Rebirth of the Ming Dynasty: Sixth Generation of Glory, I don't want it

"Hey, that's a new idea? You have a lot of widowed aunts!"

Xu's eyes lit up. Oh, right, why didn't she think of this?

"Mom, I'm only talking about the eleventh aunt. The other aunts are doing well even if they don't get married, so forget it."

Zhang Xin didn't mean to drag others into this, so she quickly added.

Princess Nankang is actually a special case.

According to her, being a widower is pretty good.

"You don't understand. Anyway, I know now. I'll ask them later and arrange for those who want to remarry. What kind of consorts did the late emperor choose back then?"

When Xu was reminded of this, she remembered the unreliability of the previous emperor.

The princesses and dukes' princesses that came later were selected and examined again and again.

The girls who were eventually married home were all common people girls who had both good parents, neat faces and even limbs, and who had everything they needed.

The princesses who came after that were truly miserable.

They are all introduced.

The introducers included court officials, military heroes, and eunuchs. . . .

The prince consort does not need to make progress, and even the people in his family are not allowed to hold official positions in the court.

The more ambitious a person is, the less willing he is to become a princess consort; and the more a family wants to climb the social ladder, the less likely they are to let their children become a princess consort.

Therefore, one can imagine the quality of this prince consort.

They are all idle people, and they all want to rely on the princess for their livelihood.

So the princesses never mentioned remarriage after they became widows.

If I marry again, I'm probably going to marry someone who's not ambitious.

No need.

These princes and princesses of the Hongwu Dynasty.

When the previous emperor celebrated Qingming Festival, marriages were normal.

For example, Princess Anqing's husband Ouyang Lun was born into a commoner family, but he had passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi.

Like Princess Ningguo's husband, Mei Yin, who came from a wealthy family, was knowledgeable and generous.

But later on, the main focus was to just pick one at random, the less background the better.

Zhenzhener, crazy.

"Your Majesty, I dare to say one more thing. The late emperor allowed widows to remain chaste and even exempted them from taxes and levies.

People in my family have said that it is a good thing for someone to be willing to remain faithful.

But when the late emperor exempted taxes and levies and erected a memorial arch for her, it seemed that the widow who remarried was not faithful to her husband.

Everyone is afraid of being talked about, so they are forced to remain widows.

Princesses are no exception.

There are also those men who lock people up and force them to guard for the sake of fame and tax exemption.”

Hu Shanggong was shocked when she heard the four women talking so casually, but she still gave them a reminder.

"Grandfather, you are so kind! This is probably the reason why women in the capital stay at home and don't go out.

Praising one's virtues and kindness, and moving in this direction.

Even the slightest difference will be criticized!

Those who are forced to guard are not even human beings!"

Zhu Anle was very dissatisfied.

"It's not your royal grandfather's fault. Your royal grandfather had good intentions at first."

Xu had always been a stickler for what she did, and she didn't quite agree with some of the late emperor's actions.

But the late emperor did do a lot of good things, such as encouraging chastity and giving rewards.

It's just that the original meaning was distorted by the people below.

The late emperor was wrong in not taking the misunderstanding seriously.

Things are going further and further astray.

"kindness?"

Zhu Zhiming asks when he doesn't understand.

“You are still young and have not experienced that time.

Although Hu Shanggong was a little older, she was able to enter the palace as a female official at an early age because she was educated and came from a well-off family. I don’t know how those poor people survive.

My father and mother also had a hard life when they were young, and they told me some brief stories about their past.

Some benevolent policies may not be considered benevolent policies now, but they were benevolent policies at that time.

In prosperous places like the capital, it is not the case, but in extremely poor places, it is. "

Xu touched Zhu Zhiming's head and then slowly told the story.

It is well known that before the late emperor conquered the world, his family was extremely poor.

The Xu family is better off than the previous emperor's family. Xu's father was educated and had some knowledge of literature and art.

But everyone lives in similar environments and is from middle to lower class families.

Everyone lives in clans.

There will be countless small homes in the big family.

In a small family, before the children reach adulthood, the man is the only able-bodied laborer in the family. He can go out to fight, work, or work on the farm at home.

The women in the family rely on the meager income earned by the strong laborers, and also rely on the support of their families to support the family.

Once the man, the pillar of the family, falls, the family will have no income and all the money will be expenses.

At this time, the entire family is required to pay money to support the children until they grow up and are able to help.

The children are too young and too few, so the family feels it is not cost-effective.

The fate that this woman and her children faced was to be sold by their tribe members.

Not only did he not have to provide for others, he also received money from selling his body, and he was able to occupy other people's land with a legitimate reason.

The late emperor had seen many such things, which is why he later advocated that widows remain chaste.

Women pay the price of never marrying again.

In exchange for family support.

The land left by the man can be preserved and passed on to the next generation.

The man's family had a good reputation and also benefited from tax exemptions.

"That's why your royal grandfather advocated chastity. It allowed more women and children to survive. At that time, women and children were more like a family's property. Once they were sold, there was no telling what the outcome would be."

Xu finally concluded.

"prostitute?"

Zhu Anle shuddered.

"Why don't women go out to work, farm, or find a job?"

Zhu Zhiming didn't understand.

Many shops in Beijing now hire female workers. Of course, there weren't so many before, and it has only developed in recent years, but there are always places that need female workers.

“Because the former Yuan dynasty did not take the Han people seriously, they kidnapped Han women at will.

Even today in the Ming Dynasty, many women never leave their houses.

This is also due to the atmosphere of the previous Yuan Dynasty.

As long as the man in charge of the family can earn enough to feed and clothe himself, he will never let the woman in the family go out to earn a living.

If you are not careful, you will lose everything."

Wu Shanggong, who had been silent all this time and watching everyone's discussion, couldn't help but explain to the little princess.

Among the people present at this meeting, only Wu Shanggong had experienced the previous Yuan Dynasty and had a deep memory of it.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, only a few million Han people were left after being killed.

This is why the north is so sparsely populated now.

The Mongols could also buy and sell Han people at will.

If the Mongols killed a Han Chinese, the most they would have to pay as compensation was a donkey. It also depended on their mood. If they were in a bad mood, they might kill your whole family.

But if the Han people dared to kill the Mongols, their entire family would be buried with them.

In the early Yuan Dynasty, there was also the practice of levirate marriage. When the father died, the man married the stepmother. When the brother died, the man married the sister-in-law or brother-in-law. If these abducted Han women did not die, their inheritance would continue.