Yongle Emperor's grandson: Zhu Yuanzhang with cheats, Zhu Di went crazy

Chapter 185: The nest of snakes and rats is rotten to the core
"Uncle, why did this prince suddenly come to our place? Could it be because you impeached him in the name of that little guy some time ago?"

The Kong family, who had received the news long ago, had all their members rush out to wait at the door to greet them.

If it were an ordinary prince, they would probably just send one person to deal with him.

However, this person is the crown prince, the future prince, and the future emperor. He must not be offended.

To this end, the Kong family summoned all the male members of the family in Qufu to welcome him with the highest etiquette.

The man in front of him was facing a young man in the queue and whispered to an old man who was resting with his eyes closed next to him.

Kong Kexu is the most unlucky person in the contemporary Kong family and the great-grandfather of the current Duke Yansheng, Kong Yanjin.

Some time ago, the memorial impeaching the Veterans Chamber of Commerce and targeting Zhu Zhanjun was written by this old man in the name of Duke Yansheng.

The current Duke Yansheng, Kong Yanjin, is about the same age as Zhu Zhanjun. Although he is also extremely intelligent, in such a large family, he cannot control family power before reaching a certain age.

At present, most of the power of the Kong family is still handled by Kong Kexu and other older generations. Kong Yanjin, who is still very young, just stamps and signs the documents and sends them out in his name.

To put it bluntly, it means you are in charge of nothing, you cannot get any benefits, and you bear all the responsibilities for the legal person's image.

Kong Kexu raised his eyes slightly, glanced at the young man standing in front of him, and said with a flash of contempt: "That was written by Duke Yansheng, what does it have to do with me?"

Upon hearing this, the young man glanced at the boy in front of him, a hint of sympathy flashed in his eyes, and he silently stepped aside.

"Da da da……"

As the time for welcoming was approaching and Zhu Zhanjun had not shown up yet, everyone was getting anxious.

At this time, a fast horse came running from a distance.

Everyone looked up and saw that it was the personnel sent to conduct inquiries.

The man looked anxious, obviously having encountered something.

Kong Kexu and others felt a sinking feeling in their hearts, and a bad thought arose in their minds.

Sure enough, what happened next verified their thoughts.

"Master, it's bad. The prince's team has been stopped."

Kong Yanjin, the Duke of Yansheng, who was standing at the front, asked anxiously, "Who is so bold as to stop the Crown Prince's carriage?"

The knight shook his head. "I don't know who it is. There are too many people, hundreds of them."

Kong Yanjin's face changed.

If hundreds of people angered the crown prince, the Kong family would be reprimanded even if they were not punished.

However, before he could give instructions and send someone to help, the person reporting continued, "Those people were holding up petitions one by one, and some were holding up white cloth with a big word 'injustice' written on it in blood."

"I was stopped by someone and could only hear them shouting from afar, asking His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to redress their grievances."

As soon as these words were spoken, Kong Yanjin staggered, turned around and glared at the crowd behind him.

He finally understood that someone must be trying to trick him and take away his position.

After looking around, he fixed his eyes on the old guy who was at odds with him.

This old guy was Kong Kexu.

However, when he looked over, he found that Kong Kexu's face was pale.

"It's good to treat others in their own way."

Kong Kexu was an old and experienced man, and he understood the reason in just a moment.

The people who went to greet them were stopped outside, but those who cried out for justice went in easily.

Anyone with a little bit of intelligence can tell that there is definitely something wrong here.

Thinking of the impeachment memorial he had written in the name of Duke Yansheng some time ago, he also thought about what he had learned about the character of this crown prince.

Kong Kexu immediately understood that what happened today must be the Crown Prince's revenge against them.

Your Kong family values ​​reputation, so I will defeat you in reputation first.

Hundreds of people cried out for justice, and this happened outside Qufu. There was no need to think about who bullied them, except for their Kong family.

"No, go quickly..."

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Just as Kong Kexu was about to give orders, the sound of rumbling horse hooves was heard.

Kong Kexu turned his head and saw hundreds of cavalrymen riding their horses towards him from a distance.

They were all full of murderous intent, and if you didn't know, you would think they were going to the battlefield to kill the enemy.

The cavalry came galloping and surrounded the people of the Kong family in the first time. Many soldiers even took out a strange thing, a black tube, and pointed it at everyone.

"How dare you! This is the resting place of our great saint and teacher. How dare you do this?"

A member of the Kong family's face changed, but instead of being afraid, he stepped forward and started scolding.

As a result, the soldier he scolded didn't even look at him.

If they had not been instructed by their superiors not to take private action, they would have taken action against such rude guys in the past and taught him how to respect Ming soldiers.

"Everyone, I don't know which unit you are from. This is the place where the Great Saint Master rests. I hope you can give me some respect."

Although Kong Yanjin was young, he knew how to judge the situation. He glared at the man who stood up and barked, then stepped forward and bowed.

"Don't worry, Lord Yansheng. We are only here to check if there is any danger. Your Highness will be here later."

The officer in charge did not choose to remain silent in the face of Yanshenggong's questions. After all, the other party's identity was there.

"I see."

Kong Yanjin nodded and thanked him, then returned to the queue and waited quietly.

As for the Kong family, sorry, he is still young and can't control them. Even if he wants to control them, they won't listen to him.

"Uncle, this..."

The young man who was listening nearby quickly asked Kong Kexu.

Kong Kexu looked at the soldiers around him, narrowed his eyes, looked at Kong Yanjin again, and whispered, "Let's wait and see."

Soon, the sound of gongs and drums clearing the way was heard from a distance.

When everyone heard the sound and looked, they saw a mighty team coming towards them.

Various ceremonial flags were flying, and the soldiers were clearly dressed in armor and fully equipped, which was a daunting sight. In the team, there were also hundreds of ragged civilians supporting each other and following the team slowly forward.

Behind the team, a few prison vans with people inside could be vaguely seen.

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince, is here to see you!"

When Zhu Zhanjun's carriage stopped in front of the team, Kong Yanjin, along with the officials of the Kong family, stepped forward to pay their respects.

"Duke Yansheng, no need to be so polite."

Zhu Zhanjun, dressed in court robes, stepped down from the carriage, walked forward to personally help Kong Yanjin up, and bowed with a smile.

Kong Yanjin is a good person, but unfortunately he is too young and cannot control the Kong family.

"Your Highness, this is..."

After the greetings were completed, Kong Yanjin was about to introduce the ancestors behind him, but Zhu Zhanjun waved his hand and said, "No need. I am in a hurry, so I will not meet with them one by one."

Kong Kexu, who was about to step forward to salute, had even bent his waist, but his body suddenly stiffened when he heard these words.

Zhu Zhanjun ignored them and said to Kong Yanjin, "I met someone crying out for justice on the road, but it's hard to deal with it since the road is empty. Today, I would like to borrow the Holy Land to ask about the people's sentiments."

Although Kong Yanjin understood that this was aimed at the Kong family, he could not refuse. Once he refused Zhu Zhanjun, it would be disrespectful to the emperor.

"It's an honor for the Kong family, so of course we can do it."

Ignoring the look from Kong Kexu, Kong Yanjin agreed directly.

He had had enough of being the Duke of Yansheng, and he could no longer stand the filthiness of the Kong family.

Now is the perfect time to use His Highness's hand to clean up the Kong family. Perhaps it will be a good thing for the Kong family.

Zhu Zhanjun smiled with satisfaction, turned around and shouted, "Sea Patrol Office."

Hai Rui, dressed in official uniform, walked over.

"I, Hai Rui, the governor of Shandong, pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Duke of Yansheng."

Kong Yanjin looked at Hai Rui in surprise, then glanced at Zhu Zhanjun out of the corner of his eye.

Even the governor is ready, it seems that they have prepared it in advance.

Sure enough, some of the news coming from the court was correct. This prince was petty and vindictive.

"Today, people are crying out for justice. This is the resting place of the Great Saint and Teacher. You should open a court here and, under the witness of the Great Saint and Teacher, find out who is so disrespectful of the government and the law, bullying men and women, and harming the people."

Zhu Zhanjun said four words in a row, which made Kong Kexu's eyelids twitch.

He wanted to say a few words, but was stopped by Zhu Zhanjun's guards. No one except the Duke of Yansheng was allowed to approach.

Among the Kong family's crowd, they also saw people holding petitions in the distance. When they saw some of them, their faces changed immediately.

"I accept your order."

Hai Rui responded, turned to the guards assigned to him by Zhu Zhanjun, and shouted, "Open the court!"

The guards quickly got busy, moving the desk and placing the prepared case-trial tools on it one by one.

After finishing everything, they pulled out water and fire sticks from somewhere, stood on both sides of the desk, and served as yamen runners.

Several military clerks found a small stool and a small table, set out paper, ink, pens and inkstones and started taking notes.

After everything was done, Hai Rui bowed to Zhu Zhanjun and Kong Yanjin, then turned around and strode towards the desk.

"Duke Yansheng, how about you watch the trial with me?"

Zhu Zhanjun invited with a smile.

Kong Yanjin naturally would not refuse. He agreed respectfully and followed Zhu Zhanjun to the rest chair next to him.

Hai Rui came to the desk, but did not sit down immediately. Instead, he bowed to Confucius from a distance.

"Sir, the Most Holy Master, today I am here to hold a trial and I hope you will bear witness to this."

After getting up, he went to the desk and sat down, slammed the gavel and said, "Today we are going to open the trial to distinguish right from wrong. In the holy land of the most holy teacher, you must not speak nonsense. Every word you say today must be recorded one by one, and the emperor will see it."

After saying that, he slammed the gavel again and said, "The court is open."

"Awesome~~"

"Pah, take the plaintiff!"

Several ragged civilians came up, knelt down before Hai Rui and shouted, "Master, please make the decision for us."

"Tell us all your grievances, and Hai Rui will handle them impartially."

Facing the people, Hai Rui's voice softened.

Upon hearing this, several ordinary people hurriedly raised their petitions high.

Hai Rui asked someone to take it and take a look at it. His eyebrows immediately raised and he shouted, "Clerk, you come and read it."

A clerk nearby quickly put down his brush, stepped forward to take the petition, and began to read:
"I, Sun Dayou, sue Kong Xiwen of the Kong family for occupying good farmland, taking human lives lightly, and allowing slaves to commit crimes, among other thirteen charges..."

Then turn the page and look at the second one.

"I, Liu Wenwu, am suing the Kong family..."

The papers were read out one by one, and the charges were announced loudly. All of them were descendants of the Kong family, or relatives with direct ties to the Kong family.

The crimes included occupying good farmland, slaves committing crimes, murder for land, and forcibly abducting women.

The most sensational piece of news was about a man from the Kong family who was having an affair with his daughter-in-law. He was seen by someone who worked for the family. In order to conceal the matter, the family found a crime and had the man who saw the incident beaten to death.

Zhu Zhanjun listened with great interest, while the Kong family members were sweating profusely, and some were even trembling and unable to stand steadily.

Kong Yanjin's face was gloomy. He knew something about these things. Now that they were read out on the spot and heard by so many people, the reputation of the Kong family could be said to be completely ruined.

In the past, surrendering to the enemy and selling out one's country could be said to be for the purpose of protecting the saints' heritage.

But your occupation of fertile farmland has nothing to do with protecting the saint's heritage.

Especially those who killed people to silence them in order to have an affair, and those who had an affair with their brother's wife and secretly harmed their own brothers. There were many things he had never heard of.

However, he looked back at the accused and saw his grim expression and fear in his eyes, and he realized that the charges were not false.

Listening to the charges, Kong Yanjin closed his eyes helplessly.

The Kong family is completely finished!

(End of this chapter)