The Ming Dynasty: My sister, Empress Ma

The so-called Shuo Wang Chao refers to the meeting between Shuo Ri and Wang Ri.

At the fourth watch of the night.

Dressed neatly, Ma Wenyuan left the Marquis's residence in a carriage.

The city of Yingtian was still pitch black, with only a few lanterns flickering in the depths of the streets and alleys.

The forestry department is in charge of driving, but they don't really need him; they can just call any driver.

The forestry department was afraid of something going wrong and being held accountable by their superiors.

Therefore, do everything yourself if you can.

The Marquis's residence was not far from the Meridian Gate, and they arrived quickly.

The carriage stopped, and Ma Wenyuan got off and walked.

Since the capital was established in Yingtian in the first year of the Hongwu reign, the imperial palace has been built on the sunny side of Zhongshan Mountain.

Ma Wenyuan got off at Chengtianmen, and after entering Chengtianmen, he had to walk.

Walking on the imperial road, the night was still dark, and there were already many people hurrying along the street.

This wasn't Ma Wenyuan's first time attending the court assembly; the last time was not long ago, when it was for rewarding merits, so he was familiar with the process.

As a result, many officials along the way, especially military officers, recognized him and made way for him, greeting him as they did so.

"The Emperor's brother-in-law."

"Right Commander-in-Chief".

"My lord."

The titles were varied, and Ma Wenyuan returned each one with a cupped hand, regardless of their official rank.

There were few who were older than him, and those who were younger weren't much younger either. Those who could attend the court assembly were all officials of the fifth rank or above, and even officials of the fifth rank were not allowed to be included.

Soon they arrived at the Meridian Gate, the main southern gate of the palace and the only way for officials to pay homage at court.

You can't go in right away once you get here.

There are also certain rules.

First, one must queue up according to the regulations of the "Great Ming Ritual Collection".

The order of officials in the court was established: dukes and marquises were ranked first among civil and military officials, followed by imperial sons-in-law, and then earls. From the first rank downwards, officials were ranked according to their rank, with civil officials to the east and military officials to the west, in that order.

Ma Wenyuan was a military officer and also held the status of a duke or marquis, so he should have been placed at the forefront of the military ranks.

The censor and the official in charge of etiquette were positioned below and facing north, while the official in charge of records was positioned slightly above and behind the first rank of civil and military officials, so that they could easily observe and listen.

It's alright now, but it will be more troublesome in ten years or so, when "Etiquette Standards" is published.

The area outside the Meridian Gate was already becoming quite lively.

The officials were all chatting idly while waiting to enter.

The Grand General's Office has not yet been divided into five military general's offices.

Therefore, the Left and Right Commanders of the Grand Military Commission were the heads of the Ming Dynasty's military commission.

Currently, Li Wenzhong holds the position of Left Commander-in-Chief. Last year, he also concurrently served as the Chief Commander of the Grand Commander's Office, making him the foremost military figure in the Ming Dynasty after Zhu Yuanzhang.

Next up is Feng Sheng, the Right Vice-General, and Ma Wenyuan is also a Right Vice-General.

Logically, there shouldn't be two Right Vice-Governors, but Zhu Yuanzhang himself is the reason.

These days, who would dare to go against the vigorous and energetic Old Zhu?

Ultimately, whatever Zhu Yuanzhang said went.

It wasn't until Zhu Yuanzhang's later years that civil officials dared to step forward and test the waters.

Getting back to the main point, Li Wenzhong is no longer with us.

Logically speaking, Ma Wenyuan's official rank should be at the top of the military officer ranks, alongside Duke Feng Sheng of Song.

According to the established rules, a marquis should stand after a duke.

This makes Ma Wenyuan's position seem rather complicated.

After much deliberation, the etiquette officer decided to have Ma Wenyuan join the queue in the latter order, still in the first row, but not in the first position.

Ahead of them were Dukes such as Tang He.

Behind him were high-ranking military officers from the Grand General's Office, including the Deputy Grand General and the Vice Grand General.

In the third year of the Hongwu reign, the Assistant Commander-in-Chief was promoted to the second rank, thus clarifying the hierarchy of the Grand Commander-in-Chief's Office: Left and Right Commanders-in-Chief, Assistant Commander-in-Chief, and Vice Commander-in-Chief.

……

Suddenly, Ma Wenyuan, who was deep in thought, noticed a gaze. He turned his head and saw Feng Sheng standing beside him.

He was looking Ma Wenyuan up and down, and noticed that Ma Wenyuan yawned from time to time.

Feng Sheng couldn't help but laugh. "Your Majesty, on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month, we usually only exchange greetings and don't report on official matters. Today it won't be long."

"Yes," Ma Wenyuan replied reflexively, bowing slightly.

His gaze drifted towards the direction of the Fengtian Hall. The hall's majestic outline was revealed in the morning light, and then he yawned.

Who wouldn't feel sleepy if they got up at dawn?

Especially young people.

However, with Feng Sheng chiming in, Ma Wenyuan felt much better.

Looking back, he found that the old man in front of him was not the one he had imagined.

Instead, he was a tall, handsome, and good-looking man.

He was around thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old; if he were in later generations, he would probably be considered a top-tier celebrity among older men.

"The Emperor's brother-in-law hasn't visited the Grand Commander's Mansion yet these days."

Feng Sheng's smile remained unchanged. "Your brother-in-law still needs to pay more attention. Now that Duke Cao is in Shu, I'm the only one in the Grand Commander's Office, and I'm really too busy to handle everything."

"I'm not going."

Ma Wenyuan spoke very directly, and he was quite aware of his own contributions.

Although Lao Zhu forcibly elevated him to this position.

But how could he possibly control those arrogant and unruly soldiers? For Ma Wenyuan, the position of Right Vice-General was more of an honorary title.

"With the Duke of Cao and the Duke of Song in the Grand General's Office, why would I need to interfere?"

After speaking, Ma Wenyuan still felt somewhat emotional.

Feng Sheng is now in his prime, and his personality is much better.

This perfectly fits the image of a humble and dignified person.

Feng Sheng often said, "My life's purpose is to be loyal to the emperor and filial to my parents, and I do not seek wealth or honor."

In retrospect, his words and actions are consistent.

What puzzled Ma Wenyuan was how Feng Sheng, who now seemed like a perfect man, could be described as arrogant and complacent in his later years.

Of course, this is only what it seems at the moment; there are no perfect people in this world.

Even now, Feng Sheng belongs to the type of person who makes no major mistakes but constantly makes minor ones.

Even the military general that Old Zhu scolded the most.

Well... this one didn't have a good ending either; he was killed in the 28th year of the Hongwu reign.

Feng Sheng shook his head after hearing Ma Wenyuan's words, but did not continue to offer advice.

After exchanging a few casual words, Ma Wenyuan and Feng Sheng consciously stopped talking.

We need to line up and go in.

Feng Sheng consciously walked to his position at the very front.

The ceremonial officer began to guide the civil and military officials to their positions.

Although all the civil and military officials had already lined up as usual, the formalities still had to be followed.

Otherwise, what's the point of having those etiquette officers?

Zhong Sanming is no longer with us.

That rule was established in the fourteenth year of the Hongwu reign (1389), and it is currently the fourth year of the Hongwu reign (1389), so there is no such rule now.

The current regulations still follow the system established in the third year of the Hongwu reign. On the first and fifteenth days of each month, officials wear leather caps and robes and ascend the Fengtian Hall, while all officials stand facing each other on the east and west sides of the Danchi (a platform for displaying official robes).

Officials from the Department of Ceremonies began moving through the crowd, adjusting the ranks.

Ma Wenyuan was no longer sleepy and began to observe his surroundings.

His position allowed him to see the head row of civil officials perfectly.

Standing at the front at this moment are Xu Da, the Duke of Wei, and Li Shanchang, the Duke of Han.

Xu Da also saw him and nodded slightly to Ma Wenyuan.

Ma Wenyuan shifted his gaze.

Standing behind him was Fu Youde, the general who made the greatest contribution in the campaign to pacify Shu. After noticing Ma Wenyuan's gaze, Fu Youde grinned.

"How are you, uncle Guo?"

"Hello." Ma Wenyuan blinked. He had heard Fu Youde's name many times, but he didn't have much of a relationship with him.

Ma Wenyuan expressed his regret for the Marquis of Yingchuan, who was the most accomplished person after the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

He died at a banquet that was a cleverly planned trap.

He brought his son's head before Zhu Yuanzhang, drew his sword and committed suicide, and his whole family was exiled.

It wasn't until the Chongzhen Emperor's reign that this general was exonerated and posthumously granted the title of Prince of Lijiang.