"Hmph! A thief is worthy of marrying the daughter of the Kong family. If word spreads about this, the Kong family will be completely disgraced by you unscrupulous descendants."
The old man named Kong Shangyan snorted dissatisfiedly.
The last time he used such an excuse to block his mouth, this time he still used the same method, but this time he didn't want to give in just like that.
It was about the reputation of the Kong family, and he was not prepared to give in anymore.
"Uncle, this Liu Heng is different from ordinary thieves. He has already occupied three provinces. The entire Ming Dynasty only has two capitals and thirteen provinces. He alone accounts for one-fifth of the Ming Dynasty." Yan Shenggong said politely. Xiang advised.
I hope the other party can support him in this matter.
Kong Shangyan looked sideways at Duke Yan Sheng, who was sitting on his seat, and said: "So what if we occupy the land of three provinces? As long as the Ming Dynasty is still around, we will be able to regain the lost territory sooner or later. The bandits are rampant, but they are only arrogant for a while."
As for Liu Heng, he looked down on such a person with a background of thieves and bandits from the bottom of his heart.
"You are not afraid, but my nephew is afraid that another Ming Taizu will appear in the future." Yan Shenggong expressed his worries.
After hearing this, Kong Shangyan snorted disdainfully and said: "He is a bandit and is worthy of being compared with Ming Taizu. You, Yanshenggong, think too highly of him."
"It's not that my nephew thinks highly of him, it's because this man has never been defeated since he started fighting. He has lost several generals to him. Now even Henan has been captured by him. Even if this man doesn't do anything anymore, He is also qualified to cede territory and become king." Yan Shenggong explained to him.
The Tiger-Character Banner, which was able to capture three provinces, could only be said to be powerful, but successive defeats of the Ming army were terrifying to him.
Even the Ming army has no choice but to use the Tiger Flag. Who can guarantee that in the future, another person will not have the final say in the Ming Dynasty.
Kong Shangyan said with a dark face: "Then we can't marry the Kong family's daughter to him. If this spreads, the ancestors of the Kong family will be embarrassed."
Hearing this, Yan Shenggong rolled his eyes.
All for the sake of saving face, even putting Kong in danger.
"We will only select a girl from the collateral clan to marry. If you are always worried about losing face, we can send her there secretly. How about pretending that there is no such girl in the clan?" Yan Shenggong had to persuade again.
Kong Shangyan might not care about angering the Tiger Flag, but he, Yanshenggong, had to consider the entire Kong family. No matter how high the Kong family was in the scholarly community, the rebels might not be able to reason with the Kong family.
Kong Shangyan was still dissatisfied and said: "Aren't the daughters of the Kong family from the collateral line not from the Kong family? As long as the surname is Kong, they are all from the Kong family."
"Then what do you always say?" Yan Shenggong also began to feel dissatisfied.
I have worked hard to manage the Kong family. I have tried my best to prevent the Kong family from being harmed by the rebels like Tiger Flag, but I still have to be hindered by the elders of the clan.
Kong Shangyan said with a majestic look: "If you want me to tell you, then I won't marry you. I don't believe that a traitor dares to risk the disapproval of the world and attack the Kong family."
If the rulers of the past dynasties wanted to gain the support of scholars, they had to support the Kong family. Even rebels did not dare to do anything to the Kong family. This was also his confidence.
"Since my cousin has said so, my nephew will say two things. As long as my cousin still insists on not wanting to get married, my nephew will say nothing more." Yan Shenggong said.
Kong Shangyan nodded and said, "You are Duke Yansheng. Just say whatever you want, and I will listen."
After hearing this, Duke Yan Sheng scoffed.
It is true that he is Yan Shenggong, but Kong's affairs have never been without the other party's intervention, and there are even many things that he, Yan Shenggong, has said.
For Kong's sake, he still had to make the seriousness of the matter clear.
Just listen to him say: "We have sent people to Datong to discuss the marriage. Now Liu Heng has agreed. If we return at this time, we will completely offend the other party. Once the other party's army enters Yanzhou Prefecture, there is no guarantee that they will not take revenge on the Kong family." , this is one of them.”
Except for Kong Shangyan, the other elders of the Kong family present all frowned, with nervous expressions on their faces.
If Yan Shenggong hadn't finished speaking, someone might have been able to interrupt.
After a pause, Yan Shenggong continued: "The second point is that wherever the Tiger Character Flag goes, it will allocate fields locally and all the fields will be distributed to the people. Once the Tiger Character Flag comes to Yanzhou, our Kong family will not In order to get married with Liu Heng, and also to cooperate with the other party, I am afraid that the first thing the other party will do after coming to Yanzhou is to take away the Kong family's property."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone couldn't bear it any longer.
An elder of the Kong family sitting under Kong Shangyan said, "Why should they share the Kong family's own land with others? It's absolutely not allowed."
"Uncle Qi, my nephew can understand your thoughts, but the other party may not be reasonable with us." Yan Shenggong said, "This Tiger Flag has divided the fields of many rural gentry families along the way. Have you seen who they talked to?" Are you being unreasonable? Could it be that by coming here to the Kong family, they can be inspired by the saint and reason with the Kong family?"
The scene suddenly became quiet.
Although they are all descendants of Saint Kong, even they themselves do not believe that Saint Kong, who has been dead for so many years, can still influence a group of murderous bandits.
At this time, Kong Shangyan said: "What are you afraid of? Don't forget that our surname is Kong. Even if the world changes our surname, it cannot be replaced by our Kong family. As long as this Liu Heng wants the world, he will not dare to treat our Kong family lightly." .”
"Cousin, my nephew has something to say that you don't like to hear." Yan Shenggong said, "If you offend Liu Heng, even if he doesn't take away all the Kong family's property, it is definitely not something that the Kong family can bear. .”
The land accumulated by the Kong family over so many generations is no longer the same as it was in the Hongwu years. It is infinitely larger.
"Yeah, isn't it just to marry a daughter of the Kong family to him, and it's not a legitimate daughter, so I think I'll agree to it!" an elder said.
The elders from other tribes on the seats all looked at Kong Shangyan.
Because Kong Shangyan was the one who took the lead in opposing the marriage of Kong's daughter to Liu Heng.
Kong Shangyan glanced at everyone present with an ugly expression, and said, "So you all mean this, you want to marry a daughter of the Kong family to a bandit leader?"
No one answered.
Several of the elders lowered their heads.
Kong Shangyan sighed when he saw this scene.
No one speaks out in favor of marrying off a daughter.
"That's all, I'm old. You can marry if you want. Kong's face will be completely lost." Kong Shangyan stood up from his seat and walked out with a crutch in his hand.
When he passed by Kong Yinjing, he gave Kong Yinjing a fierce look.
Seeing this, Kong Yinjing didn't know that this elder might hate him.
But he himself felt aggrieved!
When he went to Datong to meet Liu Heng to discuss marriage, he did not go voluntarily. He just followed other people's arrangements.
