Chapter 2018: Big things for family and country, small things for women


    There’s no need to try! 』


    ?Du Ji was silent for a moment and then spoke word by word.


    ? Wei Duan was slightly surprised, because most of the time Du Ji rarely expressed any opinions, let alone directly vetoed them now.


    Why? asked Wei Duan.


    Because for Wei Duan, there are quite a few young marshals in Longxi, and it is indeed impossible to deliver government orders immediately. Therefore, under such circumstances, one or several local marshals did not receive it. 』The new law is nothing more than normal...


    ?Isn’t it a sin for those who don’t know?


    Isn’t it?


    ??However, Du Ji said: "This order is to be carried out in a certain way, I''m afraid it''s a blinding method...it''s like building a plank road openly and secretly visiting Chencang..."


    『How to say this? ” Li Yuan was also puzzled.


    "If the hussar hadn''t arrived at Meiyang, I might not have been able to remember..." Du Ji looked at Wei Duan, and then at Li Yuan, "The hussar''s strategy has always been to take one step every ten steps, but now he is taking one step at a time. The new order may not be for the present, but the current actions echo the actions of the past... Meiyang, Scarlet Emperor Palace... You two, please note..."


    『The major affairs of the country lie in sacrifice and military affairs...』


    Du Ji frowned and said.


    ??The last sentence, eight words, although the voice was not loud, Wei Duan and Li Yuan were about to jump up when they heard it!


    Wei Duan was trembling, and his fingers were trembling as well, as if he wanted to say something, but couldn''t. On the other side, Li Yuan frowned and remained silent, his eyes a little solemn.


    The phrase "important matters of the country" is in the Spring and Autumn Period.


    One very interesting thing is that after some conventional titles, few people will check the root cause, such as "things" or "Spring and Autumn". Even if Zuo Zhuan is not mentioned, in daily life people often ask about age and say "spring and autumn", but not about summer and winter.


    Because in ancient times, the four seasons had different divisions of labor and meanings, that is, "spring is responsible for sacrifices, and autumn is responsible for military warfare." That is to say, sacrifices should be performed in spring, and troops should be used mostly in autumn.


    There is no need to emphasize too much on the matter of soldiers and armor. Without the barrel of a gun, there is nothing. The reason why General Fei Qian of the Hussars was so powerful at the moment was because his generals and soldiers were strong and powerful enough to suppress these Guanzhong nobles who were obedient and did not dare to act rashly?


    The other thing is sacrifice.


    People in later generations may not have much idea about sacrifices. In fact, due to the changes of the times, the form and content of many sacrifices have changed. There is no longer burning incense, but with salutes, it is no longer about praying to the so-called gods, nor about offering anything. Flesh sacrifice, but using other modes...


    Such as that.


    So to put it simply, sacrifice is not just a "SHOW" with complicated procedures and formal etiquette on the surface, but behind it represents the source of power and the orthodoxy of rule.


    Regardless of whether it is ancient times, the Spring and Autumn Period, or the Han Dynasty, they all have one thing in common, that is, the basic value and significance of royal power, or imperial power, is to represent all subjects, communicate with heaven and earth, gods, and ancestors, and Bring back the instructions of heaven and earth, gods, and ancestors. Only by being able to do this can we have the legitimacy of all power, and only then can we legitimately become the representative of God in the world and the holder of authority.


    Who has the right to communicate with heaven and earth?


    Only the Son of Heaven.


    ?Who has the right to communicate with gods?


    Buddhism, Taoism, and now the Five Directions God Sect.


    ?Who has the right to talk to their ancestors?


    All major noble families, as well as the heads of each family, including the emperor.


    So, the classes are clearly divided,


    Slowly, the rulers gradually took back the power of ordinary people to communicate with gods by monopolizing sacrifices. This is the only one, no other branches. Only the emperor can offer sacrifices to the gods, the princes and officials can offer sacrifices to mountains and rivers, and the common people can only offer sacrifices to their ancestors and the Kitchen God.


    ?For example, the Zen Ceremony began with the Qin Emperor Ying Zheng who first completed his unification. As the first time to complete such a great cause of unification, Qin Shihuang believed that it was absolutely necessary to appeal to the gods and inform the people.


    ?This requires an extremely grand ceremony to be worthy of this great achievement. However, the scale and pattern of sacrifices that were common in the past were far from enough. After repeated thinking and pondering, I finally felt that only Fengchan Taishan could accompany the great achievements of the first emperor.


    Therefore, the First Emperor granted Zen to Mount Tai and told the heavens about his achievements, which further consolidated his supreme and absolute power in the world. Sima Qian once recorded in "Historical Records" that "every generation is prosperous, the Zen is answered, and it declines."


    However, what is very interesting is that although Qin Shihuang''s power was overwhelming when he was alive, it also declined very quickly after his death. Qin II almost became a yellow card that would be raised by ministers whenever emperors in the past dynasties behaved inappropriately.


    ??What does this yellow card behavior mean?


    ?So Fei Qian went to the Chidi Palace in person right now, wasn''t it for the so-called "sacrifice"?


    At first, Fei Qian used Qiao Bing, Yun Yi and others to create the "Five Directions God" sect. In fact, the big gentry in Guanzhong did not take it completely seriously, because from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Han Dynasty, there were too many gods. Especially Liu Bang, that kid can be a "Black Emperor". It''s fine if you don''t know. Do those who know the inside story have any sense of mystery about the so-called "Five Emperors"?


    So Wei Duan and others did not consider this aspect at first. After Du Ji said it, they immediately reacted and their hearts naturally jumped.


    Du Ji seems to be self-cultivated on weekdays, and rarely gathers with others or makes public. However, this does not mean that Du Ji does not care about current affairs in the world. On the contrary, because without these complicated distractions, Du Ji''s thinking is sharper. While Wei Duan was still thinking about the "Law of Lending Orders", Du Ji considered more implications of General Fei Qian''s behavior.


    『Could it be that... Hussars...』 Wei Duan was still a little unable to calm down. He stretched out a finger, unable to lift it, and finally pointed upward reluctantly.


    Du Ji pondered for a moment, shook his head, and said: "It shouldn''t be the case, but...this time, I''m afraid it''s for the "Li"..."


    ""present"? ” Wei Duan slapped his thigh, “Yes! That''s it! 』


    "What? General Hussars wants to change his etiquette? ” Li Yuan’s eyes widened.


    Where does ritual come from? ” Du Ji seemed to be asking a rhetorical question, but also seemed to be replying, “If the prediction is correct, Qiao Qi should think that the weather has changed, and it is inappropriate to call it “ancient ritual”, so it needs to be changed...”


    Etiquette first evolved from the sacrifice process. Sacrifice is a very solemn and serious matter, so naturally everything you say and do must meet the requirements of pleasing the gods. In order to please the gods, you must have certain rules, and these rules gradually evolved into "rituals". 』.


    Wei Duan was stunned for a long time, his expression extremely complicated, "I never thought... this... what to do... I wonder if there is a way to deal with it..."


    ?Du Ji smiled bitterly and said: "The Hussar thing has always been like this, like a torrent, and by the time it is noticed, it has already covered the face...unless..."


    Unless what? Li Yuan asked.


    Du Ji raised his head and looked at the sky.


    The sky was still gloomy, just like the mood of the three of them at the moment.


    Li Yuan was stunned for a moment, and then he understood. He also looked up at the sky, and then sighed...


    The three of them looked at each other and seemed to see helplessness in the eyes of the others. Then they all sighed in unison and remained speechless.


    …｜￣□￣｜ヽ(｀⌒)(⊙⊙)…


    At another place, three people also gathered together, but this place was completely different from Wei Duan''s place. There were constant laughter and laughter, and the atmosphere was very lively. Zhen Mi’s small mirror in Zheng Xuan’s place is just an introduction.


    Zheng Xuan is a great Confucian, and he is respected by others for teaching and teaching. Does that mean that only men can become great Confucians? It is definitely not the case. At least Cai Yan is also respectfully called "Master Cai" at the moment.


    So, under the leadership of Zhen Mi, and with the example of Zheng Xuan in front of her, plus the ordinary people who were around Zheng Xuan, Xin Xianying, who was gradually approaching the age of marriage, almost immediately became what Zhen Mi expected. Just like that, he jumped into the circle that Zhen Mi had prepared.


    It''s not that Zhen Mi wants to harm Xin Xianying, but she wants to use Xin Xianying''s reputation as a nobleman. After all, Zhen Mi herself is too weak, and with the interference of people from Jizhou, she may not be able to do something as she wishes, but there are With Xin Xianying as the foundation, it would be better to win over Wang Shu to join.


    ?In this way, the Women''s Alliance with Foreign Surnames was formally established, representing Jizhou, Yuzhou, Xuzhou...


    Xin Xianying did not want to be traded away so easily. This was a problem that Zhen Mi could see at a glance. After all, Zhen Mi also walked this way back then. Although Xin Xianying is not old now, she is not too young. In the Han Dynasty, when it was common to get married at the age of thirteen or fourteen, the important event of marriage was indeed close at hand.


    However, a successful marriage is certainly gratifying, but now the Xin family is not prosperous and its status is not prominent. It is almost as good as Pei Hui and Wang Xiang, and is on the fringe of politics. It is even worse than Kan Ze, Wang Chang, and Kan Ze. Although he and Wang Chang have a low position, they can usually go straight into the ruling office...


    ??Although women in the Han Dynasty did not have the abnormal emphasis on chastity that later Neo-Confucianism did, but that girl was not pregnant? Don’t you want the first time you meet a good person instead of a bad person? So how can you better match yourself with a high-level lover?


    The best way is to improve one''s own status. In the Han Dynasty, being a well-matched woman was not something you just talked about casually. When a woman''s status increased, the quality of the man she matched with would naturally increase, and the space and authority she could choose would be greater. Xin Xianying knew this very well, so she was willing to cooperate with Zhen Mi, as long as Zhen Mi could improve the Xin family''s reputation.


    As for Wang Jumo, she has enough ambition, but not enough space. Although the name of the Langya Wang family is resounding, in fact, due to the long distance, their influence has been greatly weakened. What''s more, Zao Zhi originally also had a wife. Even if they try their best to protect each other, it is inevitable that they will fall into trouble at some point. In the category of fighting, this kind of fighting is very annoying and long-winded. To a certain extent, as long as it doesn''t get too tense, even Zao Zhi won''t care.


    ??If we talk about force, Wang Shu could have chopped that woman to death with one knife. It would not be a problem to chop Zao Zhi along the way, but violence cannot solve everything...


    ??Wang Shu wants to revitalize the Mohist family, but he needs a lot of things. At least now he needs a little voice at home, so as not to be irritated to death by trivial things all day long.


    ?So when Zhen Mi came to the door and saw Xin Xianying joining, Wang Shu naturally rolled his eyes twice and readily agreed to the alliance...


    ?Zheng Xuan was a great Confucian, and Cai Yan was also a great Confucian. Men can obtain official positions, and now women also have Zhiyinyuan. Men have titles, don’t women also have titles?


    ? No matter what type of alliance these three people are, even if they are plastic flower sisters in later generations, at least one goal is the same at this moment, which is to gain fame.


    Whatever a man can achieve, a woman can do the same.


    Since a daughter of the Wang family in Taiyuan has received a title, who can say that there will not be another one?


    ??If Zhen Mi gains fame, she will be able to get rid of the fetters of Jizhou and successfully become independent. If Xin Xianying gains fame, she will have better choices and a freer direction. This is especially true for Wang Shu, who can gain more say and freedom at home.


    So with the same goal, the atmosphere between the three of them was naturally very warm. After a short time, they seemed to be as close as sisters to each other, and they were extremely harmonious.


    After the foreplay atmosphere has reached a certain level, it is natural to get down to business.


    The three of them showed their true strength.


    ?Of course, the main person to guide is still Zhen Mi.


    Zhen Mi clapped her hands, and the maid, who looked like a little rabbit, presented an extremely exquisite wooden box...


    "This is..." Xin Xianying was a little curious, and her eyes followed the wooden box.


    Zhen Mi smiled, but did not hand the wooden box to Xin Xianying, but gave it to Wang Shu, "Madam Wang, do you recognize this thing?" 』


    Wang Shu shook it gently first, listened to the sound, and then slowly opened the wooden box. What came into view was hard, long... some dried stems, a bag of seeds, and Some dried vegetable leaves…


    ??Wang Shu was quite familiar with crops. He frowned slightly, took out the stalks and seeds, looked at them for a moment, and said, "It looks like beams..."


    『Zhuo Bifutian, you can get ten thousand at the age of one year. I take the old ones and eat them from my farmers. Since ancient times. Now it is suitable for southern acres, either tilling or tilling. The millet and grass are growing, and you are stopping, and the fashionable people are looking at me..." Zhen Mi said with a smile, "Madam Wang has indeed seen a lot of people... If the weather is abnormal today and the spring is cold, there will be droughts in summer and autumn... It may not be easy to grow wheat and grass. Yes, millet is drought tolerant...if..."


    The history of planting sorghum in China dates back to the Western Zhou Dynasty. However, because sorghum is a crop, it has not received people''s attention for a long time. It was not until the Song Dynasty that people discovered its strong adaptability and began to plant it on a large scale. It only took more than a hundred years for it to become popular throughout China.


    Many farmers, no matter what kind of plants they mainly grow, will plant some sorghum in the fields or even under the eaves and walls, because sorghum has very little demand and can grow as long as there is sunlight and a small amount of water. Of course, there is a more drought-resistant plant, corn, but now there is no corn in China.


    Before the arrival of the Little Ice Age in the Han Dynasty, the climate was mild and humid, so rice, wheat and beans, which yielded more per mu, were naturally the focus of planting, and rice, wheat and beans tasted better. Sorghum is edible coarse grain and is not popular as a food crop, so it was abandoned aside and few people cared about it. Now that Zhen Mi deliberately took out this seed, she obviously had some thought.


    "Hi..." Wang Shu put the wooden box down, with some disappointment on his face. "This matter... Hussar has already arranged it... I saw a large amount of sorghum seeds being prepared at the beginning of the year... If this is the only thing, I''m afraid..."


    Zhen Mi''s smile remained unchanged and she said: "This beam is not that beam...This is sweet rice...its stem is very sweet..."


    "What? Sweet? ” Wang Shu was stunned for a moment.


    Zhen Mi stretched out her hand slightly, indicating that Wang Shu could try it by herself.


    Sorghum originally existed in China, but the place of origin of sweet sorghum is not China.


    "This thing is the product of body poison, and it traveled to Jizhou..." Zhen Mi said, "When I was young, I liked sweet food very much, but malt candies are always rare. After I accidentally got this thing, I replaced it..."


    As soon as Zhen Mi said this, not to mention Wang Shu, even Xin Xianying on the side couldn''t help it. She pinched a dry stalk and bit it into her small mouth, smashed it, and immediately smiled and rolled her eyes, "It''s really Sweet! 』


    Human beings'' pursuit of carbohydrates and fats is engraved in genes. Although the sweetness in the stalks of sweet sorghum may not even be as good as one percent of the cheapest hard candies of later generations, but In the Han Dynasty, there were not many things with sweet taste, and it was even rarer to have a bite of sugar. Otherwise, the price of sugar under the Husbands and Horses would not have always been a high luxury product, and it would be expensive.


    ??Wang Si held a dry stalk in his mouth and bit it at the corner of his mouth. It tasted like a eldest sister in later generations. "Hiss...it is indeed sweeter...in this way, it''s not bad...then what is this dried vegetable?" 』Sweet things can be used to make sugar, and sugar is a luxury product in the Han Dynasty, which represents money.


    "This thing is Artemisia alba..." Zhen Mi said softly and gracefully, "This thing can grow in mountains, dry valleys, and tidal flats. It does not occupy an acre of land... When it is young and tender, it can be eaten by people. When it is strong, it can be eaten by people." Stems, livestock can feed them... I heard that during the great chaos in Qingzhou in the past, this was the thing, and countless people were alive..."


    ??Wang Shu looked at the dried vegetables, then turned his eyes to look at Zhen Mi, and said with a half-smile: "In that case...why not offer it?" 』


    Zhen Mi said sternly: "If it is a tribute, it only has the effect of offering seeds. What you get is just some gold, silver and brocade coins, so what''s the use?" Now I know that Madam Wang is good at growing crops and is good at farm work. If she chooses a place first, plants it, and waits for it to bear fruit..."


    Wang Shu rolled his eyes and smiled slightly, "I see... Madam Zhen is really good at calculating... Anyway, this matter is actually not difficult to say..." He presented a few seeds whose effectiveness has not yet been confirmed, and then talked to It has been proven that it is indeed useful and effective. Which one can get more credit? Planting Zhuang He is naturally a difficult task for Zhen Mi and Xin Xianying, but for Wang Shu, it is quite easy.


    Zhen Mi nodded, then turned to Xin Xianying with a gentle smile, "I will provide money and goods, and Mrs. Wang will go out to work in the fields. Mrs. Xin, I will trouble you to make a name for yourself...Ms. Young masters all like to be jealous... Oh, Lady Xin, don''t be upset... Once the cultivation of this plant has achieved some success, it will be difficult for you and me to become famous, and if there are people like Lady Xin who are fond of gossip... Haha, Lady Xin Don’t be upset...Mrs. Xin will be able to choose from them by then. A talented man and a beautiful woman will naturally be a good match...Ah, I won’t say it anymore, okay, I won’t say it anymore..."


    Xin Xianying scratched Zhen Mi angrily for a while, then blushed, and finally did not object...


    (End of this chapter)