Chapter 181: The Kong Family

Zhang Yunxiu looked at the poetry on the scroll, his expression gloomy, his eyes flickering.

Han San, standing to the side, did not know the content, but judging by Zhang Yunxiu's expression, this thing likely did not please the young master.

He felt miserable in his heart.

He should have known to open it and take a look first to see which famous master's work it was.

"Go, call Song Ming for me." After a few seconds of silence, Zhang Yunxiu closed the scroll and sat back in his main seat.

Han San accepted the order and left, returning shortly with a man dressed like a fair-faced scholar. Zhang Yunxiu swept a glance over him and clicked his tongue inwardly: he had thought it would be a great chivalrous hero, but it turned out to be a fair-faced scholar.

"Song Ming greets Department Head Zhang." Song Ming was the first to cup his hands in a salute.

"You are that 'Timely Rain' of Shandong?" Zhang Yunxiu asked with a smile.

"I dare not claim the title of Timely Rain; it is just that I am kind-hearted and cannot bear to see people in distress, so I have been a bit generous in offering help," Song Ming said with extreme humility, yet his bones radiated a thick sense of arrogance.

"You don't look like it."

"Don't look like what?"

"You don't look like a chivalrous hero of the pugilistic world; you look more like a failed scholar," Zhang Yunxiu teased with a smile.

Song Ming laughed along. He lowered his head to scan his own attire, then retorted: "Then what does Department Head Zhang think I should look like?"

"I thought a chivalrous hero would at least be burly, with a dark face and a full beard. With your attire today, if you were on the street, I wouldn't have recognized you."

Song Ming lightly stroked the long beard on his chin and laughed out loud.

Han San, standing to the side, saw his arrogance and couldn't help but shout: "What are you laughing at? If there is something to report to the young master, hurry up and say it, so we don't have to make a second trip."

"No rush." Zhang Yunxiu waved his hand to interrupt Han San, then picked up the painting scroll on his left and raised it, asking Song Ming, "You came to see me, surely you didn't just want to talk about what's inside this?"

"Yes." Song Ming nodded in admission.

"Did you write this?" Zhang Yunxiu asked again.

"No."

Song Ming shook his head.

"Then who wrote it?"

"The common people of the world."

The two of them argued over this painting scroll, back and forth about who wrote it. Han San, standing to the side, did not know what they were talking about and was so anxious he scratched his ears and cheeks, not knowing what to say.

"The common people of the world?" Zhang Yunxiu murmured, a cold light suddenly shooting from his eyes as he sneered at Song Ming, "Sit down. I want to see exactly who these 'common people of the world' of yours are!"

Song Ming cupped his hands, sat down on his left, and then detailed an old incident that had occurred four months ago.

If one were to ask who was the wealthiest in Shandong, it would be the descendants of Confucius in Qufu, the Duke Yansheng. Throughout the dynasties, the descendants of Confucius had always been treated with exceptional favor, granted the title of Duke, and supported not only by the imperial court.

They also enjoyed the admiration of scholars across the world.

The Duke Yansheng had reached the sixty-fourth generation, named Kong Shangxian.

Ever since Confucius was enshrined in the Confucian Temple as the "Great Accomplished Holy Sage Teacher," the Kong Family had been rooted in Qufu for over a thousand years.

They not only possessed a vast number of tenant farmers and massive amounts of land.

They were also exempt from land taxes.

Consequently, many nearby commoners chose to register their land under the name of the Kong Family, paying money to the Kong Family themselves.

With such a method, the imperial court could not manage it even if it wanted to.

Four months ago, Song Ming passed through Qufu. He saw a group of hundreds of commoners kneeling crookedly at the entrance of the County Government Office. They were all dressed in ordinary clothes, their eyes filled with hot tears, kneeling and kowtowing toward the County Government Office.

The government runners at the door not only ignored them but picked up their staves to beat them.

Pitiable were these commoners, all unarmed farmers; how could they dare to fight back against the government runners? In no time at all, the commoners who had come to petition were beaten until they wailed, fleeing in terror.

Song Ming, standing to the side, felt his heart burn with rage. He angrily grabbed an old man covered in wounds and asked: "Old man, what injustice have you suffered? Why does the government not only ignore you but beat you so viciously?"

The old man looked aggrieved and simply poured the whole story out.

He was originally a farmer in Qufu. Because he feared the heavy imperial taxes, he had registered his land with the Kong Family. All along, he had not only paid money to the Kong Family but also had to help them farm their land.

However, compared to the imperial taxes, this bit of grievance was nothing.

It was just that recently, the Kong Family had turned their backs on them, insisting that the land was theirs.

His family had worked hard for three generations to acquire those ten or so acres of land, and they had snatched it away with a single word.

Who could accept this? Thus, he invited other farmers who had suffered the same fate to come to the County Government Office to petition.

It was a pity they had underestimated the shamelessness of the Kong Family.

The Qufu County Magistrate was also a member of the Kong clan; not only did he refuse to hear their grievances, but he also accused them of being treacherous and wanted to sentence them to military service.

After listening, Song Ming's face flushed red, his inner rage enough to boil a cow.

He gritted his teeth and couldn't help but curse: "In those days, Confucius traveled to various states, anxious like a stray dog. I never expected his descendants, having received such heavenly grace, to be unsatisfied and even think of sucking the marrow from the bones of the common people."

"Old man, I will take on your case!"

The old man looked grateful, but suddenly worried: "Great Master, I see you are dressed quite impressively. But no matter how capable you are, can you be more capable than the Kong Family? Even the Emperor has to give the Kong Family face."

"You don't need to worry about that. Since I have said I will handle it, I will definitely handle it!"

Seeing him like this, the old man knew he had met a good person, so he kowtowed and wept again. Song Ming hurriedly helped the old man up, gave him a few instructions, and then left in a rage, traveling through the night toward the capital.

He knew deep down that the only person who could handle this matter was the Senior Grand Secretary.

Now that the Senior Grand Secretary was seriously ill, he had to settle for the next best thing and find the Senior Grand Secretary's son.

After hearing this, Zhang Yunxiu felt his blood rush to his head, his chest filled with rage.

He stomped his foot and gritted his teeth, cursing: "What a Kong Family! Is this the model for all scholars in the world? On the surface, they are full of benevolence and morality, but in reality, they are full of filth and corruption!"

Han San was not as angry as Zhang Yunxiu.

Coming from a humble background, he was long used to such things. There were injustices and unreasonable things everywhere in this world; was he supposed to handle every one he saw? If that were truly the case, he would be hated by everyone.

Lowering his head to ponder for a moment, Han San looked cautious and carefully reminded him: "Young Master, I think there is something fishy about this matter."

"What is fishy?" Zhang Yunxiu asked coldly.

Han San's mouth twitched, stung by Zhang Yunxiu's indifference, and he could only bite the bullet and say, "These commoners resisted the great laws of the imperial court and privately registered their land under others' names; now that they have met this disaster, they have no one else to blame."

"You say they deserve it?" Zhang Yunxiu questioned.

Han San hung his head and said nothing.

Song Ming, who had been silent at the side, suddenly interjected at this moment: "Director Zhang, this land annexation is only one of the crimes of the Kong Family. The laws they have broken are too numerous to record, and in the past, there were others who thought of filing complaints."

"It is just a pity that in the end, it all came to nothing."

(End of this chapter)