A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 97 Tao, deception
The old man told his story as if telling a story: "Ten years ago, my wife passed away. She was my third wife, but she was also the wife who stayed with me the longest, and she was also my favorite wife. . She left, I was very sad, but how to express my sadness?
I decided to use my own method, so I sat with my legs spread like a dustpan, beating the fou and singing, in order to suppress the sadness in my heart and prevent it from occupying all my emotions.

At this time, my good friend came to express his condolences. Seeing my condition, he cursed: "You lived with your dead wife all your life. She gave birth to children for you until she died of old age. It's okay if you don't cry sadly when you die." , banging on the earthenware fou and singing, this is not too much! '.

I knew he only saw my surface and not my inner emotions, so I said: 'That's not right! I have lived with her all my life, how could I not feel sad when she first died!
However, when I carefully examined and thought about it, I found that she was never born in the first place. Not only was she never born, but she never had a body in the first place. Not only did she never have a body, but she never formed vitality in the first place.

Mixed in a trance-like state, the changes gave rise to vitality, the changes of vitality gave rise to form, the changes of form gave rise to life, and now the change returns to death, just like the movement of the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter.

When she dies, she will sleep peacefully between heaven and earth, but I am crying around her. Isn't this disturbing her? I thought that this was beyond the comprehension of heaven and earth, so I stopped crying.

But I was very sad, which was beyond my control. In order to prevent her from seeing my sadness, I had no choice but to express my emotions by singing! '

After listening to what I said, my friend already understood my thoughts and ideas. I wonder if you understand? "

Bai Lang fell into deep thought and said: "According to your opinion, there is no need to be sad when a person dies, because people are inherently meaningless, so sadness is meaningless, so I should not feel sad about my father's death.

Instead, be happy for him because he's back to the original. But in this way, if people have no meaning, then wouldn’t there be no meaning for people living in the world? "

Bai Lang looked at the old man and hoped that he would answer. The old man lived up to his expectations and replied: "Otherwise! People themselves are meaningless, but because people come to this world and have experiences, people can feel this experience.

Therefore, people become meaningful. Even if it is meaningful to ourselves, we are not meaningful people to others, or even to the world.

That's why you don't have to care too much about other people's opinions, because you have no meaning to them. You are just something they use to enrich their own meaning. With you or without you, what's the difference? "

Bai Lang asked again: "What about my relatives? Am I meaningless to them?"

The old man smiled and said: "How could it be? The reason why a relative is a relative is because you are a meaningful part of his life to him, and isn't he the same to you?"

Bai Lang figured it out, and he no longer dwelled on the grudges of his predecessors. Afterwards, Bai Lang asked the old man a lot about his views on the world. The old man would explain them one by one, and then Bai Lang would suddenly become enlightened.

Bai Lang felt that his heart had never been so empty, and he had never looked at the world with such a detached eye. He felt that he had been sublimated and had shed all the turbidity.

Bai Lang solemnly asked the old man his name and expressed his intention to become a disciple.

The old man smiled and said: "The name of the rough and rude man in the countryside is Zhuang Zhou."

Bai Lang said: "Mr. Zhuang, can you accept me as a disciple? I want to learn more principles from you."

Zhuang Zhou smiled and said: "I think you are very qualified to learn Taoism. Let's do it! I will stay here to teach you for three years. After three years, you can decide whether to join my disciple?"

Bai Lang immediately paid homage and said, "Disciple, thank you sir!"

Zhuang Zhou said: "You don't have to call me husband, call me teacher!"

Bai Lang said respectfully: "Teacher!"

Zhuang Zhou laughed and turned around to leave. Bai Lang hurriedly followed. Then Bai Lang followed Zhuang Zhou to build a wooden house on a hilltop and cultivated several acres of land. The master and apprentice lived on this unknown hilltop for three years.

Three years later, Zhuang Zhou was about to leave and said to Bai Lang, "Have you decided?"

Bai Lang knelt down and said, "This disciple is willing to become the teacher's disciple!"

Zhuang Zhou nodded and said, "In that case, let me tell you the origin of my knowledge first."

Then Zhuang Zhou said: "My knowledge was passed down from Laozi. Laozi's original name was Li Er. He was originally the guardian of the Zhou royal family. He finally realized the great way of the earth and how the laws of heaven and earth operate. Later he transferred his knowledge to He wrote it down and called it "Tao Te Ching".

And I sorted out Laozi's teachings, and finally understood the true meaning of heaven and earth, which is nature. If you follow nature, you will live, and if you go against nature, you will die. I attribute everything I have learned to one word "Tao", as Lao Tzu said: 'Tao can be Tao, but it is not Tao'.

If you want to join my profession, you are destined not to be rich and noble, to be inactive, not to be a high-ranking official or well-paid, and to spend your life in the countryside with insects and beasts. If you don't enjoy being famous in history, you may become unknown. Are you still willing? "

After Bai Lang heard this, not only did he not feel uncomfortable, but he felt that he was very happy with it and said, "I can't get what I asked for!" Zhuang Zhou smiled and said, "Okay, I will leave you three Taoist scriptures, the Tao Te Ching and the Book of Changes. The third one is my interpretation of the Book of Changes. The annotated version of the Tao Te Ching, as well as some short fables I wrote. I will leave tomorrow. It is up to you to understand all this by yourself. If there is anything you do not understand, you can write it down or note it down, and wait until We are destined to meet again, or if you find me, I will explain it to you again!"

After hearing this, Bai Lang was a little reluctant to give up. Zhuang Zhou gently patted Bai Lang's head with his hand and said, "Children, the nature of people in my sect will come and go, but they can't be trapped in emotions for a long time! "

Zhuang Zhou's teachings in the past three years were still useful, so Bai Lang quickly adjusted.

On the second day, Zhuang Zhou just took some simple things and set out on the road, while Bai Lang also closed the door and prepared to return to Bai Mansion to see his relatives.

The perspective returned to Bai Mansion. Bai Lang and Bai Guang had a pleasant conversation. Bai Guang felt relieved after knowing that Bai Lang was okay, and then left.

Bai Lang went to the Yinghun Temple and told Gongsun Bo about the death of King Zhao and said:
"Father, if you have any unfulfilled wishes for King Zhao, you can go find him yourself. Anyway, you are all in the same place!" After that, he left the temple.

After leaving the temple, Bai Lang was thinking about where he should go. Bai Lang thought about it, and decided to find a mountain top and relive the life he had with his teacher. This would also help Bai Lang realize his enlightenment.

He just left, and after writing a letter and giving it to Bai Guang, Bai Lang embarked on the road to find the dojo.

Four hundred and sixty-two years of the Bai Kingdom
Qin wanted to attack Zhao, but was worried that Zhao and Chu had formed a vertical alliance, so he sent Zhang Yi to Chu to lobby King Huai of Chu.

When King Chu Huai heard that Zhang Yi was coming, he vacated a superior room in the place where envoys were being entertained. He also went there personally to arrange Zhang Yi's accommodation and said: "Chu is a remote and humble country. Sir, come here to give me some advice." Of?"

Zhang Yi respectfully said to King Huai of Chu with a look of consideration for Chu State: "If your Majesty can listen to my opinion, please sever contact with Zhao State and Qi State and terminate the alliance. I am willing to ask the King of Qin to donate the six hundred miles of merchants in the area." land, and at the same time let the women of Qin serve as concubines to serve the king.

In addition, Qin and Chu will marry each other and become brothers forever. This will weaken Zhao and Qi in the north. If you and Qin are on good terms, no country in the world can stop our two countries from joining forces! Chu State will also benefit. I think there is no better strategy for Qin and Chu to form an alliance than this. "

King Chu Huai was very happy. He thought that not only could he get the Shangyu land that Chu had coveted for a long time, but he could also solve Chu's worries about competing for hegemony in the Central Plains. There was nothing better than this, so he happily agreed to Zhang Yi's offer.

After hearing this, the ministers of Chu State came to congratulate King Huai of Chu, saying that Chu State was about to rise! Only Chen Zhen advised King Huai of Chu not to trust Zhang Yi.

King Huai of Chu said: "I can gain 600 miles of land from Qin without spending a single soldier. All the ministers in the court are celebrating this news. You are the only one who is preventing me from expanding the land. What do you want to do?" "

Chen Zhen replied: "That's not the case. In my opinion, not only will the land in Shang Yu's area not be obtained, but it will cause Qin and Qi to unite. Once Qin and Qi unite, disaster will surely come."

The King of Chu asked him to continue, and Chen Zhen said: "The reason why the State of Qin is so cautious about our State of Chu is only because of the three kingdoms of Qi, Chu, and Zhao. Now that the king has abandoned the alliance, the State of Chu will be isolated and helpless.

How could Qin favor an isolated and helpless country and give away merchants six hundred miles away for nothing? After Zhang Yi returns to Qin, he will definitely break his promise to the king. If he goes north to sever relations with Qi and Zhao, he will only bring disaster to Qin in the west. It is better for Zhao to be far away, but the armies of Qin and Qi They will definitely attack Chu State together.

I thought about the countermeasures for the king. It is better for us to secretly cooperate with Qi State, break off diplomatic relations on the surface, and send people to follow Zhang Yi to Qin State. If Qin cedes its land to us, it will not be too late to completely sever diplomatic relations with Qi. If they don't cede the land, that's in line with our strategy. "

When the King of Chu heard this, he felt that Chen Zhen was calling him stupid, so he said rudely: "I hope Mr. Chen will shut up and stop talking, and just wait until I get the land."

Subsequently, the Chu State and the Qi State severed relations and abolished the alliance. King Chu Huai also granted the Prime Minister's Seal of the Chu State to Zhang Yi. In addition, he also presented a large amount of property and sent a Chu general to follow Zhang Yi. Qin went to take over the land.

When Zhang Yi returned to Qin, he pretended not to hold on to the rope of the carriage, fell off the carriage and was injured. He did not go to court for three months. When King Chu Huai heard about this, he thought he had done something wrong and complained to all the ministers. Said: "Zhang Yi is not because the severance of diplomatic relations between Chu and Qi has not been completed, right?"

Because of their greed for land, the ministers all agreed with the King of Chu. So the King of Chu sent people to the Song Dynasty, borrowed the Song Dynasty's talisman and went to Qi to insult King Qi Xuan. King Qi Xuan sat in the palace and scolded him from the sky. In a rage, he drew his sword and cut off the talisman and asked the envoy to tell him. King Chu, this matter is not over yet.

So the King of Qi turned to the envoy of Qin and said that he decided to make friends with Qin, but the condition was that Qin would attack Chu together with Qin, and the envoy of Qin happily agreed.

After Qin and Qi established diplomatic relations, they saw that Chu was no longer useful, so Zhang Yi found the general of Chu and said, "I have a six-mile fiefdom given to me by the King of Qin, and I would like to dedicate it to the King of Chu. .”

When the envoys of Chu State in Qin State heard what Chu General told them, they couldn't believe it. As soon as Zhang Yi came to court, the Chu State envoys said: "I have been ordered by the King of Chu to come to receive the land of Shang Yu. Li, I’ve never heard of any six-mile land being collected.”

Zhang Yi said: "Does your envoy have any evidence or any written words?" Of course, the envoy from Chu did not. He had no choice but to return to the state of Chu and tell King Chu Huai what Zhang Yi said. King Chu Huai was so angry that he raised troops and ordered Attack Qin.

As a result, Qin and Qi jointly attacked Chu and seized the lands of Danyang and Hanzhong of Chu. The King of Chu was going crazy, so Chu sent more troops to attack Qin, but the Chu army was defeated. In the end, Chu had to cede two more cities and conclude a peace treaty with Qin to end the war.

(End of this chapter)