King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

Chapter 159 South hole and North hole
Kong Xixue's words fell.

Not only the people of Confucius Mansion.

Even Kong Yanqing, who had been in a haze and had just regained some energy recently, became nervous.

He couldn't help but ask: "Dad, what is written in this letter? Has something happened again?"

Kong Xixue's eyes were dull and he said: "Both Li Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites and Ru Shangshu of the Hu Bu spoke for our Kong family in the morning, and they also said that this matter was clearly done by King Lu!"

"The results of it?"

"Result. As a result, both Li Shangshu and Ru Shangshu were beaten with imperial sticks! Your Majesty believes that there is no evidence to prove that King Lu did it. What they said is pure slander!"

Everyone felt despair when they heard this!
Nowadays, King Lu implements the clearing of land in Yanzhou and Qingzhou.

However, all prefectures and counties are struggling!
Even though Xu Zengshou, the violent champion, and Lan Bin, the role model, often punished officials severely, they still couldn't understand clearly.

There was chaos everywhere.

to be honest.

All the rich families are staring at the Kong family!

If the Kong family is fine, they may not be fine either.

If the Kong family accepts Qing Zhang honestly, others will not dare to resist!

For a while.

The focus of the entire Qingzhou and Yanzhou is focused on the Kong family!

This is also the reason why King Lu wants to deal with the Kong family!
As long as the key contradiction is resolved, everything else will be beneficial!
However, the Kong family's resistance had not lasted long before they were defrauded in such a huge sum.

Not only was all the family property deprived, but even the land was lost!

The person who accepted the land pledge was none other than King Lu’s Lu Shang Salt Company!

Even according to the inference of who benefits the most, if this matter has nothing to do with King Lu, even a fool would not believe it!
Whether the Kong family can recover their money and property does not depend on whether they can catch the monster.

It’s about His Majesty’s attitude!

If Your Majesty is willing to take care of the Kong family, no matter how hard King Lu forces you, it will be of no use!
It will definitely be settled in the end, and the Kong family will lose so much gold at most!

But now, His Majesty's attitude is very clear!

King Lu is not guilty!

The Kong family deserves it!

Then the Kong family will be in misfortune!
Because the people who were harvesting the fields by King Lu might be on the way!

In Shandong, if others want to harvest their fields, it will be extremely difficult.

After all, the Qufu County Magistrate is also a member of the Kong family.

As long as the government jumps out, it will be useless for anyone to come!
not to mention.

Kong Xixue himself was also a dignified second-grade Yanshenggong, and even the Chief Envoy of Shandong wanted to give him a third grade!
But if King Lu comes, everything will stop!
The Kong family now owes money to King Lu, which is not reasonable at all.

If it were a comparison of status and status, how could it be possible to compare with King Lu?
Without the emperor's protection, the Kong family was nothing in the eyes of King Lu!
For the first time in my life.

The conceited Kong Xixue felt unprecedented fear!
Kong Xixue said in a trembling voice: "If His Royal Highness King Lu really sends troops to take over our family's fields, wouldn't our Kong family be doomed?"

Kong Yanqing heard this and said in disbelief: "Does His Highness King Lu dare? Doesn't he know what our Kong family means? Even the emperors of all dynasties have to treat us with courtesy! Why do they have to do that?"

Kong Xixin shook his head with a pale face and said: "The problem is, His Royal Highness King Lu is not the emperor! He will never be an emperor in the future! Why does he care so much? Besides, he holds the land deed in his hand, and it is reasonable to take away these fields!" "

Kong Yanqing collapsed to the ground!
"This is a weird kid! It's all my fault!"

suddenly.

Butler Kong Cheng hurried in again.

His face was full of panic.

Kong Xixue was already annoyed to death when he saw Kong Cheng!
This Sangmenxing!
Day after day brings no good news!

"What happened again!"

Kong Cheng said in panic: "Master! Someone from Lu Shang Salt Company is here. He is a servant. He said he is here to demand a debt! Either pay back the money or leave our farm!"

Kong Xi patted his thigh imitatingly.

"Quick! Open the middle door! Welcome guests!"

beside him.

Kong Yanqing was stunned when he heard this, and said: "Dad! We are the Kong family! You are the second-grade Holy Duke Yan! Why should you give him the courtesy of being a servant?"

Kong Xixue gritted his teeth and said: "What do you know! When has it been? You are still showing off the Kong family's stinky airs! If you continue to show off, there won't be any farmland left at home! Don't say that the one who comes now is a subordinate of the Lu Shang Salt Company. Now, even if it’s a dog from Lu Shang Salt Store, we have to take good care of it!”

With that said, Kong Xixue hurried out.

Although he heard that he was a servant of Lu Shang Salt Company, Kong Xixue was still stunned when he saw the visitor.

Isn’t this person too mean?

The clothes he was wearing were still patched, and his hair was messy. He was not even a branch manager, he was clearly a clerk!

Kong Xixue led a group of Kong family members to greet the waiter, their faces full of respect.

"I wonder if my little brother is here to give you any advice?"

When everyone heard the word "little brother" spoken by Kong Xixue, the corners of their mouths twitched.

The dignified second-grade Yan Shenggong actually wanted to call a lowly servant brother and brother!

The clerk held his head high and said, "The shopkeeper asked me to collect the cash! You all borrowed a total of 50 taels from Lushang Salt Bank! For one month, the total with interest is 55 taels!"

Kong Xixue glanced at Kong Yanqing.

Do you dare to borrow at such a high interest rate?
Kong Yanqing's face was filled with silence and he did not dare to speak.

Kong Xixue said with a smile: "We have prepared the money, but I don't know how to bring it back, little brother?"

The man nodded and said proudly: "Since you have already prepared it, take it out!"

Kong Xixue smiled and said: "Little brother, why are you so anxious? 50 taels is not a small amount. You have to find a way to transport so much silver, right?"

The guy snorted and said, "What a bullshit excuse! I see you guys clearly have no money!"

Kong Xixue's expression changed when he heard the word "Laozi".

Around him, all the Kong family members also had angry faces!

How dare a despicable person speak to Duke Yan like this!

However, Kong Xixue still suppressed his anger and finally said with a smile: "Easy to say, easy to say! It's hard to get the 50 taels of silver if you come here alone. How about this, how about I, the Kong family, personally deliver the silver to your door tomorrow?"

The man frowned and snorted, and said, "Do you mean what you say? I think your Kong family is almost finished now. Are you lying to me?"

Kong Xixue remained calm-faced.

He just smiled and said: "How dare you, how dare you! Behind the Lu Shang Salt Shop is His Highness King Lu. Even if our Kong family has eaten the courage of a bear and a leopard, how dare we deceive His Highness King Lu?"

The guy nodded.

"In this case, then go ahead and raise money and deliver it tomorrow! If it's delayed, your money will still be collected! Don't forget that the land deed is still in our hands."

Kong Xixue smiled with a smile on his face and said: "Definitely! Definitely! Little brother, why don't you stay for a light meal? Our Kong family is pretty good at cooking."

The waiter snorted and said, "You yourself can hardly eat, so I won't eat here!"

After saying that, he turned around and left proudly.

Everyone in the Kong family looked at the guy's back with anger on their faces!
The housekeeper Kong Cheng gritted his teeth and said: "A mere despicable person dares to humiliate the Kong family like this! Master, I'm going to find someone to kill him!"

Kong Xixue glanced at Kong Cheng coldly.

"Have you ever seen a despicable person who sees so many of us but doesn't have the slightest bit of stage fright, talks tightly and keeps talking to each other?

If you can find one from the house, I will let him be your housekeeper tomorrow!

This person was clearly sent by Prince Lu to test me.
If I had dared to show any dissatisfaction just now, I'm afraid King Lu would send people to destroy the Kong family tomorrow!
In short, the land deed is in their hands! "

The words fell.

Everyone was shocked.

Thinking back carefully, this is really the case!

The guy just now didn't panic at all when he saw so many people around him. Instead, he tried to anger everyone again and again!
Kong Yanqing couldn't help but said: "Dad, what should we do now? Didn't we promise to pay back the money tomorrow?"

Kong Xixue sighed.

"How can dad still have any money now? The only thing dad can risk is this face! And the face of our ancestors of the Kong family!"

Yanzhou.

Prince Lu's Mansion.

Zhu Tan was having a pleasant conversation with a middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man is wearing a Confucian robe and a Confucian crown. He looks elegant and elegant, and is smiling all over his face. Zhu Tan said carelessly: "I also respect Saint Kong very much.

No one knows Confucianism better than me!

If nothing else, take a look at this year's imperial examination. All 50 of my disciples passed the imperial examination, even though they only took the exam on the Four Books and Five Classics! The No. scholar and the No. scholar are both my disciples! "

The middle-aged man smiled and said: "The common people in Quzhou know a lot about His Highness's deeds, and they are indeed admired by the common people!"

Zhu Tan said with a smile: "Don't be too admiring! When you become a descendant, you can publicize my achievements in Confucianism to the world's scholars!"

The middle-aged man's mouth twitched.

But he didn't dare to say anything.

Who doesn’t know that your Royal Highness, Prince Lu, was able to teach those students? On the one hand, he had the help of great scholars, and on the other hand, he hired a group of assistants who were like wolves and tigers, and almost beat those students to death!

As for His Royal Highness King Lu's own Confucian attainments, they are still in the fog and cannot be said.

But now that the middle-aged man wants something from him, he doesn't dare to refute it.

Just sitting opposite Zhu Tan, with a smiling face.

suddenly.

The guy who just showed up at Kong's house came in.

He said to Zhu Tan: "Your Highness, no matter how the villains in the Kong family bullied him, Kong Xixue always had a smile on his face and answered correctly without any dissatisfaction.

Even when the villain went there in this disguise, the Confucius Mansion actually opened the middle door to welcome him!

There is really no way for a villain to anger the Kong family! Please forgive me, Your Highness. "

Zhu Tan frowned, shook his head, and said with a smile: "It seems that there is something unique about the existence of this Beikong in the north!"

The middle-aged man snorted.

"It's nothing more than adapting to the wind and swallowing your anger!"

Zhu Tan smiled.

"In this case, sir, I'm afraid you have to be patient! It's only a matter of time before the Southern Sect goes to the north. All the regular wooden statues of Confucius are in your hands. It was your Southern Sect that gave up the title of Duke Shengxuan so that the Northern Sect could go. !”

The middle-aged man in front of me is named Kong Kezhong.

Speaking of which, he is still Kong Xixue's elder.

Kong Kejian is the head of the Nankong family.

Historically, due to the Jingkang Incident in the Northern Song Dynasty, the Kong family had to split into two branches in order to preserve the family's survival.

Kong Duanyou, who was appointed Duke Yansheng, went to Quzhou, Zhejiang.

Kong Duanyou's younger brother Kong Duancao stayed in Qufu, Shandong.

After the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty, Kong Duancao was canonized as Duke Yansheng.

From then on, there were two Yanshenggong in the world.

After the Yuan Dynasty unified the world, Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, recognized Kong Zhu, the Duke of Yansheng in the Southern Song Dynasty, as the orthodox Duke of Yansheng, and ordered Kong Zhu to return to Qufu.

However, Kong Zhu firmly refused after receiving Kublai Khan's order, preferring not to receive the title of Duke Yan.

From then on, the title of Duke Yansheng remained in Beikong in Qufu.

And in fact.

The direct lineage of the elder brothers of the Kong family is in Nanzong.

Until the establishment of the Ming Dynasty.

At that time, Kong Kejian, Duke Yansheng of Beikong, still firmly believed that the Yuan Dynasty was the orthodoxy of China and refused to visit Zhu Yuanzhang.

It wasn't until Lao Zhu impatiently issued a threat that Kong Kejian went to Yingtian honestly.

Lao Zhu was not polite and did not let Kong Kejian continue to be Ming Dynasty's Duke Yansheng.

Instead, he appointed his son Kong Xixue as the new Duke Yansheng.

Kong Kejian lived in Yingtian for a long time and died in the third year of Hongwu.

As for Nan Kong, he was also found by the court at that time, but the title of Duke Yan Sheng had always been with Beikong, and Zhu Yuanzhang followed the usual practice and continued it like this.

They just gave Nankong some sacrificial fields and allowed them to continue living in Quzhou.

Even if Nan Kong holds the regular wooden statue of Confucius that represents the inheritance of the Kong family from generation to generation, it can only be reduced to the status of a side branch.

During this period, Kong Xixue relied on his power as Duke Yansheng many times to force Nankong to hand over the regular wooden statue of Confucius.

Nan Kong was also extremely strong-willed and determined not to have any friendship with him.

In the end, the two sects turned against each other. Kong Xixue colluded with the local government and took away Nankong's sacrificial fields, forcing Nankong to suffer miserably.

When Zhu Tan found the Nankong branch, he found that they were in such extreme poverty that they all started farming!

This also made Kong Kezhong, the head of the Nankong family, hate Beikong deeply.

This time, he went north just to find an opportunity to see if he could seize the position of Duke Yansheng of Beizong!

In fact.

If Zhu Tan is willing, he only needs to collect the Kong family's sacrificial fields and send officers and soldiers to harass them a few times to completely defeat the Kong family!

The so-called magistrate who broke up the family, the county magistrate who wiped out the family, even these small officials can do things, Zhu Tan, a prince, can't even do it!

That's why Zhu Tan deliberately sent a villain to humiliate the Kong family!
As long as the Kong family dares to show any dissatisfaction and resistance, then Zhu Tan will dare to let Nanzong come back and become Duke Yansheng!
did not expect.

Kong Xixue actually endured it!

Zhu Tan shouldn't go too far.

after all.

A few days ago, he just received the imperial edict from Lao Zhu.

It probably means not to do too much to the Kong family and ask him to return the fields in Beikong. At the same time, he also wants 60,000 taels of gold!

Of course there is no gold.

Zhu Tan used them all to raise soldiers.

But with Lao Zhu's imperial edict, Zhu Tan had to return the land.

As for changing the head of the Kong family, don't even think about it.

After all, the Kong family is the spiritual holy place for scholars all over the world. If Zhu Tan wants to move here, there is no guarantee that Lao Zhu will not think too much.

However, Zhu Tan also knew.

Lao Zhu is not just partial to the Kong family.

There are conditions for returning those fields to them.
That is, the Kong family must fully cooperate with their actions in Qingzhou and Yanzhou!

From now on, no wealthy family will dare to resist in King Lu's vassal land!
A hint of disappointment flashed in Kong Kezhong's eyes.

He stood up and said with a smile: "His Royal Highness, King Lu, in that case, I will go back to Quzhou first!"

Zhu Tan smiled and said: "Sir, there is no need to be impatient! It should be yours, sooner or later!"

Kong Kezhong cupped his hands and said, "Kong would be very grateful to His Highness for lending a helping hand to our Southern Sect in times of crisis!
What is happening now, I also know, Your Highness is in trouble! "

talking.

Leave gracefully.

Zhu Tan looked at Kong Kezhong's back and smiled slightly.

Why should we take down Beikong and replace it with Nanzong?
The status of Duke Yan Sheng was no worse than that of the vassal king.

If Kong Kezhong had become Duke Yansheng, he might not be very obedient!
However, if Beikong could help Nankong's people to take over at any time, he would have to obey his orders honestly!
at this time.

The news that Kong Kezhong left Prince Lu's Mansion has become a rumor all over the city.

Yanzhou.

Prince Lu's Mansion.

Early in the morning.

Kong Xixue stood respectfully at the gate of the palace with more than a dozen carts of gifts.

"Excuse me, I would like to inform you that Kong Xixue from Qufu wants to see His Highness King Lu!"

soon.

The middle door of Prince Lu's mansion opened wide.

Zhu Tan stood there with a smile on his face.

Kong Xixue saw the young man in front of him and said respectfully: "Kong Xixue, Duke Yansheng, pays homage to His Royal Highness King Lu!"

(End of this chapter)