The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 130 Getting to the bottom of things
Even though Ma Xun is shouting loudly at the Imperial College, as if he has everything under control.

But he turned around and ran towards the palace with Wangcai. Some things still required help, otherwise they would definitely not be accomplished.

If it involves military matters, it would be better. Ma Xun only needs to raise his hand and a group of Huaixi people will emerge, and maybe Chang Yuchun can even join in the fun.

Since it involves some matters related to civil administration, we can only seek help from Zhu Biao.

When Guo Ying saw Ma Xun, he hurriedly said, "Little brother, you better be careful. The upper position is not happy today."

Ma Xun couldn't help but complain, "Second brother, how can you tell others about His Majesty's affairs?"

Guo Ying didn't care at all, "It's just you. If Prime Minister Li came to ask about the throne, I wouldn't tell him. I heard that once you wanted to ask where the queen was, but you didn't tell her because of the guards. When His Majesty found out, he punished you."

Ma Xun didn't know about this, but he thought about it carefully and said, "It seems that after I enter the palace, it will be easy for me to find His Majesty and others."

"That's right!" Guo Ying said with a smile, "It's just you and Marquis Enqin. The Queen never punishes anyone in the palace for trivial matters. Take that guard for example. The Queen didn't like him very much and scolded him."

Zhu Yuanzhang strictly prevented eunuchs from interfering in political affairs, and also strictly prohibited foreign officials from understanding his situation through eunuchs and guards.

However, nothing is absolute. If Li Zhen and Ma Xun asked something, the guards would tell them if they knew about it, and Zhu Yuanzhang would not object at all.

Ma Xun then asked, "I didn't come here to see His Majesty. If he is unhappy, it's not his turn to get angry at me. Where is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

"I went to the main hall to listen to a lecture on the meaning of the sutra this morning. I should be back to Chunhe Palace now." Guo Ying said with a smile, "Otherwise I will go with you. It means that my brothers are not trusted and have not been promoted to the Eastern Palace."

Listening to Guo Ying's complaints, Ma Xun was a little surprised, "Neither you nor Brother Guo have been promoted to the Eastern Palace?"

The three brothers Guo Xing, Guo Ying and Guo Decheng were Zhu Yuanzhang's confidants. They guarded the military camps outside and the imperial city in Beijing. Moreover, there was also a concubine Guo Ning who was Ma Xiuying's right-hand man.

Guo Ying complained, "It's because we brothers haven't done enough. Little brother, without saying anything else, you have to find a way to say something good for us."

Ma Xun thought about it carefully and asked, "Is the East Palace now fully staffed with officials?"

Guo Ying immediately said, "It is vacant, and there are vacancies now. Yang Xian used to be the Chancellor of the Imperial Secretariat, and now it is vacant. Zhang Yi used to be the Chief Censor and the Doctor of the Crown Prince's Praise, but he passed away last year, so this position is also vacant."

Zhang Yi was known as one of the Four Masters of Eastern Zhejiang together with Liu Ji, Song Lian and Ye Chen. However, Ye Chen was killed before the founding of the country because of his rebellion as a surrendered general.

If you think about it carefully now, Liu Bowen has already left the central government, and among the four gentlemen of eastern Zhejiang, only Song Lian is still in the court.

Ma Xun didn't dare to guarantee it, but still said, "This matter will definitely be decided by His Majesty and others. I will wait for the right opportunity to say something nice."

Guo Ying was smiling happily. Ma Xun did not guarantee that what he said was true, but people who knew Ma Xun a little knew that he had an extremely stable personality, and it was extremely rare for him to be willing to help speak up.

It's funny if you think about it carefully. Song Lian and other civil officials kept getting close to Zhu Biao.

That's because Zhu Biao received orthodox Confucian education since childhood and had a kind and gentle personality, so many scholars felt that this crown prince could allow them to implement their political ideas.

The military commanders were not polite and kept moving closer to Zhu Biao. None of them worried that they would be suspected of having military power and contact with the prince, but they were only worried that they were not the prince's confidants.

Guo Ying was just joking. He still had to guard the city gate and definitely couldn't go with them.

Looking at the tree stump in front of Chunhe Palace, Ma Xun nodded with satisfaction. Previously, there was a plum tree forest here, but it was cut down last year.

Originally, we were planning to plant bamboo, but Zhu Biao didn't seem to like bamboo, so it is left empty now.

There was even a back garden behind the Kunning Palace, but it is now going to be demolished. Zhu Yuanzhang plans to arrange rockery and ponds there, but not plant flowers, only raise fish.

"Uncle." Zhu Biao was wearing a Taoist robe and was very happy to see Ma Xun. "This is really rare. You never come to my place when you enter the palace."

This is true. Ma Xun has been to the palace many times, but he has been to the Eastern Palace only a few times.

Ma Xun smiled and joked, "Your Highness, are you blaming me for being distant?"

"Uncle!" Zhu Biao complained with a smile, "It doesn't matter if you joke with me, but if this gets to mother's ears, she will scold me again."

Ma Xun carefully looked at Zhu Biao's face and said, "Let me check your pulse first."

Zhu Biao smiled and stretched out his hand. He didn't think he was sick, but he just wanted peace of mind. Not only for himself, but also for his parents and uncle.

Ma Xun took the pulse carefully. His medical skills were usually known only to himself, but the intensive tutoring did have some effect.

Then Ma Xun asked, "How is your Tai Chi practice going? Can you pay attention to the combination of meat and vegetables in your daily diet?"

"As my uncle said, I won't run or jump vigorously. I just walk and move around every day. Not to mention meals, they are all arranged by my mother." Zhu Biao stood up and said with a smile, "Speaking of Tai Chi, I think I can surpass my master!" Ma Xun was watching Zhu Biao practicing Tai Chi with a smile. His eldest nephew looked good and there was really nothing to worry about.

Ma Xun then continued, "The palace is located at a low altitude, so it is a bit damp. We need to pay attention to these things."

The palace was built by filling in the lake, so some of the tides are real.

Zhu Biao said quickly, "I have kept these things in mind, and the Eastern Palace is also paying attention. My parents are also paying attention, and they will definitely not affect my mother because of the humidity."

Ma Xun was considered a half-health doctor, and even when he made comments about the decoration of Ma Xiuying's bedroom, everyone listened carefully and actively made corrections.

The reason is very simple: I’m worried about gas disease.

Ma Xun is the person who knows the most about respiratory diseases, and he has been taking care of Ma Taigong since he was a child. He definitely has an opinion, and his family members can definitely be trusted.

Zhu Biao then said, "Uncle, there is nothing for you to worry about with your nephew. You have to work harder on your own. My parents are a little unhappy."

Ma Xun understood immediately and said with a smile, "I'm angry when I talk about this. It seems that Brother Guo and the others have made some moves."

"Your method seems to be very useful, why is it useless to you?" Zhu Biao couldn't help laughing, "My parents were talking about this a few days ago, is it true that doctors don't treat themselves?"

Ma Xun sorted out a plan for pregnancy preparation, etc., and everyone originally treated these things as a joke.

But the recent situation is that people like Guo Xing, who have fewer offspring, have won the lottery one after another, and they all praised Ma Xun's method for being effective.

What is really laughable is that Ma Xun, the "expert" with the most abundant theories and the most thorough preparations, failed miserably, and there is still no movement.

No one suspected that there was something wrong with his health, nor did they think that Liu Shuning was a hen that couldn't lay eggs.

It must be because he has not enough concubines. If he takes more concubines, he might be able to cast a wider net and catch more fish.

There is no way to say this. No matter how well prepared some people are, they still cannot get what they want. Some people don't want it at all, but they get it when they are not paying attention.

After the small talk, Zhu Biao asked with a smile, "It's rare for my uncle to come to my place, so he definitely didn't come to check my pulse to see if the East Palace is dry."

One would not visit a place without a request. This was one of Ma Xun's character traits, and everyone was aware of it.

Not to mention that he came to Zhu Biao specifically, when he went to see Zhu Yuanzhang, he basically had important business.

It was only better when I went to see Ma Xiuying. Most of the time it was for important business, but occasionally I just went to see my sister and talk to her.

"I came to ask Your Highness to borrow some people." Ma Xun said with a smile, "Next year's imperial examination will be held, I want to find out the basics first, so as not to make a fool of myself in the imperial examination next year."

Zhu Biao also became serious immediately. Holding imperial examinations to select officials was a big event for any dynasty, and it was right to take it seriously.

In history, Zhu Yuanzhang was dissatisfied with the imperial examination system, not because of the North-South List case, but because the quality of the examination was not high.

Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, the imperial examination was initially held two or three times, then stopped for more than ten years, and then resumed again.

Zhu Biao asked seriously, "Uncle, are you worried that the people in the Imperial College are not learning enough?"

"I am a little worried." Ma Xun said honestly, "It is not good to select some people who are not talented enough to pass the imperial examination for the first time in our country."

In the final analysis, the talents of the students in the Imperial Academy may be average, so one cannot have too high expectations at the beginning, nor can one give them a test paper that is too difficult.

Knowing the levels of those people and then arranging the exams, although this may be a bit misleading, it can be regarded as picking the tallest among the short ones, and it can also make the court look better.

The first imperial examination is over. It is very important to continue to strengthen education and successfully complete the first imperial examination.

Zhu Biao understood what Ma Xun meant and said, "The Imperial College now has four schools. Since my uncle is going to test the basics, the test questions must not be the same."

Ma Xun agreed with Zhu Biao's point of view very much. Those students had different educational levels, so naturally they could not have the same test paper.

Seeing Ma Xun nod, Zhu Biao continued, "There's no one around for uncle to set questions and mark papers, right?"

Ma Xun did not hide it, "I will definitely not let the teachers of the Imperial College to mark the papers. Although the people in the main hall are more or less involved with the Imperial College, they can be much more fair."

"Uncle, don't worry about this. I will be there to watch over the main hall, and no one will dare to cheat." Zhu Biao said confidently, "I will be in charge of setting questions and marking papers, and uncle can just take care of these things."

The prince who holds real power always speaks straightforwardly. Whether it is the main hall or the Imperial Academy, this prince can make arrangements very clearly.

(End of this chapter)