Kuang Zhang, who is known as the famous general of the Qi State, is actually over half a hundred years old, about ten years older than Zhao's father.

No, Kuang Zhang, who was sitting in front of Master Zhao and Meng Zhong at the moment, had gray hair and beard, and obvious wrinkles appeared on his face, coupled with the days of trekking, his eyes were deeply sunken, and he looked even older because of exhaustion.

On the other hand, Meng Zhong is only sixteen years old, with a ruddy complexion, full of energy, and an enviable youth.

Tian Zhang at such an age was seen through the plan by Meng Zhong at such an age, and Master Zhao's father thought that Tian Zhang would be ashamed because of this, but ......

He looked up at Tian Zhang.

"Huh? You're not my Confucian disciple? ”

Under the silent gaze of Master Zhao's father, Tian Zhang looked at Meng Zhong with a surprised face, and asked the latter: "But when I went back to Zou a few days ago, it seems that Wanzhang, Gongsun Chou, Chen Zhen and others all said that you are a new disciple of Master (Mencius)......"

"Is there something wrong? I am a disciple of Zhuangzi, not a disciple of Mencius. ”

Saying this, Meng Zhong couldn't help but be a little flustered at the moment.

It's not that he's panicked or anything else, it's purely that he is worried that this "rumor" will be known by his teacher Zhuangzi.

According to his experience with his teacher Zhuangzi in recent years, don't look at his teacher Zhuangzi is quiet and inactive on weekdays, as if he is a master outside the world, but once he gets angry, it is not that he can't do anything to knock people's heads with a crutch - in the saying that this is called straightforwardness, and in Taoist words, this is called "chasing the heart", in short, he is unhappy and scares people, and never hides it.

In the past, compared with Hua Hu, Mu Wu, and Le Jin, who were more troublesome, Meng Zhong, as a "big disciple", was rarely knocked with a stick by Zhuangzi, but if he was misunderstood by Zhuangzi as a "traitor......

Of course, in fact, Taoists are very casual in the status of master and apprentice, and do not attach as much importance to Confucianism as much, but the problem is that Zhuangfuzi has a very bad impression of Confucianism, and even has a very poor impression of the Confucian sage Mencius.

Heaven and earth can be learned, he has no intention of betraying his master!

Seeing Meng Zhong's face full of panic, Tian Zhang felt very surprised, you must know that Mencius's reputation in the world is still very loud, compared to Zhuangzi - of course, this is because Zhuangzi does not care about fame, unlike Mencius, who traveled around the world for more than 20 years to increase the influence of Confucianism in the world.

It is no exaggeration to say that both Mencius when he traveled around the world and Mencius who is now living in seclusion in the Zou kingdom had many young people who wanted to become disciples of Mencius day and night—and of course, there were also scheming people who hoped to use Confucian fame to pave the way for their future.

However, it is not an easy task to become a disciple of Mencius.

Although Confucianism also pays attention to "education without class", as long as they are willing to learn Confucian academics, whether they are farmers, scholars, or merchants, they can join Confucianism, unless there is a loss of virtue - like Wu Qi, a famous general who was expelled from the door by Confucianism, otherwise, Confucianism will not expel these people, but this does not mean that these people can become disciples of Mencius.

I remember that when Meng Zhong followed his brother Hui Ang to visit Mencius, there were hundreds of Confucian disciples in Mencius's residence listening to Mencius's teachings, but among these hundreds of people, how many were really Mencius's disciples?

It's just a handful of people like Wan Zhang, Gongsun Chou, and Chen Zhen.

And now, Meng Zhong has obviously been "recognized" by Confucianism as a disciple of the sect, but Meng Zhong himself seems to be disapproves, which makes Tian Zhang very surprised.

"Am I really mistaken?"

Tian Zhang frowned, recalling what he had done when he visited his mentor Mencius a while ago.

He did not deceive Meng Zhong, and when he returned to Mencius's residence in the Zou Kingdom, he heard that his fellow brothers Wan Zhang, Gongsun Chou, and others had copied the upper part of Mencius and gave it to a young man named Meng Zhong.

At that time, Tian Zhang was very surprised, so he curiously asked who the young man named Meng Zhong was, and at that time, Wan Zhang, Gongsun Chou and others smiled and said, "It's the master's newly accepted little disciple." ”

Regarding this matter, Tian Zhang also asked Mencius at that time, because as far as he knew, Mencius had not personally accepted disciples for a long time - most of them were accepted by disciples such as Wanzhang and Gongsun Chou.

According to Tian Zhang's recollection of the scene at that time, although his teacher Mencius did not admit it in person, the demeanor of "laughing but not speaking" was also a tacit acquiescence to this matter, right?

"It's really not as you think it is...... Zhangzi," Meng Zhong explained with a bit of a laugh.

From the side, Master Zhao watched silently as Tian Zhang and Meng Zhong talked.

When I looked down again, the wine in the bowl was empty.

“……”

He glanced at Meng Zhong, who was explaining to Tian Zhang, and after hesitating for a while, he scooped a spoonful of wine from the wine vat on the stove next to him and took a sip silently.

At this time, the dialogue between Tian Zhang and Meng Zhong continued.

"Mengfuzi gave half of "Mencius", which is an honor that many brothers and sisters have not been able to get......"

"I don't know why Mencius gave me half of Mencius......"

"I thought that the little brother was a new disciple of the master, did he get such treatment, hahahaha......"

"Misunderstanding, really misunderstanding."

Master Zhao: "......"

"But in my opinion, there is a mistake, as far as I know, the little brother is quite proficient in Confucian scholarship, why not take the opportunity to worship under Master Meng? Don't blame my brother for being vulgar, my Confucianism is still quite influential in the world, little brother, you are already a disciple of Master Zhuang, if you worship under Master Meng again, who dares to underestimate you in the world? ”

Zhang Zi said...... Alas, I am very grateful to Master Mengzi for his attention, but this matter is really ......"

"Could it be because of the relationship between Master Zhuang? …… Haha, there is no need to hide it, Master Zhuang has never liked my Confucian disciples, and this matter is known to the world. However, as far as I know, the relationship between Master Meng and Master Zhuang seems to have improved a lot recently......"

"Huh? Is there such a thing? ”

Meng Zhongxin said, why don't I know about this?

Hearing this, Tian Zhang stroked his beard and smiled: "This thing is true! …… I also listened to Wan Zhang and Gongsun Chou, and according to them, Master Meng would receive letters from Master Zhuang every three or five days, and then Master Meng would immediately reply to them, even if he was halfway through teaching his disciples......"

After that, his face showed a little fascination, and he said with a look of longing: "One is a Taoist sage, and the other is a Confucian sage, I really want to know what these two will talk about in the letter...... Probably a debate about world affairs, right? ”

"Hmm......"

Meng Zhong thought about it in his mind, and then nodded slightly.

Also, I received letters from the other party every once in a while, and with such frequent correspondence, in addition to scolding wars, I only debated the pros and cons of world affairs, right?

And for the two highly respected sages of Zhuang Fuzi and Meng Fuzi, it can't be a letter to scold, right?

"Maybe we are discussing how to make the world advocate 'virtue'."

He guessed.

"Hmm......" Tian Zhang also nodded.

“……”

Looking at Tian Zhang and Meng Zhong, who were chatting tacitly, Master Zhao, who couldn't interject, took a sip of wine silently again.

At this time, Tian Zhang asked why Meng Zhong was in Zhao State.

Meng Zhong thought for a while and said: "It was my brother-in-law Hui Ang who hoped that I could increase my knowledge, so I followed the envoy of the Song Kingdom, Dr. Li Shi, to the Zhao Kingdom, and by chance, I am now serving as a guard ...... by the side of Lord Zhao."

"Oh."

Tian Zhang suddenly glanced at Master Zhao's father.

Seeing this scene, Lord Zhao's father said that he finally mentioned me, but before he could speak, he saw Tian Zhang turn his head to Meng Zhong again, and said with a smile: "Increase your knowledge, there is no need to go to Zhao State, if the little brother does not dislike it, it is better to go to Linzi with my brother to take a look, and see the Jixia School Palace of my Qi State, which is really full of academic ...... of Taoism, Confucianism, Ming, Mo, and Law."

Originally, Master Zhao's father was still holding his own identity, but he didn't expect Tian Zhang to poach people in front of him, which is unbearable!

Immediately, he said with a calm face: "Zhangzi, let's talk about your intention first." ”

Hearing this, Tian Zhang glanced at Master Zhao with a smile that seemed to be a smile.

He is a general who is good at trickery and scheming, how can he not see the intention of Lord Zhao's father and Meng Zhong's intentions before?

It's just that even he was a little surprised by what happened after that: he didn't expect that this young man Meng Zhong, who had seen through his strategy, turned out to be the one mentioned by his fellow disciples, the young man who was suspected of being accepted by Mencius as a closed disciple.

So Tian Zhang pushed the boat down the river, and while getting closer to Meng Zhong, he dried up Zhao's father, which in turn frustrated the arrogance of Zhao's father.

Not to mention, this Master Zhao was quite able to bear it, and he endured it for a full moment, until he deliberately abducted Meng Zhong, the "little junior brother", to his Qi country, this Master Zhao finally couldn't help it.

With a secret laugh in his heart, Tian Zhang arched his hand and confessed to Master Zhao: "When I saw my fellow disciple, I inadvertently snubbed Master Zhao and you, and I hope Master Zhao will not be surprised." ”

Tian Zhang said so, what can Master Zhao say?

He reluctantly laughed twice and said, "I really can't imagine it, Zhang Zi and this son...... There is still such a relationship. ”

"I was actually very surprised, I never thought that I would meet this little ......brother at this time," Tian Zhang glanced at Meng Zhong and said with a smile.

I have to say that if Meng Zhong, who saw through his plan this time, had nothing to do with him, Tian Zhang would naturally feel embarrassed - even if he also admired this young man who saw through his plan, but once he added the relationship of "suspected of being the same family", he immediately looked at Meng Zhong's relationship differently.

Coupled with the age difference between the two, how could Tian Zhang feel ashamed because of the talent of a "fellow junior"? In this world, there are only a few brothers like Pang Juan and Sun Bin after all, and more of them are brothers like Su Qin and Zhang Yi.

Not to mention the Confucian disciples, the local Confucian disciples are still very united.

After some chatting, Master Zhao and Tian Zhang finally got to the point, that is, the matter of Zhao Guoqi.

I saw Tian Zhang staring at Lord Zhao for a long time, and suddenly chuckled and said: "With the wisdom of Lord Zhao, I definitely can't imagine what kind of situation Zhao will face if my Qi State falls...... So, what kind of conditions do you need for Master Zhao to withdraw his troops? ”

Looking at him, he didn't seem to be worried at all that Master Zhao would fall to the Qi Kingdom.