Spring and Autumn I Am King

ps: 5,000-character chapter

What exactly is Lao Tzu's "Tao"?

A hundred people can interpret a hundred different opinions, but as far as Zhao Wuxi is concerned, he believes that Lao Tzu, as the guardian of the history of the Zhou royal family, his duty is to "record success or failure, survival and death, blessings and misfortunes, ancient and modern ways, and then Knowing that you must adhere to the essence, clear the emptiness to guard yourself, and rely on the weak to rely on yourself, this is the art of the monarch and people in the south."

Therefore, looking at the words of Lao Tzu presented by Gubu Ziqing, Zhao Wuxi found that Lao Tzu has always spoken in the tone of a king and a teacher. The whole book mentions more than 20 places about lords, kings, masters, and saints. The main thing is not to teach lords how to cultivate themselves, but how to govern the country.

For example: "If the princes and kings can guard it, all things will be their own guests." "The reason why Jiang He can be the king of the hundred valleys is that he can be the king of the hundred valleys because of his kindness." Ben, if you are impatient, you will lose your ruler.”

The rulers of the state such as Hou Wang are the ideal readers of Lao Tzu, and yes, he originally made suggestions for the prince's dynasty. How to maintain long-term stability in society, and how to avoid the vicious circle of one rule and one chaos, these are the most concerned issues in Lao Tzu's learning. Those questions that seem to be purely philosophical are actually just proving his political thoughts... He On the one hand, it formulated the way of life for a small country, "a small country with few people", and also designed a governance method for a big country, "governing a big country is like cooking a small fish".

Therefore, in later generations, Shen Buha and Han Fei found evidence from Lao Tzu for the establishment of the School of Legalism, and further developed the "Huang-Lao's Learning". They all borrowed Lao Tzu's cups to pour their own blocks, and obviously they cultivated Lao Tzu's learning as a learning of state governance rather than a technique of self-cultivation.

After being told by Zhao Wuxi, Lao Tzu did not deny it, but just smiled lightly and said:

"The words Gubu Ziqing remembered are already my thoughts a long time ago. After going west, I saw something that no one in the world has ever seen. The old way has changed again, and it is quite different from before."

"Oh, what's the difference?"

When Wu Xie continued to question Lao Tzu's enlightenment, he got up and walked out of the house, looking at the clouds in the sky and said slowly:

"I used to watch the sunrise and sunset in Jiuqu of the Dahe River, and I once sat in the quicksand and watched the broken walls get weathered a little bit. After that, I figured out a reason."

"The heaven and the earth move on their own without being pushed, the sun and the moon are self-evident without being ignited, the stars are self-ordered without being listed, and animals and animals are born without man. So there is no, so there is honor, so there is disgrace, there are also natural principles. Follow the principles of nature, follow the way of nature, people will be self-righteous, the country will be autonomous, and the world will be at peace. The rise and fall of the dynasty, the study of the way to deal with chaos, and the desire to explore a general principle that can be applied to everything, but it is inferior."

Lao Tzu turned around and saw that Zhao Wuxi was seriously thinking about his words, so he advised: "Similarly, Junhou deliberately seeks to rule the world by force, but disregards the current situation and the wishes of the countries themselves, I am afraid that they are also going against the sky. The harder the suppression is now, the more rebound it will be in the future."

Even the sages and saints are subject to the times. Lao Tzu is noncommittal about Zhao Wuxi's ambition to annex the princes and unify the world. He thinks that this is mostly due to Zhao Wuxi's personal ambition, and he is disgusting with Zhao Wuxi's life after the failure of unification. more vigilant...

"I don't think so." Being questioned by one of the greatest philosophers of all time, Zhao Wuxi was not shaken, but stood side by side with him and explained his views.

"It's true that man was created by nature, but from the moment he stood between heaven and earth, he was involved in the great road of nature. Being restricted by the great road, he could also influence the great road, which is something other things can't do. This is the I once said at the Linzhang Academy that people can understand nature, adapt to nature, and transform nature..."

"Reforming nature?" Xiao was interested when I heard this term for the first time.

"Yes, transforming nature. Wu Xie heard that in ancient times, the population was sparse, there were many birds and beasts, and the people could not resist the invasion of animals, insects and snakes, and the suffering was unbearable. At this time, a sage appeared, who invented a shack on a tree. The method is to avoid the harm of animals and animals, this is the Youchao clan."

"Youchao's family made the ancients live in peace, but the people at that time ate wild melons and clams, which were foul and rancid, hurt the stomach, and many people died of diseases. At this time, another wise man appeared, who invented drilling wood. The method of making fire to grill food and get rid of the stench and stench; people therefore love him very much, recommend him to rule the tribe, and call him the Suiren clan..."

The ancient legend has become Zhao Wuxi's theory to prove his point of view. As time goes by, it is getting closer to the present, and the social organization of human beings has gradually evolved and matured.

"In the Middle Ages, the world was flooded with floods and people were struggling to live. Gun and his son Yu were responsible for dredging the river, draining floods and managing disasters, thus winning the pilgrimage of various nations, becoming the Xiahou clan, establishing palaces and cities, and being enshrined in Lord of the world."

"In ancient times, the rule of Xia Jie and Yin Zhou was brutal and chaotic, so Shang Tang and King Wu of Zhou launched a crusade, conquered the world, and built another situation. Since then, these nine states have been linked together. Ji surnamed The monarchs came to rule the barbarians with ritual utensils, and different clans married each other and communicated more and more frequently. The rhinoceros, elephants and beasts in the Central Plains were expelled, and those mountains and rivers were also connected by roads and bridges. For farmland, the barren land becomes a fertile soil."

"All of the above, whether it's building nests, making fire, opening rivers to release floodwaters, building cities, or building roads and roads, are all transformations of nature. In the past few thousand years, the impact of human beings on nature has been compared with the past tens of thousands of years. The changes that occur naturally are even more dramatic.”

"Based on the way of nature, the sudden whims of the sages, and the assistance and promotion of hundreds of millions of people, these things happened. That's why in the book, there is a saying that "heaven listens to the people, and the sky sees the people." Is it a combination of these three factors that Weng said about the Dao?"

Lao Tzu pondered for a long time, and smiled: "It is fresh to understand this way. The words of the prince are thought-provoking. This time, the old man really did not return in vain."

Zhao Wu Xie spread his hands and smiled and said, "Weng passed the award, Wu Xie just felt that if in the Xia Dynasty, there are still people living in the way of the Chao family and the Suiren family, they will definitely be ridiculed by Gun and Yu. The affairs of the Xia Dynasty, as an important matter, will definitely be ridiculed by Shang Tang and King Wu. The customs of ancient and modern times are different, and the measures that the princes and kings should take are different. If you want to use a lenient and gentle policy to govern the people of the drastic changing times, it is like having no reins and whips But if you want to ride a fierce horse, it will cause great harm."

"Similarly, it would be inappropriate to let the princes split if they still follow the ancient pattern of a small country and few people."

"The world today is very different from what it was hundreds of years ago. The roads have connected the countries of the Kyushu together, and the Xia and the barbarians are clearly distinguished. The languages ​​of the countries are similar and the customs are similar. This is the result of the Chinese ancestors who have transformed nature after thousands of years. The result. But each country is ruled by different princes, and the princes have their own selfish interests. In order to win the hegemony and increase their own land, almost every year does not go to war."

"How to end this troubled world? Weng must have thought hard, so I imagined that if the world is unified again and the order is unified, then the world will be stable again."

Zhao Wuxi started his imagination of the future: "If the countries are unified, the soldiers can return to the farmland from the battlefield, the merchants will not have to worry about the barriers, the scholars on the seashore can travel to Zhangshui to study, and the armored soldiers will hide in The government treasury makes them grow lice. The government can also spend the money and silk used for the war on improving people's livelihood, repairing ditches and river embankments. So I think that this is not only my personal selfishness, but also the world. The common wish of the common people! Unity as one, united as a fortress, and united as one who speaks of gold!"

Lao Tzu had already understood Zhao Wuxi's thoughts and said, "The natural pattern and the wishes of the people are all in place, so the monarch wants to be a sage like You Chao, Sui Ren, Yu, Tang, and Wen Wu to promote this process?"

Zhao Wuxie nodded and said loudly: "Of course, this is my way, Zhao Wuxie!"

...

When I returned to the room again and tasted the freshly brewed tea, I suddenly felt that the taste inside was very different from what I tasted when I first came here.

And his views on Zhao Wuxi are much deeper than before. Although this son is a sage who promotes the Dao, he is a little arrogant, but looking at everything he has done in the past 20 years, he does have the capital of pride.

This guy looks like a corporal of politeness, but in fact, he is so arrogant in his heart, does he have an illusion that he can really see five hundred years in the past and three thousand years in the future?

However, Zhao Wuxi didn't know the temperament that he unknowingly revealed, and he was marked with a "proud" symbol by Lao Tzu, and asked again, "If Weng thinks that what he said just now makes some sense, what can he teach me? place?"

Lao Tzu said: "The old man said a thousand things, but after all, there is no evidence, the prince has Ji Ran and others to help, why should the old man talk too much?"

Zhao Wuxi said frankly: "Although I am a prince of Xia, I am not a sage, and I have no faults. I have greed, hesitation, and hesitation. I just talked to Weng, and I am not clear about what I want to do. Little, if there is anything wrong, I hope Weng can point it out for me."

"it is good."

Lao Tzu pondered for a long time, and said: "Just now, the lords and lords talked about the past and the present, but one thing was overlooked. To gain the world, you can't just rely on force, but also follow the principles of heaven and people's hearts, otherwise even if you gain the world, it will go against the will and nature of the people of all countries. And with strong rule, this kind of unification will definitely not last..."

This makes sense. Qin's unification and rapid demise have always stuck in Zhao Wuxi's heart like a thorn. It is easier said than done to achieve this goal two hundred years ahead of schedule in the Spring and Autumn Period when conditions are more immature? So pure use of force is not enough, and because of this, he needs to listen to the opinion of the old man in front of him.

Lao Tzu pointed to the cauldron on the table and said, "It's like cooking small fresh food. The heat must be just right. If the fire is too strong, the soup will boil dry. If the fire is weak, it will not be cooked for a long time. The only thing is that I can't stand my temper, the heat is too fierce..."

Zhao Wuxi smiled: "After a circle, what Weng wants to say is still to dissuade me from taking the Jizhou Ding?"

"The old man has always said one thing, what is it, the prince can understand it." The old man did not point it out, and smiled and asked Zhao Wuxi to think about it.

After chatting for a while, his face was already a little tired. After all, he was an old man in his nineties, so he asked to leave.

Zhao Wuxi wanted to keep him: "What's Weng's plan in the future, do you want to live in Chengzhou for a long time, or go back to the hometown of Chen State?"

"The old man has no relatives and no reason in Chen country, and there is nothing to worry about..."

He stroked his beard and said with a smile: "After leaving the Central Plains for ten years, the old man is really about to be abandoned by the world. There are many things that the monarchs say today that I don't understand, but I want to go to the Linzhang Academy in Zhao State. Go for a walk and listen to how the scholars there talk about 'transforming nature', can Junhou lend me a cart and a half horse to go to Yecheng?"

"As much as I wish! It is really a great blessing for the scholars of Zhao State to have Lao Tzu's presence at the Linzhang Academy!" Zhao Wuxi was overjoyed, and immediately sent people to find a good carriage and gave it to Lao Tzu.

Before Lao Tzu left, he was thoughtful, then turned back, bowed solemnly to Zhao Wuxi, and left a few words.

"The lords and lords want to do the things of the ancient sages and start a career that has not been done in three generations. This is a great ambition. However, please remember that a lot of love will cost a lot, and a lot of possession will lead to heavy death."

Excessive craving will result in greater expense, and the more you store, the more will be lost. The meaning of this sentence is that what you want to get, you have to pay a certain price...

If what he wants to get is something as heavy as Jiuding, the highest status in this world, what will he pay?

"A price?"

Many pictures suddenly appeared in front of Zhao Wuxi's eyes. He and Confucius first became friends and then became enemies. The death of his elder brother Bo Lu, Zhao Yang's premature death, his repeated promises to the Han family, and the war caused the Qi and Wei people to break up. The family was ruined, Wu Jing, Robber Zhi, Yu Xi, those generals and soldiers who died in battle for his cause, and the thin figure of his sister who was alone in the northern border...

Along the way, he has indeed paid a lot of price. Looking down, above the thorns, he is already covered with bones. Who said that the emperor is easy to do?

But that was all expected, and he was mentally prepared to continue sacrificing. To this day, Zhao Wuxi's heart was as cold as iron, and it was inevitable that there would be more flaws.

"Of course I understand." Facing Lao Tzu's kind reminder, he answered proudly.

Lao Tzu stared at Zhao Wuxi's eyes for a long time, knowing that he was in his prime, and some things could not be understood as thoroughly as he was, so he didn't take it seriously. Lao Tzu shook his head and sighed: "Jun Hou, you still don't quite understand, how much is the price..."

After saying that, he didn't say much. After leaving, he turned around and left. A song that seemed to exhort the world slowly came out from the carriage he was riding:

"What is the relationship between name and body? Is there more body and goods? Is it sick to gain or die? I know that if you love too much, you will have a lot of expenses, and if you hide too much, you will die. Contentment is not shameful, knowledge is not dangerous, and it can last for a long time... …”

"Sure enough, his knowledge is deep and unpredictable, his aspirations are high and difficult to know, he often sees its head, but doesn't know its tail...like a dragon." Zhao Wuxi also commented as he looked at Lao Tzu's retreating back, and immediately let him People told Zhao Jun in the palace to stop carrying the Jizhou tripod and put it back in place.

"When the widow has conquered the world, then move the Jiuding back to Yecheng together!"

He first returned to Yecheng himself, but ordered Zhao Jia's army of 30,000 to go to Hulao Pass and Luyuan Pass to garrison.

At the end of January, when Zhao Wuxi had just returned to Yecheng, the messenger he sent to Wu State, Chu Long, also returned...

...

At the meeting of Huangchi, only Chu State held its own power, refused to accept Zhao Wuxi, and did not send envoys to congratulate. Based on the principle that the enemy of the future enemy is a friend, under the mediation of Qu Ao, the enemies of Zhao State and Wu State. They secretly formed an alliance. In the past few years, Wu State was able to survive the capture of Chu and Yue, and Zhao State's containment in Huaibei and occasional money and grain assistance were important factors.

Thanks to Fuchai's energy dragging Chu State, Zhao Wuxi was able to implement the plan to compete in the Central Plains in an orderly manner.

"How is the situation in Wu State?" Zhao Hou asked.

Chu Long bowed his head on the shore, and then boarded the boat and said in Zhao Wuxi's ear: "Your Majesty, when the minister left, Wucheng was surrounded by the Vietnamese army, I'm afraid it won't last for this month..."

"Is Fuchai okay?" Zhao Wuxi was very concerned about his old rival.

Chu Long was a little afraid to say it, but after Zhao Wuxi's repeated questioning, he said: "Fu Chai also knew that he was unable to return to the sky, and when the minister greeted him on behalf of the king, his face was ashen, described as withered, and said, 'I have no virtue, I can't Prosperity, but Zhao Hou needn't worry about the widow, if you want to make a joke, just make a joke!'".

"Hahahaha." Zhao Wuxi burst out laughing, this is Fuchai's character, it seems that he still has a bit of energy: "Jiangdong's mallard duck, he's going to die and he's stubborn."

Chu Long took out what was in his arms and offered it: "Fu Chai also gave the minister a box of pearls and asked the minister something."

"What's the matter?"

"Fu Chai said that people who are about to drown must be forced to laugh. The widow also asks you, why did Taishi Mo become a gentleman? How could he be able to predict the death of Wu State 40 years ago?"

Zhao Wuxi pondered for a long time. Taishimo's prediction was amazing. He predicted that many years ago ~www.readwn.com~ when the Wu Kingdom was still in full bloom and the Yue Kingdom was still unknown, he predicted: In less than forty years, the Yue Kingdom Probably to occupy the Wu Kingdom!

Now Shi Mo has been dead for many years, but his prophecy is about to come true...

Thinking of this, Zhao Wuxi suddenly felt a tinge of boredom. If the day when his "Great Way" was realized, if he looked around, but there was no worthy opponent to witness this scene, it would also be a kind of loneliness.

In history, Fucha Goujian may be the top figure in this era. But Fuchai, perhaps for him, dying with the country is the best ending...

Chu Long said again: "Fuchai's prince friend came north with his ministers and wanted to ask the emperor to rescue Wu."

"Haosheng was entertained, and at the same time, Xu and Zhongwu's divisions were dispatched to show support, so that the remnants of Wu State would surrender and wait for the opportunity to seize the land of Jiangbei."

"As for Fuchai himself, the widow does not intend to save him, nor can he save him."

Zhao Wuxi turned his head and ordered Ning Jian next to him, "After returning to Yecheng, I will lower the widow's meals. This is my last tribute to my husband... and respect..."