female concubine

Chapter 241

In August of the 12th year of Qianyuan, Wang Wenfu presented a letter, describing the Taoist philosophy of governing the country, which was appreciated by the emperor.

There are several simple carriages parked outside the Wang residence in Guozi Lane, and a few women's crowns get out of the carriages, all with hair tied and crown scarves and Dao clothes.

The female envoys and servants in the palace came out one after another to help carry the boxes of scriptures. Wang Wenfu hurried out with his daughter, and cupped his hands at one of the female crowns, who was dressed in a slightly different color, and said, "Senior brother."

Immediately afterwards, he ordered the servants in the mansion to serve tea, "Please trouble senior brother to come all the way from the north."

"Pindao received Aoyama's letter, every word is so touching that it is impossible to refuse. If I don't come to Tokyo, I'm afraid I will become a sinner."

Wang Wenfu lowered his head and said with a slight smile: "Qingshan is also helpless. Today's officials are different from previous emperors, but Qingshan is already a mortal child who has entered the secular world, and his ability and influence are limited. Only then did Qingshan think of inviting a few brothers and sisters. Come out of the mountain to help persuade."

"how do you want to do it?"

"State religion."

"But brother, don't worry, I've discussed this matter with the officials, and I just need to do a few rituals to convince all the officials."

The female crown hesitated for a while and did not respond, then turned to look at the girl next to her, "After more than ten years, Qingshan's daughter is about to grow old."

"Yes, I have been in the official career for ten years."

Nuguan looked at the withered autumn leaves in the yard, "In a world of great contention, the only way is not to fight. I will do my best."

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In the mid-August of the 12th year of Qianyuan, the emperor celebrated his birthday. Wang Wenfu led Tianchang Temple and famous scholars from Yuqing Palace to the palace to face the saint. On the next day, fasting was set up in the palace.

In the temple in Ouchi, the emperor sits cross-legged against a Kun Dao wearing a Yuanshi crown.

Looking into the eyes that seem to be able to see everything, the emperor respectfully said: "I stop killing by killing. I don't know whether it is right or wrong. I am often confused, so I want to ask a real person how to govern the country."

"Long ago, Wang Xiangguo and Pindao mentioned His Majesty's worries."

"I am not a belligerent, nor do I want to be an emperor through the ages. I only hope that the people in the world, regardless of gender, can be treated equally, but I cannot reverse the thousands of years of rules."

Kun Dao, who behaved generously, handed over a scripture, "The nature of heaven and earth, ten thousand things, human life is the most important."

The emperor stretched out his hands and took it solemnly, "Taiping Sutra..."

Kun Dao raised his hand to signal, "Please turn to Taiping Juan No. 30, Your Majesty." Then he asked: "Your Majesty is the father of all people in the world. Do you know why you are called Father of King?"

The emperor flipped through the book and thought: "The people are the sons, and the son of heaven should love the people as he loves his son."

Kun Dao nodded, "In ancient times, the superior rulers used the Tao to convince people, and they won the heart of heaven. Their governance was like a god, and those who did not worry about it also convinced people with the true way. Wen subdues people, and a fierce and defeated king will serve people with punishment, killing and wounding. It is the ancients who were superior to the emperor, and ruled with morality and benevolence, and did not use literary punishment to kill and wound people. Therefore, it is despised to use it. The superior gentleman is It is similar to heaven and earth, so heaven is good at life and not hurt, so it is called king and father."

The emperor put down the book, and immediately raised his head and cupped his hands, "Taoism talks about the harmony of yin and yang, so that the world will be peaceful. I would like to listen to the teaching of a real person."

"Taoism believes that solitary yin does not grow, solitary yang does not grow, there is no distinction between yin and yang, and the difference between yin and yang is only the difference between people's hearts."

"Since the Duke of Zhou established the rites, there has been no so-called equality," the emperor looked down at the scriptures. "The previous dynasty took Taoism as the state religion and no longer exclusively respected Confucianism, which made the people civilized. I like that prosperous age very much. There will be no dynasty in a hundred years. A world beyond."

"Pindao has been in Tianchangguan for decades, and he has encountered countless abandoned baby girls. This is the result of losing his way."

"Lost way..."

"Since I lost my way today, how many lowly women have turned against thieves to kill them, making women less than men, so that the yin energy is exhausted, and it does not correspond to the law of heaven and earth. The law of heaven, the solitary sun is unparalleled, and it dries up, making the sky rain from time to time. Female The one who responds to the land, only sees the lowly, the whole world despises its true mother, and the thieves harm and kill the earth's qi, so that the earth's qi will never be born, the earth will be furious and displeased, and the disasters will multiply, making the king's rule unbalanced. Why? A husband and a man are the spirit of heaven, and a woman is the spirit of the earth. Things are moved by kind, and the king's rule is not fair. It is not the fault of the king alone." Kun Dao stood up and bowed to the emperor with the big sleeves of the crane cloak folded , "Your Majesty can listen to Taoism today, and he must have a prosperous age in his heart."

The emperor also stood up, "I want all the real people to stay in the capital and educate the subjects of the world."

In mid-August of the 12th year of Qianyuan, the master of Tianchang Temple, Master Qingxu Linzhao, and Mr. Tongzhen Renjing were bestowed with purple clothes. At the beginning of September, the temple was built in Kaifeng, plus the name Laozi Taishang Laojun Hunyuan Shangde Emperor .

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in a few days

The autumn wind passing through the Bian River blew towards the Forbidden City and rolled up the dead leaves in front of the Kunning Palace. Several servants sweeping the yard quickly held down the yellow leaves that had made a mess with their brooms.

"You want to leave the palace and live with your elder brother?"

Zhao Xi squatted beside Xiao Youqing's knees, raised his head and begged, "Yes, Xi'er has been with Eldest Brother since childhood, and Eldest Brother's temperament is clearest to Xi'er, and now Eldest Brother is out of the palace, no one is taking care of his daily life..."

"The prince's mansion has various palace officials in charge of cashiers and daily life. You are a girl who is about to marry. Although he is your elder brother, he is still an unmarried man after all."

"But Xi'er stayed in the palace because of my elder brother, Your Highness," Zhao Xi knelt down and said, "Xi'er likes elder brother."

Even if the nephew doesn't say it, Xiao Youqing can still see the clues from his daily life, "Does he know?"

Zhao Xi nodded and shook his head.

"What do you think?"

"Xi'er knows that brother's heart belongs to him, but Xi'er doesn't care, as long as Xi'er likes it."

"You know, your mother is the elder sister of the official family. Your uncle and I will not want to wrong you no matter what. You can choose your own husband, choose a man who is dedicated to you. The officials still plan to seal it..."

"Xi'er doesn't want a county lord. Xi'er only wants to be his brother's wife, even if his brother only regards me as his younger sister."

At this point, Xiao Youqing couldn't say anything more, "Get up."

"His Highness agrees?"

"I'll go and talk to your uncle, and I'm not sure if I'll give you a marriage."

"As long as my aunt mentions it, how can my uncle not agree?"

"I can give people to you, but your uncle and I will grow old after all. It is your uncle's choice whether your uncle takes a concubine. Brother Ren has grown up now, and what he thinks is no longer up to us. .”

"Xi'er knows that elder brother is the eldest son of the official family, and he will also become the crown prince in the future. Xi'er is content to be by his brother's side all the time."

After listening to Zhao Xi's words, Xiao Youqing just raised his eyebrows and let out a long sigh.

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On the south side of the Kunning Hall, in the Hanging Hall, the emperor is discussing affairs with the rulers of the East and West.

The servant took the emperor's handwritten edict and walked down the steps of the palace, and unfolded it in front of the purple robes. The content of the edict immediately caused an uproar among everyone, even Han Si was shocked by it, only Wang Wenfu was surprised and delighted.

All the confidants looked at each other in astonishment, and immediately exclaimed, "Your Majesty wants to set up a women's department?"

The emperor got up from the throne, "Not only do I want to open women's subjects, I also want to make Taoism the state religion."

"The state respects both Buddhism and Taoism, and since the first emperor has given great support to Buddhism and Taoism, it is not difficult for His Majesty to make Taoism the state religion, but..."

All the ministers look at me and I look at you, "Female subjects...I'm afraid it's not feasible."

"During Taizong's time, he set up ministers for introspection, and set up female officials to take charge of the internal affairs of the court and consult the emperor in the outer courts. On behalf of the emperor, he approved the Quartet's official documents and temporarily punished them. However, they only did not participate in politics in the inner court, but now His Majesty wants to open a women's department. Let women openly stand in the courtroom to discuss politics... I am afraid it will be difficult to implement."

The emperor walked down the steps of the palace, "Is it not feasible or the ministers refuse to agree?"

"The minister is terrified."

"Your Majesty, it is an ancestral system that women are not allowed to participate in politics, not to mention the matter of women's affairs, which has never been heard of since pre-Qin for thousands of years, even when the empress was in power, it was never established."

"Your Majesty set up a women's department for no reason because of Your Highness the Empress? It never happened when Empress Wende persuaded Emperor Taizong. If this matter is passed, it will definitely cause an uproar in the court."

"What do you mean by the Privy Council of the West Mansion?" The emperor stared at Han Bang who was silent.

Han Si folded his sleeves and cupped his hands, saying, "Your order is to obey."

Wang Wenfu also cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the minister is the same as Han Miyuan, and he obeys orders."

Zhang Hou stepped forward and pulled Wang Wenfu's sleeve and whispered, "Jiezhi knows what this means. This is a hundred times more difficult than restructuring."

"Why is it difficult to reform the system?" Wang Wenfu turned his head, "If the king has the determination, the world will have no difficulty. This world is the world of the emperor alone. Of course I understand what I am doing."

"Wang Qing agreed very quickly."

"Your Majesty, I am ashamed to say this matter. The minister, Xianyun Yehe, did not want to be an official. Today, he was able to serve the purple gold fish bag in the court hall to pay homage to the minister. It was all instructed by his wife. To put it bluntly, if you are not afraid of jokes, the reason why Wang became an official Getting a wife is also a confidant in life."

"If I remember correctly, Wang Qing's first wife is the eldest daughter of the Cao family?"

Wang Wenfu bowed his hands to the emperor, "Yes, the lady is both civil and military. I often sigh that if she is a man, she will not lose to any general in the court. In Wenfu's heart, everyone who stands in the Ming hall is the pillar of the country. The sage said , to select the virtuous and the capable, is it enough to have the virtuous and the capable, the Dao and the moral? If this is the case, why should there be a distinction between men and women, and women may not be as talented as men?"

"Wenfu studied Confucianism and Taoism since he was a child, and he became a monk when he became sensible. He said that a sage is selfless but tramples women at the bottom. May I ask, are women not the subjects of the king's father? Let me ask, how did you come from without a mother? "

"Opening a women's department, the sun and the moon will still shine, and the yin and yang will not be reversed. It will only make some mediocre people afraid. I, Wang Jiezhi, know frankly that I am not as good as my wife in civil and military, so I will not hide it and be ashamed to speak."

Except for Wang Wenfu, the other ministers, including Han Bo, did not strongly agree or oppose loudly. They just expressed their opinions or followed Han Bo's neutral attitude to obey the emperor's orders.

"What Wang Xiang said is not unreasonable, but this matter is not a trivial matter. If it is not handled properly, it is very likely to cause turmoil."

"New people and new things will always be crowded out by old people and old things, and there is no rush to insert new things on the basis of the old."

The emperor turned around and turned his back to the ministers who had different opinions, "That's why I summoned you to discuss. You were all single-handedly picked up by me. The two old ministers, Lu Wei and Chen Yu, left, so I am not here to solicit. It's up to you," the emperor said with a cold face, "I want you to come here to find a way!"

"Your Majesty," Han Bo walked out again, "The female officials of the Guochao are only in the inner provinces to assist the Zhonggong, but they can learn from the previous dynasty who had female officials in other provinces. In the previous dynasty, there were women who were named inner servants and were called female prime ministers. .”

Wang Wenfu stated again: "Your Majesty's establishment of a school, although ordering women to go to school, has little effect. The reason is that rich families and officials do not want their daughters to show up, so they invite scholars or private schools, while poor people think that women's studies are useless and wasteful. If money can be used to set up female officials and women's departments in the future, it will be able to promote women's enrollment and make them complement each other."

The emperor turned around, "Then let's try it for now?" Then he stroked his chin and pondered, "Zhezi from the Taiwan Admonition side has to trouble Dongfu to block it these few days, I am too lazy to watch, out of sight and out of mind. "

"Yes."

"If the beating last time was not enough, then continue."

"Yes."

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After the emperor returned to the inner palace, he grabbed a handful of fish food and threw it into the pond. Hearing the sound of footsteps, the red and white carps jumped out of the water. How can a group of people be so stubborn?" The emperor patted his empty hands, raised his eyebrows, and said, "Or there is a world of difference between men and women. A man is a man and a woman is a woman, so we can't Empathy will not produce empathy..." The emperor shook his head, "Sure enough, people are selfish."

"When the officials come back, they don't enter the palace to change clothes. Why are they here alone with the fish?"

The emperor turned around, "I just happened to pass by the pond, and saw the fish jumping out of the water and stopped."

"What's the matter with the previous dynasty?"

"I want to open a women's department. They didn't say they disagreed, but they used a lot of reasons why it was not feasible. I know they dare not object because they are afraid of me. I don't care if other ministers object." The emperor shook his head again, "Sure enough, if there are only men in the court, few of them would speak for women."

"The ministers who support His Majesty's reforms are also ordinary people and men. They all have their own positions and interests."

"I know, but it's still a bit early for women's department, and it still needs a prosperous age." The emperor looked sideways at Xiao Youqing, "Just now I saw Xi'er coming out of Kunning Hall, what's the matter?"

Xiao Youqing stared at the koi in the pond, and sighed: "Didn't the officials always know about her?"

"Da Lang?" The emperor turned his head, "What do you mean by sister?"

"The precious nephew of the official family is determined to marry the king and become the king's wife. What can the concubine do?"

The emperor stroked the back of his hand, "Brother-in-law sent her to the palace to ease my heart. I always felt that I trapped her and she shouldn't belong here. I also wanted to wait until this winter and the order of the emperor to make Sifeng Sizao." book..."

"The child likes it, and the tone of her speech is that she must marry. She grew up in the inner court since she was a child, and knows what she will face in the future. Since she is such a concubine, she doesn't know how to persuade her."

"She is my sister's daughter. If she likes her, I would like to marry Da Lang, but Da Lang..."

"He has always listened to you, and he has always been a sensible child. Even if he didn't have that affection, he wouldn't be a heartless person."

Looking at the courtyard, the emperor took a long breath, "So soon, even the children are getting married."

Xiao Youqing walked to her side and stood side by side, "It's just a blink of an eye, if it wasn't for watching Brother Ren grow up day by day, the 12 years in the deep palace who lived day after day as courtiers and concubines would almost forget themselves It's getting old."

"Nonsense, why is my sister getting old? I'll go hunting with my sister when I'm done with my work."

"The official's wound doesn't hurt anymore?"

"You can't draw the bow with force, it's okay to watch from the sidelines."

A gust of breeze blew across the pond and passed through the courtyard, "Okay," Xiao Youqing turned around, "It's windy outside, so you can't blow the cool wind if you're hurt, go back to the house, I'll change your clothes."

The emperor turned around and took Xiao Youqing's hand and nodded, "Okay."

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In the autumn of the 12th year of Qianyuan, the imperial court issued an edict to regard Taoism as the state religion, and ordered Yousi to publish the "Taiping Jing" and many Taoist scriptures to spread throughout the country, and Taoism was included in the national studies.

At the end of August, Wang Wenfu was summoned again to preside over the reform of the official system. At the beginning of September, the emperor announced the establishment of female officials from the inner and outer provinces in the Zichen Palace. And Shang Zhazi blocked the entrance of the Chuigong Hall, and the emperor would not receive him.

In mid-September, the internal provincial bureaucracy of Shangshu was changed, and six divisions were set up to take charge of the three provinces and six officials. Under the supervision of four deputy ministers, there are six people in the capital, six in charge, 12 in charge, 12 in Lingshi, 24 in Shulingshi, and 24 in Shushi. In addition to being in charge of Liucao's memorials, they also participate in decision-making and supervision. For the purpose, the principal and above are senators, who can enter the court to discuss government affairs. The female officials are not selected by the Ministry of Officials.

The letter failed, Jiang Luochuan, the censor Zhongcheng, and Su Yu, the Zuo Sijian, wrote tens of thousands of words. They were later dismissed and relegated from Beijing for the crime of disobedience.