My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 64 Three Large Tiled Houses

The next day, Ma Ye returned from the main hall with news of Song Lian.

Three days later, he took a day off and waited at home for Young Master Ma to arrive.

He specifically chose a day off; it seems this old man is well-prepared and won't be easy to deal with.

However, Ma Yu wasn't going to try anything funny this time; he wanted to have a serious talk with Song Lian about some issues.

So I don't feel any pressure.

He then inquired about Ma Ye's studies at the main hall, and found that he had a very solid foundation.

Actually, this is a pointless statement. Perhaps because of him, Song Lian took great care of Ma Ye.

Upon learning of Ma Yezhi's Analects, he gifted him his early reading notes.

This is tantamount to announcing that this person is my disciple.

With his personal guidance and Ma Ye's own talent, Ma Ye made very rapid progress.

The bullying he feared at school did not happen, which saved him a lot of worry.

However, he still gave a word of advice: "If you encounter any problems in the main hall in the future, go to Chang Mao and tell him that I asked you to find him."

Ma Ye hesitated for a moment before saying, "I have no connection with Young Master Chang..."

Ma Yu laughed and said, "You just need to go find him; he wouldn't dare refuse to help."

Ma Ye believed him unconditionally, and upon hearing his words, immediately put aside his concerns:
"I see."

Ma Yu patted him on the shoulder and said, "Go on, study hard."

After he left, Ma Yu went to the study to begin preparing for his meeting with Song Lian.

The next day, he went to Kunning Palace and found Zhu Di acting suspiciously as soon as he entered.

So I walked up behind him and gently patted his shoulder.

"Ah..." Zhu Di screamed in fright, kicked off the ground and jumped a long distance away, then assumed a defensive posture.

Upon seeing that it was Ma Yu, he said somewhat angrily:
"Cousin, why are you scaring people like this?"

Ha, this kid is turning the tables on me.

Ma Yu looked at him scrutinizingly and asked, "I also want to ask you, what are you doing sneakily?"

Zhu Di glanced in a certain direction subconsciously, then quickly denied it:
"No, don't talk nonsense. I didn't do anything sneaky."

Ma Yu was even more certain that this kid had done something wrong, and interrogated him:

"You won't tell, huh? Then come with me to see your aunt and see what she has to say."

Zhu Di panicked immediately: "No, no, no, cousin, I was wrong, please don't tell my mother."

Ma Yu pretended to be serious and said, "Tell me what you're doing first, just in case you're doing something bad..."

Zhu Di quickly said, "No, no, it's not a bad thing, it's... I've come to see Madam Xu."

Ma Yu was very surprised. Did this kid become so clever so early?

No, we need to interrogate him properly.

He didn't directly ask what she wanted, but instead pretended not to believe her:
"Madam Xu? What do you want with her? You're definitely lying to me."

"Being so dishonest, he must be doing something bad."

"Come on, let's go see Auntie together."

Zhu Di was indeed anxious: "Really, really, I really came to find her."

Ma Yu asked with some skepticism, "What could you possibly want with her?"

Zhu Di suddenly said somewhat awkwardly, "Yesterday when I was practicing riding, I accidentally pulled her off the horse. I wanted to check if she was alright."

Ma Yu suddenly realized that's how it was.

Zhu Yuanzhang firmly believed that having many skills was never a bad thing, so he taught his princes and princesses everything, including riding and archery, which were part of their daily lessons.

Consort Chang and Xu Miaoyun, among others, came from military families and were skilled in archery and horsemanship from a young age.

The key point is that Empress Ma raised them as daughters-in-law, and in addition to studying and doing needlework, they also learned martial arts.

Zhu Di and Xu Miaoyun were of similar age, so it was normal for them to spar when practicing martial arts.

I guess he accidentally pulled her off the horse while she was practicing archery yesterday.

Thinking about this, Ma Yu couldn't help but wonder if this was how the two of them got together in their past life.
That must not affect their marriage.

So he said, "Hey, it's no big deal. Why are you acting so suspiciously? Are you embarrassed?"

"This is a legitimate thing to do. You can go there openly and honestly. If you try to do it secretly, people will misunderstand you."

Zhu Di scratched his head and asked, "Are you really alright?"

Ma Yu chuckled and said, "You're just a little kid, do you have that ability? What could you possibly do?"

Zhu Di clearly knew what he was talking about, and his face immediately turned red. He stammered for a long time, unable to say a word.

Ma Yu chuckled inwardly. The young Yongle Emperor was quite naive, wasn't he?

After that, he took Zhu Di with him to see Empress Ma.

Empress Ma seemed to have anticipated his arrival and was not surprised at all.

I was actually a little surprised that the two of them came together:
"What are you..."

Ma Yu smiled and said, "Where is Madam Xu? My cousin has come to visit her."

Empress Ma's eyes darted around, and she said, "Xu girl just went out, Fourth Prince, you go find her yourself."

"Remember to spend more time with her outside; your cousin and I have something to discuss."

Zhu Di didn't think much of it and followed the direction she pointed.

After he left, Ma Yu suddenly smiled and said, "My cousin and Madam Xu are quite a good match."

These words struck a chord with Empress Ma, who immediately smiled and said:
"Haha, you think so too? Then it seems I wasn't just randomly matchmaking."

Recalling Xu Miaoyun's personality, Ma Yu joked:

"I'm afraid my cousin will lose his authority as a husband in the future."

Empress Ma laughed and said, "The fourth prince is unruly, so we should find someone to discipline him."

Then she looked Ma Yu up and down and said, "You're not young anymore, it's time to find a girl to settle down with. Do you have someone you like?"

Ma Yu shook her head and said, "Getting married too early is bad for your health, and children born to young parents also tend to have poor health."

"In our family, the men all get married after their coming-of-age ceremony, and the women get married after they turn sixteen."

"I'm still a long way from being crowned, so I'm not in a hurry to get married."

Empress Ma looked thoughtful and said, "There's such a rule?"

"Then let's wait a bit longer. If you find a girl you like, let me know and I'll help you choose."

"If you don't find someone you like, I'll help you find a virtuous girl to marry when you reach a certain age."

Ma Yu grinned and said, "I'm a rather materialistic person; I just like beautiful and virtuous women."

"When my aunt is helping me choose a marriage partner, she always makes sure to check if the match meets these two criteria first."

He paused for a moment, then emphasized:

"Especially their appearance, you must look carefully, and you absolutely cannot accept those who are ugly."

Empress Ma said, both amused and exasperated, "You little rascal, you're asking for a beating."

After chatting for a while, Ma Yu finally revealed the purpose of her visit:
“An elder once told me a theory called three large brick houses.”

Empress Ma asked curiously, "Three large brick houses? What does that mean?"

Ma Yu explained, "The goal of an ordinary person's lifelong struggle is to build three large brick houses."

"Before these three large brick houses were built, he would save money and work hard."

"When he has worked hard for most of his life and built these three large brick houses, his life goal will be achieved."

"He will relax completely and then lie down."

“He would think, I’ve worked so hard in the first half of my life and achieved my goals, so I should enjoy the rest of my life.”

Having said that, he changed the subject and said:

"This applies to ordinary people as well as emperors and generals."

"This is why many emperors were diligent and cared for their people in the first half of their lives, but suddenly became senile in their later years."

He would think that I have been cautious and prudent for most of my life, and that I have governed the country so well.

I'm about to die, so what's wrong with enjoying myself a little?
"This phenomenon is known in my elders as the 'three large brick houses theory'."

Empress Ma initially agreed wholeheartedly, then found herself both amused and exasperated. The name was far too common.

But I must say, it's really down-to-earth.

Are you trying to persuade us not to fall into the three large brick houses?

Ma Yu shook his head and said, "No, I meant the nobles."

"The nobles of the Ming Dynasty were mostly of low birth. They were good at fighting, but most of them did not understand the way of governance."

"They initially joined the rebel army to survive, but now they're doing it to secure titles and privileges for their wives and children."

"That's all."

“I have had a lot of contact with the children of noble families and found that most of them are unaware of the responsibilities they bear and have no clear plan for the future.”

"They generally believed that once the Ming Dynasty unified the world, they could rely on their fathers' achievements and live off their past glory."

"This is still considered good; many even aspire to lord it over others in the future."

"This is definitely not a good thing for the Ming Dynasty."

Empress Ma's expression also turned serious, something she had never noticed before.

Or rather, she hadn't even considered that possibility.

Not only her, but even Zhu Yuanzhang hadn't thought of it.

Only after Ma Yu reminded him did he suddenly realize what was happening.

Whether the court acknowledges it or not, for the next fifty or even a hundred years, the core power of Ming politics will be the noble families.

But they never considered whether the nobles were capable of shouldering this heavy responsibility.

If we can't shoulder the responsibility, it will be a huge disaster.

So, given the current performance of these nobles, are they capable of shouldering this responsibility?

Empress Ma immediately crossed herself out in her mind.

She had no doubt about Ma Yu's words.

Although no investigation has been conducted, we can get a glimpse of the capabilities of the founding nobles by looking at Zhu Yuanzhang and himself.

With this in mind, how could she possibly feel at ease?

"Thanks to your reminder, otherwise, if the problem had come to light in the future, I don't know how serious the consequences would have been."

Ma Yu just smiled and didn't say anything. Haven't I reminded her enough?

I can already imagine what kind of nickname future generations will give me:

The chief architect of the Ming Dynasty.

Come to think of it, it’s quite exciting.

Then, Empress Ma asked, "Do you have a solution?"

Ma Yu nodded and said, "What I'm doing now is finding a solution."

Empress Ma suddenly realized and said, "I thought you gathered so many people to build connections, but I never expected it was for this purpose."

"Your aunt has wronged you and should apologize to you."

Ma Yu laughed and said, "No, there is indeed a reason why I brought them together."

"But building connections is also a major reason, so you're not entirely wrong about me."

Empress Ma laughed and said, "You're quite frank, young man. Tell me specifically what you plan to do."

Ma Yu said seriously, "Preaching is not very effective and can easily arouse their rebellious mentality."

“Establishing a special school is not appropriate at the moment; the best approach is to teach by example.”

"Influenced by my cousin, Chang Sheng, and me, many people have set clear goals and hope to make a name for themselves in the future."

"After all, the three of us are not officially recognized and our influence is limited."

“I was thinking, why don’t we have my cousin go there every now and then?”

"I instill certain principles in people through conversation and laughter."

"Moreover, since the Crown Prince has joined the organization, other nobles and officials will certainly let their sons and grandsons participate as well."

"Then it will be able to influence even more people."

This would also help Zhu Biao cultivate his princeling faction, making it a perfect solution.

However, specifically emphasizing the princelings always carries the suspicion of sowing discord between fathers and sons.

So he didn't say it.

But everyone's smart enough to understand what that means.

Empress Ma nodded slightly and said, "That's not necessarily a bad thing, but we need to carefully consider what to say."

Loyalty to the emperor and love for the country, care for the people, and abiding by the law are all things that must be mentioned, but there's no need to specifically bring them up.

She said what needs to be considered is how to help the children of noble families set goals.

If the goal of "three large brick houses" cannot be established, simply telling them to be loyal, filial, benevolent, and righteous will not solve the fundamental problem.

Ma Yu said, "That depends on you and His Majesty."

"Tell your cousin what you hope the Ming Dynasty will become in the future."

Empress Ma sighed, "The problem is that we are both actually quite confused."

Ma Yu smiled and said, "No rush. Anyway, it will be quite a while before we unify the world. You can take your time to consider it."

"But now we can let my cousin go out more often and help everyone get used to it."

"At that time, whatever he does will not seem out of place."

Empress Ma nodded, then suddenly said:
"Do whatever you want without worrying that we will doubt you."

Ma Yu said, "I'm relieved to hear you say that."

Why did he suddenly propose the "three large brick houses" theory? And why did he want Zhu Biao to participate more in small organizations?
They were afraid of causing Zhu Yuanzhang to misunderstand.

After all, it's one thing for you to befriend the second generation, but now you're openly teaching them math.

This is unusual.

It looks like they're cultivating a trusted confidant.

The key issue is that you're cultivating the sons of noble families.

Any emperor would have become suspicious.

But when Zhu Biao joined in the teaching, all the problems disappeared.

The small organization became a tool for Zhu Biao to win over the second generation.

The hidden dangers will naturally disappear.

Moreover, Zhu Biao's joining will not affect Ma Yu's plan to cultivate talent.

His involvement actually attracts more second-generation members to join the organization, making it easier for Ma Yu to discover talent.

It can be said to serve multiple purposes.

Now that Empress Ma has reassured him, it means he made the right move.

The two then discussed the education of nobles, and Empress Ma shared many of her thoughts.

She hadn't thought about this issue before, but now that she knows, she can naturally think of many ways to deal with it.

Ma Yu didn't say much.

As mentioned earlier, it wouldn't make much sense to say anything more before Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma determined what kind of Ming Dynasty they wanted.

When discussing education, one cannot help but mention Song Lian.

When the topic of him came up again, Ma Yu took the opportunity to change the subject:

"To be honest, Mr. Song asked me to come to his house in three days, and I'm still feeling a bit nervous."

Empress Ma clearly already knew about this and wasn't surprised; she simply smiled and said:
"This is unlike you. Back when you were in jail, you left Mr. Song speechless."

Ma Yu chuckled and said, "That's different. Back then, I was deliberately trying to outwit someone who wasn't paying attention."

“Mr. Song is prepared this time, so it will be difficult for me to fool him again.”

Empress Ma neither confirmed nor denied, but instead asked:
Have you decided what you want to say to him?

Ma Yu paused for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Confucianism is sick, and I want to talk to him about whether it can be cured."

(End of this chapter)