I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 201 A House Full of Offspring: A Naming Strategy; Five Women Reunite to Plan a New Situation
...

As soon as Zhao Yu returned, he began to reward her handsomely.

In addition, Zhao Yu, citing his demand for the return of annual tribute and interest, exempted the people of the Song Dynasty from one year's land tax and one year's personal tax, and reduced various commercial taxes by 30%, thus easing the burden on the people of the Song Dynasty and allowing them to breathe a sigh of relief.

In short, Zhao Yu's victory this time benefited most people in the Zhao Song Dynasty.

This further enhanced Zhao Yu's prestige...

……

In early December of last year, in Xiongzhou, Zhang Chun and Li Lin each gave birth to a son for Zhao Yu.

At the same time, Ye Shiyun, Ma Xiaojiao, and Yuan Qingcheng also gave birth to sons for Zhao Yu.

It is worth mentioning that Yuan Qingcheng gave birth to two sons for Zhao Yu in one go, catching up with the progress of Zhang Chun, Li Lin, and Ye Shiyun.

In the short six months that Zhao Yu was away on campaign, his five women alone gave him six more sons. Including the sons born to other women, the total number of sons Zhao Yu had was approaching the number of sons Zhao Ji had in history.

The key point is that Zhao Yu hasn't been idle during these past six months.

Not to mention that Li Chun, who went to war with Zhao Yu, finally became pregnant, and Cui Nianyue, who was taken to Yanjing by Li Lin, also became pregnant. Among the three hundred beautiful girls of various ethnic groups, the three Khitan princesses, and a group of dowry women that Yelü Yanxi and his ministers gave to Zhao Yu, many of them also became pregnant.

Even if only a third of these pregnant women gave birth to sons for Zhao Yu, he could easily surpass Emperor Huizong of Song in history and become the emperor with the most sons among all the emperors of the Song Dynasty, or even the person with the most sons in the entire Zhao clan.

The reason for mentioning these sons is that the first thing Zhao Yu did upon returning to the palace was to visit the women who had given birth to his sons.

Because he didn't want these women and their children to feel that he was favoring one over the other, and also to save time, Zhao Yu simply divided the meeting into two sessions—one where he met the women who had given birth to his sons and their sons; and the other where he met the women who had given birth to his daughters and their daughters.

The five women attended the first meeting, where Zhao Yu racked his brains to name his new sons.

To be honest, Zhao Yu was afraid that he would forget the names he gave to the children born to women who had a low profile. So, when naming these children, he would make a point of remembering them to avoid the embarrassing situation of not being able to remember his own children's names in the future.

When it was Qiao's and Wei's turn, Zhao Yu first picked up the son that Qiao had given birth to for him and carefully examined the child for a while.

This little guy had curved eyebrows and eyes, the slight upturn at the corners of his eyes just like Zhao Yu's. His chubby cheeks puffed out like two peaches, and his light brown pupils were moist, like black grapes soaked in morning dew. Suddenly, he grinned, his toothless little mouth drooling down his chin, and giggled as he reached out to grab Zhao Yu, who was looking down at him. He was full of energy.

Zhao Yu laughed heartily and said to Qiao Shi, "This little thing has a cleverness in his eyes and brows. He will surely be intelligent and achieve great things in the future. Hmm... let's call him Zhao Rui. May he become a pillar of our Great Song Dynasty."

Qiao bowed with delight and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for bestowing a name upon my son."

Zhao Yu returned Zhao Rui to Qiao Shi, then went to Wei Shi and looked at his son in her arms.

Admittedly, Zhao Gou in history was the most shameless of all. His father, mother, wife, five daughters, and the entire clan were captured by the Jin people and subjected to all kinds of humiliation in the Jin state, but he was only focused on escaping, caring only about his own survival and enjoyment, without thinking about rescue or revenge. He was unworthy of being a man.

But if one were to try to defend Zhao Gou, one could find a few so-called reasons for him.

For example, if Zhao Ji and Zhao Huan were rescued, Zhao Gou's legitimacy to the throne would be challenged. After all, Zhao Huan was the legitimate emperor, while Zhao Ji, as the retired emperor, still wielded considerable influence. Zhao Gou worried that if he welcomed back Zhao Ji and Zhao Huan, he would have to abdicate or his power would be severely limited. Therefore, he preferred to maintain the status quo and preserve his throne.

For example, at the time, the Southern Song Dynasty was newly established, with relatively weak military strength and facing numerous internal and external troubles. On the one hand, it had to deal with the constant incursions of the Jin army, and on the other hand, it had to deal with local rebellions and unstable factors. Zhao Gou believed that with the existing military strength of the Southern Song Dynasty, it would be difficult to organize an effective large-scale rescue operation. Forcibly rescuing Zhao Ji, Zhao Huan, and others might lead to greater losses for the Southern Song army, and even endanger the stability of the Southern Song regime.

For example, Zhao Gou had a group of pro-peace ministers around him, such as Qin Hui. They advocated negotiating peace with the Jin Dynasty, believing that confrontation with the Jin would bring even greater disaster. In this atmosphere, the proposal to rescue Zhao Ji and Zhao Huan was seen as undermining the overall peace negotiations and detrimental to the Southern Song Dynasty reaching a peace agreement with the Jin. Influenced by these pro-peace ministers, Zhao Gou was more inclined to maintain the rule of the Southern Song Dynasty through peace negotiations in his decision-making, rather than risking rescuing Zhao Ji and Zhao Huan.

For example, if a full-scale rescue of Zhao Ji and Zhao Huan were undertaken, it might anger the Jin dynasty, leading to increased military offensives against the Southern Song. Zhao Gou worried that this would threaten his own safety and expose the Southern Song court to an even greater crisis. He preferred a more peaceful approach to maintain the Southern Song's rule and ensure his own safety and position.

Aside from these selfish and so-called reasons for prioritizing the overall situation, Zhao Gou actually had one plausible reason for not rescuing Zhao Ji, Zhao Huan, and others.

The reason is that Zhao Gou had some emotional resistance to rescuing Zhao Ji and Zhao Huan.

As is well known, Emperor Huizong of Tang (Zhao Ji) visited Lady Wei not because he liked her, but simply because he was giving Lady Qiao face. After that, he never touched Lady Wei again.

Because Lady Wei was not favored, Zhao Gou was not liked by Emperor Huizong, even though he was "naturally intelligent, learned and had a strong memory, able to recite more than a thousand words a day" and studied music, chess, calligraphy and painting, especially calligraphy, and was quite accomplished. In martial arts, he "could draw a bow up to one stone and five dou, reaching the level of sacrificing one stone and three dou in martial arts at that time."

Zhao Huan even sent Zhao Gou to the Jin camp as a hostage, risking his life. How could he treat Zhao Gou like a younger brother? What affection could there be between them?

Of course, this is only from Zhao Gou's perspective.

But then again, if Zhao Gou could refuse to save Zhao Ji and Zhao Huan, what about Lady Wei, who had raised him with such hardship? What about Xing Bingyi, who had a good relationship with him and suffered in his place until her death? And what about his five daughters, two of whom, even after he grew up and lived a carefree life, were still suffering in his place? This was such immense hatred, yet Zhao Gou would rather kill a general who could help him avenge himself than save these people or seek revenge.

Ultimately, Zhao Gou's actions revealed his selfish, callous, cowardly, and incompetent nature. The scales in his heart always tipped towards his own power and comfort, rather than towards the deep-rooted bonds of family and the hatred of national and personal grievances.

When Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) had the opportunity, he still thought about recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, securing a natural barrier for the Song Dynasty to block the southward advance of the nomadic tribes. When the crisis was over, Emperor Huan (Zhao Huan) was unwilling to relinquish the territory left by his ancestors, and was determined to reclaim the territory he had ceded under duress. Only Emperor Gou (Zhao Gou), despite having the opportunity to rescue his family, reclaim the territory conquered by his ancestors, and avenge his family, was willing to cripple himself, kill Yue Fei and others, and strip Zhang Jun, Han Shizhong, Liu Guangshi, Liu Qi, Yang Cunzhong and others of their military power, insisting on making peace with the Jin and maintaining a precarious existence in a corner of the country.

As for the son that Lady Wei gave birth to for Zhao Yu, Zhao Yu knew that he had no relation to Zhao Gou. After all, their fathers had changed, so how could they still be the same person? But Zhao Yu couldn't help but think that his son was Zhao Gou...

When Zhao Yu looked at his other sons, he would quickly pick them up, praise them, and then give them names. But when it came to her son, Zhao Yu kept looking down at him but never reached out to touch him. Wei Shi's heart couldn't help but jump!

'Before serving the Emperor, I was a virgin; my son is undoubtedly the Emperor's son.'

'Although the Emperor's favor towards me is not as great as that of the Five Consorts, it is by no means inferior to that of the others, and he has never treated me poorly. Why then does the Emperor seem suspicious at this moment? Could it be that someone has spoken ill of me to the Emperor?'

Ms. Wei was filled with unease, but dared not show it on her face, though her eyes betrayed her anxiety and unease.

Seeing the worried look on Lady Wei's face, Zhao Yu realized he had been a bit out of line. He quickly tried to make amends, saying, "This little one has the bearing of a dragon and the grace of a phoenix, and his appearance is quite remarkable. He must be extraordinary. Hmm... what should we name him?"

Just as Zhao Yu's rationality overcame his disgust for Zhao Gou, and he wanted to give the child an ordinary name to completely separate him from Zhao Gou, Zhang Chun, who always enjoyed watching the drama unfold, stepped forward and said:
"The character '构' (gòu) is explained in the Shuowen Jiezi (a Chinese dictionary) as 'a wooden house,' signifying construction and building. It implies the ability to plan grand schemes and establish a foundation, like building a grand mansion in the wilderness, erecting a framework to support the sky, demonstrating worldly wisdom. It also implies planning and strategizing, suggesting that one's brilliant ideas can be used to transform the mundane into ingenious strategies, showcasing intelligence and intelligence. Furthermore, it can be interpreted as connecting and integrating, like warp and weft interlacing, or mortise and tenon joints, symbolizing the ability to combine the strengths of many, gathering small streams into a mighty river, upholding the virtue of harmonious cooperation. What do you think of naming this child '构'?"

Zhao Yu once again tried to strangle Zhang Chun, saying, 'What good does it do you to force me into an entanglement with Zhao Gou?'

But Zhao Yu hesitated for so long and didn't choose the name "Zhao Gou" that Zhang Chun had given the child. This might arouse the suspicion of the five women and make them realize that they were also time travelers.

Furthermore, Zhao Yu thought about it again. "Zhao Gou" is just a name after all. If he really named this child "Zhao Gou", would he be just like the historical Zhao Gou, cowardly, weak, selfish, cold-hearted, disloyal and unfilial?

Furthermore, Zhao Yu felt that he had too many sons. If he gave this child a different name, he probably wouldn't pay much attention to him unless he was exceptionally outstanding. But if he was named "Zhao Gou," he would definitely attract his attention.

In other words, to some extent, naming the child "Zhao Gou" didn't harm him; it might have helped him.

With that in mind, Zhao Yu followed Zhang Chun's suggestion: "Zhao Gou... that's a good name, let's call him Zhao Gou then."

Seeing that Zhao Yu had actually named the child "Zhao Gou," Zhang Chun felt a pang of regret. She thought to herself, 'Why was I so quick to judge? Why did I have to name this child Zhao Gou?'

When Li Lin, Ye Shiyun, Ma Xiaojiao, and Yuan Qingcheng heard that Zhao Yu had named the child "Zhao Gou," they all looked at the child in Zhao Yu's arms, and then glared angrily at Zhang Chun.

Zhang Chun knew she had caused trouble, so she quickly looked away, pretending not to see the four women's murderous glares.

Wei knew that Zhang Chun was skilled in divination, and also knew that the other four women were quite capable as well.

In fact, as time went by, the legends about the five women not only did not diminish, but actually increased.

Crucially, the five women have consistently proven in their own way that they are not ordinary women.

Zhao Yu's attitude towards the five women, especially during this trip to war, where Zhang Chun and Li Lin were clearly pregnant, yet Zhao Yu still took them with him, made it clear to Zhao Yu's ordinary concubines that the five women were different from him.

Therefore, Lady Wei not only did not object to Zhang Chun naming her son "Zhao Gou," but on the contrary, she was filled with anticipation. Especially after seeing the change in her fourth daughter's expression, she hoped even more that her son would be named "Zhao Gou," wishing, "My son will achieve extraordinary things."

Zhao Yu returned Zhao Gou to the beaming Lady Wei, then went to Wang Yisu and Guo Ting to name the son they had borne...

Knowing that the problem isn't scarcity but inequality, and not wanting his sons to feel that he was being unfair, Zhao Yu tried his best to treat each of them equally, at least until they were born. As for their future, that was up to them. All Zhao Yu could do was try to give each of them a chance to showcase their talents.

It was precisely because of this consideration that, apart from the children born to Zheng Xiansu, whom Zhao Yu somewhat favored, he treated the sons born to his other women, including his five daughters, as well as Wang Yisu and Guo Ting, equally. From bestowing titles and rewards upon them to showing them the same level of affection, he tried his best to treat them all fairly.

Therefore, even though Zhao Yu had already named the children born to Zhang Chun and Li Lin, and had also come up with names for the children born to Ye Shiyun, Ma Xiaojiao, and Yuan Qingcheng, he still made them bring their children to this "naming ceremony." After naming the children born to Wang Yisu and Guo Ting "Zhao Xing" and "Zhao Ang," he pretended to name Zhang Chun's child "Zhao Kai," Li Lin's child "Zhao Jiang," Ye Shiyun's child "Zhao Shou," Ma Xiaojiao's child "Zhao Cheng," and Yuan Qingcheng's two children "Zhao Xing" and "Zhao Sheng."

When it came time to name Zhao Yu's daughters, he was more casual. He used names like plum blossom, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum, zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, brocade, and silk, and then added the character "婉" (wan) in the middle. That was it.

Just as Zhao Yu was naming his daughters, the five women, who had not been together for a long time, reunited in Zhang Chun's palace after being separated for several months.

As soon as the five women were seated, Zhang Chun said impatiently, "I have something very important that concerns all of us that I want to discuss with you..."

……

(End of this chapter)