After Shao Song

Chapter 40 Li Xiuzhi

Sishui Pass is the famous Hulao Pass. It is connected to Songyue Mountain in the south and the Yellow River in the north. The mountains are intertwined and form a natural danger.There is a strong trend of "one man can guard the pass, and no one can open it". It has been a battleground for military strategists of all ages.

This is the place where Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, captured two kings in one battle and laid the foundation of the Tang Dynasty.The Luoyang Basin behind him is still the strategic center of the world. It is said that it is located in China but faces the world, and it is also where Xijing of the Great Song Dynasty is located.Although it is said that Jingkang was slaughtered several times after that, it almost became a blank area, and even the prime minister set himself on fire here, but after all, it has been six or seven years, and he has gained some popularity. It can be seen from the entourage around him, and when looking from the river, he can see that Sishui Town is also bustling with people. It must be that Luoyang City will only be better, and it may have been rejuvenated.

And this place has other meanings for Zhao Jiu. The Battle of Yaoshan, the Battle to Destroy Xia, and the final Northern Expedition all started here as the first stop.

In a daze, he didn't even hear what Li Wei said clearly. When he received Yang Yizhong's look, he quickly flashed out Li Xiuzhi behind him and said dryly: "This time I brought a nephew to Li Dayin. Not only do the brothers of Mr. Li’s family become ministers one after another, but they also have Jiahe in their generation, which makes me feel very happy."

The conscience of heaven and earth, Zhao Jiu's words are really praising the cultural heirloom of Li Gang's family, but he has become more eccentric in recent years, and his reputation has spread throughout the officialdom of the Song Dynasty.Li Wei knew that although his eldest brother made some mistakes, he was a well-deserved Ming minister. Although he and his younger brother were also Jinshi, who didn't know that they were promoted all the way for Li Gang's sake, which made him feel guilty and ashamed.He didn't dare to say anything as an official, so he had to keep a straight face and scolded Li Xiuzhi for half a quarter of an hour regardless of the occasion.

Zhao Guan's family were all dumbfounded, but Li Xiuzhi acted as if nothing was wrong. He lowered his head and did not refute a word. After seeing his uncle pause, he said: "My uncle's strict training, my nephew has benefited a lot. It's just that he is welcoming the Holy Master at this time, or How about your majesty getting into the carriage and entering Luoyang first?"

Hu Hong, the promotion officer of the Henan Prefecture on the side, had long been at odds with his boss. At this time, he said more directly: "It's extremely, extremely, loyalty and filial piety. What comes first and what comes last. I think this little Li Sheren I understand better than some people.”

Li Wei was humiliated in public by his subordinates and could hardly stand it, but he did not dare to really neglect the officials, so he took the Luoyang officials to respectfully invite the officials to board the dragon chariot, and the group headed to the main city of Luoyang.

At this time, Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan naturally rode on both sides to protect them. Apart from Li Xiuzhi and Zhao Zicheng, who only knew how to survey rivers and calculate silt, Zhao Guan's family was only served by Feng Yi. He thought it was not easy to ask Li Xiuzhi about this, so He turned around and said, "I remember that Hu Hong was sent out to join the army as a scholar in Henan Prefecture in the seventh year of Jianyan's reign. Last year, he was excellent in the assessment and was promoted to a fifth-grade official. Why?" He is still so dumbfounded.

Poor Feng Yi was dumbfounded by the question. Although the official was gentle to the people around him and easy to serve, Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan had almost completely usurped his duties as a chamberlain. His usual task was to search for delicious food in Tokyo and run errands for the official. By the way, I was warned about the management of the mulberry fish pond in the early years.This time, if it weren't for Lan Daguan being too old to walk, it wouldn't be his turn to follow the imperial chariot. But the problem is that he hasn't dared to interfere in political affairs for many years, so how can he be so knowledgeable about the problems of local officials.

Fortunately, Li Xiuzhi rescued him at this time and said: "The official, excuse me, interrupted. This matter cannot be blamed on Hu Tuiguan. It concerns my family. Speaking of which, my father was very angry at Hu Yin and Mr. Hu for denying his biological parents." Disdainful, it also affected his uncle. He has spoken about it publicly since he became the Queen of Henan Yin. Hu Tuiguan is also the younger brother of Hu Xianggong (in short, Hu Yin was almost drowned by his biological parents when he was born, and his uncle Huan Guo saved him. He also adopted him, so Hu Yin only recognized Hu Guo as his father, and Hu Hong, Hu Guo's biological son, as his younger brother and did not recognize his biological parents). Naturally, he was not angry. His daily official duties were fine, but there were many discords in private."

There is another thing that is difficult to say. Both of them have bad tempers, but no matter how famous your brother is, he has been retired for many years. My brother is the current prime minister. Who is afraid of whom?
Zhao Guanjia did not expect that he was so honest, which was extremely inconsistent with his performance along the way. He said curiously: "Xiuzhi, you are my close minister, but why do I feel that Li Dayin is extremely harsh on you? We are close relatives. And Li Jing is obviously here. There is a mansion in the capital, why do you still live in the house of Li Xianggong (Li Guang, who has a good personal relationship with Li Gang), and then went directly to the house of his father-in-law."

The patriarchal clan is very powerful these days, and Li Xiuzhi's actions are really weird. I didn't think much about it before, but now that I think about it, the more I think about it, the more wrong it becomes.

Li Xiuzhi was so magnanimous that he didn't care about the other people in the car and said directly: "Both uncles don't like me. They think I have brought discredit on my father and the Li family."

Being so straight is a bit like Li Gang, but Zhao Zichen was shocked after hearing this. Don't be kidding, I know you are a family of top academics, but whose family would think that a 20-year-old top student is a black mark? He only has two sons in his family. Well, if you can have a Jinshi, you have to thank Taizu for his blessing.As if he knew what the people around him were thinking, Li Xiuzhi said: "I am a concubine. This is nothing, but my father was the son of a girl from the Jiaofang Si Le when he was dismissed from office. Naturally, a living woman cannot redeem her life, so since I was born, He was raised by his adoptive mother."

"If that's the case, it's fine. My aunt recognized me, and I am a descendant of the Li family. But my parents are sincere. After the Jingkang Incident, my father returned to his hometown in despair. When he learned that his biological mother had been released, he wanted to accept her. Before she entered the house, the official family decided to stay in the Central Plains to fight against the Jin Dynasty and recalled her father as prime minister. It was despised by a humble family to get into the family through good deeds, so the two uncles persuaded him to put national affairs first. His father later became three Five years ago, he was entrusted to the southeast by the official family and became the Red Flag of the Anti-Jin Dynasty. Naturally, he couldn't care about anything, so after all, his biological mother did not enter the Li family. Unfortunately, she died in such a depressed way, and she was not allowed to enter the Li family's ancestral grave after her death. I want to It is not allowed to buy a piece of land next to the ancestral grave to bury my mother. In the end, she can only be sent back to her birth mother’s hometown, that is, Wuweijun’s place for burial. It’s said that Mei Zhizhou and I met at that time.”

After saying that, he laughed at himself and said, "If I hadn't been clever since I was a child, which made me very popular with my aunt. I was far better than several brothers in reading, my father might have had the same attitude towards me."

Several people in the car were all embarrassed, especially Zhao Jiu who regretted how he was so mean-mouthed and opened up a scar on others. No wonder Li Xiuzhi was so smooth and scary from time to time. Given the environment he grew up in, if he had the bad temper of his father again, It doesn’t necessarily mean how much you have been offended.

How to put it this way, as long as there is no throne in the family to inherit, the concubines are not that important. The eldest son will naturally inherit the ancestral property. But for the officials who studied in the era, whoever has the ability really belongs to them. As Li Xiuzhi said, As long as the clan recognizes it and the legitimate mother recognizes it.The birth of an official is not a big problem, otherwise Liang Hongyu's imperial edict as Mrs. Qin and Han Shizhong's other two concubines would not be published.

But Li Gang almost accepted him at that time, which was really a bit of a problem. You must know that Han Shizhong was only a commander when he married Liang Hongyu, and what was the status of a military commander at that time?What is the status of the Prime Minister?Moreover, when the censor inquired about it, he found out that when Li Gang, a member of the official family, was determined to fight against the Jin Dynasty and asked you to come back to be the husband-in-law, you were still planning to marry a mistress.Especially since Li Gang offended a lot of people because of his bad temper, he might be exposed one day.

But as a modern person, Zhao Jiu would not think that this was a big deal. After thinking about Li Xiuzhi's age and character, he said: "You are still young, and the past cannot be traced. It is the rule of this dynasty that officials of the fifth rank and above can ask for a royal title for their mother and wife." "Although your mother is a frivolous official, I have always been a frivolous official." But after finishing speaking, he glanced at the other two people and pretended that he didn't hear anything he shouldn't have said.

Li Xiuzhi was stunned, all kinds of feelings suddenly came to his heart, and he suddenly kowtowed heavily in the car.
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A huge change in the status of women in ancient China was the abolition of the official service system. This happened during the Jianyan period of Emperor Shizu of the Song Dynasty. The main organizer was Li Xiuzhi, the Minister of Punishment at that time.

The concept of prostitutes in Chinese history seems to be broader than what we say and understand.Delicately divided, it consists of palace prostitutes, camp prostitutes, official prostitutes, domestic prostitutes and civilian prostitutes.Among them, official prostitutes were prostitutes who served officials in ancient times. In order to cater to the needs of civil servants, they were required to be able to write poetry, calligraphy, music, and painting.

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, official entertainment banquets were attended by official prostitutes, but officials were not allowed to engage in prostitution.But don't think that having an official title means you are superior to others. They still have to serve people with sex and entertain people with sounds. Even if they get married and have children, they still have to work in lowly jobs for generations.Some official prostitutes are in prostitution, but in their hearts they have a strong desire to be good, break away from prostitution, and restore human dignity and rights.But even so, I will be discriminated against for the rest of my life.It is worth mentioning that Li Xiuzhi's biological mother, Huang, was a good official. Later, with the special approval of the emperor, she was granted the title of Lord of Anxiu County and Lady of Jiujiang County.

——"Legal Status of Chinese Women" Qian Muzhi
　The Song Dynasty was not the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and there was oppression of women, but it was not that exaggerated.Han Shizhong's four wives and three concubines were from brothels, all of whom were ladies of the country.

　　The problem with Li Gang was that even though he was dismissed from office, he still retained his status as an official. Normally, he could not have anything to do with officials. Later, he wanted to marry someone else. This was not a problem for Po Hanwu, but it was a problem for him.But Li Xiuzhi basically endured all the hardships.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)