Chapter 597
This is hardly a descendant of a sage! He's clearly a traitor!
The Crown Prince... this was a huge, unexpected way out for him, even a kind of grace.
This letter, which was enough to send Confucius to the deepest abyss and completely shatter the reputation of the entire civil service, was not read aloud in court by the Crown Prince. He did not use it to force him to submit, nor did he use it to blackmail other civil officials. Instead, he handed it over to him and said, "I have full authority to handle it."
This means that the Crown Prince does not intend to make the contents of the letter public. This "decency" is the last bit of warmth and respect that the Crown Prince gives to this old minister after clearly expressing his dissatisfaction. It is also a reminder that the matter must be done, but the method can be discussed, provided that the Kong family must pay the price.
Seeing Xue Guoguan's dazed expression and complex emotions churning in his eyes after receiving the letter, Wang Chengen stepped forward and whispered, in a voice only the two of them could hear, added:
"Chief Minister Xue, your actions today were indeed... somewhat unexpected, but I saw it clearly from the side. Although His Majesty was displeased at the time, he was also very understanding; although His Highness the Crown Prince was surprised, he could also understand your difficulties."
Both thunder and rain are acts of imperial grace. His Majesty and His Highness are not overly angry about this matter, nor do they intend to pursue it further. You... need not worry excessively; taking care of your health is of utmost importance.”
These words were not spoken at the behest of the Crown Prince or the Emperor. They were merely Wang Chengen's own words of comfort and reminder, spoken out of a sense of pity for this veteran official who had served three dynasties, and out of a desire not to escalate the situation to an uncontrollable degree.
He was genuinely afraid that the old man might have a moment of weakness, or feel humiliated and ashamed before the emperor, and do something extreme, which would make the situation even worse.
Upon hearing this, Xue Guoguan trembled violently, raised his head, and tears welled up in his cloudy old eyes, swirling around in his eyes.
He had lived for over sixty years, and had been navigating the treacherous waters of officialdom for nearly forty. What storms hadn't he weathered? What kind of kind words hadn't he heard? But at this moment, these few words of reassurance from the chief eunuch, who to some extent represented the attitude of the emperor and the crown prince, were like the warmest spring breeze, melting the ice in his heart formed by fear, regret, and inner conflict.
He understood that His Majesty and the Crown Prince, in the end, remembered his hard work as an old minister and spared his reputation, and did not drive him to the brink of despair.
Thinking of this, Xue Guoguan's heart surged with emotion, and he could no longer contain himself.
He took a trembling step back, cradled the secret letter in both hands, raised it high above his head, and then, with a thud, knelt down again, tears streaming down his face, his voice choked and hoarse, yet he mustered all his strength to proclaim:
"This old minister...this old minister Xue Guoguan thanks Your Majesty for your great kindness! Thanks Your Highness the Crown Prince for your leniency! Long live Your Majesty! Long live Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
Having said that, he disregarded the coldness of the ground, carefully placed the letter aside, faced the direction of the palace, touched the ground with his forehead, and respectfully and firmly kowtowed three times.
His forehead struck the blue brick floor with a dull thud, each sound resonating in the hearts of everyone present.
The study was deathly silent.
Fan Jingwen, Jiang Dejing, Hong Chengchou, and several other ministers and censors watched this scene silently without saying a word, but the expressions on everyone's faces were extremely solemn. Their gazes toward the secret letter that Xue Guoguan had carefully placed on the ground beside him were filled with indescribable surprise, fear, and intense curiosity.
They knew that the contents of this letter, which could elicit such a reaction from Xue Guoguan and make the emperor and crown prince both reluctant to discuss it but ultimately "forgive" him, must be earth-shattering and enough to overturn many people's understanding!
After watching Xue Guoguan finish kowtowing, Wang Chengen helped him up and said gently:
"Prime Minister Xue, please rise and take care of yourself. My message has been delivered, and the gifts have been sent. His Highness the Crown Prince said that it is alright for all the officials present to know about today's events."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the room again, his professional smile returning to his face, and his tone becoming more relaxed:
"Now that the message has been delivered and the letter has been sent, my mission is complete. Gentlemen, I'm sure you still have much to say and many matters to discuss. I won't disturb you any longer; I'll return to the palace to report back."
After saying this, he bowed to everyone and, without waiting for a response, turned around, took unhurried steps, opened the study door, and walked straight out. Soon, his footsteps disappeared outside the courtyard.
Inside the study, only a group of civil officials and senior ministers, led by Xue Guoguan, remained.
The heavy wooden door closed again, cutting off outside light and sound, as if locking all the pressure inside this small space.
After a brief silence, like a powder keg that had been ignited, the crowd could no longer contain themselves and immediately surrounded Xue Guoguan, who had just stood up and whose expression was still filled with grief and confusion.
This time, their goal was even clearer—that letter!
"Grand Secretary Xue! Eunuch Wang has left, and there are no outsiders here! What exactly is written in this letter? May we take a look?"
"Prime Minister! This matter is of utmost importance, so please stop hiding it! What could possibly make you risk such an outrageous act in court?!"
"Yes, Grand Secretary Xue, please let us take a look! Otherwise, we will feel uneasy and unsure how to conduct ourselves in the future."
The crowd chattered excitedly, their eyes fixed intently on the letter that Xue Guoguan had taken back into his hands, but no one dared to reach out and snatch it.
After all, this was something the Crown Prince personally handed over to Xue Guoguan for "disposal," and to some extent represented the Crown Prince's will and final bottom line, which no one dared to overstep.
Seeing everyone so anxious, like ants on a hot pan, Xue Guo looked at the hot letter in his hand, and recalled Wang Chengen's words, as well as the "decency" that the Crown Prince and the Emperor had ultimately given him. The last trace of hesitation and selfishness in his heart dissipated.
He let out a long, helpless sigh, a sigh filled with exhaustion and resignation.
"That's enough, that's enough..."
Xue Guoguan murmured, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.
Without further hesitation, he handed the unsealed letter in his hand to Fan Jingwen, who was closest to him.
"My lords, take a look. Once you've read it, you'll understand why I'm risking my life and losing face to prevent that letter from being made public in court. You'll also understand why His Majesty and the Crown Prince are targeting the descendants of Confucius..."
Fan Jingwen almost snatched the letter, his fingers trembling slightly with excitement.
He quickly pulled out the letter inside and unfolded it.
The other senior officials immediately disregarded their decorum and crowded around, standing on tiptoe, craning their necks, and staring intently at the thin sheet of paper.
The letter paper was made of the finest gold-flecked Xuan paper, and the handwriting was in the standard official script, upright yet revealing a hint of flattery.
The opening salutation, the closing seal...
As everyone's gaze swept over those shocking words—
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
Inside the study, only the increasingly heavy and rapid breathing of the group remained.
Then, someone gasped, letting out a soft hiss. Immediately afterwards, it was like a volcanic eruption—
"Outrageous! Outrageous!!!"
Fan Jingwen's face instantly turned bright red, veins bulged on his forehead, his hand holding the letter trembled like a leaf in the autumn wind, and his voice was distorted by extreme anger.
"A descendant of a sage, the current Duke Yansheng! How could he... how could he write such obsequious and groveling words! To call the Jianzhou chieftain... to call him... shameless! Utterly shameless!!"
"Selling out his master for personal gain! Forgetting his ancestors! How can this be a descendant of a sage? This is clearly a traitor to the country! A beast in human clothing!"
Jiang Dejing was also bristling with anger, his teeth clenched, and his eyes almost spitting fire.
"No wonder! No wonder His Majesty was furious and the Crown Prince took such drastic measures! Such behavior has utterly disgraced Confucius and all scholars in the world! He deserves to die! His entire clan should be exterminated!"
A hot-tempered minister slammed his fist on the table, causing the pen holder on the table to tremble violently.
"I was so blind before... I even felt sorry for the Kong family, thinking His Majesty might be too harsh... I was truly blind! These unfilial descendants deserve to die!"
The other person beat his chest and stamped his feet, his face full of shame and indignation.
In an instant, the study was filled with angry shouts, rebukes, and cries of heartbreak.
Everyone was shocked, enraged, and even felt a deep sense of shame by the contents of the letter.
The obsequious flattery and humble attitude of the contemporary Duke Yansheng, Kong Yinzhi, towards Nurhaci in that letter, even subtly suggesting an attempt to urge him to ascend the throne and express his loyalty, completely exceeded their wildest imaginations! This was not merely colluding with a foreign enemy; it was tantamount to spiritually recognizing a thief as one's father!
After the initial shock and rage, everyone finally understood the good intentions behind Xue Guoguan's "crazy" actions in court today.
If this letter were truly read aloud by Wang Chengen in the solemn and majestic Hall of Supreme Harmony... the scene would be unimaginable! It would not only be a trial of the Kong family, but also the most ruthless and cruel public execution and humiliation for all scholars in the world who believe in Confucianism and Mencius and pride themselves on "integrity"!
The dignity of the entire civil service and even the "orthodox tradition" will be trampled into mud, losing face and never recovering in a century.
Having figured this out, the way everyone looked at Xue Guoguan instantly changed from doubt and resentment to deep gratitude, respect, and even a hint of lingering fear.
At that moment, Fan Jingwen took a few deep breaths, barely calming the surging anger in his chest. He then solemnly bowed to Xue Guoguan, his voice sincere and tinged with shame:
"Grand Secretary Xue! Today... if it weren't for your selfless act of stopping us at all costs, we scholars would have been humiliated for all time! You sacrificed your own dignity to preserve the honor of the entire scholarly community! I cannot express my gratitude enough; please accept my bow!"
"Please accept our bow!"
Jiang Dejing and the others bowed respectfully, their faces filled with shame and reverence.
They knew the immense pressure Xue Guoguan was under and the difficult choice he had made that day. That kneeling shattered his personal official authority, but it also barely managed to mend the last fig leaf of "moral tradition."
Seeing everyone's reaction, Xue Guoguan could only wave his hand with a wry smile, a smile that was more painful than crying.
He slowly walked behind the desk, as if using his last bit of strength to sit down.
"Forget it, forget it... Since things have come to this, gentlemen, let's not bring it up again. We've already scolded and gotten angry, but the matter still needs to be resolved."
Xue Guoguan's voice was tired and hoarse, yet it carried a sense of calm after everything had settled.
"Everyone heard what Eunuch Wang said just now. The Crown Prince and His Majesty have given us tremendous face and a way out. Since that's the case, we must not let this 'favor' go to waste."
His gaze slowly swept over the crowd, his tone becoming serious and decisive:
"The matter concerning the Kong family must be thoroughly investigated and dealt with. Those who should be imprisoned should be imprisoned, and those who should be executed should be executed. There should be no leniency! Within the Kong family, anyone with a bad record or who has caused harm to the local area should be severely punished according to the law. Those who should be exiled should be exiled, and those who should be confiscated should be confiscated!"
He paused, then continued:
"As for the matter of 'relocating some of the collateral branches of the Confucius family to educate Liaodong and Korea,' this is His Highness the Crown Prince's established national policy, which is of great benefit to stabilizing the border and assimilating the barbarians. We should do our best to promote this, relocate them to Liaodong and Korea to establish new prefectures and counties, build schools, and teach them the ways of the sages, so that they can atone for their crimes and make amends. This is also a way out."
Finally, his voice lowered:
"As for the title of Duke Yansheng... Although Kong Yinzhi's crimes are heinous, the lineage of Duke Yansheng is ultimately a symbol of the direct line of the Sage. To avoid public criticism and undermining the foundation, he can be ordered to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors, with his salary and sacrificial land reduced, and strictly controlled. However, his title... will be temporarily retained, and a virtuous person will be chosen from within the clan to succeed him, so as to ensure the continuation of the Sage's sacrifices. This can be considered an explanation to His Majesty and to the world."
This arrangement can be described as a combination of kindness and severity. It severely punished the ringleaders and lawbreakers, implemented the Crown Prince's "relocation of Confucius" policy, and preserved the symbolic title of "Duke Yansheng" to the greatest extent possible. It did not eradicate the Confucius family completely, and gave the scholars of the world a barely acceptable explanation.
After hearing this, although everyone felt a little awkward and unwilling deep down about retaining the title of Duke Yansheng and even allowing his successor to continue, they also knew that this was probably the safest and least likely to provoke a strong backlash among the Crown Prince's will, the Emperor's attitude, the civil officials' dignity, and the public opinion of the literati.
Xue Guoguan used the last vestiges of his political life and influence to bring this matter to a relatively "satisfactory" conclusion.
After a moment of silence, Fan Jingwen was the first to cup his hands in greeting:
“The Prime Minister’s considerations are thorough and his handling of the matter is appropriate. We have no objections.”
"According to what Yuanfu said."
Jiang Dejing and the others nodded in agreement.
Hong Chengchou also cupped his hands and said:
"Grand Secretary Xue is a wise and experienced strategist who plans for the country, and Chengchou admires him greatly."
And so, the matter was tentatively settled.
A storm that nearly caused an earthquake in the imperial court was temporarily quelled and put back on track thanks to the Crown Prince's compromise, Xue Guoguan's sense of responsibility, and the consensus of the ministers.
Several days later.
On this day, the entire city of Beijing was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and the sound of gongs and drums filled the air. From the inner city to the outer city, everywhere was filled with a festive atmosphere.
Today is the day the imperial court officially holds the grand ceremony for presenting prisoners of war, offering sacrifices at the ancestral temple, and bestowing rewards upon those who have achieved the great victory in pacifying Liaodong and establishing the dynasty! (End of Chapter)