Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 456: Zhe Taijun (Special thanks to book friend Brother Nan for the 2 monthly tickets!)

On July 6, the 33rd year of Kaixi, Zhen Wei, the eunuch who had been escorted to suppress Khwarezm, returned to Bianjing with 3,000 Wudesi after a two-month journey.

There were more than 7 million taels of silver, more than a thousand rare treasures, and more than 1,500 beauties in the palace.

After waking up from his lunch break, Chai Zongxun summoned the military supervisor eunuch Zhen Wei to the Yangxin Palace and asked him in detail about the pacification of Khwarezm.

After listening, Chai Zongxun said:
"Yang Ye is indeed a famous general! His loyalty to the emperor and his patriotism are especially admirable.

He could have taken a steady and cautious approach and conquered Khwarezm without taking any risks, which would have been a great achievement.

However, he took the risk of being implicated and not only conquered the entire territory of Khwarezm, but also the five states in the west that were surrounded by the Eastern Roman Empire.

I cannot allow loyal ministers and generals who have fought bravely for the country to be envied and excluded by the court officials."

Zhen Wei said:
"Your Majesty, Commander Yang is good at making use of his soldiers and can command the army with ease.

I just have a bad temper.

This is the grain and silver that Governor Yang received in accordance with Your Majesty's imperial decree when we were in Khotan, the capital of Khwarezm. Please have a look at it, Your Majesty."

Chai Zongxun took the booklet, glanced at it for a few seconds, and handed it to the chief eunuch of the imperial palace, Tang Qi, to be checked by the eunuchs of the Tianji Office.

Chai Zongxun said:

"General Manager Tang must carefully check to see whether the food and property borrowed from the people of Khwarezm by Yang Ye and the Eighth Corps have been returned to the people in full."

Tang Qi saluted and said:
"I will obey your majesty's order! I will send the soldiers of the Wude Division to Khwarezm to visit the people and find out the truth."

Chai Zongxun nodded, picked up the tea bowl and took two sips, then said:
"Manager Tang, how are Yang Ye's sons and daughters doing now?"

Tang Qidao:
“Your Majesty, Yang Ye has seven sons, all of whom have a family background in martial arts and have been trained by Yang Ye since childhood.

Now, all seven sons have passed the military imperial examination and have successively joined the Longxiang Army as officers. Among them, the eldest son Yang Yanzhao is the most outstanding and has been promoted to the position of army commander.

Yang Ye has two daughters, Yang Bamei and Yang Jiumei, both of whom are still unmarried and help their mother, Zhe Taijun, to manage household affairs.

Yang Ye's wife, Zhe Taijun, was named Zhe Saihua, who was the "She Taijun" in the operas and folk tales of Chai Zongxun's previous life. She was the daughter of Zhe Dejian, the governor of Zhenfuzhou, Yong'an Army of the Song Dynasty, and the sister of Zhe Yuxun.

Yang Ye married her when he was young and stationed in Fuzhou.

Zhe Taijun lived in Fuzhou City in her early years. Influenced by her father and brothers, she loved martial arts. After she got married, she often taught her children martial arts in the Yang Mansion.

Chai Zongxun asked casually:
"How old are Yang Bamei and Yang Jiumei?"

Tang Qidao:
"Your Majesty, Yang Bamei is twenty-one years old this year, and Yang Jiumei is nineteen years old this year."

Chai Zongxun knew that although he had taken the lead in promoting the "late marriage policy" of marrying at the age of 18 in the imperial family, it had a long history among the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty, with most girls getting married at the age of 15 or 16, and some even at the age of 14.

Although the upper class, such as bureaucrats and aristocrats, were influenced by Emperor Chai Zongxun, the age at which their daughters were married off was slightly delayed, but it was still only around 17 or 18 years old.

It is rare for people like Yang Bamei and Yang Jiumei, one is 21 and the other is 19 years old, but they are still unmarried.

Chai Zongxun was surprised:
“I have already conferred the title of Duke on Yang Ye for his military merits a few years ago. He can be said to be a new noble in the army of my Great Zhou.

Logically speaking, there should be quite a few sons of important officials and nobles who want to marry into the Yang family. Why are Yang Bamei and Yang Jiumei still not married at such old ages?
Are these two girls extremely ugly? Yang Aiqing is handsome and Zhe Saihua has pretty features, so this shouldn’t be the case, right?”

Tang Qidao:
"Your Majesty, it's not that the two girls are ugly. In fact, they are both beauties." Seeing Chai Zongxun staring at him, Tang Qi hurriedly said:

"Your Majesty, as far as I know, Yang Ye is a surrendered general of the Northern Han Dynasty, and his two daughters are fond of martial arts. Therefore, many civil officials and nobles exclude him and cannot accept him marrying a wife with strong martial arts skills.

There were originally many military generals who were well-matched with the Yang family. However, when Yang Ye was a general in Northern Han, he fought against our Great Zhou for more than ten years. Many relatives and friends of our Great Zhou generals died in the war, so the generals were unwilling to marry into the Yang family.

The only two families that can be said to have friendly relations with the Yang family are the family of their in-laws, Zhe Yuxun, and the family of their old boss, Cao Bin."

Chinese marriages have always been about matching the social status of the two families. Since there was no one from a similar social class proposing marriage, it was impossible for Yang Bamei and Yang Jiumei to marry into a family of common people, so naturally they were left alone.

Although there are no restrictions on status and family background to being a concubine, unless she marries Chai Zongxun and enters the harem as a concubine, how could the Yang family agree to this given their current status?

Chai Zongxun felt a slight headache when he thought that the civil officials and military generals of the Great Zhou Dynasty all disliked Yang Ye. Although he was the emperor, he could not force any son of a prince or minister to marry Yang Bamei or Yang Jiumei.

What's more, even if it's done reluctantly, the marriage will probably end in tragedy.

Chai Zongxun was also unwilling to marry two concubines with strong martial arts skills into the palace, not to mention that Chai Zongxun liked rare and peerless beauties.

Chai Zongxun pondered for a long time and said:
"General Manager Tang, summon Lady Zhe and her two daughters to the palace for an audience. I will think of a solution after we meet them.

Yang Ye has made great contributions to the country, how can I let his two daughters go unmarried?"

After Tang Qi agreed, he immediately walked to the door of the hall and appointed a eunuch to convey his order.

About a quarter of an hour later, the eunuch delivering the imperial edict arrived at the main gate of Yang's mansion on horseback, escorted by a team of imperial guards.

After receiving the notification, Zhe Taijun led her family to welcome him at the gate of the mansion.

After receiving the imperial edict, Taijun Zhe was extremely confused. She really couldn't understand why the emperor summoned her and her two daughters to the palace for an audience. She had no choice but to immediately put on her clothes, and the three of them followed the eunuch who delivered the edict and got on the carriage and set off.

After entering the front yard of the imperial palace, Zhe Taijun and the other two were taken to the Yanfu Hall, where Emperor Chai Zongxun was sitting high on the golden throne waiting.

Lady Zhe hurriedly brought her two daughters to pay their respects to Chai Zongxun, saying:

"Your humble servant Zhe/Yang pays respect to His Majesty!
Long live His Majesty!"

Chai Zongxun said:

"Everyone loves you!"

Chai Zongxun looked into the hall and saw that Zhe Saihua was nearly sixty years old. Although the hair on her head was already gray, her body was standing straight.

Both Yang Bamei and Yang Jiumei have bright looks and strong figures, and are indeed beauties.

Chai Zongxun said:

"I have heard that Zhe Aiqing is good at managing the household, allowing Yang Aiqing to concentrate on military affairs. Now Yang Aiqing has brought back the victory report, and has taken over the entire territory of Khwarezm for me.

My dear Lord Zhe, you have also made contributions to the country."

Zhe Saihua was delighted and thanked the emperor profusely, but she was puzzled as to why the emperor summoned her two daughters.

At this moment, Zhe Saihua secretly saw Chai Zongxun looking at his two daughters from time to time, and he couldn't help but feel uneasy:
"Could it be that Your Majesty summoned me this time because he has taken a liking to my two daughters?
Although entering the palace to serve His Majesty is an honor for the royal family, there are many concubines in the harem, and the two daughters will inevitably be left alone. What should I do?"

(End of this chapter)