Mu Chun asked three questions in a row: "What fragrance? What Madam? Why is it that a woman is an official?"
Mu Chun is only eighteen years old this year. He spent his time in the capital before. Later, he suppressed bandits in Jiangxi, followed Hu Shanwei to Hangzhou to print books, and then went to the Northern Expedition. His short life experience is limited. This time he followed his uncle Feng Cheng to the south, and he was not fighting on the front line. His father Mu Ying looked down on him and would rather take his second son Mu Sheng to fight, and did not leave him any staff to guide him.
Now his uncle Feng Cheng had gone to support Yunnan, leaving him to guard the rear. He marched day and night to Guizhou Xuanwei Mansion. It was already early morning, and he fell asleep immediately. He had an indescribable erotic dream. He had just woken up and could not tell the directions.
But Chen Xuan was different. My father had been the commander-in-chief of Chengdu Guard and was familiar with the geography and customs of the southwestern border.
Chen Xuan hurriedly said: "There is no time to explain, you should save people first. If someone dies, Guizhou Xuanwei Prefecture will be in chaos!"
Mu Chun has many shortcomings, but also many advantages. For example, he trusts his subordinates and listens to their suggestions. Regardless of their background, he treats everyone equally and does not have the airs of a disciple from an aristocratic family.
Although he didn't understand, he didn't question Chen Xuan's judgment. He was half asleep and half awake, rubbing the suspicious dirt from the corners of his eyes. He picked up the bow and arrow of a soldier next to the execution ground. The executioner swung the whip, and the whip flew towards the woman's exposed back like a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue.
An arrow flew through the air, and the iron arrowhead was like an eagle's beak, pecking the whip steadily, accurately and ruthlessly. The whip lost its power and hung down like a dead snake.
"Who?" The executioner turned around angrily and ran into Mu Chun, who was stretching and yawning, leaning against Chen Xuan like a boneless person. He complained first, "Is it Master Ma? I just got here this morning and finally caught up on some sleep, but was woken up by the sound of your whip - couldn't you wait until I woke up before beating me?"
This person is none other than Guizhou Commander Ma Ye, a frontier official and a first-rank official. Moreover, Ma Ye is also a royal relative - a clan member of Empress Ma, and according to seniority, he is a nephew within the fifth degree of mourning.
Empress Ma was very strict with her relatives and did not allow Emperor Hongwu to confer titles on the Ma family. Most of the family members stayed in their hometown to look after the ancestral graves of Empress Ma's parents. However, there were still a few members of the Ma family who relied on their own strength, military exploits and imperial examinations to become officials in the court.
Ma Ye was good at fighting and was loyal to the Ming Dynasty, so Emperor Hongwu was willing to promote him. During the Ming Dynasty's southern expedition, Ma Ye also served in the army and made many contributions. After the army captured Guizhou, the three generals of the army, Fu Youde, Mu Ying and Lan Yu, continued to advance, leaving Ma Ye stationed in Guizhou as the commander-in-chief of Guizhou. He is currently the highest commander of the Guizhou garrison.
If someone else had shot down his whip and dared to commit treason, Ma Ye would have tied that person to the execution rack and beaten him to death according to military discipline. But the person who came was the devil Mu Chun! The most unreasonable person who disregarded military regulations and was the most troublesome person!
His father is Xiping Hou Mu Ying, the deputy commander of this southern expedition. His uncle is Yingguogong Feng Cheng. His eldest brother-in-law Xu Zengshou is the beloved son of Weiguogong Xu Da, and Xu Zengshou is the brother-in-law of three princes. His eldest aunt is the wife of Zhengguogong, and his second aunt is the princess of Zhou...
He is related to half of the royal nobles in the capital.
Therefore, Ma Ye ignored Mu Chun's act of disobeying his superiors and said, "My dear nephew, you have worked hard on the journey. You can go to my big tent to sleep. It is quieter there. After you have had enough sleep, I will hold a banquet to welcome you."
Ma Ye is the nephew of Empress Ma, and Mu Chun is the adopted grandson of Empress Ma, so it is natural to call him nephew.
Ma Ye tried to use the seniority as an excuse to get Mu Chun to leave, but Mu Chun ignored him and said to Chen Xuan: "Quick, take off your clothes."
Chen Xuan: “Ah?”
"If you don't want me to take it off, do you want me to?" Mu Chun forcibly pulled off Chen Xuan's shirt, went to the execution rack, put it on Madam Shexiang's naked back, and untied the ropes that bound her hands and feet. "Tsk tsk, such a beautiful woman, beaten like this, it's so pitiful. Master Ma, you are not the kind of person who doesn't know how to be gentle with women."
Mu Chun was inexperienced and didn't know the origin of Madam Shexiang, but when he saw her bloody back, he remembered the erotic dream he had just woken up from, Hu Shanwei's back was also covered in blood. Mu Chun couldn't bear to see the scene of humiliation and whipping, so he took off Chen Xuan's clothes to cover Madam Shexiang.
"My dear nephew, you must not do that!" Ma Ye stopped Mu Chun from releasing her. "You are a newcomer and you don't know who she is. This Guifang barbarian woman is extremely evil and is plotting to organize collective tax resistance in various places. Not paying taxes means you are not submitting to the rule of the Ming Dynasty and is treason!"
"Treason?" Mu Chun pretended to be shocked. "Treason is a capital crime that will exterminate all nine generations of your clan. Why did you hit her? Wouldn't it be better to just kill her? Protecting a rebel is a capital crime. Lord Ma, you know that, right? We are close. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
Ma Ye's identity as Empress Ma's nephew is intimidating, but Mu Chun was raised by Empress Ma. He knows that Empress Ma has always been careful about her reputation and has always been indifferent to her clansmen. It would be fine if she didn't cause trouble, but if she did, Empress Ma would deal with it herself without waiting for others to take action.
Therefore, Mu Chun acted arrogantly in front of Ma Ye, unlike when he was respectful in front of Xu Da, Duke of Wei.
Ma Ye choked, "Well... As long as she can pay the taxes, the court will give her another chance."
Mu Chun touched his head and said, "I still don't understand. Lord Ma wants her to pay taxes, why beat her? She should be sent back home to raise money. Chen Xuan, quickly arrange for the family of this Madam Xiang to come and take her away."
Chen Xuan: "Yes, Lord Mu!"
Ma Ye quickly stopped him: "No, this matter is not that simple, we need—"
"I know. I've fought in wars, too." Mu Chun winked at Ma Ye, looking vulgar and greedy. "How can we not pay taxes? Where will the military pay come from? Where will the rewards come from? What about the brothers who followed me to the south? We must pay taxes. Not only that, we must also make up for it - we have to make up for it since last year, and we must make up for it in full."
Ma Ye looked at the young and frivolous Mu Chun, who had a reputation as a devil in the capital and a reputation as a "walking Wuzhong Yanqu" in the military camp, and his subordinates were almost all petty thieves, either recruited bandit leaders or the second generation of wealthy soldiers.
This man had some skills and luck in fighting; after all, he was the son of a general. However, because he was a dandy and unruly person, his father, Mu Ying, Marquis of Xiping, disliked him and he has not yet been granted the title of crown prince.
In short, Mu Chun is not a good person... but he is a perfect scapegoat. Even Madam Shexiang doesn't know who he is, and he asked for back taxes - I only asked for taxes, but this shameless bastard even asked for back taxes from last year!
Last year, this place was still the territory of King Liang of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.
Shameless, so shameless.
Although thinking so in his heart, Ma Ye praised: "As expected, heroes have always emerged from youth. They are more thoughtful than I thought. These Guifang barbarians don't know the rules. They think that sending a few horses and a few bags of grain means they are obeying the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty. If they don't want to pay taxes, we will starve. What's more, I have already found out that there are gold and silver mines in their territory. They have silver but don't pay it. They really deserve to be beaten! I will leave the task of supervising tax collection to my nephew."
Mu Chun acted like a newborn calf that is not afraid of a tiger and is greedy for money. "Master Ma, I can't work for nothing. After I receive the tax, I want this amount—"
Mu Chun stretched out two fingers.
Ma Ye said, "Twenty thousand taels of silver? No problem, no problem."
Mu Chun shook his head. "You look down on me too much. What can I do with this little money? This year is the Queen's 51st birthday. I have to prepare a big gift."
Ma Ye: "How much do you want?"
Mu Chun said, "Twenty percent of the tax. You have to keep this a secret from my father and my uncle. Don't let them know. Otherwise, we will be in big trouble and none of us will be able to escape."
This prodigal son who took the blame! Anyway, the accident has nothing to do with me! Ma Ye nodded repeatedly, "Okay, 20%, 20%. "
The two men agreed on the division of the profits, and Chen Xuan had brought the local Yi people to pick up the unconscious Madam Shexiang. Chen Xuan also brought a kettle to feed the pale woman, but it was knocked over by the angry Yi people next to him. While mumbling a lot of Yi language, he took out his own bamboo water bottle and fed it to Madam Shexiang.
Muchun didn't understand a word they said. However, judging from the angry expressions and body language of the Yi people, it was fortunate that they had disarmed before entering the military camp, otherwise Muchun believed that he would be cut into pieces by these people.
Mu Chun asked Chen Xuan: "What are they talking about?"
Chen Xuan looked bewildered: "I don't know, I don't understand."
Mu Chun understood immediately: Chen Xuan grew up in Chengdu Wei and knew several ethnic languages. If he didn't understand Yi language and Yi politics, how could he know that the Yi people were going to rebel when he saw Lord Ma whipping Madam Shexiang? He pretended to be confused in front of Ma Ye, there must be something hidden.
They are indeed a bunch of chicken-stealing and dog-stealing people! Ma Ye was more and more certain of his arrangement to use Mu Chun as a shield, "My dear nephew, you have also seen that these people were born and raised in the wilderness. They are a group of uncivilized barbarians who do not obey education at all. If we do not use strong means to order them to obey the rule of the Ming Dynasty, they will betray us and betray the Ming Dynasty at any time and anywhere."
Mu Chun nodded. "Master Ma is right. If they don't pay taxes, they are disloyal to the Ming Dynasty. I will follow them to the Xuanwei Mansion in Guizhou and ask them to pay the back taxes. I will take care of this matter."
The Yi people carried away the unconscious Madam She Xiang, and Mu Chun followed closely with his confidants. Chen Xuanshi Qianhu and others were fully armed and looked aggressive, and kept urging the Yi people carrying the stretcher to move faster.
After leaving the military camp, the guards at the gate returned the weapons to the Yi people. Along the way, Chen Xuan whispered to Mu Chun to explain the origin of Madam Shexiang and the Yi people's resistance to taxation.
She Xiang was originally from Sichuan. She was the daughter of She, the leader of the Yi ethnic group Heng tribe in Chengdu Yongning Xuanfusi. Her father was a local native official, hereditary, and was canonized by the court. Chengdu Wei often interacted with several local tribes. Therefore, Chen Xuan's father knew the name of She Xiang when he was still the Tongzhi of Chengdu Wei.
Later, She Xiang married Longzan Aicui, the chief of the Yi people in Guizhou and the Tongzhi of Xuanwei Prefecture. The Tongzhi of Xuanwei Prefecture was also a hereditary native official. In the 14th year of Hongwu, her husband died and her son was still young. The 23-year-old Lady She Xiang inherited her husband's title and became the Tongzhi of Xuanwei Prefecture in Guizhou.
In Yunnan and Guizhou, the people are tough and not as strict about gender differences as in the Central Plains. If a widow is strong and popular, it is not uncommon for her to inherit her husband's official position, but she will return the position to her son when he comes of age.
This year, the Ming Dynasty's southern expeditionary army attacked the Northern Yuan Dynasty's King Liang. Lady Shexiang presented the army with 10,000 horses and food. She also took advantage of her familiarity with the terrain to serve as a guide for the army. At that time, the relationship between Guizhou Xuanwei Prefecture and the Ming Dynasty's southern expeditionary army was very harmonious.
However, when the Ming army conquered Guizhou and established a foothold there, Guizhou Guard Commander Ma Ye immediately changed his attitude.
Madam Shexiang was ordered to pay taxes. When she refused, Ma Ye humiliated her in the name of tax resistance and forced her to pay taxes.
Chen Xuan said: "… Just now on the execution platform, the Yi people scolded us, saying that they never paid taxes under the rule of King Liang of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. Now they, Xuanwei Mansion, have provided 10,000 horses and food to support the Ming Dynasty's southern expedition to attack King Liang of the Northern Yuan Dynasty without asking for a penny. The Ming Dynasty actually wants them to pay taxes and humiliates and whips their leader, Madam Shexiang. They are worse than pigs and dogs."
As they were talking, everyone arrived at the Xuanwei Mansion. As soon as Mu Chun and others walked in, the Yi people immediately closed the door, displayed their weapons, and forced Mu Chun and others to lay down their weapons and surrender.
Mu Chun asked Chen Xuan: "What are they talking about?"
Chen Xuan said: "They said that if Madam Shexiang died, they would chop off all our heads and take out our hearts as sacrifices."
The author has something to say: Back payment was a hot word last year.
I will give out 100 red envelopes tonight, everyone please leave a message.
There is also a quiz with prizes: Madam She Xiang was an outstanding female politician in our country. There was a popular TV series with the same name. Who played She Xiang
peaceful
Sun Li
Ma Yili
Chen Shu