Volume 3 Chapter 18: Travelers Helping Each Other
Emperor Zhao went too far, there is no doubt that he went too far.
Some things should not be said so early even in the so-called political secret room in the outside world. Especially since the Emperor Zhao is really sincere... In fact, according to the political correctness of this year, the Emperor Zhao is righteous and sincere, while Zhao Jiu seems particularly unorthodox.
But on the other hand, does Zhao Jiu regret it?
I regret it if I say I do, but I also don’t regret it if I say I don’t.
What he regretted was that he could say such words to Zhao Shiyi openly, which showed that he was too arrogant, so he immediately reflected on himself and decided that he should not indulge in the feeling of being a dictator just because he held the military power. Being so unscrupulous and frivolous, how much like a person like Zhao Ji was he?
What he did not regret was that this was his sincere thought. He looked down on the officials of the Song Dynasty and regarded the two saints as the culprits of the Jingkang Incident rather than victims.
So, it’s just what he said. It’s not the first time that he has chopped the legs of the broken chair under his butt. At worst, he can just put a brick under it and continue to sit on it... It’s not something that Zhao Jiu is willing to wear or sit on!
Since I came out of the well, I have been living in fear all day long, with my head tied to my belt. In the end, I didn’t eat any ice or snow, only ice cream... Do officials really have an easy life?
So, with this mentality, after burning incense, Emperor Zhao lingered in Shaolin Temple for half a day, probably to check out the Sutra Library, the Wall-Facing Cave and other cultural relics and historical sites, and then, in recognition of the great monks' profound Buddhist knowledge, he personally wrote the four words "Boxing from Shaolin", then rested for a night and then went down the mountain.
Speaking of which, let's not talk about Zhao Jiu's gangster mentality, just say that the loyal and incomparable Uncle Zhao came down the mountain with the imperial guard, but he naturally had complicated feelings, different from others... After all, this new emperor still hurt the old uncle's heart, but after thinking about it, the old uncle could do nothing about it.
Because, that’s the government’s.
One must know that the Song Dynasty lasted for more than a hundred years, and the so-called Zhao Song officials were affected by the common people's culture caused by the population explosion, so that some of their halos were gone. From the prime ministers and royal relatives to the common people, everyone could discuss and evaluate the Zhao Song emperor. Of course, everyone could also discuss the prime ministers and royal relatives. On the other hand, they had to admit that according to the ancestral family rules of the Zhao Song Dynasty, the power of the Zhao Song officials was becoming more and more powerful.
It was like Emperor Zhao Ji, the Supreme Taoist Emperor, who was despised by someone. Everyone knew that he was frivolous, everyone knew that he was good at everything except state affairs, everyone knew that the six thieves around him were hateful, and even not only the six thieves were hateful, everyone also knew that the Flower and Stone Gang was a scourge, so much so that it caused a large-scale civil uprising in the southeast... However, before the Jin people came, did anyone stop him from running to Li Shishi?
In fact, in the eyes of this old uncle, Emperor Zhao, who was disrespectful to his ancestors and father and brothers, was exactly like the Emperor Taishang Daojun, whom he disrespected... They were both typical frivolous and rebellious monarchs!
But, so what?
No one could stop Emperor Taishang Daojun at that time . Today, asking a distant uncle with a sensitive status to discuss such issues, will it be useful and will it have a good ending?
Officials, officials, do you really think that rules can control other people?
If it could be controlled, how would the Song Dynasty have ended up like this?
In fact, if Zhao Jiu knew what his uncle was thinking, he would probably sigh in private... If the emperor can be controlled by the system, then how did Yue Fei die?
And after the incident at Fengbo Pavilion, did Han Shizhong rebel? Or did his uncle Zhao, who was willing to use his entire family as a guarantee for Yue Fei, rebel?
No matter how rebellious and shameless Zhao Jiu is, can he really compare to the Zhao Ji and his son in the original history?
Why do you say that he is rebellious and bullies honest people just because he cursed his father and brother a few times in private?
All in all, it was probably because of this that the emperor's uncle Zhao Shiyi became disheartened, so as soon as he arrived at Dengfeng County at the foot of the mountain, he prepared to write a memorial, claiming illness and take his leave, and leave first. From then on, he no longer cared about state affairs, but only guarded the ancestral temple.
However, at this time, Emperor Zhao actually sent an edict in advance, saying that he had wanted to go to the Eight Tombs in Luoyang to offer sacrifices in person, but he had been unwell for the past few days and would be sad to see the tombs. He could not bear to do so for the time being, so he sent the Grand Clan Director and the Emperor's uncle Zhao Shiqi as envoys to pray for blessings on behalf of the emperor.
This appointment, which was hard to tell whether it was a compromise or a stubborn one, made Uncle Zhao feel even more powerless... He wanted to give up, but what if his ancestors really couldn't be worshipped after he gave up?
In desperation, he put away the memorial he had originally submitted claiming illness, accepted the imperial order, and went to the Eight Tombs in Luoyang for the second time on behalf of Emperor Zhao, carrying all the imperial ceremonial guards.
Scholar Kobayashi and the soldiers under Commander Da Cui also accompanied them.
Not only that, a few days later, Prime Minister Lu Haowen and Minister of Rites Zhu Shengfei also received imperial orders to serve as deputy envoys and go to the Eight Tombs in Luoyang to join Uncle Zhao who was bathing and fasting in preparation for the wedding day, and visit the Eight Tombs together.
As for Zhao Jiu himself, he took Madam Wu, Yang Yizhong and a few guards and stayed temporarily in Niugao’s army near Dengfeng City, preparing to survive this period.
It was here that the official finally learned that Yue Fei's wife had gone south and married a soldier under Han Shizhong at an early age.
Yue Fei handled this matter without any problem. He asked a trusted soldier in the army who knew his wife to bring 500 , and then he said nothing more... On the one hand, this incident eventually led to the breakdown of their relationship, and on the other hand, he took into account the feelings of the Yue Yun brothers who were growing up.
What was originally a very embarrassing incident ended here.
After all, this matter involved the privacy of the generals, and neither side made it public, so Emperor Zhao knew about it a little late. He also did not say anything about the treatment of Yue Fei, and did not want to interfere without authorization and cause embarrassment to Yue and Han again... But when this matter came to Zhao Jiu's ears at this time, he couldn't help but notice one thing.
"There are many people from Hebei in the army. Are there many such incidents?" After Zhao Jiu got to know the situation a little, he naturally asked Yang Yizhong who delivered the news .
"A lot." Yang Yizhong thought for a moment and then answered affirmatively. "But most of them are active buyers. It's rare for someone like Madam Yue to leave her husband's family first and then find a way out on her own."
"What is active buying and selling?" Zhao Jiu was slightly stunned. He just wanted to ask about the separation of husband and wife, but never thought about any business.
"Even if the couple had rarely been separated, when they crossed the river, they were extremely poor and had nothing, so they sold their wives to make a living."
"Husband sells his wife?" Zhao Jiu was shocked.
"The couple sells the wife together..." Yang Yizhong explained. "And usually they sell her alive."
"What do you mean by selling alive?"
"Even if the couple's love is not over, but they are extremely poor, they will sell themselves to others as concubines or servants. There is a price and a term. Then, the husband can raise money to exchange for her, or the wife can return home after the expiration of the term. They can reconcile... But selling alive is often much cheaper than selling dead." At this point, Yang Yizhong added. "Many times, women who take the initiative to sell themselves often do not want money, as long as the wealthy family allows them to take their children with them to support them."
Zhao Jiu was stunned.
"Of course, there is also a special case of selling alive." Yang Yizhong was already cautious, but out of professional ethics, he had to tell everything. "That is an unfixed amount, as long as you sell it to someone and give birth to a child, it means renting a child... Once the child is one month old, the contract is considered complete."
"You mean, my imperial soldiers also had this kind of thing?" Zhao Jiu finally came to his senses, his brows becoming visibly grim. "Is the matter with Yue Fei's wife considered lucky?"
"Your Majesty." Yang Yizhong became more cautious. "Since the emperor has asked me, I must let you know that this matter involves two layers..."
"Tell me."
"The first is the system of buying and selling concubines. This has been the case for hundreds of years, not just for this time, nor just in the military. It was a legal rule in the Tang Dynasty, and then the Song Dynasty inherited the Tang law, which has been passed down to this day. In the Tang Dynasty, Bai Juyi changed concubines every three years. In this dynasty, the great scholar Su also sold concubines for horses. When Bao Longtu's concubine became pregnant, he still sent her away... Even Mrs. Liang and two concubines in the family of Han Taiwei were bought... This kind of thing has its roots in the system and laws, and it has existed since ancient times." Yang Yizhong said carefully. "As for the Hebei refugees selling their wives, the root cause is the extreme poverty of the refugees. If they don't sell their wives, they will sell their children. If they don't sell their children, they will sell themselves as slaves... The two cannot be generalized."
"You hit the nail on the head." Zhao Jiu nodded slightly, but then shook his head slightly. "But this is still inappropriate, and should be stopped... Tell Mr. Lu not to go to the sacrifice, and let him come to Dengfeng to see me directly."
Yang Yizhong bowed his head and obeyed the order.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, Emperor Zhao suddenly sneered in front of me: "In this case, there are still people who want me to pray for the two saints. Isn't this deceiving myself?"
This time, Yang Yizhong naturally pretended not to hear it.
