Chapter 346: The Duke Yansheng's Moment of Enlightenment

Seeing Xu Xianchun's expression, his subordinate hurriedly lowered his head and said, "Rest assured, sir, I'll go seize them right away."

After saying this, the subordinate turned and left with his men.

Xu Xianchun thought for a moment, stepped forward a few paces, caught up, and said, "I'll go myself."

This matter was far too grave. If it was investigated, it would be a major case, and absolutely no mistake could be allowed. If anyone died, things would become very troublesome.

Under such circumstances, not a single error could be made. So Xu Xianchun planned to personally oversee the matter, guaranteeing that nothing went wrong.

The whole group set out in force, heading straight for where the Duke Yansheng was located.

By the time Xu Xianchun arrived, the people there had already received word.

Ever since his last visit to the palace, the Duke Yansheng had in fact been placed under guard. There were men of the Embroidered Uniform Guard around him, as well as imperial palace guards. Without Zhu Youxiao's written order, no one could see the Duke Yansheng.

But just now word had come from the palace that Xu Xianchun was permitted to go in and see the Duke Yansheng.

When he reached the gate, the guards saw Xu Xianchun and the crowd of men behind him, and said directly, "Lord Xu, His Majesty has issued an edict — you may enter, but only you alone. The others must wait outside. What do you say?"

"Since it is His Majesty's edict, a subject naturally must obey." Xu Xianchun nodded. "But does this decree apply only to the Duke Yansheng, or to all members of the Kong family as well?"

"Only to the Duke Yansheng, of course," the gatekeeper said hastily.

The higher-ups had personally given instructions on this matter — the courtesy extended only to the Duke Yansheng. As for the rest of the Kong household, they were entirely outside the scope of that courtesy, so he had no qualms.

"That's good then." Xu Xianchun nodded, smiling as he waved his hand behind him.

A man in his thirties quickly came to Xu Xianchun's side.

This man had a full bushy beard, a burly build, and a fierce countenance. He was none other than Xu Xianchun's trusted confidant within the Embroidered Uniform Guard — Cui Yingyuan.

Cui Yingyuan had originally been a street ruffian from Daxing in Beijing, later recruited by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Because he handled matters capably, was ruthless and merciless, and knew the terrain of the capital well, Xu Xianchun had brought him into his inner circle.

As a trusted confidant, Cui Yingyuan had been brought along by Xu Xianchun on this trip as well.

Cui Yingyuan hastily said, "May I ask what instructions you have, sir?"

"You take the men to make the arrests. I'll go see the Duke Yansheng." Xu Xianchun said slowly, straightening his clothes as he spoke, then instructed, "Oh, and don't make too much of a commotion."

"Rest assured, sir, this subordinate knows what to do." Cui Yingyuan quickly agreed, then led the men inside, preparing to make the arrests.

As for Xu Xianchun, he headed toward another courtyard — the one where the Duke Yansheng resided.

For the Duke Yansheng, Kong Yinzhi, these past few days had not been easy. Ever since entering the palace, he had been in a state of constant trepidation — one could say he was extremely, extremely afraid, and at the same time extremely, extremely worried.

Kong Yinzhi wanted to go out and make contact with people on the outside, but the people here simply wouldn't give him that chance.

Every day, aside from someone bringing him meals, no one communicated with him at all. The living quarters inside were not bad — there were the four treasures of the study and plenty of books — but there were simply no people.

Compared to being imprisoned, the conditions here were far better, but in reality, it was just imprisonment in a different form.

Kong Yinzhi had never imagined that things would develop to this point.

The Kong family had done shameful things before, and had committed no small number of violations of the laws of the Great Ming, but nothing had ever come of it.

The Kong family had always had protectors. Even when matters reached the Emperor, he would merely turn a blind eye. Everyone had to show face to their family's Old Ancestor, and no one dared risk offending the scholars of the world to do anything against them. So the Kong family had always acted with impunity.

But this time, Kong Yinzhi was truly afraid — especially after meeting the current Emperor.

His Majesty had shown no face at all. He had turned hostile right in front of him, not only kicking him but also saying that anyone could be the Duke Yansheng. That was certainly not just empty talk.

So Kong Yinzhi had lived in fear the whole time. In fact, when he first returned, he had gone two meals without daring to eat.

He worried that His Majesty would poison him — after all, His Majesty had said such things. Only when he was too hungry to bear it did Kong Yinzhi dare to eat and drink.

When he received word that Xu Xianchun was coming, Kong Yinzhi's heart gave a sudden lurch — was His Majesty finally going to deal with him?

Watching Xu Xianchun walk in from outside, Kong Yinzhi sat in his chair, forcing himself to calm down.

He took a sip of tea, raised his head to look at Xu Xianchun, and said, "Lord Xu has come bearing an edict, I take it?"

"Naturally, I bear His Majesty's sacred decree." Xu Xianchun said with a smile.

As he spoke, Xu Xianchun looked around the place, then continued, "You know, this place isn't easy for ordinary people to get into these days. Without His Majesty's decree, even I couldn't get in."

"Then what does Lord Xu wish to discuss with me?" Kong Yinzhi raised his head to look at Xu Xianchun and said slowly.

"Nothing major, really." Xu Xianchun walked over to a nearby chair and sat down as he spoke. "I just wanted to have a chat with the Duke Yansheng about how your Kong family was planning to rebel."

Hearing this, Kong Yinzhi turned his head to look at Xu Xianchun, gave a cold snort, and said, "If you wish to convict someone, you'll never lack a pretext!"

"My Kong family studies the books of the sages. We are descendants of Confucius the Sage himself, and have always known what propriety, righteousness, honor, and shame mean. We know what it means to be loyal to the sovereign and love one's country. People like you of the Embroidered Uniform Guard — harming the loyal and good, framing the innocent — are despised by the world!"

Hearing this, Xu Xianchun immediately burst into laughter, rocking back and forth.

Xu Xianchun laughed until his face was red, even choking on his own saliva. It took him a long while to compose himself, and then he turned to look at Kong Yinzhi and said, "Is that so?"

"Every time this realm has changed dynasties, your Kong family doesn't seem to have done anything loyal either. Not to go back too far — when the Great Song fell, where were you? Aren't you loyal to your sovereign? Don't you preach benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faith? Why didn't you die for your country? So many loyal martyrs perished at Yashan — how is it that none of the Kong family were among them?"

Xu Xianchun's words were not the least bit courteous — one could say he was openly exposing their shame.

Hearing this, Kong Yinzhi's face flushed crimson. He glared at Xu Xianchun in fury, pointed a finger at him, his lips trembling, but for a long while he could not produce a single word.

Because Kong Yinzhi truly didn't know what to say. For so many years, no one had dared to openly expose this shame.

Even the founding Emperor back then had not touched the Kong family — on the contrary, he had recognized their status. He had even used the Northern Branch of the Kong family rather than the Southern Branch from the Song dynasty, so even less did anyone dare to criticize.

Who could have imagined that at a time like this, someone would actually dare to bring up this old account?

In fact, the people of the Kong family knew very well that the reason the founding Emperor had not dealt with the Northern Branch back then was actually quite simple — the founding Emperor acknowledged that he had inherited the realm of the Mongol Yuan.

After all, the founding Emperor himself had served as an official under the Mongol Yuan, and there were many in the court who had surrendered to the Mongol Yuan. If one truly wanted to rake up this matter, I'm afraid no one in the entire realm could escape involvement.

So he simply acknowledged it. Acknowledging the Northern Branch of the Kong family was nothing more than setting up a memorial tablet.

Since this tablet had been erected by themselves, naturally it could not be torn down. The scholars of the world naturally pretended not to know either — everyone hid behind this tablet and lived their own lives in peace.

Especially when the founding Emperor established the dynasty — many people had defected from the Mongol Yuan, some had even taken the Mongol Yuan's imperial examinations and served as its officials.

If one insisted on talking about loyalty to the sovereign and serving the country, insisted on loyalty to the former Song, then how were all those people supposed to conduct themselves?

To put it plainly — you pretend to be foolish, and I pretend to be foolish, and everyone just lets it pass.

But Xu Xianchun didn't care about any of that. He hadn't lived through that era. The Great Ming had now lasted over two hundred years — there was no need to worry about such things.

The Mongol Yuan — who even knows where the Mongol Yuan is now?

Xu Xianchun looked at Kong Yinzhi and said with a cold smile, "So don't bring up such things, and don't feel wronged. I am a man who presents facts and produces evidence."

"Just as you said a moment ago, the Embroidered Uniform Guard acts without any bottom line—they are the Son of Heaven's running dogs. I used to think the same way, but ever since I arrived in Shandong and saw what your Kong family has done, I've come to feel that I am utterly noble by comparison."

"People like you who study the books of the sages—and descendants of Confucius himself, no less—do things far more ruthless than I ever have. Embezzling disaster-relief grain, watching the common people starve to death, forcing them to sell their land, forcing them to sell their sons and daughters—is this what Confucius taught you? Or is this your Kong family's hereditary tradition?"

"Is this what the Kong family ought to be doing? And you still have the nerve to stand there with a straight face and lecture me?"

Xu Xianchun's words were not polite in the least—crude, even—but he spoke with tremendous relish, laying into Kong Yinzhi without holding back a single ounce.

Kong Yinzhi looked at Xu Xianchun and said angrily, "These are all slanders against me!"

"I knew you wouldn't admit it." Xu Xianchun waved his hand and said, "Even if the investigation ultimately traces things back to your family, you'll just claim it was your underlings acting behind your backs."

"You know this in your heart, and I know it in mine. The people at court know it, and His Majesty knows it too."

After saying this, Xu Xianchun wore a mocking smile on his face as he looked at Kong Yinzhi and continued, "So when something like this happens, it all comes down to whether anyone is willing to protect you."

"If someone at court shields you, the underlings confess, and His Majesty chooses not to press the matter, then it's nothing serious. At most, you pay a fine, admit a crime, and lose an office. This isn't anything new at court—everyone knows exactly how these things work. I suspect that's precisely what the Duke Yansheng has in mind, isn't it?"

After saying this, Xu Xianchun looked at Kong Yinzhi out of the corner of his eye.

"But there's one thing I need to tell you: this time, you've bet on the wrong horse." Xu Xianchun said with a smile, "Your family's matter won't be so easy to brush aside this time."

"Surely you've heard by now—someone in Jining attempted to assassinate His Majesty, and the ones who made the move were people from the Prince of Lu's household. They too had been trafficking disaster-relief grain, doing the same kind of business as your family. They feared His Majesty would punish them, so they struck out to assassinate him."

"Two fools!"

At this point, Xu Xianchun let out a contemptuous snort, his tone dripping with disdain, then continued, "Later, through investigation, the Embroidered Uniform Guard discovered that these two had someone behind them. That someone was the Wenxiang sect, which is very widespread throughout Shandong."

"Through the Embroidered Uniform Guard's inquiries, it was discovered that this Wenxiang sect is actually the White Lotus sect. The man who founded the Wenxiang sect was named Wang Sen."

"He secretly organized his followers—he had a great many believers in Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi, and Sichuan. In the twenty-third year of Wanli, he was arrested and sentenced to death, but he bribed his way to release. He then went to the capital to preach. In the forty-second year, he was arrested again, and five years later he died in prison."

"The one who now leads this sect is Wang Sen's son. They wanted to use this earthquake to incite the disaster victims into rebellion. I imagine you didn't know about this, did you?"

At this point, Xu Xianchun laughed to himself.

"I imagine you didn't know about any of it." Xu Xianchun said in a rather reflective tone, "To stage a rebellion, they needed to stockpile grain while leaving the people with nothing to eat—otherwise, who would rebel alongside them?"

"So they began buying up grain and colluding to embezzle the disaster-relief grain, leaving the people without food. On the other hand, they took silver and relief grain and distributed it among the people to buy their loyalty, actively preparing for their rebellion."

"And at the critical juncture of this whole affair, it was your family that made the move. You embezzled the disaster-relief grain. You left the people without food. You forced the people to sell their land, their sons, and their daughters. You drove the people to the point where they could no longer survive!"

"You handed all the relief grain that the court gave to the people straight to these rebels. Come now, Duke Yansheng, you tell me—if you claim the Kong family knew nothing of this, will anyone believe you?"

"All I have to do is slant my words a little, and it becomes the Kong family plotting rebellion."

"Fine—you're descendants of Confucius, so no one would believe that. But can the deeds you've done run away? As long as His Majesty believes it, your family won't escape." Having said this, Xu Xianchun stood up and said, "So don't hold onto any illusions. In a rebellion case like this, no one can protect you."

Upon hearing Xu Xianchun's words, Kong Yinzhi's mind was shaken to its core.

He finally understood what the matter was really about. He finally understood why His Majesty had been so angry, why he had kicked him, why he had told him that "any descendant of the Kong family could become Duke Yansheng," and why His Majesty's dissatisfaction with his family had reached such an extreme.

His family's actions had been aiding and abetting evil—they had been helping those people rebel. Under such circumstances, it would have been strange if His Majesty weren't angry! And he himself had been showing off his petty cleverness before His Majesty.

Steadying himself slightly, Kong Yinzhi turned to look at Xu Xianchun and said in a calm tone, "Inspector Xu didn't come all the way here just to tell me these things, did he?"

"Or is it that Inspector Xu feels pent-up frustration and wanted to have a chat with me?"