This is not a matter of tens of thousands, nor hundreds of thousands, but millions, even tens of millions of people. Any small issue, when multiplied by millions, can become a significant problem.
Solving the problem of feeding and housing these millions of people was indeed a tremendous pressure for the Menglianggu rebel group. Even Zeng Cheng, who had once served as the prefect of Tai'an, had no good solutions.
Instead, Zhu Jinsong, the leader of the rebels, chuckled and said, "We don't need to worry too much about the grain situation for now. After all, the sweet potato harvest this year was quite good, and we also have a considerable amount of grain stored in the various granaries of Menglianggu."
"Besides, Lin Shuangwen in Fujian will not only provide us with a batch of grain but will also accept a group of people from Zhili."
However, Zeng Cheng frowned and said, "Even if Lin Shuangwen is willing to supply us with grain and accept people from Zhili, Fujian is too far from us. I'm afraid distant water cannot quench immediate thirst. The grain reserves in Menglianggu alone are far from enough."
Zhu Jinsong hummed in response, then smiled and said, "Our reserves in Menglianggu are indeed insufficient, but Prefect Zeng, don't forget, there is another place with a large amount of grain."
Zeng Cheng was stunned. After coming to his senses, he quickly asked, "Where? Where is the grain? Where are you talking about, Great Leader?"
Zhu Jinsong replied, "Where else but our Yansheng Gong Mansion?"
From the Yuan Dynasty's first year when Wang Mang posthumously honored Confucius as the Duke of Bao Cheng Xuan Ni, all the way to our Qing Dynasty, the Yansheng Gong Mansion had been entrenched in Qufu, bleeding the common people of Qufu dry. Even though they had converted a large amount of grain into gold, silver, jewels, and land, their grain reserves might not have been very large, but for the Menglianggu rebel group, facing an imminent grain shortage, it should have been enough to tide them over.
...
Kong Xianpei, the sixty-fourth generation Yansheng Gong, sat in the chair in the main hall of the Yansheng Gong Mansion, holding his tea, his eyes slightly narrowed, pondering something.
The teacup was an old artifact from the Xuande period, which had only recently become the esteemed possession of Duke Kong.
Before this, Duke Kong's favorite teacup was a celadon glazed dragon and phoenix patterned teacup from the Jingdezhen kiln. The most treasured item in the entire Kong family was a golden axe, meant for Duke Kong's son to crack walnuts.
Unfortunately, Duke Kong Xianpei had been married for thirteen years, but the current Yansheng Gong夫人, Madam Yu, had not borne him a single child. Therefore, the golden axe remained merely for display.
Perhaps someone might ask, Duke Kong Xianpei was clearly the Yansheng Gong of our Great Qing, his status and position were evident, and the Yansheng Gong Mansion surely did not lack money. Why then did Duke Kong not take a concubine?
In fact, it was not that Duke Kong Xianpei did not want to take a concubine, but that Duke Kong Xianpei dared not.
Because the sixty-fourth generation Yansheng Gong夫人, Madam Yu, was ostensibly a noble lady from the family of our Great Qing's Grand Secretary Yu Minzhong, but in reality, she was the daughter of the old dog Qianlong. With this identity, Duke Kong, even though he was almost driven mad by his desire for a son, did not dare to take a concubine.
Duke Kong sat in his chair, slowly sipping his tea. It wasn't until the steward of the Kong Mansion hurried into the hall that Duke Kong opened his slightly narrowed eyes and asked the steward, "Are things settled?"
The steward of the Kong Mansion immediately bowed with cupped hands and said, "Reporting to Your Grace, everything has been settled. Madam and maternal uncle have been properly accommodated, and those items have also been sent over."
Duke Kong snorted coldly and reprimanded, "What madam, what maternal uncle? They are just two barbarians. Do not mention them again!"
Scolded by Duke Kong like this, the steward of the Kong Mansion immediately bowed in a flustured manner, "Yes, yes, yes, Your Grace is right. This humble servant deserves to die, deserves to die."
Duke Kong then gave a drawn-out "Mm," and asked the steward again, "By the way, have the people you sent out all been dispatched?"
The steward bowed again and replied, "Yes, they have all been dispatched. As soon as there is news from His Highness the Prince of Lu, they will return immediately to inform Your Grace."
Duke Kong hummed again, calculated for a moment, and then said, "Prepare some grain and send it to His Highness the Prince of Lu."
The steward was confused and asked, "Your Grace, we have already submitted the "Recommendation to Ascend" to His Highness the Prince of Lu. Is the grain really necessary?"
Duke Kong snorted coldly and cursed, "What does this slave know!"
"That Manchu court does not act humanely, driving millions or even tens of millions of people from Zhili to Shandong. And our Prince of Lu is using the banner of governing for the people as his foundation. Can he ignore these millions, even tens of millions, of people from Zhili?"
Duke Kong snorted coldly again and said, "As the saying goes, what makes you successful can also defeat you. Our Prince of Lu rose to power under the banner of governing for the people. Now these millions, even tens of millions, of people from Zhili have become his death knell."
"If handled well, perhaps no trouble will arise. If handled improperly, with these millions, even tens of millions, of people from Zhili causing unrest, I fear our Prince of Lu will be in dire straits."
Upon hearing Duke Kong's words, the steward immediately gave a thumbs-up and said with a fawning smile, "As expected, Your Grace is most wise."
After Duke Kong gave a drawn-out "Mm," the steward tentatively asked, "But Your Grace, why don't we wait until those people cause trouble before sending the grain to him? Isn't it too early to send it now?"
Duke Kong snorted coldly, "What do you know? If we send the grain after those commoners cause trouble, it can be considered as sending charcoal in the snow. But for our Prince of Lu, it is merely sending charcoal in the snow. If we send the grain in advance now, doesn't that show that our Yansheng Gong Mansion is willing to share the burden with His Highness the Prince of Lu?"
The steward made a "tsk tsk" sound and praised, "As expected, Your Grace is wise, truly wise."
Duke Kong then snorted and ordered, "Alright, regarding the grain, you will personally handle it later. Make sure to keep a close eye on it for me. Not a single mistake must occur. Also, go and summon those from the various branches now. I have something to instruct them."
When the people in charge of the other branches of the Yansheng Gong Mansion had all arrived, Duke Kong cleared his throat and said, "I have called everyone here today for no other reason than to tell everyone to go back and properly arrange any people or items related to the Manchus in their own homes."
As Duke Kong finished speaking, someone asked, "Your Grace, the Manchu court is clearly declining. Even that Qianlong child has handed over the entire empire to the rebels. Why should we still arrange for those Manchus and their belongings? Why not..."
Duke Kong glanced askance at the speaker and retorted, "What if the Manchus return? Those items are easy to dispose of, and killing people is even easier, but can you bring people back to life?"
Another person said, "Even so, what if the Prince of Lu finds out that our Kong family is still harboring Manchus and their belongings..."
Duke Kong snorted coldly and reprimanded them like useless fools, "Idiot! Let's not even mention whether the Prince of Lu will discover that our Kong family is harboring a few Manchus. Even if he does, what does it matter? Will the Prince of Lu force us to kill our wives and children? Even if things truly come to that point..."
Duke Kong did not explicitly say the latter part, but the heads of the Kong family branches present all understood the meaning behind his words.
Upon understanding the implications, the heads of the various branches began to flatter Duke Kong together.
However, before these heads of branches could fully finish their flattery, the steward, who had been ordered by Duke Kong to prepare the grain, rushed in holding something that looked like a scroll of calligraphy and painting. As soon as he entered the hall, he bowed subserviently and said to Duke Kong with a fawning smile, "Congratulations, Your Grace, congratulations."
Duke Kong feigned displeasure and reprimanded, "In such a hurry, what kind of decorum is this!"
The steward chuckled and lightly slapped his own face, then bowed again, "It is truly my temporary confusion. I beg Your Grace to forgive me."
Duke Kong then gave a "Mm" and asked, "Tell me, what is it?"
The steward chuckled twice more and said, "Reporting to Your Grace, someone from Jinan Prefecture just came and said that His Highness the Prince of Lu has received Your Grace's Recommendation to Ascend and has sent someone to rush back a painting for Your Grace. And so, this old servant just received the news and couldn't wait to bring the painting to Your Grace. Please examine it."
After speaking, the steward raised the painting above his head and presented it to Duke Kong.
Duke Kong feigned modesty and did not immediately take the scroll, instead asking, "And where is the envoy of His Highness the Prince of Lu? Has he been accommodated?"
The steward replied, "Reporting to Your Grace, the envoy of His Highness the Prince of Lu only delivered this painting and said he had official business to attend to and has already departed. However, the envoy said that it will not be long before there will be an opportunity to visit our Yansheng Gong Mansion again."
Duke Kong's expression darkened, and he reprimanded, "Ignorant wretch! Since the envoy of His Highness the Prince of Lu came to deliver His Highness's return gift, you should have treated him with utmost hospitality. Even if the envoy had pressing official business, was he truly too busy for a meal?"
After scolding the steward, Duke Kong finally reached out and picked up the scroll. While untying the red string that bound it, he smiled and said, "I heard that our Prince of Lu had not studied much in the past, but I did not expect him to also have a fondness for refined matters."
The other branch heads also chimed in, "Your Grace speaks wisely. Our Yansheng Gong Mansion submitted a Recommendation to Ascend to His Highness the Prince of Lu, and His Highness the Prince of Lu sent us a painting in return. If this elegant matter of communicating through calligraphy and painting is spread, will it not become another beautiful story?"
"Since His Highness the Prince of Lu has responded, why doesn't Your Grace write a letter back to him?"
"I had originally planned to wait and see how the situation unfolded later, but it seems Your Grace's foresight is unmatched."
"..."
Just as the heads of the various branches of the Yansheng Gong Mansion were jabbering praises to Duke Kong, the scroll in Duke Kong's hand had also slowly unfurled. The first characters to appear were "Barbarian" and then "Qing."
Duke Kong's heart sank, and the hand holding the scroll paused slightly.
"Barbarian"?
"Qing"?
"Manchu Qing"?
What did this surname Zhu mean?
Duke Kong was slightly angered, but still held onto a sliver of hope, gritting his teeth and unrolling the scroll with difficulty.
By this point, the content on the scroll was clear. First, the character "Great" and the bald top of Confucius's head appeared, followed by the character "Achievement" and the queue behind Confucius's head.
As the scroll slowly unfurled, Duke Kong's last shred of luck vanished without a trace.
In the painting, Confucius, with his queue, was wearing Manchu-style clothing and holding a memorial with the words "Recommendation to Ascend" written on it.
In the lower left corner of the painting were the few sentences written by Zhu Jinsong, among which the most glaring was "I dare not accept the Recommendation to Ascend from the Yansheng Gong Mansion, which wears its hair on the left side!"
Duke Kong's hand holding the painting trembled slightly. After a long while, he suddenly shouted, "You Zhu bastard, how dare you insult me like this!"
ps: Continuing with ten thousand updates today. Also, the matter of Qianlong marrying off his daughter is pure nonsense and not historical fact. This is for the needs of the novel's plot, please do not believe it.