The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Kong Yanzhen was killed, and his disbelieving head was facing Kong Yuqi and several clan elders.

Regardless of how the Kong family usually oppressed the people and tortured the maids, at this moment their knees were as soft as tofu, and they all knelt down with a thud.

At this moment, Liu Xin sheathed his sword, looked at the Kong family, and rode his horse forward into the crowd to hold up the imperial edict.

"I will ask one last question!"

"Where is Kong Yuqi, the head of the Kong family?!"

This time, instead of drawing his sword, he exuded murderous intent. There is still a month until New Year's Day, but the emperor ordered the Kong family to walk, so it would take at least twenty-five days. They would have to travel even in wind and snow if they were in a hurry.

If the New Year's Day rewards are delayed, will he, as the emperor's closest person, still have any face?

Upon hearing this, Kong Yuqi dared not delay any longer and practically scrambled to Liu Xin's horse.

"Yes, Kong Yuqi of the Kong family is here!"

"Your subject, the 67th Duke Yansheng, receives the imperial decree!"

He was only seventeen years old and didn't want to die. He didn't even bother to discuss the many maids in the mansion.

Liu Xin frowned as he looked at the young man beneath his horse. This cowardly fellow was the Duke of Yansheng? Liu Xin really wanted to whip him a couple of times to see if he'd cry, but he had to endure the imperial decree. So he unfolded the imperial edict and read aloud:

"From this day forward, the Confucius Mansion will be closed. All direct descendants of the Confucius family, as well as relatives of the Confucius family, are to walk from Qufu County to Yongding Gate in the capital!"

"Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

That's right, the imperial edict was that simple. Galdan instructed Ouyang Jing to write it in a simple way, so that everyone in Qufu County could hear and understand it.

The goal is to undermine the prestige of the Confucian family to the greatest extent possible.

Those who were watching the commotion nearby, whether they were direct descendants of the Kong family or lackeys of the Kong family, all showed fear upon hearing this.

Do you even know what kind of weather it is? It's the dead of winter, and you're making us gentlemen walk? Are you trying to kill us?

As a result, the onlookers, who considered themselves members of the Kong family, all took a few steps back, clearly intending to flee.

Upon seeing this, Liu Xin snorted coldly and gave the order directly.

"Retrieve the Kong family genealogy and, according to the imperial decree, arrest everyone here. Anyone who disobeys will be executed on the spot!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than three centurions led their soldiers into the Kong family mansion. Before long, they came out with the family genealogy. One by one, the captains led their soldiers and began to arrest people from house to house according to the list.

Just as the arrests were in full swing, a county magistrate dressed in a green official robe arrived in a sedan chair.

"You scoundrel, how dare you treat the descendants of Confucius like this!"

"This is an insult to scholarship! It's utterly an insult to scholarship!"

"Aren't you afraid of divine retribution?"

This man looked to be only in his thirties. After scolding Liu Xin, he went forward and helped Kong Yuqi up, appearing utterly loyal.

Aside from Galdan, Liu Xin wasn't afraid of anyone else. He directly controlled his warhorse to rear up, and the horse's hoof kicked the magistrate in the chest, sending him flying three steps away.

"Now you can tell me who you are!"

"Otherwise, you won't have a chance to speak!"

The magistrate forced himself to sit up, but coughed up blood, clearly indicating a serious injury.

"I am Kong Xingde of the Kong family!"

"He's the magistrate of Qufu County!"

"I will definitely impeach you!"

The Kong family?

Upon hearing this, Liu Xin revealed a playful expression. Finally, he drew his riding whip and, with a snap, struck Kong Xingde directly on the face, leaving a bloody welt.

"As an official appointed by the imperial court and the local leader of Qufu County, he has allowed displaced people to spread everywhere; he deserves to die!"

"Furthermore, are you an official of the Manchu Qing Dynasty or an official of my Han Dynasty? How dare you reprimand this general?"

"Very well, since you are also a member of the Kong family, then you shall also walk to the capital with the other members of the Kong family!"

Liu Xin was supervising the army in Jining, but he wasn't idle. For example, reading was his hobby, and now he knew a lot about how to be an official, and what he said made perfect sense!

Kong Xingde also forced it; he started cursing as soon as he had recovered.

"A scholar can be killed but not humiliated!"

"We, the Kong family, would rather die than submit!"

"If you want to take the Duke of Yansheng away, I'll have to die!"

Upon hearing this, Kong Yuqi immediately stepped forward and covered Kong Xingde's mouth with his hand, glaring at him with his eyes, as if to say, "You want to die? Don't drag me down with you!"

Kong Xingde glared angrily at Kong Yuqi and yanked his hand away. Before Kong Xingde could speak, he felt a sharp pain in his chest and then collapsed to the ground, closing his eyes.

Suddenly, Liu Xin dismounted and approached, the knife that had pierced Kong Xingde was his.

After killing another person, Liu Xin seemed unfazed, glancing up at the sky before giving the order.

"Aniu, take the Duke Yansheng on his way first!"

"As for Kong Xingde, bury him!"

Liu Xin was ultimately worried that the large number of Kong family members would delay the change of reign title and the imperial court assembly, so he sent a hundred personal guards with Kong Yuqi ahead of him.

Upon hearing this, the centurion who had been guarding Liu Xin immediately stepped forward and lifted Kong Yuqi up. However, Kong Yuqi thought he was about to be killed, so he immediately squatted down on the spot.

Yes, he peed!

The air was filled with the stench of feces.

Maybe he also had diarrhea!

Upon seeing this, Liu Xin frowned and swung his whip, but the whip landed on the ground.

"After changing him into a thick cotton coat, set off immediately. If he causes any more trouble, I will break both his hands!"

After being threatened by Liu Xin, Kong Yuqi changed into a thick cotton coat and set off first under the protection of his personal guards, no longer showing any anger.

By the morning of the next day, the number of people being held guard at the gate of the Confucius Mansion had reached more than 300, of which only about 20 were direct descendants, and most of them were already very old.

The majority of them were those collateral branches of the Kong family who relied on their status as members of the Kong family to bully men and women and plunder the land and property of the poor.

Galdan had already guessed this before issuing the decree, and had appointed a new magistrate for Qufu in advance, but the magistrate had not yet arrived.

The purpose of removing these malignant tumors ahead of schedule is to allow the people of Qufu to escape this dark and hopeless life.

It should be noted that from the moment the Manchus entered the pass, the Confucius family took the initiative to fawn over them, and the appointment and removal of officials were entirely at the discretion of the Duke Yansheng, which was almost like having absolute power over Qufu County.

In other words, the tens of thousands of people in Qufu County were like the private property of the Kong family, and most of them had become tenant farmers and had to perform labor services for ordinary members of the Kong family.

Strangely enough, the weather was unusual. It didn't snow when the Confucius Mansion was sealed off, but after the Confucius family members set off on foot, it started to snow heavily. This was undoubtedly a hardship for the Confucius family.

In just five days, more than twenty elderly members of the Kong family collapsed in the snow due to exhaustion. The Han cavalry did not care; they simply whipped them and buried them on the spot once death was confirmed.

Kong Yuqi, who went ahead, faced the most difficult situation. He had no one to exchange glances with and was being urged to hurry by the cavalry. How could his delicate skin withstand such pressure?

However, once he stopped, the Han army treated him with a small leather whip.

After traveling for more than twenty days, Kong Yuqi arrived at Yongding Gate in the capital ahead of schedule, and then collapsed and fell into a coma.