My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 99 Zhu Biao: Father, you're too naive.

That evening, Empress Ma stayed at the Ma residence, and Zhu Gang, Zhu Di, and several others also stayed to accompany her.

Only Zhu Biao, as the crown prince, was required to attend court and returned to the palace before curfew.

He did not return directly to the Eastern Palace, but instead went to the Qianqing Palace to see Zhu Yuanzhang first.

Zhu Yuanzhang was surrounded by various documents, and his face was extremely grim.

The eunuchs around them kept their heads down, not daring to breathe.

Upon seeing him enter, Zhu Yuanzhang subconsciously glanced outside and then revealed a look of disappointment.

Zhu Biao naturally knew what he was looking at, so he explained Ma Yu's condition and the imperial physician's diagnosis in detail.

Finally, it was mentioned that Empress Ma stayed at the Ma residence, waiting for Ma Yu to wake up.

Zhu Yuanzhang clearly didn't want to talk about it anymore. After a moment of silence, he changed the subject:

"Has the second son talked to you about the finance and tax matters?"

Zhu Biao nodded: "My second brother told me about it, but he didn't explain it clearly."

Zhu Yuanzhang picked out the summary scroll and threw it to him, saying, "Take a look."

Even though he already knew there were problems with the finances and taxes, Zhu Biao was still extremely angry after reading the detailed intelligence:
"These people... are lawless."

Zhu Yuanzhang did not join in the cursing, because he had already been cursing all day.

So after Zhu Biao finished reading, he asked:

"What do you think should be done about this?"

Zhu Biao said tactfully, "The most important thing right now is to unify the country; it is not advisable to start a major war."

He was still a little uneasy after speaking, knowing his father's temperament and that he would most likely not agree to this somewhat 'weak' approach.

They might even give themselves a good scolding.

To his surprise, Zhu Yuanzhang was not angry at all; instead, he praised him, saying:
"There are priorities. Solve the most difficult problems first, and then go back to solve the smaller ones."

"It's good that you have this understanding."

Zhu Biao breathed a sigh of relief, but also realized that he might have underestimated his father.

How could her father not understand a principle that she herself already knew?

I was worrying for nothing.

In the past, I would never have had such doubts.

So, when did I begin to doubt my father's abilities?

The answer points to one person: Ma Yu.

Since taking his lectures and gaining a broader understanding of humanities and history, the brilliance of my father in my heart has begun to fade.

Of course, this decline does not mean that it has disappeared.

Despite his humble origins, he still considered his father a very capable person.

This impression is more rational than it was before, which had a touch of divinity.

At this moment, he suddenly understood why his father had so many grievances against Ma Yu.

Simply put, Ma Yu shattered his omnipotent and glorious image, damaging his 'supreme' status.

Most people are not happy when their authority is challenged.

but……

Understanding does not equate to support.

It's normal to feel unhappy when someone makes fun of you to your face; the key is how you handle it.

Emperor Wen of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang are the true role models, while my father is just... stubborn and self-willed.

In the past, he wouldn't have dared to think like that.

Even if some bad thoughts arise, they will feel guilty and feel that they have violated filial piety.

For example, he had doubts about his father because of the matter of the iron certificate, and he felt so guilty that he couldn't sleep at the time.

But now...

He can now judge his father's character without any psychological burden.

Zhu Yuanzhang had no idea that such a simple question would make his son think so much.

At this moment, he was filled with joy. With such a successor, the future of the Ming Dynasty was promising.

Considering the second son's reliable approach to handling matters, the eldest son will surely be even more outstanding.

Therefore, he decided to involve Zhu Biao further in national affairs.

Of course, another reason is that he needs a reliable helper for such a big matter.

So he said, "The matter of finance and taxation is far more complicated than you think."

Zhu Biao asked in confusion, "Isn't someone targeting mathematics, trying to sabotage the training of accounting officials, and disrupt the financial and tax system?"

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said, "Things are not that simple."

After that, he told Zhu Biao all his guesses.

The ultimate goal is Confucianism.

“Confucianism is becoming a religion; they want to seize control of the state, and disrupting finance and taxation is just one of their methods.”

After listening to his analysis, Zhu Biao couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

In the past, he definitely wouldn't have believed it.

How could so many people possibly be united and not be exposed?

However, having listened to so many of Ma Yu's lectures, I developed preconceived notions.

In addition, the fiscal and tax system is indeed rotten, and officials have woven a huge web of corruption.

There are preconceived notions, and there are facts.

Despite some lingering doubts, he was generally inclined to believe it.

Taking a deep breath and suppressing his anger, he asked:
How do you plan to handle this matter?

Zhu Yuanzhang countered with, "What do you think should be done?"

Zhu Biao pondered for a long time before saying, "I think this matter should not be publicized too much."

"It can eliminate hidden dangers little by little without making a sound."

"For example, we pretended not to know about their plans to seize power and simply viewed the tax and finance matters as a case of corruption."

"In the name of corruption, take down a group of them."

"Then find another excuse to launch a new round of attacks."

"In this way, it will not arouse their suspicion, and it will not cause a fierce backlash."

"Once we've weakened them considerably, we'll strike and finish them off in one fell swoop."

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said, "Your method seems sound, but it still lacks an understanding of the cruelty of power struggles."

"And you don't even realize where the fundamental problem lies."

"The biggest problem is that Confucianism is becoming a religion."

"We are not facing a few corrupt officials, but the entire Confucian school."

What is Confucianism's greatest strength?

"They are the ones who have mastered knowledge and controlled education."

"As long as this point is not addressed, no matter how much we crack down, we will not be able to fundamentally solve this problem."

"You can find excuses to weaken them, but they're not stupid."

"If you sense something is wrong, shouldn't you know to lie low?"

"We've guarded against this for two or three generations, but will our descendants be as clear-headed as we are?"

"If we don't address this problem at its root, they will succeed sooner or later."

Zhu Biao looked thoughtful: "You want to use the method your cousin mentioned to split and reform Confucianism? And then attack the stubborn conservatives?"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly. He was now somewhat sensitive to Ma Yu, but he had to admit it:
"We've thought about it for a long time, but we haven't found a more suitable solution yet."

"We've already met the monk Daoyan that he mentioned before."

"His scholarship is truly profound, only slightly inferior to that of Song Lian and others."

"And he is indeed, as Ma Yu said, somewhat unconventional."

He described it as something understated, but the process was actually far more complicated than that.

At first, he only sent people to monitor Dao Yan, but did not kidnap him.

The reason is simple: he simply didn't believe that as the emperor, he couldn't find a suitable person to do the job.

But reality soon showed him that in this matter, the emperor's status didn't really play a significant role.

It's not that no one wants to take on this job.

Instead, those willing to take the job lacked the ability, while those with the ability were unwilling to do it. In the end, they could only place their hopes on Dao Yan.

Just in case, he also tied up Xi Yingzhen along with him.

If the apprentice is so outstanding, the master must be just as good.

The master and apprentice working together will definitely be more efficient.

He first learned in detail about Daoyan's knowledge and temperament.

He was highly learned, unconventional, and single-mindedly wanted to accomplish something great.

The key point is that Daoyan still harbored a deep reverence for imperial power.

Zhu Yuanzhang had to admit that he was the most suitable person for this job.

Of course, the detailed process would be embarrassing for him, so he did not tell Zhu Biao the whole story.

He simply said, "I've looked into Dao Yan, and he seems quite suitable."

It seemed as if everything was under his control.

Zhu Biao didn't think much of it, but instead asked another question:
"Does Master Daoyan have a method to modify it?"

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said, "It's not that easy to create a school of thought that is superior to the School of Mind and the School of Principle."

The implication is that this matter still depends on Ma Yu.

Zhu Biao sighed, "I hope my cousin will be safe and sound."

Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent.

In his view, he was the one who was most wronged.

As emperor, one should be supreme.

We pardoned you for impersonating royalty, and even made you the Empress's cousin. We'll tolerate that too.

This time you've openly broken ties, so all we'll do is lock you up in jail.

I haven't even said I'm going to kill you yet, and you've already started a hunger strike.

Now we're caught in the middle, not pleasing anyone.

Zhu Biao understood his father's thoughts and felt quite helpless.

After all that has happened, do you still think that the emperor should be supreme?

If the emperor's supreme authority is a matter of course, then he should receive the loyalty of everyone.

There wouldn't be so many puppet emperors, and there wouldn't be any dynastic changes. How could you, sir, have become emperor?

My cousin said something that's so true: everything is reciprocal.

What the world recognizes is the true destiny.

Why would the world approve of you? Because they have something in mind.

If you continue to be so naive, something terrible might happen.
-
The next morning at court, dozens of officials jointly impeached Ma Yu.

Zhu Yuanzhang was already in a bad mood, and seeing these memorials made him even angrier.

He was particularly enraged when he saw that many of those impeached were suspected of tax-related issues.

Ma Yu is a member of the imperial family and is only fourteen years old. He is young and immature. What are your intentions in slandering him like this?

Anyone who attacks him on this matter again will be severely punished.

Those with experience in government would find his reaction quite normal.

To reiterate, for some people death row is death row, while for others it's a place for vacation or refuge.

Those who impeach others without understanding this principle are destined to suffer great losses.

Li Shanchang was extremely relieved that he hadn't been impeached.

Otherwise, you'll not only offend people, but also lose face.

Wang Guangyang, Hu Weiyong, and others also felt fortunate.

Wang Guangyang is doing alright; he is currently facing a challenge from Hu Weiyong and has little time to spare for anything else.

I never intended to offend Ma Yu from beginning to end.

So he had a completely detached, bystander mentality.

The main reason was Hu Weiyong. He originally wanted to take this opportunity to do something and show off in front of the emperor.

You know, he's been eyeing Wang Guangyang's position for a long time.

The Ming Dynasty originally had two prime ministers: Li Shanchang, the left prime minister, and Xu Da, the right prime minister.

Zhu Yuanzhang's original intention was to have the two check and balance each other.

But Xu Da refused to take the bait, and Zhu Yuanzhang had no choice but to give the position of Right Chancellor to Wang Guangyang.

Hu Weiyong wanted to advance further, but the only person above him was the prime minister.

He naturally wouldn't dare to take Li Shanchang's position, so he could only try to take Wang Guangyang's.

Hu Weiyong didn't consider Wang Guangyang a human being at all.

In his view, Wang Guangyang only climbed to his current position because he joined the group relatively early.

Their actual abilities are far inferior to mine.

It wasn't particularly difficult to push him off.

But now he lacks an opportunity to bring himself into Zhu Yuanzhang's sights.

After all, for the position of prime minister, ability is secondary; the most important thing is the emperor's opinion.

If the emperor has included you in his considerations, then as long as your abilities are not lacking, you will have a chance to be promoted.

If you're not even considered by the emperor, then no matter how capable you are, it's useless.

Clearly, he is not currently on the emperor's radar.

We must find an opportunity to gain the emperor's favor.

Such opportunities are hard to find.

Of course, he didn't think that Ma Yu's matter would bring him into the emperor's sights.

Whether there are dates or not, it's always good to try your luck.

Only after hearing the news of Ma Yu's hunger strike did he keenly sense that something was amiss and decide to play it safe.

He is now very glad that he was quick-witted, otherwise things would have backfired.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang's reaction did not completely stop the impeachment of Ma Yu.

Many people, on the contrary, became even more excited and insisted on impeaching him.

Therefore, even after the court session ended, many memorials were still sent to Zhu Yuanzhang's desk.

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly: "They're just trying to gain fame, so let's grant their wish."

So he ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate several officials who were active in impeachment but also had blemishes.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard quickly obtained conclusive evidence, and all of them were executed and their homes were confiscated.

Now the courtiers finally understood the emperor's resolve and dared not impeach him again.
-
However, Ma Yu herself no longer cares about this matter at all.

He woke up in the middle of the night the next day.

He was very disappointed when he opened his eyes to find that the environment and people he wanted to see were not what he expected.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Yuanzhang was able to refrain from killing him even when he was mocked to his face.

It was far beyond my understanding of him.

However, this was not the result he wanted, so he couldn't be happy about it.

The first person to notice that he had awakened was Zhu Shuang.

Empress Ma hadn't slept for a day and a night, and tonight, after everyone's persuasion, she went to rest next door.

Zhu Shuang overruled objections and took on the job.

He would come over and take a look every now and then.

When he came back with a lantern in the middle of the night, he saw that Ma Yu's tightly closed eyes had opened.

And then he gave him an ugly smile.

Tears welled up in his eyes with emotion.