Due to the impact of the epidemic, this year's Wuhan has become the focus of attention of the people of the whole country. However, back in the distant Northern Song Dynasty, Wuhan (Wuchang, to be exact) also experienced a large-scale disaster. In the midst of the disaster, an official named Ye Mengde came forward and privately changed a law that saved the lives of 3,800 children.
Although there were many literati during the Song Dynasty, Ye Mengde's reputation was not prominent. However, he grew up in a cultural family that dates back to his great-grandfather and is known as the "fourth generation of official eunuchs" of the family. In the tenth year of the Xining Dynasty of the Northern Song Dynasty (1077), Ye Mengde's mother Cao Shi went to the temple to put incense on it, and when she returned, she dreamed of a giant dragon hovering on the beam, and then became pregnant and gave birth to a son, so she named Ye Mengde. Ye Mengde was intelligent from a young age, and was able to compose poetry even at a very young age. Once, Ye Mengde and his uncle Chao went to visit Su Shi, a literary giant. Chao Fuzhi is one of the "Four Masters of Sumen", and Su Shi said to Chao Fuzhi after seeing Ye Mengde: "Your nephew may surpass you in the future!" ”
When Ye Mengde was admitted to junior high school at the age of 20, he began to be gradually reused by Emperor Huizong of Song. When Cai Jing, Tong Guan and other traitors were in charge, Ye Mengde actively participated in the struggle against them, and could be described as an official who worried about the country and the people. In the early years of Emperor Huizong of Song, Ye Mengde was transferred to Jiangnan, Huguang and other places. During his tenure as Wuchang Zhizhou, Henan, Huguang and other places suffered a serious disaster, and the disaster in Wuchang was even more serious. According to records, flooding was rampant, especially in the area west of the capital, and countless corpses were floating in the river. As a local official, Ye Mengde actively opened a warehouse to help the people, but the flood swept through, resulting in the death of many people in Wuchang City. On the one hand, Ye Mengde asked the imperial court for help, and on the other hand, he personally led the personnel to dredge the waterway to alleviate the disaster as soon as possible. However, a few days later, Ye Mengde discovered a big problem that was difficult to solve: there were a large number of abandoned children left unattended. It turned out that when disaster struck, many civilians at the bottom not only needed to escape the floods, but also faced the threat of starvation. In order not to let their children starve to death, some families place them in wooden basins, firewood stacks, etc., hoping to be adopted by well-wishers. Although the government found a large number of abandoned children, they could not take good care of them, and the number of abandoned babies was increasing, which caused Ye Mengde great trouble.
Ye Mengde asked his officials: "Is there no one in the people who wants to adopt these children?" Some families are not seriously affected and have no children, so why not take the opportunity to adopt a few? The officials replied: "According to the law of the Great Song Dynasty, the adoption of a child requires a written agreement between the parents of both parties and a guarantee from the government." Without this procedure, when the child grows up, the biological parents can get it back at any time, and the hard work of the adoptive parents will be in vain. After hearing this, Ye Mengde fell into deep thought, and finally picked up a pen and casually amended this law: all children abandoned by the disaster must not be returned by their biological parents. This modification means that abandoned children can no longer be claimed by their biological parents when they grow up. In fact, this was a law that Ye Mengde had changed privately, and he had made this change without even the approval of his superiors. However, when the disaster gradually subsided, Ye Mengde reported his amendment to the imperial court. Surprisingly, instead of blaming him, the imperial court quickly affirmed it and recommended that the law be introduced nationwide. The reason why the imperial court did this was because they saw Ye Mengde's achievements. As a result, Ye Mengde's law was written into official documents and posted in Wuchang City. All families who adopt children are required to register with the government, which will issue them a letter of commitment that the child will not be claimed back by the biological parents. As a result, the government counted 3,800 adopted children after the disaster.
Save someone's life and win the seventh-level floating slaughter. As a local official, Ye Mengde took the risk of changing the law on his own, eventually saving the lives of 3,800 children. Isn't such an official worth remembering for posterity?