Before dawn, all the officials in the capital were already on standby outside the imperial city.
The Kong family was falsely accused of rebellion, which was unprecedented in more than two thousand years.
There is no scholar who does not admire Confucius, and even if he does, he will not show it.
Therefore, no matter which party you belong to, whether your official position is large or small, all attention is focused on today.
As the initiator of the meeting, Zhu Youxiao, the supreme ruler of the Ming Dynasty, was not like them who could not sleep all night.
The same is true for military generals. They don't read the books of sages. This matter has nothing to do with them at all. They can just go through the motions when they get there.
The civil servants endured the drifting snow and cold wind outside the imperial city for nearly an hour. The military attachés and generals headed by the British Duke and Wu Dinghou finally got to the point.
This also made many civil servants extremely dissatisfied, and privately cursed the vulgar warriors.
When the time came, Commander Qian, who was in charge of guarding the palace gate, ordered the palace gate to be opened and let them in.
Led by two young eunuchs and escorted by thirty guards, they arrived at the emperor's office, the Wenhua Palace.
In the Qianqing Palace not far next door, Zhu Youxiao finally finished dressing.
The leaders of the factory guards, Xu Xianchun and Yang Huan, as well as the admiral of the third factory and the commander of the Royal Forest Army, Ma Xianglin, are all here.
Today is not just a simple interrogation.
As the saying goes, if you are not ruthless, you will not be able to stand firm, or in other words, if you are late, things will change.
Before this matter has spread across the country, he must seize the time and get things done today.
Otherwise, if the whole country comes together to plead or defend Kong, even he will not be able to withstand the pressure.
Before setting off, Zhu Youxiao asked slightly uneasily:
"Today is the key, are you all ready?"
Xu Xianchun, the commander of Jin Yiwei, immediately responded:
"Don't worry, your majesty. Outside the palace, a thousand cavalry are already ready. As soon as your majesty's order arrives, they can go to Shandong to inspect the Kong family."
Wei Zhongxian, Liu Ruoyu, and Wang Chaofu, the three most powerful eunuchs in the dynasty, also said that their people were already in place.
Zhu Youxiao nodded, and then looked at his most trusted general.
"The guards of the imperial city and the inner city have all been replaced by imperial guards. The military camp outside the city and the 10,000 cavalrymen of the Xiaoqi Battalion are also ready."
After confirming that there was no problem, Zhu Youxiao stopped dawdling and led everyone towards the Wenhua Hall.
In the Wenhua Palace, seeing that the emperor had not yet arrived, some officials could no longer hold back and began to whisper among themselves and discuss the affairs of the Confucius family.
Some officials who reacted whispered:
"Did your Majesty really believe what Xu Hongru said?"
"Otherwise, how could we convene this court meeting and interrogate him personally?"
"I think this matter hasn't been resolved yet, so it's hard to say yet. I'll have to act according to circumstances later."
After hearing this, some extreme officials lost their composure and immediately cursed:
"Then Xu Hongru is a mad dog. Could it be that you are also crazy? The Kong family is the descendant of a saint, with a high status and endless glory."
"Throughout the dynasties, even the Meng Yuan Emperor was in awe of him. Even if I believed that the entire Kong family would die, I would not believe the words of such a mad dog."
"Yes, Xu Hongru, this thief, is so crazy that he dares to slander the Kong family. I hope all my colleagues will join me in requesting His Majesty's order to kill the nine clans of this thief. Only then can the hatred in the hearts of the world's scholars be relieved."
Seeing that they started fighting among themselves so quickly, Xu Guangqi shook his head.
He was different from these traditional Confucian scholars. He had been exposed to Western learning since he was a child, and he was most interested in and studied Western learning.
Although I admire Confucius in my heart, I am not as brainless as them.
In his opinion, Confucius is Confucius, and the Confucius family is the Confucius family, and they cannot be confused with each other.
Although there was a saint in the Kong family, it was just that one person. After so many years, things have changed.
"Da Sima, what do you think will happen today?"
Because of the last alliance, the relationship between Xu Guangqi and Wang Zaijin has now taken a further step forward. Although they are close friends, they are not superficially related either.
Wang Zaijin also spoke the truth after sighing.
"Your Majesty has a violent temper and cannot tolerate sand in his eyes."
"I don't care whether the Kong family is treasonous or not, but it cannot withstand investigation."
"When I was an official in Shandong, I had heard about many illegal things committed by the Confucius family, and I had also investigated them."
"Your Majesty can't tolerate sand in his eyes. Once those things are found out, it will be enough for the Kong family to drink a pot, so it's hard to talk about it."
"It depends on whether Your Majesty will believe what Xu Hongru said, or whether Your Majesty dares to openly doubt the Confucius family at the expense of the world."
Xu Guangqi nodded after hearing this, and then said with a smile:
"In my opinion, Your Majesty will do it, and he will definitely do it, otherwise today's meeting would be in vain."
How could Wang Zaijin not understand the meaning of Xu Guangqi's words? The two looked at each other and smiled, not discussing.
At this moment, the eunuch's iconic voice finally sounded in the palace.
"His Majesty the Emperor has arrived."
Wenhua Hall, which had been as noisy as a vegetable market just now, suddenly became silent.
After a while, Zhu Youxiao, dressed in regular clothes, arrived slowly.
All civil and military officials immediately bowed their heads and shouted in unison:
"Your Majesty, I wish you all the best."
"I'm fine, please stay safe."
"Today's meeting is just for one thing. You must have guessed it."
"I won't mince words. What do you think of Xu Hongru's confession?"
Seeing that the emperor was so direct, the ministers stopped being secretive. Someone immediately came out and said:
"Your Majesty, how can we believe such remarks?"
"Xu Hongru was just a traitor, and he would never be able to forgive his crime even if he died. He knew that his death was coming, so he became frightened and went crazy."
"I think that all nine of his clans should be cut into pieces, so that the anger of the scholars in the world can be calmed and the spirit of Confucius in heaven can be comforted."
As soon as this statement came out, the whole palace immediately agreed. Except for a few senior officials such as Xu Guangqi and Wang Zaijin, almost all officials expressed their support and wanted to implement it immediately.
The same is true even for those royalist officials who were attached to Wei Zhongxian or Wang Zaijin.
Seeing this scene, Zhu Youxiao became even more determined to destroy the Kong family.
He was not in a hurry to express his position, but said in an evasive manner:
"I have read the confessions of Xu Hongru and the traitors, and there is nothing fishy about them."
"In my opinion, it is better to take them into the palace and interrogate them personally in the Wenhua Palace in front of everyone."
Still want to interrogate?
This left many officials puzzled and wondering what the emperor was thinking.
Some officials who knew some inside stories about the Kong family were even more worried.
The Kong family cannot withstand investigation. Once those dirty things are really made public, how will the world view the descendants of the saint?
Therefore, they firmly opposed it and once again requested the emperor to order the execution of Xu Hongru immediately.
How could Zhu Youxiao fulfill their wishes?
He simply ignored them, and Yang Huan led a group of royal guards to the prison in person to escort Xu Hongru into the palace.