Is it true that Kong Xilu of Nankong has no selfish motives at all?
Of course there is.
People are not saints, but if they did not even have selfish desires, they would have become saints long ago.
Kong Xilu lived a hard and poor life, farming and studying to support his family. He was extremely financially strapped for money. Not to mention enjoying life, even basic food and clothing became a problem. Whenever he saw a book in a bookstore, he would think for a long time and finally chose to give up.
On the other hand, the wealth and glory that should have belonged to them was occupied by the illegitimate descendants of Bei Kong. They became the root of the literati in the world, obtained the title of Duke Yansheng which was passed down from generation to generation, and owned a country within a country. They could do whatever they wanted without being timid because of financial constraints.
Who doesn’t want to live a life like this?
Even though he was a descendant of a saint and followed the teachings of his ancestors, he would never compete with Bei Kong for the title and make himself a laughing stock for the world. However, it was inevitable that Kong Xilu would have different ideas after abiding by the teachings.
Before this, Kong Xilu had been struggling with his inner thoughts for a long time.
In the end, he endured it.
This may be...
Is this Nan Kong's fate?
However at this time.
Su Che's imperial edict and his oral instructions were like a ray of light, shining directly in.
This gave Kong Xilu the opportunity to break the self-sealed prison door.
He could live differently!
He can also walk as a descendant of saints!
He can do what he wants too!
He can also preach the teachings of Confucius!
Kong Xilu had never dared to disobey the teachings of his ancestors, but the emperor's rebuke woke him up from his dream.
Is the saint's inheritance more important, or is the saint's face more important?
If the inheritance is lost, the teachings of Confucianism are completely distorted, gradually becoming an obstacle and a dregs, then whose fault is it?
Should we put all the blame on Bei Kong?
Doesn’t Nan Kong have any responsibility?
Su Che's oral instructions made Kong Xilu tremble all over, shaking from the depths of his soul. He couldn't help but shed tears, and then he burst into tears!
It was not his fault that he behaved in such a way that was out of control.
It is because I have persisted for my entire life, but now I realize that it is meaningless. It would be strange if I didn't collapse.
Song Lian could roughly understand Kong Xilu's feelings at this moment. He thought for a moment and said, "Duke Wenxuan, you don't have to be so sad. It is understandable that you did not come out before the establishment of the Ming Dynasty. After all, the integrity of your Southern School lies here..."
"The Ming Dynasty has only been established for a dozen years, and everything is in ruins. It's still not too late for you to realize your ideal of revenge."
These words also made Kong Xilu gradually calm down. Sima Qian was right. If the Ming Dynasty had not yet been established and the person being served was the Mongolian monarch, he should not have come out no matter what the excuses were.
But now that the Ming Dynasty has expelled the Tartars and restored China, he should stand up and do his part to restore order and allow orthodox Confucianism to reappear in the world.
Is it really possible for the descendants of the saints such as the Confucius family in Qufu, who first surrendered to the Jin Dynasty and then to the Yuan Dynasty, to represent the saints' inheritance?
No.
Absolutely not.
After thinking for a long time, Kong Xilu's eyes became firm. He stood up and said seriously: "Taishigong is right. Your Majesty's teaching is very correct. I was stupid before. I only thought about obeying the ancestral precepts, but didn't think carefully about the intention of the ancestral precepts!"
"I am willing to serve as this generation's Duke Wenxuan and be loyal to Your Majesty!"
"Some things cannot be given up and must be fought for."
"Tolerating and escaping blindly will not solve any problems."
“Since Your Majesty is willing to correct the chaos and trace the roots, then Nan Kong can represent the descendants of the sage and explain the scriptures to scholars all over the world, so that they can know the true meaning of the sage’s learning!”
Song Lian couldn't help but admire what he said. If this were the case, scholars all over the world would no longer oppose His Majesty...
A few days ago, Your Majesty stripped Duke Yansheng of his title, causing an uproar in the court and the country. It was no longer just shocking. Many ministers began to think about resigning and wanted to resign and return home.
It is no longer possible to stay in this court. Even the titles of the descendants of the saints have been stripped. Any literati with a sense of dignity will not be loyal to such a court.
But soon, when the news of conferring the title of Southern Sect Kong family spread, more people were shocked, and all the ministers were stunned... Southern Sect?
By the way, there is also a Southern School of Kong!
As a result, many people who wanted to resign were unable to do so. After all, what His Majesty had to do was to restore order and establish the saint's direct line as the main clan. This seemed to be reasonable and logical, and there was nothing wrong with it.
The only problem is that Duke Yansheng of Qufu seemed to have been stripped of his title because he advised His Majesty. If they had not come forward to advise His Majesty, I'm afraid His Majesty would not have thought of this happening!
This made many ministers feel a little frustrated.
So some people even hoped that Nanzong would refuse the reward again, so that the court would be unable to close the case, and His Majesty would revoke his order and return the revoked title...
But after Song Lian brought the news to Yingtian Prefecture, everything was settled!
This news spread like wildfire, and for a moment, the whole country was shaken.
The North Kong was abandoned.
Nan Kong is confirmed to be conferred the title!!
With the promotion of people with ulterior motives, the whole world knew about this matter. Both the scholars and the common people knew the story of Nan Kong and the reason why His Majesty canonized Nan Kong.
After the Jingkang Incident, the loyalty and integrity of the Southern Kong lineage were impeccable. In order not to serve the Mongolian monarch, they would rather give up the title to the Northern Kong lineage who had served the Jin people.
Now that the Ming Dynasty has recovered China and expelled the Tartars, the Nankong lineage has finally seen the bright moon through the clouds and can now stand out and serve the Ming monarch!
After hearing Nan Kong's story, everyone couldn't help but give him a thumbs up and praise him repeatedly.
Even some passionate young scholars who were instigated by some people to make trouble and speak up for the descendants of the sage of Qufu were speechless after hearing about this.
this……
How can we continue to make trouble?
Who is the direct descendant of the saint?
Obviously.
Southern School!
Why did Your Majesty reward the Southern School so much?
Why did Your Majesty look down on the Northern Sect so much? He even stripped them of their title of Duke of Yansheng because they had brought disgrace upon themselves!
They have lost their chastity!
We knelt down to the barbarians, served the Jin people and the Yuan people. As descendants of Confucius, we surrendered for the sake of our own glory and wealth. Can we still be called descendants of the saints?
The Confucians’ favorite saying is: Life and death are minor matters, while losing one’s chastity is a major matter.
Does this mean that it is no longer applicable to the descendants of Confucius?
Of course not!
Everyone hates double standards, even the descendants of saints are no exception.
Why can a descendant of a saint who first surrendered to the Jin people and then knelt down to worship the Yuan people still become the Yansheng Duke of the Ming Dynasty?
Previously, Duke Yansheng of Qufu brought scholars from all over the world to threaten the emperor and take back his order. No one thought it was a problem at that time, but when Su Che played the card of the Southern School of Confucius, it was a sure win! Everything turned around in an instant!
The effect is simply too good!
Now, scholars all over the world are no longer in a hurry to care about the affairs of those academies. Let’s talk about the affairs of the Southern School first!
Qufu, Confucius Mansion.
When Southern Kong Kong Xilu accepted the title, the Kong family's dispute between the north and the south came to an end, which made the former Duke Yansheng Kong Xixue completely despair.
"He...how can he accept the title?"
Kong Xixue originally still held out a glimmer of hope, expecting Nan Kong to keep his original promise.
As long as the Southern Kong gives up the title again, the Northern Kong will still be the descendants of the sage, and perhaps the title of Duke Wenxuan will fall on them.
It’s not a loss to replace Duke Yansheng with Duke Wenxuan!
But this is obviously Kong Xixue's wishful thinking, he is just dreaming.
When the Southern Sect accepted the title, the Northern Sect was in a very embarrassing situation.
When Kong Xixue was grieving over the loss of his title, he didn't know that the crisis had quietly arrived...
The Jinyiwei had already disguised themselves as ordinary people, sneaked into Qufu, and began to secretly investigate the many evidences of crimes in the Confucius Mansion in Qufu.
You don’t know until you check, and you’ll be shocked when you do!
The status of the Confucius Mansion in Qufu was so high that even the local officials of Qufu did not dare to move.
Relying on the title of descendants of saints, they brought disaster to the village, bullied the common people, treated human life as nothing, wantonly annexed land, and robbed women. They did whatever they wanted.
Beneath the bright and beautiful appearance, he did all kinds of dirty things. Even the Jinyiwei who had seen a lot of darkness were shocked - since the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, there has never been such a daring person!
Even those arrogant nobles, relying on their own merits, would not dare to do such an excessive thing.
How dare the Kong family of Qufu do this?
Just because they are descendants of saints?
After all the evidence was collected, it was sent to the imperial palace in Yingtian Prefecture one after another.
After seeing these evidences of guilt, Su Che couldn't help but sneer.
It is not surprising that they can do these things. They did this during the Yuan Dynasty. When the Ming Dynasty was established, many of their crimes were not investigated. Instead, they were treated with more courtesy and all kinds of treatment were not missed. This further increased their arrogance and arrogance!
They are descendants of saints, who in the world dares to touch them?
"Close the internet bar."
Su Che closed the memorial and spoke softly.
The Jinyiwei lurking in Qufu had already woven a big net to catch all the criminals in the Confucius Mansion who were disguised as descendants of saints!
At Su Che's command, the net was drawn up, and all the sinners could not escape the net of heaven.
Qufu.
Kong family.
When the Jinyiwei broke in and prepared to close the net, the Kong Mansion immediately organized private soldiers to fight back. The combat effectiveness of these private soldiers was not weak. They were well-trained and cooperated with each other, and they actually repelled the first wave of attack from the Jinyiwei!
Although Jinyiwei Commander Mao Xiang was a little surprised, he didn't care and shouted loudly: "Private soldiers of the Kong Mansion, listen up! We are the Jinyiwei of the court. Now we are investigating the Kong Mansion for crimes. Give up the futile resistance! If you continue to resist, you will be disobeying the court and intending to rebel. You should be executed for your entire family!"
"Think it over carefully. Do you want to commit the crime of treason for the sake of this Confucius Mansion..."
As soon as these words came out, the private soldiers of the Kong Mansion looked at each other in panic. If it was an ordinary petty thief, it would be fine if they beat him to death, but the man in front of them was the Jinyiwei of the imperial court, so should they beat him to death too?
Even if they really won and repelled all these Jinyiwei, what would it matter? Are these the only Jinyiwei in the court?
When they thought of this, many private soldiers inevitably backed off, and some even planned to turn against the emperor and welcome him! Should this be considered... making amends for one's crimes?
At this moment, Kong Xixue, the patriarch of the Kong family, heard the call from the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. His scalp went numb and his eyes were filled with despair.
But he was unwilling to just sit there and wait for death. He took a step forward and shouted loudly, "I am a descendant of a saint. I have passed down farming and studying as a family tradition. What crime have I committed? The emperor has stripped me of my title of Duke of Yansheng, but must he force me to die and let the whole world see how cruel and ungrateful the emperor of the Ming Dynasty is? Is this how he treats a descendant of a saint?"
Kong Xixue kept saying that he was a descendant of a saint, hoping to use this identity to absolve himself from guilt.
But his idea was obviously naive.
Jinyiwei Commander Mao Xiang sneered and said calmly: "If a prince breaks the law, the common people will be punished as well. Does that mean that if the descendants of a saint break the law, we can ignore the charges?"
"How to deal with you is based on your guilt and evidence, not on your saying that you have passed down the family tradition of farming and studying, and that you have done nothing wrong."
"Depriving you of your title of Duke of Yansheng is to restore the orthodoxy of the Southern School. Does that mean you can be forgiven for your crimes?"
"You really think the laws of the Ming Dynasty are too simple!"
"If you are really so noble, then just die and make amends with your death. Maybe His Majesty will really look upon you with new eyes."
Mao Xiang's tone was somewhat teasing, which stunned Kong Xixue. He never expected that when he brought up his identity as a descendant of a saint and threatened to die, this man would totally ignore him. He was in a dilemma for a moment and was completely embarrassed.
Kong Xixue's face flushed red, and he felt angry and furious for a moment. How could the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty do such a thing?
Why is it so? !
Could it be that he killed a few untouchables and took dozens of concubines, such trivial matters, should be investigated to the end?
How had the family of Duke Yansheng received such treatment throughout the dynasties?
As for dying to prove one's integrity...it's just talk, it's impossible for one to really die.
Even at this point, he still didn't want to die, and deep in his heart he still held on to a glimmer of hope.
Maybe the Ming Emperor just wanted to embarrass him?
It shouldn't lead to his death, right?
He is so old , and he was once the Yansheng Duke of the Ming Dynasty and a descendant of a saint. He should never be executed!
With the Kong family of Qufu being arrested and brought to justice, this major case was handed over to the three judicial departments for trial.
The so-called three judicial departments are: the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Dali Temple.
At this moment, after seeing the case, these judicial officials, each of them as big as a bucket, were in a dilemma.
Who is the culprit?
The former Duke of Yansheng, Kong Xixue!
According to the crime, he should be executed according to the law!
But do they really want to sentence the descendants of the saints to death?
If they are really sentenced to death, they will inevitably be criticized.
But if they don't sentence to death, where is their authority as a judicial department?
If we ask His Majesty how to handle this case... I'm afraid we will only be scolded, because this case was given to them by His Majesty.
The last of all.
They still sentenced him to immediate execution!
When Su Che heard this decision, he nodded and said, "Then kill him! Expose the crime to the public and establish the power of the Ming Dynasty's criminal law!"