I, Jiajing, successfully cultivated immortality

Chapter 542 Everything Will Come to Nothing

As a member of the "Four Sages and Three Sages" family, the Zeng family has an extremely long history.

The origin of the Zeng family in Shandong is located in Lanshan County, Yizhou Prefecture, Shandong Province today. The descendants of the Zeng surname who fled to Lu State in the pre-Qin period became officials here, and gradually multiplied.

The Zeng family is famous for its filial piety and the good name of its ancestor Zeng Shen, so it has been valued by the rulers of all dynasties. For example, Zeng Le, the eldest son of Zeng Yuan and the eighth grandson of Zeng Yuan, was named the capital of Shanyin County in the Western Han Dynasty. Hou.

And since the ninth year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, Zeng Shen was changed to Zongsheng Zengzi by the court, the power of the Zeng family in the court has become more and more powerful, and there is a tendency to compete with the two families of Confucius and Mencius, but today, everything will come to naught .

Late at night, at the Zeng family's mansion.

Due to years of management, most of the local land has fallen into the hands of the Zeng family. As a result, the residence of the Zeng family occupies a huge area.

Not only that, there are also many lush green plants planted around the mansion, and there are two huge stone lions at the door, holding beads in their mouths, which looks quite majestic.

At this moment, Zeng Hong, the No. 60 patriarch of the Zeng family, suddenly woke up from his sleep. Since he fell into a coma earlier due to shortness of breath and spitting blood at the mouth, after the doctor's treatment, he was lucky enough to save his life.

Correspondingly, however, his overall energy was not as good as before, and he gradually began to feel powerless with regard to many affairs of the Zeng family.

It was also because of this that there were many different voices in the Zeng family, and some even wanted him to give up the position of patriarch as soon as possible and enjoy his old age peacefully.

Because of this incident, the entire Zeng clan fell into quarrels, and because of their different interests, they were clearly divided into two factions. One faction supports the current patriarch Zeng Hong, and the other faction wants to support Zeng Wen as the Zeng family leader. No.60 Second Patriarch!

The two factions quarreled bitterly over this, and even reached the point where fire and water were incompatible.

After Zeng Hong sat up from the bed and looked at the night outside the window, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

"Oh, it's been a troubled time recently!"

"What time is it? They are still fighting for the position of patriarch. The most important thing now is to think about how to overcome the difficulties in front of us, cough cough cough!"

At this moment, the servant girl who had been waiting outside the door heard coughing and coughing coming from the room.

Out of concern for Zeng Hong's health, two maidservants pushed open the door, walked in, and asked Zeng Hong.

"Master, are you all right, do I need to cook side medicine for you?"

When Zeng Hong heard this, he just waved his hand and ordered in a deep voice.

"I'm fine, get out!"

The two maidservants did not dare to disobey Zeng Hong's order, so after saluting Zeng Hong respectfully, they turned and left.

When leaving, the two maidservants also closed the door of the room along with it.

After the two maidservants left, Zeng Hong looked away and sighed helplessly.

Now he is quite worried about the future of the Zeng clan.

Because no matter what, the fact that his Zeng clan colluded with the White Lotus Sect was already a firm fact and could never be changed.

After all, the imperial court's attitude towards the White Lotus Sect and other people related to the White Lotus Sect is very clear now, that is, regardless of the reason, they will be executed!
In addition, when he was full of hope not long ago, he sent people to Qufu, Shandong to meet the contemporary Yansheng Gong Kong Shangxian, and wanted to ask for help.

In the end, all he got was an illusory promise. Thinking of this, Zeng Hong became furious.

"Hmph, what an idiot. Didn't Kong Shangxian say earlier that someone in the court would impeach Hai Rui soon?"

"It's been so long, why hasn't there been any movement at all, hum, if something happens to my Zeng family, don't worry about it!"

Just as Zeng Hong was still racking his brains to think about what measures should be taken next to save the Zeng family from danger, a burst of noise from outside interrupted his thoughts.

"It's so late, who is making noise outside? Could it be that they are arguing again because of the ownership of the patriarch?"

Zeng Hong thought this, and immediately opened the door, wanting to go out to see the situation.

With this idea in mind, as soon as Zeng Hong stepped out of the room, he saw a scene that he would never forget.

I saw a group of guard soldiers holding torches, wearing helmets and armor, and wearing robes and belts. They filed in with murderous intent. Anyone among them who showed any intention of resisting was killed. Those family members and servants had already been killed. Startled and ran away.

The entire Zeng family suddenly fell into chaos.

As early as that group of guards rushed into the house, Zeng Hong knew that the Zeng family was doomed and there would be no possibility of turning over.

Because if there is no order from the court, it is absolutely impossible to mobilize these guards!
"Could it be that my Zeng family is about to perish here today?"

Zeng Hong looked at the steady stream of guardsmen pouring into his home, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness in his heart.

Immediately, Zeng Hong gathered his thoughts and reluctantly moved his eyes away from the family members who were lying in a pool of blood. He looked at the guards who were filing in and reprimanded loudly.

"Who on earth are you? You dare to break into my Zeng family without permission? Not only that, you also dare to kill people in my Zeng family wantonly. I will definitely report this to the Holy One and punish you!"

After Zeng Hong finished speaking, he closed his eyes and said no more. He originally thought that he would end his life in this way, so that he would be able to avoid the pain of the next prison.

However, he closed his eyes and waited for a long time. The soldiers of the guards did not intend to attack him, but went straight past him, armed with weapons, and began to wantonly chase and kill those members of the Zeng clan who wanted to escape.

At this moment, a man dressed as an officer brought someone to Zeng Hong and asked in a deep voice.

"You are Zeng Hong, the patriarch of the Zeng family?"

Hearing this, Zeng Hong slowly opened his eyes, with an expression of resignation to death on his face, he nodded quite firmly, and responded.

"That's right, this old man is from the Zeng clan, No.60's first patriarch, Zeng Hong!"

"Whose order did you follow, what are you going to do, wait for me to report to the court, and rule..."

Before Zeng Hong finished his next words, he was interrupted impatiently by the officer.

"Old man, why are there so many nonsense, if it wasn't for the higher-ups who wanted to save your life by name, I would have killed you a long time ago, sir!"

After the officer finished speaking, he waved his hand suddenly and gave serious instructions to the soldiers around him.

"Come on, tie up this old thing for me!"

As soon as the officer finished speaking, the subordinate who received the order soon restrained Zeng Hong and stuffed his chest with cloth strips.

As more and more guards poured into Zeng's house, the entire Zeng's house soon turned into a purgatory on earth, with cries and calls for help intertwined.

In addition, there was a sound of broken ceramics from time to time, followed by a strong smell of blood gradually permeated, making people sick!

During this process, the entire Zeng family was also turned upside down, and all their property was also searched out and registered.

And the current scene is being staged in each of the families on the list.

……

Several days passed since then, just as Hai Rui was still sending people to count the harvest day and night.

In the evening, the Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

At this moment, Jiajing is sitting cross-legged on the futon, his eyes seem to be closed but not closed. At this moment, he has already fallen into a state of meditation.

Not long after, Lu Fang walked in with silent steps, and Jiajing seemed to feel something in his heart. After exiting the meditative state, he slowly stood up from the futon.

Seeing this situation, Lu Fang also came to Jiajing's side at the right time, bent down, and reported respectfully.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the servants have investigated everything that you asked the servants to investigate before!"

Hearing this, Jiajing glanced at Lu Fang, and immediately said in a voice without any emotion.

"speak!"

"Your Majesty, this servant has already found out that those officials who impeached Hai Rui in the previous Shangshu have inexplicable connections with those families behind their backs!"

"Most of them are beneficiaries, and some people want to use this opportunity to take the initiative to please those families!"

When Lu Fang said this, she couldn't help but pause for a moment, and then she came back to her senses, lowered her voice, and asked Jiajing.

"Your Majesty, you see, how should these people be dealt with, slaves..."

Before Lu Fang finished speaking, Jiajing waved his hand and interrupted impatiently.

"Okay, you can deal with this matter according to your needs. Hmph, it's really a bunch of people who eat inside and out!"

Hearing Jiajing's words, Lu Fang's expression froze immediately, and she immediately lowered her head and looked at the ground casually.

As early as when Jiajing used the four words "eating inside and outside" to describe those people, Lu Fang already knew what Jiajing meant.

Just as he was still thinking about what method to use next to deal with those people, Jiajing's slightly doubtful voice rang in Lu Fang's ear.

"By the way, Lu Fang, it's been several days. Why hasn't there been any news from Hai Rui?"

When Lu Fang heard what Jiajing said, she thought about it for a moment and then immediately responded.

"Your Majesty, this servant feels that Hai Rui must have been delayed by something!"

"You may wish to think about it, the wealth accumulated by those families over the years is simply incalculable. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as an incomparably rich country. It's going to be counted in billions!"

"With so much property, even if you count it day and night without sleep, I'm afraid it will take a lot of time to completely count it!"

After listening to Lu Fang's explanation, Jiajing also felt that it made sense, so he nodded immediately and said slowly.

"Well, that makes sense, I'd better wait a little longer!"

After Jiajing finished speaking, he looked at the sky outside Qianqing Palace and couldn't help but feel very good. He immediately turned his gaze to Lu Fang and gave instructions.

"The weather outside is nice, Lu Fang, let's go for a walk with me!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After the words fell, Lu Fang followed Jiajing's footsteps step by step, and left the Qianqing Palace. The afterglow of the setting sun shrouded Jiajing and Lu Fang.

……

Qufu, Shandong, Confucius family.

Ever since he learned that the imperial court sent soldiers from the guard station to ransack the homes of the other families of the "Four Sages and Three Sages", Kong Shangxian fell into a state of panic all day long.

At this moment, in the room, Kong Shangxian was sitting at the head, eagerly listening to the report from the housekeeper.

"Master, everything has been investigated. About three days ago, the Meng family, the Zeng family, the Yan family, the Bu family, the Min family, and the Ran family were all sent out by the government on the grounds of colluding with the White Lotus Sect. The house was raided, and there is definite news that Jin Yiwei was also involved in the whole thing!"

"As for the property confiscated by the guards, it is said to be nearly 8000 million taels, and the rest, such as antiques, house deeds and land deeds, are countless!"

"And the person in charge of the whole matter is none other than the left deputy capital censor Hai Rui sent by the imperial court to investigate the case earlier!"

"Master, what should we do next, in case that Hai Rui..."

After the butler finished his narration, he couldn't help but cast his eyes on Kong Shangxian who was sitting at the head, his face was full of fear and uneasiness.

After listening to the steward's report, Kong Shangxian's face was also full of horror. At this moment, his heart was full of remorse.

He hated that he should not have taken this Hai Rui lightly back then, which led to the irreparable situation today.

You know, although there are some frictions in their interests, in general, they have always been in the same spirit, and they all prosper, and all lose!

But now it seems that the other six families except his own have all been liquidated by the imperial court. From now on, even if the Kong family can survive, their power will be greatly reduced and they will never be able to regain their former glory.

At this moment, after carefully considering the language, the housekeeper at the side turned his gaze to Kong Shangxian and asked.

"Old...Master, do you think we have to keep a low profile recently to avoid the limelight, as for the land rent, should we appropriately reduce or exempt..."

Originally, Kong Shangxian was in a very bad mood, but after hearing the words of the butler, he suddenly flew into a rage. Immediately, his eyes were red, panting heavily, he picked up the teacup on the table, and threw it at the butler vigorously. cursed.

"What a waste, why, you even want to ask me about such a trivial matter? Why do my Kong family raise you for food!"

Facing the teacup flying towards him, the butler didn't dare to dodge at all, so he had to grit his teeth and endure silently.

When the teacup touched the body, there was a muffled sound at first, and then hot tea poured out, a burning pain gradually spread from the butler's hand that was splashed by the hot tea.

At this moment, there was a hasty knock on the door, and not long after, a servant of the Kong family ran into the room and reported to Kong Shangxian out of breath.

"Old...Master, no...it's not good, a lot of soldiers suddenly appeared outside!"

(End of this chapter)