Chapter 65 Inspection

South of Cijong Mountain lies Chengxian Street, about one kilometer in length from north to south, which is the location of the Great Ming Imperial College. Both sides of Chengxian Street are planted with scholar trees; its northern end connects to Cijong Mountain, extending southward to Beitingsheng Lane.

Ma Xun was strolling aimlessly while leading Wangcai, having no intention of going to the Imperial College to discuss scholarship.

"Let's just stay at the foot of the mountain," Ma Xun said after carefully surveying the terrain. "I have already selected the candidates for the Imperial Hospital. Quickly pick a hundred young, careful, and preferably literate men from the army."

He Da chuckled immediately. "Imperial Brother-in-law, those in the army who can read are basically all working as scribes. Who would be willing to come and serve as medical officers!"

Ma Xun said with mild displeasure, "With so many people in the army, is it really that hard to find a hundred?"

Upon second thought, He Da agreed. "That's true as well, and after all, there are quite a few medical personnel."

The army normally selected some young soldiers for 'advanced study' at the Imperial Hospital, so what Ma Xun was doing now was not entirely out of the ordinary.

At most, he was gathering a group of young soldiers to study medicine, after which they would be assigned to various garrisons across the country.

Ma Xun then asked, "If I go to the Grand Military Commission, does that mean I will have to frequently enter the palace?"

He Da immediately began to gloat. "Naturally. Since the Imperial Brother-in-law often visits the Imperial Hospital, you should naturally know that behind the Thousand-Step Corridor, the two sides house the six bureaus and five departments."

Everyone around Ma Xun knew that he disliked entering the imperial palace.

Ma Xun could only comfort himself, "Well, it's not strictly entering the inner city. If I run fast enough, it should be fine."

He Da and the others burst into laughter nearby. Although they were now the guards of the Imperial Brother-in-law, they felt no sense of psychological disparity.

Putting aside the fact that the Imperial Brother-in-law was easy to get along with and seemed somewhat scholarly, he also enjoyed joking around. At times, it felt vaguely as though they were still back in the army, surrounded by rough men.

Ceasing his banter, Ma Xun asked seriously, "Where would be the best place for me to go to requisition men?"

He Da replied without a second thought, "You are the Imperial Brother-in-law and the Right Commander of the Grand Military Commission. You should definitely draw from the capital guards, specifically the imperial guards directly under His Majesty."

This was a characteristic of the Grand Military Commission: while all the troops in the realm fell under its jurisdiction, there were also certain imperial guards directly commanded by the emperor, such as the Flying Bear Guard and the Right Imperial Guard that Ma Xun had previously led out.

Ma Xun glanced at He Da. "You certainly dare to dream. These men are going to the battlefield in the future to save lives and heal the wounded."

"That makes it all the more reason for them to be imperial guards; these are old brothers who have followed His Majesty," He Da said instantly. "The Imperial Brother-in-law possesses supreme medical skills, and our brothers are matchless in valor. The more people they kill, the more injuries there naturally are."

Ma Xun could not help but size up He Da. He had never asked about the specific backgrounds of He Da and the others.

Yet looking at them now, they truly seemed to be of Zhu Yuanzhang's trusted inner circle, seizing the slightest opportunity to advocate for their former unit.

Ma Xun thought carefully for a moment and asked, "The sons of your families are also in the army, aren't they?"

He Da immediately wore a bitter expression and pleaded, "Imperial Brother-in-law, my son still needs to perform military exploits and slay the enemy; he cannot be a medical officer!"

"Let him go select the men, then!" For a moment, Ma Xun did not know what to say. "I am not familiar with the army, and Wenying and the others are currently not in the military. Where am I supposed to find reliable people?"

He Da was instantly overjoyed, patting his chest as he said, "I'll go over shortly. In three days at most, I'll find a hundred careful young men."

Satisfied with this, Ma Xun then asked, "If I want to take these hundred men out, do I need to go to the Grand Military Commission?"

"Mobilizing troops naturally requires going to the Grand Military Commission, but you should also make a trip to the Ministry of War," He Da explained. "However, Imperial Brother-in-law, rest assured that those fellows at the Ministry of War wouldn't dare say a word."

Zhu Yuanzhang naturally exercised certain restrictions over generals who commanded troops. While the Grand Military Commission commanded the armies of the realm, it did not possess the direct authority to mobilize troops.

The power of deployment was held directly by the emperor, while the Ministry of War held the authority over appointments, promotions, transfers, and training within the military—which seemingly served as a check on the Grand Military Commission.

Yet one should not assume the Ministry of War was powerful; at present, the Ministry of War had no authority to interfere in the affairs of the Five Chief Military Commissions, and the Grand Military Commission could even participate in the central military decision-making of the Ming Dynasty.

Not to mention having to humble themselves before Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, and others, even before certain marquesses, the Minister of War had to be entirely obedient.

Having to request men, funds, and supplies was no minor matter. It seemed entering the palace was unavoidable after all.

As Ma Xun and his party walked ahead, Wangcai followed leisurely behind them, the entire group passing through Chengxian Street as if no one else was around.

A grey-haired veteran scholar sighed. The Imperial Brother-in-law had reached the very gates of the Imperial College, yet he simply walked right past without the slightest intention of stopping to inquire.

How could this do?

On second thought, he would have to beg his younger brother in scholarship, Liu, to ask Academician Song to speak with the Crown Prince.

Otherwise, there truly was no way to see the Imperial Brother-in-law, having already submitted visiting cards several times. The people at the Imperial Brother-in-law's residence uniformly treated those cards as attempts to curry favor; while they did not chase people away or hurl abuses, they certainly never reported the matter to the Imperial Brother-in-law.

As a dignified Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and Chancellor of the Imperial Academy of the third rank, summoned at the same time as figures like Liu Bowen and Song Lian, Wei Guan was a high-ranking official among Ming Dynasty literati.

It was just a pity that this status, useful on many occasions, carried zero weight when confronting the Huaixi faction or imperial relatives.

And this Imperial Brother-in-law was the very man who had 'brought down' Chancellor Li!

Word had it that the Ministry of Rites had received news that His Majesty intended to confer upon the Imperial Brother-in-law the titles of Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent and Duke of Xu, directly filling the vacancy left by Chancellor Li's departure from the Secretariat.

Li Shanchang had been enfeoffed as the Duke of Xinguo even before the founding of the dynasty, and after its founding, he served as the Grand Tutor among the Three Preceptors of the Heir Apparent.

Yet now, he retired the moment he was told to, and this universally acknowledged head of the civil officials had left the court to return to his hometown in old age.

Even though many understood this was the emperor's will, no one dared guarantee how heavy a role the Imperial Brother-in-law had played in it, nor whether he had fueled the flames.

If people still treated him as some rustic commoner utterly ignorant of court affairs, that would not merely be looking down on him—it would be gambling with one's own political career and life.

Returning home, Ma Xun saw Liu Shuning busy and asked, "What are you doing?"

Liu Shuning smiled and replied, "Checking the accounts."

Curious, Ma Xun asked, "How much property does our family have now?"

"We have three hundred mu of land outside the city, and four thousand mu back in our hometown," Liu Shuning said with a radiant smile. "Sister has allocated a shop to us, so we can run some business."

Ma Xun was startled. "We're that wealthy?"

"It's quite a bit, though not exceptionally much," Liu Shuning joked. "Some wealthy families possess over ten thousand mu of fertile land and countless shops."

Thinking about it, Ma Xun realized she had a point. His assets were indeed substantial, but not extraordinarily vast.

Liu Shuning smiled and asked, "Did the temple where my husband previously stayed as a monk possess ten thousand mu of fertile land?"

"If it really had ten thousand mu of fertile land, I'd be doing hard labor there," Ma Xun complained wryly. "Buddhist temples still have money and land; many monks urge people to let go of mortal affairs, only to turn out rich and ruthless themselves."

Liu Shuning pressed her lips in a smile. Although Ma Xun's words were extreme, such phenomena were quite common in this era.

Certain temples concealed population numbers and encroached upon fertile land while paying no taxes, which was why the imperial court was now strictly curtailing the development of certain Buddhist sects.

This applied not only to Buddhism; other religions fared no better, including the White Lotus Society and others.

This was not solely because many uprisings had been launched under religious banners, but because these religions were truly adept at gathering wealth.

As Liu Shuning continued checking the accounts, Ma Xun picked up a writing brush and fell into a dilemma as he looked at the blank paper before him.

Having someone else ghostwrite would surely invite mockery, yet writing it himself would also invite mockery.

He might as well do it himself! Let them mock if they wished—this was serious business!

Requesting men, money, supplies, and land required a detailed explanation of the reasons behind these demands. Gaining the emperor's support was no easy feat; even as the emperor's brother-in-law, one could not squander resources recklessly.

By the way, he would also need to request artisans. The experiments had to continue, all of which cost money, and results might not be visible in the short term.