Wu Zixu said: "King, the old minister thinks it is strange, why did this fire only burn Wu Ban to death? ”

King Wu said: "Whoever is burned to death is the same, what's so strange about that?" ”

Wu Zixu said: "The minister went to the scene to see, Wu Ban's stove was only twenty steps away from the door, and he could run out, and those who were farther away from the door ran out, and Wu Ban alone was burned to death." ”

"It's a bit unreasonable, but the fact is that he was burned to death, and all the workers and soldiers saw his body, and everyone pooled money to bury him," said King Wu. ”

Wu Zixu said: "According to the matter, he shouldn't die, but he died, which is strange." ”

King Wu said: "What is Xiangguo suspicious? ”

Wu Zixu said: "The minister didn't know what to suspect. ”

King Wu said: "Okay, there are doubts in this matter, but it's not a big deal, so be it, there's no need to dwell on it." ”

Wu Zixu said: "The death of a craftsman is not a big deal, but when he dies, it will ruin my big thing." When I went to that place, I actually wanted to improve our weapons. ”

He explained his idea to King Wu in detail, and King Wu said: "This idea is good, if the improvement is successful, it can indeed increase the combat effectiveness of our Wu army." ”

Wu Zixu said: "But this matter can't be done because of Wu Ban's death." This incident illustrates a problem. ”

King Wu said, "What does it mean?" ”

Wu Zixu said: "It shows that good craftsmen are too important to us. In the past, we treated the craftsmen a little too much. He reciprocated the discussion with the craftsmen, and then said, "The life of the craftsmen is so miserable, no one wants to do this anymore, and no one wants to delve into technology." It's not fair to the craftsman. It is also very bad for the country.

In all fairness, we in Wu can have today, thanks to the craftsmen who made good weapons and made iron plough rakes and farm tools. Therefore, the minister thought that the situation of the craftsmen should be changed and the craftsmen should be kinder. ”

King Wu said: "I don't know which dynasty and which generation began, everyone looks down on craftsmen, everyone in the world sees it like this, thinking that they are strange and skillful, if they are suddenly good, it will cause some people to be dissatisfied, and if it is not good, it will cause trouble." "As a king, King Wu really thought far-reaching.

Wu Zixu said: "What the minister means is that as long as the craftsmen are not knighted, everyone will not say anything, but we can order the soldiers in our care to treat them well, and we can also increase their salaries to make them live better." We did so, but without publicity, so as not to arouse the displeasure of the scholars. ”

King Wu said: "This widow is allowed to play, Xiangguo and Dazai will collude, and someone will handle it." ”

Wu Zixu said: "The minister's decree." The minister also inquired about another piece of news. Wu Ban has a senior brother named Gongsun Zhi, whose skills are better than him, and it is said that he is now working in the Wu Guoye Iron Yard, and the minister wants to go to him, on the one hand, to announce the will of the king, improve their status, and retain talents, on the other hand, to ask him to improve his weapons. Increase the combat effectiveness of the army. ”

King Wu said, "This is okay, you can do it." ”

Wu Zixu said: "The minister thinks that talents like Gongsun Zhi should be loose on the outside and tight on the inside, and strictly controlled. If he goes to other countries, it will increase the strength of the other party and weaken the power of Wu. Therefore, such a person would rather kill than let other countries get it. ”

King Wu's face became solemn, and he realized that this was a major event of strategic significance: "What Xiangguo said is extremely reasonable. Okay, you can do it, you can go to the ironworks at any time, and you don't have to report to the widow. ”

It has been many years since I have discussed issues with King Wu in such a calm manner. Wu Zixu was in a good mood. Go back to the house and make arrangements, and then go on the road with a few entourages.

From Gusu to the iron-smelting yard, the fast horse has to walk for two days.

He had a hunch that he had to hurry up, otherwise Gongsun Zhi might have a problem. As for what went wrong, he couldn't guess.

Along the way, the horses worked hard, day and night, and they came to the iron-smelting field located in the deep mountains in one day.

There had never been a court official here, and Wu Zixu's arrival surprised the officials in charge, and they didn't know if something good or bad had happened. I was scared in my heart, so I naturally took out the highest standard of reception.

Wu Zixu is a person who does things, and he doesn't care about the quality of hospitality. He conveyed the will of King Wu to treat craftsmen well. The officials were shocked again, the craftsmen relied on their own strange skills, cunning, and arrogance, which was the consensus of the government and the opposition, why did they suddenly take it seriously now? It's a bit abnormal to send such a big official to convey it.

This makes the world's scholars practice martial arts so embarrassed!

But if the court says it, it must be carried out. Not negotiable. Isn't it just an increase in the salary of each person? Plus, anyway, the money and food are all from the imperial court. If you don't scold, you won't scold.

Wu Zixu said: "Do you have someone named Gongsun Zhi here?" ”

The official said, "Yes, his skills are high, and he still relies on him in iron smelting." ”

Wu Zixu said: "Go and invite Gongsun Zhi, I want to see him." ”

Wu Zixu used the word "please". It made people feel the weight, and the official said, "Okay, the lower official will personally go and invite it." ”

The officer ran out, paused for a while, and came back alone.

Wu Zixu said: "What about people? ”

The official said, "Gongsun Zhi is gone!" ”

"What? It's gone? Wu Zixu became nervous, his hunch became a reality, and Gongsun Zhi had a problem.

The official said: "Lord Hui, here's the thing, that Gongsun Zhi said that in order to increase the heat of the iron-making furnace, he wanted to build a bellows for blowing. The lower official thought that this was a good thing, so he said to him, you don't have to work, you can do your invention with peace of mind, and he has been locked up in his hut to tinker. Just now, Xia Guan went to his hut and found that he was no longer there, so he asked everyone to look for him in the iron-smelting field, and everyone searched the entire iron-smelting field, but they found no trace of him. I'll come back and report it soon. ”

Wu Zixu said: "When was the last time you saw Gongsun Zhi? ”

"Two hours ago, he was seen coming in and out of his cabin."

Gongsun Zhi fled? At normal speed, two hours, you should go out more than thirty miles. Wu Zixu shouted: "You are all rice buckets!" ”

The officials were stunned, so they didn't understand why Xiangguo suddenly lost such a big temper, and they were trembling with fright. I don't know what to do.

Wu Zixu took out his sword and said: "Quickly mobilize all of your people, ride a fast horse, search carefully within fifty miles around, capture Gongsun Zhi, see people alive, see corpses when dead, if Gongsun Zhi resists, kill him on the spot, and bring his head to see me." ”

Wu Zixu waited in the iron-smelting yard all day, went out to look for people and came back one after another, needless to say, none of them caught Gongsun Zhi.

Wu Ban died inexplicably, and Gongsun Zhi disappeared inexplicably. The two best craftsmen of Wu were almost absent at the same time. This will be an immeasurable loss for the state of Wu.

Is it a coincidence? Or is there something greasy in it? If Gongsun Zhi ran to other vassal states, especially to Yue Kingdom, it would be terrible!

Wu Zixu quietly took one of his most intimate guards to a secluded place, took out a piece of gold and stuffed it into him, and said, "Binggeng, you change into civilian clothes now." Immediately rush to the meeting, to do this, to do this...... After the deed is done, there is another reward, go ahead. ”

"Yes!" The secret agent named Binggeng changed into civilian clothes, rode a fast horse, ran into the mountains and forests and disappeared.