The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 75 Dragging down the water

Since he had to go to court, he should get up early. Military generals like him rode horses, while civil officials could ride in sedan chairs.

Ma Xun, riding a horse, came to the front of the palace calmly and entered the palace smoothly after checking the palace talisman.

It was still in chaos and without order. When the drums sounded, all the civil and military officials rushed towards the inner city.

Ma Xun suddenly felt that he was "alone and helpless" because he had no acquaintances.

Especially when looking at Yang Xian who was surrounded by officials, Hu Weiyong who was gathered together with a few people, and Wang Guangyang, Liu Bowen and others who were frowning.

In such a comparison, Ma Xun stood alone at the head of the team of military generals. The people from Huaixi who wanted to talk to him had to consider whether they had enough weight and friendship.

You also have to worry about the messages conveyed by the emperor, empress and others, and not to harass the emperor's uncle for no reason.

When it was time to attend court, Ma Xun followed the crowd into the Fengtian Hall, stood still, and began the court session.

It was a mess when entering the palace for court, and all kinds of reports were also in a mess after the morning court began. The shortcomings of the lack of rules at the beginning of the founding of the country were fully reflected.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the dragon throne and felt helpless when he looked at Ma Xun, the leader of the military generals. His brother-in-law was just not doing his job properly.

This was the early years of the founding of the country, and many arrogant and brave generals held great military power. After gaining control of the country, many civil officials also had a lot of thoughts.

He hoped that Ma Xun could pay more attention to the affairs of the court and help him share his worries. But now, this brother-in-law seems to want to be a craftsman.

Zhu Yuanzhang waited until the Minister of Rites Tao Kai finished his report before asking, "Uncle, what do you think?"

Ma Xun was stunned for a moment, then quickly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I think this matter is of great importance and should be handled with caution."

Liu Bowen in the civil servant queue shook his head slightly. He even doubted whether his son-in-law knew what Tao Kai had just said.

In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang also had doubts, so he continued to ask, "Oh? Since you also know that this matter is serious, then I would like to ask for your opinion. You are the emperor's uncle, so you should offer suggestions."

Ma Xun continued, "Your Majesty, I have always been a dull person. When I heard about this, I had no idea what to do. Please forgive me for not speaking nonsense."

Let alone Zhu Yuanzhang, no one else knew what to say for a moment. In fact, this uncle of the emperor was very slippery at times, and you could only find him being "moderate" at best, and you could hardly see him standing out.

In fact, Ma Xun knew what Tao Kai was saying. He was slacking off, but he still listened to what he was supposed to listen to.

I listened carefully to what Tao Kai said about the military ceremony and the imperial examination ceremony, but I didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

This Minister of Rites was well-read and had a good understanding of matters of etiquette. He also followed Zhu Yuanzhang's wishes in restoring some traditional Han rituals, so there was no need for him to oppose it.

At this time, Imperial Censor Liu Bing suddenly spoke up, "Your Majesty, the Emperor's uncle traveled thousands of miles to escort Prince Xu back home, and everyone in the court and the public praised the Emperor's uncle for his filial piety. I think the Emperor's uncle's filial act should be praised by the world to correct the filial piety of the court."

This guy who suddenly appeared became the focus of everyone's attention, and no one knew what he was up to.

Liu Bowen could not help but frown. Liu Bing was the Imperial Censor. This was the assistant to the Imperial Censor and the Imperial Censor-in-Chief. This was his subordinate.

But the current Imperial Censor is Deng Yu, and Liu Bowen, the Chief Censor, actually manages the Imperial Censorate. And now, Liu Bing has directly bypassed his superior.

Liu Bing then continued, "Your Majesty, I impeach the Right Prime Minister Wang Guangyang for being unfilial to his mother."

Ma Xun couldn't help but look at Liu Bing, while others couldn't help but look at Liu Bowen who had a look of surprise on his face.

Liu Bing, the vanguard, impeached Wang Guangyang, and everyone must have thought that this was instructed by Liu Bowen.

Wang Guangyang was a little panicked. In this day and age, being unfilial is not only a moral condemnation, which can lead to social death, but can also lead to direct conviction.

Is this the beginning?
Li Shanchang had just retired, and Yang Xian was already beginning to eliminate dissidents and take over the power of the Secretariat?
Zhu Yuanzhang asked with a serious expression, "Oh? Is this true? Chief Censor, what do you have to say?"

Liu Bowen quickly stepped out of the class and said, "Your Majesty, I don't even know about this."

Liu Bowen's words stunned many people. Who would believe that the actual head of the Censorate didn't know that his subordinates were planning to impeach the Right Prime Minister? Zhu Yuanzhang was a little unhappy. "Wang Youcheng is now in charge of the Secretariat. If such an important official impeaches without real evidence, it would be a false accusation!"

Liu Bing seemed calm and said quickly, "Your Majesty, I am honored to be the Imperial Censor. If I hear that any official has committed an illegal act, I will naturally report it and impeach him."

This is called reporting on hearsay. People can make reports based on hearsay without having to provide any hard evidence.

This was also the policy during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, where censors could report ministers based on hearsay.

Once this precedent was set, the censors and the ministers in power became hostile to each other, while the emperor secretly rejoiced on the sidelines.

Zhu Yuanzhang was speechless for a moment. What Liu Bing said was correct.

Ma Xun could not help but frown. If he reported without providing any evidence, it might lead to factional disputes in the future, or allow some censors and upright officials to act recklessly from the moral high ground.

But it doesn't make sense on second thought. In the early days of the Ming Dynasty, some civil servants would not be allowed to do whatever they wanted, and there would be no soil for the clean stream to survive.

What’s more important is that in order to regain power, the emperor may turn a blind eye to some things, as long as it works.

The wind direction in the court suddenly changed. Zhu Yuanzhang no longer cared whether Ma Xun had deserted the morning court or not, but was concerned about whether Wang Guangyang could still be in the Secretariat.

Civil and military officials were also concerned about this matter. After all, Wang Guangyang was one of the founding heroes and nominally the highest-ranking official in the Secretariat.

This also concerns the interests of many people, so it is normal to pay more attention to it.

Wang Guangyang had been severely suppressed by Li Shanchang before, but he did have some foundation, was close to some civil servants in Jiangnan, and had certain contacts with people in eastern Zhejiang.

Now that Wang Guangyang is involved, these civil servants in Jiangnan must be anxious.

Although Yang Xian seemed to be keeping his troops in place, Hu Weiyong was secretly fanning the flames.

These two upstarts who have just entered the Secretariat should not be underestimated. They seem to have reached a tacit understanding. They will first defeat Wang Guangyang and then continue to fight. The three forces will eventually become the dominant one.

Now, there are no longer undercurrents in the court, but some contradictions and conflicts have begun to be put on the surface.

When the court was dismissed, Ma Xun immediately found Liu Bowen and asked, "Father-in-law, was it really not you who ordered that man to do this?"

Liu Bowen smiled and said, "I still underestimated Yang Xian and Hu Weiyong."

Ma Xun also laughed, "That makes sense. Why are they so eager to step forward? They don't have deep roots in the Secretariat, so why are they so eager to defeat old man Wang Guangyang?"

Liu Bowen smiled and said, "It is precisely because they are newcomers that they are so eager to defeat the old men. I am also being dragged into this situation, and you can't escape either."

Ma Xun was stunned for a moment, then he reacted.

Liu Bing took the lead in impeachment, and no one believed Liu Bowen's claim that he had no knowledge of the matter. As Liu Bowen's son-in-law, it was not easy for Ma Xun to keep himself out of it.

Ma Xun couldn't help but complain, "I just don't want to get involved in these things, but these people insisted on dragging me into it."

Liu Bowen looked at Ma Xun and said, "It's not easy for you to understand these things."

Liu Bowen has always admired Ma Xun's prudence and self-discipline, and he also knows that Ma Xun sometimes hides his shortcomings.

Now he can understand these things more clearly. Ma Xun has seen and remembered some situations. Even if he seems to be unfamiliar with the court, he knows a lot of things.

"That's good." Liu Bowen said with some relief, "I am not afraid of these people after all these years of ups and downs in the political world. I am just afraid that you will be deceived by them when you first come to the court."

Ma Xun also laughed, "I'm not a fool. It's not that easy to get me to take the lead or drag me down!"

(End of this chapter)