"Aren't you happy to marry a concubine and bring along twenty-four maidservants?"
Yingguo Gongfu, West Courtyard.
All the princes were in the front hall, but Huaiyu came to see Fan Xuanfu on the pretext of changing clothes. Today, Fan Xianji was extraordinarily gentle, and her eyes were drawn when she looked at Wu Huaiyu.
"Isn't this a sudden attack? There is no preparation at all."
"You have to be very prepared. You have already taken several concubines, and you even had a wife in another house. If I hadn't taken you back and let the official censor know about it and then impeached you, you would have been demoted and resigned. You will regret it."
Not as good as that." Fan Xuanfu took Wu Huaiyu's hand and said, "My three sisters are all very good, they are all fifteen or sixteen years old."
Wu Huaiyu thought about Fan Xuanfu's explosive force value, and couldn't help but worry. Adding three Wuling barbarians to the backyard would be too much for them.
"Do your sisters also learn to ride and shoot swords?"
"That's natural, it's the origin of family education. We are from a barbarian background. Both men and women have practiced martial arts since childhood. My sisters are also very good at martial arts. They are all excellent at wielding swords and guns, and they are also proficient in riding and shooting...
···”
Huaiyu suddenly felt a slight toothache.
"Well, since my sisters are so versatile, it would be too unfair for them to marry as maidens. Why not choose a better couple for them? Wouldn't it be better for them to be real wives?"
Although there are differences between concubines and concubines, they are only noble concubines. Their status in the family is much lower than that of their wives. The children they bear are also concubines, not ordinary wives.
"It's an ancient tradition for my niece to marry."
Looking at Fan Xuanfu with a smile on his face, Wu Huaiyu felt that he could guess a little bit of her little thoughts. Marrying his cousin as a concubine was not only a tradition, but it was also a way for Fan Xuanfu to stabilize his position as the eldest lady after marrying her.
means.
A good man has three gangs, and a master has three gangs of concubines. My sister must be more reliable than the other concubines.
They also directly occupied Wu Huaiyu’s three concubine quotas.
The most surprising thing about the Fan family is that they didn't mention it at all beforehand. Some old noble families do have this tradition about their nephews marrying their concubines, but most aristocratic families don't have this kind of tradition. They usually just bring
A personal maidservant will be given as a dowry, and a few rooms of slaves will be provided.
Now that they mentioned it, Huaiyu couldn't refuse.
There is no reason to refuse.
Fan Xuanfu said that her three sisters had just arrived in Beijing from Anlu.
People have already arrived, and they have come with dowries. Many people from the Anlu and Fan family have come, not only to give marriages, but also to come to Beijing to study, work as errands, or even seek official positions.
The fact that a large direct lineage marries a daughter while a small lineage side branch does so is a great honor for the Wu family, and most people cannot enjoy it.
Wu Huaiyu could only accept it, but Fan Xuanfu would not allow him to refuse.
"Do you want to meet my sisters? I will take you to meet them." Fan Xuanfu smiled when he saw that the matter was settled.
Wu Huaiyu said: "It's better to disappear now and see you on the wedding day."
Anyway, the wedding day is set for ten days.
The two chatted for a long time in the west courtyard, until Samurai Ke was looking for him everywhere, so he hurried back.
Fan Xuanfu clapped his hands and said, "Sisters, come out."
"How's it going, Erlang? Are you satisfied?"
Fan Xuanfu's three sisters came out of the room together, all smiling, and they all praised Wu Erlang for being young, handsome and considerate.
"You're so kind to my sister."
"My sister has really found a perfect husband this time."
Fan Xuanfu felt happy, "I am also your husband."
······
When the group left Fan Mansion, Qin Qiong sat in the carriage and called Huaiyu to ride with them.
"After you get married, I will go to Sanyuan Bailu Plateau to Zhuangzi to rest peacefully." Qin Qiong leaned on the soft cushion, looking very haggard and weak.
"Your Majesty won't agree with my stepfather to leave, right?"
"Your Majesty can understand the way I am now," Qin Qiong has asked the emperor to resign several times. Yesterday Li Shimin made a special trip to Qin Qiong's house to visit him. The emperor and his ministers chatted for a long time.
Li Shimin finally agreed that the old man should go to Sanyuan to recuperate, but he still allowed him to concurrently hold the post of Zuowei General, and also let him take the post of Prince Zuowei Commander.
This Duke of Qi, who had granted 1,300 households, was ranked fourth on the list. Just when he was favored, he resigned and retired.
Wu Huaiyu felt that this was not only because of his poor health, but also because he felt guilty about Li Yuan, and was concerned about Xie Li's decision to leave the country this time.
For Qin Qiong, these things accumulated and overwhelmed his body.
"I was originally a martial artist, but now that the Holy Emperor has established peace, there is no room for me to use my skills. I just want to leave Nanshan, remove my armor and return to the fields."
Qin Qiong said that he recently practiced Diamond Kung Fu and Longevity Kung Fu and felt good, which made his mind calm a lot. He also read Taoist scriptures every day and felt that he had gained a lot.
"I plan to cultivate myself in Bailuyuan while also studying Taoism and medicine."
Qin Qiong's words surprised Huaiyu, "Why doesn't my foster father study the art of war and write a military book?"
"Hahaha, I'm very good at charging into battle, but when it comes to writing military books, I don't have the ability. I just couldn't study at that time, so I learned martial arts and joined the army."
······
When I came out of Irina's room in the morning, it was another vibrant day.
"Good morning, Ah Lang." Run Niang waited there to say hello with some resentment.
"Run Niang, why don't you sleep more."
"It's getting late. Those who got up early have been busy for more than an hour."
Huaiyu chuckled and quickly went to wash up. Before the Fan family's troops arrived, he should seize the time to enjoy the passionate Hu Ji. He probably wouldn't have so many opportunities in the future.
Huaiyu couldn't help but shudder when he thought of the four swordswomen holding horse-killing swords, followed by twenty-four swordswomen with bows and swords on their backs.
"Alang, the weather is getting colder and colder. Please put on more clothes so you don't catch a cold." Seeing this, Run Niang said with concern.
After hearing this, the Gao sisters silently fetched clothes for Huaiyu.
Huaiyu felt a little embarrassed, having ignored them all this time, "Have you eaten well recently? Have you gained any weight?"
"I drink goat's milk and eat chicken and steamed buns every morning, and have a late-night snack at night. My body has gained a lot of weight." Gao Hui'an deliberately puffed out his chest and said.
Gao Yanzhi, who was next to me, also said quickly, "I was weighed yesterday, and now I weigh ninety pounds. My sister is one pound heavier than me, and she will weigh one hundred pounds soon."
Huaiyu laughed and said, "Persevere, eat four meals a day, morning and evening, with meat and vegetables, and remember to practice Baduanjin twice a day."
As he was not on duty today, Huaiyu took a few people to practice Baduanjin in the courtyard, checking and guiding their movements.
The Shouyang Marquis Mansion in Yongxingfang is very large, with several courtyards, and is relatively independent. My parents, elder brother, and elder sister each have their own courtyard, so they don't disturb each other, and it is convenient to travel between them.
After practicing the exercises, Huaiyu went to the vegetable garden, and Run Niang and others followed him.
Early winter in October.
It's already very cold in the morning and evening in Chang'an. Although there is no fire in the greenhouse, the walls and roofs of the greenhouse have already kept the inside much warmer. The winter vegetables grown outside the greenhouse will grow greener in the cold wind.
Here they were weeding, loosening the soil, adding fertilizer and watering, chatting and laughing. Mrs. Pei next door said hello across the wall. Huaiyu smiled and climbed up the wall to say hello to Mrs. Pei.
As a result, Wei Zheng raised his eyebrows and glared at him.
"Mr. Wei is here too."
"Isn't it etiquette to pick someone off the wall?"
"That's what Wei Gong said. How about I ask someone to come over and build a platform on this section of the wall? We can meet up when we are planting vegetables, and we can have a cup of tea or a glass of wine and chat for a while."
Wei Zheng was not interested in this proposal. He now hoped that Wu Huaiyu would return the house deed and book to him as soon as possible.
"I'll pick a handful of spinach for Mr. Wei. It's still fresh and tender."
A large handful of fresh spinach was given to Wei Zheng. Wei Zheng refused but Mrs. Pei accepted it, and even cut some leeks and gave it to Huaiyu.
"Chives are good. Leeks are best for men. Thank you, Mrs. Pei."
When Wei Zheng heard this, he felt that Huaiyu was a bit immoral and even meant to tease his wife.
Mrs. Pei was the first to talk about the aftermath of the loan. They had already returned the capital, but they could not discuss the interest.
"I have concluded this matter before, there is really no need to talk about it again."
Wu Huaiyu did not talk to them anymore, jumped off the wall with leeks and returned.
…
"Erlang, there is someone coming from the palace. Your Majesty has summoned him."
When Wu Huaiyu heard this, he quickly changed his clothes and entered the palace.
Before leaving, I looked at the corn hanging in the yard and picked up two ears.
In the East Palace, Wu Huaiyu checked his identity at the palace gate and entered the palace. He sighed in his heart that Li Shimin was already the emperor, but he still lived in the East Palace, while the Supreme Emperor Li Yuan still lived in Taiji Palace.
On the surface, this is Li Shimin's "filial piety", but in fact, this situation is unreasonable. It is estimated that someone will write a letter soon to ask Li Yuan to move out of Tai Chi Palace and let Li Shimin move into Tai Chi Palace.
But Wu Huaiyu didn't intend to mention this matter.
No need, no need at all. At his current age, he has already become a marquis and holds the rank of fifth-rank official, which is enough.
Following the chamberlain into the palace, he was thinking about what the emperor was doing when he suddenly summoned him.
In the palace, Li Shimin was discussing matters with a group of confidants.
"Your Majesty, Marquis Wu Huaiyu of Shouyang is meeting you outside the palace."
"Xuan."
When Wu Huaiyu entered the palace, Li Shimin waved to him, "No need to be polite."
There were only Gao Shilian, Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Zhou Shaofan, and Ma Zhou in the hall. "A few days ago, I asked officials to discuss the pros and cons of national policies. You wrote a memorial for the establishment of ten channels in Bingzhou and County in the province.
I thought it was very good after seeing it, and I showed it to Wuji and the others just now. We were discussing it, so I asked you to come over and tell everyone the details in person."
Wu Huaiyu breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that he was just here to talk about this.
"Your Majesty, take the example of the Chen family's original residence in Sanyuan County in Weibei. In the fourth year of Wude, it was changed to Chiyang County. In the fifth year, it was changed to Huachi County, Sanyuan County was separated, and Quanzhou was established. Because there is still a Quanzhou, so
It was also renamed Beiquanzhou······
I went to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to check the archives and found that in the eighth year of Wude in the Tang Dynasty, there were 229 more prefectures and 383 counties than in the fifth year of Daye.
In the early days of the Republic of China, rebel armies were swarming from all over the country, the Tang Dynasty was booming, and the prime ministers came back. The emperor set up prefectures and counties for them to favor them. Therefore, the number of prefectures and counties was twice that of the founding emperor, and the great cause was great.
In addition to the increase of a large number of prefectures and counties, the situation of repeated place names in prefectures and counties is also very serious. There are 49 prefectures with the same name, including four in Yizhou, three of which are Yun, Wen, Ping, Long, Zhi, Nanping, Yong, and Jianzhou.
,
There are more than 40 people with the same name in the two states.
There are more counties with the same names, such as Xincheng County in Hangzhou, Dengzhou, Hengzhou and Xizhou, Xinning County in Quanzhou, Hengzhou and Tongzhou.
The three prefectures of De, Ci and Ya all have Pingchang County, etc.
The imperial court had to explicitly add the word "nan" before the names of places, but there were still two Nanping prefectures, two Nanjin prefectures, two Nanshi prefectures and two Xihui prefectures.
The geographical names of administrative regions are confusing, and reforming the old and new ones is inevitable. I believe that now that the country is unified, it is urgent to reorganize states and counties, and to merge provinces, states, and counties. Many states have less than five counties under their jurisdiction. Ten sheep and nine herds...
"
"Then how do you plan to save the merger?"
"I take Sanyuan as an example. Sanyuan and Chiyang were originally one county, or were merged into one county. There is no need to retain Beiquanzhou, so they can be directly eliminated and Sanyuan merged into Yongzhou.
In the Gyeonggi region, there are still many prefectures like Beiquanzhou, as well as counties such as Huachi and Sanyuan, which can be merged into provinces. There are dozens of counties under Yongzhou Prefecture, which can be merged into eighteen counties. Weinan and Weibei each retain nine counties.
county······
It is completely possible to restore the state and county divisions to the Kaihuang period, cutting off 200 states and 400 counties.
It is enough to retain 300 states and about 1,500 counties across the country. In this way, one state governs at least five counties, which is relatively reasonable.
Above the state, we divide it into ten lanes according to the geography of the world's mountains and rivers, and send officials to monitor and inspect it just like the governor of the state in the Han Dynasty!"
