After attending the funeral of his senior brother Tian Zhang, Meng Zhong and Gongdu returned to Zou and informed Wan Zhang, Gongsun Chou and other fellow brothers about the incident, and all the Confucian disciples sighed for this.

Tian Zhang's death was such a big thing, naturally he could no longer hide it from Mencius, so Wan Zhang, Gongsun Chou, Meng Zhong and others carefully informed Mencius, but they didn't expect Mencius to be too excited after hearing it, but just sighed sadly a few times, and said something such as 'Heaven is eternal but people can't', which sounds a little close to the Taoist concept.

Wan Zhang, Gongsun Chou, Meng Zhong and others communicated in private, thinking that Mencius had been influenced by Zhuang Fuzi ideologically over the years, and Mencius himself had already reached this age, and he had gradually looked down on the relationship between birth, old age, sickness and death.

Subsequently, Meng Zhong lived in Zou for about a month, and then returned to Pengcheng in the Song State around March.

At this time, Meng Zhong submitted his resignation to the crown prince Dai Wu: "Now that the Qi State has been overthrown, the Song State has ushered in a precious peace, and it is no longer necessary for the minister to continue to serve as the Great Sima. ”

Unexpectedly, Hui Ang said on behalf of the crown prince Dai Wu: "Although the Song Kingdom has no foreign enemies, there are all kinds of weak ...... in the country."

He was referring to the current situation of the Song army.

Originally, the Song State had cultivated a group of new generals headed by Dai Jing over the years, and these people followed the prince Dai Wu, and there were faint signs of replacing Dai Busheng, Dai Yingzhi, Jing Wei and other veteran military Simas, but Dai Jing forced the palace to make a rebellion, but Song Wang Yan was angry and executed these young generals who participated in the rebellion, which made the Song State fall into the embarrassing situation of 'aging generals'.

Therefore, Hui Ang hopes that Meng Zhong will be responsible for selecting some talented generals.

With Dai Wu and Hui Ang retained, Meng Zhong had to stay in Pengcheng for a while longer, and promoted some 'young generals'.

In fact, most of these so-called 'young generals' are older than him, such as his clan uncle Meng Zhi, who is not as brave as the late Meng Qing, but in terms of strategy, Meng Zhong thinks that Meng Zhi is much stronger than Jing Zhi - it is no exaggeration to say that in addition to being loyal to the Song State, the old Sima Jing Zhi really does not have many advantages.

A few days later, Mencius sent Le Zheng and Gongdu to lead a large number of Confucian disciples to Pengcheng in the Song State to take up official positions.

The name of one of the Confucian disciples aroused Meng Zhong's idea, and this person was called Teng Geng, who knew that he was a descendant of Teng Guo.

I have to say that although Meng Zhong is also a disciple of Mencius, Meng Zhong really doesn't know how many disciples Mencius has, after all, the senior brothers he is familiar with are actually less than 20 people such as Wan Zhang, Gongsun Chou, Chen Zhen, Le Zheng, and Gongdu.

Because he had some thoughts in his heart, Meng Zhong and Teng Geng chatted privately alone.

He asked Teng Geng: "Senior brother, the fall of Teng Guo was caused by the Song State, why is Senior Brother, as a descendant of Teng State, willing to go to Song State?" ”

Teng Geng replied calmly: "The reason for the disputes between countries is that Zhou Tianzi lost power, the princes fought for the throne, and the Song State was not benevolent and righteous, and the Qi State was not benevolent and righteous in the Song Dynasty. …… Now that Song Yan has abdicated the throne and the crown prince Dai Wu has succeeded to the throne, I know the character of the crown prince Dai Wu, and I am willing to help him govern the country, so that the Song State and those Teng people who were incorporated into the Song State can enjoy peace in the future and not return to the danger of the country. ”

Meng Zhong nodded secretly, indeed, compared to Song Wangyan, the crown prince Dai Wu, who admired Confucianism, was the main reason that attracted these Confucianism to the officials of the Song State the most.

Around May, perhaps after learning the news that Meng Zhong was appointed as the Great Sima in the Song State, the Great Liang of the Wei State was a little anxious, and the King of Wei ordered the Great Sima Zhai Zhang to come forward and recall Meng Zhong to the Wei State.

Although it is said that the current priority of the Wei State is to build the annexed Dongjun, and there is no conflict with the Qin State for the time being, but it is not possible to watch the Song State plan to draw Meng Zhong over, in case Dai Wu and Hui Ang use various means to make Meng Zhong finally choose to stay in the Song State, what should it be?

So, Zhai Zhang falsely claimed that he was seriously ill and asked Meng Zhong to return to Daliang immediately.

This is clearly to let Meng Zhong take the position of the Great Sima of Wei - even if Zhai Zhang's physical condition is temporarily fine, this old Sima is ready to retire.

After learning of this, Hui Ang decided to send an envoy to Wei and return to Wei with Meng Zhong, on the one hand, to negotiate with Wei so that Meng Zhong could concurrently serve as an official in Wei and Song, and on the other hand, to visit Song Wang Yan by the way.

However, seeing that Hui Ang recommended Le Zheng to replace him and serve as the minister of state before leaving, he knew that this righteous brother, who was loyal to the Song State and the Song Wangyan, had decided not to return to the Song Kingdom.

And privately, Hui Ang also admitted this matter in front of Meng Zhong, he said that with Confucian disciples such as Le Zheng, Gongdu, and Chen Zhen in the Song State, he had no doubt that the crown prince Dai Wu could govern the Song State with the help of these virtuous ministers, in contrast, he was more worried about the Song Wangyan who was left alone in the Wei State.

He joked that over the years, he had repeatedly rebelled against Song Wangyan, but Song Wangyan did not kill him, and this life had long been Song Wangyan's, and now that the king was alone in Wei, he should go and accompany him.

Seeing Hui An's resolute attitude, Meng Zhong sighed inexplicably, even if Song Wang Yan has been rumored to be a tyrant for many years, this king may not have no personality charm, no, his brother-in-law Hui Ang is dead set on that tyrant.

Of course, the crown prince Dai Wu did not agree to this matter in the end, and Le Zheng also refused this matter with some trepidation, he said to Hui Ang with a wry smile: "Brother, this move is harmful to Le Zhengye!" …… At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, he forced Huixiang away, didn't the Song people hate Zaixia? ”

In the end, both sides took a step back, and Le Zheng replaced Hui Ang to handle political affairs, but the position of prime minister was still held by Hui Ang for the time being, after all, Hui Ang's prestige in the Song State was indeed unmatched, just like Qu Yuan of Chu back then.

This is not surprising, after all, Hui Ang was 'the only courtier who could persuade the tyrant Song Yan', so that many Song people mistakenly believed that the benevolent government implemented by the Song State over the years was carried out by Hui Ang in front of the Song Wangyan - of course, in fact, it was similar in nature, but the Song Wangyan did not reject Mencius's benevolent government ideas so much.

On May 15, after arranging everything, Meng Zhong and Hui Ang set out on a journey to Wei.

On the way to Wei, Meng Zhong took Hui Ang back to Mengyi - last time because he was in a hurry to go to Pengcheng, Meng Zhong did not visit his teacher Zhuang Fuzi, and this time he certainly couldn't miss it again.

Returning to Mengyi again, the clansmen of the Meng clan were naturally very happy, especially when they learned that Meng Zhi had served as a fake Sima in Pengcheng, and the elders of the clan such as Meng Zhi and Meng Yan were even more happy.

During this period, it was natural that Meng Zhong's clan disciples wanted to get his recommendation, such as Meng Ao, the future patriarch.

Of course, Meng Zhong would not refuse the pleas of these clan brothers, and he said to the clan brothers with a smile: "There are two official paths in front of you, one is to go to Fang City, your clan brother Meng Sui, now it is the city order of Fang City, he will take care of you." There is another one, which is to go to Pengcheng, Uncle Meng Zhi is now serving as a fake Sima in the Pengcheng Army, as long as he can make meritorious contributions, he can be corrected, and truly become a Sima of the First Army, you go to him, he will naturally take care of you. It's up to you to decide. ”

In fact, there was a third way out for these Mengshi disciples, and that was to serve in the Shangqiu army - one of the purposes of Hui An's trip to Wei was to persuade Wei to acquiesce to Meng Zhong to take charge of a Song army, and this army was deployed in Shangqiu.

It's just that this matter has not yet been approved by the Wei State, so Meng Zhong is not in a hurry to make a conclusion, after all, he has been in charge of the military power of the two countries for a long time, which is indeed a rare thing in history.

After having dinner in Mengyi, Meng Zhong and Hui Ang, accompanied by Meng Ao and some other Montessori children, went to visit Master Zhuang.

Zhuangzi was naturally very happy about the arrival of Meng Zhong's disciple and Hui An's nephew, and he instructed Zhuang Bo, who was also happy about this, to prepare some wine and food, which were not rich, but they were all familiar tastes to Meng Zhong.

That night, Zhuangzi took Meng Zhong to watch the sky at night, and the master and apprentice chatted about the problems of the Song Kingdom.

Not to mention, don't look at Zhuangzi's Taoist sages, as if he doesn't value things in the world, but in fact, Zhuangzi still cares about the Song State very much, which can be seen from his praise of Meng Zhong for saving the Song Kingdom again.

To Meng Zhong's heart, he was a little glad that Zhuangzi's body was much healthier.

However, when it was mentioned that the Confucian disciples were currently serving as officials in Pengcheng, Zhuangzi's complexion suddenly changed and he became very angry.

Of course, Meng Zhong knew the reason, just because the Song State was originally the birthplace of Taoist thought, and many Taoist ideas originated from here, and now Confucianism is pouring into the Song State, which will inevitably affect the local Taoist thought of the Song State.

Based on this, Meng Zhong cautiously said to Zhuangzi: "Teacher, if you are worried that Confucianism will flood into the Song Kingdom and cause my Taoism to be affected, why don't you come forward in person?" …… As long as you have this idea, I believe that the crown prince Dai Wu will definitely build a palace for you, help you collect disciples, and spread Taoist thoughts. ”

"Is the old man like Meng Ke? The old man doesn't accept apprentices! Master Zhuang still said angrily.

"......" Meng Zhong blinked and did not speak.

After a moment of silence, Master Zhuang pretended to be angry and tapped Meng Zhong's head lightly with his cane, and went back to the house to rest.

Watching the teacher leave in a huff, Meng Zhong couldn't help but dare not laugh.

The next day, when Hui Ang learned of this, he said to Meng Zhong in surprise: "Can you convince Master Zhuang to be born?" ”

In his opinion, now that he has received the support of Confucian disciples, if he can also get the support of Zhuangzi, it will be really amazing.

But unfortunately, Meng Zhong shrugged his shoulders and said: "The old man is stubborn and good-looking, I'm afraid he won't easily break his oath." ”

Indeed, compared with Mencius, who was willing to accept disciples, Zhuangzi did not accept many disciples, and he accepted Meng Zhong and others as apprentices over the years, which has been used by Mencius to laugh at him.

As for Meng Zhong, he was more inclined to invite Zhuangzi to Pengcheng, and then Mencius from Zou to Pengcheng, tsk, it would be wonderful - old man, let the old man do activities in the things they are interested in, which will help physical and mental health.

Tian Zhang, as a disciple of Mencius, died one step ahead of his teacher, and Meng Zhong believed that the main thing was the relationship between mood: watching the Qi State weaken day by day, Tian Zhang's heart was depressed, so he could not live long.

On the other hand, Mencius and Zhuangzi, when Mencius received Zhuangzi's letter, the spiritual head, Meng Zhong saw it with his own eyes.

But unfortunately, it is not so easy to make this happen.

After living in Zhuangzi for ten days, Meng Zhong and Hui Ang bid farewell to Zhuangzi and continued their journey to Wei.

In early June, Meng Zhong arrived at Daliang of Wei.

Just as he guessed, Da Sima Zhai Zhang's health was very good, although he pretended to be recovering from a serious illness, Meng Zhong and Hui Ang didn't believe it.

Of course, the two righteous brothers were not stupid enough to debunk this matter.

On the same day, Meng Zhong accepted Zhai Zhang's invitation to eat and drink at his mansion, while Hui Ang was invited by Wei Wangfu.

During this period, Hui Ang proposed the greatest purpose of the trip, hoping that Wei Wangjun would allow Meng Zhong to concurrently serve as an official of the Song state, and as a condition, the Song state would be willing to assist the Wei state in its hegemony of the Central Plains, just as it had done during the Jin and Song alliances.

The next day, the king of Wei summoned Zhai Zhang and Tian Wen and told them about this matter: "Song Xiang Hui'an, yesterday proposed to the widow, hoping that Meng Zhong would be in charge of the official position of the Song State, and also be in charge of a Song army, according to what he said, if the widow can allow this matter, the Song State is willing to assist our Wei State to dominate the Central Plains, just like the Jin and Song countries back then, what are the opinions of the two?" ”

"Ridiculous!" Tian Wen immediately sneered, but his attitude was not very intense, obviously his point of view was mostly personal emotions.

At this time, Zhai Zhang said with a smile: "King, the old minister thinks that the king can allow this matter. …… In the eyes of the old ministers, the Song State's approach was only to ensure that it was not invaded by foreign enemies. …… Meng Zhong was originally from the Song Kingdom, and it was reasonable that he couldn't let go of his homeland, so if he was not allowed to serve as an official of the Song Kingdom, he would turn a blind eye to the crisis encountered by the Song Kingdom? Of course not! Even if he is an official in my Wei State, he also cares about Song Guo very much, since this is the case, why should he oppose this matter? …… Meng Zhong was born in the Song State, between the Song State and the Wei State, the old minister thought that he would eventually choose the Song State, if the king resolutely opposed this matter, the old minister was afraid that my Wei State would lose an excellent commander, it was better to acquiesce in this matter and get the full support of the Song State. You know, the king, the Song State is a country that relieves promises, and when the Jin and Song Dynasty were in alliance, the Song State never gave in to the coercion of the Chu State; During the Zhao and Song alliances, Song Wang Yan had never broken his alliance with Zhao's father for more than thirty years, and the promise of this country was not the kind of ...... of Qi State."

Speaking of this, he smiled and said to Wei Wangjun: "The king's concerns, the old minister also knows, but first, the virtue of Meng Zhong, the king does not need to worry about him favoring the Song Kingdom, and second, the Wei and Song countries will not become enemies for at least a hundred years...... At present, although the Song State has lifted the biggest threat because of the fall of the Qi State, but this time the Song State annexed the land from the Qi State, it still takes the Song State a long time to digest...... All in all, the king agreed to this matter and strengthened the Wei and Song alliances, which would be beneficial and harmless!

"Hmm." Wei Wang nodded slowly.

Under Tian Zhang's persuasion, Wei Wangjun finally acquiesced to Meng Zhong's official position and military control of the Song state.

On the ninth day of the sixth month, Zhai Zhang, the Grand Sima of Wei, resigned from the post of Great Sima on the grounds of old age and infirmity, and recommended Meng Zhong to serve as the Great Sima, which was approved by Wei Wangyun.

At this point, Meng Zhong concurrently served as the great Sima of Wei and Song, and his prestige was close to that of Gongsun Yan back then.

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