The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 101 Who is too partial?

Ma Xun went to court again and began by reporting, "Your Majesty, I have followed the instructions of the Queen and the Crown Prince to set up a school at the foot of Jiming Mountain to teach medical officers and doctors to treat wounded soldiers. This has already been accomplished."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "Well, our Ming soldiers have been invincible in every battle, and many have died and been injured. It is only natural to provide compensation to the dead and medical treatment to the injured. The queen and the prince are kind."

All the civil and military officials in the court were smart people, and they all praised the queen's kindness and the prince's virtue.

This is what makes everyone happy. Praising the queen and supporting the prince is what all civil and military officials are willing to do, and it is also in everyone's interest.

After praising the queen and the crown prince, Ma Xun said decisively, "Your Majesty, I think that although the training of medical officers is the responsibility of the Imperial Hospital, most of the imperial medical officers do not know the battlefield situation, so it is difficult to effectively train medical officers."

Ma Xun's words made many people frown. Those people in the Imperial Hospital had medical skills, and many of them were good at surgery. They trained a group of medical officers and medical assistants, which was basically enough.

After all, in the eyes of these people, whether it is a medical officer or a medical assistant, their only job is to treat the wounded on the battlefield, and there is no need to have superb medical skills.

Ma Xun continued, "Your Majesty, I request that you transfer several imperial physicians and recruit civilian doctors to the academy, grant them official positions, and train medical officers full-time."

Chang Yuchun immediately jumped out and said, "Your Majesty, I second the motion."

Xu Da also said very decisively, "Your Majesty, I second the motion."

Deng Yu, Li Wenzhong and others were not willing to lag behind. In addition to supporting Ma Xun, they were also generals who knew how dangerous the battlefield was and how difficult the situation of the wounded soldiers was.

Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a moment and said, "This is not a difficult matter. Treating wounded soldiers is a major matter. If you can treat more wounded soldiers, it will be a blessing for the country."

The civil servants had no objection, mainly because the rank of the Imperial Medical Bureau was generally low. If Ma Xun, the emperor's uncle, wanted a few imperial physicians, or recruited some doctors from the public, it would not harm the interests of the civil service group.

The most important thing is the general trend. Whoever dares to say that it is not worth saving the wounded soldiers will be torn to pieces by the generals. If the news gets out, the Ming soldiers and even ordinary people will curse him.

Things went more smoothly than expected, and Ma Xun was naturally very happy.

In this way, he could transfer Chen Zhidong to the Grand Marshal's Office with justification, and even if he recruited doctors from the public, he could grant them official positions first.

Naturally, he was also worried about some people being too proud of what they had, or keeping something to themselves, but once he was given an official position, some things needed to be given up. In the future, he could also consider training doctors in a systematic and large-scale manner.

It is impossible to empty the Imperial Medical Service, but it would not be a bad thing for the Ming Dynasty to have an additional medical system.

Now it serves the military, but gradually some medical skills can be promoted or developed among the people.

Ma Xun, in a good mood, found a young eunuch guarding the palace gate after leaving the court, and said, "Go and see what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is doing. If His Royal Highness is free, please ask him to go to Rouyi Palace."

The young eunuch went to invite the prince without saying a word.

Although what Ma Xun did was a little wrong, he should have gone to ask for an audience with the Crown Prince, but this means he has to go to Her Majesty the Queen.

Ma Xiuying was very happy to see Ma Xun, "You have really improved in the past few days. Now no one needs to scold you. You know how to share the worries for your brother-in-law."

"Sister, I went to court today because of Biao'er." Ma Xun said immediately, "I was thinking about the things that happened to the medical officer, and I pushed them all to Biao'er. Originally, he sent people to keep an eye on the school during the days when I was not in the capital."

Ma Xiuying nodded and said, "That's fine. The imperial doctors, officials, and medicinal herbs and supplies for your school were all arranged by Biao'er."

Therefore, there is no problem in giving the credit to Zhu Biao. He did solve some of the biggest problems. Whether it was personnel or materials, he was the one who arranged people to get it done.

And now Zhu Biao’s prestige is high enough. It’s only been three years since the founding of the country. Zhu Biao’s prestige is higher and his reputation is better, which everyone is happy to see.

Reputation and prestige also need to be accumulated continuously. After all, Zhu Biao was not yet in charge of government affairs in name, let alone observing government affairs. It was just that Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying were privately teaching him how to review memorials and handle state affairs.

"Sister, the second brother and his friends will be crowned kings in a few days." Ma Xun also mentioned another important matter, which was also something he was worried about. "I think some of my brother-in-law's arrangements are a little too much?"

Ma Xiuying became serious and didn't quite understand, "What's wrong? Did you find something wrong?"

Ma Xun did not hide his thoughts and said, "My brother-in-law loves his children, which is definitely a good thing. But some things are too heavy, which I don't think is a good thing."

Ma Xiuying became more serious, "Tell me, where is the gift too much?"

Ma Xun said directly, "When the prince is enthroned, all the furnishings, crowns and robes are the same as those in the Eastern Palace. Isn't this a bit bad?"

After thinking carefully, Ma Xiuying advised, "Brother, the second brothers are also your nephews. Although everyone knows that you are partial to the eldest brother, it is not right to be so excessive, right? If the second brothers hear this, aren't you afraid that they will feel uncomfortable?" Ma Xun didn't know how to respond for a moment. He was indeed partial to Zhu Biao because he was the crown prince.

But what he could never have imagined was that one day he would be accused of favoritism by Zhu Yuanzhang or Ma Xiuying. In the Ming Dynasty, the emperor and empress were the most partial to the princes and princesses, and they did not hide it at all.

Why is it that when it comes to me, it seems like you all treat each nephew equally, but as an uncle, I only like my eldest nephew, but I am not nice to the other nephews?

Ma Xun calmed down and continued, "Apart from the appointment of the prince, are the usual treatments of the princes also a bit better?"

Ma Xiuying asked, "What's wrong with this?"

"The princes and the crown prince all wear the same robes, so it's okay if you can't tell them apart. The princes send a congratulatory message on New Year's Day, and all officials perform twelve bows. If the imperial envoys go to the fiefdom of a vassal king, all civil and military officials, whether they are on a mission or passing through, must first pay their respects to the vassal king and perform four bows."

Ma Xiuying listened carefully and said, "Your brother-in-law means that dukes and generals also have to go to the king to pay homage when they pass through the prince's fiefdom. Don't you, the uncle of the king, want to go and pay homage?"

"Sister, I am a member of the Ma family." Ma Xun immediately defended, "When Biao'er ascends the throne, I will certainly kneel more politely and respectfully than anyone else. But if the second sons and the others become vassals, their behavior in the palace and fiefdom will be the same as that of the emperor."

It is not surprising that Ma Xun was so worried, but the current etiquette system was imperfect, so the princes behaved more arrogantly than the crown prince, or the same as the emperor. This was common in the early Ming Dynasty.

Even the tombs of princes could be built with Ming towers, which was the same treatment as the imperial tombs. This was something that happened in the Ming Dynasty in history.

Hearing what Ma Xun said, Ma Xiuying was also embarrassed, "What you said makes sense, but you also know your brother-in-law's temper. Apart from other things, he takes his offspring too seriously."

This was indeed Zhu Yuanzhang's character. He was basically unreasonably protective of his children and would not let them suffer any hardship or injustice.

Ma Xun said, "So I dare not say it in the court. If I do, I will definitely be scolded. Isn't it better to talk to my sister first? When Biao'er comes later, if he thinks it is not appropriate, you can go and persuade my brother-in-law."

If there are clues, Ma Xiuying and Zhu Biao can be reminded. Ma Xun thinks that he is not so important in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind, so he can hide away beautifully.

Since neither Ma Xiuying nor Zhu Biao could persuade Zhu Yuanzhang, there was no way anyone else could do that.

While Ma Xun and Ma Xiuying were talking about these things, Zhu Biao came to Rouyi Palace and said, "Uncle, your nephew is here to listen to your teachings."

Ma Xun said quickly, "Prince, if you say so, I can only apologize first."

"With no outsiders around, the nephew will naturally listen to his uncle's teachings." Zhu Biao said with a smile, "It must be something important, otherwise the uncle would not have called the nephew here."

Ma Xiuying complained, "Your uncle thinks your father is too good to the second brother and wants us to persuade your father to reduce the treatment of your brothers."

Zhu Biao immediately said, "Uncle, the second sons are your nephews. Although I am the crown prince, I have always been favored by you, but uncle, you shouldn't be too harsh on the second sons, right?"

The people of the Zhu family really can't see their own problems. I didn't expect that Zhu Biao also subconsciously felt that Ma Xun was too biased.

Ma Xun was speechless and could only say, "Your Highness, the second princes of the emperor often come to my mansion, and I often joke and play with them. In terms of closeness, I have a good relationship with the second princes of the emperor."

Not to mention Zhu Biao, even Ma Xiuying was stunned for a moment and felt that what Ma Xun said made sense.

It was obvious that Ma Xun favored Zhu Biao, but it was also true that he was close to Zhu Chong and others. Zhu Chong and others would often go to Ma Xun, either to ask for advice or to visit relatives and friends.

Or they would go out to play under the pretext of looking for their uncle, and Ma Xun would usually help them to back them up and provide cover.

It is true that Ma Xun was partial, but it was not exaggerated. He was not only concerned about Zhu Biao, but also quite caring towards Zhu Chong and others.

Zhu Biao corrected the topic and asked, "Uncle, what on earth made you feel the need to advise the emperor?"

Ma Xiuying began to help explain. She didn't think some of the arrangements were unreasonable. But after someone brought it up, she thought about it carefully and realized that something was wrong.

The various treatments that Zhu Yuanzhang gave to the princes were indeed very generous, even a bit exaggerated, and there was almost no obvious difference between them and the crown prince.

This approach is somewhat contrary to Zhu Yuanzhang's unwavering commitment to highlighting Zhu Biao's uniqueness.

The warm smile on Zhu Biao's face gradually faded. He was the crown prince and was very confident in his younger brothers, but some of the treatment he gave to his younger brothers seemed a bit excessive.

(End of this chapter)