Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 126 Gathering
When Hui Shi rushed to Daliang in a dusty state, braving the possibility of being reprimanded and punished by the monarch,
He Bo had already arrived with his men, and also visited Shang Yang, who was still insisting on feeding Wei Houying with love potions.

Over the years,
Shang Yang had also seen He Bo's youthful appearance, so he naturally recognized him.

Because Wei Houying was obsessed with the dream of "becoming king" and actively demonstrated to the world that "stewing himself in an iron pot", Shang Yang was in a good mood.

He also greeted He Bo, "What are ghosts and gods doing here?"

"Are you trying to show a miracle to celebrate for the King of Wei?"

He Bo just snorted, "If I really performed a miracle, you would be worried to death!"

Wei Houying proclaimed himself king, but naturally he became the first one to be shot, which angered the princes of the world.

But if we add the miracles of gods and men, the meaning will be very different.

The sound of the phoenix in Mount Qishan announced the arrival of Ji Zhou's destiny.
What if, when Wei Houying was officially crowned as king, there was a sudden outcry of "Long live the king", making the princes of the world believe that he was truly "the one chosen by heaven", then what should we do?
Shang Yang just wanted to fool people, he didn't really want them to be supported by the people of the world.

Therefore, Shang Yang, whose lifeblood was being strangled by He Bo, could only respectfully welcome the person into his mansion.

He Bo therefore put his hands behind his back and smiled at him smugly, "The hateful whip that drove away the Qin people actually has such a docile side?"

Shang Yang immediately returned to his usual cold and hard expression, "Humph!"

"I have long said that there is no one way to govern the world."

"Actions and policies should change as circumstances change, just like water rises and falls with the height of the river. How can they remain unchanged forever?"

Zhuang Zhou, who was ignored, poked his head out from behind He Bo and said, "You are right, but after hearing about your identity and deeds, I feel that what you said is a little wrong."

If only ordinary people were making these comments,
Then Zhuang Zhou would agree with him,
Because this is in line with the Taoist concept of "nature".

But this was Shang Yang, who had already seized power in a country and was famous throughout the world. Knowing what Shang Yang had done, Zhuang Zhou did not dare to agree with him.

Although to some extent,

The Huang-Lao school, a branch of Taoism, is very close to Shang Yang's ideas. It requires people to follow nature like plants and trees, and do whatever the gods of heaven and earth tell them to do.

But the foundations are different after all.

Moreover, Zhuang Zhou was not from the Huang-Lao school.

He has already created his own school of thought and is on his way to becoming a great academic master.

When Shang Yang heard him talking, he just frowned and asked He Bo, "Who is this person?"

"I specially found this talent to debate with you!"

He Bo frankly stated his plan, rubbing his hands and revealing the expression of a bloodthirsty audience, "I've wanted to see this scene for a long time!"

Shang Yang didn't expect that
In order to divert conflicts and encourage Duke Wei to become king, he actually gave the ghosts and gods a chance to have fun.

Although in essence,

"The Duke of Wei proclaimed himself king" is a fun thing in itself.

But Shang Yang himself did not intend to be the protagonist.

His original plan was to "retire after success" and return to Qin to continue his reforms.

However, the ghosts and gods from Zhangshui used the same tricks they used back then, grabbed him, and refined him in an instant.

Shang Yang couldn't break free and had to accept it.

But he couldn't help but ask, "Are you doing this in a dream?"

"Yes!"

He Bo knew his worries and said, "Don't worry, I won't hinder your escape!"

When the Duke of Wei became king and saw the mess, he would definitely hold Shang Yang accountable.

By that time, if Shang Yang didn't run faster, he would have felt the power of "galloping horse" in advance.

Shang Yang was relieved and invited Zhuang Zhou to stay in his mansion temporarily.

As for He Bo?

He should be in the water.

And not in the city.

……

"Hui Shi, what are you doing here?"

When Wei Houying heard that an official had left his jurisdiction without permission and came to the capital to seek an audience with him, he was a little angry, but he still met with the other party.

Wei Houying still liked Hui Shi very much.

After all, Hui Shi was young and handsome, and he spoke very well. He was a real talent.

Hui Shi kowtowed on the ground and said, "I am here to congratulate you on becoming king!"

"Recently, a large bird with gorgeous feathers appeared in my administration. It makes a pleasant sound. Everyone went to admire it and believed that it was a good omen bestowed by God on the State of Wei!"

Wei Houying couldn't help but frown when she heard this, "Really?"

So looking at it this way,
Call yourself king,

It really is following the will of heaven and responding to the wishes of the people!
"If it's a good omen, why don't you bring the bird here?"

Hui Shi kowtowed again and told the king, "Because the big bird has been murdered!"

"It has beautiful feathers and sweet singing, which attracts many people to admire it. So the bad guys who sneaked in wanted to use its feathers to decorate their clothes."

"After only a short while of being famous, it was attacked by many criminals. Even though it had sharp claws and a long beak, and was protected by people who loved it, it was eventually captured and murdered!"

Wei Houying understood Hui Shi's "using birds to represent people" and slammed the table and said, "You are opposing my claim to the throne!"

"Does it seem to you that Wei is not worthy of ruling the world?"

Hui Shi said, "It's good to be a king, but it's dangerous to make yourself a target of public criticism!"

The Marquis of Wei was so angry that he drove Hui Shi out.

Now the news that he wants to be king has spread all over the world.
If it was suddenly cancelled, wouldn’t Wei Ying become a joke?
This is absolutely not okay!
Afterwards, Mencius arrived and asked to see the Marquis of Wei again.

When Wei Houying heard that it was the Confucian disciple who gave lectures under armed force, he didn't want to see him.

But Prime Minister Bai Gui advised him, "Mencius is a famous scholar in the world. If the king avoids meeting him, won't he be accused by the world of disrespecting wise men?"

Nowadays, all countries are carrying out reforms and recruiting wise men from all over the world to assist them.

Although the Wei State had a prosperous academic system due to the Hexi School and cultivated many talents, it did not reach the point where they were thrown around everywhere.

So the Duke of Wei had no choice but to meet Mencius.

When Mencius met the Marquis of Wei, he said directly, "The State of Wei is about to decline!"

"During the reign of Jie and Zhou, because they loved gorgeous clothes and delicious food, they collected beautiful jade and ivory to match them, which greatly damaged the country's strength."

"Thus, although they were the rulers of the world, people all went to pay tribute to King Tang of Shang and King Wen of Zhou, but were unwilling to pay tribute to Jie and Zhou."

"The Marquis of Wei doesn't have the strength to obtain the Mandate of Heaven like King Wu of Zhou, but he wants to wear the crown of the Son of Heaven. What's the difference between his behavior and that of Jie and Zhou?"

then,

Wei Houying drove them out again and was furious. "Jie and Zhou couldn't even save their own country, but I can lead Wei to defeat the surrounding princes. How can they compare with me?"

Mencius left and said to his disciples, "The collapse of order in the world has become very serious."

"Now the princes want to claim the title of king, and the last bit of Zhou rituals will be destroyed. How unjust this is!"

He was very sad.
Therefore, it was late at night before I could barely fall asleep, and I was still frowning in my dream.

When He Bo saw Mencius like this, he clapped his hands in front of him and said, "Hi, hi!"

After attracting Mencius' attention, He Bo asked him, "Mencius of Zhu, do you still remember me?"

Mencius naturally recognized him.

After all, He Bo's looks are rare in the world, and without his financial support, the time for me to start my education would be delayed.

There would be no chance to save more money later to use as travel expenses to Qi State.

Instead of going to Qi,
Where did he get the funding from the princes to arm himself and give lectures?
It's been a smooth journey.

We also want to thank the source.

So after recognizing He Bo, Mencius first bowed to him to show his gratitude, and then asked about the situation.

"What's going on here?"

He Bo briefly introduced the situation and said directly, "This is a dream!"

"I'm not a human either!"

"Let's go, we are short of one person, we are waiting for you!"

(End of this chapter)