Is Ma Huanghou, the empress of Zhu Yuanzhang, a wise empress in history? Some novels and storytelling say that she is not good. What kind of person is she?

Ma Huanghou (133 1- 1382), a native of Suzhou, Anhui Province, Han nationality, is "wise and has a good book history". She lost her mother in her early years and was adopted as an adopted daughter by Guo Zixing and his wife. When he was a marshal of the peasant uprising army, Ma married Zhu Yuanzhang, who was brave and good at fighting. Guo Zixing is short-tempered and narrow-minded. He locked Zhu Yuanzhang up under the provocation of others and refused to give him food. The horse stole the freshly baked hot cake and gave it to Zhu Yuanzhang in his arms, even burning his chest. In the era when Zhu Yuanzhang led troops to fight, she also sewed clothes and made shoes for soldiers. Once, Chen Youliang and Enemy at the Gates, hostile to Zhu Yuanzhang, many officials and people prepared to flee. At the critical moment of panic, Ma Huanghou kept calm as always, and "earned all the money in the palace", which stabilized the morale of the army and played an important role in Zhu Yuanzhang's victory.

In the era when Zhu Yuanzhang pacified the world and established imperial industry, Ma Huanghou and he both clashed with * * * *. Therefore, after becoming emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang has always been very respectful and grateful to Ma Huanghou, and his suggestions to her have often been carefully listened to and adopted. Zhu Yuanzhang tried to visit her relatives several times, but all of them were stopped by Ma Huanghou. Zhu Yuanzhang is cruel. In order to keep the dominant position of the Zhu family's children and grandchildren in the future, they constantly find excuses to slaughter the heroes. In this regard, Ma Huanghou always gently advised Zhu Yuanzhang to exercise restraint. Ma Huanghou has always maintained the frugal style of the past, wearing clean old clothes on weekdays and reluctant to throw them away when they are broken. And teach the concubines not to forget the hardships of raising silkworms. In case of famine, she led officials to eat poor vegetable rice and observed the sufferings of the people. 1382 (15th year of Hongwu) Ma Huanghou died at the age of 52. On his deathbed, Zhu Yuanzhang was told that "seeking talents and capable officials should be cautious to the end" and wished that "all children and grandchildren have wisdom and all subjects have their place".

Zhu Yuanzhang often compares Ma Huanghou's virtue with his grandson's queen, and they can indeed be compared successively. Zhu Yuanzhang's brilliant talent quickly emerged in the Red Scarf Army of Haozhou, which inevitably attracted people's attention. Guo Zixing also had doubts about him. The generals will go to war, and all the captured things will pay tribute to Guo Zixing. Bird won't hunt private wealth, and he can't get in, which is more likely to cause Guo Zixing's displeasure. Seeing this, Ma gave his property to his foster mother, Mrs. Zhang, and his aunt, Zhang, and asked them to put in a good word for his son-in-law to bridge the gap. On one occasion, Guo Zixing locked Bird up and refused to feed him. Ma Shi was heartbroken by her husband and secretly sent the freshly baked sesame seed cake in her arms. Afterwards, I found that the skin on my chest was burnt (Ming Taizu Gao Chuan), which shows the affection of the young couple. It goes without saying that Ma usually takes good care of his life. At that time, due to the lack of food in the war, the horse scrimped at home, leaving food and good dishes to her husband, and sometimes starving. Zhu Yuanzhang was deeply impressed by these things. When he became emperor, he told his ministers that he compared it to Liu Xiu being trapped in Hebei and getting Feng Yidou porridge and wheat rice. It is said that when Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang were at war, they were chased by each other, and the horse ran away on his back. Prince Zhu Biao drew a portrait for this purpose and put it in his arms. Later, Zhu Biao disagreed with his father's political views, and Bird chased him. He left the image on the ground on purpose. When he saw it, he burst into tears and stopped hitting his son (Crown Prince Ji). This record may not be true, but unlike other women at that time, the horse was a foot-binding person, and it was possible to carry her husband behind her back. Horses have always been frugal, and they have to be patched when their clothes are worn out. According to "Women's History", Queen Shunsheng of Zhao Rui, Yuan Shizu used old bowstring to weave silk to make clothes. After the death of Ma, she was ordered to make quilts, towels and mattresses from old materials and give them to lonely old people.

Ma Huanghou is very kind to his children, encouraging them to study, asking them to live a simple life and teaching them how to wear and use things. He also gave them quilts made of old materials in the palace, and explained: You grew up in a rich family and don't know the difficulties of textile, so you should cherish your possessions. She always treats her adopted son as her own.

Zhu Yuanzhang's closest relative is my nephew Zhu Wenzheng. Wen made contributions in Chen Youliang War, but he was dissatisfied with his uncle's failure to reward him in time. Therefore, Bird killed Zheng Wen's cronies and tried to punish him. Ma Su also regards Zheng Wen as his own son. At this time, he advised Bird: This child has made many meritorious military actions, and it is particularly difficult to defend Nanchang. Besides, he is impatient and strong, not rebellious. Let it go. Only then will Bird let Zheng Wen step down. This case shows that Ma Hou protected the legitimate rights and interests of relatives.

Ma Hou misses her family very much. Whenever she talks about the early death of her parents, she will cry bitterly. Zhu Yuanzhang also went to her house because he cared about her. She wants to visit relatives and friends for Ma Hou in order to raise her. Ma Hou doesn't think it's a good thing to seal the consorts, so they are not allowed to visit. In fact, he was an orphan after he got on the horse, and there was no one at home. So we had to make Xu Wang, Zheng Ai as the wife of the king, and set up a shrine in Suzhou, where the neighbor presided over the sacrifice.

Ma Huanghou also lived in harmony with the concubines and imperial secretaries around him, and was kind. If there is a son among the concubines, you must be kind to mother and son. As a queen, Ma Huanghou has to take care of her husband's diet. Maids don't think it's necessary. She said that there are two reasons: one is to fulfill the responsibility of being a wife, and the other is to be afraid that the emperor's diet is unpleasant, so the imperial secretary can't afford it, so she can bear it well. She also tried to protect the maids. Once Zhang Yuanda was furious and wanted to punish a servant in the palace immediately, but Ma Hou pretended to be angry and ordered the man to be tied up and handed over to Gong Zhengsi to discuss the crime. Bird asked her discontentedly, This is your queen's business. Why give it to Gong Zhengsi? Ma Su replied: Only by rewarding and punishing people fairly can we serve the people and govern the monarch of the world. How can I deal with everyone personally? Those who break the law should be handed over to the relevant departments. Bird asked again, then why are you angry? She replied, the emperor is angry, and I am also angry on purpose. It is also for the sake of fair law enforcement to push this matter out to relieve your troubles. This shows that she is very concerned about her husband and maids.

The portrait of Song Lian in Shangguan Zhou's Heroes of Ming Taizu in Qing Dynasty told her to go to court, and Ma Huanghou received her with family gifts, which gave people warmth and showed concern for courtiers' families. It was reported that Guo Jingxiang, the son of the state magistrate, wanted to kill his father, and Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to be executed in Guo Zi for unfilial crimes. When Ma learned this, he said it was hearsay, but it was not necessarily true. Besides, Guo Jingxiang is such a son, and it is impossible to execute him. Zhu Yuanzhang made an investigation, and the rumors were really untrue. It was not Ma Hou's persuasion that the Guo family was completely destroyed. In the 13th year of Hongwu (1380), Song Lian, the satrap, was found guilty and wanted to be put to death because his eldest grandson joined the Hu Party. Song Lian was the "first civil servant" when the Ming Dynasty was founded (Zhu Yuanzhang's Collection of Letters from Emperor Gao to Hanlin to Grandfather Song Lian), and he was also the master of the Prince. At this time, he has retired from his hometown and has nothing to do with the Hu faction. Bird's Hu faction expansion will bring disaster to Song Lian. Ma Su came to the rescue in time. She said: Shu Ren hired a gentleman and knew the etiquette of respecting teachers and valuing Taoism all his life; Besides, he must know nothing about Beijing when he returns to China to be an official. Don't do him wrong. However, Bird was bent on punishing the Hu Party and did not listen to Ma Su's suggestion. On one occasion, Ma Hou accompanied her husband to dinner. She doesn't drink or eat meat. Bird asked her why she didn't eat or drink. She said: I heard that it was Mr. Song who caused the trouble. I don't eat meat. I pray for him that he can avoid disaster. Hearing this, Bird was moved by sympathy and stopped eating. The next day, Song Lian was pardoned for capital punishment.

Ma Su also cares about the lives of ordinary people. When imperial academy was built in the Ming Dynasty and Zhu Yuanzhang returned to the palace, Ma Su asked how many students there were, and the answer was several thousand. At that time, some Thai students and their families were in Beijing. They have no salary and can't support their families. Ma Hou suggested that food should be distributed on a monthly basis. Bird accepted and set up a "red board warehouse" to store food and distribute it to Thai students. Since then, "eclipse" has become a system of schools in the Ming Dynasty.

In the early Ming Dynasty, there was a businessman named Shen Wansan, who was the richest man in Jiangnan (Biliwen Village in the East Valley). It is said that Zhu Yuanzhang built Nanjing City, and he built a section of the wall from Hongwumen to Shuiximen. He also said that Shen Wansan wanted money to reward the army. Bird asked him, I have millions of soldiers. Can you give me a general reward? He didn't know how to restrain himself, and said confidently that he could give each person one or two pieces of silver. Such a man, as rich as an enemy, dared to compete with the son of heaven for profit, angered the monarch, and wanted to kill him on the charge of disorderly people. In this regard, Ma Huanghou exhorted: Shen Wansan is amazingly rich, but he didn't break the law, nor did he rebel. It is unreasonable and illegal to kill him, so it is better not to kill him. Bird listened to her words, saved Shen Wansan's life and exiled him to Yunnan.

For doctors in Thai hospitals, Ma Hou also takes care of their interests. Ma Su was very ill last time. Bird ordered the doctor to treat her, but Ma Hou didn't take medicine. Bird forced her to take medicine. She said, if my medicine doesn't work, you will kill those doctors. Doesn't that mean I hurt them? I can't stand it. Bird wanted her to be cured, so she said it didn't matter. You can't cure it if you take medicine. I won't punish the doctor for you. But Ma Hou still didn't take medicine, which led to her death. Ma Hou was so considerate to the doctor that she ignored her own treatment. She died in the fifteenth year of Hongwu (1382) at the age of 52.

Ma Huanghou handled complicated interpersonal relationships properly. When Zhu Yuanzhang was in the nephew hall, he was with his adoptive parents and their families; After starting a family independently, take the adopted son and her husband's children; After being a queen, she managed various relationships with concubines, imperial secretaries, married women, courtiers, parents and family members, and got along well with others. She can achieve this degree, it is important that she act according to the principle of "be lenient with others and be strict with herself", so that the contradiction with others can be easily resolved.

What Ma Huanghou did won her husband's respect and love. Before he died, Zhu Yuanzhang praised her and built a grave and temple for her father, which was comparable to the great-grandson queen of Emperor Taizong in history. After her death, Zhu Yuanzhang stopped chasing the queen to show his respect and nostalgia for her. This couple, who share joys and sorrows, are attached to each other and considerate of each other. In this sense, although her husband has many concubines, her life is still complete.

"Ming History" praised Ma Huanghou and said, "Mother instrument is the best in the world, and kindness is obvious".