Water Margin people

Chapter 1667: Surrender and Resistance

In the military camp, those scholars stayed in fear all night. The cells in the military camp were different from ordinary cells. They were full of oppression and all the scholars did not sleep all night.

"Holy Lord, what do you think the emperor will do to us?"

Some timid scholars gathered around Kong Ruiyou and asked, now this Duke Yansheng is their backbone.

"It's all my fault for speaking carelessly. I offended the emperor. I will personally apologize to His Majesty and ask him not to embarrass you!"

Kong Ruiyou looked at everyone and bowed.

"Holy Lord, please don't say that! You are a descendant of a saint, how can you admit your mistakes like that! Besides, what crime have you committed? It has been a thousand years since the Han Dynasty when the Kong family was enfeoffed. How dare the Qi State break this precedent?"

An old scholar spoke unconvincedly.

"Yes, Holy Lord, we must not encourage the arrogance of that tyrant!"

"That tyrant is just trying to scare us!"

"I will crash into the hall and die. I will die to prove my point!"

"And I, too!"

"And I, too!"

……

A group of old Confucian scholars spoke up one after another. They felt that Confucianism should not be allowed to be humiliated. They, Confucianists, prosper together and suffer together. If Kong Ruiyou retired today, their families would lose everything.

"Everyone, this...if this continues, there will be no recovery!"

Kong Ruiyou was really scared. He used to be the top scholar in the world and was highly respected. Even the royal family respected their Kong family.

But when he met the legendary Emperor of Qi yesterday, he felt a sense of fear. This emperor had no respect for the Kong family, and did not hesitate to deal with the eight thousand literati. His decisiveness in killing made him unable to predict the emperor's bottom line.

"Well, according to reason, when Qi was established, I should have submitted a letter of surrender immediately to express my recognition of Qi's legitimacy! It's understandable that the emperor was angry!"

Kong Ruiyou sighed and looked at everyone and said, dynasties have changed so many times, and every time they, the Kong family, would submit a surrender to show their submission, but this time was an exception.

"Holy Lord, what are you talking about? To write a letter of surrender, the emperor must first issue an edict to canonize a saint. That foolish monarch refused to allow us Confucians to serve as officials in the court. He even excluded Confucian classics from the education system. After the establishment of the country, he did not give any honors to Confucius. This is clearly intended to deal with us Confucians. Why should we write a letter of surrender to him!"

Those staunch Confucians were indignant and said that the surrender was conditional. The royal family must respect the Confucius family and Confucianism. In this way, the scholars of the world would submit to the emperor and help him govern the world. This has been the case for thousands of years.

Many scholars spoke in agreement. They represented the interests of their families. If the world could be restored to its original state, they could still enjoy wealth and prosperity with their family's academic knowledge. However, if the emperor changed education, their families would completely decline in three to five years.

Kong Ruiyou felt helpless. He was not a fool. The Kong family had been passed down for forty-eight generations and had an unfathomable family heritage. He had received a good education since he was a child. How could he not understand what these people were thinking?

"It's all for profit. Hey, I'm the same!"

Kong Ruiyou smiled bitterly in his heart.

The hustle and bustle in the world is all for benefit, and the bustling world is all for benefit.

These people tied up the Confucian school and the Kong family for the sake of their family's interests, and he had to rely on these Confucian disciples for the eternal orthodoxy of the Kong family. The two sides had become one camp. With the death squad, the floating hearts of the people finally settled down. They wanted to see if the emperor dared to touch them. Since ancient times, the emperor was most afraid that his subjects would die to show their loyalty, which would leave a stain on the emperor in the history books.

"Everyone, there is no need to do this. We can discuss anything we want with the emperor."

Kong Ruiyou looked at the crowd and advised that if these people were really killed and the emperor was angered, who knows what would happen. He thought it would be better to surrender and give the emperor a way out.

"Brother, when did you become so weak? Sacrificing one's life for justice is also the teaching of the ancient sages!"

Kong Ruicao spoke up. He was Kong Ruiyou's half-brother. He had been studious since childhood and had a great reputation in Confucian circles. However, the title of the contemporary Duke Yansheng was given to Kong Ruiyou, so he had no hope.

"What are you talking about? Sacrificing your life for justice? Confucius said: I have seen people die by stepping into water and fire, but I have never seen anyone die by stepping into benevolence. Do you really want to walk into fire and water?"

Kong Ruiyou looked at the crowd and said, what Confucius meant by this sentence is: I have seen people die by falling into water and fire, but I have never seen anyone die by following the way of benevolence.

"What do you mean? Are you talking about the tyrant king or the benevolent king?"

Kong Ruicao was furious and glared at Kong Ruiyou and said that according to Kong Ruiyou, Sun Lei was still practicing benevolence and righteousness, and they became the bad guys.

"Holy Lord, why are you speaking for that tyrant?"

  A group of old Confucian scholars were also furious. They were all prepared to die for justice, but now Duke Yansheng actually said this. Where did this put them?

"I am not speaking for him. I am analyzing it according to the teachings of our ancestors. Our ancestors have been promoting education for all throughout their lives. They once said, "I have always taught everyone who has paid the tuition." He has been promoting education throughout his life, and he has worked hard to develop education from the nobility to the common people."

"Among the ancestor's disciples, there were Meng Yizi and Nangong Jingshu, who were born into noble families, Yan Hui, who lived in a shabby alley, Zi Zhang, the son of a "lowly person", and Zeng Shen, whose father grew melons."

"And the current emperor, although his school does not specifically teach Confucian classics, he has truly achieved education for all. You have also heard that the annual education expenditure is 20 million taels. The emperor is serious about this."

Kong Ruiyou said that if we put aside Confucianism, everything the emperor did was enough to be canonized.

"Humph, that's the way of chaos in the world. He teaches all kinds of miscellaneous knowledge and deceives people. This is absolutely not acceptable. Although the saints attach importance to promoting education, they attach more importance to restoring Zhou rituals. We Confucians have worked hard for so many years to get the world back on track, but the current Emperor of Qi wants the world to collapse again!"

An old scholar spoke up and stabilized the situation again. They couldn't lose their composure now. Since they had embarked on this path, there was no turning back.

Kong Ruiyou didn't say anything else. He knew these people were determined.

"Its daybreak."

Kong Ruicao was overjoyed when he saw Kong Ruiyou stopped talking. He looked out the window of the cell and laughed.

A group of old Confucian scholars who were ready to sacrifice their lives for the country began to tidy up their clothes, and some even brought a few basins of clean water for everyone to wash.

However, it was quiet outside the cell and the guards did not come in.

"Isn't there going to be a public trial? Why is there no movement?"

The literati who had prepared everything became confused again. They were worried about what new tricks the emperor would use and they had no way to deal with it now.

"Don't worry. Does he dare to go back on his words in public?"

Kong Ruicao said that the emperor said in public yesterday that he wanted a public trial.