The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 113: Full set of acting

It's time to go to court. This is an extremely serious matter and no one can delay.

As soon as they arrived at the Fengtian Hall and saw Zhu Yuanzhang sitting on the dragon throne, Li Shanchang, Tang Shengzong and others began to worry.

As his status changed, Zhu Yuanzhang's majesty and aura became stronger and stronger. Now there are very few people who can still drink and brag with him as generously as before.

Even childhood friends like Tang He and Zhou Dexing would be cautious when facing Zhu Yuanzhang.

Before the officials could report, Zhu Yuanzhang spoke directly, "Ma Xun, Uncle Ma!"

The emperor spoke in an unfriendly tone, and everyone looked at Ma Xun.

Ma Xun quickly left the class, "I beg your pardon!"

Zhu Yuanzhang almost couldn't help himself. If he were to perform a play with his own sister, it would never be like this.

Even if Biaoer came to show his support, it wouldn't be so bad. How can this play be performed like this!
Zhu Yuanzhang tried hard to resist the temptation and asked, "But have I treated you unfairly?"

Ma Xun immediately replied, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty and Her Majesty the Queen have treated me very well, and I am always worried and uneasy."

"Since you are so nervous, you should be more careful in what you say and do to repay the queen's kindness." Zhu Yuanzhang said directly, "The queen advised you to make progress, but you are ignorant. The prince is close to you, but you are stubborn and only do what you like."

Ma Xun was also stunned. No, I was just acting with you. Why did you change the script?

Zhu Yuanzhang still didn't give up and still wanted to bring Ma Xun "on the right track" and give him a good beating when he had the chance.

Zhu Yuanzhang continued, "How much do you know about conferring titles on meritorious officials? When the generals in the court followed me to raise troops in Huaixi and fight everywhere, you were still traveling around."

Ma Xun quickly responded loudly, making his position clear, "I am terrified!"

"Since this is your first offense, I will forgive you this time." Zhu Yuanzhang said with a stern face, "The imperial court's conferring of titles is a matter of great importance to the country, and you must not speak of it again. After the court session, listen to the empress's edict and the prince's instructions, and correct your bad habits of not knowing when to advance and when to retreat and being greedy!"

Ma Xun was afraid that others could not hear him, so he shouted, "I obey your order!"

Li Shanchang, Tang Shengzong and Tang He were all worried. His Majesty was really angry. He was obviously scolding Ma Xun, but they all felt that the emperor was talking about them.

It would be better for the higher authorities to protect these old friends and let Ma Xun come out to disgrace themselves and take the blame, so that these people from Huaixi will not be blamed by the people from eastern Zhejiang and the civil servants!

Li Wenzhong suddenly jumped out and said, "Your Majesty, the king's uncle has always been cautious and humble. How dare he..."

"Shut up!" Zhu Yuanzhang was furious, pointing at Li Wenzhong and saying, "You are my nephew and a general of the court. I know that you are very close to my uncle, how dare you protect him in such a big event?"

Li Wenzhong also quickly knelt down and listened to the lecture, and all the civil and military officials were really frightened at this time.

The uncle of the emperor, who had always been loved by the emperor and empress, was scolded so hard that he couldn't even raise his head. The left general, who had always been loved by the emperor and empress, was also scolded until he was sweating profusely. This showed that His Majesty was furious.

Zhu Yuanzhang then looked at the line of civil officials and said, "Liu Ji, Ma Xun is your son-in-law. He doesn't know when to act and when to retreat, and he talks nonsense about state affairs. You are also incompetent in disciplining him. For the queen's sake, I will allow you to retire."

The people of eastern Zhejiang were completely panicked. It was clearly the king's uncle who committed the crime, so why were we, the people of eastern Zhejiang, receiving substantial punishment?

The king's uncle was sent to be lectured by the queen and the crown prince, but it was hard to say whether they would really lecture him.

And how come Liu Bowen, the civil servant leader from eastern Zhejiang who seemed to have the best chance of entering the Secretariat, was forced to retire inexplicably?

Liu Bowen suppressed his excitement and hurried out of the class, "I obey your order!"

The son-in-law was reliable. He had wanted to submit a memorial, but now he was sent back by His Majesty. This was a good thing. He was not dismissed and retained the dignity of "retiring".

"Come here, drag the uncle away." Zhu Yuanzhang pointed at Ma Xun and Li Wenzhong, "Li Wenzhong, if it weren't for the face of the Marquis of Enqin, I would never forgive you so much. Get out of here yourself!"

Immediately, four strong guards came forward and held Ma Xun's arms on the left and right. Li Wenzhong was treated the same way.

Ma Xun was dragged away in full view of everyone. It seemed that his legs were weak and he had lost the ability to move as he was dragged away.

Although Li Wenzhong was being carried by the guards, he was still walking on his own.

This is how TV dramas and movies are played out. Am I not making a fool of myself?
As soon as he was dragged out of the Fengtian Hall and out of sight of the officials, the guard immediately begged for mercy, "Forgive me, uncle of the emperor. We dare not disobey the order of His Majesty."

Li Wenzhong introduced with a smile, "They are all your Majesty's personal guards. They have been guarding your Majesty's military tent in the early years."

Ma Xun smiled and said, "It's okay, you are also loyal to your duties. But Baoer, where should we go?"

"Go and listen to the lecture." Li Wenzhong said immediately, "We must obey His Majesty's orders."

That makes sense. If we are acting, we should act it out fully.

Just as Ma Xun and Li Wenzhong were about to leave, another person was dragged out of the Fengtian Hall. Liu Bowen, with his white hair and beard, looked dejected and powerless, but when he saw Ma Xun, who seemed fine, he nodded slightly.

This time, Liu Bowen was dragged directly to the Meridian Gate and kicked out of the palace.

This is an old drama. If I didn't know the inside story, I would have thought that Liu Bowen had angered the emperor and was completely demoted. Ma Xun and Li Wenzhong walked towards Rouyi Palace while chatting. One was the queen's brother and the other was the emperor's nephew. It was natural for the queen to take care of it.

When they arrived at Rouyi Palace, Ma Xiuying smiled and joked, "Bao'er, you will go back soon and take good care of your father. Your uncle said that you can only stay for another four days."

Li Wenzhong felt sad as his father had finally returned home, but the emperor and empress had given a clear time limit and he had to bring his father back to the palace when the time came.

Li Wenzhong tried to speak up and said, "Aunt, my father is living comfortably at home."

Ma Xiuying did not give Li Wenzhong a chance to continue to show his ability. "If that is the case, then you should move into the palace as well. It just so happens that your brothers are also learning martial arts and military tactics, so you can help teach them."

Li Wenzhong immediately stopped his activities. He failed to take his old father back and he himself was almost "imprisoned in the palace".

Even if he called them "uncle" and "aunt" in an attempt to regain family affection, his aunt was obviously one step ahead and directly blocked his excuse to make a fuss.

Ma Xiuying then looked at Ma Xun, "How did your brother-in-law deal with you?"

"Let me first come to the Queen to listen to the lecture, and then go to the Crown Prince to listen to the lecture." Ma Xun replied, "I, Taishan, was just dragged out of the palace, and was told to retire tomorrow."

"It just happened to fulfill your wish as a father-in-law and son-in-law." Ma Xiuying said with a smile, "Your brother-in-law has also accomplished something, and the Secretariat is now almost in order."

Otherwise, how could Zhu Yuanzhang rule the world? It was originally thought that he was just warning the nobles so that those arrogant and powerful generals would not dare to have too many opinions about the issue of rewarding meritorious officials.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang took advantage of the situation and completely ended the disputes in the Secretariat that had lasted for more than a year. Now the Secretariat is still under the control of the Huaixi people.

The Zhejiang East Civil Service Group, which had been gaining momentum, was suddenly beaten back to its original form. They thought they had won over Ma Xun, the influential uncle of the emperor, but now they were "cut off" again, and Liu Bowen was even driven back to his hometown!
But the people of Huaixi should not be too happy. Although Li Shanchang still holds the position of Left Prime Minister, he is now only "involved in state affairs" and is not allowed to continue to be in charge of the Secretariat.

Ma Xun and Li Wenzhong listened to the instructions in Rouyi Palace, then one went to the main hall and the other left the palace and went home.

It was agreed yesterday that we would compete in divination with some doctors who are good at it, so that the prince and others could see the great use of divination. This is a serious matter.

The main hall was quite familiar to him. After all, Ma Xun had played the role of accompanying the prince to study here for a period of time last year.

"Uncle." After seeing Ma Xun, Zhu Biao pointed inside the house and whispered, "Look at the second sons. They seem to have thorns on their buttocks. It's ok that they can't sit still, but they look around everywhere. They don't look like they are studying."

Ma Xun was used to it. Few of his nephews could concentrate on their studies. "I think Tiezhu must have drooled all over the table."

Zhu Biao couldn't help but shake his head. His cousin Zhu Shouqian was sleeping on the table and should be sleeping soundly.

In terms of studying academic subjects alone, most of Zhu Yuanzhang's sons could be considered poor students.

Zhu Biao asked with concern, "Uncle, there are no outsiders here. Please tell your nephew the truth, otherwise those doctors will really make things difficult for you."

Ma Xun was a little nervous, as he did not dare to underestimate the wisdom of the ancients.

But after thinking about it, Ma Xun said, "If we talk about commenting on scriptures, even if there are ten of me, I am still no match for them. But when it comes to numerology, I still have some confidence."

Zhu Biao smiled and said, "Okay, I will definitely trust my uncle. They will come one by one in a while. If my uncle feels embarrassed, just wink at me."

After all, he is my nephew, and he still wants to help me save face.

The two chatted in low voices for a while, then walked into the school one after the other.

"I will see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"I have met my uncle."

No matter what they thought in their hearts, these great scholars and doctors had to respect Ma Xun, who held a much higher official position.

Zhu Biao said with a straight face, "I have been watching outside the palace for a long time. Father has collected ancient and modern books and invited famous scholars to teach us. Why are you so unwilling to learn?"

Zhu Chong and others stood up one by one and bowed their heads to admit their mistakes. Zhu Shouqian, who had just been sleeping soundly, looked guilty and uneasy.

Zhu Biao looked at Ma Xun and asked, "Uncle, you are the uncle of the emperor, please discipline these useless brothers of mine."

Ma Xun nodded and said, "I will follow the instructions of the prince."

Although he didn't bring the ruler given by Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying, Ma Xun took one directly and said, "Stretch out your hand!"

Zhu Chong stretched out his right hand with a sad face. If a prince did not study hard, the great scholars and professors would punish him, and they would beat his study companions as a "warning" to him.

"Reading makes people wise, knowing what to do and what not to do!" Ma Xun hit Zhu Chong's palm with a ruler, and then shouted, "Stretch out your hand!"

Zhu Chong became even more frustrated and had no choice but to reach out again.

Zhu Gang, Zhu Di and others were also a little uneasy. When their uncle loved them, he really loved them, but when he disciplined them, he was also very strict!

(End of this chapter)