Early that morning, outside the Meridian Gate, all the ministers were waiting for the Meridian Gate to open before entering the palace gate to discuss matters.
This is actually the morning after Zhang Zhou predicted the incident.
However, because the rumor did not specify a specific day, many ministers thought it had not happened. Everyone was talking about the Kong family.
Kong Hongtai is not here.
Because it was just Zhang Zhou's "prophecy", the ministers present looked nonchalant. They were still worried about it until the palace door opened and they wanted to enter in silence.
The court meeting.
At the beginning, Zhu Youtang took the initiative to open the topic and mentioned Zhang Zhou's prophecy about the Kong family.
“I don’t take it too seriously. Most of the so-called providence comes from the guidance of God, and may leave some signs, and many human affairs are determined by people’s hearts. How can twists and turns of right and wrong be easily understood? When Bingkuan made prophecies in the past, he often emphasized this point, that is, people's hearts are unpredictable."
The ministers thought, Your Majesty, you are quite open-minded, which means you don't believe those things. Things about ghosts and gods
If you don’t believe it, how did Zhang Zhou get to this position?
Zhu Youtang said, “But since he said it, I can’t pretend not to listen. When I arrive, I will tell the matter in advance. If this does not happen, he will not be hit, and the Ming Dynasty will be stable and the emperor and his ministers will be harmonious. Everything is what I consider."
Xu Qiong, Minister of Rites. He came out and said, "Your Majesty, we cannot believe such prophecies. Even if things have not happened, we cannot say that it did not happen because the prophecies were leaked in advance. We cannot convict people for things that have not happened."
"That's what I mean."
In Zhu Youtang's words, it seemed that he wanted to help Kong Hongxu, the boss of the Kong family.
Some ministers who are not smart are thinking about it.
His Majesty, our Emperor, is still benevolent and righteous, so that boy Zhang Bingkuan likes to sow discord when he has nothing to do. He was dumbfounded. After His Majesty learned about it, he did not hide it at all. He told the matter and the matter was leaked in advance. That Kong Hongxu No matter how stupid you are, you will never do something that violates the national law.
Tu Jingze, the Minister of Civil Affairs, came out and said, "Your Majesty, I don't know how Zhang Zhou mentioned this matter"
< p>This is also what the ministers present are concerned about.Everyone knows that Zhang Zhou predicted that Kong Hongxu would commit a crime, but how he committed the crime was unknown except for those in the cabinet and the Supervisor of Ceremonies.
Many people think that Kong Hongxu will commit adultery and robbery again, which is why the public opinion is so big this time. Even without the fermentation of this incident, many people still don’t know Kong Hongxu’s past. The child is also tantamount to being dug out of the old accounts.
Zhu Youtang said, "Bingkuan is saying that Qianyan Shenggong, the eldest son of the Kong family, will set fire to the Xuansheng Temple."
Tu Tong was quick to listen. Somewhat annoyed, he quickly said, "Your Majesty, such nonsense is a slander against the officials of the Ming Dynasty and should be punished."
As expected.
Many ministers are thinking about it again.
Your Majesty, you have made a mistake
Tell us in advance that this is happening and let the Kong family be on guard so that it won’t happen. Isn’t Zhang Zhou’s prophecy just an unfounded slander? This is a huge crime of slander.
This is in our hands
Zhu Youtang asked calmly, "Tu Qing's family, have you ever thought about it, with Bingkuan's current identity and status?" , do you think it is necessary for him to slander a Duke Yansheng who has been deprived of his title? "What good does it do to him?"
"Cough cough" Tu Yu felt short of breath and coughed.
Zhang Maoze, who was next to him, laughed and said, "Zhang Zhitai has a distinguished status now. Even if he is really slandering, he is only targeting a civilian, and he is not guilty of any crime."
The ministers present listened.
This sounds like a forced justification, but it makes sense when you think about it carefully.
Zhang Zhou now holds so many official titles and is still controlling military affairs in the northwest. He is about to be made Duke of Lai. What’s wrong with slandering an ordinary person? You, Kong Hongxu, a commoner, can be taken into consideration by Zhang Zhou. , that's your honor
Zhu Youtang sighed and said, "I know that this damages the reputation of the Kong family and the dignity of the literati, but Bingkuan has always been upright and outspoken. I As long as there is no such fire in Xuansheng Temple, I don’t want to pursue the matter whether it is Bingkuan’s unfounded slander or whether someone restrained himself after it was made public in advance. What do you think?”
The civil servants felt very uncomfortable when they heard this theory.
But this is different from before.
At first, Zhang Zhou said that an earthquake would happen and when the Tatars would invade the country. Everyone laughed at him, thinking that Zhang Zhou was challenging the IQ of the Ming Dynasty monarchs and looking for trouble.
But now
Zhang Zhou suddenly said that Kong Hongxu might set fire to Xuansheng Temple. The first thought of everyone was not that this was nonsense, but that it was about to happen, and everyone was worried. I want to see how things turn out, whether Zhang Zhou will really be hit, and I want to see how the emperor handles the matter afterwards.
In other words, every minister is already inclined to believe Zhang Zhou's prophecy.
Not only the ministers, but also ordinary people who knew about this matter, and even ordinary literati who highly respected the Confucian family, only raised a few questions and did not even attack Zhang Zhou.
Because Zhang Zhou has indeed opened his mouth, it is unusual for Zhang Zhou to slander a Yanshenggong who has been deprived of his title. Everyone also thinks that Zhang Zhou does not need to be okay. Make trouble for yourself.
"Your Majesty is wise."
As soon as Zhang Mao saw that the civil servants did not want to take the lead, he came out to take over first, which could be regarded as setting a tone for Wu Xun's side.
Suppressing the Kong family also indirectly affects the status of civil servants in the court. This is a good thing for our oppressed Wu Xun.
Zhang Zhou is simply doing things on behalf of our Wu Xun. If we don’t come out to support him at this time, who will support him?
Zhu Youtang said with a complaining look on his face."Actually, I also feel that Bingkuan's thinking on this matter is not thorough. He is a Confucian scholar and the number one scholar in the Ming Dynasty. Wouldn't he be an enemy of the scholars in the world?"
All the ministers present were here With a sullen face, only Xie Qian couldn't help laughing, but he didn't laugh out loud.
Zhang Zhou was afraid of being an enemy of scholars
If that boy was a fearful master, he would not have asked Zhu Feng to treat the little princess in Nanjing from the beginning< /p>
Before and after he entered the court, he would not talk about God's will every day, frighten the emperor into a daze, and play against us every day.
But think about it again, if Zhang Zhou was just like us civil servants and worked with us civil servants, the emperor would not have such trust in him. From the perspective of the king's power, the emperor originally wanted to see There is a tendency among ministers to compete with each other.
Not before, but now that Zhang Zhou is here, the emperor really treats him as a treasure
"But I have thought about it again. Since he is willing to say it, he must use the Ming Dynasty's Stability comes first, otherwise it will cause trouble for himself and bring uneasiness to the court. Why would he say it in advance? He doesn't seem to have any bad intentions, otherwise he can just pretend that there is no such thing. "
Every word Zhu Youtang said seemed to be penetrating.
Even though many ministers present were angry that Zhang Zhou was slandering the Kong family, they became even more angry after hearing the emperor's words.
No matter how you think about it, Zhang Zhou has no reason to do this.
What is he planning?
If Zhang Zhou were present at this meeting, he might tell the ministers present that I wanted to watch the excitement afterwards, but if I didn’t tell him in advance, how could I bribe him? Li Dongyang, how did he turn the matter of Kong Hongxu's arson into an ironclad case? In history, the matter of Kong Hongxu's arson was left unsolved in the end.
It is precisely because of Zhang’s presence that Kong Hongxu cannot escape the crime of arson.
Zhu Youtang said, "Well, you don't have to worry about these matters anymore. Let the past be in the past. Now let's start discussing court affairs."
Only Li Dongyang is a few People understood that the emperor felt that things were stable.
There is no need to talk now, we have to settle the accounts with Kong Hongxu later.
The emperor made a clean choice for himself, as if he was more considerate of the Confucius family. He first placed himself on the moral high ground, and then waited to see the Confucius family's jokes.
Kong Hongtai was in the capital and also learned about what the emperor said in the court from the ministers who left the palace.
The person who told him was Tu Yu who was leaving the palace and preparing to return to the official office.
Although it seems that things have come to an end.
But as a client of the Kong family, Kong Hongtai could clearly feel that the biggest problem was that even if the emperor had told the matter in advance, he seemed to want to prevent his eldest brother from burning his ancestral temple. , it seems too late.
"Dongzhuang, your majesty has already said that someone will be found to notify brother Yu Ling in advance. Besides, these are just Zhang Zhou's words out of thin air. Everyone in the worldWho would believe it?"
Tu Yu smiled and comforted.
In order to comfort Kong Hongtai, he lied.
The emperor only said to tell the matter in advance came out, but did not say what day Zhang Zhou predicted that the incident would occur, nor did he say that he would send someone to notify the Kong family.
Tu Fu himself felt that Zhang Zhou could not hit people's hearts so accurately. , coupled with the emperor's attitude of wanting to calm things down, Tu Yu was already telling Kong Hongtai "good news"
Not only to stabilize Kong Hongtai, but also to get the gift from Kong Hongtai. To ensure that Kong Hongxu's son Kong Wenshao could inherit the title of Duke Yansheng, the gifts given to court officials when Kong Hongtai came to Beijing were very generous.
And this kind of gift was almost a gift from a friend, the emperor. Neither the emperor nor the court would investigate.
Tu Fu himself liked to give gifts to Li Guang. Of course, he felt that receiving such gifts was fair and the more the better.
Kong Hongtai was eager. He asked, "As for the report I gave to Your Majesty earlier, has your Majesty responded?"
"You have reported it?"
Kong Hongtai frowned.
Kong Hongtai nodded. There is such a thing.
In order to explain the "innocence" of the Kong family to the emperor, Kong Hongtai was not afraid that his brother would commit crimes, but that the Kong family would treat him like him if his brother committed crimes. He is an accomplice and accomplice. No matter what, he has to act like he is one with the Kong family in order to distance himself from this matter.
"Then I don't know. Tu Yu said, "Otherwise, you can ask the cabinet minister again. If you have time, ask Binzhi." Or the Yintai side."
Kong Hongtai originally relied heavily on Tu Jian.
Now he knows that the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel cannot help at all in this matter. This is obviously beyond the capabilities of a minister.
The entrance to Zhang Zhou's residence.
At this time, the plaque on Zhang's residence has been changed, and it is now "Shang Shu's Mansion".
Zhang Zhou would not have been so high-profile, because he got the position of Shangshu after going to the northwest and winning the Battle of Weininghai, but the plaque was sent by Dongchang, so the Zhang family would not have it. I have to hang up.
Jiang Dezhong came here these two days and wanted to visit the house.
Because the emperor had ordered that officials were not allowed to go to Zhang Zhou's house and cause trouble. Dongchang and Jinyiwei were expelling people at the door, so there were usually no other people waiting to cause trouble.
But Jiang Dezhong took advantage of the fact that he was not an official and was Zhang Zhou's father-in-law, so he came over to give a gift or something. Yes, but every time he was politely blocked by the Jinyiwei people.
Master Zhang Xian’s father-in-law did not look at the monk’s face and the Buddha’s face, so it would be inappropriate to attack him directly.
As long as they didn't let the old man in, they would just turn a blind eye when Jiang Dezhong came to bother him.
This day, Jiang Dezhong came again, saying that he wanted to get married to Zhang Mansion. Someone sent him a letter. Zhang Zhou was in the northwest, but not whoever wanted to write to him could do so, unless he used the help of "letters from home".In my name, bring the letter here
No surprise.
Even if he did not intend to enter the mansion to disturb the Zhang family, Jin Yiwei still did not intend to send him a letter.
"Mr. Jiang, please forgive me. This is the order of the Governor of Dongchang. If we violate the prohibition, I'm afraid our job will be in jeopardy." The guard in Jinyi politely made a gesture of invitation, meaning where are you? Stay cool and don't disturb us on our errands.
"I didn't even want to hand in the letter. This is for my little girl."
Jiang Dezhong was very angry.
Just as he was about to leave in depression, he saw a carriage stop, and a man got out of the carriage and approached, as if he wanted to enter the mansion.
Even after delivering the greeting card, Jin Yiwei was very polite, "Mr. Zhang is not here, so no one is allowed to bother him."
The person who came was none other than Kong Hongtai.
He has no way to ask for help. He can only think of coming to Zhang Zhou’s house to try his luck. Maybe the people around Zhang Zhou can give him “pointers”
What a coincidence Unfortunately, there was actually someone close to Zhang Zhou next to him.
Jiang Dezhong has always been very interested in the officials who came to visit Zhang Mansion. Especially when he saw the luxurious carriage Kong Hongtai was riding, his interest doubled. He walked over and asked, "This person is also here to see you." My virtuous son-in-law"
When Kong Hongtai heard this, he was instantly impressed by the old man next to him with a philistine smile.
It really took no effort to get it without trying to find anywhere. Just when I was looking for some advice from someone around Zhang Zhou, I saw a big living person.
"Old gentleman, you and Zhang Zhitai are"
"He is my son-in-law, and my daughter is his first wife."
In order to show his identity, Jiang Dezhong certainly had to explain this.
If it’s a side house, I’d be embarrassed to mention it.
Kong Hongtai said in awe, "I don't know how to call the old gentleman."
"The surname is Jiang." Jiang Dezhong was arrogant.
He obviously regarded Kong Hongtai as an official who came to curry favor with the powerful.
Kong Hongtai said, "Old sir, something happened at home, and Zhang Zhitai has to come forward to help. Do you think so?"
"Oh, it's a pity that something happened." He's not at home. He went to the northwest to lead troops. Not only did Dongchang and Jinyiwei have orders not to let anyone in and disturb him, if you have something to do, you can tell me and see if I can help you clear the way. "
Jiang Dezhong is simply causing trouble for himself.
He knew that he had no ability to help others, but in order to make more friends with powerful people, he did not hesitate to show off at the door of the Zhang family.
He was also thinking about how he had seen a plain-looking man before, but he was talking about some kind of father-in-law.
Even the famous Marquis Weining and the British Duke have seen me, Mr. Jiang, after all, I am also a scene person, who is afraid of whom?
Kong Hongtai looked puzzled, "I am the Kong family." When something urgent happened, it was because Zhang Zhitai detected a secret and said that something bad would happen to my brother."
"Where's the Kong family?" Jiang Dezhong's eyes widened.
Kong Hongtai said, "Qufu."
When Jiang Dezhong heard this, he immediately put aside his arrogance. Not to mention anything else, he himself was also a scholar. Of course, he regarded himself as a scholar. He said, "The Confucius family in Qufu is a high-ranking family. It is a model for scholars in the world, especially those of Yan Shenggong, who are the leaders of our Ming Dynasty literati. I don't know what you call me."
Kong Hongtai handed over his hand He said, "The person I am in Dongzhuang is the current Duke Yansheng."
"Pfft"
Jiang Dezhong originally wanted to show off in front of Zhang's house, but when he heard this, he My legs are almost weak.
When he first met Wang Yue, he didn't think anything of it. After all, he was a scholar, and he didn't have much to do with Wu Xun himself.
But if Yan Shenggong
was a role model for scholars, and could even be said to be the idol of scholars, he would almost give Kong Hongtai a knock.
"Then I am unable to take on the affairs of your Kong family, please forgive me cough cough cough"
Jiang Dezhong originally held the attitude that doing less is worse than doing more, but now he knows that it is The Kong family came to ask Zhang Zhou for help. Zhang Zhou asked himself if he could help him, so he staggered and tried to escape.
The Jinyiwei who was watching the excitement also found it interesting. A small flag on duty was still shouting, "Old Zunjun, don't sit at the door anymore."
This means that you have nothing to run away. This is so good, you know that there will be a big shot at this door that you can't afford to offend, and Yan Shenggong will scare you away
Kong Hongtai saw this posture.
Am I so scary?
Run away when you see me
Could it be that Zhang Zhou’s old father-in-law learned from Zhang Zhou that our Kong family was going to be in trouble? , so you have to make a clear connection with us
This is important news.
It seems that things are really irreversible.
Kong Hongtai returned to his mansion anxiously.
Immediately called my nephew Kong Wenshao over.
"Uncle, you are so anxious, but the marriage has already been settled." Kong Wenshao was young, like a boy who was inexperienced in the world, and had no idea of the dangers of this world.
Kong Hongtai said, "Nephew, there are rumors going around that your father will set fire to the Xuansheng Temple."
Kong Wenshao said angrily, "They are all villains talking nonsense."
Kong Hongtai sighed, "If everyone agrees, even explanations are futile. The most important thing is to see the results. Regardless of whether this will happen to your father, you and I must do something in advance to reduce this matter." "The influence."
"What's the matter?" Kong Wenshao asked, blinking his innocent eyes.
Kong Hongtai said, "Pack your things and come with me to kneel in front of the palace gate."
"What are you doing?"
Kong Wenshao was stunned when he heard this. Unhappy, others made things out of nothing, so our uncle and nephew are going to kneel
"It is not only to apologize because something really happened, but also to let the court punish the slanderer because it did not happen. It shows your and my attitude, and it is also forShow the attitude of my Kong family. Go quickly without delay. "Please remember to bookmark, the latest and fastest website without anti-theft and free reading