Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 99 Argument
In the spring of the second year of Emperor Zixi's reign,

He Bo felt guilty and gave his men some time off.

He distributed the extra official duties to other ghost officials, and took Ximen Bao, Xi and Ji Wu, a few of his favorite subordinates, on an outing to the banks of the Zhang River.

The ghost and the three dead ghosts first went for a walk and enjoyed the scenery for a while, then He Bo slapped his thigh and suggested having a picnic.

Ximen Bao said, "A dead ghost has no body, how can it eat?"

"Besides, we don't have any ingredients on hand."

He Bo waved his hand and said, "It's okay. There are mountains and water here. We can fish and hunt and get food!"

"And this place is very close to Feicheng. We can take what we make to the city and sell it for others to eat!"

As for how it sells,

It's completely up to fate.

After all, it was just a whim of the leader, who wanted to experience some worldly life.

Can I eat it?

Who will eat?
He Bo didn't care much about it.

Ximen Bao and his men had no choice but to agree to the ghost's proposal.

What else can they say in the face of such willful ghosts and gods?

So He Bo waved his hand and said excitedly, "Listen carefully, I will make the following arrangements -

I like to go fishing.

Simon the Leopard went hunting,

Ji Wu went to sell it.
I'll grill the meat!"

The dead ghosts did as they were told.

Then I was so happy that I didn't catch any fish.

Ximen Bao only had experience in hunting wild men and barbarians.
Ji Wu went to the city with a stern face, wanting to occupy a stall with a large flow of people in advance, but because of his fierce appearance, people stayed away from him.
He Bo stood there in a daze with empty hands.

"I think it would be better to adjust the arrangements!"

After a moment of inactivity, the ghost issued a new order:
"Simon Bao went fishing.
Ji Wu went hunting.
Xilai BBQ,

I'm going to the city to sell them!"

The dead ghosts were obedient again.

Ximen Bao had fed the witch in the Zhang River, so he caught fish repeatedly;

When Ji Wu was still alive, he had a lot of experience in surviving in the wild and had caught a lot of prey;
He likes to work hard and conscientiously, grilling the meat skewers until they are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside;

The ghost then returned to his original form, walked around the city looking for a stall, and finally returned with a bunch of fruits and flowers.

Under the wise leadership of the spirits,
Everyone has a bright future.

"It's just intentional!"

Ji Wu smelled the aroma of the barbecue, but he couldn't eat it, so he couldn't help but say to Xi.

Xi is used to it, he said, "Understand, accept!"

He Bo pretended that he couldn't hear and ate face to face with Ximen Bao.

Because they used Tubo's facial features, they looked like a pair of brothers.

But one is old and has little hair, and the other is heroic and dignified.

The old man holds a fruit and sighs,

Yingwu grabbed a few fruits with a smile and tried to roast them.

The breeze is blowing gently by the river.

The aroma of fireworks drifted far away,

It attracted passers-by.

Gongsun Yang, who came from Wei State, planned to study in Hedong County of Wei State.

Because the capital of Wei State was there, Li Kui also carried out reforms there.

The old images that Gongsun Yang was looking for were mostly left there.

But Wei was to the east of Wei. If one wanted to get there, one had to cross the river and then pass through Wei's Dongjun, Zhao, and Han.

So Gongsun Yang packed his bags and left his hometown, first taking a boat down the river, and then going upstream along the Zhang River.

After all, I heard from many people that this river is blessed by ghosts and gods, and the water flow has always been stable.

Although summer floods and winter droughts are still inevitable, incidents of ships being overturned and people being drowned due to wind and waves are basically extinct.

The cities along the river also lived a relatively stable life thanks to the river.

Gongsun Yang came here, hoping to go west along the Zhang River to Hedong in the Wei State.

On the way,

He saw some people playing and roasting meat by the Zhang River, and he couldn't help feeling a little hungry.

Gongsun Yang then walked over, and his servants followed him.

He called out, attracting the other party's attention, then he took out money in one hand and held out the other, indicating an exchange.

He said, "Give me the kebab."

Upon hearing this, the dead ghosts looked at the ghost, waiting for his response.

He Bo was too lazy to move, so he just sat there and replied, "If you want it, you have to come and get it yourself."

So Gongsun Yang took two steps forward, took the skewers and put the money down.

He Bo took the money and gave a fruit to the boy who suddenly arrived.

The other person took it, took a bite, and then frowned with sourness.

He Bo then held his stomach and started laughing, inviting the other party to sit down with him.

The servants stood behind Gongsun Yang, serving quietly.

He Bo asked Gongsun Yang, "Where are you from?"

"From Weiguo."

"Where are we going along the Zhang River?"

"Go to Hedong County of Wei State."

"Where are you going?"

"Learn the wisdom of the ancient sages and seek ways to reform and strengthen the country."

He Bo said "Oh" and then stroked his beard and praised, "You actually have such an ambition, it's really precious!"

At a young age,

I know the law has changed.

This is much smarter than Wei Houji who is trying to reverse the course of Wei State.

These few years,
As Wei Hou Ji grew older and more stubborn, few common people from the Hexi School were given important positions.

In the court of Wei State, the number of nobles and dukes increased.

In addition, in order to preserve his own position, Prime Minister Gongshu Zhuo secretly excluded talented ministers, making the court of Wei increasingly chaotic.

The hegemony of Wei State was no longer glorious, but rather showed a bit of decadence and dejection.

This made Ximen Bao, who had experienced the era of Wenhou's "only talents are employed", sigh.

Fortunately,

He is dead.
With a new monarch to assist, there is no need to worry or grieve about the future of Wei anymore.

He also repeatedly advised the gods and ghosts to give mortals choices and not to interfere too much.

Mortals must learn lessons from all kinds of bad things in order to grow stronger and wiser.

Now I'm a ghost.
How can it be possible that “what comes from you will return to you”?

"What's your name?" After Gongsun Yang finished the one in his hand, He Bo handed him another string and asked.

"I am a member of the royal family of Wei State, and my name is Yang."

According to the current usage, after a young man leaves the State of Wei, he can be directly called "Wei Yang."

He Bo felt that the name sounded familiar.

But there are too many people with the same name in this world, and He Bo can't tell who is who for a moment.

For example,
The current Zhou emperor, who has only been on the throne for two years, is also called Xi.

There is a huge difference between Tianzixi and Laoguixi.

I thought about it for a while but couldn't figure it out.
He Bo gave up thinking and continued to greet the young man he had just met, "Are you going to learn the wisdom of Bu Zi?"

Buzi,

It is the respectful name given to Zixia, who founded the Hexi School.

Because Zixia's surname was Si and his clan name was Bu.

The Hexi School respected Zixia's teachings and did not emphasize "self-discipline and restoration of propriety", but rather "applying knowledge to the world".

The famous saying "If you are good at being an official, you should study; if you are good at studying, you should be an official" came from Zixia.

Also, because Li Kui and Wu Qi, who had examples of reform at this time, were both students of Zixia, if people wanted to seek the mystery of reform, they should study the words and deeds left by Zixia.

As a result, Wei Yang said, "Maybe, but I think the strength of the reforms of the Confucian scholars of the Bu family is still a little weak."

He Bo blinked, confused, "Huh?"

Are Zixia’s various proposals weak?
Among Confucius' many students, Zixia was quite an odd one.

He was a gloomy and brave man. He was too lazy to associate with people who were not beneficial to him. This made Confucius a little impatient. When he was old, he still held Zixia's hand and told him, "Zixia, you must be more kind and righteous in the future. Be a gentleman, not a villain!"

Zixia naturally agreed.

Then the Hexi School he founded helped the Wei family spread benevolence and righteousness everywhere, and even went so far as to divide the Jin Dynasty and attack the Zhou rituals.

"So what do you think?"

After Wei Yang made his heroic speech, He Bo straightened his posture and asked him.

As a disciple of the Hexi School, Ximen Bao couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and look at Wei Yang, to see what shocking words this kid could say.

What level?
How dare you say that my school is no good?

Wei Yang was not at all nervous. He pondered for a while, then said, "The world today has changed a lot compared to the past thirty years!"

“Before the Three Kingdoms divided Jin, although the Jin Dynasty was in decline and the Zhou Dynasty was powerless, on the surface, they were still able to retain their respect.”

"However, after the establishment of the Three Families, the Zhou Emperor was unable to protect the country with the same surname, which has proved that rituals and music have completely lost their ability to restrain the world!"

The three families had originally oppressed Duke Kang of Qi and had gone directly to Luoyi, threatening the Zhou emperor to recognize their status.

The first princes to be enfeoffed in the State of Jin were the sons of King Wu and the brothers of King Cheng. They were of noble status and close to the emperor.

Duke Kang of Qi was the descendant of Taigong Wang, who assisted in the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty. For hundreds of years, he had frequent marriages with the emperor and had a very close relationship with him.

The three companies’ practices at that time were:
It can be said that the emperor's face was thrown to the ground!
The Zhou emperor had no power to resist and could only clapped his hands, smiled and said "OK, OK, OK" on the side.

Therefore, when Qi Xiang Tian Heqiu was listed as a vassal, he was too lazy to send treasures to the Zhou emperor, but went directly to bribe the Marquis of Wei.

In recent years, the Zhou emperor has even fallen to the point of taking the treasures of Zhongshan and admitting the barbarians as part of the Chinese nation!

It's getting more and more miserable!
"Now that Zheng has been destroyed, it shows that the Zhou Dynasty has completely collapsed!"

Wei Yang was kneeling, frowning, clutching his knees, looking as if he was immersed in his own thoughts.

Beside him, He Bo quietly handed him a handkerchief and asked Wei Yang to wipe off the oil stains from the barbecue he had just eaten. "Your clothes are dirty."

Wei Yang was stunned for a moment, took it awkwardly, wiped his hands, pretended nothing had happened, and continued, "From this we can see that in the future, when the princes fight for hegemony over the world, the war will inevitably become more and more intense, and people's hearts will become more and more confused."

"There won't be much time left for countries to struggle."

"The Confucianism of the Bu family requires that officials must first gain the trust of the people before they can serve them."

"With such efficiency, how can we implement reforms faster and better and make the country stronger quickly?"

"The collapse of rituals and music is getting worse and worse, and when the sky falls, how many people will die because of it?"

"Therefore, I believe that in order to preserve the ancestral temple, a more swift and powerful reform must be carried out!"

“And the changes need to be extensive, not just in one or two areas!”

Xi and Jiwu, the two less cultured ones, nodded at the side, "That sounds reasonable!"

"The beast is about to pounce on us and eat us, how can we walk so slowly?"

Ximen Bao couldn't help but retort, "But if we don't let people know the significance of the decree and don't establish trust among the people, they will be even less willing to do it. How can we push the decree forward?"

Wei Yang insisted, "As long as the decree is beneficial to the country, then what's wrong with forcing them to do it?"

"If they won't obey at first, whip them!"

"Once they are willing to obey, give them some rewards to let them know the benefits of obedience."

"Then the whole country can run smoothly."

First, formulate policies that are beneficial to the country.
Then ask everyone to execute it.

If you don't obey, you will be beaten.
Obedience is rewarded.

Keep doing this.

Are you still worried that the country will not become strong?
When Ximen Bao heard this, he stood up and refuted him, "Using interests to drive the world, using whips to make people obey, this way of governing the country will not last long!"

"Only by clarifying the morality in people's hearts and distinguishing between good and evil can the world return to normal!"

After becoming a ghost official, the first thing he did was to sort out people's views on various things for Tu Bo, and according to moral concepts, formulate laws in the underworld to reward good and punish evil.

The longer I do this, the more I feel that if we want long-term stability in the world, we must attach importance to moral cultivation.

If morality no longer matters,

Then people's hearts turn evil,

Even if there are countless treasures in the boxes and countless weapons in hand, the world will only become more chaotic!

The nature of morality,
It is the recognized, invisible law summed up by people living in groups for a long time!

"But rituals and music are no longer effective, and morality can also change."

"If we try to rely on the ever-changing morality to formulate policies for governing the country, won't the policies change from day to day?"

"And saints are rare. There are too many mediocre, stupid, and fanciful people in the world. How can we assume that they are all moral?"

Wei Yang waved his hands excitedly.

He says:
"The farmer does not work hard to cultivate the land, but is greedy for wealth."

"The nobles lost their loyalty and became vassal lords."

“So capable sages and monarchs should reform the broken laws, establish a new order, strengthen their country, and prevent it from going to ruin!”

"Morality is not trustworthy. Only ruthless laws can maintain justice!"

Xihe and Jiwu were confused.

He Bo standing beside him seemed to be thinking about something.

This emphasizes the use of laws to govern the country, that people's hearts are sinister and cannot be trusted, and the name is also called "鞅"...

Could it be the wild young Shang Yang?
He Bo blinked, stood up and inserted himself between Ximen Bao and Wei Yang, an old man and a young man who were confronting each other.

"Sit down first!"

He Bo said to Ximen Bao.

Then he held Wei Yang down again and looked at his appearance carefully.

He Bo discovered that there was still some clarity between the boy's eyebrows, his eyes were bright and sharp, and his lips were pursed.

At first glance, he looks like a stubborn person.

If the other person grew a little older and grew a beard after suffering the beatings in the troubled times, he would appear even more stubborn.

In that case, it would not be much different from the image of Shang Yang that He Bo imagined.

(End of this chapter)