My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 110 Squid
When engaging in exchanges with civilizations outside our own territory, we inevitably have to face the impact of foreign knowledge.

Although China was still very confident at this time, it could not ignore the influence of foreign knowledge.

What's that saying again? If you don't value the public opinion arena, someone else will take it over.

In this respect, China has indeed been too magnanimous.

Apart from the White Lotus Rebellion and other openly rebellious sects being banned, the others were truly allowed to spread freely.

Even after Confucianism became dominant, it would at most criticize dissenting ideas.

There was absolutely no intention to persecute them.

This open-minded attitude stems from both absolute cultural confidence and a lack of awareness of the complexities of ideological struggles.

However, this situation often leads to a consequence: the public opinion front collapses.

The consequences are such that if you write a novel and dare to explain the reasons for the darkness of medieval Europe, it will be censored.

Therefore, certain ideas must be kept out.

Especially that group that has been wandering for over two thousand years and openly expressed the opinion that everyone in the world except them should be eliminated.

We must be extra vigilant and guard against them at all costs, and absolutely not let them get close.

Previously, Ma Yu was aware of the problem but didn't know exactly what to do about it.

Pu Shougeng gave him inspiration.

This family was parasitic on the Song Dynasty, growing up under its patronage.

Later, he chose to betray the Song Dynasty and even massacred three thousand members of the Song imperial family.

That's the best example.

If the Song Dynasty could be parasitized and betrayed, why shouldn't the Ming Dynasty be afraid?
Zhu Yuanzhang would probably be the first to jump out and support him.

As for Pu Shougeng's background, who he was is not important; what is important is that he came from the West.

that's enough.

However, these are just scattered ideas at the moment. To determine exactly how to build the Great Wall of Ideas, we need to understand the current situation in detail.

Only in this way can you more accurately strike the opponent's vital points.
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For the next period of time, Ma Yu's days became quite fulfilling.

Every two or three days, he would go to the temple on the mountain to exchange knowledge with Xi Yingzhen and Yao Yunxin, the master and disciple.

He mainly shared some of his fragmented thoughts with his master and apprentice.

Then the master and apprentice would share their understanding with him, and they would discuss the feasibility together.

Finally, the master and apprentice combined traditional Chinese culture to organize it into a framework.

Because of Ma Yu's involvement, the most difficult new ideas for others became the simplest.

The challenge is to connect these new concepts together to form a coherent and self-consistent ideological system.

We also need to use rigorous logic to clearly demonstrate each concept.

The key is that it must be closely integrated with traditional Chinese culture, rather than being created out of thin air.

Furthermore, Ma Yu made two other requests:
"It must be simple and easy to understand, and the result of the argument must be affirmative, and there must be no ambiguity."

Faced with this unprecedented task, even though both the master and apprentice were learned scholars well-versed in the three teachings, they were still overwhelmed.

Fortunately, the more challenging the situation, the more motivated they become.

Zhu Yuanzhang kept a close eye on the progress here, and the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) would give him a report every day.

If there's anything he doesn't understand or know, he'll call Ma Yu over to explain it.

However, one thing that pleased Ma Yu was that many things he couldn't understand at the time were not directly opposed.

After a few times, everyone had crossed each other's bottom line.

For Zhu Yuanzhang, as long as they did not oppose imperial power, everything else was negotiable.

Therefore, Ma Yu strictly adhered to this tacit understanding, never crossing the line or even touching it.

Besides communicating with the master and apprentice, Ma Yu would give a lesson to the 30 core members of the small group every few days.

These are our most important allies for the future, so we must nurture them carefully.

In addition to mathematics, Ma Yu also arranged courses in history and economics for them.

Although it's called economics, it's actually based on the "Discourses on Salt and Iron" and explained in conjunction with history.

To help them better understand the economy, Zhu Shuang would occasionally invite businessmen over to explain business operation models.

Not only that, he also found some accountants through Xi Juncai and Deng Botong to teach everyone accounting knowledge.

In short, he was cultivating these people as future reform leaders.

The parents of these members were overjoyed and would frequently send local specialties to the Ma family.

Ma Yu didn't stand on ceremony and accepted everything.

As for the other members of the small group, they naturally understood what was going on.

Some people say it's their duty, but they can't stand the disappointment and gradually drift away from everyone else.

Some people were already mentally prepared, so they were quite at ease.

Of course, most people didn't take it seriously, since the small group was truly loyal to Zhu Biao.

As long as he is here, these people will not leave.

The third thing Ma Yu did was to accompany Chang Yuchun and his son in reading military books.

Then he almost had a heart attack.

This father and son are both incredibly dull-witted.

Chang Yuchun was alright, after all, he was a general who had been through many battles and had rich practical experience.

He could quickly understand the contents of the "Martial Arts Essentials" by applying them to real-world situations.

The difficult part is "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu. It's not that he can't learn it, but rather that he learns it to death.

It's like a math problem; you know how to solve a certain type of problem.

But the same question, if approached differently, becomes impossible.

To put it bluntly, they lack comprehension and are unable to truly grasp its essence.

Ma Yu had no choice but to let him go and read the Spring and Autumn Annals first.

As mentioned before, the Spring and Autumn Annals is a historical record, but it describes wars in great detail.

Not only that, it also specifically recorded the overall changes in the situation before and after the war.

And the reactions of various countries touched upon some strategic aspects.

While not as comprehensive as Sun Tzu's Art of War, it can still teach people some macro-level concepts.

The key is that they are all real-world examples, making them easier to understand.

First, understand the Spring and Autumn Annals, then you can learn Sun Tzu's Art of War.

What left Ma Yu speechless was Chang Mao.

He even struggled to learn the essentials of martial arts.

"Now you are the commander-in-chief, leading your troops to attack a city."

"This city was built against the mountain, and there was a fortress on the mountain where an army was stationed."

"Those inside the fortress have a commanding view and can observe your troop movements."

"Now, how do you plan to attack this city?"

Chang Mao said without hesitation, "Let the deputy general lead a feigned attack on the city, while I will personally lead the attack on the fortress on the mountain."

"By removing the fortress, the enemy will be unable to observe our army's movements, and it will also damage the morale of the enemy troops in the city."

"At this point, the lieutenant will feign an attack on the city and launch a fierce assault, which will surely allow us to capture it in one fell swoop."

He was quite pleased with himself after saying that.

Ma Yu was speechless. What are you so smug about?
Chang Yuchun's face immediately darkened, and he slapped him on the head:
"You bastard, don't ever say you're my son again."

Chang Mao was stunned by the beating and asked defiantly, "What's wrong? What's wrong with what I did?"

Seeing that Chang Yuchun was about to curse again, Ma Yu quickly stopped him and said:

"The tactics are fine, the problem is the task of taking down the fortress. Sending a general to do it would have been enough, why did you have to go yourself?"

"You are the commander-in-chief, the backbone of the army."

"If our leader abandons the army to attack a fortress, what will the soldiers think?" "What if something unexpected happens at this time, and you're not there? Who will handle it?"

After listening to Ma Yu's analysis, Chang Mao gradually realized where his problem lay.

All the defiance on his face vanished, replaced by shame as he said:
"Yes...it was my oversight."

"I only think that the fortress is high up and easy to defend, so I, as the commander-in-chief, will personally lead the attack and the morale of the soldiers will be boosted."

"They forgot that a commander cannot leave the army without permission..."

Chang Yuchun's expression softened a bit: "So you still remember you're the commander-in-chief? That's infuriating!"

Ma Yu reassured him, "It's not too late to know now, and you won't make the same mistake again."

Why did he give this example?
In the fifteenth year of the Hongwu reign in my previous life, the Ming army attacked Yunnan.

Lan Yu then took Chang Mao with him and gave him a chance to make a contribution.

He was tasked with leading troops to attack a city built against a mountain, on which stood a fortress...

Chang Mao then ordered his deputy to lead troops to attack the city, while he went to destroy the fortress.

Although the city was successfully captured, Chang Mao became the target of ridicule.

The crucial point is that he was completely unaware of his own abilities, and went around showing off his bravery to others, turning himself into a complete clown.

Lan Yu tried to persuade him, but he argued back.

Finally, Lan Yu couldn't stand his nephew any longer and sent him back to Yingtian under some pretext.

Ma Yu used this example to see if he would make the same choice.

All I can say is that he truly lives up to Chang Mao's reputation.

However, things haven't completely changed; at least now he knows he's admitted his mistake.

As for the reason, it is most likely the result of Chang Yuchun's teachings by example.

It can only be said that parental education is truly very important.

I'm not afraid of children being slow-witted; I'm afraid they won't admit their mistakes.

Chang Mao is now aware of his mistakes, so there is still hope for him.

This gave Ma Yu some motivation to continue teaching.

But talent doesn't improve with attitude, and he still found it very difficult to learn military strategy.

Ma Yu went to great lengths to teach him.

The content of the Military Classics was too dry, so I searched through historical books for classic battles and incorporated military strategy knowledge into them to help him understand them.

Chang Yuchun and Consort Chang witnessed all of this and were even more grateful to Ma Yu.

The Chang family can never repay this debt of gratitude.

Ma Yu didn't think too much about it; the process of teaching others was also a learning experience for him.

This also gave him an understanding of military strategy.

Although it's just theoretical knowledge, at least I'm no longer a complete novice.

One day, while organizing the teaching materials, he suddenly discovered...

Holy crap, the Thirty-Six Stratagems?
I looked at the lesson plan again, still in disbelief...

Honey trap?
Secretly attack Chencang?

Making noises in the east and attacking in the west?

Holy crap, that really is the Thirty-Six Stratagems.

I actually wrote down the Thirty-Six Stratagems?
Ma Yu himself was shocked. He had only intended to teach his students some classic battles, but he had accidentally created a military treatise.
Of course, the content of his teaching materials is rather scattered and has not formed a systematic whole.

Outsiders couldn't even make out the appearance of a military treatise.

But he was a time traveler who had read the Thirty-Six Stratagems, so he naturally knew what was going on.

Organize these cases, summarize and refine the content, and then organize them into a systematic framework.

It is a military treatise.

Of course, this military treatise is not entirely the same as the Thirty-Six Stratagems of the previous life.

But the mode and kernel are no different.

The thought that he could actually write a military treatise and that history would add another label to him as a military strategist filled Ma Yu with excitement.

He didn't hesitate and immediately began to organize and revise the document.

At this very moment, Zhu Yuanzhang issued an edict ordering the Ministry of Rites to verify military merits and prepare to bestow titles upon the founding heroes.

The news caused a huge sensation as soon as it was released.

Everyone is discussing who should be granted what title.

Those who believed they were entitled to be enfeoffed were even more excited.

What's the point of risking your life? Isn't it just for a secure future for your wife and children?

It has finally been achieved.

Correspondingly, the morale of the troops was high, and good news kept coming.

Verifying military merits is a very troublesome task and cannot be completed in just a few days.

Prior to this, Zhu Yuanzhang first appointed his nine sons as kings.

This is the obvious answer to the question, so naturally no one will say anything about it.

However, a minor setback occurred, which was caused by Zhu Shuang and Ma Yu.

Let's start with Zhu Shuang.

Zhu Yuanzhang bestowed upon him the title of Qin, but he said he wanted a fiefdom closer to the sea, so how about the title of Prince of Yan?

Zhu Yuanzhang was quite speechless: "The title and the fief have nothing to do with each other. You brothers will be enfeoffed separately in the future."

Zhu Shuang was still worried: "If we are to guard the frontier in the future, you must send me to Beiping."

"I want to personally conquer Liaodong and wipe out all the threats there."

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't think much of it, assuming that he had listened to Ma Yu's previous lectures.

They believed that the greatest danger to the Central Plains dynasties came from Liaodong, which is why they wanted to go there.

Not only was he not angry, but he was also very pleased.

This son is filial; he knows how to share his father's responsibilities.

Then he patted his chest and guaranteed that if you were needed to guard the frontier, you would definitely be sent to Beiping.

Poor Zhu Xiaosi had no idea that his original home in the world had been taken away by his second brother.

He was showing off to his sweetheart at that moment.

I've been granted the title of King, the King of Yan!

Xu Miaoyun was naturally very happy; she was now firmly in her position as a princess.

The controversy surrounding Ma Yu wasn't actually that big; it was simply that Zhu Yuanzhang allowed him to inherit the title of Grandfather Ma.

However, since Ma Taigong was the King of Xu, as a living person of a different surname, he naturally could not be granted the title of king.

Therefore, he inherited the title after being demoted, and became the Duke of Xu.

Fortunately, he was a founding duke, which meant that his descendants would not have to be demoted when inheriting the title.

This wouldn't normally be a big deal, since Ma Yu was Empress Ma's adopted nephew from a previous generation and inherited the ancestral lineage of Ma Taigong.

The problem lies in the timing of inheriting the title.

This time, the investiture is for a prince, and with a relative of the empress in the middle, it seems quite unusual.

This is widely believed to be a sign that Ma Yu is favored.

Immediately, the gates of the Ma residence were once again filled with a line of people delivering gifts.

However, Ma Yu was not too happy; he didn't care much about titles and such.

It's not that he's aloof, but rather that he has higher goals.

It was at this time that news of his writing of military treatises reached Zhu Yuanzhang's ears.

(End of this chapter)