Ming Dynasty: Tanks blocked the door and you said to me, "Long live Ming Dynasty"

Kong Yinzhi frowned when he saw this: "Yishi, can you please sit down properly!"

Liu Zhongdi was very anxious and said, "Oh! My Lord Taishan!"

"Why aren't you in a hurry at all? The bandits have already reached Yuncheng, and if they pass Yanzhou, they will reach Qufu. What should we do?"

Kong Yinzhi glared at him: "Why are you panicking?"

"My Kong family has been through 23 dynasties and has been rich and honorable for 2,000 years. We have seen all kinds of storms and waves. They are just a few rebels and are not worth mentioning."

County Magistrate Kong Hongyi echoed, "You are right, sir!"

"The honor of our Kong family is incomparable to that of ordinary noble families. Even some princes cannot match the status of our Kong family."

"Since the Duke has sent a letter to the court asking for help, the Emperor will surely send a large army to rescue Qufu!"

"You don't have to worry too much, Judge Liu."

Upon hearing this, the rest of the people expressed their agreement.

"Yes, every dynasty has relied on our Confucius School to win over the world's scholars. It is impossible for us to just watch Qufu being ravaged by rebels!"

"Yes! Unless the guy named Zhu doesn't want this world to come to him!"

........

There was a lively discussion inside the mansion, but outside, a rider came galloping in the wind and snow. After entering the mansion, he went straight to the front hall.

"Urgent news from the capital! Urgent news from the capital!"

This urgent report came from Kong Yinzhi's second son-in-law, Luo Shangzhong, the Minister of Taichang Temple, who was dismissed and asked other Confucian ministers in the capital to pass on the news day and night without stopping.

When Kong Yinzhi heard the news from the capital, he couldn't help but show joy.

"Hahaha, look! The imperial court is sending a large army to aid Qufu!"

Kong Yinchun quickly got up to receive the urgent report.

Kong Zhenlai also came forward happily: "Open it quickly and see how many troops the court has sent! One hundred thousand or two hundred thousand?"

Kong Yinchun excitedly opened the letter and took a closer look.

They both froze at the same time.

Seeing this, Kong Hongyi couldn't help but joked, "What's wrong? Are you two scared by the huge reinforcements? Hahahaha!"

Kong Zhenlai opened his eyes wide and told the contents of the letter in disbelief.

"The border bandits are rampant, and the imperial court is overwhelmed. There are no reinforcements to send for the time being. Your Majesty grants Duke Yansheng the right to recruit soldiers and build an army to fight the bandits on his own!"

As soon as this statement came out, the whole hall was stunned.

Kong Yinzhi was playing with walnuts in his hands, and his hands paused when he heard this.

"This, this...how is this possible!?"

A walnut slipped from his hand, fell to the ground with a thud, and the tip broke.

"This is impossible!" Kong Hongyi snatched it from the two men's hands and took a look, and his back couldn't help but feel a chill.

"Taichang Temple Minister Luo Shangzhong suggested that the Shandong coastal garrison be moved to Qufu, but he was punished by the emperor and dismissed from his post!"

No one could believe that the imperial court would just ignore the Kong family.

Some people were even more angry and said: "The emperor is like this, is he crazy?"

Liu Zhongdi was really panicked this time.

"Lord Taishan, now that the imperial court has not sent reinforcements, the nearest Rencheng Guard and the surrounding guards have all moved to the coast. The garrison at Qufu is less than 200. What should we do?"

"Why don't we run away first!"

After hearing the news, Kong Yinzhi's face turned gloomy.

He was also very angry about the court's indifference.

But seeing everyone so panicked and speechless, he couldn't help but scold them.

"Asshole! Stop talking nonsense!"

He picked up the walnut, sat back on the main seat, calmed himself, looked around at everyone, and continued to plate the walnuts while speaking.

"My family, Duke Yansheng, has experienced countless turbulent times, and I have never heard of anyone abandoning their family and fleeing."

"My Kong family has accumulated 2,000 years of heritage. How can we give it up so easily?"

"My Kong family is the most respected family among scholars in the world. If the emperor of the Ming Dynasty does not know how to cherish it, someone else will!"

He took a sip of hot tea and continued:

"I heard that the army led by Li Zicheng had strict military discipline. Wherever they went, they only killed corrupt officials. Not only did they not harm the people, they also distributed land to the people."

"A person with such a great reputation must have great ambitions!"

"In this case, it would be beneficial to win over my Kong family and improve his reputation."

"So I believe that even if the rebels come, they will treat our Kong family with courtesy."

Kong Hongyi agreed with what he said: "Sir, your analysis is quite reasonable!"

Everyone felt relieved after hearing this.

Kong Yinzhi continued: "Even so, we still need to be prepared for both situations."

"Since the Ming Emperor has given us the right to recruit soldiers, why don't we take this opportunity to form the Kong Family Army? Then why should we be afraid of bandits?"

Kong Hongyi's eyes lit up when he heard this.

"Sir, this is a brilliant idea! Our Qufu County has a population of over 100,000 people, and there are 60,000 to 70,000 young and strong men."

"Then we can go to the surrounding Ningyang, Sishui, and Zouxian areas to recruit soldiers at the same time. With the appeal of my Kong family, it shouldn't be a problem to recruit 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers."

After hearing what the two said, everyone thought it made sense and nodded.

Kong Zhenlai was excited when he heard this: "Yes, yes, yes! We are recruiting soldiers according to the emperor's order! We can now form our own Kong Family Army openly!"

Kong Yinzhi stopped talking and immediately looked at the magistrate Kong Hongyi and said in a serious tone.

"Without further delay, Hongyi, you will be in charge of recruiting soldiers. Zhenlai, Yinchun and Yishi, the three of you will assist with all your efforts."

"We will strive to establish our Kong Family Army in the shortest possible time!"

Upon hearing this, Kong Hongyi and the other three responded in unison.

Kong Yinzhi then instructed: "Hongyi, our Kong family army should follow the standards that Qi Shaobao used to train the Qi family army."

"When you join the army, you will be given two taels of silver as a settlement allowance, and one tael and a half of silver as a monthly reward. With the salary increase, I believe we will be able to recruit many elite soldiers soon!"

"Remember, our Kong family is not short of money!"

Kong Hongyi was overjoyed when he heard this: "I will follow your orders, sir!"

The four of them immediately left the Confucius Mansion and quickly discussed the specific details of recruiting soldiers.

The recruitment notices were posted all over the streets and alleys of Qufu County that afternoon.

Many people gathered around the list curiously, watching and discussing it.

A young man asked his friend beside him.

"Zhang San, Wang Ermaizi, the Duke of Yansheng's Mansion is recruiting soldiers. Do you want to join his army?"

Upon hearing this, the man called Wang Ermaizi jumped up and down.

"Yang Tiedan, are you crazy?"

"My grandfather was killed by the two previous generations of Yansheng Duke. You actually asked me to serve as a soldier for his family. If my grandfather knew, he would crawl out of his grave and take me away!"

Yang Tiedan didn't answer and looked at another friend.

"Zhang San, what about you?"

Chapter 490: King Chuang comes and doesn’t require tax collection. Haven’t you heard about that?

When Zhang San heard Yang Tiedan's question, he also got angry.

"No, Tiedan, do you think I'm a fool?"

"Some years ago, the steward of the Yansheng family, Kong Erlangzi, seized my family's land and beat my father. Can I work for him?"

"Am I crazy, or are you crazy?"

"If all the officials in Qufu County were not from his Kong family, I would have beaten that Kong Erlangzi's brains into juice! Humph!"

After he said that, he looked at Yang Tiedan with wide eyes.

"Yang Tiedan, don't forget that your grandmother committed suicide after being raped by that bastard Kong Hongxu!"

"You unworthy descendant, you don't want to work for your enemies just for a few taels of silver, do you?"

Some of the people watching heard them talking.

Many people shared the same feeling. Some blamed Yang Tiedan, some cursed the Kong family for being domineering, and some, seeing the generous pay, were eager to try.

Yang Tiedan was in a good mood, but after hearing what Zhang San said, he became unhappy.

"Pooh, pooh, pooh! Who are you calling an unfilial descendant?"

He looked at Zhang San and the other man and laughed.

"I'm just laughing at you two for being stupid!"

Wang Ermaizi couldn't stand it anymore and stepped forward to fight: "Who are you calling stupid? Dare you say it again?"

Zhang San stopped him and said, "Er Mazi, don't do anything yet. Let him speak clearly. If he doesn't speak well, we can beat him up together!"

"You two come with me, we'll talk about it together."

Yang Tiedan pulled the two of them aside and whispered, "I said you two were stupid, but I didn't wrongly accuse you!"

"You still want to talk!" Er Mazi raised his fist as big as a casserole.

Yang Tiedan squeezed his fist with a smile: "Don't get excited! Don't get excited! Listen to me!"

Zhang San: "Stop talking nonsense and speak quickly!"

Yang Tiedan laughed and said, "Give two taels of silver for joining the army. Which fool came up with this good idea?"

"I'll just join the army first and get two taels of silver. Isn't that great?"

Wang Ermazi: "What if the rebels come into the city and start fighting?"

Zhang San: "Yes, I heard that King Chuang's troops have entered our Yanzhou Prefecture. I guess we won't get the next month's salary, and the fighting will start in a few days!"

Yang Tiedan said with a smile: "Fight if you want, we won't fight against the King of Rebellion anyway."

Wang Ermaizi was stunned: "Ah?! Serving as a soldier for the Kong family, receiving salary, but not fighting, isn't that a bit unkind?"

Yang Tiedan hit him directly on the forehead.

"What's the matter? You are now talking about loyalty to your enemy!"

"Open the city gates to welcome the rebel king. When the rebel king comes, he won't pay taxes. Haven't you heard of that?"

Zhang San said excitedly: "I've heard of this, and it seems that when King Chuang comes, he will distribute land to us common people!"

Yang Tiedan praised: "Look, look, Zhang San is still smart. We got two taels of silver from the Kong family for free, and then we follow King Chuang to share the land. Isn't that great?"

Wang Ermazi thought for a moment and said, "This seems like a good idea. Why didn't I think of it?"

So, the three of them happily went to the registration office and joined the Kong family army.

In Qufu County, there are many people who hold the same idea as them.

At noon the next day, the imperial edict to recruit soldiers authorized by Zhu Youxiao finally arrived in Qufu.

Kong Hongyi ran back to the Yanshenggong Mansion happily.

"It's all thanks to your high prestige. In less than a day, our Qufu County alone has recruited 6,000 soldiers!"

"If we add the troops recruited from the other three counties, the number would probably exceed 10,000."

Kong Yinzhi was overjoyed when he heard this, and looked at everyone with great confidence.

"Hahahaha! You all have seen it, this is the appeal of my Kong family!"

"If the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had given the power to recruit soldiers to my Kong family earlier, I'm afraid it wouldn't be the turn of the Qi family army to take the lead, hahahaha!"