"In reply to the magistrate, the people in the city demand that the city gates be opened and that they not be prevented from entering or leaving the city. Many people have also gathered outside the city, demanding to enter the city to trade." The county yamen official replied respectfully.

Kong Hongyi frowned.

Since he learned that the Jiannu had captured Weiyang, he ordered the entire city to be under martial law to prevent a surprise attack by the Jiannu.

But after the city was closed for more than ten days, there was no sign of the Jiannu.

Now that's great.

The people in the city were short of food, vegetables and other supplies, while the people outside the city had food and vegetables. The caravans transported a large amount of supplies but were unable to enter the city to sell them.

Public grievances grew, leading to the people gathering in front of the county government office.

"Waste! All waste!" Kong Hongyi stood up and paced back and forth in the county government office.

As he paced, he kept looking toward the back of the lobby.

On the surface, he was looking at a wall, but in fact he was looking at the inner residence of Confucius Mansion behind the wall.

There lived a person whom he could not afford to offend: Duke Yansheng Kong Yinzhi.

The Confucius Mansion has nine courtyards and three routes: the east route, the west route and the middle route.

The main part of the Confucius Mansion is in the middle road, with the government office in the front, which has three halls and six rooms, and the inner house in the back, which has the upper house in the front, the front and back halls, the auxiliary building, the six rooms in the back, and finally the garden.

Duke Yansheng lived in the inner house.

Logically speaking, the magistrate is the head of a county and he only needs to admire Duke Yansheng and not be afraid of him.

But the reality is not so.

As early as the reign of Emperor Yizong of Tang, the imperial court appointed the 40th generation grandson of Kong, Duke Wenxuan Kong Xu, as the magistrate of Qufu County in order to facilitate the management of the affairs of the Kong Mansion.

(During the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, Confucius was posthumously named "King Wenxuan" and his descendants were given the title "Duke Wenxuan". The Song Dynasty followed the Tang system.)

Afterwards, the post of Qufu County Magistrate became hereditary along with the title of Duke Wenxuan.

In the second year of Zhihe in the Song Dynasty, Song Renzong changed the title of Kong Zongyuan, the 46th generation grandson of the Most Holy King Wenxuan, to "Duke Yansheng".

When Kong Zongyuan was named the first Duke of Yansheng, he also inherited the position of Qufu County Magistrate.

This hereditary system continued until the eleventh year of the Yuan Dynasty.

Kong Sicheng inherited the title of Yansheng, but because the title was inherited by a branch of the family, his clansmen were dissatisfied and he was later stripped of the title, but retained the hereditary title of county magistrate.

From then on, Duke Yansheng and the magistrate of Qufu were no longer the same person.

Although he was no longer the same person, the title of Duke Yansheng and the hereditary system of magistrate of Qufu were retained until the seventh year of Hongwu.

(Looking up information is a headache!!!)

In the seventh year of Hongwu, Kong Jing, the then head of the Kong family, accused the hereditary county magistrate Kong Xida of illegal activities. After investigation, several of the cases were proven to be true. Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Kong Xida to be dismissed and Kong Keshen to be the magistrate of Qufu County.

From then on, the system of Qufu county magistrate changed from hereditary to hereditary.

In short, although the county magistrates after that still had the surname Kong, they were not inherited by blood, but were recommended by Yanshenggong.

Kong Hongyi was able to become the magistrate of Qufu thanks to the recommendation of Duke Yansheng Kong Yanzhi.

Once the people gathered outside disturbed Duke Yansheng, he, the county magistrate, would definitely be implicated.

After taking two steps, Kong Hongyi stopped and looked outside the hall.

More and more people gathered outside the hall, and there was a tendency for chaos to break out.

Kong Hongyi knew that he couldn't wait any longer and had to do something.

Open the city gate?

He doesn't have the courage!

It’s not a big deal if the people are starving, but it would be troublesome if the Jiannu people sneak in.

Thinking of this, he shouted to the officers in the hall: "Come here, take the person who started the trouble outside to jail. Since we can't solve the problem, let's solve the person who raised the problem!"

"Mr. Magistrate, there are hundreds of people outside, and it is hard to tell who is leading them."

"This...what should I do?" Seeing that things were getting more and more serious, Kong Hongyi could not stand it anymore and paced back and forth in the lobby again.

After a moment, Kong Hongyi's eyes flashed with a brilliant light: "Go outside and tell those people that I will go to the north of the city to inspect the city defense later, and ask them to gather there."

"No need."

A rich, deep voice came from the back of the lobby.

Kong Hongyi looked back and broke out in a cold sweat.

The person who spoke was none other than Confucius' 64th generation grandson, Kong Yinzhi, the son of Kong Shangtan and Duke Yansheng.

(The practice of naming the descendants of Confucius in order of generation began in the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, gave the Kong family eight generation characters: Gong, Yan, Cheng, Hong, Wen, Zhen, Shang, and Yin. Later, because Kong Xixue in the first year of Hongwu and Kong Ne in the seventeenth year of Hongwu successively inherited the title of Duke of Yansheng, "Xi" and "Yan" were added to make ten characters, namely: Xi, Yan, Gong, Yan, Cheng, Hong, Wen, Zhen, Shang, and Yin.)

(After Chongzhen ascended the throne, he granted Kong Yinzhi the character "Xing Yu Chuan Ji Guang, Zhao Xian Qing Fan Xiang" according to Kong Yinzhi's request.)

Although Kong Hongyi is four generations older than Kong Yinzhi in terms of seniority, his power comes from Kong Yinzhi.

Power has always been responsible only to the source of power, and Kong Hongyi is no exception.

He bowed to Kong Yinzhi and said, "In reply to Lord Yansheng, there are people making trouble outside the government office. I will go and deal with it right away."

The Duke of Yansheng held the eighth rank in the Song Dynasty, was promoted to the third rank in the Yuan Dynasty, was a first-rank civil official in the early Ming Dynasty, and later became "the head of the civil servants."

Kong Hongyi was only a seventh-rank county magistrate, and it was in accordance with etiquette for him to salute Kong Yinzhi.

Kong Yinzhi wore a Liang crown on his head, a bright red silk robe, a white gauze undershirt, and cloud-head shoes on his feet.

Around her waist she wore a blue satin jade belt with a jade pendant carved with a dragon pattern.

His square face has thick eyebrows, big eyes, a high nose bridge and thick lips, giving people a friendly feeling.

Kong Yinzhi continued, "You have sealed off the city for more than ten days. The people in the city have little food left and are suffering from hunger. You have two choices: either open the warehouses to release the food or open the city to release the people."

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