The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

After receiving the order, Yang Peng immediately went to the villa where Kong Hongtai lived in Beijing and found Kong Hongtai himself.

Perhaps Yang Peng also knew that if he went directly to Li Dongyang for some matters, it would have a bad impact, but it would be much easier to find someone from the Kong family. After all, no matter how powerful the Kong family was, they were still outsiders to the royal family, and Li Dongyang had much greater influence in the capital.

"Eunuch Yang, why are you here? I haven't had time to greet you yet... ahem..."

After arriving in Beijing, Kong Hongtai mainly focused on recuperation. He only went to see Li Dongyang before and declined all other guests. He was very clear about the purpose of coming here.

Yang Peng smiled and said, "I heard that you, Lord Yansheng, are ill, so I brought some gifts to see you. I just want to check on you and then invite the imperial physician to come to you."

"I dare not trouble you, Eunuch Yang." Kong Hongtai said, "I am old and my body is not strong enough to take care of me. How dare I trouble you, Eunuch Yang, for my little matter?"

"It's okay, it's okay. Let's go in and talk?" Yang Peng didn't consider himself an outsider. His attitude towards Kong Hongtai was enthusiastic on the surface, but actually he was very arrogant.

Kong Hongtai could only quickly invite Yang Peng to the main hall.

……

……

After Yang Peng sat down, he said in a businesslike tone: "Some things are not convenient to say to Lord Yansheng, but Lord Yansheng had better leave the capital immediately and return to where you should go."

This is clearly a warning.

Kong Hongtai immediately understood that Yang Peng probably did not come in the name of Dongchang, but rather came to announce the emperor's decree.

"Did I do something wrong and offend you, Eunuch Yang? Or..."

Kong Hongtai could only pretend to be confused at this moment.

Yang Peng smiled and said, "There is no dealings between our family and Duke Yansheng, so there is no offense, and there is no conflict of interest. If Duke Yansheng does not listen to advice and continues to meet someone else and discuss something, and intensifies the problem, then it will not be as simple as just saying a few words."

"This……"

Kong Hongtai was also in a dilemma.

He is ill and may very well die, and the succession of the Kong family has not yet been finalized.

In name, the affairs of the Kong family were presided over by him, the Duke of Yansheng, but in fact everything was handled by his elder brother Kong Hongxu. It was only because Kong Hongxu was guilty. But from the family's perspective, Kong Hongxu was the eldest brother after all, and Kong Hongtai was also the oppressed one in the family.

Yang Peng said, "I know you are in trouble, but you are putting your energy in the wrong place. I don't plan to tell anyone else about this matter. I will only tell you, Lord Yansheng. You have not been transferred to the capital, which is a taboo in itself. Now I just want you to leave the capital earlier, which can be regarded as considering the face of the Kong family."

Kong Hongtai asked: "May I ask who meant this?"

"Do you have to ask so clearly?" Yang Peng asked, "Do you plan to tell someone about what I said after you leave my house?"

"No...no." Kong Hongtai was also panicked.

Yang Peng's style of doing things is very radical. He came to his house without any regard for his face and even wanted to block some of his escape routes, which made him a little unacceptable.

"Duke Yansheng, when a person is alive, he doesn't necessarily need to consider everything so carefully. In fact, some things will be gone after death, so why bother to be so fussy about them while he is still alive?"

Yang Peng's words were a hint.

Why did you have to arrange the succession so clearly while you were still alive?

After you die, the emperor will issue an order to arrange things for you. Isn’t that great?

The interpersonal relationships you are currently maintaining are clearly not favored by the emperor, and yet you have walked into the crosshairs.

"I understand." Kong Hongtai said.

Yang Peng smiled and said, "From our perspective, Duke Yansheng may not understand, or it is useless for you to understand. The people in your clan must be putting a lot of pressure on you, right? Then let me ask you, besides you, who else is suitable to preside over the affairs of your Kong family? Don't answer now, think about it carefully after returning to Shandong."

"This..." Kong Hongtai felt that this was no longer an equal conversation.

Yang Peng said, "Pack your belongings today. No matter who comes with you or whether you plan to go back, just leave. Don't see anyone when you leave, no matter if it's Lord Li or Duke Cai. Anyone who can influence the interests of the Kong family is not allowed to see you again."

Kong Hongtai looked embarrassed.

Yang Peng was trying to scare him.

"The East Factory will send people to escort you out of the capital. We know that your presence in the capital this time is very large, but the larger the presence, the easier it is to cause trouble." Yang Peng stood up and said angrily, regardless of Kong Hongtai's reaction, "Some things can only be said to be an offense. If the Duke of Yansheng is not satisfied, then we can only apologize first. We will leave someone here to wait for you to pack up your things."

Kong Hongtai said: "Can't you let me wait and see His Majesty first?"

"Duke Yansheng, you must know the current situation. To be honest, you should not have come this time. No matter how your health is, you should have stayed in Shandong to recuperate. As long as you leave Shandong, you will no longer be just Duke Yansheng, but a role model for scholars all over the world. Have you ever seen a scholar sincerely create problems for the court and make the world unhappy?" Yang Peng said.

Kong Hongtai lowered his head and said, "Thank you, Eunuch Yang, for your advice. I should...go back earlier."

"That's right." Yang Peng said, "If there's anything you need to take care of on the way, just tell me. As for those unfinished or pending matters, just put them aside for now. You have to believe that someone will arrange things for you."

Kong Hongtai said helplessly: "I understand, I understand."

Yang Peng said: "Then I will go first, and we will meet again... Oh, by the way, it would be better if we never meet again, because I will not be going to Shandong recently, and it will be difficult to meet in person."

Another warning.

If I don't go to Shandong, we will have no chance to meet, which means you are not allowed to leave Shandong again, otherwise you will be disobeying orders.

Of course, I cannot say this directly in the tone of an emperor, and this is not an imperial decree. It is just advice to you. If you don't listen, don't blame these people for not reminding you in advance if something goes wrong.

……

……

Kong Hongtai originally came with Kong Wenshao, while Kong Hongxu stayed in Qufu.

But because Yang Peng suddenly came to warn, Kong Hongtai had to hurriedly leave the capital with his nephew, fearing that if he left a step too late, he would be used as a target by the people from the East Factory.

When Li Dongyang learned that Kong Hongtai had left, it was already the third day after his departure. Li Dongyang was very surprised.

That day he arrived at the cabinet duty room, and Liu Jian even called him aside alone.

"Why did he leave in such a hurry from Dongzhuang to Beijing? Did he go to your house?" Liu Jian said.

"Hmm." Li Dongyang was also puzzled by this, because Kong Hongtai was not summoned by the emperor, and there was no one from the Ministry of Rites to receive him or pass on the message. It can be said that Kong Hongtai's coming and going were completed without any signs.

Liu Jian asked, "Why did he visit you?"

Li Dongyang said, "Two things. One is to propose marriage again, and the other is the succession of the title, which is also a matter for the eldest son and grandson of the eldest house. I did not agree to his request at that time, and later... because of something else, I no longer cared about him." Liu Jian frowned and said, "What's the matter?"

"Family matters." Li Dongyang was embarrassed to say, "My family is about to fall apart."

My only surviving son left home with my only precious grandson and lived on his own. Recently, I have been trying to find a way to get him back. How can I have the time to care about the affairs of the Kong family?
Liu Jian said, "It will be April soon, and it will be flood prevention time soon. This year may be more complicated than in previous years. There will be more obstacles for the Ministry of Revenue to transfer money and grain, and it will be difficult for the Ministry of Works to intervene. You should put all your thoughts back."

Before Li Dongyang could do anything, he was scolded by Liu Jian.

But he still accepted it, because he also felt that Kong Hongtai left this time probably because he did something wrong in some way.

……

……

At noon that day, just when Li Dongyang was about to send someone to catch up with Kong Hongtai in the afternoon to ask what was going on.

The Imperial Household Department sent someone over to question him, and the person sent was none other than the chief eunuch Yang Peng.

Yang Peng asked Li Dongyang to leave, probably intending to discuss some "private matters" with Li Dongyang.

After Li Dongyang followed Yang Peng out, Yang Peng asked with a smile, "I heard that Lord Li has been worried about some trivial matters recently, and someone came to his house to disturb him. Is that true?"

Li Dongyang immediately understood that Kong Hongtai did not leave the capital voluntarily, but was driven away.

"Eunuch Yang, Dongzhuang...also known as Duke Yansheng, it was you who sent people to drive him out of the capital, right?" Li Dongyang asked with some anger.

In Li Dongyang's opinion, Yang Peng was interfering in the affairs of the literary world in his capacity as a eunuch, which was an act of overstepping one's authority.

Yang Peng said: "It's a bit harsh to say 'drive him away', but after discussing the pros and cons with him, he also felt that it was not appropriate to stay in Beijing, so he left immediately."

Li Dongyang was holding back his anger, but he still held it back and said coldly, "What does the Kong family's affairs have to do with Eunuch Yang?"

Yang Peng smiled and said, "Then Lord Li, who do you think this matter is related to?"

"you……"

The first thing Li Dongyang thought of was that Yang Peng was working for Zhang Zhou, but after he calmed down a little, he realized that this matter might be related to the emperor.

And this is exactly... should be the first thing he thought of.

The more he thought about it, the more scared he became. How did I ask that question just now? Why didn't I first think that it was His Majesty's intention, but thought that Zhang Bingkuan was interfering?

Yang Peng said, "Lord Li, a good horse never turns back. We are very clear about the purpose of Duke Yansheng's visit to Beijing. Sometimes, some people like to use their so-called fame and status to coerce people into doing things they don't want to do. This puts Lord Li in a difficult position."

Li Dongyang said: "Thank you, Eunuch Yang, for your advice. No one has been able to coerce me yet."

Yang Peng smiled and said, "Lord Li, don't be so confident. There have been rumors in the capital recently that the lineage of Duke Yansheng has encountered some problems. Someone even deliberately leaked the news that the current Duke Yansheng is seriously ill. I heard that the previous Duke Yansheng was also ill. What a coincidence."

The Kong family put a lot of thought into making Kong Wenshao inherit the title.

If Kong Hongtai died and Kong Wenshao became his son by adoption, then it would seem natural for him to inherit the title.

But the problem is that Kong Wenshao’s old father is still alive, which will cause some trouble for the inheritance.

How could a father let his son succeed to the throne directly while still alive?
If this is the case, there will still be moral risks, so let Kong Hongxu die together... On this point, the Kong family did not seem to bully Kong Hongtai. You see, you are going to die, and I will find a scapegoat for you, and let your eldest brother die with you, so that you can smoothly pass the title to your nephew.

But the problem is that it is hard to say whether it is Mr. Kong Hongxu or Mr. Kong Hongtai who is sick.

It is hard to say who died first or later.

All this depends on how Kong Hongtai lobbyists the civil officials after his trip to the capital. He originally planned to lobby the civil officials first and then use them to influence the emperor.

As a result, they encountered trouble right at the beginning. Before the civil officials had yet to agree, the emperor asked Yang Peng to drive them away.

It's clear that there's no chance for negotiation.

Yang Peng said: "If it is the daughter of Lord Li, it is really difficult to marry her off. His Majesty will be responsible for this matter and will arrange everything for you."

"Don't bother your Majesty." Yang Peng said, "I don't want to alarm your Majesty about this matter."

Yang Peng sighed, "Some things are too late. It was His Majesty who rejected the marriage proposal on your behalf. How could His Majesty not know about it now? If there is anything, it still needs to be approved by His Majesty."

Li Dongyang said coldly: "My daughter has no intention of marrying anyone, neither the Kong family nor any other family. I dare not trouble Your Majesty."

"Haha." Yang Peng was laughing.

Li Dongyang, are you doing this to vent your anger?
If you don't want to marry your daughter off, you will be harming your own daughter. But think about it, it's no big deal. Anyway, as long as she doesn't marry a member of the Kong family, I can report to the emperor.

As for whether you want to marry your daughter off or not… you sound like it’s very important, but who actually cares?

……

……

After Yang Peng finished speaking, he left.

The more Li Dongyang thought about it, the angrier he became. When he returned to the duty room, his face was still gloomy.

Liu Jian asked, "Is it about Guandongzhuang?"

"Yeah." Li Dongyang nodded.

Liu Jian frowned and said, "The inheritance of the lineage of Duke Yansheng is related to the dignity of scholars. The lesson given to the Kong family before has passed. Why is Your Majesty still brooding over it?"

Li Dongyang said: "Perhaps the reason why Dongzhuang came to Beijing without visiting Zhang Bingkuan first and came directly to my house is the source of His Majesty's dissatisfaction."

"Humph." Liu Jian said coldly, "That's even more true."

Li Dongyang could tell that Liu Jian's words were clearly meant to show his anger towards the emperor.

He shook his head and said, "Dongzhuang also said that it's not that he doesn't want to meet Zhang Bingkuan, but he just doesn't have the opportunity. Zhang Bingkuan's family is so high that he can be called a crime in the court and the country. In name, he doesn't form a clique, but the people he uses are very closed off. No one can easily gain his respect. Only those who are admired by him can get the opportunity to meet him."

Liu Jian said: "There is no greater danger from factions than this."

Li Dongyang sighed: "In this way, I have harmed Dongzhuang. As far as I know, his illness may not last too long. If it cannot be resolved soon, it can only be... unresolved!" (End of this chapter)