Chapter 22 Benevolence and Righteousness
Yang Feng also told the emperor two passages of the past when Taizu founded the country for reference.
The last emperor of the previous dynasty was licentious and brutal, and the world was in chaos. There were countless heroes competing for the crown. They attacked each other and merged with each other. In the end, there were three most important forces. The Great Chu established by Taizu was only one of them, and there were two other groups. Evenly matched opponent.
Zhao Guo in the north was founded by Zhuang Chui. Like Taizu Han Fu, Zhuang Chui was also a hero. He became famous earlier and had a much higher status. Almost all the men in the village make their careers as knights, and Zhuang Chui is the most famous, known as "the number one hero in Jiangbei".
During Taizu's escape, he was also a guest of Zhuang's family. He had a good talk with Zhuang Chui and became friends with each other, but they turned against each other when they fought for the world.
In terms of selfishness and cruelty, Zhuang Chui is even worse than Taizu. He has a simple and crude rule: no matter who has received help from the dealer, even if it is indirect, he owes the dealer a debt. The debt had to be paid back with interest, sometimes with life.
Even though the rules are so strict, Northern Zhao has been the most powerful force at that time for a long time, attracting many heroes to come to join them. Young people at the age of 10 can lead troops to fight, and everyone would rather bear huge debts than follow the most promising master.
When the dust settled, everyone looked back and found that one of the most important reasons why King Zhuang was defeated was that there were too many children, which blocked the promotion of other heroes.
The Qi State, which is currently undergoing rebellion, was also a powerful force back then. Unlike the heroic Han and Zhuang kings, Qi Wang Chen Lun was born in a noble family, and his ancestors were princes for ten generations. The common people think that he is the uncrowned king, and he is one of the earliest forces to claim the king.
Taizu regards friends as swords, and spares no effort when using them, and throws them away like clogs when not using them. Zhuang Wang regards a hero as a debtor, and he is always pressing, insisting on squeezing out all the value. Compared with these two, Qi Wang Chen Lun is the real king. Almost all the generals under his command are descendants of aristocratic families. At least two generations have served the Chen family. Heroes from other places have defected to Qi. , if there is a fault, you will be punished.
The failure of Qi State was almost inevitable. King Chen had little ambition, he just wanted to occupy his homeland, and then took advantage of Chu and Zhao's struggle for hegemony, and expanded a little bit outward. It took only three months for the former suspects to join forces to attack the Qi State, and the Qi State was completely destroyed.
Qi has the most loyal ministers, and there are countless suicides following King Chen. The strange thing is that many of the suicides are not Qi people at all, but heroes from other places. Or jump over the wall.
In short, among the three kings, Taizu Han Fu was by no means the most selfish, let alone the person who was the best at attracting heroes, but in the end he won the world.
"Your Majesty will usher in a new master tomorrow. He will tell the history of the country. Please listen and think more about it." Yang Feng is a guide and does not object to students getting information from other places.
Han Ruzi spent another sleepless night. When he was attending class the next morning, the king of Donghai asked in surprise when he saw the emperor's swollen eyes: "What's wrong with you? It seems that you are the most leisurely emperor in the world."
"I'm just too idle to sleep." Han Ruzi said with a smile, wondering which old gentleman would be the new master today, and it was also a strange thing that the Queen Mother would agree to teach the history of the country.
The new master came, but he was not so old. He was in his forties, tall and thin, with a dignified appearance, sharp eyes, and a narrow hooked nose pointing at the emperor like a knife.
"Crassman Luo Huanzhang pays homage to His Majesty." The new master has no special privileges, so he had to perform a formal kneeling ceremony. To Han Ruzi's surprise, the usually domineering king of the East China Sea actually avoided the table and returned the salute, which was much more respectful than facing the emperor.
Luo Huanzhang called himself a "grassman", that is, he had never been an official and had no title. Han Ruzi recalled a sentence that the King of the East China Sea said, and blurted out: "Are you the master of the King of the East China Sea?"
Luo Huanzhang stood up, "Caomin once taught His Royal Highness the King of the East China Sea for several years, but his talents were poor and he failed to teach good disciples."
The king of Donghai blushed and bowed his head in silence, as if he was very afraid of his master.
Han Ruzi was even more puzzled, although the Empress Dowager and Shangguan's family had reconciled, there was still competition after all, it was really unreasonable for her to call the master of the East China Sea King into the palace.
Maybe Yang Feng would take this strange incident as a problem, Han Ruzi habitually began to think, other masters turned a blind eye to the emperor's distraction, but Luo Huanzhang was not an ordinary person, he coughed and said: "Caomin was ordered to tell the history of the country, Your Majesty hopes Where do you start?"
The first time he was asked for advice, Han Ruzi was not used to it. He flipped through the books on the table, thought for a while, and said, "Taizu, I want to know why Taizu was able to win the world."
"Your Majesty is wise, and the question you asked is very good."
The face of the king of the East China Sea turned even redder. For some reason, he was very honest in front of this commoner master, and he didn't dare to say a word.
The eunuch brought a small stool, but Luo Huanzhang did not sit down, but stood up and said: "The last emperor of the previous dynasty was licentious, and the officials were obedient, so he lost his deer, and all the heroes chased him. Taizu started from the commoner, flourished in the mountains, and for several years The reason for the establishment of the Everlasting Foundation is actually very simple.”
The great Confucianist must have come to a conclusion long ago for the answer that he couldn't find after much deliberation. Han Ruzi pricked up his ears, for fear of missing a single word.
"Benevolence and righteousness." Luo Huanzhang spit out the two words, as solemnly as a ceremony official singing blessings in an imperial temple.
"Can you be more specific?" Han Ruzi was a little disappointed.
"What was lost by the former dynasty is what Taizu gained. The former dynasty treated the people like slaves and brought them to justice. Those who look sideways gouged out their eyes, those who slandered their tongues cut off their tongues, and those who spoke casually cut off their waists. Taizu Long Xing did the opposite. In other words, destroy the law of the thieves, establish the way of benevolence and righteousness, save taxes and reduce punishments, and rest with the people, and in five or six years, the world will be established. In the past, when Shang Tang was traveling, he saw the arresters spread their nets around, and the man said: "Fall from the sky." Those who come out of the ground, and those who come from all directions, all enter my net." Shang Tang closed three sides of the net, leaving only one side, and said: "If you want to be left, you will be left; if you want to be right, you will be right; if you want to be high, you will be high; Next, those who commit crimes will enter my net.' More than forty countries all said: 'Tang's virtue is as good as that of animals.' Go and return. In this way, you can catch a bird with a net on four sides, and catch a bird with a net on three sides. To win the kingdoms, benevolence and righteousness means to open the net on three sides."
Luo Huanzhang made a generous speech, and the king of the East China Sea bowed his head, as if he was laughing. Han Ruzi half-understood what he heard, and he became even more confused, "Did Taizu defeat King Zhuang and King Chen by virtue of benevolence and righteousness?"
Luo Huanzhang's eyes became stern, coupled with that knife-like nose, it didn't take long for the emperor to hang his head and reflect on what he said wrong.
"Your Majesty must have heard some gossip, saying that Taizu was cruel and merciless, and won the world by treachery?"
Han Ruzi didn't want to betray Yang Feng, so he hummed vaguely.
"Has anyone ever said these things to His Majesty: the previous dynasty had millions of soldiers, and its ears and eyes were all over the streets, and when the officials forced the people to rebel, all the heroes rose together. In just two years, the last emperor committed suicide by burning the palace, and the country was destroyed. Laughter; Eastern Qi is thousands of miles away, with hundreds of cities connected. The ten generations of the Chen family were marquises. It can be said that the roots are deep and solid. When Chu and Zhao attacked together, Qi fell in a few months, and more than 860 people died with the king of Qi; The terrain of Zhao is dangerous, and King Zhuang is unparalleled in the world. There are thousands of fierce generals and 300,000 elite soldiers. Each of them is one against ten. He has ravaged the princes and trampled on the country for nearly five years. , three defeats, King Zhuang committed suicide by slashing his neck, the clan descended to Chu, and the best soldiers and fierce generals were used by the Taizu."
"I've heard of it a little bit." Han Ruzi said softly, a little understanding why the King of the East China Sea was so honest in front of Luo Huanzhang. What, has surrendered.
Luo Huanzhang slowed down his tone, stretched out his right hand, and slowly clenched his fist, "Your Majesty, please see, if you bend your hands into a fist, won't you be able to hold things more firmly?"
"certainly."
"Look again, Your Majesty, the fist has become a reality, what else can I hold?"
"I can't hold anything, a real fist is... a real fist." Han Ruzi began to understand Luo Huanzhang's intentions.
"Scheming, deceitful, brave and ruthless means clenching a fist." Luo Huanzhang punched out. He is not a martial artist, and this punch has no momentum. The king of Chen also used his fists, but he clenched his fists even tighter. However, once the two kings of Zhuang and Chen were defeated, they would fall like a mountain. Although Taizu was defeated repeatedly, he always made a comeback because he knew how to loosen his fists. The people suffered from The law has been harsh for a long time, and Taizu's benevolence and righteousness are like nectar after a long drought, so he won the hearts of the people."
"Minxin helped Taizu defeat the enemy?" Han Ruzi asked.
Luo Huanzhang shook his head, "The people feel at peace and do not want to fight. Taizu has to rely on his own ability to defeat a powerful enemy, but when Taizu was defeated, the hearts of the people in the rear were not disturbed. Wherever Taizu went, the city gates were opened, and food and grass arrived. , often can form an army again in ten months. King Chen claims to be able to support soldiers and attach himself to the masses, and there are many suicides and martyrs, but no people are willing to restore Qi. In the battle of destroying Qi, Chu attacked its south, Zhao attacked its north, and King Zhuang Before the soldiers arrived, the people supported the old and brought the young, and ran south to Chu, all because of Taizu's way of benevolence and righteousness."
Han Ruzi murmured: "The Taizu was good at running away because he had somewhere to run to. Doing benevolence and righteousness is not for the sake of a temporary victory, but to pave the way for the future. Some people can't help you fight, but they can save you when you are in danger." Life……"
Luo Huanzhang frowned, "Who taught His Majesty these things? How can you be so disrespectful to Taizu?"
"Master Luo, forgive me, I have been out of education since I was a child, and it is rare to hear the words of sages, so sometimes I talk nonsense." Han Ruzi hurriedly controlled his mouth.
Luo Huanzhang didn't ask any more questions, but the King of Donghai stared at the emperor a few more times, obviously not believing his words.
This class was much more tiring than usual, Han Ruzi had no chance to meditate at all, Luo Huanzhang was like an experienced animal trainer, he could easily control every move of the beast.
After Luo Huanzhang resigned, the King of Donghai said to the emperor: "The hard life has just begun, enjoy it."
Han Ruzi didn't feel bitter, but benefited a lot, but he also had more doubts in his heart, and he could only ask Yang Feng about these doubts.
The martial arts in the afternoon was relatively dull. Meng Che talked more than moved, and he was a little perfunctory. The attendants didn't care. They had a good time catching and competing. No one dared to fight the emperor, so Han Ruzi moved his legs and looked at Meng E in the corner several times, wanting to talk to her, but he couldn't find a suitable opportunity.
Yang Feng didn't come that night. He was always busy, serving the emperor in name, but he was not there most of the time, and he didn't know where to "blaze the way" for the emperor.
Suffering from insomnia for several nights in a row, Han Ruzi finally couldn't hold on, and soon fell into a deep sleep. He was in a deep sleep, and was woken up by a shaking.
There was darkness in front of him, and Han Ruzi vaguely saw someone beside the bed, who looked like a maid serving him, "Ah? What's the matter?"
"Do you want to learn real martial arts?"
Han Ruzi suddenly woke up and sat up.
Yang Feng reminded him that the first person to contact the emperor must have ulterior motives, and Han Ruzi would never have imagined that this person would be Meng E.
(seeking collection and recommendation)