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

Kong Yinzhi was completely stunned when he heard this.

Privately possessing armor has been a serious crime in all dynasties, tantamount to treason.

"Why do you say that, Marshal?" After being stunned for a moment, Kong Yinzhi calmed down again.

At this moment, all the compromise that had been shown just now had disappeared, and was replaced by an appearance of righteousness.

Even Zhang Shikang was amazed at Kong Yinzhi's change of attitude.

"I just heard about it, so I came to take a look.

Look at you, you've become so serious all of a sudden.

Come on, come on, I've heard that the Confucius Mansion looks low-key on the outside, but is quite luxurious on the inside, but I haven't been there yet!"

As Zhang Shikang said this, he patted his horse and set off with gifts for a thousand people.

Along the way, Duke Yansheng Kong Yinzhi had a stern face and kept explaining over and over that there was no armor in his house.

At this point, Kong Yinzhi was not very nervous because the Kong family really had no armor.

But even so, Kong Yinzhi still felt very uncomfortable. No one wants outsiders to investigate their family background.

Still with soldiers.

A quarter of an hour later, the group arrived at the gate of Confucius Mansion.

Zhang Shikang was about to go in with a group of personal guards, but the servants of the Kong Mansion were not pushovers either, blocking the door and looking at Kong Yinzhi.

Kong Yinzhi felt as uncomfortable as if he had eaten shit. He just waved his hand and asked the servants to make way. Meeting such an unreasonable playboy, he didn't want to say anything.

When they arrived at the living room, Kong Yinzhi immediately ordered the butler to bring another box. This time, there was another 50,000 taels in the wooden box.

Including the 50,000 taels just now, the total amount is 100,000 taels.

Even if a high-ranking official in the imperial court skipped food and drink, he would not be able to get a salary of one hundred thousand taels in a hundred years.

In Kong Yinzhi's opinion, these vulgar people who don't even follow the most basic etiquette are just after money.

Therefore, he thought that as long as he was willing to pay enough silver, it didn't matter whether he spoke or not.

Zhang Shikang took the wooden box with a smile, put it together with the 50,000 taels from before, and handed it to Tian Jingwen, saying:

"record on file."

Kong Yinzhi knew that Tian Jingwen was from the East Factory, and only then did he realize that Zhang Shikang was setting up a trap for him, and he immediately became furious.

"How dare you, you rude boy, frame me?"

"Hey, old man, why are you lying with your eyes open?

Is there something wrong with your brain?"

Zhang Shikang looked at Kong Yinzhi as if he was an idiot and said, "You gave me the money on your own initiative. This is definitely bribery!"

A thousand people present saw it with their own eyes, and you still have the nerve to argue?

Kong Yinzhi's hair and beard stood on end when he heard this. He was fifty years old. As the Duke of Yansheng, he shouldered the righteousness of Confucius. When had he ever been called an old man?

"You... do you really think that you can bring down my Kong family with just this little thing?"

At this point, Kong Yinzhi knew very well that Zhang Shikang had no intention of making a big deal out of a small matter and was most likely looking for trouble because of the tax system.

He simply stopped pretending. Although bribery was a crime, bribery was rampant in the Ming Dynasty officialdom, so it was not a big deal.

Not to mention that all the literati and officials in the world will speak for him at that time, even if the emperor knew about it, he would probably help cover it up, and eventually a big thing would be reduced to a small thing.

After all, the image of Confucius is there. Kong Yinzhi can afford to lose face, but not all the scholars in the world can afford to lose face.

“Of course it’s not easy, but… didn’t I say that?

I heard that you have armor at home, this is not something you can easily fool around with." Zhang Shikang said with a smile.

The more furious Kong Yinzhi became, the more calm and composed he became. The more calm and shameless he looked, the more furious Kong Yinzhi became.

Zhang Shikang discovered that he liked this feeling, which was seeing those sanctimonious guys break down.

"Hmph, may I ask who told you that, Marshal?" Kong Yinzhi argued.

The turmoil of the Shanxi merchants was still fresh in Kong Yinzhi's mind, and he knew very well that Zhang Shikang was just framing him.

"It's not important. Don't the censors in our Ming Dynasty all report things upon hearing rumors? Who cares whether it's true or not, right?

Since someone has said that, as the commander-in-chief of the army, I have to prove your innocence, right?

That’s why I came all the way here, you should be grateful to me!”

Speak the civil servants' words and leave them speechless.

Since civil servants can report on matters as soon as they hear them, then of course he can do so as well.

Know the rules and use them.

If the rules don't work, change them.

If the rules can't be changed, then...

Overturn the table.

"You...you...you...you are so shameless!" Kong Yinzhi pointed at Zhang Shikang and was so angry that he almost fell down. Fortunately, the housekeeper beside him supported him.

"You, are you really that angry?

The ones who report things upon hearing the news are all the ones who do it, and the civil officials respect Confucianism. To be honest, this was all done by your Kong family.

Why, you guys are allowed to report other people's affairs and let them prove their innocence, but you can't have this happen to you?

What's the point?

Isn’t that shameless too?”

Zhang Shikang still spoke calmly, but his expression had changed to one of looking down from a superior position.

Kong Yinzhi pointed at Zhang Shikang's constant gasping for breath and was so angry that he couldn't speak for a long time.

"Okay, okay! Prove your innocence, right?

"Okay!" He paused for a while before finally speaking viciously.

"However, my Kong family is not like those Shanxi merchants, so you can't frame us!

I allow you to search, but you must be under the supervision of my servants!

Armor is not a small item. As long as he doesn't give Zhang Shikang a chance, the other party will never be able to conjure up a pile of armor under his nose.

The reason why those Shanxi merchants ended up like that was all because of their incompetence!

As Kong Yinzhi was the Duke of the current dynasty, he could not be framed by anyone.

If the armor cannot be found by then, he will go to the capital in person to seek justice for himself.

Falsely accusing the current duke of treason is a serious crime. Even if he cannot be retaliated, the kid in front of him will definitely be in big trouble.

Perhaps then we can unite with other court officials and force His Majesty to dismiss Zhang Shikang.

I believe that with his reputation as Duke Yansheng, it should not be difficult for him to unite all the officials, gentry, and literati in the world.

"Okay, no problem, just watch." Zhang Shikang agreed readily.

This made Kong Yinzhi frown. There was no armor in his house. There were only servants and maids. It was impossible to hide armor under his nose.

But seeing Zhang Shikang so calm, Kong Yinzhi began to have doubts again.

If we say that some generals in border towns are plotting rebellion, perhaps some people will believe it.

But if you say that his Kong family rebelled, even a three-year-old kid on the street would not believe it.

After all, the Kong family had a great reputation and there was no soil for rebellion. No one in all dynasties had ever suspected that the Kong family was plotting a rebellion.

If the Kong family rebelled, it would be a complete betrayal of Confucius, and they would be unacceptable and despised by scholars all over the world.

But why is this dude so calm?

……