My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 36: Right and Wrong, Weighing the Pros and Cons

Facing the Queen Ma's questioning, Ma Yu said calmly:

"Jia Yi certainly didn't say anything of the sort directly, but his writings convey this implication."

"The New Book contains a total of thirteen articles on teaching and educating people. Two of them have been lost, leaving only eleven."

"These eleven articles all tell the world that educating children requires moderation."

"New Book", also known as "Jia Zi", is a collection of works by Jia Yi.

Thirteen of them are articles in which Jia Yi expounds on his educational thoughts, and several of them are fables he specially wrote to educate King Huai of Liang.

Empress Ma actually didn't understand all this, after all, it was impossible for her to read all the books.

But she also didn't think Ma Yu would lie about such a thing.

What she was concerned about was what these articles actually talked about and how Ma Yu's elders came to the conclusion about the educational standards.

Another question is how to determine the scale.

So she pressed on: "Tell me in detail."

Ma Yu thought for a moment and said, "Let me use the chapter 'Retreat' as an example."

"This story is about..."

Song, a senior official of the State of Liang, was serving as the magistrate of a county adjacent to the State of Chu. Coincidentally, melons were planted on the adjacent lands of the two countries.

The people of Liang worked hard, and the melons grew particularly well.

The people in Chu were lazy, so the melons didn't grow well.

The people of Chu became jealous and sent people to destroy the melon fields of Liang at night.

The people of Liang were very angry and wanted to take revenge.

Song stopped everyone, saying that doing so would only deepen the hatred and eventually lead to greater disaster.

If you want to eliminate disasters, you should adopt better methods.

So instead of taking revenge, he even sent people to secretly help the Chu people take care of the melon fields.

The melons in Chu State also grew very well.

The county magistrate of Chu State felt very strange and sent people to investigate. He finally found out what was going on and reported it immediately.

After hearing this, the King of Chu felt very ashamed and apologized to the State of Liang. From then on, the two countries became friends.

This story was also selected into textbooks in the past and was widely circulated.

After explaining the general content of the story, Ma Yu then asked:

"What do you think of this story, Madam?"

Queen Ma hesitated for a moment, but still gave her true evaluation:

"Pedantism."

Ma Yu was not surprised by this answer and said:
"Yes, pedantic, even a little stupid."

“What if the Chu people are ungrateful and continue to mock them?”

"We can even think deeper. Liang was a small country. Could it be that they chose to do this because they were afraid of being attacked by Chu?"

Queen Ma nodded, she also thought so in her heart.

Ma Yu then asked, "Do you think Jia Yi is a pedantic person?"

Empress Ma shook her head and said, "Anyone who can write the "On the Qin Dynasty" and strongly advocate the elimination of the princes cannot be a pedantic scholar."

Ma Yu said, "Then the question is, if Jia Yi is not pedantic, why did he write such a pedantic story?"

He didn't keep anyone waiting, and immediately gave the answer:

"Because this article was used to teach King Huai of Liang."

"King Huai of Liang was young at the time, his mind was still immature, and he didn't even have the most basic sense of right and wrong."

"That's why Jia Yi first taught him the simple principles of right and wrong, so that he could establish a correct understanding of right and wrong."

"Wait until he has a correct understanding of the world, then teach him how to weigh the pros and cons."

"Think about it the other way around. If a child hasn't even developed a basic sense of right and wrong, how can you teach him the art of weighing pros and cons?"

"What will be the consequences?"

"There's a high probability that they'll become suspicious and skeptical, and in serious cases, they might even distrust human nature and even become distorted."

"If this person were an ordinary citizen, it would be difficult for him to cause major damage due to his limited abilities."

"If he were the son of a powerful noble, or even the monarch himself, the consequences would be disastrous."

Looking at Empress Ma who was lost in thought, Ma Yu finally said:
"Based on this, the elders came to the view that 'first understand right and wrong, then teach people to weigh the pros and cons', which is the standard for education."

First understand right from wrong, then teach how to weigh the pros and cons.

Empress Ma silently recited this sentence, and her mind couldn't help but think of another theory that Ma Yu had said:
Confucius and Mencius are the basis, Guan Yu and Xun Zi are the application.

Based on the thoughts of Confucius and Mencius, establish a correct concept of right and wrong.

Then use the thoughts of Guan and Xun to learn the art of weighing pros and cons.

Thinking of this, she suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

Because she thought of her own children, mainly Zhu Biao, Zhu Chong and Zhu Gang.

The same three brothers, similar environment, similar education.

Why was Zhu Biao so outstanding, while Zhu Chong and Zhu Gang had such big flaws in their personalities?
This was a question that had always confused her.

At this time, after listening to Ma Yu's words, she finally found the answer.

Also found the problem.

Zhu Yuanzhang loved his children very much. He was afraid that they would suffer any loss, so he wanted to cram all the knowledge into their heads.

From a young age, they were not only taught to read and practice martial arts, but also taught about the wickedness of human nature.

The difference was that Zhu Biao was one year older and was the crown prince, so the couple attached great importance to his education.

He hired a famous teacher to teach him very early, and later he became a disciple of Song Lian.

Song Lian was a great Confucian scholar who taught Confucian knowledge and the principles of being a human being.

Speaking of which, Zhu Yuanzhang had many conflicts with Song Lian over the issue of educating children.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt that what Song Lian taught was not practical, so he asked him to teach something else.

Song Lian felt that what he taught was the way of a sage, and he was determined not to change it unless he was replaced.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very angry, but there was nothing he could do.

No one can deny that Song Lian was indeed knowledgeable.

Moreover, their status as the top figures in the literary world can help them soothe the hearts of readers.

The key point is that over the years, Zhu Biao has indeed been trained very well.

In the past, Empress Ma did not think too deeply about it. She just thought that her son was smart and had been properly educated, which was why she was able to cultivate him into a talented person so smoothly.

As for the other two sons, perhaps they were born stubborn and could not be brought up.

Although it is wrong for a mother to think this way about her own child, she really can't find any other answer.
Now she finally realized that she had wronged her two sons.

There is a huge difference in the education they enjoy.

Zhu Biao had the correct concept of right and wrong taught by Song Lian, but Zhu Chong and Zhu Gang did not. They were both more influenced by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Just imagine, if Song Lian had not insisted on his own opinion, would Zhu Biao have become like Zhu Chong and Zhu Gang?

She didn't dare to think any further.

Although she felt sorry for Zhu Yuanzhang for thinking this way, she believed that this was the answer to the question.

Thinking about the other princes, her mood became even heavier.

Concubine Chang didn't think too much about it, but just felt that what Ma Yu said based on classics was very reasonable.

I've already started to think that this is probably the reason why my two younger brothers are so useless.

No, we have to teach them well and not let them become a nuisance.

Although Ma Yu didn't know what Empress Ma was thinking specifically, he could roughly guess that it was related to the education of the princes.

To be honest, Zhu Yuanzhang's children had a very high success rate, but the probability of them becoming abnormal was also ridiculously high.

If it is an extremely rare case, we can say that it is just bad nature.

There is only one possibility for such a large number of perverts: there is something wrong with their education.

If we think about Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude towards Mencius's thoughts, it is not surprising.

Ma Yu raised the issue of educational standards in the hope of making changes in this regard.

I don’t expect everyone to become a wise king, but at least there shouldn’t be so many abnormal ones.

This was one of the few contributions he could make to the people. After a long time, Queen Ma finally came to her senses and said:

"Yu'er, your words today have really enlightened me."

Ma Yu said modestly: "It's just my opinion. I hope it can help my aunt."

Empress Ma said, "That's very helpful... I agree with you about wanting to study on your own."

Ma Yu smiled and said, "Thank you for your understanding, Auntie... But, can Ma Ye go to the main hall to study with me?"

Queen Ma was very happy and said without any hesitation:

"Yes, I'm glad you care about him so much. It's the right decision to let him follow you."

Ma Yu suddenly said dejectedly: "That's because he really treats me as his elder brother and respects me very much."

"I have no relatives in this world. Now that I have a brother, I naturally have to take better care of him."

Queen Ma comforted her, "Poor child, don't be sad. With your aunt, you have a home again."

Concubine Chang, who was standing by, also felt a lump in her throat. She had lost her mother very early and could understand this feeling very well.

I couldn't help but feel sympathy for Ma Yu.

The two of them played nice with each other for a while before they started discussing the issue of educational standards again.

Empress Ma briefly explained Zhu Yuanzhang's methods of educating his sons.

Ma Yu shook his head repeatedly after hearing this. As he had guessed before, there was something wrong with Zhu Yuanzhang's education method.

How can you let a child eat spicy hot pot before he has learned to breastfeed?

It would be a miracle if there is no problem.

With his support, Queen Ma became more determined in her previous idea that the educational method must be changed.

After that, she did not stay any longer and returned to the palace with Concubine Chang.

After sending them away, Ma Yu first got to know the people brought by Queen Ma again.

Then he called all the servants over, regrouped them, and clarified each person's responsibilities.

If anyone makes a mistake in their work, not only will they be punished, but the leader of each team will also be punished.

Although he had never managed such a large team, he still understood the principles of individual responsibility and clear rewards and punishments.

The regular allowance for each person was also increased, tripling the original amount.

It is also stipulated that if you do not make any mistakes throughout the year, you can receive an extra month's salary.

The reason for such a large increase is that the original allowance was too little.

You can't blame Empress Ma for being stingy. It's good enough to be able to survive in the war-torn times. You can't ask for too much.

Now that he wants to win people's hearts, he naturally has to raise the price.

Money makes the world go round, so everyone was naturally happy about the salary increase, and their identification with Ma Yu increased significantly.

Afterwards, he took people and placed all the books sent by Queen Ma on the bookshelf.

The four major vehicles may seem like a lot, but there are actually only about 160 of them.

There is no way around it. The characters in ancient books are relatively large. A volume of "Records of the Grand Historian" has dozens of volumes, forming a huge stack.

Other historical books are no less impressive.

Most of these four carriages are various historical books.

The remaining small half are books such as classics, history, philosophy and literature.

Among them are books such as Mozi that are almost unavailable on the market.

Ma Yu was also very happy after all the books were sorted and arranged.

There will be something to do in the future.

Ma Ye was the happiest one. He had never seen so many books in his life.

It can even be said that I have never heard of it.

"Brother, can I read these books from now on?"

Ma Yu nodded and said, "Okay, but you have to take good care of it."

Ma Ye nodded quickly: "I will definitely be careful."

Seeing his serious look, Ma Yu smiled and said:
"In a few days, His Majesty will open a school for the Crown Prince to study. I have already made an appointment with my aunt. You will go and study with him then."

Ma Ye said in surprise: "Is it really possible for me?"

Ma Yu laughed and said, "How could I lie to you?"

"There are only children of the rich and powerful there. You might be looked down upon if you go there. Be prepared."

"But don't be afraid of them. If anyone dares to bully you, just tell me and I'll punish them."

Ma Ye's eyes suddenly became moist, and he nodded heavily: "I understand, I won't embarrass Big Brother."

Ma Yu touched his head and felt very emotional.

This child is also a miserable person.

When he was a child, his family lived a decent life and he could even go to school.

Two years ago, there was a war and most of the family members died. We only survived because of the help from the clan.

Of course, it mainly depends on Mr. Ma's care.

It was actually the same for Mr. Ma. Only three of his eleven members were left.

One of the sons was stabbed and pretended to be dead, so he survived, but he also became ill and his health was very poor.

Perhaps because he experienced the pain of losing loved ones, Mr. Ma Baye took great care of Ma Ye, who had lost his family.

But the clan is not a pure land, and internal bullying is common.

They have old people and young children, and there are also injured people, and they are at the bottom of the clan.

Empress Ma had previously explicitly refused to grant official titles to her relatives. If life had not been so difficult, she would not have risked bringing Ma Yu to Yingtian.

I don’t have the courage to leave my hometown.

In this chaotic era, traveling far away is inherently dangerous.

What's more, he is an old man who has never left his hometown in his entire life, and Ma Ye is only ten years old (in lunar age).

If you are not careful, the person will disappear.

Just think about it and you will know how difficult it is for them, the old and the young, to reach Yingtian alive.

This is also the reason why after being used and scared, Mr. Ma still chose to stay.

Although I wouldn't be unable to survive if I returned to my hometown, life would still be difficult.

Might as well give it a try.

Ma Yu only learned about these situations from Ma Ye and Ma Baye in the past few days.

He was also very glad about his previous decision to keep two people.

But as his understanding of this era deepened, his mood became increasingly heavy.

Mr. Ma and his companions are pitiful, but what is even more tragic is that they are already lucky ones.

Most people live worse than them.

This is troubled times.

From this perspective, Zhu Yuanzhang's contribution to ending the chaotic times can be considered immeasurable.

If it weren't for the subsequent series of bad policies, it's hard to imagine how high his historical status would be.

However, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

His answer was not good, and the Ming Dynasty did not fulfill its historical mission.

I just hope that my arrival can bring some changes.

He is not a saint, and he was just an ordinary person in his previous life, with his own joys, sorrows, anger, and desires.

However, he also has his own bottom line.

The lower limit of this era is countless times lower than his bottom line.

He couldn't turn a blind eye.

I don't intend to be a saint, nor can I face death with equanimity.

I just hope to bring about some changes within my power so that more people can live like human beings.

This is not a high requirement.

He thought silently in his heart.

(End of this chapter)