History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

As night deepened, Wei Yao recalled her heart-to-heart talk with her parents. She was surprised that she might have the surname "Cui," but the surprise was fleeting. What good was having the surname Cui? What good was being from a prestigious family? Generations had passed, and she was now considered poor.

If she is not strong herself, the frustrations of her past life will be repeated.

If she encounters difficulties in the future, she can't expect Xi Jiao's family to help her! Wei Yao had a feeling that Xi Jiao's estrangement from her in her past life was at least partly due to what she learned about their past relationship from his elders. In her past life, they had no contact with her, and in this life, her choice is the same.

Of all the words of advice her father gave, the one that touched Wei Yao the most was "think before you act, think before you suffer." She learned something new; it turned out to be a record from the book "Xunzi".

From where she lay, she could see the red rope binding the pencil case on the desk, and the scene of the hysterical thief in the dungeon replayed in her mind.

Wei Yao was indeed new to this quote from Xunzi, but last night, in deducing Gao Cong's true purpose in coming to the capital, she used the deductive method of "preparing for potential problems before they arise"!
Yesterday afternoon, she went to the Imperial Academy to accompany the Seventh Prince in reading poetry. Yuan Mao was also there and told her that Gao's accomplice in Luoyang was very likely Li Biao. If she could expose Gao's background, she might be able to discourage him and make him confess to the murder he committed in Wuyi County, thus determining whether Gong Ai might still be alive.

After returning to the palace school, Wei Yao thought about it more and more and felt that it was not safe to just use the fact that Li Biao was dead to strike at Gao Ze's confidence. She needed to strike even harder to take away all of Gao Ze's hopes!

So she first put herself in Gao Cong's shoes and racked her brains to figure out what to do after finding Li Biao.

First of all, both "she" and Li Biao were dismissed from their posts last year. Li Biao was demoted a little earlier, but "she" was more unlucky than Li Biao. She was dismissed from her post and was also exiled to Pingzhou.

She knew that Li Biao was also a commoner before she left Beijing, so how could she not speculate in the worst possible light when she returned a year later, and assume that Li Biao was still a commoner?

What can Li Biao, an ordinary citizen, do to help "her"?
I can only provide some information about a certain matter or an important person in the imperial court. Whether it is a matter or a person, it is unlikely that there will be any changes in the period from last year to this year.

Is it unlikely that anything will change? Wei Yao began the second step of her analysis.

She speculated on the situation from four aspects: known government decrees, high-ranking officials of the princely rank, powerful officials in the outer court, and eunuchs in charge of the inner palace affairs, and then rejected them one by one.

With a new emperor ascending the throne, both the promulgation of decrees and the changes in officials were commonplace. If Li Biao were still a commoner, how could he possibly know about the power struggles within the palace and the central government?

No, there's something, and someone, that absolutely cannot change!

That was the ascension of the young emperor!

Gao Cong's accomplice was not Li Biao at all, but the Emperor of Great Wei!
Only the emperor could easily pardon all crimes, and only the emperor could bestow high-ranking official positions and generous salaries, making it worthwhile for Gao the thief to risk his life and flee all the way from Pingzhou to Luoyang.

One thought is clear, all thoughts are in order.

Wei Yao began to calculate what Gao the Thief could do for the emperor. What kind of important strategies would be worthy of relieving the emperor's worries?

The emperor is already the Son of Heaven, what is there to worry about?
Wei Yao encouraged herself to be bolder and bolder, imagining herself as the emperor. If she were the emperor, what would she have to worry about?
Of course, it was the handover of military power from the Grand Commandant after he assumed personal rule!

Is it safe for her to regain military power? Would the Grand Commandant be willing to lose command of hundreds of thousands of imperial guards?
Even if the Grand Commandant was willing to retire gracefully like the Prince of Pengcheng, would "she" believe it?
The greater the benefit, the thinner the friendship.

She didn't believe it.

Especially in the first year or two after she regained military power, as long as the Grand Commandant was still in the capital and her other uncles were also in the capital, "she" would definitely not sleep soundly.

What she wants is... to become the focus of all beings! Not to be surrounded by covetous eyes!

But eliminating the Grand Commandant isn't something that can be accomplished with mere words, and even if it were done, it would certainly be criticized by the courtiers as cruel and ungrateful. The best approach is to have a strategist by her side who understands "her" intentions and offers advice. If the plan succeeds, it can be implemented with the other princes until the throne is secure! If the plan fails, the strategist can be removed to appease the Grand Commandant.

When Wei Yao recalled this, she cut off her thoughts, otherwise she would be torn between thinking that she thought the emperor was too despicable, or whether she herself had a despicable nature.

A cold autumn rain.

At the end of the month, the Imperial Academy also adopted the method of "testing all students". Among the students of the same age, the Seventh Prince, Yuan Shixian and Yuan Yongping achieved the best results. When the Prince of Guangling found out, he returned the treasures of the three students to them and rewarded each of them with a fruit-shaped horse.

Wei Yao, who frequently tutored the three children at the Imperial Academy, was recommended by the Prince of Guangling to serve concurrently as a "scribe" in the Secretariat. This minor official position, responsible for copying documents, was so lowly that it had no official rank, yet it shocked everyone in the Secretariat!

This could very well be a sign that women are taking on civil service positions!

Officials in the Secretariat inquired about Wei Yao's background and resume, and what they found shocked them greatly!

Wei Yao's mother actually held the position of Cavalry Advisor in the Sili Prefecture as a woman! This was the second real military officer in the history of the Great Wei Dynasty to hold such a high rank, even higher than the female generals of the Mulan Camp!
The glamour is all for outsiders. After arriving at the Sizhou government office, Zhao Zhi was overwhelmed with work every day and deeply realized the difference between being an official and being a guard captain.

Even when a horse isn't pooping, ask her!
So annoying!
Furthermore, she learned to read much slower than a snail, which often led to doubts about her ability to shoulder the responsibility of joining the army. After these doubts were refuted by Yuan Biejia or Gou Zhubu, some people had ulterior motives. They openly and secretly tried to get information out of Zhao Zhi, hoping to arrange a marriage between her and her family.

That day, a military officer from the Cavalry Department came to inquire about the horses' diarrhea again. Zhao Zhi clenched her fists into iron lumps and decided to quit!

Before you start doing anything, beat the other person into a pile of shit!
Prince Yuan Yu of Guangling really knew how to pick his time. With his hands behind his back and a very pleasant expression, he came to the courtyard of the Cavalry Officer's office and called out, "Military Advisor Zhao, an old friend has come to visit."

Zhao Zhi came out to pay her respects.

That military officer, oblivious to his own danger, followed along shouting, "Military Advisor Zhao has more miscellaneous matters to attend to..." Luckily he shut up quickly, or he would have really become horse manure.

With warriors protecting him on both sides, and his imposing presence, even a fool would know he was a nobleman.

Yuan Yu asked with a smile, "Who is Military Advisor Zhao angry with? I'll help you get revenge, how about it?"

The military officer trembled with fear, his face turning pale.

Zhao Zhi bowed and replied, "The higher the rank, the more complicated the affairs, and the greater the temper. Therefore, those who can tolerate temper will naturally have good fortune. I now realize that General Yuan's disregard for trivial matters is truly due to his magnanimity and tolerance, forgiving the many offenses of his subordinates. Zhao Zhi is ashamed and thanks General Yuan for his generosity."

The military officer was filled with shame and bowed to Zhao Zhi, saying, "I'm off to do my work."

Yuan Yu laughed twice, followed Zhao Zhi into the office, and asked, "Did your daughter teach you what you just said?"

"Yes. I haven't memorized it wrong, have I?"

"Hahaha, that's right, that's right. I've come here today to offer you a good job. In the first month of winter, the Emperor is going to Changling to pay homage. Would you be willing to join the Imperial Guards protecting him?" (End of Chapter)