Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 573 Qufu Civil Uprising

Wu Jinkun traveled day and night to Qufu. He was worried that if a civil uprising broke out in Qufu, it would have an extremely bad impact on the reputation of the imperial court.

The Kong family has been favored by all dynasties. There is no such empty talk about being descendants of a sage. Rather, the relationship between the Yansheng Duke and the dynasty is mutually reinforcing.

The emperor longed for stability and long-term peace in the world, while Duke Yansheng hoped to continue his family's wealth and pass it down from generation to generation. The surrender of Duke Yansheng's mansion to the new dynasty would also allow the new dynasty to confidently announce that they were established by the will of heaven.

Therefore, everyone in the Yanshenggong Mansion is dumbfounded by the decree of the current Emperor Meng Jun. This situation was something no one had expected.

Tao was even more incredulous, and said to the relatives of the Kong Mansion: "In the past, all the emperors were afraid that their grace would not be as good as the Saint Mansion, and they were afraid that the rewards would not be generous enough, and they respected it very much. I have never heard of an emperor punishing the descendants of the saint so severely. This is truly a change that has never happened in the ages. What will the Saint Mansion do?"

The person in charge of the Guangou Hall was Kong Fangyou, a member of the Kong family and also the most powerful person in the Kong Mansion. The court's policy of distributing the land tax based on the amount of land was a fatal blow to Kong Fangyou, who was in charge of the financial power.

Kong Fangyou said in a gloomy tone: "How can the court last long if it is so unjust? Our Holy Palace will never succumb to tyranny. If we really follow the court's chaos, the prosperity of the Holy Palace will be gone!"

Tao said worriedly, "The imperial court is powerful and is forcibly implementing the system of allocating taxes according to the amount of land. How can we resist?"

Kong Fangyou sneered and said, "It's too easy for the emperor to gain the world. I don't know how deep it is. I want to see if the people in Shandong will revolt. Will the emperor dare to risk the world's disapproval and send troops to massacre the people?"

Upon hearing this, Tao was worried that if they continued to fight head-on, the Holy Palace would be destroyed and even the current conditions would no longer exist.

Kong Fangyou asked in return: "If we follow the imperial edict, the foundation of the Holy Palace will be shaken, and within half a year, everything will be scattered. By then, what difference will it make to the destruction? It is better to take advantage of the present time, while the prestige of the Holy Palace is still there, to summon the people of Qufu first. I will write letters to the gentry in various places, invite all the wise men, and stir up momentum. If the situation gets out of hand, will the court really dare to send troops to kill the descendants of the sage?"

Tao asked Kong Fangyou, "If the Holy Palace continues like this and confronts the imperial court head-on, how will the Holy Palace end up?"

Kong Fangyou waved his hand and said, "It's not that difficult. Once the court changes its ways, we can submit a letter of apology and put a few scapegoats on the line. As long as we can survive once, the Shengfu will still be as stable as Mount Tai in the Qian Dynasty."

Kong Fangyou believed that as long as the court could survive this reform, it would not be so easy for the court to change next time. Moreover, now was the time when the whole world was paying attention. If the gentry in Jiangnan could not survive, then the Holy Palace could. Wouldn’t its prestige be even more prosperous?

All the members of the Kong family present agreed with Kong Fangyou's words. The officials in the temple naturally knew what was more important. If everything remained the same, the world would still be peaceful. But if they continued to be so tough, not to mention the chaos in the world, it would be impossible for the Qian Dynasty to enjoy a peaceful and prosperous era in peace.

Seeing that everyone agreed, Tao could only nod and agree with Kong Fangyou. Just as the Kong family was about to go down to make arrangements, Tao said again: "The current situation is like the Holy Palace is in the ocean, lost and disoriented. The emperor's intention is unpredictable. The Holy Palace, as well as the old and young of the clan, are all entrusted to your hands!"

Kong Fangyou and a group of powerful Kong family members all vowed that the Holy Palace had lasted for a thousand years, so how could such a small matter lead to its destruction? Even if the Mongols went south, they had to give preferential treatment to the Holy Palace. Only those who accepted the imperial court's orders would be the sinners of the Holy Palace.

In today's Qufu, the power of the Kong family is at its peak, and the turmoil of changing dynasties has never affected this place. No matter whether Li Zicheng broke through Beijing or the Qing court conquered the world, the Kong family sat on the mountain and watched the fight between the tigers. They only needed to wait for the final winner to appear. The Kong family believed that no matter who was the final winner, they could not do without the memorial of Duke Yansheng.

But they had not expected that the current emperor would not play by the rules. Once he gave the order, he would seize the thousand years of savings of the Holy Palace in one day. This was forcing them to fight to the death. How could so many people in the palace afford the little bit of rewards given by the court every year?

Kong Fangyou came forward and gathered the people in Qufu, declaring that the new system of the court was depriving everyone of their livelihoods and that they would be captured as slaves and maids, and even the land would not be rented to them for farming.

In short, Kong Fangyou used all kinds of slanderous words to refute the court's new system completely. He also said that the emperor was cruel and killed people like flies. Without the protection of Duke Yansheng, the people of Qufu would be unable to live or die.

Many people could not help but talk about it and were deeply terrified. The emperor was cruel and they had no way to survive.

At this time, Kong Fangyou said again: "Don't panic, everyone. As long as we are united and work together to stop the court from making trouble, I don't believe that the court can chop down the common people in front of the sage's temple!"

But these words made the common people a little scared. Isn't it said that the emperor is extremely cruel? If this goes up to the emperor, the cruel emperor will not be afraid of the dead saints. He will go up and chop them all down in a few strokes.

After hearing the discussions of the people below, Kong Fangyou felt a little regretful. He shouldn't have described Meng Jun as too cruel. Now these farmers were scared and dared not resist.

Kong Fangyou rolled his eyes and said loudly: "Fellow villagers, don't be afraid. We were all one family five hundred years ago. Would I harm my family? It is true that the emperor is cruel, but there are still wise ministers and honest officials in the court. The emperor cannot kill people just because he wants to!"

When the people heard what Lord Kong said, many of them felt that what he said made sense, but some people sneered at Kong Youyou, especially those who knew him. However, most of the people still blindly followed what the bigwigs said. They thought that the emperor must be cruel, but with great officials and wise ministers around, they would definitely not let the emperor kill people at will.

In the end, Kong Fangyou told the people that this resistance to the court's chaos was to protect their jobs, and Kong Fangyou also promised that those who performed well would be rewarded handsomely and that the land rent would be reduced.

Even if someone was imprisoned by the court, Kong Fangyou would find a way to rescue him. Even if he went to jail, his money and food would be doubled and given to his family. If someone died, he would give silver as a pension and his family would be supported by the imperial palace, so that the villagers would have no worries.

For a time, everyone was excited and expressed their determination to fight the chaos to the end for the sake of the Holy Palace.

(Three chapters today, I stand up! ! !)