Liang Hongyu’s story: Who said prostitutes don’t have to be generals?

In ancient Chinese history, there are few examples of women becoming generals, such as Hua Mulan, who brought her father's status in the army, Mu, the daughter-in-law of the Yang family in the Song Dynasty, and so on. However, like Liang Hongyu in the early Song Dynasty, she was the only one to become a general from a prostitute. So, how did Liang Hongyu achieve a leap in life? What twists and turns have you encountered? Please follow the author to investigate the relevant history and trace Liang Hongyu's life trajectory. When talking about Liang Hongyu, we have to talk about prostitutes. In ancient Chinese history, prostitutes were legal and were roughly divided into official prostitutes and private prostitutes. Official prostitutes are government-run brothels, that is to say, they are official escort girls managed by the state and dedicated to serving government officials and military personnel. Isn't she Xue Tao, one of the four most talented women in Shu, an official prostitute? Later, she formed an indissoluble bond with the great poet Yuan Zhen, and has since occupied the headlines of romance literature. Without further ado, let’s continue talking about Liang Hongyu. Her native place is Chizhou, now Anhui Province. My grandfather and father are both soldiers, and Liang Hongyu learned real kung fu from them since he was a child. When he was a child, Liang Hongyu knitted bags with his family and sold them for money. Life is very difficult. Later, his father and grandfather went to fight in the army one after another, leaving Liang Hongyu and his mother living a hard life at home. In the second year of the Xuanhe reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, Fang La, a resident of Zhoumu, revolted, numbering hundreds of thousands. The uprising team spread to all counties, and the government failed in several conquests. Liang Hongyu's grandfather and father had bad luck. They delayed the opportunity to put down the Fang La rebellion and were sentenced to defeat and then killed. Since then, Liang Hongyu's family has lost its support and source of income, making life even more difficult. Later, her family's life really had to go on. In desperation, Liang Hongyu became a prostitute in Jingkou. At that time, camp prostitutes were official prostitutes managed by state and county governments. Because Liang Hongyu was proficient in calligraphy, had supernatural powers, could bend a strong bow, and could hit the target with perfect accuracy, she looked down upon ordinary young men and had no intention of soliciting prostitution. Her special style was famous among prostitutes. Many dignitaries are very interested in this personalized camp prostitute, so they often pay high prices to buy her for the night. Whether it was Liang Hongyu or whoever knew it was a prostitute, selling oneself at this time has always been controversial in history. But the author believes that there are too few women born in a romantic land who can keep themselves clean, so she should have been sold in Liang Hongyu. The following two historical materials prove the author's point of view. For example, the book Helin Yulu written by Luo Dajing, a scholar of the Southern Song Dynasty, records that the wife of the King of Qi of Han Dynasty was a prostitute in Jingkou. Qiu Han, the king of Han Shizhong, was a prostitute in Beijing, which meant that he betrayed himself. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the Shanyang County Chronicle also recorded that Liang lived a life as a prostitute in Jingkou, so it was clearly stated that Liang Hongyu was a prostitute. In addition, some scholars have also questioned Liang Hongyu's origins and whether he was a prostitute. They believe that Liang Hongyu was originally from Jiangsu. Otherwise, how could there be an ancestral hall to commemorate Liang Hongyu in Jiangsu now? In addition, the History of the Song Dynasty was edited by Yuan, et al. When describing Liang Hongyu's deeds, her place of origin and origin as a prostitute were not mentioned, so they believed that Liang Hongyu was not necessarily from Anhui, nor was she necessarily a prostitute. However, this statement is not rigorous. If it is not mentioned, it does not mean that it is not available. Therefore, the author finally concluded that Liang Hongyu had been a prostitute. The romantic woman fell in love with the general. Like Xue Tao, the prostitute Liang Hongyu also met her noble man. This person is Han Shizhong, the first martial artist in the Southern Song Dynasty. He is Han Shizhong, a native of Suide County, Shaanxi Province. He is quite brave, loyal and honest, and he is willing to help others. He is somewhat similar to Timely Rain Song Jiang from Water Margin. He is an upright and brave hero. When Tong Guan pacified Fangla, note that it was not Song Jiang's group who pacified Fangla, but Tong Guan, who was known as a traitor. In order to praise the peasant uprising

At the banquet, Liang Hongyu's fate changed because she met a noble person in her life, that is Han Shizhong. At that time, he was only a minor official at the level of battalion commander, but later he became the most patriotic general in martial arts in the Song Dynasty. At the banquet, Han Shizhong was not the most eye-catching brother Bing. However, his melancholy and aloof attitude infected the passionate and beautiful Liang Hongyu. While many generals were holding wine glasses, hugging celebrity prostitutes, and telling dirty jokes with their fists, Han Shizhong was alone and depressed, with a trace of sadness in his eyes. His uniqueness attracted Liang Hongyu's attention. So Liang Hongyu walked over gently, raised a glass of wine, and said softly: General Han, why are you unhappy? Han Shizhong raised his head and was shocked when he saw Liang Hongyu's chic and unconventional air. This beautiful woman has an indescribable temperament. So the two sat down and courted and pitied each other. From then on, the hero and the beauty had a spark of love and soon got married and fell in love.

From then on, Liang Hongyu married Han Shizhong and joined him in the battle against the nomads, and a female general was born. Liang Hongyu showed her patriotic integrity during a counter-rebellion and was willing to sacrifice her family to contribute to the country. Because of this meritorious performance, she helped her husband Han Shizhong get promoted smoothly. In 1129 AD, the Jin army led by You entered Sizhou from Pengcheng and arrived in Chuzhou. Song Gaozong fled to Zhejiang in a hurry. This foreign invasion caused serious internal worries. Miao Fu, the commander of the Imperial Guard at the time, and Liu Zhengyan, another minister, launched a mutiny, forcing Song Gaozong to abdicate and give his 3-year-old son the Zen throne. They also asked Empress Dowager Meng to come out to listen to politics and prepare to change the country's name to the first year. In order for the coup to succeed, a group of rebels attacked and killed the people who were in charge of the Tang Council and separately killed Emperor Gao's cronies. After the incident, Song Gaozong's movements were restricted and he lost his freedom. Prime Minister Zhu Shengfei held secret talks with Empress Dowager Long You and detained General Han Shizhong's son and wife Liang Hongyu. Therefore, they planned to send Liang Hongyu out of the city and gallop to Xiuzhou to urge Han Shizhong to invade Hangzhou quickly. The Queen Mother named Liang Hongyu Mrs. Anguo and Han Shizhong as the Imperial Camp General Pingkouzuo. After the arrangements were made, Prime Minister Zhu Shengfei said to Miao, the commander of the Forbidden Army: If Han Shizhong didn't come over immediately after hearing the news from us, it proves that he must be hesitating. However, if we send his wife Liang Hongyu to see him, we are not afraid that Han Shizhong will not come. As long as Han Shizhong comes over, his strength will be greatly enhanced. By then, the operation will be more than half successful, and there will be nothing else to worry about. Hearing what the Prime Minister said, Miao felt that it made sense. He was overjoyed and thought it was a coup. He immediately sent Liang Hongyu out of the city. Liang Hongyu pretended to agree, but secretly went home, hugged her son, got on her horse, and galloped away. In less than a day and night, we arrived at Xiuzhou. Then Liang Hongyu told Han Shizhong's mutiny about Miao Fu, and persuaded her husband to focus on the overall situation and not to be a sinner of history. So, at the suggestion of his wife, Han Shizhong decided to go out with Zhang Jun to put down the rebellion. After hard and heroic fighting, his troops finally defeated the rebel army led by Miao Fu and others, successfully rescued the controlled Song Gaozong, and resolved a political crisis. When the rebels achieved a brilliant victory, Song Gaozong was ecstatic. He personally came to the palace gate to greet Han Shizhong and his wife, and immediately awarded Han Shizhong the title of military governor of the Victory Army. Soon, he was named the envoy of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. At the same time, the emperor also praised Liang Hongyu for his wisdom and strategy. His past history was clear and he paid his salary to his family. Paying a salary to the hero's wife has never been done before in the power. Liang Hongyu was the first person at that time. The Battle of Jinshan showed her ability to help her husband Han Shizhong successfully counter the rebellion, and Liang Hongyu showed her patriotic sentiment. Later, during the Battle of Jinshan, her outstanding military talents were revealed. In October 1129 AD, under the leadership of Jin Wushu, J

Fortunately, the Jin army did not mean to only pursue the emperor, but just wanted to grab more property. With their poor navy, Strength, the emperor saved his life. Although the emperor chose to escape, the people persisted in fighting bravely. In order to fight against the Jin army, civilian guerrillas organized by the Han people broke out in various places in the south of the Yangtze River. Jin Shu didn't want to drown the people in the ocean, so after plundering, he decided to return to the north temporarily. At this time, Han Shizhong was serving as the commander of the Western Zhejiang Theater. After Han Shizhong heard the news that the Jin Army was about to withdraw north, he thought it was a good opportunity and immediately led 8,000 navy troops to intercept it. At this point, Han Shizhong completely deviated from Sun Tzu's Art of War formula. As the saying goes, don't chase the enemy, let alone chase him. When you return to your teacher, don't stop. This is when Han Shizhong Xiahou led his army to intercept the Jin Dynasty classmates, which can easily arouse people's extraordinary fighting power. However, Han Shizhong still insisted on intercepting and challenged Wu Jin, the commander-in-chief of the Jin Army. On the appointed day, the two sides launched a fierce battle on the Yangtze River. Han Shizhong's wife Liang Hongyu was particularly brave. She took the lead, climbed up a tower more than ten feet high, braved a stream of arrows, and directed the battle from Miaogao Platform on the top of Jinshan Mountain. This battle destroyed the Jin army. The Jin army suffered a heavy setback, which was beyond Jin Wushu's expectation. In desperation, Jin Wushu adopted peaceful means and sent envoys to negotiate with Han Shizhong, hoping that the Song army would let them live and be willing to return all the property plundered in Jiangnan. In addition, he had to give Han Shizhong a famous horse as a thank you gift. Han Shizhong did not, but he flatly rejected Jin Wushu's request. As a result, the two sides continued to fight fiercely on the Yangtze River. The Jin army was unfamiliar with geography and was forced into Huangtiandang Port by the Song army. This was the best time to eliminate the Jin army, but Han Shizhong and Liang Hongyu had too few troops and no army to cooperate.

Jin Wushu took the opportunity to dig 30 miles through the Laoyuan River, and finally successfully retreated to Jiankang. After that, Han Shizhong continued to pursue the Jin army and had several fierce battles with it. In the fierce battle between the Song Army, the American generals Sun Shixun and Yan Yun died. It took a lot of effort for Jin Jun to finally break through. In this interception, although Han Shizhong did not have a division to completely annihilate the Jin army, in a strategic sense, he blocked the Jin soldiers' absolutely weak force for 48 days. The Jin soldiers in the north did not dare to look south, thus achieving the purpose of repelling the Jin soldiers. . After the Jin army was defeated, Liang Hongyu made an amazing move. Instead of taking credit, she impeached her husband Han Shizhong for losing the chance to defeat the enemy and requested the court to add additional blame. This act of righteousness was admired by everyone in the country and became a good talk. For this reason, the imperial court once again named Liang Hongyu a blessed person of Yang Guo. Five years after his untimely death in Shaoxing, Han Shizhong was appointed commander of our Wuning'an Chemical Army and was stationed in Chuzhou. His wife Liang Hongyu continued to follow her husband Han Shizhong and led troops to build a new city outside the old city with the Huai River as the boundary, effectively fighting against the nomads. After constant wars, the city of Chuzhou at that time was in ruins, covered with thorns, the people had no fixed homes, and the soldiers lacked food and found it difficult to have enough to eat. In desperation, in order to ensure the normal operation of the army, Liang Hongyu, a general, personally used reeds to weave cattails for his house. At the same time, she also led the soldiers to search for wild vegetables to satisfy their hunger. When he found cattails eaten by horses on the shore of Shaohu Lake under Wentong Pagoda, Liang Hongyu tasted them himself and confirmed that there was no problem. She mobilized the army and people to collect cattails to satisfy their hunger to solve the food shortage. Nowadays, many Huaishang people like to eat Puer vegetables. It is said that Liang Hongyu led the sergeants to eat Pu'er to satisfy their hunger. Therefore, the locals also call Pur dish as anti-gold dish. Despite the difficult conditions, after the signing of the peace agreement between Han Shizhong and Li, Song Gaozong began to strengthen the imperial power and immediately began to reduce the military power of the generals in order to maintain his absolute rule. General Han Shizhong was the first to bear the brunt. Although his official position is getting bigger and bigger, his military power is getting smaller and smaller. I understand that Han Shizhong is following Mao's old path, and I want to drink a glass of wine to relieve his military power. In order to escape the emperor's persecution, he simply voluntarily surrendered his military power, saw off guests behind closed doors, and spent all day eating, drinking and having fun, becoming an empty general. Liang Hongyu devoted all his energy to his son's education and invited famous teachers to teach at home. Her son Han Yanzhi was also successful and later became a famous pastor. As for Liang Hongyushi's death, historical materials have detailed records. According to the records of Li Xinchuan, a scholar of the Song Dynasty, in the year of Jianyan, Fu Xuan of Huaidong made Han Shizhong Xiahou_'s wife, Mrs. Liang of Qin, a pawn and gave him 500 ingots of silver and silk. Translated into modern Chinese, Han Shizhong, Qin Shi Huang's wife, Liang Hongyu, died, and the emperor gave her five hundred taels of silver and five hundred bolts of silk. It is also recorded that Liang Hongyu and Han Shizhong guarded Chuzhou for more than ten years. Later, because Yue Fei suffered unwarranted injustice, he resigned from the military and retreated to Suzhou. It is also said that Liang Hongyu died in 1153, two years later than Han Shizhong. The death of Liang Hongyu made the whole country mourn, especially the people of Chuzhou, who burned paper to pay homage to this legendary female general. Although the heroine was once a prostitute, no one mentioned her tragic past. Even Song Gaozong and Zhao Gou praised Liang Hongyu: his wisdom is outstanding and his history is clear. The death of the bell heroine Liang Hongyu was a tragedy for the people of Song Dynasty. She is not only remembered, but also respected by future generations. When Emperor Xiaozong of the Song Dynasty was in power, he ordered the construction of a monument to commemorate Liang Hongyu. If you still want to see the ruins, you might as well go to Zaoshi Street Primary School, Canglang District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, which is the original Qiwang Temple, where two statues of Han and Liang are enshrined. On the wall, there are words celebrating Han's birthday on the 20th day of the first month in spring and September 6th in autumn.