Yan Hui changed his optimistic and cheerful temperament, frowned, and slowly told a poignant story.

That year, on the way to study with our master, we came to the foot of Mount Tai. That Mount Tai towers into the clouds, towering and precipitous, and the momentum is magnificent. The Master said, "Second and third sons, can you follow me?" ”

We all said that we were willing to follow the teacher to Mount Tai.

At that time, although the master was already sixty years old, he was still physically strong, and when he climbed up, he left many of his students behind. I was trying to climb that day, and although I was out of breath, I didn't fall far behind. When I came to the top of the mountain, the Master praised me and said, "Yuan, how healthy is climbing the mountain today?" ”

I said, "Follow the teacher to the high place, although I am tired and dare not take a break." ”

The master laughed and said, "Zhuangzai! ”

At that time, everything in the world was in full view, the mountains in the distance were like small bumps on human skin, and the rivers were like small snakes swimming.

The master sighed and said: "In the past, when we climbed Dongshan, we felt that the country of Lu had become very small, and today we climbed Mount Tai, and we felt that the world has become smaller. ”

I said, "It's not that the world is getting smaller, it's because the teacher is big-minded and can pretend to be the whole world." ”

The Master said to everyone, "Children, we do not read and learn, but to use our knowledge to govern the world. The world is big, but our mind should be bigger than the world. At the same time, standing on the top of this Taishan Mountain, I saw my own small. We feel tall now, but it's because we're standing on top of Mount Tai. Therefore, the great rivers seem to rush and roar, and once they merge into the sea, they even feel that they are not water. We feel like we are very learned, and once we enter the door of the saints, we dare not speak. ”

At this time, the master turned to me and said, "Yuan, what do you see?" ”

I said, "I seem to have seen the gate of Gusu, the capital of Wu." Teacher, what do you see? ”

The Master said, "I saw a white horse at the gate. ”

I said, "I saw a white line floating in the wind. ”

The master sighed and said, "In a few years, something will happen on the side of Wu. ”

That time on Mount Tai, the realm of all of us has been greatly improved, all of us have the world in mind, and feel that they have a great responsibility on their shoulders to govern the world well.

Fan Li listened to this story and said, "What is good? Fan Li is shallow and ugly, thinking that the world will return to the era of small countries and widows, and the world will be peaceful. ”

Yan Hui said: "Sir's point of view is figured out with the master. The Master often said to us: self-denial and revenge are great, and only when we return to the era of Zhou Gong can the common people live a good life. ”

Fan Li turned his face to look at Yan Hui, and sighed in his heart, this Confucian student, who was so poor that he couldn't even eat, still had the world in mind and was worried about the people!

Yan Hui withdrew his eyes from a distance, with a sad look on his face, and said, It happened after we went down the mountain. At that time, it was already dusk, a round of sunset was shining obliquely, the autumn wind was bleak, the grass was withering, and it was a desolate scene.

As we walked, suddenly the Master stopped and said, "Do you hear any sound?" ”

We all listened intently, and it seemed that we heard the faint cry of a woman at the foot of the mountain.

Zigong said, "Teacher, I seem to hear a woman crying. ”

Zilu said, "I heard it too. I'll take a look. As he spoke, he ran away, turned around a small hill, and disappeared.

After a while, Zilu turned back and said, "Teacher, there is really a woman crying sadly at the foot of Mount Tai over there. ”

The Master looked at the sky, the sun was about to set, and it was getting late, and he said, "There are no people for dozens of miles around here, and a woman who runs here and cries must have encountered something very sad, so let's go and see it together." ”

Everyone followed the master around a small hill, and saw a middle-aged woman in tattered clothes sitting there in the dry autumn grass, crying sadly, holding a child's shoe in her hand. I cried for a while, looked at my shoes, and wept again.

The Master told them to stand down, walked over to her, and said to the woman, "Sister, you see that it is getting late, for this place is deserted and inhabited, and tigers and wolves are infested, and it is very dangerous. Why are you weeping bitterly? Hurry home. ”

When the woman heard someone talking behind her, she was startled, and she got up, looked at her master in horror, and at us all, and Nunu retreated.

The master said, "Don't be afraid, sister, in Xia Kongqiu, they are all my students. None of us are bad people and won't hurt you. If you have any difficult questions, you can tell us and we may be able to help you. ”

The woman, perhaps hearing the Master's name, turned from fear to sorrow, and began to weep again, holding up the shoes in her hand, and saying, "My son was eaten by a tiger, and the little woman found only these shoes, so she wept with sorrow." I'm sorry I don't want to alarm you. ”

The Master said sadly, "What a misfortune. Do you live nearby? ”

The lady said, "My family lives in a shack over there. ”

The master said, "Who else is in my sister's house?" ”

Madame shook her head and said, "I am left with myself in the house." My father-in-law was eaten by a tiger the year before last, my Langjun was eaten by a tiger last year, and my son was eaten by a tiger again this year. As he spoke, he began to cry again.

The misfortune of this family stunned us, and we all looked at each other, not knowing what to say. The master was also greatly shocked, and was silent for a while, and said: "Sister, you see the barren mountains and mountains here, there are no people for dozens of miles, and the tigers and wolves are in charge, so it is not suitable for a single family to live here at all, why don't you move out quickly?" ”

When the woman heard this, she wept bitterly, and after weeping for a while, she sobbed and said, "Sir does not know anything, and it is more sad to move back to the village than here." We farm all year round, collect a little grain, and we have to collect taxes and fees dozens of times a year, until we have snatched up the last bit of grain. My mother-in-law starved to death, and so did my daughter. Not only that, those who are officials are more fierce than tigers and wolves, they scold when they open their mouths, beat them when they raise their hands, and they don't treat the poor as everyone at all. My family led our family to escape here. The year before last, my father-in-law was eaten by a tiger, and we thought about moving back in, but then we thought that it was more uncomfortable than letting the tiger eat it, so we decided to live here, and would rather let the tiger eat it than move back. ”

At this time, I saw the Master crying. What a strong man the Master was, when we were traveling around the world, we were trapped in Cai and we didn't eat for seven days, and the Master gave us a lecture in a loud voice. But when he heard the woman's words, he couldn't help crying, and we, the students, we, we.

With tears in his eyes, the Master said to us, "The cruel rule is more fierce than that of a tiger!" Second and third sons, you remember, study hard, strive to be an official, and relieve the suffering of the common people. This is the responsibility of our readers. ”

Yan Hui said that there was silence here. Fan Li saw Yan Hui with crystal tears in his eyes, and sighed in his heart. In the whole world, maybe only the people of Confucius think about the common people, right?