My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 35: Chang Fei (5.1 on the shelf)

That afternoon, someone tried to deliver a gift to Ma Yu, but Ma Yu said nothing and sent two guards to stand guard at the door.

This trick really works, and the person who gave the gift left quickly with the gift.

This made Mr. Ma very distressed, because that was all money.

Ma Yu shook his head secretly, called him and Ma Ye over and said:
"From now on, you are not allowed to accept a penny from outsiders without my permission."

"If you need money, just take it out of the account."

"I have no problem with you using the money to eat, drink and have fun, but you absolutely cannot gamble."

"If I find out that anyone is gambling, I'll break their hands and send them back home. Don't accuse me of killing them without my knowledge."

His tone was calm and had no intimidating effect.

But when there were two vicious men with ferocious faces and machetes on their waists standing behind him, it became very convincing.

Mr. Ma Ba quickly said, "I understand. I will never take a penny from anyone again."

Ma Ye said seriously: "Yes, big brother, I will help you look after Master Ba."

Master Ma glared at him in dissatisfaction, "You little ungrateful bastard, have you forgotten who brought you to Yingtian from hundreds of miles away?"

Ma Yu smiled in his heart, but he was indeed very satisfied with Ma Ye.

Although he is young, he is actually very sensible. Maybe this is because children from poor families have to grow up early.

Moreover, he just remembered last night that there really was a Ma Ye in history.

The number one villain in Lady Shexiang, the cruel official who persecuted Lady Shexiang.

He also has another identity, the nephew of Empress Ma.

Later, in order to quell public anger, Zhu Yuanzhang executed Ma Ye after persuading Empress Ma.

Here comes the funny thing. The story of Lady Shexiang happened in the 17th year of Hongwu.

As we all know, Empress Ma died in the 15th year of Hongwu.

How did Zhu Yuanzhang persuade Empress Ma? Did he summon her spirit?

Moreover, in history, Ma Ye lived until the Zhengtong period (Zhu Qizhen) and died of old age.

You are saying that the story of Lady Shexiang and Ma Ye is fictional.

The Qing Dynasty carelessly wrote it in the history of Ming Dynasty.

All I can say is that everyone who understands understands.

Although I don’t know whether this Ma Ye is the same Ma Ye, I think there must have been a real Ma Ye in history, and he was quite famous.

Otherwise, the Qing Dynasty would not have used him to fabricate the story of Lady Shexiang.

Ma Yu was very happy that he had a talented little helper without leaving home.

Decided to give him some training.

So I asked Ma Ye what books he had read.

This time Ma Ye did not lie again. He only said that the "Three Character Classic" and "Thousand Character Classic" were used for literacy, and the "Analects of Confucius" was used for studying classics.

Ma Yu nodded and said to him, "Continue studying the Analects and read the Records of the Grand Historian."

Ma Ye was a little excited, thinking that his elder brother was going to teach him how to study, but he was also a little embarrassed:
"What is the book "Records of the Grand Historian"? Can I withdraw money from my account to buy it?"

Ma Yu smiled and said, "No, I asked my aunt for some books, and among them is the Records of the Grand Historian."

"It should be delivered in the next two days, and you can pick it up then."

Ma Ye quickly thanked him.

Ma Yu did not find it strange that he did not know about the Records of the Grand Historian.

Not to mention him, even the teacher who taught him might not know it.

It is not that Ma Yu belittles the scholars of this era, but rather a problem of channels for obtaining information.

In his previous life, until junior high school, many of his classmates only knew about Sima Qian and Records of the Grand Historian from history textbooks.

When I was in high school, some of my classmates believed that Records of the Grand Historian was written by Sima Guang.

When I was in college, some of my classmates didn’t even know how many unified dynasties China had had.

There are many highly educated people in the entertainment industry who don’t even know how many years the Anti-Japanese War lasted.

No wonder CCTV used the term "hopeless illiterates" to describe them.

In ancient times, the channels for obtaining information were narrower, and it was very normal for ordinary scholars to not know what historical books were available.

This is actually the reason why it is difficult for poor families to produce talented children. Their educational resources and information acquisition channels cannot be compared with those of wealthy families.

Every lower-class scholar who managed to make it through the imperial examinations was extremely talented.

For the next two days, Ma Yu didn't go anywhere and stayed at home to rest.

It was not until the third day that Empress Ma came to visit him in person with a large group of people.

Mr. Ma Baye, Ma Ye and others were very excited. Although they had met more than once, the meaning of the Queen coming in person was different.

Ma Yu didn't find it strange at all.

The emperor announced publicly that the queen wanted to take in her nephew, so there would naturally be follow-up actions.

Isn’t it here now?

However, Zhu Chong didn’t come with me. It seems that I will have an excuse to mock him next time we meet.

Seeing him looking into the crowd, Empress Ma seemed to guess what he was looking at and said:

"During these days in jail, Chong'er has neglected all his studies and his father is keeping him under his watch while he takes extra classes."

"If you don't make up for what you're missing, you won't be able to leave."

Ma Yu was immediately happy and said, "It's deserved."

Queen Ma laughed in silence, then asked people to move the things into the yard.

She did not come alone, she was followed by more than a dozen large carts and a group of servants.

When they arrived at the courtyard, Empress Ma took out two sets of silk clothes and asked Ma Yu to try them on.

At this time, the palace maid who had been following her said:
"This was sewn for you by the Empress herself."

Ma Yu couldn't help but take another look at her. She looked about thirteen or fourteen years old, with a dignified and pretty appearance.

What is most surprising is his height, which is estimated to be about 1.7 meters.

He couldn't help but wonder, are the standards for palace maids so high now?
Empress Ma seemed to see through his thoughts and said with a smile, "She is the eldest lady of the Boren family. Her mother passed away early, so I brought her with me to take care of her."

Oh my god, Ma Yu was shocked.

Chang Yuchun’s eldest daughter is Zhu Biao’s fiancée, the future Empress Xiaokang, Chang.

He quickly bowed and said, "Ma Yu greets sister-in-law."

Chang Fei's cheeks suddenly turned red. She stamped her feet, turned around and covered her face with a handkerchief.

Empress Ma almost laughed out loud, reached out and patted him, saying:

"You haven't gotten married yet, so don't call her that. She's older than you, so just call her sister."

Ma Yu smiled awkwardly and quickly called her sister.

Concubine Chang still turned her back and ignored him, obviously she was really embarrassed.

Queen Ma knew that the best way to deal with this situation was to do what needed to be done and divert everyone's attention.

So she asked Ma Yu to try on the clothes again.

Ma Yu went to the back hall holding the clothes.

But the four palace maids behind Empress Ma also followed in and stripped him naked in no time without giving him any chance to refuse.

Ma Yu was a little surprised at first, but then he took it calmly.

I’ve even seen dragons in my previous life, so this little scene is nothing.

His entire body was changed inside and out, and because his hair had not grown long yet, he was given a black futou (a kind of hat).

Ma Yu moved around and found it very close-fitting and comfortable, completely different from the ready-made clothes she had bought before.

He returned to the main hall and respectfully expressed his gratitude to Queen Ma.

Queen Ma smiled and said, "You are my nephew, so you should do all this."

"By the way, this futou was made by your sister Chang herself, you should thank her."

Ma Yu expressed his gratitude to her again.

Concubine Chang has returned to normal and said calmly that the family doesn't need to be so formal.

Only then did Queen Ma begin to introduce the things she had brought.

There were more than a dozen trucks of cargo, four of which were loaded with books, and the rest were loaded with various daily necessities.

The four palace maids who had just changed his clothes were also assigned to take care of his daily life. Ma Yu couldn't help but take another look. They were all fifteen or sixteen years old. As for their looks, they were just pretty, not beauties.

Empress Ma said that these were orphans she had adopted: "You must not bully them."

Ma Yulian said he didn't dare.

In addition, the mansion was equipped with a housekeeper, two accountants, and four servants.

These four servants are all disabled veterans in the army. Their families are either separated and unable to be contacted, or they are the only ones left in the family.

In a word, they are all homeless people.

Empress Ma's move could be considered as providing them with a place to stay and a support for their future life.

Such a large family naturally needs to make a living, so Queen Ma gave him a shop in the downtown area of ​​Dagongfang and a 500-acre manor.

"Don't worry about the manor. We have tenants ready to farm it."

"They grow cotton over there, and you can sell it directly to the imperial court. You just need to wait and collect the money when the time comes."

Ma Yu was not surprised by this. Zhu Yuanzhang came from a low-class background and understood the importance of cotton better than any previous ruler.

Has been committed to cotton promotion.

It can be said that the rapid spread of cotton throughout the country was entirely due to its promotion.

"As for the shop, it's still empty."

"If you have time, go check it out. You can run something yourself or rent it out to others."

Apart from thanking him, Ma Yu really didn't know what to say.

After all these matters were settled, everyone came to rest under the jujube tree in the courtyard. Empress Ma dismissed her attendants and only left Concubine Chang.

"The Emperor is planning to build a large hall for Biao'er to study, and will select outstanding children from noble families to accompany him."

"I'm planning to let you study together. What do you think?"

Ma Yu thought for a moment and declined politely: "Aunt knows that I have a family legacy, even though my clan members are gone."

"But my elders had already taught me how to learn and what to learn."

“I think independent study is more suitable for me.”

He knew very well that the person in charge of Dashantang must be Li Shanchang, and the other teachers were basically Confucian scholars.

It’s not that you can’t learn from these people. Those who can become great scholars all have real abilities.

The real reason for his refusal was that he didn't want to have a teacher-student relationship with these people.

According to the ancient moral principles, once the teacher-student relationship is established, it will be very troublesome for what he will do in the future.

A simple word of "disrespecting your teacher and ancestors" can leave you speechless.

Queen Ma seemed to have expected this and was not surprised. Instead, she followed his words and said:
"Oh, would you mind telling me about it?"

Ma Yu smiled and said, "It's not inconvenient at all. Actually, it's not a big deal."

Concubine Chang on the side pricked up her ears. She had heard Zhu Biao praise Ma Yu's talent many times, and Empress Ma also praised him highly.

That’s not all. She knew very well what kind of person her younger brother Chang Mao was. He looked down on everyone except a few people.

After he was released from prison, he always looked frightened when he mentioned Ma Yu.

The most common phrase he said was 'That mouth is so scary, don't have any contact with him in the future'.

At first she wondered what was wrong, but it was only after Zhu Biao told her the reason that she understood what was going on.

I am very curious about Ma Yu.

Inevitably, I paid more attention to his situation and learned about his specific talents.

While I admire him, I am also curious about how he learned these skills.

When listening to them talk about it at this time, I naturally have to listen carefully.

Ma Yu did not answer directly, but thought for a while before saying:

"My enlightenment courses consisted of four subjects: literacy, mathematics, history, and natural law."

The first three are easy to understand, but the fourth one is something I have never heard of.

Queen Ma asked, "The law of nature?"

Ma Yu explained: "It is to study some naturally occurring phenomena and understand their principles."

"Why do day and night alternate, and the four seasons rotate?"

"Why does gunpowder explode?"

"The principle of scooping money out of the frying pan."

"The principles of catching and killing ghosts used by monks and Taoists to deceive people, etc."

"As long as something exists, you can study it."

Queen Ma was surprised and asked, "You want to learn all these things?"

Concubine Chang was also very surprised. It was the first time she heard of someone studying this, but how could these things be studied?
Ma Yu nodded and said, "Yes, I need to learn everything, but I only have a superficial understanding and don't delve into the underlying principles."

Empress Ma still found it incredible and said, "You said before that your elders would teach you Guangbo first."

"At the time, I thought it meant you should read widely, but now I know what it really means."

Ma Yu said: "I also read a lot of books. As long as conditions permit, I will take out two or three quarters of an hour every day to read through them."

"But it's not limited to classics. All kinds of miscellaneous books, including poetry, songs, agricultural books, novels, legends, etc., are acceptable."

"Sometimes he would take me to various social groups to observe and experience their lives."

Queen Ma couldn't help but marvel at how comprehensive the considerations were.

But she also had doubts: "Aren't they afraid that you will be distracted?"

Ma Yu shook his head and said, "How could I be distracted? The elders have always believed that the most taboo in educating children is to force them to learn. We must pay attention to the limits."

"As long as the scale is not a problem, the rest will be easy."

Queen Ma's eyes lit up. Was she finally getting to the core? She quickly asked:

"Scale? What does that mean?"

Ma Yu said: "Teaching children to learn things that are appropriate to their age at the appropriate stage is the standard of education."

"If there's a problem with the scale, it can easily distort people's thinking."

Queen Ma frowned. She understood the meaning, but how should she grasp the specific scale?

Not to mention Concubine Chang, she was even more confused.

Ma Yu said to himself, "In fact, the concept of educational standards was not created by my elders."

"Historical records show that the first person to realize this problem was Jia Yi in the Western Han Dynasty."

"Jia Yi?" Queen Ma's expression changed again.

The ancients used to look down on the present and admire the past, so no matter how good something produced by modern people is, there will be certain doubts about it.

But if this thing was proposed by the ancients, it would be different.

This is the case now. No matter how excellent the educational philosophy of Ma Yu's original family is, Empress Ma and others will look at it with discernment.

But when Ma Yu said that this theory came from the sages of the Western Han Dynasty, her level of attention immediately increased significantly.

What? Why do you think Jia Yi is called a sage?
He really is.

Many people's understanding of Jia Yi is just the "On the Qin Dynasty" in the textbook, and then the two lines of poetry by the "unknown poet" Li Shangyin.

Poor Ye Banxu's front seat does not ask the common people or ghosts.

Jia Yi and Qu Yuan are listed side by side and become representatives of frustration.

However, there are still significant differences between the two.

In fact, Jia Yi was highly valued by Emperor Wen of Han, but the noble group at that time was too powerful, so in order to protect him, Emperor Wen of Han had to send him away.

The key point is that although his ideas were not adopted during his lifetime, they were used after his death.

Many of the Han Dynasty's later national policies were actually based on his ideas.

So some people call him the chief designer of the Han Dynasty.

Empress Ma naturally understood all this, so when Ma Yu said that the "educational standards" came from Jia Yi, how could she not take it seriously?

"When did Jia Yi say such a thing? Why haven't I heard of it?"

It has been confirmed that it will be on the shelves on May 1st. We will update as much as possible at that time. Everyone must support it.

Don’t make the first order too ugly.

Please.

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(End of this chapter)