The twenty-eighth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty.
An officer found out that the Kong family was disloyal and conspired to rebel. All the nine clans were punished and sent to the capital by the royal guards.
The army horses heading south were washed away by a rain and disappeared without a trace. Only the trenches that started to accumulate water and the wooden walls erected outside the Kong Mansion still silently told what happened here in the past month or so.
What.
The Kong family, which had just hung half of its curtains, was soaked in mist.
Under the continuous line of rain, the main entrance of Confucius Mansion was wide open.
The officers and soldiers of the Jinyi Guards were wrapped in raincoats, extending from inside the mansion to outside the mansion.
In front of the gate of Confucius Mansion, large cars were waiting here for a long time, soaked by the rain.
Along with the sound of shackles and mopping the floor from behind the door of the Confucius Mansion, the former honored Duke Kong Na of Yan Sheng, as well as the eldest brother of the Confucius Mansion, and nearly a hundred people, were all put in shackles and escorted out of the house by the officers and soldiers.
The prison cart, which had been waiting for a long time, opened its door and took in a member of the Kong family.
The officers and soldiers were very careful. Seeing that it would rain today, they put some straw on the top and inside of the prison, and put some thatch around it, so that they could have a shelter from the rain.
Kong Ne, who had been stripped of his court clothes, was only wearing a singlet. He was obviously no more than thirty years old, but he seemed to be over fifty, with a face full of vicissitudes of life.
He and Kong Gongjian were escorted into the same cart by officers and soldiers.
"The Kong family is finished..."
Kong Ne grabbed the railings of the cart with both hands and looked at the clan members behind him being stuffed into cages one by one. All members of the Kong family were shackled and escorted out of the mansion where they had lived for many years.
It was probably because there were too many people in the Kong family, and too few cages were put down in a hurry. Every car was filled with people.
Under the sound of wind and rain, there was the sound of the Kong family crying and wailing.
But no one paid attention, except the Kong family themselves.
"The Kong family will be escorted to the canal. There are people from the Xuzhou Guard there, so they will be safe. When the Kong family are escorted onto the boat, they will be guarded by the Jinyi Guard and they will go south to Beijing."
Outside Kong Ne's mansion, in front of the empty frontier army camp, Zhu Gaochi looked at the carriage where Kong Ne and his son were imprisoned and started moving, and spoke in a low voice.
His gaze turned to the side. In the rain not far away, there were dozens of officials from various departments and yamen of Yanzhou Prefecture. They were wearing official robes and kneeling in the rain, with mud flowing under their knees.
Zhu Yunxi said with a calm face: "The memorial should be sent to heaven as soon as possible, and we should first see the reaction of the court. Call Liang Guogong, Xipinghou and others to walk more slowly on their way back to the capital."
Zhu Gaochi looked over sideways: "Is it to prevent opposition from local scholars?"
"Some news came from Yingtian. They were dissatisfied with Zhang Zhiyuan's embarrassment to the Kong family and took the opportunity to petition for military supervision."
Zhu Yunxi's eyes gradually condensed and penetrated the rain curtain in front of him.
Zhu Gaochi's shoulders shook, and he lowered his head and said: "Henan Province is probably their excuse. If the evidence of the Kong family's crimes had not been found this time, I am afraid that even if we return to Beijing, the matter will not be easy to deal with."
Zhu Yunxi sneered and said: "You are right, they used Henan Road as an excuse. I hope the court will take a warning."
After finishing speaking, Zhu Yunxi fell silent.
He didn't answer Xiaopang's next question.
He already knew what the Kong family was doing, but he couldn't explain it clearly. He Tianmai and others only needed to order the arrangements.
Zhu Gaochi moved his mouth and did not ask what he wanted to know. He became bored and looked up at the officials of Yanzhou Prefecture on the side: "The Kong family is in Yanzhou Prefecture. They can't escape the relationship. Is it a crime according to the law or is it a separate matter?"
conviction?"
Zhu Yunxi moved his eyes and looked over: "Some people always forget whose official they are and who they work for. The people of the world should take this as a lesson and wake up as soon as possible."
After saying this, Zhu Yunxi boarded the carriage, served by Yu Tian who had found an umbrella again.
Zhu Gaochi held an umbrella alone, his eyes turning.
The officials of Yanzhou Prefecture were also finished, not just themselves.
In order for officials all over the world to know whose family they are serving as officials, these officials from the three or even nine tribes of Yanzhou will probably be implicated.
Only heavy scriptures can shock people's hearts.
"Let's drive."
"Go back to Beijing!"
The voice of the manager of Taisun Mansion sounded in the wind and rain.
Zhu Gaochi put away his thoughts and immediately walked up to the carriage before it started, bringing a piece of moisture into the carriage.
…
Da da da.
In Yingtian, at the Qianbu Corridor of the Imperial City, a Jin Yiwei Baihu led his two chief flag officers from outside the palace to the palace.
The sound of footsteps was particularly clear between the palace walls.
The water droplets brought up by each step splashed and fell into the distance, and finally spread out and merged into the water on the ground.
The pattering rain fell from the clouds in the sky, dripped on the glazed tiles, followed the rain guide to the edge, and dripped down in series from the towering palace wall.
Outside the imperial city, since Yumen took over the government, the Ming Dynasty seemed to have been at peace for eternity.
The officials lost their usual impatience and went about their work every day, which seemed to indicate that the country's affairs were going smoothly.
It was clearly the time for the government office, but there were quite a few officials in the Dongcheng area, either themselves or with servants holding umbrellas, walking directly through the streets and alleys.
After passing the Dazhong Bridge, let the Taipingli area pass, because it is close to the Dongshuiguan Pier in the city and there are many herbal tea shops.
It is rare to see such a gathering of people in person on weekdays, but today it seemed a bit eye-catching, which made the tea stall owners dare not even make a sound, they just lowered their heads and walked away when they heard the sound of adding tea.
As I went up to add water to the teapot, I was still worried that my coarse tea would be disgusted by the Yamen.
It's just that the Yamen's current thoughts are obviously not on how springy the tea is.
"I just got the news that all the sect of the Holy Master has been questioned by His Royal Highness the Emperor Grandson and is sending a reply to heaven."
A green-robed official holding an umbrella by himself entered the corridor on the second floor of a teahouse in Taipingli overlooking the Dongshuiguan Pier to the east.
He patted the rainwater on his robe, sat down, and explained softly.
"The news has arrived a long time ago. News came into the city before the city gate closed last night. Counting the days, it will probably arrive in Beijing in the next two days."
One of the early arrivals at the table looked up at the visitor and replied calmly.
"I heard... His Highness has obtained a lot of evidence of guilt. They are all solid and cannot be changed in the slightest."
The green-robed official who had just arrived looked sideways at his colleagues from the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
The man from the Metropolitan Procuratorate frowned: "What is the evidence of the crime? We will have to wait until the Jin Yiwei people are sent back to Beijing and the court can clearly distinguish it."
"It's just that the news I received last night seems to be connected to something outside the Great Wall. If so, there is no need to tell the court. Not to mention what Your Majesty thinks, even those noble generals will not tolerate such a thing happening."
Everyone at the tea table was silent.
No matter what the Kong family did, they could still make peace in the court with a few thousand years of thin face.
But now that it is confirmed that he is connected with the remnants of the former Yuan Dynasty outside the Great Wall, the civil servants throughout the court will naturally not dare to say anything.
At that time, as long as someone said a word, the meritorious generals in the court could take off their official robes and reveal the scars on their bodies accumulated over the years.
He grabbed everyone who spoke and asked fiercely where those scars came from.
They would even take the initiative to point out the scars that were left in the battles that drove away the Yuan people, restored the Central Plains, guarded the border fortress, and Liting Grassland.
It is only twenty-eight years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Countless generals in the court and local governments who followed the emperor and founded the Ming Dynasty are still alive and even in their prime.
The Kong family went outside the Great Wall to ignore the life and death of these people in these years.
If the court cannot deal with it fairly, even the meritorious generals can overthrow the three main halls of Yingtian City.
The emperor still can't say half a word "no".
"No matter what happened to the Confucian family, if we use this to argue about guilt, what will the people of the world say? What will happen to this family of saints in the future? How should we, those who have been taught by the saints, deal with ourselves?"
Finally, someone asked what everyone present felt.
The Kong family represents the facade of Confucianism in the Central Plains. It is a family of saints that has lasted for thousands of years. It is the well-deserved number one civil servant and the leader of scholars in the Central Plains.
The Kong family fell.
What will happen to Confucianism, and what will happen to Neo-Confucianism?
How should these people, who are officials in the court, as well as their children and disciples in their families and have countless old friends, conduct themselves in the future?
"If you want to...if you want to inflict a crime, why bother?"
Someone tentatively mentioned it and looked at everyone present.
"The world's cultural heritage cannot be cut off, and the scholarly community cannot be in chaos. If it is a sin committed by the Nine Tribes, then we cannot stand by and watch. It is inconsistent with reason and has violated the teachings of sages and sages."
"However, your Majesty has appointed us as officials, sitting in the court, pastoring and guarding the place, and comforting the country. We must not be disobedient like Confucius."
"This is difficult."
There was a long sigh from the table.
"But if you think about it this way, when His Majesty was in charge of the government last time, we blamed the Henan Road rebellion. Zhang Zhiyuan refused to put down the Shandong Road rebellion for a long time. Instead, we advised His Majesty to punish him and institute military law. Is it our fault?"
This was said by a doctor from the Ministry of War. The last time the royal gate in front of the Fengtian Palace listened to politics, he also participated in the impeachment and admonishment.
At this time, an official from the Hanlin Academy said: "The last incident ended without any problems because of His Highness, King Qin. However, I am afraid that His Majesty is still unresolved, and I am afraid that he is a little dissatisfied with us."
"The Kong Mansion cannot be destroyed!"
Suddenly, someone slapped the table and stood up, looking at everyone present.
Eyes raised one after another, looking at this person.
"Your Highness is going to destroy Confucius! Regardless of whether the Confucius family is guilty or not, Your Highness will definitely do this! Have you ever thought about this?"
Ahem!
There was a light cough on the table, and someone turned to look at the teahouse boy who was clearly far away.
"Go down, I'll discuss something here."
The boy didn't dare to stay long, even if he couldn't hear what the Yamen was saying over there, he didn't dare to stop, so he went downstairs.
At this time, the man came to his senses and cupped his hands: "It was me who took action."
"Let me tell you, this is the time to work together."
"Who created the Xinxue? Everyone knows this, right? It was Jie Jin from the Hanlin Academy who created it with his own hands. How many people are attached to the Xinxue in the court today? Not to mention the place, that is
I’m afraid Yingtian is probably half done.”
"As for the relationship between Jie Jin and His Highness Taisun, there is no need to say more. If His Highness did not use this to push the Xinxue to the stage, I categorically do not believe it. But if it is the Xinxue, then our Neo-Confucianism
It’s just a stubborn rock lying across the road.”
"Your Highness is trying to suppress the morale of Neo-Confucianism and forcefully promote Xinxue. What should we do then? What should we, the children of our family, and our old disciples do?"
"Going to fight with those who study the heart? Why fight?"
It was raining lightly outside the building, and there were only a few people walking on the street.
Inside the building, the atmosphere and topics were solemn and breathless.
The person who provoked such a sensitive topic sighed softly: "Everyone, I have to understand what the top priority is at this time!"
"Say it quickly."
"Teach me to wait."
The man looked grave and said: "Right now, whether the Kong family is alive or dead is none of our business. The foundation of our family is truly a matter of life and death."
"Yesterday, His Highness was able to spread the income from one family to another and reorganize the tax office. Today, His Highness is able to exterminate others and encourage people to learn from others. Tomorrow, Your Highness will be able to abandon us and wait for us!"
A sense of crisis swept over him instantly.
Everyone is in danger.
It seems like the next moment, they will become the garbage above the court, swept away into the dust of history, and rot and decay without anyone paying attention.
"What should I do now?"
“What is the expediency of the moment?”
"..."
The sudden sense of crisis made everyone panic, and everyone asked themselves where they could find a way out.
But before the person who mentioned it spoke, someone else responded: "Now it is for self-protection, no matter what means should be used."
"Your Majesty must understand that the imperial court has no right to act arbitrarily. No matter how incompetent we are, the government and the country must still pass through our hands."
Confidence was boosted.
Someone commented: "In that case, let's take action as soon as possible. Otherwise, I won't be able to move around until the Kong family comes to Beijing. Whatever I do now, I can blame myself for not noticing it beforehand."
.”
"Then let's get in touch, and you can all go to the headquarters office and ask for sick leave, or ask for self-imprisonment."
Everyone present will understand by then, and as soon as these words are spoken, they will know what to do.
Everyone bowed their hands in agreement.
…
Inside the Imperial City, outside Wenyuan Pavilion.
The Jin Yiwei Baihu and the two chief flag officers who entered the palace finally arrived outside the door with their bodies covered with moisture.
In order to prevent moisture from contaminating Xie Xueshi, who could be said to be the man in Taisun's dormitory, Baihu and the chief flag officer stayed outside the door for a moment, shaking off the raindrops on their bodies and squeezing the rainwater from the corners of their clothes.
When the general came out again, the Baihu officials and the Chief Flag Officer stepped into Wenyuan Pavilion.
Xie Jin is currently dealing with today's state memorial.
The memorials distributed to the emperor and the prince had already been distributed, but he still had more things to do.
There have been no major events in the court recently.
The newly appointed Governor of the General Affairs Department is also a young man. He is also a Jinshi who is committed to learning and observing politics. He has just entered the official position and took over the errands of his senior Bai Yuxiu.
Since I had nothing to do, I stayed with him in the pavilion to learn something from my husband.
When Jin Yiwei came in, the young student quietly took two steps back, bowed and said: "Sir, it's someone from Jin Yiwei who is here."
Jie Jin raised his head from the document, squinted slightly, and looked at the approaching shadow.
"Jin Yiwei? What happened?"
"Bachelor, the news came back from Taisun. Your Highness will be able to cross the river and return tonight."
Jie Jin, who was holding a pen in his hand, could not help but tremble with his wrist.
A large ink drop fell on a memorial.
Xie Jin sighed softly: "Why did something go wrong..."