History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 245 Mulan's Tiger Camp

Yuan Ke, remembering his father's dying instructions, patiently instructed him, "In the past, Father Emperor recommended Lu Min of Fanyang, Cui Zongbo of Qinghe, Zheng Xi of Xingyang, and Wang Qiong of Taiyuan as the most prestigious families of the Han dynasty. Lu Min died young, and Lu Yuan, his elder brother, is now the head of the Lu family in northern Fanyang! The news of his return to the capital will cause a far greater sensation in the capital region than your return!"

"The other day, Lu Yuan resigned from your position as Chief Secretary of the Prince of Jingzhao's Mansion in the street. Before you even returned home, the nobles and powerful families who wanted to pay their respects to Lu Yuan had already surrounded his residence. But what about you? Is anyone in a hurry to pay their respects to you?"

Yuan Yu was both embarrassed and speechless.

Yuan Ke continued, “Lu Yuan was fair and just in Xuzhou. He helped you restrain your subordinates, audit taxes and collect corvée labor, and he also helped you pacify the people and supervise agriculture and commerce. Lu Yuan has made contributions and worked hard! Yet you turned your back on him and led people to smash his house. Do you think you only offended the Lu family of Fanyang?”

"You've slapped the faces of all the powerful Han families! With your temperament, who will dare to take over as your chief secretary in the future? No capable or righteous person will be willing to assist you, so you can only be a lazy prince for the rest of your life!"

Yuan Yu left the palace in a huff, finally understanding the ruthlessness of the Prince of Guangling. It turned out that Yuan Yu's killing of his beautiful concubine was merely a ploy to provoke his anger; the prince's true revenge was to sow discord between him and Lu Yuan, and to incite the other Han noble families to despise him.

Just as His Majesty said, from now on, there will be no wise men in his household to use, and no wise men to sincerely assist him.

Therefore, his time spent in Luoyang may be very long.

Unlike others, when Yuan Yu was so frustrated he was on the verge of madness, he didn't blame himself, but instead blamed others. Strangely, the person he hated most was not the Prince of Guangling, but the Emperor.

"Now that you sit above thousands of people, you naturally have a lot of reasons to justify yourself. Hmph, you praise Lu Yuan to the skies, so why don't you let this old dog who's about to die assist you? If Lu Yuan really had any ability, how come his reputation back then couldn't compare to Lu Min's?"

"Yuan Ke, are you really better than me? If you were younger than me, I would be the one above all others right now! When Father was alive, I was the one he personally taught and took care of every day!"

"You're the one standing here listening to my lecture today!"

"You know that old dog Yuan Yu plotted against me, so why don't you reprimand him? Why don't you strip him of his official position and his title? Isn't it because you're afraid of that old dog and still need to rely on him? Hmph, the emperor above all others, you treat him like a soft persimmon to be squeezed at will, I spit on you!"

In any case, the clearing of the assassination case and the appointment of the new governor of Sizhou quickly restored the peace and tranquility of Luoyang.

Time flies, and we've entered the eighth month of autumn.

When Yaoguang Temple was completed, there were more than 500 nunneries. All the concubines of Emperor Xiaowen, from the third wife down, returned home. Some palace maids who did not want to return home or who were devout Buddhists moved into Yaoguang Temple at this time.

Over the next few days, more and more people, having heard the news, flocked to the imperial road north of the Qianming Palace to watch the Buddha statue perform the rites.

Kong Wenzhong and his disciples entered Luoyang quietly, and without resting for a single day, they began lecturing at the newly built "Wenya" academy in the southern part of the city.

The study was further divided into three sections according to different academic disciplines.

Kong Wenzhong lectured on the *Erya*, Wei Yin lectured on the *Yili*, and Cui Zhi, Kong Yu, and Wei Yao lectured on the *Shijing*. Because Wei Yao had to go to the palace to teach, her classes were the fewest, and all her time was scheduled for the afternoons.

Wei Yao's diligent self-study finally paid off. When she received her teacher's notes, she mastered the "Odes" and "Hymns" sections within a few days. Thus, her study of the Book of Poetry was completed, after nearly two years. Learning has no end; next, she will earnestly relearn the "Erya."

The tenth day of August.

Wei Yao had two days off today and tomorrow. She still got up early and went to Wenya Academy to meet up with Guo Yun, Yuan Jingrong, Liu Zhenzhu, and Yuan Langxi. Then they went to the north of the city together.

Today, there is a martial arts competition in the north of the city. All the participants are Xianbei women. Those who pass the competition will be admitted to the newly established Tiger Warrior Mulan Camp.

The reason why the new edict summoning female warriors to the capital was implemented so quickly was not only because the poem "Ballad of Mulan" was highly praised by the court and the public, but also because of Zhao Zhi, who had previously distinguished herself in the assassination case.

"Who says women are inferior to men!" "The military dispatches are in twelve volumes, and every single one bears the names of us women!"

These were the two phrases that Wei Yao and her group heard most often along the way. The more they heard them, the more excited they became, and they couldn't help but shout, "Who says women are inferior to men!"

During the period when the Tuoba clan ruled the Central Plains, a considerable number of Xianbei women went to the battlefield. The glory that was hidden in history books is finally being recognized by the court today. Although the Tiger Warriors cannot compare to the Imperial Guards, this martial arts competition allows the young women to enter the capital for defense and start as low-ranking military officers, thus advancing their careers as "outer court officials."

Which woman wouldn't be thrilled? Wouldn't she feel honored?

The military review ground west of the imperial road of the Great Xia City Gate.

Although Wei Yao and her five companions had a premonition that there would be a large number of people, they were still greatly shocked when they saw the scene of thousands of chariots and tens of thousands of riders!
"Oh my god!" Yuan Langxi exclaimed excitedly to his companions, "We're so lucky we listened to Wei Yao and rented horses, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to move at all."

Wei Yao and the other three shouted at her, "What did you say?"

It's too noisy everywhere.

I can't squeeze it out, I can't squeeze it out.

Fearing they would get separated, the five young girls linked arms and struggled with all their might towards the martial arts arena. Guo Yun seized the opportunity to whisper in Wei Yao's ear, "Isn't this supposed to be a women's martial arts competition? Why are there so many boys here?"

Wei Yao's ears were tickled by her partner's breath, and she giggled. Suddenly, she cried out, "Ouch! Who's so tough? They bumped the back of my head!"

It was impossible to find out who bumped into them. They would turn their heads or look back, and the people around them would all change. They would keep pushing and shoving!

Yuan Jingrong: "I wonder if Yuan Heng and Hai Yeren will come?"

Wei Yao: "Maybe we really will run into them."

Hai Yeren and Qiu Ruizhi were both orphans. After arriving in the capital with the study tour group, they went to work at the Sizhou government office with Yuan Heng.

The parade ground was too spacious, and there were so many people competing today that it was divided into several smaller areas.

Yuan Mao, Xi Jiao, Xi Yi, and Er Zhu Rong had already taken their positions at the weapon competition arena. They kept looking around, and Er Zhu Rong, with his sharp eyes, jumped up and waved to Wei Yao and the other four: "This—over here! Senior Sister—over here!"

The so-called "unusual weapons" are those used by martial artists that are not common weapons such as bows or ring-pommel swords, and these are naturally the weapons that spectators are most interested in seeing.

The crowd was so large that people were shoulder to shoulder. Since Wei Yao and her two companions were short, Yuan Langxi and Yuan Jingrong could only walk in front, linking arms and screaming at the same time. This caused people around them to either feel sorry for them or laugh and cry, and they made way for them. Wei Yao and her two companions followed closely behind.

Oh my god, we finally squeezed through.

Erzhu Rong stepped forward, flashing a charming smile: "Senior Sister Yao, I've been waiting for you..."

Get out of the way!

Xi Jiao grabbed Erzhu Rong by the collar and pulled him to his younger brother Xi Yi's side. Unfortunately, Yuan Mao was even more shameless. He pretended to be pushed and stumbled to stand next to Wei Yao. "Fellow disciple Wei Yao, it's been a long time."

“Yuanmao, it’s been a long time.”

(End of this chapter)