Chapter 160 Ma Xiuying's Balance
Zhu Yuanzhang was already having a headache because of Chen Biao's memorial asking for money, and Chen Biao's second memorial made his headache even worse.
Encourage the rich to enjoy luxury, and then collect luxury taxes from them... Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been taught some economics by Chen Biao, knew that doing so would bring great benefits, but when he thought of the increasing number of moralists in the court, Zhu Yuanzhang could foresee a situation where he would be flooded with memorials impeaching Biaoer.
Zhu Yuanzhang kept muttering, "Biao'er keeps causing me trouble. Wait until he comes of age, wait until he comes of age..."
Ma Xiuying, who continued to weave and embroider clothes even after becoming the empress, stopped her work and gave Zhu Yuanzhang a cold look: "Wait until Biao'er comes of age, and then apologize to Biao'er? Have you figured out how to apologize?"
Zhu Yuanzhang left angrily and didn't want to pay any attention to his queen.
Ma Xiuying chuckled and continued to embroider.
Biao'er has grown a little taller. Although the Chen family has a weaving and embroidery workshop and has no shortage of clothes to wear, Ma Xiuying still hopes to make a few new sets of clothes for her sons every year.
While she was making clothes, the old concubine, who had become a lady-in-waiting, sat beside her and read to her. When Ma Xiuying heard something she didn't understand, she would ask the old concubine to pause, ask for clarification, and then continue listening. In this way, she was able to make clothes and study at the same time.
Zhu Yuanzhang was also a man who loved learning. In addition to his busy government affairs, he would also take time out to continue studying.
At this time, he would call Ma Xiuying to join him. Ma Xiuying continued to weave and embroider, while Zhu Yuanzhang listened and reviewed memorials. The couple's ability to multitask amazed the ministers who were reading for them.
However, some people saw that Ma Xiuying actually came to listen to their lectures, and kept repeating the saying that "women cannot interfere in politics".
Zhu Yuanzhang directly refuted: "The Empress governs all women. If she doesn't read, how can she know what it means to be a role model for women? If reading is considered interfering in government, then I am happy to let my daughter Xiuying do it!"
With Zhu Yuanzhang's support, Ma Xiuying was not only able to study with him, but women's education, which was opposed by many scholars, was also preserved.
Zhu Yuanzhang was asking the Ministry of Rites to develop a plan for public schools that would promote enlightenment, with both boys and girls open to the public. He was also considering whether to allow women to serve as teachers.
He was persuaded by Ma Xiuying. Women were more attentive to children and would not neglect their education just to pass the imperial examinations. Married women rarely moved and could teach in one place for a long time without having to worry about frequent changes in teachers.
However, the court was in a state of great debate over this matter. They believed that the world was already peaceful, and they even opposed women working outside the home and farming to help with household expenses, let alone allowing them to become elementary school teachers.
Although stories about scholars often praise talented individuals, they also inevitably praise their mothers for their intellectual enlightenment. For scholars, having a mother from a scholarly family is a blessing.
Fortunately, several great writers trusted by Zhu Yuanzhang stood on the side of Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying, and the generals who had received favors from Ma Xiuying protected Ma Xiuying even more.
The generals kept repeating the same thing: "You civil officials have daughters from scholarly families who are educating your children, so naturally you don't want equally talented women to be educating the children of poor people." This made the civil officials who quoted from classics very angry.
What irritated the scholars even more than their inability to reason was their inability to articulate their arguments. They were doubly frustrated by their inability to reason with Li Shanchang, Song Lian, and others, and their inability to articulate their arguments with the generals.
Zhu Yuanzhang continued to argue with the court officials with Chen Biao's memorial, trying every means to clear Chen Biao's obstacles. At this time, Ma Xiuying had just finished embroidering a piece of clothing.
She smiled and said to the old lady, "Mammy, this dress will look good on Biao'er."
The old female official pointed at the cuffs and said, "Your Majesty, why don't you embroider a few more cloud patterns on the cuffs? Your Highness is growing very fast, so Your Majesty made your sleeves very long so that they can fold along the cloud patterns."
Ma Xiuying nodded: "Good idea."
She compared the sizes and prepared to embroider the cloud pattern.
The old female official quickly stopped him: "The cloud pattern looks better with dark patterns. Your Majesty can just teach the palace maids to embroider it. If the eyes are damaged, His Highness will be heartbroken."
Ma Xiuying sighed and said, "I really want to stitch every stitch of my son's clothes myself."
Although she said this, she knew it was unrealistic.
Now that Chen Biao has become a high-ranking official, his clothes can no longer be as simple as before, as this would undermine his authority. Furthermore, she has very limited energy to make a gorgeous dress, and she might not be able to make one in a year.
However, the clothes for dogs and cats can still be very simple, and Ma Xiuying can take care of it all.
The embroiderers who made clothes for Chen Biao and others had been with Ma Xiuying since Chen Biao was born. Whenever Ma Xiuying returned to the Chen family, the embroiderers would accompany her, acting as one of Ma Xiuying's most important maids. Therefore, Ma Xiuying felt comfortable handing over her unfinished clothes to them.
After giving the order, Ma Xiuying said, "Have the concubines come sit with me. I have something to discuss."
The old palace maid took the order and left.
There were four high-ranking concubines in Zhu Yuanzhang's palace.
Imperial Concubine Sun was the adopted daughter of Red Turban Army Marshal Ma Shixiong. She represented the interests of the Red Turban Army generals who defected to Zhu Yuanzhang, apart from Guo Zixing's Red Turban Army.
Imperial Concubine Hu was the daughter of Hu Tingrui, a general who surrendered to Chen Youliang. Although Hu Tingrui was a general who surrendered to Chen Youliang, most of the surrendered generals in the south later gathered around him and regarded him as a representative of their interests.
Concubine Hu's father, Hu Quan, was a general of the Yuan Dynasty. When Hu Quan joined Guo Zixing, he did not like Guo Zixing and chose to join Zhu Yuanzhang instead.
Concubine Ning Guo's father and brother were both longtime subordinates of Guo Zixing. Her father, Guo Shanfu, possessed the ability to read physiognomy and, having identified Zhu Yuanzhang, quickly sent his young daughter to serve him, intending to marry her to Zhu Yuanzhang as a concubine when she reached the age of maturity. Concubine Ning Guo's two brothers also served as guards for Zhu Yuanzhang.
Among them, Concubine Hu Chong and Concubine Guo Ning were not as high-ranking as the Imperial Concubine, but they were the elders around Zhu Yuanzhang.
As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang was chosen as his adopted son-in-law by Guo Zixing, many people saw his potential and sent him many beauties. Those people entered the house at the same time as Ma Xiuying.
However, because their fathers and brothers had made great contributions and achieved military merits, only Concubine Hu Chong and Concubine Guo Ning were qualified to become concubines.
Zhu Yuanzhang was nostalgic, so although Hu Tingrui's daughter was a noble concubine, her treatment was slightly worse than Hu Chongfei and Guo Ningfei. Especially after Hu Chongfei gave birth to a son, her treatment was equal to that of a noble concubine.
Zhu Yuanzhang had more than just these high-ranking concubines in history. For example, there should have been a beautiful concubine of Chen Youliang, Concubine Da Ding, who was snatched away from him at that time.
But because it was Chen Biao who was guarding Hongdu at that time, Zhu Yuanzhang was in a hurry to go back to see Biao, so he didn't have time to see if there was any beautiful woman in Chen Youliang's backyard.
The rest of the high-ranking concubines disappeared one after another because Zhu Yuanzhang issued the order that "women who enter the backyard will not be given high positions while they are still alive."
However, after Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, many of his ministers wanted to give him women even if they didn't want a share of the throne. Zhu Yuanzhang rejected some and accepted some, and the beautiful women who entered the palace were all suppressed by the four concubines and could not even come to Ma Xiuying.
The four concubines knew that their status could never compare to Ma Xiuying, and their dependence on Ma Xiuying was even greater than that of Zhu Yuanzhang, who never came to the harem except to sleep with women. They were afraid that their remaining favor would be taken away by a young woman, and they were also afraid that Ma Xiuying would be unhappy, so they united and worked hard to manage the harem.
Ma Xiuying divided the palace affairs among four people, and she was happy to have some free time.
This time, Ma Xiuying called the four people to talk about the construction of a temporary palace in Peiping.
"After Beiping becomes Beijing, a new palace will be built. However, Beijing is a border town, and the emperor will not bring his concubines with him. So when he goes to Beijing, you should stay in the palace and take care of palace affairs." Ma Xiuying said softly, "You should also pay attention to the affairs of the women's school."
Not only were the four of them not sad, but they looked a little excited.
Since Zhu Yuanzhang was not in Yingtian, they didn't have to worry about new young beauties competing for their favor.
Relying on her status as the most favored, Concubine Sun leaned on Ma Xiuying's shoulder and said, "Sister, I heard someone wants to close the girls' school?"
Hu Chongfei, relying on her son, spoke confidently: "Cancel the girls' school? Then won't we all be locked up in the palace? Although the girls' school is outside the harem walls, at least we can go out and relax."
The other two concubines nodded repeatedly. Being able to attend classes and teach at the women's school was a great honor for them as the Four Concubines. How could they withdraw?
Ma Xiuying sighed, "Some people do say so. Not only do they want to close the girls' school, they are also very dissatisfied with the emperor's decree allowing elderly concubines to leave the palace and live with their children."
Concubine Hu Chong's face immediately turned dark and she almost tore the handkerchief in her hand.
She was still waiting to be able to go to her son's house and become a noblewoman when she was old! She had been living in fear beside Zhu Yuanzhang for most of her life, just waiting to enjoy her old age. Who is so shameless?!
Ma Xiuying continued, "Someone even reported to the Emperor, saying that the Princess is a role model for women throughout the land, and that she shouldn't prioritize her status as an Emperor's daughter over that of a minister. She should be more dedicated to serving her parents-in-law, and shouldn't receive the extra living allowances from the Princess's Mansion and the Imperial Palace."
Although favored, Concubine Sun, who had only given birth to daughters, turned pale: "Let the princess serve the prince consort's family?! How dare they!!"
Even though they had no children, Concubine Hu and Concubine Guo Ning looked very unhappy.
What's wrong with these people? They can't stand us!
Tears welled up in Concubine Sun's eyes. She stood up, bowed, and said sadly, "Sister, please show me a clear path."
The other three concubines all bowed sadly.
Ma Xiuying helped the four concubines up and said, "Why are you crying? Will they let us go if we cry? Don't worry, with my advice, the emperor won't be easily deceived. You should tell your family members to behave themselves and don't let the ministers catch you being domineering. If they cause trouble, no matter how much I persuade you, I'm afraid your future will be difficult."
The four concubines immediately wiped their tears and promised to advise their families when they returned.
Ma Xiuying emphasized the names of Concubine Hu Chong and Concubine Hu Gui: "Although your fathers were just joking and comparing themselves, in the eyes of some people with ulterior motives, they might be used as leverage."
Concubine Hu Chong and Concubine Hu Gui were so frightened that their faces turned pale. They nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand. I will definitely persuade them!"
Ma Xiuying smiled. "Don't be too nervous. I'm just making preparations. When the Emperor goes to Beijing, I'll accompany him. You must manage the harem and the girls' school well. If I come back and find that there's trouble, I'll punish you."
After saying that, Ma Xiuying used her fingers to cut the bridge of the nose of each of the four concubines, making them burst into laughter.
Ma Xiuying joked with the four concubines for a few words, gave them some novel jewelry and clothes, asked them to go back and rest, talk about the matter with their families, and then took a sedan chair to the girls' school.
The female students read aloud, and a group of noble ladies gathered together, talking and laughing, gossiping and fiddling with complicated numerical symbols in their hands.
When they saw Ma Xiuying coming, they immediately gathered around her and showed off the difficult problems they had just solved.
After asking about their studies, Ma Xiuying told them that someone in the court wanted to close the girls' school.
Ma Xiuying sighed, "Without women's education, not to mention how boring it would be for us to be trapped in the harem every day, we would have to rely on men to earn imperial edicts. Not only would we be insecure, but our children at home would also have less to rely on. I really don't know why those people are targeting us so much."
Most of the ladies in the girls' school came from humble backgrounds, having been the wives of generals who had lived with poverty. When they heard Ma Xiuying's sigh, they couldn't help but shed the noble facade they had cultivated over the years, and each of them burst into village curses.
After their husbands became high-ranking officials, they inevitably attracted many beautiful women into their harems. First, they were not beautiful, second, they were not good at serving others, and third, most of them came from families that were not well-off. If they relied entirely on the charity of their husbands, their lives at home would be difficult.
"Who is it? Who is it?!" The ladies were so angry that their faces turned red.
Ma Xiuying said, "Too many people are talking about this. Most of them are from wealthy families who later became the emperor's followers. They look down on us showing our faces in public and even think it's a disgrace for us to go to school. Alas."
The husbands of the noble ladies would not discuss court affairs with Ma Xiuying like Zhu Yuanzhang did. When they heard for the first time that someone was planning to take over the girls' school, they were so angry that they wanted to pick up kitchen knives and fight those people.
Ma Xiuying soothed them for a while, then said, "Perhaps if we work harder and produce some results, we can win their hearts. Doesn't Chen Jiabiao'er's shipyard need a set of data? Let's work hard and help him calculate the data. If he can finally build a powerful warship, our girls' school will also have contributed to it."
The ladies nodded, and took their daughters who were also attending girls' schools, and hurried home to inquire about this matter.
Not only can they no longer be lazy, they must also show some credit and talk to the men at home. How can you stand by and watch others bully your wife who has been with you through thick and thin? If you don't protect me, I will come to your door myself!
Ma Xiuying returned to the palace and read for a while, then Zhu Yuanzhang came back angrily.
Now Zhu Yuanzhang was furious every day when he went to court and complained to Ma Xiuying about a lot of things.
After Zhu Yuanzhang finished complaining, Ma Xiuying said to him, "The harem has been a little restless recently, and the families of the four concubines have been a bit impetuous. I've asked the four concubines to persuade their families not to cause trouble for you. I've also arranged some work for the girls' school to help Biao'er build a ship. If they can achieve some achievements, you can protect the girls' school."
Zhu Yuanzhang gulped down his tea and said, "Thank you for your trouble."
Ma Xiuying smiled and said, "When have I ever been less bothered by your affairs?"
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled sheepishly and said, "That's true."
Ma Xiuying gently pinched the back of Zhu Yuanzhang's hand and said, "If you really feel sorry for me worrying about you, then you should quickly discuss whether Beiping should be designated as Beijing. I miss the children."
Zhu Yuanzhang sighed, "Who wouldn't want to? It's almost time. I'll take care of the Chen family's affairs first."
At this point, Zhu Yuanzhang's face was filled with anger again: "These people, after reading Biao'er's memorial, really want to take over the Chen family's assets and turn them over to the Ministry of Revenue for management! Even if Biao'er is not my son and the Chen family is not my assets, if someone works hard to recruit soldiers for me, and I take away their assets without hesitation as soon as I ascend the throne, am I still a human being?"
Ma Xiuying said, "There's nothing we can do about it. If a businessman is richer than the country, who wouldn't be worried? But if the Chen family weren't ours, we wouldn't control all the major and minor trade routes in the Ming Dynasty."
At this point, Ma Xiuying couldn't help but laugh and said, "You're not stupid, why would you let a businessman replace the Ministry of Revenue?"
Zhu Yuanzhang stroked his beard and said, "That's true."
The Chen family only reached its current size by using all the resources under Zhu Yuanzhang's command to "trade." If the Chen family's patriarchs weren't him and Biao'er, how could they have grown so rapidly and assumed the responsibility of the "Ministry of Revenue"?
Zhu Yuanzhang said happily, "I think the people in the Ministry of Revenue are jumping the most. They are worried that Chen Guorui will become the Minister of Revenue, right?"
Ma Xiuying asked, "Aren't they worried that Chen Guorui would enter the Secretariat and become the Prime Minister?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was even more delighted.
After laughing, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "I think the Song Dynasty official system is quite troublesome. Each title is more difficult to pronounce than the last. It would be a good idea to change it. As for the prime minister, it's actually unnecessary. The cabinet that Biaoer mentioned in the late Ming Dynasty... well, it's not bad. But the cabinet must be half civil and half military. It can't become a one-man show for the civil officials."
When the emperor was powerful, the cabinet was his personal secretariat, and all matters, big or small, were reviewed by the emperor; if the emperor was incompetent, the cabinet could prevent the government from becoming too corrupt.
The Ming Dynasty cabinet was not a modern cabinet, but a system of multiple prime ministers, which greatly strengthened the power of the emperor.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought about the group of people in the Secretariat and a sneer appeared on his lips.
If it weren't for Biao'er's teaching, he would probably have been sidelined by some people.
Even if Li Shanchang and his men had no intention of betraying him, they had never held high positions or served as high-ranking officials in the Yuan Dynasty. They were very capable in marching and fighting, and they were also good at governing the people, but when it came to officialdom struggles, they themselves were not very good at it.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought about the advice Chen Biao gave him in his family's letters, and once again wished that Chen Biao could return to his position.
Throw all these troublesome things to Biaoer, and you are only responsible for chopping off whoever Biao tells you to chop off. How happy and comfortable is that?
After Zhu Yuanzhang lamented, he still had to go to court as usual the next day to argue.
It was already the second year of the Hongwu reign, and there was one thing that had to be discussed immediately, and that was the ranking of meritorious officials.
Even if we don't rank all the heroes, at least we can rank a group of people who can stabilize the hearts of the founding nobles.
Perhaps Zhu Yuanzhang had been arguing with court officials every day recently and his mentality had broken down. When he was ranking the meritorious officials, he once again surprised everyone and gave a ranking that no one, including Ma Xiuying, had expected.
After hearing the imperial edict in the court, Xu Da was completely dumbfounded.
I've fought tooth and nail for you, Emperor Zhu, and made countless contributions. How dare you rank me fourth?! Where's your conscience?!
Zhu Yuanzhang winked at Xu Da in public.
That's right, I'm going to mess with you. Weren't you arrogant enough to say you were definitely in the top three?
The top five of Zhu Yuanzhang’s first batch of meritorious officials are ranked as follows.
Fifth, Zhu Wenzheng. Zhu Wenzheng, the commander-in-chief, received the most credit for the Battle of Hongdu. He subsequently campaigned extensively throughout the country. Although a junior general, Zhu Yuanzhang afforded him ample opportunities, and his own talent as a general naturally placed him among the top five.
Incidentally, Li Wenzhong ranked sixth. Unfortunately, Chen Ying didn't make the list.
Fourth, Xu Da;
Xu Da said he was mentally broken.
Third, Chang Yuchun;
Everyone agreed that this was fine. If Chang Yuchun had been just a general, his achievements would have been shared with Xu Da.
But who made Chang Yuchun the Marshal of the Military Farm? Leading troops to war requires a stable rear base, and Chang Yuchun's contribution is greater than Xu Da's.
Second, Li Shanchang;
When this name came out, everyone was shocked.
Xu Da thought he was in the top three, and Li Shanchang must be the first. Who would come first between him and Chang Yuchun depended on Emperor Zhu's mood.
Now he has dropped to fourth place, and Li Shanchang is only second. He can't think of anyone who is more suitable to be the first meritorious official than Li Shanchang.
All the civil and military officials in the court could not think of anyone whose contribution was greater than Li Shanchang's.
So they all pricked up their ears to hear who the most meritorious official of the Ming Dynasty was.
Zhu Yuanzhang personally read out the imperial edict ranking the meritorious officials. He paused for a long time before reading out the first one, whetting everyone's appetite, and then he spoke slowly.
"First, Chen Guorui!"
Xu Da: Fuck you! You're so cruel!
