Kong Ne didn't know how to answer for a moment, so he could only give a perfunctory reply, "Your subject is guilty!"
Old Zhu seemed serious, but he was also trying to comfort people. "This has nothing to do with the Duke of Yansheng. We were just thinking that Qufu is the hometown of Confucius, and it has always been a place of great literary tradition. But when we had people look around, it turned out that our hometown of Confucius rarely serves the country."
The hall fell silent in an instant. Was this Emperor Zhu expressing his dissatisfaction with the lineage of the Duke of Yansheng?
In fact, at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang (the Hongwu Emperor) initially recognized the Yuan Dynasty and acknowledged many things. For example, he recognized the rule and legitimacy of the Yuan Dynasty, and at the same time, he continued to confer the title of Duke Yansheng on the descendants of the Confucius family in Qufu who had submitted to the Mongols.
All of this was done for the sake of the bigger picture, and since the Duke of Yansheng was unlikely to rebel, it was naturally of little importance to the rulers.
Looking at Kong Ne, Old Zhu continued, "In the 27th year of the Zhizheng era, we launched the Northern Expedition. At that time, I was still the King of Wu. Zhang Xingzu, who was posthumously granted the title of Marquis of Dongsheng, won a series of victories and marched all the way to Qufu. I remember that at that time, Kong Xixue led the magistrate of Qufu, Kong Xiju, and others to greet us at the military gate, and Zhang Xingzu treated them with courtesy."
Kong Xixue was the father of Kong Ne. He was the last Duke Yansheng of the Yuan Dynasty and the first Duke Yansheng of the Ming Dynasty.
Kong Ne quickly spoke up, saying, "The royal army is ordained by Heaven, and your father obeys Heaven's will..."
"Insolence!" Prince Zhu Zhaohui slammed his fist on the table, looking furious. "I am in charge of Yanzhou, and Qufu is under my jurisdiction! I have searched through the county annals and found that Kong Kejian once submitted a memorial to the false Yuan emperor, saying that 'the emperor should live and die with the state and ancestral temples and should not be abandoned lightly!'"
Prince Lu, Zhu Zhaohui, was the eldest son of the first Prince Lu, Zhu Tan, and the grandson of Consort Guo Ning. This younger brother was truly the younger brother; when his father died young, his cousin Zhu Yunwen often acted arrogantly and domineeringly in the Prince Lu's mansion.
Moreover, Consort Guo Ning has been quite 'fawning' over Zhu Yunying for years, and Zhu Zhaohui's maternal uncle, Guo Ying, is also a confidant of the old Zhu and a subordinate of the young Zhu. Therefore, this time, the attack on the lineage of the Duke Yansheng was launched by Zhu Zhaohui, a twelve-year-old boy who has not yet inherited the throne.
Kong Ne was even more embarrassed, because that was something his grandfather had done. It was supposedly out of loyalty to the Yuan Dynasty, but now it was the Ming Dynasty's domain. To have his past exposed in court was naturally awkward for Kong Ne; his grandfather had done something that harmed his descendants.
The situation at the time was that the Red Turban Rebellion had broken out, and the Yuan emperor wanted to move the capital. The Duke of Yansheng, Kong Kejian, immediately submitted a memorial to the throne. He probably felt that the Yuan dynasty was not yet weakened, or that the Yuan dynasty should continue to rule the country.
Of course, some members of the Kong family who might have been promoted to the fourth rank, inherited the title of Duke Yansheng, and been granted the rank of Grand Master of the Palace might have felt that the Yuan emperors were good. This was because the Kong family received continuous funding for renovations during the Yuan dynasty, and Confucius was posthumously honored as the "Holy King of Literature," representing a further improvement compared to the Tang and Song dynasties. The scale of the Confucius Temple was also expanded, all of which brought benefits to the Kong family.
Old Zhu was furious at this moment and roared at Zhu Zhaohui, "How dare you, you brat, spout such nonsense! The lineage of the Duke Yansheng is of noble character; how can you slander the descendants of a sage!"
Zhu Zhaohui immediately knelt down and wailed miserably, "Your Majesty, grandfather, I, Zhu Zhaohui, have something to report!"
Old Zhu, still furious, pointed at Zhu Zhaohui and roared, "Men, drag this lawless scoundrel away and hand him over to the Imperial Clan Court for punishment!"
Zhu Zhaohui, being the heir apparent of the Prince of Lu, was naturally handed over to the Imperial Clan Court for disposal. Moreover, many people knew that this younger brother had always been his elder cousin's lackey. Currently, he was very happy in Yingtian Prefecture, spending his days following his 'second cousin' Zhu Yunwen, seemingly unwilling to return to his fiefdom of Yanzhou.
This also made some other princes with fiefdoms grit their teeth in resentment. Everyone knew the Emperor didn't want princes to have fiefdoms, or at least not real fiefdoms. However, some princes who already had fiefdoms pretended not to understand. The joy of being a local tyrant in their own fiefdom was far greater than being a wealthy prince in Yingtian Prefecture.
Prince Lu's son, Zhu Zhaohui, is too young to be studying in Yingtian Prefecture, and it wouldn't matter if he didn't receive a fief. However, this young man seems to support the reduction of fiefs. He is the emperor's henchman, which makes many princes grit their teeth in anger.
Zhu Yunying immediately grabbed Zhu's leg and pleaded, "Grandpa, Zhaohui is Uncle's only son, Uncle's only bloodline!"
Old Zhu was still furious, looking as if he was about to kick Zhu Yunying aside. "We only acted this way because we knew he was the tenth prince's only son! Emperor, get out of our way, we're going to teach this lawless brat a lesson!"
Zhu Yunying couldn't squeeze out any tears, so he could only wail and put on a show, "My brother is at fault. It's because I, as his elder brother, haven't disciplined him properly! I beg Your Majesty to have mercy and not punish Zhaohui! Hand Zhaohui over to Sun Chen, and Sun Chen will personally discipline him!"
Just then, Xu Miaoqing whispered something to Zhu Wenyin, who was about to cry, and then immediately knelt down.
Old Zhu was still very angry, and he sternly rebuked Zhu Yunying, "We worked so hard to conquer this world, hoping that our children and grandchildren will be successful! Listen to what that brat said!"
Just then, Little Zhu climbed down the steps and ran to Zhu Zhaohui amidst the expectant and puzzled gazes of the crowd. Grabbing Zhu Zhaohui's arm, his chubby face instantly turned bright red.
"You bastards!" Old Zhu roared, pointing at Zhu Zhaohui and Little Zhu, "What are you doing in the imperial court!"
Old Zhu's voice startled little Zhu, and he loosened his grip on Zhu Zhaohui's hand. Instantly, large tears streamed down his face; his great-grandfather had never been harsh with him before.
"Great-grandfather, don't scold Uncle Wang!" Little Zhu cried, crying very sadly. "If Uncle Wang is wrong, Father Emperor will take the blame."
Um?
Zhu Yunying glanced at Xu Miaoqing. "Did you relay the wrong message? Or is it that our son has a bad memory, forgetting so much in just seven seconds? If it's an act, then play it all the way. Why should I, as his father, take the blame?"
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