Chapter 762: s for Wives and Sons, and the Ethics of Moral Instruction

The first day of the fourth month, the fourth year of Shaoming, 949 CE.

By the fourth month of the lunar calendar, grass had long grown tall and orioles were in flight, spring had returned to the land, and across the vast plains of the finally pacified Hebei Province, peasants were busy at work in the fields everywhere.

The rebellion launched by Zhao Zaili and the others at the end of last year had in fact not affected the common people of Hebei Province much — it was only a few hundred men, and they had not even managed to take a single patrol station.

The only stir it caused was the Emperor rewarding Old Blind Man Li Wulang and the others, who had risked their lives to block Zhao Zaili.

This had, within the span of two or three months, made the old blind man — a yabing guard who had wasted away his whole life — a name nearly as renowned as Huangfu Yu, who had died rather than submit to the Khitan.

On the second day of the fourth month, the Imperial Consort Cao Yannai, returning to the Eastern Capital with the princes and princesses, arrived at Yanhe Fort.

The reward Li Cunhui had given that day was his personal reward as a noble of the realm. The compensation the court gave afterward was the court's.

And what Cao Yannai brought this time was the reward from the Emperor Zhang Zhao, on behalf of the imperial house.

Kang'an Ward, Lower Li Family Village.

This was the old blind man's home, only six or seven li from Yanhe Fort.

Looking out, the village lay nestled amid pink peach blossoms and green willows, a stream babbled softly, and plump plow oxen contentedly grazed on tender grass.

Herd boys roamed in groups — one moment wading into the river to catch fish, shrimp, and crabs, the next plucking flowers and grasses to chew on.

Lady Cao Sanniang, with a flock of little ones in tow, patiently explained what wheat, millet, and broomcorn millet were, and how the various farm tools were used. The princes and princesses around her listened earnestly and took notes.

In later ages, this might be parents teaching city-raised children about the five grains — or, well, the parents not knowing either, and the whole family coming out to learn together.

But in this age, farming was the single most important matter in the whole country, bar none. Not knowing the five grains, not knowing the farming seasons — that was no different from a quack doctor trifling with human lives. Even princes and princesses had to understand it.

However, this beautiful scene of small bridges, flowing water, and rustic charm vanished the instant Cao Yannai's party appeared.

Although Lady Cao Sanniang's entourage did not, like in later television dramas, travel with cleared roads and a crowd of silk-robed attendants carrying ceremonial regalia.

When they had left Beiping Prefecture, the escort accompanying them consisted only of the five hundred men of the Gold Spear Battalion of the Mountain-Shaking Division, led by Chen Huo'er, and five hundred elite cavalry from the garrison troops dispatched by Gao Xingzhou, the Defense Commissioner of Hebei Province.

But to country folk, this scale was enormous enough.

Moreover, in ancient China, the power of the government generally did not reach down into the villages. Whenever it did, there were only two matters: collecting taxes and conscripting labor.

Either one was enough to terrify people.

The County Magistrate of Weinan County watched the villagers fleeing in panic, cold sweat streaming down his face in fright, and glared at the county lieutenant, the constable captain, and the ward head and elders of Kangning Ward beside him.

These people were scared out of their wits — especially the ward head of Kangning Ward and his fellows. They hurried everywhere to notify the frightened commoners that today the Imperial Consort Cao had come to reward the old blind man's family, and only then did they manage to coax the still-trembling villagers back.

The old blind man Li Wulang had four sons. The eldest, Li Dalang, was over thirty and still had no wife. One of his feet was slightly lame — the result of a fall while practicing horse riding in the old days.

Although it did not much affect his farm work, it made Li Dalang deeply self-conscious. A match had once been arranged, but the girl's family, seeing he was honest yet disabled, refused no matter what.

Later he had finally found another, but before the bride had even crossed the threshold, her father's entire family had been killed by Khitan soldiers roaming nearby when Shi Jingtang entered Luoyang.

Li Erlang was tall and thin, a bit more cunning than his brother, and his wife was even less easy to deal with. Lately she had been wrangling with Li Dalang over the support of their mother — the old blind man's widow.

Li Sanlang had originally been a soldier in the prefectural and county troops of Huazhou, and had died in battle during the Khitan's first southward invasion, leaving no descendants.

The remaining one was the old blind man's youngest son, Li Silang, who had gone off with Li Cunhui.

In truth, although Li Silang had successfully gone off with Li Cunhui, the old blind man's death in battle was still a heavy blow to this family.

Because it would take at least four or five more years for Li Silang to grow into a qualified personal guard.

After that, Li Silang would still have to go through the stages of marrying, having children, and climbing the ranks. By the time he could take care of his family, it would be at least ten years — and that was assuming nothing unexpected happened to Li Silang.

Although there was compensation after the old blind man died in battle, that small sum certainly could not compare to the pay and rewards a long-service elite soldier could earn.

More importantly, before Li Silang had grown up, losing the old blind man — that long-service elite soldier — meant the family's standing within the clan and the village was bound to decline.

And before Cao Yannai arrived, the old blind man's family had been suffering through problems far more painful than this.

That was: Li Erlang, egged on by his wife, wanted to sell some land and use the old blind man's compensation as capital to open up new fields or simply buy some good farmland.

This looked like a good thing, but the land Li Erlang had chosen was in the neighboring hamlet.

Their plan was that, this way, they could create a de facto division of the household. Later they would find an excuse to bring their mother over to live with them, completely casting off Li Dalang — who was gradually coming to be seen as a burden — by splitting him off from the family entirely.

Li Dalang had not really caught on yet, but the old blind man's widow saw it all with perfect clarity.

This second son had never been as filial as the eldest, and with a wife whispering in his ear in bed — if she went with them, how could it possibly end well?

So she had kept a firm grip and refused to relent. Between mother and son, and between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, not a word had been spoken for a long time.

This is the reality a family must face when its great tree falls.

Perhaps to Inspector Zhang, the old blind man was merely a long-service elite soldier who no longer met the standard, but to this family, the old blind man was a towering tree reaching to the heavens.

Lady Cao Sanniang, whatever else one might say about her, would ordinarily skim a bit of wealth from Cao Yuanzhong's hands to help her son conquer the realm and to save a dowry for her daughter.

But that was because her father Cao Yuanzhong and mother Lady Zhai were too devout in their Buddhism and fond of almsgiving.

The family's money was basically all spent on excavating caves and enshrining Buddha images in Dunhuang. She had brought it up with Zhang Zhao several times, and Zhang Zhao had just chuckled and let it be, so recently Sanniang had begun taking the initiative, helping Cao Yuanzhong and his wife spend their money.

But toward someone like Li Erlang, Lady Cao Sanniang felt utter loathing.

And now, with Zhang Zhao not by her side, and her sister the Empress Cao Yanxi holding the fort in the Eastern Capital, she naturally wanted to savor the delights of power.

So when Cao Yannai heard of the Li family's affairs, she flew into a rage. Though she had no administrative authority herself, the Chief Clerk of Huazhou and the County Magistrate of Weinan County beside her certainly did!

These two, terrified by the Imperial Consort Cao's fury, trembled — afraid the flames would spread to them. They immediately seized the elder of Kangning Ward, who was serving as ward chief on rotation this year, and gave him a beating.

Ward heads and elders also bore the responsibility of moral instruction, so this beating was not undeserved.

Had Cao Yannai not seen that the elder was already past fifty and called a halt after only five strokes, this beating would likely have killed the old man outright.

After taking his beating, the elder flew into a rage. He went somewhere out of sight and slapped the clan elder of Lower Li Family Village several times across the face.

After taking his beating, the clan elder immediately had Li Erlang seized and, according to clan rules, beat him with a club as thick as two fingers until Li Erlang screamed like a slaughtered pig.

Only after they had dealt with it themselves did Cao Yannai step forward, point at Li Erlang's wife — kneeling on the ground and trembling — and say:

"Seeing that you have not yet committed any actual evil, this time only Li Erlang is punished. If there is a next time, this beating will certainly fall upon you — and with your clothes stripped off before the blows!"

Li Erlang's wife was so frightened she kowtowed without stopping. Setting aside that such a beating would leave a person unable to get out of bed for days, the rule of stripping off one's clothes before the beating alone would make it completely impossible for her to go on living in Lower Li Family Village.

Then Cao Yannai helped up the old blind man's widow, who had been pleading ceaselessly for Li Erlang and was now weeping with tears streaming down her face, and said:

"Old mother, do not be alarmed. An unfilial son must be taught a lesson, so that in days to come he will understand filial piety.

When the Sage heard in Chengde Prefecture that your husband died loyally for the nation, he specially conferred upon him the military rank of Gentleman of Inherited Integrity, principal ninth grade, and ordered the prefecture and county to erect an honorific memorial arch in Lower Li Family Village."

"You are hereby appointed a Ninth-Rank Junior Lady of Honor. At every season and festival you shall receive rewards and a stipend, and you may also shield the male members of your household from corvée labor."

"Ah! This... this — I am but an old village woman. Can I truly become an official?"

The old blind man's wife, who had been weeping without pause, was instantly stunned. She had in fact already prepared herself for a hard life after the nobles departed.

For she knew her second daughter-in-law's character — sooner or later this debt would be settled on her head. While she could still move about, she naturally had no fear, but once she grew too old and frail to walk, then things would turn dire.

But now, with the sudden status of an official and the right to shield her family, the situation had flipped in an instant.

No matter her age, no matter whether she could walk, her second daughter-in-law would never dare mistreat her again — and would have to care for her well. If she died, these privileges and income would vanish.

This was office — the power of privilege.

How the people of Lower Lijia Village envied her! The clan head's wife even gave the clan head a vicious pinch behind his back, her eyes red with envy.

This was "titles for the wife, protection for the sons" — the highest honor and benefit a man could bring his family.

Once the beating was done, the County Magistrate of Weinan directly ordered the stonemasons brought from the Commander's yamen to select a site at the entrance of Lower Lijia Village and begin building a memorial archway.

Only then did Lady Cao Sanniang release the old blind man's wife, rise, and address the assembled officials and commoners: "Since the An-Shi Rebellion of the Great Dynasty, the court has had no strength to spare for its people. After the Great Dynasty fell, neither the rulers of the states nor the military governors fulfilled the duty of moral instruction.

Therefore, since this seat returned south from Beiping Prefecture, the Sage has repeatedly instructed that officials at every level in the Hebei province must regard the moral instruction of the people, the purification of customs, and the rebuilding of ethics — loyalty, filial piety, chastity, righteousness, fraternal duty — as the most important of all tasks.

From this day forward, for any household of loyalty, filial piety, chastity, or righteousness with verified deeds, the prefectural and county yamens shall report upward level by level for review, and the court shall, as circumstances warrant, grant rewards, erect memorial archways, or even bestow honorary titles."

With that, Cao Yannai looked at the Chief Clerk of Huazhou and the County Magistrate of Weinan and said: "That such things as dividing the household while the parents still live, or abandoning a sick elder brother, should occur — this is your dereliction of duty.

Should there be a repeat offense, those who come looking for you will be the Bureau of Merit Evaluation of the Ministry of Personnel and the Censor of Hebei Circuit."

The Chief Clerk of Huazhou and the others hastily cupped their hands and acknowledged the charge. The surrounding commoners began to murmur among themselves, and at last felt that this Great Zhou was beginning to differ from every court that had come before.

This was in truth a matter of great importance. The restoration of social order in ancient China often began precisely with official moral instruction of this kind.

The Liang, Tang, and Jin of the past had all spoken with the hengdao saber in hand. The countryside was utterly without order, and the people lived in constant dread — often preferring to flee to the high mountains to hide, not even daring to plant much grain for fear of drawing plunder. Even when children were born, most chose to drown them, lest they become a burden.

Now that Zhang Zhou was established, rewarding loyalty, filial piety, chastity, righteousness, and fraternal duty in the countryside was sending the people the most direct signal of peace and order — allowing them to fully mobilize their initiative to restore production and restore their confidence in bearing and raising children.

To this end, Zhang Zhao not only had Cao Yannai make appearances along the way as a show, but also brought out the nine ranks of titled ladies that had only appeared in the Song dynasty — the Lady of Honor, Lady of Peace, Lady of Command, Lady of Virtue, and the rest.

On the grasslands, however, restoring production and livelihood was not the scene it was in the Central Plains. Or rather, the grasslands needed no restoration of production at all — what needed restoring was their ambition to expand outward and their habit of paying homage to the Heavenly Khagan.

On the seventh day of the fourth month, the envoys dispatched by Zhang Zhao arrived separately at the Yanshan Protectorate on Yanshan Mountain and at the Heavenly Khagan's ordo on Mount Langjuxu.

Bai Congxin and Zhe Deyuan, left in command, both received Zhang Zhao's order: they were to immediately lead the chieftains of all grassland tribes of five hundred tents or more south to Chengde Prefecture.

Before the envoys arrived, the heavy snow on the grasslands had barely begun to ease, and brutal small-scale fighting had long since broken out.

Every tribe unwilling to submit to Zhang Zhao's commands, unwilling to convert to the Six Dharma Sect, was plundered and massacred.

Whether south of the Gobi or north of it, only one voice need speak!

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