Wang Hong said partly sincerely and partly flatteringly: "Kong actually asked the imperial court to appoint officials. This is a great achievement for Prime Minister Wang, and it will benefit all the people!"
If we say that there are still civil servants who object to the rectification of the Confucius family, but if the magistrate of Qufu is turned into a exiled official, it is estimated that all civil servants will raise their hands in favor.
Mao Ji even thought about the system and suggested: "The magistrate of Qufu should be of the fifth rank. Firstly, it will show the court's respect for Confucius, and secondly, the sixth rank of the magistrate can better restrain the Confucius family."
"That makes sense." Wang Qiong praised.
Generally speaking, all magistrates in the world are in the seventh rank, but the magistrates of Wanping and Daxing in the suburbs of Beijing are in the sixth rank.
The Fuliang magistrate in Jiangxi is even more powerful. It has been in the fifth rank since the Tang Dynasty, which is higher than the magistrate. Because this county is also rich in tea and porcelain, Jingdezhen falls under the jurisdiction of Fuliang County.
If the magistrate of Qufu is set to the fifth rank, it would be considered a reasonable move. If the official is too young, he cannot suppress the Confucius family.
Wang Yuan smiled and said: "There is no rush, let the Kong family continue to serve as the magistrate of Qufu. If the Kong family is removed, the court will immediately agree. On the one hand, it will appear that the court is unkind and unkind, and on the other hand, it will also make the court lose face."
Wang Hong suppressed his laughter and said seriously: "The lunch box is like this, because the king is thoughtful."
"Alas!" Mao Ji sighed.
Wang Yuan planned to continue to torture the Kong family. The Kong family had already raised the white flag and the court would not accept surrender at all.
Of course, this is also a sign of obedience to etiquette. Important ministers have to give three invitations and three resignations when they want to be appointed. The Kong family does not want to be the magistrate of Qufu, so naturally they have to be separated three times in terms of emotion and reason.
Mr. Wang Ge is worthy of being the number one scholar in the Book of Rites, and he really observes etiquette very well!
Therefore, Confucius asked the court to appoint the magistrate of Qufu, and the emperor sent a messenger back to announce the edict: "It is the legacy of Confucius that Duke Yansheng knows Qufu. This has not been easy for thousands of years. How can the system be changed in the country? It is extremely rude. It is not allowed.
!”
When the Kong family received the imperial edict, they were all dumbfounded. The court refused to let them submit.
Therefore, the Confucius family wrote a second memorial, saying that Qufu was the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and the Confucius family was a citizen of the Ming Dynasty, so it was reasonable for the imperial court to send an official to serve as the magistrate of Qufu County.
…
Qufu.
Jin Lei and Wu Liande laughed heartily. This was really interesting.
Under normal circumstances, if the imperial court wanted to take back the power of appointing and removing the magistrate of Qufu, the Confucius family and the scholars in the world would definitely oppose it fiercely. But after they were confused and messed up, the Confucian family took the initiative to request, and the imperial court still refused to agree.
"Commander Wu, is there any new progress in the burning of the Confucius Temple?" Jin Lei asked in a low voice.
Wu Liande said seriously: "Six more people confessed that it was Confucius Wenli who ordered the burning of the Confucius Temple."
"Da Ming Law" encourages self-surrender. Except for those who have committed unpardonable crimes, surrender can generally be punished with a light sentence. Wu Liande and Jin Lei did not investigate the burning of the Confucius Temple at all, but handled hundreds of other types of cases. There are always people involved who want to confess and commit suicide.
Kuan, and even wanted to provide clues to other cases to make meritorious deeds.
So far, a total of eighteen people have reported or admitted that Confucius Wenli burned down the Confucius Temple.
"It's not enough." Jin Lei said.
Wu Liande raised his hand and said, "I'll do it myself."
Wu Liande personally went to the Confucius Mansion to visit Kong Hongren, the new patriarch of the Kong family.
Kong Hongren quietly reported on several of Kong Wenli's confidants, and took the opportunity to deploy his own people. Up to now, there were four people at the disposal of Kong Hongren in the three halls and six halls of the Kong family.
The head of the Kong family is the real helmsman of the Kong family and the son of the Kong family!
As for Yan Shenggong, it is nothing more than the face of the Confucius family.
Three halls and six halls correspond to three provinces and six ministries, and can be used to control the entire Qufu.
Even though there were only four changes in the management of the three halls and six halls, a large number of subordinates under their jurisdiction were changed as a result. Such drastic personnel changes have caused complete internal strife in the Qufu Kong family, and the two sides are fighting each other.
"Commander Wu's great presence will really make this humble house shine!" Kong Hongren welcomed him warmly.
Wu Liande smiled and said: "We are all our own people, why should Brother Kong be so polite?"
According to seniority, Kong Hongren was the fourth uncle of Kong Wenshao and Kong Wenli. However, this man was born by a maid and had been ostracized by his direct lineage in the past.
After Kong Hongren was helped up by Jin Lei, while he was madly retaliating and seizing power, he promoted a large number of unpopular concubines. This was not only a power struggle for the Kong family, but also a fight between the legitimate sons and the concubines of the Kong family. It was quite a fight to the death.
the meaning of.
This was not the first time that the Kong family had done something like this. In the Yuan Dynasty, in order to fight for power, they betrayed each other. At that time, it was not new to attack someone for being a commoner, and even attacked Yan Shenggong, who was conferred by the imperial court.
He remarried with his mother and changed his surname for a time. Another time, he directly used force, scaring the other party and riding straight to the front line to seek help from Kublai Khan, who was personally conquering the Southern Song Dynasty.
Because the commotion was so excessive, for several decades, the Kong family only had the patriarch and the county magistrate, and the Yuan Dynasty court never canonized a new Duke Yansheng.
Wu Liande asked: "Brother Kong, do you know where Shi Dao, the governor of Shandong Province, came from?"
Kong Hongren said: "He is a disciple of Wang Xiang."
Wu Liande shook his head: "Wang Xiang has many disciples, but this history is particularly special."
Kong Hongren asked: "How special?"
Wu Liande said: "Since Wang Xiang has been an official, he has only served as an examiner once, which was the Shuntianfu rural examination in the eighth year of Zhengde. And Shi Dao was the Jieyuan of Yingtianfu in the eighth year of Zhengde. He can be said to be one of Wang Xiang's disciples.
The first person. Shi Dao, under the orders of Wang Xiang, urged the Kong family to replace the tablets of sages and Confucians, but Kong Wenli led hundreds of people to besiege and kill him. How could Wang Xiang not be angry? If Shi Dao hadn't been brave, he would have been killed by your Kong family.
!”
"That's it." Kong Hongren suddenly understood. No wonder the imperial court was so unsympathetic to the Kong family. It was actually Kong Wenli who offended Wang Yuan's favorite student.
Wu Liande said: "Kong Wenli must be removed in order to relieve the hatred in the heart of the king!"
Kong Hongren cursed: "Kong Wenli is such a bastard. Not only does he have no regard for the imperial court, he also treats the Kong family members harshly. He even dares to bully his master and destroy his ancestors and burn down the Confucius temple. He is simply worse than a beast!"
Wu Liande said: "At present, eighteen people have accused Confucius Wenli of burning the Confucius Temple, but there is still one important whistleblower."
Kong Hongren was silent for a moment, and then suddenly asked: "What plans does Wang have for the Kong family?"
Wu Liande said half truthfully: "The Duke of Yansheng will still wait until Kong Zhenqian comes of age to inherit. After all, Kong Zhenqian is the grandson of Mr. Xi Ya, and the Prime Minister is Mr. Xi Ya's disciple."
Kong Hongren was a little disappointed, but he still nodded and said: "It is true, there is love."
Wu Liande added: "The Kong family wanted to kill the imperial official. The emperor was furious about this. The Kong family must give an explanation to the imperial court. This explanation is the magistrate of Qufu. From now on, the magistrate of Qufu will be appointed by the imperial court."
Kong Hongren continued to nod: "I should give an explanation to the court."
Wu Liande said again: "Brother Kong can serve as the head of the Kong clan for generations."
This is what Kong Hongren wants. Duke Yansheng is just the face of the Kong family, while the patriarch is the savior of the Kong family and the real person in power of the Kong family!
Generally speaking, the head of the Kong clan was elected by Duke Yansheng, and the court rarely interfered, so the two were often integrated.
But if the imperial court really wants to intervene, no one can object.
Who will be the Duke of Yan depends on the bloodline, and even the imperial court cannot change it. The only thing the imperial court can do is to appoint the head of the Kong clan. Since the founding of the country, the emperor has only personally appointed one.
If this matter is handled properly and the imperial court opens an additional door to allow Kong Hongren to serve as patriarch for generations to come, the Kong family in Qufu will be completely controlled by him from now on, and even Duke Yan Sheng can only be a puppet!
Kong Hongren was so excited that his whole body trembled slightly, and he said sternly: "I will go to the imperial court in person so that I can severely punish those who deceive the master and destroy the ancestors!"
The next day, Kong Hongren, the head of the Kong clan, sent a memorandum to the imperial court, accusing Kong Wenli, a doctor of the Five Classics, for not obeying the imperial decree, using the old imperial tablets and royal titles, and after being traced by the chief envoy, he attempted to kill the imperial official. In order to cover up
The evidence of the crime was that he ordered the main hall of the Confucius Temple to be burned down!
When the memorial was sent to the capital, the civil and military officials of the entire court were in an uproar.
It is one thing for the chief envoy of Shandong to file a complaint, but it is another thing for the head of the Kong family to file a complaint in person. This is tantamount to fully confirming the Kong family's crime of burning down the ancestral temple!
How is this different from digging your own ancestral grave?