History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Winter passes and spring comes.

The Taihe era came to an end, and the first year of Jingming marked the beginning of a new journey for the Northern Wei dynasty.

In the past year, Emperor Xiaowen passed away, and his seventeen-year-old son, Crown Prince Yuan Ke, ascended the throne. Due to the mourning period, he was unable to govern, and all military and state affairs were entrusted to five princes as regents. In August, Shen Ling, the governor of Nanxu Prefecture, rebelled. In November, a peasant uprising led by Wang Huiding broke out in You Prefecture. Throughout the year, many prefectures and counties suffered from floods, and the people suffered from famine.

The court and the people alike hoped that the natural and man-made disasters would soon be over, and prayed that the Great Wei Dynasty, like the reign title of Jingming, would usher in a future of universal glory.

However, the people soon realized that last year's natural and man-made disasters were only the beginning of more calamities.

The seventh day of the fifth month in the first year of Jingming.

In the northern border region, in Shuozhou, there was a garrison camp built against the eroded waterways.

Wei Jing drove the three sheep back to the woodshed. Gao Loujin was teaching her younger brother Gao Huan to recite poetry in the yard. When the two siblings saw Wei Jing return, they immediately came to greet him, and Gao Huan jumped into Wei Jing's arms.

Wei Jing hugged the child and explained to Lou Jin, "We lost another sheep today. I mean this one; I promise I'll never lose another one!"

Gao Loujin wiped the dust off his face and said softly, "It's better if they're all gone. It's so chaotic outside the town. Once they're all gone, you won't have to go out of town to herd sheep, and Ah Huan and I won't have to live in constant fear."

Wei Jing beamed and replied, "Okay, okay."

Little Huan glanced at Brother Jing, then at his older sister, and said in a childish voice, "You two are lying again!"

Wei Jingheng picked up the little guy and spun him around twice: "What do you mean by lying again? You naughty monkey, tell me, did you pretend to be asleep at night and eavesdrop on my conversation with your older sister?"

"Haha, haha, yes."

"What did you hear?"

"I heard you two bought a big house in Luoyang and pretended to be poor together... Waaah!"

Lou Jin and Wei Jing covered the child's mouth together.

This spring and summer, the six towns of Beifan suffered from drought, with not even a light rain falling. Large swathes of farmland lay barren, and the arable paddy fields were all fenced off and seized by the generals of each town. In order to survive, the people began to flee to nearby Shuozhou, Hengzhou and other places.

The refugees are pitiful, and also terrifying.

Around the garrison town where Wei Jing and his men lived, the number of refugees was increasing. The garrison soldiers distributed grain every few days, but that little grain was far from enough, and people often starved to death outside the town. Every day, Wei Jing went in and out of the town, and unable to bear the tragic scenes, he would give away his sheep, then return and lie that the sheep were lost.

How could Gao Loujin not understand A Jing? Rather than giving away one sheep at a time and risking being targeted by a malicious villain, it's better to give them all away at once.

After nightfall, the three of them squeezed into the only sleeping room, separated by a homemade straw screen. Wei Jing and A Huan slept on the outside, while Lou Jin slept on the inside against the wall.

Wei Jing said, "If only I had decided to go back to Huai Shuo Town with you sooner, the roads would be full of refugees now. This time, we don't know how long we'll have to wait."

Gao Loujin: "No rush."

"Hehe, I knew you weren't asleep."

“Ah Jing, when I went to the private school to copy books today, I heard someone say that your father has returned to the garrison. Why don’t you go to the barracks to see him tomorrow?”

“I’m not going! I’m really afraid of him. I’m afraid he’s gone crazy with poverty and will sell me to buy food to support his army.”

Gao Loujin covered her mouth and laughed.

Wei Jing's father, Wei Ling, had something in common with her father: both were ambitious but lacked talent and were extravagant spenders!
Her father lost all his family fortune and farmland through gambling.

Wei Jing's father was warlike. Now that there were no battles to fight, he led his dozens of cavalrymen to hunt everywhere. If they encountered any strong refugees, they would take them in as their own troops.

Whether they were garrison soldiers or retainers, to win their loyalty, one had to provide them with money and provisions. In the two years without war, their once-thriving family fortune was completely depleted. What's worse, last December, the New Year's gifts Yuanmao gave to Ajing were seized by his father to support the army, leaving Ajing with only a few books. When Ajing angrily ran away from home, he discovered that his two large chests of saddles and other riding equipment, as well as his mother's dowry, were all gone!
The only good thing was that Ah Jing's mother felt she had wronged her child and finally agreed to the marriage between Ah Jing and her son.

A Jing wrote a letter to Yuan Mao in tears, telling her friend not to send him anything anymore. She also wrote to Wei Yao to explain the situation.

That's why their two close friends first bought them a property in Luoyang, and then told them not to worry about making a living, and that they could take Ah Huan with them to Beijing at any time.

"Lou Jin, do you want to go to Luoyang?"

"I would like to, but... I would prefer to live in the North."

"What's so good about this place? Aren't you afraid the drought will continue? What if it lasts until next year?"

Gao Loujin pondered that in each of Wei Yao's letters, she inquired about the lives of the people in Shuozhou and expressed concern that since there had been no war for the past two years, the garrison soldiers had not been able to earn merit and whether there had been any complaints.

Lou Jin then guessed that Wei Yao was very concerned about whether the people in the northern border were suffering or at least temporarily safe.

She first told Wei Jing the truth about her suspicions, and then elaborated: "Wei Yao has helped me so much, so I have to help her too. I want to tell Wei Yao about the life around us and the plight of the refugees outside the post town. As you just said, what if there is still a severe drought next year?"

"What will the northern prefectures and six towns look like then? Will the garrison commanders, prefectural officials, and county officials truthfully report the plight of the disaster victims to the imperial court?"

“I don’t know who Wei Yao is in Luoyang, but I never forget to inquire about things in the north. As long as it’s something she wants to do, and I can help her, I will help her.”

“Ah Jing, actually, friends should be more about mutual benefit. If I always benefit, I won’t feel right. Before Wei Yao even distances herself from me, I will distance myself from her first. I don’t want to lose such a good friend. Perhaps you are the only one in this world who doesn’t care about mutual benefit with me. So I’m shamelessly asking you to stay in the North with me for a few more years, okay?”

"Perhaps I can help Wei Yao more than I think!"

Wei Jing reached out from under the straw screen, and the two hands clasped tightly together. "Lou Jin, I'm not a very ambitious person. I only wish that wherever you are, I will be there too."

Little Ahuan, who seemed to be fast asleep, turned over and offered her little hand.

Wei Jing tickled the child with his other hand: "Caught you pretending to be asleep!"

"Haha, haha, sister, save me—"

Laughter filled the thatched hut; it was true that having a house in Luoyang meant one could be content even in poverty.

The moon shines on both places.

In the Luoyang Imperial Palace, Zhao Zhi was inspecting the guards surrounding the Zhai Palace.

After winning the battle against the fierce warriors at Mangshan, she was first appointed as a close attendant with the title of "Qianniu Beishen" and was equipped with the sharpest sword, the Qianniu Sword! Although this official rank was low, she was free to enter and leave the palace.

After the reign title was changed to Jingming in the first month of the lunar calendar, she was granted the fourth-rank official position of "Tongzhi Sanqi Changshi" by His Majesty, which belonged to the most leisurely "Jishu Sheng".

As they walked back after their week-long inspection, the eunuch Wang Yu, carrying a stack of memorials, also headed into the palace.

Before long, from Wang Yu's reading, Zhao Zhi realized that several memorials were all impeaching her.

First, she acquired two luxurious mansions within the inner city, the cost of which far exceeded her salary. Second, she aided the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Yuan Cheng, in his tyranny, falsely accusing Minister Wang Su of treason without evidence, and had him imprisoned in the Court of Justice. Third, she treated high-ranking officials with disrespect, never offering them proper greetings, and flaunting her martial prowess.

The fourth petition came from the Censorate, accusing her of being tyrannical and disregarding human life! Such petitions have been filed since last year. The content concerns the hand-to-hand combat test during the selection of close attendants at Mangshan. Afterwards, a captain surnamed Ji from the Imperial Guard died. When the captain's family sought an explanation from her, she crippled Ji's brother.

After Wang Yu finished reading, he neatly placed the impeachment petition on the table, took two steps back, and didn't dare to raise his head. Other impeachments were all negotiable, but how dare this Attendant Zhao arrest Minister Wang?

As expected, the emperor pointed his finger at the memorial, and angrily asked about Wang Su's matter first: "You went to Minister Wang's residence to arrest the person? Are you my bodyguard or the Right Minister's bodyguard? Speak!" (End of this chapter)