Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 125 A meeting between wind and cloud
In the following years,
He Bo often stayed in the land of Qi and Lu.
In addition to enjoying watching the excitement at the Jixia Academy and occasionally chatting with some people, he also took the opportunity to accommodate the Pu and Ji, two long-flowing branches of the Yellow River.

He even dived into the water and took advantage of the small tributaries that flowed into the sea, hoping to take the opportunity to get into the sea.

The result was a success.
When He Bo bravely went into the sea, he did not feel any obstacles at all. The treatment he enjoyed was completely different from that when he was in the Yellow River and Taihang Mountains.

But that's about it.

After He Borun went into the sea, he didn't feel anything at all. When he opened his eyes again, he had been refreshed back to his hometown in Zhangshui.

For this,

What else can He Bo say?
The sea is too deep.
He couldn't even take over the Yellow River, so he really couldn't control it.

I can only give up my ambition of becoming a sea king temporarily.

Outside Qi,

The disputes among the princes have not stopped.

The emperor has been in power for twenty-five years.
After rectifying Wei's internal affairs, Wei Houying attempted to take measures to prove to the world that Wei's "hegemony still exists."

In addition, after the Qin State's reforms, the national strength became increasingly powerful, so Wei Houying could no longer lie down and pretend that he didn't see it.

The whole Wei State,

They all asked Wei Houying to cheer up and get rid of the embarrassing situation of being sandwiched between Qi and Qin.

So in the 25th year of Emperor Zi Bian's reign, Wei Hou Ying convened a meeting in Fengze, intending to unite with other vassal states to attack Qin.

There were twelve princes, both large and small, who responded to him.

Qin Jun was very anxious because of this.

The domestic reform was at a critical juncture, and there were still obstacles from conservative officials in the country. If Wei State attacked with a large number of princes at this time, Qin State would find it difficult to cope with internal and external troubles.

Gan Long and others took the opportunity to advise the King of Qin, saying, "The drastic reform has caused unrest among the people. Now the enemy Wei is coming fiercely. It is better to suspend the reform, appease the people's hearts, and let everyone unite to defend against the powerful enemy."

But Shang Yang stood up and refuted them, "Reform is like fighting a war. The first blow is strong, the second is weak, and the third is exhausted."

"The reform has reached a critical juncture. If it is stopped, it will be difficult to restart it!"

"I know your worries, so I request to go to Wei to persuade the Duke of Wei to withdraw his troops!"

The King of Qin immediately stood up and rejected Shang Yang's request, "How can this be possible!"

He directly announced the end of the court, leaving only Shang Yang, holding his hand and saying worriedly, "Everyone in the world knows that you are the one who is in charge of the reform of Qin."

"After Qin became stronger through reforms, Wei Houying hated you even more!"

"If you go to Wei and are detained or killed by him, what will happen to me and Qin?"

"Don't take any risks! Once Wei leads the other princes to attack us, I will personally lead the army to meet the enemy!"

Green mountains, pines and cypresses,

The latter swaggers,
The former is heavy.

When danger comes, it is the strong and heavy nature that will take it on, rather than leaving the fragile pine and cypress to face the storm and be destroyed and bent.

these years,

This is true!

But Shang Yang still insisted, "This time Gan Long and others' opposition is not about Wei's attack on Qin, but about domestic reforms!"

"If I fail to stand up in time to defend the new law, how can the people understand my determination to reform the law?"

"Back in Liyang, I had someone move the wood to the north gate and rewarded him with a hundred gold coins to swear my attitude."

"Now, I should move this beam of wood to the State of Wei to show that my heart is not made of stone and cannot be turned!"

Qin Jun couldn't convince him.
So they could only walk to the river to see Shang Yang off.

When Shang Yang arrived in Wei,
Wei Houying really wanted to do something to him.

Although "two countries at war do not kill envoys",
But Shang Yang's existence caused too much damage to the State of Wei.

Wei Houying had regretted many times late at night that he did not listen to Gongshu Cuo's advice.

but,

Shang Yang was an envoy from the State of Qin.
Although the Wei State had successfully held the alliance at this time, it had not yet officially sent out its troops, so it was not the time to fall out.

Therefore, Wei Houying still received him instead of letting Shang Yang suddenly "die of illness" on the land of Wei.

"Shang Jun, this time you finally ascend to my throne!"

When he met Shang Yang, Wei Houying could not help but sneer at him, saying that the other party had been in Wei for many years but had not been appointed by him to obtain an official position.

Shang Yang remained calm.

Anyway, he had no intention of serving in the State of Wei back then.

He just bowed respectfully to Wei Houying.

Wei Houying was stunned by the profound respect.

Then Shang Yang said, "Qin was terrified when it saw the might of the Marquis of Wei at the meeting of the princes at Fengze, so it sent me to express its submission to the Marquis of Wei."

When Wei Houying heard his confidant praising him like this, he couldn't help but feel happy.

But he still pretended to be alert, "Are you serious?"

"Yes!" Shang Yang lowered his head, trying to look docile and gentle. "If you are not sincere, why did you let me come?"

He was the host of the reform.
If something goes wrong,
Shang Yang will become the second Wu Qi, and the State of Qin will become the second State of Chu.

Wei Houying therefore believed it to be true.

Shang Yang took the opportunity to strengthen him and paid homage to him, "Wei has dominated the world for many years, and now it can also hold an alliance with the princes and make Qin tremble."

"With such strength, he is only listed as a vassal. It is really not worthy of you."

"The Zhou Dynasty has lost the Mandate of Heaven, and this is known to everyone in the world; the Wei State has the power to possess the Nine Cauldrons, and this is also known to everyone in the world."

"So why didn't the Marquis of Wei declare himself king to show how powerful the State of Wei was?"

Wei Houying was so delighted by what he said that she couldn't help but think:
Yes,

Why can't I be king?

At that time, Wei was only a minister in Jin State, but later he became a prince.

Now the State of Wei has passed into my hands,

It’s also possible to go a step further!

So, under the temptation of Shang Yang's words, Wei Houying suddenly announced:
"I am going to be king!" Once this news spread, the shock it caused was even more severe than the incident decades ago when the three families divided Jin and the Tian family replaced Qi!
After all, before this, many scholars and retainers had replaced their superiors and achieved class transition.

So when the doctors became princes, everyone was already used to it.

But this time, he became the "king".

king,
The emperor!
If the State of Wei wanted to become the king, wasn't that just a sign of raising the flag to become the new emperor and rule over all the princes in the world?

This situation is even worse than when the State of Chu sought to establish itself as a hegemon in the Spring and Autumn Period!
In the past, when there were princes who wanted to dominate the world, they just wanted to be the boss of everyone.

The other princes could not defeat the overlord, but they endured it because the overlord would not seize their own country.

Now I am king,

That means being someone's father!
How can you bear this!

Everyone was in a brainstorm over Wei's move, which lasted for a long time.

Mencius, who was traveling around giving lectures, decided to rush to the State of Wei overnight to dissuade the Duke of Wei from his "treasonous" act.

Hui Shi, who was serving as a county magistrate in Wei, slammed the table and stood up, announcing, "This is a conspiracy by Qin. Wei will become the target of public criticism because of this!"

Then he immediately rushed to Daliang, hoping to make the king sober up.

In order to play the whole play, Shang Yang deliberately stayed in Daliang, constantly boasting about his "heroic power and strength" to Wei Houying. The Qin State, which had carried out two reforms, had to submit to Wei.

When He Bo heard about this, he immediately poked his head out of the Pu River and asked Zhuang Zhou who was fishing, "Something big is happening!"

"Are you going to Daliang?"

Zhuang Zhou at this time,

I'm married, have kids, and am a mature adult.

He has found his own path, called "escaping from the world and living a carefree life".

So Zhuangzi rejected He Bo's invitation, "No!"

"What does the meat-eaters' business have to do with me?"

The King of Chu sent people to invite him to be an official, but he refused. Why is he willing to go to Daliang and wade into such muddy water now?
But He Bo said, "Hui Shi did it too!"

Zhuangzi remained unmoved, "Whether others do it or not is none of my business!"

"It has something to do with me!" He Bo told him frankly, "I want to see you guys quarrel!"

There were many people quarreling in the Jixia Academy, and the quarrels were frequent, and they would often get into fights, but in terms of level, they were definitely not as good as those of Zhuang, Hui, Meng, and Shang.

And after so many years,
He Bo has been letting these young scholars go, hoping that when their "Tao" matures, they can get together for a big fight.

Now that Wei Houying has created such a good opportunity, how could He Bo not be distracted!

Zhuangzi lay down on the grass on the bank with his legs crossed. "Daliang is so far away. How can I go there to argue with others?"

He Bo said, "What if I could take you there and back overnight?"

"No, I don't want to argue with others about meaningless things."

So He Bo threatened him, "Then give me back my money!"

A few years ago,
Zhuang Zhou reached the age to get married, but because he was too casual in his daily life and repeatedly rejected invitations from nobles, he could not save any money. In the end, it was He Bo who paid for him to start a family.

"……well!"

Hearing this, Zhuangzi stood up and sighed helplessly, "I knew at the beginning that if I took your money, I would definitely suffer because of you in the future!"

"I'm going to borrow a carriage and go to Daliang now, okay?"

I have married a wife.
The child was born.
It is impossible for Zhuangzi to go back.

He Bo laughed and grabbed Zhuang Zhou and brought him to the boat where he was.

"I told you, I went back and forth between Song and Wei overnight!"

"Why would you need to borrow a carriage?"

As his voice fell,

The boat moved without wind and began to speed across the Pu River.

Zhuang Zhou sat on the boat, watching this scene in surprise, but soon calmed down.

He Bo had only just revealed his identity to him, but he failed to scare him, so he folded his hands and asked him, "Why aren't you surprised?"

"Shouldn't you be curious about my identity?"

Zhuang Zhou said, "Since you often brought me manuscripts from the Jixia Academy and talked to me about the affairs of other countries, I have doubted your identity!"

“Now it’s just been verified!”

No matter how well-informed you are,
It is also impossible to tell He Bo what happened yesterday today like I did.

What's more, while He Bo was watching the people discussing Taoism at the Jixia Academy, he also did not forget to share with Zhuang Zhou "what the people in Jixia Academy were arguing about today".

Who made Shang Yang busy with reforms?

Hui Shi was busy being an official.

Mencius was busy giving lectures.

Is it possible that Zhuang Zhou is the only one who has nothing to do and can be harassed by him?

Zhuang Zhou was a dreamer with an open mind. When he noticed something unusual, he immediately thought of ghosts and gods.

He Bo could only sigh, "Smart people are hard to fool!"

Zhuang Zhou blinked and suddenly smiled, "It's okay, Hui Shi definitely doesn't know your identity!"

"You can go and scare him!"

He Bo remembered that Hui Shi was a person who easily got angry, so he looked forward to how he would look when he saw him.

of course,

As the boats rushed to Daliang,
He Bo also did not forget to send a dream to Zhuang Zhou's wives, telling them that her lover who loved fishing was just taken to Daliang by ghosts and gods to discuss Taoism, and was not dragged down by the big fish in the river to make a nest, so they should not panic.

"I'm considerate!"

The dream is over.

He Bo did not forget to proudly take credit from Zhuang Zhou.

Zhuang Zhou did not say anything.
Because after the boat entered the river, it began to shake violently for no apparent reason.
He was too busy being seasick and vomiting!
Ugh!
Pirate ship!

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(End of this chapter)