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

Chapter 210 The person you need to apologize to is not me.

Zhu Youjian's cold gaze swept over the kneeling crowd of people dressed in fine clothes, finally settling on the figure prostrate on the ground at the very front.

He looked at the imperial robes and the seal of the Duke of Yansheng, which was respectfully placed in the dust, his young face expressionless.

The emperor turned his head slightly and glanced at Tian Ergeng, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, beside him out of the corner of his eye.

A look.

That's it.

Tian Ergeng instantly understood.

He spurred his warhorse forward, leaning half a horse's length ahead with fluid and respectful movements, and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, the net is complete!"

The sound was faint, almost swallowed by the wind, and only a few people around the throne could hear it clearly.

"Since the day the news from Dezhou was blocked, the entire Kong family, from the Duke Yansheng to the servants, totaling 674 people, has been under the strict watch of my Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot. Except for today, when we came here to kneel and welcome His Majesty without a word, not a single person or horse has been able to escape the net of heaven!"

The emperor nodded slightly, but still did not speak.

Tian Ergengming took a deep breath and continued.

"In the past few days, I have followed your secret imperial edict and ordered Li Ruolian, the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the chief secretary of the Prince of Lu's residence, to launch a punitive operation throughout Shandong Province under the pretext of 'investigating traitors and stabilizing the local area'!"

These words caused Wen Tiren, who was standing to the side wearing the official robes of the Minister of Rites, to twitch involuntarily.

Logically speaking, the emperor should have consulted with him, the Minister of Rites, no matter what.

However, he knew nothing about Tian Ergeng's affairs.

The emperor's men are still on their way, but the trial against the Kong family has already begun?!

Wen Tiren subconsciously looked up, trying to glean some clue from the emperor's face, but only saw a bottomless calm.

This feeling of being excluded from core decision-making gave rise to a long-forgotten fear, like walking on a knife's edge.

He knew the emperor was about to do something big, something earth-shattering, but he didn't know the full picture of it.

This unknown danger terrified him more than any known danger.

At this moment, Tian Ergeng's voice carried a cold, triumphant satisfaction at having completed his mission.

"I, along with Li Ruolian and four thousand elite troops from the Beijing Garrison under Lu Xiangshan's command, divided into dozens of small teams, traveled day and night to various prefectures, counties, villages, and towns surrounding Qufu. With thunderous force, we thoroughly gathered all the evidence of crimes accumulated by the Confucius Mansion over the past century!"

Tian Ergeng continued, “However, it did not go smoothly at first. The Confucius family had been powerful here for a hundred years, and the people feared their tyranny more than the government. Even when we showed our tokens, no one dared to say a word, for fear that if they spoke today, their whole family would be drowned in the pond tomorrow.”

As he said this, a cruel smile crept onto his lips.

"Therefore, I obeyed Your Majesty's secret decree: 'If you want the people to speak, first behead the officials' dogs!'"

"We immediately ordered that all 273 people who had been arrested beforehand—managers, local ruffians, and loan sharks who acted as henchmen and vicious dogs for the Kong family—be taken to the villages and markets where they usually preyed on the local people!"
In front of tens of thousands of people, soldiers of the Beijing Garrison read out their crimes one by one—seizing farmland, abducting wives, setting up private courts, and disregarding human life! After the crimes were read out, without waiting for autumn or verification, they were executed on the spot…!

"Two hundred and seventy-three heads fell to the ground..."

"Only when blood is spilled can the people's hearts be at peace!"

Tian Ergeng seemed to see the scene from that day.

"When the people witnessed firsthand how those vicious dogs who used to ride roughshod over them were beheaded by the emperor's army; when they realized that the world in Qufu was truly about to change..."

Your Majesty, you did not see that scene! Tens of thousands of people were wailing and kowtowing in the direction from which my army was coming!

They cried out, saying that the sun of the Ming Dynasty had finally shone again on the land of Shandong! They rushed about in droves!

Tian Ergeng couldn't help but chuckle smugly.

"At the same time, in accordance with the imperial decree, we investigated and seized seven money shops and pawnshops that specialized in managing and lending money for the Kong family. From them, we recovered their secret accounts of dealings with the Kong family, as well as the most important documents—the land deeds and the ledgers of the blood and tears loan, totaling more than four thousand volumes! Each volume records the destruction and death of one or more families!"

"Furthermore, we have successfully turned three stewards and more than ten servants within the Kong family. They have all signed confessions and pleaded guilty to every single matter, clearly detailing how Duke Yansheng Kong Yinzhi personally ordered the tenants to be beaten to death and their bodies dumped in the wilderness; how he instructed his clansmen to secretly convert the sacrificial fields for the sages into commercial fields to reap huge profits; and how he secretly colluded with merchants from the south to sell contraband."

Upon finishing the report, Tian Ergeng dismounted and took an unusually thick, bound volume from his attendant, raising it high above his head with both hands.

"Your Majesty! We have witnesses, physical evidence, and confessions—all three are in place! The crimes of the Kong family are numerous: they deceived the emperor and the people, committed perverse acts, and their misdeeds are beyond description!"

"We await only His Majesty's command, and then we can announce it to the world and punish him according to the law!"

Everyone held their breath, awaiting the emperor's final verdict.

Zhu Youjian glanced indifferently at the dossier that was enough to bring the entire Kong family to ruin, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

It was as if he already knew everything recorded therein. His gaze went over Tian Ergeng's head, over the hundreds of kneeling people, and looked into the distance.

A huge platform made of logs has been erected in front of the Qufu city gate.

The area around the platform was densely packed with people.

Countless people gathered from all directions, guided in an orderly fashion by soldiers, surrounding the high platform. Their numbers were probably in the tens of thousands.

They remained silent, waiting, their eyes filled with confusion, expectation, and long-suppressed hatred!
……

Kong Yinzhi's gaze passed over the grim military formation and landed on the huge platform in the distance.

In fact, he had seen the high platform as he left the city gate. At that time, the people in the mansion were all speculating on the road about why the emperor had built this high platform outside the city.
In his utter despair, Kong Yinzhi found himself the most radiant, and also the most self-righteous, explanation—

That's a stage!
A grand stage prepared for Kong Yinzhi, where he would swear allegiance to his new master and proclaim the proper relationship between ruler and subject to the world!

The emperor needs him!

The young emperor needed this Duke Yansheng to stand before the people, using his identity as a disciple of the sage to whitewash all his thunderous measures and to glorify this young monarch as the greatest sage ruler in history who "restored order and restored the world"!

That's the value of his life!
This is also the only chance for the Kong family to be preserved!

Holding onto this ridiculous, self-comforting delusion, he felt so at ease, even leading his people in this grand "kneeling welcome on yellow earth" performance with a touch of tragic ritual.

He knelt here not to beg, but to await a call to action, a moment to prove his worth.

However, at this moment, as he followed the emperor's cold, emotionless gaze back to the high platform; as he saw the dark, terrifyingly silent sea of ​​people below...

A chill even more biting than when he was surrounded by iron cavalry instantly spread throughout his body!
He suddenly realized that things... seemed to be completely different from the script he had envisioned.

The emperor's gaze, as if looking at a dead object, and the barely suppressed, almost bursting flames of anger from tens of thousands of people... all of this pointed to a terrifying possibility that he dared not contemplate.

That high platform was not a stage for him to sing praises at all...

And it is very likely that he, Kong Yinzhi, and his entire Kong clan will face... the guillotine!

"no no!!"

The last shred of hope and the last bit of self-righteous clarity in Kong Yinzhi's heart were shattered by the cruel reality at this moment!

He no longer cared about the dignity of being the Duke of Yansheng, nor the prestige of being a descendant of a sage. Like a wild dog whose tail had been stepped on, he suddenly sprang to his feet, crawled forward a few steps, and let out a heart-wrenching wail at the emperor high above him:
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! I deserve to die! I was bewitched and misled by slander, which led me to commit such a heinous crime! I know I was wrong! I truly know I was wrong!"

He howled and frantically slammed his forehead against the ground, making muffled thuds. Blood quickly flowed down his forehead, mixing with the dust.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to offer up all the wealth of the Kong family! All their land! All their treasures and ancient books! I will offer them all to Your Majesty as military supplies! I... I am willing to serve Your Majesty like an ox or a horse, to go through fire and water for Your Majesty! Whatever Your Majesty commands, I will say! Whatever Your Majesty commands, I will do! I beg Your Majesty... I beg Your Majesty to spare the Kong family!!"

His cries were shrill and desperate, carrying far across the empty wilderness.

Zhu Youjian on horseback just looked at him coldly, his gaze like that of someone looking at a clown performing energetically on stage.

The emperor smiled dismissively.
"The person you should apologize to is not me."

After saying that, he didn't look at Kong Yinzhi again, as if looking at him even once would be an insult to him.

Zhu Youjian turned to Tian Ergeng and gave him an order:

"According to the previous arrangements, bring all these main culprits to me."

"According to the order!"

A sinister smile appeared on Tian Ergeng's face, and he suddenly waved his hand.

"Take it!"

Dozens of Imperial Guards who had been waiting nearby rushed into the kneeling crowd like wolves and tigers!

They roughly pushed aside the panicked crowd and accurately identified Kong Yinzhi and dozens of core members of the Kong clan from among them.

"No! No! Your Majesty! Your Majesty, have mercy!"

Kong Yinzhi's wails turned into terrified screams. He struggled frantically, but how could one person's strength contend with these battle-hardened imperial guards?

He was dragged roughly like a dead dog toward that ominous high platform.

At this moment, Wen Tiren stood behind the emperor, looking at the high platform, at the tens of thousands of people, and at the Duke Yansheng being dragged like livestock. He finally vaguely guessed what the emperor wanted to do.

A thought that sent chills down his spine made him almost lose his balance.

(End of this chapter)