This world has never been short of fools, nor has it been short of scoundrels, and even less so of the foolish and wicked fools.
However, you cannot assume that the head of a noble family that has been passed down for over two thousand years is also a foolish and wicked fool.
Not to mention that Old Master Kong looked at that person earlier as if he were looking at a fool; even Kong Qingrong looked at that person no differently than if he were looking at a fool.
After the man retreated to the side with a sheepish air, Kong Qingrong let out a cold snort and said, "Now, the people of our Yan Sheng Gong Mansion can escape anywhere, but they absolutely cannot escape to Zhili, nor can they escape to the territory of the Tartars."
"If we hadn't submitted this memorial to the rebel Zhu before the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion did, we could have escaped anywhere, and no one would have said anything even if we had fled to the Tartars' territory."
"But is the situation the same now? Now that we have submitted this memorial to the rebel Zhu, if we were to flee to the Tartars' territory again, wouldn't that solidify what the rebel Zhu said in this newspaper?"
Seeing that the spokesmen from the other branches were all reprimanded into silence, Old Master Kong then looked at these people and coldly snorted, "Alright, listen to Qingrong's arrangements for what comes next."
With that, Old Master Kong no longer paid attention to them and rose directly to return to his courtyard.
Old Master Kong knew very well that his Yan Sheng Gong Mansion would, like Chen Tailai, be brought to the county yamen of Qufu County by Zhu Jinsong to undergo the so-called public trial by those "mud-legged" commoners.
What is a public trial?
A public trial means bringing everyone in the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion, from top to bottom, to the county yamen of Qufu County, letting those "mud-legged" people watch as the magistrate interrogates them, one by one, questioning them on each crime.
What the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion has been doing all these years, perhaps some people in the other branches did not know very comprehensively, but as the Duke Yan Sheng, Old Master Kong knew it more clearly than anyone.
If these matters were to be brought up and interrogated in front of the county yamen of Qufu County, then the reputation of the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion would be utterly ruined, with no room for salvage.
Old Master Kong would rather die than face such a situation.
It must be admitted that Old Master Kong was indeed a ruthless man.
Upon returning to his courtyard, Old Master Kong first personally sent his wife and younger brother-in-law on their way, and then sent himself on his way.
And Kong Qingrong, who was designated by Old Master Kong as the next Duke Yan Sheng, acted with a decisiveness that could be called fierce and resolute.
After Old Master Yan Sheng Kong left the room, Kong Qingrong first had the core disciples of each branch flee to different places, and then ordered people to sort out all the land deeds and property deeds of the entire Kong Mansion, as well as the accumulated money and grain over the years.
Kong Qingrong knew that he might not survive, and he knew that the people from the other branches might not survive either, but as Old Master Kong had said earlier, the current situation was simply about seeking survival.
With hundreds of people in the entire Yan Sheng Gong Mansion, it was impossible for every single one of them to deserve death. There would still be some who could survive. As long as someone could survive, the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion would not be completely extinguished.
Kong Qingrong sat in his chair, looked towards the direction of Jinan Prefecture, let out a cold laugh, and then instructed the housekeeper in his room, "In my elder uncle's name, request an audience with the rebel Zhu. Tell him that my elder uncle is willing to atone with his death, that our Kong family is willing to move out of the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion, and that all the money and grain accumulated by the Kong family over the years are also his. From now on, we will pass down our family traditions of farming and study."
"If he is unwilling to give us even this path to survival, then all this grain and so on will turn to ashes. At that time, let's see how he will resettle the nearly ten million people of Zhili."
Rebel Zhu, Rebel Zhu, you have won this time, but don't forget, in this world, there are only thousand-year-old noble families, but no thousand-year-old emperors. Can you keep winning?
Zhu Jinsong didn't know if he could keep winning, but after receiving the news sent by the new Duke Yan Sheng, Kong Qingrong, Zhu Jinsong decisively refused: "Impossible."
"If we, because of this little money and grain, say that the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion is not guilty, then where will you place the laws of Menglianggu? And where will you place the millions upon millions of people in this world?"
"Therefore, whether the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion, from top to bottom, is guilty or not is not up to me alone to decide. It is up to the laws of Menglianggu, and it is up to the millions upon millions of people in this world."
Upon hearing Zhu Jinsong's words, the face of the personal butler of the new Duke Yan Sheng, Kong Qingrong, immediately turned dark.
According to the laws of Menglianggu to decide whether the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion is guilty or not?
Let alone the laws of Menglianggu, even if you pick up any book of laws such as the Great Qing Code, the Great Ming Code, the Hongwu Emperor's Edict, the Great Song Code, or the Tang Code with Commentary, you would probably find a large number of crimes committed by the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion.
Not to mention that the laws of Menglianggu under Zhu Jinsong's rule nakedly favored those "mud-legged" commoners.
If judged by the laws of Menglianggu, then there would not be a single person in the entire Yan Sheng Gong Mansion who deserved to live; instead, all of them deserved to die.
Thinking of this, the personal butler of Kong Qingrong couldn't help but look even more grim, and said in a deep voice, "Does Your Highness the Prince of Lu really want the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion to be completely wiped out before he is satisfied?"
"It's fine if the entire Yan Sheng Gong Mansion is wiped out, but does Your Highness the Prince of Lu not care about the lives and deaths of the nearly ten million people in Zhili?"
Zhu Jinsong was so amused that he laughed.
Otherwise, why would people say that those fellows from the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion don't do human things? Look, they are still calling out "His Highness the Prince of Lu" over and over again.
The Prince of Lu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Yu, had a stutter. The Prince of Lu of Eastern Wu, Sun Ba, was granted death by Sun Quan. The Prince of Lu of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuanchang, was forced to commit suicide. The Prince of Lu of the Jin Dynasty, Wanyan Chang, was chopped up by Wushu. The first Prince of Lu of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Tan, not only died of drug abuse but was also sentenced to castration by Zhu Yuanzhang, and after his death, he was given the posthumous title of "θ" (desolate).
Damn it, do they really think that just because I come from the common people, I haven't read any books?
If they were like those silly netizens who don't like to study, they would probably think that "His Highness the Prince of Lu" is a good title.
Besides, what "atone with death," what "willing to move out of the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion," and what "offering the accumulated money and grain over the years" are all nonsense that can only fool a three-year-old child.
Atoning with death and evading a public trial might be turned into some kind of dog-like beautiful anecdote by those pedantic scholars, such as "A gentleman dies with his hat still on."
Moving out of the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion and continuing the family tradition of farming and study means that the remaining people do not need to undergo a public trial.
Offering the accumulated money and grain over the years? Is that money and grain definitively accumulated by your Yan Sheng Gong Mansion generation after generation, or is it extorted from the common people?
Of course, Zhu Jinsong had to admit that the new Duke Yan Sheng, Kong Qingrong, was indeed not a simple character.
If Zhu Jinsong did not accept Kong Qingrong's request and insisted on bringing the entire Yan Sheng Gong Mansion to the Qufu County yamen for a public trial, then Zhu Jinsong would be branded with the reputation of not caring about the lives and deaths of the people of Zhili, because the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion would certainly not give those money and grain to Zhu Jinsong.
If Zhu Jinsong accepted this seemingly fair exchange request from Kong Qingrong, then he could not touch the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion in the future, at least he would have to stand by and watch the people of the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion move out of the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion.
Then, they would escape the law.
In this way, Zhu Jinsong's claim of using the law to judge whether the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion was guilty or not would become a joke, and the laws of Menglianggu would naturally become a joke.
This means that regardless of whether Zhu Jinsong accepted or rejected Kong Qingrong's request, the reputation of the Menglianggu rebel group would be affected, and Zhu Jinsong's reputation as the leader of the rebels might even be tarnished.
Therefore, after listening to the words of Kong Qingrong, the personal butler of Old Master Kong, Zhu Jinsong smiled and waved his hand at Ke Zhiming and said, "Take him down!"
After Ke Zhiming led people to tie up Kong Qingrong's personal butler, Zhu Jinsong then instructed Ke Zhiming, "Go and gather your men. I am going to the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion personally."
...
The Yan Sheng Gong Mansion was far more impressive than the residences of ordinary families. Normally, officials of the seventh rank or above would have to report to the inner quarters through an official courier, and without permission, a seventh-rank official could not even enter the second gate of the Kong Mansion.
The Kong Mansion also had the title of "The First Family Under Heaven."
The royal family is the first family under heaven? Don't be ridiculous. The Kong family has been passed down for a thousand years without interruption, while the imperial family's lineage is often replaced. What face does the royal family have to say it is the first family under heaven in front of the Kong family?
And the only ones comparable to the Kong family, the Five Great Clans and Seven Noble Houses, were almost destroyed by Empress Wu Zetian during the reign of Emperor Li Xiaojiu, leaving only the Kong family to dominate.
Even in later generations, when a professor at a certain university published an article criticizing Confucius a few times, the result was that he was fiercely attacked by some so-called World Association of Confucius Descendants.
Upon arriving at the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion, Zhu Jinsong directly ignored the current Duke Yan Sheng, Kong Qingrong, who came out to greet him. Instead, with a grim expression, he instructed his subordinates, "Take down everyone in the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion! Not a single person shall escape!"
The subordinates following Zhu Jinsong were either old brothers who had followed Zhu Jinsong in rebelling against officials since Ningyang, or members of the Tiandihui and surviving members of the Imperial Guard. These people did not care about being the Duke Yan Sheng or not. Upon receiving Zhu Jinsong's order, they immediately rushed towards the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion.
Kong Qingrong, who had held a sliver of hope, was now completely desperate.
No matter how Kong Qingrong thought about it, he never imagined that Zhu Jinsong would dare to defy public opinion and personally lead his men to Qufu, and even personally conduct a public trial of hundreds of people in the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion!
Isn't he really afraid of causing trouble?
Zhu Jinsong was indeed not afraid.
As the saying goes, a righteous person is not afraid of a crooked shadow. Although Zhu Jinsong, since rebelling against officials, dared not say that he loved his people like children, at least he had never oppressed the common people. What did he have to worry about?
Worried about the criticism of the world? Or worried that the illiterate commoners would sympathize with the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion?
On the contrary, the Yan Sheng Gong Mansion should be the one to worry.
Zhu Jinsong, riding on his horse, looked at the increasingly desperate new Duke Yan Sheng, Kong Qingrong, and said with a smile, "It is truly an honor to have Duke Kong personally come out to greet me. It is truly an honor, truly an honor."
Kong Qingrong's face grew even darker.
It is said that killing is nothing more than a nod of the head. What do you, surnamed Zhu, mean by this? Have you come to my Yan Sheng Gong Mansion to kill and then attack the heart?
Kong Qingrong let out a cold snort and looked at Zhu Jinsong, saying, "Does Your Highness the Prince of Lu truly want my Yan Sheng Gong Mansion to be extinguished, and the lineage of the Sage to be cut off?"
Zhu Jinsong let out a "ha" laugh and looked at Kong Qingrong, saying, "Look, even now you are still calling out 'His Highness the Prince of Lu' over and over again. Do you really think I don't know the true meaning of this Prince of Lu? Also, what does the extinction of your Yan Sheng Gong Mansion have to do with the lineage of the Sage?"
"Let me tell you plainly, even if everyone in your Yan Sheng Gong Mansion is wiped out, what does it matter? Not to mention that there is the Southern Branch even without the Northern Branch, and even without the Southern Branch, the lineage of the Sage will not be broken!"
Speaking of which, Zhu Jinsong then took out a newspaper from hisζ, threw it in front of Kong Qingrong, and said with a cold laugh, "The space in last issue's newspaper was too small, and many things could not be explained in detail. This issue of the newspaper will perfectly fill in the remaining content."
Kong Qingrong picked up the newspaper with suspicion and looked at it. After reading it, he was completely stunned.
ps: The third update is here, another day of ten thousand words! Please vote! Please vote! Please vote!