Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 378: Qufu is bustling
Jining Prefecture, Shandong Province is still bustling in early winter, especially at this time of year.

The northern section of the Caohe River would freeze for a period of time every year, making it inconvenient for navigation. However, in the year before the imperial examination, from the period between the provincial examination and the freezing of the Caohe River, the Shandong section of the Caohe River was very busy: candidates were rushing to take the exams.

As the Censor of Shandong Judicial Commission, Xie Tingzan still had a lot to do.

He was transferred from the position of Assistant Secretary of the Censorate to Shandong as Censor, and his official rank reached the third grade, making him a high-ranking official in the area.

He came to Jining today at the request of the Deputy Censor of Shandong Province's Education Commissioner to solve a big problem.

"What is the reason?"

When he arrived at the Jining Prefecture government office, he asked the prefect Zuo Guangdou as soon as he entered the door.

"Your Excellency, I only learned about the details this year after I took office."

Zuo Guangdou was the last scholar admitted through the special examination in the third year of Taichang. At that time, the palace examination tested "righteousness and profit". After thinking it over for a while, he wrote the answer sheet, and was finally selected as the third place in that special examination.

Later, he worked in the Political Work Department, rising from being a clerk to a doctor. Last year, Jining prefect Kong Zhenjiao resigned, and he was replaced here.

Jining Prefecture is very special. Originally, Jining Prefecture was very large, governing three prefectures and twelve counties. In the 18th year of Hongwu, the original Jining Prefecture was changed to Yanzhou Prefecture, and Jining was downgraded to a prefecture-governed prefecture, governing only three counties, and the prefectural capital was also moved to Yanzhou.

One of the reasons was that the Prince of Lu had reached adulthood and was to be enfeoffed in Yanzhou. The place where the prince was enfeoffed should be promoted to a prefecture, so the roles of Yanzhou and Jining were swapped.

But there is another reason, which is the special nature of the original Jining Prefecture: Qufu is here, and after the canal passes through Xuzhou, it also enters the northern section where Shandong is located in Jining Prefecture.

Although Qufu is not on the canal, the original Jining city is there.

Even Zuo Guangdou’s predecessor, the prefect of Jining, was a member of the Kong family.

"What connection?" Xie Tingzan asked him first, and then glanced at the Yanzhou prefect.

Having been in the central government for a long time and now being a high-ranking official, Xie Tingzan already has his own dignity.

The prefect of Yanzhou said quickly, "It was my negligence. There was always a period of time like this every three years. Candidates passing through Yanzhou on their way to the imperial examinations would naturally want to go from Jining to Qufu to pay homage to the Confucius Temple. These things were originally arranged by the Jining Prefecture Government..."

Xie Tingzan said nothing and just looked at Zuo Guangdou.

"Your Excellency, please understand. Since the candidates want to go and pay homage on their own, this naturally cannot be considered as the official business of the prefecture. I have also asked about this. Although the prefecture still arranged officials to provide convenience in previous years, it was only to coordinate the post stations, carriages and boats. The travel expenses were also paid by the candidates. There are indeed many candidates who arranged to go from Qufu to Mount Tai, and then from Jinan Prefecture to Linqing. This year, I also ordered my subordinates to do the same as before, but unexpectedly, there was an incident of raising the price on the spot, which led to the candidates from various provinces gathering together to denounce..."

"Why are you raising the price? Did you understand?"

Xie Tingzan walked to the main hall of the provincial government and sat down, with the Yanzhou prefect and Zuo Guangdou still standing in front of him.

"I've asked, and they just said that there are not enough vehicles and boats, so they go with the market." Zuo Guangdou frowned, "But the price is more than four times that of previous years. It should be a matter of mutual consent. The post road to Qufu collapsed a few days ago and is being cleared. It is reasonable to increase the price and go a longer distance. But I privately asked my fellow townsmen in Anqing Prefecture, and they said that Qufu was in trouble, and the silver they had to pay this year has increased three times."

Xie Tingzan frowned and looked at the prefect of Yanzhou.

"..."

The prefect of Yanzhou hesitated to speak.

Xie Tingzan's face turned stern. "What time is it now? Is there anything you can't say? The inspector is still trying to appease the candidates. If we don't deal with this matter quickly, will we let them go to the capital and make a big fuss about it?"

After a pause, he asked loudly, "What happened in Qufu that you have to resort to such a desperate measure to stop people from going there?"

They were all old foxes, and Xie Tingzan could tell that Qufu was deliberately preventing the candidates from going there.

Apart from anything else, there are countless businesses on both sides of the Shandong Canal that are closely related to the Kong family.

No matter how capable the Kong family is, can they make all the carriage and ship companies doing business in Jining Prefecture raise their prices three times? At least now the post station system is not something the Kong family can control. As long as there is extra transportation capacity and someone pays, the post station will do business for the people.

From this perspective, there may be something fishy about the news that the post road collapsed after the rain in late summer.

And what Zuo Guangdou said about Qufu requiring private carriages, horses, and boats to pay money is even less surprising.

Qufu belongs to the Kong family, and the county magistrate is hereditary. Last year, the prefects of Jining and Qufu resigned together. The emperor accepted the resignation of the prefect of Jining, but kept the magistrate of Qufu. This also shows his attitude: Duke Yansheng still knows the big picture, at least he is very enthusiastic about the relocation of the border and the purchase of the special national debt for border defense.

Since you are so cautious, don't you know that doing so will make it easier for your superiors to hear your advice?

The prefect of Yanzhou knelt down with a plop: "To reply to the Prime Minister, something big happened in Qufu..."

"Stop talking nonsense!" Xie Tingzan said coldly, "You and I are officials in the same court. How can this be allowed? Stand up and talk!"

The prefect of Yanzhou stood up and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Your Excellency, many people have complained to the government office since last year. I have reported this to the government office. The Premier asked me to handle the case impartially, so I could only... But as I investigated the case, I inevitably found out that it was Kong. But this time, the incident started because a scholar from Jiangyin came to Qufu in July..."

……

At this time, a young man was imprisoned in the prison of Yanzhou Prefecture.

This cell is very neatly decorated, just like a private room, which shows that the people imprisoned in the cell are treated well.

Outside the cell, the prison boss was now just trying to persuade them earnestly.

"Brother Xu, why are you doing this?" He frowned. "The Lord of the Palace is in a difficult situation. It's for your own good that I asked you to stay here first. For your matter, the Lord of the Palace has already gone to Jining to pay a visit to the Lord of the Palace. Don't you understand? This matter is not something the Lord of the Palace can handle!"

The young man stood up by holding onto the wall and said stubbornly, "I just want justice!"

"Oh my!" The jailer was really worried. "I've already told you that even the Lord of the Palace can't handle this matter! Why are you so stubborn? If the Lord of the Palace hadn't stepped in, you would have died by now!"

The young man trembled and sat down again, then looked at his feet in great sorrow and trembled all over.

After looking up, his eyes were full of resentment: "They hit my legs!"

"Then let me ask you!" The jailer changed the question, "After the governor invited you back from Qufu, who invited the famous doctor to treat you? Who served you the medicine?"

"... Hong Zu will always remember the kindness of the Lord and the brother."

"I have told you this many times." The jailer sighed, "Let's talk about our family. Although my father-in-law is not worth mentioning, our family has also been Jinshi for generations. If it weren't for the fact that the jailer of the Yanzhou government prison happened to be my father-in-law, you would probably be on your way to the underworld now. The governor can trust me because my cousin who is the deputy envoy of the Huguang Provincial Education Commissioner recommended me and repeatedly reminded me. Just listen to my advice, and when you go to Huguang to travel, he will definitely treat you well!"

"... I appreciate your kindness, brother. But now..." He looked at his legs sadly, "My legs are badly injured. I don't know if I can travel far in the future."

"Don't worry about that! The doctor that our Lord has invited for you is the best bone-setting doctor in Yanzhou Prefecture!" The Huguang Inspector mentioned by the jailer was naturally the first Jinshi of the Xin Dynasty in the first year of Taichang, Mengyin Gongnai.

The current prefect of Yanzhou was a fellow student of Gong Nai, and they were both sent out of the capital together, so they have a natural friendship.

Now he was transferred to be the prefect of Yanzhou. At Gongnai's request, he arranged for one of his cousins ​​to be the jailer. This not only added a local member to his team, but also did him a favor.

However, Gong Nai, his cousin, mentioned the road to the underworld in just a few words, which made the young man named Xu Hongzu even more angry.

"Master's descendants, how can you be so unreasonable!" he said angrily, "I have told you again and again, I didn't even see what it was, why did they still do this?"

"Don't tell me!" The jailer stopped him immediately. "I don't know either, and the Lord doesn't want to know! You should thank Master Dacheng instead. If it weren't for your eloquence and education, I'm afraid you wouldn't have waited until the Lord arrived in Qufu."

After saying that, he sighed and said, "I really admire your courage for not telling you your origins. Otherwise, you wouldn't have waited until the Lord arrived."

"...The hometown of our master Qufu has actually reached such a level of disregard for human life?" Xu Hongzu clenched his fists. "Even if I had not passed the imperial examination, would they dare to kill me at will?"

The prison boss just laughed it off, as if he was used to it.

But in the end, he still sighed a little: "No wonder Xiaoyu Xiandi told me to keep a distance from the Kong family in Qufu, and not to help them if it goes against the law of the country. Now it seems that it is not easy for the Lord to get the news so quickly. The main branch and the side branches of the Kong family have made trouble on their own, and so many people have come to the government office to complain. I am afraid that these things will be heard by the emperor. So, brother Xu, I told you not to worry. The Lord knows what is going on!"

He said so much just to comfort him. He patted his knees and stood up: "Just stay here peacefully for now, and don't keep yelling about filing a complaint. I'll go cut some side dishes and get a pot of wine, and you can tell me what you saw and heard on the road."

After listening to him say so much, Xu Hongzu fell silent.

It seems that if the prefect of Yanzhou had not gone to pay a visit to the Shandong Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, the jailer would not have said these to him.

And what he said really shocked Xu Hongzu.

Now he certainly knew that what he saw when he visited the Confucius Temple that day, when he saw members of the Kong family carrying something in a crowd, was actually related to a big event.

This serious incident caused the Kong clan to arrest him in the Confucius Temple and bring him to the county government office, where they tortured him, first to force him to tell what he had seen, and second to force him to tell their origins.

Later, the prefect of Yanzhou arrived and took him to the government prison.

It turned out to be to protect him?
He started from Jiangyin this time, originally planning to go north along the Grand Canal. When he arrived in Shandong, he naturally longed for the Confucius Temple in Qufu and Mount Tai.

I didn't expect to run into this.

Now, he only thought that his injured legs would make it difficult for him to travel far in the future, and his lifelong interests were in jeopardy. He said something about filing a complaint with the emperor out of grief and anger, which was probably the reason why the prefect of Yanzhou wanted to keep him.

If the lineage of Duke Yansheng was so domineering, it seemed that there was really no need for the prefect of Yanzhou to anger them...

……

"… Your Excellency, this is how it is."

At this moment, the prefect of Yanzhou also roughly finished telling the story.

"When I saw that the court still allowed the Qufu magistrate to stay in office, I knew that the court did not want the Qufu incident to cause controversy among scholars. Since last year, there have been many lawsuits, but I have also avoided the main issues. If there is really a need to deal with it, the main branch of the Kong family is sensible. If it can be negotiated, we will do our best to negotiate." He said with a bitter face, "But now it is their main branch and the side branches that are quarreling with each other. The main branch donated money to rebuild the post road because it was actually the side branch that destroyed the road. Some people want to make it known to the world, and some people..."

He shook his head repeatedly: "That Jiangyin scholar named Xu Hongzu, they insisted that it was Xu Hongzu who insulted Master Dacheng in the Confucius Temple, so the clan members were angry and beat him. Xu Hongzu naturally denied it, but the Kong family insisted that he kneel and kowtow in the Confucius Temple to admit his mistake, but Xu Hongzu was unwilling. The Neitai naturally knew that this was just an excuse, and I also asked County Magistrate Kong why he was so persistent. He always said this, but I'm afraid it was because of what Xu Hongzu saw..."

After listening to this, Xie Tingzan pondered for a while.

After that, he looked at them and said, "One of you is a Jinshi in the first year of Taichang, and the other is a graduate of the Enke in the third year of Taichang. His Majesty let you serve in Yanzhou, naturally knowing that you are sensible. Xu Hongzu, you did a good job in this matter, but since you knew that Qufu was already in turmoil, you should have thought earlier that this year's new candidates would probably have problems if they went to pay homage to the Master."

"What the Prime Minister is admonishing me for is my lack of consideration."

"So, the ones who sent people in and out of the important roads to extort money and goods, and even controlled these businesses, were mainly from the side branches of the Kong family?"

"This branch is noble and is mainly responsible for the sacrificial fields and clan fields, so it is natural... I have already written to County Magistrate Kong before leaving, and I believe he should have come up with a solution."

"Heh, although the price is indeed much higher, the candidates gathered to denounce it, I'm afraid someone is instigating it. As for the person behind this, is it the Kong family, which branch, or someone else, we still need to investigate it thoroughly." Xie Tingzan sneered, then shook his head, "I don't know what Duke Yansheng will do after he finds out. It seems like someone is determined to push the Kong family out to see how the court will deal with it."

Zuo Guangdou suddenly said, "I think it may be related to the fact that this year's provincial examination tested the theory of the pursuit of knowledge through investigation of things, and many students from various provinces failed the exam."

Xie Tingzan was stunned for a moment, then he pondered for a long time before saying, "That makes sense..."

"There are scholars coming and going on the Caohe River. If there are scholars going to pay homage to Qufu, the prefecture government does not need to distinguish who is the candidate for the imperial examination and who is just a student going north to study. Among the groups of candidates, some are the new candidates sent by many local officials to take the exam, and some are local wealthy merchants who pay to send people to escort them. I think that the Caohe River is about to freeze and time is running out. It would be good to go to the Confucius Temple in Qufu, but it is not necessary to go, not to mention that the post road has collapsed and the travel fee has skyrocketed. If you insist on making a fuss, it will only make a big fuss about the scholars' respect for Confucius."

Xie Tingzan blinked and then laughed.

"Then we should report this matter to His Majesty. If this is true, Duke Yansheng must be extremely worried right now."

He was right.

Since he had already heard about the situation in Jinan and rushed here, Kong Shangxian certainly knew about it.

Now he has come up with a solution, which is to run to Zhu Changluo, kneel down and kowtow, crying bitterly.

"Your Majesty, I am helpless. I beg Your Majesty to allow me to return to Qufu. I cannot control them without you!"

Zhu Changluo actually had no impression of the young man named Xu Hongzu. He was only thinking about what Kong Shangxian had honestly reported.

He was honest, of course, because he knew that the matter could not be concealed, after all, the prefect of Yanzhou was involved.

Now he just looked at Kong Shangxian, who was in tears and looked submissive and miserable, and knew that he understood the seriousness of the matter.

At any time, if the emperor really wanted to take action against the Kong family, would there be no way?
In today's court, there won't be as many people who dissuade the emperor as when Kong Hongxu got into trouble. In the end, the emperor simply replaced him with another person as the Yansheng Duke, but did not abolish the Yansheng Duke.

"I heard that during the Jingtai period, Duke Yansheng passed away, and before his body was even cold, several of his sons started fighting over the title. The court ordered the eldest son to inherit the title, but the eldest son later failed to live up to the emperor's grace, and was eventually brought to the capital by the Song family, and finally had his title taken away from him."

The emperor made sarcastic remarks, and Kong Shangxian could only kowtow: "I am an unfilial descendant and I am ashamed to have dishonored the good name of my ancestors."

Zhu Changluo looked at him and said, "Taizu once issued an imperial decree: In my dynasty, can't your family produce another good person? Today you have explained it clearly, and I understand your difficulties. You still know the big picture. This branch and its branches have come to this point because of the relocation of the border, so you should go back and handle the family affairs. I will ask the same question that Taizu asked, and you can go back and tell the clan members."

Kong Shangxian was terrified and said, "I thank you for your grace! I will definitely give you a strict warning!"

(End of this chapter)