Marshal Zhu, making Marshal Zhu think that the people really don’t support him?
One day, a large stage was set up outside Yingtian City. Ma Xiuying made some disguises to cover her big belly, stuck some stuff on her face, and used the non-toxic powder specially made for her by Chen Biao to put on makeup, pretending to be a woman who was more plump than her original figure.
"I am Zhu Yuanzhang's wife, Ma Xiuying." Ma Xiuying, dressed in simple clothes, addressed the audience. "You may have heard of me. I've also seen people in poverty. I don't need to explain how important farmland is to us. You all know it in your hearts. It's just that you're as tongue-tied as I am. You can't express profound truths, let alone compose eloquent poems."
"Tomorrow, I will come here again to recruit women to sew clothes, shoes, socks, and leather armor for the soldiers on the front lines. We also need strong women to help deliver food. The army also needs women to do laundry, cook, and care for the injured... I have a lot of things here that I need women to do."
"The military camp can be a very bad place for women. But I will guarantee your safety and innocence, in the name of my wife, Ma Xiuying."
Ma Xiuying's calm gaze swept over the people whispering in the audience.
"Starting tomorrow, for seven consecutive days, I will send people here to register the names of those who want to work for me. After seven days, I will start assigning work. You can just think of this as corvée labor before the land is divided."
Ma Xiuying made a joke, which was not funny, but for some reason, the people below all laughed one after another.
"I'm a rough man who doesn't know how to speak. I'm sorry to have embarrassed everyone." Ma Xiuying bowed and saluted like a man.
Suddenly, a dark and strong woman pushed through the crowd and walked under the stage. She said in Mandarin with a Minnan accent: "Madam Xiuying, if I don't want to do these jobs and want to join the army!"
Ma Xiuying was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "There are currently no women serving in the Red Turban Army. However, if you have confidence in yourself, I will propose this to the Marshal. However , it is very difficult for women to serve in the army. Are you sure you want to join the army?"
The dark and strong woman smiled and said, "I'm from Fujian. My ancestor was Madam Xu, the daughter of Minister Chen Wenlong. Even if I hadn't joined the Red Turban Army, my men would have been fighting the Yuan Tartars. However, I'm currently considered a bandit. I wonder if the Marshal would take me in."
Ma Xiuying immediately stepped down from the platform, held the dark and strong woman's hands and said, "If you have your own team, I will promise you on behalf of the Marshal now."
The dark-skinned woman's eyes lit up: "The Marshal's wife can also make the decision on this matter?!"
Ma Xiuying said generously: "You can ask here in Yingtian Prefecture, what can't I, Ma Xiuying, make the decision on?"
A woman wearing a veil came over gracefully. From her steps, one could tell she had bound feet.
"Then, could the Marshal's wife please intervene and allow me to sing on stage?" The woman took off her veil, revealing a face that, though a little aged, still retained its charm. "I have quite a few sisters. Now, thanks to the Marshal and the Chen family, I can support myself in the cloth workshop and embroidery shop. I don't want to talk about the past anymore."
The woman paused, her smile tinged with tears, "But if our singing and pipa can repay the kindness of saving our lives, we sisters are willing to show what we have learned again."
Behind that woman, several other women took off their veils. They were all girls from brothels and music halls that were specially taken in by Chen Biao after Zhu Yuanzhang closed them down.
The noisy people fell silent in an instant.
Everyone knows that famous prostitutes may look glamorous, but after they stop working in this industry, they all wish to erase their past names so that they can live a clean life.
But now they have clearly escaped the sea of suffering, no one remembers their past as prostitutes, and they can marry into good families and become wives with flat heads and straight faces. Yet they expose their scars, just to repay Marshal Zhu's kindness.
Ma Xiuying said seriously, "I'll leave this matter to the Chen family. They'll definitely find a way for you to sing without jeopardizing your reputation. If you don't mind the Marshal's soldiers being vulgar, I'll also arrange your marriages. I'll definitely choose good men for you who will take good care of you."
Only then did the people become noisy again.
"Okay, then, do you want to get married together? I heard that you, Madam Xiuying, have arranged weddings for soldiers in the army before?"
"Is that true? Then I'll definitely ask for a glass of wedding wine!"
"Girl, if you can speak for us, we will definitely protect you."
"What's so shameful about singing and performing in the Chen family's restaurant? It's not a brothel, so you can sing as much as you want!"
"Yes, that's the Bodhisattva Chen family."
The girls were stunned at first, then their smiles became wider and their tears shed more: “Thank you, everyone, thank you!”
The dark and strong woman touched her nose and said, "My dear daughter, I also want to find a wife for my men among them in the future. Madam Xiuying, please help me."
Ma Xiuying smiled and said, "Aren't the soldiers under your command also the Marshal's soldiers? I'll take care of them all."
The dark and strong woman smiled and said, "Well, I'll leave it all to you, Madam Xiuying."
"Madam Xiuying, I... I..." A woman mustered her courage, holding up a scroll. "I, I can write poetry too! But I don't know where to get it printed in Yingtian. Madam Xiuying, could you point me to a place?"
"I can do that too! My father was a Jinshi in the Yuan Dynasty! I've been studying since I was young! Are they the only talented women in Hangzhou?!"
When a person appeared, several women with their servants quickly stood up bravely.
Ma Xiuying was stunned. She had never expected that so many people would actively respond to her promotion.
Soon, she smiled and nodded in agreement.
It turns out that there are many people like her, holding their breath and having made many preparations, but they just lack an opportunity to stand up and a leader who can give them courage.
Ma Xiuying held her head high and said, "Then let's start registering from today. The sooner we finish registering, the sooner we can start working."
Soldiers began to maintain order; clerks sat under the erected tents and opened blank books.
Soon, a long line formed in front of him. Many women in simple clothes joined the line, and the line was so long that there was no end in sight.
The name of Madam Xiuying quickly spread throughout Yingtian, and then slowly spread to eastern and western Zhejiang, and to the entire Chinese land.