Su Yonglin's abrupt words almost scared Kong Lao to death.
Not to mention Kong La, even the musicians playing on the side were startled, and the beautiful sound of music stopped suddenly.
The situation suddenly became dangerous, and Kong Lu's mood entered hell mode again not long after he relaxed.
He immediately stood up from his seat and walked to kneel down in front of Su Yonglin.
"Your Majesty, Kong...how could Kong go against Your Majesty? Kong has always been loyal to Your Majesty and has never had second thoughts! She will never betray Your Majesty!"
Su Yonglin smiled.
"Really? Then you should be completely unaware of this matter, right?"
With that said, Su Yonglin took out a stack of paper from his arms and threw it in front of Kong La.
Kong Lai quickly picked up the papers, and when he took a look, his face turned pale.
What was recorded on the paper was the entire process and evidence of Kong Fan, the head of a branch of the Kong family, assisting corrupt officials in transporting and selling expensive building materials stolen from the Yellow River construction site, as well as the national financial losses they caused to the Ming Dynasty.
Because Su Yonglin kept the itinerary strictly confidential and acted quickly, when Kong Lai learned that Su Yonglin was in Shandong and was personally directing the purge operation, it was only a few days before Su Yonglin arrived in Qufu.
Kong Lao did not know for the time being how huge the scale of this corruption case was, nor how many criminals Su Yonglin had dealt with. He only knew that Kong had committed a crime, so much so that His Majesty the Emperor came to Qufu in person to interrogate the crime.
He knew better that if there was no good explanation for this matter, Kong would be very sad to go through this.
If you can't pass this level, Kong will be in more danger. Basically, you have to think about how to go on a difficult march in the future.
Originally, the situation of the Kong family in the Ming Dynasty had become very delicate due to the imperial examination reform, not to mention the occurrence of this incident, which undoubtedly made the situation of the Kong family even worse.
After Kong Lao read all the contents on the paper, he immediately made the gecko-style decision to cut off its tail to survive.
He immediately told Su Yonglin that the head of the Kong family had no knowledge of this matter. This was definitely decided independently by the branch family and was not made known to the head of the family. If the head of the family knew about this, they would definitely not allow them to do this.
"Kong has always been loyal to His Majesty and has never dared to have second thoughts. Kong Fan's branch has been far away from the family for a long time. He makes a living by doing business. He refuses to accept Kong's teachings and forgets his ancestors. It is really abominable. Kong will immediately expel him from the ancestral temple. Let it fend for itself!"
Kong La immediately made the most decisive decision he could make.
Su Yonglin applauded his decisiveness, but also asked a very interesting question.
"If I didn't know about this, would you still expel this branch from the ancestral temple?"
"Definitely! Such black sheep must not stay in the clan!"
Kong Li’s statement was very thorough.
At this point, Su Yonglin finally understood the determination of these guys to maintain the ancestral temple.
But Su Yonglin would no longer stop and compromise.
He doesn’t want a win-win situation, he wants to win twice.
To attack Confucius is to attack the increasingly rigid Confucianism, to revolutionize the lives of scholars, and to destroy their sanctity is the first step to destroy this idea.
So he couldn't stop.
"Do you know how I dealt with the families of those criminals and the families who helped them commit crimes?"
"I...I don't know."
“The criminals will be executed or imprisoned, and their homes will be ransacked. Those whose family members are not directly responsible for the crime will be exempted from death, but they will be moved to remote areas to work hard, and 60% of their monthly income will be used to repay the loss of national property until all is repaid or their descendants are extinct. "
Su Yonglin looked at Kong Lao's eyes that gradually became horrified, and said with a smile: "Why are you so surprised? It has been a while since the Ming Law was promulgated. Didn't you read it?"
Kong Li hurriedly said: "I've seen it, I've seen it all, it's just... it's just..."
"I just didn't expect that I not only said this, but also did this, right?"
Su Yonglin laughed and said: "Since you have said it, you must do it. Otherwise, what is the difference between saying it and not saying it? Kong Qing, I don't have many advantages. I think my greatest advantage is that I do what I say." , as long as I say it, I will definitely do it, no matter how many difficulties and obstacles there are."
Kong Lao looked very ugly, and there were beads of sweat on his forehead, making him look extremely unnatural.
After a while, Kong Li spoke.
"Your Majesty, I know that the Kong family has violated the law and the situation is very serious. Therefore, I support your majesty in confiscating the Kong Fan family's homes and arresting them. They will be severely punished in accordance with the laws of the Ming Dynasty. I will never tolerate it! Let me do whatever you want!"
"I will naturally do this kind of thing. What do I need your support for? Or do you think I won't do it because you are opposed to it?"
Su Yonglin's tone suddenly turned cold, and the smile on his face disappeared at the speed of light.
Kong La immediately realized that he had made a big mistake and quickly apologized to Su Yonglin.
"I made a mistake! I made a mistake! The laws of the Ming Dynasty do not allow others to comment!"
"It's good to know."
Su Yonglin nodded and sighed: "Kong Qing, I heard that your Kong family received very generous treatment in the Song and Jin countries. Taxes were almost exempted. You own a lot of land. How much? You have been given such good treatment by people who cultivate the fields for you, so why do you still want to allow branches to do business and even commit crimes?"
"Your Majesty, this... the Kong family did not intend to commit a crime. The reason why the Kong family did this is because there are so many people with many mouths to eat. The income from operating the land is not enough to support the family's daily expenses..."
"Even if I don't know the income from the Kong family's land, I can roughly guess a range. Is it not enough to eat?"
Su Yonglin pointed to his head: "Kong La, are you taking me for dementia? Or are you saying that each of you Kongs are big eaters, the kind who eat ten kilograms of rice and two kilograms of meat in one meal?"
"Your Majesty! No! I don't have it, Your Majesty! I would never dare!"
Kong La immediately kowtowed: "Your Majesty, it is clear that the land management is indeed enough for the Kong family's daily needs, but... it is not enough for the Kong family to manage it, Your Majesty!"
"Do it up and down?"
Su Yonglin showed an interested expression and asked: "What's the way to manage things up and down? I feel like you, the Kong family, are the only ones who are managed by others, right? How could you, the Kong family, be needed to manage other people?"
"Your Majesty, it is clear that people in the official circles understand the Kong family, but in their view, the Kong family is just a run-down family that has been settled for thousands of years. Especially the people of the Jin Kingdom, who are foreigners, will not pay attention to the Kong family at all.
Not only do they ask for bribes at every turn, but when the army crosses the border, there is no one who doesn’t ask the Kong family for a large bribe to ensure their safety. If they don’t give it, the Kong family will be humiliated and oppressed, and the situation will be worrying, Your Majesty..."
Kong Zheng knelt on the ground and complained with tears and runny nose, as if he had suffered some great grievance.
Su Yonglin was not very interested in this.
"so what?"
"ah?"
"Kong Li, it's time for you to think about it, Mr. Kong, apart from Confucius and others who have indeed made great contributions, do Kongs have other people and histories that have benefited the country and the people? Are there any? I don't knew.
On the contrary, since the Han Dynasty, no matter how the situation changed, the Kong family has remained firm. No matter who becomes the emperor, it will not embarrass the Kong family. Compared with those so-called wealthy families that are often wiped out, you, the Kong family, are really lucky, okay?
The family has been passed down to this day without any major disasters. Every dynasty has been able to leave a place for you. The royal family has all died, but you are still alive and well. Shouldn't this be the best treatment for you? "
Su Yonglin looked at Kong Lao with confusion and said: "An ancestor has given your descendants endless benefits. All the royal families in the past dynasties have been unable to do it. What else do you want? What else do you have the qualifications to ask for? ?”
