Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 121: Two or Three Sons

Confucian scholars,

It's a strange group.

They emphasized literature and required people to be "gentle and refined", but at the same time they also required people to be proficient in the six arts of a gentleman and to be good at using weapons to debate with others.

They followed the teachings of the ancient sage Confucius, respected Zhou rituals, and pursued benevolence.

It’s just that because Confucian scholars are too good at debate and fighting, their discussions on the wisdom of the ancients among themselves or with other schools of thought become extremely fierce.

But,
Then hit!
I can't win alone.

Then gather the wise men!

After a long period of fighting and bickering, the Confucian scholar who is recognized and stands out will be respected as a "great Confucian scholar".

When a great scholar is born, he will attract followers from nearby Confucian scholars, and then the great scholar will follow the example of the sage Confucius and begin to travel around the countries.

Mencius, who has been revered by some as "Mencius",

He is a young and talented scholar!
His enlightenment was completed under the guidance of Confucius' grandson Simenren.

When you become an adult,

Mencius heard that the Jixia Academy in Qi State was gathering scholars to give lectures and discuss philosophy, so he went from Lu State to Qi State, and there he came into contact with the ideas of the Gongyang School, a branch of Confucianism.

He debated with the followers of the Gongyang School.

Although Gong Yanggao's grandson Gong Yanggan had the blessing of three generations of family learning, he was unable to defeat Mencius, who was only in his twenties.

And because Mencius was young, he was unable to completely convince Gong Yanggan.

Finally, both sides decided to adopt the traditional Confucian debate method:

Come!
war!
Meng Ke was proficient in the six arts, while Gong Yang Gan was slightly older, so the former won.

The latter felt that there was a need for successors to Confucianism, so he generously funded Mencius, allowing him to travel around and give lectures.

When the Duke of Qi heard about this, he waved his hand and allowed Mencius to spread the power of benevolence and righteousness and increase it.

When Mencius boarded the carriage, someone asked him, "What will you preach when you travel around the world?"

Mencius said, "Confucius has already talked about benevolence, and the ritual and music system of the ancient kings is what Confucians must learn."

"My wisdom is not as good as Confucius, and my virtue is not as good as Zhou Gong, who established the rites and music, so I plan to preach the truth about 'righteousness' to the world."

"What is 'righteousness'?"

"It's the conscience of man."

Mencius said, "The world is becoming more and more turbulent. The princes are becoming more and more brutal in their pursuit of their own selfish interests, causing more and more harm to the common people."

"The reason why I emphasize 'righteousness' is that I hope to arouse everyone's pursuit of kindness and love in their hearts, so as to reduce the harm caused by this chaotic world to the world."

The man then said, "Well, it seems you have found your way!"

"Since you are young, I hope you can continue on this path!"

Mencius certainly accepted this blessing.

then,

He came to the State of Song.

Seeing that he was coming with great momentum, the King of Song received him reluctantly and listened to Mencius's long speech on the principle of "righteousness".

afterwards,

Song Junzihan complained to his confidant, "This man is too naive!"

"The world is in such a mess, everyone is chasing profit, but he is talking about giving up profit for righteousness!"

"Can the broken morality of the world be restored and rebuilt just by his propaganda?"

If the other party had not outnumbered them and his own reputation was not good to begin with, and he could not easily offend such an eloquent Confucian scholar, the King of Song would have simply ordered Mencius to be driven out!
The confidant smiled and said, "If he can persuade the king of a great country to do justice instead of profit, it will be a good thing for Song State!"

Song Jun thought about it and felt that it made sense.

After all, if big countries become benevolent and righteous, they will no longer bully small countries.

Thinking of this, the King of Song became more friendly towards Meng Ke and sent him out of the border with gifts.

Zhuang Zhou and his friend Hui Shi happened to pass by and witnessed the spectacular scene of hundreds of Mencius' disciples and ten chariots.

Hui Shi immediately said, "A real man should be like this!"

"I want to become a local celebrity and be treated with respect by the monarch!"

Zhuang Zhou glanced at him and said, "Aren't you planning to go to Wei to seek an official position?"

"With your talent, it shouldn't be a big deal to gain the attention of the Marquis of Wei!"

Hui Shi laughed and said, "Although I have confidence in my ability, how can I make a conclusion when I haven't got the official position yet?"

"But since you said so, I will go to Wei State as soon as possible and become a high official!" Meng Ke of Zhu State,
Although he is about the same age as them, he has already received preferential treatment from the princes.

If you don't seize the opportunity to show yourself,
Doesn’t this mean that you are not as good as the other person?
Hui Shi, who has been smart and competitive since childhood, cannot just bow his head like this!

"Oh!"

Zhuang Zhou casually agreed, picked up his fishing rod and went fishing.

"Are you going to fish in the Pu River again?"

"Correct!"

"Then I'll go with you, so that we won't miss each other for many years!"

"..."

Zhuang Zhou shuddered in his heart and expressed to Hui Shi an expression that said, "You really make me sick."

But he still didn't refuse.

The two friends who were about to part walked to the bank of the Pu River.
Zhuang Zhou put down the bait,

Hui Shi was watching nearby and couldn't keep quiet.

"When I first met you, you liked fishing by the Pu River, but I never saw you catch many fish. I really don't know why you are so obsessed with this."

When Zhuang Zhou heard this, he couldn't help but recall the fish he encountered when he was young, which still amazed him to this day.

Then he told Hui Shi, "You don't understand. You can't even swim!"

The two met,
It was because Hui Shi accidentally fell into the water and was floundering in the water, quacking like a duck, that he was pulled up by Zhuang Zhou who happened to be fishing nearby.

"Humph!"

"You can swim, you are so noble!"

Hui Shi waved his sleeves, ran to the bridge next to him, and admired the scenery on both sides of the river.

There are fish swimming under the bridge.

Hui Shi couldn't stop talking, so he said, "What a happy group of fish!"

"When I become an official of the State of Wei, I'm afraid I won't be able to be as happy as they are!"

Zhuang Zhou quietly moved the fishing rod towards where the fish appeared without saying a word.

Hui Shi stood on the bridge and laughed at his behavior, but said to Zhuang Zhou, "Why don't you say anything?"

"According to your personality, you should refute me!"

Zhuang Zhou was good at debate.

Hui Shi was also good at debate.
After the two became friends, they often bickered and even had a quarrel, which scared others into thinking that they were going to break up. But a few days later, Zhuang Zhou and Hui Shi were seen traveling together again.

Zhuang Zhou was harassed by him and finally spoke up, "I am neither a fish nor you, so how can I know whether a fish is happy or not? How can I judge whether you know that a fish is happy or not?"

Hui Shi got the response he wanted, and patted the railing of the bridge with satisfaction, "Right, that's the way to say it!"

“But I still think the fish is happy!”

He put his hands behind his back, looking as if he had won the debate against Zhuang Zhou.

Seeing his smug look, Zhuang Zhou snorted, "You judge fish by human nature, be careful of the fish's revenge!"

"What's that?"

"I'm standing so high, is there any fish that can splash water on my face?"

"Let it out and show it to me!"

Hui Shi didn't believe it at all and thought Zhuang Zhou was joking.

This guy,

When I was very young, I liked to fantasize about some mythical beasts and birds that did not exist in this world. I also said that there were fish in the Pu River that could understand human language and had a strong sense of revenge.

But Hui Shi also lived beside the Pu River, so how come he had never heard of such a thing?
Therefore,
These are all Zhuang Zhou’s dreams!

He put his hands behind his back, trying to walk slowly to Zhuang Zhou with the attitude of a winner, but suddenly a fish head emerged from the water.

"Pfft!"

A small but powerful stream of water suddenly hit his back, causing Hui Shi to fall to the ground with a cry of "Ouch".

Zhuang Zhou hurried to help him up, and then he saw that the big-headed fish that had successfully carried out the sneak attack looked like a human being, with a proud expression on its face, eating the snails it had sucked from the bottom of the water, and swimming away slowly.

snort!
He Bo, who happened to pass by, didn't expect that
There will be people who make such excessive demands.

But ghosts and gods are always kind-hearted, so it’s okay to fulfill his wish!

(End of this chapter)