The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 164 The Sponsor is Here
On the sixth day of July, two refugees from Yuncheng, Shandong, traveled thousands of miles from southern Liaoning to Kaiyuan and brought earth-shaking news.

On the ninth day of the sixth lunar month in the second year of the Taichang reign, Xu Hongru, the leader of the White Lotus sect, led his followers in an uprising in Shandong. The followers successively captured Yuncheng, Zouxian, and Tengxian counties, sweeping across the land and bringing with them refugees, and the number of followers quickly swelled to 50,000 to 60,000.

Shandong is shocked.

The charlatan Xu Hongru called himself "Emperor Zhongxing Fu" and competed with Emperor Taichang.

Those who should have rebelled did not, and those who should not have rebelled rebelled prematurely.

Ping Liaohou didn't know much about the White Lotus Sect. Upon hearing the news, he immediately summoned Kang Yingqian and asked him about the origins of Xu Hongru.
During the Ming Dynasty, the White Lotus Sect flourished throughout China, with Shandong and Beizhili being the most prominent areas where the sect gathered. Kang Yingqian, a former military governor of Shandong, personally participated in the suppression of the White Lotus Sect and had a good understanding of Emperor Zhongxingfu's inner workings.

"I don't know much, but I do know a little about the White Lotus Sect in Yuncheng. It's called the Wenxiang Sect. They believe in the ancestor Chen Tuan, and their whereabouts are often mysterious. To join the sect, you have to pay three coins and three silver coins. In the early years, they just deceived people into paying incense money. In the 42nd year of the Wanli reign, Wang Sen organized a rebellion among the believers. After he was executed by the court, Xu Hongru became the leader of the rebellion. This Xu Hongru was originally from Juye. He said that he met an immortal in Penglai and obtained a book of unorthodox teachings. He can command ghosts and gods, and even turn beans into soldiers. He uses these tricks to deceive fools."

Ping Liaohou nodded repeatedly after hearing this. As far as he knew, during the Ming Dynasty, officials, civilians and gentry all believed in Taoism, and many unorthodox teachings were derived from Taoism. Therefore, it was not surprising that a charlatan like Xu Hongru could bewitch people.

Kang Yinggan stroked his beard and angrily said, "These White Lotus Sect members are truly despicable. Not only have they deceived the people, but now they're rebelling! Marquis Ping Liao, our business in Shandong has just started to pick up, and we can't let Xu Hongru ruin it!"

"Of course," Liu Zhaosun was silent for a long time, already planning on sending troops in his mind.

"Shandong is more important to me than the southwest. I can put She Chongming aside for now. There must be no chaos in Shandong!"

When a country is about to fall, there will be evil spirits. Just after we dealt with the Jiannu, so many rebels suddenly appeared. However, the development of the situation in Shandong in recent days still surprised Liu Zhaosun.

In the next few days, all mountain combat training on Huqiu Mountain was stopped, and Kaiyuan began to prepare for the expedition to Shandong.

~~~~~
Xu Hongru led the Wenxiang followers on a campaign of conquest, overwhelming the garrisons across Shandong. By the end of June, the "Emperor of the Restoration of Fu" had captured most of the counties in Yanzhou Prefecture. Juye, Caoxian, Yuncheng, Dongping, and Tengxian fell one after another, leaving even Qufu, home to the Duke of Yansheng, in imminent danger.

The 71-year-old Duke Yansheng, Kong Shangtan, was so frightened by the power of Emperor Zhongxingfu that he suffered a stroke on the spot (some say it was a stroke on horseback), and was eventually frightened to death. His only son, Kong Yinzhi, soon inherited the position of Duke Yansheng.

In early July, the Wenxiang Sect continued their burning, killing, and looting, capturing Pingyi and Sishui and advancing towards Linyi. Governor Zhao Yan and Military Commissioner Li Bengu ordered the defense of Shandong's garrisons and squadrons. Denglai Governor Yuan Keli mobilized troops from Wendengying, Chengshanwei, and Weihaiwei garrisons, converging at Yishui to block the White Lotus Sect outside Qingzhou Prefecture and prevent the rebellion from spreading further to the northeast.

Seeing Xu Hongru's overwhelming power, the government army suffered repeated defeats, Yanzhou fell, and Qingzhou was in danger, Governor Zhao was extremely anxious and kept asking the court for help. If the White Lotus Sect were to invade Qingzhou or capture Qufu, and if anything happened to the Duke of Yansheng, Zhao Yan's tenure as governor would be over.

Li Bengu, the military governor, and Yu Min, the imperial censor, jointly submitted a petition to the court, requesting immediate reinforcement of border troops and the transfer of troops from Jizhen and Liaozhen. Several imperial censors specifically requested that the Kaiyuan army rush to Shandong to provide assistance and that the Marquis of Pingliao lead his troops to land in Weihai to suppress the Wenxiang sect. Otherwise, "the hometown of Confucius and Mencius would be reduced to a paradise of white lotus."

~~~~~~
Kaiyuan General's Mansion.

"General Kang, the Ministry of War sent a letter yesterday urging me to immediately provide assistance to Shandong. Do you want to go to Shandong to meet this charlatan?"

Shandong officials were in a state of panic, but Liu Zhaosun was hesitant about whether to intervene in the chaos.

The Kaiyuan Intelligence Bureau has little influence in Shandong and doesn't even have reliable informants.

The army hurried to Shandong, probably like a blind man riding a blind horse, approaching a deep pond in the middle of the night.

Ping Liaohou made up his mind that from now on, he must start strengthening the intelligence bureau. In the future, every important node city in the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty must have an intelligence network in Kaiyuan.

Kang Yingqian was surprised and said, "Why not? This is a golden opportunity. We are almost out of money and food. The rebellion in the southwest is imminent. Water from afar cannot quench a nearby fire. If we don't rob, we will starve to death! The Shandong Grand Canal passes through, and the five prefectures and thirty-two counties are all extremely wealthy!"

Kang Yingqian keenly realized that this was an opportunity, an opportunity to expand Kaiyuan's strength.

"General Liu, we've been waiting and watching for a month. If we don't take action, we'll be out of luck this year. The court is begging us to send troops every day, why are you so timid?"

Liu Zhaosun hesitated to speak.

Kang Yingqian continued to persuade:
"Yuncheng, Pingdu and other places are rich and fertile, the people are well-off, and the business is thriving. They are no worse than the chieftains in the southwest. The White Lotus Sect has just plundered them. Let's kill Xu Hongru and rob him of millions of silver! Then we can expand the trade to the area around the canal. With the support of soldiers, we can make millions of taels of silver a year! With Shandong and Liaodong, we can compete with the imperial court!" Live, we must live.

The White Lotus Sect wreaked havoc in Shandong, bringing devastating suffering to the people and the deaths of tens of millions of civilians. Xu Hongru deserved the death penalty.

He secretly made up his mind to destroy this group of evildoers and expand his power in Shandong.

"General Kang, who is the richest person in Yanzhou Prefecture?"

Kang Yingqian knew what Ping Liaohou was going to do, so he stretched out his hand to interrupt him and said with a smile:

"Forget it, let's not go after that guy. He's the richest man in Yanzhou Prefecture, and we can't touch him. Compared to him, Ding Bi and the others are just small fry."

After hearing this, Liu Zhaosun immediately became interested and asked General Kang who it was.

Kang Yingqian was full of contempt: "Do you want me to say it myself?"

Liu Zhaosun looked innocent and said, "I really don't know."

Kang Yingqian was even more disdainful. "Everyone in the world knows that the Confucius Mansion in Qufu is the richest in Qi and Lu. The Duke of Yansheng owns over 100,000 acres of farmland, as well as forests, mines, and tax checkpoints. Every year, the Confucius Mansion earns hundreds of thousands of taels of silver from rent alone."

Kang Yingqian became more and more annoyed as he spoke:
"General Liu, you know that the selection of the governors of Shandong Province was always based on the opinion of the Duke of Yansheng. His family is the parent official of Shandong Province. During the Chenghua period, the sixth Duke of Yansheng, Kong Hongxu, raped a musician from the Jiaofang Division and killed four people, causing an uproar throughout the country. In the end, the emperor only demoted Kong Hongxu to a commoner..."

Liu Zhaosun didn't know much about the previous Yanshenggongs, but he did know Confucius' sixty-fourth grandson, Kong Yinzhi, because he was too famous.

In 1644, when the Manchus entered the Pass and the northern Han people were still desperately resisting, Kong Yinzhi immediately submitted the famous "First Commitment" to express his willingness to submit to the Qing Dynasty. (Note 1)

In the second year of Shunzhi, the Qing Dynasty issued an order to shave the hair. When people were killed for shaving their heads, Kong Yinzhi led his clansmen to shave their heads first, setting an example.

From the Song Dynasty to the Republic of China, what Yanshenggong did in history can be summarized as follows: when encountering foreign invaders, he would surrender and submit at the first opportunity, and then eagerly request to be enthroned.

Liu Zhaosun decided to use his great doctrine to influence Duke Yansheng and leave a deep impression on the descendants of Confucius.

"Then follow the advice of Military Supervisor Kang, march south, wipe out the Kong Mansion, kill this Duke Yansheng, and then destroy that butcher Xu Hongru!"

Kang Yingqian waved his hands quickly and exclaimed:
"Absolutely not! How can we kill the Duke of Yansheng? Although the Kong family of Qufu has committed many evil deeds, they are respected by scholars all over the world. If we kill them, we will offend all the scholars in the world!"

Liu Zhaosun nodded, thinking that there was some truth in it, and asked:

"General Kang, do you admire Duke Yansheng?"

Kang Yingqian was full of contempt:
"This Kong family didn't need to take the imperial examinations, didn't need ten years of hard study, and was born as the Crown Prince's Junior Guardian and the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor. They were ranked above the cabinet ministers during court appearances. They don't have the moral integrity of Confucius, yet they enjoy the worship of a sage and are revered by the people! What's the basis for this?"

Liu Zhaosun laughed heartily.

"Well said! Even Lord Kang looks down on Duke Yansheng, let alone other scholars! I hate these role models the most. Don't worry, we don't have to do it. Let Xu Hongru do the killing. Supervisor Kang is resourceful. Have you ever heard of the strategy of driving a tiger to devour a wolf?"

Notes:

(1) "Initial Memorial": All nations admire the rule of the Reform Movement; the Emperor's rule is just and upright, and the nine generations of the nation extend the benevolence of the Reform Movement. All the people return home, and the whole world rejoices. I respectfully pay my tribute to His Majesty, who inherits the throne from Heaven and pacifies the people with virtue. Looking at the sublime teachings of the Holy Spirit, I tremble with fear; admiring the glorious plans of the Emperor, I admire him deeply...

(End of this chapter)