Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

The clothes woven from this wool thread are very good at keeping out the cold, and the price of wool is very low. Even if the wool has to go through some processes, the price of the clothes made is still not less than that of the finest cotton cloth and silk satin. On the contrary, it can benefit more people in the world. Therefore, the new emperor rewarded the girls who came up with the idea of ​​making clothes and directly granted them the title of county princesses to commend their contributions to the country.

At the same time, Molan, the mentor and the person who offered the solution, also had his imperial edict upgraded by two levels, directly promoting Shi Ying from a third-rank lady to a second-rank lady. If Shi Ying had not had the honorary title of a first-rank tutor, he would have been overshadowed by Molan.

Some people couldn't understand why the new emperor would reward a group of female relatives so generously, and they wrote to the new emperor requesting that their achievements be rewarded to their fathers, brothers, husbands, and sons. However, Shi Ying overruled the majority and said that anyone who had made contributions to the country should be rewarded first, and then their parents, brothers, spouses, and children could be considered. Otherwise, if there was a misunderstanding from above, the reward would not be given and instead people would feel resentful, which went against the original intention of the emperor and the court.

Later, many sour scholars insisted on bringing up the low status of women. Shi Ying then quoted classics to explain that the status of women has not always been as low as it is today, and that the superiority of men and the inferiority of women does not mean that men have a nobler status than women, but that women’s status is naturally inferior.

In short, Shi Ying had a good debate with the scholars, but not only did he fail to let those people suppress him and steal the credit as they wished, but he was ridiculed and humiliated in the court, and when he returned home, he could not get the face of his mother, wife and other women.

As for the new emperor's harem, Empress Zhang Guifen, because her father, Duke Ying, had no more titles to be given, simply surrendered her military power and took the title of Duke Cheng'en, and gave the title of Duke Ying to Zhang Guifen's eldest brother. Zhang Guifen had four brothers in total, and now each of them had a title. The Duke Ying's mansion became more low-key in the court, which made the new emperor very satisfied.

As for those who were jumping for joy and urging the new emperor to enrich his harem, the new emperor ignored them all. If they talked too much, he would go directly to the Imperial City Bureau and investigate the entire family by counting the heads of the people. After three families were brought down in succession, everyone finally understood that it was not that the Empress was jealous and did not accept newcomers, but that the new emperor himself would not be manipulated or threatened by others.

This is completely different from the behavior of the previous emperor, and it can even be said that they are two extremes.

Prince Heng relied on the fact that he was the biological father of the new emperor and wanted the new emperor to honor his actual grandfather. When Shi Ying heard what Prince Heng had said, he directly retorted, "I inherited the throne after being adopted by the late emperor as his grandson. If Prince Heng insists on using his status as the biological father to ask me to honor my ancestors... what good will it do you if my throne is unstable?"

The old men in the court were amused by Prince Heng's self-righteous stupidity and greed. Did he think that by dethroning his own son, he could take the throne himself?

Not to mention that the late emperor only held the deceased Prince Yong accountable for his rebellion, and demoted the prince of Prince Yong to a commoner and exiled to Lingnan. Even if the emperor was deposed, the royal family could choose the prince of Prince Yong who had a closer blood relationship with the late emperor. Now that the emperor has perfectly established his prestige in the court and among the people through the battle with Western Xia, it is not something that Zhao Zongquan can arbitrarily accuse others with just a few words.

Shi Ying still felt that this was not enough, so she directly brought up the etiquette and law: "Your Highness Prince Heng may not know what the situation is with adopted sons and grandsons. The emperor's family can be considered as yours, but no matter from the perspective of etiquette or law, the emperor's biological father can only be the late Prince E. If the emperor wants to posthumously honor him, he can only honor the late Prince E. It has nothing to do with you, Your Highness Prince Heng."

"Besides, your position as prince was a compensation given by the late emperor, and you never said anything about it before. I really don't know why you have to make trouble at this time."

The new emperor was the eldest son in the family and was raised in the palm of his parents' hands. He knew the power of influence and that the previous emperor had first appointed his father as the crown prince, but later deposed his father for no reason and instead adopted him as the grandson and named him the crown prince to inherit the throne. This move would definitely make his father unwilling, but he really didn't expect that his father would not take action at all, but once he took action, he would completely put him on the fire and roast him!

Although Shi Ying rebuked Prince Heng in time during the court meeting, the impact of Prince Heng's words was not so easy to dissipate. There were even some rumors in the capital city, spread by some people with ulterior motives, saying that the new emperor was unfilial to Prince Heng and his wife, his biological parents, for the sake of power.

Princess Heng also had some ambitions. After all, she had been the Crown Princess and was only one step away from becoming the Empress. But although she was later demoted to a princess, she was still the biological mother of the new emperor. The new emperor was very kind to her and her sister, who were born to the same mother. Therefore, after she heard the news about the rumors in the capital that Shi Ying had deliberately conveyed to her, she immediately decided to trap Prince Heng in the palace. She also specially submitted a petition to explain that Prince Heng was only honoring his ancestors and hoped that the new emperor would posthumously confer titles on his ancestors.

Following Shi Ying's suggestion, the new emperor posthumously honored his grandfather as the Emperor's Great Uncle King Huan, and also changed the titles of his parents to King Huan and Princess Huan to follow his grandfather's title. The new King Huan became really ill, and the couple became estranged from then on, and he wholeheartedly doted on his concubine Liu.

When the new emperor saw this, although it was not appropriate for him to interfere in the emotional lawsuit between his parents, he immediately made his own sister Princess Chang'an, and turned a blind eye to his father's request to make his half-brother the crown prince. King Huan then became completely obedient.

After that, Princess Huan's natal family, the Shen family, and her in-laws, the Zou family, were both rewarded with many titles because of the new emperor's deliberate care. Seeing that her children and natal family had a good future, Princess Huan completely let go of her husband and devoted herself to enjoying a rich and stable life with the power of a queen mother in reality but not in title.

Of course, because the wool business was so profitable, Empress Dowager Cao in the palace tried to get the new emperor to share a share of the Cao family's profits out of filial piety. However, on Shi Ying's suggestion, the new emperor skipped the men of the Cao family and chose the daughters of the Cao family. Not only did this make Empress Dowager Cao's plan go down the drain, but it also set an example for women all over the world.

When the new emperor annexed Western Xia and Liao, conquered Goryeo, subjugated Dali and Nanyue, and his personal prestige was unprecedentedly high, the new emperor announced that women would be able to establish female households and own property.

Although what followed was the requirement that women pay taxes like men, women all over the world were delighted. Even the number of infanticides dropped sharply, because as long as women did not set up female households, they did not have to pay much tax. At the same time, they could go out to earn money like men, and if they could enter a workshop, they could even earn more than men.

For a time, all parents in the world hoped to have daughters. Except for many remote and uncivilized places, wherever there was Molan or Molan's relatives opened a workshop, the status of women was not low. People no longer remembered about foot binding, and would not even mention the idea that a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent. In the face of money and survival, everything else was not worth mentioning.