My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 20: The Strongest Army and the Strongest Horsemen

Zhu Yuanzhang naturally didn't think that Ma Yu could solve the problems he faced.

How much knowledge can a thirteen or fourteen-year-old child gain even if he starts reading from the womb?
But Empress Ma succeeded in convincing him with her words "let's try everything".

Since I'm free anyway, I might as well go and meet him.

Even if I don't get any advice on governing the country, at least I can learn more about the ritual vessels of the Shang Dynasty, so it won't be a wasted trip.

What's more, my son is still in prison, so I might as well get him out.

If you stay there every day, will the royal family still have any face left?

So I decided to go to the prison.

But before he set off, Empress Ma repeatedly reminded him:

"No matter what Ma Yu said, you can't execute him on the spot. Wait until you get back to make a decision."

Zhu Yuanzhang said impatiently: "You woman, you are getting more and more nagging. Okay, okay, I will agree to it."

Ma Niangniang smiled and said, "Okay, you think I'm too old and there are no young and beautiful fairies who can please you."

Zhu Yuanzhang threw his sleeves and said, "That's unreasonable."

After saying that, he left after saying "Let's go to jail".

But after such fun, his depressed mood improved a lot.

After that, he changed into casual clothes and left the palace and went to the Yingtian Prefecture Prison.

He did not deliberately hide his whereabouts, so soon after he left the palace, everyone in the capital who was well-informed knew that he had gone to prison.

Everyone's reaction was just two words: confusion.

Even Li Shanchang, who thought he knew Zhu Yuanzhang best, could not figure out his purpose.

If you want to interrogate the imperial criminal who pretended to be a royal relative, there is no need to go incognito.

If he went to visit the second prince... he has been locked up for so many days, it's time to release him.

Wouldn't it be enough to just send someone to bring him back to the palace?

I went to the prison in disguise to see him. Do you want him to stay locked up?

Everyone's reactions varied. Most people sent people to keep a close eye on the situation, hoping to find out what the emperor was doing in prison.

A few choose to do nothing.

When you don't know what's going on, doing nothing is sometimes a good choice.

For example, Liu Bowen did this. He also strictly ordered his children and servants to be careful in their words and actions and not to go out without permission.

What the ministers didn't know was that their actions were quickly reported to the palace by spies from the Imperial Guard.

Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang doesn’t know all this at the moment.

He entered the prison and just as he turned a corner, he heard his son's voice:
"Old Ma, you're smart enough to know that your being wrongly accused has nothing to do with my father."

"Why do you still have such a deep prejudice against him?"

"No matter what, he is the Son of Heaven, the father of all people."

Zhu Yuanzhang stopped in his tracks immediately. He wanted to hear what insights Ma Yu had to offer.

Ma Yu picked up a fried soybean and threw it into his mouth, sneering:

"Son of Heaven? King and Father?"

"First, your father must truly regard himself as the emperor and all the people as his own subjects. But does your father have this understanding?"

Zhu Chong retorted, "Of course not. My father always talked about the suffering of the people. As a monarch, you must be diligent and care for your people..."

Ma Yu interrupted him and said, "Then let me ask you."

"The Son of Heaven, the Son of Heaven, was born with the mandate of Heaven, ruling the world and nurturing the people on behalf of Heaven."

"The Son of Heaven is the one who has the strongest army and the most powerful horses."

"Which of these two ideas do you think your father agrees with more?"

Hearing the words "strong soldiers and powerful horses", Zhu Yuanzhang's face changed and a cold light flashed in his eyes.

However, he did not come out, but looked at Zhao Erhu coldly.

Zhao Erhu broke out in a cold sweat and immediately bent down and led his men to retreat far away until they could no longer hear any sound.

Zhu Yuanzhang then turned his head again and continued to listen.

next door.

Zhu Chong was about to answer when Ma Yu interrupted him again and said:

"Don't tell lies. There are only two of us here. Tell the truth."

Zhu Chong paused for a moment and said helplessly, "It seems to be the one behind."

"But this doesn't have any impact, does it? My father conquered the world by defeating the strong several times. Doesn't this prove that he has the destiny?"

Ma Yu shook his head and said, "This involves fundamental issues, and the impact is enormous."

"Let me put it this way. If the strongest army can make you emperor, then I will obey your father and submit to his tyranny."

"If someone becomes stronger than your father in the future, can I pledge allegiance to that person?"

"The Lord of Destiny is different. He is the Son of Heaven. Our loyalty to him is natural and has nothing to do with his strength."

"But if you acknowledge that you have a destiny, then the problem arises."

"Where does your destiny come from? Why did Heaven give the world to you?"

"You have been granted the mandate of heaven, so don't you have to bear the corresponding responsibilities?"

"That's why I said your dad has a bit of a twisted personality."

"He doesn't believe in destiny, but he wants others to be loyal to him as the emperor."

"But he doesn't have a correct understanding of what it means to be a Son of Heaven, and he can't shoulder the responsibilities of a Son of Heaven."

Zhu Yuanzhang clenched his hands into fists so tightly that his fingers turned white.

Treason is a crime punishable by a thousand cuts.

Zhu Chong scratched his head. "I'm confused by what you've said. What is the Mandate of Heaven? What responsibilities does the Son of Heaven have to bear?"

"How do you know that my father is unwilling to take responsibility?"

Ma Yu sighed, "Mencius's explanation of destiny is the closest to the truth..."

"Nonsense." Before he could finish his words, an angry shout came from the corner of the wall.

It turned out that Zhu Yuanzhang heard him using Mencius to attack him, and finally couldn't help but shout out in anger.

Seeing that his whereabouts were exposed, he simply stopped eavesdropping and walked over directly.

Hearing this voice, Zhu Chong jumped up from the ground like a frightened rabbit and said in fear:

"Dad, why are you here?"

Zhu Yuanzhang?
Ma Yu's heart couldn't help but stop beating. Was he finally going to meet this big boss face to face?

I just didn't expect to meet you under such circumstances.

I guess he heard what I just said to him.

I just don’t know how Zhu Yuanzhang, who is known for his cruelty and bloodlust, will deal with me.

Yes, he is now deliberately seeking death.

Logically speaking, everyone has the instinct to survive.

Since he knew that there was a high probability that he would not die, he should change his attitude.

Even if you can't praise Zhu Yuanzhang against your conscience, you should at least be able to not scold him, right?

However, his longing for his family in his previous life and his dislike for the Ming Dynasty and Zhu Yuanzhang made him not really want to stay here.

Especially since Zhu Yuanzhang popularized the kneeling ceremony in all aspects, Ma Yu found it unacceptable when he thought that he would have to kneel down to countless people every day.

With his survival instinct and inner emotions conflicting, he also fell into a state of confusion.

Although he did not insult Zhu Yuanzhang by name, he did say a lot of cricket-like things.

He actually had an idea in his heart that he couldn't tell others.

If Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he would kill himself and put an end to it.

If he can still forgive himself, then he can live well in this world.

By the way, let’s see if we can make this world different from the previous life.

But although the plan was good, the psychological pressure of actually facing Zhu Yuanzhang was still very great.

He silently encouraged himself.

Ma Yu, cheer up and don’t lose face. You can’t let Zhu Yuanzhang look down on you.

Even if we black fans die, we will still stand.

After some self-comfort, he finally calmed down a little, and his eyes unconsciously looked towards the corner.

Then a middle-aged man in his forties walked out from the corner.

He walked to the cell door with the gait of a dragon and a tiger.

The aura was so strong that it made Ma Yu's heart beat faster and his legs weak.

And then there's... well, a square face, thick eyebrows, big eyes, and not a shoe horn.

Just as he was lost in thought, Zhu Chong bowed down directly:

"Dad, you're here."

"Hmph." Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly, raised his head and kicked open the half-closed prison door.

The sound made Ma Yu's heart shrink.

Although we say we are not afraid, when we really face death, who can really remain fearless?

Zhu Yuanzhang looked Ma Yu up and down, and when he saw that he didn't even bow to him, he became even angrier:
"Are you Ma Yu? You said we don't know our destiny?"

"Well, I'd like to hear what you have to say."

At this point, Ma Yu's heart calmed down. He saluted Zhu Yuanzhang and said:
"This gift is not for the emperor, but for my friend's father."

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered, "Friend? Are you worthy?"

Ma Yu said nothing, straightened his prison uniform, and sat back down.

"Are you just going to stand there and listen?" Zhu Yuanzhang finally lost his temper and was ready to teach him a lesson.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Chong rushed to the wall, took a chair placed there, and placed it behind Zhu Yuanzhang:

"Dad, please sit down."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his son in disbelief. Which side are you on?
Not to mention him, Ma Yu was also shocked.

Zhu Chong actually disobeyed his father to help him? This made him very moved.

This child...what a pity.

I hope he won't repeat the same path in his previous life.

Zhu Chong was frightened and said quickly, "This is the chair that mother sat on last time. I kept it ready for you and didn't dare let anyone else sit on it."

The image of Queen Ma and her instructions when she came to Zhu Yuanzhang appeared in his mind.

Enlightenment arises in my heart.

No wonder she repeatedly reminded him that no matter what he heard, he must not kill Ma Yu and that everything should be discussed after he returned to the palace.

It seemed like she had already guessed what was going to happen.

After being delayed like this, and remembering Queen Ma's instructions, his anger subsided a lot.

Okay, okay, let’s see what kind of magic you have that can make our sister and son so partial to you.

Thinking of this, he said to Zhu Chong viciously:
"We'll deal with you when we get back."

Then he sat down, looked down at Ma Yu and said:

"You keep saying we don't understand destiny, and that Mencius' words are the truth."

"We'd like to hear what you have to say."

"If you can't explain it clearly, I'll make you regret coming into this world."

Ma Yu's brain raced, and soon he had a draft in mind. He said:

"It is impossible to determine when the concept of destiny first emerged, but what is certain is that the understanding of destiny varied greatly in different periods of time."

"Our historical records can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty."

"The Book of Rites says: The Yin people revered the gods and led the people to serve the gods, putting ghosts first and rituals second."

"There are also numerous other written records that show that the Shang believed that they could only receive the Mandate of Heaven by respecting ghosts and gods and offering them rich sacrifices."

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered, "[Tang's virtue is so great that he is even comparable to that of beasts], how do you explain this?"

Ma Yu said calmly, "This is what Taishigong said. He was deeply influenced by Confucianism and thought it was not surprising that Shang Tang gained the world through virtue."

It is just to promote the Confucian idea of ​​benevolence.

If you really want to understand the situation of the Shang Dynasty intuitively, you have to read older books.

The ancient records of Shang Tang's conquest of the world can be summed up in one sentence:

Tang implemented benevolent policies, respected ghosts and gods, and obtained the mandate of heaven.

The focus here is on respecting ghosts and gods, so the Shang Dynasty attached great importance to offering sacrifices to ghosts and gods.

Even when the Shang Dynasty was about to perish, they threw away their benevolent policies but did not forget to respect ghosts and gods.

"King Wu of Zhou led his army to attack Shang, and all the princes in the world responded."

"Some ministers advised King Zhou to stop indulging in pleasure, as the enemy would attack him immediately."

"King Zhou was very proud and said that he had the mandate of heaven, so what was there to fear?"

"Moreover, ancient books such as the Book of Songs and the Book of History clearly record that people in the Shang Dynasty not only enjoyed offering sacrifices to heaven, but also enjoyed drinking."

"The Book of Documents, Liquor Edict, says: 'When the common people drink, the smell of fishy things spreads to the upper classes.'"

The people of the Shang Dynasty gathered below to drink, and the smell of wine went straight to the sky, and even God in the sky could smell it.

Therefore, punishment was brought down and the Mandate of Heaven was taken away from the Shang Dynasty.

"Grain production was very low in ancient times. Why did the Shang Dynasty merchants use their precious grain to make wine?"

"It's reasonable to speculate that it's due to the reverence for ghosts and gods."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and asked, "What does a fondness for wine have to do with worshipping ghosts and gods?"

Ma Yu said: "Sacrifices to ghosts and gods require a lot of wine, so gradually they developed the habit of drinking."

Respecting ghosts and gods was the foundation of the rituals and laws of the Shang Dynasty, and the love of wine was influenced by this behavior.

The two can confirm each other.

At the beginning, some people suspected that it was the people of the Zhou Dynasty who were slandering the Shang Dynasty.

However, later archaeological discoveries were completely consistent with the records in ancient books.

A large number of wine vessels were found in the sacrificial pits of the Shang Dynasty.

According to unearthed cultural relics and oracle bone inscriptions, they could consume thousands of kilograms of wine in one sacrifice to heaven.

You should know that during the Shang Dynasty, the yield per mu was only more than 30 kilograms.

You can imagine how extravagant this behavior is.

"So during the Shang Dynasty, they believed that the Mandate of Heaven was obtained through respecting ghosts and gods."

"For this reason, the King of Shang has more than once banned other princes from offering sacrifices to heaven."

This was later confirmed by unearthed cultural relics.

There is also reason to suspect that the fact that so many princes joined King Wu of Zhou in attacking Shang was related to King Zhou's refusal to allow the princes to offer sacrifices to heaven.

Of course, this is just speculation, and there is currently no historical data or archaeological findings to prove this.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned. These things were beyond his comprehension and he could not tell whether they were true or false.

However, he did not refute, but let Ma Yu continue speaking.

"But by the end of the Shang Dynasty, this concept had changed, and the change came from Xiqi."

"There are two passages in the Book of Songs that directly introduce King Wen of Zhou."

"These two articles clearly put forward a concept: King Wen was virtuous and thus received the Mandate of Heaven."

"This is also the earliest written record in China that links destiny and virtue."

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but doubt himself.

There are indeed such words in the Book of Songs, but can they be interpreted from this perspective?
Why hadn't I thought of this before? Why hadn't anyone ever taught me this?

Did I read the book in vain?

Or is there someone who is hiding something and refuses to tell me the true interpretation method?

Of course, he just thought so.

He was well aware that this method of interpretation was not common, or more precisely, very rare.

Even a great scholar like Song Lian did not possess it.

No wonder the Queen kept saying in her letters that he had a unique heritage, it seemed to be true.

Ma Yu didn't know what he was thinking and continued with his explanation.

"King Wen of Zhou's virtue gradually became known to all quarters. Everyone was moved by his benevolence and recognized that he was carrying the Mandate of Heaven."

"So now, the Mandate of Heaven has shifted from the Shang Dynasty to King Wen."

"And it was moved because of King Wen's virtue."

“At this point, the way to receive the Mandate of Heaven changes from respecting ghosts and gods to being kind and virtuous.”

"The Book of Songs says: 'Heaven has no relatives, only virtue is its support.'"

"This is also why, after King Wen's death, King Wu did not bury him but instead took his coffin with him to attack the Shang Dynasty."

"Because nominally, he was attacking Shang on behalf of his father, who held the Mandate of Heaven. He was fulfilling the responsibility bestowed upon his father by Heaven."

"That's why the vassal states recognized him and joined him in attacking Shang."

Before Zhu Yuanzhang could express his opinion, Zhu Chong said in surprise:
"Carrying my father's coffin into battle, is there really such a thing?"

“I didn’t even notice it when I was reading.”

Zhu Yuanzhang glared at him and scolded him, "You are ignorant and incompetent."

Zhu Chong shrank his neck and dared not speak anymore.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who was well-versed in classics, naturally knew that what Ma Yu said was right.

King Wu of Zhou took King Wen's coffin with him to attack the Shang Dynasty, and was therefore ridiculed by many people.

They said that he was hypocritical for not letting his father rest in peace.

These are clearly recorded in ancient books, but people just tend to ignore them.

In the past, Zhu Yuanzhang could not understand why King Wu of Zhou supported Ling to attack Shang, leaving such a big stain on himself.

After Ma Yu's explanation, he suddenly understood.

It turns out there is another purpose behind this.

Indeed, what everyone believed in was King Wen’s virtue, and it had nothing to do with Ji Fa.

King Wen is gone, so how can you, Ji Fa, command the heroes?
So he had to act in his father's name.

Otherwise, there would have been no subsequent campaign against the Shang Dynasty, and there would have been no Zhou Dynasty.

As for whether King Wu of Zhou supporting the spirit of Shang and attacking Shang was in line with filial piety...

Zhu Yuanzhang said that failing to inherit and fulfill his father's last wish would be the true act of being unfilial.

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang could keep up with his pace, Ma Yu had to admire his diligence, even in the dark.

Zhu Yuanzhang attended a private school for two years when he was a child and could barely recognize a few words.

All his knowledge was self-taught after he became an adult.

He found time to study while fighting. This level of self-discipline and persistence is something that ordinary people cannot match. No wonder he was successful.

Zhu Yuanzhang was already attracted by his class and urged:

"Go on, what happened next?"

Ma Yu continued, "Afterwards, King Wu successfully conquered Shang, and things started to get turbulent again."

(End of this chapter)