The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 123: Training the Generals First

After dinner, Zhu Biao returned to the palace under the protection of his guards.

The Chang family sat for a while and then went back. The advantage of living next door is that it is convenient to visit each other.

Liu Shuning poured a cup of tea for Ma Xun and said, "My husband will probably be very busy for the next period of time."

"When have I ever been idle?" Ma Xun said somewhat dissatisfiedly, "But I will definitely be busier from now on. Educating these underage princes and children of nobles is the Queen's duty."

Liu Shuning didn't know what to say, because on the surface, these tasks seemed to be what the queen should do.

But to be realistic, only some queens with real power can do this.

Empress Ma was not short of real power and prestige, but she had too many important things to do, so she threw the task of educating minors directly to Ma Xun.

She only has this one younger brother, who is very capable and has excellent character, so it seems that some things are naturally his responsibility.

Liu Shuning then said with some concern, "My husband, since the princes also want to train, they definitely can't join the army, right?"

Ma Xun knew what Liu Shuning was worried about, and said with a smile, "Can I really let them be soldiers? It's nothing more than setting up some rules first. The nobles are the same, they still have to command the troops."

These are also what Ma Xun really thinks. He will definitely not let people like Zhu Chong and Chang Mao really serve as soldiers.

Then Ma Xun continued, "In fact, I don't need to teach many things. I don't understand military tactics and the like. They all have great generals in their families."

Liu Shuning did not refute. Asking Ma Xun to lead Zhu Chong and others to train troops was nothing more than a test of their temper.

If one really wants to develop real skills, he should look for the great generals in the army. These people's achievements in leading troops and fighting battles are far beyond the reach of Ma Xun.

Not only did Ma Xun or the heads of the noble families understand these situations, but Chang Mao and other boys also knew about them.

Therefore, in the following training, Mu Ying and Liu Jing were the real instructors.

Ma Xun is the "class teacher" and "dean of studies", and he has to teach these children of power and influence a good lesson in ideology and morality.

There is no need to think too much about the other things. Even if Ma Xun wants to teach you some real skills, he is not capable enough, so he should not humiliate himself.

At 2:00 pm, which was 8:00 in the morning, Chang Mao came with his brothers, "Uncle."

"Go stand at the door." Ma Xun said with a straight face, "Yesterday's incident is not over yet. It's the same when Deng Zhen and the others come. Go stand there."

Although he felt dissatisfied and thought his uncle was making a big deal out of nothing, Chang Mao did not talk back. He obediently took Chang Sheng and Chang Sen to continue standing in the punishment.

Mu Ying walked into the gate and bowed before saying, "Uncle, why are you still letting them stand today?"

"We can't just let them off so easily if they face the wall and reflect on their mistakes." Ma Xun explained, "If we really lift them up high and then put them down lightly, they might make the same mistake again."

Mu Ying nodded. He would definitely not plead for Chang Mao and others. There was no need for that at all.

The most important thing now is to make these noble children remember their mistakes so that they don't make the same mistakes again in the future.

Only by having a sense of awe in your heart and knowing the laws of the court can you avoid making big mistakes.

Ma Xun can accept being playful, naughty, etc., and sometimes small mistakes will not be a big deal.

However, Ma Xun would definitely not tolerate some matters of principle, and he would discipline them severely when necessary.

Liu Jing also came and said with a smile, "Now many people are looking at the scene at the gate of the mansion, which is quite interesting. It is because of my status as the king's uncle that those guys dare not cause trouble."

The people of the entire capital city don’t know about this yet, but those who are closer to the city basically know about it.

At the gate of Prince Xu's mansion stood several children of top nobles, all of whom were punished by the king's uncle to reflect on their mistakes facing the wall. This began to become a laughing stock.

Some nobles were also thinking of sending their own children over, or warning their good-for-nothing children to be more restrained and not fall into Ma Xun's hands.

Ma Xun smiled and said, "It's a small punishment, but a big warning. Let's see if they dare to ride horses in the downtown area again. Luckily, they didn't hit anyone yesterday, otherwise they would not only be punished by standing."

Whether it was Mu Ying or Liu Jing, they all admired Ma Xun's character very much.

They are all considered to have relatively good character, but when compared with Ma Xun, he is a bit "reckless".

Ma Xun's status was noble, but no one had ever heard of him breaking the law, not even committing minor mistakes.

There are countless other powerful people, even the children of landlords and wealthy families, who rely on their family background to commit evil.

Some people think that riding a horse in a busy city is nothing. Beating civilians and showing off with servants are the reserved routines of many children of the powerful.

Chang Mao and the others were just unlucky. They were caught by Ma Xun while riding in the downtown area, so they were standing there dejectedly. Ma Xun then became serious and said, "Your Majesty asked us to train the princes and the sons of nobles. What do you think?"

Mu Ying said, "Uncle, the princes have been in the army since they were young. People like Chang Mao are good at wielding swords and guns, so they know something about military affairs."

Ma Xun naturally knew all this. People like Zhu Chong and Chang Mao all had a good foundation, and if they were to join the army now, it would basically be a seamless transition.

Mu Ying then said, "I think there are some things that don't need to be taught. Teaching them how to fight and lead troops is the basics."

Liu Jing added, "You have to learn how to lead troops, and you have to learn how to manage soldiers. There is no need to teach you tactics and strategies."

The most important thing is to let Zhu Chong, Chang Mao and others learn to manage soldiers and make them qualified officers.

Ma Xun smiled and said, "We have the same idea. I really don't plan to teach them how to fight. It's OK if others don't know. You all know that I can't lead troops, let alone fight."

Mu Ying and Liu Jing did not respond. They had followed Ma Xun to the battle last year, so they naturally knew how capable Ma Xun, the "chief instructor", was.

Even Zhu Yuanzhang, Chang Yuchun and others did not expect Ma Xun to really teach Zhu Chong, Chang Mao and others the art of war.

Mu Ying further said, "Uncle, we are only training soldiers from one garrison this time. I think we should select some new soldiers, some younger ones."

Liu Jing understood what Mu Ying meant and added, “There are too many veterans in the army. If they don’t have some skills, even the princes will find it difficult to control them.”

There are many veterans in the army, including some who have fought for twenty years. Such people are one of the most important guarantees of combat effectiveness in the army.

However, such old soldiers can become slippery and difficult to manage even for some officers.

Among the generals and soldiers in the early years of the founding of the country, not many were worry-free. If you wanted to manage these people well, you really had to have some prestige.

Ma Xun said, "You have a good idea. Just choose younger people, even those without military experience. Make sure to choose people from good families. It's not difficult to recruit them."

Mu Ying said confidently, "Don't worry, uncle. There aren't many other things in the capital, but there are many sons of military families. We will definitely be able to recruit a good son from a good family."

It doesn't matter if these people can't improve their combat effectiveness in the short term. This group of guards is not prepared for war for the time being, and no one will say anything if they train for three or even five years.

To allow the kings to train their troops and the children of nobles to grow, this is the greatest significance of this guard.

If Ma Xun can also improve a lot, he will be able to make some progress in this large-scale military training.

Even if it was just some small progress and he could actually lead a group of guards to complete simple war tasks, Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying would be so happy that they didn't know how to react.

Ma Xun, the hands-off shopkeeper, looked at Mu Ying and Liu Jing and said, "Then let Wenying and your uncle handle this matter. Wenying will go to your second brother's place and get the military tents, military equipment and other logistics ready in advance."

Seeing Mu Ying nod, Ma Xun asked, "I'm planning to get a deputy commander, what do you think?"

Liu Jing was also a little nervous, as they were asking for an official position for him.

Mu Ying smiled and said, "It will definitely be no problem. My cousin has also fought in wars and has a good family background. But my uncle still has to go to the palace, and His Majesty will definitely sign it when the time comes."

Ma Xun asked tentatively, "Do I have to go to His Majesty? Can I get this done if I go to the Queen?"

"It will definitely be done, but the Queen will definitely give you a higher position." Mu Ying knew what Ma Xun meant and explained with a smile, "But if you do this, your uncle will definitely be nagged by the Queen."

Then we should go to the emperor. This involves military power. How can we let the queen confer titles and appoint generals for no reason?

Mu Ying then smiled and said, "Uncle, when we go to His Majesty this time, we should ask His Majesty for more officers."

Ma Xun must have had the same idea, "You're right. Although you guys are helping me train the soldiers, some officers at the grassroots level are also important."

With the best soldiers and outstanding generals like Mu Ying, it seems that there is nothing to worry about. However, if you want an army to have excellent combat effectiveness, you should have a group of core grassroots officers.

After all, excellent grassroots officers are not only managing soldiers, they are also executing the military orders of senior officers. This group of people is an important resource for Ma Xun and others to train new recruits for the guard.

He carefully discussed the establishment of a new army with Mu Ying and Liu Jing. This was the first time that Ma Xun had to train a new army from scratch. It was a major test and he had to be very careful.

After finishing these things, Ma Xuncai said, "Let those boys take a break. I have to discipline them and not collect the tuition, but also provide them with food!"

Mu Ying joked, "Uncle, these people are now old enough to eat, and they need to eat well."

It's true, these little brats are eating me into bankruptcy. These growing boys are all big eaters and they never get tired of eating fine food.

Thinking of this, Ma Xun felt even more heartbroken.

Not only does he have to take the trouble to discipline these people, but he also has to spend money to provide them with food and drink. This time he will suffer a huge loss!
(End of this chapter)