Late Ming Dynasty: Conquering the world starting from riding and cutting - Chapter 143
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- Late Ming Dynasty: Conquering the world starting from riding and cutting
- Chapter 143 - The Fuso Bride during the Dragon Boat Festival
In an environment where immigration policies are constantly being optimized, the entire island of Taiwan is immersed in the influence of Chinese culture.
Due to the largest number of immigrants from the Ming Dynasty, the customs of Keelung and Hsinchu are similar to those in the mainland to a large extent. They also celebrate Tomb-Sweeping Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Hungry Ghost Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival, Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, etc.
The Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of May every year. Customs such as eating rice dumplings, racing dragon boats, and tying red ropes were all brought to Keelung by the people of the Ming Dynasty. They merged with local customs from many places and formed a unique Dragon Boat Festival atmosphere in Taiwan.
The annual Dragon Boat Festival is also a day for family sacrifices of the surname Qu. The reason why it is placed on the Dragon Boat Festival instead of the Qingming Festival is really the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival.
Qu Yuan is the ancestor of the family named Qu.
The Dragon Boat Festival has naturally become a unique day for family sacrifices and don’t forget to tell Nai Weng.
Under the care of his attendants, the young Qu Song, the eldest son of the Qu family, tidied up his red tuanhu robe and wore a golden crown on his head. He bowed very devoutly to the shrine enshrining the ancestors of the Qu family. On the altar, I present a lush green leaf just picked from the temple, dedicating this gift that symbolizes the blessings bestowed by heaven and earth to the ancestors.
After respectfully performing three bows and nine kowtows on the brocade mat, Qu Song stood up and then stepped forward to offer libations to his ancestors.
Holding a glass flask inlaid with gold wire and tiger patterns, he gently filled and swung the wine into the glass wine glass in his hand, then raised it high above his head and sprinkled it on the ground reverently. If so, the libation ceremony would be complete. It’s complete.
This is an ancestor worship ceremony that the Qu family must perform every year, and it is also performed by almost every decent and powerful family.
Of course, under Qin Hao’s good governance of the people, such clan rituals have gradually declined. Most of the young people of the clan have chosen the most fashionable ancestor worship ritual promoted by Keelung officials.
Also due to the migration of several large Ming Dynasty families, Keelung paid more attention to ancestor worship, and gradually formed the Dragon Boat Festival and Qingming Festival, double ancestor worship model.
Qu Wan, a member of the Qu family, is such a young man. He never thought that one day he would bring his newly married daughter-in-law to this hometown to offer incense to his ancestors.
Over the past few years, especially since Qin Hao intentionally or unintentionally restricted the construction of ancestral halls for various surnames, Xianggui Temple has become the common ancestral hall for the residents of Taiwan, especially Keelung.
Whenever there is an important event or solar term, people will first go to the seaside of Keelung Pier to burn incense to the gods and pray for good weather, and then come here to pray for the blessings of their ancestors.
As soon as we entered the courtyard, there were crowds of people. The more festive it was, the more lively it became. The people who were performing important events of ancestor worship, from the sacrifices to ancestors to the changes in personnel, were filled with the laughter and harmony of the people of Keelung. Life smiles.
Those who offered sacrifices with three whole cows, sheep, pigs and Gao Yiyi’s honey should be the first group of people surnamed Li and Chen to enjoy the lord’s benevolent government of allocating fields and land. The treatment they enjoyed was Keelung as a whole is undoubtedly one of the best. Of course, they also have the most children sent into the army.
No effort, no return!
This is what Qin Hao has said most often in the military.
“I will continue to sacrifice to my ancestors like this in the future! Then let the new people eat the sacrifices that I, Qu Wan, sacrificed to accumulate merit!” Qu Wan vowed silently in his heart.
According to the agreement between Qin Hao and the elders, these sacrifices will be sent to areas where new immigrants gather to improve food for these people after the sacrifices are completed. Qin Hao euphemistically called it, “To accumulate merit for everyone and bring blessings to our descendants!”
The main reason was not to waste food. When he had just started his family business, he felt distressed when he saw the people throwing away good sacrifices.
If you don’t become a householder, you don’t know that firewood, rice, oil and salt are expensive!
Since then, it has been spread in Jiangjun Mansion that newlyweds eat sacrifices to symbolize blessings from their ancestors, and it has gradually become an ancestor worship custom among the people of Keelung.
“Yuriko! Hurry up!”
“Oh! Hai! My husband is here!”
With a sweet reply, Lily Zi behind Qu Wan quickened his pace.
She is from the Saga family, to be precise, she is the first batch of brides since the Saga Dynasty started trading with Keelung.
Qu Wan, the newly appointed commander of the new battalion of Shuntian Camp, used the military pay he accumulated during his journey north to Japan and the silver reward for killing three rebel samurai alone to buy, oh, no, marry such a wife. .
Also, in order to kill the three dwarfs, he had to pay the price of three broken ribs. Fortunately, he was not seriously injured. He was able to bounce around again after more than a month of recuperation.
In addition, it is rare to be promoted to an official position.
On that day, Qu Wan, who had just become a commander, asked for leave from the officer on duty in the camp, planning to go shopping in the city and use his silver reward to have a good meal in a restaurant.
Although the food in the army is good, it is a big pot of rice after all, and the taste is not good.
After having enough wine and food, but not wanting to trust the horse, we arrived at the commercial port in the city.
He stopped in front of a newly opened commercial port by the Japanese.
“Xihe Pavilion? Is it a teahouse or a tavern? Who cares, you bastard! Anyway, I have money and money in my pocket, so just go!” He was burping from wine, thinking about finding something to quench his thirst. Qu Wan looked at the curtain at the entrance of Xihe Hall.
Looking at the shopkeeper who kept bowing and had a wretched face but shrewd eyes, Qu Wan felt as if he had walked into a dark shop.
It seems that if I don’t give some money to this little dwarf today, I’m afraid he won’t be able to leave the house. After all, the money is all earned from Fuso, so I don’t feel bad about giving it away.
“What!” After listening to the shopkeeper’s introduction to the store’s business scope and business, the alcohol in Qu Wan’s body instantly turned into cold sweat and was excreted from his body.
“court death!”
“How dare you be so presumptuous under my rule in Keelung!?” Qu Wan scolded the Fusang shopkeeper loudly, while reaching out to pull out the green steel waist knife from his waist.
“Blatantly buying and selling people?!”
“Sir! Your Excellency!” Speaking in half-baked Keelung Mandarin, the Fusang shopkeeper kept bowing his hands, “We are not law-abiding people! You see, what is hanging on the wall is our dental post, and we also have to pay taxes! We are A legally registered marriage agency!”
“What is a marriage agency?” Hearing that it was registered in the General’s Mansion and had to pay taxes, Qu Wan put away his green steel waist knife angrily.
“Tell me what you are saying. If I find out that you dared to deceive me, you will be judged today. I advise you to tell the truth.” Qu Wan glanced at the shopkeeper fiercely, “If you confess, you will be lenient, if you resist, you will be stern! “
“Sir, I know the rules. According to the customs of the Upper Kingdom, my name is a kind of Yaxing, which is dedicated to introducing wives or concubines to young men of the Upper Kingdom.”
“Oh?! Introducing a wife? Then you are matchmakers?” Qu Wandala sat on the chair, picked up the tea cup and took a sip. Well, the temperature of the tea was good, and drinking it was just right to quench his thirst.
“No, it should be conspiracy!” Qu Wan glanced at the shopkeeper with a sneer. Now he was basically sure that this guy was not a criminal.
“Sir, can I introduce it to you? All the girls here are from well-known families. They are beautiful and guaranteed to be perfect.” The shopkeeper wanted to use Qu Wan to open the door.
Otherwise, dozens of families would eat several large pots of white rice every day!
These foodies!
They all claim that they are the daughter of the Hatamoto samurai and the master of the village. When they see white rice, they are just like a bunch of starving ghosts!
No wonder the samurai-sama sent them out!
The captain’s daughter, Nanako, could actually eat a large bowl of rice without eating vegetables. When she learned that there were fish, meat, and vegetables to go with the rice, she actually ate another large bowl!
Eating is not a big deal, since the rice here is like free money.
“Oh? Do you also need three matchmakers and six certificates? Do you need to ask for names?” Hearing that he was in charge of marrying a wife, Qu Wan clearly felt that his body had some special reactions.
He is already in his late twenties. If he were asked to marry a wife in his previous home, he would never have dared to think about it.
Whose daughter is willing to marry into a poor family? Although his family has the surname of the Qu family, the family has long since declined.
Before I came to Keelung to serve as a soldier, my family lived in a mud house and farmed for a wealthy family with the same surname to make ends meet.
However, since coming to Keelung, with his military exploits, he has built three brick houses in the countryside of Keelung for his parents and several younger brothers. There is also a house in the city, where Qu Wan lives alone.
After his life improved, his two elders began to press for his marriage. However, Taiwan was mostly populated by men and there was a shortage of women of the right age, so they kept delaying it.
“No! No need! As long as you have a household registration here and can come up with a suitable betrothal gift, you can choose a girl you think you are destined to go back to among the girls here. Of course, you have to go to the general’s residence to go through the formalities. “
“That would save trouble!” Qu Wan was alone anyway and just wanted a woman to warm his bed. “How much do you want as a betrothal gift?”
“Sir!” Seeing that the first business was about to be completed, the shopkeeper was also extremely excited.
“I dare not ask for more betrothal gifts from you. However, our country is poor and it is not easy to raise a daughter. Therefore, you have to pay some dowry gifts to your father-in-law’s family. In addition, I also have to collect some money from the bride. It’s not much.”
“Stop talking nonsense! Don’t beat around the bush!” Qu Wan now only wants to marry a wife. As for the price, he doesn’t care. He just put money in the money and has a lot in his pocket.
“Tell me how much the betrothal gift is, and how much money your bride will receive?!”
“The girl’s betrothal gift is three hundred shi of japonica rice, or ten pieces of dyed cotton cloth. The income for the trumpet is thirty shi of japonica rice, or one piece of cotton cloth.”
“What?!” Qu Wan yelled in his heart.
He was born into a farmer’s family. Even after he joined the army, he had heard about the price of rice in Keelung. In addition, he had a hundred acres of paddy fields under his name and his family farmed them, so it was inevitable to ask him about the market price.
Think about it, for less than the price of thirty acres of paddy field per season, you can marry a wife and have children to continue your family life. Such a good thing is worth the sacrifice!
I bought it!
He unbuckled his belt and opened his clothes to make his body less hot.
“Rice and cloth are no problem, but where are the people?! Shout out and let me see!”
So, one by one, women dressed according to the popular clothes and makeup in Keelung, under the guidance of the shopkeeper, walked out from behind the screen of the store one by one according to their birth level.
She came to Qu Wan delicately and gave her name, and then the shopkeeper was responsible for introducing the girl’s family background, education level, a certain type of female celebrity who is good at it, etc.
These seemed to be the daughters of Japanese samurai and wealthy families. Qu Wan had no special plot. He seemed to have a standard. What he wanted was a woman who could warm the bed and give birth to children.
Naturally, it depends on the woman’s figure, especially her hips and butt.
A big butt is easy to give birth to, and as for having a big butt, of course it’s
Finally, when the shopkeeper introduced the sixteenth one, Qu Wan’s eyes lit up. This woman fit his taste perfectly!
“Yuriko, her father is the Ashigaru flag of the Saga family, and she is under the command of the Saga Emperor. She is good at cooking, housekeeping, tea ceremony, and flower arrangement.”
“Okay! I want her! Wait a minute, just send someone to go with me to the shop of Qinhan Dyeing House to buy cloth!”
After a lot of running around, Qu Wan bought everything. He even bought a few kilograms of sugar, candied fruits, snacks and the like for the women who were far away from their parents. In exchange for this, he received a lot of sweet exclamations and shouts of surprise. Thank you to this new brother-in-law.
“What a shame! If there are so many sisters-in-law, what will happen to me?” Qu Wanwu thought wildly in his mind.
If the shopkeeper hadn’t brought out the purchase restriction certificate from the General’s Mansion, he would have wanted to buy them all in one go.
“Sir, now you can take these documents and your wife Yuriko to the household room of the General’s Mansion to go through the relevant naturalization procedures.” After checking the more than ten pieces of cotton cloth, the shopkeeper bowed deeply again.
“Thank you for your consideration! I hope you can promote the store more!”
Walking on the streets of the commercial port, Qu Wan and his Japanese wife seemed to be in a dream.
One is thinking, “Do I have a wife now? I also have a family? It’s so damn refreshing!”
The other one opened his beautiful big eyes and looked around at Keelung’s bustling streets and shops, as well as the various products in the shops to which women had no immunity.
There seemed to be countless kinds of food everywhere, as well as beautiful silks, cottons, and all kinds of gold and silver jewelry.
“Do you like it?” At the entrance of the silk and satin shop, Qu Wan asked with a deliberately tigerish face, looking at Lily Zi who was a little unable to move.
“Tannasan! Oh, no, sir, I just saw it was too expensive.” Yuriko was very scared.
If you are beaten up by your husband because you like such luxury goods, this is completely normal. After all, not everyone can afford luxury goods like silk and satin. Even if they can afford it, it depends on whether their husband is willing to buy it for themselves.
“Come in with me!”
Qu Wan used his injury allowance to buy several clothes and materials for Lily Zi, from the inside to the outside, in spring, summer, autumn and winter.
Watching the seamstress at the silk shop gesturing at her body and taking measurements, Yuriko finally woke up from her dream. She bit her lip. It hurt. This was not a dream. A salty substance surged in her mouth and on the tip of her tongue. move.
“Okay, military lord, this is the receipt for receiving the clothes. In three days, you can ask this young lady to come and pick it up by herself. If there is anything inappropriate, the trumpet can be modified.”
When the counter of the silk and satin shop handed the bamboo number plate for picking up clothes to Yuriko, Yuriko finally couldn’t control herself.
She walked quickly to Qu Wan with small steps, “Sir, you are so kind to Lily!”
Before she finished speaking, Yuriko had already knelt on the ground in the bustling silk and satin shop, her forehead pressed against her hands, and her whole body formed a beautiful arch.
This is already the second time Lilyzi has knelt down and saluted Qu Wan since the two got married today.
The last time was not long ago at a small restaurant on the street. When Yuriko saw braised fish, ham, half a cut duck in sauce, roast chicken, and a big goose processed with unknown ingredients on the table, As well as the full rice bucket placed on the corner of the table, I couldn’t help but burst into tears.
“Husband! You can’t do this! Lily is already yours! We will spend a long time together in the future. Treating Lily like this will make Lily feel happy and know that her husband is very good to me, but, Such luxury will damage Yuriko’s lifespan!”
Kneeling on the floor of the restaurant, not caring about the greasy floor, Qu Wan’s new daughter-in-law Lily Zi cried like pear blossoms with rain, which made Qu Wanjia very embarrassed when facing the questioning looks of others.
He quickly pulled Yuriko away from the silk shop, and told Yuriko not to do this outside in the future. Keelung didn’t like this kind of ceremony.
As for the family, there will naturally be times when you have to kneel down.
Hearing this, Bai Hezi blushed with shame, leaned into Qu Wan’s arms, and followed him all the way home.
“What did you say?! You married a Fuso girl!”
Qu Wan’s old commander, now the new battalion captain Zhao Dahai, was so angry that he slapped the table and stood up. “I gave you a day off and asked you to go out and relax, and you prepared a Fuso girl for me?”
Seeing the officer in front of her eyes staring like bells in front of her husband, Lilyzi was very scared. She was worried that her husband would be ordered to have a caesarean section to apologize for this. She stood behind Qu Wan and held the skirt of Qu Wan’s military uniform with her small hands.
Qu Wan, on the other hand, was very calm and looked at the commander and brother in front of him with a smile.
After waiting for a while, Zhao Dahai had finished scolding, and then Qu Wan opened his mouth to explain: “Captain, I am a grown man now. I want to have a family and someone to miss me. You see, I only have one person in the city.” , I can’t even get a warm meal, and the family is busy. I don’t want anything else. I just want to have a woman, raise a few children, and pass on the family legacy. I am the eldest son of the family, and I can’t escape this responsibility. “
“But now, in Keelung, there are more men than women, and I don’t want to marry a white-skinned barbarian back home. But this Fusang woman looks just like us Han women. As long as she speaks well, you won’t be able to tell.”
“You’ve said that, what else can I do, can I ask you to send it back? Let the kitchen add some dishes and a bottle of wine for dinner, and I’ll call some brothers to celebrate for you.”
“Hehe! If not, I’d still have to ask the old officer!”
“Stop talking nonsense! Treat us with good wine and delicious food. Don’t think that you have forgotten your brothers when you marry a wife.”
“That’s for sure! I can’t forget it. I’ll go to the biggest restaurant in the city and buy some food and wine. Let’s have a lively evening.”
“By the way, there is one more thing.” Looking around furtively, Zhao Dahai asked in a low voice, “That Xihe Pavilion opened by Fusang people can really marry someone for three hundred shi of japonica rice.” Wife is back? You didn’t lie to me?”
“My brother! My fresh and tender daughter-in-law is here, are you afraid that she is fake?” Qu Wan clapped his chest, “I will accompany you early tomorrow morning!”
“Stop talking nonsense! It’s like I’m in a hurry to get a wife!” Zhao Dahai kicked Qu Wan in anger, “Hurry up and buy a drink!”
He threw the money bag from his waist to Qu Wan, “Sell some rouge, pollen and other things to my siblings! You are the bride! You have to dress up beautifully!”
The Fusang shopkeeper at Xihe Pavilion was very happy. After the first business was completed, more than a dozen business orders came to his door automatically.
Within two days, the warehouse was filled with bundles of cotton and several bolts of silk sent home by brides.
There are more and more letters from home in the envelope every day. They are all written to report safety to the family and describe their happy life at her husband’s house.
There are also some letters written by brides to their best friends. They have lived a good life, so naturally they can’t look back on their former friends and have tried to persuade them to find a way to come to Keelung.
The sisters have three meals a day together and have a good time.
“If these letters are all sent back to the Saga family head in Kyushu, there will probably be more noise than the distribution of swords and guns!” The shopkeeper thought of the letters that the Saga family head, young master and retainers sent for Keelung that day. He couldn’t help but shake his head at the red-faced scene of arguing over the distribution of weapons to a mere thousand ashigaru.
“I wonder how the owner of the family will distribute the wealth and distribute the next ship!” The shopkeeper stroked the soft cotton cloth in front of him, as if stroking the skin of his lover.
“Master, please send more women over. Business here in Keelung is so good!”
Apart from some greetings and inquiries, the most important thing in the letter is this sentence.
Since then, the women’s business in Fusang and Keelung has become increasingly popular, and demand has even exceeded supply.
Later generations of scholars wrote books and described: When Qin Hao invaded Japan, it was to expand the scope of recruiting women in Fuso. The entire four Japanese islands became the exporting place for women from the future empire, nurturing hundreds of thousands of outstanding warriors for the empire.
“Of course, this is inseparable from Qin Hao’s open and equal national concept and his vast mind. This is the key factor that led him to harvest the world’s talents and dominate the mainland.” This is the scholar’s conclusion in the last paragraph of the book.
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