The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 199 I Became a Hot Potato

Ma Xun, who was under house arrest, was contented and did not feel the slightest bit of anxiety or restlessness from being punished by the emperor and empress.

Liu Shuning was somewhat of a homebody. She helped Chang Wan embroider her wedding dress and chatted with Zhu Jingru and the others. She felt very comfortable.

As long as they have enough food and drink, these two people don’t seem to care much about going out or not.

For Ma Xun, this is actually a good thing. He doesn't have to see outsiders and doesn't have to worry about anything. This is a truly carefree life.

But just when Ma Xun was living peacefully, Xu E hurried over and said, "Master, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin just returned to the capital and is kneeling outside the palace crying."

Ma Xun, who was dozing off, suddenly jumped three feet high. Although some teenagers were mature at a young age, most of them were still impulsive and easily get carried away.

I understand, but my dear nephew, you can't cheat me like this!

Ma Xun rushed to the door angrily, "Do you think my troubles are not big enough, or do you blame me for not dying in the Meridian Gate?"

Although there was a door between us, Zhu Chong's crying voice could still be heard, "Let me in! Uncle, it's me!"

Ma Xun became even more annoyed. "You returned to the capital and didn't go to the Fengxian Temple to worship your ancestors, nor did you go to pay homage to your father, the emperor, and your mother. You came to me to cry. Do you think my life is too good to bear?"

Zhu Chong banged on the door and shouted, "Uncle, I'm the second child!"

The child had no words to say. Ma Xun was already disheartened. "Kneel down at my door. Wait for the civil and military officials to impeach you and me at the court tomorrow morning! Zhu Chong, if I die and cannot be crowned a king, it must be your fault!"

Ma Xun was really pissed off by this brat. It doesn't matter if you come. Go and worship your ancestors first after returning to Beijing. Why kneel down at my door?
Fortunately, everyone in the capital now knows the reason why the King of Qin came to cry. If one day the fourth brother brought his wife and children to kneel at my door and cry, telling me about his years of grievances, should I open the door or not, should I meet him or not?

No, the fourth brother will have no place to cry when the time comes. If he really wants to cry, he can only go to the Xiaoling Mausoleum.

Given my relationship with the Chang family, if it really was that kid Zhu Yunwen, he would have to deal with me first before he could deal with the royal family with peace of mind. This gave the fourth brother another reason.

After scolding Ma Xun, he turned around and left. The Zhu family is really full of romantic people.

Zhu Yuanzhang was not mentioned for now. The same was true for the fourth son. In history, Zhu Zi, the Prince of Tan, and Zhu Bo, the Prince of Xiang, also took their princesses with them when they set themselves on fire.

There were many romantic emperors in history, but even if all of them were added together, they might not be as many as those in the Zhu family.

Seeing that Ma Xun was still angry, Liu Shuning, who came over, advised, "Husband, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin has always been simple and honest."

"He's not honest, he just can't hide things and does things based on his likes and dislikes." Ma Xun became even more angry, "He's about to get married, but he's still so reckless."

Liu Shuning was speechless for a moment, but when she thought about it carefully, her husband was not much better.

But there is nothing wrong with evaluating Zhu Chong like this now, since he is the younger generation.

Chang Wan advised, "Uncle, don't be angry. The officials are impeaching His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin."

"He knelt at my door. What will outsiders say?" Ma Xun said in great frustration. "Should they impeach me for not following the rules of monarch and minister? Will they accuse me of being a domineering relative who always interferes in the affairs of the royal family?"

Chang Wan was speechless. Ma Xun's worries were not unreasonable. It was fine to perform family etiquette in private, but the fact that you, the King of Qin, were kneeling at the door of the King of Xu's mansion was a big deal.

This kid is really too impulsive and rash, not considering the consequences at all. Or this kid simply doesn't think about the consequences.

Chang Wan could only persuade him again, "Uncle, the King of Qin is deeply in love with you, and His Majesty will not punish you."

Chang Wan still feels a little scared when she thinks about it now. Although she knew that Zhu Chong and the Deng family were childhood sweethearts, she didn't expect Zhu Chong to be so rash and direct.

Ma Xun asked worriedly, "He didn't run back secretly, did he? If that's the case, he'll be in trouble."

"No, I came back to attend the Crown Prince's wedding." Chang Wan quickly replied, "The Crown Prince said earlier that the King of Qin wanted to come back but was stopped."

That's good. Ma Xun casually covered his face with the medical book and continued to doze off. Too many lice won't bite me, too many debts won't worry me, and those civil servants are trying their best to impeach me.

Sometimes, relatives by marriage are natural targets for impeachment.

Ma Xun was very angry about Zhu Chong's performance.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying were both feeling unhappy now. The second in command seemed to have no temper and would not have any objection to any casual arrangements.

But when it comes to marriage, this kid explodes. It's not that he doesn't have a temper, or that he doesn't care about people or things.

The prince's wedding is approaching, so naturally everyone who should come back has come back.

Zhu Chong and other princes who were farming in Fengyang came back, and Chang Yuchun who was training troops outside also came back exhausted.

Seeing this general jumping down from the wall, Ma Xun was startled, "Brother Chang, when did you come back?"

Chang Yuchun said generously, "I came back this morning and just got home."

Chang Yuchun then said to Liu Shuning, "Sister-in-law, go and tell Min'er to get some food to go with the wine."

Chang Lan couldn't help but scolded, "My little brother doesn't know how to drink, but you forced him to drink. Drinking, what a good thing!"

Chang Yuchun just smiled and didn't refute. Ma Xun's alcohol tolerance was average, but he would drink a little. But he was picky about wine. He would not drink unless it was good wine, and he would only taste it lightly. Chang Yuchun sat down and said with a smile, "You did a good job on this matter. We don't really worry about our wives and children being bullied. It's just that there is no one in charge at home, so we are worried about being cheated. Even if we vented our anger afterwards, we still feel uncomfortable."

Ma Xun said directly, "It's not necessarily Brother Deng, the second one is my nephew."

Chang Lan couldn't help but blame him, "Little brother, you need to change your temper. When others do something for you, they want to be thanked, but you don't want to take the credit for your work."

"How can I take responsibility?" Ma Xun asked, "This matter was originally for my nephew, how can it be related to Brother Deng?"

Chang Yuchun quickly stopped his wife and said, "It's about His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin. It has nothing to do with Old Deng."

No matter how true or false Ma Xun's words are, it is not pleasant to see a brother-in-law of the emperor and a duke who leads troops getting too close.

Chang Yuchun smiled and asked, "What are your plans for the future?"

Ma Xun replied, "After Biao'er gets married, I should take my second son home and farm the land."

This seems to be no problem. According to the current situation, Ma Xun still has to take Zhu Chong and others back to Fengyang.

This is not only to let Zhu Chong and others train their troops, but also because they are young now, it is not good for them to stay in the capital all the time. Even if they have no other thoughts, they still have to be careful.

It would be more secure if we didn't give them any ideas from the very beginning and left the officials with no other choice.

Chang Yuchun smiled and said, "Are you not thinking about fighting anymore?"

Ma Xun instantly became interested and said excitedly, "Brother Chang, can we fight Wang Baobao next year?"

Chang Yuchun said, "It depends on when Dazui finishes beating Mingxia. If he finishes earlier, then the fight against Helin will be on the agenda. Otherwise, it will probably be later."

The current Ming Dynasty is capable of fighting on multiple fronts, and conquering Sichuan is a sure thing.

Just look at some of the Ming dynasty's subordinates and you'll know that Tang He and Fu Youde were enough to lead the army. Five of the seven Ming dynasty dukes who were good at fighting did not go out, and it was Deng Yu who helped arrange the financing and logistics.

There is no question of giving one's all, otherwise Xu Da, Chang Yuchun or Li Wenzhong would have been in charge.

Beating Helin and Wang Baobao is the most important thing.

After defeating Mingxia, the army will march north, and then the best soldiers and generals will attack directly.

Ma Xun rubbed his hands and said, "Although Brother Tang had a bad first battle, I think we can definitely win this year. Next year I will follow you to the north, and I must make great achievements!"

Chang Yuchun smiled and nodded, then suddenly asked, "Who are you going to follow?"

Ma Xun put on a haughty attitude and said proudly, "Just look at the price you and Brother Xu offer. Whoever arranges things for me properly, I will go with him to fight Wang Baobao."

Chang Yuchun nodded and suddenly said, "Then go find Tiande, but in my opinion, Tiande is not willing to take you."

Ma Xun was caught off guard by Chang Yuchun's attitude. You know, at the beginning of the year, he was still a popular figure and everyone was actively trying to win him over.

Ma Xun was unhappy, "Then I'll follow Bao'er. I'm his uncle, he'll be willing to take me with him!"

"Bao'er?" Chang Yuchun said mockingly, "He runs faster than anyone else, that's why he doesn't want to take you with him!"

What is the situation?

What happened during the days I was grounded? The world changed so fast that I couldn’t react!

Whether it was the year before last, last year, or even the beginning of this year, when people mentioned the battle against Khorin, they all assumed that they were going to rob Ma Xun. At that time, they were just waiting for Ma Xun to have a son, so that he could go with the army.

At that time, everyone just watched Xu Da and Chang Yuchun fight, and even if Li Wenzhong spoke up, everyone just pretended not to hear him. As for Deng Yu, Feng Sheng and others, they didn't have the opportunity to speak up and fight for it.

Ma Xun was worried, "Brother Chang, why don't you want to take me with you?"

"You have a child, and now you have a grudge against your superiors." Chang Yuchun said bluntly, "If you run away, we won't be able to complete our mission."

Chang Lan and Liu Shuning couldn't help laughing. This could really happen.

Ma Xun was unhappy, "Am I such a tactless person? If I run away, won't it shake the morale of the army?"

Chang Yuchun said without giving him face, "Of course not before the fight. If you win, you might run away."

Ma Xun was even more unhappy, "My wife and children are in the capital, where can I go?"

Chang Yuchun was even more impolite, "Who knows? I heard that when you sent Taigong back to his hometown two years ago, you planned to bury him and then travel around. After your sister-in-law gave birth to a child, you had an explanation to the queen. If you really want to run away, it's hard to say."

It would have been fine if Chang Lan had just nodded, but Liu Shuning actually nodded as well, and actually thought that what Chang Yuchun said made sense. How could this be justified?
When did this misunderstanding arise that made you all think that I like wandering outside?
Chang Yuchun continued, "We dare not take you with us, fearing that we will fail to complete the mission. I don't think your brother-in-law and sister dare to let you go either, as you are too stubborn. It's better to be cautious."

Ma Xun was speechless and pondered for a long time, then seemed to understand, "Brother Chang, you are a lobbyist, right?"

Chang Yuchun drank the wine calmly. I really got a task from the superior. Otherwise, you would stay in the mansion sulking all day long. Who knows what you are thinking about now!

(End of this chapter)