Confucius spoke of righteousness, Mencius spoke of benevolence, but not loyalty.

"Skin them, pack them up, and show them to the world!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice, which sounded as if it came from the deepest hell, froze the air in the entire Hongwu Hall.

Every word carries the stench of blood.

Every word foreshadows an impending bloody storm that will engulf the entire gentry class of the Ming Dynasty!

Those civil officials who had just boasted of being pillars of the court and upright officials in the local government now felt a chill run down their spines, as if they could already see their own skin being peeled off, stuffed with straw, and hung at the entrance of the government office, a miserable end.

They were scared.

They were truly afraid.

This emperor, who fought his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, never joked!

Above the sky, Zhu Dijun's voice rang out at the right moment, carrying a hint of soothingness, yet concealing a deeper sharpness.

"Family members, please don't get agitated."

"I must clarify that I am not saying that all intellectuals are parasites on the country."

"On the contrary, in every era of China, at every critical juncture, there has always been a group of true scholars who stepped forward, sacrificed themselves for their cause, and built an unyielding Great Wall for the nation with their own blood and flesh."

"From Lu Xiufu, who carried the young emperor across the sea from Yaishan, to Yan Yingyuan, who defended Jiangyin alone at the end of the Ming Dynasty and refused to surrender even in the face of death."

"They used their lives to exemplify what it means to 'establish a moral compass for heaven and earth, to secure a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of past sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations.'"

"They are the backbone of this nation!"

Zhu Dijun's words warmed the hearts of countless people across different times and spaces.

But then, his tone suddenly changed!

"but!"

"One bad apple spoils the whole bunch."

"When this pot of soup is mixed with far too many rat droppings—even more rat droppings than rice—it's no longer soup!"

"It's a pot of highly poisonous swill, enough to kill the entire country!"

"And among these countless rotten apples, there is one that is the biggest, the smelliest, the longest-standing, and the best disguised..."

"That is, the family hailed as 'the number one family under heaven,' which enjoyed the highest level of support throughout history—"

"The Confucius Family of Qufu!"

boom!

When the four characters "Qufu Confucius Family" appeared on the sky, emperors from all time and space suddenly sat up straight!

If the gentry class was the cornerstone of their rule...

Therefore, the Confucian family is the "core" of this cornerstone! It is the "totem" of the Confucian tradition!

Attacking the Kong family?

This is even more serious than directly insulting these emperors!

However, before they could react, a barrage of comments from the modern timeline flooded in like a tidal wave, filled with biting sarcasm!

[Warning: High-energy content ahead! The 72nd generation of family servants, the hereditary Duke Yansheng, makes his debut!]

[Here it comes! A history of the Confucius family, half of which is a history of surrender!]

[The Jurchens surrendered to the Jurchens, the Mongols surrendered to the Yuan, the Manchus surrendered to the Qing, the Japanese devils came... Welcome, Japanese officer!]

[Isn't this the kind of bastards who use surrender documents to persuade people to be loyal?]

The Kong family is loyal not to any one dynasty, but to every dynasty!

[Don't be so blunt, upstairs! This is called being pragmatic and knowing when to yield!]

A seventy-second generation of household slaves?

Did Shi Xiu submit a memorial urging people to be loyal?

These words were like resounding slaps to the faces of emperors throughout history who revered Confucius and Confucianism!

Spring and Autumn Period.

Qufu, the Apricot Altar.

A tall, old man with a simple and ancient face was stroking his long beard as he lectured his three thousand disciples.

This is Confucius, who was later revered as the "Teacher of Ten Thousand Generations".

When those offensive comments appeared on the screen, the smile on his face froze instantly.

His descendants...surrendered?

And surrender again and again?

"Absurd! Utter nonsense!"

Beside Confucius, Zilu, the most upright of them all, suddenly stood up, pointed at the sky, and roared, "My family of Confucius has passed down the teachings of our Master for generations, emphasizing benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, and cultivating virtues such as regulating one's family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world! How could we commit such a disloyal and shameless act of betraying our ruler and father!"

However, the sky showed him no mercy.

The scene changes.

AI-generated images began to play rapidly, showcasing the "glorious history" of the Kong family from the late Song Dynasty to the Republic of China.

When the Jin army marched south and the Northern Song Dynasty fell, Kong Duanyou, the 48th generation of the Kong family and the "Duke Yansheng," led a group of his clansmen to follow Emperor Gaozong of Song south, thus forming the "Southern Branch."

The clansmen who remained in Qufu immediately enthroned Kong Duanyou's younger brother, Kong Duancao, as the new "Duke Yansheng," and accepted the investiture from the Jin Dynasty, thus establishing the "Northern Clan"!

Two powerful figures from the same family, standing in opposition from north to south! Regardless of who wins, the wealth and status of the Kong family remain as secure as Mount Tai!

The scene then changes.

The Mongol cavalry swept across the Central Plains, leading to the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty.

The Duke Yansheng of the Southern School presented his family heirloom to Kublai Khan, the Yuan Dynasty emperor, and begged for his favor.

The Duke Yansheng of the Northern Branch had long been a loyal dog of the Mongols.

Ultimately, Kublai Khan ordered the unification of the Northern and Southern dynasties, recognizing the "Northern dynasty," which had long since surrendered, as the legitimate dynasty!

The scene changes again!

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing army entered the pass.

Kong Yinzhi, the 65th Duke Yansheng, immediately wrote to Dorgon, shaved his head and changed his clothes, and enthusiastically praised the new dynasty's "mandate of heaven"!

The scene changes again!

During the Republic of China era, Japanese invaders attacked China, and Jinan fell to the Japanese.

When the 77th generation Duke Yansheng, Kong Decheng, fled south to seek refuge, the Kong family's representatives, members of the Kong clan, opened the city gates of Qufu County and welcomed the Japanese army into the city under the guise of "welcome"! They even had a "pleasant chat" with Japanese officers!

Scene after scene, incident after incident!

The proof is like a mountain!

In the Spring and Autumn Period, on the apricot altar, there was a deathly silence.

The disciples' gazes shifted from initial anger to shock, then to disbelief, and finally, all turned to their teacher, Confucius.

Confucius's body was trembling slightly.

He looked up at the sky and saw his descendants, their faces groveling and fawning under the iron hooves of foreign invaders.

Those faces clearly bore a resemblance to him.

But the servility and shamelessness in those eyes made him feel an unprecedented sense of alienation and disgust!

"Disgusting creatures...a bunch of disgusting creatures!"

Confucius was so angry that he trembled all over. He pointed at the sky and almost fainted on the spot because he couldn't catch his breath.

"Master!"

Yan Hui, Zigong, and others quickly stepped forward to help him up.

However, what devastated him even more was yet to come.

Above the sky, Zhu Dijun's voice carried a hint of amusement.

"Family members, don't you feel that these descendants have disgraced their ancestors?"

"No, no, no, you're wrong."

"To understand their logic, I specifically used AI technology to simulate and synthesize a virtual image of the 'Head of the Kong Family,' so that he could personally explain the theoretical basis for their actions!"

The voice just fell.

On the sky, the image of a middle-aged man appeared, dressed in a brocade robe, with a smile on his face, and looking gentle and refined.

He faced the camera, faced all of time and space, faced Confucius who was so angry he was about to ascend to heaven, and bowed slowly and deliberately.

"Descendants have met their ancestor."

His voice was calm and humble.

But what he said struck Confucius and everyone else like a thunderbolt!

"Ancestor, why are you so angry?"

The AI ​​Kong family head said with a smile.

"The reason why we, the descendants, have been able to preserve our family and ensure the continuation of the Kong family line to this day amidst dynastic changes is precisely because of the principles of being a person that you taught us by word and deed back then."

"Ultimately, what we do is rooted in our bloodline!"

"Ancestor, have you forgotten that you yourself are the founding father of our Kong family, and even the entire Confucian school, the one who embodies the principle of 'a wise man submits to circumstances'?"