The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 109: Agree to everything that cannot be done!
Huaixi nobles can be regarded as a general term. Most of them were founding generals who followed Zhu Yuanzhang to establish the Ming Dynasty.

This is also because Zhu Yuanzhang started his army in the Huaixi region. These people went through more than 20 years of fighting in the south and the north, and made great contributions to the establishment of the Ming Dynasty and the unification of the country.

However, among the Huaixi nobles, there seem to be many factions.

Li Shanchang was anxious. He had previously participated in discussions on conferring titles on meritorious officials, and except for Ma Xun, they were all Dukes of the Six Kingdoms. Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Li Wenzhong, and Deng Yu had their own factions. Although Feng Sheng was also from Dingyuan, he and Li Shanchang had not had much contact before.

For Li Shanchang, who is keen on power, this is definitely not an option as he is "alone and powerless" in the group of dukes.

The most likely person to be pushed down now is Feng Sheng, and the one who will be pushed down and pushed up is Tang Shengzong. In this case, Li Shanchang feels that he doesn't even need to be too afraid of Xu Da and Chang Yuchun.

Li Shanchang was worried and said to Ma Xun, "I discussed with Your Majesty about conferring titles on meritorious officials and recommended Feng Sheng as Duke because Feng Guoyong had made great contributions. But now I think about it, how can I attribute Feng Guoyong's contributions to Feng Sheng!"

Tang Shengzong immediately chimed in, "That's right. No one will forget the great contribution of Military Advisor Feng. Military Advisor Feng still has a son. Although he is a little young, he is still useful enough."

Tang He said, "That's good if it's true. Otherwise, I think it will be very difficult for Feng Cheng to get a title."

Feng Cheng, this is Feng Guoyong’s son. He is now an energetic young man and one of the more outstanding ones among the younger generation.

Ma Xun spread his hands and said, "Brother Tang, you should think about yourself. When His Majesty joined the army, you were a thousand-householder. When Brother Xu and Brother Chang joined the army, you were both ten thousand-householders, right?"

Li Shanchang also said jokingly, "When Dazui was the commander of the army, Tiande was only in charge of pacification. After crossing the river, Dazui will have to obey Tiande's orders."

Tang He said calmly, "At that time, Tiande and I were equals. When we attacked Yingtian Prefecture, we each led a large army. It was when we entered Yingtian Prefecture that Tiande and Lao Chang suddenly jumped over my head."

Looking at Tang He's calm expression, Ma Xun was filled with indescribable admiration.

The bottom line is that although Tang He sometimes had a bad mouth and his talents seemed mediocre, among the Huaixi nobles, there was really no one with more qualifications and a higher starting point than him.

But watching these people make contributions one after another and surpass him, Tang He would not complain or feel dissatisfied. Those brothers made contributions because of their abilities, and Tang He would only complain that he was not good enough, and he would also happily drink with his brothers.

Then he complained that his brothers did not help him achieve merit.

Tang Shengzong was anxious, and coughed and said, "I heard that Your Majesty had no intention of conferring a title on Feng Cheng before, and the army still felt that it was inappropriate. In taking Yingtian Prefecture, Military Advisor Feng can be said to have made the first contribution!"

Even though Feng Guoyong has been dead for eleven years, many people in the military still admire him.

It was he who initially planned to take Nanjing as the base of the dynasty. It was he who fought with Zhu Yuanzhang in Chuzhou, Hexian and other places. When Zhu Yuanzhang semi-established his own power, Feng Guoyong was his military advisor and general.

Including when they captured Nanjing, it was Feng Guoyong who first broke the city.

Feng Guoyong's daughter is Mu Ying's wife, and Mu Chun, who is often teased by Ma Xun, is Feng Guoyong's grandson.

Li Shanchang suddenly realized that even though he was an old man, he was still not vigilant enough. Perhaps because he looked down on Ma Xun from the bottom of his heart, he was led off topic.

In other words, Tang Shengzong corrected the topic in time because it concerned his own interests.

Li Shanchang also said, "Now that I think about it, it's a little inappropriate. The first agreement to confer titles on meritorious officials was when the country was founded. How can the circumstances at that time be applicable now?"

Tang Shengzong immediately followed up, "That's right. In this Northern Expedition, people like Yang Jing and Fu Youde have made great contributions. If they really followed the agreement made two years ago, they wouldn't even be able to get the title of marquis."

Seeing the foolish Tang He nodding in agreement, Ma Xun was so anxious that he wanted to jump up and down. Only Tang He believed what he said!
Perhaps Zhu Yuanzhang thought about rewarding his meritorious officials in the year of founding the country, but during the process, he had been observing these generals, rewarding them for their merits and punishing them for their faults, and was just waiting for the completion of the Northern Expedition before conferring titles on them.

The current series of standards cannot be the same as those used in the first year of Hongwu. They will not only look at previous achievements, but also the achievements in the past two years or so!

Tang He was so blindly obedient, no wonder he dared to dispatch 500 soldiers to help Li Shanchang build his house in history.

It is true that he knows how to protect himself and retreat at the right time, but when he is not smart enough, he does things that are not what a shrewd person would do.

Ma Xun could only speak up, "That makes sense, but I'm not very familiar with military affairs."

"I don't expect you to be familiar with these things. Just go and talk to the superiors and the queen." Tang He, the foolish man, said directly, "You said it, and then we go and talk to them. Things will definitely be done."

There is no greater sorrow than a broken heart. Ma Xun never thought that it was Tang He who put him on the fire! However, Ma Xun could only make a joke, "Brother Tang, why don't you go and tell them first? You tell them first, and then I'll tell them."

"How can it be the same?" Tang He said as a matter of course, "We go first and talk. The one who is in power will definitely scold us. If you go and talk, at most he will chase us away. After you are scolded, go and talk to the queen. The one who is in power will definitely think deeply about it."

Well, this guy Tang He was really sold out and was still helping count the money. Or maybe Tang He himself felt closer to people like Li Shanchang and Tang Shengzong, and helping his own people win the title of Duke was in his interest, and it was also his sense of loyalty.

As for Feng Sheng, love whoever you want!

Tang He probably didn't even think about whether this would make Zhu Yuanzhang angry or cause major changes in the court structure.

Ma Xun didn't want to give Li Shanchang the initiative, so he said, "Okay, then I'll go to the palace tomorrow and talk to him first!"

Tang He was overjoyed at Ma Xun's decisiveness and straightforwardness, and felt that he still had face. He mentioned some things, and the younger brother really agreed.

Tang Shengzong was also overjoyed. The uncle still had some influence on His Majesty. The most important thing was that even if the uncle could not convince him to ascend to the throne, he could just go and plead with the Queen, and Her Majesty would definitely be able to influence him to ascend to the throne.

What's more, there is the crown prince. All of the people from Huaixi know that your majesty's legitimate sons are close to the king's uncle. The crown prince regards the king's uncle as an elder, treating him with respect everywhere and considering the king's uncle in everything.

As for Li Shanchang, he was a little suspicious. It was really because Ma Xun agreed too readily. This was too abnormal. Even if it was for Tang He's sake, but think about it carefully, when has Ma Xun ever given such a favor?
Ma Xun was close to people like Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, and Tang He, but he only talked about private matters and not official business!
After finally sending these bad guests away, Chang Mao became anxious, "Uncle, how can I help Uncle Tang to ask for a title!"

Touching Chang Mao's head, Ma Xun said earnestly, "You are going to be the emperor's uncle in the future, so I will teach you a trick."

Seeing Chang Mao's expectant look, Ma Xun said directly, "You just agreed to all the things you can't do. If there are some things you can do, don't agree to them all!"

Chang Mao was stunned for a moment, then his face turned red, he was angry, "Uncle, how can a man do this!"

"A real man?" Ma Xun said unhappily, "How many real men are there in this court? Even your father has a lot of thoughts on his mind!"

Chang Mao was even more unhappy. "A real man should be generous and righteous. Since uncle has promised to do something, he should do it well."

Simple child!
Ma Xun was not worried about teaching his child bad habits, and continued, "This is what a royal uncle should do. Just don't cause trouble for your sister in the future. Your face is worthless, but your sister and your nephew's face is valuable!"

Chang Mao turned around and left angrily. Ma Xun warned him loudly, "Just remember what I taught you. Don't talk nonsense outside. It's not good for my reputation!"

Chang Mao's pace quickened. His uncle, whom he was close to and admired, was such a disappointment!
Seeing the immature Chang Mao running away quickly, Ma Xun was amused, "I haven't taught you yet to take money and not do the job, and you're angry? I didn't take any money or gifts, and I even gave you a few cups of tea as compensation. I didn't agree to anything, so how is that wrong?"

Chang Mao ran away, fearing that he would be taught a bad lesson.

Ma Xun muttered, "When have I ever done anything that made a loss?"

Although Ma Xun was speechless at the arrival of the bad guest, especially the matter mentioned was a headache for him, he also had a trick up his sleeve.

"Moth!" Ma Xun began to shout, "Go and tell the Madam to let her stay with me in the palace for a few days."

"Go and harness the carriage and bring Wangcai out."

Ma Xun really didn't like living in the palace, mainly because he felt uncomfortable. But it was okay to stay in the palace for a few days occasionally, as it would give him some peace and quiet, and there were many books in the palace for him to read.

Liu Shuning came over quickly and asked with a smile, "Does my husband want to enter the palace to have some peace and quiet?"

"I still can't hide it from you. It just so happens that I'm planning to get the school things in order. I'll add a few more subjects and hire more craftsmen." Ma Xun said with a smile, "We'll go to the main hall and the ancient and modern classics library to look for books to support the evidence."

Liu Shuning smiled and said, "That's fine. I also want to see the theory of mutual promotion and mutual restraint of animals that my husband mentioned before."

"Mengxi Bitan" is still very impressive, and it contains a lot of research on biology and physics.

Ma Xun smiled and said, "Originally, I also want to teach the second child a few numerology. They will go to the main hall in the morning and come to the small courtyard to learn numerology with me in the afternoon!"

Liu Shuning chuckled. The hard days for the princes were about to come. Those princes were active and disliked quietness. It was difficult to catch them to study mathematics.

Especially Liu Shuning knew very well that her husband had made in-depth research in numerology. She even felt that her husband was best at numerology, rather than the widely praised medical skills!
(End of this chapter)