Shuhan

Chapter 516: Guan Zhongding, draft girl!
The news of the death of Emperor Liu Bei of the Han Dynasty spread throughout Guanzhong along with the messengers. Many messengers also traveled along the Baoxie Road to Yizhou and Jingzhou.

Following this, there was an announcement that Liu Chan ascended the throne and became the emperor:

I, Liu Chan, have inherited the legacy of the late emperor and the re-entrustment of He Sheji. I now assume the throne of the emperor and declare to the world:
In the past, it was difficult for my father to start a business, and the road to success was difficult and difficult. The conscientiousness of the common people's administration and the laxity of the bandits led to the great Han Dynasty in Longping. However, as the year passed, my father died and I was ordered to inherit the throne. I am a cold-blooded person, with little talent and little knowledge, and I am afraid that I will not be able to bear the burden. However, considering the importance of the country and the hope of the people, I dare not say goodbye.

From now on, I shall inherit the past and open up the future. Ruling the world with filial piety is the foundation, and respecting the virtuous and meritorious service is the most important thing. The task is to combine leniency and force, to use kindness and power at the same time, so as to calm the people and stabilize the four directions.

Although I am not talented, I am willing to work with the officials to encourage each other and live up to the trust of my father and emperor. It depends on the concerted efforts of the ministers and the people working together to achieve peace.

Announce it to the world, and the envoys will hear about it.

This notice was naturally learned by Cao Zhen in Yong County.

Liu Bei died!
This is good news.

For example, after Ma Chao passed away, he occupied Yong County and severely damaged the Han army. Now that Liu Bei has passed away, can he go further?
Capture Chang'an and regain Chang'an?
However, the expression on Cao Zhen's face was very ugly.

His brows were furrowed, like two small black snakes about to get entangled, releasing deep displeasure and anger. Between the eyebrows, a deep wrinkle runs across it, like a mark scratched by a carving knife of time, adding a bit of vicissitudes and majesty.

Liu Bei's death is good news, but the Wei army on the eastern front was defeated. Now Liu Bei is dead, and it is of no use.

The trend is over!

"hateful!"

Cao Zhen broke off the bamboo letter from Jian Junsi in his hand and punched it hard on the document in front of him.

Under the loud noise, the generals on both sides of the hall were startled.

"The Han army is preparing to send troops to attack me. What do you think our army should do?"

He = Cao Zhen's face was livid, and the muscles on his cheeks twitched slightly, as if he was trying to control his inner emotions, but he could not completely conceal the anger that was about to burst out.

Hao Zhao and Guo Huai looked at each other, took a step forward, and said, "General, the matter has come to this. There is nothing we can do about it. We just need to withdraw from Yong County and make further arrangements."

Yong County is in the plains and is not very defensive. Moreover, now that the Han army has won a battle, if there are no reinforcements, it has nothing to do with waiting for death if they stick to Yong County.

How can we survive without food and grass supplies?
"Those nobles, those powerful men, deserve to be damned. I, the Wei Dynasty, treat them well. In such a critical time, not seeing their help will only add insult to injury!"

Cao Zhen wrote letters to the nobles in Longxi and Liangzhou, asking them to transfer grain and grass, and even wrote threatening words.

However.
A small number of nobles responded, but only symbolically sent some money, silk, food and grass. Most of the powerful nobles pretended not to see it, and even the messenger who replied disappeared.

Needless to say, he must have been intercepted and killed by people from these aristocratic families.

How could Cao Zhen not know what these people were thinking?

Even when the critical moment comes and the Wei army wins, they can still escape punishment by using the excuse that they did not see the messenger and did not know the military orders.

These damn nobles are really like loaches, slippery and irritating.

As for his intention to capture the nearby nobles' and foreigners' forts, and plunder their grain, grass and baggage to supply the army.

结果
The results were few.

Although the Wubao of the Huyan tribe was not strong, Zhang Bao sent troops to help, and the Wei army lost troops and generals, and still could not take it.

By now, Cao Zhen is also a bit emo.

After thinking for a long time, Cao Zhen said: "We can't defend anymore. Before the Han army comes, take the people and prisoners in the city to Lishui City, and then transfer them to Liangzhou or Longxi. We will defend Lianshui City and return to Longxi City." Pass and stop the Han Dynasty's westward advance!"

There is no way, the offense and defense have changed.

Now he can only stay here.

"The general is wise!"

Guo Huai had long wanted to run away.

Now, if you stay in Yong County for one more day, the risks will be a little more.

If we retreat now, there is still a glimmer of hope.

In fact, in Guo Huai's heart, he had no hope of defending Longxi and Liangzhou.

The Han Dynasty is fierce, how can those powerful nobles obey the Wei Dynasty again?

It is very likely that they will fall out.

In his opinion, the only way to preserve it is to go around in a circle and enter Bingzhou via Hanyang, Anding, and Beidi.

But Guo Huai also understood that he could not say this because he could not bear the responsibility of losing Longyou and Liangzhou.

In the same way, even if Cao Zhengui is the general of the army, he cannot bear such a responsibility.

is the reason
Staying at the pass seems to be their only option.

just
Is there really a way out for this choice?

Guo Huai's heart was pounding.

"Don't leave anything that can't be transported in the city to the Han Dynasty. Yong County is burned down!"

There are too many things that cannot be taken away.

It would be a pity to burn it down.

But Cao Zhen was so angry that no one wanted to touch his brow, so all the generals in the field agreed one after another.

Before the armies of Zhang Bao, Ma Dai and Liu Feng had assembled, Cao Zhen was already thinking of escaping.

The noses of all the ethnic groups in Guanzhong are all dogs and are very sensitive. After learning about the situation in Guanzhong, they all stepped forward to express their opinions.

I hope to have a good position in the new dynasty. Dr. Jing Yan is a hot spot for them to compete for.

But there is another key, which is to surround Liu Chan with women.

That is, choosing a concubine!

At this moment in Chang'an City, Du You's mansion was almost trampled to the ground.

But there was no happy look on his face. Instead, he looked as if he had eaten several kilograms of Ollie, which was extremely ugly.

How could it be so easy to choose a concubine for the emperor?
Especially when choosing a concubine for Jin Shang, if you are not careful, your life may be at risk.

"We follow the system and cannot engage in malpractice for personal gain!"

Du You said seriously as he looked at the middle doctor, Ye Tingcheng and the prime minister who came out of the palace.

As long as he follows the procedure, even if he is not satisfied today, what can he do?
He tried his best.

If you want to mess with me, there is no reason!

Du You opened the book and quietly looked at the process of selecting concubines in the Han Dynasty.

The system of selecting concubines has a long history.

During the pre-Qin period, although there was an activity of selecting women to enter the palace, it was not formalized.

At that time, tyrannical kings such as Xia Jie and Shang Zhou preferred to rob women of their choice.

It seemed that violent methods suited the taste of these emperors, which often led to bloody conquests and persecution of other surrounding tribes.

By the time of the powerful Han Dynasty, things had become much more civilized.

During the Western Han Dynasty, most of the concubines came from the families of ministers and relatives, but there was already a move to select girls from good families among the people to enter the palace as "actresses". These "harem girls" are female officials in the harem. Although they also have the opportunity to be favored, they are not officially selected concubines.

Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Xiushi, started a formal concubine selection activity in August every year when the court collected taxes from the world.

According to the Records of the Empress in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, in August, the court ministers began to look for a harem for Liu Xiu in the surrounding countryside of Luoyang.

"(Liu Xiu) sent a senior official, Ye Tingcheng and Xiang Gong to inspect the young girls from good families in Luoyang Township, aged between thirteen and below twenty, with good looks and suitable appearance, and brought them back to the harem to see if they were suitable. "Use Dengyu".

In other words, there were clear standards for selecting concubines at that time. A girl must be born to an innocent family with good records and must be a virgin, that is, a virgin.

The applicant must be over 13 years old and under 20 years old, with a neat and beautiful appearance, and anatomy and appearance that meet the standards set by the royal family.

If selected by the officials, they will be taken to the harem in the car for further selection.

Since this is the emperor's will, resistance is definitely impossible. Some families are willing for their children to enter the palace and enjoy a wealthy life, and even the mother is more valuable than her son. Some families are not willing for their children to lose their free life and live in the palace for a long time. .

In any case, the selection of concubines was so compulsory that people had to follow the rules just like paying taxes.

When they arrived at the palace, further screening began.

The eunuchs and female officials would perform a full body examination on the girls. Whether there are any defects on the body, whether the skin is shiny, how much hair there is, the shape of the genitals, and even whether there are hemorrhoids will be checked one by one.

In addition, the softness and shape of the hair, whether the color of the hair will hinder the emperor, whether the secondary sexual characteristics are moderate, and whether the voice is delicate will also be strictly considered.

In the early Han Dynasty, the number of selected concubines was still relatively small.

After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the country became relatively stable, and emperors became more and more keen on choosing concubines. The number of harems soon exceeded 3000.

Naturally, it is impossible for Liu Chan to choose so many people.

He first selected fifty people, and the rest who were unqualified were returned to each family.

After reading these processes, Duyou already had an idea in his mind.

Jingzhao Du Family, Jingzhao Wei Family, and Wugong Su Family, these three families will definitely select the most beautiful girls.

These three families can lower their standards a little. As for the other noble families, I'm sorry, you have to be selected based on your strength.

It is conceivable that in the next few months, many girls from aristocratic families will appear in Chang'an City.

As for why it took several months to start choosing a concubine.

That's because Liu Bei's body is still in Weiyang Palace!
After observing the ancient ritual of mourning for three years, the emperor counted the days and months, and could not choose his concubine until at least thirty-six days after the late emperor's march.

If the new king wants to show his filial piety, he may postpone it for a few months, or even a year or two.

As for whether it will be criticized by others.
That won't happen.

When a new king ascends the throne, many people cannot secure the throne. The new king needs to exchange interests with external forces to consolidate the throne.

At the same time, the imperial power needs to be maintained by the family of the queen whom the emperor marries.
And this leads to a problem

Often an emperor dies.

His son got married as soon as he ascended the throne, and then he gave the world an amnesty
So, the system is three years. In fact, people often get married right after death.

It's over, no problem

This is generally an unspoken rule.

Great virtues and great Confucians generally would not scold the emperor because of this: his moral character is lacking.
Therefore, in Du You's opinion, the concubine selection will begin now. There are fifty places, one carrot and one pit. In any case, the people of his Du family must occupy the position first!
"I'll tell you the ugly story earlier. If an unqualified woman is allowed to enter the palace and her head falls to the ground, that will be the lightest thing. Do you know?"

The Zhong Daifu, the Ye Ting Cheng, the Xiangfu and others sat upright and agreed immediately.

"This is a matter related to the survival of the country. We dare not do anything illegal, so please rest assured!"

(End of this chapter)