When saying this, Kong Xingxie almost broke his back teeth.
He didn't want to donate a penny.
But now that things have come to this, the only way to survive is to bleed myself.
"Good, good, good!" Zhang Rong said three good words in a row.
Amid the puzzled looks of the crowd, Zhang Rong asked, "Excuse me, Lord Kong, do you have any other evidence of your loyalty to the court?"
Kong Xingxie was a little surprised: "Evidence? What evidence do you need to be loyal to the court?"
Zhang Rong put away his smile and said seriously: "Since you don't understand, then let me explain it to you slowly."
"In the seventeenth year of our dynasty, natural disasters have continued in various places, and the people are living in poverty. For the sake of the people of the world, Your Majesty has issued an order to exempt the country from taxes for one year. At the same time, he called on the gentry and landlords in various places to exempt the people from land rent."
"Has the Duke of Yansheng responded to your majesty's call to exempt the people from land rent?"
Kong Xingxie was stunned and didn't dare to answer.
Zhang Rong raised his voice and asked the people below: "Has the Yanshenggong Mansion exempted you from the land rent?"
More than 80% of the farmland in Qufu is under the name of Yanshenggong Mansion.
The tenants who rented the land all said, "No."
"Okay!" Zhang Rong nodded and continued to ask, "In the 23rd year of our dynasty, we sent troops to Liaodong. At that time, the treasury was empty, and the court called on the people of the world to donate money to the army to pacify Liaodong. How much did the Yanshenggong Mansion donate?"
Kong Xingxie opened his mouth but said nothing.
As far as he knew, the Yanshenggong Mansion did not donate a penny.
Zhang Rong kept talking: "In the 22nd year of our dynasty, the court implemented currency reform throughout the country. In the 25th year of our dynasty, it was enforced and private hoarding of silver was strictly prohibited. Does the Yanshenggong Mansion support this national policy?"
Kong Xingxie quickly replied: "Yes, I immediately exchanged the silver in the mansion for Ming Yuanbao."
"Isn't that right?" Zhang Rong said coldly, "As far as I know, the money you donated to Zhu Guobi was all silver ingots, not Ming Yuanbao. If you supported the national policy, why are there silver ingots in the mansion?"
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