Kong Xingxie stammered: "This...this...there must be some misunderstanding here!"
"Misunderstanding?" Zhang Rong took out another account book from his arms and threw it at Kong Xingxie: "In the 17th year of our dynasty, the Jiannu army came to Qufu, and the Yanshenggong Mansion gave the Jiannu 2 million taels of silver."
"In the 27th year of our dynasty, the rebels came to Qufu, and the Duke of Yansheng gave the rebels another 500,000 taels of silver."
"Now the imperial army is approaching Qufu, and you have only donated 200,000 taels of silver."
Kong Xingxie thought he had misheard, and after asking the people around him, he learned that Zhang Rong was talking about 500,000 taels.
He loudly defended himself: "It's impossible. The Duke of Yansheng's Mansion only donated 100,000 taels of silver, not 500,000 taels."
Zhang Rong pointed at the account book that had fallen to the ground and said, "Look for yourself."
Kong Xingxie picked up the account book and looked through it, and immediately felt something was wrong.
Many records in the account books do not match the actual situation.
First of all, the 100,000 taels of silver donated by the Yanshenggong Mansion was written as 500,000 taels.
Secondly, it reduced the amount of donations from many officials and gentry.
Taking the magistrate of Qufu as an example, he actually donated fifty taels of silver.
As a result, it was recorded in the account book as five taels of silver.
The difference between the two is ten times.
Kong Xingxie held the account book high in the air and said to everyone, "It's fake. This account book is fake."
Zhang Rong pressed him, "Where's the evidence? What makes you say the account book is fake?"
"I have a witness!" Kong Xingxie walked up to the magistrate of Qufu and handed the account book to him.
The magistrate of Qufu was even more surprised.
The real account books have been burned.
Where did this account book come from?
He subconsciously wanted to say that the account books were false.
But reason made him shut up.
He opened the account book and looked through it. When he saw that he had only donated five taels of silver, he immediately understood what was going on.
This account book is indeed false.
But the fake books worked in his favor.
If he said the account books were false, it would be disadvantageous to him.
On the contrary, if the account books are true, it will be beneficial to you.
Seeing that the Qufu County Magistrate was hesitant, Kong Xingxie snatched the account book from him and handed it to another person.
After reading it, the man also hesitated.
Kong Xingxie panicked and started looking for someone with the account book.
Try to get them to speak up for you.
All the local prominent figures came.
Their expressions became strange after they looked at the account books.
Some people clearly donated one hundred taels to the rebels, but only one tael was recorded in the account book.
Some people donated one thousand taels, but the account book showed only twenty taels.
What is Zhang Rong doing here?
It costs money.
No matter how much money was donated to the rebels, ten times the amount had to be given to Zhang Rong.
Otherwise you will lose both your money and your life.
When a husband and wife are in dire straits, they will flee separately, let alone other relationships.
After weighing the pros and cons, the local prominent figures all said: "The account book is real."
Kong Xingxie was a little overwhelmed. He came to a wealthy businessman and grabbed his collar: "You are talking nonsense. The account book is obviously fake. Why do you say it is real?"
The man shrank his neck and answered, "I don't know how much silver others donated, but I only donated ten taels of silver, and the account book also records ten taels. As far as I can see, the account book is indeed true."
"You..." Kong Xingxie was speechless.
He found several more people, some of whom were even his relatives.
Without exception, they all said the account books were real.
Kong Xingxie completely collapsed. He held the account book and burst into tears, saying, "You can't do this. The account book is obviously fake. Why do you say it's real?"
Everyone acted as if nothing had happened and looked elsewhere.
Kong Xingxie came to Zhang Rong with the account book and said, "Admiral, please make the decision for me. The account book was forged. It is not real."
Zhang Rong asked coldly, "Then what do you say is true?"
Before Kong Xingxie could argue, Zhang Rong asked, "Is it true that your Majesty called for the exemption of land rent for tenants, but you ignored the call and continued to collect land rent from tenants?"
"The court called for donations to the Liaoping Army. Is it true that you didn't donate a penny?"
"Is it true that you secretly resisted the national policy of currency reform, which was being implemented throughout the country?"
"Is it true that we are supporting the Jiannu and becoming their vassal?"
“Is it true that we are donating money to the rebels?”
With every word Zhang Rong spoke, Kong Xingxie's expression became uglier.
At the end of his speech, Kong Xingxie's face turned as pale as paper.
Except for the fact that the funding for the Jiannu army was uncertain, everything else was true.
Zhang Rong paused and said sternly, "The Duke of Yansheng's Mansion claims to be righteous and loyal to the court and His Majesty. But in reality, they have betrayed the court and His Majesty!"
"How can such a traitor have the nerve to call himself a loyal minister and a filial son?"
The atmosphere at the scene froze instantly.
Everyone's eyes were focused on Kong Xingxie's face.
Kong Xingxie was panicking and tried to explain himself: "I...I...I am not a traitor. The evidence of aiding the enemy is false, resisting the national policy is a misunderstanding, and betraying the Ming Dynasty is nonsense."
Zhang Rong looked serious at first, then he burst out laughing.
It would have been better if he didn't laugh, but this laugh scared Kong Xingxie so much that his heart started beating faster.
He couldn't understand what Zhang Rong was trying to do.
Zhang Rong gently patted Kong Xingxie's shoulder and said with a smile, "Master Kong, why are you panicking? I just said that the Duke of Yansheng's Mansion is a traitor, but I didn't say you are."
Kong Xingxie became even more confused.
The Yanshenggong Mansion is a house, not a living person, so it has no right to be a thief.
Before he could figure it out, Zhang Rong said to everyone, "Fellow villagers, based on the existing evidence, the Duke of Yansheng has committed crimes such as aiding the enemy, betrayal, and resisting the court. What do you think, should they be punished?"
The people looked at each other, and no one responded.
All this was within Zhang Rong's expectations.
He continued, "You elders, I believe you may not know that according to the confession of the surrendered rebel generals, the donation of money to the rebels by the Duke of Yansheng was just a show, the purpose was to encourage others to donate money."
"In the end, the money from the Duke of Yansheng's Mansion was returned in full, and your money was divided into 30% and 70%. The rebels took 70%, and the Duke of Yansheng's Mansion took 30%."
As soon as these words were spoken, the people became excited.
They didn't care about what happened between the Yanshenggong Mansion and the imperial court.
After all, it’s none of your business, so just ignore it.
But they care about their money.
They thought the rebels had taken all the money.
The fact is that it was divided between the rebels and the Yanshenggong Mansion.
Can you bear this?
The people who realized what was going on glared at Kong Xingxie.
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