Chapter 250 Kong Family

Ministry of Personnel Duty Room.

Jiao Fang was cursing at the air.

As for what he was cursing about, it was naturally his ill-fated career.

Jiao Fang was from Shanzhou County, Henan Province. He was lucky enough to pass the imperial examination, but he was only ranked last. Later, because he was from the same hometown as the powerful official Li Xian at that time, he was recommended as a scholar. Later, in order to curry favor with Li Xian, Jiao Fang sent his wife to serve Li Xian, which enabled him to be appointed as an editor of the Hanlin Academy.

However, even if he entered the Hanlin Academy, the Hanlin Academy at that time advocated literary talent, and the scholars thought that Jiao Fang was crude and uneducated, had a sinister personality, and liked to talk about people behind their backs, so no one wanted to associate with him. Jiao Fang was repeatedly excluded and suppressed and was not tolerated by the world.

In the 22nd year of Chenghua, Yin Min was dismissed. Jiao Fang was exiled to the position of Tongzhi of Guiyang Prefecture in Huguang for forming a party with his son Yin Long. He was not promoted until the 10th year of Hongzhi, when he was promoted to the position of Taichang Temple Minister and Imperial Academy Lecturer.

However, because he liked to discuss and slander others, and was insidious and cunning, he was suppressed by powerful officials such as Liu Jian and Ma Wensheng. Whether he made memorials or was promoted, he was suppressed by these two giants. Even his memorials were withheld. Therefore, Jiao Fang hated Liu Jian, Xie Qian, Ma Wensheng and others.

He was unwilling to stop at being a minister of the Ministry of Personnel in his life, so when Liu Jin was in power and lashed out at all officials, Jiao Fang took the initiative to show goodwill to Liu Jin and willingly became a member of the eunuch party, hoping that Liu Jin could help him rise to the top. Not to mention being a minister of the Ministry of Personnel, at least he had to enter the cabinet and be a university scholar!

However, Jiao Fang never expected that Liu Jin, the powerful eunuch who had once dominated the court and lashed out at all officials, would be brought down to dust because of the return of Tang Hao, the Marquis of Zhongshan, and is now being tortured in the imperial prison.

After Jiao Fang colluded with Liu Jin and became a eunuch party, he not only did not get any benefit, but was instead labeled as a "eunuch party" for nothing. Now he was truly unacceptable to the gentry and even felt unlucky to talk to him.

Jiao Fang, who was ostracized, felt that his career was hopeless and ended there.

However, fate happened to change dramatically at this time. Jiao Fang never expected that His Majesty the Emperor actually noticed him and directly promoted him to the Minister of Revenue!

That was the Minister of Revenue of the second rank, the Minister of Agriculture who was in charge of the money and grain of the world!

For a moment, Jiao Fang was stunned.

This sudden shocking change made him dare not believe that this was true, and even wondered if he was dreaming.

Chen Kuan looked at Jiao Fang with a smile, and took the initiative to remind him: "Minister Jiao, please accept the decree quickly, the emperor is still waiting for you to come to the palace to see the emperor!"

After these words came out, Jiao Fang suddenly woke up, and then hurriedly accepted the decree to thank the emperor, and then followed Chen Kuan to the palace to meet the emperor in high spirits.

This bizarre scene immediately caused a lot of discussion among the officials of the Ministry of Personnel.

After all, Jiao Fang is a well-known person with despicable morals. Why would the emperor promote him to be the minister of the Ministry of Revenue?

Wang Ao scolded everyone when he saw this, and then he looked at Jiao Fang with deep eyes.

Why did the emperor use Jiao Fang?

Does it mean that he can only rely on these treacherous villains to gather power?

If so, I am afraid that the Zhengde court in the future will be dominated by treacherous villains!

For a time, Wang Ao was very worried.

He recalled the instructions given to him by Tianguan Ma Wensheng.

"Your Majesty, you must consolidate your power and implement the new policy!"

"But the Ministry of Personnel controls the selection of officials in the world, and it must not fall into the hands of treacherous officials!"

No matter what, Wang Ao would not allow Jiao Fang and his ilk to take charge of the Ministry of Personnel. That would make the Ming Dynasty truly rotten to the core.

Even if he died!

Jiao Fang entered the palace in high spirits, and knelt down on the ground after entering the hall.

"Your Majesty, I, Jiao Fang, thank you for your grace!"

Zhu Houzhao looked at this guy and couldn't help frowning.

To be honest, he really looked down on Jiao Fang.

He had no ability, was jealous of others, and liked to slander and abuse others. He was a living example of a treacherous minister.

If there was no one available at the moment, Zhu Houzhao would really not let such a person hold a high position.

But Zhu Houzhao was the emperor. Since he was the emperor, he could not look at a person one-sidedly. If he simply distinguished ministers based on their morals, such an emperor would only be a fool.

"Jiao Fang!"

"Let me tell you clearly!"

Zhu Houzhao looked at this guy coldly.

"I have heard a lot about what you did."

"It is impossible for someone like you who is morally corrupt and has no integrity to be in a high position. Wang Ao, the Minister of Personnel, would not agree, and Yang Tinghe, the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, would not agree. I promoted you against all odds."

Hearing this, Jiao Fang was shocked and angry, and he also hated Wang Ao and Yang Tinghe.

I am morally corrupt and have no integrity. Are you guys saints?

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"

It is time to thank you.

Jiao Fang understood one thing, that is, from today on, he, Jiao Fang, is no longer a eunuch party, but... an emperor party!

"You have only one request for being the Minister of Revenue, that the Ministry of Revenue be under your control as soon as possible, or in other words, under my control!"

"If you can't do it, and you are in a high position but can't control your subordinates, then I will not only depose you, but also strip you of your fame and let you get out of the court completely!"

"Jiao Fang, do you understand?"

Jiao Fang trembled when he heard this, and he resisted the fear in his heart and kowtowed to express his position.

If the matter is done, he will be the Minister of Revenue. If the matter is not done, he will not only be dismissed from his post, but also be stripped of his reputation!

How did His Majesty come up with such a vicious torture? Isn't it too cold?

But no matter what, he has been put on the fire now!

He can only succeed in controlling the Ministry of Revenue for His Majesty, and there is no failure!

After Jiao Fang left, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but sigh.

"Da Eunuch, tell me, why can I only use such a treacherous villain?"

Zhu Houzhao is still a young man with boiling blood, so he naturally admires heroes and heroes, and he looks down on treacherous villains like Jiao Fang from the bottom of his heart.

However, the situation forced him to use Jiao Fang even if he looked down on him!

Otherwise, who should Zhu Houzhao use as the Minister of Revenue?

Those with good reputations are not necessarily good reputations. It is very likely that they are advocated by civil officials, military generals and nobles.

For example, Liu Daxia, that damned bastard, has a good reputation, right?

The famous three gentlemen of Hongzhi, are simply too good!

But are the things that this bastard did really what a gentleman does?

Forming cliques for personal gain, fighting for power and profit, countless Huguang folks have had smooth careers because of Liu Daxia, and countless civilians have died in the exploitation of these Huguang folks!

In a nutshell, if Zhu Houzhao wants to fight against these civil officials and gentry and take back the imperial power that belongs to him, then he has to go against his will and reuse some treacherous villains like Jiao Fang who have no morals and are excluded and suppressed by the gentry!

When Zhu Houzhao thought of this, he suddenly understood.

"I finally understand why there are so many treacherous ministers and treacherous ministers in all dynasties!"

Chen Kuan has been silent, but he smiled with relief when he heard this.

Why are there so many treacherous ministers and treacherous ministers in all dynasties?

Did those treacherous ministers really only do bad things?

In the final analysis, they are just the means for the emperor to check and balance the ministers.

In the face of court struggles, there is no such thing as black and white!

If a dynasty is full of loyal and virtuous people, full of gentlemen and virtuous ministers, then there will definitely be big problems in this court!

For example... the Hongzhi court!

Chen Kuan was frightened by his own idea, so he immediately shook his head frantically to dispel these treasonous thoughts.

The Hongzhi Dynasty can be said to be a standard template for "holy monarchs and virtuous ministers", but what results did these "holy monarchs and virtuous ministers" finally achieve?

The people are poor and the money is gone, and the military and civilians are in distress...

Zhu Houzhao looked at Chen Kuan with a little surprise.

"Da Eunuch, what are you thinking about?"

"Your Majesty, I am just thinking that there are indeed not many people like Tang Hou who are dedicated to the country!"

Zhu Houzhao was startled when he heard this, and then nodded.

"Yes!"

"So far, he is the only one!"

"By the way, Daguan, let Jinyiwei send a message to the wild man, urging him to write the second half of "Gan Po Cangqiong" as soon as possible, I am still waiting to see it!"

Chen Kuan: "..."

Just when the emperor was fighting with the civil officials, Qi Yanming had already surrounded Qufu City with nearly 10,000 rebels.

Well, the number of rebels has increased again, and there is nothing we can do about it.

After all, after fleeing to Shandong, the inspectors of the garrisons in various places did not move their troops, and the rebels in Bazhou were able to march straight in. It was still the same old trick. The civilians were not harmed at all, and the gentry and bad gentry were killed and exterminated. Therefore, the rebels were deeply loved by the people, and the team began to grow.

Only the core members who had experienced that tragic defeat knew that all they were doing now was just to capture Qufu to threaten the court and leave themselves a way out.

Qufu County is more like the Kong family than the Ming Dynasty.

Most of the land in the entire county belongs to the Kong family, and most of the people in the county rent the Kong family's land and live under the Kong family's nose.

Even the county magistrate of Qufu must be a member of the Kong family. It can be said that Qufu County is a country within a country of the Ming Dynasty. The so-called county magistrate and county government are just tools sent by the Kong family to collect taxes and make money for the Kong family.

After all, this is the Kong family, the descendants of the great sage.

If we talk about the aristocratic families that have been passed down for thousands of years in the entire Chinese world, the Kong family is the only one, a real thousand-year aristocratic family.

The Duke of Yansheng is the hereditary title of the eldest son of Confucius, and it is also a noble title that has been passed down from generation to generation.

In fact, the canonization of the descendants of Confucius began in the twelfth year of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty. Since then, the eldest grandson of Confucius has had a hereditary title. In the next thousand years, the title has changed many times. It was changed to Duke of Yansheng in the former Song Dynasty, and the title has been inherited by later generations since then.

The Duke of Yansheng, with a high status, was equivalent to an eighth-rank official in the early Song Dynasty, and was promoted to the third rank by Hu Yuan. In the Ming Dynasty, he was a first-rank civil official, and later became "the head of the civil officials"!

Even if most dynasties only lasted for three hundred years, the Duke of Yansheng's lineage has become a transcendent existence since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty abolished all schools of thought and respected Confucianism alone.

The current head of the Kong family is the 62nd Duke of Yansheng, Kong Wenshao, who inherited the title in the 16th year of Hongzhi. He is calm and dignified, elegant, and born a noble.

It is worth mentioning that the Duke of Yansheng married Li Dongyang's daughter as his legal wife in view of the fact that Li Dongyang, the leader of the literati, was famous throughout the country.

In other words, Kong Wenshao said Li Dongyang's son-in-law.

Tang Hao previously made public the fact that Li Dongyang colluded with Liu Jin. Li Dongyang was labeled as a eunuch party for a while, which was not tolerated by public opinion. Kong Wenshao, the good son-in-law, even wrote a beautiful article to speak up for his father-in-law Li Dongyang and tried to use the influence of Yanshenggong to exonerate Li Dongyang.

After all, Li Dongyang is Kong Wenshao's father-in-law. If Li Dongyang is confirmed as a eunuch party, Kong Wenshao himself will be implicated, unless he dares to abolish his wife and draw a clear line with Li Dongyang. However, the problem is that his eldest son Kong Zhengan has a rare reputation and has always been regarded as the son of Yanshenggong. Therefore, Kong Wenshao can't abolish his wife at all, otherwise it will destroy the eldest son inheritance system.

Then, Kong Wenshao had to be completely tied to Li Dongyang and tried his best to restore the reputation of this good father-in-law.

But this man who usually does not change his face when facing a collapse of the mountain, today's face is obviously panicked, or it can be said that his face is extremely pale.

Because the rebels from Bazhou surrounded Qufu City and ordered them to surrender, otherwise they would massacre the Kong family!

The dense rebels outside the city made people feel like they were falling into an ice cave at first glance, and they could not have any resistance.

Not to mention, there were not many troops in Qufu City, or almost no troops!

Why?

Because Qufu is the holy land of Mingjiao, the center of literature in the world!

It is impossible for anyone to dare to attack the holy land of Mingjiao, so naturally no heavy troops were sent to guard it, which polluted the literary atmosphere of the holy land of Qufu.

In the entire Qufu City, including all the guards and servants, there are only 500 people.

But at this moment, there are at least tens of thousands of rebels outside the city!

How to fight?

What can they use to defend the city?

The rebels outside the city only gave them three hours to consider. If their conditions are not met when the time comes, they will attack Qufu and massacre the entire Kong family!

The core members of the Kong family gathered in the Kong Clan Ancestral Hall, but none of them had the noble dignity of living in luxury on weekdays. Instead, they quarreled with fear, making the entire Kong Clan Ancestral Hall as noisy as a street.

Kong Wenshao sat in the main seat without saying a word, just looking at the scene in front of him coldly, feeling that it was extremely ironic.

On weekdays, these clansmen regarded themselves as great Confucian scholars, pointing out the world and writing inspiring words, looking down on everyone, including the "upstarts" old Zhu family, even the Ming royal family, they also looked down on and lacked respect in their hearts.

Because the Kong family is the number one family in the world, and because of the blood of the Holy Saint, it is noble and elegant, not everyone can compare.

Because of this, the Kong family rejected the proposal of the old Zhu family to send a large army to garrison, and even firmly controlled Qufu in their own hands, resulting in no decent army garrisoning near the entire Qufu.

Now, the rebels have besieged the city, but they don’t even have the troops to defend the city and wait for reinforcements. It’s really ridiculous and ironic!

The head of the family didn't speak, and the others quarreled even more fiercely.

What were they quarreling about?

It was nothing more than whether they should temporarily condescend to surrender to the rebels outside the city.

Why do they do this?

Because the first priority of the Kong family is to protect the Confucius Temple and other holy places, not to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty.

But the problem is that if they really do this, it will be equivalent to abandoning their integrity as literati and losing the face of the Yanshenggong Mansion!

Even if they often do such despicable and shameless things without bottom line, after all, literati have to save face. No one is willing to do this until the last moment, except for some guys who are extremely greedy for life and afraid of death.

"Why can't we surrender?"

"The inheritance of the Kong family is the most important thing!"

"Didn't our ancestors surrender to the Jurchens and Mongols in the past due to the situation?"

As soon as these words came out, the entire ancestral hall fell into a strange silence.

Because although this is the truth, it is a scandal that all Kong family members are unwilling to admit.

After the title of "Yanshenggong" came into being, the Jurchens and Mongols competed to steal it to win over the hearts of the people. The Song, Jin, and Yuan regimes each had a "Yanshenggong", one in Quzhou, one in Kaifeng, and one in Qufu, which led to a ridiculous scene of three sects coexisting. After that, as the Song court moved south, the scene of two sects of the Kong family coexisting for decades.

This kind of thing, no matter how outsiders evaluate it, is not acceptable.

After all, as a member of the Kong family who is the descendant of the most holy blood, as the Kong Yanshenggong respected by the literati of the world, anyone with some backbone should stick to the integrity of the literati, learn from those people with integrity who died for the country, and just cut their own necks. Unfortunately, their ancestors did not do so, but left these shames in vain.

Now the old things are brought up again, and the same choice is also in front of them, but all the Kong family members chose to remain silent.

In the past, they were still wondering why their ancestors could not sacrifice their lives for justice. Now they understand that in the face of the threat of death, who can be fearless and truly sacrifice their lives for justice?

"Master, make the decision!"

"Yes, Master, temporary honor and disgrace are nothing..."

Everyone looked at Kong Wenshao, their eyes full of desire to survive.

No one wants to die, let alone these "natural nobles"!

The good days of luxury have not been enough, who would want to lose their lives for no reason!

Facing the eyes of the crowd, Kong Wenshao couldn't help but sigh.

"How do you want me to decide?"

"There is not even a decent soldier in Qufu City. How can we resist the tens of thousands of vicious rebels outside the city with those three shifts of yamen runners who can't even hold a knife?"

"No matter what, family inheritance is the first priority. Our Kong family has been passed down for thousands of years, and it must not be cut off in the hands of you and me. Otherwise, we will not be able to face our ancestors in the afterlife!"

After hearing what Kong Wenshao said, everyone in the Kong family roughly understood what he meant.

He just wanted to surrender, but he was the Duke of Yansheng appointed by the court, so it was not easy to give orders.

Well, this is like being a whore and wanting to build a memorial archway!

"Go down and prepare!"

"Call all the guards and servants to suppress and protect all the properties of my Kong family!"

Hearing this, everyone in the Kong family took action.

Only Kong Wenshao and his eldest son Kong Zhengan were left in the ancestral hall.

The young man Kong Zhengan looked at his father with anger on his face and asked sternly: "Father, are we really going to surrender to the rebels?"

Kong Zhengan was young, so his blood was boiling, so he still had backbone.

Just now, he had been arguing against those clansmen who wanted to surrender.

But he didn't expect that even his father, whom he always respected, would make such a decision!

"What else should we do?" Kong Wenshao asked.

"They are all famous scholars, not vulgar warriors. Do you expect them to pick up knives and fight the rebels?"

"Zhen Gan, you must remember that no matter what time it is, family inheritance is the first priority, and everything else can be abandoned!"