Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 442 The Best Pledge of Allegiance
Should the Kong family be disciplined? Yes! But he is a descendant of a saint after all. As Confucian disciples, the civil officials are naturally inferior to the Kong family. Didn't you see that in the early years of the Wanli period, Zhang Juzheng was so powerful and Hai Rui was so jealous of evil, but they didn't touch the Kong family?
Therefore, when Wang Zaijin was forced to take over this task from Wei Zhongxian, he wanted to die.
However, after he was done feeling sad, he also saw something different. Crisis, but there are opportunities underneath danger. If he could handle this well, he might be able to join the emperor's inner circle: Who doesn't know that the truly powerful people in the court are either the emperor's old friends or the Fangshan clique? Not to mention the Donglin Party that had been driven to Japan, the remaining Qi, Chu, Zhejiang, etc., which one of them is not lingering on?
Being an official is not just about getting promoted. The key is to have real power! But the current situation is very clear. If you can't get into the emperor's inner circle, don't even think about having much real power !
How to get in? Isn't the Kong family the best token of loyalty?
Of course, as a bureaucrat who had experienced many ups and downs in the political arena, Wang Zaijin knew very well that if he did not take action against the Kong family, it would be fine. Once he did, he would have to kill them completely, otherwise the Kong family would retaliate. The emperor and Wei Zhongxian would probably not be a big problem, but he, the governor of Shandong, could not handle it at all.
After sorting out his thoughts in this way, Wang Zai Jin now knew clearly how to proceed.
…
On July 9, the second year of the Tianqi reign of the Ming Dynasty (1620), Kong Yinzhi, who was in Qufu County, was surprised to receive a subpoena from the Shandong Governor's Office.
Kong Yinzhi was only 28 years old that year, and his figure was not as fat as he was in later portraits. On the contrary, he was young and had a standard figure, and he looked very capable.
As the nephew of the current Duke of Yansheng, Kong Shangxian, Kong Yinzhi was in the leading position in the competition for succession to the Kong Mansion at that time: he was close in blood, capable in handling affairs, and most importantly, he was very smart and humble in front of his elders. All these factors made Kong Shangxian favor him the most. Since two or three years ago, many major matters concerning people and property in the Kong Mansion have been handed over to Kong Yinzhi to handle.
But it was precisely because of this that Kong Yinzhi seemed extremely surprised when he received the subpoena from the Governor of Shandong.
The content of the subpoena was very clear: someone filed a complaint at the government office of Yanzhou Prefecture, accusing Kong Yinzhi, a resident of Qufu County, of trafficking in human beings. Specifically, it was said that the Kong family had robbed women from Jiangnan and sold them to the brothels of Qufu. Anyone who disobeyed would be beaten to death. Now, such a woman had escaped from Qufu, and a complaint was submitted to the government of Yanzhou Prefecture. Because the case involved a murder, the prefect of Yanzhou felt that the case was serious and complicated, so he submitted it to the governor's office. Now, the governor's office asked Kong Yinzhi to come to Jinan to explain the matter and help the government investigate the case.
"Well, the governor of Shandong is called Wang Zaijin, right? What's the meaning of that?"
"Master, this man is from Jun County, Henan Province. He was a Jinshi in the 20th year of Wanli. His teacher, Lord Zhao, has been dead for many years. Among his peers, uh, Master, let me look through them... Oh, among their peers, the top scholar Weng Zhengchun is now the Minister of Rites. Others, Bi Ziyan is the Minister of Revenue, and Liu Yikun is the Governor of Zhejiang. Uh, this is a bit troublesome. They also have another classmate, Cao Yubian, who is now the Right Censor-in-Chief of the court. It is said that he dares to say anything."
"Hmph! Don't worry. This batch of Jinshi has been in the government for nearly 30 years, and the highest official position they hold is only a third-rank official. Their teacher died early. This batch can be considered a waste."
After encouraging himself, Kong Yinzhi asked again, "What's the matter with this saying that our Kong Mansion robbed women?"
"Master, I guess this is about Xin Ya Pavilion. Xin Ya Pavilion has been opened from Qufu to all prefectures in Shandong, receiving officials and wealthy businessmen from all over the country all year round, so the number of girls needed every year is very large. In addition, due to the effective disaster relief of the court in recent years, there are fewer and fewer refugees and victims, and naturally fewer people selling their children. Moreover, although the emperor is ruthless in killing people, he basically does not implicate family members. Things like imprisonment in the Jiaofangsi have become less and less since the emperor took office as regent. So, on the one hand, my Xin Ya Pavilion is constantly expanding, and on the other hand, the supply is decreasing. Therefore, the word "plunder" may be a bit heavy, but I have to be honest with you, most of the girls in the pavilion were forced in."
That's all I have to say: Kong Yinzhi is not responsible for the supply of goods, but after the "goods" are shipped in, this gentleman is the one who likes to be responsible for "education" - after all, he is only 28 years old, and he likes these things the most. As for the death? Kong Yinzhi himself knows that it happens all the time.
"Has anyone escaped from our pavilion?"
"Master, Xinyage has now opened thirteen branches. Not to mention those who have escaped, there are many top performers who have been redeemed by patrons from all over the place."
"Hmm..." After thinking for a while, Kong Yinzhi pulled his sparse beard and said, "What do you think? Could it be that some of my brothers in the Kong family did this?"
"Master, this is very possible. After all, the old master's body is obviously unable to hold on. If the young master is involved in a lawsuit at this time..."
"So." He stood up and said, "Kong Qi, go down and prepare. The prefect of Yanzhou, one thousand silver dollars. That Wang Zaijin, hum, three thousand silver dollars. Tell them to suppress this matter. Tell them that I am only one of the managers of the family now, and it is still inconvenient to withdraw too much silver and money. After I successfully inherit the title, I will definitely reward you generously."
"Yes, I'll do it right away."
Qufu is not very far from Jinan, so two or three days later, Wang Zai Jin received a note for three thousand taels from Kong Qi.
Looking at this large ticket, Wang Zai Jin didn't feel tempted at all, but as an old bureaucrat, who isn't an actor?
"Well, I am ashamed to trouble Master Kong to comfort me like this."
"No, Zhongcheng has been working for millions of Shandong people for many years. I just regret that we came too late ."
"Hahaha, it's not too late, not too late. As a descendant of a saint, it's never too late."
"So, what about the last subpoena?"
"Oh, this. Oh, by the way, I have a subpoena here."
"What!"
On July 15th, after Kong Qi returned to Qufu, he crawled to see Kong Yinzhi.
"What did you say? Wang Zaijin actually sent me another subpoena?"
"Yes, Master. This picture shows that someone sued our Kong family for seizing good farmland, beating the landowner to death, raping the landowner's daughter and then sending her to Xin Ya Pavilion."
"Bang!" Kong Yinzhi slammed the table hard and jumped up: "Did this Wang guy take the wrong medicine? Why is he always pestering me?"
"Young Master." Kong Qi looked up, then quickly lowered his head. "That Wang Zaijin also said that he has at least a hundred complaints against Young Master. If Young Master still refuses to go to Jinan, he will send a new subpoena every day."
"Crash~" The fragile items in the room were smashed to pieces by Kong Yinzhi. The servants and maids around him looked at this young master in fear. He usually had a smile on his face but was very cruel when he started to fight. They were afraid that this young master was going to beat someone in the room to death to vent his anger.
"Ah~" After a long sigh, Kong Qi waved his hand and asked everyone in the room to leave.
"Master, what should we do now? It seems that it is not the other members of the family who are trying to make trouble for you. After all, they cannot make the governor of a province torn his face off against us."
"Hmm?" As someone who could stand out among so many men in the Kong family, Kong Yinzhi was definitely not stupid - on the contrary, he was very smart. After Kong Qi's reminder, he immediately reacted: "You mean, Wang Zaijin wants to target our Kong family? But why? Our Kong family is big and powerful, and it is normal for some dead branches and fallen leaves to appear. But why is he holding on to it? Does he really want to be a judge for the people? What a joke, where is the judge in the Ming Dynasty now?"
After muttering these words to himself, Kong Yinzhi suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "Kong Qi, hurry up and get me the last three months' editions of the Yanjing Daily and Jinling Daily!"
