Although Zhu Yijun had heard many legends about the White Lotus Society in his previous life, Zhu Yijun had always felt that this was a method used by those who wanted to rebel to develop their subordinates. Everyone was just using this name, which resulted in many branches of the White Lotus Society.
The various stages of the White Lotus Society were probably just borrowing the name and not some orderly organization.
This was also why Zhu Yijun had never taken the White Lotus Society seriously. However, from the looks of it now, this was not the case at all. This White Lotus Society was very well-organized.
Strictly speaking, this was a terrorist organization that was trying to overthrow the country's political power!
He could not tolerate this. He already had a lot of enemies, and now there was such an organization. He had to destroy it.
After passing Xu De's secret report to Zhang Jing, Zhu Yijun said, "Send a decree to Xu De. Ask him to interrogate this Wang Shan and dig out the White Lotus Society for me. No matter who is involved, do not hesitate."
Zhang Jing was currently cursing Xu De's luck and the White Lotus Society at the same time.
'Are these guys all idiots?
'They actually messed it up and even allowed Xu De to make such a contribution. What a bunch of trash. '
Of course, he could only think of this in his heart. He did not dare to show any of it.
Zhang Jing knew that if he dared to show such thoughts, he would be the first to be in trouble.
"Yes, Imperial Majesty. This servant will send the decree now!"
Zhang Jing hurriedly said, "This servant will also assign Dongchang's men to Eunuch Xu. Investigate the White Lotus Society as soon as possible and clean up the remaining members of the White Lotus Society."
This was the main reason why Zhu Yijun liked Zhang Jing and did not like Zhang Cheng. Zhang Jing knew how to do things and knew his limits.
In fact, how could Zhu Yijun not see that Zhang Jing was jealous and was prepared to let Dongchang take the credit?
However, Zhu Yijun didn't care. He was happy to see this kind of healthy competition, as long as nothing happened.
If something happened, then he would have to deal a heavy blow. Healthy competition was fine, but vicious competition was intolerable.
"Alright, do it well!" Zhu Yijun nodded and said faintly.
When Zhu Yijun received the secret report, the two memorials were also sent to the cabinet.
One of them was a memorial from the Governor of Shandong, describing the White Lotus Group. The other was a memorial from the Grand Secretary of the Imperial Cabinet, Wang Xijue, regarding the Kong Clan of Qufu.
After the memorial was sent to the Cabinet, the three Cabinet Grand Secretaries ran together to discuss it.
"The White Lotus Society is easy to deal with. Let the people below continue to investigate. Do what needs to be done. There are old rules that can be followed." Shen Shixing put the White Lotus Society's memorial aside and picked up Wang Xijue's memorial.
In the eyes of these Cabinet Grand Secretaries, the White Lotus Society was not a big deal at all.
Daming was so big. Every few years, there would be some people who were blinded by greed who wanted to rebel. Some of them could not survive, and some of them did it because of their own ambition.
If it was the former, they would be concerned.
However, the White Lotus Society obviously belonged to the latter. It was not a big deal at all. Not to mention that they did not succeed, even if they did, they could just send troops to quell the rebellion.
Now that the imperial court had a strong army and the Ministry of Revenue had money, the Cabinet Grand Secretaries could stand up straight and speak with confidence.
With money, food, and elite soldiers, not only did the Emperor have confidence, but the ministers also had confidence.
The three of them were now conflicted about the Kong Clan of Qufu. What should they do?
Logically speaking, Kong Shangxian's family could tamper with the genealogy and set things right. There was no need to waste effort.
However, the three of them knew that the Emperor obviously did not want to give the title of Duke Yan to Qufu. The Emperor had his eyes on Kong Shangqian of the Southern Clan.
If the Cabinet voted to give Kong Shangqi the title of Duke Yan, it would definitely be beaten back by the Emperor.
As Cabinet Grand Secretaries, it was necessary for them to figure out the Emperor's intentions. If they did not do it well, then they could get lost!
Shen Shixing tapped on the memorial. He glanced at Yu Youding and then at Pan Cheng. He said lightly, "What do you think?"
Giving Duke Yan the title of Duke Yan to the Southern Clan of the Kong Clan was not an easy proposal to make, and it was not easy to find a reason to do so. If it was not done well, it would be covered in dirty water that could not be washed away.
This was a big deal. If it was not done well in the history books, it would be notorious.
Yu Youding was silent. He was better at other things. Flexibility was not his forte.
What Shen Shixing did not expect was that Pan Cheng would speak at this time. All along, Pan Cheng had been playing dumb in the Cabinet, and occasionally played the role of a pig teammate.
At first, no one thought so. But now, whoever treated him as a fool would really be a fool.
"The Northern Clan of the Kong Clan!"
Pan Cheng sighed and continued, "The Northern Clan of the Kong Clan conferred by the Meng Yuan Empire!"
It seemed like he was sighing, but Shen Shixing and Yu Youding were not fools. Of course, the two of them understood what Pan Cheng meant.
The Northern Clan of the Kong Clan was conferred by the Meng Yuan Empire. What kind of person was our emperor?
He was determined to be Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and his heart was absolutely firm.
Was the Northern Clan of the Kong Clan still doing well?
It would be strange if the emperor was comfortable with it.
But it was useless to say this. If the emperor wanted to deal with the Northern Clan of the Kong Clan, no matter what the reason was, he wanted to deal with it.
What they had to do was to give the emperor a reason. As for the reason, it was not important.
Shen Shixing turned to look at Pan Cheng. His eyes were uncertain. After a while, he said, "What is Minister Pan's opinion?"
There was no need to mention the Meng Yuan Empire. The current Duke Yan's bloodline was conferred in the 17th year of Hongwu. They could not use the Meng Yuan Empire's conferment as a reason!
Pan Cheng smiled faintly and said, "Kong Shangxian's bloodline tampered with the Kong Clan's genealogy and persecuted the clan members. Just abolish Duke Yan's title." After saying this, Pan Cheng closed his mouth.
It seemed like Pan Cheng was talking nonsense, but Shen Shixing and Yu Youding understood it.
Now that Wang Xijue only talked about Kong Shangxian's bloodline, they would handle it according to the current situation.
As for the conferment of the new Duke Yan, that was the emperor's business. The emperor could confer the title on whoever he wanted.
If the Meng Yuan Empire could confer the title of Duke Yan, what about the current emperor?
Who was the ruler of China today?
Did he not know?
As the saying goes, thunder and rain are all favors from the emperor. If the emperor does not favor you, it means that you have not done enough. If he does favor you, it is a reward. What do you want?
Not convinced?
If you are not convinced, then hold it in. You will still be able to go to heaven!
Shen Shixing glanced at Pan Cheng and said with a smile, "Minister Pan is right!"
It was just a memorial, and it was fine to discuss the matter as it was. Wang Xijue did not recommend Kong Shangqi as Duke Yan in the memorial, so there was no need to trouble himself.
Nodding, Shen Shixing handed the memorial to Pan Cheng and said, "Then this memorial will be drafted by Minister Pan!"
This was giving credit to the emperor. All three of them knew that the emperor would be very happy when this memorial was submitted.
Pan Cheng did not decline. He smiled and took the memorial. He walked back to his place to draft the memorial.
There were no secrets in the officialdom. There were many things that outsiders did not know, but the insiders knew.
The incident in Shandong spread throughout the officialdom in just half a day. The matter of the White Lotus Society surprised many people, but the matter of the Kong family made many people shut their mouths.
Many officials submitted memorials asking for a strict investigation of the White Lotus Society and offered various suggestions.
For example, a rectification movement was launched in various places to pressure and crack down on evil cults. Even monks and Taoists were included in the scope of the rectification.
Some people even wrote a large pile of suggestions. There were more than a dozen of them, and they seemed to be quite feasible.
Of course, there were also memorials submitted for the matter of the Kong family in Shandong, but all of them requested severe punishment for Kong Shangxian's bloodline.
Of course, there were also memorials pleading for leniency. They also made it clear that the matter had passed for so many generations. As the saying goes, one should not implicate the descendants. The imperial court should just remove Duke Yan's title and there was no need to punish him.
Kong Shangxian's bloodline was, after all, the descendants of the Saints. They still had to be protected.
As soon as this argument was made, it was instantly recognized by everyone. Therefore, the memorials quickly entered the palace.
Forbidden City, Wenhua Hall.
Zhu Yijun looked through these memorials and said with a smile, "These people really know how to steer the wind!"
Pleading for leniency for the descendants of the Saints and protecting the descendants of the Saints were all things that the disciples of the Confucian Sect should do. Everyone lived by the name of the Saints.
They also knew that the Emperor would definitely remove Duke Yan's title, so they did not touch this bottom line.
To put it bluntly, this kind of operation was to make the crime bigger and then plead for leniency.
Regardless of whether they wanted to severely punish Kong Shangxian's bloodline or not, they first raised the tone, which was to severely punish Kong Shangxian's bloodline. Then, everyone would plead for leniency together and give the Emperor a way out.
It was all Kong Shangxian's bloodline that was in the wrong. The Emperor was merciful and showed mercy.
As for us, we are qualified disciples of the Saints. We will do our best to protect the descendants of the Saints. Good for you, good for me, and good for everyone.
As for the Emperor wanting to deal with the Kong family in Qufu, there was no need to do it now. He would do it after some time.
These people did not even mention the matter of the new Duke Yan. It was as if this matter had never happened.
As Zhu Yijun looked at these memorials, a face flashed through his mind. He was very excited, but he waved his hand and said, "This is basic. This is all basic!"
Zhu Yijun sighed. Although he really wanted to spit on these people's faces for being too shameless, he couldn't do that.
If this was too easy, he would have to give up. As the Emperor, he was also very helpless!
"Zhang Jing, draft a decree from the cabinet to remove Kong Shangxian's bloodline from the title of Duke Yan."
After pondering for a while, Zhu Yijun said helplessly, "As for the punishment, according to the request of the ministers, for the sake of the descendants of the Saints, they will be exempted from punishment!"
"Yes, Imperial Majesty!" Zhang Jing agreed, turned around, and walked outside.
Zhu Yijun walked to the door of the main hall and looked to the east. He murmured, "Wang Yongji, I have cleared the obstacles for you. Don't let me down!" As he said this, a fierce look flashed in Zhu Yijun's eyes.
It was impossible for Zhu Yijun to just let them go like this. If he didn't beat the Kong Clan down, Zhu Yijun would never stop.