Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 570: Changes in the Confucius Mansion (4)

"Old system? Which dynasty's old system are you following? Now it's the Qian Dynasty. The court has a new system that distributes the tax based on the amount of land. The national law is ruthless. I wonder who dares to stop it!" Lu Ping said with a gloomy face and a bad tone.

The officer of the Kong Mansion was not afraid at all. He raised his head, looked at Lu Ping with his chin, and said disdainfully: "If someone in the Kong Mansion commits a crime, the three halls of the Kong Mansion should judge it."

Lu Ping was stunned. It was the first time he saw such an arrogant person. In the past, he had always been successful when he raised the banner of national law. But this time, he actually ran into a tough bone. The national law was not as important as the family rules of his Kong family.

Lu Ping was so angry that he laughed. He pointed at the officer and his fingers were shaking. Lu Ping said angrily, "Catch him for me!"

The village officer shouted, "Who dares? This is the land of saints. Who dares to do anything?"

The garrison officer was so imposing that it surprised everyone. At this moment, Lu Ping stepped forward quickly and kicked the garrison officer to the ground. He then kicked and cursed: "I have seen everything in these years. Who do you think you are? Who dares to attack me? Let me tell you, I am a Qingluan Guard. I dare to attack you!"

Lu Ping kicked several times, sweating, and then panting and scolding his subordinates: "You have no vision at all, arrest all these people, one by one, I want to see which is more important, the national law or the Kong family law!"

As the garrison officer was arrested, many managers of the Kong Mansion in Jining were all thrown into prison, and the people guarding them were changed from local yamen runners to Qingluan Guards.

Without these people blocking the way, the process of land surveying in Jining Prefecture immediately encountered no resistance.

When the news of this action reached the Confucius Mansion, the situation was different from before. When everyone heard the news, they all looked calm and composed. This was because the matter was already known to everyone in the court.

Tao thought that if she let Wu Jinkun make trouble now, he would have to return to Beijing in disgrace after a while. Tao also had some complaints about Song Zuyi. How could a scholar come up with such despicable ideas? Fortunately, she didn't listen to him, otherwise who knows how big the matter would have become.

………………

Capital city, palace.

There was no court meeting today, but the capital was filled with signs of impending storm. Wu Jinkun's actions in Jining Prefecture and the Qingluan Guards' arrest of people from the Kong Mansion were, in the eyes of court officials, a precursor to the emperor's intention to abolish Duke Yansheng.

For the civil officials, this was tantamount to cutting off the fuel for their crimes. If the emperor could not tolerate the direct lineage of a Confucian sage, then how could he rule the world with benevolence? How could those who had studied the books of sages so hard have the face to educate the people and comfort the barbarians?

These people were all waiting for the grand court meeting. Many of them had already written their impeachment memorials and were just waiting for the grand court meeting to attack them in groups. If words could be turned into saliva, then Wu Jinkun and Lu Ping would be completely drowned in saliva.

Meng Jun naturally knew that there were undercurrents in the capital, but he was not afraid. Meng Jun was willing to use benevolence and righteousness, but at the critical moment, his blade was not yet blunt!

In the palace, Yang En asked to see Meng Jun.

Meng Jun met Yang En in the imperial study.

Yang En bowed to Meng Jun and said, "Your Majesty, I dare to ask, Your Majesty, do you want to depose Duke Yansheng?"

Meng Jun looked at this minister who had devoted himself to him since the beginning of the rebellion with a gloomy expression. After a long silence, Meng Jun told Yang En what he was thinking.

"I do not wish to depose Duke Yansheng, but I cannot turn a blind eye to what the Kong family has done. Therefore, the preferential treatment given to the Kong family by previous dynasties is no longer possible in my dynasty."

Yang En bowed and said, "Your Majesty, although the Kong family has a lot of land, it is just a drop in the ocean compared to the vast territory of our dynasty. If you move it rashly, it will surely cause unrest in the world. I hope Your Majesty will think twice!"

Meng Jun stood up, walked slowly to Yang En, bent down, helped Yang En up, and sighed: "Mu De, when we started the army, we looked around and saw enemies everywhere. At that time, Mu De and I had no fear at all. How come now, we have thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, millions of brave soldiers, and more than a thousand brave men? What are you afraid of now!"

"I am not afraid, but I am worried that this good situation will be disturbed again because of some trivial things."

Hearing this, Meng Jun put his hands behind his back, walked to the door, and said calmly: "Mu De is now in a high position, so he can talk about trivial matters lightly. These days, the Qingluan Guard has collected a lot of evidence. It can be said that the crimes of the Kong family are too numerous to mention!"

The successive descendants of the Confucius family regarded the Confucius Temple, the Confucius Cemetery, Mount Ni where Confucius was born, and Mount Fang where Confucius' father was buried as holy places and sacred veins that no one was allowed to infringe upon. Anyone who violated the rules would be punished lightly or put to death.

For example, outside the city of Qufu, there was a commoner named Kong Sizheng who, due to hunger and cold, had to go to the Confucius Forest to cut some branches. However, he was soon discovered by the servants of the Confucius Mansion, who then rushed into his home, captured him, and beat him to a cripple.

But this was not enough to satisfy Kong Sizheng. After he was sent to the Qufu County Government, the county magistrate, following the order of Duke Yansheng, put a 50-jin shackle on Kong Sizheng and paraded him around the Confucius Forest and nearby villages for public display. Within ten days, Kong Sizheng was tortured to death.

There was also a citizen from the neighborhood who dug a stone from his own land. The Kong family beat him and imprisoned him for more than half a year, charging him with destroying the feng shui of the Kong family. Their family was forced to sell their only five acres of ancestral land, as well as their children, before they could redeem them. There were countless such incidents.

Hearing Meng Jun's words, Yang En felt very uncomfortable. He choked up and said, "Your Majesty, I... I am not someone who does not know the suffering of the people. I am just worried that Your Majesty has won the world with great difficulty and overcame all difficulties. Your holy name will be... will be tarnished by a villain!"

Hearing this, Meng Jun laughed loudly and said, "Emperor Hongwu of the former Ming Dynasty executed tens of thousands of officials. How can he change his reputation of being a man of great talent and strategy? Why should I be afraid of future generations' comments? Even if I was a captain of the Qing court, some villains would find faults if they wanted to. I am not afraid, so why should you be afraid?"

After hearing this, Yang En hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, for the sake of your majesty's confidentiality, I can come forward to cover up this matter, and I will definitely not damage your Majesty's reputation."

Meng Jun was speechless. Was that what he meant? Meng Jun waved his hand and said, "No, as the saying goes, we should learn from history. If we change history, how can we convince future generations? I surrendered to the Tartars and shaved my hair. You are not allowed to change it!"

Meng Jun did not accept Yang En's persuasion, so Yang En had to leave the palace. Then Yang En contacted important officials from various departments, saying that the emperor had already made a decision and advised the officials not to disobey. He also said that the emperor might not depose Duke Yansheng.

Some people listened to these words, while others did not. Everything will be clear at the grand court meeting tomorrow.