How was Zheng Hao’s life as a son in law born as a top scholar

A princess marrying the son of a top scholar or other official is called a lowly marriage, but in fact, those who have achieved fame and fortune may not necessarily be willing to marry a princess. Firstly, the princess’s backing is the emperor, and the “son-in-law” is already the man’s greatest “official position”. Secondly, no matter how talented the son-in-law is, they cannot be highly valued and may even affect the family; And those who can achieve fame and fortune are mostly those who want to realize their aspirations and become officials in the court. Below, the History Encyclopedia editor will bring you a detailed article introduction.
And those who pass the imperial examination are usually already married and have a family full of children and grandchildren. Which princess would still be willing to marry? However, there is always a unique case in history where a top scholar became a son-in-law, and he was Zheng Hao, who came from the Zheng family in Xingyang.
Zheng Hao’s grandfather was the prime minister Zheng Zheng Zheng during the reign of Emperor Xianzong of Tang. However, Zheng Hao’s father Zheng Zhide did not have great ambitions. Before Zheng Hao married, there were not many records in history. Zheng Hao was a young and talented man, not only with a handsome appearance, but also with great talent and abilities. Therefore, Lu Shi of Fanyang was willing to betroth his daughter to Zheng Hao, and Zheng Hao planned to marry her after winning the top scholar award, adding to his joy.
Unexpectedly, Tang Xuanzong was recruiting a son-in-law for his daughter, Princess Wanshou. In fact, there were still many people willing to marry the princess, but neither the princess nor the emperor was interested. Therefore, Tang Xuanzong was also worried about Princess Wanshou. At this time, Prime Minister Bai Minzhong recommended Zheng Hao to Tang Xuanzong.
The emperor naturally felt that Zheng Hao was outstanding and a perfect match for the princess, so he insisted on betraying Princess Wanshou to Zheng Hao. At that time, Zheng Hao had already happily married the Lu family in Chuzhou (now Huai’an City, Jiangsu Province). Fanyang Lu is one of the five surnames and seven nobles. Instead of marrying a princess, it would be better to marry a woman from the Lu family. Xue Yuanchao, the prime minister of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, once lamented, “The regret of this life is not being able to marry a woman from the five surnames
During the reign of Emperor Wenzong of Tang, the emperor also proposed to Zheng Qin, who came from the northern ancestor of the Zheng family in Xingyang, asking him to marry his granddaughter to the Crown Prince. But Zheng Qin’s granddaughter eventually married Cui, a ninth rank official, leaving Tang Wenzong speechless and speechless: “My two hundred year old emperor can’t care about Cui and Lu Ye
Zheng Hao and his group happily went to marry the daughter of the Lu family, but on the way, Cheng Yaojin appeared and was blocked by the memorial posted by Bai Minzhong. The top scholar could only bid farewell to the Lady Lu with tears, and then reluctantly married Princess Wanshou, becoming a unique “top scholar son-in-law” in history.
Tang Xuanzong was satisfied with this, not only because his son-in-law had the status of a top scholar and was more than capable of marrying a princess, but also because it discouraged the trend of intermarriage between five surnames and seven nobles.
However, Zheng Zhide repeatedly requested the title of dismissed official because his son Zheng Hao became a son-in-law. And Zheng Hao did have outstanding abilities. Even though he became a son-in-law, he also served as a deputy minister of the Ministry of Revenue, a judge, and was in charge of national finances. He also urgently hoped to become a prime minister. If Zheng Hao were not a son-in-law, perhaps he could really become a prime minister.
However, Zheng Zhide saw the pros and cons clearly and wrote a letter to his son: ‘I heard that you have sentenced me to the Ministry of Revenue, which is the year when I will die; and I heard that you are seeking a prime minister, which is the day when I will die!’ This means that you (Zheng Hao) have become a minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and you are already pushing me (Zheng Zhide) towards death. If you ask for a prime minister again, I will definitely die soon.
How could Zheng Hao abandon his father after reading Zheng Zhide’s letter? Fearless in his heart, he resigned from his theatrical duties and was appointed as a secretary supervisor; The Secretary Supervisor is an institution and official name specialized in the collection and editing of national books. Therefore, Zheng Hao strongly hated Bai Minzhong, who recommended himself to the emperor, and confessed his feelings to him in front of Tang Xuanzong every day. However, Tang Xuanzong did not take it seriously.
Later, Bai Minzhong left the town of Binning and felt worried that Zheng Hao would slander him in front of the emperor. Therefore, he reminded Tang Xuanzong. After hearing Bai Minzhong’s concerns, Tang Xuanzong took out a letter and said, “These are all Zheng Hao’s slanderous writings. If I believed them, would you still have today
Bai Minzhong only realized how much Zheng Hao hated himself. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that Bai Minzhong was not only the younger brother of the famous Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi, but also married the daughter of Cui Shi, as well as the daughter of the secretary supervisor Wei Tongjing.
However, Zheng Hao could only think of Lady Lu in his heart, living under the care of Princess Wanshou and having a son named Zheng Taoguang. In 860 AD, Zheng Hao, who was only 44 years old, passed away and was posthumously honored as a Grand Tutor. Bai Minzhong passed away in Fengxiang the following year at the age of 70.