Hearing that Xiao Ruxun wanted to ask him a favor, Kong Shangxian's heart skipped a beat. He did not know what Xiao Ruxun wanted to say.
"Please speak, Duke Qin."
Kong Shangxian was a little uneasy.
Xiao Ruxun spoke slowly.
"I would like to ask Duke Yan to write a letter to Shen Yicheng in the name of the descendant of Sage Kong. Tell Shen Yicheng not to be stubborn and to recognize the situation as soon as possible. Do not hurt His Majesty. When our army arrives, open the city, surrender, tie yourself up, and ask for forgiveness. In this way, I may consider forgiving his family. Otherwise, I will not be merciful.
Shen Yicheng is a scholar. If Duke Yan can write a letter to persuade him, he may be able to make the right choice. I believe that with Duke Yan's reputation, Shen Yicheng will not dare to risk universal condemnation. In this way, His Majesty's safety will be guaranteed. "
Ye Mengxiong, who was listening at the side, was moved. He quickly said, "Duke Yan, what Duke Qin said is very reasonable. Duke Yan's name is enough to represent all the scholars in the world. Writing a letter to him is equivalent to telling everyone in the world not to do anything that will risk universal condemnation. Otherwise, Shen Yicheng and his family will not be able to live. As long as Shen Yicheng is clear-headed, he will understand what he should do."
Everyone nodded.
Kong Shangxian pondered for a moment and felt that this would only be beneficial to the Kong family. So, he nodded.
"In this case, I am willing to admonish Shen Yicheng in the name of Duke Yan and ask him not to continue making mistakes. If I can help the country this time, I will be honored."
Kong Shangxian was willing to write a letter to Shen Yicheng in the name of Duke Yan to persuade Shen Yicheng not to do anything out of desperation and not to risk universal condemnation. Otherwise, his fate would be miserable. His family would be exterminated, and none of them would survive.
This kind of disguised letter of persuasion would definitely not be written by Xiao Ruxun. Shen Yicheng would probably tear it to pieces and burn it. However, if it was written in the name of Duke Yan, it would be different. It meant that the will of the world had changed.
Shen Yicheng had been abandoned.
Kong Shangxian had practically written this letter on the spot and sent it out on the spot. It took no more than an hour for Xiao Ruxun to dispatch a fast horse to deliver it, and it only took four days for it to reach the capital. By the time Shen Yi read this letter from Qufu, it was already the afternoon of the ninth day of the twelfth month.
At that time, the entire palace was decorated with lanterns and streamers, and it was a scene of jubilation. But such a letter was sent, which really made Shen Yicheng unhappy.
There was no other reason for the palace to be decorated with lanterns and streamers. The emperor was getting married.
Zhu Changluo was getting married.
No one knew what Shen Yicheng was thinking. Jiang Dahai's army was covetously watching in Tianjin, and Xiao Ruxun had already marched to Shandong. Shen Yicheng's power had been lost and he was about to be destroyed, but he was still holding a wedding for the emperor. Was it because he wanted to celebrate?
Many people muttered in their hearts.
But no one dared to object.
The miserable fate of Duke Ding and the ten noble clans of Great Britain was proof of the fate that befell those who opposed Shen Yicheng. Daming's two top-notch noble clans, who were on par with the state, had ended up dying at the hands of Shen Yicheng. Fortunately, Duke Cheng's clan had no one to speak for them, and Duke Cheng's title was still in the hands of the Imperial Court, so Duke Cheng's clan was fine.
As for the other two clans, the Xu Clan of Nanjing had already pledged their allegiance to Xiao Ruxun, and there was currently no news from the Mu Clan of Yunnan. After Shen Yicheng's move, the entire circle of nobles in the capital became frightened and afraid, afraid that Shen Yicheng would move against them again, so they didn't even leave their homes.
Shen Yicheng had also very 'considerately' arranged for the Imperial Bodyguard to 'protect' them. Basically, anyone with a bit of fame in the circle of nobles had been 'protected' by the Imperial Bodyguard, and some of the more important members of their clans had been 'invited' to the Imperial Palace to 'drink tea'.
Of course, everyone knew what this meant.
It wasn't that the nobles didn't want to resist, but, firstly, they had lost the initiative, and secondly, they had no real power.
They nominally held the military power in the capital, but the actual control of the capital had long been in the hands of the Ministry of War. Most of them were only in name and were allowed to keep private guards. They had to listen to the command of the Ministry of War, and the appointment and dismissal of lower-level officers were also in the hands of the Ministry of War. The upper nobles and the lower-level soldiers in the capital were actually separated.
In the face of Shen Yicheng's sudden power, they had no energy to resist at all.
So, they could only choose to be cowards.
But today, they had to stand up, because the Emperor was going to get married.
Zhu Changluo's wedding was set for today was actually quite hasty. Shen Yicheng decided to let Zhu Changluo get married at the last minute, and also searched for candidates for the Empress for him with great fanfare.
According to the usual practice, the Empress of the Ming Dynasty would choose a woman from a small family. This was a decision made by Zhu Yuanzhang after learning from the mistakes of the Meng Yuan Dynasty and the Han Dynasty. The Empress would always choose a woman from a small family. Her knowledge and experience were poor, and there were too many women from noble families. It was not easy for them to get involved in politics, and there was no outside help. So, if the Emperor was young, even if the Empress Dowager was in charge of politics, she would not have much power.
So, in the Ming Dynasty, except for Zhu Yijun's mother, Empress Dowager Li, who had played a role in the court, the other Empress Dowager had not made any achievements. Even Empress Dowager Li, who was from a small merchant family, had no desire for power, and could not do anything.
Now, she was deep in the palace and did not go out, and there was not even a message from her.
So, this was indeed the correct and effective policy.
Of course, Shen Yicheng did not violate this policy. He ordered for Zhu Changluo to choose a concubine. According to the rules, the first step was the "preliminary selection". When the Emperor was preparing to get married, the palace would first send many eunuchs to all over the country to choose 5000 girls between the ages of 13 and 16.
In the past, the eunuchs were familiar with this kind of thing, but the situation was different this time. They could not even leave the capital, so they could only choose inside the capital.
The news of Tianjin being breached and Xiao Ruxun's army arriving at Tianjin Garrison had already spread throughout the capital. Everyone was saying that the situation was changing and the situation was different. The common people were still in a daze, but the well-informed merchants, scholars, officials, military officers, and generals all knew what was going on.
Most of them were low-level military officers, scholars, and small merchants. They were the target group for the Emperor to choose a concubine.
Everyone thought about it and estimated that the young Emperor would not be able to hold out much longer. Shen Yicheng choosing a concubine for the young Emperor at this time was purely to drag people down with him. He harbored evil intentions, and they must not covet temporary advantages to avoid being punished in the future.
In the past, small families would be very excited at this time. Whoever had a beautiful daughter would be sent up, thinking about how happy it would be to become an imperial concubine or empress.
If a small family sent their daughter into the palace and was chosen, they would be able to ascend to the heavens in a single step and obtain a title of nobility. Although they would not have any real power, they would no longer have to suffer. Even if they could not be chosen, they could be sent into the palace to be a palace maid, and there would be someone to take care of their meals, reducing the burden on the family. For all the small families in the Daming Dynasty that met the requirements, this was undoubtedly a great benefit.
But in the current situation, when the army was close at hand, choosing a concubine for the Emperor was purely fooling around. The Emperor was in a precarious situation, so who would want to be in-laws with him? Wasn't this courting death?
Although daughters were not that important, they were still flesh that fell from the body. Who wouldn't be distressed to raise them to such a big age?
The small families that met the requirements all covered their daughters tightly. Even if they had daughters, not to mention hiding them, everyone communicated with each other. From one to ten, ten to a hundred, everyone knew about it.
Everyone knew where the eunuchs were going. Whichever family's eunuchs quickly hid their daughters and then said that there were no girls. The eunuchs said, "How can there be no girls? Your family's name is on the list! "
Then, the eunuchs either stuffed some money or gave them a few pieces of meat, and in a short time, these leaders were settled.
Therefore, the eunuchs were all persuaded to leave. In the end, when the news reached Shen Yicheng, Shen Yicheng laughed coldly and ordered all the eunuchs to lead the eunuchs to search under the supervision of the Imperial Bodyguard. They were to find the girls and take them away. Whoever dared to accept bribes would be killed.
This time, these small families all suffered. Every family's place was not big, and there was almost no place to hide people. With just a search, they found them. In one day, more than a hundred girls were taken away. This time, the other families learned from this experience and grew wary.
Shen Yicheng, you played so ruthlessly, not leaving any way out and not giving any face. Then, don't blame us for turning hostile!
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