The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 153: Party strife begins again?

The third year of Hongwu passed and the fourth year of Hongwu arrived.

Ma Xun felt that everything was normal. It was nothing more than a grand court ceremony and the customary dispatch of troops in the first month of the year.

When Chen Youliang killed Xu Shouhui and established himself as the emperor, Xu Shouhui's general Ming Yuzhen was dissatisfied and later proclaimed himself the King of Longshu and then the emperor.

The Mingxia Emperor Mingsheng, who has been on the throne for five years, is only a 15-year-old boy, and his ministers are all very rude and unwilling to be inferior to others. Now Mingxia is busy with internal strife.

Zhu Yuanzhang had also sent letters to persuade Ming Xia many times before, but Ming Xia's attitude was ambiguous.

Since the Mongolian threat was temporarily lifted, Zhu Yuanzhang announced on the third day of the Lunar New Year that Tang He would be the General of the Western Expedition, Zhou Dexing would be the Left Deputy General, and Liao Yongzhong would be the Right Deputy General, and they would lead the Beijing Guard Jingxiang Navy from Qutang to Chongqing.

Fu Youde was the general in front of the enemy, Gu Shi was the left deputy general, and He Wenhui and others led the infantry and cavalry of Henan and Shaanxi from Qinlong to Chengdu.

They set out separately, heading towards Sichuan from the south and the north.

At the same time, Zhu Yuanzhang also ordered Xu Da and Chang Yuchun to go to Beiping and Taiyuan respectively. Their official task was to train troops.

But everyone knew that after conquering Sichuan, the imperial court would have to consider completely annihilating Emperor Yuan and Wang Baobao who were entrenched in Helin, and the Ming Dynasty's war would not stop.

Ma Xun didn't need to fight, but the imperial examination would be held in mid-February of the lunar calendar, so he had to work hard.

This imperial examination is very interesting, because there are also "international students" from Goryeo who will also take the imperial examination. However, their level is not high, so they will be given a quota when the time comes.

Although we conducted a baseline test in advance and knew that these students’ abilities were average, we still had to make necessary preparations.

"Uncle!" Chang Mao was very happy to see Ma Xun, "I, your nephew, wish you a happy old age!"

There is nothing wrong with saying this, because Ma Xun did not leave the palace until after the Lantern Festival.

"That's not even lucky money." Ma Xun was holding a grudge and said, "Why are you spreading rumors in front of your parents? When did I ever say I would choose a wife for you?"

Chang Mao immediately scratched his face in a simple and honest manner, "Did I remember it wrong? I clearly remember my uncle saying that he wanted me to find a gentle and suitable match from a scholar's family."

Then Chang Mao knelt down towards Liu Shuning and said, "Aunt, your nephew wishes you a happy new year!"

Liu Shuning immediately smiled and said, "I've prepared some lucky money for you guys. Come and get it first."

Chang Mao was smiling happily. His uncle was becoming increasingly difficult to fool, but it was easy to please his aunt.

After returning home, Ma Xun was still the same as before, not having to worry about household affairs. In the past, Xu E helped to take care of it, and now with Liu Shuning, he didn't have to worry about household affairs anymore.

Chang Sheng arrived, and Deng Yu, Xu Huizu and others soon came over. Not only those who were training with the troops, but many people from Huaixi also came over.

It's not just because of Ma Xun's identity, but also because these people from Huaixi are relatively close, and the children still have to visit each other during the holidays.

Ma Xun stayed in the palace until after the Lantern Festival, but no matter what, etiquette could not be omitted. Ma Xun and Liu Shuning also prepared a lot of New Year's money, which had to be given out.

"I've lost all my salary just for paying New Year's greetings." Ma Xun complained, "I'll get it back sooner or later, so we're still getting the upper hand. Children can ask for money from birth, so I didn't have to give them New Year's money in the past few years."

Liu Shuning also laughed at Ma Xun's "careful calculation", "That's true, but the gift can't be too heavy, otherwise it won't look good."

Zhu Yuanzhang also preliminarily determined the annual salary for civil and military officials, which was 900 dan for the first rank, 750 dan for the second rank, 60 dan for the ninth rank, and 50 dan for the ninth rank.

At present, there is certainly no problem in taking care of the food and drink for the whole family, but it is unrealistic to expect to get rich with the salary from the Ming Dynasty.

At present, the price of rice in the south is about 5 qian to 1 liang of silver, while in the north it is 7 qian to 1 liang of silver. The price of pork, fish and shrimp is relatively stable, about 10 wen per catty.

According to the current measurement unit, one dan is 120 jin, one jin is 16 liang, one liang is 10 qian, one qian is 10 cents, and one fen is 10 cents.

Baochao, there is no trace of Baochao now, Zhu Yuanzhang has not issued Baochao yet.

Ma Xun and Liu Shuning are still staying at home, and their lives are very stable.

He Da came and said, "My Lord, there is a civil servant outside who wants to see you. He said he doesn't want to see you, and he said he is the chief academic officer of the Imperial College."

Ma Xun was stunned for a moment. "Isn't Wei Guan the chief academician of the Imperial College? You should know him?"

He Da scratched his head and said, "That person said that Wei Guan was transferred to Suzhou as the prefect last year, and he is the successor."

Ma Xun thought for a moment and said, "Then call him over. Isn't Wei Guan the Imperial College's chief academic officer? How come I don't know about this?"

Liu Shuning tried hard not to laugh out loud. Ma Xun's claim of being in charge of the Imperial College was simply a joke. In name, he was supposed to be in charge of the Imperial College, but it was no longer just a hands-off manager.

He didn't even know that the chief academic officer of the Imperial College had been replaced. This is truly a dereliction of duty.

When he arrived at the main hall, Ma Xun saw a middle-aged man.

Wang Yi also knew that Ma Xun didn't know him, so he said directly, "I am the acting chief priest of the Imperial College, and I am here to see Duke Xu."

'Dai' is quite normal in the officialdom of Ming Dynasty. Similar to it is 'shi'. Some officials have to work hard if they want to become regular officials.

Ma Xun asked curiously, "Where is Wei Guan? I remember he did something before and got promoted?" Wang Yi looked at Ma Xun in surprise and answered him in detail, "A month ago, Prefect Wei was transferred to Suzhou and has already taken up the post. I will take over as the chief priest."

Ma Xun was happy for Wei Guan. "So he has been promoted from a fourth-rank official to a fourth-rank prefect. This is a good thing. He is talented and can now govern the local area. He has great potential in the future!"

Wang Yi's expression became even more strange, because what Ma Xun said made sense at first glance, but it seemed inconsistent no matter how you looked at it.

First of all, the ages don't match. A young man in his early twenties is commenting on middle-aged and elderly people in their forties or fifties in such a condescending manner. Moreover, Wei Guan's comment was not a "promotion".

It seems like a promotion, but going from a noble chief priest to a local official is not a high promotion in the eyes of many people.

Wang Yi then said, "The former Suzhou prefect Chen Ning was a harsh official, known as 'Chen Laotie', and many gentry and common people complained about him."

Ma Xun nodded and asked, "Is Chen Ning such a harsh official? Chen Laotie, is he a cruel official?"

Wang Yi pointedly said, "This man was originally a minor official in Zhenjiang. He served Your Majesty a long time ago. He was once the Minister of War, Vice Prime Minister, and Right Prime Minister. Last year, he was demoted to the governor of Suzhou. Now, he has been recommended by the Left Prime Minister of the Central Secretariat and has been appointed as the Chief Censor again."

This makes him sound like an 'old man', one of the earliest civil servants to follow Zhu Yuanzhang, but his life was also full of ups and downs.

Suddenly Ma Xun felt something was wrong, Hu Weiyong and Chen Ning.

Aren’t these Hu Weiyong’s followers?

It seems that Hu Weiyong, the seemingly "dutiful" Zhongshu Zuocheng, is now beginning to accelerate the pace of taking control of power.

From being Li Shanchang's vanguard, he is now constantly growing and developing, winning over some people and cultivating his own faction.

As expected, once he was in charge of the Secretariat, his desire for power expanded rapidly, as if all this was natural.

Ma Xun looked at Wang Yi and asked, "What brings you here this time?"

Wang Yi actually didn't want to come to Ma Xun because Wei Guan was demoted. The official reason was that the position of Suzhou prefect was vacant and Wei Guan did not do a good job in the position of Jijiu of the Imperial College.

However, as a native of eastern Zhejiang, Wang Yi knew very well that Wei Guan was demoted because he offended Ma Xun.

Wang Yi was from Yiwu. He once studied under Huang Xi, one of the "Four Great Scholars" of the Yuan Dynasty, and one of Huang Xi's favorite disciples was Song Lian.

Wang Yi replied, "Duke Xu, the imperial court will hold a talent selection ceremony soon, and the Imperial Examination Hall has been cleaned up."

The Imperial Examination Hall is located in the Confucius Temple. Since the Six Dynasties, it has been a place where prominent families gathered, merchants gathered, scholars gathered, Confucianism flourished, and it is known as the "Gold Powder of the Six Dynasties".

The examination room has been cleaned up, which means that Ma Xun, the chief examiner, will take over the examination room.

Ma Xun then asked with concern, "Has His Majesty issued an order to appoint me as the chief examiner?"

Wang Yi was also stunned for a moment, because now everyone knew that the emperor had chosen Ma Xun as the chief examiner for the first imperial examination of the Ming Dynasty. But there was no clear decree issued yet, and it seemed that everyone had forgotten about it.

This is not Zhu Yuanzhang or Wang Yi's fault, because everything seems to be natural and everyone thinks that this matter is settled.

Wang Yi immediately replied, "I will submit a memorial tomorrow, asking Your Majesty to decide on the examiner."

Ma Xun smiled immediately. "That's right. I can only do things after His Majesty gives the order. That's it. Submit the memorial as soon as possible. You must not delay the talent selection ceremony."

A shameless person is invincible, and Ma Xun is showing this trend now.

As the chief examiner, he did not pay much attention to the imperial examination and now blames Wang Yi and others for not reminding him.

Wang Yi could only sigh that a higher-ranking official can crush a person to death. At the same time, he also felt that this king's uncle lived up to his reputation. He was indeed a slippery and cunning person and it was impossible to find any handle on him.

He wanted everyone in the world to know about this, but he pretended to be ignorant and didn't leave any evidence to criticize him.

After Wang Yi left, Ma Xun couldn't help but start thinking about something.

Judging from the current situation, the Hu Weiyong case will definitely not break out in the short term, and Hu Weiyong still plays a certain role.

Just thinking about it again, after Yang Xian was executed last year, I felt that the civil officials were generally very well-behaved and did not make any small moves.

But this year is different. A group of nobles including Xu Da, Chang Yuchun and Tang He left the capital one after another, and these civil servants began to become restless.

If you think about it this way, a lot of things might happen this year.

Forget it, let’s not think about so many things for now. Ma Xun has a lot of work to do after the new year.

Not only did he have to continue training troops, he also had to take Zhu Chong and others back to Fengyang, and preside over the imperial examinations, as well as the important event of Zhu Biao's wedding.

Each and every one of these things must be done well, and these are all concentrated in the first half of the year.

This means that Ma Xun has no free time at all. He just doesn't attend court, but he never does nothing.

Being idle, doing nothing, and listening to music in a brothel, this can only be imagined!
(End of this chapter)