The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 83 Going My Way
Liu Shuning felt a little disappointed, "Husband, I'm having my period."

Looking at the disappointed and even somewhat guilty Liu Shuning, Ma Xun smiled and said, "It's only been a short time. It's okay. Some things should just be left to nature."

Ma Xun's words made Liu Shuning feel even more guilty, because her husband was very considerate and she was very satisfied with her marriage.

This naturally meant that she needed to take responsibility, but now her period had come again, which meant that her previous efforts had been in vain and she still hadn't gotten pregnant.

Ma Xun looked at Liu Shuning and asked, "If my father-in-law goes back to his hometown, what do you think if my eldest brother goes back with him?"

Liu Shuning asked worriedly, "Is it that the court treated Dad badly?"

"That's not the case. My father-in-law is old enough to enjoy his retirement." Ma Xun said with a smile, "Liu Qi is ten years old now, so it's time to teach him a lesson."

Liu Di, this is the eldest grandson of Liu Bowen and the eldest son of Liu Lian.

Liu Shuning smiled and said, "Dad taught me before that after marrying into the Ma family, I should put my husband's family first. If my husband thinks that Dad should retire, and if he also has this intention, then I will retire."

Ma Xun said, "That's good. We can still visit relatives later. I don't want to stay in the capital right now. I always want to go out for a walk."

Liu Shuning also laughed when she heard Ma Xun say this, because the queen had talked about this matter many times in private.

It’s not that Ma Xun is afraid of court struggles or anything like that, he just seems to like traveling around the world and seeing the world from place to place.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying also complained that if Ma Xun had not remembered to send Ma Taigong back, this guy would probably have wandered around the world with his donkey.

Ma Xunzhi was not in the court, and many people sighed when this matter was mentioned, especially the emperor and empress. Sometimes they even worried that he would run away if they were not careful.

If we were to say who is the least motivated official in the Ming Dynasty, it would basically be Ma Xun.

But everyone seems to be very helpless about his idleness.

Many people tried to guide him on the right track in various ways, wanting him to take the right path. But that was just a thought, and Ma Xun knew better than anyone what path was suitable for him.

Even Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying didn't have a better solution. It wasn't that they were really afraid that Ma Xun would run away, but it was difficult to force a cow to drink water. After all, Ma Xun was not an ordinary minister.

After breakfast, Ma Xun had nothing to do, so he ran to Rouyi Palace.

Ma Xiuying looked at Ma Xun and asked with a smile, "Do you want to ask me for something?"

"I want to go to Beiping, but Shu Ning is not pregnant yet." Ma Xun said, "Brother-in-law will definitely not want to take me with him, so I can only ask you to help me intercede, right?"

Ma Xiuying suppressed her smile and said, "Why do you want to go to Beiping instead of returning to your hometown to pay respect to your parents?"

Ma Xun said immediately, "I can go back to my hometown to pay respect to my parents first and then go to Beiping. It's also convenient. Sister, I just don't want to stay in the capital."

Ma Xiuying looked at Ma Xun and asked calmly, "Give me a reason that can convince me. If it makes sense, I'll let you go north. If it doesn't make sense, go back to your hometown first and then take care of Biao'er regularly."

Ma Xun quickly spoke up, "I will never have peace if I stay in the capital. Yang Xian and Hu Weiyong will definitely try to win me over. Although my father-in-law won't win me over, it's hard to say about his colleagues."

Or are you afraid of trouble? You want to find some quiet time.

Ma Xiuying smiled and said, "This reason is not enough. If you avoid those people as usual, others can't force you. You are the king's uncle, who would plot against you?"

Ma Xun could only say, "What if my father-in-law wants to retire? I think the civil servants will have to clean up. If I stay in Beijing, it will be difficult to get favors from them."

Ma Xiuying asked seriously, "Who said that the civil servants need to be cleaned up?"

"Many of the civil servants in the court are left over from the previous Yuan Dynasty, as are the local officials." Ma Xun said immediately, "Many people here seem to have come to surrender voluntarily, but in fact, I don't know how many of them stayed because they had no choice. They are not on the same page with us."

Ma Xiuying continued to ask, "Why are they not on the same page with us? They are officials of the Ming Dynasty, receiving salaries from the court, so they should be on the same page with us."

"Sister, I'm not stupid." Ma Xun said frankly, speechless, "Being an official in my Ming Dynasty is not as comfortable as being an official in the previous Yuan Dynasty. Being a scholar or landlord in my Ming Dynasty is not as rich as being in the previous Yuan Dynasty."

Seeing that Ma Xiuying didn't say anything, Ma Xun said directly, "The court can't afford to pay taxes to those landlords and wealthy businessmen. Those people are always thinking about their Mongolian masters. Official corruption and unclear governance were already evident in the pre-Yuan period. The court must use severe punishments to change this."

The so-called Guo Huan case, the Empty Seal case, etc., were not due to party struggles or political differences. The biggest reason was that there were major problems with the administration of officials.

As for the fact that many officials were implicated, some people feel that they were wronged.

But if everyone from top to bottom is corrupt and exploits the people, and if we speak up for these corrupt officials and think that they should not be killed, then ordinary people should just ignore it?
In troubled times, severe punishments must be used to correct wrongs. Without great courage, it would be difficult to reverse some of the customs of the past century.

Ma Xiuying couldn't help but ask, "Since you see the situation clearly, why are you unwilling to help your brother-in-law share his worries?"

"Sister, what I do is also serious work." Ma Xun hurriedly explained himself, "Teaching and educating people is so good. A peaceful country definitely needs talented people. I have taught some scholars, so how can I not be helping my brother-in-law?"

Ma Xiuying didn't know how to refute it for a while, but she felt something was wrong. "If you don't go to the Imperial College, how can you be teaching and educating people? If you really have that ambition, you wouldn't be like this now."

"The teaching methods are different, and the books are also different." Ma Xun said with a smile, "Sister, you can definitely help your brother-in-law. Besides, am I not helping your brother-in-law share his worries?"

Ma Xiuying began to have a headache. This was her only younger brother, the only hope of the Ma family. If she didn't pamper him, no one would.

Another thing is the age. Ma Xun is only twenty-one, so the age difference is more than fifteen years.

Ma Xiuying thought about it carefully, and then asked, "Your brother-in-law went to Beiping for important business. No matter if you stay in the capital or go back to your hometown with him, no one can cause trouble for you."

"I want to go to the north to have a look. There are some things I still don't understand." Ma Xun said, "Reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles. It's better to go around and have a look than to stay in the capital all the time."

Ma Xiuying continued to persuade, "What about Biao'er? You can help Biao'er if you stay in Beijing."

"I just hope I don't cause trouble for him. I'm not as good as Biao'er in fighting in the court." Ma Xun said with a smile, "Sister, I want to see the old course of the Yellow River and the situation in Peking. Maybe I can help in the future."

Ma Xiuying asked, "Help, how can you help?"

Ma Xun said directly, "People in the north can't always be southerners or northerners. These are all Han people, but it's a pity that many people in the north don't recognize them. My brother-in-law wants to bridge the gap between the north and the south, and I want to help."

Ma Xiuying didn't say anything at this point. This matter was too big. Not only she and Zhu Yuanzhang understood it, but all the civil and military officials in the court also understood the importance of this matter.

But even though he understood it, it was difficult to make the people in the north recognize his identity.

The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun had not been under the rule of the Han people for four hundred years. After the Southern Song Dynasty, the area north of the Huai River was lost, and during the Yuan Dynasty, the entire China sank.

Going back further, the country was divided into various places at the end of the Tang Dynasty, and the last unified Han dynasty was the Tang Dynasty.

After a long silence, Ma Xiuying said, "Then I'll go talk to your brother-in-law. Whether he allows you to go with him depends on his opinion."

Ma Xun felt relieved when Ma Xiuying said this. If it was some military or national affairs, it might be hard to say, but in terms of whether to allow him to go north, it was not difficult.

Seeing Ma Xunxi's smiling face, Ma Xiuying urged, "You and Shuning should hurry up, Biao'er is getting married next year."

Ma Xun nodded vigorously. The Ming Dynasty was quickly getting back on track. Many things were proceeding in an orderly manner, and many rules and rituals were being improved.

The wedding of Crown Prince Zhu Biao will be an extremely important event. It is not just a matter of national foundation, but also a way to win over the meritorious interest groups.

It is one thing to confer titles on meritorious officials, and it is another to start marriage alliances.

Most of the children of the founding generals are reaching marriageable age, and the princes and princesses are also reaching marriageable age one after another. There is a lot of knowledge involved in this.

Even Ma Xun could not escape the attributes of a political marriage, let alone these princes and princesses. Everyone knew that there had to be some "equal status" and "parents' orders and matchmaker's words".

Watching Ma Xunhuan leave happily, Ma Xiuying smiled and said, "He is smart, but he has no ambition."

Zhu Yuanzhang walked out of the inner room holding a book, "I wanted to hide away for a while, but I didn't know there was someone who could hide away more than me."

"It's all your fault. The fighting in the Secretariat was fierce this time, and anyone with a discerning eye could see it." Ma Xiuying sighed and said, "I think these old brothers in Huaixi are unreliable, and Yang Xian and the people in Zhejiang are even less reliable."

Zhu Yuanzhang said depressedly, "This Yang Xian is so disappointing. He is too proud and arrogant. He wants to be the next Li Shanchang!"

"Those people in eastern Zhejiang either want the emperor and the literati to rule the country together, or they want to continue the Yuan court's preferential treatment for them." Ma Xiuying said unhappily, "If they were in charge of the Secretariat, the court would be full of southerners."

Although the people in Huaixi may not be that good, at this stage, it is difficult to find any group that is more suitable than them to help Zhu Yuanzhang stabilize the court.

Ma Xiuying then said, "This time you take my little brother north, remember to give him a lesson on the way. He is so smart that he only wants to teach and be a craftsman, instead of learning more practical things."

Zhu Yuanzhang also became anxious. "He has a clear understanding of the situation, but he has no ambition. I wanted to leave a real uncle for Biaoer. How can I help the government with this kind of brother? He needs to be punished, otherwise he will not make any progress!"

(End of this chapter)