So, the two walked forward together.

To be precise, the two springs were not in the Imperial City, but near the hills in the rear, surrounded by the Upper Forest Garden in the center, and the Imperial Palace was the only way to enter and exit.

The benevolent man is happy with the mountain, the wise man is happy with the water, therefore, the benevolent pulse is located on the flat land of the mountainside, after crossing the hill, you can see a quiet lake, and the center of the lake is the wisdom vein.

Under the leadership of the examiner, the scholars climbed the mountain together.

At this time, the sun is rising, the mountains and forests are cool and quiet, and everyone is stepping on the soft soil, going up along the winding path, with brisk steps and a happy mood.

Ren Wu and the two walked side by side.

Ren Zhen had the heart to befriend Wu Daosi and asked: "Kong Sheng once said that the benevolent person is happy with the mountain, and the wise person is happy with the water. Brother Wu thinks, what is the meaning of this? ”

Wu Daosi didn't think about it, and said loudly: "If you take it out of context and take it literally to mean that the benevolent like the mountains and the wise like the water, it is far from fallacious. The most holy means that the benevolent are like mountains, and the wise are like water. ”

Ren Zhen nodded. His point of view was right, and this little question really couldn't help but bother him.

Wu Daosi continued: "A wise man is a man who achieves reason and has no stagnation, like water, so he enjoys water. The benevolent person is content with righteousness and righteousness, and does not move, like the mountain, so the mountain is happy. The most holy is compared to mountains and rivers, which contains great wisdom, and the essence of benevolence and wisdom is in it. ”

Ren Zhen thoughtfully, "Brother Wu's insights are exquisite, just like those of his family teacher. I see that you are calm and calm, calm as a mountain, you should be majoring in benevolence, right? ”

He asked this question just now, but Wu Daosi avoided answering.

At this time, Wu Daosi shook his head and said in a low voice: "I think that benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faith, the lower five veins focus on self-cultivation and achieve good morals, which is useless for governing the country through the world. This is not the avenue that Wu pursues. ”

In other words, the Heaven and Earth Monarch is the teacher, and the upper five veins are the way to go. He has high aspirations and seems to be dismissive of benevolence.

Ren Zhen pondered and said: "Our Confucianism advocates benevolent government and people-oriented, which can be said to be the core concept. Why does Brother Wu think that Renmai cannot be used in the world? ”

When Wu Daosi heard this, he snorted lightly, his eyes playful, "The idea of benevolent government was put forward to the rulers in the court. Whether they are benevolent or unkind, it is all in their thoughts, how can the common people influence it? ”

Ren Zhen's face changed slightly, this person's words pointed directly at the court, and even the empress herself, although the point of view itself is correct, but it is not beneficial to his own safety.

Dare to speak openly in front of outsiders, isn't he afraid of being reported and denounced?

Wu Daosi glanced at him and said lightly: "A scholar in cloth clothes has a benevolent heart, but he can't govern the people, so he can only talk about it." If the court is cruel and unkind, no matter how proficient you are in benevolence, it will be useless! ”

Ren Zhen was silent.

The so-called poverty is good for oneself, and attainment is to help the world, in fact, it is expressing a kind of helplessness. Those who are knowledgeable may not be willing to help the world, and more people with lofty ideals are in a poor and difficult situation, even if they care about the community, they can only be alone.

Full of economy, good policy for governing the country, and useless?

Wu Daosi saw it in his eyes, thinking that he didn't know what he meant, he was playing the piano to the cow, laughed slightly, and was ready to leave him alone.

Ren Zhen strode up and said, "Listen to Brother Wu, the five veins can get people out of trouble and truly benefit all the people?" ”

Wu Daosi was indifferent and had no intention of continuing the conversation.

Seeing this, Ren Zhen could only change the topic first and lure away his chatterbox.

"Those in power may not all be mediocre, in my opinion, at least the family teacher is benevolent and wants to seek the well-being of the people of the Tang Dynasty. It's a pity that he is weak, and no matter how many good things he does, he will be said to be as black as a crow in the world......"

Wu Daosi's heart moved slightly, thinking of Ren Zhen's identity as the head apprentice of the Blowing Water Marquis, and his pace slowed down unconsciously.

"I don't know much about the respected teacher, but I only heard that he was a young man, had a master as a backer, and was prosperous in the court. As for his benevolent and righteous deeds, I will tell you the truth, and I am not afraid of offending you, what I have heard and heard is that he is crazy about accumulating money in the capital, and he is like a market, that's all. ”

Ren Zhen froze, he didn't expect his reputation to be so bad, and he was ridiculed in person, and hurriedly defended: "Shizun is rich in business, it is definitely not forcible robbery, it is not benevolent for the rich, he does serious business!" Didn't Brother Wu hear that he generously donated tens of millions of dollars to help the Tang Dynasty resist foreign invasion? ”

Wu Daosi blinked, but he didn't buy it, "Your master is a shrewd person, in my opinion, this is just his flattery and favor, and he first came to Chang'an to promote himself." It can only be regarded as speculation, and it is by no means worried about the country and the people. ”

He was suddenly angry and said unwillingly: "Then he has opened countless porridge farms outside the city with his financial resources, and rescued countless refugees in exile, all of which are also speculation?" Without the hard-earned money, what does he take to love the country and the people, and what to help the world! ”

Wu Daosi was speechless. It was an ironclad fact, and he couldn't refute it.

Ren Zhen was still angry, and said angrily: "Don't say anything else, if the chief examiner this time is not him, he doesn't have the determination and means to eliminate fraud, and he doesn't want to preside over the selection fair, hmph, I'm afraid you won't be qualified to say cool things here!" ”

Wu Daosi froze, bowed down to him, and said sincerely: "I am making a gaffe, blaspheming the character of the respected teacher, and I am willing to make amends to you." Indeed, I wouldn't be standing here now without him. ”

In the Japanese language test the day before, if Ren Zhen hadn't grabbed the pen and erased his rebellious remarks, he would not only not be able to pass the test at this time, but would have been imprisoned and his life would not be guaranteed.

Ren Zhen was angry and said puzzledly: "I don't understand, you have never had a holiday with your teacher, and he has not done a lot of evil and has a bad reputation, why do you have such a bad evaluation of him?" Is it wrong to be shrewd? ”

Wu Daosi turned around, looked at the dense forest under the mountain, and said with emotion: "The wise are widowed, and the benevolent abandon wisdom." It's never a good thing for those in power to be too shrewd. ”

Ren Zhen hadn't heard this sentence, and he was stunned for a while.

Wu Daosi was not in a hurry to follow the crowd, but walked slowly, explaining: "If a person is too clever to easily calculate others and use scheming means to achieve his goals, then he will often despise most simple and simple commoners, and thus lack reverence and benevolence. ”

Ren Zhen pondered this, the wise man is unkind, it seems to be the case.

He is extremely intelligent, and he is usually busy with deceit, and he inevitably despises those opponents who are kept in the dark. Moreover, he relied too much on his own wisdom and was wary of everything, so he rarely treated people honestly and cared for those who were weak.

"I'll admit that I don't know enough about Venerable Teachers. From his rumors, I can only infer that he is an unusually cunning conspirator who can play the powerful people of the entire capital. That's why I rejected it, worried that he also had this kind of contempt for sentient beings when dealing with political affairs. ”

The lack of benevolence and righteousness of those who are in power is a disaster for the society and a hardship for the people.

The empress and Yuan Benxi were too superstitious and resourceful, relying on insidious scheming and unscrupulous means, so in the process of stealing power, they concocted three unjust cases one after another, which made the Northern Tang Dynasty bloody and panicked. This is not just a widow, it is simply cruel.

These tragedies are obvious to all in the world, and Wu Daosi was born in Beihai, so he knows better.

After Ren Zhen won the favor of the saint and took charge of the court, Wu Daosi would inevitably think that he was also such a person. After all, a series of measures after he came to the capital were enough to show his cunning.

If he is unkind and embarrassed, the Northern Tang Dynasty will be dark.

Ren Zhen was silent for a while, and said: "The benevolent abandon wisdom, it seems that this is the governing philosophy you uphold." ”