Chapter 115: Men and women with the same surname will not reproduce
Nie Chang was furious: "How is this possible? How can a family so closely related be infertile? My wife is also my cousin, and my son has already had his coming-of-age ceremony."
"It's terrible to be uneducated," said Doctor Sun leisurely. "What most people understand as marriage between relatives is called consanguineous marriage in the medical field."
"There's a saying in the Zuo Zhuan that if a man and a woman have the same surname, their offspring will not be numerous. This means that if a husband and wife have the same surname, it's not good for the reproduction of their offspring."
"However, later medical research has proven that this statement is rather one-sided. The real factor affecting fertility is not surname; this is only superficial; the fundamental reason lies in blood relationship."
"Having a man and a woman share the same surname only considers the paternal bloodline, not the maternal bloodline. Maternal bloodline can also lead to infertility, and the same applies to cousins."
"There's absolutely nothing wrong with the prescription I prescribed. The fundamental reason the couple can't have children is that they are blood relatives within three generations."
"There are three forms of unfilial behavior, and having no descendants is the worst. The man's family only wants grandchildren, and they constantly criticize and complain about the woman. The pressure on her is immense, and she's almost depressed. This old man's idea has the best of both worlds, but Lord Nie has turned it into a random prescription. He knows nothing about medicine, and I think he's just trying to attract attention."
Doctor Sun's series of attacks were well-reasoned and based on evidence, sometimes referring to Zuo Zhuan, sometimes to professional medical works, from Emperor Wu of Han's secret lover in his golden house to how he beat Nie Chang so hard that he saw stars and couldn't tell which way was which.
"How dare you question the Confucian classics, the Zhou rituals, and the Zuo Zhuan! You are blatantly violating our ancestral rules!"
Nie Chang was so anxious that he was sweating profusely. Suddenly, he seemed to have grabbed a life-saving straw and loudly scolded Doctor Sun, as if this could give him some confidence.
"Fuck you, Nie Chang, you idiot! Just shut up right now!" Li Gang and the other pro-war factions were furious. "We're actually violating our ancestral rules, and you're trying to make us retreat?"
The other two factions were also stunned. "Amazing, my Nie Chang. I thought you were just courting death, but I didn't expect you to lead the entire pro-war faction into the abyss. Kudos to you."
"Master Nie, what you said is irrational. This one sentence negates the medical progress of the past two thousand years. With this one sentence, even if you die of illness, no one will treat you."
"The Zhou Li is a ritual from two thousand years ago. Medical technology was not well developed at the time. Limited by the current system and cultural structure, they only summarized the phenomenon of the same surname not being able to reproduce, and formed a specific ethical system."
"The truth is too horrifying to believe. What's considered incest nowadays is a violation of ethics, more on a moral level. Initially, it was simply to avoid infertility and the birth of deformed children."
Doctor Sun continued, "After more than two thousand years of development, the observations and summaries of generations of medical experts, and especially the large-scale investigations I have conducted in Bianliang City over the past two years, we have finally uncovered the truth of the matter."
"So, the essence of this in the Zhou Li is that physiology takes precedence over ethics. I'm not violating the ancestral rules; I'm simply revealing the truth behind them. It's you who's making such a fuss and not understanding what's going on. You're the one who's embarrassed."
"Bullshit! What qualifications do you have to define Zhou Li? You're just a doctor. This is outrageous, absolutely outrageous. Do you know how many relatives there are in the world who are infertile? If they were all infertile, they would have been discovered long ago. You're talking nonsense."
"I implore Your Majesty to punish Imperial Physician Sun for his high treason and for questioning the Zhou rituals and Confucianism."
Nie Chang was eager to make a final decision, so he turned around and asked Zhao Huan for help.
"You can't afford to play games, you are just making trouble without any reason. Your Majesty, please make a judgment. Do you have the ability to convince everyone?" Doctor Sun raised his little finger at Nie Chang.
"Your Majesty, Imperial Physician Sun has disregarded the proper etiquette of a minister and openly challenged me in the court. I implore Your Majesty to punish him for gross disrespect."
“…”
Fuck you, I'm going to blow up your house.
"Since Lord Nie knows how many families marry each other, he should know how serious the consequences are. Infertility is only the most fortunate punishment. The large number of premature deaths, disabilities, mental retardation, and children with various congenital diseases are the real disasters."
"What did they do wrong to have to suffer this torture since birth? It's nothing but suffering, and the world isn't worth it. You just say it's a bad fate, and then you take concubines and visit brothels as if it's your fault, and act so carefree. But has anyone ever thought about the women and the children?"
"Since ancient times, men have been superior to women, and women have been nothing more than vassals of men. How can the maternal bloodline be considered an inheritance? It's simply a huge joke."
Nie Chang was so angry that he said something like this in a panic.
"A bunch of scumbags, bah!"
Doctor Sun probably felt that it would not be enough to show his ability by attacking Nie Chang alone, so he simply started to attack him with a broadsword.
"I'm not just talking about Nie Chang. I'm talking about everyone here, except His Majesty and the eunuchs. You're all scumbags."
Shao Chengzhang felt like he was hit by an arrow for no apparent reason.
In the face of real interests, no one cares about temporary reputation, and a large number of peacemakers and conservatives blamed Nie Chang.
Nie Chang was like a rat crossing the street, everyone wanted to kill him.
Even if Li Gang and others wanted to say something to help, they couldn't open their mouths because Nie Chang had already been put in opposition to women and children.
At Zhao Huan's signal, Shao Chengzhang drew out his golden whip and swung it in the air, making three explosive sounds as it whipped the air.
"Be quiet, and observe court discipline. This is the court, and we are discussing state affairs, not buying vegetables at the market and bargaining."
After the court fell silent, Zhao Huan slowly spoke, "Nie Chang, stop talking nonsense. Women hold up half the sky. Women are also the people of the Song Dynasty. Don't look down on women."
"I don't need to tell you the legend of Nuwa creating humans. In ancient times, there was Hua Mulan, who joined the army in her father's place. In the previous dynasty, there was Wu Zetian, the immortal emperor. In our Song Dynasty, there was Mu Guiying, who broke through the Tianmen Formation, the female generals of the Yang family, Liang Hongyu, who launched a surprise attack on Nanjing, Li Shishi, who donated all her wealth to fight against the Jin, and Li Qingzhao, who would rather go to jail than expose her husband's cheating in the imperial examinations... These are all heroes of our Song Dynasty."
"In the court, there is freedom of speech. You can impeach others, and they can naturally state their reasons. This is not a place where anyone has the final say. Even if there is, it can only be me."
Zhao Huan's words were extremely harsh. Nie Chang was so frightened that he came to his senses in an instant and quickly apologized.
"Doctor Sun, please stick to the facts and don't make random comments. There are many ministers here who love their wives and children. If you don't believe me, ask Yuwen Xuzhong. He only has one wife and doesn't take concubines."
Hahaha, the court laughed knowingly. Yuwen Xu Zhong was a traditional henpecked husband, hopeless.
"Doctor Sun, please present the statistical results of your two years of investigation. Facts speak louder than words. Let the facts speak for themselves."
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