Rule over Ming Dynasty

While the ocean was filled with Ming flags, the Ming was also staging a wonderful story on this land.

The moonlight was like a silk thread, shining on the ancient and solemn mansion of Duke Yansheng.

The courtyard is surrounded by high walls, blue bricks and gray tiles, revealing the vicissitudes of time. The layout of the courtyard is well-arranged, with pavilions, towers, rockery and flowing water, each of which demonstrates the profound cultural heritage and prominent status of the Kong family.

The shadows of the sycamore trees in the courtyard danced, as if whispering unknown secrets.

Kong Wenshi, a young man from the Kong family who had just come of age. Although his face looked a little childish, his eyes showed a maturity that did not match his age. He usually relied on his father being Lord Shengyan, which made him quite courageous.

But tonight he seemed worried and walked unsteadily.

When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, he walked through the corridors and came to a luxuriously decorated room.

The door opened slightly, and a fragrant breeze blew towards me. It was the unique fragrance of my aunt, which was both charming and dangerous.

Auntie, this is an extremely beautiful woman, who is now sitting on the soft couch in front of the window, gently waving a round fan in her hand, with an indescribable meaning in her eyes.

"Wen Shi, you're here!" The aunt's voice was soft and charming, as if it could captivate people's hearts.

Kong Wenshi only felt a palpitation in his heart, and he walked over involuntarily.

"I miss you so much, auntie!" The auntie pulled Kong Wenshi to the couch and looked at her lover with seductive eyes.

Kong Wenshi's rational defenses collapsed in an instant. Faced with such a warm-hearted beauty, he eventually fell into her arms.

He actually knew that this behavior was wrong and very dangerous, but he was unable to resist the temptation of his aunt-in-law and repeatedly did dirty and shameful things that violated ethics and morals.

Afterwards, he felt extremely ashamed and regretful, but he couldn't resist the temptation again.

Kong Wenshi was ready to cut off this improper relationship, but it was too late. When he came to his aunt's room again, the person he met was actually his uncle Kong Hongxu.

Kong Hongxu is in his early fifties. As he lives a life of luxury, he looks very young, especially with not many white hairs, giving people the illusion that he is just a Confucian scholar in his forties.

In his early years, he committed adultery and was obsessed with women. Even now, even though he was old, he still took some young and beautiful women as concubines.

But even if he was powerless, he was not someone his nephew Kong Wenshi could touch.

Kong Hongxu's face suddenly darkened, the dagger in his hand flashed coldly in the moonlight, his eyes were like knives, piercing Kong Wenshi's heart: "My good nephew, you are really my good nephew!"

When Kong Wenshi heard Kong Hongxu's cold voice and saw the dagger flashing coldly in the moonlight, he suddenly felt an unprecedented threat of death.

Although they are all descendants of saints, they have long seen through everyone's ugly face and everyone's greedy face when living in this deep house.

Even if his father, Duke Yansheng, was arrested and brought to the capital for interrogation, his crime might not be less serious than that of his uncle.

But among all the clan members, he knew the extent of his uncle's madness. Even though he had been stripped of his title and became a commoner, he was not content in the mansion. At least he had seen him strangle a woman to death.

Good music, good woman, and also... good at killing!

Kong Wenshi's heart was pounding, and he was thinking about turning around and running away, but he immediately bumped into a wall of flesh. Kong Hongxu's follower Tieshan had cut off his retreat.

Kong Hongxu's bad reputation had long been known among the Kong family. At this moment, he came over with a dagger in hand and asked coldly: "My dear nephew, do you want to live or die tonight?"

"I want to live. Please give me a chance to live!" Kong Wenshi had no doubt that Kong Hongxu would stab him to death, so he immediately knelt down and begged for mercy.

Kong Hongxu's hand slapped Kong Wenshi's shoulder heavily, scaring Kong Wenshi so much that he almost lost his soul. He only heard Kong Hongxu whispering a few words, and then a packet of medicine was stuffed into his hand.

Under the moonlight, Kong Hongtai's bedroom seemed unusually quiet.

God is not always fair. After Emperor Jingtai seized the throne, he probably never thought that he would die before his brother, thus becoming the victim of the coup.

Although Kong Hongtai is now in his early fifties, he has not shown any improvement since catching a cold this winter, and now it seems as if he can see the end of his life.

But he did not want to die. After all, he was still so young and had so much wealth and glory waiting for him to enjoy. What reason did he have to be defeated by a little cold like Emperor Chenghua?
Kong Wenshi stood outside the door, took a deep breath, and mustered up the courage to go in. He saw his father lying on the bed, his face pale, but still maintaining a sense of dignity.

Kong Hongtai looked at the calming soup his son brought him, and a hint of doubt flashed across his eyes, but he finally took the bowl of medicine and drank it all.

March 3rd is a very important day.

The ancients have been discussing the birthday of Confucius for thousands of years. The Spring and Autumn Annals and Zuo Zhuan did not mention it, but the imperial court would send officials to attend the ceremony on this day every year.

Confucius was originally a minor figure who was despised by the political arena at that time, but with the tide of history, Confucius was actually revered as a saint by later generations.

However, not only did Confucius' status become increasingly higher in the literary world, but the Kong family, who had been "slaves for seventy-two generations and traitors for twenty-five dynasties", also became better and better off.

At the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, Bei Kong once became the vanguard of surrender, provided political endorsement for the Yuan Dynasty, and also contributed his strength to helping the Yuan Dynasty rule the Central Plains.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang inherited the throne from a pure and honest ruler, in order to save trouble, he chose to win the hearts of scholars across the world by respecting Confucius.

However, the more prominent Confucius' status became, the more unscrupulous his descendants became.

"There are only three families in the world: mine, Jiangxi Zhang, and Fengyang Zhu. Jiangxi Zhang has Taoist morale; Fengyang Zhu has a bad family spirit."

Originally, it was a favor bestowed by the Ming Dynasty court on the Kong family, but revering Confucius resulted in a very bad influence, so that the legitimacy of the Ming Dynasty regime needed to be confirmed by revering Confucius.

Of course, it was not just the power of the Kong family that was at work here, but the result of the guidance of the entire civil service group. The specific form was that the emperor became a puppet at the imperial lecture and sent important officials to attend Confucius' birthday.

A ray of spring sunshine shines through the ancient pines and cypresses, casting dappled light and shadows on the bluestone slabs, adding a sense of historical weight to this solemn ceremony.

The gate of the Confucius Temple slowly opened, melodious music played, and officials dressed in the official uniforms of the Ming Dynasty filed in. They walked steadily and their expressions were solemn.

The magistrate of Qufu has always been a member of the Kong family, so the Kong family is like a chieftain. They have been entrenched in this place for a thousand years, not only in Qufu County, but have long become the local emperors of the surrounding area.

Walking in front was the current Minister of Justice Song Cheng, who was wearing the uniform of the first rank official. He was a veteran minister with great weight in the court and held the title of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince. Song Cheng was no longer the young man he was back then, but had entered middle age, especially with his temples already greying. However, his eyes were becoming more and more determined, as if nothing could destroy the justice he held in his heart.

In addition to participating in the sacrifice, he also brought an imperial edict with him, but the edict would not be read out until the end of the sacrifice.

Although he had been familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics since childhood and was able to enter the officialdom only after taking the eight-legged essay examination, during his many years in officialdom, he felt more and more clearly some of the shortcomings of Confucianism.

Especially in the actual governance process, no matter how beautiful the slogan is, it is not as good as doing a good job.

In contrast, the emperor advocated the political philosophy of building a country through hard work. Now the entire officialdom is advocating a pragmatic spirit, which has led to the prosperity of the entire Ming Dynasty.

In the temple, the statue of Confucius is located in the center, with a kind and solemn face.

On the black table were placed various animal sacrifices, from exquisite jade articles to fresh fruits and vegetables, all of which reflected the respect and reverence for Confucius, as well as the luxury of the sacrifices.

Although Song Cheng, the Minister of Justice, no longer had the same respect for the statue in front of him as before, he still followed the etiquette and went forward to offer incense and wine in turn, his movements slow and solemn.

"The position of Minister of Justice is still a little too low!"

"Don't be dissatisfied. A few years ago, I was a doctor of the Ministry of Rites, or even a deputy director of the Ministry of Rites!"

"If we really want to compare, during the Chenghua Dynasty, every time they didn't send the cabinet ministers, even the Prime Minister Peng Shi came in person!"

……

The altar was surrounded by the descendants of the Kong family who came to take part in the ceremony. At this moment, they were looking at the Minister of Justice Song Cheng from afar and talking about what was going on.

The Kong family has been thriving and has already produced several teachers. This is why successive dynasties have been more willing to attract scholars from all over the world by respecting Confucius.

In addition, the Kong family held countless sacrifices throughout the year, which resulted in the entire Qufu people seeming to be serving the sacrifices, so there were special pig households, sheep households, and cattle households.

The Minister of Justice Song Cheng ignored these voices, and instead began to give instructions and prepare to request an imperial edict.

The air is filled with the fragrance of incense and pine and cypress, which seems to carry the weight of history and makes people intoxicated by it.

As the ceremony progressed, the sound of the sacrificial text reverberated in the Confucius Temple. The ups and downs of the sound seemed to convey the Confucian ideas to everyone present.

After the recitation, Song Cheng led the officials to kowtow three times and bow nine times to the statue of Confucius to express their respect and remembrance for this great sage.

The entire sacrificial scene appeared very solemn and dignified, yet dignified and harmonious.

"The imperial edict has been taken out!"

"Who do you think the unfilial emperor will choose?"

"He is a descendant of Emperor Yingzong, so he will naturally choose Kong Wenshao!"

……

Many members of the Kong family are now absent-minded. Instead, they are concerned about the latest appointments of the court in advance and are speculating about the latest candidate for the Yansheng Duke.

Kong Hongtai ultimately failed to survive the cold and died in the early spring of the 16th year of the Hongzhi reign.

He is the sixty-first generation grandson of Confucius and the younger brother of Duke Yansheng Kong Hongxu.

Originally, the position of Duke Yansheng was not his, but his good brother Duke Yansheng Kong Hongxu illegally tortured people in Shandong, raping and consorting more than 40 women, and strangling four innocent people to death.

Having committed such a heinous crime, Duke Yansheng Kong Hongxu should have been executed, but by then the civil service group had gradually come to power, and his father-in-law was Grand Secretary Li Xian, so the civil service group chose to protect him.

Ming Xianzong Zhu Jianshen was an emperor with a strong sense of justice. After learning about Kong Hongxu's crimes, he became furious and ordered Kong Hongxu to be sent to the capital for questioning and trial.

This decree immediately attracted criticism from civil officials. The first to submit a petition was the Grand Secretary Peng Shi: Kong Hongxu is a descendant of the Great Sage and Teacher, and should not be treated the same as ordinary criminals. He should be exempted from escort and his "shackles" should be removed.

At that time, Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty had just ascended the throne for a few years. Not to mention the Western Factory that dared to challenge the entire civil service group, even the Eastern Factory had ulterior motives towards him.

Under the secret manipulation of the civil service group, even Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty failed to bring the evildoers to justice. Duke Yansheng Kong Hongxu was only deposed from his title, and the position was taken over by Kong Hongtai.

I just pity the four innocent lives that were killed! I pity the more than 40 women who were abused!

Time flies, the years pass by like a shuttle.

Kong Hongtai, the lucky heir, ultimately could not escape the punishment of time. Now that he has died suddenly, the Kong family is faced with the problem of a new heir.

Unlike Emperor Jingtai of that year, Kong Hongtai now has sons, and several sons.

The Kong family attached great importance to the system of primogeniture. Although Kong Hongxu was a villain, the elders of the Kong family still recommended Kong Hongxu's son Kong Wenshao to inherit the title of the 62nd Duke Yansheng.

Of course, Kong Hongtai's faction wanted Kong Wenshi to inherit the title. After all, the title had already been passed to their lineage, and Kong Hongxu's crimes had tarnished the noble bloodline of the saints, so Kong Hongtai's lineage had the capital to compete.

That's right, they don't know whether the current emperor will choose to return to the direct lineage of Kong Hongxu's son Kong Wenshao, or continue to appoint Kong Hongtai's lineage as Yansheng Duke.

As early as the eleventh year of the Hongzhi reign, Kong Hongxu had planned to spend a large sum of money to build relationships in the capital, portraying himself as a prodigal son who had "changed his ways for the better", and request to be reinstated, but unfortunately the important officials at the moment did not buy his account.

Just looking at the imperial edict that Song Cheng took out, the corners of his mouth slightly raised. Whether it was his son Kong Wenshao or his brother's son Kong Wenshi, he would be the biggest winner.

As the sacrifice ended, Song Cheng stood on the high platform and read out the imperial edict: "The Emperor Fengtian Chengyun decrees: The former Duke of Yansheng, Kong Hongxu, committed serious crimes such as rape and murder in the past, and should have been sentenced to death. However, officials such as Peng Shi, the then chief minister, pleaded for him, so Kong Hongxu was stripped of his title and demoted to a commoner! However, after investigation by the Inspection Office of the Metropolitan Censorate, it was found that there were many dirty things in the Kong Mansion. Kong Hongxu, Kong Wenshi..."

The smug smile on Kong Hongxu's face disappeared completely. He stared in disbelief at Song Cheng who was reading the imperial edict. Every crime could not escape the emperor's eyes, especially what happened in the past three years, which he knew clearly.

Ah? Is this a punishment?

When everyone thought that the court was going to appoint a new Duke of Yansheng, unexpectedly, things took a 360-degree turn. It turned out that the court was going to announce the numerous crimes committed by Kong Hongxu and Kong Wenshi over the years, and even wanted to take them back to the capital to await trial. (End of this chapter)