Debating the ceremony for worshiping Confucius was only one of the major events in the court.
Just as Zhang Fujing showed off his knowledge and eloquence in the great debate in the court, Zhang Fujing's new official position and his "On Confucius' Sacrificial Code" also spread to Shandong, not far from the capital, within a few days.
In the Duke Yan's Mansion in Qufu, Kong heard that Shao Zhan's letter was halfway through and he stood up in shock and anger: "How unreasonable! Bullying the master and destroying the ancestor! Faint..."
"Zonggong!"
The Kong family quickly interrupted the second half of his sentence.
Kong Wenshao's hands were trembling, and he gritted his teeth as he continued to read what the author had copied in the letter.
Destroy the statue! Lower the sacrificial ritual! Go to Confucius King!
Which one is acceptable to the Kong family?
"How can this not make sense... How can it not make sense..."
The dignified Yanshenggong could not say anything in defense like Li Guan, Wang Rumei and others. He was just filled with shock, anger and fear.
Meng Chun and others have been arrested. Although Kong Wenshao was worried during this period, he did not think that he would be severely punished based on the prestige of the Kong family.
It's just like Kong Wenfang said, just be patient.
If the emperor disrespects the Confucius family, scholars all over the world will eventually have something to think about.
But now, it's hard to see the picture.
Shandong, which had no governor before, turned out to be just waiting for Zhang to behead Zhang Fuking!
He was appointed governor of Shandong with the title of Minister of Rites, but it is not clear why he came here?
Who is he coming to kill?
Kong Wenshao's face gradually turned pale, and he shouted in a hissing voice: "Quickly go and ask the county magistrate to come over and talk to you!"
After that, he went to Qian Yamen.
Yanshenggong's front office and back house now have three roads and seven entrances, with a total of more than 390 halls, halls, buildings and pavilions.
Kong Wenshao was walking in the inner house. In front of the door that separated the front office and the back house was a screen wall. There is a mythical beast painted on it, which at first glance looks like a unicorn. But if you look closely, you will see that it is a monster with a head like a dragon, a mouth like a lion, hooves like a horse, and a body like a unicorn. It is surrounded by treasures from the eight immortals in mythology, and a red sun in the upper left corner looks like it is about to swallow the sun.
When Kong Wenshao walked around the screen wall, the servants following him shouted in unison: "Young Master is too greedy!"
Hearing this voice, Kong Wenshao turned a deaf ear and only thought about his own concerns.
What is painted on the screen wall is a greedy monster. According to legend, this is a gluttonous monster who has been greedy all his life.
It only eats gold and silver treasures. When it sees the treasures, it wants to take them for its own use. It even takes possession of the treasures of the eight gods in "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea". It can be said that it has everything. But it was not satisfied. When it saw the rising sun, it wanted to swallow the sun into its belly. However, before it could eat the sun, it was cooked by the sun and fell into the sea and died.
Why is there this screen wall in Duke Yansheng's Mansion? That's because of Kong Wenshao's father Kong Hongxu.
At that time, Kong Hongxu raped more than 40 women and strangled to death four innocent people, who deserved to be executed.
In the end, he escaped with his life because of his identity as Duke Yansheng, and he just reduced his rank to serve the people. The title of Duke Yansheng was succeeded by Kong Hongtai, Kong Hongxu's younger brother.
At that time, Kong Hongtai was forced to go to the Imperial Academy in Beijing for "further study" for a long time. It took several years before he was officially awarded the title of Holy Duke.
Later, there was this screen wall in the Confucius Mansion. It was Kong Hongtai's warning to himself and his descendants not to be too greedy and not to be greedy, and in the end, he ended up being buried in the sea like the monster "Corruption".
Whenever Yansheng Highway passes this screen wall, the servant will say those words as a reminder.
But does it make sense?
For Kong Wenshao, letting Yan Shenggong insist on doing this in the palace is nothing more than a better reputation outside.
But now the emperor seems to have no regard for the fame and influence of the Kong family.
After walking around in the reception room on the side of the main hall of the front office for a long time, the people Kong Wenshao wanted to discuss with came one after another.
Those who can arrive today include Kong Wenshao and Kong Wenfang, the Kong clan chief and three clan elders, and the Yan clan chief.
In Qufu, the Yan family, descendants of Yan Hui, also live together. There is also the Meng family in Zouxian County, Yanzhou Prefecture. The three clans of Kong, Yan and Meng were recorded in the family history before the Hongzhi year. In the 18th year of Hongzhi, "Quelizhi" was written, and the Kong family history became independent. The Yan family history, "Huanxiangzhi" and the Meng family history, "Sanqianzhi" were also published successively.
Being independent does not mean that the relationship has become worse, but that the compilation of the history of the three clans and the construction of the three family temples will create a greater clustering effect. Confucius, Yan Hui, and Meng Ke all unanimously promoted Confucianism.
The Yan family and the Meng family were naturally headed by the Kong family.
In Qufu, there is also the Kong Family School. Although it is called family education, it is actually a blessing and honor. In the Kong family school, only the children of Kong, Yan and Meng are accepted now, and all of them are given the special treatment of Sui Gong Guozi Supervisor.
In Beijing, the Hanlin Academy also has a special set of hereditary Doctors of the Five Classics of the eighth rank. These are held by the descendants of Confucius, Yan, Mencius, Zhu Xi and other sages of the past dynasties.
The sages and descendants headed by Yan Shenggong all enjoyed opportunities and practical benefits that ordinary children from poor families could not have under the shadow of their ancestors.
Now these opportunities and benefits are at stake.
When Kong Wenfang arrived, Kong Wenshao was already having a heated discussion with others.
"Zhang Fu's intention has been made clear before he arrives! This statement is closely related to us, so we must fight for it! If we don't fight, how can we express filial piety?"
Kong Wenshao spoke with great righteousness, but when Kong Wenfang entered the door, he asked eagerly: "Wenfang, did you know that Zhang Fujing wanted to be the governor of Shandong, and he also published "On Confucius' Sacrifice Code" in the capital, and wanted to destroy the statues of ancestors in various places and replace them with wooden ones. Sacrifice rituals, go to the ancestral king’s name?”
Kong Wenfang was "shocked": "This is happening!"
Kong Wenshao quickly handed him the letter: "You read it first."
Kong Wenfang read the letter carefully, then frowned and looked ugly: "Unexpectedly, Zonggong invited me here for this matter."
"My Duke Yan Sheng's Mansion is the first to bear the brunt!"
Official matters of worshiping Confucius were mainly completed by Yanshenggong Mansion.
If you want to destroy statues, the first thing to destroy is the statue in the Confucius Temple.
To convert the palace into a temple and lower the standards, of course, the first place to start is Yanshenggong Mansion and the Qufu Confucius Temple.
No matter how ambitious Kong Wenfang was, he was still a descendant of the Kong family.
In fact, he already knew about this, and he had been thinking about what to do on the way here.
As a descendant of Confucius, if you don't stand up and speak out for Confucius' honor and favor, you will really be regarded as an "unfilial descendant".
But this is obviously the emperor's intention. What will be the consequences after standing up to oppose it?
Seeing Kong Wenshao's embarrassed and angry expression, Kong Wenfang knew what he was planning.
"We are not in Beijing, and the Ministry of Rites has gathered to discuss this matter. We can only jointly submit a petition." Kong Wenfang stared at him and said, "Zong Gong, you can only lead the way to various families. In addition, Futai, Yanzhou Fuzun, Shandong Ti Xue and others, it’s time for Duke Zong to come forward in this matter! The grace and glory of our ancestors are all tied to Duke Zong!”
Since it is impossible not to stand up and take a stand, the more people, the better. Just by being listed among them, it won't be too eye-catching. As long as it's not the person taking the lead, it's still acceptable.
Kong Wenshao looked at him speechless.
He is Yan Shenggong, and the weight of his words is indeed stronger than that of the mere magistrate of Qufu.
But Kong Wenshao was also worried about the consequences, so he hoped that Kong Wenfang would run for him.
Now that the Ding Festival in May has just passed and the Ding Festival in August is still early, Kong Wenshao can't find an excuse to stay in Qufu.
Others agreed with Kong Wenfang's opinion and urged Kong Wenshao to act quickly.
Kong Wenshao said with a gloomy face: "The biggest question now is that Zhang Fujing is coming fiercely. What is your majesty's attitude towards my Kong family! Since Meng Chun and others have been captured by the Jinyi guards, I am afraid they will also confess their correspondence with me! If it is not just cutting off The posthumous title of the ancestor, the sacrificial ritual system, and the title of Yansheng should also be eliminated?"
He refused to take the risk and continued: "So now it is not just a matter of arguing about the ceremony, but also dealing with the court. Are you going to use the Fifth Army Camp and the Sichuan incident to implicate my Yanshenggong Mansion? How can I not be prepared? After hearing the news, I am appointed as the magistrate of the county, and it is my duty to go to various houses and officials. Once the defense is drafted, and after others sign it, I will sign the first one!"
Kong Wenfang also didn't want the title of Yanshenggong to be lost. Hearing this, he had to admit that what Kong Wenshao said was the truth.
He had previously exchanged letters with Meng Chun and others, but now he could only do the subsequent clue sorting and question-and-answer preparations by himself.
"...In this case, Mr. Zong should sign it first, and then I will take it."
"...that's okay, but how to prepare the argument?"
Several people looked at me and I looked at you.
The people to be confronted are the top figures in the court. With their academic level, how can they write a good article with persuasive content and moving words in a short period of time?
You don’t have the ability to know.
However, if the Yanshenggong lineage does not speak out, it must have weight when it speaks out.
Kong Wenfang gritted his teeth: "Since Zhang Fujing is coming, I will go visit Futai and Fu Zun about this! In the past few years in Shandong, they should also be worried that Zhang Fujing will come with the sword given by the emperor again."
"It's all up to Wen Fang!" Kong Wenshao excitedly held his hand.
Kong Wenfang stayed here for a while, and after checking whether there were any disrespectful remarks in his previous letters with Meng Chun and others, he left Yanshenggong's Mansion with a heavy face.
At this point, I really didn't expect that the emperor's attitude towards the Kong family would be so firm. It was like sharpening his sword.
A simple act of honoring Kong can capture the hearts of scholars all over the world. Why would the emperor make such a big fuss? Do you really want to mess up the hearts of all the scholars in the world?
The descendants of the Kong family were basically not knowledgeable, and they never bothered to study practical studies.
Even in the mind of Kong Wenfang, a relatively talented person among the current generation of Confucian leaders, respecting Confucianism and Confucius and governing the world with etiquette is the eternal law.
Kong Wenfang's little trick before was nothing more than hoping that Kong Wenshao could jump a little bit, and it would be better to reproduce his father's past events, so that he might be able to sit in his position as Yan Shenggong.
Now I can no longer think about this.
A proposal to commemorate Confucius and the appointment of Zhang Fuking as governor of Shandong were like dark clouds covering the Confucius family.
The Confucius family in Qufu has never forgotten that there is a Nanzong in Quzhou, Zhejiang.
At this moment, this argument is of great significance to the Confucius family.
Especially after I heard that Kong Wenshao once said in a letter to Meng Chun that "power and treachery have harmed the country, and Duke Yansheng's palace is loyal to the emperor and respects etiquette. We should go to the emperor's troubles together and bring order to the chaos."
Don't even add the word "if there is"?
Just think that the new party and the new law are power traitors and harming the country?
Kong Wenfang was still in a dilemma after returning to the county government.
Should I bet that His Majesty will still be respected after many years, or should I try my best to gain vitality and fame?
Now the rhythm has changed again, and he is not sure what the emperor's original intention is.
Kong Wenfang couldn't imagine that the emperor really wanted to use Yan Shenggong's mansion to get involved, so he was ready to go on a killing spree and kill countless officials and gentry in the world in the name of treason.
How dare he!
People with old thinking cannot understand the source of Zhu Houcong's determination, but in a restaurant next to the Confucius Temple in Qufu, the Shandong Cicada Master of the Internal Inspectorate Factory was looking at the secret letter.
The governor's order came.
Everything in Shandong can only go quickly. The Shandong eunuch in the main town has been replaced by another person, and this person is Gao Zhong.
Do you want to submit to Gao Zhong all the information about Duke Yansheng's mansion collected over the past two years?
After he put away the secret order, he frowned and walked to the window to look at the Confucius Temple not far away.
During the Hongzhi period, the Confucius Temple suffered a fire. Today's Confucius Temple was built as a result of the major renovation decreed in the 16th year of Hongzhi's reign. At that time, not only the Confucius Temple but also Yan Shenggong's Mansion was renovated. It lasted five years and consumed 150,000 taels of silver.
Today, the Confucius Temple is at its largest scale.
Throughout the dynasties, countless emperors would bestow favors and honors on this "Holy Temple in Queli" and the Confucius family. This Confucius Temple was originally built as a three-room temple in the Spring and Autumn Period. It contains a collection of clothes, carriages, musical instruments, etc. used by Confucius during his lifetime.
Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty, was the first emperor to personally worship Confucius with the Tailao ceremony. Since then, countless emperors have even come to Qufu to worship Confucius in person.
But the current emperor has obviously decided to be a different emperor than before, an emperor who wants to reduce the favor and honor of the Kong family.
In this regard, the owner of Shandong Cicada in the inner factory thought he was wise.
In the past two years or so in Qufu, at least from what he knew and seen, the Confucius Temple and Confucius Mansion were really a big mountain weighing on the heads of the people in Qufu, even Yanzhou Prefecture, and Shandong Province.
Shandong Province has very heavy taxes, second only to Southern Zhili in the entire Ming Dynasty.
If we only talk about the area of arable land, Shandong has just over half of the arable land in southern Zhili, and bears a total tax that is almost the same as that of the entire southern Zhili. Shandong's grain tax accounts for more than 17% of the entire Ming Dynasty. In Southern Zhili, it is only just 20%.
And in Shandong, how much "non-conquest" land belongs to the Confucius family?
Looking towards the direction of Duke Yansheng's Mansion in the distance, a cold light flashed in the eyes of the Lord Cicada of Shandong.
The Governor appointed him to be the Lord of Shandong Cicada, which shows that His Majesty had decided to take action against Duke Yansheng many years ago. Otherwise, why would you choose yourself, the son of a military household who was killed by Duke Yan Sheng’s Mansion?
He shouted: "Xiao Er."
The waiter came in from the door, nodding and bowing like an ordinary waiter: "Master, what are your orders?"
"The Eunuch Office of the General Town of Jinan Prefecture has ordered a table for you to send over." He took out a food box from the cabinet.
The waiter's eyes flashed: "I understand."
Why does the chief eunuch of Jinan Prefecture need to come to Qufu to order a table?
It’s time to get started!
