Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

The eleventh day of the first lunar month in the twelfth year of Chongzhen.

The weather was not good. It was cloudy early in the morning.

When Zhang Shikang finished his breakfast, a thousand elite soldiers from the Beijing camp had already lined up.

He did not like to waste time doing things and had originally planned to go straight to the Confucius Mansion. However, just as he got on Ergou, Duke Yansheng came to find him in gorgeous clothes.

Kong Yinzhi knew that Zhang Shikang was not easy to deal with, so he made adequate preparations for this.

At this time, he was wearing the specially made Zhou-style uniform that Emperor Chongzhen had given him when he ascended the throne.

This is almost a custom when every emperor ascends the throne. This kind of clothing is extremely valuable, but the most important thing is that it is a gift from the emperor. Compared with its valuableness, its glory is even greater.

He only wore this set of clothes during the Kong family's sacrificial ceremonies and was reluctant to wear it on weekdays.

The reason why Kong Yinzhi wore it today was that he wanted to let Zhang Shikang know that the Kong family has been favored by the emperor for generations and you, Zhang Shikang, cannot bully them at will.

Although Kong Yinzhi had a smile on his face, that smile was not flattering at all, but rather rather bland.

In Kong Yinzhi's opinion, as the Duke of Yansheng, he has condescended to come and see you in person, which is already giving you enough face as a playboy.

"I heard that the Grand Marshal was visiting Qufu. As the head of the Kong family, I came here with a small gift to greet you."

Kong Yinzhi bowed to Zhang Shikang, expressing what he believed to be goodwill.

In terms of status, Kong Yinzhi was not only the patriarch of Confucius' direct family, but also the Duke of Yansheng, which was much higher than Zhang Shikang's marquis.

When Zhang Shikang saw him, he did not take the initiative to greet him. Kong Yinzhi just looked down on him in his heart, thinking that the playboy did not know etiquette, but he did not show it on his face.

Confucianism governs the country with propriety. As the head of the Confucius family, he naturally would not be rude.

However, Zhang Shikang almost broke his defense with just one sentence.

"Oh! You are the Duke of Yansheng. You came at the right time. I was just about to go to your house to look for you!

Look, I have also prepared a small gift."

Zhang Shikang smiled and pointed at the thousand elite soldiers behind him.

"Marshal, you're joking." Kong Yinzhi's face suddenly fell.

Seeing Zhang Shikang smiling, he thought he was just joking and thought he might be too sensitive, so a smile quickly appeared on his face again.

He had already seen the soldiers behind Zhang Shikang, but he had previously thought that those soldiers were just Zhang Shikang's guards.

I heard that this guy had been assassinated in Shanxi. There is no playboy like him who is not afraid of death, so it is normal to have more guards.

But I didn't expect this playboy to say such words right at the beginning. Treating soldiers as gifts is not a joke at all.

"No, no, no, I'm not joking." Zhang Shikang still smiled.

But Kong Yinzhi finally couldn't laugh anymore.

"Why are you like this, Marshal? Why don't you take a look at the gift I brought you first?" Kong Yinzhi pointed to the box held by the servant behind him.

Upon hearing this, the servant raised the box with both hands and presented it to Zhang Shikang.

Zhang Shikang did not dismount from the beginning. He took the wooden box and opened it, only to see a thick stack of silver bills inside.

The denomination of the banknotes was very large, each worth one thousand taels. Zhang Shikang took out all the banknotes and threw the wooden box aside.

Then he started counting in public.

"One thousand taels, two thousand taels, three thousand taels..."

Kong Yinzhi's face turned black.

Although bribery was rampant in the entire Ming Dynasty officialdom, it was mostly done secretly. After all, both parties involved in the bribery had to save face.

Although Kong Yinzhi promised in front of all the clan leaders at the meeting last night that he would never compromise with Zhang Shikang.

But in fact, everyone knows that it is impossible to force it, and this is not the way the Kong family has dealt with the world for more than a thousand years.

In their inherent concept, all the court officials who came to Qufu, without exception, came to extort money.

And Zhang Shikang, the playboy, would never be surprised. The Kong family has plenty of money, it's just a matter of how much they give.

Knowing that Zhang Shikang was not someone to be trifled with, Kong Yinzhi gritted his teeth and took out 50,000 taels of silver. This would be a fortune for anyone.

The Kong family did not think this was a compromise with power.

Just now, when he saw the other party opening the box, Kong Yinzhi was still thinking that the danger was difficult to resolve.

It was not until Zhang Shikang threw the wooden box to the ground and his head began to buzz that he realized that things were not that simple.

How could one accept bribes so arrogantly and blatantly?

And counting money in public?

How rude and disrespectful!

"Forty-nine, fifty, fifty thousand taels." Zhang Shikang held a thick stack of silver bills in his right hand and clapped them against his left hand.

"It's just a small gift, not a token of respect." Kong Yinzhi smiled politely again.

He suddenly felt uneasy.

"But...what do you mean?"

"I have no other intentions. The Marshal has come from afar, so how can I not express my gratitude?"

"That's not very nice of you." Zhang Shikang said with a smile.

"No, no, that's not respectful, that's not respectful."

When Kong Yinzhi saw Zhang Shikang smile, a smile immediately appeared on his face, thinking that the big issue was finally resolved.

"What I mean is that you are not kind enough." Zhang Shikang repeated, and the smile on his face disappeared.

Kong Yinzhi couldn't laugh anymore. He had been cultivating himself for many years and thought he could remain calm in the face of praise or criticism. But in just a few moments, his heart almost jumped out of his chest.

"I was personally appointed by His Majesty as the Grand Marshal of the Armies of the Nation, commanding all the troops of the Ming Dynasty.

You are the Duke of Yansheng and own so many properties, but you only took out 50,000 taels to bribe me.

Do you look down on me?" Zhang Shikang said coldly.

"You misunderstood, you misunderstood, how dare I look down on you.

It is because I am stupid, please do not be angry, I will go back and prepare some more gifts, I will make sure you will not be disappointed."

Kong Yinzhi was so frightened that just now, he even thought that this dude really wanted to attack the Kong family.

Only when he heard Zhang Shikang say that the money he was given was too little did he feel a little relieved.

As long as the problem can be solved with money, it is not a problem. However, he was always dissatisfied in his heart. Fifty thousand taels was already considered an over-the-limit.

Even the governor-level official who came to Qufu for inspection in the past few years was only given 10,000 taels by the Kong family as a reward.

This playboy in front of you, although young, has a big appetite. Aren’t you afraid that he will eat you to death?

As soon as this guy falls, he will definitely write a letter to impeach him and then step on him a thousand times, Kong Yinzhi thought bitterly.

"I'll go with you, don't you mind?"

Kong Yinzhi was extremely contemptuous. He had given and received bribes countless times in his life, but had never met such a rude person.

At this moment, he couldn't even force a smile on his face, and could only reply woodenly:

"Of course I agree."

Zhang Shikang shook his head and finally decided to end this boring game.

This old man doesn't take being teased at all.

Thinking of this, he said to Kong Yinzhi:

"That's great. I heard that you have a lot of armor hidden in your cellar. To be honest, Ben loves beautiful armor the most.

When we get to your house, you must let me take a good look at you."

……