Chapter 239 Let’s start taking action

Debating the canons for worshiping Confucius was only one of the major events in the court.

Just as Zhang Fujing showed off his knowledge and eloquence in the great debate in the court, Zhang Fujing's new official position and his "On Confucius' Sacrificial Code" also spread to Shandong, not far from the capital, within a few days.

In the Duke Yan's Mansion in Qufu, Kong Wen heard that Shao Zhan's letter was halfway through and he stood up in shock and anger: "How unreasonable! Bullying the master and destroying the ancestor! Faint..."

"Zonggong!"

The Kong family quickly interrupted the second half of his sentence.

Kong Wenshao's hands were trembling, and he gritted his teeth as he continued to read what the author had transcribed in the letter.

Destroy the statues! Destroy the sacrificial rituals! Destroy the title of King Confucius!

Which one is acceptable to the Kong family?

"How can this not make sense... How can it not make sense..."

The dignified Duke Yansheng could not say anything in defense like Li Guan, Wang Rumei and others. He was just filled with shock, anger, fear and difficulty speaking.

Meng Chun and others have been arrested. Although Kong Wenshao was worried during this period, he did not think that he would be severely punished based on the prestige of the Kong family.

It's just like Kong Wenfang said, just be patient.

If the emperor disrespects the Confucius family, scholars all over the world will eventually have something to think about.

But now, it's hard to see the picture.

Shandong, which had no governor before, turned out to be just waiting for Zhang to behead Zhang Fajing!

He was appointed governor of Shandong with the title of Minister of Rites, but it is not clear why he came here?

Who is he coming to kill?

Kong Wenshao's face gradually turned pale, and he shouted in a hissing voice: "Quickly go and ask the county magistrate to come and have a talk with you!"

After saying that, he went to Qian Yamen.

Yanshenggong's front office and back house now have three roads and seven entrances, with a total of more than 390 halls, halls, buildings and pavilions.

Kong Wenshao was walking in the inner house. In front of the door that separated the front office and the back house was a screen wall. On it was a painting of a mythical beast. At first glance, it looked like a unicorn. But if you look closely, it turned out to be a dragon-like head.

A monster with a mouth like a lion, hooves like a horse, and a body like a unicorn. Treasures from the Eight Immortals in mythology are scattered around it. A red sun appears in the upper left corner, as if it is about to swallow the sun.

When Kong Wenshao walked around the screen wall, the servants following him shouted in unison: "My lord, you are too greedy!"

Hearing this voice, Kong Wenshao turned a deaf ear and only thought about his own concerns.

What is painted on the screen wall is a greedy monster. According to legend, this is a gluttonous monster who has been greedy all his life.

It only eats gold and silver treasures. When it sees the treasures, it wants to take them for its own use. It even takes possession of the treasures of the eight immortals in "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea". It can be said that it has everything. But it is not satisfied. When it sees the rising sun, it wants to

He wanted to swallow the sun into his belly, but before he could eat it, he was cooked by the sun and fell into the sea and died.

Why is there such a screen wall in Duke Yansheng’s Mansion? It’s because of Kong Wenshao’s father, Kong Hongxu.

At that time, Kong Hongxu raped more than 40 women and strangled to death four innocent people, who deserved to be executed.

In the end, he escaped with his life because of his identity as Duke Yan Shenggong, and he only reduced his title to the people. The title of Duke Yan Sheng was succeeded by Kong Hongtai, the younger brother of Kong Hongxu.

At that time, Kong Hongtai was forced to go to the Imperial Academy in Beijing for "further study" for a long time. It took several years before he was officially awarded the title of Holy Duke.

Later, there was this screen wall in the Confucius Mansion. It was Kong Hongtai's warning to himself and his descendants not to be too greedy and not to be greedy, and in the end, he ended up being buried in the sea like the monster "Corruption".

Whenever Yansheng Highway passes this screen wall, the servant will say that sentence to remind him.

But does it make sense?

For Kong Wenshao, letting Yan Shenggong insist on doing this in the palace is nothing more than a better reputation outside.

But now the emperor seems to have no regard for the fame and influence of the Kong family.

After walking around in the reception room on the side of the main hall of the front office for a long time, Kong Wenshao noticed that the people Kong Wenshao wanted to discuss with came one after another.

Those who can arrive today include Kong Wenshao and Kong Wenfang, the Kong clan chief and three clan elders, and the Yan clan chief.

In Qufu, the Yan family, the descendants of Yan Hui, still live together. In Zouxian County, Yanzhou Prefecture, there is also the Meng family. Before the Hongzhi year, the three families of Kong, Yan and Meng jointly recorded family history. In the 18th year of Hongzhi, "Quelizhi" was written.

The history of the Kong clan is independent, and the history of the Yan clan "The Chronicles of the Poor Alley" and the history of the Meng clan "The Chronicles of Three Moves" have also been published in books.

Being independent does not mean that the relationship has become worse, but that the compilation of the history of the three clans and the construction of the three family temples will create a greater clustering effect. After Confucius, Yan Hui, and Meng Ke, Confucianism was the most important

Promoted unanimously.

The Yan family and the Meng family were naturally headed by the Kong family.

In Qufu, there is also the Kong family school. Although it is called a family school, it is actually more nurturing and honorable. In this Kong family school, it only accepts the children of Kong, Yan and Meng, and all of them have the special treatment of Sui Gong Guozi Supervisor.

.

In Beijing, the Hanlin Academy also has a special set of hereditary doctors of the Five Classics of the eighth rank. These are held by descendants of Confucius, Yan, Mencius, Zhu Xi and other sages of the past dynasties.

The sages and descendants headed by Yan Shenggong all enjoyed opportunities and practical benefits that ordinary children from poor families could not have under the shadow of their ancestors.

Now these opportunities and benefits are at stake.

When Kong Wenfang arrived, Kong Wenshao was already having a heated discussion with others.

"Zhang Fu's intention is clear even before he arrives! This statement is closely related to us, so we must fight for it! If we don't fight, how can we express filial piety?"

Kong Wenshao spoke with great righteousness, but when Kong Wenfang entered the door, he asked eagerly: "Wenfang, did you know that Zhang Fujing wanted to be the governor of Shandong, and he also published "On the Sacrifice of Confucius" in the capital, and wanted to destroy the statues of ancestors in various places and replace them with wooden ones.

Sacrifice rituals, go to the ancestral king’s name?”

Kong Wenfang was "shocked": "This is happening!"

Kong Wenshao quickly handed him the letter: "Read it first."

Kong Wenfang read the letter carefully, then frowned and looked ugly: "Unexpectedly, Zonggong invited me here for this matter."

"We, Yan Shenggong Mansion, are the first to be affected!"

Official matters of worshiping Confucius are mainly completed by Yanshenggong Mansion.

If you want to destroy statues, the first thing that must be destroyed is the statues in the Confucius Temple.

To change the palace into a temple and lower the standards, of course the first place to start is Yan Sheng Gong Mansion and the Qufu Confucius Temple.

No matter how ambitious Kong Wenfang was, he was still a descendant of the Kong family.

In fact, he already knew about this, and he had been thinking about what to do on the way here.

As a descendant of Confucius, if you don't stand up and speak out for Confucius' honor and favor, you will really be regarded as an "unfilial descendant".

But this is obviously the emperor's intention. What will be the consequences after standing up to oppose it?

Seeing Kong Wenshao's embarrassed and angry expression, Kong Wenfang knew what he was planning.

"We are not in the capital, and the Ministry of Rites has gathered to discuss this matter. We can only jointly submit a petition." Kong Wenfang stared at him and said, "Zong Gong, you can only take the lead to go to various families. In addition, Futai, Yanzhou Prefecture, Shandong Ti

Xue and others, it’s time for Duke Zong to come forward in this matter! The grace and honor of our ancestors are all tied to Duke Zong!”

Since it is impossible not to stand up and take a stand, the more people, the better. Just being listed among them will not attract too much attention. As long as you are not the person taking the lead, it is still acceptable.

Kong Wenshao looked at him speechless.

As Duke Yansheng, the weight of his words is indeed stronger than that of the mere magistrate of Qufu.

But Kong Wenshao was also worried about the consequences, so he hoped that Kong Wenfang would run for him.

Now that the Ding Festival in May has just passed and the Ding Festival in August is still early, Kong Wenshao can't find an excuse to stay in Qufu.

Others agreed with Kong Wenfang's opinion and urged Kong Wenshao to act quickly.

Kong Wenshao said with a gloomy face: "The biggest question now is that Zhang Fujing is coming fiercely. What is your majesty's attitude towards my Kong family! Since Meng Chun and others have been captured by the Jin Yiwei, I am afraid they will also confess their correspondence with me! If it is not just cutting off

The posthumous title of the ancestor, the sacrificial ritual system, and the title of Yansheng should also be eliminated?"

He refused to take the risk and continued: "So now we are not only arguing about the ceremony, but we also have to deal with the court. Do we need to borrow the fifth military camp? The Sichuan incident will involve my Yanshenggong Mansion. How can I not be prepared?"

After hearing the news, I have been appointed as the magistrate of the county, and it is my duty to go to various houses and officials. Once the defense is drafted, and after others have signed it, I will sign the first one!"

Kong Wenfang also didn't want the title of Yanshenggong to be lost. Hearing this, he had to admit that what Kong Wenshao said was true.

He had previously exchanged letters with Meng Chun and others, but now he could only sort out the clues and prepare for questions and answers by himself.

"...In this case, Duke Zong should sign it first, and then I will take it."

"...that's okay, but how to prepare the argument?"

Several people looked at me and I looked at you.

The people to be confronted are the top figures in the court. With their academic level, how can they write a good article with persuasive content and moving diction in a short period of time?

You don't have the ability to know.

However, if the Yanshenggong lineage does not speak out, it must have weight when it speaks out.

Kong Wenfang gritted his teeth: "Since Zhang Fujing is coming, I'll go pay a visit to Futai and Fu Zun about this! In the past few years in Shandong, they should also be worried about Zhang Fujing coming again with the sword given by the emperor."

"It's all up to Wen Fang!" Kong Wenshao excitedly held his hand.

Kong Wenfang stayed here for a while, and after checking whether there were any disrespectful remarks in his previous letters with Meng Chun and others, he left Yanshenggong's Mansion with a heavy face.
To be continued...