On the first day of September in the first year of the Shunzhi reign, Kong Yinzhi submitted his "First Memorial" expressing his willingness to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. The words in it were extremely flattering and could be said to have set a new low for many people.

In the second year of Shunzhi, the imperial court issued an order to shave the hair. Kong Yinzhi led the prestigious members of his clan to shave their hair first and submitted a "Memorial on Haircut" to the Qing court.

Although Zhu Youxiao felt that Kong Yinzhi was shameless and resentful, he could still understand it. After all, the Ming Dynasty had lost its throne, so it was understandable that Kong Yinzhi did such a thing to continue his family line.

But one thing is a bit unacceptable, that is, the person who did this is from the Kong family.

It is not only for the Ming Dynasty, but more importantly for the inheritance of the Han nationality.

Confucius' descendants revered his teachings. Zhu Youxiao found it difficult to accept that the backbone of Chinese civilization had been broken so easily, that someone who was worshipped by the world had done such a thing.

Duke Yansheng shouted slogans loudly, but he was actually the fastest to kneel.

It might be understandable to compromise in order to protect the family, but it is not necessary to do such flattering things.

However, the Kong family came from the Yuan Dynasty, so it is understandable.

Zhu Youxiao stood there thinking, but Kong Yinzhi didn't know what was going on. He had been kneeling there for a while, but he didn't hear the emperor ask him to stand up.

Although Kong Yinzhi is still young, he is not very strong and his knees are now painful from kneeling.

"Get up." Zhu Youxiao said slowly, then sat down on the chair.

Hearing these words, Kong Yinzhi felt as if he heard the sound of nature.

He slowly stood up, breathed a sigh of relief, and stood up.

"I came to Shandong this time to see the disaster victims in Shandong and to see how the people of Ming Dynasty are doing under my rule."

Zhu Youxiao looked at Kong Yinzhi and said expressionlessly, "But when I arrived in Shandong, I was deeply saddened. The people of Shandong are not living well. Even before this disaster, they were living in dire straits. After this disaster, Shandong is even more miserable."

"I am deeply saddened. Can you tell me why this happened, Lord Yansheng? After all, the Duke Yansheng's Mansion has been in Shandong for so many years. It can be considered a local tyrant. They should be very clear about the situation, right?"

After hearing this, Kong Yinzhi's expression suddenly became complicated.

He really didn't expect His Majesty to be so rude. His heart was pounding, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he said hesitantly, "Your Majesty, I don't know!"

"Really?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Kong Yinzhi and said in a cold tone.

After saying this, Zhu Youxiao did not continue to speak. Instead, he picked up the teacup and took a sip, then placed it on the table. He then continued, "Then I will talk to you."

"Since ancient times, as dynasties have lasted, land annexation has become serious. It's not a shocking thing for the common people to have no place to live. This has been the case throughout the dynasties, and our Ming Dynasty is no exception. There is no idle land in the world, yet farmers still starve to death. This is not something to be ashamed of."

Although Zhu Youxiao's tone was calm and he didn't look angry at all, Kong Yinzhi was frightened.

The calmer the tone, the more such things will happen!

"After arriving in Shandong, I also had someone check the farmland." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile: "You really don't know until you check, and you'll be shocked when you check."

"The Prince of Lu's Mansion holds 40% of Shandong's arable land, and the Duke of Yan's Mansion holds 50%. All the arable land in Shandong belongs to either the Prince of Lu's Mansion or yours. You two families can be considered very wealthy and powerful."

When Zhu Youxiao said this, he couldn't help laughing.

"When Confucius traveled around the world, hoping to spread his knowledge, did he ever imagine that his descendants would live to this day? If we were to talk about land, I'm afraid Shandong would no longer belong to me, nor to the Ming Dynasty."

"The saying 'All under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people are his subjects' doesn't seem to be true. At least the land of Shandong doesn't belong to me. I summoned you today because I have something to discuss with you."

Kong Yinzhi was almost in tears. His Majesty's words were too harsh. He was almost saying that the Kong family was the king in Shandong. If this continued, his family would be finished.

Kong Yinzhi knelt on the ground with a thud and said quickly: "The Kong family is your majesty's ministers, and this Shandong is also your majesty's Shandong. If there is anything, your majesty can give orders, and the Kong family will obey."

"Really? That's a good idea." Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "The people of Shandong have no place to live and can't survive. I'm thinking of buying some land to share with them. Since your family has more land, why not sell some to me?"

"As for the price, it's calculated based on the market price. I asked the Jinyiwei to check before. Aren't your family members buying land? I'll calculate it based on the price you're paying for it. You don't need to buy too much. Let's buy 100,000 acres first. If that's not enough, I'll buy more."

"By the way, Shandong is suffering from a disaster and there's no food left. I heard your family has stored a lot of food. Sell me some. Don't worry about the price. Just follow the current market price. Otherwise, you won't make any profit even if you store so much food."

"By the way, I'm also willing to buy back the disaster relief grain your family is reselling. How about this? If the treasury doesn't have enough money, I'll leave the imperial seal in your house as a pledge, and I'll redeem it when I have money."

"If you think the imperial seal is not enough, I will leave you as a slave. When Emperor Wu of Liang became a monk, his ministers used silver to redeem him. Now that I am in your house, I can learn some of Confucius' teachings and keep myself here. When the court has money, you can redeem me."

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!