The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 86: The First Shot

Ma Xun continued to follow Zhu Yuanzhang northward and was about to reach Shandong.

Zhu Yuanzhang also said with emotion, "In Shandong, Mao Gui was harmed by a traitor. I didn't know he was so powerful. It's a pity that I couldn't keep him and use him for my own benefit."

Back then, this was one of the main battlefields of the Northern Red Turban Army. As a general under Liu Futong, Mao Gui could be regarded as an important presence in the Northern Red Turban Army. This man once ruled Shandong.

If it weren't for the power struggle within the Red Turban Army, the Yuan court might have been destroyed long ago, and Zhu Yuanzhang would not have been given the opportunity to develop peacefully in Yingtian Prefecture.

The person who killed Mao Gui was Zhao Junyong, one of the five marshals who revolted in Haozhou. He was the "hero" who locked Guo Zixing in the cellar and beat him, and only rescued him when Zhu Yuanzhang climbed over the wall.

Ma Xun was more open-minded. "Not everyone has great ambitions. There are many people who want to be king after conquering a city or abuse their power after conquering a county. Some people rebel because they can't survive, and some people just do whatever they want because they think the world is in chaos."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Ma Xun and asked, "You are also intelligent, why don't you join the army?"

"I'm afraid of death." Ma Xun said bluntly, "It's also because there is no wise leader in Fujian. I definitely can't serve the Mongols. Chen Youding is loyal to the Yuan Dynasty, and He Zhen and Shao Zongyu next to him are at most Zhao Tuo. How dare I join them?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was also amused when he heard Ma Xun say this, "You may not be very capable, but your vision is not low. I'm afraid there are only a few people in this world who can catch your eye."

Ma Xun disagreed and said, "That's different. There are many heroes in this world, and I admire many of them. It's nothing more than asking me to join a wise leader, but I may not be happy with that."

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't need to think too much to understand that Ma Xun just thought some people were great and admired them. But if he had to work for them, he would not be interested.

But think about it, Ma Xun's personality is normal, and being afraid of death is just a joke. The main reason is that he likes to take advantage of the situation, doesn't like to force himself, and doesn't like to put himself in a situation with no way out.

Seeing that they had arrived in Shandong, Ma Xun said, "Brother-in-law, when we are in Shandong, why don't we go to Qufu?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked curiously, "Why do scholars want to worship Confucius?"

Ma Xun said happily, "There is nothing wrong with worshipping Confucius, but the people of the Kong family are interesting."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked in surprise, "What's wrong with the Kong family? They are descendants of saints, and are revered by people all over the world."

"I admire the saints, but I don't think the Kong family is the same." Ma Xun said with some disdain, "Brother-in-law, I think you were deceived by those scholars."

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment and asked, "How did they trick us?"

Ma Xun said directly, "Brother-in-law has always been restoring the traditions of the Han people and inheriting the system of the Tang and Song dynasties. Well, what is this Yanshenggong?"

Zhu Yuanzhang did not quite understand, "What's wrong here? Kong Xixue came to the capital in his early years, so I issued an edict to keep his title. He has come here frequently in the past two years, and I have given him many rewards."

"The roots of this Duke Yansheng are wrong!" Ma Xun gave his shocking conclusion, "This Kong Xixue now, he shouldn't have been Duke Yansheng. He used a side branch to seize the title of eldest son, and he still thinks he is a descendant of a saint. If it gets out, he won't be afraid of being laughed at!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression became serious. "Little brother, don't say such nonsense, otherwise all the scholars in the world will spit on you!"

"I think those who are unwilling to speak out are the ones who will be cursed!" Ma Xun said directly, "After the Northern Song Dynasty, the Jurchens and the Mongols each had a Yansheng Duke in order to win over the hearts of the people. As a result, there is another Yansheng Duke in the Southern Song Dynasty, which makes three!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment, then asked, "What else?"

Ma Xun said jokingly. "Besides, if I remember correctly, there were disputes during the Song, Jin and Yuan dynasties. The eldest son of Confucius was Kong Duanyou, who followed him to the Southern Song Dynasty. This is the Southern Sect. The Northern Sect had Kong Duanyou's nephew as the Duke of Yansheng. These people fought for many years. When it came to Kublai Khan, the eldest son of the Southern Sect gave up the position of the eldest son to a branch of the family!"

Looking at Zhu Yuanzhang with a solemn expression, Ma Xun smiled and said, "Brother-in-law, isn't this interesting? The Northern Sect was established by the Mongols, and the eldest and legitimate heir of the Southern Sect is really generous, even giving up the throne to the eldest son of the clan."

Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang deep in thought, Ma Xun said, "During the Han Dynasty, there was a worship of the emperor. Since then, the eldest grandson of Confucius has had a hereditary title, which has remained unchanged for a thousand years. In the Northern Song Dynasty, it was changed to Yanshenggong, which was almost an eighth-rank official. The Mongols won over the people's hearts and made Yanshenggong a third-rank official. We are the head of the first-rank civil officials."

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a moment before he said, "We will discuss this matter later. These scholars are still useful and can help govern the country."

Ma Xun said seemingly unintentionally, "That's right, the Second Sage once said: If the ruler treats his subjects like grass, then the subjects will treat the ruler like an enemy."

Zhu Yuanzhang was instantly angry, "You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

This is a big deal. Last year, when Zhu Yuanzhang read Mencius, he was furious when he saw this sentence, so he ordered Mencius to be removed from the Confucius Temple. The scholars all over the world were anxious and argued with him for a long time.

In the end, it seemed that the scholars won, and Mencius's statue continued to be enshrined in the Confucius Temple.

But the emperor changed the name of "Mencius" to "Selected Works of Mencius". This is the book that scholars should read. The so-called "hard bones" and "integrity" of scholars are just like that.

Ma Xun just smiled and said nothing. It would not be a good idea to continue poking Zhu Yuanzhang's lungs.

Seeing that Ma Xun was silent, Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "From what you said, it seems that you don't like the saint very much."

"Brother-in-law, I still respect Confucius." Ma Xun emphasized, "It's just that I don't like the current Kong family members. It would be fine if they had good morals. Tell me yourself, how many surrender letters have the Kong family written."

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment and asked, "Who did they write the surrender letter to?"

Ma Xun was also stunned for a moment. To be honest, the Kong family really did not write a letter of surrender to Zhu Yuanzhang.

That is, when Xu Da was launching the Northern Expedition, Kong Xixue and Qufu County Yin Kong Xizhang paid a visit to Xu Da's general Zhang Xingzu, and then Kong Xixue went a step further and went to the military gate to ask to see Xu Da.

In fact, the Kong family has not reached that stage yet. It was only in the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty that there emerged a situation of "four branches and three descendants". In the late Ming Dynasty, they were busy getting close to Li Zicheng and the Jurchens. In the late Qing Dynasty, they were busy drinking with the Germans and Japanese, and supporting Yuan Datou and the principal.

In Chinese history, there are two thousand-year-old families. One is naturally the Kong family, and the other is the lineage of Zhang Tianshi of Longhu Mountain.

Ma Xun quickly explained, "These people are busy assessing the situation, persuading others to be loyal, and changing their allegiance quickly. They will be happy if anyone can protect their wealth and status. There are many farms in Qufu, which should be used to worship Confucius, but they may not do so."

Zhu Yuanzhang was somewhat unhappy because he had also allocated a lot of land to Duke Yansheng.

Zhu Yuanzhang emphasized, "After all, they are descendants of Confucius. Supporting them will make scholars happy."

"We are worshipping a saint, not the Kong family!" Ma Xun said, "Since this is the Tang and Song system, it would be enough to give him a seventh or eighth rank official. Why would we give him a first rank official? The Mongols are trying to win over the people. Are we a foreign race?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was speechless for a moment, it seemed to be right.

In order to win over the Han landlords, the Jurchens and Mongols did want to elevate Confucius and Mencius, but I am a Han Chinese. Those foreigners gave the Duke of Yansheng a high official title, so how could I give him a higher one?

Ma Xun continued, "Many of the Confucius and Mencius we are studying now are not the Confucianism of the Han and Tang Dynasties, but the Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism of the Southern Song Dynasty. This is the official learning recognized by the Mongols. Why are the Mongols like this? Don't you know, brother-in-law?"

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately said, "I am not like you and your brother, who have inherited poetry and literature from your family and like to read history books, so how would I know!"

Now, the Ma family has become a family that inherits poetry and literature.

Ma Xun could only say, "When we talked about Cheng and Zhu at that time, the righteousness of the monarch and his subjects overshadowed the debate between Chinese and barbarians. The Mongols treated those scholars generously, exempting them from taxes, and even ignoring land annexation. My brother-in-law should also know how many famous scholars died for the Yuan Dynasty at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and how many scholars followed the Yuan Lord to escape to the grassland this time!"

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard what Ma Xun said, his expression changed.

In fact, Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism has certain merits, and some of its aspects are advanced, or in line with the characteristics of the times and the interests of the rulers.

However, Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism was developed in the Yuan Dynasty, and Wang Yangming, Gu Xiancheng, Gao Panlong and Huang Daozhou developed it in the Ming Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, a large number of people distorted it, so "preserve Heavenly principles and eliminate human desires" and "Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues" became deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

In fact, at the beginning, the intention was to suppress the imperial power, but as it continued to develop, it became strange.

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed at Ma Xun with his whip and said, "Watch your mouth. Don't talk about these things in the next two years. When the Secretariat is in order and the arrogant generals are stripped of their military power, we can discuss this matter in detail!"

Seeing that Ma Xun was silent, Zhu Yuanzhang warned, "I don't trust you either. It's true that you've read a few books, but I don't know where you learned them from. We should ask Biao'er later. He has read more books than you and me, and he is more talented than us. Those turbans might have deceived us. Let's discuss it after we get back!"

It is completely understandable. Ma Xun has studied, but everyone knows that he is not very proficient in it.

So some things still need to be asked to Haodaer, because in Zhu Yuanzhang's opinion, Haodaer's talent is the best in the world.

Ma Xun quickly spoke up, "Brother-in-law, I'm not stupid. I only dare to say this in front of you and sister, and maybe I would dare to say it in front of Biao'er. If they say that Confucius' descendants are good, I will say good things about them."

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but glare at Ma Xun, "They said that the descendants of Confucius are good, but you don't say that they wrote a letter of surrender?"

Ma Xun thought about it carefully before speaking, "It depends on the situation. If there are too many of them, I will definitely not say anything. If they are all scholars, I will not say anything either. If Brother Xu and Brother Chang are here, then I will say that the Kong family is preparing a surrender."

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly laughed and said, "You, when your sister and I are gone, you will follow Biao'er. By then, everyone in the world will scold you. As the elder, you should bear the infamy."

(End of this chapter)