My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 29 The Angry Mother

Zhu Chong did not go to see the imperial physician. For him, who had practiced martial arts since childhood, getting injured was commonplace.

Have basic judgment on various injuries.

These two scars look serious, but they are actually just superficial injuries.

If applying the medicine may cause ulcers (inflammation, ulceration), just leave it alone. After ten days or so, the bruise will disappear and the condition will be fine.

So after coming out of the Qianqing Palace, he slipped away to the Kunning Palace, but on the way he met Zhu Biao, Zhu Gang and Zhu Di.

When the three saw him, they hurried over.

Zhu Biao asked with concern, "Second brother, I heard you were injured? It's not serious, right?"

Although Zhu Gang and Zhu Di did not speak, their eyes were full of worry.

Zhu Chong felt very warm and deliberately shook his arms and said:

"It's okay. I've been practicing martial arts since I was young, how could I be hurt by Master Ba?"

Zhu Di said angrily: "Huh, he is my mother's elder, and I even went to visit him. I didn't expect him to be so bold."

"I'll help you scold him later, second brother."

Some people may say that Emperor Yongle was too stupid.

However, he is actually only nine years old this year, and he has been practicing martial arts since he was young, so he is not very outstanding in literary affairs.

In addition, he has a strong father, a virtuous mother, and three capable brothers.

What's more, his second and third brothers are not easy to deal with, so he, the fourth brother, is really suppressed in all aspects.

Just be a good boy.

In his original world, it was not until he went to garrison Peking that he began to read a lot of history books under the guidance of Xu Da and grew rapidly.

Don't look at him at this time by comparing him to the Yongle Emperor of later generations.

However, precisely because he was under pressure from several huge mountains, he did not develop an arrogant and domineering character.

It has to be said that it is a kind of luck.

Later, these mountains collapsed one by one, and he, the insignificant fourth brother, became the final winner.

Closer to home.

Hearing Zhu Di's words, Zhu Chong laughed and said, "Haha, my fourth brother has grown up and can vent his anger for me."

As he said this, he patted his shoulder affectionately.

Zhu Di himself didn't think anything of it, but Zhu Biao and Zhu Gang were both very surprised.

It’s not that Zhu Chong was particularly harsh to his brothers and sisters in the past, but his personality made him always act pretentiously in front of his younger siblings.

It is rare to be as cordial as today.

Zhu Biao immediately thought, could it be Ma Yu's credit?

Zhu Gang was a little confused. Could a trip to the prison be so useful?

After confirming that he was fine, Zhu Biao and others didn't say anything more, and the four of them went to Kunning Palace together.

On the way, Zhu Gang said affirmatively:
"How did the Eighth Master break into the Yingtian Prefecture Prison? Not to mention that there are guards there."

"There must be something fishy about this."

Zhu Biao's face turned cold, and he said, "Besides my parents and me, there is only one person left who can mobilize the Guards."

"It must be that Dad changed his mind about the Ming Dynasty law, which made him feel the crisis."

"Let Master Ba go to the prison to test the waters."

"But he didn't expect that the Eighth Master would beat up the Second Brother."

Although Zhu Gang was also a legitimate prince, he was not the crown prince after all, so he didn't know much about many things.

Hearing this, he said in surprise, "Could it be that the rumors are true? Was Dad persuaded by that criminal?"

Zhu Chong spoke first, "Really? Third brother, you didn't know this because you weren't there. Our father was speechless after hearing what Old Ma said, and finally he was embarrassed..."

"Ahem..." Zhu Biao suddenly coughed a few times and interrupted him:

"Don't talk nonsense, brother. I am just accepting your advice."

Zhu Chong glanced at the eunuchs around him who were almost covering their ears, and immediately realized that he was too excited. He laughed and said:

"I'm just kidding. Ma Yu explained the pros and cons, and our father gladly accepted his advice."

Zhu Gang naturally knew that what he said was true, and he was even more surprised.

He stabbed my father in the face and was still safe and sound, and even changed my father's mind. What did this person say?
He couldn't help but feel curious and competitive.

I don’t believe that a beggar like you… a beggar of thirteen or fourteen years old, can understand so much.

You must find an opportunity to test the other party's strength.

After a while, the four brothers arrived at Kunning Palace.

Before they could get close, Empress Ma waved from a distance and said:

"You guys come over here and meet your cousins."

cousin?
He looked at Empress Ma, then at Ma Yu, and then at Ma Ye who was standing in the corner.

The four brothers couldn't help but open their mouths.

What's going on? Isn't he a criminal? How did it become real?
It was Ma Yu who stepped forward first, saluted, and said, "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and to the three princes."

Zhu Biao was the first to react. This was Xicai trying to make something real, but he still couldn't help but say:
"Mom, this...isn't it too sudden?"

Ma Yu thought to himself, you little bastard, I asked you to hide your identity and lie to me, and now you are scared.

At this time, Zhu Gang also spoke up: "I'm afraid that if you do this, it will cause opposition from the ministers."

Zhu Chong finally recovered from his shock and immediately jumped up and said:

"This is our mother's private matter. Who dares to object? I'm tired of living."

Zhu Gang retorted, "There is no private affairs in the royal family."

Zhu Chong said unhappily, "Third Brother, could you please stop using official language? What do you mean by there are no private matters in the royal family? Why don't you just say you disagree?"

Ma Yu was also speechless. He guessed that this matter would encounter some opposition, but he didn't expect that it would be Queen Ma's son.

Moreover, historical records show that Zhu Lao Er and Zhu Lao San did not have a good relationship, which seems to be true.

What a hassle.

However, he did not come out to apologize and try to reconcile as shown in movies and TV dramas.

Doing so will only exacerbate the conflict.

The best way is to let people who have effective words stand up.

So he turned his gaze to Queen Ma.

Queen Ma obviously did not expect that the first person to oppose would be her own son.

However, she did not act like a patriarch and force her son to accept it.

She knew the third brother's temper very well. He was arrogant and looked down on ordinary people, but he respected talented people.

In fact, the second brother had the same temper, but he had developed feelings for Ma Yu in prison, so he did not object.

The third brother naturally did not want to accept this cousin who suddenly appeared.

It is neither difficult nor easy to get him to recognize this relative.

The difficulty lies in impressing him with his talent.

It is not difficult because it is almost a piece of cake for Ma Yu.

So she smiled and said, "I know what you are thinking, let's do this."

"How about you two have a competition? If you lose, you'll recognize him as your cousin. If he loses, the matter is over."

Zhu Gang blushed a little when his thoughts were revealed, but he still stepped forward and said:
"Okay, if he can beat me, I'll recognize him as my cousin."

Ma Yu could guess that Empress Ma was taking the opportunity to temper her son's arrogance, but he didn't say much.

Face is given by others, but substance is earned by yourself.

It is not easy to be a royal relative. If you want to gain everyone's recognition, you have to demonstrate your abilities.

So he bowed slightly and said, "Please forgive my disrespect."

After that, everyone set the rules. Both sides asked each other questions, with a limit of five questions. Whoever couldn't answer the most questions lost.

The referee was naturally Empress Ma. Ma Ba Ye, Ma Ye, and the other eunuchs standing by had never seen such a spectacle before, and they pricked up their ears and eyes, afraid of missing any exciting moments.

As for who asks the question first...

Ma Yu smiled and said, "I'm a bit more stupid than you, so let the Third Prince ask the questions first."

Zhu Gang did not hesitate to ask for pen, ink, paper and inkstone and started painting.

Ma Yu's heart skipped a beat. Could it be a comparison of painting? He really didn't understand this.

I was mentally prepared to admit defeat.

But he soon realized that he was wrong, because what Zhu Gang drew was clearly a simple map.

It is said to be simple, but it has everything including mountains, rivers, terrain, passes, cities, etc.

Then he began to mark various details.

This is clearly a military map. Wow, it's amazing that someone could hand-draw this thing based on memory.

This kid is really not simple.

After the praise, Ma Yu felt numb.

Zhu Gang would most likely play military flag deduction with him, but he didn't understand military affairs either.

But the game has already started, you can't just shoot right away.

As the saying goes, it is better to lose the battle than the person, so you have to fight back no matter what.

However, Ma Yu was not worried about losing the competition.

I just don't know if it would be too difficult for him to give him a linear equation with two variables when it's my turn to set a problem?

After deciding on a response strategy and having a clear idea in mind, Ma Yu began to carefully observe the map.

Because the way maps were drawn in ancient times was different from that in modern times, it took him a while to figure out what was what.

This is clearly a map of the north.

To be precise, it is a map of Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, Hebei, Beijing and other places.

Thinking that Xu Da and Chang Yuchun should have already sent troops to Yuan Dadu by now, Ma Yu knew his purpose.

The purpose is to deduce the war of the Northern Expedition to Yuan Dadu.

This actually made him feel a little more at ease.

This matter is recorded in history books, and as Minghei, he has naturally read it.

Although I don’t know the details, I know the general direction.

At least you won't be embarrassed if you fool around a little.

Then he began to look at the map carefully, and at the same time used the map to recall the records in history books.

But as he looked at it, his eyes were attracted by one of the lines.

This is a very long line, representing a river.

But... if he remembered correctly, this river shouldn't be here.

So I couldn't help but remind him:

"This is probably a mistake. The Yellow River already flowed into the sea during the Southern Song Dynasty."

Without even looking up, Zhu Gang casually said, "Earlier this year, the Yellow River broke its banks in Shouzhang County (Liaocheng, Shandong)."

"Then it split into three streams. Two streams continued southward into the Huai River, and a large stream headed north again into the Bohai Sea."

What? The Yellow River broke its banks and changed its course in the first year of the Hongwu reign? A large portion of it flowed northward into the Bohai Sea?

When Ma Yu suddenly heard the news, he was so excited that he could hardly believe his ears.

Zhu Gang did not notice his change of mood and continued:
"Don't say I didn't warn you. Marshal Xu and Marshal Chang are currently dredging this river and diverting its water northward into the Grand Canal."

"This way, the army's food and fodder can be transported directly to Yuan Dadu by water."

"Well, according to the time calculation, the dredging should have been completed by now, and the army will be setting off soon."

It was Queen Ma who noticed Ma Yu's expression and couldn't help asking:
"Yu'er, have you thought of anything?"

Ma Yu took a deep breath and said, "The opportunity to change your fate is right in front of you."

This statement is very childish and even stupid, but he feels that this is the only sentence that can describe his mood at the moment.

Empress Ma was surprised and asked, "What opportunity to change your fate?"

Zhu Biao and Zhu Chong also looked at him in confusion.

Ma Yu stepped forward and said to Zhu Gang, "Third Prince, may I use your brush?"

Zhu Gang was puzzled, but he also wanted to see what he was trying to do, so he handed him the pen.

Ma Yu took the pen, picked up another piece of white paper, and drew a simple map on it.

It was just that he wasn't used to painting with a brush so it looked ugly, but the outline was still visible.

This is exactly the general terrain of Henan, Shandong, Anhui, Hebei and other places.

He then marked several important terrain features.

Among them are the Yellow River, Huai River and Hongze Lake.

After he finished drawing these, he said to the crowd, "Let's talk about the dangers of the Yellow River flowing south to seize the Huai River and flow into the sea."

Queen Ma and others came to the table, ready to listen to what he had to say.

Zhu Gang thought that he knew he was going to lose and was deliberately changing the subject, and he felt very contemptuous of him.

But they still surrounded them, ready to expose each other at any time.

Ma Yu had no time to care about the competition, because what he was about to say next concerned the lives of hundreds of millions of people and was more important than any competition.

"First, let's talk about the harm the Yellow River will cause to the north by diverting its route into the Huai River."

"The Yellow River is the largest river in northern China. If we lose its water supply, the already water-scarce north will become even more water-scarce."

"Especially in vast areas like Shandong and southwest of Yuandadu (Hebei), water shortages will be even more severe."

"Without water, farming cannot guarantee a good harvest, and the north's grain production capacity will be further reduced."

"And don't forget the Grand Canal. The Shandong section is silted up year after year and requires a lot of manpower to dredge it."

"Even so, there were several months each year when large ships could not pass through, forcing the Yuan Dynasty to transport grain by sea."

"Ultimately, it's because without the Yellow River water supply, the water supply in the north is insufficient to keep the canal open."

According to the original history, this problem was not solved until the ninth year of Yongle.

The people sent by Zhu Di were unable to fundamentally solve the problem.

After all, there is no water, so it’s useless to dig the river deeper.

Finally, the river god Bai Ying was asked to come out of the mountain.

Bai Ying was familiar with the river layout of Shandong and re-formulated the management plan.

The problem was fundamentally solved by diverting the water from the large rivers in Shandong with relatively abundant water into the Grand Canal.

Bai Ying himself died of illness after the dredging of the Grand Canal was completed due to his hard work.

Later generations spontaneously offered sacrifices to him in gratitude for his achievements, and he later became a river god.

However, everyone only saw the benefits brought by the reopening of the Grand Canal, but ignored the price paid.

Without the supply of water from the Yellow River, Shandong is already short of water.

The already scarce water resources are now being diverted into the Grand Canal.

It is like adding insult to injury.

After this turmoil, eastern Henan, Shandong and even Hebei were completely paralyzed for the next few hundred years.

It can be said that the Central Plains lost its economic status, except for the unique geographical conditions of the south.

Huang He, the angry mother, also kicked him hard in the back.

Empress Ma, Zhu Biao, Zhu Chong and others had never thought about this before, but they suddenly realized it after listening to Ma Yu's explanation.

Yes, if the Yellow River flows into the sea through the Huai River, what will happen to the fertile fields in the north?
Zhu Gang's expression also changed. He realized that Ma Yu was not trying to change the subject, but was talking about something concerning the country's destiny.

After saying all this in one breath, Ma Yu paused to give everyone time to react.

Then he continued:
"Let's talk about the harm the Yellow River has done to the Huai River region by diverting its flow into the sea."

(End of this chapter)