Chapter 170: Ending, the Kong Family is Destroyed
The hall was very quiet at this time.
After listening to Hai Rui's memorial, everyone fell silent.
Although everyone knew that the imperial court would inevitably have to take action against the Kong family when it came to actually doing this, few people were willing to be the first to take action.
"What do you think of what Hai Rui said?" Jiajing asked calmly.
Without anyone else saying anything, Yan Song spoke first, saying, "Hai Rui is well known for his character. If the situation had not become so serious that it was out of control, Hai Rui would not have made such radical remarks."
Yan Song said in a submissive tone, "In fact, through this dispute between the three religions, we can see that the power of the Kong family has far exceeded the power of an ordinary family."
As he said this, he turned around slightly, looked at everyone, and chuckled, "If the Kong family is allowed to continue to exist, the Ming Dynasty may really have another force that can rival the imperial court."
“If in the future, our Ming Dynasty enters the Immortal Dynasty and immortal methods become popular, a family like the Kong family will be an extremely unstable existence. At the very least, the dynasty will be in turmoil, and at worst, everything will be overthrown…”
Hearing Yan Song say this, Xu Jie raised his eyelids, took a step forward, and said: "Your Majesty, I beg the emperor to thoroughly investigate the Kong family!"
"I second the motion!" Zhang Juzheng also spoke up.
"I second the motion..." At this time, Gao Gong, Zhao Zhenji, Hu Zongxian, Wang Chonggu, Yu Dayou and others spoke up one after another.
At this time, Yan Song was speaking as the chief minister of the cabinet, and at this time, the cabinet understood that it was indeed time to unite.
The dispute among the three religions has dragged on for nearly a year, and it is time to end it.
For them, the sooner Ming Dynasty enters the Immortal Dynasty, the more spiritual resources they can harvest, and the sooner their families can join the ranks of immortal cultivators.
Now, for them, the Kong family is not only blocking Yan Shifan's path to reform, but also the future of all of them.
"Hmph!" Looking at the united cabinet, Chen Hong and others from the Imperial Household Department couldn't help but sneer in their hearts and secretly cursed the Kong family for being stupid.
If the Kong family was blocking the path of the Yan Party or the Qingliu Party, either side might have had a chance to turn the tables, but he was blocking the path of everyone in the entire cabinet, and his fate was already doomed.
"In that case, then I will order Hai Rui to be the imperial envoy and conduct a thorough investigation of the Kong family. If the investigation proves that it is true, I will handle it according to the law!"
"Your Majesty is wise!" Now that everything that needs to be resolved and said has been completed, there is naturally no need for any more nonsense.
For everyone in the cabinet, let's get down to business.
The next day, the imperial decree was issued from the capital, radiating to the entire Ming Dynasty.
The two national masters of Buddhism and Taoism were under house arrest and were not allowed to leave without permission! When the news came out, the whole world was in an uproar. No one expected that the two genius national masters of Buddhism and Taoism, who were at the peak of their careers, would fall out of favor like this.
Not only that, but soon after that, another piece of news came out from the palace. The cabinet impeached the Kong family for using their status and influence in the Confucian school to deliberately stir up disputes among the three religions and cause chaos in the world.
He ordered Hai Rui, the prefect of Ningbo Prefecture, as an imperial envoy to go to Qufu to thoroughly investigate the Kong family.
Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism were all hit hard by the imperial court. Soon after, the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty issued orders one after another, requiring local government offices to thoroughly investigate the hidden facts behind the chaos of the three religions.
It took less than half a month from the time the imperial court issued the decree to the time when the provincial governors of the two capitals and thirteen provinces ordered a thorough investigation of the triangle. The craze for the triangle dispute that had swept across the Ming Dynasty was dispelled in an instant.
Instead, the three religions were liquidated!
As the imperial court was operating at full capacity, the people of the Ming Dynasty also scattered. No matter what Buddhism, Taoism, cultivating immortality, cause and effect and reincarnation were, they just kept to themselves and did not want to cause trouble.
Qufu, Kong Family, lobby.
"Puff!" Kong Zhengan finished reading the letter in his hand with trembling hands. His face flushed and he suddenly raised his head and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Head of the family!" Seeing Kong Zhengan fall to the ground, all the members of the Kong family were shocked. Seeing Kong Zhengan about to faint, some elders hurriedly pinched his Ren Zhong point.
"Ah!" After a while, Kong Zhengan woke up and cried out in grief, "The Kong family is finished!"
At this moment, Kong Zhengan's heart finally died.
Everything was predicted by his son Kong Shangxian. The emperor was really determined to take action against the Kong family.
"What did the head of the family say?!" Everyone was shocked when they heard Kong Zhengan's cry.
They don't understand, with the status and influence of the Kong family in Confucianism, even the imperial court would not dare to take action against the Kong family easily? For a moment, the whole hall was in chaos.
At this time, everyone naturally knew that the court wanted to thoroughly investigate the Kong family, but they were not too worried in their hearts. After all, the status of the Kong family was there.
Even if the Kong family used their network of connections to secretly instigate disputes between Buddhism and Taoism, the imperial court would not target the entire Kong family.
Unless the imperial court wants to abolish the entire Confucian school.
However, after Kong Shangxian's previous analysis, Kong Zhengan already understood that the court was determined to deal with the Kong family.
He thought he had given the emperor a way out and a choice, but the emperor didn't even look at him. The emperor didn't care about Confucianism at all.
At this moment, Kong Zhengan realized how ridiculous he was, foolishly adding fuel to the fire. Now, it has become ironclad evidence that he is causing chaos in the world and hindering the reform!
Digging your own grave, how ridiculous.
For a moment, Kong Zhengan laughed at himself, looking at the azure sky, a hint of regret in his eyes.
After a while, Kong Zhengan, who was disheartened, refused the help of others and staggered to the ancestral hall. After hesitating for a moment, he finally pushed open the door.
"Creaky!" Bright light shone in from outside the door, enveloping the figure who was still kneeling in the ancestral hall, facing the ancestral tablet with his back to himself.
"Shangxian," Kong Zhengan opened his mouth and said, "You have expected everything. The emperor really wants to take action against the Kong family."
Hearing the sound coming from behind, Kong Shangxian's eyelashes trembled slightly, and then he slowly turned around and looked towards the door. He saw his father Kong Zhengan, who was shrouded in light. Indistinctly, he seemed to see his father, who was very healthy before, but now seemed to have aged dozens of years in an instant, like a dying man.
However, after hearing what his father had just said, he immediately understood why his father acted like that.
Although he had already seen through the court's intentions, he was still a member of the Kong family after all. Deep down in his heart, he was more willing to believe that his father's judgment was correct.
Because only in this way can the Kong family be safe.
But the truth is, things often go against one's wishes. My father made a mistake in judgment and I had expected everything.
"What is father's plan?" Kong Shangxian asked.
"Father..." Kong Zhengan opened his mouth when he heard his son Kong Shangxian's question, but he couldn't come up with an idea. He was very confused at the moment. He came to find Kong Shangxian to see what his son, who had already anticipated the current situation, could do.
His death was not a pity. Everything the Kong family had to face now was because of his stubbornness, which had led the Kong family to a dead end. However, the Kong family could not die because of him.
The Confucian sect should not fall into disgrace because of him.
"Shangxian, do you have any ideas?" Kong Zhengan opened his mouth. The self-confidence on his old face had disappeared completely, replaced by loneliness and expectation.
"Father!" Looking at his father with gray hair and an old face, Kong Shangxian felt a dull pain in his heart. He did not bother to kneel anymore and stood up and walked towards his father. The father and son supported each other.
"Son, the person sent by the emperor this time is that Hai Rui. This person is not easily persuaded. Now the Kong family has used their position and network of relationships in Ruzhong to stir up disputes among the three religions, thus causing chaos. If Hai Rui comes, he will definitely not let the Kong family off easily..."
Kong Zhengan said, looking at his son with tears in his eyes, "Do you have any good plan to deal with this crisis?"
The reason why Hai Rui was unmoved by any persuasion was because Kong Zhengan knew very well that this man was a sword of the court. As long as there was solid evidence and witnesses and physical evidence were present, Hai Rui would certainly handle the case according to the law.
Not only that, Hai Rui was not afraid at all that dealing with the Kong family might offend the Confucian masters of the world.
This is a man without weaknesses!
Now that it has been brought out, it means that the court will not give him any leeway!
Looking at his old father's expectant eyes, Kong Shangxian opened his mouth and wanted to say something comforting, but in the end he couldn't say it because he knew that the Kong family was standing on the opposite side of the court.
If they had noticed it earlier, when Yan Shifan proposed the reform, or when the dispute among the three religions just started, they would have immediately submitted to the court and taken the initiative to change Confucianism.
Perhaps the Kong family could still land smoothly, but now, for the imperial court, if it wants to reform the Confucianism of the world, it must eradicate the Kong family, because the Kong family represents Confucianism.
Looking at his silent son, the expectant look in Kong Zhengan's eyes finally faded, replaced by loneliness and regret.
"I regret it so much," Kong Zhengan let go of his son's arm and turned away tremblingly, "I regret it so much!"
The end of October in the forty-eighth year of Jiajing.
A large number of officers and soldiers entered Qufu, led by the imperial envoy Hai Rui, and surrounded the Kong family. Hai Rui used the evidence to imprison all the members of the Kong family who participated in the dispute among the three religions.
The mastermind, Kong Zhengan, confessed to everything.
November 5, the 48th year of the Jiajing reign.
The imperial court ordered the abolition of Kong Zhengan’s title of Duke Yansheng, and from then on the Kong family no longer enjoyed any convenience brought by the title of Duke Yansheng.
The Kong family's ancestral home was sealed off, and members of the Kong family were no longer allowed to take the imperial examinations or serve as officials.
As soon as the news came out, the world was in an uproar!
Not only was the title of Duke Yansheng of the Kong family stripped away, but even members of the Kong family were not allowed to take the imperial examinations or serve as officials.
In this case, Confucius, who represents the Confucian tradition of the world, cannot serve as an official. Isn't this a joke?
Who would dare to regard the Kong family as the orthodox Confucianism in the future? Most importantly, without the Kong family, wouldn't the Confucianism in the world be leaderless? For a time, many officials and scholars wanted to submit petitions.
But the imperial court was setting up prisons because of the dispute among the three religions, and colleagues in the court were worried that they would not be able to get promoted. Who would dare to plead for the Kong family and speak for the Confucianists of the world at this time?
Then the secret letter of reporting will be submitted in minutes.
Yes, before this, these people could indeed write directly to the court to impeach Yan Shifan for the sake of the Kong family and Confucianism.
But that was based on the premise that the Kong family had done nothing wrong, and the court had no reason to act rashly against the Kong family.
Now the Kong family has instigated a dispute among the three religions to bring chaos to the Ming Dynasty. There is solid evidence for this. The most important thing is that the chaos caused by the dispute among the three religions has swept across the entire Ming Dynasty, and everyone has witnessed it.
This is an ironclad fact that cannot be disputed.
At this time, if anyone dares to stand up and submit a petition, he must either have a mental problem or be impatient because he thinks he has lived too long.
Of course, there was indeed a group of people who were ignorant of the dangers of their own lives. When Hai Rui set out to eradicate the Kong family and the court launched a large-scale imprisonment because of the dispute among the three religions, and countless officials were thrown into prison, they took the initiative to submit memorials to the court, impeaching Hai Rui and demanding a thorough re-investigation of the case.
But the result was, of course, that they were all classified as members of the Kong family faction and were dealt with as part of the rebellious party that wanted to disrupt the imperial court.
As for the most clever and discerning people, seeing that the imperial court was going to eradicate the Kong family and take action against the Confucian sect, they naturally understood that the Confucian sect was doomed, and at this time they would take advantage of this opportunity to take the throne as soon as possible.
Anyway, when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Without the Kong family to maintain the network of relationships, the Confucian school is just a saying that exists in the mouths of the people. There is no need to make trouble for the official career for such nonsense!
Early December, the forty-eighth year of the Jiajing reign.
The imperial court began to investigate the dispute between the three religions and the officials who colluded with the Kong family. From the six ministries and the Supervisory Office to the government offices of various prefectures and counties, countless officials were convicted and imprisoned.
The chaos caused by the triangular dispute lasted a full year from beginning to end.
It was not until the 49th year of Jiajing that it officially ended.
"..."
(End of this chapter)
