In the thirty-second year of Wanli, Kang Yingqian passed the imperial examination and became officials in Chenzhou, Jingkou and other places.
In the forty-sixth year of Wanli's reign, he supervised the army in Liaodong, and in the forty-seventh year of Wanli's reign, he went to the battlefield of Sarhu. After meeting the time traveler, Kang Yingqian's fate began to change significantly.
During the Taichang period, Kang Yingqian was in Liaodong, with one person under ten thousand people. In the early years of Chongzhen, as King Qin of the Kaiyuan Army entered the pass, Kang Yingqian and the Marquis of Pingliao were promoted to nobility and became highly respected ministers.
In the first year of Wuding, Kang Yingqian was promoted to Prime Minister of Daqi and immediately reached the peak of his power.
As the saying goes, if a person achieves enlightenment, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. After Kang Yingqian became powerful, the old Kang family house in Jize County, Guangping Prefecture was immediately "renovated". The house was expanded from the original 30 to 300 rooms, with four courtyards and a sun-holding tower in the courtyard. , Chunzhong Hall, Prime Minister Kang's Temple, Wenchang Pavilion, King Kong San Pavilion, University Scholar's Palace, etc.
All the costs of the renovation project were borne by the magistrates of Guangping Prefecture and Jize County. Not only that, several of them also came to the construction site in person to supervise the work. Zhang Yingkui, the prefect of Guangping Prefecture, personally wrote an inscription on the Kangfu plaque, recognizing Kang Yingqian for more than 80 years. The year-old father is the godfather.
The local wealthy gentry and dignitaries tried their best to flatter the Kang family. Starting from the 47th year of Wanli, every year around the Chinese New Year, a large number of master's staff with foreign accents would come to Jize County. Kaiyuan officials from Liaodong and Shandong came to give gifts.
Sun Yuling, a famous scholar in the late Ming Dynasty and early Qi Dynasty, once passed through Jize County and described Kang Mansion like this:
The courtyard is surrounded by flames, incense dust covers the ground, fire trees and beautiful flowers, golden windows and jade sills. The curtains are rolled with shrimp whiskers, the carpet is covered with fish and otters, the tripod is floating with musk brains, and the screen is lined with pheasant tails. It is indescribably splendid and dazzling.
However, all this prosperity soon came to nothing after Kang Yingqian lost power.
As early as when Kang Yingqian was jealous of the Supreme Emperor and resigned from the post of prime minister, the prefect Zhang Yingkui ordered Li Lusheng, the magistrate of Jize County, to seal all the entrances and exits of Zhang's house, saying that it was to prevent the family members of the guilty officials from escaping with soft gold and silver.
As a result, dozens of members of the Kang family had no time to exit and were locked in the door.
After learning that Kang Yingqian had been arrested and imprisoned and was being tried by the Capricorn Guards, all the gentlemen of Yongping Mansion, like hungry wolves, rushed into Kang Mansion without waiting for the order from Emperor Wuding and began to ransack their homes. There was a gap of half a month between the closing of the door and the confiscation of the house. After more than half a month, some people in the house starved to death. A human tragedy unfolded in front of the world: 17 people, including the old, young, women and children of the Kang family, died of starvation in the house. The corpses had been devoured by domestic dogs whose eyes were red from hunger.
According to the laws of Daqi, when an official's home is confiscated, there are usually only three charges: one is rebellion, two is treason, and three is traitor to the party.
Which crime did Kang Yingqian fall into? Regardless of him, who made Kang Yingqian make so much money when he was in power? Now that he has lost power, he has become a lamb to be slaughtered. Jize County was not very wealthy to begin with, but now it is not easy for such a fat sheep to come to the Kang family. After squeezing everything out, how can these parents and officials let it go?
And this must be done as early as possible. When the supervisors, imperial envoys and the like come down, there will be many people and the money will not be so easy to get.
Kang Yingqian was rewarded with 40,000 taels of silver, and the news that he was allowed to return home by the Supreme Emperor had not yet reached Guangping Mansion. The local gluttons couldn't wait. They searched, tortured, and used all means to force Kang Yingqian's family to hand over the money.
All the properties of Kang Yingqian's brothers and nephews were searched out. The prefect of Guangping and the magistrate of Jize County received a total of 30,000 taels of gold and 800,000 taels of silver.
The gluttons were still not satisfied with this amount, and continued to torture and force the Kang family to reveal the three million taels of silver hidden outside. They would not stop until the stolen money reaches three million taels.
The Kang family was pushed to the edge, and several of Kang Yingqian's friends in Guangping Mansion, such as Zeng Shengru, Wang Jin, Fu Zuoche, etc., were also implicated. These people can be said to be "when people sit at home, disaster comes from the sky", which is inexplicable. For the crime of harboring silver, the men of Guangping Mansion also ransacked his home.
Several of Kang Yingqian's brothers and nephews were interrogated separately, taken to Jize County Prison, and subjected to various severe tortures. It has only been nine months since Kang Yingqian stepped down. The Kang family went from being a home of bells and pans to being ruined!
Unable to bear the violence and humiliation, he committed suicide by hanging from a beam. Before his death, he bit off his fingers and wrote a letter in blood on his clothes to defend his uncle's innocence.
It is a heavy document in this storm, and it is excerpted here:
Alas, the way of heaven is ignorant, it seems that the virtue of living a good life has been lost, the human heart is unpredictable, and it shows no mercy for exhausted loyalty. It is not a crime to lament that there is no one to untie the net, and it is not a crime to complain about being in prison. Although I have told you a hundred times, I will not let go of my husband's ridicule and slander. I will only swear to die to redress my grievances.
The late father-in-law gave the gift of sweetness to the old family members, and kept the briefcase in secret. His ten years of assistance were only to build the world on the rock. He neither sought praise nor tolerated destruction, which led to today's disaster; but he revered it in order to have long heirs. How dare you love your body and life without saying a word when you meet Min Ji?
I recall that I heard the news on March 21 last year and moved to the old house on the 22nd. The men and women were horrified and miserable. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the magistrate of Jize County arrived at the government. On the seventh day of the fifth lunar month, he was asked to pay tribute and have his face examined. What a shame! There is no pity in respecting Xiu, but I just bowed down and paid three million silver to my grandfather. I didn't know that since my grandfather became an official, the voice of Qing Jie spread throughout the country. Not only did he lose his property and capital, he couldn't finish it, even if his body was broken into pieces, it was hard to replenish it! Moreover, they want to falsely accuse Zeng Que'an (Provincial Ru) of sending 150,000 silver, Wang Jin of sending 200,000 silver, and Fu Dachuan (making a chariot) of sending 500,000 silver, saying: "If you follow, you will do it; if you don't follow, you will act according to the destiny." !” The threatening words are frightening. Sorry, these three families have always complained about the government. Their troubles came from Kangmen, and yet they offered hundreds of thousands as a gift. How stupid...
It's a pity that his body and his name have been wiped out, his flesh and blood are scattered, and when we think about the trial, weaving and training are all unpredictable. Human beings are not wood and stone, how can they be like this! Today, in the secluded prison barn, the wind and rain are sluggish, and the green grass and frogs are croaking, which really helps my mourning ears.
Alas! Who is not greedy for life and afraid of death, but if he respects and practices this way when encountering adversity, there will be no way to survive in the future! Looking at it from a wide perspective, the sages of Confucius also died, and the sages of Hui also died. Death may be heavier than Mount Tai, and some may be lighter than a feather. By this time, I have become familiar with the judgment. Just like the late Duke, he was suspected of having fulfilled his duties in the court, and when he left the throne, he was worried about the country. He only thought about the importance of his life and sacrificed his life for the country. He could not have done harm to the country first, and his crimes were not the same as those falsely accused by the Liao vassal today. Matters will be decided by the world and future generations, so there is no need to argue in respect.
The ancestors offered sacrifices and made porridge with my grandmother and old mother. My brothers are here to support me, and I can decide if I die. However, my mother has always suffered hardships, my wife has always been virtuous, and my second wife is still a child, all of whom have the habit of being a martyr. When I heard about Yu's death, I expected that I would not be able to protect myself. What’s especially painful is that I have a six-year-old orphan, and I’m holding her in my arms, knowing that I can’t survive. I wrote this post on the tenth day of May, hoping that it would come true, but the dream was slightly auspicious, because it was slow. Twelve days of interrogation, forcing and false accusations, threatening but not punishing, commanding and controlling, leaving the person to die or live, all by holding sand in order to prevent strange disasters, and holding ghosts in order to bring about a great prison. This is a rare thing in the ancient and modern universe. My boss is fooling people, and he is making my uncle and nephew fool themselves. How can I bear it? How can I bear it! ······
Woohoo, the fire of the yellow furnace is bright, as dark as the water of black water, the morning dew is sudden, my life is over, I would rather not be sad! If possible, I would like to inform Mr. Kang Fengpan of Puzhou, Shanxi, that the affairs of Kang’s family have been completed now. I hope he will assist Saint Qitian for hundreds of millions of years!
~~~~~~
On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month in the second year of Taichu, it was in Jize County, Guangping Prefecture, Daqi.
In the past, there was no trace of a horse-drawn carriage at the gate of Kang Mansion, which was bustling with people. Not to mention the dignitaries from other provinces who came to make friends and support, ordinary local people avoided the Kang family mansion like a plague and even begged for food on the street. The beggar Hanako also knows that Kang Mansion is equivalent to the underworld, and he always takes a detour when begging for food.
In the front yard covered with weeds, the wing room still maintains its original appearance, but cracks have climbed up on the carved doors and windows. The carved doors and windows are no longer bright, and the bright bright hall has been woven with spider webs.
Kang Yingqian's eldest nephew Kang Jingxiu, wearing handcuffs and anklets, was huddled in the yard, staring blankly at the sky above his head.
He is only thirty years old this year. Due to being tortured and beaten a few days ago, he has lost two teeth and his hair is gray, showing his age.
"Where is the prisoner? Has he escaped?"
Two Jize County magistrates walked straight into Kang's house and said to Kang Yingqian's nephew who was sitting cross-legged in the corner of the courtyard:
"Why did you come out when you weren't in the house? If you freeze to death, the county cannot bear the responsibility!"
Kang Jingxiu turned his head inward, closed his eyes, and ignored the two of them, seeming to be sleeping but not asleep.
"Kang Jingxiu, will you give me the jade pendant I asked for the day before yesterday?"
"The paintings of Dong Qichang collected in your West Room were not found during the house raid. Hand them over quickly! Don't suffer the pain of that!"
Two subordinate officials stood in the courtyard, cursing under their breath.
"To give or not to give! Don't think that you are Kang Yingqian's nephew, he is still in prison! You are the meat on the chopping board!"
The two officials exchanged glances and took out a black iron rod from their sleeves. Their faces were ferocious, as if they wanted to hit Kang Jingxiu again.
When Kang Jingxiu saw the iron rod, he subconsciously shrank and stepped back.
These days, the Kang family has been extorted and tortured by local lords over and over again. At this moment, they have nothing left to give except their shabby clothes.
"Okay, I will serve you well today and let you know what it feels like to be a criminal!"
The ruthless-looking official picked up a stick and started beating him. The sound of banging sticks piercing flesh could be heard in the courtyard. Kang Jingxiu was like a wounded beast, letting out a low wail.
In this area of Jize County, Daqi's rule is extremely weak. The officials and officials are basically old people from the pre-Ming Dynasty. Here, the sky is high and the emperor is far away. No one will come to save you even if you shout until your throat is broken.
"Say or don't tell! Where is the money!"
Suddenly, a thunderous roar came from behind.
"stop!!"
When the two officials looked back, they saw an extremely burly general rushing into the courtyard at some point, holding a huge mace, and followed behind him were a group of soldiers in black uniforms. It looked like he was coming with bad intentions.
Outside the compound, the Yamen Kuaishou responsible for guarding the Kang family was holding his stomach and howling on the ground.
"You, who are you! He is an imperial prisoner."
The official was shocked by this momentum. He was at a loss and stood there blankly.
A young military attache rushed out from behind the giant, threw out an edict from his sleeve, and said angrily, still on the two county officials:
"The Supreme Emperor has issued an edict to pardon Prime Minister Kang. Those who take advantage of human power have broken bones and sucked out the marrow, forcing the Kang family to become like this! Is this Jize County still the world of Daqi? Today, I, Wu Xiao, will clean up all of you rats on behalf of the Supreme Emperor!"
Lewen
