The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 23: Spring Outing Turns into Northern Expedition

Ma Xun entered the palace again, and his main task was to visit relatives.

Relatives become closer the more they visit each other.

As soon as he entered the palace, a young eunuch said, "Uncle, His Majesty and His Highness are both busy, please do as you please."

Ma Xun certainly had no objection to this. The emperor and empress were very busy with a lot of state affairs. The prince also needed to study and could not be idle.

What's more, Zhu Yuanzhang himself was a workaholic, and now that the Ming Dynasty was just being established, he was extremely busy.

Holding Wangcai, he ran straight to Li Zhen's yard, "Brother-in-law, Jinglong."

Li Jinglong peeked through the door frame and was immediately overjoyed, "Uncle Grandpa, Wangcai!"

Li Zhen also came out with a smile, and said with some complaints, "I haven't come back often since I left the palace. How are you these days?"

Li Jinglong was carried to Wangcai's back. Ma Xun said as he led the donkey, "It's great. I can ride horses, go to the military camp for training, read books at home, and sleep in. It's so happy."

Li Zhen watched Ma Xun circling in the yard and said quickly, "Don't spoil the child. Let Wangcai take a break too."

"It's just a few steps, how can you be tired?" Ma Xun said disapprovingly, "Brother-in-law, I think you are being polite. You all take care of me, so it's only natural that I like Jinglong."

Li Zhen smiled and said, "It's true that you like Jinglong, but you shouldn't pamper him like this!"

This was what Li Zhen really thought, and she said it in front of Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying, and even those two felt the same way.

Although Ma Xun is young, he is only a few years older than Zhu Biao and others. But as an uncle, he dotes on his nephews from the bottom of his heart.

It is one thing to like teasing children, but spoiling them is another matter.

After playing with Li Jinglong for a while, Ma Xun asked, "What has my brother-in-law been busy with these days?"

Li Zhen said happily, "I opened a vegetable plot. Now the palace wall has not been built yet, and many plots of land are empty. I opened a plot of land, not only can I eat it myself, but I can also give some to the people in the palace."

This is in line with Li Zhen's practice. He is also a person who can't sit still and always finds something to do. Even though he is now the Marquis of Enqin and the General of the State, he has not lost his peasant nature.

Ma Xun couldn't stay idle either, so he said, "Brother-in-law, I have modified my gun now, can you give me some advice?"

Li Zhen certainly had no objection. Ma Xun knew how to use a stick, but it was not suitable for the battlefield. Even though Ma Xun would never really go to the battlefield, he was in the army now, so it was not appropriate to carry a whistle stick, which would not look impressive.

Li Zhen looked at it carefully and then said, "Little brother, I can't tell you how to move. Baoer and I practiced spearmanship quickly, matching our steps. You use the spear violently, and you use it like a stick!"

Ma Xun became worried, "Brother-in-law, does this mean that I am taking the wrong path?"

"It's not wrong. Spearmanship doesn't necessarily mean speed." Li Zhen explained patiently, "It's fine if you take a tough approach, as long as you can kill the enemy. I'll think about who in the army has the same approach as you, and then you can discuss it."

What is suitable for others may not be suitable for you. The most important thing is to find the way that suits you.

By noon, a large group of children came running in, and Wangcai was in trouble.

Ma Xun wiped Zhu Su's nose with a handkerchief in disgust, "Go hide in the room, aren't you afraid of catching a cold!"

Zhu Su said unhappily, "I want to play more!!"

"What the hell!" Ma Xun said bluntly, "You are a good prince, but you don't even clean up. Go inside, and the fourth brother and the others should go in too."

It is really difficult to drive these teenagers and children into the house like a herd of ducks.

When Zhu Yuanzhang arrived, the children immediately complained, "Father, our uncle won't let us go out to play!"

"Father, my uncle hit me!"

"You deserve a beating!" Zhu Yuanzhang drove him away with disdain, "Go play outside!"

Ma Xun immediately said, "Brother-in-law, Lao Wu has caught a cold. It's windy outside and he has a runny nose."

Zhu Yuanzhang was quick to grab Zhu Su, lifted him up and looked at him for a while, then wiped the child's nose with his sleeve. Zhu Su struggled, "My uncle used a handkerchief, and my father still uses his sleeve!"

Ma Xiuying smiled and led Zhu Su away, "Your uncle is a gentleman, your father is used to being rude, don't learn from your father."

Zhu Yuanzhang said cheerfully, "Scholars are full of tricks. My brother has grown up. As the old saying goes, a gentleman loves a beautiful lady!"

Ma Xun's face turned red, and he immediately said, "Brother-in-law, I was thinking of going out for an outing in the next few days."

"You can't go for an outing. Pack up and go north with the army in five days." Zhu Yuanzhang said, "The army has won. Now you go and reward them."

Ma Xun suddenly felt a lot of pressure, "Brother-in-law, is it appropriate for me to go?"

"You are my brother-in-law and the commander of the tent. Why is it inappropriate?" Zhu Yuanzhang said immediately, "You are the most suitable person to represent me and your sister. Let Mu Ying follow you, that's all."

Ma Xiuying also said, "Even if you are ordered to reward the army, the north has just been recovered, and there are still some bandits or people with ulterior motives. When the time comes, let Baoer take you to suppress the bandits. He fights and you take the credit."

Ma Xun's face suddenly turned red, "Sister, how can you do this? Baoer is a junior!"

"Bao'er is older than you, and he has made enough military achievements!" Zhu Yuanzhang said, "If you really suppress one or two bandits, you will not be a captain in front of the tent when you come back. I can give you the title of commander."

Zhu Biao also said, "Appoint him as the commander of the imperial guards. When the time comes, uncle will lead the troops to protect the imperial city."

Li Zhen said cheerfully, "Bao'er should also share his uncle's worries. You can just give him instructions when the time comes. Before I go to the battle, I will come to the palace and bring a letter to Bao'er."

Ma Xiuying smiled and said to Li Zhen, "Brother-in-law, Bao'er is such a good kid! Now that he knows my identity, he will definitely think of ways to help me. There is no need for you to give me detailed instructions, Bao'er is smart."

"That has to be made clear. Bao'er has lost his former cleverness after so many years in the army." Li Zhen said with some dissatisfaction, "Zhongba, Xiuying, you are too pampering to Bao'er. He is a general, you should be careful!"

Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying just listened. They said their brother-in-law was good in every way except that he was too meticulous.

Ma Xun was confused, because his trip to the palace was originally planned to be a spring outing. But now his "spring outing" had changed, and instead of going around Yingtian Prefecture, he was heading north.

But he obviously had no objection to this. With his current identity, he must bear some responsibilities.

He could be a rich and idle man. No one would say anything if he just ate, drank and had fun all day long. The emperor and empress would not mind keeping a useless person.

But that is not what Ma Xun pursues. He still hopes to do something.

In such a confused manner, Ma Xun basically decided to go on the expedition.

As soon as he returned to his residence from the palace, he immediately received some rewards.

Not to mention the imperial horses, there were also armor bestowed by the emperor, a cloak embroidered by the empress, an exquisite saddle, a gun, a stick, and two swords.

What made Ma Xun even more troubled were the two general flags.

One side is embroidered with "General Guarding the Country" and the other side is embroidered with "Horse".

He was overjoyed and smiled, feeling that he had finally found a place to use his skills. "Is the prince's uncle going to the war?"

Ma Xun felt very uncomfortable. "Isn't this exaggerated? I am just a captain in front of the army. I don't even know what's going on in the army. How can I be the general who protects the country?"

"Your Majesty conferred it personally, so of course it is!" He Da seemed very confident, "Uncle, let me clean up. We are all veterans in our mansion, and the few of us have at least five heads."

Ma Xun felt that his talents were wasted for a moment. It was such a waste to have so many brave soldiers just guarding his mansion.

But on second thought, it was not right. He Da and his men were assigned to him. They were said to be retired, but they were obviously still capable of fighting. This was obviously arranged in advance. These trusted troops were his life-saving team when he went to war.

The generals in the army also need to have trusted guards. He Da and his men are the most reliable confidants arranged by the emperor and the empress for Ma Xun. They are strong in combat and highly loyal.

Going to war was obviously inevitable. However, Ma Xun probably didn't need to fight a fierce battle, but to gain military merit.

(End of this chapter)