The painting boat that the prince rode was naturally heavily guarded. With the painting boat as the axis, there are twelve small boats distributed on the left and right wings, and the guards on the boat are all the elite of the Twelve Guards Forbidden Army on the back of the tiger, wearing chain light armor, wearing a hat, wearing a coat on the shoulder, wearing a standard forging knife around the waist, the sleeve is slightly bloated, and the cover is hidden at the wrist of the crossbow, just a slight movement of the fingers, you can make the crossbow arrows soaked in poison break out of the air with lightning speed.

The old man in Mai surnamed Kong held an oil-paper umbrella, and under the cover of the rain, he pretended to casually glance at the armored guards on the boat.

The old man in Mai couldn't help but have a subtle feeling in his heart: he was like a lamb surrounded by wolves, and he was going to meet the wolf king.

With his knowledge, he could naturally see that the guards in charge of the prince's defense were not fancy, they were all warriors who came out of the sea of blood in the mountains of real corpses, and their loyalty was only dedicated to the prince alone.

The old man in Mai stood in the rain, thinking about it, and thought a little strangely in his heart: If the prince is an enemy of the emperor and gives an order to the forbidden army of the twelve guards, who will these forbidden troops listen to?

Before he could think too much, he suddenly saw the guards around the boat gradually disperse, making way for him.

The old man in sackcloth looked up, but saw that at the handrail of the deck of the painting boat, Yu Qian was holding the prince's jade plate and waved his hand to give an order to the forbidden army guards.

Just a prince's waist card can make the guards of the twelve guards obey.

The old man in Mai already had an answer to the hypothetical just now in his heart: it seems that even the noble Emperor His Majesty is slightly inferior to this crown prince.

At the very least, if the emperor wants to mobilize the forbidden army, it is not enough to rely on the waist card.

The Twelve Guards only recognize the Holy Decree and the Tiger Talisman.

And now it seems that the crown prince's waist card is better than the holy decree and the tiger talisman.

……

The old man in Mai had just walked into the painting boat, and before he could see the situation clearly, he heard a clang, and Yu Qian closed the door from the outside, so that the candle flame in the room flickered and almost went out.

His eagle eyes narrowed slightly, but he saw the prince Zhu Gaoxian and the young master Yao Guangxiao drinking behind the desk, the prince drinking, the young master drinking tea, and the two talked happily.

Zhang Muzhi was dressed in a royal flying fish suit, holding an embroidered spring knife, the powerful eagle dog beside the prince, put his hand on the hilt, and looked at the old man in Mai with a slightly murderous intent.

Zhu Gaoxian raised his hand to signal, and the singers and dancers stopped one after another, and left through the back door with a slow pace.

After the idlers and others had retreated, the prince drank a glass of liquor and asked unhurriedly, "Who is coming?" ”

The old man in Mai arched his hand and said: "The fifty-sixth grandson of Confucius, inheriting the Southern Sect. ”

Zhu Gaoxian glanced at the other party and asked, "Why don't you kneel when you meet the orphan?" ”

The old man in sackcloth said leisurely: "Why does the inner saint need to kneel to the outer king? ”

Zhu Gaoxian chuckled lightly and said, "You are still a descendant of Confucius, and you don't even understand the direction of the world that Confucianism has always pursued. The so-called inner saint is a reference to the perfection of man's inner bachelor's cultivation. The so-called outer king refers to the realization of the inner ideal personality, the royal ideal of the saint is embodied in social life and national politics, and the ideal of the holy king of governing the country and leveling the world is realized. ”

"The inner saint is the basis of the outer king, and the outer king is the natural result of the inner saint. But whether it is an inner sage or an outer king, it is a reference to Confucian learning, and there is nothing else to do. ”

"In the mouth of your old man, the inner sage refers to the descendants of the Yan Shenggong, and the outer king refers to the emperor and the prince, such a ridiculous statement, if Confucius hears it, he will have to climb out of the coffin board and beat you in anger."

The old man in Mai's eyes flickered: "I never thought that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would have such a deep opinion on my Confucian scholarship, which is really surprising to the old man." ”

Zhu Gaoxian said lightly: "Cultivation, Qi, governance, peace, and self-cultivation are the foundation, which is the key to achieving the realm of inner sainthood." Benevolence and wisdom, everyone is a saint. There has never been a person in the world who was born a saint. ”

Speaking of this, he paused, pointed to the old man in Mai and said with a smile: "Kong Zhu, the ancestor of the Kong family temple, is the eldest grandson of the fifty-second grandson of Confucius and the son of Kong Wanchun, the holy prince of Song Yan. The Southern Song Dynasty court granted Kong Zhu, the head of the Kong family, as the holy prince of Yan, and in the 12th year of Chunyou in the Southern Song Dynasty, he allocated 360,000 yuan of official money to build a family temple for your Kong family. ”

"The twelfth year of Chunyou in the Southern Song Dynasty is only twenty years before the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty. At this time, the Southern Song Dynasty was already in danger, and the treasury deficit was continuous, but it still took out 360,000 yuan of official money to build a family temple for your Southern Song Dynasty court. The Southern Song Dynasty court can be described as a mountain of kindness to your Kong family, how did your ancestor Kong Zhu repay the court? ”

The old man in Mai said with a red face and a heartbeat: "When the Song and Yuan regimes changed, the ancestor of Kong Zhu perfectly used Confucian wisdom, calmly coped with coercion and temptation, abided by loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness, and preserved Confucian culture and inheritance. The allusion of Kong Su to make the seal has been praised by the world to this day. ”

Zhu Gaoxian's eyes were gloomy: "Put your mother's bullshit, you will put gold on the face of your ancestors." Your Kong family, eating Song Lu, receiving Song En, and dying in the country, your Kong family did not hesitate to betray the Southern Song Dynasty. Surrender and surrender, your Kong clan is still the Yuan Empire established by the Mongolian Kublai Khan! How is it any different from an animal to turn one's back on the monarch and the nation in such a way? ”

"The experience of being scolded on anyone in any dynasty, but you are still reversed black and white by you and others, and regarded as a saint, your Confucian culture originally learned to be disloyal and unjust!"

"Er Cao's body and name are destroyed, and the rivers and rivers will not be wasted!"

After such words, Zhu Gaoxian used extremely spicy words to tear off the fig leaf on Confucianism and Kong's body, and used the tip of the word to stab Kong's backbone, which can be described as a heart-wrenching word.

Yu Qian and Zhang Mu's people were dumbfounded, and the thin old hand of Yao Guangxiao, the black-clothed prime minister, holding a teacup, was also hanging in the air, his eyes were a little dull, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

This prince is really amazing.

The descendants of Confucianism and Confucius, who have been respected by the world for thousands of years, seem to have become a shameless worm in Zhu Gaoxian's mouth.

However, the old man in Mai, who was scolded for being bloody, just smiled slightly.

"Well said, well said."

"It seems that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince not only has amazing achievements and views in my Confucian scholarship, but also has a considerable understanding of my Confucian history."

The smile of the old man in Mai remained the same, "Since the prince knows everything, then the old man won't talk much nonsense today, let's talk about things?" ”

Zhu Gaoxian stood up, took out the yellow silk towel from his sleeve, held the white porcelain wine pot warm on the stove in the corner, and leaned against the carved window.

He said lightly: "Before you drink this pot of wine, finish your words." ”

The old man in Mai didn't talk nonsense, and said neatly: "Before sunset tomorrow, the seventeen families in Yangzhou, each of which will send 200,000 stone grain and grass to the grain and grass of the Yangzhou government, will do their best for His Majesty and His Royal Highness's northern expedition." ”

"200,000 per family is indeed a modest effort."

Zhu Gaoxian said lightly, "With this little sweetness, you want to send Lone away?" ”

"Of course it's more than that."

The old man in Mai said with a smile, "Within a month, the family lords of the southern provinces will join forces to raise 50 million stone grains and 50 million taels of silver. Your Highness can rest assured that we will be responsible for transporting these grains to Beijing, and the transportation will cost the imperial court not a meter or a penny. ”

Hearing this number, even Yao Guangxiao couldn't help but gasp: "It's really generous." ”

The logistics standard of the Ming army is one liter of five-he-rice beans per day for sergeants, and four buckets and five liters of grain for a month.

The military horse has three liters of concentrate every day, and a bunch of licorice is no different from what the sergeant eats, because the military horse cannot only feed the grass, otherwise the war horse will be forced to rest when it charges down. War horses in the army need to be fed with soybean cakes, wheat bran, salt and other feeds. It's almost nine buckets of grain and three stone grass in a month.

10,000 troops, war horses and pack horses are calculated according to 5,000, 4,500 stone of human food, 4,500 stone of horse food and 15,000 stone of grass, that is, 24,000 stone of grain and grass are consumed every month.

In addition, there is a huge consumption brought about by the long transportation of grain and grass, ox carts and carriages, all need to be fed with grain and grass, the emperor drove the expedition in person, and the logistics line is more than thousands of miles. I'm afraid that the consumption is more than what the sergeant eats.

His Majesty the Emperor's northern expedition this time needs to consume at least 400,000 stone grain and grass. The Ministry of Industry has built tens of thousands of Wugang vehicles, which are specially used to transport grain and grass.

With 50 million stone of grain, His Majesty the Emperor can't spend his annual vacation even if he takes hundreds of thousands of soldiers to fish, let alone 50 million taels of silver.

Zhu Gaoxian asked with interest: "You said that if you let them give food and money, they will give it?" Southerners just listen to you? ”

The old man in sackcloth smiled and nodded: "Yes, I said that if I give it to them, I have to give it." ”

In the calmest tone, say the most arrogant words.

It's as if he is the emperor of the south.

It is also true that the influence of the Southern Sect of the Kong Clan in the entire south is not far from wealth and power. It is more about the influence that is quite similar to religious belief brought by the gold-lettered signboard of "After the Holy Teacher".

How many court officials are not from the imperial examination Confucianism? Born in Confucianism, how many people dare to refute the face of the Holy Ancestor?

Under the monopoly of this system of discourse that has lasted for thousands of years, the Kong family has long become a towering tree in the change of feudal dynasties, with roots and veins covering every inch of soil and absorbing nutrients.

Zhu Gaoxian's tone was also very calm: "What do you want?" ”

The other party offered such good conditions, it was impossible just to let him let go of the seventeen families in Yangzhou. The seventeen families of Yangzhou can be called a strong party in the south of Zhili, but looking at the entire south, in the eyes of the Southern Sect of the Kong family, what is the seventeen families of Yangzhou?

With a status like Kong's, it has long been impossible to come forward easily, because once he makes a move, the impact will not only be on the surface of the tide, but also on the undercurrent surging underwater. A dynasty would never tolerate such a large thousand-year-old family to threaten its rule.

If Kong wants to last a long time, it is not to show off his strength and power all the time to show his fist, but to make it transparent and reduce its sense of existence, so that no one even notices that under the calm water, there is a shadow beast of the same volume as the lake.

can let the old man in Mai come forward, which shows that the pressure brought by Zhu Gaoxian in the south has made the Kong family feel a little breathless.

The emperor's southern tour was to consolidate power.

Zhu Gaoxian's southern tour was to destroy the foundation of the family.

This is the biggest problem that frightens Kong.

Facing Zhu Gaoxian's question, the old man in Mai said slowly: "The old man has only one request, and that is——"

"Your Highness must not set foot in the south again in this life."

Bang!

Outside, there was a sudden thunder and lightning, illuminating the canal at night like day, and after a flash of light, the thunder came like a battle of thousands of troops, like the waves of the Han Sea, almost shattering the oppression of the sky.

The drizzling rain was also infinitely amplified after the thunder, like a dragon king turning over, and the noisy and majestic sound of heavy rain was extremely loud in the quiet room.

On the calm canal, the water is rushing endlessly, and the cosy painting boat sways on the water, and maybe it will turn over in the next moment.

The general of the forbidden army guarding outside the room couldn't help but shout loudly inside: "Prince, the rain is too heavy, and it is too dangerous for the painting boat to float on the canal, please let our ships dock quickly!" ”

Zhu Gaoxian responded in a deep voice: "Pass the order of the orphan, the lonely does not speak, and the boat and boat cannot be moved." Also, no one can be within a hundred steps! ”

"No!"

The Praetorian General received the order and went in a small boat to convey the order to the ships guarding the boat.

"The prince has an order, no one is allowed within a hundred steps, and without the prince's order, no boat or boat can be moved!"

"Order!"

……

……

Inside the boat, Zhu Gaoxian's eyes flashed with a cold and cold light: "Can loneliness be understood as that you are threatening loneliness?" ”

The old man in Mai bowed his head slightly: "Don't dare." ”

In the decades that he has been in charge of the Kong family, he has seen the great grandfather wash the world with the blood of the four major cases of Hongwu, and the blood on the Fengtian Temple has flowed like a river.

I have also seen Emperor Jianwen cut the feudal domain at the beginning of his succession, and the king of Kyushu was turbulent and the world was unstable.

I have also seen His Majesty fight against the thirteen provinces with the power of one place, and suddenly there are madmen sharpening their knives at night, and the emperor star is fluttering and the fireflies are high, so that the world will change the lord and not change Zhu.

But in the eyes of this old man in sackcloth, everything is just Erer, it belongs to the waves that often occur in the cycle of the operation of the dynasty, and no matter how many people die, they will not die on the head of the Kong family. The appearance of only one person gave him an urgent sense of crisis.

- Zhu Gaoxian.

From an unfavored King of Qi, to the later southern and northern wars to firmly grasp the military power of the Ming Dynasty, the three huge northeastern provinces, only obeyed his orders. He has changed the situation of this dynasty step by step, and there are countless dry bones under his feet, and the influence he brings has surpassed that of His Majesty today.

If it was just like that, it wouldn't make Kong afraid.

What really scared him was that after Zhu Gaoxian took power, he was destroying the foundation of the family little by little. Changing the rule of officials and changing the tax system, he used two knives called taxes and officials to invisibly destroy the monopoly of the family's gate valves.

And now, this man has revealed his true ambitions.

He came to the south, and blatantly wanted to pinch off the proud head of the family.

Or bow your head.

Either die.

(End of chapter)