My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 73 Zhu Yuanzhang's Choice
Seeing his father sweating profusely, Zhu Biao felt a pang of sympathy.

They actually thought of handing over the training of officials to the people, which almost led to a huge mistake.

"I think this suggestion of a period of observation is very feasible. What do you think, Father?"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Ma Yu said something very good: the power to train officials must be in the hands of the imperial court."

"The fact that he could say that shows that he really had nothing to hide."

"From now on, there's no need to deliberately investigate his identity. Just transfer those people to investigate the finance and tax departments."

Zhu Biao asked with some surprise, "Don't you want to find out about the family behind him?"

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said, "Do you really think he has a powerful family behind him?"

Zhu Biao was even more shocked: "Huh?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "We sent people to investigate for a year, but we didn't find a single clue."

"How could such a large family be wiped out so completely, leaving not a trace, even after experiencing war?"

“The Embroidered Uniform Guard investigated and found that he had been begging in Xuzhou for five years, when he was only eight or nine years old.”

“Even if he started learning from the womb, it would be impossible for him to learn so much in such a short time.”

"Moreover, how could he possibly have endured five years of begging without using his knowledge to change his life?"

Zhu Biao gradually calmed down, but more questions soon arose:

"Then where did his knowledge come from?"

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said, "I don't know. I'm afraid he himself couldn't explain this problem, so he made up a family and a group of elders."

Zhu Biao still couldn't believe it: "Fabricated?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "When we introduce ourselves, if we mention an elder..."

“They all say it’s related to my second uncle, fourth uncle, fifth uncle…”

“Think about it carefully. He only talks about his elders, but never says which elder they are specifically.”

Zhu Biao asked in confusion, "Why?"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "Because he was afraid that if he made up too many lies, one day he would forget which elder said which sentence and accidentally give himself away."

"So just say it was said by an elder, that way you'll never be found out."

Zhu Biao suddenly realized, but still found it hard to accept the fact, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

After hesitating for a long time, I finally asked the same question again:

"Don't you really care where his knowledge came from?"

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said, "I also want to know, but unless he asks for it himself, it's destined that we won't be able to find out."

Zhu Biao hesitated for a moment and said, "Why don't I just go and ask him directly?"

Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled and said, "Why is your brain not working properly today? If he were willing to tell us, would we need to fabricate a non-existent family?"

Zhu Biao was somewhat discouraged: "Then what should we do? Just leave it like this?"

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and said, "As long as he is a genuine person, as long as his knowledge is genuine, and as long as he is willing to apply his knowledge to the Ming Dynasty, that is enough."

Zhu Biao frowned and said, "But I still feel a little uneasy."

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "I used to worry about him too. I thought about his intentions every day and wondered if the people behind him were plotting against the Ming Dynasty."

"But after being in contact with him for so long, he really hasn't shown any unusual behavior."

"He is never stingy with his knowledge."

"When we encounter a problem, we don't tell you what to do, but rather we analyze the reasons why the problem arose from the beginning."

Let us find the answer ourselves.

"And he has also been helping us strengthen our control over the country."

At this point, he suddenly smiled bitterly:
"Although we keep saying that we come from a farming family, we are actually very sensitive about others talking about us about this."

"I always felt that they were mocking us for our humble origins and limited knowledge."

"We've conquered the world, so how are we any less knowledgeable than others?"

"That's why we always like to refute others. No matter what they say, we have to point out something different from them and then overwhelm them."

"That way they won't dare to disrespect us or deceive us."

"It gradually became a habit that I wanted to argue with everything I heard."

"But after spending a long time with Ma Yu, I heard him tell me so many things."

"We have to admit that our background has indeed limited our horizons, and there are many things we really don't understand."

"We can refute him and belittle him to the point of being worthless, but we can't fool ourselves."

“We can talk about other things; if someone is missing, someone else will step up.”

“But Ma Yu is different.”

"Without him, we really can't find anyone else to replace him."

"At the time, we were hesitant. Was it still worthwhile to keep dwelling on his background?"

"What's so important about his scholarship?"

"Forcing a search into his background and questioning his motives will only alienate us from his cause."

"As long as he's willing to work for us, as long as he's of one mind with us, what's wrong with treating him like he popped out of a rock?"

"This incident has finally made us make up our minds."

"Let's stop investigating. Now is the time when we need manpower. Let's put those people who are investigating his background in more useful places."

Zhu Biao was even more surprised than before; he hadn't expected his father to have thought so much.

But what followed was a deep sense of admiration:
"You trust people without reservation, Father. You are so wise. No wonder so many heroes are willing to follow you."

Zhu Yuanzhang said seriously, "There is no such thing as trusting people without reservation. People's hearts are fickle, and loyalty today does not guarantee loyalty tomorrow."

"Be careful who you hire, lest you be deceived."

Zhu Biao quickly replied, "I know, but when it's time to trust them, we have to boldly let them do things; otherwise, they'll be hesitant and often make things worse."

"Isn't that exactly what you did with General Xu and General Chang?"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "From now on, you should get along well with Ma Yu and try to win him over with your feelings."

"If your relationship could be like mine with Tiande and Boren, that would be even better."

"But remember to be careful and never remove the people monitoring him."

"And they need to be replaced regularly to prevent them from being bribed by him instead."

Zhu Biao nodded solemnly and said, "I know. Not giving him a chance to make mistakes is also for his own good."

Zhu Yuanzhang said with satisfaction, "That's right, it seems you really understand. Then we can rest assured."

The father and son chatted for a while about the art of employing people, all taught by Zhu Yuanzhang, with Zhu Biao only able to listen.

Once that topic had been discussed to a sufficient extent, Zhu Biao returned to the original subject:
"Should the resumption of the imperial examinations next year proceed as scheduled?"

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said, "Pause."

Zhu Biao asked, puzzled, "Why?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Next year we will take action against the Kong family, if Ma Yu's speculation that someone is tampering with the national treasury is true."

"We plan to do two things at the same time, and take this opportunity to kill a group of people to deter others."

"Then appease them by restarting the imperial examinations."

"In that case, the Confucian scholars will be completely at our mercy."

"I understand." Zhu Biao suddenly realized, then his eyes turned cold, and he said:
"This time, it would be best to take care of some of the gentry and clans in the southeast as well."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly and asked, "The gentry and clans in the southeast are very powerful, and they need a capable person to personally oversee them. Who do you think would be the best person to investigate?"

Zhu Biao knew he was being tested, so he reviewed the names of the high-ranking officials in the court and quickly narrowed it down to one person:
What do you think of Yang Xian?

Zhu Yuanzhang replied noncommittally, "Why send him?"

Zhu Biao said, "He used to be a prosecutor and is very familiar with how to investigate people and things."

"Jianxiao" was a temporary official position, which in the past meant temporarily taking over the duties of someone.

However, under Zhu Yuanzhang, the inspector also served other functions.

For example, he might temporarily send someone to serve as an official in the service of a general. In reality, this was to monitor the general, and everyone knew it.

Yang Xian had previously been assigned to Li Wenzhong's side, and he executed the mission perfectly.

It was because of this achievement that he was promoted to the central leadership.

Zhu Biao's statement that he had served as an inspector was actually a euphemism, implying that he had been a secret agent.

However, simply having served as a secret agent is not a sufficient reason.

Zhu Biao continued, "After my cousin commented on the heroes of the world last time, I sent someone to investigate Yang Xian and found that he was indeed a villain and a cruel official."

"Sending him to the southeast will surely allow him to carry out the mission well."

"Moreover, he had a grudge against Li Xiang and had always wanted to take his place."

"With just a little hint, I believe he will be very enthusiastic."

There was something else he didn't say: people like this wouldn't feel guilty even if they were killed to vent public anger.

But everyone naturally understands what that means.

So Zhu Yuanzhang laughed, and laughed very happily:
"Haha... Not bad, not bad. You really listened to what I told you about the way to use people. Now I can rest assured."

The father and son then discussed this topic in depth, exploring how to take action against the Kong family and how to target Confucian scholars and gentry clans in the southeast.

The chat didn't end until a general outline was established.

Zhu Biao did not stay any longer and got up to take his leave.

As he walked out of the Qianqing Palace, he let out a long breath and then smiled happily.

The matter of my cousin's background has finally come to an end.

In fact, he was the first person to investigate Ma Yu, and he has been involved in the investigation ever since.

How could one not see the flaws in it?

Based on Ma Yu's knowledge, his family must have been extremely large.

Moreover, they must frequently contact the outside world, otherwise they would not be able to collect so many books and information.

In this situation, how could there not be a trace left?

Even after the ravages of war, surely some ruins remain?
Shouldn't their neighbors also have some recollection of them?

In short, Ma Yu left too many loopholes, so many that there's no need to examine them closely; anyone who isn't an idiot can see them at a glance.

But he really liked Ma Yu.

Initially, it was because he had discovered this talent himself, and the better Ma Yu performed, the more honored he felt.

Later, he became my cousin, and we had a very good relationship.

After repeated interactions, he genuinely accepted his cousin.

He pretended not to notice the loopholes in Ma Yu's words.

But he knew very well that what he could see, his father could also see.

What was the father really thinking?

Even with his mother and himself around, he wouldn't do anything to Ma Yu.

But this can't go on forever.

Today, things finally came to a fairly good conclusion.

This finally put his mind at ease.

Thinking of this, he gazed at Ma Yu's residence and thought to himself:
Cousin, oh cousin, don't let your older cousin down.
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On the other side, watching his son leave, Zhu Yuanzhang also sighed silently.

How could he possibly trust Ma Yu completely?

But he could also tell that his wife and children had already accepted the other party.

If I keep making trouble, things will get out of control...

Forget it, why bother?

Of course, there were preconditions for him to give up investigating Ma Yu's background.

First, Ma Yu's irreplaceable nature.

He used to think that governing a country was just like that.
Do you think I don't understand history books and can't just copy what I read?

But after listening to Ma Yu's lecture, he realized that what was recorded in the history books was only superficial.

The real secrets are never written on paper.

At least it won't be written directly on paper, but hidden underwater.

Without guidance, it's really hard to grasp the knack.

Now that someone is generous with their knowledge and willing to teach them, what more could they ask for?

Secondly, since Ma Yu appeared, his family has indeed been getting better.

The eldest son is increasingly showing the qualities of a wise ruler.

He knew his second and third sons' tempers all too well; each one was more arrogant and disdainful of others than the last.

He had taught him, but it had no effect.

After spending a lot of time with Ma Yu, the second brother actually earned the title of a great hero.

Even the third brother became much more humble.

He adopted the educational approach of "first clarifying right and wrong, then teaching how to weigh things," and the other children visibly improved as well.

Thirdly, Ma Yu was indeed an orphan, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard could definitively trace his origins back five years.

Many of the refugees who fled with him had watched him grow up; this cannot be faked.

Who would be willing to leave their child in the chaos of war for five years without caring for them or letting them fend for themselves?
It's almost certain that his entire family has long since died out.

As for his extensive knowledge, that question is indeed inexplicable.

But Zhu Yuanzhang noticed another problem.

During the five years Ma Yu begged in Xuzhou, he never showed anything unusual; he was just a true beggar.

Then, many of the refugees who fled with him said that his personality changed drastically after he woke up from his coma.

Others might not notice this change; it's normal for one's temperament to change after a major disaster.

But Zhu Yuanzhang had been a monk, and he considered one possibility.

Could it be that this kid has awakened his innate wisdom?

From this perspective, all problems are easily solved.

There is no large family or many elders; all this knowledge was acquired after awakening innate wisdom.

However, the idea of ​​innate wisdom is too vague and ethereal, and it is difficult for others to believe it. They may even be regarded as an oddity.

So he fabricated a family that didn't exist.

Of course, Su Hui couldn't fully explain the mystery surrounding Ma Yu either, but he really couldn't think of a better explanation.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't want to dwell on the matter any longer.

Conversely, does it matter whether Ma Yu has such a large family behind her?

So what if they have a family? The world is already in our hands. Can they take it away?
How can a flying dragon lose when it's charging right at you?
After many internal struggles, he finally made peace with himself.

That was the end of the matter.

From then on, Ma Yu was an orphan who lost his family in the chaos of war, and was taken in as a nephew by our sister.

That being said.

The thought of Ma Yu constantly catching crickets at him made Zhu Yuanzhang furious.

Do you think we'd let you have crickets for free? Where do you think you'd put your face?

So he waited until today, when the matter of official training came out, before he took this opportunity to reveal his decision.

We decided not to stoop to your level only because we think you're somewhat useful.

If you dare to mess with us again, see how we deal with you.

(End of this chapter)