The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 200: Abolition of Hereditary Positions
Surrounded by people.

All the people came, although they were all quiet. After all, there were so many people here, and they had all been ruled by the Kong family for generations. Countless pairs of eyes were filled with hostility as they looked at the imperial guards in front of the Kong Mansion.

The bailiffs transferred from the county government became very nervous and stood in front of the people with their water and fire sticks.

The Qufu County Magistrate was even more frightened at this time, and was sweating profusely.

Since Emperor Yizong of Tang Dynasty, the magistrate of Qufu County has always been surnamed Kong. The current magistrate of Qufu County is the direct brother of the contemporary Duke Yansheng. He is very clear about some of the deeds of the children of the Kong Mansion and knows that they must have caused a catastrophe, otherwise so many imperial guards would not have come.

The wide open space in front of the Confucius Mansion was densely packed with imperial guards armed with guns and swords. Under the sunlight, their armor, swords and spears were shining coldly, and the air was filled with murderous intent, creating a tense and terrifying atmosphere.

At the foot of the stone steps in front of the gate, more than a dozen generals above the rank of captain stood like boulders, holding the hilts of their swords without moving.

In front of the open red-lacquered and copper-nailed gate of the Dadaoxia Cave, standing in the middle was the mighty general Feng Tang.

The doors from the middle gate to the lobby were all open. Looking deeper, the central corridor was filled with guards and eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department standing every three steps on either side. They were all holding guns and swords, and there was complete silence.

After passing through Chongguang Gate, there is the spacious main hall, which is also the lobby of Confucius Mansion. It is the place where Duke Yansheng reads out imperial edicts, receives officials, exhorts family rules and regulations, hears major cases, and holds ceremonies on festivals and birthdays.

The imperial edict was now placed high on the tall, narrow, red-lacquered desk in the center of the hall.

Dai Quan narrowed his eyes and looked at Duke Yansheng with a smile on his face.

Duke Yansheng was holding an official document in both hands and looking at it. As usual, his face was as calm as still water, except for the slight trembling of his beard on his chin.

There was silence, and the air seemed to have frozen.

Finally, Duke Yansheng finished reading the document, closed it gently, and concentrated on thinking carefully.

Dai Quan picked up the tea bowl, pinched the lid to slowly remove the tea foam floating on the surface, then put it to his lips and sipped it. After taking a few sips, he put the bowl down and looked at Duke Yansheng again.

Duke Yansheng remained silent on the surface, but his heart was filled with turmoil: What a powerful method! What a new policy of equalizing the land tax! What a "taking from the rich and giving to the poor"! Once this new policy is implemented, the imperial treasury will be filled, the country's population will increase, and the burden on the people will be reduced. Only the interests of the gentry will be damaged.

Especially their Yanshenggong Mansion, they owned more than one million acres of land in Zhili, Shandong, Jiangsu and Anhui, not counting the private land of each family. They also collected a tax of two cents of silver per acre per year, which means two or three hundred thousand silver coins a year!

Duke Yansheng's heart was bleeding, if he had only paid money it would have been fine, but the emperor also wanted the Kong family to take the lead in responding to the court's new policy, which would push all the gentry in the world to the opposite side of the Kong family!

What a cruel method!
Duke Yansheng sighed in his heart, looked at Dai Quan and then at the guards from the Imperial Household Department outside the door with shining eyes. He didn't dare to gamble!

Thinking of this, Duke Yansheng stood up with the help of the handrail.

"Master!" The housekeeper rushed in and tried to help him.

Duke Yansheng waved him away, walked slowly to the desk, unfolded the document on the desk, picked up the pen, and wrote his name on it. His hand was shaking, so the last bit was a little too thick and black. Then, he took out the seal of "Duke Yansheng" from the seal box with both hands, pressed it heavily in the cinnabar ink box, paused for a moment, and then stamped it on the document.

"Your Excellency is so righteous!" Dai Quan cheered.

Duke Yansheng closed his eyes, held up the document in both hands, and slowly turned around.

Dai Quan had stood up by now, staring intently at the document in his hand.

Duke Yansheng walked slowly over to Dai Quan and held him there.

Dai Quan slowly stretched out his hands and was about to take the document, but Duke Yansheng dodged them.

Dai Quan understood, and took out Kong Xiaosi's confession and the trial record from his sleeve and handed them directly to the Kong family's housekeeper.

Only then did Duke Yansheng hand him the official document.

Dai Quan took the document and carefully looked at the signature and seal on it, and the smile on his face became even bigger. "The people of Dashun will definitely remember your kindness!"

"The Minister's words are too serious!"

Dai Quan suddenly remembered: "Look at me, I was so busy talking that I forgot the important business. His Majesty rewarded the Fourth Young Master with the rank of Third Grade Light Chariot Commander." As he said this, he looked outside the door.

A red-robed eunuch from the Imperial Household Department came in holding a box containing the imperial edict and handed it to Dai Quan.

Without waiting for Duke Yansheng to speak, Dai Quan continued, "Your Majesty has given the order orally. There is no need to thank me." After saying that, he handed it directly to Duke Yansheng.

Duke Yansheng forced a smile on his face: "Your Majesty is so gracious."

Dai Quan smiled and said, "There is one more thing. Someone reported that the magistrate of Qufu County was corrupt in collecting taxes, oppressing the people, seeking jobs for his relatives, keeping prostitutes, occupying government land, and buying and selling official documents." He then looked at the eunuch.

The chief eunuch understood and took out a stack of paper from his sleeve and handed it to the steward of the Kong Mansion.

Duke Yansheng pretended to be surprised, took the papers and looked at them.

Dai Quan: "Your Majesty said that as descendants of a saint, the Kong family must be morally flawless and must not have any scandals. The court will not investigate this matter. However, for the sake of the people of Qufu..."

Duke Yansheng's heart skipped a beat and he looked at Dai Quan in panic.

Dai Quan continued, "The hereditary position of the Kong family magistrate of Qufu will be abolished, and replaced by an official appointed by the court."

Duke Yansheng's hands trembled, and the papers fell to the brick floor. He moved his lips, but was unable to speak for a long time.

Dai Quan saw this and sneered in his heart. The Kong family had two major privileges, one was the hereditary title of Duke of Yansheng, and the other was the hereditary county magistrate. Abolishing the hereditary county magistrate was equivalent to cutting off one arm of the Kong family. Qufu would no longer be impenetrable.

The eunuch picked up the papers one by one.

Dai Quan looked at the sky in the distance outside the door and said to Duke Yansheng, "I won't bother you, sir."

The Duke of Yansheng finally came to his senses and hurriedly said, "I have ordered the kitchen to prepare the meal."

Dai Quan: "No, bye." He bowed, turned around and walked out.

Watching the backs of Dai Quan and the bandits disappear outside the Chongguang Gate, Duke Yansheng's body softened and he was about to fall down.

The housekeeper quickly supported him.

Duke Yansheng closed his eyes and said weakly, "Damn you beast! This is the legacy of our ancestors."

The housekeeper held his arm with one hand and stroked his back with the other hand, saying softly, "Master, rest assured. All the scholars in the world are your students. The county magistrate appointed by the court still has to listen to you. Besides, the people of Qufu have been blessed by the Kong family for generations. They only know the master, not the emperor."

Duke Yansheng shook his head and said, "You don't understand. He also gave that little bastard a title of Light Cavalry Commandant. This is clearly intended to stir up a fight between the first and second wives. What a vicious mind!"

The butler was silent for a moment, then said, "As long as there is green, there will be no shortage of firewood! We will always have a chance to take revenge."

A cold light immediately flashed in the eyes of Duke Yansheng.

Just then, a steward ran out from the back hall in a panic.

The housekeeper's face darkened: "What's the matter? Why are you so flustered?"

The manager: "The eldest and the second eldest are fighting."

"Damn you beast!" Duke Yansheng pushed the butler aside and was about to walk to the back hall when suddenly his eyes went dark and he fell backwards.
(End of this chapter)