Song Gexing

Chapter 56: When I grow up, I want to open a mansion

Since the Han Dynasty only respected Confucianism, princes had to live in separate houses after the age of seven. Although the residences of different dynasties and generations were different, they were all separated from the inner palace.

Even in the palace, the door was opened alone, and the gate was strictly guarded. If the prince wanted to visit his mother, he had to apply for it, and the inner prison maid would guide him in.

Men and women sit on different seats at the age of seven, and the older children avoid their mothers and the older girls avoid their fathers. This is the etiquette that Confucians believe distinguishes humans from animals.

Even if women in the Tang and Song dynasties were more liberal and were not restricted and free, they could go on outings and attend meetings like men, but men and women were still required to sit at separate tables.

The purpose is to prevent physical contact between men and women and avoid some embarrassing situations.

You can talk loudly together, talk about poetry and painting together, watch songs and dances together, and ride horses together, but the seats must be separated.

"Then the eldest brother will move to the Shooting Hall?"

Queen Cao came back to her senses and asked tentatively.

Zhao Fang immediately objected: "Goodbye, mother! Dad is in his prime years, so there is no need to establish a prince so early."

"But what your father and ministers mean is that you are already the prince."

"No, no, my son wants to play for a few more years. He wants to be a prince, really."

Zhao Fang hurriedly retorted, and his little secret was exposed. He didn't want to live next door to Bao Heizi, otherwise he would be looked down upon.

There was no Prince's East Palace in the Northern Song Dynasty. Generally, when a prince was canonized as a prince, his palace became the East Palace.

This is a characteristic of the Northern Song Dynasty that is different from any other dynasty. The only one that can be called the East Palace is the Zaoshu Hall located in the back office of Kaifeng Prefecture.

Why is there an allusion here, when Song Zhenzong was the prince, he was named the prince and governor of Kaifeng. At that time, he was already old, so naturally he really managed the Kaifeng mansion.

But he felt that the Houya building in Kaifeng Mansion was too shabby, so he spent money to build a shooting hall as his living and lodging place.

After he became emperor, Kaifeng Mansion was handed over to others, but who dared to live where he once lived, so it became vacant and was considered the East Palace.

Quan now knows that Bao Zheng of Kaifeng Mansion lives in the back office of Kaifeng Mansion, and the Shooting Hall is next door to where he lives. How could Zhao Fang want to go there?

It is reasonable to say that he is not a prince yet and he does not dare to live anywhere legitimately.

When Empress Cao heard this, she understood his careful plan. She poked his forehead coquettishly and began to think deeply.

"Yes, the official family is now in good health and I dare not say that they will live long, but they should still live in 20 years. Now that the prince is established, the father and son are likely to have unnecessary disagreements. After all, the prince and the prince are completely different..."

Her thoughts were very clear. What the emperor feared most was not having his rights taken away, even if he was as close as father and son.

Didn't Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty love the prince Liu Zhi, but why did that unspeakable thing happen? It was not the prince's right, which made the emperor feel like he was deprived of power.

There is a more important point. If a person has been a prince for a long time, he will also develop attachments that he should not have. Seeing that the emperor has not abdicated and has been the second child, most people cannot hold on.

This is also an important reason why so many people in history who were established as princes very early often did not die well.

It doesn't matter to children, but as they grow older and are trained as heirs since childhood, the more capable they are, the more they can't sit still.

Especially for the grown-up princes, the emperor is often too old, without the wisdom of his prime, and the views of father and son often cause conflicts.On the one hand, there is the old emperor who is unwilling to hand over power, and on the other hand, the prince who is full of vigor and wants to make a difference. Naturally, conflicts inevitably arise.

Therefore, in the Song Dynasty, it was a very wise choice to establish a prince later in life. It would give you a position with the actual status of a prince but not the name of a prince. If an accident occurs, it will not cause too much shock.

After all, the prince is the crown prince. Changing the prince is extremely risky, and the reputation is also extremely bad. The prince does not matter. The Song Dynasty actually did better than the later dynasties.

"Then mother, please discuss it with your father."

Of course, Queen Cao couldn't agree to him now, but she was relieved. Zhao Fang was immediately overjoyed and praised his mother sweetly as if she didn't need money.

Two days later, Zhao Zhen found out about the matter and came to discuss it with the ministers.

But the original opposition, Wang Gongchen, who had now rebelled, supported Zhao Fang, while the original supporter Ouyang Xiu opposed it.

"The King of Wei is only ten years old after the New Year. It is too early to open a government office."

"It has been three years since I became king. According to the regulations, I can open a mansion."

The two were at odds again. Zhao Zhen felt strange, but Fan Zhongyan was not surprised at all. Ouyang Xiu hadn't turned a corner yet, but he was still worried about Zhao Fang's civil and military affairs.

Living in the palace, he couldn't move around, but if he had his own mansion, who knows how many warriors Zhao Fang would make.

But Fan Zhongyan was not prepared to reveal the matter here. After thinking about it, he said: "It is reasonable for the King of Wei to want to leave the palace, but it will cost a lot to build the palace. Now is the critical time for the implementation of the New Deal, so it is not appropriate to increase the expenditure." , it is better to find a place among the existing official residences, close to the imperial city, for King Wei."

What he said was to support Zhao Fang's opening of the palace, but he also made a scheming decision to keep the distance so that the emperor could keep an eye on him at any time, and also to block the mouths of opponents.

The emperor of the Song Dynasty could leave the palace, but it was not as strict as the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Of course, he did not run around anytime and anywhere, but had a certain route.

The reason is that the size of the imperial palace in the Northern Song Dynasty was small, and they followed the Tang Dynasty in placing the former government offices in the palace. To the south of Daqing Hall were the government offices of various ministries, and to the north of Daqing Hall was the inner palace.

This left the originally small Grand Inner Forbidden Garden with almost no place for the emperor's concubines to entertain other than the living palace.

Therefore, several leisure palaces were specially built outside the palace. The Jinming Pool in the outer city was a place where the emperor and his concubines often visited.

There is also Yanning Palace in the south of the inner city, which is also not within the imperial palace.

"I object! I suggest that the King of Wei move to the old Zishan Hall. This will save costs and not leave the palace. There will also be another gate leading to the market outside Donghua Gate."

Ouyang Xiu's fighting power was at full strength. This suggestion made Zhao Zhen's eyes light up. He really did not want his son to move out of the palace. Although Fan Zhongyan's suggestion was good, he still wanted to leave the palace.

Zishan Hall was built during the Zhenzong era and was used for studying by Renzong when he was the prince. In the fourth year of Tianxi's reign, it was moved to a newly built place with the same name.

The old Zishan Hall was vacant and never put to use. It is located in the northeast of the palace and south of Yuanfu Temple.

Now Fan Zhongyan quit and said angrily: "Uncle Yong is so confused! The King of Wei is the prince who is favored by everyone, how can he be next to a Taoist priest?"

Only then did Ouyang Xiu realize that he had done a stupid thing. He was the most opposed to the emperor's Taoism and asked Zhao Fang to live near Yuanfu Temple. If he fell in love with Taoism, that would be a big deal.

(End of this chapter)