Chapter 494 The Northern and Southern Sects of Confucius Mansion
The maritime trade was settled, and the emperor breathed a sigh of relief.
The maritime ban in the early Ming Dynasty was to put an end to private trade and conduct official trade, thereby earning the emperor a large amount of money.
For example, during the Tang and Song Dynasties, the value of pepper, which was as valuable as gold, plummeted in an instant, and was even worth the salary of hundreds of officials.
Later, tribute trade became popular, and official trade suffered losses. If no money was made, the maritime ban would naturally become more stringent.
The emperor has not participated in maritime trade for two hundred years!
Since there are benefits, even the kings after him will never give up the profits from overseas trade, and the possibility of a sea ban is extremely slim.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but think of the huge noble group. It was easy to convince them to go to sea. As long as they saw the money back, they would naturally follow.
This goes without saying, but we should pay attention to smuggling issues at customs, tax evasion issues, etc.
At this time, Kong Zhenyun, the Southern Sect of the Confucius Mansion, also arrived in Nanjing one after another.
In this way, in the small city of Nanjing, there were two people from the Confucius family at this time, one was the contemporary Yanshenggong Kong Yinzhi, and the other was the successor of the Southern Sect, Kong Zhenyun.
The two of them looked up but didn't look down, which was extremely embarrassing.
But there is no other way. It is the emperor's will and we can only obey it.
Then in the palace, after an awkward encounter, they met the emperor together.
Zhu Yixi was quite interested in the two of them.
"The Nanzong is also a direct descendant of the Confucius family. You two should not see each other outside."
Faced with the emperor's words, the two of them did not dare to be heedless and had no choice but to comply.
At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Jin army invaded the south. Song Gaozong Zhao Gou hurriedly crossed south and established his capital in Lin'an. Kong Duanyou, the 48th generation eldest grandson of Confucius, left Qufu, Shandong Province and moved south to Quzhou, carrying the regular wooden statues of Confucius and his wife.
Later, the Confucius family temple was built by imperial decree, which became the Southern Sect of Confucius Temple.
The life of Nanzong was miserable. It was not until the first year of Zhengde of Emperor Wuzong of Ming Dynasty (1506) that Kong Yansheng was restored to the title of hereditary doctor of the Five Classics of the Hanlin Academy. He was considered to have an official position and gradually regained some momentum.
It is a very real problem. The Southern Sect lives in the open air, while the Northern Sect inherits the title of Duke Yan and enjoys wealth and honor. This is not balanced for anyone.
"If he is the eldest son, the Quzhou lineage is the orthodox Confucius Temple, and he should inherit the title of Duke Yansheng."
As soon as these words came out, Yanshenggong Kong Yinzhi could be said to have lost two of his three souls. He looked at the emperor with fear and fear, and then looked at Kong Zhenyun beside him, feeling that the sky was about to collapse.
"Your Majesty, ever since our ancestors fled south, they have ceased to be the Holy Duke of Yan. Naturally, they no longer want to covet him."
Kong Zhenyun said righteously and calmly, if this sentence was spread, it would definitely win the applause of the whole house.
Not to be outdone, Kong Yinzhi said: "This title was originally inherited by the Nanzong. Even though it has been more than four hundred years, it is still the same. If the Nanzong wants it, I will not be stingy."
Recently, the two of them have been pushing each other, and for a while they looked like brothers and sisters.
But Zhu Yixi understands that this is just the surface. In fact, the position of a derivative worker involves a lot of interests.
Among them, Duke Yan Sheng was not just a duke, but also included a large number of communities of interests.
"That's all, let me say something fair!"
Zhu Yixi looked at the humble expressions of the two people and said directly: "The title of Duke Yansheng originally belonged to the Kong family, and although Nan Zong is the eldest son, they have been separated for more than five hundred years."
Speaking of this, Kong Yinzhi on the side showed a slight smile, and the emperor still stood by me.
Kong Zhenyun was a wealthy man, but he still looked humble.
"That's it!"
As he said this, the emperor actually started to get friendly with each other: "Why don't the two sects of the northern and southern sects inherit the title of Yanshenggong together?"
After saying this, Kong Yinzhi and Kong Zhenyun showed puzzled faces.
"For example, this generation is the Northern Sect. After the death of Duke Yansheng, the next generation of Duke Yansheng will naturally be inherited by the Southern Sect, and after the Southern Sect, it will be the Northern Sect. The cycle repeats and the titles are shared between the north and the south. There is no loss of affection. How can this be true?
Isn’t it beautiful?”
"This..." The one who suffered the greatest loss was Kong Yinzhi.
Because Yanxian Gong was originally owned by their Northern Sect, but now it is divided into half. How can this be comfortable?
However, he glanced at Kong Zhenyun, and then secretly glanced at the emperor who was smiling but not smiling. Kong Yinzhi understood that the emperor was punishing him.
In other words, it is a punishment for Beizong, and it is also a warning:
Without the Northern Sect of Confucius, I could replace it with the Southern Sect at any time.
If he wasn't afraid of causing turmoil, wouldn't the emperor be afraid of giving all the titles to Nan Zong?
Thinking of this, he glanced at the old Kong Zhenyun and said with a wry smile: "Your Majesty is wise, this method is absolutely acceptable."
As long as we go out without dividing the land, it doesn't count as a quarrel.
"I have no objections, either." Kong Zhenyun naturally welcomed half of the Duke Yan Sheng's title for nothing, and there was no reason why he shouldn't accept it.
"Okay, that's good."
Zhu Yixi smiled and said: "Since both the northern and southern sects are Confucian sects, they should unite, help each other, and communicate..."
After talking nonsense, seeing that the two old men were low on energy, the emperor ended the conversation and asked them to go back and rest.
In fact, in both the Ming and Qing dynasties, when it came to the issue of the Northern and Southern sects, they ultimately chose to support the Northern sect.
But this time, if the Northern Sect had not gone too far, Zhu Yixi would not have bothered to support the Southern Sect. Provoking the nerves of scholars would not bring much benefit, and it would easily cause commotion.
However, the issue of the Northern and Southern Sects was actually a preview of Zhu Yixi's plan to replace the large sect with a small sect.
As the saying goes, emperors take turns, come to my house next year.
Since Yan Fan cannot hold the country, let me, Qin Fan, take over!
Fortunately, Jiajing was the foundation, and the succession to the throne without heirs was recognized at one stroke. He didn't want to have a few more ancestors come out.
After settling the affairs of the Southern and Northern Sects, Zhu Yixi went directly to the harem to see his children.
As expected, the previous dynasty had endless disputes over the issue of the Northern and Southern Sects.
In the cabinet, the second assistant Zhang Shenyan hesitated for a while and said to Zhao Shu: "Yuanfu, is your Majesty's affair with the Confucius House going too far?"
"Has it passed?"
As the chief assistant, Zhao Shu was naturally a staunch royalist. Even if the emperor's actions made him uncomfortable, as the head of the civil service, he had to hold his nose and accept it.
The opposition between civil servants and imperial power must never reappear.
"I don't think so."
Zhao Shu glanced at the busy concubines in the distance and said softly: "The Northern Sect indeed owes the Southern Sect a lot. I heard that the Confucius Temple of the Southern Sect is now in disrepair and is in disrepair."
"But the Northern Sect, with its bells ringing, the food being eaten, the wealth and splendor, was the first to shave off its hair and surrender, and made the world laugh. If you don't punish him, how can you warn the world?"
Speaking of this, Zhao Shu immediately changed the subject: "By the way, your Majesty said before that in the future, the six ministers will be selected from the provincial officials, so that the center of the imperial court will not be far away from the people and be popular with the people."
"In this case, wouldn't it mean that the Sixth Minister would be transferred to another place?"
"This is indeed a problem."
Zhang Shenyan was immediately attracted and fell into thinking.