After taking Anqing, Zhu Hengjia ordered to rest in Anqing for three days and then sent troops to Luzhou, Hezhou and Chuzhou.
On this day, he was dealing with official duties: he ordered Wen Anzhi, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, and Chen Bangyan, the governor of Sichuan, to strengthen the defense of Yunnan and Sichuan to prevent the Heshuote Khanate from the west from taking advantage of the situation; he ordered Yuan Zongdi, who was stationed as a suspected soldier in Jiangnan, to
Wang Deren's troops crossed the river as soon as possible and came to Anqing to meet up; he ordered the Lincha Navy to go down the river and join forces with Sun Gui's troops to wait for an opportunity to annihilate the Qing Yangzhou Navy and harass the Qing army's ports and forts in the north of the Yangtze River??
"Your Majesty, Cheng De, a gentleman from Anqing, together with some local loyal and virtuous people, has donated 30,000 taels of silver to the army. He is already outside the account. Do you want to receive him?" Fu Qifang, the secretary of the army, reported.
Zhu Hengjia was very happy. In just one government, gentry donated 30,000 taels of silver. If every government was like Anqing, wouldn't I not even have to pay for the military expenses myself? His message made it clear that if there are loyal and virtuous people who donate money,
Pay, should be commended on special occasions.
So, he said pleasantly: "Let them come in."
A dozen well-known Anqing gentry came in, led by Cheng De.
"The ministers kowtow to see Your Majesty", "the ordinary people kowtow to see Your Majesty".
"Flat body".
Zhu Hengjia saw that Cheng De was in his fifties, had an elegant temperament, and was called a commoner by others, but he was the only one who called him a minister. He knew that this old man had fame. He couldn't help but feel good about him, and asked with a smile: "Sir, does he have fame?"<
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"I am the official of the Chongzhen Dynasty."
Even though a candidate is not an official, once he is elected, he has the qualification to call himself a minister in front of the emperor. Kang Youwei in later generations, because he was the candidate in the 14th year of Guangxu's reign, when he wrote to the emperor, he coaxed and kept saying the word "subject".
, it seems like a big official, but in fact, he doesn’t have any position.
"Okay, okay! Sir, you are worthy of being a scholar of our Ming Dynasty. When the current situation is turbulent, you donate money and support without forgetting Ming Zuo. Your spirit is commendable!"
"The Holy One praises me greatly. As a son of the Ming Dynasty, I can't bear to see the mountains and rivers destroyed, all my clothes and clothes, money and money, and the shame of seeing my ancestors. I can't help but feel heartbroken and shed tears every day. I hate that I don't have the strength to tie a chicken with my hands. I want to kill thieves, but I can't turn back.
God, fortunately, Wang Shi’s Northern Expedition has allowed us to see the majesty of the Han family again. We will have no regrets in this life or death!"
When Zhu Hengjia heard this, he was very moved. "To serve the country, you don't have to go into battle to kill the enemy. Sir, donating money and salary to the Ming Dynasty is also serving the country. I will commend him on this special day." After saying this, he asked someone to get pen and ink, brush it, and write four words.
A word was given to Cheng De: "House of Loyalty and Righteousness".
"I thank you Lord for your kindness!"
Ordinarily, if you donate the silver and I write the inscription, this matter will come to an end and you can go back.
Unexpectedly, Cheng De hesitated and refused to leave.
Zhu Hengjia was very surprised: "Is there anything else, sir?"
Cheng De fell to his knees with a plop, bursting into tears, "My eldest son died young, and my daughter-in-law, Sun, was determined to keep her integrity and be a woman. Unexpectedly, someone in the Northern Expedition actually slandered her reputation and asked Your Majesty to make the decision."
What, tarnishing a widow’s name?
Scolding a mute, tearing open a widow's door, kicking a lame person's legs, and digging someone's grave are the four most damaging things in the world.
In the Ming Dynasty, marrying a widow was not considered a stain on one's reputation. However, if there was no known matchmaker to marry, and one secretly slept with the widow, it was a stain on one's reputation. If the widow agreed, it was considered "adultery"; if she disagreed, it was considered "adultery".
"Rape". In short, it is an illegal act if normal procedures are not followed.
Although Zhu Hengjia did not follow the normal procedure and slept with the widow Zhao of the Gaoping Mo family, on the surface, he was still the king of a country and a national moral model. He immediately pretended to be indignant and asked: "Who is this?"
So bold, how dare you commit adultery with a chaste woman?"
"That's the Anqing guerrilla Lu Wenye whom you sealed before Japan."
"Lu Wenye?"
A young and handsome shadow flashed in Zhu Hengjia's mind, and he couldn't help but hate the iron. He looked smart, but why was he so confused when doing things? He wanted to sleep with a widow, and he married an upright man and slept in the house. How could he come here secretly?<
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After thinking about it, someone called Lu Wenye in.
It turned out that after Lu Wenye became an official, he became bolder and went directly to the Cheng Mansion to bring the Sun family in. At this time, the matter with the Sun family could not be settled. Cheng De was furious and donated money as an excuse.
He was so generous that he gave out 20,000 of the 30,000 taels of silver just to express bad temper.
"I bow to your Majesty," Lu Wenye entered.
Because of his relationship with Zhao Baolian, Emperor Guangwu sympathized with Lu Wenye and wanted to help him. The more he wanted to help him, the less he could look good on him.
His face sank and he refused to call him out: "Lu Wenye, I ask you, Cheng Juren said that you had tainted the innocence of his daughter-in-law Sun, is this true? Do you just admire Sun and have no actual offense; or have you already done so?
Did you commit adultery with Mr. Sun?"
When Zhu Hengjia asked, he deliberately emphasized the words "no actual offense".
Lu Wenye, who had been wandering around the world for many years, understood it immediately and cried out, "What an injustice! Your Majesty, I just saw Sun when I was going to the market and fell in love with her. I also heard that she was a widow at home, so I fell in love with her."
It's just a matter of sending someone to the Cheng Mansion to propose marriage. In fact, you haven't even touched a finger of Mrs. Sun, so how can you taint someone's innocence?"
"Is that so?" Zhu Hengjia asked Cheng De: "Sir, Mr. Lu said that Lu Wenye had tarnished the reputation of the Sun family. Is there any evidence?"
"This", Cheng De was speechless for a moment. "Adultery" requires catching the adulterer in bed. He didn't catch it. After a while, he blushed and said: "Although there is no evidence, the neighbors all say so."
Zhu Hengjia was happy that it would be easy to handle without evidence, and immediately made a serious face: "Sir, you are a scholar, how can you behave like this? How can you convict someone for something unfounded? Lu Youyi is an official of the imperial court, and it is a serious crime to accuse an official of the imperial court."
I remember that you will not forget Ming Zuo, and you will be loyal and righteous, and will not judge your guilt, so please step back."
Cheng De was shy and impatient, so he "resigned".
Unexpectedly, Lu Wenye refused to give up, "I sincerely love the Sun family and would like to marry her. Please make the decision, Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, Mrs. Sun has volunteered to keep my son safe, and Lu Guerrilla is harassing her for no reason. Please make the decision, Your Majesty." Cheng De disagreed.
"Your Majesty, Mrs. Sun doesn't want to keep the rules. It was Cheng Juren who forced her."
The two argued endlessly. Emperor Guangwu looked at Lu Wenye and couldn't help but secretly praise: This guy is good. He is willing to marry someone after sleeping with him. He is a responsible person! Then he suddenly thought of his relationship with Zhao Baolian, and he couldn't help but feel sad.
.I want to help this guy more and more.
Then he said: "The law of our court does not prohibit widows from marrying, but it requires their own consent. If she is determined to observe integrity, you must not ruin the reputation of others. If you come, call Mrs. Sun, and I want to ask her if she is willing to observe integrity.
Still willing to marry you?"
It didn't matter if he didn't ask, Cheng De was so angry that he was half-dead when he asked. Sun, who was familiar with "The Legend of the Martyred Girl", actually said without any hesitation that she wanted to marry Lu Wenye.
"Your Majesty," Cheng De knelt down with tears streaming down his face.
Zhu Hengjia was unhappy, "What are you doing, sir? Lu Wenye and Sun didn't break the law, and I can't make the decision for you."
"The dog is dead, and the Sun family is not willing to keep the rules, and I can't force it. But my eldest grandson Zuxin is the flesh and blood of the Cheng family, and the Sun family is not allowed to take him away."
"Of course, Cheng Zuxin should stay in the Cheng family. However, sir, he is a sensible person. I, the Ming Dynasty, govern the world with filial piety. Sun is Cheng Zuxin's mother, so she should always pay her respects to Sun."
"I obey the decree."
After Cheng De, Lu Wenye, and Sun retired, the matter came to an end.
Zhu Hengjia was a little uneasy, so he asked someone to look through the "Ming Huidian", and saw that it clearly stated: "If a folk widow who was thirty years ago, her husband died and stayed in the system, and if she does not change her rule after fifty, she will be expelled from the family and excluded from her family."
"Servant".
The more I think about it, the more something is wrong. After decades of wars, the population of the Ming Dynasty dropped sharply, but the policy also encouraged widows to observe filial piety, which is not conducive to population growth!
Then he came to Zheng Feng to ask for advice: "Zheng Qing, the population of the Ming Dynasty is insufficient now. I want to amend the law and stop showing chastity to women and encourage them to marry and have children to increase the population. Is this okay?"
Zheng Feng was shocked: "You must not do it, Your Majesty. If you practice this method, you will offend the moral gentlemen in the world, give the Manchus control, affect people's attachments, and even affect the Northern Expedition!"
"Hey! Is this etiquette really so powerful? Is it possible that I can't change it even though I know it's wrong?"
Zheng Feng thought for a while and said: "I think that completely canceling the ban on married women will be criticized. It is better to change it to a childless widow and no longer ban the ban. This will increase the population and the opposition will not be too strong."
"Well, what Zheng Qing said is very good."
On May 10, the third year of the reign of Emperor Guangwu of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Hengjia issued an edict that he would no longer encourage widows without children to observe the festival, in the name of Confucius's word "benevolence".
"I thought that a childless widow would inevitably be left alone and helpless, and her later life would be desolate, which is unkind, so I stopped giving any instructions??"
This matter caused great controversy in the Ming Dynasty, with both supporters and opponents.
There was a scholar in later generations who was known as "Yangyang Ming Dynasty". He was extremely shameless about Emperor Wu's character and wrote many limericks to satirize him. Only this incident was praised in poems.
Archway
The chastity arch stands high,
The crazy man hates the woman and cries quietly.
A decree from the emperor,
Help countless young couples.
This chapter has been completed!