My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 32 Think Again
When they saw Zhu Yuanzhang coming, Zhu Biao and his brother were shocked and quickly stood up to greet him.

Ma Yu also stood up, tidied his appearance seriously, and then paid his respects solemnly.

The others were a little surprised. Aren't you quite good at cricket fighting? Why did you give in?

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression also looked much better, and he couldn't help feeling proud in his heart, "Let you be so arrogant again, kid."

However, at this moment Ma Yu shouted loudly:

"My nephew Ma Yu, I'm here to see my uncle."

"Hahaha..." Zhu Chong couldn't help laughing out loud, then quickly covered his mouth and turned away.

But the shoulders kept twitching.

Zhu Biao and Zhu Gang also had their lips curled up, and they quickly lowered their heads for fear that their father would see the uncontrollable smiles on their faces.

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression darkened again, and he pointed at Ma Yu for a long time before finally saying:

"Just wait for us."

After saying that, he flicked his sleeves and walked towards the main hall angrily.

Zhu Biao was very helpless. It seemed that his premonition was right. There would be fun to watch in the future.

Zhu Chong gave a thumbs up again, saying, "Great."

Zhu Gang was extremely surprised. His father, who had a strong personality, just left like that?

Zhu Di looked at Ma Yu with admiration. This cousin was very capable.

When he entered the main hall, Zhu Yuanzhang found that Empress Ma was writing and drawing.

He walked over to her and deliberately sat down heavily, making the chair make a protesting sound.

Madam Ma looked up and noticed that his expression was not right. She was also startled and quickly put down her pen and asked:

"What's wrong? Bai Shi refuses to admit his mistake?"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and said, "How dare he? Does he really think our tolerance is unlimited?"

Then he explained the process.

After executing Shi Jian and others, he pretended to be friendly and talked to Li Shanchang, presenting a picture of harmony between the monarch and his subjects.

Empress Ma finally let go of her worries and said:
"That's good. I believe that after this lesson, he will be more restrained in the future."

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "I hope so. However, it's a good thing that this happened. It just gives us an excuse to attack the Guards."

The core members of the Guard Bureau are all spies who have made contributions in the past, and they cannot be marginalized for no reason.

Now the excuse is delivered to my door.

If you want to blame someone, blame Li Shanchang and Shi Jian, not us.

Empress Ma also agreed and said, "It's time to clean things up. Have you figured out how to do it?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Disband the Guarding Department and recruit new personnel to form a new department."

Queen Ma was a little surprised and said, "It's a bit too intense."

Zhu Yuanzhang said seriously, "The Guards have a heavy responsibility and cannot afford any omissions."

"Besides, I also want to take this opportunity to set some rules for the ministers."

Let them know that this is the Ming Dynasty now, not the previous separatist regime.

Empress Ma sighed, "It is not a long-term solution for the emperor to be neither an emperor nor a minister."

"Never mind, let's do it this way."

Zhu Yuanzhang advised: "We know you want to maintain the good relationship you had before, but this is impossible."

"Emperor Gaozu of Han also established rules first. Only when everyone abides by their duties as ruler and subject can there be peace and tranquility."

"Let's make the rules. It's good for us and it's good for them."

Empress Ma said, "I know, but I feel that things are changing too fast."

"It seems like just yesterday that we all worked together to overcome this difficult time, but now we open our eyes and everything has changed beyond recognition."

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know how to comfort her, so he could only pat her hands and change the subject:

"I was just about to ask you, didn't you say you would take Ma Yu in later? Why did you change your mind?"

When this matter was mentioned, Empress Ma remembered the Yellow River inference just now, and her attention was immediately diverted.

"I thought about it and decided that would be too utilitarian. It would be better to let things take their own course."

"And this nephew was not in vain. He gave me a big surprise on the first day."

Zhu Yuanzhang was immediately interested and asked, "What surprise?"

Empress Ma handed him a stack of papers beside her and said, "You'll know once you see it."

The more Zhu Yuanzhang read, the more shocked he became. If all this was true, then it would be a huge problem.

But he also had doubts in his mind, are the consequences really so serious?
But when he saw the forecast for Huaibei, he could no longer sit still.

He didn't know what the situation was like elsewhere, but he knew his hometown very well.

Afraid of both drought and rain.

It will flood if it rains a little harder. As the saying goes, even a toad's urine can cause flooding.

In the past, people thought it was God's fault, or that it was caused by the court's immorality.

Zhu Yuanzhang himself was also very curious. Why was his hometown like this?

He didn't want to believe in fate, but sometimes some things really couldn't be explained.

After reading Ma Yu's analysis, he finally understood the reason.

It turns out that everything was caused by the Yellow River diverting the Huai River into the sea.

With the support of the situation in my hometown, the credibility of the entire inference is very high.

He couldn't help but feel his scalp tingling at the thought of taking over such a big mess.

The key point is that my hometown is the disaster-stricken area, and it is the most affected area.

For both public and private reasons, he cannot allow this situation to happen.

When he finished reading, Queen Ma said, "How is it? Is this a big enough surprise?"

Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath and said solemnly: "I am completely shocked and not happy at all."

Queen Ma knew why he thought so.

Because she only wrote about the harm caused by the Yellow River diverting the Huai River into the sea, she did not have time to write about the Yellow River bursting its dikes in the first year of Hongwu and some of the water returning to its original course.

Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked by the content of this reasoning and was unable to react for a while.

So, she smiled and said, "Think about it again, are you really not happy?"

Zhu Yuanzhang thought about the content carefully and found that it was all bad and there was really no benefit at all.

"Sister, stop playing tricks on me and tell me now."

Queen Ma still didn't tell him directly:

"Think about it again. How did Tiande and Boren transport food and fodder when they attacked Yuan Dadu?"

Zhu Yuanzhang subconsciously replied: "Take the water route..."

As soon as he said this, he suddenly realized what was happening and said excitedly:

"Good, good, that's great. God is helping me."

Empress Ma asked again, "Is this the only benefit? Think about it again."

Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it carefully and there seemed to be nothing else.

Empress Ma smiled and said, "Why not change the route in the first year of Hongwu?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's face turned cold, and he said coldly, "Is someone spreading rumors about the Yellow River bursting its banks again?"

Before the Yellow River burst its banks, some people spread rumors that the Ming Dynasty did not have the Mandate of Heaven.

Zhu Yuanzhang issued martial law and severely punished a group of people before the rumors were curbed.

So when he heard Queen Ma mention this matter, he subconsciously thought that someone was causing trouble again.

Empress Ma said helplessly: "You only know how to fight and kill."

"Think about it again, what will happen if you put these two things together?"

Taking the Huai River into the sea caused endless disasters, and in the first year of Hongwu, the Yellow River returned to its original course.

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly came to his senses and excitedly slammed the table and said:

"The Yellow River returned on its own, and most of the problems have been solved." "And its return in the first year of the Hongwu reign wasn't a punishment from heaven, but destiny."

"Great, great, great! Sister, you are so smart. You can actually think of this way to turn the passive situation into the active one."

Empress Ma laughed and said, "You praised the wrong person. It was Ma Yu who said that."

Zhu Yuanzhang's smile froze, and he asked, "It's him again?"

Empress Ma laughed and said, "You are already an adult, why are you arguing with a child like him?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said angrily, "Is it because I am stingy? He always finds new ways to irritate me."

"We were magnanimous enough not to kill him."

"Before, we were thinking of just scaring him, but now it's okay."

"With you as his backer, he becomes even more arrogant."

Empress Ma shook her head helplessly and said, "This child is too vindictive. I will teach him a lesson later."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and said, "Tell him that if he dares to disrespect me again, I will hang him up and whip him."

Empress Ma laughed and said, "Aren't you afraid that he will never speak again?"

Zhu Yuanzhang subconsciously glanced at the inference about the Yellow River's change of course on the table and said stubbornly:

"Do we care about his twisted theories?"

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care about the previous things like moving the capital and the red-lettered iron certificate.

He's just a bit quick-witted. If you can use such a person, use him. If you can't, kill him and be done with it.

Even the ritual vessels of the Shang Dynasty, although he pretended to attach great importance to them, he actually knew in his heart that they were just icing on the cake.

The impact is actually very limited.

With or without it, the Ming Dynasty would still have been established.

It was not until that day's explanation about the concept of destiny that he changed his opinion of Ma Yu.

Because this thing can really affect the direction of the construction of etiquette, laws and systems.

However, the concept of destiny did have an impact on the Ming Dynasty, but it was not a decisive one.

This is also the reason why Zhu Yuanzhang was always hesitant about whether to let Empress Ma adopt his nephew.

But today's inference about the Yellow River is different. This thing is real and can influence the fate of a country.

Conversely, if the imperial court did not take this seriously and the Yellow River broke its banks and flowed south again, what would be the consequences?
He didn't even dare to think about it.

Moreover, Ma Yu not only pointed out this problem, but also provided a solution.

He even used this incident to add a layer of destiny to the Ming Dynasty.

He believed that the importance of this inference was no less than the strategy Zhu Sheng had given him back then, which was to "slowly declare himself king, build high walls, and store up grain."

Faced with such a national policy, he really didn't have the confidence to say, "I don't care."

What's more, Ma Yu is mysterious and who knows how much he has in mind.

You know, Ma Yu had previously revealed that he had some understanding of the political system, population system, land system, etc.

And these are exactly what he needs most.

Although he was about to conquer the world, Zhu Yuanzhang was not at ease at all.

The reason is very simple. He has no idea how to design a system for the Ming Dynasty.

In addition to personal feelings, his tolerance of Li Shanchang was also due to his hope that Li Shanchang would help him improve the system of etiquette and law.

Otherwise, he would definitely take advantage of this opportunity to marginalize Li Shanchang.

There is no need to play with the machine mind like we do now.

Now that there is someone in front of him who seems to understand these things, how could he really not care.

Some people may say that even if they don’t kill you, there is no problem in putting you through all kinds of torture and leaving you with a little breath.

It depends on whether you say it or not.

But Ma Yu's fearless attitude did successfully mislead Zhu Yuanzhang.

This person is really not afraid of death. If he really uses torture, he might get nothing in the end.

Since he values ​​feelings, then use emotions to win him over.

Therefore, although she was very dissatisfied with Ma Yu's arrogance, she did not reject Queen Ma's proposal to take in her nephew, but she was still a little hesitant.

But now, after seeing Huang He's inference, this hesitation has completely disappeared.

On the opposite side, Queen Ma looked at his lack of confidence and smiled inwardly, thinking that finally someone dared to make you angry.

Zhu Yuanzhang himself did not realize that as his power grew, he became more and more aggressive and less tolerant of different opinions.

But Empress Ma, as his wife, could feel this very clearly.

All she could do was to try to reconcile the relationship between Zhu Yuanzhang and his ministers and protect some of the punished ministers.

Ma Yu's appearance was purely accidental.

I don’t know if this guy is really not afraid of death or just trying to scare people, but he is indeed very bold.

Zhu Yuanzhang went to the prison once, and after he came back he was so angry that he didn't eat well for the whole day.

What made him even angrier was that he was criticized by others and had to adopt their opinions.

This made him feel even more uncomfortable.

But Empress Ma keenly discovered that after such a back-and-forth quarrel, Zhu Yuanzhang's murderous aura was much less.

This was also the real reason why she changed her mind and directly accepted Ma Yu as her nephew.

Let Ma Yu make him angry more, and he will become more human.

Of course, this idea cannot be told to Zhu Yuanzhang, otherwise it will fail.

She was originally a little worried that since Ma Yu became her nephew, he might stop opposing Zhu Yuanzhang.

Now it seems that I was worrying too much.

She did not expose Zhu Yuanzhang's lie, but followed his words and said:
"But this kid did learn a lot of useful things from his elders. I'll have to interrogate him more often in the future."

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately said: "Yes, you are his aunt, you have to take responsibility for this matter."

Empress Ma thought for a moment and said, "But we don't know what knowledge he has mastered, so it's hard to ask him."

"It would be best if I could ask him to help me solve any difficult problems in the future."

"That way, it won't be so troublesome."

Zhu Yuanzhang jumped up and said, "Let us ask him? Impossible, absolutely impossible."

Empress Ma laughed and said, "Who told you to ask? Can't you ask Biao'er, Chuan'er, and Chuan'er?"

"If it doesn't work, don't you still have me?"

Zhu Yuanzhang then nodded and said, "That's more or less correct. By the way, let's first ask them how their family educates their children."

He used to be very proud of himself because he had brought up his children very well, especially Zhu Biao, who was the perfect heir.

But the appearance of Ma Yu made him realize that there is always someone better than you.

He admitted that Ma Yu was very talented, but no matter how talented one was, he still needed a great teacher to cultivate him into a successful person.

Ma Yu’s achievements today are definitely directly related to his family’s careful cultivation.

So, if we know how their family raises their children, can we use it to teach the princes?
Empress Ma nodded and said, "I wouldn't have thought of this until you mentioned it, but don't worry. I'll find a chance to ask him in person in a few days."

The couple then chatted a few more words about Ma Yu and then turned the topic back to the Yellow River.

The major regulations were finalized quickly.

When talking about the subsequent propaganda, Zhu Yuanzhang said:
"Once the new spy department is established, we will hand this matter over to them. It can be considered as a training exercise."

Queen Ma naturally had no objection.

In the afternoon, Empress Ma ordered the imperial kitchen to prepare a sumptuous meal and held a small family banquet.

Zhu Yuanzhang, Empress Ma and all their children attended.

Faced with such hospitality, Ma Yu couldn't help but feel moved.

Even if someone wants to take advantage of you, it's rare to find someone who has that intention.

Of course, it would be better if Zhu Yuanzhang was not at the table, he thought.
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They had a family dinner behind closed doors, but the government and the people, who had been paying close attention to what was happening in the palace, felt like an atomic bomb explosion.

Boiling.

(End of this chapter)