The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 88 Customized Missions
Although there were still some soldiers stationed at the border, the Northern Expedition was a great victory, and the army was returning to the capital or to their bases one after another.

Peking is now home to many generals, and some great generals have also arrived in Peking one after another.

It couldn't be considered a formal reward, but the emperor had already arrived in Peking to preside over the sacrifice ceremony at the Temple of Heroes for the soldiers who died in the Northern Expedition, so all the generals would surely have rushed over as soon as they received the imperial edict.

Ma Xun still looked very flamboyant in his silver helmet and silver armor, especially when compared with the dusty Xu Da, Ma Xun looked even more heroic.

Xu Da said in a good mood, "Little brother, it's been a long time since we last met."

"Brother Xu, it's only been half a year and you've already chased Wang Baobao away!" Ma Xun said with a smile, "I was talking to Brother Guo yesterday about this. He regretted not being one step faster, otherwise Wang Baobao wouldn't have been able to escape!"

Xu Da was also very regretful. "That man is too difficult to catch. I thought that if I arranged for Guo Ying, I would definitely be able to catch him."

Zhu Yuanzhang regretted not being able to capture Wang Baobao, and Xu Da, Guo Ying and others were also somewhat disappointed. It was not because Xu Da's deployment of troops or arrangements were not thorough enough, but simply because Wang Baobao was too good at running and too lucky.

Looking at Ma Xun, Xu Da asked with a smile, "I haven't been in the capital for half a year. Have you been amused by Yun Gong?"

Ma Xun immediately became very proud. "Although those boys from the Chang family often come to my house, and this time they brought Chang Mao to Beiping. But when I was in the capital, I played with Yun Gong and asked your girl to talk to my wife."

Xu Da smiled happily, "That's how it should be. We are all close to each other! My eldest daughter likes reading, and she will definitely be able to chat with my younger brother and sister-in-law."

Ma Xun looked behind Xu Da and asked, "Where is Wenying? Why can't I see Wenying?"

"In the back, have him bring Wang Baobao's brothers and sisters over here." Xu Da explained with a smile, "Wenying should not be underestimated in the future. He will definitely be able to stand on his own and become a great general."

This is a very high evaluation. A general who can take charge of a situation on his own is a great general, who can command tens of thousands of troops. There were many generals in the early Ming Dynasty, but not everyone had the ability to become a great general.

There is still some difference between a talented general and a talented commander, but the current Ming Dynasty has no shortage of capable generals, and no shortage of brave generals who are good at fighting.

The two men chatted and laughed as they led their troops back to Peking.

Zhu Yuanzhang was naturally happy. He had never doubted Xu Da's ability, and Xu Da was able to complete the tasks assigned to him very well, even exceeding expectations.

"Where is Tang He, that big mouth?" Zhu Yuanzhang then asked, "Deng Yu, why can't I see Deng Yu?"

Xu Da smiled and said, "Deng Yu will have to wait for a few days. He was previously hunting down the remnants of Wang Baobao. He was really good. He killed more than 2,000 people, captured more than 100 people including princes and dukes, recruited 80,000 people to surrender, and seized countless spoils!"

Deng Yu was indeed a tough guy. At the age of 16, he started an uprising against the Yuan Dynasty with his father and brother. After his father and brother died in battle, the 16-year-old youth led the people to fight everywhere. When Zhu Yuanzhang was stationed in He County, Deng Yu led more than 10,000 people to join him.

Deng Yu was only nineteen years old at that time!

It is not wise to compete with these fierce men. You have to know that Deng Yu is only 34 years old now.

Ma Xun understood his position very well. No matter what, he would never compete with Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Deng Yu and others in military ability. That would be humiliating.

Li Wenzhong didn't wait, Tang He didn't arrive, and Deng Yu didn't see him, but Lan Yu appeared.

Seeing Chang Yuchun, Lan Yu was very excited, "Brother-in-law!"

Although I knew that Chang Yuchun had recovered from his illness, I was still a little worried because I hadn't seen him in person.

Chang Yuchun smiled and nodded. Chang Mao suddenly jumped out, "Uncle!"

"Good boy!" Lan Yu looked at Chang Mao and was very happy. "Uncle will take you hunting later."

Lan Yu was busy fighting outside and had no children. This kind of situation was quite common among the founding generals of the Ming army.

But there is nothing to worry about, as the time for accumulation and development will come soon. Guo Ying, who was childless in her thirties, will have more than ten sons and several daughters in the future.

The speed at which these nobles had children could basically keep up with the speed at which Zhu Yuanzhang's children were being born.

Ma Xun had no reason to be sad about his fake nephew running away, as Sima Xu, Li Wenzhong and others led their troops to the scene one after another, taking with them their spoils of war, prisoners and so on.

Zhu Yuanzhang played with the jewel and said with some regret, "I didn't find the seal, but I did find the jewel."

There are many different opinions about where the imperial seal went. Now there is a view that it is in the hands of the Mongols.

Zhu Yuanzhang's regret so far is that he failed to persuade Wang Baobao to surrender, failed to capture the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, and the most important imperial seal.

The so-called Zhengui is the jade ceremonial vessel held by the emperor during court ceremonies.

Li Wenzhong had previously defeated Yingchang and seized back fifteen jade seals and gold treasures from the Song and Yuan dynasties, two jade books, and one each of a zhengui, a dagui, a jade belt, and a jade axe.

Needless to say, these things are all valuable and belong to the emperor. Li Wenzhong clasped his fists and said, "I am incompetent and have failed to capture the Yuan emperor and retrieve the imperial seal!"

If it weren't for Li Wenzhong's guilty look, Ma Xun would have thought this was in Versailles.

After such a great contribution, you still feel guilty?

Zhu Yuanzhang really helped the Song Dynasty a lot. These large jade tablets were either lost during the reigns of Emperor Huizong of Song, Emperor Qinzong of Song, or Emperor Duanzong of Song.

Even last year when the army captured Dadu, they found wine vessels made from the skull of Song Lizong in the Yuan imperial city of Dadu. It was Zhu Yuanzhang who ordered that the head of Song Lizong be buried in the Song Mausoleum.

Zhu Yuanzhang also ordered the restoration of the tombs of the six emperors of the Southern Song Dynasty and sent people to guard them.

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "Forget it if you didn't find it this time. Look for it next time. Remember to bring your uncle with you. He is a scholar but he has a yearning for the battlefield. These are the bad habits of scholars."

Li Wenzhong quickly said, "Your Majesty, your uncle is strict in managing the army and loves his soldiers like his own sons. Many in the army respect him."

Ma Xundu blushed, he didn't have much reputation in the army.

Zhu Yuanzhang also laughed, "Bao'er, you have learned to lie with open eyes. Your aunt is not here, there is no need to do this!"

Zhu Yuanzhang, this is Li Wenzhong's real uncle. He called Ma Xun uncle because of Ma Xiuying.

Xu Da immediately said, "Your Majesty, when I returned to the capital last year, my uncle said that he wanted to go north with me to attack the Yuan Lord."

"Xu Tiande!" Chang Yuchun was anxious. "My life was saved by my uncle. He led his troops to Kaiping before he went north. He should have joined forces with me. In two years, when we go north to attack Yuan Lord and Wang Baobao, my uncle should follow me!"

Xu Da did not give in this time, "I am the general, and the prince's uncle should follow me!"

Li Wenzhong could only worry. General Xu and General Chang were trying to snatch people, but he was not qualified to do so. If General Deng came back, he would also be qualified to snatch people!
At this time, only the military giants were qualified to snatch people. Feng Sheng, Fu Youde, Tang He, Tang Shengzong and others were not qualified to snatch people. They were not qualified to let Ma Xun become the "deputy general".

If he hadn't known his own limitations, Ma Xun would have been flattered. His mascot was very popular, like a military god, as if whoever got it would win!
Zhu Yuanzhang said cheerfully, "It's useless for you to say anything. Now the quarrel is fierce, who knows if he will go to the war at that time. The queen probably won't agree, and he doesn't have any children."

Zhu Yuanzhang is now just over 40 years old, still in his prime, and very heroic.

Xu Da still said somewhat unwillingly, "Among these people, I and the King's uncle are the most like-minded."

Li Wenzhong seized the opportunity and said, "Your Majesty, I am still young, and I need the help of my uncle to calm the army and stabilize the morale of the troops."

"Li Baoer!" Chang Yuchun said unhappily, "The emperor's uncle is ten years younger than you. You are young, but what does he mean to you?"

Xu Da also immediately turned his gun and said, "Old Chang is right. Old Chang and I will each lead elite troops, and you will be the auxiliary force to respond. The prince's uncle can be in my army, so you don't need to worry about it!"

Chang Yuchun also agreed very much. Seizing Ma Xun was one thing, but if they continued to move north in two years, he and Xu Da would definitely lead an army each, and they also needed to seize the right to take the lead in the attack.

Li Wenzhong had to be squeezed out first, and he and Deng Yu had to be driven away. This was the "internal competition" between Xu Da and Chang Yuchun.

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and played with the big jade scepter, saying, "This jade artifact looks solid, as expected of a product handed down from the Song Dynasty. You should not be complacent about your achievements in the Northern Expedition. There is still a lot to do."

When the others nodded, Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Brother, who do you want to fight the Tartars with?"

Ma Xun said very bluntly, "I will follow whoever can lead me to chase the enemy to the north and conquer the Wolf's Lair. I can't kill anyone, but I can definitely catch one or two Mongolian dignitaries!"

Among such a group of arrogant soldiers and generals, Ma Xun's remarks were the most unpromising. But it seemed that there was nothing wrong with it. If he was said to have no ambition, he was still thinking about Fenglangjuxu.

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed immediately. "This is a difficult task. I have many brave generals under my command, and any of them can conquer the enemy and chase the enemy to the north. You should spend the next two years in the Grand Commandery, and then you can select a large army to follow you."

Ma Xun nodded subconsciously, but soon felt as if he was trapped.

In the next two years, will I be visiting the Grand Commandery frequently? Will I have more contact with these Huaixi nobles and founding generals?

I am a scholar, a civil servant, and a relative by marriage. I am not a serious military general!

Xu Da and others had no objection. Ma Xun's service in the Grand Marshal's Office did not really allow him to choose his partner. It was to consolidate military power for the emperor.

In the next two years, there may be fierce fighting within the Secretariat, and the Grand Council will also inevitably have to carry out some reforms and restrictions.

The country is basically unified, so it is naturally impossible to turn a blind eye to the unscrupulous behavior of some arrogant and powerful generals as in previous years.

The reason why Ma Xun, the emperor's uncle, came to the Grand Marshal's Office was obviously to restrain these arrogant and powerful generals!
(End of this chapter)