I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 356 The Three Sisters of Empress Zhu
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Cai Jing was very fortunate that Ye Shiyun was just a woman, and a concubine of Zhao Yu at that. The key point was that she was not interested in politics, and was lazy, loved to eat and drink, and only wanted to enjoy life. Otherwise, Cai Jing would not have flattered Ye Shiyun, he would have desperately attacked her.

Many people became prime ministers because they were able to get money for the emperor.

The most typical example is Cai Jing.

Not to mention, the most important reason why Cai Jing was able to serve as prime minister for seventeen years with four rises and falls in history was that he was able to obtain money for Emperor Huizong of Song, who was particularly fond of spending money, so that Emperor Huizong could squander it.

It is said that the reason why Zhao Yu chose Cai Jing as prime minister was largely because he was good at managing the economy.

Historically, Cai Jing was removed by Emperor Huizong of Tang because he disagreed with the strategic plan of allying with the Jin to destroy the Liao and recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun. The next prime minister chosen by Emperor Huizong, Wang Fu, was appointed prime minister because he was good at making money.

Qin Hui, a historical figure, was able to serve as Zhao Gou's prime minister for a long time not only because he was good at framing loyal officials and acting as Zhao Gou's front man, but also because he was good at making money.

Therefore, given Ye Shiyun's skill in making money, and in such a clever and large way, if Ye Shiyun were a man, an ambitious man in his official career, and not used by Cai Jing, she would definitely become a huge threat to Cai Jing.

Nowadays, no matter how good Ye Shiyun is at making money, she has no competitive relationship with Cai Jing.

In addition, Ye Shiyun was Zhao Yu's favorite concubine.

Everyone carried that decorated sedan chair.

Cai Jing would certainly have been generous in praising Ye Shiyun to curry favor with Zhao Yu and Ye Shiyun.

However, as a treacherous official, Cai Jing knew that merely doing such a little to please Zhao Yu was far from enough, especially since Zhao Yu didn't really need Cai Jing that much.

Cai Jing would certainly have to do things to please Zhao Yu in addition to doing his job well, in order to solidify his position as prime minister.

Therefore, Cai Jing advised Zhao Yu: "Your Majesty has too many non-Han concubines in your harem, so that our Han bloodline no longer holds an absolute advantage. If this continues, it will be detrimental to our Han people."

Cai Jing's statement was clearly an excuse for Zhao Yu to expand his harem.

However, on the other hand, Cai Jing's statement was not entirely unfounded.

Zhao Yu had a habit of taking the wives, daughters, and even mothers of his enemies, as well as women from their clans, into his harem after defeating them.

This resulted in all the young and attractive daughters of the Western Xia royal family, the Liao royal family, and the Jin royal family entering Zhao Yu's harem and becoming his concubines.

Even those who were old or not good-looking were not given to his ministers or his sons by Zhao Yu. Instead, he built a palace in his harem and kept them all there.

Even the young children were all raised in Zhao Yu's harem.

In short, Zhao Yu would never allow these noble ladies from enemy states to wander outside. Even if they gave birth to offspring, they could only have their own offspring and could not marry into other states.

Zhao Yu's behavior was not solely due to his fondness for women.

This aligns more closely with the political logic behind Qin Shi Huang's decision to take the children of the six states to Xianyang Palace.

When Qin Shi Huang conquered the six states and took the noblewomen of those states into the Qin palace, it was both a form of soft house arrest against the remaining forces of the feudal lords and a means of using bloodlines as leverage to control the old aristocracy.

In Zhao Yu's case, this meant that the female members of the royal families and nobles of the Western Xia, Liao, and Jin dynasties entered Zhao Yu's harem. It seemed to be Zhao Yu's private hobby, but in reality, it was to keep the core clan bloodlines of the enemy countries in his hands to prevent the hidden danger of "alliance between different surnames".

Since Zhao Kuangyin released his generals from their military power over a cup of wine, the Song Dynasty had always been wary of ministers forming factions, let alone these women who were backed by clans of states that had once been enemies of the Song Dynasty.

If these noble ladies from enemy states were to leave the palace, they could become a link between old enemies and the forces in the court, potentially forming new interest groups or even providing internal support for the restoration of enemy states.

The history books clearly record how the former officials of the six states used female relatives of the royal family to contact their old subordinates. How could Zhao Yu, who was familiar with history, not be wary?

As for not giving it to his son, it was a profound and far-sighted strategy of the emperor.

If a prince takes a noblewoman from an enemy country as a concubine, it is inevitable that he will develop feelings for his maternal family over time.

For example, if a prince's in-laws are members of the Liao royal family, and if the former Liao officials use "helping the prince seize the throne" as bait, it's hard to guarantee that the prince won't be tempted.

Even if a prince has no intention of rebelling, his maternal family may still use his status as a prince to interfere in politics, or even attempt to restore the lost kingdom.

By keeping all these women in his harem, Zhao Yu effectively cut off this possibility at its source.

As for Zhao Yu, he was certainly not afraid of taking in noblewomen from enemy states. He had many women, but he did not favor any of them. Therefore, no matter which noblewoman from an enemy state he took in, the power behind her could not cause much trouble through marriage. The key point was that by taking in these noblewomen from enemy states, he could bind the power behind them to the Song Dynasty and integrate them into the Song Dynasty with peace of mind.

In this way, Zhao Yu could both use his bloodline to unite the remaining forces of the enemy state by taking in these noble ladies, and also prevent his ministers and princes from using these women to pose a threat. The seemingly absurd act of "taking in the entire harem" was actually a royal strategy that concealed power and intrigue within the guise of cosmetics.

Therefore, Zhao Yu simply went all the way and took all these noble ladies from enemy states into his possession, even if it meant a lot of hardship for himself, he would never leave any future trouble for the Song Dynasty or for his descendants.

In addition, because Zhao Yu's reputation for being fond of women was already well-known, ministers, as well as foreign countries and tribes, all liked to present him with beautiful women, especially foreign beauties.

The thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions alone presented Zhao Yu with one or two thousand beauties from these kingdoms.

In addition, the Song Dynasty was constantly engaged in maritime trade and expanding its territorial waters, so beauties from Japan, Korea, Central Asia, Arabia, India, and Europe kept pouring into Zhao Yu's harem.

To put it another way, Zhao Yu even had hundreds of Native American beauties and Australian Aborigine beauties.

This also created a problem: Zhao Yu's harem had too many foreign women, their total number almost matching that of Han Chinese women.

This resulted in a large number of Zhao Yu's children not being pure-blooded Han Chinese.

Although the Han people did not place much importance on the purity of bloodlines, but rather on cultural identity and moral character, the presence of such a large number of foreign bloodlines intertwined in the court still posed a hidden danger that could not be ignored.

From a cultural perspective, these women, from all corners of the world and with vastly different customs, each brought with them the beliefs, rituals, and traditions of their homelands. In the relatively closed yet competitive environment of the imperial harem, friction and conflict due to cultural differences were inevitable.

For example, women from the Hu people and the Western Regions are passionate and outgoing, and act boldly, which is completely different from the reserved and introverted style of women from the Central Plains. In daily interactions, they may quarrel over some trivial matters.

For example, Indian beauties, Arab beauties, and European beauties each have their own religious beliefs, and their religious beliefs are even contradictory. Therefore, they often have disputes because of their beliefs.

If Han women cannot gain an absolute advantage, how can they suppress these foreign women?

Furthermore, although the Han people did not place much importance on the purity of bloodlines, the matter of blood fusion was no small matter and would cause ripples in the court. The old-school scholar-officials in the court naturally held deep-rooted distinctions between Chinese and barbarians, and as they saw the increasing number of foreign faces in the harem, their worries grew like wild grass.

Therefore, Cai Jing and many other ministers in the court hoped that Zhao Yu would take more Han women into his harem to maintain the advantage and legitimacy of Han women in the palace.

Zhao Yu considered that Cai Jing and others' concerns were not without merit.

Moreover, in his early years, in order to promote the "equal taxation for gentry" and the "equalization of land tax and poll tax," Zhao Yu's relationship with the gentry class became too strained. In fact, it should be said that Zhao Yu caused a great deal of casualties and losses to the gentry class, and the two sides had already formed a considerable enmity.

In the past two years, as Zhao Yu reduced or exempted land taxes in many regions and initiated the Industrial Revolution, creating a large number of new business opportunities, Zhao Yu's relationship with the gentry class has eased considerably.

'Now, if I were to take another batch of concubines from the gentry class, I should be able to completely eliminate their hatred. At least they shouldn't want to overthrow me anymore.' With this in mind, Zhao Yu agreed to Cai Jing's request and told Cai Jing that the three thousand beauties to be selected should be chosen from Han Chinese officials and gentry families as much as possible.

Zhao Yu won all his foreign wars and made the Song Dynasty prosperous. The people's lives got better day by day. He also opened up so many ways to make money. With the Song Dynasty so prosperous, who could shake Zhao Yu's position?
In this situation, if Zhao Yu were willing to reconcile with them, any high-ranking official, noble family, wealthy clan, or merchant family with a modicum of sense would certainly cherish this opportunity, offer their best daughters, and try to repair relations with Zhao Yu in order to secure more power and benefits for their families.

Therefore, Cai Jing personally oversaw the construction of the Song Dynasty's financial system while also personally helping Zhao Yu select Han beauties...

……

Aristocratic families typically require the accumulation of wealth over countless generations, with some even needing hundreds or thousands of years of inheritance.

However, this does not mean that there were no powerful families that rose to prominence unexpectedly. In fact, there were indeed cases where one person's success brought prosperity to their entire family.

The Zhu family of Kaifeng Prefecture was such a fortunate family.

The rise of the Zhu family in Kaifeng Prefecture originated from the rise of a woman.

During the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, a commoner surnamed Cui and a commoner surnamed Li married and had a daughter.

Mr. Cui passed away a long time ago.

It was very difficult for orphans and widows to survive in those times.

With no other options, Li had no choice but to remarry a man named Zhu Shi'an.

After Li remarried, the daughter born to Cui and Li also changed her surname to Zhu.

Later, Li gave birth to another son for Zhu Shi'an, who was named Zhu Bocai.

Zhu Bocai himself was not very capable; he could neither pass the imperial examinations nor defend the borders. However, his half-sister grew more and more beautiful and was later selected to enter the palace, becoming one of Emperor Shenzong's concubines.

Afterwards, Lady Zhu was deeply favored by Emperor Shenzong of Song, and gave birth to two sons and a daughter for him. She was then given the title of Consort De.

The two sons born to Zhu were Emperor Zhezong of Song, Zhao Xu, and Zhao Si, who had competed with Zhao Yu for the throne.

That's right.

Lady Zhu was the same Lady Zhu who tried to help Zhao Si fight Zhao Yu for the throne but was imprisoned by Zhao Yu until her death.

But that's a story for another time.

When Gao Taotao and Empress Dowager Xiang were alive, they were both powerful figures. Consort Zhu dared not compete with them and could only be submissive.

This made both empress dowagers very satisfied with Consort Zhu, and they continuously elevated the status of Consort Zhu herself and her family.

As a result, Consort Zhu's biological father, Lady Cui, her stepfather, Zhu Shi'an, and her adoptive father, Lady Ren, were all posthumously granted the titles of Grand Tutor and Grand Guardian.

This was the starting point for the rise of the Zhu family in Kaifeng.

From then on, the Zhu family established themselves in Bianliang, the capital of the Eastern Capital, and became a member of the upper nobility.

Because of his sister, Zhu Bocai gradually entered officialdom.

Zhu Bocai was a cautious and diligent man, and because of his nephew Zhao Xu, he eventually rose to the position of military governor of Wukang.

Logically, the Zhu family should have soared to great heights, rising to become a first-class maternal relatives family thanks to the influence of Consort Zhu.

However, the Zhu family's rise and fall were both due to Consort Zhu.

When Zhao Yu ascended the throne, Consort Zhu and her son Zhao Si made many foolish moves, which not only brought trouble upon themselves but also implicated the Zhu family.

This has made things very difficult for the Zhu family for the past ten years or so.

Today, the Zhu family has three daughters: Zhu Lian, Zhu Xuan, and Zhu Fengying.

— Zhu Lian and Zhu Fengying are the daughters of Zhu Bocai, and Zhu Xuan is the daughter of Zhu Bocai's younger brother.

These three daughters were not only all incredibly beautiful, but also very talented, and were quite famous among the elites of the capital.

Especially Zhu Lian.

She was absolutely stunningly beautiful and incredibly talented. A person skilled in physiognomy, after meeting Zhu Lian, said that she was of inestimable nobility.

When Emperor Huizong heard about this, he intended to ask Zhu Lian for a marriage alliance for his only son, Zhao Huan.

However, because of the conflict between the Zhu family and Zhao Yu, Zhao Ji was unwilling to provoke Zhao Yu over this matter.

That's why the matter has been delayed.

Now, Zhao Yu is selecting officials from Han Chinese official and gentry families.

In Zhu Bocai's view, this was a golden opportunity for his family to resolve the conflict with Zhao Yu and regain their status as a first-class maternal relatives.

Therefore, Zhu Bocai sent Zhu Lian, Zhu Xuan, and Zhu Fengying to participate in the talent show.

Zhu Lian knew this was one of the few opportunities for her family to turn their lives around, and she was also willing to enter the palace to serve Zhao Yu, the emperor of all time. Therefore, she agreed to enter the palace, and even agreed to bring Zhu Xuan, who was a year younger than her, with her.

But Zhu Fengying is only eleven years old this year, and she is too young to enter the palace now.

Zhu Lian said to Zhu Bocai, "Fengying is still young, why don't we just let it go?"

Zhu Bocai said, "This is a rare opportunity. My family will ensure that everything goes smoothly. Moreover, the imperial court has decreed that all unmarried girls aged ten to twenty from the families of officials of the Great Song Dynasty must participate in the selection. How can we change this order?"

They selected three thousand palace women for Zhao Yu in one go.

Even someone as powerful as Zhao Yu couldn't possibly exhaust so many women in just two or three years, especially considering that Zhao Yu already had more than ten thousand women.

Therefore, the Ministry of Rites selected some palace maids who were almost adults for Zhao Yu to ensure that there would always be "eighteen-year-old" palace maids in Zhao Yu's harem.

Hearing Zhu Bocai say this, Zhu Lian was a little worried: "What if all three of us are chosen?"

Zhu Bocai smiled and said, "At that time, it will be the time for the Zhu family to turn the tables, and you three sisters will be able to look after each other in the palace..."

……

(End of this chapter)