When Duke Kong Xianpei roared, "How dare this Zhu brat bully me like this!", the various house stewards of the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion, big and small, couldn't help but feel curious and wanted to get closer to Duke Kong to see the painting. However, they were intimidated by Duke Kong Xianpei and found it awkward to approach.
Just then, a young servant from outside the hall ran towards the hall with something in his hand, shouting, "Duke, Duke, the Menglianggu Newspaper you asked me to watch out for has just arrived."
That's right, among the territories currently controlled by Zhu Jinsong, apart from the Prefectural Yamen, the County Yamen, and the various local farmers' associations, the person most enthusiastic about subscribing to newspapers was Duke Kong Xianpei of the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion. To get the "Menglianggu Newspaper" as soon as possible, Duke Kong even sent dedicated personnel to wait in Jinan Prefecture and gave the servant who was waiting for the newspaper special privileges to deliver it directly to Duke Kong without announcement.
However, at this moment, Duke Kong, who was in a fit of rage, looked at the newspaper held by the servant and found it extremely unpleasant. Just as he was about to order the servant to burn the newspaper, he suddenly thought of a possibility and instructed the servant, "Bring the newspaper over, and then go collect your reward."
As expected, when Duke Kong Xianpei received the newspaper, he found that the first page of the newspaper also depicted Confucius with a queue hairstyle on his head, wearing a magua jacket, and holding a petition表 to the Qing dynasty portrait of the Great Sage and Foremost Teacher. The content of the article was similar to that of the painting.
Duke Kong sank into his chair, slapped the newspaper on the table, and said dejectedly to the stewards of the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion, "You can all take a look."
Upon hearing Duke Kong's instruction, the other stewards, who were already extremely curious, all crowded around, picked up the painting and newspaper on the table, and passed them around.
"This, this, this..."
"This is too much of a bullying!"
"That rebel Zhu is just a commoner, how dare he bully our Yan Sheng Gong Mansion like this!"
"He is not just insulting our Yan Sheng Gong Mansion? He is fundamentally insulting the Sage!"
"Duke, this matter absolutely cannot be let go like this!?"
"Why doesn't Duke call upon scholars from all over the world to denounce the rebel Zhu?"
"..."
Listening to the stewards from various households vociferously denouncing Zhu Jinsong, Duke Kong, who was already annoyed, immediately slammed the table and roared, "Silence, all of you!"
After everyone quieted down, Duke Kong looked at the stewards and shouted, "So what if that rebel Zhu is a commoner? At least he occupies Shandong. You descendants of the Sage can only bark uselessly in front of this Duke!"
"When Chen Tailai besieged the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion, it was this Duke who stepped forward. Where were all of you at that time! And you talk about calling upon scholars from all over the world to denounce the rebel Zhu? How many people can you mobilize!"
After thoroughly scolding the stewards from all the households, making them unable to lift their heads, Duke Kong took a deep breath and instructed his most valued nephew, Kong Qingrong, "Organize all the money, grain, and land of our Kong family into a booklet and send it all to that rebel Zhu in Jinan Prefecture."
The stewards from other households immediately exploded.
"Duke, think twice!"
"Duke, are you just handing over the family fortune accumulated by your ancestors of the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion to that rebel Zhu?"
"Duke! If it were any other time, it would be fine, but now that that rebel Zhu has insulted our Yan Sheng Gong Mansion so much, why should we eagerly hand over our money, grain, and land to him?"
"..."
Seeing the stewards from various households starting to nag again, Duke Kong slammed the table again and roared, "Quiet!"
After everyone quieted down, Duke Kong closed his eyes and sighed, "Xianpei is incompetent and has not been able to have a son or daughter. Therefore, after my death, Taofu will be the next Yan Sheng Gong."
The stewards from other households were immediately stunned.
After my death?
How could he be so fine and suddenly talk about after his death?
Was Duke Kong planning to kill himself and then hand over all the property and money of the Kong Mansion to the rebel Zhu?
What kind of situation was this!
The stewards, big and small, looked at each other. After a while, someone hesitantly asked, "Duke, what do you mean by that?"
Duke Kong opened his eyes, glanced at the person who spoke, and snorted coldly, "What do I mean? I mean what I said."
"Since that rebel Zhu sent such a painting, it's clearly forcing this Duke to die."
"However, this Duke cannot die! If this Duke doesn't die, then our entire Yan Sheng Gong Mansion, from top to bottom, will have to die with this Duke!"
Duke Kong sighed, "Only by this Duke's death, and then handing over the money, grain, and land to Zhu, can our entire Yan Sheng Gong Mansion, with its hundreds of people, perhaps have a way to survive."
Kong Qingrong, who was most valued by Duke Kong Xianpei, said solemnly, "If after Great Uncle's death, nephew hands over the money, grain, and land, but that rebel Zhu still refuses to let our Yan Sheng Gong Mansion go?"
Kong Xianpei chuckled bitterly and said, "It shouldn't be the case. As long as that rebel Zhu still has a shred of decency, he won't let our Yan Sheng Gong Mansion go after my death."
However, Kong Qingrong shook his head and said, "Great Uncle is still thinking too simply."
Seeing Kong Xianpei looking at him, Kong Qingrong continued, "Chen Tailai was the first to raise the banner of rebellion in response to the rebel Zhu. Later, when the rebel Zhu attacked Jining, Chen Tailai surrendered without any resistance, but Chen Tailai still died."
Having said that, Kong Qingrong shook the newspaper in his hand and sneered, "That rebel Zhu is very capable. With just one public trial meeting, it turned into the commoners of Jinan Prefecture wanting to kill Chen Tailai, not him, the rebel Zhu."
"Now it's the same for our Yan Sheng Gong Mansion. Even if Great Uncle sacrifices his life, that rebel Zhu may not let our Yan Sheng Gong Mansion, from top to bottom, go. It's just that the ones killing us won't be rebel Zhu, but the commoners in Qufu County."
As Kong Qingrong's words fell, the other stewards looked at each other again, and Duke Kong Xianpei fell silent.
In fact, Duke Kong Xianpei himself understood that the so-called sacrificing his life to save the hundreds of people in the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion was just self-deception. What truly gave Duke Kong the idea of suicide was still the matter of face.
Dying by suicide might force Zhu Jinsong to spare the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion, or it might have no effect on Zhu Jinsong at all. The key was that Duke Kong himself would not be taken to the county yamen to undergo a so-called public trial, and would not lose his composure in front of those commoners.
While Duke Kong Xianpei was in silence, Kong Qingrong shook the newspaper in his hand again and sighed, "The situation has reversed. Now the power of speech is in the hands of those rebels from Menglianggu, and our Yan Sheng Gong Mansion..."
"Even if our Yan Sheng Gong Mansion is wiped out, that rebel Zhu can say in the newspaper that our Yan Sheng Gong Mansion courted its own death. The people of the world will only think that our Yan Sheng Gong Mansion oppressed the common people too much, forcing the common people to灭 our Yan Sheng Gong Mansion, and will not blame the rebel Zhu for this."
"As for the scholars in the world... Heh, compared to those commoners, how many are these so-called scholars?"
"I heard that the rebel Zhu from Menglianggu has picked up the village school system of the former dynasty's Hongwu Emperor again, saying that he will build a village school in every village, so that all children in the world can study."
"Once there are village schools in every village, and the children of commoners can read, then scholars... will naturally not be worth much."
Speaking of this, Kong Qingrong's face, which was full of bitterness, suddenly revealed a trace of hatred: "Once the rebel Zhu's plan succeeds, all the commoners in the world will not think that the Great Sage and Foremost Teacher initiated the concept of education for all. They will only think that it was Zhu who established the village schools that gave them the opportunity to study, and they will only remember Zhu's kindness, not the Great Sage and Foremost Teacher's kindness, nor the kindness of our Yan Sheng Gong Mansion.
Hearing Kong Qingrong's words, Duke Kong Xianpei also fell silent.
Why did the former Ming dynasty's Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang become the first cruel tyrant in history?
Was it because Zhu Yuanzhang killed nobles like chickens? Was it because Zhu Yuanzhang was a murderer?
No, it wasn't at all.
Look at the nobles Zhu Yuanzhang killed, which one did not deserve to die?
Including Lan Yu, whom many believed would not have died if Zhu Biao had lived, he also had a reason to die – because the guards at Xifeng Pass did not open the city gate in time to welcome him, Lan Yu actually bombarded the pass with cannons and then led his troops to break through the gate!
Bombarding one's own city is an act that would lead to death for any army or any general, let alone Xifeng Pass, such an important pass.
Therefore, Lan Yu courted his own death, and he would have died even if Zhu Biao had lived.
The reason why the killing of Lan Yu was far-fetchedly attributed to the slaughter of meritorious officials was mainly because Old Zhu had offended all the scholars in the world.
Yes, he offended all the scholars in the world. Even though Old Zhu gave many preferential treatments to students, and even though Old Zhu introduced the North-South examination system to ensure the fairness of the imperial examinations, Old Zhu still offended all the scholars in the world.
Because Old Zhu's village school system allowed the children of commoners in the world to have the opportunity to study, it fundamentally touched the interests of all scholars – the spread of knowledge is always from top to bottom. Those who have not become scholars hope to become scholars, and after becoming scholars, these people begin to consciously protect the class interests of scholars.
Old Zhu's establishment of village schools would lead to an increasing number of scholars in the world. With more scholars, they would naturally become less valuable. This was the class interest of scholars. Even those who could study because of Old Zhu's village school system only hoped to become scholars themselves and did not wish for more people to study.
Moreover, Old Zhu's permission for commoners to impeach officials and even allow commoners to escort corrupt officials to the capital to file complaints not only offended the class interests of scholars.
Even the nursery rhyme that has been circulating in Fengyang, "Speaking of Fengyang, Fengyang is originally a good place. Since the appearance of Emperor Zhu, there have been nine years of famine in ten years."
Was Fengyang really experiencing nine years of famine in ten years? No, Fengyang was not only not experiencing nine years of famine in ten years, but it was also exempt from taxes and levies due to being the place where the dynasty originated.
The reason for the existence of such a nursery rhyme was that the wealthy merchants and businessmen who were forcibly relocated to Fengyang by Zhu Yuanzhang had composed this children's song and spread it everywhere. One person singing it might not be much, but when the entire Fengyang began to sing it. Zhu Yuanzhang's reputation was ruined in this way.
In the end, it was because Zhu Yuanzhang had moved too many people's interests.
Do you understand? This is the biggest problem. The rest, such as killing meritorious officials to pave the way for Zhu Yunwen, is all nonsense.
And the reason why Zhu Yuanzhang's reputation became notorious was ultimately because Zhu Yuanzhang did not control the ultimate power of discourse.
Old Zhu did have the Imperial Gazette, but the Imperial Gazette was directed at the local governments, at those officials. Ordinary people had no chance to see the Imperial Gazette.
Compared to the Imperial Gazette in Old Zhu's hands, the "Menglianggu Newspaper" created by Zhu Jinsong is the true ultimate weapon.
The "Menglianggu Newspaper" can have the function of the Imperial Gazette, allowing anyone who can recognize characters to know what is written on it. This is equivalent to Zhu Jinsong snatching the power of discourse from the Confucians, officials, and scholars.
If Zhu Jinsong wished, he could turn black into white, and white into black.
From this point of view, the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion had almost no power to retaliate.
Duke Kong naturally understood the logic behind this.
After a long silence, Duke Kong Xianpei sighed helplessly and said, "It is merely seeking survival in death. There are always a few in my Kong family who do not deserve to die."
Hearing Duke Kong Xianpei's decision, the stewards of various households were speechless. After a long while, one person tentatively said, "Why doesn't Duke take his wife and maternal uncle to the north?"
Duke Kong Xianpei glanced at the speaker and slammed the table, scolding, "How stupid are you!"