Matters in the harem?
After listening to what Empress Dowager Guo said, Cao Rui had some guesses in his mind for a moment.
A few months ago in Shouchun, General Cao Zhen and Sikong Sima Yi, as assistant ministers, both mentioned and suggested to enrich their harems to a greater or lesser extent.
Could it be that Empress Dowager Guo is the same?
Cao Rui smiled and said, "What do you want to say about the harem, mother? Feel free to tell me."
Guo paused for a moment and said, "Rui'er, there is only one concubine, Mao, in your harem now. The emperor's offspring is not only a matter of human relations, but also the foundation of a country."
"Mother, please ask Rui'er if we should enrich the harem and take in more concubines?"
So that's what happened!
When Cao Rui first ascended the throne, he also had fantasies of spending his days in the harem.
As he gradually became more involved in government affairs, began to take charge of national affairs and was responsible for sending troops to conquer, Cao Rui discovered that the feeling of holding power in the world and having his words be followed was a thousand times better than being a woman!
A real man cannot live without power for a day!
After Concubine Mao became pregnant last year, she began to gradually plan the southern expedition.
When Cao Rui first ascended the throne, he had to stay up late every day to read classics, get to know officials, and even go to Huainan in person to supervise the war.
If you don’t work harder and be an emperor for the first time, how can you sit on the throne securely?
War is the most energy-consuming thing in the world, bar none.
After the war, he went on another tour. When he returned to Luoyang, it was already the beginning of March. From the beginning of March to now, it was only a short month, and Cao Rui had no time to take care of all these.
but……
If it is what Empress Dowager Guo suggested, it seems that it would be a good idea to enrich the harem now?
It's time to have more children. For the emperor, one child in Concubine Mao's belly is obviously not enough.
"Hahaha." Cao Rui laughed out loud: "Mother is right, I have been busy with state affairs these days and have not had time to take care of the harem."
"I don't quite understand this matter. What does the Queen Mother plan to do?"
Empress Dowager Guo was a little surprised to see Cao Rui agreed so readily, but she still told him what she had already planned in her mind.
Guo smiled and nodded: "Since Rui'er has spoken, it will be easy."
"Mother, will you first tell me about the ranks of the harem, and then we can discuss the aftermath?"
Cao Rui nodded: "Please speak, mother."
Guo said: "When Emperor Wu was the King of Wei, the ranks below the Queen were divided into five levels: Madam, Zhaoyi, Jieyu, Ronghua, and Meiren."
"During the time of the previous emperor, five more ranks were added: Noble Concubine, Shuyuan, Xiurong, Shuncheng, and Liangren. Therefore, there are a total of ten ranks in the harem."
"Wait a moment, mother." Cao Rui stopped Guo and said, "Ten ranks, this is more than the nine ranks in the court. I think we should reduce some of them, and only five ranks will be enough."
Queen Mother Guo thought for a moment and nodded: "Rui'er, you can arrange your harem however you want. Among these ten levels, which five are better to keep?"
Ten down to five...
Cao Rui was silent for a moment and then said, "Mother, I think the affairs of the harem do not need to be complicated. It is enough to keep the five ranks of Empress, Noble Concubine, Zhaoyi, Jieyushi, and Beauty."
"What does the Queen Mother think?"
What do I think? I am the queen mother. It has nothing to do with me how you want to set it up. Let's get down to business!
Guo nodded and said, "If we simplify the harem, it will be easier to manage."
"Since this is Rui'er's first harem, I think we should have more."
Upon hearing this, Cao Rui began to think for a moment.
Give more...How many? Three, five?
"Rui'er, since this is your first time taking concubines, why not take 20?" Queen Mother Guo said slowly, "I've read in a book that Emperor Xuanyuan had 25 sons, so the throne could be passed down for a long time; the Zhou Dynasty had 40 fiefdoms with the surname Ji, so it could be passed down for 800 years."
"It is recorded in the Zhou Li that the emperor should have 120 concubines. If that is the case, it is reasonable to accept 20 concubines this time."
As soon as Empress Dowager Guo finished speaking, Cao Rui was so shocked that he stood up from his chair, staring at her sincere face with wide eyes.
Twenty people? ? Two football teams in the harem at once?
It would take a month to recognize a familiar face!
"Mother." Cao Rui frowned and said, "If it's three or five, I think it's enough. Isn't twenty too many?"
"The court is busy, and there are so many women in the harem. Wouldn't it affect government affairs?"
Empress Dowager Guo looked very disappointed: "Rui'er, the state affairs of the previous dynasty were important, but the family affairs of the next dynasty are not important?"
"Besides, how can you, as the emperor, take women into the palace all the time? It would be better to take in twenty women at a time. If that is not enough, you can take in another batch after three or five years."
"Rui'er, isn't that right?"
Cao Rui probably understood.
Stepmother is also mother.
When Empress Dowager Guo was in the harem of the late Emperor Cao Pi, she kept a close eye on the women in the harem and did not want anyone to compete with her for favor.
Now that his son has become emperor, even though he is not his biological son, the idea has changed to the idea that the more the better!
Cao Rui could only say that this was just a change of perspective brought about by his change of identity. Twenty... Cao Rui sat back on the chair, squinting his eyes as he considered whether he could handle it.
Empress Dowager Guo did not urge him any further. She looked at the emperor with a smile on her face, even feeling a little relieved.
After a while, Cao Rui slowly said, "If we take twenty people into the palace, according to the five ranks we just mentioned, namely Empress, Imperial Concubine, Zhaoyi, Concubine Jieyu, and Beauty, they should all be at the rank of Beauty after entering the palace, right?"
Empress Dowager Guo nodded.
Cao Rui asked another sensitive question: "Mother, what do you think about the selection of concubines in the palace? Should we choose from ordinary families or from noble families?"
This is another sensitive topic.
As far as Cao Rui could remember, some dynasties specifically selected daughters from the families of officials and nobles to enter the harem, while other dynasties chose daughters from ordinary families to enter the palace.
Of course, the consequences are multifaceted.
Choosing the daughters of officials and nobles can easily lead to the gradual rise of foreign relatives or descendants to power. Huo Guang of the Western Han Dynasty is an example of this, of course, this was also due to the great power of foreign relatives.
Choosing a daughter from a humble family can easily lead to disaster in the succession of the throne or at a critical moment due to her short-sightedness. This was the case with Empress He of Emperor Ling.
Therefore, Cao Rui sincerely asked Empress Dowager Guo for her opinion.
After all, as someone who has been the queen for many years, she must have some experience in matters of the harem.
Seeing that Cao Rui was asking about serious matters, Empress Dowager Guo slowly put away her smile and began to answer in a serious manner.
After all, she was a woman known for her wisdom and strategy, and her nickname was "Queen". When it came to making real decisions, Empress Dowager Guo's logic was extremely clear.
"Rui'er." Guo said slowly, "The late emperor has issued an edict prohibiting the harem and foreign relatives from interfering in government affairs. This is an institutional way to prevent the harem from interfering in government affairs or taking power."
"As for the outer court borrowing the power of the inner court, this kind of thing is not actually up to the concubines in the harem, but depends on the emperor's own likes and dislikes."
"I feel that the affairs of the previous dynasty should be governed by the system or balance of the previous dynasty."
"If you want to choose girls from poor families or ordinary people, then choose them all. If you want to choose girls from noble families, then you might as well choose more."
"There are so many relatives by marriage, but who can be considered a real relative by marriage?"
Cao Rui narrowed his eyes and thought, isn't Queen Mother Guo's trick just fighting poison with poison?
Cao Rui nodded: "I already know what my mother said. The most important task in the world today is to pacify Wu and Shu and unify the nine provinces."
"In that case, we must treat everyone equally. Choose five from each of the four categories: nobles, military commanders, officials, and common people."
"What do you think, mother?"
Queen Mother Guo nodded: "In that case, we can start selecting women for the harem."
"Enriching the harem is the duty of the queen. But there is no queen in Wei at present, so I will do this. What do you think, Rui'er?" Guo asked slowly.
Cao Rui realized at this time that if Guo Taihou took charge of this matter, he would inevitably come into contact with officials in the court and the nobles, which would be equivalent to adding an extra layer of protection to his position.
Is she still worried that she will be blamed for Empress Zhen's death?
Cao Rui opened his mouth softly, wanting to persuade Queen Mother Guo not to worry, but after thinking about it, he felt it was difficult to say it out loud.
Just don't mention it.
Cao Rui nodded and said, "I'll trouble you, mother, for this matter. If you need to contact the outer court, you can send someone to my study, to the West Pavilion to find the general, or to the East Pavilion to find the prime minister.
"The general and the minister of celestial affairs are the ministers left to me by the late emperor. I can leave the affairs of the outer court to them."
Empress Dowager Guo knew that this was a restriction imposed by the emperor on her communication with the outside court. But since the emperor had said so, what else could she do?
Being able to achieve this step is already a good achievement.
Guo nodded and smiled, "I know. The general and the prime minister are both loyal and good ministers. I will send someone to look for them when the time comes."
Cao Rui stood up from his chair and said, "Is there anything else, mother? If not, I will go back to my study."
Queen Mother Guo also stood up, took two steps forward to Cao Rui, and gently helped Cao Rui to straighten out the wrinkles on his robe. Cao Rui was in a hurry just now, and he was still wearing the clothes he wore when practicing archery.
After smoothing out the wrinkles, Queen Mother Guo said slowly: "Rui'er, you should pay attention to rest and take care of your health after working hard on state affairs."
Cao Rui smiled and said, "Don't worry, mother. I know what to do. I was just practicing archery this afternoon."
Guo nodded, but in her mind, she recalled the image of the late emperor holding two iron halberds and wielding them in the martial arts arena.
You can't just say that the late emperor died young, so you should be more careful, right?
Empress Dowager Guo thought about it and decided that it was okay. After all, the emperor was only in his twenties and had a long time to live.
"Mother, I will go back first." After Cao Rui finished speaking, he walked to the door, but was unexpectedly stopped by Empress Dowager Guo again.
Guo said, "Rui'er, do you have someone you like?"
Candidates? Two figures emerged in Cao Rui's mind.
Cao Rui smiled and said, "Then mother, please leave two vacancies for me." (End of this chapter)
