warring states careerist

Chapter 288 Extreme Thirst Brings Liquor and Wine Contains Poison ([-])
The teacher is famous, and this name is the truth.

Different people need to speak different truths.If it is the Spring and Autumn Period, it may be possible to talk about Zhou Li's respect and inferiority; if it is the Warring States Period, it may be possible to directly talk about interests.

Only at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period and the beginning of the Warring States period, the principles of the world were not yet clear, and the principles of the Mohists benefited the world, so Zhao Zhiai used this reason to ask the Mohists for help.

Forty elite chariots may decide the outcome of a battle, and hundreds of elite defenders may also determine the attack and defense of the city. As for the defense of the city, the Mo family has enough qualifications for the Chu people to request.

Zhao Zhi'ai knew the content of Lu Yang's official letter, and he also heard Lu Yang's reason why Mo Zi prevented him from attacking Zheng.

But Mo Zi knew that the words of Ju Zi can only persuade everyone to agree. Even if his prestige is said, everyone will still agree, but the rules and procedures still have to be followed.

Now the king of Chu is in danger, and the country of Chu is thousands of miles away, but there is no danger, but the king of Chu is the king of Chu, and the country of Chu is the country of Chu, it is not the same thing.

Mozi thought of what he had discussed with everyone in Daze in the afternoon, and said, "What you said about this matter is also reasonable. The letter from Duke Lu Yang is also reasonable. This time, after all, it was Zheng Ren and Wei Han who provoked the incident. The Central Plains is in flames of war."

"If the Chu people can defend and not attack, if they agree to this matter, the Mo family can also provide some defensive equipment."

Zhao Zhi'ai understands the crisis situation of the Chu people at this time, but it is impossible to say that they can only defend but not attack.As long as you seize the opportunity, you still have to fight back. If you don't fight back, there will never be peace for the Zheng people.

Before coming, the king of Chu had already agreed on the method.

Luguan is on the front line, and Lord Yangcheng is in charge of the war situation in the Central Plains. Once the opportunity arises, he immediately counterattacks Zheng Guo and makes Zheng Guo withdraw from the alliance with Wei Han, forcing Zheng people to let Wang Ziding leave, so as to reach an agreement with Zheng people first. Peace.

Does this count as an attack?
Hard to say.

It's not that Zhao Zhi'ai doesn't want to lie, but it's meaningless to lie to the Mo family, and it will cause resentment. He was silent for a long time, and only said: "The king sent me this time, just asking the Mo family to sell some equipment for defending the city. The equipment cannot be used to attack. The matter of defense does not violate the morality of the Mohist school, and the subsequent matters have nothing to do with the Mohist school."

"We will definitely abide by the three-year agreement made by the late king. It is not because the Chu people raised their troops first to attack within three years. It is really impossible to promise not to punish and counterattack."

"Speaking of it, the Mohists attacked through formations in Shangqiu, and the former kings of the alliance were in the camp. Isn't this also an attack?"

"Although the people of Zheng are weak, being weak is not the reason why the people of Zheng can attack the state of Chu, but the state of Chu cannot retaliate. Isn't that the reason of the Mohists?"

Mozi pretended to be contemplating, but in fact the Mohists had decided to take advantage of the crisis of Chu State to find a way to infiltrate Chu State.

He seemed to have been convinced by Zhao Zhi'ai's reasoning, so he waved his hand and said, "Shi, tell the envoy of Chu about the current form of these defense equipment, which is somewhat inconvenient..."

These years, Shi has learned a lot of languages, especially after the First World War in Shangqiu, he has learned a lot of Chu dialect and Yayin from Gongzaoye this year, and he came forward to salute Zhao Zhiai.

Zhao Zhi'ai's heart moved, knowing that this person was special in the Mo family, and it was closely related to the defensive equipment that the Chu people wanted this time, so he hurriedly returned the gift.

Shi Bian said: "The tools used by the Mohists to defend the city are not supposed to be used by the Mohists themselves. The small countries in the Central Plains all have needs for the pact to eliminate the soldiers, so the Mohist disciples alone cannot manufacture so many."

"Nowadays, merchants contribute capital, Mohists contribute skills, craftsmen contribute, and small countries benefit. This is a method that is beneficial to many people."

"In the past, if it was beneficial to the world, the Mo family could die without hesitation, let alone gold and jade... But now these weapons for defending the city are not the Mo family's own, and those merchants and craftsmen are not Mo people..."

What he said was cloudy and foggy, but Zhao Zhiai immediately understood what Shi meant.

money!
transaction!

It turned out that the Mohists defended the city for free, Zheng, Song and Lu all benefited, and never asked for gold and jade.

This time, it was a deal, and what he said was very reasonable: these things were not from the Mohists, and those merchants and craftsmen could not be required to have the Mohist's desire to benefit the world.

Zhao Zhiai's heart that was hanging in the air was instantly let go.

He was never afraid that the Mo family would ask for money and deals, but what he was afraid of was that the Mo family would admit death and think that this was an unjust war of dog-eat-dog, and the two would not help each other.

Now it seems that I have persuaded Mozi, and Duke Lu Yang's letter has also touched the old feelings, it is just a transaction, so that is easy to say.

It's just that Zhao Zhiyi is also a little inconvenient.

After the last siege of Shangqiu, the state treasury of Chu State was consumed a lot, needless to say food, the rewards and appeasement after returning, the etiquette of the new king's ascension to the throne, and the rewards given by the new king to stabilize the hearts of the people all left the state treasury of Chu state empty.

Even if you still have surplus money, you still have to consider the long-term war in the future, and you have to prepare for the eventual situation.

At this time, the biggest reward was the fiefdom, but the Mohists were unlikely to accept it. Besides, it was a great humiliation for the former king to be captured by the Mozhe. If the fiefdom was given to Mo Di again, some nobles would definitely take the opportunity to attack.

I don't know who in the Chu Kingdom supported the King of Chu, and who supported the fleeing prince, but I have the impression that the turmoil in the Chu Kingdom caused "the death of many Chu cities".

Later, in the Warring States Policy, there are also records of Chen Cai and other countries paying homage to the king of Wei, and Wu Qi's biography also has records of Wu Qi entering the north of Chu and attacking Chen Cai.

However, the two countries of Chen and Cai had perished long ago, and the Chen Tian clan flourished in Qi. Obviously this time, Chen and Cai supported Wang Ziding, and Chu split.

In the final outcome, I am afraid that Wu Qi made Chen and Cai re-attached to Chu State in name, but changed from the original county to a status similar to a vassal state, and even the status of this vassal state is still very special, otherwise there will be no pilgrimage in the future King Wei Hui.

In the history of Zhaozhi'ai, he died in the decisive battle of Wuyang a few years later. This battle should also be Wu Qi's last glory in Wei. A battle killed three county princes, two princes, and a heavy minister in the state of Chu. The king of Chu valued Wu Qi so much after learning from the pain.

The Mohist battle of Shangqiu created an astonishing legend, although it was not as good as Wu Qi in the battle of Wuyang a few years later, but he also killed a Sima and a leader. It's just that killing each other at this time is mostly a personal grudge among the nobles, and the monarch will not because of it. Such hatred refuses to use talents.

Now that the king of Chu sent Zhaozhi'ai as an envoy, it can be seen that he attaches great importance to the Mohists, and You Yin is also an important minister of Chu.On the other hand, it also shows that Zhao Zhi'ai is close to the faction of the King of Chu. As for the relationship between them, it is not necessary to guess, it is enough to know that this person's heart is towards the King of Chu.

Shi Bian said to Zhao Zhiai again: "This time the Chu people defended the defense. From my point of view, it is dangerous."

"If the Luguan Fangcheng is lost, the prince will definitely enter Chu. If the Wuyang beam is lost, I am afraid that some county officials who support the prince will also support the prince. The Central Plains that Chu has gained in a hundred years will be lost to the three Jins. It will be difficult to recover in a hundred years. .”

"The people of Jin are so elite. Master Chu has rarely won Jin since Queen Zhuang. If he wants to defend...these defense equipment must be lacking."

"Fangcheng cannot be lost, but there must be less reinforcements in the Yuguan Daliang area. If it cannot be defended, it will be difficult to recover."

He seems to be sound in his analysis, but in fact this is the normal historical trend. In the First World War in Wuyang, Wei officially became the hegemon and moved the capital to Daliang, triggering a siege from all over the world. This shows the importance of the Daliang-Yuguan defense line to Chu State: losing it is equivalent to completely losing the strategy An opportunity for the Central Plains to go north.

Zhao Zhi'ai was amazed in his heart, he already knew that the Mohist's grasp of the general situation of the world was extraordinary, and the things recorded in the "newspaper" often surprised him and even the king of Chu.

Now hearing Shi said this, he sighed even more in his heart, and said in a deep voice: "That's exactly the case. From the point of view of the Mohists' principle of benefiting the world, if the Chu Kingdom is divided into two, and there are frequent wars, how can the ambition of the Three Jin Dynasties stop?"

Shi Heran said: "The strength of a country lies in virtue but not in danger. The three seedlings in the past..."

After repeating those words, he said slowly: "In the battle of Shangqiu that day, I said that the king of Chu and the nobles were unwise. If we practice politics diligently, use economical development, and reform the law, then I will say that the hidden dangers of Chu State Remove, where will today's events be?"

On that day, in the tent outside Shangqiu city, Shi made a big noise, and made the conflict between royal power and nobles clear to the king of Chu and the nobles.

Unless Zhao Zhiai is the kind of true "loyal minister" who doesn't care about the family, it is impossible not to be alert to these words. But under the enfeoffment system, is there an absolute "loyal minister"?

Seeing what Shi said, Zhao Zhiyi only said: "Shangqiu matter, heaven has already sent down punishment, isn't that enough? Even if you want to do this now, with external injustice and internal turmoil, can it be done?"

"That's why even if the king wants to change, he still needs to defend the land of Chu first. Besides, the prince decided to say that the assassination of the previous king was related to the Mohist school. Is this a person who has the heart of 'benefiting the world' and uses the principles of the Mohist school?"

Fearing that his tongue would be sharp, he said something again, and hurriedly asked Mo Zi for help: "I have heard that in the past when Baigong Sheng was in chaos, the prince refused to ascend the throne, and everyone thought it was benevolent. Only Mr. Mo Di thought this It is still far away from benevolence. If you have the ability to be benevolent, righteous and virtuous, you should ascend the throne. It doesn’t matter how the monarch came to be. Isn’t this the Mohism’s truth? Could it be that the Mohism wants a prince who hates the Mohism’s truth to rule thousands of Chu lands? in?"

Mo Zi was silent when he heard the words, but he was secretly happy, and praised Shi Shi in his heart.

The Xuanyi Department under the jurisdiction of Shishi did a good job. When the Mohist Shangqiu World War One shook the world, various articles of the Xuanyi Department were also circulated everywhere.

Only Zhao Zhiai appealed to Mo Zhai with the principles of the Mohist school, which in itself was a victory for the Xuanyi Department: using my principles to convince me, whether or not it was persuasive, proved that my principles had begun to be accepted by others, even if it was accepted on the surface .

Bai Gongsheng's rebellion and the matter of Wang Zilu can be regarded as a straightforward manifestation of the Mohist concept of succession of kings.

You can go up if you can, don't worry about how the throne came, you think you are not qualified so you refuse, this is not benevolence, this is stupid!If you feel that the qualifications of the king are not enough, then let him go, and change to someone who can, don't give in, just go up.

What Zhao Zhiai said was to use the utilitarian trend of Mohism to tell the Mohists: If according to your principles, the prince suspects that some of the Mohism’s principles can even be changed, then you should not consider the issue of inheritance rights, but should directly support Chu King, and considered justice.

After all, your Mohists don't uphold Zhou etiquette, and in your opinion, the right of inheritance has nothing to do with order, but only with ability and virtue.Then the fact that Chu State was attacked, from the point of view of your Mohists, is the injustice of Zheng Wei and Han!

The right of inheritance is not within the category of righteousness and injustice in Mohism, so the invasion of Chu State because of the right of inheritance is not "unsure whether it is righteousness or injustice", but the attacking party is fundamentally unrighteous.

(End of this chapter)