In March of spring, the ice and snow in the land south of the Yangtze River melted and life gradually returned to life.
Bei Lin rode a fast horse, followed by twenty soldiers from the Three Thousand Battalion, and rushed to Quzhou after a long journey.
Here, there is also a Confucius Temple.
"Holy metaphor!"
Uncle Kong Ming did not dare to neglect, and had already gone out with his whole family to greet him.
"Kong Mingbo, the head of the Kong family, welcomes the holy metaphor!"
Bei Lin stepped forward and said: "The emperor said that there is no need to mobilize the troops. Let them all go down. I will talk to you alone."
Kong Mingbo quickly replied: "Yes!"
Bei Lin looked around and saw that the yard was not too big and the population was not large. It was simply heaven and earth compared to the Kong family in Qufu.
"Take me to the Confucius Temple first."
"Yes, sir, please come this way!"
Kong Mingbo personally took Bei Lin to the Confucius Temple. There was a plaque at the door with the three characters "Siluge" written on it. After walking in, he saw the wooden statue of Confucius and his wife enshrined in the center.
Bei Lin came to the statue of Confucius and worshiped respectfully.
Kong Mingbo stood aside and introduced: "Master Qi, these two wooden statues were carved by Zisi and Zigong, the two most valued disciples of the Holy Master. In those years, after the death of the Holy Master, all the disciples
They were so grieved that they guarded the tomb of their sage for three years before reluctantly parting and saying goodbye with tears. However, Zisi and Zigong still could not bear to leave, so they built huts in front of the tomb and continued to guard it for three years.
During this period, the two often recalled the words, deeds, and smiles of the Most Holy Master during his lifetime, so they cut down regular wood and copied them with their own hands, carving out the portraits of the Most Holy Master and his wife Qi Guan."
Bei Lin nodded and said: "If it is so precious, why didn't you stay in Qufu?"
Kong Mingbo shook his head slightly and said: "At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the 48th generation of Yanshenggong Kong Duanyou took the statue south to avoid the invasion of the Jin Dynasty and settled in Quzhou. Since then, it has been enshrined in the Silu Pavilion of the Confucius Temple."
Speaking of this, Kong Mingbo seemed to be interested and continued to introduce:
"Back then, Duke Yansheng, carrying two ancestral statues on his back, led his people to cross south, and the boat arrived at Zhenjiang Pier. Everyone was hungry and tired, so they went ashore to rest for a while. At this time, they suddenly encountered the attack of the Jin soldiers, and saw the Kaimu statue approaching.
They were kidnapped by the Jin soldiers. When everyone was anxious and helpless, a strong wind suddenly blew and a huge wave hit, overturning the boat. Seeing this, the Jin soldiers thought that most of the people on the boat were swept away by the huge waves, so they returned
The horse retreated.
"Just when Yan Shenggong was urgently ordering his tribe to salvage the Kaimu statue, he saw three holy men on the river, walking on the clouds and hugging the Kaimu statue, approaching the shore. Yan Shenggong and others immediately rushed up and took the holy statue.
The statue was carefully escorted ashore, and they burned incense and prayed to the gods on the shore. At this time, the four words "Lufu Mountain God" appeared in the curl of cigarettes. It was the four mountain gods of Qufu who saved the holy statue from being plundered. Beilin couldn't help but nodded in agreement, and then asked: "Have you never thought about letting Saint Kong return to Qufu?"
"Sir, please don't joke..."
Uncle Kong Ming looked a little embarrassed, and thought to himself, there is a Duke Yan in Qufu, what am I going to do?
Isn’t this heartbreaking!
"No kidding!"
Beilin said seriously: "Holy metaphor!"
Uncle Kong Ming hurriedly bowed down and said: "Uncle Kong Ming, a common man, welcome the holy metaphor!"
"The emperor said, no need to salute, just stand and listen!"
"Obey!"
Uncle Kong Ming stood up slowly, but buried his head low.
Bei Lin smiled softly and said: "Actually, what I just said was to help the emperor ask, the Jin people and the Mongols have withdrawn from the Central Plains one after another, but why did the Yanshenggong lineage never move back to Qufu?"
Kong Mingbo's face was full of helplessness, and he said: "Since Kong Duanyou, the Duke of Yan, traveled to the south, the Jin people canonized his younger brother Kong Duancao as the Saint of Yan, and worshiped him at the Confucius Temple in Qufu. As a result, Nannan appeared.
, the two northern sects coexisted. Later, the Mongolian Wo Kuotai occupied Qufu and appointed Kong Zhiquan, a branch of the Kong family, as Yanshenggong, which means that there were three Yandi sages in the world."
"After the Mongols unified the Central Plains and established the Yuan Dynasty, some people suggested that there should be only one Yanshenggong in the world, so the founder of the Yuan Dynasty issued an edict and ordered the Quzhou Kong family to move back to Qufu, Shandong to worship. At the beginning, the sixth generation of the Quzhou Kong family, Yanshenggong Kong Zhu
Following the imperial edict, he went to Beijing and declined to the Emperor Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty, saying that his six generations of ancestors were buried in Quzhou and had family temples. He could not bear to give up and was willing to give up the title of Duke of Yansheng to the Kong family of Qufu. Then he returned to Quzhou as a commoner and never returned.
Let’s stop asking about the affairs of the court.”
Beilin said: "If I told you that there is an opportunity for you to lead your people back to Qufu and succeed the Duke of Yansheng, would you be willing?"
Uncle Kong Ming looked a little stunned, but he still didn't believe this possibility, so he said: "The common people just want to live a stable life in Quzhou, and don't think about anything else."
Beilin sighed silently and said: "Mr. Kong..."
Kong Mingbo hurriedly said: "Sir, just call the common people by their names!"
Bei Lin insisted: "Mr. Kong, I am also a scholar. It is not an exaggeration to call me sir. What I want to tell you is that everything you said and did just now is the emperor's intention. I ask again seriously. I really don't want to
Back to Qufu?"
Uncle Kong Ming was stunned, as if he still didn't want to believe it.
Because the Confucian family in Qufu was the most prosperous Yanshenggong, the number one scholar in the world. If he stamped his feet, the entire Central Plains would be shaken three times.
As for me, since my ancestor Kong Zhufeng gave up his title, he has become a commoner. Although he has no worries about food and clothing and lives a leisurely life without fighting against the world, he is destined to miss the court.
If the Confucius family in Qufu wants a statue of the Holy Master and his wife, it is understandable. Why should they do it themselves?
Will they be willing to give up the title of Yan Shenggong?
How is it possible...
Beilin seemed to see through his mind and said: "Last year, the emperor personally went on a personal expedition to completely unify Mobei. Did you know that?"
"Of course the common people know about such an extraordinary feat!"
"The emperor personally led the expedition, and the army was magnificent and devastated. The Mongols were defeated one after another, so many things were not taken away. Later, the Jin Yiwei discovered these..."
Beilin handed over something, a few letters, which looked a bit old.
Uncle Kong Ming didn't know why, so after taking it, he opened it and took a look...
However, upon seeing this, his brows suddenly furrowed and his expression became increasingly nervous.
"How... is this possible?"
Beilin said: "At this time, I found it from the Tatar tribe's lair. As for the authenticity of it, you can judge by yourself."
The more Uncle Kong Ming watched, the more frightened he became.
These letters are exactly the secret letters between Qufu Yanshenggong and the Northern Yuan Dynasty.
The contents of the letter all talk about the same thing. Basically, Beiyuan asked the Kong family to provide support in the Central Plains and help them regain control of the Central Plains.
However, the content of Yan Shenggong's reply was very strange.
Although he didn't agree, he didn't refuse either. He just kept perfunctory and excused, which was typical of him taking sides.