Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 426: Guide to the Extermination of Confucius at the End of the Yuan Dynasty (Part )

When everyone heard the news that Lu Jin deliberately asked whether the direct lineage of the Kong family from the North and South sects had died out, they looked at each other in surprise.

They all knew that their lord had always disliked Confucianism, and now that the Kong family had died out, they were afraid that the remaining branches would not have a good life either.

Sure enough, Li Shanchang at the side asked first, "My lord, why are you asking this? What are you going to do with the two branches of the Kong family, the north and the south?"

Lu Jin did not answer directly, but asked, "Let's not talk about how to deal with it first. I have heard a rumor about Confucius. It is said that Kublai Khan was talking to the Northern Confucius and asked who Confucius was. Confucius said, 'Confucius is the Qilimachi (interpreter or spokesperson) of God.' Kublai Khan said good. After that, Kong suggested that Kublai Khan be appointed as the Grand Master of Confucianism, and Kublai Khan also readily agreed. Is this true?"

Everyone looked at each other in surprise when they heard this. Where did Lu Jin hear this rumor? He even knew what Kublai Khan had said to others, so how come they hadn't heard of it?

Especially Li Shanchang, Feng Guoyong, Xia Yu, Zhan Ding, and Wang Guangyang, they were all born as scholars from the folks, and had never been officials in the Yuan Dynasty before they defected to Lu Jin. How could they know such news? The only people present who had any connection with the Yuan Dynasty were Wang Guangyang and Qin Conglong. Wang Guangyang's teacher Yu Que was a high-ranking official in the Yuan Dynasty, and Qin Conglong himself had served as a provincial-level official in the northern border of the Yuan Dynasty. If these two didn't know, then the others would be even less likely to know.

Wang Guangyang hesitated for a moment before saying, "My lord, I did hear my teacher talk about this matter, comparing Confucius to the spokesperson of heaven, but I don't know who was correct. Also, the matter of inviting Emperor Taizu to be the Grand Master of Confucianism should not have been done by the Confucius family."

"Oh" Lu Jin nodded without comment. Obviously, this answer was not what he wanted.

Qin Conglong also said at this time, "I don't know who compared Confucius to the spokesperson of heaven, but it was indeed not the Kong family who asked Emperor Taizu to be the Grand Master of Confucianism, but Zhang Dehui."

Lu Jin immediately asked curiously, "Who is Zhang Dehui?"

Qin Conglong continued, "This man was a northern Confucian scholar in the late Jin and early Yuan dynasties. He seemed to be from Taiyuan, Shanxi. After the fall of the Jin Dynasty, he first surrendered to the Han Chinese Prime Minister Shi Tianze of the early Yuan Dynasty, and served under him as an official and a councilor. Later, he was summoned by Emperor Taizu and selected as a Confucian official in the early Yuan Dynasty. He also served as a envoy and imperial envoy, and finally was appointed as an official in the Secretariat. He was a relatively famous Confucian official around Emperor Taizu. Many of the Han Confucian methods practiced in the early Yuan Dynasty came from him."

"I see."

Lu Jin actually didn't care who Zhang Dehui was. He just wanted to use this to accuse the Kong family of a crime. So he added, "But no matter who invited Kublai Khan to be the Grand Master of Confucianism, the Kong family didn't object, right?"

"That's true." Qin Conglong had to admit.

It's good that you admit it. Lu Jin continued, "Kublai Khan can't even speak Chinese. He needs Qilimachi to speak for him when talking to Han officials. Such a chieftain is actually regarded as a great Confucian master. Isn't it ridiculous? Is Confucianism the study of barbarians?"

"This is certainly not the learning of barbarians." Wang Guangyang wanted to make amends, but what he did at the time was really shameless. Even if he wanted to refute, he didn't know how to start.

Lu Jin then said, "There is also a saying that Confucius is the spokesperson for heaven. Even the Emperor of Zhou only dared to call himself the Son of Heaven, but Confucius could speak for heaven? Could it be that Confucius spoke for heaven? Is he the biological father of the emperor?"

Everyone was horrified when they heard this. My goodness, after Lu Jin put such a big hat on her, did Kong still want to live?

Wang Guangyang quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "My Lord, this matter is just a rumor. Whether it was reported or not is still a matter of debate. How can we punish people for rumors when there is no basis for it? Besides, this happened decades ago. Even if it was said by the Kong family, several generations have passed. I am afraid it will be difficult to convince people if we continue to investigate."

"Okay, let's not talk about this matter. Since it's just a rumor, let's just pretend it doesn't exist." Lu Jin immediately agreed.

Wang Guangyang was stunned when he heard this. He thought Lu Jin was going to continue to argue, but Lu Jin picked it up heavily and put it down lightly. What did this mean? Based on his previous understanding of this lord, this matter would never be so easily overturned.

Sure enough, I heard Lu Jin say it again.

"Rumors cannot convict people. What crime should Kong Shi be punished for betraying his master and surrendering to the enemy? When the Jingkang Kingdom was destroyed and his family was ruined, he surrendered to the Jin bandits first and then to the Yuan bandits. He openly split the country, aided and abetted the tyrant, and became an accomplice to the tiger. What crime should he be punished for such a vile act of surrendering to the enemy and betraying his country?"

"This, this, this, this happened nearly a hundred years ago. I'm afraid it's not easy to pursue it further." Wang Guangyang said with a stiff face.

"Oh?" Lu Jin pretended to be puzzled and asked, "Although I am not a Confucian scholar, I know a thing or two about Confucianism. I remember that there is a saying in the Confucian classic Gongyang Zhuan, 'Can a grudge of nine generations be avenged? Even a hundred generations can be avenged!' How should this sentence be interpreted?"

Lu Jin's move of using magic to counter magic was so impressive that Wang Guangyang's scalp tingled. If he had to go by Gongyang Zhuan's statement, then Bei Kong could indeed be punished, and it would not be a pity to kill them all. So he certainly could not start with Gongyang Zhuan and debate with Lu Jin, so he could only make up for it in a roundabout way.

"My lord, during the Jingkang period, Emperor Gaozong abandoned the north and fled south, which was suspected of abandoning the northern scholars and civilians. At that time, it was not only the Kong family in the north who were forced to surrender to the enemy by the Jin people. If the Kong family is punished for this, I am afraid that all the northern scholars and civilians will be in danger in the future. They may be liquidated by the court and become more alienated from the court. This will make it more difficult to bridge the north and the south. I hope my lord will think twice!"

Unexpectedly, Lu Jin didn't buy it at all and said immediately.

"You want to say that the law does not punish the masses, right? Although there is indeed a saying that the law does not punish the masses, the main culprit still needs to be eliminated!

"You said that Emperor Gaozong fled south and abandoned the north, and the people in the north were forced to surrender to the enemy. This is certainly Emperor Gaozong's responsibility, but this excuse cannot be used on the Kong family!
"You just told me that Emperor Gaozong issued a clear decree ordering the Kong family to cross the river to the south with their clansmen and ancestral tablets. Kong Duanyou was able to cross the river with his clansmen, so why did Kong Duancao stay in the north? Could it be that the Kong family deliberately tried to be cautious in order to preserve their wealth and power?
"Also, you said that the northern people were forced to surrender to the enemy by the Jin people. Well, I can't blame them, after all, it was Emperor Gaozong who abandoned them first, but who are the Kong family? They are the family of the Duke of Yansheng, who is a hereditary noble family! It's not an exaggeration to say that they are a role model of Confucianism, right? But what did the Northern Kong family do?!"

Lu Jin suddenly stood up and asked loudly.

"Zhang Qian, the Marquis of Bowang, fell into the hands of the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu Chanyu promised him high office and generous salary to make him surrender, but Zhang Qian would rather die than surrender. He was imprisoned for thirteen years without losing his integrity or changing his mind! What about Kong Duancao?
"Su Wu also fell into the hands of the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu Chanyu promised him high positions and generous salaries to persuade him to surrender, but Su Wu would rather die than surrender. He was exiled to the ice sheet of the North Sea to herd sheep. Only when the rams gave birth did the Chanyu allow him to return home. Su Wu was also coerced, but did he surrender?

"No! Su Wu was trapped in the North Sea for 19 years. He never regretted his loyalty, even when he was walking, sitting or lying down. His strong will frightened the Xiongnu and forced them to make peace with the Han Dynasty again.

"Just because you were coerced by the enemy, you can surrender with a clear conscience? Ah? Compared with Zhang Qian and Su Wu, how did Kong Duancao suffer coercion from the Jin people? Ah? Answer me!"

Wang Guangyang's forehead was covered with sweat, and he immediately knelt on the ground with a plop, bent over and kowtowed, and could no longer utter a word to defend Kong!
Lu Jin was still not satisfied, and continued, "Before Zhang Qian and Su Wu became the envoys of the Han Dynasty, did they enjoy the treatment of the Kong family's generations of nobles? Ah?!
"The Song Dynasty used civil officials to control the military, and the government and the literati shared the empire. The dynasty nurtured scholars for hundreds of years, but it only nurtured spineless people like the Kong family? Huh?!
"Everyone says that the Han and Tang dynasties were as strong as they are. So what made them so strong? In my opinion, the strength of the Han and Tang dynasties did not lie in Wei and Huo conquering the Wolf's Lair, nor in Ban Chao's 36 cavalrymen conquering 50 countries in the Western Regions. It was precisely these thousands of Zhang Qians and Su Wus who truly shaped the backbone of the Han Dynasty!
“Before the Han Dynasty, although Qin unified the world, the people’s hearts were not attached to it. The people still considered themselves Qin people, Lu people, Chu people, Han people, and Jin people. Only in the Han Dynasty did the people consider themselves Han people! Why?

"It is because there are thousands of people like Zhang Qian and Su Wu that I feel proud to be a Han Chinese. If the role models of Han Chinese are all people like Confucius who kowtow to the enemy and curry favor with the powerful, then I would rather be a barbarian so that I can play with Han Chinese like dogs!"

Wang Guangyang's head suddenly lowered even lower, and his whole body almost fell to the ground.

Lu Jin continued, "If our ancestors' kingdom is lost, we can fight it back. If our ancestors' country is destroyed, we can create a new one. But the scholars are too weak. Tell me how to fix it?!

"Can people like Kong Shi be punished for being the Tartars' lackeys, betraying their masters for fame, forgetting their ancestors, and fawning on the powerful be punished? Ah? Stand up and speak. Who told you to kneel down?"

Wang Guangyang then stood up tremblingly, swallowed his saliva and said, "It can be punished."

"Should Bei Kong be killed?" "Yes."

"Okay, go back and sit down."

"Thank you, my lord."

Lu Jin nodded in satisfaction, then turned to look at the corner of the hall. There was a young scholar writing furiously, so he asked loudly, "Where is the historian?"

"I'm here!" Zhao Nian, the attendant who had just been selected for the imperial examination two months ago, immediately stood up and responded excitedly.

“Remember, in order to eradicate the evil spirit and spinelessness of the Confucian scholars who have been afraid of death since the weak Song Dynasty, in the year 4050 AD, I, Gongshu Jin, hereby vow that when we drive out the Tartars and recover the northern border in the future, we will definitely settle accounts with those who forget their ancestors and betray their masters for glory, and will never tolerate these traitorous acts!

"However, Emperor Gaozong was the first to abandon the scholars and civilians in the north, and the law does not hold everyone responsible, so the others can be forgiven and only the main culprit can be punished. However, Kong is a model of scholars, but he surrendered to the enemy first, causing others to follow suit. He is really a black sheep among scholars. I must kill him to avenge the century-old shame of Jingkang and Yashan!"

Zhao Nian asked again, "May I ask, my lord, there are many people in the Kong family of Qubu, which one do you want to kill?"

"Since the Jingkang period, 226 years have passed. The Kong family of Qubu has been a noble family for generations, enjoying all the wealth and honor bestowed by the enemy chieftain. Since everyone has a share in the wealth and honor, there will be no forgiveness when the time comes!

"I will destroy their ancestral temples and exterminate their descendants. All the Kong family members in Qubu, including women and children, will be slaughtered and the entire family will be exterminated! This is a warning to scholars all over the world. This is the fate of those who forget their ancestors, surrender to the enemy and sell out their country. Even after 226 years, they will not be able to escape justice!"

Feng Guoyong frowned upon hearing this and said, "My lord, since Nan Kong is so loyal and upright, it is fine to kill those who surrendered to the enemy from the Northern Sect, but isn't it a bit too much to leave women and children behind?"

The attendant Zhao Nian also looked over immediately, wanting to hear what Lu Jin had to say.

Unexpectedly, Lu Jin said word by word, "We are not qualified to forgive them on behalf of the tens of millions of innocent souls in Jingkang and Yashan! If I were one of them, I would never let them go even if I became a ghost!"

After hearing this, everyone knew that Lu Jin had made up his mind, so they stopped trying to persuade him.

Besides, in times of chaos, severe punishments must be used, and corrections must be extreme. If Bei Kong's entire family is not killed, how can the world know Lu Jin's determination to clean up the literati's atmosphere?
Seeing that no one had any objections, Zhao Nian immediately wrote down what had been discussed.

Li Shanchang then asked, "Then how do you plan to deal with the Southern Congregation? Since the Northern Congregation has been exterminated, the Southern Congregation should be preserved. Should we move it back to Qubu?"

"Why move back? Quzhou has their ancestral tombs for more than a dozen generations. Didn't Nan Kong want Jue to observe mourning? Then just let them continue to guard it in Quzhou." Lu Jin said indifferently.

Li Shanchang asked again, "What about the Nan Kong ancestral temple in Quzhou? And the title of King Wenxuan?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin frowned and said, "The Confucius Temple in Quzhou is the ancestral temple of the Southern Confucius. What does it have to do with the court? They can just offer sacrifices by themselves.

"As for King Wenxuan, that's even more ridiculous. If I remember correctly, Confucius should have advocated the revival of Zhou rituals, right?"

"Indeed."

"Who wrote the Zhou Li?" Lu Jin asked back.

Li Shanchang immediately replied, "Of course it is the Yuansheng Zhougong."

Lu Jin clapped his hands and said, "That's it. Kong was a minister of King Wu of Zhou, Ji Fa. The Book of Rites was written by King Wu's brother, Duke of Zhou, Ji Dan, who is also Confucius' ancestor. It is unreasonable to give Confucius the title of King Wenxuan. How can a minister share the title of king with the emperor? Isn't this a case of having no king, no father, and no teacher, which makes Confucius unjust?"

"This is indeed the case." Li Shanchang responded immediately. According to Lu Jin's logic, Confucius should not be crowned king.

Then he asked, "Do you want to be conferred the title of Yansheng Duke?"

Lu Jin immediately said, "It makes even less sense to confer the title of Yanshenggong. Yan means to give birth and to produce. I have only seen parents give birth to children in my life, and I have never heard of descendants giving birth to ancestors. Conferring the title of Yanshenggong on Confucius' descendants is not the opposite of Tiangang? Even if the title of Yanshenggong is really to be conferred, it should be conferred on Confucius' parents for giving birth to a good son. What does it have to do with his descendants?"

"."

Everyone was speechless when they heard this. It was obvious that Lu Jin was using twisted logic to act like a rogue, but twisted logic is still logic, and you can't say that there is something wrong with what he said. However, it can also be seen from this that Lu Jin really doesn't intend to treat Kong family well.

Feng Guoyong also asked, "Then the worship officials will not be given titles either?"

"I just said that the Confucius Temple is the ancestral temple of the Kong family. It is up to the court whether he wants to offer sacrifices or not. Even if the court wants to offer sacrifices, it should offer sacrifices to the Confucian Temple, not the Confucius Temple, and the seating arrangement in the Confucian Temple should be rearranged.

"The reason is the same as before. Duke Zhou created the ritual system and established the foundation of the Zhou Dynasty, which lasted for 800 years. Even the so-called classics of Confucianism, the Five Classics of "The Book of Changes", "The Book of Rites", "The Book of Songs", "The Book of History", and "The Spring and Autumn Annals", is there any one of them written by Confucius?
"The Book of Changes was written by Xibo Hou, the Book of Rites was written by Zhou Gongdan, the Book of Songs combines the strengths of various schools, the Book of History is a book from ancient times, and the Spring and Autumn Annals is a history book of the Zhou Dynasty. From this perspective, the so-called classics of Confucianism were all created by others. Zhou Gong is the eternal teacher of today's scholars and the founder of the school.

"The main deity in the Confucian Temple should be Zhou Gong. Confucius is nothing. In my opinion, his teachings are not as practical as Mencius's."

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment when they heard this. Their mistress was so righteous and her logic was so unique that you couldn't find any reason to refute her.

When Li Shanchang saw that Lu Jin was determined to suppress Kong, he decided not to take any more risks in this regard and immediately said.

"Since the lord has an idea in mind, then we will let him do as he pleases. However, there is one thing that he must obey us."

Lu Jin was stunned when he heard this, and immediately asked, "What's the matter?"

"I have urged you three times, my lord. Three requests and three rejections are no more than this. It is time to make a decision on the matter of ascending the throne!"

(End of this chapter)