Chapter 682 Re-establishing Duke Yan? (Please subscribe)
A large number of official sedan chairs and ceremonial guards almost filled the streets of Nanjing City!
So many people went to see Zhu Hongyu after learning about what happened in Qufu.
This shows how much influence the Confucius family has on the world!
Many officials spontaneously gathered outside the office, with their heads wrapped in white cloths and wailing in public.
Amazingly, he is crying in the palace!
Zhang Huangyan strode to the outside of the camp, but was blocked by the guardsmen on duty outside the camp.
"Anyone who comes is stopped, no one is allowed to pass through, no one is allowed to enter, and no one is allowed to disturb the Holy Master!"
An officer of the Guards Division wearing red armor and a gold military medal on his chest spoke.
As he spoke, he held down the hilt of the sword at his waist.
He only knew that his task was to guard the gate for the emperor. No matter who came, they would not be allowed in as long as they were not informed.
Zhang Huangyan straightened his clothes and spoke with a serious face.
"Excuse me, please tell me that Zhang Huangyan wants to see His Majesty!"
When the officer of the Imperial Guard heard this, he did not refuse, he just nodded and said.
"Can!"
"The general will send someone to inform you right now. Please wait a moment!"
After saying this, he ordered people to pass the message to the higher authorities.
While Zhang Huangyan was waiting for Zhu Hongyu to receive him outside the palace, Zheng Chenggong also appeared outside the palace.
Zhang Huangyan took the initiative to greet him.
"I've met the prince!"
Although the two did not deal with each other before, now that they are officials in the same court, their relationship has improved a lot.
Zheng Chenggong nodded slightly.
"Brother Cang Shui came to see Your Majesty today, is it also about Qufu?"
Zhang Huangyan nodded solemnly and said.
"Yes, my lord!"
"What happened in Qufu was really too sudden!"
"The Yanshenggong Mansion was brutally wiped out, which shocked the world. If the imperial court does not respond, the consequences will be disastrous!"
Zheng Chenggong also nodded and said.
"Indeed!"
"Although Duke Yan Sheng's Mansion surrendered to the foreign invaders, he is a descendant of Confucius after all. Now he is being exterminated by slaves. It's really... ugh!"
"If the Ming Dynasty does not make a statement on this matter and does not send troops to the Northern Expedition to avenge Yanshenggong Mansion, it will not be easy to explain to the world!"
Zheng Chenggong sighed as he spoke, his face looking very helpless.
Zhang Huangyan nodded in agreement and expressed his thoughts.
"But I don't have high expectations for this!"
"His Majesty's attitude towards the Confucius family is not friendly. In response to the Confucius family's overtures some time ago, His Majesty even wrote the four characters "Shi Xiu Surrender Form" in response.
"His Majesty has made it clear that he doesn't like the Kong family, so I'm afraid he may not make any statement this time."
"When the time comes, Your Majesty will be afraid of the world's criticism for this move!"
Zheng Chenggong also nodded, indicating that he had the same concerns as Zhang Huangyan.
Zhu Hongyu has a fairly good temper, but he has a temper that can't tolerate sand in his eyes. His disgust for the Kong family is almost obvious.
Now the Kong family has been exterminated, shocking the world!
They were afraid that the emotion Zhu Hongyu showed was not grief, but gloating.
If this is the case, I am afraid it will affect the hearts of the world!
At this time, Qian Qianyi also arrived outside the hall in a sedan.
"Cang Shui, Da Mu!"
Far away, Qian Qianyi greeted Zheng Chenggong and Zhang Huangyan.
Zheng Chenggong and Zhang Huangyan both saluted Qian Qianyi.
"Meet the teacher!"
"I've met Mr. Mu Zhai!"
"..."
Qian Qianyi nodded slightly.
"You came to see His Majesty for matters related to Qufu?"
Zheng Chenggong and Zhang Huangyan nodded in unison.
Zhang Huangyan asked.
"What about Duke Mu Zhai? Why do you come to see His Majesty?"
Qian Qianyi smiled and said.
"I came to see Your Majesty to ask Your Majesty to issue an order to abolish the Dukedom of Yansheng in Beikong and replace it with that of South Kong."
"The Kong family in Qufu did one thing for the Jin Dynasty, two things for the Mongols, three things for bandits, and four things for the Qing Dynasty. It can be said that they are shameless and have already exhausted all the merits of their ancestors."
"Now that he has been enslaved and his family is exterminated, he has received retribution!"
"What I, the Ming Dynasty, should do most now is not to uphold justice for Beikong, but to re-establish a Yanshenggong to stabilize the people of the world."
Qian Qianyi still had a subtext he didn't say.
What the world needs is Duke Yan, but it doesn’t matter who he is.
It doesn't even matter if Yanshenggong's surname is not Kong.
As long as the imperial court can canonize a Duke Yansheng, ensure the orthodox status of Confucianism, and ensure the relevant interests of the class represented by Confucianism, it will be fine.
As for anything else, it really doesn’t matter!
When Zheng Chenggong and Zhang Huangyan heard this, they both had expressions of surprise on their faces.
I couldn't help but secretly thought, ginger is still spicy when old!
Qian Qianyi's experience in the court was really not something they could compare with.
You can grasp the key point immediately!
At this moment, a soldier of the Imperial Guard ran out of the camp and spoke to the people waiting outside the camp.
"Your Majesty has decreed that you no longer need to go to Fengtian Palace to convene a court meeting to discuss matters in Qufu!"
When the officials outside the camp heard this, they all bowed down and took orders.
"We obey your order!"
"..."
…
Zhu Hongyu was wearing a crown with twelve chapters and a Yishan crown on his head, sitting on the dragon chair in Fengtian Hall.
In front of him, two rows of civil and military officials from the Ming Dynasty knelt neatly.
"I pay my respects to Your Majesty. Long live, long live, long live my emperor!"
"I pay my respects to Your Majesty. Long live, long live, long live my emperor!"
"..."
After paying homage neatly, Zhu Hongyu spoke.
"Everyone is safe!"
After he finished speaking, the civil and military officials in the court stood up one after another.
Without the people below talking, Zhu Hongyu took the initiative to stir up the topic.
"Everyone must have known about Qufu!"
"I won't go around any more!"
"Today, I am calling everyone here because I want to discuss the aftermath of the incident in Qufu."
"If you have any suggestions, please feel free to put them forward!"
As he spoke, Zhu Hongyu put his hand on his forehead, pretending to be too sad and not wanting to talk.
After being a leader for such a long time, Zhu Hongyu's acting skills are still on point.
Now he is sitting on the throne and pretending, but no one can tell that he is pretending.
If many people hadn't known about Zhu Hongyu's attitude towards the Qufu Kong family in advance, they would have been deceived by him.
An official came out of the courtroom, saluted Zhu Hongyu who was sitting on the dragon throne, and said.
"Your Majesty, your Majesty, the Qing captives massacred Qufu and wiped out the whole family of Yan Shenggong's mansion. This is truly heartbreaking and crazy!"
"Your Majesty, please send troops to fight against it, to bring justice to Yan Sheng Gong's mansion and to the descendants of Confucius Sheng!"
Before Zhu Hongyu had time to speak, someone else from the class stood up and said.
"The Kong family of Qufu surrendered to the slaves as early as the Jiashen year. The current Yanshenggong is the Yanshenggong who established the slaves, not the Yanshenggong of the Ming Dynasty!"
"The Confucius family was exterminated by slaves. What position does Ming Dynasty have to seek justice for it?"
The person who stood up to speak was named Liu Yuanqiao. He was born in the Imperial Military Academy of the Ming Dynasty and is now an official in the staff department under the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army.
His military position can be counted as an officer.
As a soldier, he naturally had no favorable impressions of people like the Qufu Kong family.
Seeing someone suggesting that Ming Dynasty seek justice for the Kong family in Qufu, he couldn't help but stand up and express his opposition.
Liu Yuanqiao's words made many people want to refute, but they could not find a reason to refute.
Because the Kong family in Qufu had really betrayed the Ming Dynasty long ago, surrendered and became slaves and became traitors!
Moreover, after the restoration of the Ming Dynasty, the Kong family in Qufu showed kindness to the Ming court, but the emperor did not accept it.
The current Kong family in Qufu is indeed not the Duke Yansheng of the Ming Dynasty!
But Duke Yansheng who established the slaves!
This prodigal thing of the Confucius Mansion is really useless, and these officials in the court can't find any reason to refute it.
But is there no reason to get in the way?
It’s not in the way!
There is no reason why they can make things up, change the topic, and avoid important matters!
Isn’t this how civil servants quarrel?
It’s an old tradition!
The official who stood up first just now retorted.
"After all, the Confucian family is a descendant of Confucius, an authentic Confucian school, and is related to the world's context."
"My Ming Dynasty is the orthodoxy of the world, how can I sit back and watch the Confucius family be exterminated without doing anything to deal with it?!"
As soon as this person finished speaking, someone stood up and retorted.
"Yes, even if the Kong family in Qufu bows down and becomes a slave, they are still the authentic Confucianists in the world!"
"Even if I, the Ming Dynasty, don't avenge Yanshenggong's mansion, I still have to give an explanation to Kong Sheng!"
"..."
People around Liu Yuanqiao also stood up and retorted.
"An explanation? What explanation?"
"Why do we, the Ming Dynasty, need to give an explanation to Confucius? Doesn't it mean that Duke Yan Sheng's mansion itself needs to give an explanation to Confucius? When they surrendered to the enemy, did they ever think of the Huayi defense advocated by Kong Sheng?"
"When they knelt down on the Jin Kingdom, Mongolia on the second, and became slaves on the third, and shaved their hair and changed their clothes, did they ever think of what Confucius said back then, "We are all wearing our hair with our hair draped in left-hand folds"?
"Have your parents forgotten about your body and skin? Or is it that the Confucian family thinks that shaving your hair to make it easier to dress is not wearing your hair at the left lap, so it is acceptable?!"
"..."
Most of the officials in the Ming Dynasty's Five Military Governor's Office were young.
Many of them are young people who have just graduated from military academies, or veterans who have retired directly from the battlefield.
These people are passionate, full of energy, and don't have so many scruples when speaking.
It can be said to be the ultimate irony of Confucius!
Their harsh words made all the civil servants in the court who had surrendered to captivity look ugly on their faces.
This is poking their wounds!
Even those who stood in the courtroom without speaking or expressing their opinions were accidentally injured!
Li Guangyuan stood up and said.
"Your Majesty, the general has something to say!"
"My Ming Dynasty is currently going all out to conquer the west. The most important thing for our Ming Dynasty is to securely recover the southwestern half. The general does not recommend that the army rushes the northern expedition at this time to seek justice for the Confucius Mansion!"
"The Ming Dynasty cannot do this, and the Confucius Mansion is not worthy of the Ming Dynasty!"
Li Guangyuan's statement was very firm.
Zheng Chenggong and Zhang Huangyan also stood up and expressed their opinions. After listening to Qian Qianyi's words, their attitudes also changed.
I no longer want the Ming Dynasty to seek justice for the Confucius family!
They all spoke up to express their agreement with Li Guangyuan's words.
Behind Zheng Chenggong and Zhang Huangyan, Xu Bin, Shi Yongxin, and many cabinet officials came forward to express their opinions, with similar ideas.
I quite agree with what Li Guangyuan said.
Zhu Hongyu finally expressed his stance.
"What you gentlemen said makes sense!"
At this moment, Qian Qianyi stood up again and said.
"Your Majesty, I have something to say!"
Zhu Hongyu gave Qian Qianyi a look and signaled him to speak.
Qian Qianyi cleared his throat, walked out of the courtroom, and said.
"Although the Kong family is a descendant of Confucius, there is not only one Qufu Kong family in the world!"
"At the time of Jingkang, a descendant of the Kong family moved to the south of the Yangtze River with Emperor Gaozong of the former Song Dynasty and settled in Quzhou. It was named Nan Kong!"
"Rebuild the Confucius Ancestral Temple to offer sacrifices south of the Yangtze River!"
"Now that Beikong has been destroyed by Jiannu's butcher's knife, I, the Ming Dynasty, may be able to support Nankong and inherit the title of Yanshenggong to appease the people of the world!"
When Zhu Hongyu heard this, a look of approval flashed deep in his eyes.
Obviously, what Qian Qianyi said was what he wanted to hear!
Zhu Hongyu just pondered for a while, and then spoke.
"The Qian Qing family's words make sense!"
"Well... let's see. Later, Qian Qing's family will personally lead a team to Quzhou to inspect the character and knowledge of the Quzhou Kong family."
"Then let me know so that I can decide who can be canonized as Holy Duke Yan!"
Qian Qianyi received the order and bowed down.
"Wei Chen accepts the order!"
After Qian Qianyi accepted the order, Zhu Hongyu continued.
"In order to prevent another scum like Kong Yanzhi from appearing in the future Yanshenggong."
"From today on, I have decided to abolish the hereditary inheritance of Yan Shenggong and replace it with selection!"
"Selected from among the descendants of Confucian saints such as Confucius, Mencius, Yan Xun, Cheng Zhu Yangming, etc., as well as world-famous Confucian scholars, those who are excellent in character, knowledge, and proficient in the six arts of the gentleman are selected to be responsible for continuing the incense sacrifices of the saints and ensuring the orthodox inheritance of Confucianism in the world."
"A term of five years, and Duke Yan will be re-elected every five years, but he cannot be re-elected for more than two terms at most!"
"From now on, this will be the rule!"
"The first Yanshenggong of the new Ming Dynasty will be selected from the descendants of the Kong family in Quzhou. Starting from the second Yanshenggong, we will be selected from all the people in the world!"
As soon as Zhu Hongyu said these words, basically everyone was stunned.
Good guy, can you still do this?
Treat Duke Yansheng as an official position, not a title!
Ah, is this... so showy?!
But if you think about it carefully, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it.
If Yan Shenggong really has to rely on selection in the future, wouldn't they also have a chance?
Many people can’t help but long for it!
After all, that is Duke Yan!
It is precisely because of this that after Zhu Hongyu said this, so many people in the court did not even object.
They just all agreed.
"I obey the order!"
…
Wu Sangui withdrew his minions back to Guanzhong, and Sichuan and Shu were completely abandoned by him.
Even in the Hanzhong Basin, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack, he only retained a few thousand men to defend it.
Under such circumstances, the Ming army's offensive went quite smoothly!
He Wenxiu followed the Yangtze River straight into the hinterland of Sichuan and Sichuan. There were many dangerous passes along the way, but they were unguarded.
On October 20, the 20th year of Yongli's reign, the Ming fleet passed Kuimen!
Defeated Chungju on the 26th!
Come to Chongqing on the 31st!
Visiting Luzhou on November 7th!
On November 19th, they reached Chengdu and captured the city on the second day!
In January, Dading, Sichuan and Sichuan!
Moreover, Yunnan and Guizhou also sent troops to Sichuan and Shu together, and it was determined by the large areas of city walls in Sichuan and Shu.
Hunan even sent a lowered watch list to Nanjing early!
As good news continued to come one after another, the whole world realized that the general trend of the world had changed.
The restoration of the Ming Dynasty is really no longer just a lie!
By the end of this year at the latest, the South will be restored!
When the imperial court launches the Northern Expedition next year, it will almost become a foregone conclusion that the world will return to the Ming Dynasty.