Chapter 447
There will always be an 8-year-old woman
...
The twenty-fourth year of the Hongwu reign.
On this day, Zhao Yu organized a party for the Liao princess.
Those attending this gathering included not only the six Liao princesses—Yelü Yabuli, Yelü Guyu, Yelü Yuliyan, Yelü Wuliyan, Yelü Da'aoye, and Yelü Ci'aoye—but also Xiao Sese, the mother of Yelü Yuliyan; Xiao Guige, the mother of Yelü Wuliyan, Yelü Da'aoye, and Yelü Ci'aoye; and Empress Xiao Duolilan of the Liao Dynasty.
The reason Zhao Yu organized this arrangement was that Yelü Da'ao and Yelü Ci'ao, whom he had never touched before, had come of age, and Zhao Yu wanted to take their place and make them real women.
Prior to this, Yelü Yanxi's daughters, including Yelü Yuliyan, who could be considered Zhao Yu's adopted daughter, had all been favored by Zhao Yu and even had children with him.
In fact, Yelü Yuliyan was not an isolated case. There were many daughters like her, who grew up in Zhao Yu's harem and were from royal families, clansmen, and noble families of countries that Zhao Yu had destroyed.
Just like Yelü Da'ao and Yelü Ci'ao, whom Zhao Yu is going to choose today, they were only five or six-year-old girls when they first entered Zhao Yu's harem.
Zhao Yu once had a count done, and it was found that there were approximately three thousand women who entered his harem.
Some of them were even still infants when they entered the palace.
There has always been controversy in the Song Dynasty about how to deal with these women.
Some advocated appeasement, demoting them to commoners and letting them fend for themselves, thus saving the court the expense of supporting them.
Some advocated sending them to the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution) to become official prostitutes in order to atone for their past sins.
Some even advocated giving them to Zhao Yu's sons.
The first two points were rejected on the spot by Zhao Yu.
You should know that these women were originally nobles from various countries, born to enjoy wealth and luxury, living in luxury and never having to lift a finger.
If they were demoted to commoners, they would be ignorant of farming and making a living. Their former glory would be like a mirage, and once they fell from grace, they would either be bullied by street ruffians or sell themselves into slavery to survive, passing from hand to hand with the powerful and becoming playthings. If they were sent to the brothels, they would fall into the deepest hell, serving and selling themselves every day, suffering endless humiliation.
Given such circumstances, how could they not resent? How could they not hate?
They hated the Song Dynasty for destroying their homeland, and hated Zhao Yu for ruining their remaining years.
Three thousand vengeful spirits, scattered into the sea of people, are like three thousand bombs buried in the dark.
At that time, some people used their identities to start uprisings, gathering in the mountains and forests under the banner of restoring the Liao Kingdom; others bribed them to assassinate them and avenge the loss of their country.
At that time, the Song Dynasty would be shaken, the borders would be unstable, and the peace that Zhao Yu had painstakingly built might be destroyed in an instant.
Rather than doing that, it would be better to kill them; at least that would avoid endless trouble.
But half of these three thousand lives were young girls, and there were also infants raised in swaddling clothes who could not even remember what their homeland looked like. If they were all slaughtered, how would the world judge Zhao Yu?
Some say that Zhao Yu was a cruel and bloodthirsty ruler like Jie and Zhou, and that the Song Dynasty's empire was built on countless bones.
At that time, the surrounding vassal states will be disheartened, scholars from all over the world will look on with suspicion, and the people's hearts will be scattered. Wouldn't the foundation of the Great Song Dynasty be as precarious as a pile of eggs?
They cannot be released, cannot be humiliated, and cannot be killed.
Zhao Yu could only try to eliminate them internally, ensuring they would never have the opportunity to harm the Song Dynasty or himself.
This leads to another dilemma: should they keep them by their side, or give them to their son?
After considering it for a moment, Zhao Yu worried that his son might not be able to control himself, so he, as the father, decided to take charge.
The main reason was that Zhao Yu was afraid that these women would whisper in his son's ear, and if it caused a conflict between father and son, and one of the sons rebelled against him, wouldn't he be trapping himself in his own mess?
Furthermore, it is a tradition for emperors to take the daughters of the royal families, clansmen, and nobles of the defeated states into their harems.
When Qin Shi Huang conquered the six states, he embarked on a massive construction project, building the Epang Palace in imitation of the architectural styles of those states. Its main purpose was to imprison the beautiful women from those states.
Where do these beautiful women come from?
With each city and state conquered, Qin Shi Huang took his concubines into his harem and imprisoned them in the Epang Palace. They were assigned rooms according to their nationality for convenient and meticulous management.
The rulers of the six states either died or fled. They couldn't take their favorite concubines and women with them. After being captured by Qin Shi Huang, most of them were imprisoned in a place called the Li Palace. There is no specific record of how many women were in the Li Palace. There is only one sentence: "More than 10,000 women in the harem, their spirit soaring to the heavens."
Furthermore, after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, many of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji's concubines and palace maids were taken by Li Shimin.
This was not only because Emperor Taizong of Tang was fond of women, but also because it was a tradition to take the wives and daughters of defeated enemies into one's own harem.
Furthermore, Li Zhi married Wu Zetian, a concubine of Li Shimin; Li Longji took Yang Yuhuan, his daughter-in-law; and Li Song took Yang Yuhuan, a concubine of his grandfather.
There are many such examples in the Tang Dynasty.
Otherwise, where did the reputation of "Dirty Tang" come from?
If Tang Dynasty emperors were this ruthless to their own people, one can only imagine how they treated the women of the previous dynasty and their enemies.
In fact, this was true not only in the Tang Dynasty but also in the Song Dynasty.
After the fall of Later Shu, Meng Chang was summoned by Zhao Kuangyin, but died suddenly only seven days later. Subsequently, Zhao Kuangyin took Lady Huarui into his harem.
After the fall of the Southern Tang Dynasty, the painting "Emperor Taizong of Song's Visit to Xiao Zhouhou" appeared, depicting in great detail the process of Xiao Zhouhou being raped by Emperor Taizong of Song.
This shows that taking the wives and daughters of enemies into one's own harem was quite common during dynastic changes.
Everyone does it this way. If Zhao Yu doesn't do it, wouldn't he seem a bit out of place?
Of course, this is just a joke.
In fact, Zhao Yu gained a great deal of political advantage from doing this.
That is, by doing this, people's hearts can be quickly stabilized during periods of dynastic change.
Take Li Shimin taking his brother's woman as an example.
In the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Shimin killed his own brother, forced his father to abdicate in his favor, placed him under house arrest, and changed the era name to Zhenguan.
At that time, Li Shimin had become emperor, but the problem was that there were still voices of fear in the court and among the people, and undercurrents were surging within the palace. The country had just been established, but its foundation was not yet stable.
Li Shimin definitely needs to figure out how to clean up this mess.
The Tang Dynasty was a dynasty dominated by powerful aristocratic families. Although the Li family was the imperial family, it was actually just the largest aristocratic family.
Therefore, to secure the nation, one must first secure the hearts of the people; to secure the hearts of the people, one must first appease the powerful clans.
The concubines and wives of Li Shimin's brothers mostly came from prominent families in Guanzhong and other influential clans. They and their families were crucial to the stability of the Tang Dynasty and even its national destiny.
Take Li Yuanji's wife, Lady Yang, as an example.
Yang was born into the Yang clan of Huayin, Hongnong. She was the niece of Yang Xiong, the Prince of Guande of the Sui Dynasty, and the niece of Yang Gongren. She shared the same lineage as Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty. She was not only a descendant of the previous dynasty's emperors but also a prominent member of the Guanzhong aristocratic families.
When the Tang dynasty established its capital in Chang'an, the Guanlong Group was the cornerstone of the nation. By winning over the Yang family, the Tang dynasty was essentially securing half of the Guanlong territory.
Therefore, Li Shimin took his younger brother's wife, Lady Yang, as his concubine. All the aristocratic families in the land knew that he had no intention of targeting the powerful clans; on the contrary, he intended to be on their side. As a result, the old ministers and generals gradually dispelled their doubts, the sons of aristocratic families vied to serve him, the court gradually became more enlightened, and the country gradually returned to stability. The foundation for the Zhenguan era of prosperity was thus laid.
Later, Li Shimin and Lady Yang had a son named Li Ming. Li Shimin ordered that Li Ming be adopted by Li Yuanji to continue the family line. This act showed his benevolence and dispelled most of the criticism from the court and the public.
After Empress Zhangsun passed away, Li Shimin even suggested that Lady Yang become empress.
However, the matter was eventually dropped because important officials such as Changsun Wuji persuaded them that it violated moral principles.
It is worth mentioning that Wu Zetian's mother also had the surname Yang and was Yang Xiong's niece. She was a cousin of Li Yuanji's wife, Lady Yang.
It was mostly thanks to Lady Yang that Wu Zetian entered Li Shimin's harem.
So, every drink and every bite, is it not preordained?
Zhao Yu's practice of taking wives and daughters of his enemies was actually driven by the same purpose.
Moreover, the results proved that after Zhao Yu took these women in, he was able to stabilize the people's hearts quickly during the dynastic change.
Having enjoyed such benefits, Zhao Yu naturally went further and further down this path.
This resulted in Zhao Yu's harem being a place where one could enter but not leave.
In other words, you can only leave lying down if you come in standing up.
Therefore, any woman who entered Zhao Yu's harem could only struggle here.
Zhao Yu was undoubtedly their god.
This led all the women to rack their brains to please Zhao Yu, regardless of their previous status.
For example, Xiao Sese, Xiao Duolilan, and Xiao Guige.
These three women, especially Xiao Sese and Xiao Guige, cannot be said to have no feelings for their homeland, the Liao Kingdom. In fact, quite the opposite, they were far more patriotic than the vast majority of the Liao people.
Putting aside the fact that, historically, Xiao Sese was deeply concerned about the affairs of the country and wrote "Satirical Admonition" and "Ode to History" to present to Yelü Yanxi. His words were earnest and he advised Yelü Yanxi to be close to the virtuous, strengthen military affairs, and nip problems in the bud. However, Yelü Yanxi not only did not accept his advice, but also became disgusted with him.
In this lifetime, Xiao Sese did far too many things to help the Liao Kingdom restore its kingdom.
These facts are sufficient proof of Xiao Sese's deep patriotism.
And there's Xiao Guige.
Historical records indicate that she was quiet and reserved, rarely interfering in politics, and focused solely on serving the monarch and managing the harem. She was a very virtuous woman.
Historically, after being captured by the Jurchens, she was forcibly taken by Wanyan Zonghan. It is said that the reason why the Jurchens invaded the Song Dynasty was because she whispered in Wanyan Zonghan's ear.
—From the Liao people's perspective, the Jurchens' rebellion against Liao was somewhat understandable. After all, the Liao people had bullied the Jurchens, forced them to offer gyrfalcons, engaged in extortionate buying and selling, and made the Jurchens send women from noble families to serve them in bed. The Jurchens deserved revenge. But the Northern Song Dynasty was different. Despite having the Treaty of Chanyuan with Liao, they broke their promise, not only failing to aid Liao but also allying with Jin to destroy Liao. Crucially, the Northern Song Dynasty was similar to Italy during World War II: extremely ambitious yet utterly shameless, even despising their enemies.
Even Xiao Duolilan, in history, fled from the north to the south and then from the east to the west with Yelü Yanxi, and finally died a life of hardship and displacement.
Such people as Xiao Sese, Xiao Guige, and Xiao Duolilan would certainly dedicate themselves to helping the Liao Kingdom restore its kingdom while there was still hope for its restoration.
It wasn't until Yelü Aoluwo, whom they saw as their hope, became the second Yelü Yanxi, and all the hopes of the Liao Dynasty, such as Yelü Dashi, were destroyed by Zhao Yu, and the Liao territory was completely annexed by the Song Dynasty, and the people of the Liao Dynasty began to be Sinicized, that the Liao Dynasty had no chance of being restored. Only then did they completely give up and become Zhao Yu's concubines.
At this point, they had to consider practical issues such as how their people and descendants would survive in the Song Dynasty, and whether they themselves were doing well.
In particular, as they have grown older in the past two years, some even approaching forty, their youth and capital have dwindled, forcing them to plan for their future.
After all, they still have to live, don't they?
Most importantly, the daughters they bore for Yelü Yanxi would eventually become Zhao Yu's concubines.
They might as well turn the tables and seize more benefits.
So, as soon as their daughters came of age, they plotted how to offer them to Zhao Yu and secure a higher status for them so that they could have a better life in the future and that he could take care of them and their families.
This is what Yelü Yuliyan and Yelü Wuliyan did when they came of age two years ago.
Now that Yelü Da'ao and Yelü Ci'ao have come of age, Xiao Guige is also preparing to do the same.
However, Xiao Guige was worried that she and her three sisters would not be able to serve Zhao Yu well, so she invited her older sister Xiao Duolilan to come and help.
Seeing this, Zhao Yu simply summoned Xiao Sese, Yelü Yuliyan and her daughter, as well as Yelü Yabuli and Yelü Guyu, to form the bedchamber for that night.
Zhao Yu arrived earlier than usual today.
However, this did not catch Xiao Guige and his group off guard.
Xiao Guige cleverly arranged for Yelü Da'ao and Yelü Ci'ao to perform a dance for Zhao Yu, while the other women surrounded Zhao Yu, massaging his body and feeding him fruit.
Yelü Da'ao and Yelü Ci'ao, like their sister Yelü Wuliyan, inherited their mother Xiao Guige's stunning beauty. Their features were delicate and petite, possessing both a stunning mixed-race look and a gentle temperament. Their eyes were naturally alluring, yet their every move was as cool as the moon. Their gaze often revealed a calm and reserved feeling, yet they were also elegant, generous, and tender.
Yelü Ōokuno and Yelü Tsūokuno clearly put in the effort in their dance practice.
They danced gracefully to entertain Zhao Yu, who then looked over.
Their dance moves were graceful and elegant, sometimes like butterflies fluttering among flowers, sometimes like water lilies just beginning to bloom; their dancing skills were remarkable.
Zhao Yu thought to himself, 'They can definitely unlock poses that others can't.'
Before long, Yelü Da'ao and Yelü Ci'ao finished their dance and stood quietly in the center of the arena.
Seeing that Zhao Yu seemed quite satisfied with Yelü Da'ao and Yelü Ci'ao's performance, Xiao Guige beckoned to them, signaling them to come over and offer Zhao Yu a toast.
Upon seeing their mother's call, Yelü Da'ao and Yelü Ci'ao walked gracefully towards them, their steps elegant and their eyes filled with affection.
Upon arriving at Zhao Yu's side, Yelü Da'ao and Yelü Ci'ao stood on either side. One of them extended her slender hand, holding a Ru kiln lotus petal-shaped wine pot, and filled Zhao Yu's wine cup; the other used her slender hand to take a grape and feed it to Zhao Yu's mouth.
As Zhao Yu ate the grapes, he sucked on Yelü Ci'ao's fair and delicate fingers.
'fragrant!'
'No wonder they're a virgin's fingers!'
After drinking the wine offered by Yelü Ōokuno, Zhao Yu embraced Yelü Ōokuno and Yelü Tsūokuno, one on each side.
Nightlife has begun...
...(End of chapter)