After negotiating with his elder brother Zhu Yuanzhang to inspect Shandong, the Ming court immediately gave Liu Bowen the title of Prince and Young Master, and then gave him the power to lead the governor of Shandong, plus the censor of Zuodu of the Procuratorate, and sent him to Shandong. Put outside.
Liu Bowen served as the governor of Shandong. In everyone's opinion, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty paid extraordinary attention to and trusted Liu Bowen.
Liu Bowen had always hoped to go to the local level to demonstrate his talents in governing for the people. Naturally, he was very happy to be the governor of Shandong. He immediately went to Shandong with his trusted entourage to take up the post. No one doubted the emperor Zhu Yuanzhang's deeper intentions.
Subsequently, the Ming Dynasty made another round of official transfers and appointed Qi Xiang, the original commander-in-chief of the Shandong Army, as the acting commander-in-chief of the Shandong Dusi.
Soon after, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty issued an imperial edict to select a group of talented and prestigious celebrities from the generation of celebrities in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and asked them to serve as patrol censors in various state capitals in Shandong. There were dozens of celebrities in total.
For a time, the entire Jiangnan Shilin was greatly encouraged. They all felt that the Ming court was showing its favor towards celebrities from Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
After a group of famous people from Jiangsu and Zhejiang came to Shandong to serve as censors, all of them wanted to show off their talents. They conducted a centralized review of the old records in various state capitals, and actually found many unjust and false accusations. Wrong.
No matter which dynasty or generation they belonged to, the censors would go to great lengths to verify them one by one, and finally resubmit them to the court for review.
The conscientious work of these patrol censors immediately gave the Ming Dynasty a very high reputation in the hearts of the people of Shandong.
The wealthy gentry and landowners who had used the power of the Mongols to do evil in the countryside suddenly became panicked, fearing that the patrol censors would find them.
At this time, new news came that His Royal Highness King Ying of Ming Dynasty was about to come to Shandong for inspection.
Suddenly, both the officialdom and the people in Shandong were shocked again.
Obviously, when the King of England comes to inspect Shandong, he must make big moves!
Many people feel that the first fire in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty will be set in Shandong.
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Shandong, Haizhou.
A fleet with beautiful white sails was slowly sailing from the sea into the pier of Haizhou.
This fleet consists of more than twenty large and small ships, nearly half of which are the latest warships equipped with artillery and large horizontal sails.
"I haven't been back for more than a year, and I'm finally going home again this time." Liu Sanniang, the concubine of the King of England, stood on the deck of the ship, breathing in the fishy sea breeze and said with a smile.
"You are now a mother, so don't be so dishonest. Why don't you just stay in the cabin?" Zhu Han came up from behind and said.
Although he was only sixteen or seventeen years old, according to this era, the fact that Zhu Han was about to become a father did not arouse any surprised comments from others.
On the contrary, the entire Ming Dynasty, from Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang and Queen Ma Xiuying to the attendants of the British Palace, were all overjoyed by the news that the British concubine was pregnant.
Zhu Han was touring Shandong this time, so he happened to bring Liu Sanniang with him to take a look and go back to her parents' home to relieve her homesickness.
However, Liu Sanniang's natal family belonged to Dengzhou Prefecture, and the place where Zhu Han's fleet was about to dock was Haizhou Prefecture. There was a distance of several hundred miles between the two.
Therefore, if Liu Sanniang wants to return to her parents' home, she will have to wait for a while.
Zhu Han's fleet had just landed at the Haizhou Pier. Officials of Shandong Haizhou Prefecture, large and small, who had been waiting on the dock for a long time, hundreds of them all knelt down and shouted to the British King. The ceremonial guards shouted in unison.
"Your Majesty, a thousand years old, a thousand years old, a thousand years old."
His Royal Highness King Ying of the Ming Dynasty visited Haizhou, Shandong.
Officials of all sizes in Haizhou, Shandong, naturally greeted him respectfully.
Whether it's food, clothing, housing, transportation, or the traveling honor guard, the preparations in Haizhou don't look much smaller than the scene to welcome the arrival of the Ming Emperor.
Zhu Han and his party settled down in Haizhou City first.
Zhu Han's first stop was Haizhou. Haizhou was originally the territory of the Shandong Rebels. After a series of previous raids on the local tyrants to divide their land, the number of local tyrants and evil gentry was already quite small. It can be used as a Zhu Han Shandong Inspection base camp.
"Your Highness, this is the latest case investigated here in Haizhou. All unjust, false and wrong cases, no matter how many years ago, as long as someone complains about injustice, the officials have already investigated them one by one." A patrol officer wearing a seventh-grade uniform The Ming Dynasty official in the historian's uniform said respectfully in front of Zhu Han.
This person is none other than Song Lian, a famous scholar from Jiangsu and Zhejiang in history.
Song Lian was a fellow countryman of Liu Bowen.
He has a very high reputation in Zhejiang, but he is a newcomer in the officialdom. However, as soon as Song Lian entered the officialdom, he was promoted to the seventh rank of patrol censor by Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. The speed of this promotion is almost equivalent to the number one scholar in high school. subsequent treatment.
Therefore, Song Lian's loyalty to the Ming Dynasty cannot be doubted.
Song Lian was appointed as the patrol censor of Haizhou, Shandong, and planned to do something great.
After taking office, Song Lian patrolled the territory of Haizhou, redressed a large number of grievances, and dealt with a large number of local tyrants and bullies.
When Zhu Han arrived in Haizhou this time, Song Lian immediately presented some backlogged documents to Zhu Han.
"Yes, Mr. Song did a very good job this time. He deserves to be a famous person from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. He punished these bad guys with thunderous force as soon as he took action." Zhu Han still admires Song Lian very much. As a famous person from Zhejiang who is as famous as Liu Bowen, he His beautiful articles are also very good. If he had not entered the official position relatively late, he would have been promoted to a higher official position in the Ming Dynasty like Liu Bowen.
Song Lian's appointment as the censor of Shandong Haizhou this time can be said to be full of political achievements.
Zhu Han looked at the remaining batch of eucalyptus scrolls again, but immediately discovered a problem.
"Mr. Song, these people have all committed serious crimes. Why were they only sentenced to such a light sentence of exile, but their land was not confiscated?"
Zhu Han pointed at the roll of eucalyptus in front of him.
Song Lian took it and looked at it carefully, and then said helplessly.
"Your Highness, these prisoners are not ordinary commoners, they are all descendants of the saints of the Kong family in Qufu!" Song Lian said cautiously.
"Mr. Yan Shenggong, what kind of Mr. Yan Shenggong! Our Ming Dynasty still doesn't have any Yan Shenggong." Zhu Han was immediately unhappy.
In fact, this case is nothing more than ordinary people suing a few bullies for stealing land in Haizhou, Shandong, and using the name of Yan Shenggong to appropriate the wasteland that originally belonged to these ordinary people.
Even these bullies, they are not serious members of the Yan Sheng Gong clan, but several branches of the Kong family who use the name of Yan Sheng Gong to do things that are cunning and plundering.
But just because these few unknown people belonged to the Kong family in Qufu, they were able to commit crimes here in Haizhou, but they were only sentenced to exile. As for the land they had embezzled, no one advocated that they be exiled. Return it to the original common people.
"Your Highness, these lands are now the study fields of saints in Haizhou. If these lands are confiscated, it will inevitably arouse the condemnation of many scholars." Song Lian said at the side.
In fact, Song Lian couldn't stand the misbehavior of Yan Shenggong's Kong family in Shandong. However, this matter concerned many local scholars in Haizhou. He, the patrol censor, did not have the right to deal with it, so he could only treat these things. Reported to the Ming Dynasty court level by level.
The Kong family in Qufu embezzled the land of ordinary people and had many hidden methods.
Especially in how to deal with the captured land, the Kong family showed their cunning.
"Then tell me, how do these academic fields in Haizhou relate to the scholars in Haizhou?" Zhu Han asked.
"I'm telling you, your highness, after the Kong family of Qufu embezzled these lands, they gave them the name of sage fields. Every year after the harvest of these sage fields, a sum of money and rice will be distributed to the local scholars in Haizhou according to a certain degree of fame and status. Every year, Every scholar will benefit from it. As a result, many local scholars in Haizhou are concerned about the favor of the Kong family in Qufu. Therefore, if they want to seize these usurped farmland, they will immediately arouse unanimous condemnation from the scholars in Haizhou. Song Lian said slowly beside him.
After Song Lian's explanation, Zhu Han understood that this was a method used by the Qufu Kong clan to win over people's hearts after they had taken advantage of them in Shandong.
After these bullies in the name of the Qufu Kong family usurped the land of ordinary people, they only needed to use 20 to 30% of the profits to bribe and please local scholars, and then relied on the advocacy of these scholars to own local property gained a high reputation.
Of course, these benefits are only limited to scholars. As for ordinary civilians, no one cares at all.
"Haha... These evil thieves of the Kong family are used to doing evil. Now in the big world, they still want to play this trick with me. I came to Shandong this time specifically to deal with them. I will not control them anymore. Write my last name backwards!" Zhu Han was indeed a little angry when he said this.
Anyway, he came to Shandong this time for inspection, and one of his important tasks was to promote the new Confucianism in Shandong.
What the Ming Dynasty needs today is new talents who are proficient in the new Confucianism, not corrupt Confucians like the Kong family in Qufu who, in addition to studying to gain fame, will only embezzle the land of ordinary people.
"Take these files and follow me to Qufu immediately." Zhu Han said to Song Lian.
"I obey your orders, Your Highness." Song Lian felt a faint feeling of joy in his heart!
Finally, there is someone to punish these evil-doing Kong family members.
Zhu Han only stayed in Haizhou for two days, and then he left Liu Sanniang, the concubine of the British King, and others in Haizhou, and then he took Song Lian and other officials westward along the official road to Qufu.
After three days, the group led by Zhu Han finally arrived at Qufu City.
Local officials in Qufu welcomed him again.
But Zhu Han was not in the mood to talk nonsense to them.
Immediately, someone was sent to get all the files about the Kong family, including the household registration and property atlas.
Not only that, Zhu Han also ordered people to post notices inside and outside Qufu City.
As long as someone accuses the Kong family of embezzling land, beating people, forcing girls into prostitution, or robbing girls, they will go directly to the Yamen to appeal to the King of England.
No official, big or small, is allowed to stop any rumors about Kong, otherwise they will be beheaded and their homes will be confiscated.
Suddenly, the entire yamen gate of Qufu City was crowded with ordinary people who came to complain.
These ordinary people sued all the leaders of the Kong family in Qufu, large and small.
Almost every member of the Kong family has more or less eucalyptus on their hands, and even many of the victims who came to sue these bullies of the Kong family are themselves surnamed Kong.
Zhu Han ordered Song Lian and other patrol censors to step up their efforts to deal with these old accumulations.
In less than a month, more than a hundred people from the Kong family in Qufu were found guilty and imprisoned. Among them, a dozen of the worst villains were arrested by Zhu Han in the name of the British King Zuo Prime Minister. , ordered the death penalty to serve as a warning to others.
"Kong Kejian and Kong Xixue, father and son, both surrendered to the Mongols and were great traitors to our country. They ruined the great reputation left by Saint Kong. Now there are so many unfilial descendants inside and outside the Kong family. This king must replace him. Saint Kong, please clean up the house."
Faced with a large pile of eucalyptus papers, Zhu Han immediately issued the most severe order, depriving the Kong family of Qufu of the privilege of tens of thousands of acres of academic land in Qufu and other states and counties in Shandong, and returning all the land to the local government.
In addition to the rewards from the imperial courts of the past dynasties, these so-called academic fields were obtained by the Confucius family by taking advantage of their powerful position.
Inside Qufu City.
Zhu Han was walking back and forth in the lobby while giving instructions to Song Lian and other officials below.
"According to my king's order, all the Confucius family and their fields in Shandong must report to the government, and then let the government review it. If there is any element of plunder, it will be immediately sent to the Ministry of Punishment, the Ministry of Husbandry, and the Ministry of Rites of Yingtian Prefecture for a joint meeting. Review and check.”
"By the way, there's one more thing. Please write it down again. From today on, Duke Yansheng's Mansion in Qufu will be taken over by the imperial court. All the Kong family members living there must move out within three days. As for the residence, they should have it in their hands. They all have a lot of money, whether they rent a house or buy a house, they are not allowed to live in Yan Shenggong Mansion anymore."
Kong Kejian, the Duke of Yansheng who was canonized by the Mongols, along with his son Kong Xixue and other dozens of members of his family, had already retreated to Dadu with the Mongolian general Wang Baobao.
Now that Yanshenggong Kong Kejian has become a traitor and ran away, there is no reason to keep his Yanshenggong Mansion for the Kong family to live in.
"Your Highness, what will the Yanshenggong Mansion be used for after it is owned by the imperial court?" Song Lian, the patrol censor, asked.
"One Sword Dominates"
Duke Yansheng's Mansion is a very large mansion.
There are all kinds of rare things including gardens, rockeries, pavilions and pavilions.
However, such a large stall also needs to face a big problem, that is, if there is no one to maintain it, it will not be long before the mansion is dilapidated and overgrown, and it will even attract many people to covet and steal.
After all, as the residence of a descendant of Confucius, the materials used in it are all high-quality and rare materials. Even if you steal an agarwood door or window, ordinary people can sell it for a lot of food.
Therefore, it is necessary to arrange a use for this mansion and send people to take better care of the mansion.
Zhu Han had already thought about this issue.
"Yanshenggong's Mansion is a big and good place. It is really a waste for these unfilial descendants of the Confucius family to live in it, so I have already thought about turning this mansion into a museum of Confucius. Zhu Han said with a smile.
"Museum, what is a museum?"
Song Lian and a large number of patrol censors and local officials in Qufu were all confused.
None of them had heard of the museum, and they all cast curious glances at King Zhu Han.
"Confucius is a saint. He wrote not only 10,000 but also 8,000 classics that have been handed down from generation to generation! So many classics that have been handed down from generation to generation are scattered all over the country. I plan to send people across the country to collect the teachings of saints left by Confucius and return them all to the restoration. Now, so many saints’ teachings naturally need a place to bloom, so this is the meaning of the museum, to hold the works of these saints’ teachings.”
When Zhu Han said this, he had already made a plan in his mind. He wanted to imitate the Western Renaissance practice and find a famous person to follow the newly invented science and culture from ancient times. Increase influence and visibility, thereby facilitating the dissemination of these emerging academics.
This is Zhu Han's deep purpose.
The most suitable celebrity for China is none other than Confucius.
Shandong is a newly expanded land of the Ming Dynasty, unlike the Jiangnan side where the information is better informed.
Many local officials still don't know that in the minds of scholars in Jiangnan, Confucius has long become an all-powerful and omniscient ancient sage. Whether it is a collection of classics and history or a new Confucian school, Confucius is the inventor and creator who is responsible for his duties.
"Such a great Confucius deserves a museum."
Regarding the establishment of a Confucius Museum in Qufu, Zhu Han became more energetic as he talked about it.
Three days later.
Just after driving the unfilial descendants of the Kong family out of the mansion, Zhu Han immediately led a group of officials to the Kong family's mansion.
"Your Highness, the Kong family's mansion is really big, even more grand than Yingtian's palace."
Chen Baodao, the accompanying guard commander of the British Palace, said with some surprise.
"After all, it has been running for hundreds of years, and so much money has been plundered. If we don't build this mansion better, how can we deserve the filial sons and grandsons of the Confucius family who have spent so much effort to embezzle and occupy it!" Zhu Han said with a smile.
Because Ming officials and soldiers were stationed here, the unfilial descendants of the Kong family did not dare to damage or take away valuables when they moved out of the mansion. They only took away some money and personal clothes.
Many valuable antiques and other items are still placed in the mansion.
Zhu Han was still a little dissatisfied with the valuable items in front of him.
"It's a pity that that old boy Kong Kejian ran away. I heard that he took away a lot of gold and silver antiques. The ones left in the mansion are the rest of the goods he picked out. The batch he took away was not enough. How good it is to know!" Zhu Han said with some regret as he looked at the furnishings in Kong's mansion.
"Your Highness is right. That traitor Kong Kejian ransacked the whole house before leaving. Now the treasures in the house are less than one-tenth of what they were before." said an accompanying Qufu official.
"The identity of the descendants of the saint Kong Kejian is doubtful. The real descendant of the saint should be Nankong who lives in the south."
"Yes, yes, I have also heard that Kong Kejian's identity seems to be a Mongolian bastard."
"The descendants of the saint are in Nankong!"
…
The accompanying officials suddenly started talking.
Zhu Han was not very interested in the topic they discussed.
Nowadays, the Ming Dynasty cares about the new Confucianism, not about who are the descendants of Confucian saints?
