Ming Dynasty: Zhu Biao's younger brother, the most rebellious son in history

Chapter 108 When gold and silver cover the streets of Lu County!
"Want to die? How can it be so easy?"

Zhu Kai would not let Kong Kejian die so easily. As for lighting the sky lantern... that would be a matter for the future.

"Carry him in and find a doctor to treat him."

Zhu Kai ordered Wu Zhen, "I don't want to see him die!"

"Yes!"

Wu Zhen asked the soldiers to carry Kong Kejian in. At this time, only Zhu Kai, Jin Yin, the soldiers, and the scholars who surrounded the entire Kong Mansion were left at the door.

The scholars outside saw that Kong Kejian was so angry that he vomited blood, and wanted to step forward and scold Zhu Kai.

How can you not respect the 54th generation grandson of Duke Yansheng?
But looking at the gold, silver, treasures, valuable calligraphy and paintings, land deeds and house deeds all over the ground, they finally chose to shut up.

The gold and silver boxes spread out on the street before them were so spectacular that they didn't know how to speak.

They seem to have vaguely realized...

Zhu Kai's sudden search and seizure of the Kong Mansion was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. Perhaps... Kong Kejian really did something extremely unscrupulous.

At this point, all we can do is wait.

The operation of searching Confucius's mansion did not end immediately, but continued. Boxes filled with money were carried out one by one, and precious jade, jewelry, corals, etc. were all displayed on the street.

Even the richest scholars would be confused when seeing so much gold and silver in front of them. They could not imagine that so much money would appear.

It is said that scholars regard money as dirt, but there is really too much "dirt" before our eyes.

There were so many that the scholars were unable to speak, for fear that they would be defiled by the gold and silver.

The search and seizure of Confucius' Mansion lasted until the early morning, when all the treasures were moved out. Faced with so much silver and money, the scholars felt dizzy.

Zhu Kai looked at these scholars and felt helpless...

Don't just read books blindly. Learn to raise your head and open your eyes to see the world, young man!
"You are all scholars, and you understand much more than I do."

Zhu Kai's tone was a little sleepy, but his voice was still loud and full of energy.

"You study and believe in Confucius and Mencius, not their descendants!"

After saying that, Zhu Kai had his men pack up the gold, silver and treasures, register them, and send them to Yingtian Prefecture.

Zhu Kai also likes money, but the money is too hot to handle, and Zhu Kai has no intention of taking it.

It’s better to give the gold, silver and other things to Lao Zhu.

These are what he likes most.

As for these valuable calligraphy and paintings, there is no use for Mr. Zhu, so he should give them to his wife.

Zhu Kai left after saying two words, and his words spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, and soon all the scholars in Lu County knew one thing: the Kong family was finished, and if they, the scholars, still wanted to pass the imperial examinations, they should not become dependent on the Kong family.

……

The gold and silver hidden by the Kong family covered the entire streets of Lu County.

This statement is indeed exaggerated, but it did not affect the spread of the news, and the more it spread, the more outrageous it became. But no matter how it spread, it is true that the lineage of Duke Yansheng, who "regards money as dirt", is richer than the national treasury.

In addition, there were land deeds and house deeds, which gave Kong Kejian a famous nickname: Kong Bancheng!
The half city here refers to half of the entire Qi and Lu.

From this we can see how wealthy the Yanshenggong family was.

In the past, there were scholars who believed in the Yansheng Duke and his family, thinking that they were all scholars. But now, after hearing the news about "Kong Bancheng", they also had deep doubts. Wasn't it said that the Yansheng Duke and his family were all scholars who regarded money as dirt?

But why is there so much money now?
Half of Qi and Lu. You should know that the current Qi and Lu includes Youzhou and Yanjing!

No matter what, it is true that the Yanshenggong family has fallen from the altar.

Hu Weiyong also rushed to Lu County from Laizhou. When he saw Zhu Kai, he flattered him and was then driven away by Zhu Kai to work. Zhu Kai had been in Qi and Lu for more than a month and had solved the problems of the Japanese pirates and the Kong family, which basically completed the mission of his trip.

But Zhu Kai didn't want to go back so easily... What's the good of going back?
Not interesting at all.

Zhu Kai was also thinking about going to western Shanxi and the border to take a look. It would not be a bad idea to buy some land in western Shanxi and Yanjing at that time.

After Zhu Kai finished the previous tasks, it was Hu Weiyong's turn to do the subsequent finishing work. He first went to see Kong Kejian.

When he arrived at the prison cell in Lu County, Hu Weiyong met the 54th generation grandson of Duke Yansheng. This was the first time that Hu Weiyong met Duke Yansheng after coming to Qi and Lu.

At this time, Duke Yansheng was just a skinny old man with disheveled hair. His appearance was so heartbreaking that anyone who saw it would cry.

Even Hu Weiyong couldn't help but sigh: It's really too tragic.

From heaven to hell, it's just a thought.

However, Hu Weiyong did not sympathize with him. Kong Kejian brought his current fate upon himself.

Hu Weiyong stood in front of Kong Kejian, looking down at the haggard old man, without any martial ethics, and said in a mocking tone: "The 54th generation grandson of the Duke of Yansheng, the head of the Kong Kejian family, how are you?"

"Hu Weiyong?"

Kong Kejian already knew that he was doomed, so he was not so polite when he spoke, and directly called Hu Weiyong by name: "Are you very proud of me now?"

"I can't say I'm proud of myself, but it's a wake-up call for me."

Hu Weiyong said that even if he was greedy for money in the future, he would not be like Kong Kejian, who hollowed out his house and filled it with gold and silver treasures: "Your family's wealth is more than the revenue of the Ming Dynasty's treasury in five years. I'm afraid it will take another ten years to catch up with your Kong family's wealth."

"Hahaha, the Kong family died and the Ming Dynasty became richer. Isn't this exactly what you want to see?"

In prison, Kong Kejian seemed to have gained enlightenment. He thought clearly about Zhu Kai, Hu Weiyong and Wu Zhen's targeting of them: "You are targeting my Kong family. I'm afraid it's not a sudden idea. I'm afraid you have already planned it before you came. Haha... You have a conflict with the prince. Why did I believe this news at that time? You, Hu Weiyong, are a complete villain. Would you become an enemy of the prince without being absolutely sure? Good plan, really good plan!"

Zhu Yuanzhang also took this opportunity to avenge himself for being ignored by the Kong family, killing two birds with one stone!
"But what do you get?"

Kong Kejian showed a mocking look on his face as he looked at Hu Weiyong: "When the birds are gone, the good bows are put away; when the cunning rabbit dies, the running dogs are cooked! You, Hu Weiyong, have served them to death and offended the people of the world. What good end can you have? Haha! I'll wait for you on the road to the underworld."

"Me? Then you don't have to worry about it. I will live very well. Very well."

Hu Weiyong thought of Zhu Kai and couldn't help but smile: "As for you, it's not that easy to go to the underworld. If His Highness doesn't let you die, you can't die even if you want to."

Kong Kejian expressed his disbelief. His life was in his own hands. If he really wanted to die, who could stop him?
"Do you feel like no one can stop you?"

Hu Weiyong had turned into a devil at this time, and continued to look down at Kong Kejian: "You can die, but you have to think about your family. If you die, I can guarantee that your family will die miserably. I will turn the men into human pigs and sell the women to brothels. Hehe... I believe that some people with special hobbies will be very interested if they know that those young ladies are descendants of Yansheng Duke?"

"you……"

Kong Kejian's eyes widened. He never thought Hu Weiyong would be so vicious: "What do you get by doing this?"

"What can I gain? Does making the whole world an enemy count?"

Hu Weiyong smiled happily. The more enemies he had, the more stable his position would be.

As long as Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and Zhu Kai are around, he will always have a place in the court.

This is how villains make a living.

Kong Kejian wanted to negotiate with Hu Weiyong, but now the opportunity to do so has been lost.

"Great Sage Kong, live well... I will catch your family, including those who depend on your family, one by one. The scholars of the world will no longer follow the lead of your Kong family!"

Kong Kejian could not understand what Hu Weiyong said. He was still the stubborn old man.

Seeing Hu Weiyong leave, Kong Kejian pursed his lips and wanted to say something but ultimately didn't say anything.

At this point, what's the point of begging for mercy?
Hu Weiyong was determined not to let himself or the Kong family go. Kong Kejian didn't believe that Zhu Kai would dare to do such a big thing without Zhu Yuanzhang's support. He was even certain that Zhu Yuanzhang must be behind the scenes, and Zhu Kai and Hu Weiyong were just people who were pushed out to resist.

Zhu Yuanzhang!
Kong Kejian lay on the thatched straw in the prison, wondering if he was regretting his lip service to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Three days later, all the assets moved out of the Kong family were checked out, and a carriage set out from Qilu, escorted by two thousand soldiers and horses, to Yingtian Prefecture.

After meeting Kong Kejian, Hu Weiyong launched a new action. In Qi and Lu, anyone who had a connection with the Kong family was uprooted by Hu Weiyong. With Zhang Lin around, Hu Weiyong didn't even need to show up, as he could skin these families raw.

These families hated Hu Weiyong and Zhang Lin so much that if looks could kill, not even a bone would be left of the two of them.

Such a large-scale property-raiding operation really shocked the scholars of Qi and Lu. It was like digging up the ground in Qi and Lu. If it continued like this, what future would they have in their studies?
No, we must find a way to get out of this situation.

As for how to get rid of it, no one knew. The only thing they could do was to go to Yingtian Prefecture and file a complaint with Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Kai is about to kill all the Confucian scholars in Qi and Lu, don't you, Zhu Yuanzhang, do anything about it?

Especially some larger families, in order to protect themselves, began to give travel expenses to scholars and let them go to Yingtian Prefecture to cause trouble. They could not let Hu Weiyong continue to cause trouble in Qi and Lu, otherwise they would not even have a way to survive.

Hu Weiyong went through the main and branch branches of the Kong family from head to toe, registered all the property, and then went to see Zhu Kai as soon as possible.

The first thing he said when he saw Zhu Kai was: "Your Highness, the descendants of Duke Yansheng are really rich enough to rival a country! Really rich enough to rival a country!"

"According to the current income of the Ming Dynasty Treasury, the wealth owned by all the Kong family members distributed throughout Qi and Lu is equivalent to the income of the Ming Dynasty Treasury for fifteen years."

When talking about these riches, Hu Weiyong's excited heart and trembling hands asked Zhu Kai unwillingly: "Your Highness, are we just going to give all this money to His Majesty? It's not worth it. If we only take half of the wealth, we can do a lot of things. Isn't Your Highness doing business? With only half of the money, Your Highness can do a lot more business."

Hu Weiyong felt that keeping these riches in the national treasury would be a waste of money, and it would be better to let Zhu Kai use them to do business.

But Zhu Kai didn't think so. He would be losing money if he kept so much wealth in his hands.

And this money is really not much.

"Old Hu, don't be so short-sighted. How much money is enough? Right?"

Zhu Kai looked at Hu Weiyong and said, "Besides, we just sent the account books back. Aren't these riches still in our hands?"

"..."

Hu Weiyong didn't understand what Zhu Kai said. All the wealth had been registered, and Zhu Yuanzhang also knew it.

Those gold, silver and treasures are no different from scrap metal if left alone?
Is it possible that he could embezzle it right under Zhu Yuanzhang's nose?

"My father is a wealthy landlord, and he is also very stingy. If he puts all this money in the national treasury, it will be nothing but ashes. But my father has me, and I can teach him how to spend money."

Zhu Kai said that he was the one who controlled these wealth: "Old Hu, you have to understand one thing, this money... is only valuable when it is spent. Keeping it is no different from scrap copper and rotten iron. What we need to do now is to think about how to spend the money. Do you understand?"

In later generations, all countries followed the rules of the game, gold, silver, copper and iron all became tradable non-ferrous metals, and money became paper money and finally digital currency, but everyone thought there was no problem... because there was the country's credibility.

The value of money does not lie in its quantity, but in the country's comprehensive national strength and credibility.

Paper money has appeared since the Southern Song Dynasty, but those were large-denomination silver notes. Zhu Kai could have used the monetary means of later generations to make the silver notes a common currency.

Although he didn't quite understand it, after hearing what Zhu Kai said, it seemed that Zhu Kai did not intend to hand over the money searched from the Kong family to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Thinking of this, Hu Weiyong shrank his neck suddenly. Perhaps only Zhu Kai would dare to do such a thing?
Gold, silver and treasures are nothing. Land deeds and house deeds can also be sorted out. What is more important is food.

The Kong family occupied almost half of the land of Qi and Lu, and the amount of grain they hid was incalculable. After searching, it was found that some of the grain had rotted in the granary, and the Kong family did not give it to the people.

Shameless, shameless bastard!

Hu Weiyong also told Zhu Kai about the grain and asked Zhu Kai what he wanted to do with it.

"Some of it will be sent to Yanjing and given to my father-in-law as military rations."

Zhu Kai didn't even raise his head, but lowered his head to play with the Lego blocks in his hand: "Pick out some as seeds to distribute to the people, and let the people eat the rest."

At this point, Zhu Kai said to Hu Weiyong:
"Also, distribute the land to everyone, regardless of gender. Each person will get 20 acres, and children under 13 and the elderly over 50 will get 10 acres."

After hearing this, Hu Weiyong asked another question: "Your Highness, the food will be ready soon. Isn't it too much to distribute it now..."

"Just share it. We are not scholars, so how can we exploit the people? They grew the crops themselves anyway, so just share it."

Zhu Kai waved his hand, signaling Hu Weiyong not to worry about these details anymore, and that the most important thing was to ensure that the people had enough to eat.

"Yes, I will listen to your highness."

Hu Weiyong said he accepted the order, and then flattered him, "Your Highness is really kind-hearted. The people living under your rule are absolutely the happiest."

Which common people would attach so much importance to the common people?

Even Li Shimin, who once said "The people are like water and the king is like a boat", would not value the people as much as Zhu Kai.

Of course, there is also Zhu Yuanzhang...

But at this time, Hu Weiyong was flattering Zhu Kai, so he naturally chose to ignore Zhu.

Hu Weiyong also wanted to persuade Zhu Kai to find a way to inherit the throne.

Zhu Kai focused all his attention on the Lego blocks in front of him and didn't care what Hu Weiyong said. Perhaps even if Hu Weiyong said something, he wouldn't care.

"Well, go get busy."

Don't bother me playing with Lego!
Zhu Kai had nothing to do, so he found a box of Lego bricks in the container. There were interstellar military bases, aircraft carriers, stealth fighters, etc. Zhu Kai had nothing to do anyway, and with a workaholic like Hu Weiyong around him, Zhu Kai could completely hand over the work to him, and Hu Weiyong was able to complete the tasks he assigned him very well.

Hu Weiyong didn't think so. When he heard that Zhu Kai did not refute his hint, he thought that Zhu Kai had some ideas about the future throne, and his fighting power suddenly increased a hundredfold.

work hard!

Prepare for Zhu Kai's ascension to the throne in the future!

As for Zhu Kai, what he is considering now is how to spend the money.

Zhu Kai had no interest in the money seized from the lineage of Duke Yansheng. Since it would be handed over to Zhu Yuanzhang anyway, he might as well help Zhu Yuanzhang spend the money.

There is a saying: If you want to get rich, build roads first.

What Zhu Kai wanted to do was to use the money to build roads.

In later generations, road construction is a municipal project, a livelihood project that does not consider cost and return, but there are also many people who get rich directly through these projects... It’s not that they do it through shady operations, but they use their keen sense of nose to find business opportunities.

For example, if we build a road from Lu County to Laizhou Prefecture, there will need to be a rest area in between, right?

Restaurants, hotels, comprehensive service areas... and so on, are all places where you can make a fortune.

Zhu Kai doesn't need to do business himself. He just needs to occupy a piece of land at some important transportation hub, build a house, and let people who want to do business rent it.

So, Lao Zhu, I would like to call you the best worker!

Zhu Kai played with Lego for a while, but then lost interest in it.

He simply wrote a letter to Xu Miaoyun, asking her to find two reliable people to follow him in doing business.

……

Inside Yingtian Mansion.

The news that Zhu Kai had captured all the descendants of Duke Yansheng had not yet reached Yingtian Prefecture, but the news that Zhu Kai had acted recklessly in Qi and Lu had still reached the ears of the dignitaries in Yingtian Prefecture.

Kong Xixue, the 55th generation grandson of Confucius, had been ordered by his father to go to Yingtian Prefecture. Of course, he did not dare to delay at all. After arriving in Yingtian Prefecture, he began to run around and visited the residences of various dignitaries, denouncing to them what Zhu Kai had done in Qi and Lu, especially the fact that Hu Weiyong acted as Zhu Kai's vanguard and minion. According to Kong Xixue's description, their Kong family became the punching bag and the target of beatings.

After the atmosphere was almost created, Kong Xixue went to the residence of Grand Secretary Song Lian to seek Song Lian's help.

When Grand Secretary Song Lian heard Kong Xixue's words, he was so angry that his beard stood up.

Zhu Kai is going too far!

He himself doesn't like reading, so he wants to dig up the roots of scholars?
This is absolutely not allowed!

(End of this chapter)