My Daming New Empire

He smiled and asked Kong Yanjin, "Does the court gentry think that County Magistrate Yan's answer is wrong?"

Sweat dripped from Kong Yanjin's face, and he didn't know how to answer.

Zhu Gaochi laughed and said: "Zhanji, the head of the Kong family is three years younger than you, and he has never come out to preside over affairs. Even if some members of the Kong family have the reputation of being a saint, it is no wonder he."

"So..." Zhu Zhanji looked at Kong Yanjin and said, "Gu is an enlightened person. This injustice has its head, and the debt has its owner. Whoever does something will come out and take responsibility. Don't think that there is family protection, there is someone You, an innocent person, come to shelter from the wind and rain, just like escaping from accountability. It should be your responsibility, of course I want to find you, it is not your responsibility, and you should not take it on yourself. "

Kong Yanjin was both terrified and pleasantly surprised.He was pushed out to the capital to deal with the lawsuit, but he was very reluctant.

He didn't do those things of the Kong family. Just because he is the head of the family, he has to take responsibility. Who can he reason with?

Now, Zhu Zhanji's meaning is very clear.If it doesn't work when he comes to the capital, if anyone finds out who did something illegal, he must be held accountable, not the entire Kong family.

In this way, there is no need to worry that the Kong family will be uprooted, and those old forces can be taken down in one go. He, the head of the family, can be justified in the future.

Therefore, he gave up resisting, stood up and said with a long bow: "Everything is in accordance with His Highness's wishes, and the Kong family accepts punishment and punishment."

Zhu Gaochi was taken aback, looked at Kong Yanjin, then looked back at Zhu Zhanji, he was a little confused, why didn't Kong Yanjin resist directly?Didn't he know that this would hurt the Kong family's vitality?

Although he is not out of the door now, and he is not going to the second door, he will not be unaware of the news that Zhu Zhanji wants to let him know.

In the past two months, the illegal incidents of the Kong family have been disclosed one after another. It is a serious crime just to accommodate nearly [-] hidden households.

Daming relies on the common people for taxation. The Confucian family does not pay taxes, and absorbs nearly 10 hermits. These people have not registered with the government, so naturally they do not need to pay taxes.

Although there are historical issues in it, the Kong family will not be able to do well just because of this matter.

There are also activities such as land acquisition at a low price and digging people's ancestral graves. Every case will not be easily closed, and the Kong family will lose a lot of skin.

Zhu Zhanji said at this time: "Chaoshen is also twenty this year, do you want to be famous?"

Kong Yanjin didn't understand what Zhu Zhanji meant. Although he wanted to join Qiu Wei very much, he didn't dare to agree easily.

Being a small official through Qiuwei is far better than being a free and easy patriarch!

Kong Yanjin bowed and said: "Jin can't help himself, these matters need to be discussed with the clan elders."

Zhu Zhanji nodded and said: "From now on, the imperial court will treat everyone equally. If you don't pass the scientific examination to become an official, you can only become an official by improving your skills. It is time for the Kong family to be self-reliant."

Before Kong Yanjin could answer, Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but said, "Nonsense, you can become an official with those strange skills and ingenuity, so what's the use of studying scriptures and papers?"

Zhu Zhanji nodded and said: "Father is right, the scriptures are useless."

Zhu Gaochi and Kong Yanjin all showed surprised expressions, even Yan Shutong who was still kneeling there was the same.

Since the Sui and Tang dynasties suppressed aristocratic families and canceled the recommendation to become an official, scientific examinations have gradually become an important channel for ordinary people to rise.

Although there were various assessments in the Tang Dynasty, it gradually became the Ming Jing Ke, and in the Ming Dynasty, it was changed to the Eight-Part Essay.

But now, as the grandson of Jian Guo, it is useless to say these things!

Zhu Gaochi was speechless all of a sudden, but Kong Yanjin and Yan Shutong didn't dare to answer.

Zhu Zhanji glanced at Yan Shutong and said: "Get up, come and sit down. You have served as the county magistrate for five years. This is the most basic official in my Ming Dynasty. Tell Gu, what you learned during your studies, Can it be used to improve people's lives? Can it be used to count the population and acres of land in the jurisdiction? Can it be used to build water conservancy? Can it be used to build roads and bridges? Can it be used to develop the economy?"

Uncle Yan, as if he had been pardoned, got up and sat down slowly at the last seat on the right hand side, and then said: "But Your Highness, learning the Mingjing can open up people's wisdom!"

Zhu Zhanji nodded and said: "Indeed, this is the biggest effect."

Seeing that Zhu Zhanji did not blindly resist Confucianism, the three breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhu Zhanji also said: "It is the contribution of Confucianism to open up the wisdom of the people and unify the thinking. Of course, I will not deny it. But Confucianism is only one of a hundred schools of thought and cannot replace the role of other disciplines. Confucianism is still the focus of today's imperial court. Is Legalism an example? Mohism plays a greater role than Confucianism in many respects, as well as peasants, miscellaneous schools, and all schools of thought, except for some that can’t stand on the table, most of them have their own effects.”

Until later generations, no discipline could replace Confucianism.But because of the role of Confucianism, all other disciplines should not be suppressed. This is the main reason why the East has been constantly changing and cycling for thousands of years.

It has always relied on the small peasant economy as the main body of the economy, and the social structure will never change.

Of course, the current social structure is in the early stages of major changes. With the changes in the economic structure of society, many things of Confucianism must also change, otherwise they will be eliminated.

Kong Yanjin realized this immediately, and he had already decided to persuade the two clan elders to participate in Qiu Wei when he returned home.

Although after he became a saint, if Qiu Wei failed the exam, it would affect the image of a saint.But His Highness Taisun has already made it so clear that he is still clinging to the glory of the Confucian Mansion in the past, and will only become more and more depraved and passive.

On the contrary, he doesn't care about Yan Shutong's revelation of the past illegal activities of the Kong family now, and he has no intention to excuse him.

Since His Highness Taisun has already said that he will not be held accountable, but will only discuss facts and hold personal responsibility, he has never done anything wrong, and I wish His Highness would arrest all the clan elders.

Only in this way can he take power in the short term.

Zhu Gaochi didn't understand this point. Seeing that Kong Yanjin didn't want to excuse himself, he naturally couldn't get in.

He was just afraid that Zhu Zhanji would kill the Kong family. Since he couldn't do it now, Kong Yanjin didn't care.

Yan Shutong and Kong Yanjin came out of the other courtyard and went out the gate. The family members of the Confucius Mansion and Yan Yan saw them coming out, so they hurried over with the carriage.

Only then did Kong Yanjin bow to Uncle Yan and said, "Parent Yan, the situation has changed in the past few months. It is my Kong family that has dragged you down."

Yan Shutong looked at the gloomy Kong Yanjin, and remembered that a few months ago, his face was full of childishness.He gave a long sigh and returned a salute and said, "I don't blame the Kong family, it's because I wanted to take a shortcut, so I lost my position."

Kong Yanjin shook his head and said: "Although my Kong family is known as a thousand-year-old family, it is inevitable that there will be some dead branches and leaves because of the luxuriant branches. If they want to last forever, they also need to be pruned. Yan's parents will leave their hometown now, and Jin wishes again You have a smooth journey and great plans."

They are all waiting for a crime, and because they are involved in a case, they have the opportunity to meet today because the grandson summoned them. If they contact each other in private, it will inevitably attract criticism.

So apart from today, it's not easy to meet in private again.

Yan Shutong felt a lot of emotions in his heart, but he couldn't blame the Kong family.After all, many things were helped by his resources, like using imperial labor to build a canal for the Kong family to enclose land, without Yan Shutong's support, it would be impossible to implement it.

He only hated himself for what he had done, and he really couldn't hate Kong Yanjin.

There was nothing to say all the way, and I returned to the Temple of Flowers. At this time, it was already dark.

Except for a few elders in the clan who were a little worried, they were still waiting for news at his home. On the table in the main room, there was also a tray covered with red silk.

Looking at Yan Shutong's expression, Yan's mother was a little worried, but she didn't know how to ask, so she just sighed and grabbed his hand. "Just come back."

Yan Shutong bowed and said: "Mother, don't worry, everything will be determined by the imperial court. The child has already passed the trial, and there will be no more accidents."

He looked at the tray and asked, "Have you ever had guests at home?"

The patriarch said: "Just before you came back, the Confucian Mansion sent someone to bring two hundred silver coins, and they didn't even stay for a sip of tea. They just said they were delivering Cheng Yi and left."

Yan Shutong was silent for a long while before he said to his mother, "Although this money is a bit much, surpassing Cheng Yi, it's better to accept it. Now the child is still wearing a crime, and he can't even talk about accepting bribes."

This is not only Cheng Yi, but also the Kong family wanting him to show mercy in the future and save face for the Kong family.

Of course he wouldn't talk nonsense, after all, the Kong family is still a family of saints in the hearts of scholars.

In the other courtyard, by the hot spring, Zhu Zhanji and Zhu Gaochi and his son sat opposite each other. Beside them, only Yang Shiqi was with them, and several inner eunuchs stood far away where they could be seen.