The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 95 Education is a big deal

Ma Xun was definitely concerned about the fact that his nephews were made kings, and he did not find it strange that Li Shanchang was eager to return to the central government.

Li Shanchang was unwilling to give up the power in his hands, so it was impossible for him to live out his life peacefully and honestly in his hometown.

It is also difficult for him to educate his descendants well because his mind is entirely focused on power.

If you finally have a son, it's okay to spoil him a little. For some families, even raising a playboy is fine.

What I’m afraid of is that overindulging someone will lead to a lawless bastard, which will then implicate the entire family.

Zhou Dexing, the host, was very happy. He was a fellow townsman of Zhu Yuanzhang and they had been close friends since childhood.

Speaking of this group of people in Huaixi, Tang He and Zhou Dexing were Zhu Yuanzhang's real best friends during his youth.

Zhou Dexing fought hundreds of battles and made outstanding military achievements. He ranked tenth among the founding heroes of the Ming Dynasty and third among the marquises.

In history, he had already retired and returned to his hometown, but his son Zhou Ji committed adultery with a palace maid in the palace during the mourning period for Crown Prince Zhu Biao, which led to Zhou Dexing's death.

If Zhou Dexing knew that his whole family was ruined by his son, he wondered if he would regret raising his son to be such a person.

Ma Xun frowned a little, although he had seen some naughty children before. But it was obvious that Zhou Dexing doted on Zhou Ji to no limit, and the child was a little disrespectful.

It's okay if a child is a little naughty, but if he or she has no respect for elders and no sense of propriety, then he or she is a naughty child, and this is due to the parents' failure to discipline him or her.

Zhou Dexing said a little embarrassedly, "Uncle, the child is young and doesn't know much."

Ma Xun also smiled and said, "Brother Zhou, I think the child is not a child anymore, right? He is almost ten years old, and he should understand some things."

Although Zhou Dexing was a little unhappy, he still said, "He's only nine years old. You can't argue with him!"

Ma Xun was speechless for a moment. Some naughty children ended up in a bad situation. It was all because of their parents' spoiling.

If he gave a subtle reminder, Zhou Dexing would blame Ma Xun for fussing over the child. Anyway, his child was not wrong and others were always wrong.

Among the descendants of the founding heroes, there were promising ones, some died in battle, many were mediocre, and many broke the law and committed crimes.

It seems that educating this special group is a long and arduous task, and Ma Xun also feels that these people do need to be disciplined.

These days, Ma Xun has been busy visiting guests and interacting with people from Huaixi. He is very busy and happy.

When Ma Xun returned home and saw Liu Shuning, he smiled and asked, "Have you chosen a wife for my nephew?"

Liu Shuning said coquettishly, "My husband is joking again. I don't have that much ability. I just want to see what the temperaments of those girls are like. I can't just believe one side of the story."

This is Liu Shuning's main task. Although the marriage between the royal family and the nobles is more political in nature, the temperament of some nobles' legitimate daughters is also a key focus.

If she has a bad temper, she might just become a concubine, or even not be accepted into the royal family at all.

It is not impossible for nobles to marry each other, but those families that look down on one another can only find a way to resolve the issue internally.

Some people with good family backgrounds and good temperaments can enter the royal family, and become prominent princes and princesses.

"I've seen quite a few boys recently. It turns out that Chang Mao is quite promising!" Ma Xun lowered his voice, as if he was afraid that the Chang family next door would hear him. "When I think about it, I feel worried for my sister and brother-in-law."

Liu Shuning said, "Chang Mao is pretty good, he just has a quick temper, but he doesn't have any bad habits. My husband must also know that many of the sons of wealthy families, not just those of the nobles, have bad habits."

Ma Xun said worriedly, "The education of our offspring is a big deal in the future. It doesn't matter if they don't have enough ability, as long as they have good moral character. For a family like ours, mediocre ability is not a bad thing."

Liu Shuning smiled and nodded. She also agreed with what Ma Xun said. Given her family's situation, her descendants could be rich even if they were mediocre in ability.

But the next moment, Liu Shuning was also worried. They had been married for more than half a year, but she still hadn't gotten pregnant. She was really anxious.

Ma Xun was actually also anxious. He didn't have any children now, so he basically had no "freedom" and was often urged.

It can even be said that if a person does not have children, even if he gets married, many people will not treat him as an adult.

But these things seem to be of no use even if they are urgent. Even though Ma Xun has done a lot of work to prepare for pregnancy, the results are still not good at the moment.

While talking to Liu Shuning, I decided to go to bed early as I had to go to court tomorrow.

Ma Xun got up before daybreak, washed, put on his official uniform and ran out. There was still chaos outside the palace.

Ma Xun finally squeezed into the Meridian Gate and ran straight to the civil officials. "Minister of Rites, isn't it too unruly for all the officials to be so crowded and running around in the morning court?"

Tao Kai was sweating profusely, and was stunned for a moment. It was not because he was scared by Ma Xun's words, but because he was sweating from the jogging and crowding. Then Tao Kai immediately said, "My uncle is teaching me that I failed in my duty."

Ma Xun didn't mind speaking harshly to the sixty-year-old man, "The rules for attending court should be determined as soon as possible. It's such a big thing. It's been three years since the founding of the country, and the Ministry of Rites didn't even mention it. What kind of nonsense is this!"

Tao Kai felt even more embarrassed when he heard this. Not only was he embarrassed, but even many civil servants felt their faces turn red when they heard this.

Everyone seemed to think that this was all normal, and had never thought of making any changes. So every day when the court went to court, the civil and military officials would squeeze into the Meridian Gate, racing all the way, and it had always been like this.

As for whether this is wrong, it is definitely wrong. It is so disrespectful. In other dynasties, there was no such a lack of rules during court sessions.

Ma Xun continued, "There are also matters to report to the court. Before I finish speaking, someone rushes to report. We were halfway through talking about the Ministry of Rites when we talked about the border affairs. The deployment of the military officers at the border has not yet been completed, and someone is talking about the Ministry of Revenue. Is this reasonable?"

Tao Kai was sweating profusely at this moment, and hurriedly said, "I have failed in my duty, and I hope that Your Majesty will forgive me. I will report to Your Majesty as soon as possible and set all the rules for the morning court and reporting to His Majesty."

Ma Xun nodded in satisfaction, "It should have been done a long time ago. This is the business of your Ministry of Rites, so you have to hurry and finish it."

After finishing these important matters, Ma Xun walked towards the ranks of generals in a leisurely manner.

Tao Kai and others were still embarrassed and flustered, but Liu Bowen could not help but look at Ma Xun. His son-in-law must have something to do whenever he went to court, and most of the time it was arranged by the emperor.

But now he was unsure. He didn't know whether what Ma Xun had just said was the emperor's intention or his own thoughts.

Chang Yuchun patted Ma Xun on the shoulder and said, "Little brother, what evidence did you catch on that old man that scared him so much?"

Chang Yuchun and others didn't hear what Ma Xun said, but they saw that Tao Kai, who was well-read, was severely scolded by Ma Xun, and the Minister of Rites seemed to be begging for mercy.

This is a real skill. After all, Tao Kai is a man of high moral character and a well-known civil official.

Ma Xun simply said, "They said the rules for attending court were chaotic and they thought the Ministry of Rites was not doing its job well."

At this point, Chang Yuchun and Xu Da couldn't help but think more about it. They didn't understand whether this was Ma Xun's intention or the emperor was expressing his dissatisfaction.

When the noisy officials entered the Fengtian Hall to start the court session, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was sitting on the dragon throne, was stunned for a moment, because he saw Ma Xun standing in the line of military generals with a tablet in his arms.

This was a new thing. In the past, he would push off attending court sessions if possible, and would only attend if he couldn't push off. This was the first time that Ma Xun took the initiative to attend court sessions.

Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude suddenly changed, and he asked in a friendly manner, "Uncle, I didn't ask you to come to court, so what's the big deal that deserves your attendance?"

This teasing remark made many people envious. The emperor was very close to Ma Xun both in the court and in private.

Ma Xun said quickly, "Your Majesty, I think the matter of making the princes kings, which was agreed upon at the beginning of the year, should be finalized. Your Highness the Second Prince has reached adulthood and is ready to get married, so the title of prince should be decided first."

Zhu Yuanzhang did not pretend to refuse this time. "Well, since you are in charge of the Dazongzheng Mansion, you should first draft the title of the king, discuss it with the Ministry of Rites, and then report it to me."

Many people were even more surprised. Since when did Li Zhen and Ma Xun take on the duties of the Da Zong Zheng Mansion?

Ma Xun immediately accepted the order, "I obey your order."

The title of the king has basically been decided, and now it’s just a matter of going through the formal process and then holding the ceremony to crown him king.

However, these are not trivial matters. This is the first time that the Ming Dynasty has conferred a title on a king, so the rituals and rules basically have to be determined and will be used in the future.

After finishing his business, Ma Xun kept silent, holding his tablet and closing his eyes to rest, as if all the important affairs of the court had nothing to do with him.

Although he seemed to be slacking off, no one criticized him, and many people even thought he had made great progress.

After all, it was the first time that he took the initiative to attend the court and discussed important matters. Isn't this a huge progress!

As long as the starting point is low and the usual performance is not good, then some small progress will be very significant in the eyes of others.

After leaving the court, Ma Xun wanted to escape immediately, because he had to escape as no one knew whether the emperor would ask him to do something else.

Normally, the emperor would hold court in the morning, but Zhu Yuanzhang was different. He was a workaholic, especially in the early years of the founding of the country, when there was a lot to do.

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty now had not only morning court sessions, but also noon court sessions, and sometimes even afternoon court sessions.

Without a healthy body, it is really impossible to keep up with the emperor's work schedule. When the emperor takes the lead in working hard, it is difficult for civil and military officials to be lazy.

This is also the reason why the Ming Dynasty developed rapidly. Zhu Yuanzhang was really too competitive!
"My Lord, please stay!" A young eunuch came running over breathlessly, "My Lord, the Emperor has summoned you."

Ma Xun, who failed to escape, suddenly became listless. As long as he made a small progress, Zhu Yuanzhang would immediately increase the intensity and force him to keep improving!
(End of this chapter)