As soon as Jia Cong entered the gate of Yan Shenggong's Mansion, he saw a man wearing a ceremonial robe worn only for sacrifices. He had a long beard and white hair and looked at him and his party outside the gate with dignity.
Just as he was about to take a step forward, he saw a man in fine clothes in the crowd taking a step forward and shouting: "You vulgar martial artist, why don't you leave? This Confucius Temple's ceremonial gate is also for martial artists like you to leave?"
"Mencius Wan Zhang 2" records, "Husband's righteousness is a road; etiquette is a door. Only a gentleman can use this road and enter and exit this door."
There are ceremonial gates and righteous roads in front of the Confucius Temple, which are a recognition of the respect for Confucius and the orthodox status of Confucianism.
According to the rules since the Song Dynasty, only gentlemen who conform to Confucian moral standards can walk on this road and enter and exit through this door. People who do not meet the requirements cannot take this path.
When the founding of the People's Republic of China, Emperor Taizu pinched his nose and recognized this rule. Naturally, Jia Cong would not be stupid and forcefully contradict it.
He waved his hand to stop the soldier beside him who was clenching the handle of the knife, took off the Yanling Dao and Yujian from his waist, and handed them to Jia Shiyi.
Then he straightened his clothes, smiled slightly, entered through the Yimen, and walked towards the Confucius Temple.
When he came to the pile of firewood, Jia Cong bowed in Confucian etiquette and said, "Jia Cong, a Confucian student, has met all the elders."
"Rude warriors" are not allowed to enter the Yimen, so he, an orthodox Confucian student, can enter.
Yes, the Jia family's son is the only disciple of Liuyuan Wenkui Xu Jin and Xu Qingteng. Although he has no fame, he can really call himself a Confucian student.
They really have no reason to stop Confucian students from coming to the Confucius Temple.
Moreover, Jia Congli's words were all impeccable. Everyone who saw him pass through the ceremony gate regardless of his obstruction was choked and had nothing to say, so they could only look at him with cold expressions.
Everyone turned their attention to the purple-robed old man at the head. Jia Cong probably guessed the identity of this person from the unique purple sacrificial robes on his body.
Kong Xiang'an, the highest-ranking and most knowledgeable person in the Kong family, has a very high prestige among officials.
In addition to being a bit pedantic, this person has noble moral character and has been advocating self-denial and restoration of propriety for most of his life.
He didn’t receive rice from the Confucius family, didn’t live in the Confucius family’s house, and didn’t receive the Confucius family’s money. He passed the scholar examination at the age of fifteen, passed the national examination at the age of eighteen, passed the general examination at the age of nineteen, ranked second in the palace examination, and then resigned and was appointed an official. He returned to his hometown and continued to study the classics of saints.
If it weren't for his status as a concubine, Kong Renxuan's father would never have the chance to inherit the title of Duke Yansheng.
The Supreme Emperor once told Jia Cong that Emperor Taizong originally wanted to cultivate Kong Xiang'an well in order to divide the Kong family. Unexpectedly, Kong Xiang'an said in the Fengtian Palace that he took the imperial examination not to become an official, but for the money and food from the court, so that he could have food and clothing, and study with peace of mind.
As for whether the Kong family was extravagant or not, he, Kong Xiangan, felt uneasy because he did not receive salary for his merits.
The upright Kong Xiang'an made Emperor Taizong dumbfounded, and awarded him the third-grade title of Zhicheng Xianshi Sacrificial Officer, and ordered him to be responsible for worshiping at the Confucius Temple in Qufu, and gave him money to return.
After Kong Xiang'an returned to his hometown, he went deep into simplicity and studied the classics of saints. At the age of thirty, he wrote the book "Dreams and Sages", at the age of forty-two, he wrote "Four Books Today", and at the age of fifty-six, he wrote "Zhao Wu Zhi Yao"... …
After thirty years of writing, covering many aspects such as annotation, classic theory, teaching, and governance, the unique small courtyard in Qufu City has become one of the most desirable holy places for Confucian students, after the Confucius Temple and Confucius Forest.
Kong Xiang'an once made many Kong family members hate him to death for re-annotating the Four Books, but no one dared to take action against him.
Because there are always two volumes of books on the desk of the Supreme Emperor, Kong Xiang'an's "Four Books Today" and "Zhao Wu Zhi Yao".
"Mr. Huaili, students are polite."
Jia Cong bowed to the old man respectfully. The solemn look on Kong Xiang'an's face faded a bit, and he smiled and said in return: "The sincere master, the sacrificial officer, has met the deputy imperial envoy."
"Mr. Huaili, why do you salute such a villain? The eunuch told me that he was the one who ordered him..."
The people next to him were very excited and were about to continue talking, but Kong Xiangan raised his hand to stop him: "The Qiuguan will decide the matter of prison. I have already said that setting up a private court is against etiquette and law. Not to mention what you and others obtained by bending the sword and making a move, it is difficult to tell whether it is true or false."
Wuwuwuwuwu...
Jia Cong looked around and saw Gao Cong
On the high pile of firewood, the gagged Xia Jiang looked angrily at the Confucian scholars in front of the Confucius Temple, and even a fool could see the killing intent in his eyes.
Kong Xiang'an's words would naturally not be approved by this group of people. Eunuchs were the most vindictive, so they beat him to pieces and set him on a pile of firewood.
Handing over the court's hawks and dogs to the court for trial, isn't this the same as letting the tiger go home?
Almost everyone said that they had collected all kinds of personal and material evidence during the interrogation, but Kong Xiang'an never said a word, and instead chatted a few words with Jia Cong.
Jia Cong seemed thoughtful, glanced at Xia Jiang who was moaning on the pile of firewood, and finally smiled helplessly.
"Mr. Huaili, Xia Jiang is a chamberlain in the palace. Your Majesty ordered him to come to Shandong to quell the rebellion and investigate the burning of Yan Shenggong's mansion. But I don't know why he caused public outrage and was burned to death in front of the Confucius Temple?"
Before Kong Xiang'an could respond, someone beside him immediately became unable to sit still. A middle-aged man jumped out, pointed at Jia Cong and angrily yelled: "You still dare to ask? If it weren't for your instigation, he, the eunuch An, would have dared to destroy Kong Lin. Disturbing the saint’s tomb?”
"Ren Shu, step back!"
"Uncle..."
"I told you to stand down!"
Kong Xiang'an shouted him down sternly, and the rest of the people did not dare to face the obviously annoyed Mr. Huai Li. They encouraged each other and wanted to push others to come forward.
"Alas, Vice Envoy Jia, forgive me. It is true that Confucius Forest was destroyed, and the people of the clan are incomprehensible in their grief and anger. Eunuch Xia ordered people to dig up the ground, destroy the forest, and disturb the holy tomb. This is in full view of the public. His crime cannot be evaded. I hope Vice Envoy Jia can truthfully tell the truth. Report to the court."
This idiot...
Jia Cong wanted to just burn this guy to death, but for the sake of the royal family, he had to stand up and save this guy's life first.
Fortunately, the Kong family also has Kong Xiang'an, who attaches great importance to etiquette. Otherwise, it would be really difficult to handle.
Jia Cong bowed to him and thanked him, and promised to escort Xia Jiang to Beijing and invite the emperor's three departments for review.
"No, the eunuchs are powerful. What if you, the officials, protect each other?"
Jia Cong looked at the speaker and asked calmly: "What do you call this gentleman?"
"Confucius Kong Renwen."
"Well, Kong Renwen, right? Then tell me, what do you want to do?"
Return to Confucius...ha!
Although Kong Renwen could see Kong Xiang'an's dissatisfaction, he ignored it. He exchanged glances with several people around him, and finally pointed at Xia Jiang and said, "The eunuch deserves to die. The evidence of his crime is conclusive and he must die to apologize."
"Yes, you must die to apologize!"
Suddenly the crowd became excited, and Xia Jiang, who was on the firewood pile, was so frightened that he put away his resentful eyes and looked at Jia Cong pleadingly.
woo woo woo woo……
Jia Cong ignored Xia Jiang's whining. After a moment of silence, he said to everyone: "Since you are worried about letting him return to Beijing to be tried and protected by the officials, how about we try the case in Qufu?"
Um?
"Then who will be the judge? You can't do it yourself, right?"
Jia Cong shook his head and chuckled: "Of course it won't be me, but it won't be you Kong Renwen either. I asked someone to invite Mr. Chen Baoliang, the Shandong Provincial Inspector, and Mr. Song Zhaolin, the Shandong Provincial Inspector. In addition, I and Mr. Huaili will be on the jury, and I will invite the wise old man from Shandong to observe the case. I wonder if this will satisfy you all?"
"How could this be?"
Kong Renwen was led by Jia Cong. Everyone was whispering. Some people questioned him in a low voice, but no one agreed.
Jia Cong sneered in his heart, "It's open and fair, I've prepared these three aspects for you, what else can you say to question me?"
"I think this is a very appropriate move. We have the Inspector General and the Inspector Yushi as the chief judges, who can take into account both reason and law. Deputy Ambassador Jia, I agree to you on behalf of Kong."
"Uncle..."
Kong Renwen still wanted to dissuade him, but Kong Xiang'an gave him a cold look: "Dong Yansheng is not here, and the Xianglian clan brother has not returned from the capital yet. As the priest of the sincere ancestor, can I still not be the official of this family? Retreat. !」
Several members of the direct branch of the Kong family wanted to come forward, but were quietly held back by the elders beside them.
Because Jia Cong had already taken off the Coiling Dragon Golden Ling from his waist and looked at them coldly.
Seeing that no one objected anymore, the coldness on Jia Cong's face gradually dissipated. He put away the gold order and put on a smile: "Since everyone thinks that my suggestion is good, let's do it. In this way, Xia Jiang is temporarily detained in Qufu County Prison. I will order the imperial army to guard it, and we will wait until the two masters Chen and Song and all the wise men come to discuss everything."
A "traitor" Kong Xiang'an appeared in the Kong family, which made Jia Cong feel relieved a lot.
However, Xia Jiang's reckless behavior forced Jia Cong to change his original plan for the Kong family.
He rejected Kong Xiang'an's invitation and booked the largest inn in the county to stay temporarily.
After Jia Cong wrote several official documents and letters, Jia Shiyi, who went to the prison to inquire about Xia Jiang, returned to the inn.
"Xiao Sanye, Xia Jiang doesn't want to say anything. He said he won't say a word if he can't see the mistress."
"Then let him not say anything and wait for death!"
Let him go to jail at this time. I don't know what kind of rumors will spread. Is Xia Jiang really stupid or fake? He can't even see this clearly?
Jia Cong packed up the letters and official documents on the table one by one, called for his soldiers to deliver them quickly, and did not mention the Xia Jiang incident again.
On the contrary, Jia Shiyi reminded: "My subordinates feel that Xia Jiang is insidious and cunning, and he will not be without back-ups. Before noon, the brothers discovered that there were many people hiding in the dark outside Yanshenggong's mansion. They must be the ones inside. The men and horses of the government department."
"It's natural. The head of the imperial palace, how can he be easily burned to death by the Kong family..."
"Then why did the mistress come forward to protect him?"
Jia Cong took off the imperial dagger from his waist and handed it to Jia Shiyi: "Because he is scared, afraid that he will die without a burial place if he directly confronts the Kong family. It seems that our Xia leader has found out. It's incredible that something can scare him so much that he doesn't dare to let his own people rescue him directly."
"Uncle Eleven, take Yu Jian over. Tell him that if he doesn't want to die, he must hand over everything he found. I don't have the patience to play a boring game of guessing with him."
Before nightfall, Jia Shiyi returned to the inn exhausted.
When Jia Cong took a bundle from his hand, he found that the bundle was stained with blood.
"What's going on? Uncle Eleven, are you injured?"
Jia Shiyi shook his head: "It's not me, it's someone else's. According to Xia Jiang, I went to a farmer's house outside the city to pick up these things. I didn't want to be attacked on the way back to the city. Fortunately, the brothers were alert, except for two The brother suffered some minor injuries but did not let the thieves succeed."
"Then...where are those thieves? Are there any survivors?"
"They are all dead soldiers. The brothers originally wanted to catch them alive, but unexpectedly, these people all had poison in their mouths."
Although Jia Cong was sorry, it was within his expectations. Apart from the Kong family, who else in Qufu would have the courage to intercept and kill the imperial envoy's retinue?
He shook his head and unpacked the bag.
There were not many things in the baggage, including a delicate wooden box, an account book wrapped in oil paper, and a few letters in blank envelopes.
The wooden box was locked. Jia Cong rummaged through the baggage but could not find the key.
Click!
Jia Shiyi slashed it with his knife, and the delicate wooden box split in half, revealing the contents inside.
Jia Cong and Jia Shiyi were both stunned for a moment, and then turned pale with shock. Especially Jia Shiyi, who muttered: "What a risk, I almost made a big mistake!"
"This...this...this seems to be a jade seal!"
"Little Third Master, there are five dragons carved on it, which look very much like the legendary jade seal of the country."
Inside the cracked wooden box, covered with yellow cloth, was placed a jade seal, four inches in diameter, green as blue, warm and lustrous, with five buttons on the back.
Jia Cong's hands were trembling a little, so he held it up and looked at it carefully. He couldn't tell what kind of jade it was made of, but there were seal characters on it: "If you are ordered by heaven, you will live forever!"
"Do you know the mistress?"
"I don't know, this should be Qin Zhuan."
Jia Shiyi's shock subsided a bit and he couldn't laugh or cry: "Then what the mistress was reading..."
"Eight seal characters
, just to suit the occasion. "
Jia Cong looked over and over for a long time, unable to identify the authenticity of the seal. Except for the fact that the missing corners filled with gold were indeed recorded in historical records, the rest was beyond the ability of a half-hearted scholar like him to make a judgment.
The contents of the account book are simple, recording the Confucius' money and grain revenue expenditures to the forty-first year of Zhaowu. The amount is huge enough to drive Wen Tongxuan, the Minister of Accounts, crazy.
However, it was impossible to judge the origin and destination of the money and food expenditures based on the account books alone, so Jia Cong had to put them aside first, opened the letters, and read them.
"Interesting, it turns out to be Zhen Yingjia, the head of the Zhen family..."
I don't know if it was fate or not, but the first letter Jia Cong opened turned out to be a letter written by Zhen Yingjia to the previous generation Yan Shenggong.
The letter should have been written not long after the loyal king Liu Yi was born. The Zhen family was willing to use a sea route in exchange for the Kong family's support for the Zhen family and Liu Yiduo. As for which sea route it was, the letter did not say clearly.
Jia Cong opened another letter, hehe, it was Zhen Yingjia again...
This letter is even more interesting. Not only did the two families go out to trade privately together, but they also discussed how to divide the accounts and the Zhen family's purchase of manor and land in Nanzhili for the Kong family.
"The fertile fields of the Kong family in Songjiang Prefecture were purchased by the Zhen family. The Zhen family is really brave. Most of the land in Songjiang Prefecture is the military garrison of the Songjiang Navy. Zhen Yingjia is not afraid that the saint will chop him down. ?"
Jia Cong cursed angrily, no wonder the soldiers of the Songjiang Navy had no fighting spirit in the past few years. Someone dug up the roots of the Songjiang Navy!
?Monthly ticket??Recommended ticket?
