The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 303 Presenting an Imperial Address
They still trusted Crown Prince Zhu Biao and his ilk, at least they weren't as domineering as Zhu Xiong Ying.

Moreover, both the emperor and the crown prince are currently in the capital, yet a child is being asked to handle matters of state; this is truly absurd.

The others also started discussing it, and then Kong Ximing, the head of the Kong family, stepped forward and spoke.

"Since no one has any objections, let each of you contact the scholars you know well, and then we can offer our advice together!"

We believe His Highness the Crown Prince will obey us. Of course, if His Highness is unwilling to follow our arrangements, we will have no choice but to seek help from His Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince!

Everyone else nodded after listening.

Kong Ximing, as the Duke Yansheng of the Kong family in this generation, originally possessed supreme power. However, the Zhu family did not have a particularly good attitude towards this family of sages, especially after the Kong family presented a letter of surrender.

Therefore, the position of Duke Yansheng was no longer important, and in fact, if it weren't for Liu Bowen's suggestion, he would have already abolished the title of Duke Yansheng.

Although the title of Duke Yansheng of the Kong family still exists, it is far less prestigious than before.

As for the Kong family, their status in the local area also declined significantly.

Nowadays, apart from being a figurehead magistrate of Qufu County, he is basically of no use.

Now, he must restore the special status of the Confucius family in the world.

Otherwise, if other families were to surpass their accumulated wealth of thousands of years, wouldn't they face sudden decline?

The next day at the court assembly, many civil officials exchanged tacit glances and nodded, their eyes filled with determination. Several military officers gathered together and discussed the matter in hushed tones.

At present, in the imperial court, Duke Xu Da of Wei is recuperating at home, while Duke Feng Sheng of Song is stationed in the northern grasslands.

The person standing at the very front is Duke Cao, Li Wenzhong, followed by Duke Liang, Lan Yu, and Fu Youde, who has just been promoted to Duke.

The people looked at these civil officials with disapproving eyes.

They all support Zhu Xiong Ying.

Although we don't know what these old men's purpose is in coming to the capital, it's clear that it's definitely not for anything good.

The current state of so many officials in the imperial court has made them even more aware of these issues.

Duke Lan Yu of Liang, standing to the side, looked at these people with disdain and said.

"He looks quite human when he's standing, but who would have thought he'd do such inhuman things!"

"Thinking you can hold your own just by hiring a few old fogies? Bah!"

"Fu Youde, I remember a saying: 'Old thief, old thief, if you don't die when you're old, then you're a thief!'"

Fu Youde burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"That's not what they say, but it does make sense. Aren't they just a bunch of old thieves?" Upon hearing this, he laughed heartily, while the civil officials in the court all looked extremely ugly and glared angrily at these military officers.

Lan Yu glanced at the gazes of these people, then let out a cold snort.

"What, do you want to fight? If you want to fight, come find me directly. If I don't beat your butts up, I'm not a Lan!"

The civil officials looked extremely displeased upon hearing this, while these military officers were all arrogant and domineering.

Although they strongly disapproved, they were helpless and could only snort coldly, lower their heads, and remain silent.

Lan Yu was even more pleased with himself upon hearing this.

"They really are a bunch of cowards. No wonder they all surrendered when the Mongols came. And what about the Confucius family in Shandong? Didn't they claim to be a family of sages?"

"In the end, they also surrendered. It's utterly shameful!" The scholars in the court were furious upon hearing this, and some of them blushed with shame.

The Kong family was only concerned with the continuation of their family line back then, but it is indeed an awkward thing to say.

Although they pointed at Lan Yu with eyes full of anger, they didn't know what to say.

At this moment, Cao Guogong Li Wenzhong frowned and looked at Lan Yu beside him.

"Alright, that's enough. Don't cause trouble for His Highness the Crown Prince. If you're really feeling aggrieved, go back and beat up their son!"

Upon hearing this, Lan Yu's eyes lit up; it was a great idea.

"If we deal with their sons, wouldn't that be bullying the weak? Let's just gather all of us second-generation nobles together and go to their doorsteps one by one to cause trouble. They won't dare to come out. Let's see how many of them can withstand it!"

These civil officials immediately felt a chill run down their spines.

If anyone else had said such things, they might have dismissed them, but the problem is that the person saying them is Lan Yu.

Lan Yu's words are as good as nails, while others are just talking nonsense, like Fu Youde.

In reality, Fu You is extremely cunning.

Most of the others were nobles from Huaixi, but Fu Youde was a latecomer to the Buddhist order and only joined Zhu Yuanzhang before the Battle of Poyang Lake.

Therefore, he knew better than anyone else how to save his life.

Just then, a voice rang out: "His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"

The grandson of the emperor, Zhu Xiong Ying, sat in that seat.

Looking at the expressions of these civil officials, Zhu Xiong Ying smiled. It seemed there was going to be a good show this time.

"My esteemed ministers, if you have matters to report, please do so; otherwise, the court is adjourned!"

At this moment, Ni Yuanlu, the Minister of Rites, stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, our Ming army has now conquered the entire Goryeo. However, we must decide on our attitude towards Goryeo!"

At this moment, an official from the Ministry of Rites came out.

"Your Highness, I believe that our Great Ming is a celestial empire, while those are merely small barbarian countries. Occupying their lands would be of little use. I think it would be better to support a king who is close to our Great Ming and then return their lands to them. If our Great Ming's army continues to be stationed in Goryeo, it will likely require a large amount of provisions, which is truly a loss!"

Zhu Xiong Ying sneered upon hearing this.

"Sir, your words are truly deafening. Should we give them some more compensation and some more land?"

After hearing Zhu Xiong Ying's words, the official sensed that something was wrong and lowered his head without saying a word.

At this moment, Zhu Xiong Ying let out a cold snort.

"You all consider yourselves to be the superior nation of the Celestial Empire, and think that Goryeo is nothing more than a small barbarian country, and the Mongols in the north are the same. Then why were you defeated and routed by the Mongols in the north and the Jurchens in the northeast during the Song Dynasty?"

"Or do you think it's impossible for any powerful figures to emerge from these places?"

The officials in the court looked extremely grim upon hearing this; these were things they were unwilling to discuss.

At this moment, Zhu Xiong Ying looked at them and said.

"When the Yuan people attacked the Central Plains, some people of integrity did indeed sacrifice their lives for their country, such as Wen Tianxiang and Lu Xiufu!"

(End of this chapter)