As a member of the "Four Sages and Three Sages" family, the Zeng family has an extremely long history.
The origin of the Zeng clan in Shandong is located in what is now Lanshan County, Yizhou Prefecture, Shandong. Descendants of the Zeng family who fled to the State of Lu during the pre-Qin period served as officials here and gradually flourished.
The Zeng family was famous for their filial piety and the reputation of their ancestor Zeng Shen. Therefore, they were valued by rulers of all dynasties. For example, Zeng Shen's eldest son Zeng Yuan's eighth grandson Zeng Le was once named the capital of Shanyin County in the Western Han Dynasty. Xianghou.
Since the ninth year of Jiajing reign in the Ming Dynasty, Zeng Shen was renamed Zeng Zi by the imperial court, the Zeng family's power in the court has grown stronger and stronger, and there is a strong tendency to compete with the two families of Confucius and Mencius. But today, everything will come to nothing. .
Late at night, 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 Zeng family's residences occupy a very large area.
Not only that, there are many lush green plants planted around the mansion, and two huge stone lions are placed at the door, holding beads in their mouths, looking quite majestic.
At this moment, Zeng Hong, the 61st patriarch of the Zeng family, suddenly woke up from his sleep. Since he fell into a coma due to shortness of breath and vomiting blood earlier, he finally managed to save his life after the doctor's treatment.
However, correspondingly, his energy was also much lower than before, and he gradually began to feel unable to deal with many affairs of the Zeng family.
Because of this, many different voices emerged within the Zeng family, and some even wanted him to give up his position as patriarch as soon as possible and enjoy his old age in peace.
Because of this matter, the entire Zeng family fell into a quarrel. Because of their different interests, Jingwei was clearly divided into two groups. One group supported the current patriarch Zeng Hong, and the other group wanted to support Zeng Wen as the leader of the Zeng family. The sixty-second clan leader!
The two factions were quarreling over this, and even reached the point of incompatibility.
When Zeng Hong sat up from the bed and looked out the window at the night, he couldn't help but sigh.
"Oh, it's been such a troubled time lately!"
"How long has it been, and we are still fighting for the position of a mere clan leader? The most important thing now is to consider how to overcome the current difficulties, cough cough cough!"
At this moment, the maid who had been waiting outside the door heard coughing coming from the room.
Out of concern for Zeng Hong's health, two maids opened the door, walked in, and asked Zeng Hong.
"Master, are you okay? Do you need some 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 maids did not dare to disobey Zeng Hong's orders at all, so after bowing respectfully to Zeng Hong, they turned and left.
When leaving, the two maids also closed the door to the room.
After the two maids left, Zeng Hong looked away and sighed helplessly.
Now, he is quite worried about the future of the Zeng family.
Because no matter what, the collusion between his Zeng clan and the White Lotus Sect was already a definite fact and could no longer be changed.
After all, the court's attitude towards the White Lotus Sect and other people related to the White Lotus Sect has been very clear, that is, all will be executed regardless of the reason!
In addition, he was full of hope not long ago and sent people to Qufu, Shandong Province to meet with the contemporary Yan Shenggong Kong Shangxian in order to seek help.
In the end, all he got was a vague promise. When he thought of this, Zeng Hong became very angry.
"Humph, what an idiot. Didn't Kong Shangxian say earlier that someone in the DPRK would soon impeach Hai Rui?"
"It's been so long, but there's no movement at all. Huh, if something happens to my Zeng family, you won't be able to get over it!"
While Zeng Hong was still racking his brains to think about what method he should take next to save the Zeng family from danger, a burst of noise from outside interrupted his thoughts.
"It's so late, who is making the noise outside? Could it be that they are quarreling again because of the ownership of the clan leader's position?"
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. They were so frightened that they fled in all directions.
The entire Zeng family suddenly fell into chaos.
As early as when the group of guard soldiers poured into the home, Zeng Hong knew that the Zeng family was in doom and gloom, and there would be no chance of a comeback.
Because without an order from the imperial court, it would be absolutely impossible to mobilize these guardsmen!
"Can it be said that my Zeng family will 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 stopped talking. What he originally wanted was to end his life in this way, so that he could avoid the pain of prison in the future.
However, he closed his eyes and waited for a long time. The guardsmen had no intention of attacking him. Instead, they passed him directly, holding weapons in hand, and began to chase and kill those Zeng clan members who wanted to escape.
At this moment, a man dressed as an officer led people 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 a look of death on his face. He nodded firmly and responded.
"Yes, I am the 61st clan leader of the Zeng clan, Zeng Hong!"
"Whose order did you take? What are you going to do? Wait until I report to the court and rule..."
Before Zeng Hong could finish what he said, he was impatiently interrupted by the officer.
"Old man, where did all this nonsense come from? If the higher-ups hadn't named you and wanted to spare your life, I would have killed you with a knife!"
After the officer finished speaking, he waved his hand suddenly and gave serious instructions to the soldiers around him.
"Come here, tie up this old guy!"
As soon as the officer finished speaking, the subordinate who received the order quickly took control of Zeng Hong and blocked his penis with a cloth strip.
As more and more guardsmen poured into the Zeng family, soon the entire Zeng family turned into a living hell, with cries and calls for help intertwined.
In addition, there was the sound of breaking ceramics from time to time, followed by a strong smell of blood that gradually spread, making it disgusting!
During this process, the entire Zeng family was turned upside down, and all their property was rummaged out and registered.
The current scene is unfolding among the families on the list.
…
Since then, several days have passed, and Hai Rui is still sending people here to count the harvest day and night.
In the evening, the Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.
At this moment, Jiajing was sitting cross-legged on the futon, his eyes seemed to be closed. At this moment, he had already fallen into a meditative state.
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.
When Lu Fang saw this situation, he came to Jiajing's side in time, leaned down and reported respectfully.
"Your Majesty, I have already investigated everything you asked me to investigate!"
Jiajing heard this, glanced at Lu Fang, and then spoke in a voice without any emotion.
"speak!"
"Your Majesty, I have found out that the officials who impeached Hai Rui earlier have some unexplainable relationship with those families!"
"Most of them are favored by them, and some people want to take this opportunity to take the initiative to please those families!"
When Lu Fang said this, he couldn't help but pause for a moment. Soon, he came back to his senses, lowered his voice, and asked Jiajing.
"Your Majesty, look at what to do with these people, slave..."
Before Lu Fang finished speaking, Jiajing waved his hand and interrupted impatiently.
"Okay, you can handle this matter as you see fit. Huh, what a bunch of rip-offs!"
When Lu Fang heard Jiajing's words, she immediately looked stern, lowered her head and looked at the ground casually.
As early as when Jiajing used the words "eat inside and outside" to describe those people, Lu Fang already knew what Jiajing meant.
Just as he was still thinking about what method he should take to deal with those people next, Jiajing's slightly doubtful voice sounded in Lu Fang's ears.
"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, I think Hai Rui's side is delayed because of something!"
"You might as well think about it. The wealth accumulated by those families over the years is simply immeasurable. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as being as rich as a country. I feel that the combined wealth of those families is probably... It’s going to be counted in the hundreds of millions!”
"With such a large amount of property, even if I count it around the clock, day and night, I'm afraid it will take a lot of time to completely count it all!"
After listening to Lu Fang's explanation, Jiajing felt that it made sense. He nodded 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 eyes to Lu Fang and gave instructions.
"The weather outside is nice, Lu Fang, please go for a walk with me!"
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
After the words fell, Lu Fang was seen following Jiajing's steps step by step, and left the Qianqing Palace. The afterglow of the setting sun shone down, covering Jiajing and Lu Fang.
…
Qufu, Shandong Province, Confucius family.
Ever since he learned that the imperial court had sent soldiers from the guard station to ransack the homes of all the remaining families of the "Four Sages and Three Sages", Kong Shangxian had fallen into a state of panic.
At this moment, Kong Shangxian was sitting at the top of the room, eagerly listening to the report from the butler.
"Master, we have found out everything. 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 accused by the government of colluding with the White Lotus Sect. All the soldiers from the guard were dispatched. The house was ransacked, and there is also definite news that Jin Yiwei was involved in the whole thing!"
"And the property confiscated by the guardsmen from these houses is said to be nearly 80 million taels, and the rest, such as antiques and curios, house deeds, etc., are even more numerous!"
"And the person responsible for the whole thing is none other than Shi Hairui, the left deputy censor sent by the imperial court to investigate the case earlier!"
"Master, what should we do next? What if that Hai Rui arrives..."
After the butler finished narrating, he couldn't help but cast his eyes on Kong Shangxian, who was sitting at the top, with a look of fear and uneasiness on his face.
After listening to the butler's report, Kong Shangxian's face was full of fear. At this moment, his heart was full of regret.
He hated that he should not have taken this Hai Rui lightly in the first place, which led to things developing to this irreversible point today.
You know, although there are some frictions in interests among several of their families, on the whole, they have always been in the same spirit, both prospering and losing!
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, the butler on the side carefully considered his words, then turned his attention to Kong Shangxian and asked.
"Old... Master, do you think we should keep a low profile recently to avoid the limelight? As for the land rent, should we reduce or reduce it appropriately..."
Kong Shangxian was originally in a very bad mood. After hearing what the butler said, he suddenly became furious. Immediately, his eyes were red and he was breathing heavily. He picked up the teacup on the table and threw it at the butler. He cursed angrily.
"You're such a waste. Why do you want to ask me about such a trivial matter? What do I, the Kong family, do to feed you?"
Facing the teacup flying towards him, the housekeeper did not dare to dodge at all, so he could only grit his teeth and endure it silently.
The teacup touched the body, and there was a dull sound first, and then, the hot tea poured out, and a burning pain gradually spread from the butler's hand that was splashed by the hot tea.
At this moment, there was a rapid knock on the door. Not long after, a servant of the Kong family ran into the room and breathlessly reported to Kong Shangxian.
"Old... Master, no... it's not good, a lot of soldiers suddenly appeared outside!"
(End of chapter)
