The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 468: Clan Punishment
The imprisonment of more than 30 people was just the beginning. Then the Jinyiwei attacked everywhere and arrested all the Neo-Confucian officials in the capital area and put them in prison.

It can be said that all the Neo-Confucian officials in the capital and the capital region were thrown into prison.

This also means that the Neo-Confucian school has completely lost its central spokesperson.

Once a school of thought can no longer make its voice heard in the court, it will not be far from decline.

As for other Confucian factions, they only arrested the leaders who jumped the most violently.

The rest of those who had participated in forcing the emperor to abdicate were only given warnings.

Everyone's assessment this year was poor.

According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, if one's performance was poor for three consecutive years, the least serious penalty would be a demotion, and in serious cases, dismissal from office.

Moreover, if one's rank was downgraded once within three years, even if the other two years were all upgraded, he could only be transferred horizontally and could not be promoted.

This means that they have no hope of promotion within three years.

It is a very severe punishment for those who aspire to enter the officialdom.

But all those who received punishment put down the stones in their hearts and knelt down to thank the emperor for his grace.

Because, there should be no double punishment for the same crime.

Now that Zhu has given them punishment based on their performance evaluation, he will not give them any other punishment.

It means that their lives are saved.

In the palace, everyone was watching the outcome of the incident and the reactions of the ministers.

Chen Jingke was impressed: "The emperor's tactics are so brilliant."

“First, it was made clear that only Neo-Confucianism was targeted, and other schools of thought were treated leniently, completely isolating Neo-Confucianism.”

Zhu Xiongying said proudly: "More than that."

"This lenient treatment not only won the hearts of the people, but also ensured that the national administrative system would not come to a standstill due to too many vacancies."

"But their low performance in the exam also means that these people will not be able to get promoted within three years."

"Then the vacant positions will have nothing to do with these people."

"The court can openly employ reformist officials."

"After this move, the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty will have a brand new look."

Chen Jingke gave a thumbs up and said, "It's really high."

Old Zhu was flattered by the two men, and the corners of his mouth were almost stretched behind his ears:

"This is just the beginning. You didn't see us fooling around with all the heroes in the world back then."

As soon as he was happy, Lao Zhu started talking about his glorious days.

Old people have this habit.

What's more, he was not bragging, he was really awesome back then.

Moreover, through Lao Zhu's explanation, people can also understand the details at that time and the psychological state of the participants in more detail.

So Chen Jingke and Zhu Xiongying also listened with great interest.

Unlike the emperor's family, the situation outside was still tense.

Through this kind of differential treatment, everyone understood that the emperor was targeting Neo-Confucianism.

Neo-Confucianism was the core of the conservative forces, and it was their overt and covert obstruction that led to the complete failure of the first national plan.

The emperor is settling the accounts.

Some of those who reacted quickly have already figured out why the emperor did not transfer power to the crown prince.

It's not that he is power-hungry, but he wants to clear the biggest obstacle for the prince.

After understanding all this, Shang Xishao smiled bitterly and said, "The emperor's plan... is brilliant."

Qiu Guangan also agreed and said, "Before, I only knew that the emperor was decisive in killing people."

"Today I finally got to see how skilled he is. No wonder he was able to conquer the world."

Since the last time the two reached a consensus, their private interactions have become much more frequent.

Originally, they thought that if the emperor kept backing down, they would go to the palace to persuade him.

A murderous but wise monarch is much stronger than a confused and weak monarch.

Especially since the Ming Dynasty was undergoing constant changes, it needed a strong monarch.

Otherwise, the previous series of changes are likely to be abolished.

This is something they don't want to see.

However, before they could enter the palace, the situation changed.

It turns out that everything was a ruse.

Shang Xishao sighed, "Neo-Confucianism is doomed this time."

Looking at his painful expression, Qiu Guangan also felt a little sad.

Shang Xishao was not a Neo-Confucianist, but which scholar of that era had not learned some knowledge of Neo-Confucianism?
Seeing that such a famous discipline was about to be abandoned, he was naturally very sad.

But Neo-Confucianism did hinder the new law, so it was only right that it was abolished.

Qiu Guangan could only comfort him, "China has a history of 2,000 years, and it is normal for schools of thought to rise and fall. There is no need to worry about it."

"The purpose of the retired emperor should be to drive Neo-Confucianism out of the court, not to really ban it."

"Everyone can still study and research privately in the future."

"The essence of Neo-Confucianism will also be absorbed by other schools of thought..."

Shang Xishao said: "I know that flowers do not stay red forever, and people do not stay good forever."

"It is very rare that science has been so strong for so many years."

"It's just... when people get old, they can't help but feel sad about the passing of time."

At this point, he changed the subject without warning and said, "After this matter is over, I will resign from your majesty."

The Majesty he was referring to was Zhu Biao, because he was promoted by Zhu Biao.

Qiu Guangan opened his mouth again and again, but in the end he didn't say anything to try to keep him.

Although Shang Xishao did not intend to oppose the new policy, his actions did hinder the progress of the new law to a certain extent.

The key point is that countless people are obstructing change under his banner.

If he doesn't back down, similar things will continue to happen in the future.

The remaining conservatives will spontaneously unite under his banner and continue to make trouble under his name.

By that time, it would be impossible for him to have a good end.

If I take the initiative to retire now, I can still save some dignity for myself.

So, in the end, Qiu Guangan said, "Take care."

Many people could see Zhu Yuanzhang's plan, but very few chose to retreat at the peak of their powers like Shang Xishao.

After struggling for so many years and finally getting this position, how can I give up so easily?

Some people want to retreat but cannot.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards were dispatched everywhere to arrest officials of the Neo-Confucian school.

Some of them were accomplices recruited by the officials in the imperial prison, and some of them came out to cause trouble when Neo-Confucianism prevailed.

For example, if people are prohibited from discussing the evil deeds of the Kong family, there is no need to try them at all, just arrest them and that’s it.

Although Chen Jingke couldn't bear it, he didn't try to dissuade him.

Among these officials, perhaps many are good and honest officials.

However, this is a faction struggle, and no one will care about the good or bad of an individual.

As long as you are in the opposite camp, you will be attacked.

In just over a month, more than 3,000 officials were imprisoned.

Correspondingly, a large number of reformist officials were promoted out of turn and became chief officials.

But this matter is not over yet. Everyone knows that the real key is still to come.

That is how to deal with the Kong family.

In early July, the Ming Weekly was published. This issue was an expanded edition, more than three times thicker than usual.

It is no exaggeration to say that this is a large book.

There is only one content, the evil deeds of the Kong family.

Each and every one of them was printed out and distributed throughout the world.

It caused an uproar around the world.

Everyone knew that the crime committed by the Kong family was not small, but no one expected it to be so serious.

Except for a few people who kept themselves clean, everyone else participated to some extent.

The people were extremely angry and hated the Kong family to the extreme.

"What the hell is this Saint's House? It should be called the Beast's House."

This statement was widely recognized and spread.

In the past, when ordinary people said these things, they had to avoid scholars or officials for fear of their anger.

But now the situation is reversed. The people deliberately shout "a house of beasts" in front of the scholars.

Not only did scholars not dare to intervene, they also kept a distance from it.

Of course, there are also people who dare to speak out against the trend. Many people still stand up to rebuke the people for talking nonsense, slandering saints, and the like.

However, they were basically laughed at by the people.

Are people like Kong family worthy of being called saints? You are defending such people, and you are worthy of talking about ethics and morality?

I bother.

If you meet a tough guy, you may even be beaten up.

In the end, there was no place to report to the police.

It can be said that Neo-Confucianism and Confucianism have lost the hearts of the people.

At this point, even the most dull-witted person would realize that something was wrong.

How does the emperor want to deal with the Kong family?

If it’s just a knock, why make all their crimes public?

Is it...

A terrible thought came to my mind. Would the emperor abolish all the honorific titles of the Kong family completely like he did to Neo-Confucianism?

If this is true, what should we do?

For a moment, everyone hesitated.

Protect the Kong family?
Given what they have done and their current reputation, who can protect them?
Allow the title of Kong family to be abolished?

It seems that it is not impossible... ahem... what nonsense am I talking about? As disciples, we naturally have to uphold the glory of the saint.

Of course, if it cannot be maintained, there is nothing we can do about it.

Naturally, the action against the Kong family cannot be ended by simply publishing a newspaper.

At the morning court the next day, an official submitted a memorial stating that the Kong family was the most immoral family in the world.

And listed many unkind behaviors of the Kong family.

For example, Kong Rong, who became famous for giving away his pears to others, once wrote an article to defend cannibalism.

Cannibalism, what an inhuman behavior.

As a saint, not only did you not condemn it, you even wrote an article in support.

It is really the height of moral corruption.

He is too lazy to even pretend, he is definitely a villain.

Is such a person worthy of being admired by the world?
Can it also be used as a role model and written into the Three Character Classic?
Do you Confucians still have any shame?

It's not just Kong Rong, there are many so-called sages of the Kong family who have done shameful things.

This impeachment memorial caught the civil officials off guard.

To be honest, even though everyone is well-read, most people don’t know that Kong Rong did this.

After all, not everyone has read history books thoroughly.

Moreover, the ancients paid great attention to keeping secrets about the deceased, and many historical books deliberately concealed this point.

They only know about Kong Rong giving away his pears, but they don't know that he also defended cannibalism.

How can you refute it if you don’t know whether it’s true or not?

So they could only bite the bullet and say: These are all personal behaviors, please don't escalate it to the entire Kong family.

Then, they were hit hard again.

Another censor stepped forward to impeach the Kong family for their immorality.

Confucianism emphasizes loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness, but the Kong family cannot even achieve the most basic loyalty.

Haven’t you seen that whenever there is a change of dynasty, the Kong family is the first to submit a letter of surrender.

In fact, this question has been raised a long time ago.

The Confucian defense is that the laws of nature change and fortune shifts, and the Confucius family is simply following the will of heaven.

But this time, the impeachment censor was clearly well prepared:
"During the Song Dynasty, the Kong family first submitted to the Liao Dynasty, then surrendered to the Jin Dynasty and Mongolia, while also respecting the Song Dynasty as the ruler of heaven."

"Then what's your explanation?"

This is indeed an unsolvable problem.

You can say that the Kong family's surrender to the Yuan Dynasty was in compliance with the will of heaven.

After all, the Ming Dynasty recognized the Yuan Dynasty's legal system and its conclusion was: a small clan should rule the world.

The Ming Dynasty replaced the Yuan Dynasty, which meant that the great clan regained control of the world.

However, the Song Dynasty was in confrontation with Liao, Jin and Mongolia, so there is no way to explain the behavior of your Kong family, right?

If you say that the Kong family from Liao, Jin and Mongolia are traitors...

However, after the unification of the Yuan Dynasty, why were the north and south holes merged into one?
What do you mean?
No matter how you look at it, it seems like you're hedging your bets.

Confucianism was left speechless.

The Kong family was indeed lacking in moral character, and it was a great loss.

This is a fact. You can explain it with sophistry, but sophistry cannot change the fact.

Gongsun Long, who said that the white horse was not a horse, left Kong Chuan speechless with his eloquence.

But Kong Chuan killed Gongsun Long with just a few words.

Kong Chuan’s meaning is very simple: no matter how good your eloquence is, you cannot turn the false into the true.

Eloquence is not for the purpose of gaining temporary attention, but for explaining facts and solving practical problems.

But Gongsun Long's argument is precisely sophistry.

When this was exposed, Gongsun Long's political career came to an end.

Let me say here that Kong Chuan is a descendant of Confucius.

The current situation is the same as Kong Chuan's evaluation of Gongsun Long.

No matter how much you Confucians can explain, you cannot change the fact that the Confucius family was disloyal.

That’s not all. The headline on the front page of the new issue of the newspaper is:

Shi Xiu submitted a memorial to the Yansheng Duke.

There is no need to explain the content, it is about the Kong family being disloyal and submitting surrender to various regimes.

The last bit of awe that the people had for the Kong family was also completely eliminated.

All that was left was the sound of abuse.

The scholar was so worried that his hair turned almost white, as his guess finally came true.

The Emperor Retired really wants to destroy the Kong family.

First, use the current evil of the Kong family to stir up the anger of the people.

He also used the "Shixiu Jiangbiao" to break the sacred cloak of the Kong family.

Now that the imperial court wants to abolish the Kong family, the people will only applaud.

The key point is that it was too easy for Shi Xiu to submit a letter of surrender to Duke Yansheng.

It's like a magic, after reading it once, I can't help but want to read it a second time.

From now on, when people mention the Kong family, the first impression that comes to their mind is no longer that they are descendants of a saint, but that they have been practicing surrender for generations.

It is harder to turn things around than to climb to the sky.

So... until now they have never thought that Zhu Yuanzhang would destroy the Kong family.

However, in fact, Zhu Yuanzhang was also having a headache about who to assign to carry out the task of exterminating Confucius.

"Don't be fooled by those people who say they want to severely punish the Kong family. If they are really asked to do it, no one would dare to do it."

Chen Jingke was silent.

No matter how you strip off the sacred cloak of the Kong family, the descendants of the saints are the descendants of the saints.

In this age where people believe in ghosts and gods, it is very stressful to kill the descendants of a saint.

What's more, the person who takes action will inevitably become a thorn in the eyes of Confucianists.

They may not be able to fight against the imperial power, nor can they save the Kong family, but they have the ability to make the person who took action die without a burial place.

Zhu Xiongying touched the short beard he had just grown on his chin and said thoughtfully:
"It is not necessary to let the outsiders take action."

Lao Zhu asked: "Oh, who do you think is suitable to go?"

Zhu Xiongying said, "Uncle Thirteen, what do you think?"

"Zhu Gui?" Zhu Yuanzhang subconsciously objected. What great things could this bastard son do?

But I immediately realized, asshole?
It’s good to be an asshole.

Zhu Gui has a somewhat reckless personality and does things based on his own feelings without considering the consequences.

This kind of person dares to do anything.

If he were asked to go to Tu Kong's house, he would certainly accept the order happily and do it very well and thoroughly.

As for the consequences of slaughtering Confucius... that is something for the future, let’s talk about it later.

Chen Jingke's eyes lit up as well. This person was indeed a great choice.

First of all, Zhu Gui has a bad temper and is definitely capable of accomplishing this.

Secondly, this can also be considered as waste utilization.

Sure enough, there is no useless garbage, only talents placed in the wrong place.

Who would have thought that a loser like Zhu Gui could find his own role.

However, killing Confucius would indeed bring about great sequelae. Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Xiongying could discuss it at will, but Chen Jingke was not in a position to say much.

So he didn't say anything and just listened.

Zhu Xiongying said: "Besides, Uncle Thirteen was impeached before, and you beat him so hard that he couldn't get up from the ground for several days."

"He has a deep hatred for the Neo-Confucian school in his heart."

"With a little guidance, this anger can be vented towards the Kong family." "He will definitely be willing to do this."

"As for the subsequent arrangements... I won't lie to you. Uncle Thirteen's personality is indeed not capable of shouldering the heavy responsibility of sealing off a country."

"Instead of having high hopes for him, it is better to train his son well and let him directly become a feudal lord in the future."

"By then, the Ming Dynasty's ideological world would have changed forever, and no one would cheer for the Kong family anymore."

"His kingdom will surely be established smoothly."

"As for Uncle Thirteen, let's just keep him under our noses."

"With us restraining him, at least he can have a good ending."

Not only was Old Zhu not angry, but he said happily:
"You have a personality like mine, very tough."

"I have always been worried that you would not be able to properly handle the relationship with the royal family."

"It turns out that our worries were not unnecessary. You really won't condone the royal family to do evil."

"But what makes us happy is that you still care about family affection in your heart."

Zhu Xiongying said seriously: "Don't worry, Grandfather Emperor, I will definitely not do anything that will make my relatives sad and my enemies happy."

"If the royal family makes a small mistake, I will punish them."

"If they commit a heinous crime, I will send them to the imperial mausoleum to fulfill their filial duty to their ancestors."

Old Zhu nodded and said with satisfaction: "That's good. We can restrain and punish them, but they won't really have a bad ending. We can rest assured."

So, this task fell on Zhu Gui.

Just as Zhu Xiongying said, when Zhu Gui heard that they were going to kill Confucius, he agreed without saying a word.

He also asked Zhu to return his prince's guard to him:

"I use those people easily."

It is natural that Zhu Yuanzhang would not allow him to take the prince's guard with him. If he really did so, he might even massacre the people of Qufu.

He only agreed to return the 500 soldiers of his Prince's Guard to him.

Then 10,000 men were drawn from the Shenji Camp and marched north to carry out this mission.

"The Shenjiying is the most loyal to the imperial court. Because of the medal issue, they have a great grudge against Neo-Confucianism and the Kong family."

"With Zhu Gui leading them, they can carry out this mission well."

To deploy 10,000 troops from the Divine Machine Camp to deal with the Kong family is indeed a waste of talent.

However, since the newspaper published it, some scholars went to Qufu to defend the Kong family.

Many scholars across the country followed suit.

According to current statistics, there are about 11,000 people.

The Shenjiying Camp was mainly used to deal with these people and their supporters.

As for why he gave Zhu Gui 500 personal guards, Old Zhu also had his own considerations:
"I'm afraid that the Shenji Camp won't be ruthless enough to wipe out the entire clan, so I asked him to take 500 personal guards with him to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

Chen Jingke thought to himself, old man, you also know what kind of person your son is.

To put it bluntly, Zhu Gui's five hundred men were responsible for eradicating the evil completely.

Really leaving no one alive.

After the executioner was chosen, Lao Zhu was still not in a hurry.

Instead, they waited until August, when the Shenjiying was in place, before taking action.

In early August, nearly half a year later, Zhu Yuanzhang officially made a judgment on the Kong family:
He committed so many evils that his entire clan was executed.

It was not the extermination of nine clans, nor was it the extermination of three clans, but the extermination of the entire clan.

Upon hearing the verdict, the court was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

No one could believe what they heard.

The whole clan was exterminated? They were actually going to wipe out the Kong family?
how is this possible.

The next moment, there was a commotion like a boiling pot.

"Your Majesty, think twice..."

"Your Majesty, you must not..."

"Your Majesty, for the sake of Confucius..."

"Your Majesty, Heaven is merciful..."

"Your Majesty, if Confucius is killed, the world will be in chaos and the country will be in danger."

Not only civil officials, but many military generals could not help but stand up and give advice.

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered and said, "Doesn't the crime committed by the Kong family deserve the punishment of extermination of the entire clan?"

“The world belongs to everyone in the world, not just one person.”

"Princes who break the law are as guilty as the common people."

"My words are still fresh in my mind, why do you want to go back on your words and gain wealth?"

However, the ministers did not answer his questions directly, but just repeated the same few sentences over and over again.

"The descendants of Confucius cannot be killed."

"After killing the saint, I'm afraid the world will be in chaos."

Old Zhu seemed to be venting the unhappiness accumulated in his heart, and continued:
"The King of Dai can be punished for breaking the law, and the Prince Consort can be executed for breaking the law, but the Kong family can't be killed for breaking the law?"

"Why, is his Kong family more noble than my royal family?"

The ministers: "..."

If there were a pill to make people regret their actions in the world, they would want to eat their fill.

"Your Majesty, we know we were wrong. Please revoke your order."

"Your Majesty, that is all the fault of Neo-Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism should be severely punished... Please give the Kong family a chance to live."

Zhu Yuanzhang shouted coldly: "You are really an official. No matter what you say, you are always right."

"But unfortunately, today I am older than you, and my words have more influence than yours."

"Your tricks are useless to us."

"I have made up my mind. The Kong family will be exterminated."

"Anyone who feels guilty towards the Kong family can die with us, and we will never stop them."

"Retreat."

After saying this, he stood up and left without hesitation, leaving behind the ministers who were begging desperately.
-
When the result of this handling was announced, the world was shocked.

Even the people who were originally filled with righteous indignation and demanded that the Kong family pay with blood did not dare to speak for a moment.

That’s the Kong family, the family of saints.

It is said that Chinese people have a strong utilitarianism in their belief in God, and they worship whenever they see a god.

This is of course true. What use would the Dragon King have if he doesn’t make it rain?
But on the other hand, it also illustrates another thing. When it comes to supernatural things, Chinese people basically hold the mentality of preferring to believe in them rather than not.

What if it is true? I pray for peace of mind.

Confucius has been a sage for so many years, who knows if he has any strange abilities.

So, don’t think that everyone hates the evil deeds of the Kong family.

If I really want to take action against the Kong family, I still have concerns.

Of course, there are also many people who don’t care about this and applaud the result.

But most people chose to wait and see.

It is different for intellectuals. They cannot accept this reality and express their opposition in their own ways.

However, the only solution available to most people is to sign a petition in blood.

Ask the emperor to show leniency and preserve a bloodline for the Kong family.

Some also chose to go to the Kong family, vowing to live and die with them.

Many people also chose to go to Luoyang to petition the imperial city.

On the day Zhu Yuanzhang announced the results of the punishment, hundreds of people knelt in the square outside Chengtian Gate.

More than half of them were high-ranking officials in the court, and the rest were almost all celebrities in society.

The next day, more than a thousand people came here to kneel and petition.

Zhu Yuanzhang just sneered and said, "Go tell those people that they can kneel if they want, but those who are officials should finish their duties first before kneeling."

"If anyone misses work because of this, he will be dismissed from office and charged with crime."

Upon hearing this order, the people kneeling on the ground to petition were in a commotion for a moment, but soon calmed down.

No one left.

On the third day, more people came here to kneel and petition, reaching fifteen or six hundred people.

But careful people could find that many officials who were supposed to kneel on the first day did not show up.

Then, Ming Weekly published a special issue on this matter.

Directly express your views and stand on the side of the court.

First, the Ming Dynasty laws were brought out, and then the evil deeds of the Kong family were counted. Finally, a conclusion was drawn that there were more than fifty major crimes that were punishable by the extermination of the entire clan.

The judgment of the retired emperor is fair, reasonable and in line with the laws of the Ming Dynasty.

Then he focused on how the ministers opposed this matter.

Demand pardon for the Kong family.

Here Fang Xiaoru was also very cunning. He did not say that the ministers hoped to leave a bloodline for the Kong family, but instead asked for pardon for the Kong family.

There is a huge difference here.

And he dug up all the old accounts.

What did you say when the King of Dai was punished and the son-in-law Ouyang Lun was executed?

Who said that a prince who breaks the law is subject to the same punishment as a commoner?

Who said that the people are more important than the king, and the country is second?

Why don't these principles apply when it comes to the Kong family?

When you forced the emperor to death, was it out of morality or for the struggle for power?

This issue of the newspaper was naturally criticized by scholars.

But among the common people, it has a huge impact.

It effectively eliminated the concerns of the people.

Yes, the princes can be punished and the prince consorts can be killed, so why can’t the Kong family be killed?

If Confucius was really a spirit, he would probably be so angry that he would jump out of his coffin if he saw his descendants doing evil.

It mainly aroused the anger among the people.

Well, the consciences of you scholars have been eaten by dogs.

You actually want to forgive the Kong family for all the serious evil deeds they have done?

It's really nothing.

The people dare not scold the saints, but they dare to scold ordinary people.

As a result, scholars in various places were scolded and even beaten.

This incident also brought about a consequence that no one expected.

In the hearts of ordinary people, the halo of scholars has disappeared.

You just read a few more days of books, it's nothing big.

Once the people no longer admire scholars, it will be almost impossible for them to influence their thoughts.

This created conditions for the implementation of many policies in the future.

This was something that Chen Jingke had not anticipated.

In the capital, more scholars came to Chengtian Square to petition.

There are about three thousand people.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang had seen all kinds of scenes, so how could he be frightened by this scene?

If you want to kneel, just kneel.

If someone dies, notify the family to come and collect the body.

Once the dust settles on the Kong family side, these people will naturally disperse.

But although he said this, he did not relax at all when it came to safety.

All the imperial guards are in place, ready to extinguish all fires.
-
On the other side, Zhu Gui brought his 500 personal guards and traveled day and night to Qufu.

Directly took over the leadership of the Shenjiying, and the first order was:
kill.

The general who led this army was named Wang Zheng, the second son of Wang Bi.

He was shocked when he heard the order and asked, "What about those scholars?"

Zhu Gui said excitedly: "Kill all the traitors and rebels."

Wang Zheng said in disbelief: "Ah...that's more than 20,000 scholars."

As the decree to exterminate the entire clan was issued, thousands of scholars came to defend the Kong family.

It really takes a lot of courage to kill so many people.

Zhu Gui said impatiently: "If you don't dare, just say it. I'll replace my people."

Wang Zheng knew he had no other choice. He took a deep breath and said, "I obey your command."

Then he strode out of the military camp and gave the order: "All troops, surround the Confucius Mansion... kill..."

"kill."

Ten thousand soldiers from the Shenji Camp quickly surrounded the Confucius Mansion.

The scholars guarding the Confucius Mansion were shocked when they saw this and gathered together whispering.

Many people have already realized that something is wrong and want to escape.

However, they were all driven back.

Now, the scholars became even more panicked.

Especially those speculators, they are regretting it to the core.

The people in the Confucius Mansion also received news that an army had surrounded the Confucius Mansion.

The Kong family was trembling with fear and could only hope that the scholars outside could stop the troops.

They didn't think that the imperial court would really dare to take action against so many scholars.

In fact, even the scholars themselves think so.

Killing so many scholars is even more brutal than Qin Shi Huang.

Does the emperor still want to have a good reputation after his death?
So, someone shouted, "Everyone, don't climb, hold hands, don't be separated, they won't dare to do anything to us."

The panic-stricken scholars hurriedly did as they were told, and soon they joined hands and surrounded the Confucius Mansion, making it impossible to get in or out.

The strength of their companions also made them feel more at ease.

however……

"Raise your guns..." A heart-wrenching roar rang out.

"Swish." Ten thousand soldiers of the Shenji Camp raised their muskets and aimed at them.

The crowd became agitated again.

But this time, before they could make any move, they heard a voice: "Release."

Then, a dense series of "bang bang bang" sounds were heard.

Rows of scholars were hit and fell.

They finally panicked and wanted to escape, but there were troops everywhere.

I could only subconsciously move behind the crowd.

Then the whole thing became a mess.

The Shenji Camp used new-style muskets, which could fire an average of two rounds per minute.

Three-stage shooting is the basic operation.

As the gunfire continued, lives were taken one after another.

Many more people who were not hit in vital areas lay on the ground wailing.

The scene was terrible.

Everyone in the Kong family in the courtyard was so frightened that they were shitting and pissing themselves.

The court is serious.

However, it was too late to regret.

Outside, Zhu Gui was excited at first as he watched the scholars who had bullied him being killed.

But it soon became boring.

"Killing people is more fun with a knife than with a gun."

Then he asked Wang Zheng to stop shooting, and despite the persuasion, he drew his sword and rushed forward with his guards.

The scholars had already been frightened out of their wits and did not dare to resist at all. They could only flee in all directions like sheep.

Then he would either be stopped and killed by the Shenjiying, or caught up and killed by Zhu Gui.

It took an hour and a half to kill more than 20,000 people.

Zhu Gui's body was soaked in blood, and no trace of his original color could be seen.

But his face was filled with inexplicable excitement, and his eyes were bloodshot:
"Haha... so cool, so cool. It's more satisfying to charge into battle and kill people."

"When I get back, I'll ask my father to let me go into battle and kill the enemy."

Looking at the scene littered with corpses, Wang Zheng sighed in his heart.

These are all scholars, and their reputation after death is worrying.

But as a vested interest of the Ming Dynasty nobles, there are some things he cannot escape.

What's more, there is confirmed news that his father will soon be promoted to Duke.

This action can be regarded as a statement.

Otherwise, would the dukedom be so easy to obtain?
Therefore, he did not hesitate and asked:
"Prince Dai, it's the Kong family's turn next. Do you want to take action, or should I?"

Zhu Gui was already furious and said, "Blow up the Kong family's wall for me. I will go and deal with them myself."

Wang Zheng naturally would not object and immediately ordered people to take action.

The Kong family never thought that their family would suffer such an experience.

Therefore, although there are high walls and a large courtyard, the defensive capabilities are not strong.

Just a bag of gunpowder was enough to blow down a section of the courtyard wall.

Amid the screams of fear from the people in the courtyard, Zhu Gui rushed in with his personal guards.

(End of this chapter)