Chapter 146: Lord, Lord, Minister

The old man smiled and said: "Oh, then eat quickly, I will try your bear paw tofu first."

He picked a mouthful of tofu and put it in the bowl. He picked it up and took a bite. The old man closed his eyes and savored the taste. Then he shook his head and sighed: "Is this still tofu? Tofu is already so delicious. Today I know why King Chu Cheng asked for burnt bear paws.

And died."

Su You said: "When King Chu Cheng came to the throne, he was benevolent, made good alliances with the princes, and paid tribute to the emperor. He expanded his territory thousands of miles in his life and destroyed the southern countries. He resisted Qi Huan and defeated Song Xiang. From then on, Chu State dominated the Central Plains. Important

If it wasn't because of the issue of heirs, if he was killed by his own son, he should be regarded as a wise king, right?"

The old man opened his eyes: "Killed my brother and came to power, and died at the hands of his executioners. The beginning and the end are echoes, so why is it so obvious?"

Su You's eyes widened, old man, how dare you say that! Your first sentence seems to be alluding to the current government!

Tang Yan quickly put down his chopsticks and handed over his hands: "Master Shan, Mingrun has not yet studied the Spring and Autumn Annals carefully, and he has not yet understood the way of the saints. I will teach him."

The old man smiled slightly: "A hot-blooded young man, when he read history books, his eyes were mostly on the king's hegemony. I was not the same when I was young? It doesn't matter. I will gradually understand the truth after reading it."

"Mingrun, please remember that no matter whether the emperor or his ministers act unfairly, even if they are tyrannical for a while, there will be backlash sooner or later, which will definitely bring far-reaching disasters to the country and themselves."

Su You agreed, but he understood correctness to mean that it was in line with the interests and values ​​of the majority of people.

But he didn't dare to say it again, otherwise he would definitely be criticized by the old man.

The old man added: "Among the Chu people, what I admire most is not their king, but a minister."

Su You raised his hand: "I know, Doctor Sanlu."

The old man shook his head: "No, the person I admire is called Wanquan."

Seeing that the two younger ones looked confused, Tang Yan explained with a smile: "Wanquan is a descendant of the Chu clan. He was famous in the annals of history because he criticized King Wen of Chu twice."

"During the reign of King Wen, when Mrs. Xihou returned to Ning and passed by the state of Cai, Cai Aihou's concubine performed a dance and called her aunt. Her words were frivolous, which angered Xihou."

"The State of Xi and the State of Cai have a military agreement. If one party receives troops, the other must send troops to help."

"So Xihou deliberately asked King Chu Wen to attack him, and when Cai Aihou sent troops to help, he turned against him and made Ji Xianwu a prisoner of the Chu army."

"When the captured Marquis of Cai learned the truth, he became furious and cursed the Marquis of Xi for his scheming and deceitful actions. King Wen saw that he could not stop cursing. When King Wen saw that he could not stop cursing, he set up an oil cauldron in anger and prepared to cook and kill the Marquis of Cai and sacrifice it to the Ancestral Temple."

"It is easy to kill a small Marquis of Cai, but his death will bring trouble to Chu State. Other princes are likely to unite to resist Chu State out of fear. In this way, Chu State's road to the Central Plains will be blocked.

More difficult.”

"The minister Huan Quan assessed the situation and felt that King Wen's move would do more harm than good. Although it could relieve the temporary hatred, it would put the Chu State into a situation where it was surrounded by enemies on all sides."

"So Huan Quan met King Wen of Chu and persuaded him: 'You can't kill Cai Hou! When the Chu Kingdom just entered the Central Plains, you killed the captured princes with such cruel methods. It is really difficult to make other princes surrender. If

We let him go and formed an alliance with Cai. We not only gained allies but also convinced other vassal states. Wouldn't we kill two birds with one stone?'"

"But King Wen couldn't get rid of his anger no matter what because Marquis Cai insulted him so much. Therefore, he refused to listen to Wan Quan's advice and insisted on cooking Marquis Cai to death."

"When Huan Quan saw that King Chu Wen was stubborn, he gritted his teeth, drew his sword and put it on King Chu Wen's neck. He said angrily: 'I would rather die with you than see you break your promise to the princes of the world!' King Chu Wen was frightened.

He was so distraught that he changed his words and said, 'I listen to you!' He quickly ordered people to remove the oil pan and let Marquis Cai go."

"Seeing that the oil pan was withdrawn and Cai Hou was pardoned, he threw down his knife and knelt on the ground, saying: 'It is a blessing for the Chu State that the king listens to the advice of his ministers. But those who coerce the king for his ministers are punishable by death.

'I asked King Wen to deal with him. King Wen knew that he had a straightforward temper and had no intention of blaming him. He said: 'I understand that you are loyal and I don't blame you. Forget it.'"

"But Wan Quan didn't feel it and said, 'Although the king pardoned me, how dare I pardon myself?' Before he finished speaking, he picked up his sword, cut off his own foot, and then reluctantly shouted in pain: 'Anyone who is rude to the king will be punished.

this!'"

"Wan Quan's move shocked everyone present. After King Wen came to his senses, he quickly sent someone to rescue Wan Quan. After that, King Wen enshrined the leg severed by Wan Quan in the Ancestral Temple as a warning that he would not accept remonstrance. Lian Wan Quan

To be loyal, he was given the post of Da Yan and put in charge of the gates of the capital of Ying."

Su You was dumbfounded. He had never heard of this story before. He was really fierce!

Zhang Zao on the other side was so frightened that he dropped his tofu. Isn’t it said that all scholars are literate? This kind of bloody brave is not much worse than General Mian Nirvana, right?

Tang Yan saw that the two young ones were shocked, and he was very satisfied with the effect, and continued: "In the fifteenth year of King Wen's reign, he conquered the country of Ba. He was shot in the cheek by an arrow from the Ba people, and fled back. He saw me with a fist on the city gate.

I went to the King of Chu and asked him about the victory or defeat. King Wen said he was defeated."

"So he blamed King Wen for the defeat and said: 'Since King Wu, the Chu army has been invincible in every battle. In the small country of Xiaoba, if the king himself failed to conquer it, wouldn't he be ridiculed by the princes?'"

"So Huan Quan refused to open the city and told King Wen that Ba and Huang were equally guilty. Only if King Wen could defeat Huang could he answer to the ancestral temple."

"King Wen was angry and turned his troops eastward. He defeated Huang Guo before returning to his army. On the way, he suffered an arrow wound again and died soon after."

"Ven Quan was buried at the funeral, and Du Ao, the eldest son of King Fuwen, succeeded to the throne. He then reported to the new king: 'I have offended the previous king twice. Even if the king does not punish me, how can I dare to live in shame? Please put the previous king underground!'

Then he killed himself with his sword and was buried in Qiao."

The old man nodded: "Qiao, it's the front yard of the underground palace."

"Every king, king and minister, has his own duties to guard."

"It is only natural that Huan Quan should remonstrate with you in such a fierce way and pay the due price afterwards."

"For example, since Zhou Gong deposed himself, he shouldn't have killed himself in the ancestral temple to give an explanation to his ancestors? This is the reason why I feel sorry for him."

"The monarch of the Song Dynasty promised to rule the world together with the scholar-bureaucrats. Since the scholar-bureaucrats should be treated differently, they should be held accountable if they fail to do so. Otherwise, how can they repay the king's deep kindness?"

"I heard that the current sage is thinking about yokan at night, but he thinks of the hardships of serving others, and endures it. If he is so self-denial, should the behavior of the scholar-officials match it?!"

The old man became more and more angry as he spoke: "But how did the scholar-bureaucrats of the Song Dynasty repay them?"

"With high-ranking officials and generous salaries, they are greedy for leisure and pleasure, and they engage in prostitution. Not only do they wantonly annex, they also hide their land and households, and embezzle the country!"

"I only ask you to be a wise king, but I am corrupt, derelict in my duties, harm the people, and abuse the government. Doesn't I have the appearance of a minister?! This is shameless!"

Su You hurriedly added a piece of tofu to the old man: "We will eat, sleep, and drink soup. The old man will drink the soup first...the fish soup will not taste good when it is cold."

Tang Yan concluded: "Therefore, Zuo Qiuming commented: "Ven Quan" can be said to love the king, and he will accept his punishment in the form of admonishment, but he will not forget to accept his kindness in punishment. This is the way to be a minister."

Su You felt something was wrong. Duke Zhou was a politician, while Huan Quan was more like an ordinary official.

Politicians are the spokespersons of a certain class and are constrained in every move they make.

Small officials represent themselves and can do things according to their own ideas. There is actually a big difference between them.

The old man tasted another piece of tofu, and most of his anger was gone. He said to Tang Yan: ""Spring and Autumn" and "Three Biography", Yantong, I will give you one year to let Mingrun understand it. In addition, you must learn "Yi" from me.

, "Li". As for "The Analects of Confucius" and "Mencius", their texts are clear and clear, so I asked him to study and understand on his own, and submit an article every three days, and just give him some advice depending on his depth of knowledge."

Su You was frightened when he heard this. What about the Thirteen Classics? This old man wants to read seven of them a year!

"Daozhang Zhang wants me to learn Chu Ci and Han Fu..."

The old man nodded: "Well, then sleep less for two hours every day, one hour for Chu Ci, and one hour for Han Fu. Wouldn't that solve the problem?"

Su You was stunned. Hey! Is this the solution you came up with for me?!

After dinner, they sent Tang Yan and Zhang Zao away. While it was still early in the morning, the old man asked Su You to take a piece of dried bamboo as a ruler.

The ruler was two fingers wide and half a foot long. Su was skilled in drying oil and made it quickly. He also polished it until it was smooth. He proudly said to the old man: "Mr. Long, don't you think I made it beautifully? I have another way.
Chapter completed!