History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 190 The new emperor ascends the throne
Both sides were hurling insults at each other while fighting.

“This place used to be overgrown with thatch. It would only die when the soil was turned over in July. If you have any eyes, take a look and count how many years it would take to clear away such large patches of thatch. Every acre of land has the sweat of our ancestors and fathers! Why should the best fertile land be given to you with just a word from the government?”

"In spring, when we were just starting to plow, we had no farm tools, so we had to search through brambles and vines to make our own hoes. In autumn, when we were plowing deep, we had no oxen, so the whole family had to take turns pulling the plow! The crops survived, but we were exhausted! And now, after all that hardship, the barren land has become fertile, and the rich fields have become the property of you newcomers?!"

"Why? Isn't this robbery?"

"Who are you calling robbers? The land belongs to the imperial court, and it's ours now that the government has allocated it to us! You're trampling on our fields, you're the robbers!"

"If you're not happy, go find the government! Just because you're a local bully, you think you can bully us newcomers? Bah! We're not to be trifled with!"

"Stop hitting him! Ah—someone's dying!"

"Oh God, these bitter days seem endless, how are we supposed to live?!"

From the cries of the elderly and women, one can tell that the government was distributing the neatly arranged fertile fields to the newly arrived residents, which the long-term residents who had cultivated the land for generations were naturally unwilling to accept.

This means that in the days to come, the labor force of each household will have to work separately to continue to cultivate more remote and distant wasteland. If the weather is good, that will be fine, but what if there is drought or flood?
As the sun set, Wei Yao's family stopped their journey. After setting up their felt tent, Zhao Zhi asked her husband and daughter to watch the carriage while she chopped firewood where she could see.

Any experience on a journey, if observed carefully, can become valuable experience for future endeavors.

For example, the brawl I witnessed today.

Wei Yin drew neat rows of fields on the ground and explained to his daughter, "The government distributes these orderly fields to the new residents. Don't they know that this will anger the permanent residents? During the day, I saw that those new residents were all thin and pale, just like ordinary farmers. So why are they receiving special treatment from the government?"

When Wei Yinfei asked his daughter a question, he immediately gave his own answer: "I believe that today's conflict was deliberately created by the local government. Those who really want to seize these fertile fields are corrupt officials and evil bureaucrats."

"Land is the lifeblood of farmers. They tend to the land all year round, yet they can never become its masters. When fighting over fertile land, people die, and the government can then arrest all the farmers involved in the fight, making both sides criminals. The result is that the fertile land and housing land end up in the hands of the powerful and wealthy, while the criminals can be sent back to the fertile land to continue working hard."

"Sigh—" Upon hearing this, Wei Yao felt both angry and powerless.

She said sadly, “Father, in the past, when I saw rich people bullying vegetable farmers in the market, and powerful people riding horses looking down on others, kicking over stalls and driving away, I thought that kind of behavior was exploiting the common people. But far away from the city, the powerful people skillfully manipulated the law and used unseen violence to seize land and kill people at will. Only then did I realize what it means to be prey to the weak.”

Zhao Zhi carried the firewood over, only hearing the last three words before asking, "Stealing poop again? Who is it?"

"Hahaha." Wei Yao's bad mood vanished instantly.

In those days, the common people suffered, and ordinary bandits could never get rich. The bandits could only try their luck and rob families like Wei Yao's, where there were few people traveling.

Tonight, five bandits crept in stealthily and killed them swiftly.

It was Wei Yao's first time digging a pit to bury a body, and she was surprisingly calm, not even considering whether the bandits were only after the money. After burying the body, the family of three restored the soil to match the surrounding grassland, and the excess soil could not be left nearby, but had to be scattered into the ditch.

When dawn broke, the cautious father and daughter carefully inspected the burial site several more times before hitching up the oxcart and setting off once again.

The next leg of the journey involves passing through Yanmen County, traversing Shicheng, going through Yangqu, and entering Bingzhou.

The current governor of Bingzhou is Wang Qiu, who comes from the Wang clan of Taiyuan. More than two hundred years later, there was an outstanding poet named Wang Bo, who was a descendant of Governor Wang.

"Ascending that northern mountain, we gather its wild herbs; together we scholars, working diligently from morning till night..."

"Under the vast heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the earth, all people are the king's subjects..."

As she walked, Wei Yao recited the poem "Beishan" from the "Xiaoya" section of the Book of Songs. No matter how arduous the journey, she would learn a new poem every two days with her father.

Wei Yin had taught the Book of Poetry before, and after so many years of extensive reading, his reinterpretation of the poems is naturally much more profound than before.

In February, spring thunder rumbles, and the earth's energy awakens at the time of the Awakening of Insects. Wei Yin told his daughter that at this time of year, the number of people working in the fields decreases. This is not because farmers are taking a few days off after finishing their work, but because around the time of the Awakening of Insects, snakes, insects, ants, and rodents open their burrows and scurry about. Farmers must repair their doors and windows to prevent these creatures from entering their homes. Moreover, after the weather warms up, women must take apart and wash their winter clothes and work harder to weave cloth to pay miscellaneous taxes.

When the topic of miscellaneous taxes came up, Wei Yin gave his daughter a lesson on household registration. For example, farmers in Bingzhou could offset their taxes with locally produced hemp cloth, while farmers in Hengzhou could not; they had to pay with cotton and silk.

"Father, how do you know all this?"

Being familiar with the imperial decrees is different from being familiar with written documents; decrees are only written in official documents.

"Haha, during the winter hunt, the clerk taught me some things, and I asked him some questions."

Zhao Zhi chuckled as she recalled the incident: "When I went to the camp to pick up your father, his eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion, and so was the registrar; he had so many blisters on his lips from talking so much."

Spring blossoms.

In March of the twenty-third year of the Taihe era, the Wei army won another victory on the battlefield north of Mian, but Emperor Yuan Hong's sudden fainting caused history to repeat itself.

In April, the emperor returned north to Wan County. Yuan Hong's body could no longer withstand the arduous journey. Fortunately, Crown Prince Yuan Ke, Prince Beihai Yuan Xiang who was in charge of Luoyang affairs, Prince Xianyang Yuan Xi, Prince Rencheng Yuan Cheng, Prince Guangyang Yuan Jia, and General Yu Lie arrived in Wan County when the emperor was in his final moments.

At this time, the royal family members who were guarding the sickbed included Prince Pengcheng, Yuan Xie, and the important minister, General Zhennan, Wang Su.

"The throne will be passed to Crown Prince Yuan Ke."

"Empress Feng was ordered to commit suicide."

"The ministers assisting in governing are: the Prince of Beihai, the Prince of Xianyang, the Prince of Rencheng, the Prince of Guangyang, Wang Su, and Song Bian. The Prince of Beihai is appointed as Minister of Works, Wang Su as Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, the Prince of Guangyang as Minister of the Left, and Song Bian as Minister of Personnel."

"Those below the rank of imperial concubines shall be granted permission to leave the palace and return home."

After Yuan Hong finished delivering the most important decree, his consciousness began to blur, and he no longer had the strength to hold the Crown Prince's hand. "Ke'er."

"Father!" Yuan Ke had fantasized about ascending the throne as emperor as soon as possible, but when this moment came so suddenly, he was afraid.

"You must inherit the legacy of your ancestors, help all people, and bring prosperity to the royal family."

"Yes!"

"Do not let the worship of Buddhism lead you astray from your country's future."

"Yes!"

"Respect, Peng, Pengcheng..."

Yuan Hong's last words remain here; he was thirty-three years old. His eyes were not fully closed, as if he was worried about the immense burden of the nation suddenly falling on the shoulders of the seventeen-year-old crown prince.

Tears streamed down Yuan Ke's face as his hands trembled uncontrollably. He dared not close his father's eyes, for if he did, he would never be able to open them again!
Prince Pengcheng, Yuan Xie, uttered a sentence that jolted everyone awake: "Your Majesty, we have joined you in bathing and dressing the Emperor Emeritus. We humbly request Your Majesty to give the order: when will the army return to Luoyang?"

In May, Wei Yao and her family finally arrived in Luoyang, the capital, and confirmed that the rumors they had heard on the way—that the emperor had died and a new emperor had ascended the throne—were true.

Does the imperial decree summoning lecturers still stand?

Spring plowing and soil leveling: This means that if the plowed land is not leveled after being tilled, it will become hollow and dry. A *you* is a tool for breaking up clods of soil.

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(End of this chapter)