The Duan Gan clan, as far as Meng Zhong knows, actually has at least two branches, and their ancestry is not the same as each other.

One of them comes from the surname Ying, according to legend, its ancestor is the descendant of Lao Tzu Li Zong, because he was canonized in the Wei State in the "Duan", "Gan" two Yi and called himself Duan Gan, and later Li Zong defected to the Zhao State and became the general of the Zhao State, and his descendants are now the Fengyang Jun Li Dui of the Zhao State.

The other branch is from the surname Zheng Guoji, whose ancestor is Zheng Wugong's second son Ji Shu Duan, because he and his brother Zheng Zhuang Gong failed to compete for the monarch of Zheng Guo and fled to a place called "Gong", so Ji Shu Duan is also called Gong Shu Duan, and his descendants changed their name to Duan in order to commemorate their ancestors.

The Duan family was passed to the sixth generation, that is, Duan Ganmu, an important minister of Wei during the period of Wei Wenhou, according to legend, his real name was called Duan Mu, and after the three families were divided, they were called Duan Gan by the world because they lived in Duan Cognac of Wei State, and became the ancestor of the Duan Gan clan.

About Duan Ganmu, Meng Zhong also inquired with Song Lei, and learned that Duan Ganmu was the sixth generation descendant of Ji Duan, because of the poverty of his family when he was young, he had walked in the market of the Jin Kingdom, although he was righteous, but he was also quite a philistine.

It is worth mentioning that although Duan Ganmu was known as the important minister of Wei during the period of Wei Wenhou, he himself did not appear in Wei during his life, but only served as Wei Wenhou's personal staff, giving advice to him, and most of the time he still lived in seclusion in the market, quite a bit of "cloth general" meaning - although Duan Ganmu actually did not talk about any "cloth clothes", because he was already a big businessman in the Jin State who handled livestock before he apprenticed to his master Zi Xia, and his family wealth was quite rich.

As for the "Confucianism of Xihe", it actually refers to the branch of Zixia who opened a museum in Xihe to accept apprentices.

Zi Xia, formerly known as Bu Shang, although he was one of the most important disciples of Confucius, but his ideas were contrary to Confucian orthodoxy, quite "heretical", so after the death of Confucius, Zi Xia was excluded by his fellow brothers, so he left Confucius, invited by Wei Wenhou to come to the West River of Wei, according to legend, Li Kui, Wu Qi are his disciples, even Wei Wenhou also worships him as a teacher.

It is no exaggeration to say that the "Confucianism of the West River" was quite prestigious in the Wei State at that time, and later only the ideas of the Guigu line of the Patriotic Ghost Valley could compete with the Confucianism of the West River.

It is worth mentioning that for a long time, the Confucianism of the West River has nothing to do with Confucian orthodoxy, basically the well water does not interfere with the river water, after all, the former is the heretical alternative of Confucianism, and the latter is the orthodoxy of Confucianism, until a few generations later, the relationship between the two is slightly harmonious, but to be honest, there is no intimacy, for example, Meng Zhong once went to Zou several times to visit Mencius and his disciples, at that time he had never heard that Wei also had a branch of Confucianism, until this year before and after his marriage, Mencius learned that he wanted to come to Wei, Only then did he tell Meng Zhong that he still had such a branch of Confucianism in Wei.

And this is also the reason why Meng Zhong is not sure what attitude Duan Gan will have towards him.

But there is no way, in the case that Tian Wen is not sincere in reconciling with him, he can only turn to the Duan Gan clan for help, otherwise, he is not familiar with the life of Wei State, how can he have any way to contact the dignitaries and dignitaries of Wei State, let alone the King of Wei.

About before the evening of the same day, Meng Zhong took Meng Sui, Le Yi, and Rong Yi, and finally found the mansion of "Duan Ganyin" in Daliang City after a series of inquiries.

Duan Ganyin is the patriarch of the current Duan Gan clan, and the reason why he is not in Xihe but in Daliang City is because the Duan Gan clan has always been responsible for teaching the sons of the Wei royal family, such as the late Wei Xiang King Wei Hei, the current Wei King Wei Yun and the crown prince Wei Yu (yǔ), although he is not in power in the court, he believes that even Tian Wen has to give Duan Gan a little face.

"Wow......"

Before and after coming to the gate of Duan Gan's mansion, Rong Yan couldn't help but sigh with emotion about the scale of the mansion in front of him: "This mansion is probably no less than Tian Wen's mansion, right?" ”

Meng Zhong smiled faintly and explained: "The Duan Gan family, since its ancestor Duan Ganmu, has been a wealthy merchant and giant in the Wei State, and in terms of wealth alone, it is not inferior to Tian Wen who has Xue Yi in hand, but according to legend, the children of the Duan Gan clan have always been low-key, not as keen on showing off as Tian Wen. ”

"I see." Meng Sui and Le Yi nodded.

In front of the mansion, he straightened his clothes, walked up the stone steps in front of the mansion, and said to the several guards guarding outside the mansion: "Under the Mengzi disciple Meng Zhong, who came from the Song Kingdom, wants to see Duan Gan's clan, and I sincerely ask for a report." ”

Several guards standing in front of the mansion looked Meng Zhong up and down a few times, and saw that although Meng Zhong was young, they were all wearing sharp swords and had extraordinary momentum, they were by no means ordinary civilians, and they did not dare to make claims, so they immediately went to the mansion on behalf of Meng Zhong to report.

"Ah Zhong, did you say that the Duan Gan clan would meet me and wait?"

While waiting, Meng Sui asked with some concern.

"Probably will?"

Meng Zhong is actually not sure, but considering that Mencius is the leader of Confucianism in the world today, even if the relationship between Confucianism in Xihe and orthodox Confucianism is estranged, it will not be enough not to sell Mencius's face.

Just when Meng Zhong and his party were waiting outside the gate of the mansion in a nervous mood, they saw a young man in his twenties hurrying out of the mansion, and after looking left and right a few times, he immediately saw Meng Zhong and the others.

"Huh."

I saw him chuckle, stepped forward and bowed: "I don't know which one is Meng Zhong, a disciple of Master Meng?" ”

Hearing this, Meng Zhong stepped forward and bowed, "It's Meng Zhong down there." ”

"Haha." The young man immediately returned the salute and said, "In the lower section, I will worship." ”

Hearing this, Meng Zhong asked cautiously, "I don't know if Brother Xian and Doctor Duan Ganyin Duan Gan are ......?"

The young man didn't hide it, and said with a smile: "Duan Ganyin is my father. …… When my father learned that Meng Fuzi's disciples were coming to visit, he specially ordered Brother Yu to come to greet him. ”

"It turned out to be the son of the Duan Gan clan." Meng Zhong hurriedly made up another salute.

Seeing this, Duan Ganchong waved his hand and said with a smile: "I am also a disciple of Confucianism, why should I be so estranged? My brother should not be as old as me, if you don't dislike it, I will call you a virtuous brother in the next trust, and you and I can be commensurate with my brother. ”

"How dare you ......"

Although Meng Zhong was glad that the prince of the Duan Gan clan treated him and the others with enthusiasm, he was really a little puzzled: how could Duan Ganchong in front of him conclude that he was indeed a disciple of Meng Fuzi and not a swaggering liar?

Out of confusion in his heart, he couldn't help but ask, "Brother Chong, how can you conclude that you are indeed a disciple of Master Meng, and not a fraudster?" ”

"Hahaha." Duan Gan Chong smiled when he heard this, and immediately looked at Meng Zhong with a puzzled expression on his face and said: "A while ago, my father had already received a letter from Master Meng, and at that time, Master Meng said in the letter that in the future, a young man who called himself Meng Zhong would come to visit my Duan Gan clan and ask my Duan Gan clan to take care of it...... Isn't this a virtuous brother? As he spoke, he saw a look of surprise on Meng Zhong's face, and asked puzzledly, "What?" Didn't Master Mencius tell you? ”

Meng Zhong opened his mouth and said with a complicated feeling: "I haven't heard Meng Fuzi mention ......"

I have to say that his mood at the moment is really complicated: he never thought that for him to come to Wei this time, not only did his teacher Zhuangzi do his best to help, but even his other teacher Mencius paved the way for him early.

"Let's talk about it in the first house, my father is still waiting in the hall." Duan Ganchong urged slightly.

"Rude faux pas." Meng Zhonglian said a few times, and under the leadership of Duan Ganchong, he walked into the mansion with Meng Sui, Le Yi, and Rong Yu.

I have to say that the Duan Gan clan is worthy of being a wealthy family, and its mansion in Daliang is so big and deep that when Duan Gan Chong led them to the hall of the main house in the inner courtyard, Meng Zhong and the others walked around the mansion for a long time.

After a long while, Duan Ganchong led Meng Zhong and the others to the hall of the north house of the inner courtyard.

"My father is waiting for a few people in the house, a few brothers, a few please."

"Brother Chong, please."

Walking into the hall, Meng Zhong saw an old man who was nearly half a hundred years old sitting in the hall with a tea bowl, and when he saw Meng Zhong and the others approaching the hall, the old man actually got up to greet him, and said with a smile: "The foot must be Meng Zhong, a disciple of Master Meng, right?" ”

On the side, Duan Ganchong introduced: "Virtuous brother, this is my father. ”

"Doctor Duan Gan."

Meng Zhong and the others hurriedly saluted respectfully.

Probably guessing the thoughts in Meng Zhong's heart, Duan Ganyin said with a smile: "The old man got up to greet him, just out of respect for Master Meng, and the virtuous nephew doesn't have to care." …… Have a seat. ”

"Thank you."

After thanking them, Meng Zhong and several people took their seats.

It is worth mentioning that because he was accustomed to sitting cross-legged, Meng Zhong subconsciously sat in the seat after he sat down, until he found that Duan Gan's family, Duan Ganchong's father and son were sitting in danger, he realized his faux pas, and was about to change his sitting posture, but at this time, he saw Duan Ganyin smile and said: "The virtuous nephew does not need to be restrained, and the old man also knows that the virtuous brother has worshiped under Master Zhuang since he was a child, and later became a disciple of Mencius......

On the side, Duan Ganchong also said with a smile: "The unintentional sitting posture of the virtuous brother makes the foolish brother even more sure that the virtuous brother is the disciple that Meng Fuzi said. ”

"Master Meng even said this in the letter?"

Meng Zhong was a little surprised in his heart.

Later, in the casual chat with Master Duan Gan, Meng Zhong gradually discovered that although the relationship between Xihe Confucianism and orthodox Confucianism was not good in the past, Duan Gan's father and son still respected Mencius very much, especially Mencius refused to become King Xuan of Qi to recruit talents from all over the world, and resolutely returned to Zou to teach his disciples and spread Confucianism.

By the way, Duan Ganyin is the grandson of Duan Ganmu, Duan Ganmu is a disciple of Zixia, Zixia and Zeng Zi are the same brothers, and Mencius is the second disciple of Zengzi's disciple Zisi, so Duan Ganyin and Mencius are actually the same generation in Confucianism, so Duan Ganyin will call Meng Zhong a virtuous nephew, and Duan Ganchong will therefore be commensurate with Meng Zhong's brothers.

After learning about this, Meng Zhong was also relieved in his heart: fortunately, Duan Ganyin was of the same generation as Mencius, otherwise if he was a generation shorter, or even twice as short, the atmosphere would be bad.

After all, Confucianism attaches great importance to family and seniority, if Duan Ganyin is really a generation shorter than Meng Zhong, he will have to call Meng Zhong Uncle - you can imagine what kind of embarrassing atmosphere it will be.

After chatting a few words, Duan Ganyin stroked his beard and asked, "The virtuous nephew came to visit this time because of Tian Wen's relationship, right?" According to Meng Fuzi's letter, what grievances does the virtuous nephew seem to have with Tian Wen? ”

Hearing this, Meng Zhong did not hide it, and told Duan Ganyin, Duan Ganchong's father and son about the grievances between him and Xue Gongtian Wen in Zhao State, Duan Ganyin didn't say a word, and Duan Ganchong sneered again and again, and couldn't help but say: "Father, I said a long time ago that this Tian Wen is arrogant and domineering, and he has a false reputation!" ”

"Alright."

Duan Ganyin raised his hand to interrupt his son's words, and then turned his head to Meng Zhong and said: "Virtuous nephew, I, Duan Ganyi, have never had grudges with outsiders, but I will not let outsiders bully me, although the virtuous nephew is not my Xihe Confucian disciple, but after all, he is my Confucian disciple, and he is the master of Mengfuzi, if Tian Wen really dares to embarrass you, my Duan Gan clan will definitely give protection." ”

Speaking of this, he pondered for a moment, and then said: "However, Tian Wen is now quite powerful in my Wei State, and it is difficult for Tian Wen to be afraid of it with my Duan Gan clan alone...... After a few days, I will introduce Tian Di and Uncle Ram to my virtuous brother......"

The Tian Di in his mouth is a descendant of Tian Zifang, and Tian Zifang is a disciple of Confucius's disciple Duanmu Ci (Zigong).

Once upon a time, Zixia, Tian Zifang, and Duan Ganmu all served as Wei Wenhou's teachers in the Wei State, and were known as the Three Sages of Hedong and were extremely famous.

And the ram uncle in his mouth refers to the son of Zixia's disciple Ram Gao.

Although Tian Huang or Ram Ping don't have any power in Wei, at best it is the grade of King Keqing of Wei, but it is really very famous, I believe that even Xue Gong Tianwen does not dare to offend these great sages of Xihe Confucianism.

After learning the details, Meng Zhong was quite grateful and thanked him.

Seeing this, Duan Ganyin said with a smile: "Virtuous nephews don't need to be polite, all Confucianism in the world is one family, you are a disciple of Master Meng, I will take care of you." ”

That night, Duan Ganyin, Duan Ganchong and his son warmly entertained Meng Zhong, Meng Sui, Le Yi, Rong Yi and others.

The next day, Meng Zhong planned to temporarily bid farewell and return to the post house in the city, but Duan Ganchong stopped him: "Since the virtuous brother has come to Daliang, how can the virtuous brother be wronged and live in the post house?" ”

He tried his best to invite Meng Zhong and others to stay in the mansion.

Meng Zhong refused several times politely, but to no avail, so he had to tell the truth: "It's not that I see outside, but it's actually that the foolish brother still has some companions and soldiers who follow him in the post house in the city." ”

Hearing this, Duan Ganchong smiled and said, "What's this? Just come to my house and stay together. I, Duan Gan, dare not say that Yin is rich, but it is enough to entertain the virtuous brothers. ”

Saying that, he refused to let Meng Zhong and a few people live back in the post house, and sent his servants to the post house to invite Wu Ying, Hua Hu, Xiang Yi and the twenty Song soldiers who followed, Meng Zhong really couldn't resist Duan Ganchong's enthusiasm, so that in the end a group of people lived in Duan Gan's mansion.

Not to mention, the Duan Gan clan is righteous and hospitable, since its ancestor Duan Ganmu.

A few days later, Duan Ganyin invited Tian Zifang's descendant Tian Di and Ram Gao's son Ram Ping to introduce these two to Meng Zhong.

After learning that Meng Zhong was a disciple of Mencius, Tian Dian and Gong Yang Ping were extremely enthusiastic about Meng Zhong.

Tian Dian is Duan Ganyin's peer, Meng Zhong has to call his uncle, and Ram Ping, in terms of seniority, is two generations higher than Meng Zhong, Meng Zhong has to call him uncle, both are sages in the Confucian lineage of Xihe.

It is worth mentioning that when he learned that Meng Zhong was actually the disciple of Zhuangzi and Mencius, the two great sages of today, Tian Dian talked to Meng Zhong with great interest about the teacher of his ancestor Tian Zifang.

Yes, Tian Zifang was also a disciple of the two Taoist schools, his Confucian teacher was Confucius's high disciple Zigong, and the Taoist teacher was the wise man of Wei "Dongguo Shun", known as Dongguo Shunzi.

It is precisely because of the special inheritance of the ancestors that Tian Di himself also studied Taoism and Confucianism, and chatted with Meng Zhong the most speculatively.

After a few conversations, Tian Di, Duan Ganyin, and Ram Ping were all very satisfied with Meng Zhong, a junior, and agreed that the three of them would come forward to invite Wang Wei and recommend Meng Zhong in front of the Wei monarch.

I have to say that after understanding the purpose of Meng Zhong's visit to Wei this time, Tian Di, Duan Ganyin, and Ram Ping could all guess Meng Zhong's purpose of wanting to temporarily serve in Wei, that is, to stabilize the alliance between Wei and Song - after all, Meng Zhong, Meng Sui and others did not trust Tian Wen.

In this regard, Tian Di, Duan Ganyin, and Ram Ping did not mind, on the contrary, they preferred that Meng Zhong could be a leader in his Wei country, after all, Meng Zhong was also a Confucian disciple, if he could get a place in Wei State, this would also be a good thing for Xihe Confucianism.

After all, although the Xihe Confucian sect has a large number of talents, most of them are economically erudite, and there are few generals who know how to lead troops to fight, which is also the reason why the influence of Xihe Confucianism has never been able to penetrate into the Wei army - it is really impossible to cultivate a famous general like Tian Zhang on the orthodox side of Meng Confucianism.

And now the arrival of Meng Zhong has just made up for the shortcomings of Xihe Confucianism.

In the blink of an eye, in December, when Meng Zhong was in Duan Gan's mansion and discussing academics with Tian Di, Gongyang and Pingren, the minister of Wei, Xue Gongtian Wen, had also invited Wei Wei, the envoy of the Song State, to meet with Wei Wei, the king of Wei, and helped persuade the king of Wei to form an alliance with the Song state.

Just like Meng Zhong treated Tian Wen, Tian Wen was indeed a very grudgeful person, because he almost died in Qin, so that after he escaped from Qin, he tried his best to promote the invasion of Qin by Qi, Wei, and Han, that is, Tian Zhang broke through Hangu Pass, in order to retaliate against Qin.

And now, the king of Qi Tiandi accused him of being a traitor, and also issued an edict in the state of Qi to strip Tian Wen's title, which also made Tian Wen resentful, so this time he was also quite dedicated to helping the Song State.

Under Tian Wen's persuasion, Wei Wei, the king of Wei, who originally did not want to have a stalemate with the Qi state, finally agreed to form an alliance with the Song state.

I have to say that the Song Wangyan gave Tian Wen a huge Xue Yi, but it will not be lost.

After facilitating the alliance between the Wei and Song dynasties, Tian Wen proudly invited Li Shi to his mansion for a banquet, and even invited Meng Zhong and several others.

Of course, this is not a message of goodwill that he is ready to really resolve the grievances with Meng Zhong and the others, but he just wants to show off in front of Meng Zhong and others, and also show his influence in the Wei State.

However, Meng Zhong and the others did not attend the banquet this time, which made Tian Wen feel a little displeased.

During the banquet, he asked Li Shidao: "Doctor Li, why didn't Meng Zhong and the others come to the banquet, could it be that they looked down on me Tian Wen?" ”

Li Shi also vaguely knew the grievances between Tian Wen and Meng Zhong, and even guessed that Tian Wen invited Meng Zhong out of good intentions, but he couldn't say it directly, so he shirked it and said: "Xue Gong misunderstood, it's not that Brother Meng didn't come to the appointment, but that they are not in the post house at the moment." ”

"Not at the inn?" Tian Wenhu asked, "Where did he go?" ”

Li Shi didn't know about this, shook his head and said: "It seems that I went to visit somewhere, and I don't know the specifics." ”

"Oh?"

Tian Wen was suspicious, and after the banquet, he ordered someone to investigate the matter, only to learn that Meng Zhong and the others were currently living in the Duan Gan's mansion in the city.

After learning about this, Tian Wen was also quite surprised: "This Meng Zhong actually has a way to get together with Duan Gan's ......"

On the side, the staff member Feng Tan said with a smile: "Xue Gong forgot? That Meng Zhong is not only a disciple of Zhuangzi, but also a Confucian of Mencius, which is why he is called a brother and brother to Kuang Zhang. …… Duan Gan was a disciple of the Xihe Confucian Sect, and Meng Zhong went to visit as a disciple of Meng Fuzi, and Duan Gan naturally gave him a warm welcome. ”

"Humph!"

Tian Wen snorted coldly when he heard this.

This cold snort was not entirely aimed at Meng Zhong, but actually included Duan Gan's clan.

After all, the reason why Xihe Confucianism was able to open a museum in Xihe in the Wei State to accept apprentices and gradually expand the influence of Confucianism is inseparable from the fact that Duan Gan's generation has invested a lot of financial resources.

It is no exaggeration to say that the wealth of the Duan Gan clan, coupled with the children of Xihe Confucianism, is the influence of the entire Xihe Confucian Sect in the Wei State.

And he, Tian Wen, to be honest, did not get along well with Duan Gan's family.

After all, Duan Gan's family motto is low-key, and Tian Wen is a very flamboyant person, and friction will naturally occur after getting along a few times, although they eventually formed a tacit understanding that well water does not interfere with river water, but it is undeniable that the relationship between Tian Wen and Duan Gan's family and Xihe Confucianism is very poor, so bad that they will not invite each other when they set up banquets, so as not to cause friction again.

"Go and inquire and see what Duan Gan and Na Meng Zhong want to do." Tian Wen summoned a domestic servant and commanded.

Only a few days later, Tian Wen got the news that it was sent by the eunuchs around Wei Yun, the king of Wei, whom he had bribed, that Yan Duan Ganyin, Tian Di, and Gongyang Ping had rarely invited the king of Wei and recommended a young man named Meng Zhong in front of the king of Wei.

After learning about this, Tian Wen suddenly realized: It turned out that Meng Zhong was planning to be an official in his Wei State.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

After learning of this, the staff member Feng Tan said to Tian Wen: "Although Meng Zhong is young, he is a good general who knows how to use soldiers, in the past, he assisted Zhao Gongzi Zhang in Zhao to raise troops to attack the royal family, like Yang Wenjun, An Pingjun, Fengyang Jun and others can't help him, it's really amazing!" It just so happens that now that Korea has sent an envoy to ask for help from our Wei State due to the invasion of Qin, why didn't Duke Xue recommend this son as a general in front of the King of Wei to help Xiwu support Korea and crusade against Qin? …… If this son is defeated on the battlefield, Xue Gong can take the opportunity to ask for guilt and expel him back to the Song Kingdom; If this son shines in this battle, it will be Xue Gong's meritorious recommendation, and the King of Wei will definitely pay more attention to Xue Gong, why not? ”

“……”

Tian Wen was silent when he heard this.

Although he hated Meng Zhong, he had to admit that that kid was indeed a little capable, not to mention anything else, just the Xinwei army he trained back then, which still impressed him to this day.

If this son is sent to assist Xiwu Gongsun Xi in his conquest of Qin, Tian Wen also believes that this son will be able to shine on the battlefield nine times out of ten.

It's just that such a rude person who has deeply humiliated his Tian Wen at the beginning, how can he easily turn over and become a minister in the same palace as his Tian Wen?

"For the sake of the canonization you sent, I'll just spare your life, but do you want to be a leader in the Wei Kingdom? Hum! Delusion!'

Throwing the scroll in his hand on the case, Tian Wen snorted secretly.