Know all about the secrets of the harem

Chapter 32
Once, Gusou asked Shun to paint granary on the roof (to repair the barn with earth).Before doing the work, Shun first "asked" the two wives for instructions, and the wives said then go, but they must bring two bamboo hats.Shun listened to his wife very much, so he obediently took two bamboo hats and climbed onto the roof to work.As soon as he went up, Gusou and Xiang immediately took away the ladder and set it on fire.At this time, the two bamboo hats came in handy. Shun held one in each hand and jumped down from the house as if he had grown wings, without any damage.

Another time, Gusou asked Shun to dig a well. As soon as Shun went down to the depths, his father and brothers hurriedly filled the well with earth, trying to bury him alive.Fortunately, Shun's two wives had already been trained to be extremely vigilant by the endless "conspiracies" and "conspiracies" of their father-in-law, mother-in-law and brother-in-law, and they asked Shun to dig a secret passage on the side wall of the well in advance. Shun took a life.

From the analysis of the above incidents, including the circumstantial evidence that "the father is stubborn and the mother is arrogant" in the history books, Shun's father may have a brain problem, or else, he cannot understand why he wanted to kill his son and still enjoy it so much.Judging from common sense, it was only possible that Shun would obey his wife's words, and he and his two wives could be so tolerant and magnanimous.

According to a reasonable guess, a series of conspiracies may have been planned by greedy elephants.This can be seen from the conversation between him and his parents when they planned to divide up Shun's property.At that time, after filling the well, Xiang thought that Shun would surely die, so he immediately claimed credit, saying, "I came up with this idea." Then he said generously, "I return Shun's two wives and the qin that Yao gave him." .The cattle and sheep and the barn belong to the parents."

When Xiang couldn't wait to run into Shun's house to play with Shun's qin, Shun came in from the outside.Xiang was startled and embarrassed, immediately put on a sullen look, and said without blushing: "I'm missing you, I'm so bored!" Shun said: "Yes, you are really good enough!" Brother!" According to the history books, after experiencing the baptism of "domestic violence", Shun still has a kind heart, serving his parents as before, loving his brothers, and being more respectful.

All this shows that Shun is a very sensible person, and his two wives can read such a difficult "family scripture" so smoothly, which shows that Shun has a sense of propriety, how smart and virtuous he is.With their wisdom and tolerance, the two of them not only greatly helped Shun's reputation, but also deftly resolved the family crisis.It is no wonder that later generations listed the two as the first in the "Biography of Mother Yi" in "Biography of Lie Nu", saying that "the second concubine is pure in virtue and behaves conscientiously", and even moved out of the "Book of Songs" that "do not show virtue, but punish it a hundred times". "Such heavyweight words are greatly appreciated.

battle for throne
In the blink of an eye, three years have passed. During these three years, Ehuang and Nvying have never spoken ill of Shun in front of their father, and the common people love Shun very much. Since the investigation results are like this, Emperor Tang Yao should honor him The original promise was to hand over the throne to Shun.

But this is not Tang Yao's wish. Let alone he is obsessed with power and cannot extricate himself, even if he really doesn't want to be emperor, would he be willing to pass the throne to an outsider?The answer is no. It is impossible for him to see the country he worked so hard to fall into the hands of others. After careful consideration, he finally decided to pass the throne to his eldest son Danzhu.

Danzhu was born to him and his favorite woman, the empress, and also the most beloved son of Emperor Tang Yao.Besides Danzhu, Yao had nine sons, all of whom were concubines.At this time, Ehuang and Nvying, who were also concubines, learned of their father's rebellion, and first tried to persuade them with kind words, but the persuasion failed. The two sisters decided to betray their father and stand by their husband Shun.For their own sake, and even more for their love for Shun, Ehuang and Nvying assisted Shun in uniting nine brothers, cooperating from inside to outside, launching a coup d'etat, and imprisoning Emperor Yao and Danzhu in one blow.As a last resort, in order to save his old life, Emperor Yao of Tang declared to the people all over the world that he would abdicate to Shun.

This is the truth about Emperor Yao of Tang giving way to Emperor Yu Shun as described in the history books.

When Shun sat on the throne of the emperor, the first thing he did was to exile Danzhu to Danshui, which was a wild place far away from the capital.Power will change a person's temperament drastically, even a sage like Shun can't help it. A small amount is not a gentleman, and a non-poisonous man is not a husband. The purpose of Shun's doing this is to consolidate his throne, so that Danzhu has no strength to fight back .

When Shun became emperor, later generations called him "Emperor Yushun". The heroines of our love story, Ehuang and Nvying, were Shun's wives, so they were naturally promoted to "Concubine".

It is worth noting that the imperial palace at that time was actually a large courtyard, and there was no particular emphasis on titles. As long as the wife of the monarch was called a "concubine", there was no hierarchy, such as "Queen" and "Zhaoyi". The sayings are all later sayings.

After Shun ascended the throne, he lived a harmonious and sweet life with his two concubines who shared weal and woe.After so many bloody events, Ehuang and Nvying cherish the hard-won happiness, and love their husbands even more.Shun is also worthy of being a good husband. After becoming emperor, he has always loved the two concubines and vowed not to marry other concubines.

Emperor Yu Shun's dragon chair lasted for 48 years.By the 23rd century BC, Emperor Yu Shun was almost 100 years old. At this time, he was already old and frail, and the throne of the emperor was in jeopardy.At this time a big event happened.Dayu, the Xia tribe famous for water control, no longer obeyed Yu Shun's words, not to mention Dayu's father was killed by Emperor Yu Shun: Dayu's father Gun was executed by Emperor Yu Shun because of his inability to control water.

In addition, Dayu's moral concept is completely opposite to that of Emperor Yu Shun. Emperor Yu Shun was a filial son, but Dayu was not filial at all. This is evidenced by the fact that he never entered the house three times during flood control.In Dayu's view, since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety have not been both, and filial piety cannot be fulfilled if you are loyal. For a country or a tribe, loyalty must be advocated.The underlying meaning is that since Emperor Yu Shun is a filial son, it is not of much benefit to governing the country.This is actually Dayu making excuses for himself.If one person does not like another person, no matter how well that person does, it will not help.

Now, Dayu doesn't like Emperor Yu Shun anymore, what can he do if he doesn't like it?The best way is to usurp the throne.

Therefore, Dayu also learned from Emperor Yushun back then, launching a court coup, forcing Emperor Yushun to surrender his throne on his own initiative, and declared to the outside that Emperor Yushun was willing to give up the throne to himself.In the same way, the reputation of abdication once again fell on the head of Emperor Yushun.

After Emperor Yu Shun abdicated the throne, he knew that Dayu would not stop here and would definitely look for opportunities to die, so he took his two beloved concubines, Ehuang and Nvying, and fled southward to a wild place - Hunan Province. Cangwu Mountain, which is now Jiuyi Mountain.

After Emperor Yu Shun came to Cangwu Mountain, he lived in seclusion in Cangwu Mountain. It is impossible to find out where he lived in seclusion, let alone what he ate and wore after he lived in seclusion.The book only says that three years later, Emperor Yushun died in Cangwu Mountain.

Legend has it that after the death of Emperor Yushun, the sisters Ehuang and Nvying were devastated and felt deeply about their life experience. They couldn't help crying like rain, bit by bit, seeping into the texture of the bamboo on Cangwu Mountain. born.After that, all spotted bamboos were named Xiangfei bamboo.Mao Zedong, a great man of a generation, once wrote the words "Answer to Friends Seven Laws" to praise:
White clouds fly on Jiuyi Mountain, and the emperor's son rides the wind to descend to the emerald green;
There are thousands of tears in a branch of mottled bamboo, and ten thousand red clouds in a hundred heavy clothes.

Dongting is full of waves and snow, and the songs of Changdao people are moving;
The dream I want to cause is limited, and the country of Furong is full of sunshine.

The two sisters came to the Xiangjiang River weeping, looking at the endless river, thinking about their life experience, the past with their husband, the love and affection, the sweetness and happiness no longer exist.There is no joy in life, no pain in death, what is the meaning of living without love, without a husband, so he jumped into the river with a plop, and died for his great husband.

Whether the deaths of Ehuang and Nvying were caused by a political murder is not yet certain, but one can imagine that since Dayu usurped the throne, he took precautions before they happened, and it was logical to wipe out the roots of Emperor Yushun's family.If this is the case, the sisters did not throw themselves into the river to die for love, but were forced to do nothing.In order to fulfill this poignant love that has been passed down through the ages, we still prefer to believe that Ehuang and Nvying voluntarily threw themselves into the river, and this possibility is relatively high.

After the death of the two sisters, Ehuang and Nvying, they were honored as the goddesses of Xiangjiang River, the elder sister Ehuang was called "Xiangjun" and the younger sister Nvying was called "Mrs. Xiang".Later, in order to mourn the two sisters who sacrificed their lives for love, the people of Chu State built a tomb for them on Cangwu Mountain and built a temple to worship them.When the literati and poets of later generations heard the legends of Ehuang and Nvying, they sighed endlessly and wrote many poems to mourn them.The great poet Qu Yuan wrote two poems "The Lord of Xiang" and "Mrs. Xiang". Later, Mr. Qu Yuan also followed the old path of the two sisters.Since Doctor Qu, Li Bai, Chang Jian, Liu Yuxi, etc., many famous poets have left verses in mourning for the sisters. Only poets and poets mourn and remember their figures in their poems and songs; there are only a few spots of bamboo, which are still swaying with the wind. .

Mu Ji: Deep understanding of righteousness

Mu Ji, the eldest daughter of Duke Xian of Jin, formerly known as Bo Ji, is the half-sister of Prince Shensheng and half-sister of Duke Hui of Jin and Yiwu. She married Duke Mu of Qin as his wife, so she is also called Mu Ji.When Mu Ji was 15 years old, she was gentle and virtuous, well educated, beautiful and intelligent.Since getting Li Ji, Duke Xian of Jin has done one ridiculous thing after another, but he is finally not ambiguous about marrying his daughter.

When Duke Mu of Qin sent people to the state of Jin to seek marriage, the people of the state of Jin looked down upon him at all.At that time, the state of Jin was a great country in the Central Plains, with great national strength and a vast territory, and it was also a genuine family member of the Zhou royal family—their founding ancestor was the son of the famous King Wu of Zhou.What is the state of Qin?The ancestors raised horses for the Zhou royal family. To put it bluntly, they were horse slaves for generations.Because they raised horses well, the emperor of Zhou gave them a piece of land as soon as he was happy, which was regarded as a vassal state, but still had the status of slaves.

Later, King You of Zhou had no way, Duke Xiang of Qin led his troops to serve the king through untold hardships, and the State of Qin was promoted to a prince because of his meritorious service, and he was granted the title of Uncle Qin.Compared with the old Jin Guo, he is still too young.What's more, it is located in the western frontier, the folk customs are not changed, the national strength is weak, and the economy is backward. How can it be compared with the great country of Jin in the Central Plains?

But unexpectedly, Jin Xiangong agreed to this seemingly unsuitable marriage.Because he felt that Qin Mugong, the monarch of Qin State, was talented enough to match his daughter, so he put aside his family background and accepted the son-in-law of this horse-raising family with a magnanimous mind.What he didn't expect was that his precious daughter and son-in-law would play a very important role in the future when Jin State was in trouble.In short, in this marriage, he is married.After the conclusion of the coffin, Qin Mugong suffered a big loss.Originally, I wanted to find a backer to open the door to the civilization of the Central Plains, but in the end I made great efforts to save the Jin country from fire and water, and was later avenged by the real Jin kings from generation to generation.

Mu Ji got married when the state of Jin was stirred up by Li Ji and the chaos was in full swing.Jin's crown prince, Shen Sheng, is her biological brother, but at this time, her brother's status is already on the verge of collapse under the repeated attacks and frame-ups of her father's beloved woman Li Ji.At this moment, Mu Ji was full of worries about her brother and her mother country, so she had no choice but to step on the carriage to marry Qin.

Mu Ji's mother was Qi Jiang's family, but unfortunately her mother died of illness not long after she was born.She was raised by Jia Jun, her father's concubine.

Jia Jun was the dowry cousin of the first concubine Jia who died in Duke Xiang of Jin's family. Duke Xian of Jin felt pity for his infant daughter and felt that Jia Jun was kind and kind, so he took her as a concubine and ordered her to raise his daughter well.Jia Jun did not disappoint him, indeed he took care of Mu Ji very carefully.For Jia Jun, he could not get the favor of the king anyway, and it was better to have a lovely daughter Cheng Huan at his knees than to pass away the rich years in a deserted place.Jia Jun is a pure and virtuous person, and Mu Ji has gradually grown into a virtuous woman after receiving her teachings.Her appearance could not be regarded as overwhelming, but she was also dignified and beautiful, and her every move showed the elegance of everyone's demeanor, and her whole body had a charming brilliance emanating from a noble temperament.

People in the state of Qin who are on the fringes have basically never seen a beautiful princess from a great country in the Central Plains. Her arrival has become their supreme pride, and people are overwhelmed and overwhelmed by her temperament.And in fact, as soon as she came, she brought blessings and good luck to Qin.

The Qin State at that time was not yet a big country that later attracted the attention of the eastern countries.Although the territory is not small, but because it is located in the western frontier, it is still a barbaric country that is not very civilized, with a backward economy and weak national strength.The big countries in the Central Plains, such as Jin, Qi, and even the Chu State in the south, did not pay much attention to Qin State, and did not even greet them when discussing major international events, gatherings of alliances, and so on.Qin Mugong is a monarch with great ambitions. He is unwilling to be silently forgotten on the edge together with his country, but suffers from the lack of talents who can help him.Marriage with the Jin State is to build a good relationship so that you can learn from it, go abroad, and make friends with the princes of the Central Plains.

Mu Ji brought a generous dowry, not counting gold, silk, pearls, jade, and skilled craftsmen, the most precious of which was a dowry slave who possessed a genius for governing the country. He was the famous Baili Xi.

Baili Xi was originally an official in the State of Yu. After the State of Yu was destroyed by Duke Xian of Jin, he and others were taken back to the State of Jin as captives.Later, Duke Xian of Jin transferred him to Qin State as Mu Ji's dowry.Unable to bear the humiliation, Bailixi fled to Chu State halfway.Qin Mugong learned of his talent and learning, and ordered someone to redeem him and entrust him with a heavy responsibility.Bailixi's eyes were filled with tears, he had spent his whole life in a mediocre life, but he never expected that he would finally become prosperous when he was old.Soon after, he wrote to find his good friend Uncle Jian who was more talented than him.From then on, they assisted Duke Mu of Qin to revise state affairs internally, develop production, and bestow favors on the people; they connected princes externally, gave both kindness and prestige, established the prestige of Qin State, and laid the first solid foundation for the future development of Qin State.This is the first leap forward in the history of Qin State.At the same time, his son Meng Mingshi and Uncle Jian's sons Bai Yibing and Xiqishu were also well-known generals in the Qin State. They galloped the battlefield for Duke Mu of Qin and made great contributions.

The beginning of all this was brought by Mu Ji. She is definitely the lucky star of the Qin people.

Mu Ji is a gentle and virtuous wife, Qin Mugong respects her very much, and everyone in the palace praises her.It can be said that she has not lost any of the virtues that a wife should possess.But although she lived a stable life in Qin State, assisting Qin Mugong to manage the harem in an orderly manner, she was always concerned about the situation of her mother's family in Jin State.Although she is married, she can't forget that place, and the people there are connected with her by flesh and blood.When her elder brother Shensheng committed suicide, her elder brother Chonger Yiwu was forced to flee, the sons were expelled from the country, her father died of illness, and the young prince was murdered one after another, she almost collapsed and lost her voice in the bedroom. Weep bitterly for her country and her loved ones.Helpless, she was born to be a daughter's family, all she can do is shed tears and sigh.Qin Mugong was deeply moved when he saw his beloved wife like this. He promised his wife that her affairs were his affairs, and that he would definitely help him with Jin's affairs. He just asked her not to be sad.

Partly for Mu Ji, partly for the cause of Qin, Duke Mu of Qin finally stepped forward to quell the Jin chaos, and after several setbacks, he sent troops to escort his son Yiwu back to the country to succeed him.Mu Ji was overjoyed to learn that there was finally hope for her beloved mother country.She was full of words to tell Yiwu, but she didn't know where to start.She hurriedly edited a letter and ordered it to be handed over to Yiwu. In the letter, she urged Yiwu to be a good king, and the state of Jin would not be able to stand any more troubles; Exiled in exile, he should be recalled quickly, so that he can have an arm.She said vividly that "only those with luxuriant leaves can be honored", and that brothers are of the same heart is the way to defend the country.

At the end, she said that she was very concerned about her adoptive mother Jia Jun, and asked Yiwu to take good care of Jia Jun for her.

Mu Ji's full of worries and expectations were once again in vain. Yiwu didn't understand her sister's painstaking efforts, and while replying to her perfunctorily, she deliberately eliminated dissidents at the same time.Not only did he not recall the princes, but instead sent assassins to Chong'er, who lived in the state of Zhai;What annoyed Mu Ji even more was that when he saw Jia Jun, who was still charming, he took her forcibly under the pretext of taking care of her.Even Mu Ji, a good person, has to hate her younger brother for being so dishonest and disregarding the overall situation of the country for his own selfish desires.

Yiwu is indeed one of the rare shameless kings, and that's not to mention that he has formed a relationship with Qin Guo again.

He previously promised to cut five cities to Qin as a token of gratitude after he entered the Jin state. After returning, he felt heartbroken and regretted that the land belonged to the state. The ministers did not agree to give it, so he was embarrassed for the time being.Qin Mugong was very angry when he met such a person, and shouted that he would teach him a lesson.Uncle Baili Xijian and others tried their best to persuade him to forget it, if he doesn't give it, he won't give it. Anyway, we have nothing to lose, so there is no need to be as knowledgeable as him.Economic development is now the center, and other things can be tolerated first.Qin Mugong respected the two elders very much, so he had no choice but to give up at the moment.

I don't want to think that since Yiwu succeeded to the throne, the Jin State has been suffering from droughts or floods year after year, and the common people have complained.Especially in the fifth year, there was a severe famine, almost no crops were harvested, and what was even worse was that there was no grain in the national warehouse. If there was no food to borrow this year, they would starve to death.

(End of this chapter)