Chapter 453: Dignity of the Common People

[It should also be noted that the Song Dynasty was in a critical period when the status of women fell sharply, so the social status of women was extremely polarized.

From a legal point of view, even if women in the Song Dynasty got married, they still enjoyed half of the inheritance rights of men, which was an improvement compared to the Tang Dynasty women who lost their inheritance rights after getting married.

At the same time, due to the prosperity of the economy during this period, the enrollment rate of women increased greatly, and there were even extremely rare cases of women participating in the imperial examinations, which were all manifestations of women's social status.

But at the same time, Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, which believed that "starvation is a small matter, but losing one's chastity is a big matter", began to emerge. The frequent defeats in foreign wars after the Gaoliang River God also made the overall social atmosphere tend to be conservative.

For example, the treasure "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" left by the Northern Song Dynasty painting master Zhang Zeduan depicts the city style of Bianjing. There are about 800 characters in the painting, of which only more than ten are women.

The most drastic turning point was naturally the Jingkang Shame. A large number of women, including the royal concubines and princesses, became prostitutes of the Jin Kingdom, which dealt a heavy blow to the national honor and disgrace of the Song people at that time.

It was also from the Southern Song Dynasty that Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, which emphasized chastity, became a prominent school of thought and a shackle that imprisoned women.

Jiaozi also played an indispensable role in the change of the Southern and Northern Song dynasties in the Song Dynasty.

Five years after Liu E's death, the ruling Song Renzong refused to recognize Li Yuanhao's enthronement. The Northern Song Dynasty and the Western Xia entered a long-term tug-of-war, and the military expenditure of the Northern Song Dynasty also became stretched.

For the Northern Song Dynasty, the Jiaozi established by Liu E was simply too convenient to raise military funds. During the Renzong period, the Northern Song Dynasty issued 1.25 billion Jiaozi with 36 million coins as a deposit.

In the early days, the Northern Song government was quite concerned about the control of Jiaozi, but later, with the frequent defeats in the war, this management quickly vanished.

In the fifth year of Xining of Emperor Shenzong, Jiaozi was over-issued for the first time. 1.2 billion coins.

In the first year of Shaosheng of Emperor Zhezong, the second over-issue was issued, this time the amount was 1.5 billion coins. Just four years later, the third over-issue was issued, this time 4.8 billion coins were over-issued in one go.

By the time of Emperor Huizong, the number of Jiaozi in circulation in the Northern Song Dynasty was too numerous to count. According to the documents left today, there were about 22 billion coins in circulation in the market during the Huizong period, and Jiaozi was essentially like waste paper.

During the Huizong period, fiscal reforms were also attempted, but the "Qianyin" and "Yanpiao" introduced by the reform were essentially Jiaozi with a different name, and they were just a different way of squeezing the people.

Twenty-two years after the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty in the Jingkang Incident, the female poet Li Qingzhao, who was exiled to Zhejiang, was nearly 65 years old.

At that time, there was a clever girl named Sun among her relatives and friends, and Li Qingzhao wanted to take her as an apprentice and teach her all her life's learning.

As a result, the girl rejected her outright: "Talent and eloquence are not women's business", which is very similar to the later Ming Dynasty saying that women without talent are virtuous.

The talented Yi An Jushi was rejected by this argument in his later years, which also shows the drastic change in the status and customs of women at the turn of the Song Dynasty.

At this point, the short-lived "Red Makeup Era" led by Wu Zetian has officially become an unattainable fantasy bubble for women in the feudal period.

So let's officially stop here for this issue. It's almost the Spring Festival next week. Let's change our perspective and look at the changes in history through the Spring Festival. 】

〖It's still better now. It's bullshit that no talent is virtue. We still have to remember that knowledge is the only way to change our destiny.

I agree. In addition, the Song Dynasty is also a true embodiment of "without the rise of a great power, how can we talk about the dignity of the common people". The annual tribute can buy a comfortable life, but it can never buy a tolerant and prosperous mentality and national dignity.

Not limited to women, now looking back at the records of the Song Dynasty's miscellaneous plays, "The Jin Dynasty has a mace, and our country has a top of the head" is really sighing.

Thirty-six million deposits issued more than 20 billion banknotes. I exclaimed, wow, no wonder the Song Dynasty agreed to the annual tribute so happily, no wonder the emperor of the Song Dynasty was so smooth, how could money not come quickly from printing money?

To put it bluntly, financial means are the sharpest double-edged sword. If you can unify and fight, you can use it to harvest others and bleed them. If you can't fight, you can only cut yourself to feed the ruling class.

Personally, I think that in terms of contribution to the development of civilization, politicians like Wu Zetian are still not as good as cultural and technological workers, such as Huang Daopo...

Huang Daopo is really strong. She invented the stirring car to overcome the problem of removing cotton seeds, which was hundreds of years ahead of the times. Later, she invented and summarized the cotton textile manufacturing technology and made money with her fellow villagers. There is still a temple for her in my hometown. The inscription is "clothing the world". When I was a child, I heard that she was the first cotton god.

What is hundreds of years ahead of the times? It is clear that the Westerners were hundreds of years behind the times at that time. Although the Song Dynasty was stupid, it was still the world's leading civilization center. 〗

For the first time, Li Shimin felt the critical hit from the Song Dynasty.

He still remembered that he had a joke with the queen not long ago, saying that later generations said that ten thousand is one hundred million, but such numbers are not commonly used, so what is the use?

Even Zhangsun Wuji's advice just now, saying that paper money has one benefit but a hundred disadvantages, is still fresh in his mind.

As a result, the Song Dynasty really taught him a lesson:

"If I understand correctly..."

Li Shimin felt his throat dry, pursed his lips and said:

"The Song Dynasty used 36 million yuan as collateral to borrow more than 20 billion from the people?"

He could only think of the lending behavior of the people in this form, so he also used this as an analogy.

"It's still different." Du Ruhui said dimly:

"If you find someone to lend money, if the money is not repaid, you still need to execute the private deed and pay the 36 million."

"But Song... these more than 30 million yuan still belong to the Emperor Song."

Du Ruhui is now in charge of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and has been dealing with numbers recently. He had previously joked with Fang Xuanling, saying that he no longer knew money after seeing the surplus wealth in the world.

But compared with the Song Dynasty, which easily had tens of billions, Du Ruhui felt that today's Tang Dynasty was a poor family.

After all, he clearly remembered that last year, the wealth earned during the four years of Zhenguan last year, excluding food and money alone, was only over 8 million.

Everyone was silent for a while, but even Changsun Wuji, who had been the strongest opponent before, said no more at this moment.

After all, later generations have also said that this is a double-edged sword that can hurt the enemy as well as yourself. In this case, it is easier for the Turks to set up a city and learn how this sword can hurt the enemy.

Seeing Changsun Wuji's silence, Li Shimin rubbed his belly and missed the fat sheep at Yanmen Pass. He had not known their taste for a long time.

But in the end, Li Shimin calmed down and asked about the previous concerns:

"Is there any news about this cotton seed?"

Fang Xuanling stood up and cupped her hands:

"This year I will be able to present such auspiciousness to His Majesty."

For the time being, getting rid of the shock caused by the huge amount of money, Li Shimin also cheered up:

"When cotton is available, the people will not be troubled by the severe cold. Compared with Jiaozi, this method will be a weapon for the benefit of the country!"