The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 125: The Death-Free Certificate for Taibao
As the time for conferring honors on meritorious officials was approaching, many things had already been decided, and the hereditary iron certificates had basically been completed.

This time, Zhu Yuanzhang prepared to confer titles on his meritorious officials, including seven dukes, twenty-eight marquises, and nine earls.

The iron certificate of immunity from death is shaped like a tile, which was inspired by the iron certificate bestowed by King Liu of Wu Yue in the Tang Dynasty. Last year, Zhu Yuanzhang sent people to Zhejiang to let the descendants of the Qian family bring the iron certificate of immunity from death to Beijing.

The iron certificate of immunity from death is also divided into grades. The one for a duke is one foot high and one foot six and a half inches wide.

The details of his career and number of favors were engraved on the outside to record his merits. The numbers of his pardons and salary reductions were engraved in the middle to prevent him from making mistakes. The characters were inlaid with gold.

Ma Xun looked at his certificate carefully, "In ancient times, the kings who founded the country and pacified the world must rely on the military officials to expand the territory and help achieve the goal of unification. It is appropriate to show respect and reward for them."

This is basically the unified style at the beginning, there is nothing much to say, but this also defines Ma Xun as a military general.

"I'm sorry, Xun, you are very filial to the king. You have been away from home since you were young, but you never forget the kindness of your parents." Ma Xun felt a little embarrassed, "That's what I said. I have done what I should do. How can I say that?"

Ma Xiuying said proudly, "You did what you should do, but how many people in this world think that these things must be done? You don't care about life and death, hardship, what else can they say?"

This is also what Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying thought in their hearts. Filial piety is the foundation of today's ethics and morality. Many people, especially some scholars, talk about filial piety all day long, but they may not be able to do it.

Ma Xun traveled thousands of miles to send Ma Taigong's remains back to his hometown, which was enough to prevent anyone from attacking Ma Xun's background, or attacking him for not submitting to Zhu Yuanzhang in his early years.

When mentioning this incident, moral models should also sincerely praise Ma Xun's filial piety, calling him the most filial son in the Ming Dynasty.

This is a matter of righteousness. If necessary, Ma Xun can stand in the court and speak nonsense, and no one can say anything.

Ma Xun continued reading, "The prince is extremely brave and resourceful, and his actions, words and silences are all superior to those of other heroes. With his bravery and perseverance, he chose me to return home when the times were turbulent."

Ma Xun felt even more embarrassed, "I don't have much ability, I came to rely on my brother-in-law and sister, and it is you who saved my life."

Some things on the iron certificate really cannot be believed. It is just blind praise. After all, Ma Xun had nowhere to go. He did not take the initiative to surrender to Zhu Yuanzhang.

"He has superb medical skills and can treat the empress and the country. He is ordered to go to war, and his reputation spreads far and wide." Ma Xun continued to comment happily, "This is a bit exaggerated. I fought in Qingyang just to share the credit. It was Brother Xu, Wenying and others who fought."

Ma Xiuying said lovingly, "You saved Biao'er, that's the truth. Qingyang was not conquered until you arrived, that's also the truth."

The iron certificate also read, "Now that the world has been settled, I will reward you according to your merits. I have no way to repay you, so I will confer upon you the title of Duke of Xu, with an official salary of 5,000 dan, and let your descendants inherit it from generation to generation."

"I am ignorant and have followed the rites of the wise kings of previous generations. I swear to you that except for treason, you will be spared two deaths and your son will be spared one death, in return for your merit. What a joke! When Ma Yuan returned to the Han Dynasty, you were able to emulate him. His merits were beyond measure. I hope you will be as careful as you were at the beginning, and spread your diligence, teach your descendants, and protect them forever."

Ma Xun then looked at the other dukes' certificates. In terms of annual salary, he was at the same level as Xu Da and Chang Yuchun. Li Shanchang was 4,000 dan, while Deng Yu, Li Wenzhong and Feng Sheng were 3,000 dan.

Even if he is a Duke, there is still a certain difference.

If we look more closely, it is directly written on Feng Sheng's hereditary iron certificate that Feng Sheng and his brothers are as close as brothers and that he led the entire army back without authorization. This means that although Feng Sheng was conferred the title of Duke, a large part of it was due to Feng's contributions to the country.

Ma Xun suddenly realized that something was wrong, because although the hereditary iron certificates of Xu Da, Chang Yuchun and others also had the word "I", they basically referred to themselves as "I".

But when it comes to Ma Xun, there is no "I" at all, it's all "I".

In this great honoring ceremony for meritorious officials, in addition to the official title of Duke of Xu, other official titles were also given.

It goes without saying that the founding generals were basically all military officials who assisted the country in running the country and were loyal and dedicated. However, civil officials such as Li Shanchang were the only ones who were loyal and dedicated and upheld the truth.

The title of Special Advancement to the Grand Master of Imperial Households was a continuation of the Tang and Song dynasties' scattered rank system, in which officials were promoted to show honor and favor. The title of Special Advancement to the Grand Master of Imperial Households was the first rank.

Ma Xun was the Right Pillar of the State, second only to Xu Da, Chang Yuchun and Li Shanchang as the Left Pillar of the State. This was the highest rank among the honorary officials.

Last year Ma Xun was only the 'Young Master', but now he has been directly promoted to the position of Grand Tutor, which is also known as one of the Three Dukes.

After this great ceremony of ennobling meritorious officials, the Grand Tutor was Li Shanchang, the Grand Preceptor was Xu Da, and the Grand Protectors were Chang Yuchun and Ma Xun.

The "Right Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Commandery" and "Assistant in Military Affairs of State" were actual official positions.

Like Ma Xun and Li Wenzhong, he had to participate in the management of the highest institutions for military and civil officials, including the Grand Marshal's Office and the Secretariat.

In terms of rewards, his rewards were slightly lower than those of Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, and Li Shanchang, but they were basically at the same level. His rewards were slightly higher than those of Li Wenzhong, Deng Yu, and others.

Among the seven founding dukes, Ma Xun was the dividing line.

Zhu Yuanzhang also had his own unique idea. Everyone knew that Xu Da was the first meritorious minister of the founding of the country, but among the seven founding dukes, Li Shanchang was the leader, but his reward was slightly lower than Xu Da's.

Looking carefully at the hereditary certificates of other meritorious officials, they are basically the same, with all their merits and demerits on them. Ma Xun thought carefully and said to Ma Xiuying, "Sister, I am originally a relative of the emperor, and I did not make any contribution to the founding of the country in the early years. It's okay to give me a title now, but is it too high? I am the last of the Dukes, which is the most appropriate."

"Your brother-in-law doesn't agree, and Biao'er doesn't allow it either." Ma Xiuying said with a smile, "I originally thought that you could just be at the end, but they insisted that you saved Biao'er, and that's enough credit."

Ma Xun asked in a low voice, "It's not appropriate for me to be in the middle. Besides, what if I am taller than Bao'er? Bao'er is a member of the Zhu family after all. How can we, the Ma family, suppress the Zhu family?"

"Haha!" Ma Xun was startled by the laughter coming from outside the door. "Biao'er, look, your uncle just likes to nitpick on these trivial matters!"

Zhu Biao, who had been eavesdropping for a long time, said helplessly, "Dad, I have already said that my uncle is not happy. He also said that my second brother has made great contributions. In terms of seniority, my uncle should be mentioned as being more respected."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded with a smile. Ma Xun's little thoughts and predictions had already been guessed by them father and son.

Even Ma Xiuying was nodding. She had basically guessed some of Ma Xun's words and thoughts, and in fact it was true.

Zhu Yuanzhang patted Ma Xun on the shoulder and said, "Your eldest brother-in-law has also been conferred the title of Duke this time. My brother-in-law and nephew are both Dukes, which is much better than your Ma family!"

Ma Xiuying glared at Zhu Yuanzhang. Her husband was sometimes careless and liked to make jokes about Ma Xun more and more. He seemed to find it very funny to see Ma Xun in embarrassment.

Zhu Biao said to Ma Xun seriously, "Uncle, my uncle is the Duke of Cao, the Special Advancement Doctor, the Founding Assistance Officer, and the Right Pillar of the State. The only thing he lacks is participation in state affairs, but my second brother is the Left Governor."

Zhu Biao's meaning was very clear, that is, although Li Zhen seemed to be lower than Ma Xun, the title of Duke of Cao was conferred on both father and son at the same time, and Li Wenzhong's official position was actually higher than Ma Xun's.

Zhu Yuanzhang was also able to figure out how to confer titles on his meritorious officials. It would have been fine if the father and son were conferred titles at the same time, but the key point was that both the father and son were Duke of Cao.

If he went out and met someone, and Li Zhen and Li Wenzhong were present at the same time, he would have to call them "Big Duke of Cao" and "Little Duke of Cao".

Ma Xun said, "I was promoted to the third rank, but Bao'er didn't even get the third rank, let alone the eldest brother-in-law."

This is also the difference between Ma Xun and Li Zhen and Li Wenzhong, father and son. Neither Duke Cao nor his son were promoted to higher positions in the Eastern Palace.

Zhu Biao immediately said, "Uncle, you are mistaken. The Three Dukes are the Three Dukes of the Emperor, assisting the Emperor. It is not appropriate to make my second brother a Three Duke. My uncle is old and it is not appropriate to trouble him."

Seeing Ma Xun's face turn red and his neck become thick, Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying both laughed happily.

When it comes to talking about principles and etiquette, Zhu Biao can do it with ease and leave Ma Xun speechless.

The Third Young Master can be considered the prince's teacher, but the Third Duke are the emperor's three dukes.

After all, Ma Xun and Zhu Yuanzhang were of the same generation, while Li Wenzhong was a junior, so there was no room for discussion on the issue of the Three Dukes.

What's more, whether they are the Three Dukes or the Three Young Masters, they are now promoted to show favor and have no real rights.

Zhu Biao immediately said, "My uncle's ancestor was the Taibao."

Zhu Yuanzhang also nodded, because Ma Mo was posthumously named Taibao. So in the eyes of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, naming Ma Xun as Taibao was a good story.

Ma Xiuying also said, "That's why I didn't object. You want to protect Biao'er after all. You and Boren are Biao'er's uncles, and Boren is his Taishan. It's more appropriate for the two of you to be Taibao."

It is one thing that the two mountains of Xu Da and Li Shanchang are difficult to overcome, but the most important thing is that the promotion of the title of "Taibao" is also to let all officials and subjects of the world see clearly the positions of Ma Xun and Chang Yuchun.

Ma Xun was now even more speechless. If he continued to oppose becoming one of the "Three Dukes", he would be considered disloyal and unfilial, and would be despised by Zhu Yuanzhang's family for disregarding family affection and not protecting the younger generation.

Since there was no way to refuse, Ma Xun accepted it, "That's fine, I have a prominent status now, so it's easy for me to do things."

Seeing that Ma Xun had come to his senses, Zhu Yuanzhang and his family of three were the happiest.

The main thing is that Ma Xun has a good character of not competing or fighting, but sometimes it also makes people worry, because Zhu Yuanzhang still wants to treat Ma Xun well to show his favor to the queen.

In Ma Xiuying's view, Zhu Yuanzhang's kindness to Ma Xun was not only a way of taking care of the Ma family, but also a way of constantly enhancing Zhu Biao's status and prestige.

After all, Zhu Biao is going to get married next year. Although Zhu Biao has begun to participate in some state affairs now, he is still taught privately by Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying.

After the wedding, Zhu Biao could legitimately go to the Fengtian Hall to observe government affairs, and he could go to the Wenhua Hall to handle state affairs.

What does this mean?
This means that the crown prince has come of age and can handle state affairs with the support of a group of civil and military officials. This is the official beginning of his taking over of power.

If anyone objects, the Emperor and Empress should not come forward first. Duke Xu can go and deal with some officials on behalf of the Crown Prince!
(End of this chapter)