When Kong Shangde heard the word "gun" in Shen Yi's mouth, he knew that it was probably a concocted word. He didn't know whether Shen Yi accidentally let the word out or deliberately let it go to scare him.
If it's the former, it's even scarier.
His posture at this time was obviously lowered, and he said in a low voice: "Shilang Shen, the Kong family is also a Han family, and naturally their hearts are towards the Han family court. It's just that the Kong family has been indifferent to the world for two thousand years..."
"Never take part in the world's battles."
He cupped his hands and said, "Shilang Shen, you are also a disciple of the saint. Why don't you put the saint's court into danger?"
Shen Yi snorted.
"Mr. Kong's words are quite a bit eloquent. They are not as innocent as your nephew."
Mr. Shen said calmly: "Shen has read the Four Books and Five Classics since he was a child, studied and studied, and is naturally a disciple of the saint, but..."
He looked at Kong Shangde and sneered: "But I am not a disciple of your Confucius family. Confucius's teachings have been spread all over the world. All scholars in the world belong to Confucius's family. In my eyes, the family of saints is not that great."
"Even if others like this..."
Mr. Shen said slowly: "I still have a branch of the Kong family in Jiankang City. It has been passed down since Emperor Shizong went south and was named Chongshenghou. It has been four generations and has more than a hundred children."
"Are they not a saint's family?"
Kong Shangde was speechless.
The Kong family who followed the Southern Dynasty to the south were indeed of the same clan as them, and most of them were direct descendants. This was something the Kong family had to admit.
Even now, due to the pressure from the Northern Qi court, the Chongshenghou branch can no longer be found in the Kong family's genealogy, but this fact is undeniable.
Moreover, in terms of seniority, Kong Zhenying, the current Chongsheng Hou of Jiankang, is still the uncle of the two Kong brothers from Qufu.
After Kong Shangde was silent for a while, he said, "Shilang Shen, I don't know how you plan to deal with our Kong family?"
"I said, it depends on the attitude of the Kong family."
He glanced at Kong Shangde and said, "Can you represent the Kong family's attitude?"
Kong Shangde let out a long sigh and shook his head slightly.
Mr. Shen waved his hand and started to chase people away.
"Then please come back. I have a lot of things to do and I don't have time to chat with you."
Kong Shangde hesitated for a while, then cupped his hands and said, "Shilang Shen, can you ask Kong to send a letter to Yanzhou to see if you can ask the Qi people to release my eldest brother?"
Shen Yi looked at him with a half-smile.
"Brother Ling, are you really kidnapped by Qi Ren?"
Kong Shangde looked serious: "This is natural."
Mr. Shen sneered and said, "I wonder what kind of rank the Qi people in Yanzhou City are, and they dare to kidnap a first-class official from Northern Qi."
Yan Shenggong is a first-grade man, and he is a genuine first-grade man.
"That's all, I'm too lazy to argue with you. I can allow you to write to Yanzhou."
Shen Yi stretched out a finger: "You are only allowed to write a letter, and I have to read it after you finish it to prevent you from sending Qufu's information out."
Kong Shangde hesitated for a moment and nodded in agreement.
He cupped his hands to Shen Yi and turned to leave.
When he walked out of Shen Yi's study, he heard Shen Yi's voice from a distance.
"Send a word to Mr. Kong."
Kong Shangde turned around and stopped: "Shilang Shen, give me some advice."
Mr. Shen squinted his eyes and said calmly: "I have left this legacy for two thousand years."
Having said this, Shen Yi did not continue.
Kong Shangde didn't answer either. After taking a deep breath, he silently turned around and left.
…………
In the next three days, Shen Yi basically dealt with official business in Qufu. During this period, he went to the Confucius Mansion. However, he did not meet the Confucius family. He only went to the Confucius family's library and borrowed a few interesting books. come out.
On the afternoon of the fourth day, Su Ding came over and reported that there was a middle-aged man outside Qufu who was coming to the city, claiming to be the head of the Kong family, Kong Shangzhen.
At this time, the four gates of Qufu were closed, and only Shen Yi's warrant could open the door. Mr. Shen wrote a note to Su Ding and stamped it with his official seal. Su Ding took the note and quickly picked up the middle-aged man from outside the city.
At dusk, the middle-aged man was brought to the courtyard where Shen Yi was. Mr. Shen also gave him a rare honor and walked to the door of the room to greet this first-rank official of Northern Qi.
At this time, Kong Shangzhen only wore a blue robe. He looked much simpler than his brother Kong Shangde. He had an upright face. If you just look at his appearance, he even felt younger than his brother.
Mr. Shen stepped forward with a smile and bowed his hands lightly.
"I've met Mr. Yansheng."
Kong Shangzhen looked Shen Yi up and down, returned the favor, and even bent down slightly.
"I've met Mr. Shen."
Master Shen turned sideways and said with a smile: "The tea is ready, let's talk inside."
Kong Shangzhen nodded slightly and followed Shen Yi. The two of them entered the living room and sat down. Shen Yi poured Kong Shangzhen a cup of tea and said with a smile: "I heard that Duke Yan Sheng was kidnapped by the Qi people and trapped in Yanzhou. Shen Yi was heartbroken. I am still very worried, and I am preparing to send troops to Yanzhou in a few days to rescue Duke Yansheng, but unexpectedly Duke Yansheng is so powerful that he comes out of Yanzhou himself."
Kong Shangzhen took the tea handed over by Shen Yi with both hands, smiled bitterly, and said, "Young Master Shen, you don't need to be sarcastic in your words."
"Kong was indeed detained by the Qi people and was not allowed to return to Qufu. Otherwise, if something happened to Qufu, Kong would have come back long ago."
Shen Yi smiled and said: "Is there anyone in the Northern Qi court who dares to restrain Yipin Yanshenggong?"
"If you don't get a title, you don't become an official. A first-grade official is just three words."
He looked at Shen Yi and said, "Just like Shilang Shen, although he is only a third-rank official, I am afraid that Shilang Shen would not be willing to change to a prime minister."
"Mr. Yan Shenggong is making fun of you."
Mr. Shen said with a smile: "Now Jiankang has given me a document and asked me to go back and be the prime minister. Without saying a word, I dropped my errand and went back to be my prime minister."
Kong Shangzhen smiled and did not answer, but asked: "Shilang Shen, Kong Mou heard that the Confucius Temple in Qufu was burned down. May I ask who did it?"
The smile on Mr. Shen's face faded and he said calmly: "I was about to ask Yan Shenggong the same question."
"Who burned down the Confucius Temple?"
Hearing Shen Yi's question, Kong Shangzhen sighed silently and said, "That's it, Kong understands."
He looked at Shen Yi and said: "The State of Chen is a country of Han people, and Minister Shen is also a descendant of the Han family. Kong believes that Minister Shen cannot do such a thing as burning down the Confucius Temple."
This sentence is still a human saying.
Because he, the head of the family, was willing to take the initiative to wash away this sin for Shen Yi, which was extremely difficult.
Kong Shangzhen looked at Shen Yi, paused, let out a long sigh, and said, "From the letter from my brother-in-law and the conversation I just had with Shen Shilang, Kong can tell that Shilang Shen doesn't have a good impression of the Kong family."
Shen Yi smiled half-heartedly: "Should there be?"
"There are some misunderstandings in this."
Kong Shangzhen said: "Shilang Shen, Rong Kong, how about we tell the difference?"
Shen Yi smiled faintly: "That's what you say."
"It has been two thousand years since the Holy Master."
"For two thousand years, dynasties have rotated and prospered and failed endlessly."
"The Confucian family has not declined much so far. Therefore, when people mention the Confucian family, it is inevitable that there will be more criticism. Some people say that the Confucian family is a descendant of the family."
"Some people say that the Kong family has several surnames for its slaves."
Shen Yi looked at Kong Shangzhen quietly and said nothing.
But the meaning in his eyes was clearly four words.
Is not it?
Kong Shangzhen remained calm and continued: "The reason why the Kong family has endured from generation to generation is indeed because of the descendants of Shixiu."
"But the rise and fall of the world and the disappearance of dynasties cannot be controlled by anyone other than the Kong family."
He looked at Shen Yi and said: "The Confucius family has been passed down since ancient times, and the courts of all dynasties have treated it with special treatment, adding the word Yansheng. Shen Shilang is a Jinshi in the second rank, so he should know what these two words mean."
"The first purpose of the Kong family is to ensure that the bloodline of the most holy master is not lost."
He said slowly: "When Kong took over the word Yan Sheng from his father, he also passed on this responsibility."
"Kong, and even the Kong family, can be humiliated, can be stepped on in the dust, can be criticized by everyone, and can be looked down upon by everyone in the world, but..."
"The inheritance of the most holy teacher must remain, and the Confucius family's family must remain!"
He looked serious and said in a deep voice: "This is the original meaning of the word Yan Sheng."
Shen Yi took a sip of tea.
"If the reputation is gone and the old master loses his face, what is the meaning of the existence of the Kong family?"
Kong Shangzhen smiled: "When I was young, Kong didn't understand much."
"Later I slowly understood."
"As long as the Confucian family exists and the Confucius Temple exists, the world will know that in ancient times, there was indeed a sage teacher who taught the world!"
"The deeds of saints will not be castles in the air, but real things."
"Confucianism is real knowledge!"
Shen Yi squinted his eyes and said softly: "Without the Kong family, the old master would still live in the hearts of people in history, shining brightly for all generations."
"Then where is Yang Zhujin?"
"The ancient sages can be found in today's books. If only their names are left, how many are left?"
"Can I remember hundreds of years ago or a thousand years from now?"
Shen Yi lowered his head and took a sip of tea. After being silent for a while, he said with a smile: "Yan Shenggong's tongue blooming like a lotus does not affect Shen's dislike of the Kong family in Qufu."
"Besides, without the Qufu Kong family, the Chongshenghou lineage of Jiankang will not be able to become Yanshenggong."
"Shilang Shen is a Han from the Southern Dynasties and is dissatisfied with the Kong family. This is normal."
"This is the second reason why Kong came to see Mr. Shen."
"Although the Confucian family of Jiankang is also a Confucian family, if Kong, the Holy Duke of Yan, could return to the Chen court and go to see the Emperor of Chen in person, his weight would naturally be different in the hearts of scholars all over the world."
"exist…"
He looked at Shen Yi and said quietly: "In Emperor Hongde's heart, it is probably different."
"Shilang Shen, your contribution will be different."
"Is this true?"
"As expected of Duke Yan."
"See things clearly."
Mr. Shen stroked his hands and smiled.
"But credit is not due to credit..."
He looked at Kong Shangzhen calmly.
"Shen doesn't value it very much."
Hearing this, Duke Yansheng raised his head and looked at Shen Yi.