History of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 34 Questions and Answers about Guan Zhong
"You are the queen of the noble clan, right?" Feng Yun asked.

"The family is in decline, and the nobles do not dare to accept it." Guan Zhong answered truthfully.

Feng Yun nodded and stopped asking. There were many nobles whose families had fallen into decline, and there were often not a few young people with some knowledge. But if they wanted to return to the ranks of the nobles, they needed to have the connections and talents to become an official.

"I can't give you a definite answer to your question. I can only make some speculations based on Yue's actions."

"Master, please teach me." Guan Zhong bowed, and it was clear that he was a man who knew etiquette.

"It's just some personal opinions. Just listen to them."

Feng Yun said: "The ancestor of the Yue State was Wuyu, the concubine of the Xia Dynasty monarch Shaokang. He was one of the direct descendants of Dayu. After the establishment of the Great Zhou Dynasty, King Wu enfeoffed the sages and famous ministers and then became princes. The Yue State was originally a state of enfeoffment. , but after many years, I have been away from the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty for a long time, and now I am no longer a minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty."

"Due to the deep hinterland of Dongyi, the people who have lived there for a long time are not convinced by the king, but it has to be said that their people are simple in nature, they all obey the orders of Yuejun, and they are all brave and powerful. It can be said that the people are extremely strong."

After talking about the power of the Yue Kingdom, Feng Yun continued: "Although the Yue Kingdom is strong, it is also rude. It was the first time that they entered the Yue Palace, but they were humiliated and could not talk about it."

"After that, he asked Da Ting to send a heavy treasure as a gift to the Yue Kingdom..."

"Nowadays, all the small countries around the Yue Kingdom pay tribute with gifts and hope that the Yue Kingdom will be stable. However, the Yue Kingdom's heart is not that of a gentleman like us, but a barbarian."

"Now that autumn is approaching, it is the time for grain harvest. Let me ask, does the Yue country harvest grain in winter?"

Guan Zhongshun replied: "The country of Yue also harvests in autumn."

"Yes." Feng Yun said, "I just don't know whether the harvest in Yue is abundant because of the food in its own country, or whether it is because of the food in the surrounding small countries."

Feng Yun's words are not false. In fact, he knows that after the Yue State prepares for the national destiny of a country, its autumn harvest will be affected by the national destiny, and it will not be any better. The whole world is fed by grain. When it comes to major events, the country of Yue is no exception.

It may be true that the country of Yue is harvesting grain, but it cannot be said nonsense at this time.

"Food, will Vietnam come to grab food?"

As soon as Feng Yun's remarks came out, the surrounding people started talking a lot.

"Master, are you really going to come here to grab food?" someone asked.

Feng Yun said: "The country of Yue is located on the coast and its people are rich. Unless the food problem is punished by God, there will be no shortage of food... I was just guessing."

It's not a good thing if people are panicked when there is no crisis, Feng Yun added.

"I am only sixteen years old. I have some knowledge of literacy in the Six Books and the Book of Rituals. I have yet to talk about the political affairs of other countries. Please don't take it to heart."

Some people are still uneasy.

"Master, if the country needs food, is there any way?"

Feng Yun pondered for two minutes and said: "The affairs of the Yue Kingdom are not primarily about food, but actually why the Yuejun invaded the surrounding small countries and what they did. Only by finding what the Yuejun needs can the problem be solved."

"The matter of food... Uncle Su is the successor of Uncle Yang in the Great Court. He will inherit his father's ambition and must have his own virtues. You don't have to worry about this."

Although Uncle Yang of the Great Court passed away, his virtuous legacy was still there, and everyone knew that the country of Yue was rich. It was not a year of great disaster, and there would be no food disaster. This made everyone feel at ease.

On the other side, Guan Zhong was thinking carefully about Feng Yun's words.

The Yue Kingdom was originally a vassal state under the rule of the Zhou Dynasty, but it broke away from the ritual system and is now so fierce...

He asked again: "Master Yun, what will happen if the country loses its etiquette?"

Feng Yun heard the true meaning of Guan Zhong's words - if some countries that abide by etiquette lose their etiquette system, will they grow barbaric, arrogant and powerful like the Yue Kingdom?

Feng Yun couldn't help but look at Guan Zhong, and his sharp gaze made Guan Zhong's heart skip a beat.

"Guan Zhong made a mistake..." Although he made a mistake, Guan Zhong never lowered his head and seemed to still want to hear Feng Yun say more.

"what's your name?"

Guan Zhong replied: "Guan Zhong, a traveling merchant."

"Guan Zhong?"

Feng Yun was in a daze. He had heard of this name. He was a very famous person in the Spring and Autumn Period. He was... Guanzi.

Served as Qi State, pioneer of Legalism...

Feng Yun could only remember so much, and Guan Zhong's thoughts and ideas were not clear.But combined with what this person said just now, this person's thoughts are strange and disrespectful.

So, is he really the manager?

Is he thinking about the possibility of abolishing etiquette and becoming a dictator?
Asking such a question as soon as he came up, Guan Zhong was not a man who was inferior to others and acted in a depressed manner.

Feng Yun thought about it and wanted to refuse, not wanting to affect Guan Zhong's own life, but he also thought that if he traveled through time, he would definitely affect the world. As long as he stayed within the existing rules of this world, there was no need to worry so much.

Then he pondered and said from the perspective of Zhou Dynasty: "Do you think the system of the Shang Dynasty is better or worse than the current ritual system?"

Guan Zhong said without hesitation: "Now."

Feng Yun added: "Then today's etiquette system may have a shadow of the Shang Dynasty."

Guan Zhong: "Yes, but it is not cruel. Instead, it is the rule of a gentleman."

When Guan Zhong said this, he said it from the perspective of a nobleman. Feng Yun observed the expressions of the people listening below.

The two young masters nodded, agreeing with Guan Zhong.

But Feng Yun could see the numbness in the eyes of many common people, and some even sneered at him.

Feng Yun thought of a must-read book he had read in his inner room before, and asked, "Have you read "Nine Punishments"?"

"Nine Punishments", punishments under the Zhou ritual system.

In terms of punishment, the Western Zhou Dynasty not only continued the five punishments of the Xia and Shang Dynasties, including Mo, Kuan, Ji, Gong, and Dapi, but also added four more punishments, namely, exile, redemption, whipping, and beating.

Bian means exile, redemption means using money or things to redeem punishment, whip means beating with a whip, and pu means beating with a wooden board.

There are nine punishments in total.

Guan Zhong nodded: "I have read it and thought about it."

Guan Zhong seemed to be well prepared.

Feng Yun said with a smile: "Compare the Shang Dynasty with today's system, and then look at the differences between the two dynasties, and you will have the answer."

The punishment of the Shang Dynasty was severe punishment for everyone except the emperor. However, in the Western Zhou Dynasty, the common people were not polite and only punished, but the scholar-officials had an additional "punishment-atonement" to atone for their sins.

The so-called gentleman's rule refers to redemption of punishment, but this has nothing to do with the common people who can only afford food.

Guan Zhong suddenly realized it and was about to speak, but suddenly stopped.

He is not a fool. Just know some things and don't need to say them out - the kindness of the Western Zhou Dynasty was given to scholar-bureaucrats, but this is definitely dangerous. The people can have punishment, but they can't just have punishment.

Guan Zhong fell into thinking. When he looked at Feng Yun, his eyes moved slightly. He thought that Feng Yun was the same person as him, a truly knowledgeable person. He hurriedly asked: "In addition to punishment, what else can be given to them?" ?”

They are common people.

Feng Yun looked into the distance, and Guan Zhong followed.

But he only saw the stream beside the well. The stream flowed towards the city wall and finally merged into the moat outside the city.

"This stream is flowing, do you know the end of the stream?"

Guan Zhong Nana said: "This stream merges into the Dating River, then passes through several bends and enters the territory of several small countries, and finally flows into the Miaofang Kingdom Miao Water, branches into the mountains, and turns into countless small streams."

Guan Zhong understood.

"Master is saying that if you want to know the needs of the people, you must follow their actions?"

Feng Yun nodded.

"Boom!"

A clap of thunder heralds the last rain at the end of summer.

"Autumn is coming soon, let's go."

(End of this chapter)