My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 53: The Gu Family's Sichuan People

Ma Yu has been staying at home these days and has not gone out. He knows that his frequent visits to and from the palace have attracted too much attention.

As the saying goes, any tree that is beautiful in the forest will be destroyed by the wind.

I need to disappear for a while and fade out of everyone's sight.

In fact, it was just as he thought. Recently, there have been suddenly more rumors about him in the outside world.

Especially the matter of the armor-removing wind, no one was told about it behind the scenes, and the news spread quickly.

Everyone naturally thought that he was eager to please Chang Yuchun and was very contemptuous of him.

Among them, Confucian scholars were the most active.

After all, they thought at first that Ma Yu was on the same side as them, but after he was released from prison, he got together with the nobles.

A total villain.

Now seize the opportunity and belittle it fiercely.

Many nobles were affected by this and their attitude towards him was not as enthusiastic as before.

After Li Shanchang learned about this, he mocked:

"He is, after all, a young boy still wet behind the ears."

"I still regard him as a great enemy, but he is nothing more than this."

So the action against Ma Yu was cancelled.

After all, he didn't want to conflict with Queen Ma unless it was absolutely necessary.

But within small organizations, the situation is completely different.

Let alone Chang Sheng, he already regarded Ma Yu as his own elder brother... no, closer than his elder brother Chang Mao.

Now Ma Yu asked him to go through fire and water without even frowning.

Others also admired him.

Brother Ma did this for Chang Sheng, this is what it means to be so loyal.

Many people who were originally dissatisfied with Ma Yu were also convinced by him.

What's wrong with being reckless? What's wrong with doing things roughly? Young people should put righteousness first when they go out to make a living.

When doing things, don’t worry about the future, but just do it with a clear conscience.

Brother Ma is a role model for our generation.

The scholars slandered him...those corrupt scholars talked about benevolence, righteousness and morality, but were full of thieves and prostitutes.

They just can't stand seeing others do well.

The more they curse Brother Ma, the more it proves that what Brother Ma did was right.

Even if their parents said bad things about Ma Yu, they would think that their parents were old-fashioned and unreasonable.

The ridicule from the outside world not only did not make everyone retreat, but made the small organization more cohesive.

Ma Yu naturally knew why this happened.

On the one hand, young people are the most passionate and like this kind of chivalrous story.

Secondly, having a common enemy makes it easier to unite against the enemy and increase mutual identification.

Thirdly, everyone feels like they are against the whole world, which is a really cool feeling.

Ma Yu was very happy with this result.

He certainly wouldn't set up any small organization for no reason; everything he did had a purpose.

He wanted to do a lot of things, but he couldn't rely on the older generation because their thinking was already fixed and it was difficult to make fundamental changes.

Young people are different, they are the future.

These second generations have the resources of their parents and will definitely be the upper class of the Ming Dynasty in the future.

Whoever can influence them can determine the future of the Ming Dynasty.

However, Ma Yu still did not interfere too much and allowed the small organization to develop wildly.

But he did not do nothing. Instead, he was quietly observing to see who had the potential to be trained.

The person he likes most at the moment is Wu Gao.

When the snack shop opened, everyone was very enthusiastic, but after it opened, no one took it seriously anymore.

It’s still the same as before, just do what you need to do.

Only Wu Gao really cared about it.

I supervise the chefs' work every day and set some rules.

From time to time, I would spot-check the quality of cakes and tea, verify various account details, and record every account clearly.

Therefore, he naturally became the accountant of the tea shop.

Many of his friends joked about this and called him the butler or something like that.

He always just laughed it off, never arguing or explaining.

But Ma Yu still did not take any action.

People are different from things.

You can tell whether a tool is good or bad by using it.

People are complex, and it takes long-term observation to gain a comprehensive understanding.

Besides, he is only thirteen or fourteen years old in this life, and the thing he has the most is time.

There's no need to rush to recruit people.

In addition to the small organization, he also did not forget to pay attention to the matter of Xiajiafeng.

Zheng Liangqi is worthy of being a national master of the time. With only three medicinal ingredients, he relied on his medical skills to complete the prescription.

Of course, other national experts in the Imperial Hospital also made many suggestions.

Then comes the experimental drug efficacy.

No one knows where they found the patients, but they completed the experiment in just a few days.

Afterwards, the proportions of medicinal materials were readjusted based on the experimental results, and an emergency prescription was created.

Zhu Yuanzhang personally named it Huiyang Dan.

He also ordered the Imperial Hospital to rush to produce a batch of them, and sent them to the hands of important generals in various armies along with an introduction to the "Xijiafeng".

The generals were all confused when they received the pills, but then they regarded it as the emperor's care and put it aside.

A few generals who were well-informed and knew the whole story felt that the emperor was a little confused about right and wrong.

That guy obviously has ulterior motives, do you really take it seriously?
But no matter what, no one dared to fail to appreciate the emperor's care.

Everyone still wrote letters to express their gratitude.

However, before their memorial could be delivered to Yingtian, Zhu Yuanzhang had already gone to Yuan Dadu.

Originally, Zhu Yuanzhang was a little hesitant about whether to come here.

Come on, but I feel it’s meaningless. The capital of the Ming Dynasty will definitely not be placed here anyway.

But it was the capital of the Yuan Dynasty after all. As the founder of the new dynasty, he always felt that something was missing if he didn't come and visit.

Then the matter of removing the armor helped him make the final decision.

Let’s go for a walk.

It’s not that he really believed what Ma Yu said, but he thought it would be nice to come and see his old brother.

Shortly after he set off, Mingsheng, the emperor of the Great Xia regime that ruled Sichuan, sent another congratulatory message.

Celebrate the Ming Dynasty's conquest of Yuan Dadu.

Zhu Biao, as the Crown Prince Regent, received the envoys from Daxia.

After presenting the congratulatory message, the Daxia envoy made a request.

I want to pay homage to the Yuwang Ding.

Zhu Biao deliberately made things difficult, and only agreed to let the Daxia envoys pay their respects three days later after repeated requests.

And during these three days, the news that the Daxia envoys paid homage to the Yuwang Ding spread.

This further confirmed the extraordinary nature of the large tripod, and the voices supporting the Yuwang Tripod became louder.

The Daxia envoys were unaware of these debates.

In fact, they also doubted the authenticity of the Yuwang Ding. The reason they proposed to pay homage was not because they believed in it, but because they wanted to see what was going on.

I thought Daming would evade and refuse, but I never expected that they would agree so easily.

Instead, it made them a little undecided.

Could it really be the Yuwang Ding?
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty, Li Shanchang, personally came forward and led the envoys of Daxia to worship the precious tripod.

At this time, the big tripod had been moved to the Taisheji Altar, which is the place for worshiping heaven and earth.

Red silk ribbons are hung on the main hall of Sheji Altar.

The surrounding area was filled with tallow candles as thick as a child's arm. Although they were not lit, the scene was still quite visually impactful.

There is a set of chime bells on each side of the hall. Musicians in red robes hold the bell hammers, and a note jumps out every time they strike the bells.

Countless notes converge into a vast and magnificent piece of music.

The Daxia envoys were distracted by this.

The look in his eyes when he looked at Baoding was filled with excitement, fear, awe, etc.

I almost forgot the purpose of coming here.

Even Li Shanchang, influenced by the environment, was temporarily confused about whether the tripod was real or fake. He even doubted himself deep down.

Could it be that I was wrong and this tripod is real?

But he had experienced many ups and downs after all, so he soon came to his senses and looked at the cauldron with a very complicated look.

Although reluctant, one has to admit that Zhu Yuanzhang's move seemed to have worked.

At this moment, the Daxia envoy regained his senses and remembered his mission.

So I asked to observe the tripod up close.

His reason was naturally to go back and give a detailed description to the Emperor of Daxia, so that the ruler and his ministers of Daxia could also get a glimpse of the elegance of the Yuwang Ding.

Everyone could naturally tell that he was just speaking for show.

Li Shanchang feigned ignorance and pretended to refuse: "This is a matter of great importance. Without Your Majesty's order, I dare not..."

The Daxia envoy approached him and whispered:
"The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is not in Yingtian. Although the Crown Prince is nominally the Regent, everyone knows that you are the Prime Minister and the one who controls the country."

"I know this is a difficult matter, and I will not let your hard work go in vain."

"When I came here, my Majesty asked me to bring you a hundred kilograms of gold, ten beauties, and a hundred pieces of Shu brocade."

A hint of greed flashed across Li Shanchang's face, but he quickly concealed it, but it happened to be seen by the envoy of Daxia.

He was contemptuous in his heart, but he continued to say:

"I promise, I'm just observing from a close distance and I wouldn't dare to show any disrespect."

"There will be many opportunities for exchanges between our two countries in the future. I believe that Prime Minister Li will not be disappointed."

Li Shanchang was finally moved and said, gritted his teeth:

"Okay, but you must not destroy the cauldron, otherwise don't blame me for being merciless."

The Daxia envoy quickly assured that nothing would go wrong.

So Li Shanchang asked the ceremonial officials and musicians to withdraw to make it easier for the Daxia envoys to observe.

However, he was not completely reassured, so he left a few guards to monitor.

The Daxia envoy came to the cauldron with two attendants and began to observe it closely.

These two followers are naturally not real followers, but carefully selected relevant talents.

It is to identify the condition of the tripod.

The result was naturally as expected. The two experts could only confirm that the tripod had a history of at least more than a thousand years, and it was most likely a royal tripod.

Apart from that, nothing else can be seen.

Faced with this result, the Daxia envoy was not disappointed at all, but very happy instead.

He immediately wrote a memorial to the emperor and his ministers of Daxia, praising the precious tripod as the most precious in heaven and unparalleled on earth.

There are flowing lights and purple mists... In short, it has all kinds of magical powers.

And he stated with certainty that this was the Yuwang Ding.

Not only that, after he went out, when he dealt with Ming officials, he kept saying that this was the Yuwang Ding.

The Ming Dynasty ruled the world.

This attitude made Empress Ma and others think that he might have some evidence and was deliberately setting a trap for the Ming Dynasty?

Only after careful investigation did we find out what was going on.

Ming Yuzhen died young. Ming Sheng was only ten years old when he died, and his mother was in charge of the government.

In such a chaotic world, there is no need to say much about what will happen if the young ruler succeeds to the throne.

Anyway, the powerful officials and relatives of the Great Xia Kingdom were all beaten to death.

The Ming Dynasty was thriving and was on the verge of unifying the world.

There is still internal strife on our side. Anyone with a discerning eye knows that Daxia is a grasshopper after autumn, so naturally many people want to jump ship.

The Daxia envoy is most likely this kind of person.

When Queen Ma and others realized this, they were also very happy.

He began to try various ways to win over the Daxia envoy.

However, what they didn't expect was that in the face of their solicitation, the Daxia envoy suddenly became principled.

He always regarded himself as a minister of Daxia and never said a bad word about the Daxia regime.

If anyone dared to speak ill of Mingsheng, he would argue with reason and even risk his life to defend Mingsheng's dignity.

This made Empress Ma and the others confused again.

What on earth is this person thinking?

It was Ma Yu who cleared up their doubts:
"It's actually very simple. This Daxia envoy is from Sichuan."

Zhu Biao asked in confusion, "What's wrong with the people from Sichuan?"

Ma Yu smiled and said, "People from Sichuan and Shu have a characteristic: they care about their families."

Zhu Biao was even more puzzled: "Gu family? This..."

Ma Yu explained: "The Gu family of Sichuan people is different from that of ordinary people."

"They only want to protect their small piece of land in Sichuan and have never been interested in competing for world domination."

"No matter how the outside world fights, they only do one thing: live their lives behind closed doors."

"Once the people outside have decided the winner, they will join the new dynasty."

"But if anyone dares to invade Sichuan, they will risk their lives to resist."

"If a regime separatist from Sichuan and Shu attempts to lead the people of Sichuan and Shu out of Sichuan to fight for the world, it will surely be abandoned."

"Then everyone will elect a new leader and continue to close the shop and live on."

Throughout history, there was only one time when Sichuanese people went out of Sichuan on a large scale to fight.

Sichuan troops left Sichuan during the Anti-Japanese War.

Apart from this time, there is no example in history books of Sichuan people leaving Sichuan on a large scale to fight.

The family of this Daxia envoy had lived in the Sichuan-Shu region for generations.

It also has this characteristic.

Fighting for the world is boring now. What's more, your Great Xia is not a regime with a long-term vision. Why bother to struggle in the end?

Just surrender to the Ming Dynasty, your Ming family will retain their title of nobility, and we in Sichuan and Shu will continue to live in peace.

Therefore, even though he could not confirm the authenticity of the tripod, he still told the rulers and ministers of Daxia in an assured tone that this was the Yuwang Ding.

The underlying meaning is that the Ming Dynasty has been chosen by Heaven, so you should surrender as soon as possible.

"However, although he has this idea, before Daxia truly surrenders to the Ming Dynasty, he is still a minister of Daxia and must uphold the dignity of his monarch."

“This is the Sichuanese.”

Even though he trusted Ma Yu very much, Zhu Biao still couldn't believe that this was the truth.

Mainly because it's too weird.

After returning to the palace, he immediately sent people to investigate, especially to look through historical books to see whether people from Sichuan and Shu had left Sichuan on a large scale.

The results showed that it was exactly the same as what Ma Yu said.

Not only is there no record of Sichuan children leaving Sichuan, but there are also several negative examples.

There were several leaders of regimes that controlled Sichuan and Shu, who were ambitious to dominate the world.

He led the Sichuan and Shu troops to fight, but was killed halfway.

This made Zhu Biao laugh and cry. He could never have imagined that such a thing could happen in the world.

Queen Ma was also speechless, but then she was overjoyed.

Because according to Ma Yu's speculation, once the Ming Dynasty unified the outside world, it would be easy to take over Daxia.

There is nothing more gratifying than this.

Besides, she thought of another thing.

"Yu'er once said that she lived with her elders in Sichuan for more than half a year. It seems to be true."

Otherwise he wouldn't know so much about the people of Sichuan.

With Ma Yu's reminder, Empress Ma and Zhu Biao naturally knew how to treat the envoys from Daxia.

He no longer talked about recruiting people, but just kept talking about how the Ming Dynasty would make people live a good life if it took over the world.

The Daxia envoy really fell for this and became more supportive of the Ming Dynasty, revealing a lot of secret information in private.

This undoubtedly proved Ma Yu's guess from the side, which made both Empress Ma and Zhu Biao admire him and trust him even more.

After the envoy returned, he widely publicized the magic of the Yuwang Ding in Sichuan and Shu, and left behind a large number of related records.

It did clear away many obstacles for the Ming Dynasty to pacify Sichuan.

However, no one at that time, including Ma Yu, could have imagined how great an impact these records would have on later generations.

Let’s talk about Zhu Yuanzhang.

He traveled north and first visited the diverted Yellow River. He publicly stated that he must stabilize the Yellow River as soon as possible and never let it harm the people again.

This statement was unanimously praised by the government and the public.

The people in Henan and Shandong, in particular, cried bitterly.

Afterwards, Zhu Yuanzhang took a boat along the Grand Canal northward to Yuan Dadu.

(End of this chapter)