The Ming Dynasty: My sister, Empress Ma

That evening, Zhu Su immersed himself in the study of things and the pursuit of knowledge.

Zhu Di returned to the palace alone, his appearance no longer as radiant as before, but rather ashen and drab.

"I am not yet strong enough; if I were, things would change!"

These are the words left behind by Zhu Di after he left.

……

Subsequently, at Ma Wenyuan's suggestion, Zhu Su set up a free clinic in the south of the city, with His Highness Prince Wu personally acting as the doctor and his personal attendant as the manager.

Both medical consultations and medicines were provided free of charge to ordinary citizens.

All the money was sponsored by Ma Wenyuan, and Ma Wenyuan's money was sponsored by Ma Xiuying.

In no time, the reputation of Zhu Suxian Prince resounded throughout the court and the country.

As for Zhu Di?

Zhu Di did not mention war again after that.

However, it's not that a man's promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold.

According to Zhu Su, he was beaten and couldn't get out of bed.

Zhu Di was first beaten by Ma Xiuying.

The reason given was that making the uncle perform the rites was disrespectful to elders.

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard about it later, he beat him up again.

The reason given was that he dared to anger his mother, which was considered unfilial.

In short, no matter what, after two beatings, Zhu Di was bedridden for ten days to half a month.

This saved Ma Wenyuan a lot of trouble.

It is worth mentioning that Zhu Su even went back to give Zhu Di a proper medical examination.

According to Zhu Su, the study of medicine and stone is profound and should not be used indiscriminately; it must be tested before it can be used by the people.

……

After his break ended, Ma Wenyuan immediately returned to training his troops.

Ma Wenyuan changed the training plan again.

A simulated beach landing and ship control exercise is conducted daily, followed by separate training sessions in two teams.

One team, acting as the logistics group, was responsible for repairing leaks on the ship, and naturally, they practiced that as well.

Ma Wenyuan's requirement was to block the boat's tunnel in three breaths and replace the oars in ten breaths.

The second team practiced firearms and combat.

Ma Wenyuan abandoned the Ming army formation, and now this battalion of soldiers has been reorganized by him.

During an attack, five people form a unit to carry out the attack, breaking the unit into smaller groups to reduce unnecessary casualties.

At the same time, each five-man squad included a musketeer.

Ma Wenyuan did not group the musketeers together for unified command.

Instead, they were distributed among each unit.

Ma Wenyuan believes that only in this way can the navy play its role in beach assault.

If musketeers were grouped together and attacked simultaneously, wouldn't they explode?

……

The days of training passed by one by one.

Ma Wenyuan's training methods, which combined harsh discipline with incentives, made every soldier train very seriously.

After all, nobody wants to break military law, and nobody doesn't want the reward money.

It was soon the end of March.

It was also the twentieth day of Ma Wenyuan's training.

An unexpected guest arrived that day.

Yang Jing.

In his early thirties, unlike most military generals who have dark skin, Yang Jing resembled a scholar, refined and easygoing.

Even when wearing a suit of steel armor, she still maintains her elegance.

This man was a long-time follower of Zhu Yuanzhang and enjoyed his deep trust.

He participated in Guo Zixing's uprising with his father Yang Zheng, and later joined Zhu Yuanzhang.

Yang Jingqian rose through the ranks by managing ten thousand troops and repeatedly distinguished himself in battle. In the first year of the Hongwu reign, he pacified the south and helped the Ming Dynasty conquer Guangxi.

It is worth mentioning that Yang Jing died peacefully, yet not entirely peacefully.

He died peacefully because Yang Jing died young, in the fifteenth year of the Hongwu reign, and was posthumously granted the title of Duke of Rui.

The reason Yang Jing did not have a peaceful end is that even after his death, eight years later he was implicated in the Hu Weiyong case, and his viscount title was revoked.

……

"Marquis of Yingyang"

Ma Wenyuan bowed to Yang Jing.

Unlike the Commander of the Martial Guard, Yang Jing was a true and formidable general, so he readily accepted the greeting and nodded.

"Commander Ma, Commander Tang has ordered you to be assigned to the Vanguard Navy and to advance with me towards Kuizhou."

"Here you are."

Ma Wenyuan was not surprised, as most of the young nobles in the Ming Dynasty were pioneers in their first battles.

Lan Yu and Li Wenzhong are both like this.

At the same time, he also knew what Yang Jing had come for—to see if his brother-in-law, the emperor's brother-in-law, was worth using.

If it's worth it, then Yang Jing will treat himself as an ordinary centurion, and use him as he sees fit.

If it's not worth it, Ma Wenyuan won't suffer any loss; at most, he'll be "frozen out."

Don't underestimate Ma Wenyuan just because he's only a centurion, a low-ranking official with few troops under his command. He's not worth Yang Jing, the deputy general, coming in person.

But on the battlefield, who cares about such things? Aren't there countless examples of losing the big picture because of trivial matters?

If Ma Wenyuan is an incompetent fool, and that incompetent fool leads a bunch of incompetent fools to the battlefield, then if one front collapses, the whole front collapses, and that would be a complete disaster.

So it's quite normal for Yang Jing to come and see for himself.

"The Marquis of Yingyang has come at the perfect time." Ma Wenyuan stepped aside to lead the way. "There happens to be a training exercise on the river today, and I hope the Marquis of Yingyang can offer some guidance."

Yang Jing nodded noncommittally, his gaze sweeping over Ma Wenyuan's encampment.

The army was disciplined and orderly, with tents arranged neatly, weapons racks polished to a shine, and even firewood piled up in straight lines.

These details were not deliberately arranged by Ma Wenyuan, but rather were rules that had been established over the past half month and that the soldiers had become accustomed to.

Ma Wenyuan noticed that Yang Jing's gaze lingered on these details for a moment, but he didn't say anything more.

……

The drills on the river began at 7:00 AM.

Two warships set sail one after the other, forming a line on the turbulent river.

The musketeers took turns firing at targets on the shore from the bow and stern of the ship.

The swordsmen are on high alert, ready to deal with any "enemy forces" that may appear from both sides of the strait.

Formation changes, signal communication, beach landing, rapid assault—a series of maneuvers were completed seamlessly without any interruptions.

The last item is a landing assault.

The soldiers tumbled into the water from the ship's side, splitting into small groups of five in chest-deep river water. They waded forward in scattered formations, and once ashore, quickly formed combat ranks to launch an assault on their designated positions.

From launching into the water to landing, it only took the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

A river breeze blew by, carrying the smells of water and gunpowder. Ma Wenyuan stood beside Yang Jing, his expression obscured.

"Commander Ma," Yang Jing said.

"Your humble servant is here."

"The battalion of soldiers you led..." Yang Jing paused for a moment, seemingly considering his words, before finally saying with some satisfaction, "Very good, so good that they don't seem like soldiers of the Ming Dynasty."

Yang Jing recalled the bugle calls he had been hearing intermittently, and felt somewhat puzzled.

"What was that bugle call all about?"

The Ming army had always used flags, drums, and lanterns as signals, and signal cannons and gongs as communication tools.

"It was just a little trick I pulled, nothing to brag about," Ma Wenyuan explained.

"How could it be a trivial trick? This horn is so sharp that it can probably be heard from miles away. It can be used regardless of whether it's cloudy or rainy, and it's not necessarily more complicated than a flag."

Yang Jing said with a smile, "If you compile it into a book and submit it to the Emperor, it might even be disseminated throughout the army, thus making a great contribution."

"Here you go!"

……

The day after Yang Jing left, the vanguard navy set off.

Starting from Nanjing, we traveled upstream along the Jingxiang waterway towards Kuizhou.

They resupplyed in Jingxiang during the journey.

Ma Wenyuan's unit was appointed by Yang Jing as the vanguard, responsible for clearing the way for the army, probing the waters, checking for hidden reefs, and eliminating threats along the way.

As the boat passed Caishiji, Ma Wenyuan glanced back.

On the great river, the main fleet had not yet set sail, a dark mass of ships anchored in the harbor.

His two small boats had already cleaved through the waves, like two sharp knives piercing upstream.

"We sent people to scout ahead yesterday. The river is wide and flat, with no dangerous shoals, and it stretches for fifty miles ahead."

Meng Chong leaned over to report, holding a rough sketch of the river on paper.

"After passing Wuhu, the river channel gradually narrows, so we have to slow down the boat and be careful of hidden reefs."

Ma Wenyuan nodded, but to be honest, he was still somewhat uneasy.

"Order all ships to maintain distance and keep a close watch on each other. Sound the horn if anything happens."

Ma Wenyuan paused, tapping his fingers on the sword at his waist. "We're the vanguard, so let's move quickly and steadily. The main army is watching from behind."