How to Cultivate a Ten-Thousand-Mile Empire for the Young Emperor Qin?

Chapter 117: Candied Pumpkin

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Zhu Xiang sat in a chair, watching the flickering candlelight and the flickering lamplight.

He was not thinking about anything, his mind seemed to be empty.

It was not until the honey candle was half burned that Zhu Xiang rubbed his eyes, leaned back in his chair somewhat weakly, and collected his wandering thoughts.

After all, he was a professor, and even if he didn't major in history, Zhu Xiang knew that he was going against the trend of the times.

The decline in the status of women in ancient times was positively correlated with the development of the feudal system, and its essence was a problem of the small peasant economy itself.

The status of women has been declining since the Zhou Dynasty, and showed a clear downward trend during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The vertical development of the status of women in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period can be seen from the thoughts of three generations of Confucianists on women.

Confucius was wary of women and separated them from gentlemen; Mencius believed that women should be obedient and began to pay attention to the concept of chastity; Xunzi started from the theory of human nature being evil, because human nature is "evil", and directly concluded that beautiful women are the source of disasters, and supported the "theory of women causing disasters".

By the time of Dong Zhongshu's "The husband is the leader of the wife" in the Western Han Dynasty and Ban Gu's "Three Bonds and Six Disciplines" in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the status of women had been lowered again. By the time of Zhu Xi's "Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues" in the Southern Song Dynasty, the status of women had reached its lowest point.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the small peasant economy began to disintegrate, and many wise men emerged among the people advocating equality between men and women.

Li Zhi, a great Ming Dynasty Confucian scholar, said, "When a person is born, he is nothing but the two energies of yin and yang, and the two destinies of man and woman. There is no such thing as one and no reason at first." Tang Zhen, a thinker in the early Qing Dynasty, said, "In terms of birth, men and women are the same." These are both forerunners of gender equality.

It was not until modern times that the idea of women's liberation emerged.

The status of women declined as the feudal system was consolidated, and improved as the feudal system was broken, forming a valley curve.

In this valley curve, there may be small fluctuations due to the lack of males due to wars and the need for females to take over, such as the empathy for women when Empress Lü and Empress Wu came to power, and when Emperor Wen of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang treated women as common people when protecting the people. But the overall trend of the curve is like this, which is a historical law.

Zhu Xiang is now at the point where the valley curve begins to descend.

He pondered for a long time, until the honey candle burned halfway and the flame became dim.

Zhu Xiang stretched and stood up slowly.

He was still the same person on the eve of the Battle of Changping. If he hadn't seen it, he would have pretended to know nothing; if he had seen it, and it was something he could do, he couldn't help but do it.

It is true that he went against the trend of the times, but it was not a meaningless and futile act.

Whether it is to slightly slow down the downward slope of the curve or to provide a little help for the upward trend of the curve a thousand years later, it will be meaningful.

A great Confucian scholar at the turn of the Ming and Qing dynasties, he was able to shout for equality between men and women at a time when feudal ethics were at their most stringent. He only kept it a secret and didn't shout it out loud. Even Xunzi couldn't do anything about him.

If Xunzi was unwilling to follow his wishes, he would go directly to the King of Qin to lobby. Given his relationship with the King of Qin, the King of Qin would definitely trust him more and be willing to listen to his nonsense.

Allowing women to be rewarded for their achievements can fully mobilize women's enthusiasm for production in an era when the population is less than 20 million. Honorary titles and financial rewards alone will not provoke the nerves of "women interfering in government affairs", so the King of Qin had no reason to refuse him.

As for what kind of butterfly effect this will trigger a thousand years from now, unless he came from two thousand years from now, who can say for sure what will happen a thousand years from now

In fact, Zhu Xiang could have lied to Xunzi and hidden his true intentions from him.

But Zhu Xiang still told the truth to Xunzi, which caused trouble for himself.

Zhu Xiang himself couldn't figure out why this happened.

Perhaps, just because Xunzi was his teacher

Zhu Xiang rubbed his hair, making his white hair messy.

He lit the lantern, blew out the beeswax, and went back to his room to sleep.

Tonight, he was in no mood to work overtime.

In the small warm room next to Zhu Xiang and Xue's bedroom, Ying Xiaozheng, who said he was very energetic, had already fallen into a deep sleep and could not be woken up even by poking his face.

Xue slept poorly, her brows furrowed.

Zhu Xiang stroked Xue's brow. Xue's brow relaxed, as if she had escaped from a nightmare, and a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

"Xue, if you were in modern times, you would definitely be a great inventor of practical technology, with a lot of patents. It wouldn't be a dream to earn tens of billions a year. You would definitely be a female CEO and a wealthy woman."

"Female CEOs love to date young professors who come from simple families and have harmonious relationships with their parents. You and I are a perfect match."

"If it were modern times, I could just shout 'Honey, I'm hungry, I'm hungry' and lie down to do my favorite research. I don't know how many people would envy me."

Zhu Xiang leaned over and gently kissed Xue on her forehead.

A drop of water fell under Xue's eyelid and slid down the corner of her eye.

Zhu Xiang felt sorry for Xue and felt sorry for her.

Xue would not understand Zhu Xiang's feelings at this moment, and might even feel strongly rejected and uncomfortable, so Zhu Xiang would feel even more unfair and distressed for Xue.

He would not tell Xue about his current feelings, which would add psychological burden to Xue and bring danger to her.

But he must do something for the snow.

It’s not for Xue, Xue said she doesn’t need it; it’s just that he himself needs it.

It's just Zhu Xiang's self-satisfaction.

After a few days, Xunzi did not come to look for Zhu Xiang again, but Lin Zhi came.

Zhu Xiang was writing furiously in the study, while Lin Zhi was sitting with his legs crossed and crunching some dried pumpkin.

Zhu Xiang threw the pen away and cursed, "Can you please stop making noise?!"

Lin Zhi handed over some dried pumpkin: "Would you like some?"

Zhu Xiang took the pumpkin and said, "What are you doing here? Aren't you busy? Your Majesty won't punish you for being lazy?"

"What you are doing now is also what I want to do. Have you forgotten?" Lin Zhi said while holding a pumpkin candy in his mouth. "I am working with you now. When the king sees me, he will praise me for my hard work."

Zhu Xiang almost spit out the dried pumpkin in his mouth.

In terms of shamelessness, he is far inferior to Lin Zhi.

Zhu Xiang suddenly lost interest in work and started eating dried pumpkin with Lin Zhi.

The dried pumpkin from old pumpkins is chewy and very sweet.

After the two of them had divided the small bag of dried pumpkin, Lin Zhi wiped his mouth and said, "Today I saw that Xunzi's eyes were dark blue. Did you make him angry?"

Zhu Xiang said with a guilty conscience: "Why are Xunzi's eyes dark blue? It must be because I made him angry."

Lin Zhi sneered: "Given Xunzi's seniority and status, even the King of Qin was polite to him. If others provoke him, he will immediately curse back. Only for you will Xunzi suppress his anger and stay awake all night."

Zhu Xiang felt even more guilty: "Xunzi didn't sleep all night?"

Lin Zhi pointed at his eyelids and said, "It's as if they were painted with ink. I must have had a sleepless night."

Lin Zhi laughed: "It seems that it was really you. You and Xunzi quarreled because of your request for merit for Xue Ji to the King of Qin?"

Zhu Xiang did not answer.

Lin Zhi said, "As expected. Zhu Xiang, you know that Confucianists are wary of women interfering in politics, to the point where they think a tiger has appeared when they see the grass swaying. You asked for merit for Xue Ji in front of Xunzi. Aren't you trying to upset Xunzi? But don't blame Xunzi. Xunzi treats Xue Ji very well, and he won't stop you from doing this."

Zhu Xiang said: "I know."

Xunzi was wary of women interfering in politics and beauty ruining the country. He was a macro-conceptual "women's disaster" theorist, which does not mean that he hated a certain woman, nor does it mean that he was a misogynist. Not only was he very good to Xue Ji, he also often admonished his disciples to respect their mothers and love their wives and daughters. Zhu Xiang did not blame him.

Lin Zhi said: "If you have such an idea in the future, discuss it with me first. If it can be done, I will do it."

Zhu Xiang rolled his eyes at Lin Zhi and said, "Do you know what I'm thinking?"

Lin Zhi snorted coldly: "How could I not know? You told me a lot when I got you drunk before."

Zhu Xiang: "..." He is a person who doesn't like to drink. Every time he gets drunk, it must be because Lin Zhi forces him to get drunk. Lin Zhi has the nerve to say that!

Lin Zhi said: "In your eyes, men and women are all human beings, and you treat them equally. So when you see women have made contributions but cannot be rewarded, you naturally think it is unfair."

Zhu Xiang was silent again.

Lin Zhi patted Zhu Xiang's shoulder and wiped his hands on it: "Don't do anything that will offend the world, especially something that is doomed to fail and will destroy your family."

Zhu Xiang said: "I know. I didn't plan to do it."

Lin Zhi said, "It would be a good idea for you to change the topic later. I will help you."

He blinked slyly: "I also want to see Xue Ji become the first woman in Qin to be rewarded for her merits. If you have any national policies regarding women in the future, please discuss them with me first, understand?"

Zhu Xiang was helpless: "Yeah."

Lin Zhi said: "Your ideals are too high, as if they are floating in the sky. I stand on the top of the mountain, and I can touch you as well as the ground."

After he finished speaking, he patted Zhu Xiang's shoulder again and continued to rub his hands.

Zhu Xiang sighed, feeling somewhat helpless: "Okay. I actually have an idea for the next step."

Lin Zhi asked, "What's your idea? Is it about the deceased's wife becoming the head of a household?"

Zhu Xiang was surprised and asked: "How did you know?!"

Lin Zhi laughed: "You took the file from me, how could I not know about it?"

Lin Zhi, a direct descendant of Laozi and Zhuangzi, was serving as the Chief Justice in the State of Qin at that time.

The foundation of the Qin State was law. The Tingwei was not only in charge of trials, but more importantly, it formulated and improved laws and regulations, and kept and recorded documents and archives. At present, the system of three dukes and nine ministers was not yet perfect, and the Tingwei was also the most important minister around the King of Qin.

It can be seen that although King Qin Zhu disliked Lin Zhi in words, he was still very close to and respected him in his heart.

When Zhu Xiang checked the files, he needed Lin Zhi's seal. Lin Zhi knew what Zhu Xiang was thinking after just one glance at the entries.

Seeing that Lin Zhi had guessed it, Zhu Xiang stopped hiding it: "The world has a sparse population, and most of the able-bodied men are on the battlefield, leaving only widows at home. Qin granted land to households. If a male member of a family died in battle and the widow had no children, the land would be taken back. However, in reality, widows often continued to cultivate the land and pay taxes, and officials would not investigate strictly. Since this is the fact, it is better to directly recognize the widow as a household in the law."

Lin Zhi said: "I have the same idea. Especially after Qin unified the six kingdoms, many men in the world must have died in battle. If women don't farm and pay taxes, the treasury will definitely not be able to support it. But I want to directly distribute land to men, and women will get half the land of men..."

Zhu Xiang stood up suddenly, causing the chair to fall to the ground with a clang, which scared Lin Zhi.

"What? You object?" Lin Zhi laughed, "I thought you would agree with me."

"I agree, of course I agree." Zhu Xiang took a deep breath, his tone complicated, "I just didn't expect you to think this way. Is it... is it too radical?"

"Not radical. Nowadays, wars are frequent and many families are broken. Land is allocated to each household, and many places are not cultivated enough, and taxes cannot be paid, so they can only sell the land at a low price. The government may not know about the sale of land by the people, so there are many hidden fields in the noble families that do not pay taxes." Lin Zhi said, "The current "Land Law" is too simple and does not take the population issue into consideration."

Lin Zhi picked up the teapot, added water to himself, moistened his throat and continued: "Although the Land Law stipulates that 'if a family has two or more sons and does not divide them, the tax shall be doubled', it is too troublesome to divide the household in this way, and the tax on females cannot be collected. It is better to divide the land for both men and women so that the tax can be collected more easily."

Zhu Xiang: “…”

Zhu Xiang picked up the chair and sat down silently.

After hearing what Lin Zhi said, he also felt that it was not radical and that the King of Qin and his court officials would probably agree.

There is no need to think too much about which is better for common women: female adults paying the head tax or female adults sharing the land, because in Zhu Xiang's time and space, female adults would soon pay the head tax, but the land would be shared only after the Northern Wei Dynasty implemented the equal-field system, and it was abolished in the early Tang Dynasty.

Before the Northern Wei Dynasty, only women who established female households under extremely rare and harsh circumstances were granted land.

"When distributing land, we must pay attention to the maximum number of acres cultivated by men and women and the corresponding corvée labor. Otherwise, women will be forced to death by land rent and men will refuse to marry." Zhu Xiang said, "I will sort out the relevant issues and leave them to you."

Because of the war in the Northern Wei Dynasty, there were few men, so they granted land to women.

However, because the land grant and corvée were tied together, and the rent for the land was not only grain but also silk and cloth, it was difficult for the woman in the couple to cultivate the land allocated to her after taking on the textile task, and the man had to undertake more farming and corvée independently, resulting in "tens of thousands of households, and many of them had no wives" in the early Tang Dynasty. Women had to bear the rent and corvée alone, which was a heavy burden and they complained a lot.

Emperor Taizong of Tang abolished the land granting and corvée service for women after listening to the opinions of the people. There are few records of women being forced to work in the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, Emperor Taizong of Tang abolished the policy of granting land to women. Contrary to the later belief that the Tang Dynasty oppressed women, it was actually a manifestation of his sympathy for women, and was unanimously appreciated by women among the people.

He also encouraged women to remarry at a time when the concept of chastity had become quite serious and ethics were gradually tightening, which slightly slowed down the decline in women's status.

However, after the abolition of women's obligation to perform corvée and pay taxes, women's power and status were no longer guaranteed, which led to a rapid decline in women's status after the Southern Song Dynasty, and women were powerless to struggle.

Naturally, the people involved could not have imagined what would happen hundreds of years later.

Zhu Xiang had read history, so he could think of it.

He would write down the advantages and disadvantages of the equal-field system to Lin Zhi and let Lin Zhi weigh them carefully.

As for the later land tax system, it was a change made after the population increased, the per capita cultivated land decreased, and the commodity economy developed rapidly, which is not in line with the current social development. The equal-field system of the Northern Wei Dynasty is already very suitable for today's era.

Maybe it's a little ahead of the times? That's something the Qin monarch and his ministers need to figure out. Zhu Xiang was busy, he had to farm and fight a trade war.

"Write it secretly, don't let others know." Lin Zhi said, "I am a disciple of Laozi and Zhuangzi, and you are a disciple of Xunzi. We are different. My proposal to divide the land among women is normal, but your proposal is not normal. Do you understand?"

Zhu Xiang said: "I remember that Zhuangzi's thoughts on women are the same as those of Confucianism."

Lin Zhi said: "I am a direct descendant of Laozi and Zhuangzi. Laozi came first, and Zhuangzi came later."

Zhu Xiang's mouth twitched slightly: "Oh, Lao Tzu does believe that yin and yang are equal, and he even has a tendency to worship the mother. But Lao Tzu's thoughts definitely do not include what you are doing now."

Because men and women have equal talents, they had to farm together, serve in the army, pay head taxes, and work like slaves for the Qin State.

I never said that!

What I yearn for is a return to primitive times, where there is no country, no exploitation, and no one pays taxes!

(End of this chapter)