The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 43 Not yet successful
There was no way Ma Xun could tell you about some of the things he was worried about, and no one would believe him if he told them.

As the first meritorious minister of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Xu Da was a cautious and humble person. Even if he had ten times the courage, he would not dare to return to the capital without permission.

Chang Yuchun was Zhu Yuanzhang's trusted general and future relative. Without the emperor's order, do you think he would dare to lead 30,000 people and leave the base without permission?

Li Wenzhong, the nephew, might temporarily change the direction of battle due to a fleeting opportunity, but he would never dare to go against the emperor's strategic intentions.

But there is someone who dares to do so, and that is the young general Feng Zongyi who seems to be full of vigor and vitality!
Feng Sheng smiled and clasped his fists when he saw Ma Xun, "Uncle, I have only heard of you but never met you. I have also heard of you for a long time."

Ma Xun said politely, "General Feng is joking. I am not worth mentioning."

Feng Sheng said somewhat arrogantly, "When your majesty marched south to Dingyuan and was in Miaoshan, my brother felt that your majesty had the potential to accomplish great things, so he led his troops to join you. Now the army has marched north and made great achievements, unifying the world!"

Ma Xun smiled and said, "Wang Baobao is still in Ningxia, U-Tsang has not yet been granted an imperial title, Mingsheng is still in Sichuan, and there are Duan family and Liang Wang in Yunnan and Guizhou. How can this be considered a unified country?"

Not to mention Feng Sheng, even Xu Da, Tang He and others were very surprised. This uncle of the king was not only knowledgeable, but also had a big mouth!
Feng Sheng was a little unconvinced, "U-Tsang has always been at odds with the Central Plains dynasty."

"I think this is wrong. Although it was Tubo before, it was granted a title by the imperial court during the Yuan Dynasty." Ma Xun said righteously, "If this is the case, then U-Tsang should be granted a title and governed by the Ming Dynasty."

There is indeed a history of Tubo and other tribes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, but they received imperial titles during the Yuan Dynasty and were nominally under the jurisdiction of the Yuan Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang was a smart man. He recognized the Mongols and the history of the Yuan Dynasty in order to make the Ming Dynasty more legitimate in legal terms.

For this purpose, he did not hesitate to ignore some elements of the Red Turban Army and defined Han Shantong and Liu Futong as traitors.

Now that the Ming Dynasty has recognized the Yuan Dynasty as its orthodoxy, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, the Northwest, Mongolia and even the Western Regions, etc., which were all lands before the Yuan Dynasty, can naturally be taken over by the Ming Dynasty.

On the other hand, if the Yuan Dynasty is not recognized, it means that the Chinese orthodoxy was interrupted for a hundred years from the Southern Song Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not dare to bear this crime.

Zhu Yuanzhang is now the successor of the Yuan Dynasty, which also establishes the legal basis. This naturally does not rule out winning over the northerners, as people there have a higher degree of recognition of the nomadic regime.

Feng Sheng thought about it carefully before saying, "Your Majesty, this is wrong. U-Tsang has belonged to a different country from the Central Plains since the Tang and Song dynasties. Besides, Yunnan and Guizhou have never existed before."

This is also true. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, Yunnan belonged to Yizhou County most of the time. However, after the Western Jin Dynasty, the Cuan clan dominated the south for four hundred years and had long since become independent.

This separatist force was destroyed during the Sui Dynasty, but then the Nanzhao Kingdom emerged in the Tang Dynasty, followed by the Dali Kingdom.

Before the Spring and Autumn Period, this place was a southern barbarian state. During the Han Dynasty, there was a Yelang Kingdom. Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the Tusi system has taken root here. This place has always been semi-detached from the Central Plains dynasty, and it is difficult to say that it has been truly brought under the jurisdiction.

Ma Xun smiled and said, "That was in the past. Now it's my Ming Dynasty!"

Xu Da and Tang He looked at each other, while Gu Shi and others just watched in silence. It was not easy for them to get involved in these things as they could not afford to offend anyone.

There is no need to mention Ma Xun, he is one of the only two generals who defend the country of Ming Dynasty, the younger brother of the queen, and the uncle of the emperor of Ming Dynasty.

Feng Sheng's status is also special, not to mention the status of Xu Da and Chang Yuchun. If it were not for Your Majesty's constant support, Li Wenzhong would not be able to suppress Deng Yu and Feng Sheng.

Ma Xun has always been kind to others and basically does not offend anyone, especially some civil and military officials in the court, whom he feels there is no need to offend.

But it doesn't mean that he is willing to be friends with everyone. He was only close to his relatives before, so naturally he didn't mind staying away from those who he didn't get along with.

If you really can't get along or there is a conflict, you don't necessarily have to keep quiet and compromise.

Xu Da and Tang He were happy to watch the show, and they would rather see Ma Xun confront these military generals whenever he had the chance. They knew some things, and many people in the army had gone crazy after so many years of continuous achievements. Even though the emperor had ascended the throne, some people still didn't have much sense of propriety.

Feng Sheng stared at Ma Xun, then began to drink silently. He couldn't afford to offend this man. Although he thought he was of high status and prestige in the army, he just didn't want to offend this uncle of the emperor.

If you really mess with this smaller one, two bigger ones will pop out immediately, or even a 'smaller one' might appear, but that one is the prince.

Xu Da smiled and acted as a peacemaker, saying, "The fact that the uncle mentioned these things must be a reflection of your majesty's great ambitions. I hope that the generals will make contributions!"

Ma Xun said, "Wang Baobao is still in Ningxia, commanding an army of more than 100,000. Emperor Yuan had previously looked southward, attempting to invade Guanzhong and Yanyun. If we don't destroy them, the northern border will be in turmoil."

Everyone in the account understood these principles because what Ma Xun said was the actual situation.

But what he said inevitably made people think too much. Many people felt that this uncle of the emperor came to the army to steal the credit, and some people speculated that he was a military supervisor sent by the emperor and the empress.

The army has been fighting for more than two years. With more than 200,000 troops outside, they must send their trusted people to take a look.

What he said now was undoubtedly conveying the emperor's attitude.

Xu Da couldn't help but look at Ma Xun a few more times. Although they had not been together for a long time, he felt that he and Ma Xun were of the same kind, both with cautious personalities.

But looking at it again now, this prince consul still has his own ideas in his mind, and his stance is extremely upright when it comes to some important matters.

Very similar to another great general, the emperor's brother-in-law, he has this kind of personality. He is usually cheerful and a good guy, but if anyone dares to disagree with the emperor and the empress, the good guy will become angry.

Ma Xun began to roast the lamb leg with peace of mind. He was busy cutting the meat with a knife and sprinkling salt on it. He was having a lot of fun.

Because Xu Da and the others started discussing military affairs again, which was beyond Ma Xun's knowledge. It didn't matter if he couldn't help, but he just shouldn't make things worse.

Just as everyone was happily discussing the next military arrangements, a personal soldier suddenly came in from outside the tent, "General, Vanguard Lan wants to see you!"

Lan Yu strode in with his head held high and said happily, "Reporting to the General, I am following the orders of the General and the General Guarding the Nation to hunt down He Zongzhe's troops!"

Feng Sheng was so angry that he rolled his eyes. Originally, he was almost the first to make contribution in the Battle of Qingyang, but this uncle Ma inexplicably led his troops into the city first and captured Zhang Liangchen and his son.

Now Lan Yu and others went to hunt down He Zongzhe. Anyone with a discerning eye knew that it was arranged by General Xu Da, but some people said that it was a military order from the General Zhenguo.

Lan Yu didn't care about that and continued, "We successfully blocked their attack outside Liupan Mountain and killed more than 3,000 of their troops. He Zongzhe was the only one who escaped!"

Xu Da was very happy and said to Ma Xun with a smile, "The general who guards the country is really thoughtful and suggested to snipe He Zongzhe. This is a great achievement!"

Tang He also immediately held it up and said, "The general is right. If it weren't for the general's timely advice, He Zongzhe would have escaped."

Perhaps due to the light of the fire, Ma Xun's face was red and the temperature was surprisingly high.

But he could only smile modestly, "It is thanks to the great general that we have made the plan and the three armies have fought for our lives!"

Ma Xun not only appreciated everyone's kindness, but also had no way to refuse it.

Whether it was Zhu Yuanzhang, Xu Da, Li Wenzhong, etc., they all had their military achievements delivered to their mouths. Ma Xun only needed to open his mouth and swallow it. Seeing him swallow the military merits, everyone was happy.

(End of this chapter)