The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 179 Rogue is just a means
Ma Xun thought it was normal and understandable that his nephews were being cared about by others.

The reality is that the marriages of the princes are indeed major matters that concern the country and the people.

Especially the marriage of the crown prince has a greater impact.

But now that Zhu Biao's marriage has been decided, other people have no say. Then Zhu Chong, the Prince of Qin, is special, after all, he is the head of the princes of the Ming Dynasty.

Free love and the like are obviously impossible, not to mention that Zhu Chong is the King of Qin.

Even some wealthy families and even ordinary people pay attention to matching each other and have to consider a series of interests.

In this era, elopement is a serious crime and is despised by people.

Ma Xun looked at Tao Kai and the others and asked curiously, "I think you should have heard that His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin and the eldest daughter of Duke Weiguo were childhood sweethearts. Is there anything else to discuss about this matter?"

This is the point that Tao Kai and others feel must be discussed. They really do not take them, the civil servants, seriously.

Marriages between the royal family and nobles are not new, but according to the current trend, the emperor is very likely planning to let all the princes marry the daughters of noble families as princesses, and the princesses marry the princes of noble families.

This is indeed true in history. Even if Zhu Yuanzhang's sons did not choose the daughters of noble families as their princesses, they would choose a series of middle and high-level military generals.

As for his daughters, at least during the time of Zhu Yuanzhang, Princess Anqing Zhu Jingxian married Ouyang Lun, the only prince consort of commoner origin.

The princess and the prince consort were chosen from noble families or military generals, while the concubines and maids were chosen from civil servants. This was difficult for many people to accept.

They are all ladies from famous families, and now they are all being "mistresses". It is really heartbreaking.

Tao Kai then spoke up, "It's normal for His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin to know about Shao Ai. But he is the prince of the Ming Dynasty after all, and some things should be based on the country first."

Ma Xun was puzzled. "The Duke of Wei is a pillar of the imperial court. Would marrying into his family be bad for the country?"

Wang Yi quickly came to the rescue and said, "The Duke has misunderstood. Minister Tao meant that the daughter of the Duke of Wei is a good candidate, but there is someone more suitable, which is beneficial to the country."

Ma Xun said with a straight face, "If it were anything else, I would probably use the excuse that it was a matter of state and I couldn't say much. But when it comes to His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin, I am not only the Duke of Xu of the Ming Dynasty, but also the uncle of all the princes."

By mentioning "father" specifically at this time, he naturally hopes to use his status to pressure others.

Tao Kai said in a somewhat flattering tone, "It is precisely because the uncle of the emperor has a special status and is well-known for his virtues that I want to discuss this with him just now."

Wang Yi also said, "Everyone in the court and the country knows that the prince always puts state affairs first, and there is no trivial matter in the royal family. I also think that this is a political matter as well as a family matter. It would be best if the prince speaks up for justice."

This is an attempt to drug Ma Xun, or perhaps to put him in a difficult position and embarrass him.

Ma Xun was not fooled and said directly, "I think there is nothing to discuss about the marriage of the King of Qin. The status of the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Wei is suitable. The Duke of Wei has made outstanding contributions. Is there anyone who can let his legitimate daughter be a concubine?"

Seeing that Ma Xun was not fooled and not confused by the flattery, Tao Kai and others became a little anxious. Don't they know the difficulty of this?
The Crown Prince of Ming Dynasty and the Prince of Qin of Ming Dynasty can be said to be the least polite. They both have childhood sweethearts and seem to be well matched, so some things seemed to be beyond negotiation very early on.

Everyone had to accept the choice of the Crown Princess. The Emperor and the Empress both relied on Chang Yuchun and his wife. The Crown Prince was even more determined and would not discuss the issue of the Crown Princess with the ministers at all.

As for the King of Qin, everyone originally felt that there was no room for negotiation, but now the situation has changed. Perhaps everyone can try hard to make some changes.

Deng Yu, the Duke of Weiguo, has a special identity. He is one of the seven founding dukes of the Ming Dynasty, and ranks high.

The civil service system dare not offend this person, or they hope to spread the risk, and Ma Xun is the best candidate.

After all, some things may seem to be political affairs, but as long as the emperor's uncle is willing to give advice, it can be regarded as the emperor's "family affairs".

Tao Kai said, "There is no need to say much about the achievements of the Duke of Wei. He has always been a simple, prudent, wise and brave person, and is respected by people from all walks of life."

Wang Yi also said, "Back then, we were recommended by Duke Weiguo and have always been close to him."

This is not a big problem. Song Lian and others were recommended by Li Shanchang. However, most of them were recommended by Hu Dahai. This illiterate general loved literati in his early years and sought out heroes wherever he went.

Deng Yu originally followed Hu Dahai to fight in Huizhou Prefecture, Zhejiang and other places, so he did have some friendship with Song Lian and others.

Ma Xun couldn't help laughing. "If that's the case, why let him suffer humiliation when he is guarding Xiangyang and raising military funds?"

Song Lian's face suddenly changed, and he quickly stood up to explain, "Your Highness is wrong, we have no intention of humiliating the Duke of Wei."

Zhan Tong also hurriedly explained, "The uncle has misunderstood. We are only discussing political affairs. After all, the Duke of Wei is a minister of the Ming Dynasty. Naturally, he should put justice first."

Ma Xun looked at Zhan Tong and asked, "A few days ago, my wife begged for grace from Her Majesty the Queen to take a concubine for me. I think it's not appropriate. How can I take a concubine casually? I'm a scholar, so I have to choose the daughter or granddaughter of a great scholar as my concubine. What do you think?" The 'concubine' that Ma Xun mentioned is not even a side room. They are just concubines who are carried in through the side door at night. They are the concubines with the lowest status!

At this moment, Song Lian and others' faces changed. If they really did this, it would be an absolute humiliation to some scholars, especially those great Confucian scholars.

If she married the prince as a concubine, it would be fine, and it would be no problem for her to be taken into the emperor's harem, but she is just a duke, so there would be no problem for her to be the main wife, as they are well matched.

But being a concubine directly, isn't that intentional humiliation?

Ma Xun continued, "You should also share the worries of Her Majesty the Queen, and understand the righteousness of the monarch and his subjects. I am the only child in the Queen's family, and the Emperor and Empress are often worried about this, fearing that they will not be able to repay my father's kindness."

Liu Bowen was drinking tea calmly. His son-in-law's series of remarks were not beyond his expectations at all.

After all, he is the emperor's brother-in-law and the queen's younger brother, so some things may not be learned but innate.

Your identity can be changed at any time. Sometimes you are a civil official, sometimes you are a military general. It is no problem if you want to be a scholar who passes down his family tradition of farming and studying. There is no psychological burden if you want to be a vagrant or a rogue who does not know etiquette.

As long as it is beneficial to him, Ma Xun can change his identity at any time.

He knows some etiquette, but he is more likely to be unreasonable. You like to use morality to restrain others, while he uses ethics and morality to suppress others.

The current situation made Song Lian and others feel a little unsure about how to deal with it.

We are all scholars, well-read, and usually talk freely without saying anything excessive.

But now, Ma Xun has started to act wild and unreasonable. If this continues, he might say anything vulgar.

There's no way to continue the conversation on this day. This is not just a scholar meeting a soldier, this is a group of great scholars meeting an arrogant and fearless scoundrel!

It just so happens that this scoundrel has a special identity, a high official position, and is so stubborn that he won't listen to any advice.

It won't work to appeal to his emotions or reason with him, because this scoundrel has his own ideas of reason and emotion.

It would be impossible to file a complaint with the Emperor and Empress, mainly because this scoundrel was extremely important in the hearts of the Emperor and Empress, and was one of the most trustworthy people.

It was impossible to attract an ally, so some topics could not be continued, and this "gathering" had to end hastily.

However, Song Lian, Tao Kai and others did not give up. It didn't matter that they didn't get Ma Xun to ally with them. These civil servants would continue to do what they thought they should do.

The reason why he wanted to bring Ma Xun along was simply because he hoped to be more confident in some things, not that nothing could be accomplished without Uncle Ma.

Liu Bowen put his hands behind his back and sighed, "You don't have to say that, but you just like to offend people."

Ma Xun didn't really care. "People with different ideals cannot work together. I can't get along with Li, and I can't get close to them. But Prime Minister Li and these people all want to win me over."

Liu Bowen was silent for a moment before he said, "If they really want to win you over, it's fine. They just value your status and know that you have a say in His Majesty's eyes. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is also close to you."

Ma Xun also knew these truths. "I also know that they still look down on me in their hearts, and always think that I will do things according to their wishes. These people think too much. If this continues, there will be another Wei Guan."

After hearing what Ma Xun said, Liu Bowen could only sigh.

Wei Guan had a good relationship with him, but unfortunately he offended Ma Xun, and now he was "promoted" to the prefect of Suzhou Prefecture.

But then he thought about it and felt that it made sense. If Ma Xun was deliberately looking for trouble, given his current image and status in the eyes of the emperor and empress, Song Lian and others would definitely not gain any benefit.

Even if Ma Xun was questioned and punished by the emperor and empress, the price paid by Song Lian and others would be even greater.

Ma Xun looked at Liu Bowen and said, "Father-in-law, it's a good thing you've retired now. Otherwise, you'd be involved in these things again. I don't think they have good intentions, they just want to cause party disputes."

"Be careful with your words!" Liu Bowen was terrified. "It's not a party struggle. We are all for the public good. We just have different ideas."

"Who is the Duke of Wei? He is a nobleman from Huaixi." Ma Xun said directly, "The people of East Zhejiang have been fighting with the people of Huaixi. I know that!"

Liu Bowen was even more unsure of how to respond. After a long while, he said, "Anyway, this is not a party dispute. It's not as treacherous as you think."

Ma Xun did not comment. He knew that this matter was definitely not over and it would probably become a key topic in the court for some time to come.

When Xu Da, Chang Yuchun and others were not in the capital, some people became too active!
(End of this chapter)