The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 66 Medical Soldier

Ma Xun entered the palace again, but he did not go to the inner city. Instead, he went to his office, which was a rare occasion.

Zhu Yuanzhang's Wuying Hall, this is where the emperor handled daily state affairs.

Seeing Ma Xun, Zhu Yuanzhang was in a good mood. "Your sister is still talking about you, saying that you don't want to enter the palace after you leave. She could still talk about you before, but now that you have started a family, she is afraid that it will delay important things."

Everyone knows what the big deal is.

Ma Xun complained, "Brother-in-law, I'm not saying anything bad about my sister. She is a member of the Zhu family now. Besides, I'm married now, how can I let her control me every day?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was happy about Ma Xun's "boldness". He liked to see Ma Xun being so close to him instead of always being strict with his duties.

"She is your sister after all, so it is her duty to take care of you." Zhu Yuanzhang asked with a smile, "What is the matter with your visit this time?"

Ma Xun said immediately, "Last time I said I was going to teach medical officers and medical assistants, but now I'm short of money and people. I've already found a piece of land, and I'm going to build a school at the foot of Jiming Mountain."

Zhu Yuanzhang was surprised. "Build a school? Ordinary medical officers study in the Imperial Hospital, why do we need to build a school?"

"I've learned a lot. In addition to some routine treatments, I think I should teach people how to treat injuries and take care of the wounded." Ma Xun explained, "The last time I went to Qingyang, I saw many wounded soldiers with no one to treat them, and I couldn't help but worry."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face suddenly turned ugly, "No one is treating the wounded?"

Ma Xun realized that he had misunderstood, and explained, "It's not that no one can treat it, it's just that the common treatment methods are not effective."

Taking the memorial handed over by Ma Xun, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at it carefully with a frown.

After a while, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "If you do this, you will need a lot of people and it will cost a lot of money."

Ma Xun said, "It's better than asking for compensation when soldiers die. Besides, veterans are hard to come by. Even so, I'm still worried that there won't be enough people."

Zhu Yuanzhang naturally understood this, as there were not many medical officers and medical soldiers in the army.

In any era, medical resources will always be insufficient.

Ma Xun said, "This is what I think. These people will follow me to learn how to treat and care for the wounded. They will not go to the garrison normally. If there is a war, they will follow the main force."

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately understood what Ma Xun meant. These professional medical soldiers usually trained and studied, unlike the medical officers and medical assistants sent by the garrisons, who had to return to their respective garrisons after learning.

Ma Xun continued, "If these people learn well, I think they can be of great use. The guards in various places are short of people, but if there is a war, there will definitely be more wounded soldiers."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Then just hire more people and let them learn from you."

Ma Xun said quickly, "We can't teach them all. We need to let them learn some skills in treating external injuries from the imperial doctors, and they also need to learn other things. It will take more than a month or two to learn. And it costs money to learn these things."

Zhu Yuanzhang fell silent. Although he now ruled the world, he often felt that he did not have enough money.

After weighing the matter carefully for a moment, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "You are asking for too much money. You are not asking for a medical officer, but for a school. I will give you the land and the craftsmen, but you can build a smaller school."

Ma Xun thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll take a little first. If you see results, Your Majesty can see if you can give me more?"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "Okay, if it's really useful, I'll give you the people and money when you need them."

First, give a sum of start-up funds, obviously not just whatever Ma Xun wants. Otherwise, this is not training medical officers, etc., this is to build an imperial academy.

Only when you manage the household do you know how expensive firewood and rice are. Zhu Yuanzhang also felt that although his brother-in-law did not live an extravagant life, he really dared to spend money.

Then Zhu Yuanzhang asked curiously, "What do you want the gunpowder craftsmen to do?"

"I'm interested in gunpowder and firearms, so I'll find some people to study them." Ma Xun replied, "It doesn't matter anyway, let's see if we can make gunpowder more powerful."

Zhu Yuanzhang became more serious, "Do you have a way to make gunpowder more powerful?"

The gunpowder in the early Ming Dynasty basically reached the golden ratio, so Ma Xun naturally did not need to spend much effort to improve it, but there were other areas for improvement.

Ma Xun said his idea, "Gunpowder is now powder, and it is not easy to use in cold and wet weather or rainy days. I want to think of a way to make gunpowder into small particles so that it can be used in rainy days." Hearing what Ma Xun said, Zhu Yuanzhang advised, "This sounds unreliable. I will give you some people first. If you find a way, that would be great. If you can't find one, don't embarrass yourself."

This is why he was concerned about Ma Xun. Zhu Yuanzhang naturally knew better than anyone else how powerful firearms were, and he also understood some of the shortcomings of gunpowder.

Gunpowder has been around for so many years, and everyone knows that it has some shortcomings. However, there are many skilled craftsmen, and no one has found a way to overcome them.

So it’s okay to support my brother-in-law, but you can’t put too much pressure on him.

The business was almost done, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Let the people you want go over in the next few days. Someone will naturally come to find you when the time comes, so go and meet your sister."

Ma Xun definitely had no objection, "Then I'll leave first."

Seeing Ma Xun leave, Zhu Yuanzhang laughed. This brother-in-law was becoming more and more reliable and knew how to find things to do.

Some things were arranged for him, but it was just a figurehead and we didn't expect him to really do anything.

But now there is enough enthusiasm, which is definitely a good thing.

Seeing Ma Xun coming to Rouyi Palace, Ma Xiuying was surprised, "Rare guest, this is rare, no one invited you to come to the palace by yourself."

Ma Xun begged for mercy, "How long have I been out? Since arriving in the capital, I have spent a lot more time in the palace than outside the palace."

Ma Xiuying asked with concern, "Is there any movement?"

Ma Xun was immediately frightened, "It's only been a few days since we got married. It would be strange if she was pregnant now."

Ma Xiuying knew she was in a hurry, but she still urged him, "Hurry up, the family depends on you to carry on the family line."

Ma Xun also understood this and said, "Try to do it sooner. I'm also trying to get Shuning to eat more black sesame, red dates, peanuts, tofu, and pork liver."

Ma Xiuying immediately became curious, "What's the explanation?"

"In order to have a healthy baby, she needs to be given some nutrition," Ma Xun replied. "I also take her for a walk and let her eat more fish."

Ma Xiuying quickly asked, "Is it good to eat fish? Please write down these methods and send them to the palace when the time comes."

Eugenics and good upbringing are very important to the Ming Dynasty. Although it is not necessarily possible to give birth to a genius baby, it is not a bad thing that infants and young children are healthier.

Ma Xun asked, "Is Biao'er getting married soon?"

Ma Xiuying smiled and said, "They'll get married next year, and then you, as the uncle, will have to act as the matchmaker. I think the two kids are getting a little anxious."

There is definitely no need for Ma Xun to be the matchmaker, but he should be the master of ceremonies.

Ma Xun then asked, "I just went to see my brother-in-law, preparing to do some work to treat the wounded. I also thought about it, why not bring Biaoer along?"

Ma Xiuying looked at Ma Xun and asked, "What do you think?"

Ma Xun replied, "He is the crown prince, and his position is secure and his prestige is high. But it would not be a bad thing to have a better reputation for being virtuous and kind."

Ma Xiuying asked again, "The prince is too powerful, aren't you afraid that your brother-in-law will think too much?"

Ma Xun was stunned for a moment. Under normal circumstances, the emperor would train a prince, but he would also worry that the prince would have too much power and too high prestige.

But then Ma Xun reacted, "My brother-in-law has a different goal, so I think he won't think too much about it if I do this."

"Then you can take Biao'er with you. He is your nephew." Ma Xiuying was very happy and said proudly, "The higher Biao'er's reputation and prestige, the better. When good things happen, think of him. Your brother-in-law will be happy too."

Ma Xun said, "I was originally worried that doing this would make you think I was not doing my job properly. Now that you've said that, I'll take the badge."

Ma Xiuying smiled and nodded, saying that her younger brother was right in looking at some things, and Biaoer should be the most special one!
Whenever something good happens, the first person the family members think of should be Biaoer!
(End of this chapter)