Chapter 867: Ruohua (Part )
The difficulties faced by female officials were not only in their duties, but also in their marriages.
Like Li Fangfei and Wang Shu, most of them were married into the family. The woman was strong and the man was weak, so they relied on their family and worked as officials. The son-in-law raised the children and took care of the household affairs.
However, most men who are willing to be a son-in-law are not very promising. You can't have your cake and eat it too. This is also a helpless choice.
There are also some like Lu Ruohua who are unwilling to make do and simply never marry or take in a son-in-law. They just serve as officials alone.
The same was true for Lu Zhen, the Minister of the Central Secretariat in the court. He had always been alone and devoted himself to his work.
Jiang Shaohua smiled softly and asked, "Did Aunt Mei write to urge you to get married?"
Lu Ruohua shrugged: "I used to write to remind you every month. Since I turned 26, the letters have gradually become less and less."
In the eyes of the traditional and conservative Aunt Mei, a woman over the age of 26 would be considered an old maid who could never get married. There was no man in the world who was still unmarried at the age of 27 or 28.
"My mother wrote to me last month and told me that my eldest sister-in-law is pregnant again." Lu Ruohua laughed softly, "My eldest sister-in-law is pregnant with her lover, one baby after another, and has already given birth to two sons and two daughters."
"My mother and my eldest sister-in-law have discussed it privately. The next baby, regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl, will be adopted by me. When I am old, my nephew or niece will take care of me and see me to the end of my life."
This is also a method. Lu Zhen did the same thing, adopting his niece from his brother to raise.
Jiang Shaohua hummed and asked casually, "You are busy with your work all day, do you have time to raise a child?"
"Of course not." Lu Ruohua took the conversation as a matter of course: "After the child is born, it will still be raised by my eldest brother, his wife and my mother. When he is about ten years old, he will be sent to me."
Jiang Shaohua was thoroughly amused: "You are so relaxed. When a child is ten years old, he will be sensible. You don't have to worry about anything when he comes to your side. Just let him study and grow up."
Lu Ruohua smiled and said, "My mother loves me, and my elder brother and sister-in-law love me too. Besides, I am really too busy. I am also thinking that I can serve as a county governor for a few more years and get top marks in the annual evaluations. I can be promoted to the governor of a state in the future!"
The highest official in each of the 40 states in Daliang was the governor. This was a third-rank official position. It could be said that he was a real high-ranking official in the court.
Jiang Shaohua admired Lu Ruohua's ambition and aspirations in his official career, and smiled slightly and said: "It's a good thing to have ideals. Since you are ambitious, then do your job well."
"I won't give you a backdoor. If you have this ability, I won't let the pearl be buried in the dust."
Lu Ruohua was in high spirits: "I will definitely do my job with all my heart."
Her Majesty the Empress has always been fair. Even when promoting and appointing her confidants, she always follows procedures and allows her ministers to accumulate sufficient qualifications and reputation before promoting them.
Just like Chen Jinyu, who was appointed as the emperor's attendant and served as a county governor for five years before being transferred to the Minister of Rites. He accompanied the emperor and made great contributions, and naturally took over the position of Shangshu Dong.
In short, Minister Chen had a smooth career and was worthy of public criticism.
This is the benefit of having Jane in the emperor's heart.
Lu Ruohua was certainly smart and capable, but if she wasn't Jiang Shaohua's sister, how could she have stood out so quickly and become the governor of Hexi County at the age of 26? How dare she dream of becoming a governor of a state before the age of 40?
Lu Ruohua knew the value of her status and cherished it very much. After talking about some political affairs, Lu Ruohua couldn't help but laugh and asked in a low voice: "The Crown Prince got married the year before last, and the Princess was born last year. The Emperor will leave the capital for inspection this year, so he doesn't miss the Crown Prince and the Princess?"
The year before last, seventeen-year-old Jiang Ning got married. Her husband was Ma Shenyuan, the prince's companion and their childhood sweetheart.
The young couple loved each other and lived in harmony. Three months after their marriage, they received good news. Last autumn, the prince gave birth to a plump and healthy daughter.
At the age of thirty-five, Her Majesty the Empress became a grandmother and was very happy. On the day of her granddaughter's full moon, she canonized her granddaughter as the Princess of Nanyang and gave her the Nanyang County as her fief.
This year, Her Majesty the Empress left the capital again to inspect the entire Daliang.
"I brought the child's portrait with me, and I can look at it when I want." Jiang Shaohua smiled and said, "I plan to go to the grassland to take a look. If there is a war, I will stay at the border for a few more days. If it is peaceful, I can return to the capital earlier."
After the Rouran tribe was exterminated, the Tatar and Gaoche tribes had been restless and often fought for the position of grassland hegemony. The Daliang Dynasty was impartial and would only intervene to stop the fighting when the two tribes were fighting too much. Over the years, the cavalry of the Tatar and Gaoche tribes suffered heavy casualties and no longer posed much threat to Daliang.
As for the various small tribes, they competed to raise horses for Daliang, in exchange for large quantities of food, salt, tea, cotton cloth and other supplies every year. After living a comfortable life for too long, they had long lost the wildness of getting on horseback to fight.
As a county governor, Lu Ruohua usually paid close attention to the court reports and was well aware of the situation of the border and the tribes outside the border. He laughed softly and said, "If a wolf is kept in a pen for too long, it will turn into a dog."
"Among the tribes outside the Great Wall, the most vicious ones are only wolfhounds. Our border troops of Daliang are becoming more and more brave, and they dare not invade the border at all."
Jiang Shaohua smiled and glanced at Lu Ruohua: "You are familiar with the situation of the border troops."
Lu Ruohua admitted frankly: "Yes, I will think carefully about all the news about the border in the court report."
"Border trade is a brilliant move. Over the years, the nomadic tribes outside the border have become accustomed to exchanging horses for food and supplies."
"Next, we can build a new city at the border to specifically absorb the herdsmen. Let some of them slowly abandon their lifestyle of moving around with the water and grass, and learn to settle down in the city like the people of Daliang and learn to cultivate the land."
Jiang Shaohua's heart moved, and he looked at Lu Ruohua: "Daliang needs war horses, cattle and sheep. The herdsmen have all come to plow the fields, and no one is raising horses, cattle and sheep. What should we do?"
Lu Ruohua was confident and spoke eloquently: "We will set up horse farms and cattle and sheep pastures outside the pass. People who are good at raising horses, cattle and sheep will stay in the pastures. The elderly, the weak, women and children will gradually move into the city."
"It's like raising wild wolves in captivity, gradually wearing away their wildness, making them docile and obedient to Daliang's management."
"This is the long-term solution to bring peace to the border."
"War and killing are certainly enjoyable, but they also foster hatred between Daliang and the tribes outside the Great Wall. Hatred is like a flame. Once it gets a chance, it will spread to the entire grassland."
"I think setting up new cities to attract herders to settle down is a good idea. It's worth a try."
Jiang Shaohua looked at Lu Ruohua with sparkling eyes: "You want to go to the border and be the governor of Xincheng?"
"Yes," Lu Ruohua stood up, clasped his hands solemnly, and bowed deeply: "I have this idea, please grant it, Your Majesty."
The difficulties faced by female officials were not only in their duties, but also in their marriages.
Like Li Fangfei and Wang Shu, most of them were married into the family. The woman was strong and the man was weak, so they relied on their family and worked as officials. The son-in-law raised the children and took care of the household affairs.
However, most men who are willing to be a son-in-law are not very promising. You can't have your cake and eat it too. This is also a helpless choice.
There are also some like Lu Ruohua who are unwilling to make do and simply never marry or take in a son-in-law. They just serve as officials alone.
The same was true for Lu Zhen, the Minister of the Central Secretariat in the court. He had always been alone and devoted himself to his work.
Jiang Shaohua smiled softly and asked, "Did Aunt Mei write to urge you to get married?"
Lu Ruohua shrugged: "I used to write to remind you every month. Since I turned 26, the letters have gradually become less and less."
In the eyes of the traditional and conservative Aunt Mei, a woman over the age of 26 would be considered an old maid who could never get married. There was no man in the world who was still unmarried at the age of 27 or 28.
"My mother wrote to me last month and told me that my eldest sister-in-law is pregnant again." Lu Ruohua laughed softly, "My eldest sister-in-law is pregnant with her lover, one baby after another, and has already given birth to two sons and two daughters."
"My mother and my eldest sister-in-law have discussed it privately. The next baby, regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl, will be adopted by me. When I am old, my nephew or niece will take care of me and see me to the end of my life."
This is also a method. Lu Zhen did the same thing, adopting his niece from his brother to raise.
Jiang Shaohua hummed and asked casually, "You are busy with your work all day, do you have time to raise a child?"
"Of course not." Lu Ruohua took the conversation as a matter of course: "After the child is born, it will still be raised by my eldest brother, his wife and my mother. When he is about ten years old, he will be sent to me."
Jiang Shaohua was thoroughly amused: "You are so relaxed. When a child is ten years old, he will be sensible. You don't have to worry about anything when he comes to your side. Just let him study and grow up."
Lu Ruohua smiled and said, "My mother loves me, and my elder brother and sister-in-law love me too. Besides, I am really too busy. I am also thinking that I can serve as a county governor for a few more years and get top marks in the annual evaluations. I can be promoted to the governor of a state in the future!"
The highest official in each of the 40 states in Daliang was the governor. This was a third-rank official position. It could be said that he was a real high-ranking official in the court.
Jiang Shaohua admired Lu Ruohua's ambition and aspirations in his official career, and smiled slightly and said: "It's a good thing to have ideals. Since you are ambitious, then do your job well."
"I won't give you a backdoor. If you have this ability, I won't let the pearl be buried in the dust."
Lu Ruohua was in high spirits: "I will definitely do my job with all my heart."
Her Majesty the Empress has always been fair. Even when promoting and appointing her confidants, she always follows procedures and allows her ministers to accumulate sufficient qualifications and reputation before promoting them.
Just like Chen Jinyu, who was appointed as the emperor's attendant and served as a county governor for five years before being transferred to the Minister of Rites. He accompanied the emperor and made great contributions, and naturally took over the position of Shangshu Dong.
In short, Minister Chen had a smooth career and was worthy of public criticism.
This is the benefit of having Jane in the emperor's heart.
Lu Ruohua was certainly smart and capable, but if she wasn't Jiang Shaohua's sister, how could she have stood out so quickly and become the governor of Hexi County at the age of 26? How dare she dream of becoming a governor of a state before the age of 40?
Lu Ruohua knew the value of her status and cherished it very much. After talking about some political affairs, Lu Ruohua couldn't help but laugh and asked in a low voice: "The Crown Prince got married the year before last, and the Princess was born last year. The Emperor will leave the capital for inspection this year, so he doesn't miss the Crown Prince and the Princess?"
The year before last, seventeen-year-old Jiang Ning got married. Her husband was Ma Shenyuan, the prince's companion and their childhood sweetheart.
The young couple loved each other and lived in harmony. Three months after their marriage, they received good news. Last autumn, the prince gave birth to a plump and healthy daughter.
At the age of thirty-five, Her Majesty the Empress became a grandmother and was very happy. On the day of her granddaughter's full moon, she canonized her granddaughter as the Princess of Nanyang and gave her the Nanyang County as her fief.
This year, Her Majesty the Empress left the capital again to inspect the entire Daliang.
"I brought the child's portrait with me, and I can look at it when I want." Jiang Shaohua smiled and said, "I plan to go to the grassland to take a look. If there is a war, I will stay at the border for a few more days. If it is peaceful, I can return to the capital earlier."
After the Rouran tribe was exterminated, the Tatar and Gaoche tribes had been restless and often fought for the position of grassland hegemony. The Daliang Dynasty was impartial and would only intervene to stop the fighting when the two tribes were fighting too much. Over the years, the cavalry of the Tatar and Gaoche tribes suffered heavy casualties and no longer posed much threat to Daliang.
As for the various small tribes, they competed to raise horses for Daliang, in exchange for large quantities of food, salt, tea, cotton cloth and other supplies every year. After living a comfortable life for too long, they had long lost the wildness of getting on horseback to fight.
As a county governor, Lu Ruohua usually paid close attention to the court reports and was well aware of the situation of the border and the tribes outside the border. He laughed softly and said, "If a wolf is kept in a pen for too long, it will turn into a dog."
"Among the tribes outside the Great Wall, the most vicious ones are only wolfhounds. Our border troops of Daliang are becoming more and more brave, and they dare not invade the border at all."
Jiang Shaohua smiled and glanced at Lu Ruohua: "You are familiar with the situation of the border troops."
Lu Ruohua admitted frankly: "Yes, I will think carefully about all the news about the border in the court report."
"Border trade is a brilliant move. Over the years, the nomadic tribes outside the border have become accustomed to exchanging horses for food and supplies."
"Next, we can build a new city at the border to specifically absorb the herdsmen. Let some of them slowly abandon their lifestyle of moving around with the water and grass, and learn to settle down in the city like the people of Daliang and learn to cultivate the land."
Jiang Shaohua's heart moved, and he looked at Lu Ruohua: "Daliang needs war horses, cattle and sheep. The herdsmen have all come to plow the fields, and no one is raising horses, cattle and sheep. What should we do?"
Lu Ruohua was confident and spoke eloquently: "We will set up horse farms and cattle and sheep pastures outside the pass. People who are good at raising horses, cattle and sheep will stay in the pastures. The elderly, the weak, women and children will gradually move into the city."
"It's like raising wild wolves in captivity, gradually wearing away their wildness, making them docile and obedient to Daliang's management."
"This is the long-term solution to bring peace to the border."
"War and killing are certainly enjoyable, but they also foster hatred between Daliang and the tribes outside the Great Wall. Hatred is like a flame. Once it gets a chance, it will spread to the entire grassland."
"I think setting up new cities to attract herders to settle down is a good idea. It's worth a try."
Jiang Shaohua looked at Lu Ruohua with sparkling eyes: "You want to go to the border and be the governor of Xincheng?"
"Yes," Lu Ruohua stood up, clasped his hands solemnly, and bowed deeply: "I have this idea, please grant it, Your Majesty."
