After all, this matter involved the privacy of the generals, and neither side made it public, so Emperor Zhao knew about it a little late. He also did not say anything about the treatment of Yue Fei, and did not want to interfere without authorization and cause embarrassment to Yue and Han again... But when this matter came to Zhao Jiu's ears at this time, he couldn't help but notice one thing.
"There are many people from Hebei in the army. Are there many such incidents?" After Zhao Jiu got to know the situation a little, he naturally asked Yang Yizhong who delivered the news.
"A lot." Yang Yizhong thought for a moment and then answered affirmatively. "But most of them are active buyers. It's rare for someone like Madam Yue to leave her husband's family first and then find a way out on her own."
"What is active buying and selling?" Zhao Jiu was slightly stunned. He just wanted to ask about the separation of husband and wife, but never thought about any business.
"Even if the couple had rarely been separated, when they crossed the river, they were extremely poor and had nothing, so they sold their wives to make a living."
"Husband sells his wife?" Zhao Jiu was shocked.
"The couple sells the wife together..." Yang Yizhong explained. "And usually they sell her alive."
"What do you mean by selling alive?"
"Even if the couple's love is not over, but they are just extremely poor, they will sell themselves to be concubines or servants. There is a price and a term. Then, the husband can raise money to exchange for her, or the wife can return home after the expiration of the term. They can reconcile... But selling a woman alive is often much cheaper." At this point, Yang Yizhong added. "Many times, women who take the initiative to sell themselves often don't want money, as long as the wealthy family allows them to take their children to support them."
Zhao Jiu was stunned.
"Of course, there is also a special case of selling alive." Yang Yizhong was already cautious, but out of professional ethics, he had to tell everything. "That is an unfixed amount, as long as you sell it to someone and give birth to a child, it means renting a child... Once the child is one month old, the contract is considered complete."
"You mean, my imperial soldiers also had this kind of thing?" Zhao Jiu finally came to his senses, his brows becoming visibly grim. "Is the matter with Yue Fei's wife considered lucky?"
"Your Majesty." Yang Yizhong became more cautious. "Since the emperor has asked me, I must let you know that this matter involves two layers..."
"Tell me."
"The first is the system of buying and selling concubines. This has been the case for hundreds of years, not just for this time, nor just in the military. It was a legal rule in the Tang Dynasty, and then the Song Dynasty inherited the Tang law, which has been passed down to this day. In the Tang Dynasty, Bai Juyi changed concubines every three years. In this dynasty, the great scholar Su also sold concubines for horses. When Bao Longtu's concubine became pregnant, he still sent her away... Even Mrs. Liang and two concubines in the family of Han Taiwei were bought... This kind of thing has its roots in the system and laws, and it has existed since ancient times." Yang Yizhong said carefully. "As for the Hebei refugees selling their wives, the root cause is the extreme poverty of the refugees. If they don't sell their wives, they will sell their children. If they don't sell their children, they will sell themselves as slaves... The two cannot be generalized."
"You hit the nail on the head." Zhao Jiu nodded slightly, but then shook his head slightly. "But this is still inappropriate, and should be stopped... Tell Mr. Lu not to go to the sacrifice, and let him come to Dengfeng to see me directly."
Yang Yizhong bowed his head and obeyed the order.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, Emperor Zhao suddenly sneered in front of me: "In this case, there are still people who want me to pray for the two saints. Isn't this deceiving myself?"
This time, Yang Yizhong naturally pretended not to hear it.
PS: Thanks to the sixty-eighth cute classmate yoyowalker, did you go out for a walk today?
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