"Whether he knows or not is unknown at the moment. However, in my opinion, what we should do now is to ask Sanhuan to send troops together to put pressure on Gong Lianyang first and see how he will react!"
"In addition, Chengyi is an important city in the north of Lu State, so we must cut off the possibility of its connection with Qi State as much as possible!"
Confucius stood up and said:
"Well, what my benefactor said is true. I will go to see you now and let him make a decision as soon as possible!"
Confucius said goodbye and was about to leave, when Li Ran said again:
"Be sure to pay attention to Meng Sun's attitude! He may not see anything on the surface, but secretly, he may be suspected of supporting Gong Lianyang!"
Confucius replied:
"Well...Qiu will also pay more attention!"
Confucius didn't bother to entertain Li Ran, so he hurriedly went to see Lu Hou Song.
Fan Li said from the side:
"Sir, if Gong Liyang really rebels, the harm will not be as bad as Fei Yi or Li Yi, right?"
Li Ran sighed:
"It's hard to say. If Chengyi is too close to Qi, I'm afraid... Gong Liyang will make arrangements in advance and seek support from Qi! And now, Qi has Tianqi in power... It's really disturbing
Heart..."
"Tian Qi is now the leader of the secret gang, and he certainly cannot see the current situation in the Lu country. However, I don't know how he will act..."
Fan Li couldn't help but frowned when he heard this:
"Sir, should we find a way to stabilize Qi first?"
Li Ran nodded, but said helplessly:
"If there is a powerful Jin State, we can use its power to stabilize the situation, but now...in the Jin State, the East and the West are fighting. Zhao Yang is afraid that he has too much time to take care of himself. And the Qi State is now controlled by Tian Qi
, the key point is that the Marquis of Qi is old and ignorant, still trying to revive Duke Huan's hegemony, completely unaware that the power of Qi State is already in danger!"
"And Tian Qi will definitely encourage the Marquis of Qi to send troops to interfere with the Lu State on the pretext of restoring his hegemony."
When Fan Li heard this, he couldn't help but shook his head. Naturally, he was helpless:
"It is said that Fan Yang, as a secret agent, had intended to put his focus on the Qi State before his death. Therefore, during his lifetime, he did not hesitate to make the Jin State lose his trust as the Lord of the World. This cruel trick of his,
It is indeed extremely difficult to appoint Zhao Yang as his successor."
"But now, the Jin State is divided into factions within the country, and there is constant internal fighting. It is even more powerless externally. Fan Yang's move can be said to have sinister intentions!"
When Li Ran heard this, he couldn't help but nodded and said:
"Fan Yang, everything he does seems to be superficial, but in fact he has very deep intentions. Even I did not fully expect his intentions at the beginning. It is no wonder that Yang Hu fell into the trap.
out of his hands."
…
Besides, Confucius originally wanted to go directly to the palace, but then he thought about it and took a detour to the Meng Mansion first.
When Meng Sun He Ji learned of Confucius' sudden visit, he hurried out to greet him and saluted:
"Disciple has met your revered master!"
Confucius helped him stand up:
"Why don't you be too polite?"
Later, Meng Sun He Ji took Confucius into the hall and sat down, ordered his servants to bring some water, and said in confusion:
"Your honorable master came here unexpectedly, but I don't know what business you want to discuss?"
Confucius frowned and was playing with the water cup in his hand.
"Hey... Since He Ji asked this, I, the teacher, will stop being so reserved. Today, you and I are going to talk about some things as master and disciple. There are no other people here. I, the teacher, are speaking outright."
Meng Sunhe Ji said in fear:
"For your respected master to say this, it really makes your disciples feel at ease!"
From Confucius, he returned to Qufu at the invitation of Yang Hu, then opened a society in Xinglin to give lectures, and now serves as the chief disciple.
In fact, Confucius had always been lukewarm towards Meng Sun He Ji because of Duke Zhao of Lu. This once made Meng Sun He Ji somewhat troubled.
But now, Confucius was able to take the initiative to express his goodwill and put an end to the past feud, which really made Meng Sun Heji happy.
"Hey... Time really is not forgiving! When I first met He Ji, He Ji was just a four-foot-tall kid. In the blink of an eye, He Ji had grown up and became the head of the family.
"
"In the past, my father asked you to worship me as your master. At that time, you were still young and not familiar with the world. And since I followed my ancestors and ran away, I rarely met He Ji. Therefore, although there is a master and disciple between you and me,
In the name of being a teacher, he has not fulfilled his responsibilities as a master!"
"He Ji now still treats me as a teacher in the name of master, and I am deeply gratified to be my teacher!"
Meng Sunheji said:
"He Ji respects his father's legacy, but how can he not recognize the principle of respecting his master? I heard that my younger brother is currently following his master to teach me. In fact, what he did is what He Ji had in mind. It's a pity..."
Confucius waved his hand.
"As the head of the family, your affairs are complicated, and you need to take care of them both inside and outside. How can you have the leisure to study as a teacher? As the saying goes, 'If you study leisurely, you will become an official, and if you become an official, you will learn.'
In the future, when our country of Lu can achieve great stability, He Ji will study with his master at that time, and there is nothing wrong with you and me continuing the friendship between master and disciple!"
Meng Sunheji didn't know whether it was true or not, but he was wiping his tears with his sleeves:
"He Ji has no complaints if he can get the understanding from his respected master..."
After finishing his emotional words at the beginning, Confucius then asked seriously:
"However, I don't know if Gong Lianyang had any contact with He Ji not long ago?"
Hearing this, Meng Sunhe Ji was obviously startled, and then replied:
"There is indeed a letter, which means that we will act in accordance with the plan made by the monarch!"
When Confucius heard this, he sighed and said:
"But... as far as I know, after he returned, he deployed his troops there without any intention of falling into the city? Moreover, he also sent people to Qi State. I'm afraid his intentions were not as he said.
That’s it!”
Meng Sunhe Ji couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
"Could it be...could it be that he also has a disobedient heart? Wants to occupy the city and connect the Qi Kingdom?"
Confucius nodded firmly.
"I guess so!"
Meng Sunheji was thoughtful.
"Then what should we do according to the wishes of our respected master?"
Confucius stroked his beard.
"I will prepare for the division to report to Lord Ming and send troops to put some pressure on Gong Lianyang. Otherwise, if we wait until Gong Lianyang is fully prepared or even reaches an agreement with Qi, it will be too late!"
Meng Sunheji could not help but hesitate again:
"May I ask your honorable master, are all these messages accurate?"
Confucius replied without hesitation:
"Well...that's natural. Otherwise, why would my teacher come to you to discuss things first?"
Meng Sunheji could not help but smile bitterly:
"In that case, that disciple is willing to go with your respected master to meet with your Majesty and explain this matter!"
When Confucius heard this, he couldn't help but nodded.
Without saying a word, he took Meng Sun Heji with him, summoned Ji Sunsi and Shusun Zhouqiu, and together they went into the palace to meet the Marquis of Lu.