Queen Ma is the adopted daughter of Guo Zixing, Zhu Yuanzhang's former boss. Since marrying Zhu Yuanzhang, he has been virtuous, gentle and devoted to his husband. He helped Zhu Yuanzhang get out of his predicament many times.
Zhu Yuanzhang was imprisoned by Guo Zixing because of slander by a villain, and Zhu Yuanzhang was not allowed to eat. When Empress Ma found out, she said, "Steal the cooking cakes, use them in your arms, and burn the meat." She hid the hot cooking cakes in her clothes and brought them to Zhu Yuanzhang. Even if her skin was burned, she still enjoyed them.
Empress Ma was also Zhu Yuanzhang's virtuous wife in his career. Zhu Yuanzhang once adopted some poor children as adopted sons, such as Li Wenzhong, Mu Ying, etc., among them. Empress Ma regarded these adopted sons as her own children and taught them carefully. In the end, many of these adopted sons became pillars of the Ming Dynasty, opening up and expanding territory for the Ming Dynasty and guarding one side.
Empress Ma repeatedly warned Zhu Yuanzhang not to disturb the people and not to kill indiscriminately. Help Zhu Yuanzhang win the hearts of the people. In the fifteenth year of Zhizheng, Zhu Yuanzhang went on an expedition, and Queen Ma and some of Zhu Yuanzhang's remnants were trapped in the isolated city and state. Empress Ma personally made shoes for the soldiers, encouraged them, comforted their families, and stabilized the rear. In the 20th year of Zhizheng, Chen Youliang's troops came to the city. People in the city were panicked, but Queen Ma was calm and composed. She took out all her gold and silk hairpin rings and exchanged them for gold and silver to reward the soldiers, stabilize the morale of the army, and played an important role in Zhu Yuanzhang's victory.
It can be said that Empress Ma played an important role in Zhu Yuanzhang's ability to expel Meng Yuan and establish the Ming Dynasty.
Not to mention that in the future, there will be countless loyal generals who will be saved from being killed by the angry and impulsive Zhu Yuanzhang because of Queen Ma's protection.
Someone in later generations commented: Zhu Yuanzhang was an extremely sharp sword for the emperor. Queen Ma is the scabbard of this sword.
This evaluation is very fair.
However, according to the original historical trajectory, Queen Ma would die of illness in the fifteenth year of Hongwu, that is, ten years later.
After her death, the Emperor's Sword no longer had a scabbard. No one can advise Zhu Yuanzhang anymore, and the Ming Dynasty that Zhu Yuanzhang will kill will flow into a river of blood.
Zhu Su doesn't care whether Zhu Yuanzhang kills people or not. But this woman is his biological mother in this life, and the mother who has always tried her best to protect her growth.
Of course he didn't want her to die so early.
It is a pity that in the annals of later generations, it is only said that Queen Ma died of illness, without specifying what the disease was. Zhu Su wanted to take precautions before they happened, but he had no specific direction.
I can only ask the old mother not to worry too much, and instill in her some health care concepts, hoping that she can avoid the serious illness.
However, Empress Ma is obviously a mistress who can't take any time off... Even though she is a queen, she still wears coarse clothes and takes the ladies of the palace to spin cloth!
Zhu Su was helpless.
"You almost led me astray again." Queen Ma took the wet cloth handed by the maid and carefully wiped away the dust on Zhu Su's wound. The movements were gentle, and Zhu Su didn't feel any pain at all.
"Although you are often naughty with your mother, you have always been low-key and unassuming in school and with your father."
"So what happened today? Did you go to make your father angry?"
"Also, did you hear that Mrs. Song in the main hall almost cried because of you?"
Speaking of Master Song who was crying out of anger, Queen Ma's tone was still a bit unkind after all. After all, as a parent, I will still be a little angry when I hear that my child is not studying well.
"Don't mention Mr. Song." Zhu Su rolled his eyes. "He only makes us learn the Four Books and Five Classics over and over again."
"We can only write according to Zhu Xi's ideas. If there is a slight deviation, it will be served with a ruler."
"I just wanted to make him angry on purpose. He wanted me to write it according to Zhu Xi's annotations, but I didn't. He was so angry."
"If you don't learn well, I will learn from your fourth brother." Queen Ma said angrily. He kept moving his hands and used the specially brought high-grade gold sore medicine to apply it to Zhu Su. "Zhu Xi is a Confucian saint. What he said naturally has its own truth. You are still young, but you will understand when you grow up."
"But his principles are to help the emperor and rule the scholars." Zhu Su said.
"Mother, do you really think it's useful for us princes to learn this kind of truth?"
"We brothers are fine. But the eldest brother is a prince. He should learn the knowledge that a minister should learn. Is this really good?"
"If eldest brother really believes in Zhu Zi's story...then, is there any difference between him and those rotten scholars?"
Queen Ma was horrified by these words. She turned her head and looked at Zhu Su: "Lao Wu, who taught you these principles?"
"Does this still need teaching?" Zhu Su shrugged. "Everyone who has traveled through time knows this."
Another time traveler. Zhu Su had already had a showdown with Queen Ma a few days ago. However, Queen Ma only regarded it as a child's joke and never took it seriously.
"Then why were you beaten by your father today? You weren't trying to show off some time traveler to your father, were you?" Queen Ma was angry and funny.
"Yeah!" Zhu Su admitted naturally. "Dad, he didn't believe me either. I asked him to ask me some important things that could be recorded in history, and I told him that our Ming Dynasty failed in this Northern Expedition."
"He was so angry that he beat me like this..."
Speaking of this, Zhu Laowu was still a little aggrieved.
How barbaric! Is there any father like that who beats someone without waiting for the result to come out?
I just want to be a salted fish prince... If I can’t do that, how about living in a high-walled house in Fengyang for the rest of my life?
Is this too much to ask for?
"You tricked and tricked your father into being, and with one touch of lips, you rejected the most confident Northern Expedition in the entire Ming Dynasty." Empress Ma knocked Zhu Laowu on the head. "With your father's impatience, it would be strange if he didn't beat you."
"What I said is true!" Zhu Su was anxious. "Even if you don't believe me, at least wait until the battle report from the Northern Expedition is sent back!"
"Mother, let me tell you, this time the Northern Expedition..."
Next, Zhu Su told Queen Ma the specific details of the northern expedition.
This northern expedition was known in history as the "Battle of Lingbei". In the early stage of this battle, they fought very well. Lan Yu, the pioneer of the central route army, first defeated the famous Beiyuan general Wang Baobao at Yema River, and then defeated Wang Baobao's reassembled troops at Tula River. After that, Xu Da decisively chose to pursue the victory and led the army into Lingbei.
"Uncle Xu has been cautious all his life, but this time he was careless." Zhu Su analyzed the battle situation to Queen Ma. "He didn't expect that Wang Baobao's two consecutive defeats were actually bait thrown to lure him into going deep alone!"
It's a pity that the Romance of the Three Kingdoms was not yet popular in the early Ming Dynasty. If you had seen the "Burning Bowang Slope" section in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in which Zhao Yun faked defeat several times and seduced Xiahou Dun, Xu Da would definitely realize that something was wrong.
It seems that the joy of defeating famous generals like Wang Baobao in succession blurred the judgment of the famous general Xu Da.
"Uncle Xu fell into Wang Baobao's trick of luring the enemy deep, while the coalition forces of Wang Baobao and He Zongzhe set up an ambush in the north of the mountain to wait. On the sixth day of May, the two armies fought. Our Ming Dynasty Middle Route Army was defeated, with tens of thousands of casualties, and the army was Forced to flee south."
"The great plan of the Northern Expedition fell short. What a pity!"
Zhu Su was heartbroken.
Queen Ma listened quietly, wanting to just smile and brush it off. But after listening to Zhu Su's description of the time, place, and battle situation, it was as if he had seen it with his own eyes, and he couldn't help but feel a little fear in his heart.
If what Xiao Wuer said is true, then...
No no no, impossible. This must be just a childish joke. How could anyone in this world be able to carry their memories with them for a full 650 years?
"Okay. Let's not talk about this for now. Mom has already applied the medicine for you. You go to bed early, otherwise you will have to suffer tomorrow."
Queen Ma suppressed the panic in her heart and carefully covered Zhu Su with a quilt.
