There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 258 Official Gazette
When the ministers of the Han Dynasty saw the added text about foot binding in the "Admonitions for Women," their opinions were surprisingly unanimous.

No one objected to this. Yao Hongyi, the Minister of the Ministry, even expressed his disgust for foot binding, believing that foot binding was not a refined practice, but rather an improper and vulgar custom.

Isn’t it strange!

In reality, this was the norm; even during the Qianlong and Jiaqing periods, those who truly preferred foot binding were not the absolute majority.

Because the history of foot binding is very early, with records dating back to the Song Dynasty, the custom of foot binding already existed. At that time, foot binding was not limited to women, but men also bound their feet.

The purpose of foot binding was certainly not to create deformed and morbid three-inch golden lotuses, but rather because the shoes worn by people in ancient times were generally cloth shoes, which would make the feet appear large and flat, and not aesthetically pleasing. Therefore, foot binding was used to restrain and shape the feet to make them look better.

This even evolved into the "bow shoe," which, when worn by women who had their feet bound, could perfectly shape their feet. Far from being deformed or unsightly, it showcased the woman's charm to the fullest.

However, this was only the foot binding practice during the Song and Ming dynasties; everything changed during the Qing dynasty.

For various reasons, the evil practice of foot binding for women began to develop barbarically, until it became distorted and deformed into three-inch golden lotuses. Women needed servants to help them with daily activities, could not walk at all, and could not take off their shoes in public.

Yes, that's right. Those morbid literati who had a penchant for bound feet knew how disgusting and unsightly bound feet looked. They only liked to see bound feet wearing bound shoes, and would casually call out these images when guests came, as a way to flaunt their wealth.

What Yao Hongyi found disgusting was this kind of foot binding.

Foot binding is acceptable, but binding it into disgusting three-inch golden lotuses has no aesthetic appeal. Instead, it harms women, making them deformed and ugly. Can this be called elegant?
Lin Wenchang suggested, "In that case, let's pass both the 'Admonitions for Women' and the 'New Laws'!"

The others looked at each other and then nodded.

"I agree."

"I agree."

"Then approve it and send it to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Rites."

"..."

The cabinet unanimously approved it.

Of the six, only Yao Hongyi clearly abhorred the practice of foot binding. The other five, even if they didn't abhor it, generally couldn't bring themselves to like it.

After all, people who like this kind of thing are either extremely concerned about saving face or are genuinely psychologically disturbed.

Moreover, they were no political novices. Although the "Admonitions for Women" was supposedly revised by the Queen, it was definitely written at the behest of the King of Han.

……

In Jingzhou City, there was a brothel.

Because of the Han Dynasty's previous crackdown on brothels, if someone reported it, the patrol officers would arrive to investigate within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

After three years of continuous upheaval, within the territory of Jingzhou Prefecture, at the foot of the Han King, not a single illegitimate brothel could be seen. Those remaining were all legitimate businesses, not engaging in prostitution, and even prohibiting overnight stays; they closed at night.

The VIP room is on the second floor of the brothel.

Two courtesans were playing the zither and the se, while several young men at the dinner table were eating and drinking, chatting idly.

"Come and see, this is the latest issue of the 'Great Han Dynasty Gazette.' I went to great lengths to get a copy," a young man in a blue robe said, taking out a copy of the gazette.

As a legitimate kingdom, the Great Han was not a makeshift organization like the King of Slaughter or the White Lotus Sect. It naturally had its own official media outlets to represent the Great Han in controlling public opinion and to serve as a force for political propaganda.

The department in charge of the "Great Han Imperial Gazette" was the Postal and Communications Department. It was published almost monthly, and its main contents were war reports from the Great Han to foreign countries, as well as various current affairs laws and regulations.

The "Great Han Gazette" in the hands of the young man in the blue robe came from the postal headquarters of Jingzhou Prefecture. Branch offices were set up in various prefectures under the rule of the Great Han Dynasty to be responsible for the printing and distribution of the "Great Han Gazette".

Upon hearing the invitation from the young man in the blue robe, the others put down their chopsticks and gathered around to watch.

"Our great Han army has captured Jiujiang and Nankang prefectures in Jiangxi. General Yang has already reached Nanchang and has defeated 30,000 Qing troops with only 3,000 men. How wonderful!"

"Three thousand men defeated thirty thousand! General Yang is simply a war god of our time!"

"Who can argue with that? With this great victory, it won't be long before our royal army recaptures Nanchang. Once we've taken Nanchang, our next step will be to set our sights on Jiangnan, and the recapture of Nanjing will be just around the corner!"

"Hey, it's not Jiangning, it's Nanjing of my great Han Dynasty. Jiangning is a terrible name given by that pseudo-Qing Dynasty."

"Yes, yes, it's Nanjing, it's Nanjing. I accidentally misspoke."

"Since you've said something wrong, Brother Liu, then you should punish yourself with three cups of wine!"

"Haha, Brother Xu is right. Then I will punish myself with three cups as an apology to everyone."

The young masters were all overjoyed as they read the latest news of victory in the official gazette. Even the young master Liu, who had spoken out of turn, felt a surge of pride welling up inside him after laughing and drinking three cups of penalty wine.

Young Master Liu held his wine cup: "Looking at what this official gazette says, I really wish I could go to the battlefield myself, to learn from General Yang, to kill the enemy and repay the emperor, and to make great achievements."

Young Master Xu, standing nearby, said, “Brother Liu, you’ve had too much to drink. Killing the enemy is to repay your sovereign. You could pass the imperial examination, enter the court as an official, realize your ambitions, and dedicate yourself to a wise and virtuous ruler. That would also be a way to achieve merit and repay the sovereign’s kindness!”

The young man in the blue robe holding the official gazette laughed and said, "That's right. Soldiers serve their country on the battlefield, while we scholars should just wait patiently for this year's imperial examination. This examination is the battlefield where we can make contributions and realize our ambitions."

Upon hearing this, all the other young men present nodded in agreement, then sighed inwardly with a sense of helplessness.

This was their last chance. The fact that these people could live in Jingzhou Prefecture and afford to open private rooms in brothels and hire male prostitutes clearly indicated that they were all sons of wealthy local families in Jingzhou.

Logically speaking, as the first prefecture city captured by the Han Dynasty, if these sons of powerful families had chosen sides early enough and been willing to start from the bottom, they would at least be county magistrates by now.

Unfortunately, these people failed to seize the opportunity. At first, they thought the Han dynasty wouldn't last long, so they were unwilling to accept the Han's recruitment order. Later, as the Han dynasty grew larger and its foundation became more solid, they became arrogant and unwilling to start from insignificant positions such as land allocation officials or town mayors.

By now, when they've finally figured it out, they've already missed the best time for promotion.

These days, being a land allocation official or town head is incredibly busy. Not only are there more responsibilities and miscellaneous tasks assigned to them, but there aren't enough land to go around for the officials above them.

Nie Yu felt that the expansion of the Han Dynasty's territory was too fast, and there were not enough land distribution officials and town mayors. However, the land distribution officials and town mayors felt that it was still too slow, and there were no vacancies at all.

What if there's no space available?
Then let's call it involution!
The King of Han was intolerant of any wrongdoing and disliked corrupt officials, so he resorted to measures based on their performance. Since the land allocation officials and town heads in these areas were all young, they possessed a ruthless streak. At their most egregious, some town heads even moved with their land allocation officials to dilapidated temples in the countryside, establishing a permanent office there. Funds intended for repairing government offices were instead distributed to the people to help restore production.

Not only that, these local officials even went to the fields themselves to work, hoping to motivate the people to resume production.

Over time, this back and forth also exhausted and wore down many township officials.

The Ministry of Personnel could no longer stand by and watch, so it ordered local officials not to engage in cutthroat competition. Such forced infighting would only wear people down, and they should act according to their abilities.

The workload in the local areas has become so heavy that these young masters who are still drinking and listening to music in brothels are obviously not able to stand it, so they can only pin their hopes on the imperial examinations.

The young man in the blue robe suddenly raised his glass and said, "Gentlemen, today's drinking party is the last one this year. After today, I will go home and shut myself in to prepare for the exam."

"Wishing Brother Li success in the imperial examination!" Everyone quickly stood up and bowed.

As soon as he finished speaking, the young master surnamed Li invited everyone to sit down, drink and eat, while continuing to look through other contents in the official gazette.

Before he could even turn two pages, this young master Li suddenly stopped, his eyes filled with disbelief, and he didn't even hear the young master Liu next door offering him a toast.

"Brother Li, let me offer you a toast. Brother Li... Brother Li?"

Young Master Liu held his wine glass for a long time without receiving a response, but he wasn't angry. Instead, he went over to take a look at the official gazette.

I didn't know until I saw it, and I was so shocked that I couldn't control myself and blurted out, "This is truly an insult to civility!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he quickly covered his mouth and looked around.

Upon seeing the two courtesans playing the zither, he disregarded the fact that the owner of the private room was the young master Li and waved his hand to shoo them away, saying, "Quickly, get out! All of you get out, we don't need you to serve us here!"

A few shouts and a drive away startled the two prostitutes.

Because the other party was a guest, the two male escorts, though angry, did not show it and respectfully and quickly left the private room.

The others present were bewildered by Liu and Li's reactions and were about to ask questions when Young Master Liu spoke first: "This is an insult to scholarship, truly an insult to scholarship! Gentlemen, you should all take a look!"

Upon hearing this, the others became even more curious and quickly leaned closer.

"The 'Admonitions for Women' and the 'New Laws of the Han Dynasty'? The new laws of our Han Dynasty have come out so quickly?"

"Don't look at the new law, carefully read what's written in the supplementary texts of the 'Admonitions for Women'?"

“Starving to death is a small matter, but losing one’s chastity is a great matter. Remarrying after one’s husband’s death is certainly a loss of chastity, but there are also unavoidable circumstances, which even a sage cannot forbid…”

"What... what kind of talk is this? Who said this, daring to refute the words of a sage?"

"Wait, Brother Wang, don't get angry yet. There's more to come. Is this the saying of Zhu Xi? Zhu Xi, the words of a sage, how is this possible? How could a sage contradict himself? There must be something wrong with it."

"Absurd, utterly absurd!"

"This is an insult to scholarship, truly an insult to scholarship!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, there is more below. This additional text to the 'Admonitions for Women' not only denies that women should lose their chastity, but also believes that women can show their faces in public and go out to meet people. It even says that women should not bind their feet, because binding feet is harmful to the hair and body, and is an evil act of being unfilial and disloyal."

"This...this...this..."

After a brief glance, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, and several people simply slumped into their chairs, their faces blank as if all their strength had been drained.

They didn't understand what was wrong with the world. The King of Han was a sage king and wise ruler of the Han Dynasty, the founding emperor who was about to overthrow the false Qing barbarians and establish a new Han Dynasty. How could he issue such an absurd decree in the official gazette?
“How absurd and ridiculous is this addition to the ‘Admonitions for Women’! How can the King of Han allow such a ridiculous article to be published in the ‘Great Han Gazette’?” A young nobleman asked, his face full of heartache and indignation.

Another young man chimed in, "That's right! It's only right for a woman to remain chaste. How can it be that remarrying after her husband's death is out of necessity, and that even a sage can't forbid it? That's utter nonsense!"

The young master Liu bluntly stated, "Leaving aside these matters, foot binding for women has been a custom since the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties. Sharing a bed with a famous courtesan with bound feet, touching her golden lotuses, and experiencing the pleasure of leaning against a beautiful woman is a refined affair. If it is abolished in the future, wouldn't we all have to face those huge, flat feet? No matter how beautiful she is, we would probably find it difficult to even feel desire."

The group chatted back and forth, and before long, some of their remarks were quite disrespectful.

Fortunately, Young Master Li was still somewhat clear-headed. He knew that alcohol emboldens the timid, but one must also consider the occasion. This was indeed a brothel's private room, but who said that private rooms were necessarily soundproof? If someone outside heard something, it would be a serious matter.

"Cough cough."

Young Master Li coughed twice, put away the official gazette in his hand, and said, "Although this gazette has published the supplementary text to the 'Admonitions for Women' and the 'New Laws of the Great Han,' it will take a long time for the new laws to be implemented and printed. As for the supplementary text to the 'Admonitions for Women,' it is inconvenient for us to interfere. However, the King of Han is the wise and virtuous ruler of our Great Han. The existence of this supplementary text to the 'Admonitions for Women' must be due to the slander of treacherous officials. As long as we pass the imperial examination this year and have official rank, we can personally advise the King at the banquet to request that he rescind the decree!"

Upon hearing this, everyone came to their senses and quickly agreed, saying, "Brother Li is right."

After this incident, no one was in the mood to continue the banquet. They studied the official gazette for a long time to make sure they hadn't misread the added text of "Admonitions for Women" and "New Laws of the Great Han Dynasty" before hastily dispersing and leaving.

……

a few days later.

The latest issue of the "Great Han Gazette" was officially published in the prefectures and counties under the rule of the Great Han Dynasty, and there were special officials in charge of allocating land, town mayors, and teachers from academies who were responsible for reading the newspaper to the people.

"Hey? Mr. Xu, what is this 'New Laws of the Great Han Dynasty' in the newspaper?" the village chief of a small village asked the village school teacher.

Mr. Xu explained earnestly: "Village Chief Huang, this 'New Laws of the Great Han' is a brand-new law formulated by our Great Han. With this new law, the government can properly adjudicate cases, arrest bad guys, and restrain petty thieves."

Old Village Chief Huang nodded slightly: "Oh, so it's the law! I can still understand this old man, but we were using the old law before. The government has suddenly changed to the new law. Won't this cause any trouble?"

When Mr. Xu heard this, he understood perfectly well that the old village chief was saying he was afraid of chaos, but in reality he was worried that the new law might be too harsh.

Mr. Xu laughed and said, “Don’t worry, old village chief. This ‘New Laws of the Great Han’ was edited by the King of Han. Every article was personally reviewed and approved by the King of Han. You know how good the King of Han is to the people, so there is definitely no problem with this ‘New Laws of the Great Han’.”

Upon hearing this, Village Chief Huang immediately understood. The new law was established by the King of Han, who was a great benefactor to the people and a truly benevolent King of Han.

He was relieved that the new laws established by the hero Wang must be good laws.

"And what about the 'Admonitions for Women' that follows?"

(End of this chapter)