The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 182 Nephews who only know how to cheat their uncle

Although he did not attend court often, Ma Xun, the Duke of Xu, would occasionally appear in the court.

The civil and military officials were not surprised by his appearance at Fengtian Gate, especially considering that the imperial examination had just ended. When they saw him coming, they all thought it might just be about the imperial examination.

Moreover, when he appeared in the court, sometimes it was because the emperor and empress had specially assigned him a task, and it was just a formality.

Then there is no need for the civil and military officials to worry about it, because some customized tasks are either from Duke Xu or Duke Cao.

Many people knew that the Crown Prince was going to lead the sons of nobles and scholars on an outing. They also knew that this task fell on Duke Xu, and he seemed to be suitable for it.

He is the Crown Prince's maternal uncle and has good character. In addition, he presided over the imperial examination a few days ago and his "First Poetry of the Ming Dynasty" was published.

All this made it more legitimate for Ma Xun to accompany Zhu Biao on the outing. Who else but him could take on this task?
Since Xu Da and Chang Yuchun were not in the capital, Ma Xun stood at the head of the ranks of military generals, and Li Wenzhong had to stand behind him.

"Uncle, Prime Minister Li may have something to say again." Li Wenzhong lowered his voice and whispered, "If he brings up something, you should evade him."

Ma Xun nodded slightly. It was because he seldom attended court often that he knew some information only later.

However, he was still somewhat curious and asked, "What other major event is worthy of Prime Minister Li's attention now?"

"The number of officials in various prefectures, cities and counties is being checked now." Li Wenzhong said, "It was a bit chaotic before, and we took over a lot of officials from various parties. Now we have to check them all."

This was a big deal. When Zhu Yuanzhang was conquering the world, he often did not have enough officials, so it was normal for him to continue to use officials from the previous dynasty after conquering the territory.

The officials of the Yuan Dynasty and the officials appointed by Zhang Shicheng, Chen Youliang, Fang Guozhen and others are now also officials of the Ming Dynasty.

Previously, the salaries of officials were determined, and now they are preparing to verify the number of officials. All of this is also a trend towards formalization.

If you think more about it, these are all efforts to rectify the administration of officials. In the fourth year after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, how many officials have not yet been figured out?

This would be a joke if you tell it to others, but it is very normal in today's world.

In addition to the inconvenience in information transmission and some delays in archiving, the main reason was that Zhu Yuanzhang's territory expanded too quickly, and he was busy with wars in the past few years and had no time to organize it.

But now it is obviously different. We have to start sorting out these things seriously. Many things in the Ming Dynasty need to be standardized.

Li Wenzhong continued in a low voice, "The Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel are arguing over these matters, and Prime Minister Li seems unwilling to let go."

Ma Xun said without any surprise, "Prime Minister Li is too obsessed, he wishes he could make all the decisions."

Li Wenzhong understood this truth very well, and Li Shanchang's ability was beyond doubt.

However, his greed for power, as well as his petty and vengeful nature, make it difficult for people to really get close to him.

There are only two possibilities for being close to Li Shanchang: one is that you are equally powerful and form an alliance with him; the other is that you are not as powerful as him and just become his younger brother.

However, these had nothing to do with Ma Xun. He and Li Shanchang had never been close, so he didn't have to worry about Li Shanchang's revenge or making trouble for him.

Ma Xun now feels at ease. The twists and turns and intrigues in the court have little to do with him.

The morning court session began like this. Ma Xun stood at the head of the military generals group without saying a word, as if he only had ears.

What other people say has nothing to do with him, is not within his authority, and is not something he particularly cares about.

Tao Kai, Song Lian and others were obviously able to keep their composure. Having tried to test Ma Xun before but to no avail, they seemed to understand Ma Xun's attitude.

Naturally, they will not act rashly at this time. What they are thinking in their minds may be that the matter will be finalized once and for all, and that it can be finalized directly after mentioning some things, and there will be no possibility of a reversal.

After three consecutive days of morning court sessions, Tao Kai and his men remained inactive, which made Ma Xun a little annoyed.

He couldn't bring up the possibility of changes in Zhu Chong's marriage. Zhu Biao hadn't gotten married yet, so it wouldn't be a good idea to mention that the King of Qin should get engaged immediately.

At this time, he could only wait passively, hoping that he would be able to deal with it. If nothing worked, he would just throw a tantrum and make a scene.

Tao Kai and others are keeping their troops in place for now, so Ma Xun is about to take action.

Because Zhu Yuanzhang officially issued an edict, ordering Crown Prince Zhu Biao to lead the sons and wives of civil and military officials for an outing, and ordered some students to accompany them, and Duke Xu Ma Xun to accompany him.

Everything had been prepared long ago, and now we were just waiting for the order to be issued, so no one was in a hurry.

Many people probably have already started preparing, practicing riding and archery diligently in order to perform in front of the crown prince, or have prepared essays and are trying to predict the topic so that they can show off their talents when the time comes.

This is not just a simple outing, it is an opportunity to show yourself. Once you are noticed by the crown prince, you are likely to rise to fame.

Although Zhu Biao did not govern the country, everyone knew the status of this crown prince and knew that he actually held a lot of power.

Chang Mao was wearing armor and holding a big sword. He said excitedly, "Uncle, how about my outfit?" Ma Xun didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "It's for you to accompany the prince on an outing, not for you to go to war!"

"Why isn't it a war?" Chang Mao said unconvincedly, "When the nobles' sons perform martial arts, how can I lose? Uncle, if it really doesn't work, why don't you go on stage? Everyone in the world knows that you broke through Qingyang and captured and killed Zhang Liangchen and his son."

Ma Xun's temple began to throb. "I go on stage? Then you chop me off my horse with one blow! Then you will become famous all over the world!"

Chang Mao shook his head immediately. He was not that stupid. "Uncle, I'll teach you some moves first. We'll fight back and forth! Don't worry. I'm good at horse fighting. Others can't see my skills, they can only see that I'm good at fighting."

Passing moves, fake fighting, routines, what is this kid Chang Mao thinking about every day?

Chang Mao continued with a beaming expression, "After thirty moves, I won't have enough strength to be defeated by my uncle. By then, my uncle's reputation will still be there, and I can also stand out."

The script has been written, and Chang Mao thinks this is a good way to have the best of both worlds, as long as his uncle cooperates in acting.

Ma Xun looked around, saw the whistle stick, and immediately walked away quickly.

Chang Mao realized that something was wrong and ran away, holding the big knife at great speed. If he ran slower, he would really be beaten up by his uncle.

After driving away Chang Mao, who was too cunning, Ma Xun was upset. "What do you think this kid is thinking?"

He Da said straightforwardly, "He just wants to be in the limelight. The Crown Princess is about to enter the palace. Others say that the three of them are useless and only know how to make trouble."

Sometimes I think that the three Chang Mao brothers were under a lot of pressure. One reason was that Chang Yuchun was too dazzling, and the three Chang Mao brothers had mediocre abilities. They were simply like a tiger father and dog sons.

On the other hand, Chang Wan is about to be officially appointed as the Crown Princess. As the Crown Prince's brothers-in-law, Chang Mao and others are naturally being observed and commented on.

With mediocre abilities and no ambition, it seems that he cannot become the prince's right-hand man.

Especially looking at the first uncle of the Ming Dynasty, his ability and character are beyond doubt. Such a wise and virtuous uncle is almost beyond the reach of the three Chang Mao brothers.

Ma Xun thought about it carefully and was even more speechless. "He wants to be in the limelight and then step on me? This kid is really suffering in vain, he just wants to have good things!"

Even though Ma Xun seemed to be complaining, even He Da could hear that Ma Xun liked Chang Mao.

Even though they are not uncle and nephew, Chang Mao is not at all shy and only plays tricks on Ma Xun.

Ma Xun didn't mind that Chang Mao was a bit tricky. He thought it was just a joke among the younger generation. He would even cooperate with him sometimes.

This is the treatment Xu Yungong never had. Even if Deng Zhen was a sweet-talker, Ma Xun would not speak to him, educate him, or beat or scold him as naturally as he did with Chang Mao.

It's the same with Tang Ding and others. Apart from his nephews, the three brothers Chang Mao are the younger generations that Ma Xun really likes.

How could it be possible to keep everything truly peaceful in one night? After all, Chang Mao and the other guys were the ones Ma Xun had frequent contact with and got along well with when he first came to Beijing.

Ma Xun had just returned to the study room and was about to take a rest when Xu E came over and said, "Master, the Crown Prince sent the title of the poem and the name of the tune."

Ma Xun was suddenly overwhelmed. He was now almost the number one poet in the Ming Dynasty. It was estimated that Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying were eagerly waiting for him to write another masterpiece.

The topic was given in advance so that he could make some preparations. Then Zhu Biao would pretend to select the topic to test the literary talent of the scholars present.

If Ma Xun could compose a poem in seven steps, it would be a literary feast and a story that will be passed down through the ages.

They made me the examiner and the test taker. They made me set the test questions and the examiner. This cheating was totally unacted.

The most important thing is not to trap me alone. I am just accompanying you on the outing. Why do you want me to write poems and lyrics?
The first copycat of the Ming Dynasty was worried about the names of the ci tunes and the topics. I can only recite poems, but I really can't compose them.

However, everyone's eager expectations made him feel uneasy.

This is really a bit of a burden from the fame!

I never thought about making any contribution to the literary world, but now I have been put in this position and it is a bit embarrassing.

Ma Xun, with a worried look on his face, was still thinking about how to solve the problem, while Liu Shuning asked people not to go to the study to disturb Ma Xun's creation.

These are all obvious things. If you want to create a masterpiece that will be passed down through the ages, you need not only talent but also inspiration, and outsiders cannot disturb you.

"They are all trying to trick me." Ma Xun scratched his head, "My nephews only want to trick me, their uncle, and they think it's best to use me to gain fame!"

Chang Mao wanted to "behead" Ma Xun to show his strength as the best among the second generation of nobles.

Zhu Biao, his nephew, hoped that he would set the topic for his uncle to create another masterpiece. Then he could write the inscription and nominate the work, so that his literary reputation would be further spread throughout the world.

These nephews are the real pitfall!
(End of this chapter)