Chapter 20 Benevolence and Righteousness
Yang Feng told the emperor two passages of the founding period of Taizu for reference.
The last emperor of the previous dynasty was licentious and cruel, and even the world was in chaos. Many heroes rose up, and countless people fought for the victory, attacking and annexing each other. In the end, the three most important forces remained. The Great Chu established by Taizu was only one of them, and there were two evenly matched opponents.
The Zhao Kingdom in the north was founded by Zhuang Chui. Like Taizu Han Fu, Zhuang Chui was also a hero, became famous earlier and had a much higher status. He was famous for his grandfather's generation. By his generation, almost all men in the family regarded him as a hero. Zhuang Chui was the most famous and was called "the No. 1 hero in Jiangbei".
During Taizu's escape, he was also a guest of honor for the merchant. He had a great time talking with Zhuang Chui and became close friends, but he turned against each other when he was fighting for the world.
If you are selfish and ruthless, Zhuang Chui is even better than Taizu. He has a simple and rough rule: no matter who has received the help of the dealer, even if it is indirect, it is owed the dealer a debt. The debt must be repaid with principal and interest, and sometimes it must be paid for life.
Even though the rules are so harsh, Bei Zhao was the most powerful force at that time for a long time, attracting many heroes to join. The reason is very simple. The dealer is simply a nest for generals. He can lead troops to fight, and everyone would rather bear huge debts than follow the most promising master.
When the dust settled, everyone looked back and found that one of the most important reasons why King Zhuang was defeated was that there were too many children, which blocked the promotion path of other heroes.
Qi, which is now in rebellion, was also a powerful force back then. Unlike the two kings of Han and Zhuang, who were born in a hero, the king of Qi Chen Lun had a noble background and had ten ancestors as marquis. He had been in charge of Qi for hundreds of years. He had long been regarded as an uncrowned king by the local people. He was one of the earliest forces to be kings.
Taizu regarded his friends as swords, spared no effort when he used them, and abandoned them like clogs when he did not use them. King Zhuang regarded heroes as if they were owed debts, and always forced them to squeeze out all their value. Compared with these two, King Chen Lun of Qi was the real king, and his generals under his command were almost all children of aristocratic families. At least two generations of people served the Chen family. Heroes from other places defected to Qi, so they could only start with minor officials, and be promoted if they were wrong.
The failure of Qi was almost inevitable. King Chen was not very ambitious and wanted to occupy his hometown. Then, taking advantage of the battle between Chu and Zhao to expand slightly. As a result, when Taizu and King Zhuang fought hard, they gave up their past grudges and joined forces to attack Qi. It took only three months to completely destroy Qi.
Qi State has the most loyal ministers, and countless followers of King Chen to commit suicide. Strangely, many suicides are not from Qi State at all, but heroes from other places. They have not received much favor from Chen, and they have also followed them in batches or jumped over the wall.
In short, among the three kings, Taizu Han Fu was by no means the most selfish, nor was he the one who was best at winning over heroes. As a result, he won the world.
"Tomorrow, Your Majesty will welcome a new master. He will tell the history of the country. Please listen and think more." Yang Feng is a guide and does not object to students getting information from other places.
Han Ruzi spent another sleepless night. When he was attending the class the next morning, when King Donghai saw the emperor's swollen eyes, he asked in surprise: "What's wrong with you? It seems like you have a lot of trouble. You are the most leisurely emperor in the world."
"I just couldn't sleep." Han Ruzi smiled and said, curious about which old gentleman the new master would be today. The Empress Dowager would actually agree to teach the history of the country, which is a strange thing.
The new master came, but he was not that old. He was in his forties, tall and thin, majestic, sharp eyes, and his narrow hooked nose pointed at the emperor like a knife.
"The grass man Luo Huanzhang bowed to Your Majesty." The new master had no privileges, so he had to perform a formal kneeling ceremony. What surprised Han Ruzi was that the usually domineering King Donghai actually avoided the seat and returned the ceremony, which was much more respectful than facing the emperor.
Luo Huanzhang called himself a "grass-minister", which means he had never been an official or a title. Han Ruzi remembered what King Donghai said and blurted out: "You are the King Donghai's master, right?"
Luo Huanzhang stood up, "Caomin once taught His Highness the King of Donghai for several years, but he was not knowledgeable and could not teach good disciples."
King Donghai blushed, lowered his head and said nothing, as if he was afraid of his master.
Han Ruzi became more and more puzzled. Although the Empress Dowager had reconciled with the Shangguan family, there was still competition. It was unreasonable that she actually summoned the master of King Donghai to the palace.
Maybe Yang Fenghui took this strange thing as a problem. Han Ruzi habitually began to think. Other masters turned a blind eye to the emperor's distractedness. Luo Huanzhang was not an ordinary person. He coughed and said, "Caomin was ordered to talk about the history of the country. Where does Your Majesty hope to start?"
When Han Ruzi was asked for advice for the first time, she was not used to it. She flipped through the books on the table, thought for a while, and said, "Taizu, I want to know why Taizu could win the world."
"Your Majesty is wise and the questions asked are very good."
King Donghai's face turned even redder. For some reason, in front of this commoner master, he was very honest and dared not say a word.
The eunuch brought a small stool, but Luo Huanzhang did not sit down, and stood and said, "The last emperor of the previous dynasty was debauchery, and the ministers were in chaos, so he lost his deer, and the heroes chased him. Taizu started as a commoner and flourished in the mountains and forests. Over the years, he eliminated violence and established a foundation for all generations. The reason was actually very simple."
The great scholar must have made a conclusion about the answer he had been thinking hard but couldn't get. Han Ruzi pricked up his ears, for fear of missing a word.
"Ren and righteousness." Luo Huanzhang spit out two words, solemnly like the ritual official singing blessings in the Taimiao.
"Can you say it in detail?" Han Ruzi was a little disappointed.
"What the previous dynasty lost was what Taizu gained. The previous dynasty regarded the people as slaves, and used harsh laws to lead them. Those who looked sideways were plucked their eyes, those who whispered their tongues, and those who whispered occasionally were beheaded. Taizu Longxing went against the way, and broke the law of the thief, established the way of benevolence and righteousness, saved the taxes and reduced the sentence, and rested with the people. In the past, Shang Tang went out and saw the arrested people, and the person said, "Those who fell from the sky, those who came out from the earth, those who came from the four directions all entered our nets." Shang Tang closed the nets on three sides, and only left one side, and said, "Those who wanted to leave left, those who wanted to right, those who wanted to go high, those who wanted to go down, those who wanted to go down, those who wanted to go down, those who wanted to go down, those who wanted to go down, those who wanted to go down, those who wanted to go down, those who wanted to go back, those who violated their orders came into our nets.' More than 40 countries said, "Tang's virtue was as good as animals." In this way, he went back. In this way, he set up a net on all sides and caught a bird on all sides, and the net was opened on three sides and gained all countries. Benevolence and righteousness were the nets on three sides."
Luo Huanzhang spoke generously, and the King of Donghai lowered his head, as if he was smirking. Han Ruzi seemed to understand and felt even more confused, "Taizu defeated King Zhuang and King Chen by benevolence?"
Luo Huanzhang's eyes became stern, and the sword-like nose made the emperor lower his head in a short while and reflect on what he said wrongly.
"Your Majesty must have heard some gossip, saying that Taizu was cruel and ruthless, and he won the world with his back on his trustworthiness?"
Han Ruzi didn't want to betray Yang Feng and nodded vaguely.
"Have someone ever told Your Majesty these things: the previous dynasty had millions of troops, and his ears and eyes were everywhere. When officials forced the people to rebel, all the heroes emerged. In just two years, the last emperor burned the palace and committed suicide, and his body died and his country was destroyed, which made the world laugh; the East Qi area was thousands of miles away, hundreds of cities, and the Chen family was a marquis for ten generations. It was said that it was deep and solid. When it arrived in Chu, Zhao attacked each other. In a few months, Qi fell, and more than 860 people were martyred by the King of Qi. The terrain of Northern Zhao was dangerous, and King Zhuang was unparalleled in the world, with thousands of powerful generals and 300,000 elite soldiers. Everyone fought against ten, trampled on the princes for nearly five years. Once defeated, he lost more than half of his spirits and was defeated again. He was in a daze and did not know where to come out. Three defeats, King Zhuang committed suicide by surrendering to Chu. The elite soldiers and generals were used by Taizu."
"I heard it a little." Han Ruzi said softly, understanding a little why the King of East China was so honest in front of Luo Huanzhang. This great scholar was not simple. He spoke like a thousand arrows were fired at once. The listener had no time to resist. Before he could understand what he said, he surrendered.
Luo Huanzhang slowed down his tone, stretched out his right hand, and slowly clenched his fist, "Your Majesty, please see, your hand is flexed, is it more secure to hold things?"
"certainly."
"Look at it again, your majesty, the fist has become solid, what else can you hold?"
"You can't hold anything, a solid fist is... a solid fist." Han Ruzi began to understand Luo Huanzhang's intention.
"The tricks and deceitfulness, and the courage and fighting are clenched." Luo Huanzhang punched him. He was not a martial artist, and this punch had no momentum. "The fist can hit people, but cannot be attached to people. Taizu can use fists, and King Zhuang and King Chen can also use fists, and they clench it tighter. But Zhuang and the two kings of Chen were defeated in one day, and although Taizu was defeated repeatedly, he could always make a comeback because Taizu understood the way of pine fists. The people have been suffering from harsh laws for a long time, and Taizu practiced benevolence and righteousness just like the sweet dew of drought for a long time, so it won the hearts of the people."
"The people's hearts helped Taizu defeat the enemy?" Han Ruzi asked.
Luo Huanzhang shook his head, "The people are at ease and do not want to fight. Taizu has to rely on his own abilities to defeat powerful enemies. However, when Taizu was defeated, the people in the rear remained undisturbed. Wherever Taizu went, the city gates were opened and food and grass were established, and they could often form another army within ten months. King Chen claimed that he could support the soldiers and support the masses, and there were many martyrs in suicide, but no people were willing to restore Qi. In the battle to destroy Qi, Chu attacked the south, Zhao attacked the north, and King Zhuang's troops had not arrived, and the people supported the elderly and the young, and rushed to Chu south, all because Taizu practiced the way of benevolence and righteousness."
Han Ruzi murmured: "Taizu escapes well because there is a place to escape. He practices kindness and righteousness not to fight for a temporary victory, but to pave the way for the future. Some people cannot help you fight, but can save your life in danger..."
Luo Huanzhang frowned, "Who taught His Majesty these things? How could he be so disrespectful to Taizu?"
"Thank you, Master Luo, I have been unscrupulous since I was a child and I rarely hear the words of sages, so I sometimes talk nonsense." Han Ruzi hurriedly controlled his mouth.
Luo Huanzhang didn't ask any more questions, but King Donghai stared at the emperor for a few more glances, obviously not convinced him.
This class is much more tiring than usual, and Han Ruzi has no chance to meditate. Luo Huanzhang is like an experienced beast trainer, who can easily control every move of a beast.
After Luo Huanzhang left, King Donghai said to the emperor: "The hard days have just begun, enjoy it."
Han Ruzi didn't feel bitter, but instead benefited a lot, but there were more doubts in her heart. She could only ask Yang Feng for these doubts.
The martial arts in the afternoon were relatively plain. Meng Che spoke more and moved less, and was a little perfunctory. The servants didn't care. They caught and competed and had a lot of fun. No one dared to fight with the emperor, so Han Ruzi moved his legs and feet by himself. He looked at Meng E in the corner several times, wanting to say something to her, but he couldn't find a suitable opportunity.
Yang Feng did not come that night. He was always busy and served the emperor in name, but in fact he was not present most of the time. He didn't know where to "open the way" for the emperor.
After several consecutive nights of insomnia, Han Ruzi finally couldn't hold on and soon fell asleep. She fell asleep deeply and was woken up by a shaking.
There was darkness in front of him. Han Ruzi vaguely saw someone at the head of the bed, like a palace maid serving him, "Ah? What's the matter?"
"Do you want to learn real martial arts?"
Han Ruzi suddenly woke up and sat up.
Yang Feng reminded him that the first person to take the initiative to contact the emperor must have ulterior motives. Han Ruzi never thought that this person would be Meng E.
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Chapter completed!