The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 70 Too many things
With the help of the emperor and the empress, and the prince also working secretly, many things became simple.

Ma Xun came to the Imperial Academy, which was a rare opportunity. Wei Guan, the Dean, the Doctors and others were waiting for him, and they were patiently explaining their teaching philosophy and the "Seven Studies".

Today's Imperial College is divided into six halls. Those who are proficient in the Four Books but not the Classics are admitted to the Zhengyi, Chongzhi and Guangye halls. Those who have studied for more than one and a half years and are proficient in both liberal arts and science are allowed to enter the Xiudao and Chengxin halls.

After studying for more than one and a half years, those who are proficient in both classics and history and excellent in both literature and science can enter the Ratexing Hall. After entering the Ratexing Hall, students will be assigned to various government offices for internships or to take the imperial examinations.

Jijiu and Siye were in charge of the overall management of teaching and administrative affairs within the Imperial College.
The Doctoral Office is in charge of teaching, and the Discipline Office is in charge of school supervision. They have the right to report any instructors who are negligent in teacher training, students who violate school rules and are not academically proficient, and logistics staff who fail to provide good meals.

The students’ daily homework is to practice calligraphy, recite texts and write essays.

Don’t think that the students in the Imperial College only study the Four Books and the Five Classics, etc. They are not only good at reading the classics.

They also had to learn the law. Although the "Great Ming Code" has not yet been compiled, there was the "Law and Order" when Zhu Yuanzhang was still the King of Wu, which is the basis of the "Great Ming Code".

Students nowadays also have to learn mathematics, not just the 'liberal arts'.

Ma Xun always felt that people like Wei Guan had ulterior motives. They had mentioned a lot of things, and their words and deeds all implied that they hoped Ma Xun could support them, support the promotion of Confucianism, the promotion of education, and so on.

Some things are better to just listen to. Ma Xun is not so rash as to blindly follow people like Wei Guan just because they are great scholars and well-read. Moreover, these people may have other thoughts behind their thoughts.

Zhu Yuanzhang will soon give these people a severe punishment, and Ma Xun is also thinking about teaching some people a lesson.

He decided to continue building his own school. Ma Xun took a quick look around the Imperial College and immediately ran to the foot of Jiming Mountain to see his school, which was his main battlefield.

"My school is not taken seriously at all!" Ma Xun couldn't help but complain, "The Imperial College has so many buildings and the facilities are so good. My school is at the foot of the mountain, it's already remote, and they're not willing to build more buildings!"

Although he complained a lot, Ma Xun still found officials from the Ministry of Industry to discuss some plans.

Not to mention the normal school buildings, dormitories, canteens, etc., Ma Xun also needed several laboratories, wards, medicine rooms, etc.

Ma Xun was very happy after a careful inspection. His current task was to supervise the construction of these school buildings. Fortunately, he didn't have to do many things himself.

Leaving some things to professionals is not because Ma Xun wants to be lazy, but he only provides some ideas and requirements, and the specific solutions have to be solved by these people.

Ma Xun, who was in a good mood, had just returned to the mansion when He Da said, "My Lord, the Minister of the Central Secretariat sent a visiting card, asking for an audience the day after tomorrow."

Ma Xun was stunned for a moment, "Zhongshu Zuocheng? Yang Xian?"

Seeing He Da nod, Ma Xun was even more surprised, "What does he want me to do?"

He Da directly gave his own opinion and view, "How should I know? This person is full of tricks and has too many schemes!"

Yang Xian could be considered an 'acquaintance', that is, Zhu Yuanzhang's confidant and trusted person. Although he seemed to be a civil servant, some of the work he had done before was not completely civil service, including some inspection work.

If he hadn't been assigned to the Secretariat, he might have become a senior member of the "Jinyiwei".

Ma Xun thought about it carefully before saying, "Come if you want to. I want to see what this guy is up to."

He Da said bluntly, "He must have been hiding something. This guy just loves to snoop around and tell tales."

Ma Xun could only smile at this. Yang Xian was gathering information and reporting on others because he was the emperor's confidant and this was his duty.

However, he also hoped that Yang Xian could be careful and not involve others in trouble.

The Secretariat is in a very troublesome situation now. This is not simply a struggle between interest groups, but also a struggle over governance concepts. It is normal for them to fight to the death.

Moreover, during this process, Zhu Yuanzhang was also fanning the flames. He was very happy to see these civil servants fighting among themselves first, and then he would come out to take back the power. This was a life-and-death struggle, and Ma Xun didn't want to express his opinions on these things.

He was a typical centrist, had close relations with the Huaixi nobles, was the son-in-law of Liu Bowen, a civil servant in eastern Zhejiang, and was also a royal relative.

If you want him to get killed, he won't be the first to do so unless the situation is clear or the emperor has issued an order.

After chatting with He Da for a few words and returning to the inner house, Liu Shuning said, "Husband, the Ministry of Industry has delivered the iron pipe."

This is the condenser. Ma Xun has been working hard to improve some experimental tools. Most of the time he is only responsible for providing some ideas and leaves the difficult problems to the craftsmen.

After taking a closer look at the condenser tube, Ma Xun said with a smile, "I don't know if it will work this time, let's give it a try first."

There are many experiments to be done, and it is even more difficult to establish and improve some disciplines. Fortunately, Ma Xun now has some status and a lot of resources, so he can try to do something.

It was also because the chaotic times had just ended and a dynasty had just been established, so even if he wanted to do something seemingly unorthodox, the resistance, even if there would be, would not be particularly great.

Carefully pack the little alcohol you have; it will come in handy soon.

Yang Xian did not come. People from the Imperial Hospital came first.

As the sixth-rank judge of the Imperial Hospital, Chen Zhidong was very enthusiastic, "My Lord, have you been well lately?"

Ma Xun was used to the enthusiastic greetings from the sixty-something old man. "Not bad. Did Court Judge Chen bring the person I wanted?"

Chen Zhidong immediately replied, "How dare I not give the person that the uncle of the emperor wants?"

That’s good. There are still many important things to do next. Ma Xun must also seize the time to get training and start his apprenticeship early.

If we start the research earlier, we may have the chance to make a breakthrough earlier, which will be of great help to the development of Ming Dynasty.

The reason why Chen Zhidong was so enthusiastic was because he was familiar with Ma Xun. This uncle of the emperor was in the Grand Commandery and was not familiar with the officials of the six ministries, but he was familiar with the people of the Imperial Hospital.

What's more, the Imperial Medical Service itself is responsible for training medical officers, so it is only natural for them to cooperate with Ma Xun to do something now. This is what they should do.

"My Lord, we have sent two imperial doctors, ten doctors, and twenty apprentices." Chen Zhidong answered seriously, "These are all in accordance with your orders. They are good at treating external injuries."

Hearing such an arrangement, Ma Xun was naturally happier. This was the talent he needed.

Ma Xun smiled and said, "That's good. I'll take the soldiers away in a while. First teach them some simple medical knowledge, and then we can talk about other things."

Chen Zhidong had no objection. These medical officers only needed to learn some simple ways to bandage wounds, and basically did not need to learn how to prescribe medicine or treat patients.

But no matter what, some basic medical theories still need to be mastered, which can also lay a certain foundation.

Ma Xun was carefully discussing with Chen Zhidong the training of the first batch of students, who were not the medical officers and medical assistants of the Ming Dynasty.

Some training methods can be used as reference, but some areas also need to be improved.

This is Ma Xun’s main job. Fortunately, there are people who can share his worries. For some things, he only needs to provide ideas and take a bird’s-eye view.

Ma Xun also didn't have time to devote all his energy to the creation and development of nursing, as he had other subjects that needed his attention.

There are so many things to do that I feel overwhelmed.

(End of this chapter)