Chapter 342: Anyone Can Be Duke Yansheng

After seeing off the Prince of Lu, Zhu Youxiao shook his head with some helplessness.

This Prince of Lu of his was truly an eccentric feudal prince—he really didn't know what to say about him. Fortunately, he had already been pacified, and hopefully there would be no need to summon him again in the future.

Even if he did summon the Prince of Lu again, it wouldn't have to be like today. If this happened a few more times, Zhu Youxiao felt his head would grow even bigger.

Glancing at Chen Hong, Zhu Youxiao asked, "Is there anything else today?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Duke Yansheng has just entered the city and is currently waiting outside for an audience." Chen Hong said hurriedly.

As for this arrival of the Duke Yansheng, Chen Hong didn't think there would be any good outcome. This matter had truly been blown out of proportion, and these people were simply too lawless—they were practically courting death.

So when Chen Hong spoke, he was extremely cautious, afraid of being implicated himself.

Nodding lightly, Zhu Youxiao sat down in the chair, picked up his tea and took a gentle sip before saying, "I'm feeling uncomfortable. Find someone to give me a massage."

Upon hearing this, Chen Hong dared not be negligent and hurried off to summon someone.

Before long, several palace maids walked in and began kneading Zhu Youxiao's shoulders and legs, rubbing and massaging him.

Zhu Youxiao lay there, humming and moaning in enjoyment.

Chen Hong seemed to feel something was inappropriate and asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, what about the Duke Yansheng?"

Hearing Chen Hong's words, Zhu Youxiao lightly raised his eyelids, glanced at him, and asked in a casual tone, "What, did you take his money?"

"This servant wouldn't dare." Chen Hong said hurriedly.

"Then why are you asking?" Zhu Youxiao said irritably. "Hasn't the man arrived? Let him wait. I have no mind to see him right now. What status does he have that he can't wait a bit?"

"Your Majesty naturally summons whomever whenever He pleases." Chen Hong said hurriedly, inwardly wishing he could slap himself a few times.

Running his mouth again, still running his mouth—why couldn't he control this bad habit of his?

Originally Chen Hong thought that if His Majesty wouldn't see the Duke Yansheng, he would just send the Duke Yansheng away. Now Chen Hong understood—His Majesty simply wanted to leave the Duke Yansheng cooling his heels.

In the outer chamber, Kong Yinzhi had already been waiting for quite a while.

Kong Yinzhi glanced at the tea on the table—it had already been refilled four times, and drinking it had left his lower belly somewhat uncomfortable. With his stomach empty and full of water, the feeling was truly unpleasant.

He looked up at the young eunuchs standing on both sides, but no one came to speak with him, which made Kong Yinzhi even more anxious inside.

At this moment, hearing footsteps approaching from far to near, the expression on Kong Yinzhi's face finally relaxed.

Was His Majesty finally going to receive him?

Not daring to be negligent, Kong Yinzhi hurriedly stood up, and sure enough, he saw Chen Hong walking out from the inner chamber.

This Eunuch Chen was His Majesty's confidant—Kong Yinzhi had already found this out long ago.

Upon seeing Chen Hong, Kong Yinzhi hurriedly stepped forward and said respectfully, "Eunuch Chen, is His Majesty summoning me?"

As he spoke, Kong Yinzhi silently slipped a rolled paper tube into Chen Hong's hand.

Glancing down at it, Chen Hong knew this was a bank draft.

Even if it wasn't redeemable across all thirteen provinces, it could certainly be cashed directly once he left this place. Moreover, since the Duke Yansheng could offer it as a gift, it definitely wouldn't be a small amount.

However, this action startled Chen Hong.

Chen Hong hurriedly retreated two steps, immediately putting distance between himself and Kong Yinzhi.

His Majesty had just warned him—he truly didn't dare accept this money. These young eunuchs around him, whose minds were sharper than needles, were all watching. Who knew whether any of them were His Majesty's informants?

He knew these little bastards all wanted to climb up by stepping on him. If he accepted this money, he might well get a dressing-down from His Majesty when he returned.

Seeing Chen Hong's reaction, Kong Yinzhi was also stunned.

What he had offered was money—why did Eunuch Chen react as if he'd been bitten by a snake?

"What is the Duke Yansheng doing?" Chen Hong said with a stern face. "Though I am a castrate of the palace, a good-for-nothing without balls, I still know loyalty, righteousness, integrity, and shame. How could I accept such money?"

Upon hearing these words, Kong Yinzhi's face flushed bright red, and he felt utterly terrible.

His heart sank heavily.

Kong Yinzhi knew all too well what these eunuchs inside and outside the palace were like.

These people could be said to value money as their very lives—given the opportunity, they would certainly rake in a fortune. Now even this Eunuch Chen refused to take money, which showed just how dire the situation had become.

"This is His Majesty's field headquarters. The Duke Yansheng should be more careful." After Chen Hong coldly finished this sentence, he said directly, "His Majesty summons you. Follow me."

After saying this, Chen Hong turned and walked into the inner chamber.

Kong Yinzhi naturally dared not be negligent and hurriedly followed.

The two walked one behind the other and soon arrived at where Zhu Youxiao was.

Upon seeing Zhu Youxiao, Kong Yinzhi hurriedly performed the ritual and said, "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Kong Yinzhi kneeling on the ground and slightly furrowed his brow.

This Kong Yinzhi—Zhu Youxiao was truly very familiar with him, not just in this life, but also very familiar with him before transmigrating.

He was the last Duke Yansheng of the Great Ming, and at the same time, the first Duke Yansheng of the Great Qing.

Not only that—Kong Yinzhi went by this name now, but later he would change it. To avoid the naming taboo of the Yongzheng Emperor Yinzhen, later generations would call him "Kong Yanzhi."

In the original history, Kong Yinzhi inherited the title of Duke Yansheng in the first year of Tianqi under Emperor Xizong of Ming.

In the seventh year of Tianqi, he was elevated to Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent.

In the third year of Chongzhen, he was promoted to Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent.

On the first day of the ninth month in the first year of Shunzhi, Kong Yinzhi submitted the "Initial Memorial of Submission" expressing his willingness to pledge allegiance to the Qing dynasty. Its wording exhausted every means of sycophancy, truly setting a new low for many people.

In the second year of Shunzhi, when the court issued the hair-cutting order, Kong Yinzhi led his clan members and esteemed relatives to be the first to shave their hair, and submitted the "Memorial on Hair-Cutting" to the Qing court.

Although Zhu Youxiao felt that Kong Yinzhi was shameless and felt indignation, he could still somewhat understand. After all, the Ming had lost the realm itself—for Kong Yinzhi to do such things to preserve his family was understandable.

But there was one point that was hard to accept—that the person who did this came from the Kong family.

Not just for the sake of the Ming dynasty, but more importantly for the sake of the Han people's heritage.

The descendants of Confucius championed the learning of Confucius. The backbone of Chinese civilization had been broken so easily—yet one who received the world's veneration had done such a thing, which Zhu Youxiao found very hard to accept.

The Duke Yansheng shouted his slogans to the heavens, but in reality, he was the fastest to kneel.

To preserve his family, compromising might be understandable, but there was no need to do such fawning, sycophantic things.

But then again, the Kong family had been around since the Yuan dynasty, so it was understandable.

Zhu Youxiao stood there thinking, while Kong Yinzhi had no idea what was happening. He had been kneeling there performing the ritual for quite a while now, yet he still hadn't heard His Majesty tell him to rise.

Although Kong Yinzhi was still young, his body wasn't particularly sturdy, and by now his knees were already aching from kneeling.

"Rise." Zhu Youxiao said slowly, then sat down on the chair.

Hearing these words, Kong Yinzhi felt as if he had heard the sound of heavenly music.

He slowly stood up, let out a gentle sigh of relief, and straightened himself.

"I came to Shandong this time to see the disaster victims, to see how the people of the Great Ming are faring under my rule."

Zhu Youxiao looked at Kong Yinzhi and said expressionlessly: "But when I arrived in Shandong and saw for myself, my heart ached with grief. The people of Shandong are not living well — even without this great calamity, they were already living in dire straits; after suffering this disaster, Shandong has become even more miserable than hell itself."

"I am deeply pained. Duke Yansheng, can you tell me why this is? After all, the Duke Yansheng's mansion has been in Shandong for so many years now — you could be considered the local power here. You should know the situation quite well, shouldn't you?"

Upon hearing these words, the expression on Kong Yinzhi's face immediately became complicated.

He truly hadn't expected His Majesty to be so blunt. His heart was pounding incessantly, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and he said hesitantly: "In response to Your Majesty, your servant — your servant does not know!"

"Is that so?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Kong Yinzhi and said in a cold tone.

After saying this, Zhu Youxiao didn't continue speaking. Instead, he picked up his teacup and took a gentle sip, then set it back on the table before continuing: "Then let me have a talk with you."

"Since ancient times, when a dynasty has lasted long, land annexation becomes severe. The common people having no place to stand a needle — that's hardly shocking news. Every dynasty and era has been like this, and my Great Ming is no exception. 'No idle fields under heaven, yet farmers still die of hunger' — saying that out loud isn't anything shameful."

Although Zhu Youxiao's tone was very calm, showing no sign of anger whatsoever, Kong Yinzhi was scared out of his wits.

The calmer the tone, the bigger the trouble!

"After arriving in Shandong, I also had people investigate the farmland." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile: "And truly, if you don't investigate, you don't know — but once you do, it's a shock."

"The Prince of Lu's mansion occupies forty percent of Shandong's arable land, and the Duke Yansheng's mansion occupies fifty percent. All the arable land in Shandong belongs either to the Prince of Lu's mansion or to your family. The two of you could be said to have quite substantial estates."

At this point, Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but laugh.

"Back in the day, when Confucius traveled through the various states hoping to spread his teachings, did he ever imagine that his descendants would come to this? If we're talking about land, then this Shandong probably isn't mine anymore — nor is it the Great Ming's."

"'All under heaven is the king's land; all who dwell upon its shores are the king's subjects' — that saying doesn't seem quite right either. At the very least, the land of Shandong isn't mine. I've summoned you here today because there's something I want to discuss with you."

Kong Yinzhi was on the verge of tears. His Majesty's words were too heavy — he was practically saying outright that the Kong family ruled as kings in Shandong. If this continued, his family would be finished.

Kong Yinzhi fell to his knees with a thud and hastily said: "The Kong family are Your Majesty's servants, and this Shandong is also Your Majesty's Shandong. Whatever matters there may be, Your Majesty need only command — the Kong family will obey in all things."

"Is that so? That's good then." Zhu Youxiao nodded and said: "The people of Shandong have no place to stand a needle — they truly cannot go on living like this. I was thinking of buying some land to distribute to them. Since your family has quite a lot of land, sell me some."

"As for the price, we'll go by the market rate. I previously had the Embroidered Uniform Guard investigate — isn't your family in the business of buying up land? We'll price it according to the rate your family buys land at. I don't need to buy too much — let's start with a hundred thousand mu. If that's not enough, I'll buy more."

"Oh, right — Shandong is suffering from disaster now and has no grain. I heard your family has stockpiled quite a bit of grain. Sell me some. Don't worry about the price — I'll pay the current market rate for grain. Otherwise, with all that grain your family has stored up, you wouldn't be making any profit anyway."

"Oh, and also — the disaster relief grain your family has been reselling on the side, I'm willing to pay to buy it back. What do you think of this arrangement? If the national treasury doesn't have enough silver, I'll pawn the imperial jade seal at your house, and redeem it once I have the money."

"If you think the jade seal isn't enough, I'll pawn myself at your house. Back in the day, when Emperor Wu of Liang became a monk, his ministers ransomed him back with silver. Now, if I go to your house, I can study the sage's way of Confucius, and incidentally pawn myself there — once the court has money, you can ransom me back."

Kong Yinzhi kowtowed like a pestle pounding garlic, and said with tears and sobs: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, why would you say such things? If Your Majesty desires it, your servant is willing to offer up his entire family estate — your servant doesn't want a single coin."

"Competing with the people for profit, forcibly seizing a subject's family estate — do you think I'm a fatuous ruler?" Zhu Youxiao suddenly stood up and shouted: "Is it that in your eyes, I am the greatest fatuous ruler under heaven?"

"Your servant would never dare, would never dare!" Kong Yinzhi hastily said: "Your servant is willing to donate his entire family estate!"

Upon hearing these words, Zhu Youxiao's anger didn't subside at all — instead, it grew even more intense.

He strode quickly down the steps and kicked Kong Yinzhi over onto the ground.

This scene startled everyone, and even Chen Hong was shocked.

His Majesty had already spoken harsh words earlier, and now he had directly resorted to violence — just how angry was he?

In all this time, Chen Hong had never seen His Majesty like this.

After kicking Kong Yinzhi down, Zhu Youxiao said angrily: "Do you feel wronged?"

"The Duke Yansheng's mansion — a family that passes down propriety and ritual — look at what fine deeds you've done! Annexing land, forcing good women into prostitution, buying and selling people, reselling disaster relief grain — these are things your family could do!"

"Don't deny it by saying your underlings didn't know any better, and don't say those people have nothing to do with your family. Who can such words fool? Do you really think I'm an idiot?"

Zhu Youxiao looked at Kong Yinzhi and said directly: "You put on that pitiful, wronged expression, as if I were about to strip your family of its estate. But is it really yours?"

"It's mine — all under heaven is mine!"

"Duke Yansheng — Confucius has so many descendants. Anyone could be Duke Yansheng!"

After saying this, Zhu Youxiao turned and walked back to his chair, then said: "Chen Hong, summon the Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat to the palace. Summon Zhang Weixian to the palace as well."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Hong hastily acknowledged.

At this moment, Kong Yinzhi was truly panicking.

Just moments ago, he had still harbored hopes — even though His Majesty's words were harsh, it shouldn't shake the Kong family's foundations. At worst, he would just have to part with some silver, some money.

The reason Kong Yinzhi had said he was willing to offer up his entire family estate was because he knew His Majesty couldn't possibly accept it. If His Majesty truly confiscated the Kong family's entire estate, what would the people of the world think?

But Kong Yinzhi hadn't expected that his little scheme would be seen through by His Majesty, provoking His Majesty's fury.

Kong Yinzhi hastily crawled forward on his knees, wanting to say something.