"Where are these officers and soldiers? How did they come to us? This is a rare thing."
"This looks like the Jin Yiwei. Look at the leader wearing a flying fish suit. Isn't this the leader of the Jin Yiwei?"
"What's going on? Why did Jin Yiwei come to Qufu?"
"You still don't know that the leader of the thief, Xu Hongru, confessed that it was the Yan Shenggong family who secretly supported his rebellion."
"This is nonsense. Who is Yan Shenggong? How could he do such a treasonous and unethical thing?"
"Then tell me, why did the Jin Yiwei come? And there are so many here, at least hundreds of them."
"Hmph, Xu Ni has ruined the reputation of the Kong family. How can the court sit idly by and watch? There are still civil servants in the team. In my opinion, most likely they are here to appease the Kong family and restore their innocence."
In Qufu County, Xu Xianchun led the troops and walked leisurely on the street.
Pedestrians on the road were talking a lot, with all kinds of comments. Most of them were surprised that there would be a royal guard in Qufu, a paradise on earth.
You know, this is a holy place that scholars cherish.
But although it is known as a holy land, it is still just a county town and not very large in scale.
Xu Xianchun and his party arrived at the county government office not long after.
Before the county government officials on duty asked questions, one of Xu Xianchun's confidants shouted to them:
"We have come to Qufu on an errand under His Majesty's order. Where is the county magistrate?"
Hearing that there was a purpose, the head of the government office who was still a little arrogant immediately changed his face and replied with a flattering smile:
"My county magistrate returned to Yan Shenggong's mansion outside the city early this morning. He has not returned yet. Please ask the angel to wait in the office for a while. I will go find him right now."
Today's Qufu County Magistrate is none other than Kong Shangwen, the uncle of contemporary Yan Shenggong, a direct descendant of the Kong family.
Xu Xianchun wanted to cut him to sacrifice the flag first, but he didn't expect that the trip would be in vain.
"No need, we will go to Duke Yansheng's Mansion. Since the county magistrate is not here, we will find the other officials in charge as soon as possible."
Hearing that they were still searching for the person, the head of the government office also looked embarrassed and replied:
"Don't be surprised by the angel. It just so happens that today, all the officials in the county government went to Duke Yansheng's Mansion with my county magistrate."
The county magistrate, the chief registrar and other important officials were all missing.
Seeing this, Xu Xianchun sneered in his heart, now he had another name to accuse them of.
Although the Kong family has a high status, they are not as high as the emperor.
As an imperial envoy appointed by the emperor, he even carried the emperor's edict. It would be fine if no one from the Kong family came to greet him. When he arrived at the county government office, he was not even seen.
It's not easy to deal with them being absent without permission.
Since Kong Shangwen was not here, Xu Xianchun did not stay at the county government office for long. After eating in the city, he rushed to Yanshenggong's mansion outside the city without stopping.
The scale of Yan Sheng Gong's Mansion, as well as its construction specifications and level of luxury, were among the best in the entire Ming Dynasty.
Apart from the imperial city where the emperor lived, the Yanshenggong Mansion had the highest standards, including the Qin Fan, the most powerful vassal in the world, and the Shu Fan, the richest vassal.
Their palace is much inferior to Yan Shenggong's palace.
The contemporary Yanshenggong was Kong Yinzhi, who was originally a side branch and got into the big sect by chance.
In the forty-eighth year of Wanli, the previous generation Yan Shenggong passed away. Since he had no heirs and was the only legitimate son, he had to go to the previous generation's direct line to find descendants to inherit the title.
Kong Yinzhi was the direct nephew of the previous generation Yan Shenggong.
Although he is young, he is very greedy and courageous.
Even though the emperor was vigorously cleaning up the interior, he was still looking for ways to continue smuggling outside the customs to earn money.
Only in this way can Cui Yingyuan successfully conduct investigations and collect evidence in Shandong.
But since the Xu Hongru incident, Kong Yinzhi still went his own way, thinking that this would not have any impact on his Kong family.
He didn't even write a self-defense memorial, he was just a bystander.
But Kong Yinzhi was not in a hurry, but some people were.
Kong Shangwen and a group of officials from Qufu came here specifically because of this matter.
"Nephew, these days are different from the past. The emperor is ruthless and does not recognize his relatives. This has spread throughout the world."
"It's not like you don't know the fate of those distinguished heroes. The bloody lessons are still before your eyes."
"If we don't know how to keep a low profile, sooner or later we will be in trouble."
But Kong Yinzhi replied disapprovingly.
"Uncle is too timid. Is our Kong family an ordinary family?"
"When the Meng Yuan Tatars came to dominate the Central Plains and dominated the world, didn't the Emperor of the Meng Yuan Dynasty still treat our Kong family with utmost respect?"
"Even Kublai Khan has to support us."
"The barbarian Tatars are like this, not to mention that the young emperor of the Zhu family is still a Han."
"If he dares to touch us, will his Zhu family still be able to sit still in the world?"
"Don't say that we have nothing to do with Xu Hongru. Even if it is true as he said, what if we give money and food to the White Lotus Sect and support their rebellion?"
"As long as the little emperor of the Zhu family doesn't want to change the dynasty, he has to pretend that he can't hear or see."
Hearing this answer, Kong Shangwen suddenly felt despair.
Now he could only hope that the emperor would be as he said and that big things would be reduced to trivial matters.
But can it be as he wishes?
When the servant came to report that the royal guards outside the mansion had arrived, Kong Shangwen's heart was lifted.
However, Kong Yinzhi still did not realize the seriousness of the problem and asked arrogantly:
"Who's leading the charge?"
"Sir, it's Xu Xianchun, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, accompanied by Dali Temple Master and three other civil servants."
Knowing that the person who came was actually the commander of the Jinyi Guards, Kong Shangwen felt a little uneasy in his heart.
Who is Xu Xianchun? He is the emperor's sharpest minion.
In just two years, how many major cases has he handled? More than a thousand officials, gentry, and nobles have died in his hands?
Who doesn't know the names of Xu Xianchun and Yang Huan now? As long as they appear, it will be the same as the black and white impermanence that threatens their lives.
Kong Yinzhi obviously also knew Xu Xianchun’s masterpieces.
After learning that it was him, the contempt in his heart immediately disappeared, and he quickly led everyone to greet him outside the house.
…………
…………
At the same time, Yang Huan's arrest operation went very smoothly.
The Fusi Tiqimen of Beizhen, who had long been prepared, immediately arrested all those who were related to the case or had a close relationship with the Kong family after receiving the order.
These people were escorted into the capital as quickly as possible.
The officials who accompanied him to supervise also shouted that they had been tricked.
The emperor had obviously planned this in advance and had even laid a dragnet. He was just waiting for an opportunity to launch a reasonable attack.
But they still naively bet the lives of their entire family against the emperor.
Now it seems that they are just seeking their own death.
But now, there is no way out. They can only pray silently in their hearts that the emperor will not find out anything, so that they can have a chance of survival.