Spring and Autumn Confucian Heroes

Chapter 458 Retreat

Taiyang City, county government.

"How does the senior see through the identity of the subordinate?"

Huan Chang and Ji Er sat opposite each other, with green smoke wafting from the teacup, and the aroma was alluring.

In the wine shop, Ji Er vaguely pointed out Huan Chang's identity. Huan Chang also had a strong curiosity about this man with unfathomable martial arts, so he brought him to the county government.

"Although the general has a very advanced method of restraining qi, I can still feel the vigorous qi from the general."

"Moreover, the swordsman next to the general also has extremely strong sword energy fluctuations on his body, and his cultivation seems to have reached the peak of entering the house."

"In this small county town, and in a county town that has just experienced war, two highly cultivated warriors suddenly appeared in the wine shop, and the approximate identities of the two can already be guessed."

"Besides, I saw that the general's speech and behavior were calm and calm, and the eyes of the swordsman next to him were full of brilliance. He was very vigilant against a strange visitor like me, and the identity of the general was ready to be revealed."

When Huan Chang heard this, he couldn't help but secretly smiled wryly, but he still admired Ji Er's eyesight.

"Just now, in the restaurant, the master once said that we must make the best use of the situation and follow the people's will, so that we can completely put down the civil strife. What do you mean by that?"

After a wry smile, Huan Chang asked seriously.

Ji Er stroked his beard, and instead of answering directly, he said quietly: "In ancient times, the flood of the Yellow River caused serious floods. The monarchs of all dynasties tried their best to build dams, but they couldn't completely cure the floods."

"Later, Dayu controlled the water and stopped building dikes and dams blindly. Instead, he began to take advantage of the situation and directly dig dikes and dams to divert the flood water, and built lakes to store the flood water. This made the heavily flooded Yellow River Basin a rich land."

"Tao follows nature."

"The so-called nature is to follow the principle of the development of things. When dealing with things, don't intervene too much. Instead, you must follow the law of the development of things and make the best use of the situation. Only in this way can you achieve something."

"Just like the general's reform, although it is a strategy to enrich the country and strengthen the people, the reform is too hasty, and it does not meet the national conditions of the Song Dynasty and the wishes of the people. If you want to succeed, you will have to pay a heavy price."

Huan often hears this, but feels somewhat half-understood.

"The implication of Mr.'s words is to conform to the will of the people, but how can we do so?"

"Also, do you mean the aristocrats who are the rulers, or the common people, or the slaves who are bought and sold?"

"It is impossible for any kind of policy to satisfy the interests of everyone. All I can do is to satisfy the interests of the vast majority of people as much as possible."

Ji Er smiled slightly, and said: "The highest kindness is like water. Water is good for all things without fighting for it, and avoids what everyone hates, so it is more than Tao."

"On the contrary, it is close to the Tao to be in the mind of the people."

"The general's words are not wrong, but everything should be done step by step. Even if the new law is implemented, the bottom line of the nobles in the territory must be clarified first."

"From my point of view, although the laws promulgated by the general are intended to benefit the public, most of the people are ignorant. Before they feel the benefits brought by the new laws, they have no way to judge whether these new laws are beneficial to them. Will not risk their lives defending the new law."

"Without the full support of the beneficiaries of the new law, if the general wants to quickly promote the new law, he must be hostile to the nobles in the territory. In order to suppress the rebellion, he will even shed blood."

"The Song Dynasty has always governed the country with benevolence. If you kill too many people, even those who have nothing to do with this matter, your sense of the general will be greatly reduced."

"The new law is closely related to the general. If the general is disliked by the people, how can the new law be promoted?"

Huan often heard the words and remained silent for a long time.

"Then according to Mr.'s words, how should I act?"

Ji Er stroked his beard and said slowly: "First promulgate some new laws that do not touch the bottom line of the nobles. When these laws are fully implemented, there will be more and more beneficiaries. What everyone likes is the way, and it is also the law. Law."

"With the huge beneficiaries of the new law as the basis, and the interests of the nobles have been eroded at that time, the bottom line will naturally be lowered again."

"At that time, the general will promulgate new laws, just touch the bottom line of the nobles step by step, let them lower the bottom line again and again, so it will take decades, and the Song Dynasty will be able to smoothly transition into the era of new laws."

"And at that time, even if the old nobles really wanted to rebel, even if the general didn't do it himself, the upstarts with vested interests would swear to the death to defend their interests."

"What does it mean to rule by doing nothing?"

"Wuwei is not really doing nothing, but conforming to the general trend and making the best use of the situation. At that time, the general trend in the Song Dynasty was to promote the new law. Even if the general no longer presides over the continued implementation of the new law, someone will let the new law be fully implemented."

"The so-called making the best use of the situation and gradually nibbling away is nothing more than that."

Ji Er's general meaning, in simple terms, is to boil frogs in warm water, but in terms of spiritual realm, it is much higher than this.

Ji Er's theory, as well as the judgment and application of the general trend, can even point directly to the original thought of the natural operation of the heaven and the earth.

This is the first time Huan Chang has heard of this statement.

Therefore, even though Ji Er's voice was very upright and peaceful, when Huan Chang heard it, he felt his heart was greatly shaken.

This kind of shock was not only because of Ji Er's extraordinary insights, but also because of the philosophy of nature and the universe contained in these words.

Governance by doing nothing, Tao follows nature, this is Ji Er's Tao.

Perhaps in the eyes of ordinary people, exploring the philosophy of nature and the universe is useless at all, but for warriors, if they want to reach the pinnacle of martial arts, they must integrate into the Tao, and engrave their own Tao on various Taos with the long sword in their hands. .

"Sir, you have a great opinion, and I admire you."

Huan Chang got up and bowed to Ji Er.

This ritual is not only the etiquette that Huan Chang holds for the disciples of the learned gentlemen, but also the etiquette that the juniors of the Jianghu treat their seniors.

But soon, Huan Chang had already made a decision in his heart, and then bowed to salute.

"The state of Song is in the midst of reforms, and the king is eager to seek talents. Mr. is a rare talent. I don't know if I would condescend to come to serve in the state of Song?"

"If Mr. is willing to come, it is indeed the honor of your lord, and the fortune of thousands of people in the Song Kingdom!"

Winning over Ji Er was an extremely strong desire in Huan Chang's heart.

Regardless of Ji Er's views on governing the country, or her cultivation and talent in martial arts, they are all enough to make Huan Chang lower his stature and come to win him over.

In fact, even the suzerains of those super sects would act like this after meeting Ji Er.

Some people are destined to be extraordinary in this life.

Although Huan Chang knew that Ji Er's martial arts in front of him was not the best in Kyushu, but just the Tao comprehended by the other party, it was destined that this person would go a long way in the martial arts journey.

There are three thousand avenues, and each path can lead to enlightenment when taken to the extreme.

However, those warriors who became enlightened by fishing and farming, compared with Jier, who has a big heart, have no potential value at all.

How far a warrior can go along the way of martial arts is inseparable from the Tao they comprehend. Some people are doomed to have limited achievements in this life the day they become enlightened, and no matter how hard they struggle, it is difficult to improve.

Some people are destined to embark on an extraordinary path since they understand their original mind and know their own way.

Therefore, it is the most important juncture for a martial artist to enter the peak or even half-step transformation state. Many warriors can break through the transformation, but because the way they want to break through is different from the way they desire, they deliberately suppress their cultivation and continue to work hard. This realm inquires about the nature and explores the true meaning of Tao.

Huan Chang valued Ji Er not only for the present, but also for her future.

"Govern by doing nothing, the Tao follows nature, and guides according to the situation."

"If this kind of way can go to the extreme, let alone this person's achievements in martial arts, just the influence of this kind of thinking on the princes' governance of the country has a high reference value."

"Even, this kind of thinking can affect the ethos of the dynasty and the rise and fall of honor and disgrace. This is the real way!"

Huan Chang thought so in his heart, and the light in his eyes became brighter and brighter.

At this moment, Huan Chang suddenly felt a warm breath coming from his chest. This warm feeling was so strong that he couldn't help but take out the Wordless Heavenly Book directly.

However, Huan Chang still held back after all.

"Has the Heavenly Book, which has been silent for so long, finally reacted?"

Huan Chang was ecstatic in his heart.

Since the last time I had a discussion with Zhongqiu and felt a warm feeling in the Wordless Heavenly Book, there has been no change in the Heavenly Book for a long time.

Especially since Huan Chang took the post of general, he has found many great Confucian scholars to discuss Taoism, and wanted to see if he could make any changes in the book of heaven, but he never succeeded.

Hearing Ji Er's simple words today, Tianshu actually released such amazing heat, Huan Chang felt that his heart became extremely hot.

However, at this moment, Ji Er's voice sounded.

"Stick what you want, don't dare to ask for it!"

Ji Er laughed loudly, and agreed to Huan Chang's solicitation without hesitation, which made Huan Chang feel a little stunned, even temporarily ignoring the warm feeling emanating from Tianshu.

In fact, what Huan Chang didn't know was that Ji Er came to Taiyang City this time to defect to Huan Chang and then serve as an official in the Song Dynasty.

Because Ji Er's path is very difficult, and her cultivation has reached a bottleneck. Apart from entering the court to explore and perfect her own path, it will be extremely difficult for her cultivation to go further.

Of course, not all warriors have to enter the court to experience. Everyone comprehends different ways, and the way to improve their cultivation will naturally be different.

"So, it's the Song Kingdom's luck!"

Huan Chang was ecstatic in his heart, and hurried forward to hold Ji Er's hands, with a fiery look in his eyes.

"Well, how did that warm feeling disappear?"

As soon as Huan Chang held Ji Er's hands, he felt that the heavenly book, which had changed a lot, fell into a calm state again.

However, Huan Chang still retained his rationality after all, taking a few deep breaths to calm down his mind.

……

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Huan Chang stood on the city tower in full military uniform, looking at the noble families who were kneeling on the ground with a serious expression.

Although Ji Er advised Huan Chang not to implicate the innocent, after careful consideration, Huan Chang still decided to kill these people.

Today's Huan Chang is no longer an unknown person, but a general of the Song Dynasty, with a high position and power.

Every word he uttered will affect many people, and he must not go back on his word, otherwise it will give people the feeling of changing from day to day.

What's more, in order to severely deter those rebellious nobles, some people must be sacrificed, otherwise more people will die.

What made Huan Chang feel regretful was that after Ji Er was settled, when Huan Chang took out the wordless heavenly book, there was no movement from the heavenly book.

However, Huan Chang firmly believed that since discussing Taoism with Ji Er could make the Heavenly Book move, sooner or later another Taoism would be engraved on the Heavenly Book, just like Mo Ziren's Mohism.

"I seem to be able to vaguely feel how to fill the heavenly script."

Huan Chang thought of this in his heart, but his eyes were a little erratic.

"cut!"

Seeing that the sun had just reached the top of his head, Huan Chang restrained his mind and finally gave the order to beheaded.

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

Nearly a thousand people were wailing, begging for mercy, and cursing angrily on the tower, but there was no movement on Huan Chang's face, and he just gave orders coldly.

People are always growing.

If Yang Feng saw Huan Chang's current appearance, he might not believe that this person in front of him was the shy and innocent brother next door.

Blood spattered, human heads rolled, and the city walls were dyed red at this time.

When the onlookers saw this scene, many of them screamed in fright. Some adults hastily covered the children's eyes to prevent them from seeing this terrifying scene.

"Rebel, be punished!"

Huan Chang didn't say much, but just left these two sentences coldly, and combined with the many heads rolling on the ground, the noisy people became quiet.

In the distance, Ji Er looked at the scene in front of her and sighed slightly.

Seven Star Sect, the main peak meeting hall.

"Little Huanchang led an army to break through Taiyang City, and beheaded all 21 disciples of my Seven Star Sect. He also carried out mass killings in the city, and more than a thousand nobles were beheaded."

"What do you think about this matter?"

The Patriarch of the Seven Star Sect had an uneasy expression on his face, and there was a cold light in his eyes.

The rest of the people were silent when they heard the words.

Everyone has known about this for a long time, and while annoyed that the 21 disciples who entered the room were killed, they still feel a little fearful in their hearts.

Song Renjun's formidable fighting power has now spread among the various sects, and even Song Renjun's glorious history has been revealed.

These people knew that even though there were only [-] Song Ren troops in Taiyang City and the rest of the motley army, it might not be easy to capture Taiyang City even with all the strength of the Seven Star Sect.

In the past, even if the Seven Star Sect sent people to assassinate the high-ranking officials of the Song Dynasty, these things were done secretly after all. Even though both parties knew it well, they never broke their faces.

However, when these people think of Huanchang's iron-blooded methods and the end of the Shanhai Gang's destruction, they feel a little hairy in their hearts.

"The reforms of the Song State not only involve the interests of our Seven Star Sect. I suggest that we should not fight the Song State head-on. We should wait and see first."

When the rest of the people heard the words, they also echoed one after another.

As for the killing of the disciples of the sect, although these people were annoyed in their hearts, surprisingly no one brought it up.

　Today is another big chapter, two chapters in one.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)