Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 714 Three-inch Golden Lotus and Slave

"boom!"

Zhu Youjian slammed the table in anger. When he received the news that Zhang Pu had been attacked, he also became furious.

Originally, he was thinking of resolving the issue peacefully without using drastic measures to affect the stability of Jiangnan.

Now it seems that I was too kind and caused some people in Jiangnan to lose their respect.

Looking at Zheng Shiyi, the head of the Jinyiwei who came to report the news, Zhu Youjian said:
"Is there anyone available from the Nanjing Jinyiwei?"

"Can we get rid of the Jiangnan Daxing?"

Zheng Shiyi was excited, knowing that Jinyiwei's chance had come. He said:
"Most of the people who hold the seal of Nanjing Jinyiwei are transferred from the lieutenant generals and deputy generals in the army."

"They may be able to lead troops in battle, but I'm afraid they are not up to the task of governing a place."

Zhu Youjian immediately decided:
"Then transfer him to the Yingyang Army and replace him with someone else to take charge of the Nanjing Jinyiwei."

"The situation in North Korea has stabilized now. Xiang Junqing said Mao Yunlong is qualified for the job."

"Transfer Xiang Junqing to Nanjing to serve as the head of the Jinyiwei and set up the Southern Pacification Division, which will be responsible for Nanzhili, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang. The remaining Fujian, Guangdong, Dongning, Nanyang, etc. will be handed over to Yu Risheng to set up the Southeast Pacification Division."

"Li Ruolian, the captain of the Zhuolu District Weiwei Office, was transferred to the Southern Pacification Office, responsible for the establishment of Weiwei Offices in various prefectures in Jiangnan."

Send two capable personnel to strengthen the Jinyiwei in Nanjing.

Of the two, Xiang Junqing had a great reputation in Korea, and many Korean upper-class people got to know the Ming Dynasty's Jinyiwei.

Li Ruo Lian was a military scholar in the first year of Chongzhen, and was also a person that Zhu Youjian cultivated. He worked hard in Zhuolu District and was good at dealing with civil officials, so he now had the opportunity to be promoted.

From this arrangement, Zheng Shiyi realized the emperor's emphasis on the south and his dissatisfaction with the local situation.

At the same time, he also felt relieved because Xiang Junqing did so well in Korea and made great contributions to the Korean internal annexation. He was very worried that this person would replace him as the head of the Jinyiwei after returning to Beijing.

Now it seems that the emperor thinks Xiang Junqing still needs training, so he asks him to go to Nanjing Jinyiwei to be the seal-in-chief first. It will take time for him to return to Beijing to succeed him.

As the Jinyiwei's power secretly grew and he enjoyed the pleasure of secretly manipulating others, Zheng Shiyi did not want to retire so soon and planned to work for a few more years before retiring.

Although Zhu Youjian was not completely satisfied with him, he was not in a hurry to replace him. After all, many institutions of Jinyiwei were newly established and needed time to stabilize.

After transferring Xiang Junqing and Li Ruolian, Zhu Youjian instructed:

"Choose a brigade from the Yingyang Army and send them south to Nanjing to form the Changshui Battalion to suppress the Daxing."

"The soldiers will be selected from the remaining personnel of Nanjing Jinyiwei and Jinwuwei, and will serve as the direct force of Nanjing Jinyiwei."

"This army must be good at water warfare. Personnel and weapons can be transported by ship, and even fired on board, to support various places in Jiangnan via water routes."

This is an arrangement made in response to the situation in the south.

The attack on Zhang Pu made him realize that Nanjing also needed a rapid strike force to quickly dispatch troops when unrest occurred in various places.

The mission of this brigade of the Yingyang Army going to the south is to form the Changshui Camp to suppress the Jiangnan gangs and deter those who have ulterior motives.

Zheng Shiyi certainly approved of the expansion of the Yingyang Army. The revival of Jinyiwei's power in the past two years was also related to the performance of the Yingyang Army on the battlefield.

Now when he attends the Privy Council as Minister of Intelligence, his words are increasingly taken seriously.

However, he was not optimistic about the use of troops to suppress the Jiangnan rebels, and said to the emperor:

"Your Majesty, there are many rogues in Jiangnan."

"These people are most in awe of those who are good at fighting."

"I think we can select martial arts experts from the Warrior Camp and have them go to the south to subdue these people."

Zhu Youjian nodded, quite appreciative of Zheng Shiyi's suggestion, and ordered:
"Master Shan Sinan is quite prestigious in Jiangnan, so let him pick a few people to go over there and set up martial arts associations and organize martial arts competitions in various places in Jiangnan."

"The selection for next year's martial arts tournament must also be started as soon as possible to recruit martial artists from all over the country into the Imperial Guard."

"Also, inform the Ministry of Revenue that all matters of gathering and association must be managed together with the Weiwei Temple. Violent groups such as the beaters, escorts, and gangs, as well as security personnel such as servants and guards, must be supervised by the Weiwei Temple and the Martial Arts Association, otherwise they will be treated as underworld gangs."

"You, the Jinyiwei, must also take the initiative to help the Ministry of Revenue in charge of gatherings and associations to avoid accidents and disruptions to public order during gatherings."

Zheng Shiyi naturally agreed to this happily.

Because this represents the expansion of the Jinyiwei's power and their increasing say.

Obviously, after being disappointed with the officials and gentry, the emperor chose to continue to strengthen the Jinyiwei.

Sooner or later, the Jinyiwei will regain their former power.

After Zheng Shiyi left, Zhu Youjian was still angry.

Because he really didn't expect that someone would dare to touch Zhang Pu.

This man was a scholar whom he had taken great pains to win over. All the officials in the court who had some knowledge knew that Zhang Pu was his mouthpiece.

If I do nothing when Zhang Pu is attacked, who among the scholars outside will dare to join me in the future?

Therefore, he quickly decided to pass the matter to Xu Guangqi and Chen Zilong, and asked them to create public opinion in the official circles and among the people to support Zhang Pu in Jiangnan.

He also issued several orders to express his support for Zhang Pu.

He decided to let Zhang Pu go wild with the Suzhou slave issue, even if it meant going to war to quell the rebellion.
-
As I pondered the impact of this incident, the sky darkened before I knew it.

When Empress Zhou learned that he was furious because of the Suzhou incident, she took the initiative to send someone to the Qianqing Palace to invite the emperor over.

Zhu Youjian still respected the queen, not to mention that the queen was pregnant. He forced himself to forget his troubles and accepted the queen's invitation to go to Kunning Palace.

In Kunning Palace, Queen Zhou knew that she was not feeling well, so she had already ordered people to arrange a performance.

He ordered a banquet to be prepared, and said:
"Your Majesty, please don't overwork yourself. Take a good rest and relax."

"The orchestra has recently recruited a new dancer. How about letting her dance for Your Majesty?"

Zhu Youjian liked music and beauty, and he immediately laughed when he heard this:

"Then I'll have to trouble the Queen!"

"I wonder what kind of dancer she is that the Queen specially recommended her to me?"

Queen Zhou smiled and said:

"Your Majesty will know when you see it!"

After clapping their hands, a palace maid came in, leading a petite dancer.

A palace maid placed a glass plate on the ground, only about a foot in diameter. The dancer danced and spun on the glass plate.

Her dance moves are graceful and charming, she is indeed worthy of being the beauty carefully selected by the Queen.

Zhu Youjian's eyes lit up as he said in disbelief:
"Could this be the legendary palm dance?"

"How can someone have such a unique skill?"

Queen Zhou looked at the emperor and felt secretly proud.

She asked Li Yu to specially select this person, who is not only good at dancing, but also good at music.

Moreover, she met the emperor's requirement of being fifteen years old and having reached the age of marriage, so she did not need to wait for a few more years like Liu Rushi had to.

She introduced herself to the emperor:
"This person originally practiced acrobatics, but was recruited by Master Li to join the orchestra to learn dancing."

"This palm dance was also figured out by the orchestra. As for whether it is the same as in the Han Dynasty, no one knows."

"But if there are a few men holding up their hands, Liu Ji can dance on them."

"If the man had more strength and Liu Ji's feet were smaller, one palm should be enough."

It's a pity that Liu Ji was discovered too late and didn't have time to bind her feet, so her feet couldn't be made into three-inch golden lotus.

This was also her biggest regret, because Concubine Tian was said to have a pair of small feet, which was quite popular with the emperor.

Zhu Youjian didn't know what she was thinking. He looked at Liu Ji dancing on the glass plate and said, "It doesn't matter! This is already very good!"

"If the soles of the feet were smaller, it would be inconvenient to walk around."

"Princess Tian is quiet and elegant, but because her parents forced her to have her feet bound, it is a little inconvenient for her to travel."

"I feel pity every time I see it. I must find a way to ban foot binding in the future."

After listening to what the emperor said, Queen Zhou finally realized that the emperor was not fond of Concubine Tian's three-inch golden lotus feet, but felt pity for her.

This made her laugh and she said:

"Many of the ladies selected this time have lotus feet. Your Majesty, would you like to show some mercy to them?"

Zhu Youjian looked at the queen's jealous expression, smiled and drank a glass of slightly alcoholic drink, and said:
"Most of my heart is with the Queen, how many people can I still have mercy on?"

"Issue an order: All those who bind their feet should be expelled. I do not want to see deformed three-inch golden lotus feet in the palace."

This surprised Queen Zhou, and she realized that the emperor really did not like foot binding.

It seems that Liu Ji's natural feet were not a defect, and the reason why Concubine Yuan was not favored was not because her feet were bigger than Concubine Tian's.

Thinking about the emperor's statement about banning foot binding, Empress Zhou asked curiously:
"Your Majesty, if you don't like it, just don't vote. Why do you want to ban foot binding among the people?"

"Is it because you pity Concubine Tian and don't want other women to suffer this?"

Zhu Youjian sighed when he heard this, put down his wine glass and said:
"Foot binding is closely related to many things."

"Think about it, if the foot binding cloth gets smelly, does it need to be washed?"

"And when walking, is it a little inconvenient?"

"This requires that they must have someone to support them, and they must have trusted maids."

"Even when traveling, they need to have trustworthy bearers and slaves to carry the sedan chair."

"If all women in the Ming Dynasty bind their feet, when will the slave system be abolished?"

"There are also horse-drawn carriages and rickshaws. Which woman will take them?"

These are the information he saw in the intelligence of various industries.

Under his promotion, the Ming Dynasty's horse-drawn carriages developed rapidly, and even some high-end cars on cement roads were almost as comfortable as sedan chairs.

But some people just don't like it, especially women with bound feet who have difficulty getting on and off the bus.

As for rickshaws, there are even fewer women riding them. Besides the inconvenience of getting on and off the vehicles, there are also concerns about safety.

Zhu Youjian could ask the Weiwei Temple to strengthen supervision to solve the latter problem, but there was really no way to solve the former problem. Not only was it inconvenient for women with bound feet to get on and off the bus, but many people would not leave the house. It would take a long time to change the trend.

After listening to the emperor's explanation, Queen Zhou finally stopped being jealous of Concubine Tian.

She knew that the emperor was dealing with the affairs of slaves in Suzhou these days, and did not dare to say much about these political affairs. Regarding foot binding, she said:
"If you want to ban foot binding, can't your Majesty just issue an edict?"

"Is there anyone who is still disobeying the order on such a matter?"

Zhu Youjian watched the dance, shook his head and explained:
"Some scholars just like this, and the more the court prohibits them, the more they like it."

"What can I do about this? Should I force them to like natural feet?"

"Some people like three-inch golden lotus, so some people bind their feet for them. This cannot be changed by a decree."

Empress Zhou listened to the emperor's thoughts and understood his difficulties. Thinking of the story in the Tongjian, she said:
"The King of Chu likes thin waists, and many people in the palace starve to death."

"Whatever your majesty likes, there will naturally be people following him."

"Your Majesty has deposed all women who bound their feet this time. I believe that people will no longer regard foot binding as beautiful in the future."

"This way, one day, the trend will be reversed."

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly and said:
"I thought so too, so I held a fashion festival and let female models walk on the catwalk."

"In the future, we will launch more women's shoes and socks suitable for natural feet, so that people can regard natural feet as beautiful."

"But there has always been a custom of unbinding feet in the palace. It is hard to say whether the world will approve of it in the future!"

The women in the palace had to work, so they would unbind their feet after being selected. People did not follow suit, but instead laughed at them.

The Ming Dynasty royal family did not have a strong influence on fashion, and the palace style was far less popular than the Suzhou style.

In several fashion shows held this year, clothing originating from Suzhou was more popular.

Empress Zhou had hosted a fashion festival and was born in Suzhou, so she naturally knew this.

Thinking that the emperor would actually worry about foot binding, she secretly laughed in her heart. At the same time, she looked at Liu Ji who was still dancing, and suddenly an idea came to her. She waved her hand and said:

"Come here, let His Majesty take a good look at you."

He ordered the banquet to be removed, held Liu Ji in his arms, and took off her shoes and socks to show the emperor.

Zhu Youjian did not look at her feet first, but looked at Empress Zhou and Liu Ji, feeling quite interesting:

The two of them now looked just like the housewife in the pornographic picture holding her maid to be pampered by her master.

Queen Zhou didn't know what he was thinking, and pointed at Liu Ji's feet and said:
"Your Majesty, what do you think of her feet?"

“Can it be called beautiful?”

Zhu Youjian stroked Liu Ji's jade feet and said:

"Crystal clear, white, round and smooth, such feet are certainly beautiful!"

"Liu Ji was really born with a pair of good feet to be able to dance like that."

Liu Ji was too embarrassed to see anyone. Empress Zhou supported her and said with a smile:
"Since Your Majesty likes it, why don't you write a poem to let the world know your Majesty's preference?"

"A Tang Dynasty poem says: The skin is six inches long and round and shiny."

"If everyone knew that His Majesty liked six-inch natural feet, naturally no one would bind them into three-inch golden lotus."

Zhu Youjian was really interested when he heard this, and he composed a poem without thinking:

"Six inches of skin dances gracefully, and eight inches of plumpness is also beautiful."

"I advise you to throw away your foot bindings, escape the cage and return to nature."

He laughed again:

"Liu Ji's feet are six inches, and Yuan Fei's feet are about the same."

"The feet of women in the world are probably about this length."

"It's better to grow naturally. This is a natural foot."

Obviously, he understood what Queen Zhou meant, and asked him to imitate the King of Chu who liked thin waists and clearly state what he liked so that people would cater to his tastes. Instead of just saying that he didn't like three-inch golden lotus but didn't say what he liked.

He wrote this poem to let people know that the emperor likes six-inch round skin and eight-inch plump feet. Whether it is six inches or eight inches, naturally grown feet can be called beautiful.

As for the three-inch golden lotus, he planned to have the Maternal and Child Health Association chaired by the Queen define it as deformed, and those who were unable to walk would even be defined as disabled. If this continued, it would sooner or later change people's aesthetic concepts.

When he talked to the empress about concepts such as beautiful feet, beautiful nails, and writing with feet, Empress Zhou covered her mouth and laughed. She didn't expect the emperor to have so many ideas. She planned to set up relevant competitions according to what the emperor said.

Afterwards, under the emperor's instructions, she held the petite Liu Ji and accepted the emperor's favor on her behalf.

She planned to keep this woman in her palace like the eight concubines she had chosen last time, replacing those concubines who left Kunning Palace after giving birth to children, and serving her in bed when she was not feeling well.

Zhu Youjian was used to this and liked the queen's kindness. He never took the initiative to reward these women, but only treated them as the queen's maids and let them deal with it themselves.

Liu Ji was not the first, nor the last. The only people who had always been favored by him were the Empress, Consort Tian, ​​and Consort Chen.

Because of this, Empress Zhou was most wary of these two people and did not take it lightly just because the emperor did not allow them to be the four concubines.

(End of this chapter)