Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 203 The Emperor is Weak and Incompetent, Inadequate to Serve the Ancestral Temple
In springtime, Yangzhou should be a place of great beauty, with the saying "Fireworks in March descend on Yangzhou" being used to describe the city's vibrant atmosphere. However, it is now shrouded in a continuous drizzle.

Under a leaden sky, the Slender West Lake was shrouded in mist and rain, with distant mountains and nearby waters turning into varying shades of light gray in an ink painting.

Deep in the heart of the lake, a painted boat is quietly moored.

From the outside, the painted boat, with its black awning and blue curtains, was so simple that it looked like the kind of boat that scholars and literati would use for a leisurely boat trip on the lake, and it was quite unremarkable.

However, around this painted boat, dozens of inconspicuous small fishing boats were scattered about, like stars surrounding the moon, seemingly close yet distant.

The people sitting on the boat were not fishermen, but a group of burly men dressed in short-sleeved, tight-fitting clothes.

They scanned every corner of the lake warily, their hands, resting on the hilts of their knives, bulging with veins.

Inside the cabin of the pleasure boat, a long rosewood table was filled with exquisite Huaiyang cuisine.

Crystal pork jelly, crab meat lion's head meatballs, braised shredded tofu... each dish is enough to bankrupt an ordinary family, yet no one touches a single bite.

Inside the cabin, eight people were seated.

These eight people were dressed differently and spoke with different accents, but each of them had a ruthless and shrewd look in their eyes that seemed to be ready to kill a thousand times and make a fortune.

They were salt merchants, maritime merchants, and textile tycoons from the Huaihe River Basin, Zhejiang Province, Fujian Province, Guangdong Province, and other places.

In this era, they were the true money-makers of the Ming Dynasty.

The leader was Wang Zonghai.

No matter how wealthy or powerful the tycoons present were, they all had to respectfully address him as "General Manager Wang."

"Snapped!"

A crisp, decisive sound broke the deathly silence inside the cabin.

It was Wang Zonghai's thin right hand, adorned with a large jade thumb ring, that slammed a jet-black Go stone heavily onto the center point of the white marble Go board in front of him, as if setting the final tone for today's high-stakes gamble.

"A month and a half!"

Wang Zonghai spoke, his voice hoarse, yet carrying a barely suppressed, almost frenzied excitement.

"For a full forty-five days! Emperor Chongzhen stayed in that tiny place of Dezhou, not daring to move an inch forward!"

Upon hearing this, the oppressive atmosphere in the cabin immediately eased, and everyone began to whisper among themselves.

A Fujianese merchant, who had long dealt with the Portuguese, wore an innate air of caution and worry. He whispered, "Mr. Wang, could this be a trap? That young emperor has never shown any mercy, whether in the capital, in Shanxi, or even in Zhejiang. If he has laid a trap in Dezhou, is he just waiting for us to fall into it?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Zonghai let out a disdainful sneer, which echoed in the cramped cabin and sounded particularly jarring.

"A trap? Zhang Dequan, tell me, what does he have in store for his trap?"

Wang Zonghai's gaze was like two sharp awls piercing the Fujian merchant, then slowly sweeping over everyone present.

He seemed to see through the deepest fears in everyone's hearts, and the sarcasm at the corner of his mouth deepened.

“I know what you’re afraid of. You’re just afraid of those grain merchants who got burned in Zhejiang a few days ago, and those fools in Tianjin who don’t know what’s good for them.”

He abruptly changed the subject, his voice becoming cold and ruthless.

"But what are they? Those guys from Zhejiang are nothing but hoarders of rice, with a few bodyguards and thugs under their command. Do they even deserve to be compared to us? They don't even have the awareness to risk their lives. They deserve to die!"
As for Tianjin? That's right under the emperor's nose, in the north! There, the Zhu family calls the shots. But here," Wang Zonghai said, tapping heavily on the ship's deck with his jade-ringed hand, "this is Jiangnan!"

"In Jiangnan, if you're a dragon, you have to coil up for us! If you're a tiger, you have to lie down for us!"

He looked at the rekindled flames in everyone's eyes, smiled with satisfaction, and continued to increase the stakes.

"What's more, times have changed! Those officials and local gentry who used to spout 'the words of sages' and look down on us with disdain in their eyes, what about now? Let me tell you, they're even more anxious than we are!"
The emperor's sword will not only cut our flesh, but also sever their very foundation! Now they are grasping our hands, begging us to join them! When in this world have merchants and scholars ever been so united?

He suddenly waved his hand, his voice booming like thunder!
"So, this isn't just about the survival of a few businesses, or the safety of a prefecture or county! It's about the entire Jiangnan region! The entire Southern Zhili region! They're all on the verge of rebellion! Does Emperor Chongzhen even dare to come? What can he use to quell this? With those useless cowards in the Beijing garrison who can barely lift a sword? Or with his newly trained army that's only been in the capital region for a few months and hasn't even seen blood? No matter how capable his Embroidered Uniform Guard is at killing, can they possibly kill the entire South?!"

Wang Zonghai walked back to the window, his expression no longer the calm and calculating one he had before, but a feverish confidence of certain victory.

"So, he wasn't setting a trap; he was afraid!" Wang Zonghai's voice suddenly rose, his tone filled with undisguised contempt. "He's afraid! He's afraid that once he crosses Shandong, his own life won't be safe! He's afraid he won't return from this trip!"

Wang Zonghai stretched out a finger and pointed to the south in the air.

"He fears that if we cut off the canal transport route under his throne, the million hungry mouths in the capital will devour him alive! He fears even more that if the gentry and merchants of Jiangnan, who are united in their hearts, fall into chaos, it will be questionable whether his Ming Dynasty will still belong to the Zhu family!"

He paused, his smile growing even colder.

"So, he stopped in Texas. He's testing our guts, seeing who can blink first!"

Wang Zonghai stood by the carved wooden window and pushed it open a crack.

A cool breeze carrying moisture blew in, instantly invigorating him.

He looked out the window at the misty rain, his eyes gleaming with a greedy and fiery light, like that of a hungry wolf.

"Gentlemen," he turned around, his voice filled with seductive power, "this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! How many years has it been since we've had such a good thing?"

He looked around at the crowd whose desires and ambitions he had ignited, his voice lowered, yet it became all the more resounding.

"What makes us think we can?" Wang Zonghai sneered. "We can rely on three things—fame, power, and military force!"

"Who will give us the title?" he asked himself, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism. "The Duke of Yansheng of Qufu is the foremost scholar in the land! As long as the Confucius family issues a proclamation denouncing the emperor's moral failings, then they are acting on behalf of Heaven! Who dares to call us traitors?"

"Who will support this power?" He raised his second finger. "There are leaders of the Donglin Party like Qian Longxi and Qian Qianyi, and countless officials and gentry families in Jiangnan who share our fate! They have long been united, just waiting for the right opportunity! This is called officials forcing merchants to rebel, but it is also a unity of scholars and merchants!"

"As for the soldiers..." He raised his last finger, pausing heavily as if holding an invisible knife, "We salt smugglers and sea merchants, who have licked blood from the edge of a knife for decades, which of us doesn't have hundreds or thousands of desperate men under our command? His Highness Prince Fu of Luoyang not only has the ability to provide men, but he can also raise his banner as a vassal king, commanding all the vassal kings in the land! Tell me, after what happened with the Prince of Qin, how many people in this land with the surname Zhu will truly help Emperor Chongzhen?"

Wang Zonghai abruptly withdrew his hand and slammed his fist against the windowsill with a dull thud!
"A legitimate proclamation, officials and gentry united in the court and the countryside, plus the swords in our hands and the Prince of Fu's royal banner! With this overwhelming force pressing down, what can this immature little emperor possibly use to stop it?"

Wang Zonghai's breathing became heavy, and a sickly flush appeared on his face.

"At that time, what else can he do besides issue an edict of self-reproach and admit his mistakes to the world? In order to quell the wrath of the people and to save his shaky throne, wouldn't that eunuch Wei Zhongxian and that sorcerer Xu Guangqi be the best scapegoats? He can't even protect his own country, would he be reluctant to kill two lackeys?"

His words struck like a thunderbolt, making everyone in the cabin's blood boil and their breathing become rapid and hot.

Seeing their reactions, Wang Zonghai's smile deepened. He walked back to the center of the room, raised a glass of wine from the table, and raised his voice again.

"Once this is accomplished, the salt permits, maritime trade, and customs duties of the southern Zhili, Liangzhe, Fujian, Guangdong... this entire southeastern half of the country will be determined by us through discussion! As for the other court, taking a portion of the tribute we give them each year will be enough!"

He took a step forward and almost growled out the most hurtful words.

"Gentlemen, wealth and glory depend on this gamble!"

……

Unlike the continuous rain in Yangzhou, the Central Plains were still suffering from drought.

Dust billowed in the training ground, where a dense crowd of about two or three thousand people stood.

This is a team with a diverse composition.

Standing at the front row were about five hundred people, who were the personal guards and servants of the Prince of Fu.

They were dressed in matching red battle jackets with mandarin ducks on the background, and carried gleaming swords and spears. They were all spirited and in neat formation, clearly elite troops raised by Prince Fu at great expense.

Behind them were nearly a thousand newly recruited rabble.

Some of these people were guards of the Prince's mansion, some were idle ruffians in Luoyang, and many were fugitives who had fled from the surrounding area.

Their weapons were a motley collection, and their ranks were sparse, but the same light shone in everyone's eyes—a thirst for gold and silver.

On the high platform at the end of the training ground, Zhu Changxun, the Prince of Fu, known as the "richest prince in the world," was standing there with difficulty, wearing a set of extremely large gold-threaded soft armor specially made for him.

He was so fat that his glittering gold armor looked like it was about to burst from the overflowing fat inside his body.

He was panting heavily with every word he spoke, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, but the arrogance and smugness in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

"My sons...my lads!"

Zhu Changxun shouted with all his might, his enormous chin trembling. "I...I am a direct descendant of Emperor Taizu Gao! The current emperor is weak and incompetent, unfit to serve the ancestral temple. He has been deceived by treacherous officials like Wei Zhongxian and Xu Guangqi, who are plotting to commit perverse acts. The people of the world live in fear, and the people are suffering!"

He stopped and gasped for breath.

A quick-witted eunuch immediately brought over a bowl of ginseng soup and ran forward to serve it to him.

Prince Fu cleared his throat, and his voice finally grew louder.

"I, the King, cannot bear to see the empire of our founding emperor ruined by treacherous villains! Now, in accordance with the will of the people, I raise an army to 'purge the court of corrupt officials'! I will execute the traitors to secure the nation! This is in accordance with Heaven's will and the people's will, and is the righteous cause!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a burly leader of the personal guards below the stage immediately raised his arms and shouted: "We are willing to die for Your Highness!"

The crowd below the stage also joined in with scattered shouts.

Prince Fu nodded in satisfaction; this was the effect he wanted. He roared at the audience again, this time with all the strength he had ever mustered.

"Okay! Well said!"

He waved his fat arms, spitting as he spoke.

"I won't waste time with your empty platitudes! Every one of you who follows me on this campaign will be rewarded with twenty taels of silver! Each city we capture will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver! And if we can march straight to Dezhou and capture Wei Zhongxian and Xu Guangqi alive, we will reward you with one thousand taels of silver and grant you one hundred acres of land!"

He paused, a smug smile spreading across his face.

"I may not have much else, but I have plenty of money!"

"Wow—"

These words caused an uproar in the audience, with the greedy red light in the eyes of the rabble almost bursting forth.

Prince Fu gave a wink to the leader of his personal guards.

Several large, heavy boxes were carried onto the platform. When the lids were opened, they were filled with freshly cast silver ingots. Under the gloomy light, the snow-white ingots shimmered with a light more alluring than the sun.

"I am willing to die for the prince!"

"I am willing to die for the prince!"

The roar, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing, was unified and soared straight into the sky.

Prince Fu, Zhu Changxun, slowly opened his arms, closed his eyes, and thoroughly enjoyed the scene of everyone's support. A smug and twisted smile appeared on his fat face.

Just ten days ago, officials in Luoyang's government offices and even captains of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had all fled at the first sign of trouble. This undeniable fact only strengthened his conviction—the emperor was afraid! His little nephew sitting on the dragon throne was truly afraid!

This is why he became even more convinced that he was a descendant of Emperor Taizu Gao and a member of the noble imperial family.

By using the banner of "purging the emperor's inner circle," he naturally gained an invincible position.

This world ultimately belongs to the Zhu family!

It is only natural for him, a member of the Zhu family, to purge the "imperial advisors" from the side of another member of the Zhu family!

……

The Confucius Mansion, the council hall.

The atmosphere here was even more gloomy and heavy than the weather outside.

Kong Yinzhi sat upright in the main seat, while all the core elders of the Kong clan sat on armchairs on both sides of the hall, each sitting upright and silent.

In the oppressive silence, an elder with a white beard, who looked mature and prudent, finally stood up and said in a trembling voice, "Your...Your Excellency! That young emperor has been staying in Dezhou for a month and a half without making a move. In my opinion, he must be waiting for an attitude from our Kong family! Prince Fu is a vassal king, and Wang Zonghai is a merchant; neither of them are respectable. The affairs of the world should be decided by us scholars."

He paused, his tone becoming even more humble.

"As long as... as long as our Kong family is willing to lower our heads first and offer up 30%... no, 50% of our land and wealth, and then you, sir, personally submit a memorial of self-reproach to show your support for the gentry of the land, surely the emperor, no matter what, will at least leave some dignity for us descendants of the sage..."

"Decent?!"

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a thunderous roar.

Kong Yinzhi slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly!

His usually calm and composed face was now ashen.

Kong Yinzhi trembled violently with extreme anger.

“Eleven letters! My Kong family humbled ourselves and wrote him a full eleven letters! And what did he do?” Kong Yinzhi’s voice sounded as if it were being squeezed out from between his teeth.

“He didn’t reply to a single letter! This is an insult! A blatant insult!” His gaze swept over everyone present like a sharp sword.

"Do you think he's just here for money? He's here to take away the lifeblood of our Kong family, which has been passed down for two thousand years! He's here to dig up our Kong family's ancestral graves!"

His voice suddenly rose in pitch, echoing throughout the hall.

"Do you think that giving up a few percent of your land will settle things? Open your eyes and see! What are his people doing? They're going to smash the bones of all of us gentry, extract the oil from them, and use it to fill his bottomless national treasury! If my Kong family bows down today, the hearts of the scholars of the world will be scattered! Then our Kong family will be a fat sheep that has been plucked clean and will be slaughtered at will!"

Kong Yinzhi's chest heaved violently, his eyes burning with rage. "My Kong family has a lineage spanning two thousand years since the Han Dynasty! Through countless dynastic changes, when have we ever suffered such a humiliating disgrace? Why should we bow down to a mere child not even twenty years old?!"

Under his resolute demeanor, all dissenting voices in the hall fell silent.

Kong Yinzhi gradually calmed down.

He knew that the most crucial moment had arrived.

In fact, to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, some of the women in the household and children under the age of thirteen had already been secretly sent away from Qufu in batches. Most of them went to Jiangnan to take refuge temporarily, while others who were unwilling to travel far were settled in villages in various rural areas.

Now, he was about to issue an order that would determine the fate of the family; his voice was clear and cold.

"Yinzheng".

He looked at his cousin, Kong Yinzheng, who was also a key figure in the Kong family.

"You, immediately take the core members of the clan, along with the gold, silver, valuables, rare books, and most importantly, the land deeds of the estates in various places, and head south!"

He emphasized his tone.

"Remember, don't take the official roads. Take the waterway from Weishan Lake straight to Yangzhou to meet them! If you hear there's trouble in the north, then switch to sea travel!"

Kong Yinzheng's expression changed, and he looked at him with concern: "Brother, then you..."

"I will stay in Qufu!" Kong Yinzhi interrupted him without hesitation, his eyes gleaming with the light of a martyr. "I am the unyielding banner of the Kong family! I will unite the scholars of the world and issue a 'Proclamation Against the Traitors,' so that Emperor Chongzhen, and all the people of the world, will know what the will of the people is! What the wrath of the scholars is!"
……

After everyone left, only Kong Yinzhi remained in the large council hall. The resolute and tragic look on his face slowly faded, replaced by a deeper calm and cunning.

In truth, didn't he also want to kneel down and beg?

His original plan was that as long as the young emperor was willing to give him a chance, he was willing to give up everything the Kong family had!
They could give up land and wealth, as long as they could retain the title of "Duke Yansheng" and the name of "leader of the scholars of the world," it would only be a matter of time before the Kong family rose again.

However, the emperor didn't even glance at them!
Those eleven letters that disappeared without a trace were the most ruthless humiliation and rejection!

Thinking of the Shanxi merchants whose entire families were executed, Zhou Yanru who suffered the same fate, the grain merchants in Jiangnan whose entire families were executed, and even the officials and gentry throughout the Ming Dynasty whose prisons were filled by the Embroidered Uniform Guard... a chill ran from the soles of Kong Yinzhi's feet straight to the top of his head.

Kong Yinzhi was scared, truly scared.

He knew that if things failed, the other members of the Kong family might still have a glimmer of hope, but he, as the head of the Kong family, was doomed!
Death might be considered a lighter punishment than being bound to the execution ground and subjected to the excruciating pain of being sliced ​​into three thousand pieces...

Kong Yinzhi dared not think any further, and his resolve to make that decision grew stronger.

"If things don't work out... then we might as well abandon the Ming Dynasty. As long as we're alive, we're descendants of sages wherever we go."

He had already prepared his last and most foolproof escape route—in Dengzhou Port, the closest port to Qufu, the fastest seagoing vessel was ready and waiting, fully loaded with gold, silver and supplies.

If anything goes wrong, he will immediately escape, board a ship, and head straight for Japan!

(End of this chapter)