Chapter 298

Zhang Zhang Juzheng ultimately pointed out a path: the Duke Duke Yansheng is the Duke Duke Yansheng, and Confucius is Confucius; do not confuse or compare them. What does the evil done by the Duke Duke Yansheng have to do with Confucius? This was the path Zhang Zhang Juzheng pointed out to the court officials who came to his door.

Analyze specific matters specifically. The rotten situation in Shandong was caused by the Yanzhou Kong estate; there is more than one family temple for Confucius.

Under normal circumstances, the Emperor is more radical than Zhang Zhang Juzheng. If Tan Lun were in the capital at this time, he would definitely have the Emperor stop conferring titles on the Duke Duke Yansheng and just handle it vaguely. As time passed, everyone would find that it was actually better for everyone without a Duke Duke Yansheng.

The next morning, the wind of public opinion changed again. As Wan Wan Shihe expected, this group of base Confucian scholars quickly abandoned the Northern Kong line. The direction of the wind of public opinion was determined. In summary, it was to overthrow the Kong Family Shop and rescue Confucius.

The existence of the Kong Family Shop tarnished Confucius's reputation as a sage, so destroy the Kong Family Shop and replace it with the Southern Kong line.

The scattered base Confucian scholars, after receiving a clear wind of public opinion, began to submit joint memorials, requesting the Emperor to invite the Quzhou Kong estate to come to the Northern capital for an audience.

In the afternoon, good news came from the Wenyuange. His Majesty had vermilion-marked Li Lai's memorial and issued a decree for Quzhou to come to the capital to report and respond. The scholarly community was overjoyed; His Majesty was indeed clear in rewards and punishments.

Wan Wan Shihe dug up an old event from a pile of old papers: that year, after the Founding Emperor broke the Yuan court, he invited the Northern Kong line to the capital to confer the title of Duke Duke Yansheng. The Northern Kong line did not arrive after three invitations, and only arrived in Nanjing on the fourth invitation.

The ritual of three refusals was completed. Zhou Taibo yielding the throne to Hu Jili was called great virtue by later generations. Therefore, when ancient emperors ascended the throne, ministers would yield the conferral, and all would agree on the third time. But the Northern Kong line did not arrive on the third time and only arrived on the fourth invitation, which clearly showed a lack of submissiveness.

As for the Quzhou Kong estate, they arrived in Nanjing on the Founding Emperor's first decree, waiting for an audience. After confirming the conferral of the Northern Kong line as Duke Duke Yansheng, the Southern Quzhou Kong estate did not say much and returned directly. For more than two hundred years, there had been no complaints.

Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang rose in the south and went from south to north. At that time, both the Northern and Southern Kong lines were in the capital, and everyone thought Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang would confer the title of Duke Duke Yansheng on the Quzhou Kong estate. To bridge the north and south, Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang chose the Northern Kong line.

At that time, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun had been lost for five hundred years since Shi Jingtang, and the area north of the Two Huai River and Qin Mountains had been lost for more than three hundred years. The separation of north and south already had differences in customs. The Northern Kong line knew this, which is why they put on such airs, while the Southern Kong line hoped to expel the Hu barbarians. Since Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang achieved this, Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang should be the master of the world.

The Northern Kong line often said to people: There are only three families in the world: my family, the Zhangs of Jiangxi, and the Zhus of Fengyang. The Zhangs of Jiangxi have the air of Daoists; the Zhus of Fengyang are nouveau riche, with the air of a small family.

Wan Wan Shihe was fanning the flames. The reason for pushing this small matter was to push the wind of public opinion to criticize the Northern Kong line and determine the legitimacy of His Majesty's punishment and the changing of the family temple.

The capital's miscellaneous newspapers had some doubts about the origin of the Ming's legitimacy. If the Duke Duke Yansheng's estate was stripped by the Emperor and changed to the Southern Kong line, then whose legitimacy was the Ming Dynasty—the Hu Yuan or the two Song Dynasties?

Wan Wan Shihe quickly explained this problem in the official gazette: the change of the Duke Duke Yansheng had nothing to do with the Ming's legitimacy. The Founding Emperor acknowledged the Hu Yuan as the legitimate successor of the Central Plains, but that did not mean the Ming's legitimacy came from the Hu Yuan. The most correct explanation is: The Ming inherited the Tang system.

From the very beginning, when the Founding Emperor was still in Chuzhou, the laws implemented were the Tang Code, and the Ming Code was based on the Tang Code with additions and subtractions. Therefore, the change of conferral did not affect the interpretation of legitimacy. Most importantly, there was no Duke Duke Yansheng in the Tang Dynasty, only the Official for Sacrificing to the Sage.

Confucius was the King of Culture in the Tang Dynasty, and his descendants were not dukes, but officials for sacrificing to the sage. The Tang Dynasty was doing just fine then, wasn't it?

Wan Wan Shihe was also cleaning up in advance. Time flies, and it is unknown whether the Quzhou Kong estate still has the same submissiveness as before. If the Quzhou Kong estate offends His Majesty in the future, then do not confer the title of Duke Duke Yansheng; just confer the title of Official for Sacrificing to the Sage.

Taking one step and seeing three steps is the basic cultivation of this fence-sitter, Wan Wan Shihe. He was cleaning up for His Majesty and leaving room for himself, so he could advance or retreat freely.

What is called professional? This is called professional.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng ultimately pointed out a path for Wang Yu Menglin to follow Wan Wan Shihe. With an official slicker like Wan Wan Shihe, it is difficult to achieve great merit, but it is also difficult to make mistakes. Officialdom is said to be complex, but it is also particularly simple. When you don't make mistakes, even in political infighting, it is extremely difficult to deal with you, and it will cost a higher price.

Wan Wan Shihe, a bureaucrat proficient in the ways of survival in officialdom.

Zhu Zhu Yijun, who had returned to the Zhao Wenhua Hall, looked at the side hall next to him. The side hall was where he neglected his proper work, while the main hall was where the Emperor handled state affairs. When Zhang Zhang Juzheng was there, Zhu Zhu Yijun was mostly in the side hall. Now that Zhang Zhang Juzheng had left the court, Zhu Zhu Yijun rarely went in to neglect his proper work.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng was now enjoying a life of ease, keeping him, this young emperor, busy running around! It was simply abominable, with no submissiveness at all.

Zhu Zhu Yijun stepped into the main hall. After returning from the Northern Great Camp, he had to review memorials. To this day, Zhu Zhu Yijun had received zero floating tickets from Wang Wang Chonggu.

This guy, having become Junior Grand Secretary, did not enter the cabinet to work; he was either at the Ministry of Justice, the Western Hills Coal Bureau, or the Yongding Woolen Mill.

Lu Lu Diaoyang himself had tried his best, but he didn't like to put forward his own opinions, so Zhu Zhu Yijun had to put more energy into handling state affairs.

"Tomorrow, the criminals sent by Ling Governor Ling Yunyi will arrive in the capital. Have Junior Grand Secretary Wang handle it as an emergency, so as to save Minister Ling from worrying about the court's attitude. Once the people are killed, Minister Ling can be at ease. The killing is something I did with him, so there's no need to worry too much; I'm the one who will be scolded." Zhu Zhu Yijun handed a memorial to Feng Bao and gave instructions for the errand.

"Is Wang Li Shizhen still alive?" Zhu Zhu Yijun reviewed another memorial. This was the detailed list of military pay for the Nine Frontiers this year. The Ministry of Revenue and the eunuchs of the Inner Treasury had already calculated the accounts, and there was still no arrears this year. From the third year of Emperor Wanli to the twelfth year of Emperor Wanli, the Ming's Nine Frontiers had never been in arrears with military pay. This was also the only period since the establishment of the Nine Frontiers that there were no arrears, lasting for nine years.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, he is still alive." Feng Bao said in a low voice, "He has been wanting to commit suicide before, but was stopped by the Embroidered Uniform Guards."

"Bring a travel warrant. If he wants to die, don't stop him." Zhu Zhu Yijun's goal had already been achieved. Wang Li Shizhen had already suffered social death; whether he was beheaded and displayed to the public or committed suicide out of fear of crime made no difference.

"I have actually been waiting, waiting for him to repent. I have read his self-incrimination memorials every day. Even if he had proposed to go to the border, to Luzon, or to Nagasaki to make amends for his crimes, I could have approved it. But no, he kept begging for forgiveness, obsessed and unrepentant. If a person doesn't save himself, who can save him?" Zhu Zhu Yijun wrote the travel warrant. The travel warrant was a document specially approved by the Emperor, which had to be stamped and kept by the Ministry of Justice. In the future, Wang Li Shizhen's death would not be a death in prison, but an extra-legal favor from the Emperor, allowing him to commit suicide.

Wang Li Shizhen was obsessed and unrepentant. His self-incrimination memorials were written with flowery language and tears, but he did not have even a trace of remorse. He didn't want to make amends for his crimes at all; he only wanted the Emperor's forgiveness and wanted privileges, but didn't want to pay any price. He had never understood the opposition and unity of rights and obligations.

Wang Li Shizhen had never read the theory of contradictions from beginning to end. He looked down on Zhang Zhang Juzheng, this mud-legged man who hadn't washed the mud off his legs, just like the Kong estate looked down on the Ming royal family, calling them "the Zhus of Fengyang, nouveau riche."

Zhu Zhu Yijun handed the travel warrant to Feng Bao. Feng Bao sighed. This Wang Li Shizhen was truly, truly stupid! Before His Majesty's wedding, he had left Wang Li Shizhen's dog life alone, wasn't it to give Zhang Zhang Juzheng some face? After all, Zhang Zhang Juzheng and Wang Li Shizhen were from the same examination year. His Majesty already had the intention of leniency. If Wang Li Shizhen had even a little bit of remorse, His Majesty would have just gone with the flow and exiled Wang Li Shizhen overseas.

His Majesty's purpose was to prevent the base Confucian scholars from participating in such evil matters again. But Wang Li Shizhen completely ignored His Majesty's benevolence and just refused to admit his mistakes.

Saying you were wrong with your mouth isn't admitting your mistakes; you have to take action. For example, Zhou Zhou Liangyin never submitted a memorial saying he was wrong, but he followed Hou Hou Yuzhao, reclaimed wasteland, and became half an agricultural scientist. That is admitting one's mistakes.

His Majesty was willing to give opportunities. Feng Bao had seized the opportunity given by His Majesty and was now still the old ancestor by His Majesty's side, while Wang Li Shizhen was still arrogant.

Zhu Zhu Yijun took out a memorial and thought about it for a long time. Finally, he gave a vermilion mark and asked Feng Bao to hand it to the cabinet for court discussion tomorrow. Shi Shi Maohua in Shaanxi had successfully opened a wool government factory in Lanzhou. After the successful experience increased, wool government factories in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, and other places began to try to implement it. These government factories did not belong to the court, but to the local government. However, which level they belonged to became a problem.

"Has anyone come out to stand up for the gentry and powerful families regarding the matter of holding a funeral for a dog in Shandong?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked about the wind of public opinion while reviewing the memorial. For the dog monument and dog coffin, these were ironclad facts. Zhu Zhu Yijun was very curious about the Ming's reaction.

Feng Bao didn't understand why His Majesty had such a question. Holding a funeral for a dog was intolerable to Heaven. He said suspiciously, "No, right and wrong are clear at a glance. These gentry and local worthies have recently been discussing in the miscellaneous newspapers that the Duke Duke Yansheng is not upright and has disgraced the virtue and name of Confucius, all shouting to rescue Confucius."

"It's good that there isn't." Zhu Zhu Yijun nodded, feeling somewhat relieved. At least in this day and age, even the miscellaneous newspapers that spoke for money didn't know how to clean up for the local worthies regarding such strange news as holding a funeral for a dog. Pity the dog, or pity the person? This is a question of stance. As a person, one should empathize with people. Do you want to empathize with a dog? Wouldn't that make you a dog?

Once the matter of the Kong estate holding a funeral for a dog in Shandong came out, no one paid attention to the mess of Xu Xu Jie, and even Xu Xu Jie's reputation improved. They were all powerful families. Xu Xu Jie's Huishan Hall did indeed raise children, and although they were sold, they were indeed raised to an age where they could be sold by parents who were unable to raise them. But these local worthies in Shandong had reached such a point of moral corruption.

Xu Xu Jie had been grateful to the Yanzhou Kong estate for the past two days.

Wang Wang Chonggu quickly began to provide feedback on the Emperor's imperial order. Wang Wang Chonggu proposed a plan for execution by dog—that is, to have the criminals sent to the capital by Ling Governor Ling Yunyi fight ten dogs. If the person won, he would be beheaded and displayed to the public; if the dog won, they would naturally be eaten. Wang Wang Chonggu gave a perfect plan, but the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Lu Lu Guangzu, expressed fierce opposition. Lu Lu Guangzu believed that the state had established laws, and since these people had committed crimes, they should be beheaded according to the law. What kind of thing was execution by dog?

Zhu Zhu Yijun was very interested in Wang Wang Chonggu's plan for execution by dog, but at the court discussion the next day, it was rejected by the ministers, which made Wang Wang Chonggu and Zhu Zhu Yijun quite disappointed.

The ministers' reasons were the same as Lu Lu Guangzu's: the state had established laws, and they should be handled according to the regulations. If execution by dog were carried out, wouldn't it be as evil as these gentry and local worthies, placing the power of dogs above that of humans? And execution by dog would also damage the holy name.

Zhu Zhu Yijun didn't care about his reputation; he had long since lost it by pushing the New Policies. But the ministers cared very much. After a fierce argument, it was still decided to check and supplement the death penalty three times, and then behead and display them to the public.

While the court was discussing the feasibility of execution by dog, the eunuch Li Li Yougong, who was in charge of drafting imperial edicts, rode fast to Jinan Prefecture to issue the decree to Ling Governor Ling Yunyi.

Li Li Yougong rode his horse very well because he was one of His Majesty's sparring partners. He changed horses along the way without resting, and in just a day and a half, Li Li Yougong met Ling Governor Ling Yunyi himself.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:"

"I have already personally read the Minister's memorial. The Sage said: If a person is without virtue, then everyone will despise and hate him. His crimes are too numerous to record, and his crimes are heinous. He should be killed. The suffering of the people is something I did not hear, which is my fault. The Shandong region is rotten, which is shocking. The court officials are all indignant upon hearing the news. I hope the Minister will keep in mind the late Emperor's appreciation and the people's expectations, and handle it expediently. Upon receiving this imperial decree, you may immediately arrest everyone inside and outside the Yanzhou Kong estate, without missing a single person. After raiding the house, escort them to the capital. If there is any resistance, treat it as suppressing a rebellion and kill without mercy."

"Respect this."

The imperial decree had three things: first, it clearly responded to Ling Governor Ling Yunyi's criticism; second, it clearly informed Ling Governor Ling Yunyi of the Emperor and the court's support for him; third, it clearly assigned the task, informing him that if he encountered resistance, he should kill without mercy.

Zhang Zhang Fengkai and his 36 lackeys and henchmen, because they refused to comply with Ling Governor Ling Yunyi's investigation and resisted behind closed doors, were wiped out by Ling Governor Ling Yunyi on the grounds of suppressing a rebellion.

Receiving clear instructions was as difficult as ascending to heaven in the past.

"His Majesty's holy order! I will definitely go through fire and water, and will not shirk!" Ling Governor Ling Yunyi performed the great ceremony of five bows and three kowtows to receive the decree. In this situation in Shandong, Ling Governor Ling Yunyi could only kill—kill until the sky is clear, kill until the blood flows like a river, kill until it is clean!

The eunuch Li Li Yougong spoke again: "His Majesty also has an oral instruction."

"Minister Ling, some of Xu Xu Jie's words are right, but some are wrong. He asked the Master: Can the Master alone clarify the universe? Xu Xu Jie said: Let me tell you, don't talk about one Zhang Zhang Juzheng, even ten or a hundred, don't even think about making this muddy world crystal clear!"

"He was wrong. The Master was never alone. The state still has upright officials, just like the Minister."

"Virtue is not lonely; it will surely have neighbors."

This oral instruction from Zhu Zhu Yijun was to tell Ling Governor Ling Yunyi that he was not a lone traveler.

"My way is not lonely" comes from the "Analects of Confucius: Li Ren." A disciple of Confucius asked why everyone has brothers but he alone does not, and Confucius said: Virtue is not lonely; it will surely have neighbors.

Ling Governor Ling Yunyi was silent for a long time. He was scolded every day until he became somewhat numb himself. As a result, His Majesty's imperial decree and oral instruction both told him that what he was doing was right, which made Ling Governor Ling Yunyi feel deeply moved, and he kowtowed again to accept the order.

"Assemble the troops! March to the Yanzhou Kong estate!" Ling Governor Ling Yunyi took the imperial decree and immediately began to act, not willing to delay even for a second!

"Understood!" The waiting soldiers shouted loudly, and the troops began to move rapidly. Ling Governor Ling Yunyi brought 1,500 guest soldiers to Shandong. These 1,500 guest soldiers had all participated in the Battle of Mount Luopang and were all battle-hardened veterans, acting extremely quickly.

Li Li Yougong looked at Ling Governor Ling Yunyi's back and couldn't help but think of the words His Majesty said when he summoned him before departure.

His Majesty's original words to Li Li Yougong were that if there were no imperial decree from him, Ling Governor Ling Yunyi would want to trade his life with the Yanzhou Kong estate, which he was not happy about. Therefore, the Yanzhou Kong estate must perish, and if there is resistance, kill without mercy.

Li Li Yougong arrived in Shandong and saw the desolate fields along the way where no one had farmed for a hundred miles. Seeing Ling Governor Ling Yunyi set off immediately, he knew His Majesty was right. Ling Governor Ling Yunyi had indeed made preparations to trade his life, using his own life to exchange for the life of the Yanzhou Kong estate. The specific method was the same as the practice of killing Zhang Zhang Fengkai before—finish it, kill the person, and then go to the capital to plead guilty.

His Majesty must protect and consolidate his own authority in order to protect the officials who do things.

Ling Governor Ling Yunyi and the others set off, faster than the house slaves who went to report the news. Ling Governor Ling Yunyi knew that the attack on the Kong estate must be fast, fast enough to surround them completely before the Kong estate could flee, and faster than those house slaves in order to perfectly execute His Majesty's orders.

When Ling Governor Ling Yunyi arrived at the Yanzhou Kong estate, it was already the dawn of the next day. He originally thought that the Kong estate had already begun to flee, but the scouts reported that there were no traces of migration or flight inside or outside the Kong estate, and everything was normal. What Ling Governor Ling Yunyi didn't know was that the few house slaves who went to report the news to the Kong estate had been intercepted by bandits halfway!

Ling Governor Ling Yunyi's practice of burying dog graves and persuading bandits to come down from the mountains in Shandong had long been spread far and wide among the green woods. Which bandit would dare to stop the house slaves of the Kong estate in the past? If they stopped the house slaves of the Kong estate, the Kong estate would put pressure on the county and prefecture offices, and the regional military commissioner would have to lead troops to suppress them. But now, when the wall falls, everyone pushes, and all the house slaves who delivered messages were intercepted by bandits.

Therefore, when 1,500 guest soldiers surrounded the Yanzhou Kong estate, the Kong estate still didn't know what had happened.

Under the Yangsheng Gate, Ling Governor Ling Yunyi looked at the four big characters "Ten Thousand Fathoms of Palace Walls" and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. The Qufu Kong estate occupied about 400 mu, with nine entrances and nine exits, and 464 halls, altars, pavilions, and gates. It was surrounded by red walls with corner towers at the four corners, and the internal regulations were modeled after the imperial palace.

That's right, the architectural layout of the Yanzhou Kong estate was similar to the imperial palace.

In the seventh year of During Zhengde of the Wu Sect Emperor, the Kong Miao was destroyed by the Liu Liu and Liu Qi peasant uprising. The two brothers, Liu Liu and Liu Qi, probably also encountered the humiliation of holding a funeral for a dog, so they had no choice but to put their heads on their belts and rush to the Kong estate to completely destroy it.

The people of Shandong knew who to hate and also knew who their suffering and humiliation came from.

The peasant uprising of Liu Liu and Liu Qi spread across most of the Northern and Southern Zhili, Shandong, Henan, and Huguang regions, lasting for three years, and was finally suppressed by the Ming government troops.

After Liu Liu and Liu Qi were suppressed, the Ming Wu Sect delayed rebuilding the Kong Miao for the Yanzhou Kong estate. It wasn't until the eighth year of During Zhengde, when Li Li Dongyang was old and retired and Yang Yang Tinghe became the Senior Grand Secretary, that the repair of the Kong estate was put on the agenda. Finally, in June of the eighth year of During Zhengde, Hu Zongzong was ordered to begin construction, and it wasn't until the first year of Emperor Jiajing that the Kong estate was completely rebuilt.

"The Kong estate is rebellious, actually daring to build with the regulations of the imperial palace. How daring!" Ling Governor Ling Yunyi reined in his horse, slowly drew his waist sword, and said with his head half-raised.

The blueprints from the During Zhengde period were definitely not imperial palace regulations, but a restoration of the original appearance. However, the regulations Ling Governor Ling Yunyi saw now were a reduced version of the imperial palace, which showed how daring and reckless they had become. Because the Kong estate was rebuilt, the mountain that weighed on the people of Shandong bent their backs again, and the Kong estate began to intensify its actions.

Ling Governor Ling Yunyi was not alarmist. If the Kong estate were allowed to toss and turn like this, the peasant uprising of Liu Liu and Liu Qi would only repeat itself.

"Follow my orders!" Ling Governor Ling Yunyi pointed his waist sword at the Yangsheng Gate of the Ten Thousand Fathoms of Palace Walls and shouted sternly: "Prepare the cannons, fire!"

Twelve nine-jin cannons began to ignite. The gate of the Yangsheng Gate was directly blown to pieces, and the cannons did not stop, continuously bombarding the city walls until the walls of the Yangsheng Gate were completely collapsed. Then, the side-box chariots began to advance.

The process of the battle could be described as a sharp blade cutting tofu, a completely one-sided situation. The guest soldiers entered one after another, arresting everyone inside and outside the Kong estate, and then took out the Luo Luo Bingliang house-raiding method. Who was the biggest miser in the Ming Dynasty was the highest state secret. Ling Governor Ling Yunyi knew what His Majesty liked, so he would definitely raid the Kong estate inside and out, not leaving a single cent of silver behind, making His Majesty satisfied.

The wooden statue of Confucius worshipped by the Duke Duke Yansheng, with Confucius in long robes and wide sleeves holding a court tablet, and Lady Qiguan with a long skirt hanging to the ground—this pair of wooden statues was carved by Bi Ziyuan, a disciple of Confucius, to guard the tomb, and was passed down through generations until the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, when it was brought to Quzhou by Kong Kong Duanyou. During the Hu Yuan period, it was borrowed by the Northern branch, which was very unscrupulous, and returned a fake to the Southern branch.

"Go and call Chen Zhu." At noon, the battle ended, and Ling Governor Ling Yunyi received a roster handed over by a house slave of the Kong estate. He hesitated for a moment, but still decided to tell Chen Zhu the truth.

"Minister Ling!" Chen Zhu walked in with a dragon-like stride. In this battle, he fought bravely at the front, was the first to climb the wall, and personally captured the fleeing Duke Duke Yansheng.

Ling Governor Ling Yunyi looked at this sturdy man, unable to hide his sad expression. He handed the roster in his hand to Chen Zhu, and said with unbearable pain: "In August of the third year of Emperor Wanli, Zhang Zhang Fengkai captured your wife and children, drowned your son, and your wife suffered humiliation and died of hunger in the Kong estate dungeon in January of the fifth year of Emperor Wanli."

Chen Zhu flipped through the roster tremblingly, and then the roster fell to the ground with a thud. A burly man, Chen Zhu, who was fearless in battle, immediately began to shed tears. Chen Zhu gritted his teeth, looked at Ling Governor Ling Yunyi with a face full of grievances, his fists already clenched, shaking constantly.

"Do whatever you want to do." Ling Governor Ling Yunyi gave Chen Zhu a chance to vent his anger. In the attack on the Kong estate, since there was resistance, it was inevitable that a few people would die. Chen Zhu could now go and kill the murderer, Kong Yulin, the adopted son of Duke Duke Yansheng Kong Kong Shangxian.

I don't know if this generation's Duke Duke Yansheng Kong Kong Shangxian had committed too many sins, but he was nearly forty years old and had neither sons nor daughters, so he adopted two adopted sons.

"Will His Majesty kill them?" Chen Zhu asked blankly, his eyes filled with tears, his fists bleeding from being clenched so hard.

Ling Governor Ling Yunyi said very firmly: "Yes, definitely. I believe in His Majesty, just as you believe in me."

"Good." Chen Zhu replied. He couldn't even collect the remains of his wife and children, because they had all been fed to dogs.

With such deep hatred, Chen Zhu did not choose to take action. He knew the rules. This case could not have any mistakes; he couldn't make things difficult for Minister Ling, nor could he make things difficult for His Majesty.

Ling Governor Ling Yunyi told Chen Zhu to do whatever he wanted to do, which meant it was very clear. Chen Zhu could do it, and he would cover for him, but Chen Zhu didn't do it. The guest soldiers valued military discipline the most.

Chen Zhu only asked for a chance to escort the criminals to the capital, which Ling Governor Ling Yunyi agreed to.

Can he choose to believe in His Majesty again? Chen Zhu felt he could, because when Ling Governor Ling Yunyi received the imperial decree, Chen Zhu also heard the content of the decree. His Majesty said, kill without mercy.

Chen Zhu finished all his work. If they didn't confess, they wouldn't get food; if they confessed, they would get something good to eat. Let others confess. The progress of raiding the house was very fast. It only took half a month, and after 27 people in the Kong estate starved to death, the house raiding finally ended, and the criminals began to be escorted to the capital.

Chen Zhu was one of the guest soldiers escorting the criminals on the road. On the third day, the guest soldiers escorting the criminals ran into a large group of people. It was none other than the Deputy Regional Commander of the Beijing Camp, Yang Wen, one of the "Six Tigers" who resisted the Japanese in Taizhou. Because he was worried that the Kong estate criminals would be rescued, the Ming Emperor sent three infantry battalions to meet them.

Yang Wen was responsible for security, and the Kong estate criminals arrived in the capital smoothly.

Chen Zhu had just moved into the Northern Great Camp when he heard that His Majesty had come to inspect the troops every day, regardless of wind or rain. And a eunuch found Chen Zhu, saying that His Majesty would summon Chen Zhu at the Wu Ying Tower after the inspection of the troops ended.

Zhu Zhu Yijun rode on the drill ground. After it ended, he didn't even take off his armor and came to the Wu Ying Tower to meet Chen Zhu, who had already bathed and changed clothes.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty. Long live, long live, long live Your Majesty." Chen Zhu performed the great ceremony. He had heard too many stories about the Emperor on the road, and he didn't believe that the noble Emperor would come to the military camp every day, but after seeing it with his own eyes, he finally believed it.

"Exempt from ceremony." Zhu Zhu Yijun walked down the moon platform wearing armor and helped Chen Zhu up. He looked at him for a long time before saying: "That Kong Yulin, I am going to have him executed by dog this afternoon. Do you want to go and see it with me?"

"Executed by dog?" Chen Zhu was stunned. This term was really a bit unfamiliar. He pondered it seriously for a while before he came to his senses and understood what it meant.

Zhu Zhu Yijun nodded and said: "I have starved these hunting dogs for three days. If this Kong Yulin can defeat these eighteen hunting dogs, I will grant him beheading and display to the public."

Pleasantries later, let's get the business done first.

Not being able to execute all these things by dog was Zhu Zhu Yijun's regret, but he could still do it for one alone, not for anything else, just to vent his anger.

The ministers no longer obstructed him. If they continued to obstruct him, what if His Majesty became determined and moved Confucius out of the Confucian Temple? How would the ministers respond?

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your great grace!" Chen Zhu was speechless for a moment, performed the great ceremony again, and thanked the Emperor for his holy grace.

He could choose to believe in His Majesty!

"Then let's go together!" Zhu Zhu Yijun didn't take off his armor either and took Chen Zhu to watch the execution.

Kong Yulin had a younger brother named Kong Yinzhi, who was the next Duke Duke Yansheng. On the first day of the ninth month of the first year of Tang Shunzhi, Duke Duke Yansheng Kong Yinzhi submitted the "First Presentation Table" to express his willingness to submit to the Qing Dynasty; in the second year of Tang Shunzhi, the Qing Dynasty issued the head-shaving order, and Duke Duke Yansheng Kong Yinzhi led his clan and prestigious clansmen to shave their heads first to show submissiveness.

Treating others in their own way is the true punishment.

Chen Zhu's son was drowned and eaten by dogs, and Chen Zhu's wife was humiliated to death and also fed to dogs. Then Zhu Zhu Yijun also fed Kong Yulin to the dogs, which was only right and proper.

Begging for monthly tickets, Awoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(End of chapter)