"PS: The Zongzi Festival is gone? Oh, anyway, the writers of online articles never have festivals, it doesn't matter.'"

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"A gentleman can be deceived by his own way, and it is difficult to disregard his way", this is an allusion in "Mencius", which talks about the precursor of Legalism and the birth of Zheng Guoguo.

Once, someone gave a big fish to the child, and the little official who managed the pond and marsh released it into the water, but the little official secretly cooked the fish and ate it, and when he came back, the liar said: "I put the fish back in the water, and at first it was a little weak, but it quickly swam away." ”

Zichan was convinced and smiled, "(It's) found where it should go." ”

Afterwards, the little official was very proud, and said to people in private: "Who said that children have wisdom? He didn't know I had lied to him. ”

In response to this matter, Mencius said that a righteous man and a gentleman can deceive him in a reasonable way, but it is difficult to deceive him with unreasonable things.

And this is exactly the trick that Meng Zhong is going to use to persuade Qu Yuan.

That night, when Meng Zhong and Xiang Yi entertained Qu Yuan in the side hall of the Yeyi Mansion, Meng Zhong deliberately asked Qu Yuan: "Listen to my brother, Doctor Qu is now exiled by the King of Chu again?" ”

To tell the truth, even if it was an upright person like Qu Yuan, he was full of anger when he mentioned his exile, but he restrained it well and said lightly: "It's just that there are traitors in the country, and I don't want to see you stay in Chu Ying." ”

As soon as Meng Zhong heard this, he knew that Qu Yuan was attacked and framed by his colleagues in the Chu State, so he asked again: "Where are you exiled?" ”

"Gangnam."

Saying that, Qu Yuan saw that Meng Zhong and Xiang Yu showed puzzled expressions, so he explained: "That is, where Wu and Yue used to be. ”

"I see."

Meng Zhong was stunned, and said directly to Qu Yuan: "It seems that Dr. Qu is so virtuous, but the king of Chu has abandoned it and not used it, which shows that he is ignorant and can't read the pearl in his eyes." …… Now in the first place in the next Fangcheng order, and get Yeyi, Wuyang two yi, my generation is not good at governing the people, I don't know if Dr. Qu is willing to succumb here, in the next decision to treat Dr. Qu as a guest. ”

Hearing this, Xiang Yi couldn't help but be a little anxious, and frequently glanced at Meng Zhong.

He said in his heart, I have already tested this to Qu Yuan, but the other party did not agree at all, I asked you to find a way, why did you ask directly?

As if noticing the anxious look on Xiang Yu's face, Meng Zhong shook his head slightly, signaling him not to be anxious.

Sure enough, as Xiang Yu guessed, Qu Yuan did not hesitate to politely excuse himself: "A foolish person under the order really can't afford the praise of Fang Chengling. …… Fang Chengling's kindness is in his heart, but this matter cannot be agreed to. ”

was rejected directly, but Meng Zhong didn't care at all, and praised with a smile when he heard the words: "Doctor Qu is really loyal to the Chu State......

Suddenly, he changed his tone and asked Qu Yuandao: "But I don't know, is Doctor Qu loyal to the State of Chu, or the King of Chu?" ”

"This ......" Qu Yuan was slightly stunned when he heard this, and asked puzzledly: "Is there any difference between the two?" ”

"Of course." Meng Zhong Zhengse said: "The state of Chu is a 'name (concept)', and the king of Chu is a 'reality', if Dr. Qu is loyal to the state of Chu, that is, he is a minister of the country, and Dr. Qu is loyal to the king of Chu, that is, he is a minister of the king." I don't know if Dr. Qu is a minister of the country or a minister of the king? ”

"Hmm......"

Qu Yuan stroked his long beard and pondered, nodded after a moment and said, "This kind of analysis is what I have heard before...... What is the understanding of the ministers of the country? ”

When Meng Zhong heard this, he explained: "The ambition is to protect the country, so that it will not be humiliated by foreign enemies, and internally, so that the people can live and work in peace and contentment, no matter how others slander me and deceive me, I only abide by the right path, wealth cannot take away my will, and the king's decree cannot make me bend my waist, this is the minister of the country!" ”

Qu Yuan's eyes couldn't help but widen when he heard this, and he said in his heart, isn't this just talking about me?

After thinking about it, he stroked his long beard and said, "As Fang Chengling said, Qu Yuan is the minister of Chu State. ”

Seeing this, Xiang Yu secretly laughed in his heart: This Qu Yuan, I'm afraid I don't know that I have fallen into the pit.

Sure enough, after listening to Qu Yuan's words, Meng Zhong nodded and praised: "I also think that Dr. Qu is a minister of the country, I heard my brother say that Dr. Qu once served as a disciple under the throne of Chu Huai, and was entrusted by him to carry out the reform of the law, presumably during the period he encountered many obstacles from the old nobles in the country. ”

Hearing this, Qu Yuan felt a little sour in his heart, and sighed: "All the countries in the world are named first and have countries, but my Chu country is the first to have a country, and then it is ...... name."

According to Qu Yuan's explanation, all the kingdoms of today, except for the Three Jin Dynasty, first obtained the status of princes granted by the Zhou royal family, and then slowly established their respective countries, but only the Chu State was different, because when the Shang and Zhou countries competed for the world, the Chu State already existed, but the concept of "country" did not appear at that time, but only in the form of the union of the tribes south of the Great River.

Therefore, later all the countries of the Central Plains could claim to be orthodox after the merchants and the Zhou people, but the Chu people, who were neither after the merchants nor after the Zhou people, belonged to the barbarians who were naturalized by the Zhou State - this is also the reason why the Chu State has been looked down upon by the Central Plains countries for a long time.

Because of poverty and backwardness, the state of Chu began to emulate the state of Zhou from the beginning and learn the culture of the Central Plains.

For example, the sub-feudal system of the Zhou State, and this led to the deep-rooted power of the local nobles and local families in the Chu State, and it was difficult to eradicate them through a temporary reform of the law.

This is a drawback that the state of Chu fell at the beginning of its founding.

No, he Qu Yuan was determined to change the law and try to become stronger, but he was resisted and persecuted by many old nobles in China, so that now, his future is ruined, and he can't go back if he has a home.

Every time he thought of this, Qu Yuan couldn't help but sigh.

Hearing Qu Yuan's self-deprecation, Meng Zhongzheng praised: "No." Mencius once said that the heavens will descend on people, and they must first suffer their minds, strain their muscles and bones, starve their bodies and skins, empty their bodies, and act chaotically. …… Now Dr. Qu is suffering, or God is sharpening Dr. Qu's will, so that Dr. Qu can return to the temple at the right time in the future to help the country. ”

"Timing?" Qu Yuan was stunned when he heard this, and immediately turned around: "What does Fang Chengling mean is that now is not the time to go out?" ”

"Isn't it?" Meng Zhong said indifferently: "Although I don't know much about the state of Chu, I have also heard that the current king of Chu is a dumb king, and he can't look down on the loyalty and goodness of Dr. Qu, and appoint treacherous and evil, and greedy for wine, and have no ambition to strengthen the country and rejuvenate the country. I thought it was better to return to the mountains and forests, wait for the temple to be clear, and then return to the mountain. ”

Hearing this, Qu Yuan was silent.

After all, the truth is just as Meng Zhong guessed, the current King of Chu Xiong Heng has no ambition to strengthen the country and rejuvenate the country, and most of the domestic are traitorous ministers like Ling Yin Zilan who only care about selfish interests and immediate interests, although there are still courtiers like Zhao Sui who are interested in serving the country, but the general trend is like this, they can only succumb to the old aristocratic forces headed by Ling Yin Zilan.

In this case, the wise man should indeed retire for a while, secluded in the mountains and forests, and wait for the court to be clear, but the question is, if everyone thinks so, then the temple is not a treacherous and evil way?

Thinking of this, Qu Yuan shook his head and said, "What Fang Chengling said, I don't dare to agree. Although the temple is treacherous, our generation still insists on fighting against it, even if it is ...... Even if it'......"

"Even if you are slandered and exiled by the king of Chu?" Meng Zhong said.

"Exactly!" Qu Yuan clenched his fists and said in a deep voice.

Seeing this, Meng Zhong nodded and praised: "Doctor Qu is worthy of being an iron-clad minister, and I admire him." …… But under the don't think it's the best option. ”

Qu Yuan looked at Meng Zhong when he heard this: "I want to hear it." ”

I saw Meng Zhong ponder for a moment, and Zhengse said: "The art of war, if the enemy is strong and I am weak, we will temporarily avoid its edge and wait for it to be weak." Temporary concession is not yielding, nor is it weakness...... I withdrew my five fingers at this moment so that I could gather more power for the next punch. Now Dr. Qu offended the king of Chu and offended Ling Yin Zilan, although the country of Chu was so big, but Dr. Qu could only be exiled to Jiangnan. ”

In all fairness, once Zhao Sui also persuaded Qu Yuan not to be so upright, but Qu Yuan never listened to it, but hearing Meng Zhong's words today, Qu Yuan couldn't help but think deeply.

The reason is that Meng Zhong is not blindly persuading him Qu Yuan to put away his upright temperament, but is teaching him how to defeat the strong with the weak.

What's more, this young Fang Chengling said everything reasonably, which made Qu Yuan have to think deeply.

Suddenly, he arched his hand and said, "Please Fang Chengling teach me, how to reverse a situation like the one now?" ”

Seeing this, Meng Zhong said with a smile: "I don't dare to teach, it's just that Dr. Qu is a fan of the authorities and a bystander." …… Since Dr. Qu said this, he will say a few words nonsense. It seems that the current situation of Dr. Qu in the Chu State is nothing more than that the King of Chu is not close, and he is tabooed by Yin Zilan and others, since this is the case, Dr. Qu must find a way to dispel the resistance of the old aristocratic forces to you, this is one of them. ”

Qu Yuan nodded thoughtfully, and then asked, "Isn't being exiled to Jiangnan enough to make those traitors eliminate their vigilance?" ”

"Of course!"

Meng Zhong said with a smile: "Although it was caused by the traitorous ministers' slander, it was the King of Chu who ordered the exile of Doctor Qu after all. …… Today, the king of Chu can exile Dr. Qu, and tomorrow he can recall Dr. Qu. Just imagine, will those traitorous ministers who want to hinder Dr. Qu's return to Shouying be slandered in front of the king of Chu all the time? ”

"This ...... Taught. ”

Qu Yuan nodded suddenly in realization, and then asked, "Then, may I ask Fang Cheng Ling, how can I dispel the vigilance of those traitorous ministers?" ”

I saw that under Xiang Yi's gaze, Meng Zhong showed a smile familiar to the former: "I thought that Doctor Qu should succumb to Yeyi." ”

“……”

Hearing this, Qu Yuan looked at Meng Zhong with a strange expression, shook his head half-loudly and said, "In the next ...... If you don't understand, please ask Fang Chengling to solve your doubts. ”

"It's easy."

Meng Zhong spread his hands and said: "If Dr. Qu is succumbing to the lower side, he will become an official on the Wei side, even if the King of Chu can't recall Dr. Qu for no reason, like this, Yin Zilan and the others will gradually reduce their vigilance against Dr. Qu." ”

"That's true, but how do you feel that you are also selfish?"

After thinking about it, Qu Yuan deliberately said: "I understand in Xia, what Fang Chengling means is to let Zai temporarily vote for another country, and make it clear to Zilan and others that he will not return to Chu State, so as to wait for the future." …… But in this case, you don't have to be an official here in Fangcheng Ling? ”

『…… It's not so easy to fool.'"

Xiang Yu let out a long breath and looked at Meng Zhong with some nervousness.

But Meng Zhong was very calm, and said with a smile: "What Doctor Qu said is extremely true, but the help that Doctor Qu can get when he goes elsewhere may not be as much as he can get here. ”

"Oh? How so? Qu Yuan smiled and asked, "How can you conclude that Fang Chengling will definitely help you?" ”

In this regard, Meng Zhong was not in a hurry to explain, and asked Qu Yuan instead: "Doctor Qu, do you know that my brothers and I are both Song people?" ”

Qu Yuan was stunned, and after glancing at Xiang Yi, he nodded and said, "I have heard Xiang Yicheng say it." ”

"That's good." Meng Zhong nodded, and then asked, "So, does Doctor Qu know what he is going to Wei for the next time?" ”

"This ...... I really don't know. ”

"In order to save the Song Kingdom."

"Save Song Guo?" Qu Yuan's face showed a little puzzlement.

"Hmm."

Meng Zhong scooped a spoonful of wine with a wine spoon, and after taking a sip, he said slowly: "When I was young, my father and brother died in the foreign wars of the Song Kingdom, and later I was fortunate to meet Song Wangyan, I once asked him why he had to fight frequently, causing my father and brother to die on the battlefield, and Song Wangyan replied: Today, if my Song Kingdom does not annex small countries to increase its strength, it will be annexed by large countries tomorrow. ”

As he spoke, he glanced at Qu Yuan, and said in a deep voice: "My Song Kingdom is not strong, but it is located in the hinterland of the Central Plains, but as the so-called Pifu is not guilty and guilty, my Song Kingdom is coveted by Qi and other big countries all the time because of its domestic wealth. I know that it is difficult for my Song State to have the strength to fight against Qi State in a short period of time, so I went to Zhao State to strengthen the alliance between Zhao and Song, but it ultimately failed. …… This time, my brothers defected to the Wei State, not to be the king of Wei State, but to strengthen the alliance between Wei and Song, if one day, I can serve as the Great Sima in Wei State, when Qi State attacks Song State, wouldn't I be able to influence the King of Wei and make Wei State come forward to help Song State? Dr. Qu's situation is similar to that of Zaixia, and he empathizes with him, so he will try his best to help Dr. Qu, while others may not. ”

"I see." Qu Yuan was persuaded by Meng Zhong's explanation, and at the same time he had a little more respect for Meng Zhong and the others.

At this time, Meng Zhong took the opportunity to persuade Qu Yuandao: "Since you can temporarily join the Wei State in order to save the Song State, why doesn't Dr. Qu try this method?" …… Compared to being exiled to the south of the Yangtze River and having no benefit from the Chu State, why not temporarily vote for Yeyi? As long as he obtains a high position in Wei in the future, and takes advantage of the momentum of Wei to send Dr. Qu to Chu as an envoy...... At that time, Doctor Qu was in Chu State, wouldn't he be able to speak? ”

These reasonable words were said by Qu Yuan speechless.

Thinking about it carefully, what Meng Zhong said is indeed very reasonable, and Meng Zhong also explained the reason why he will try his best to help him in the future - that is, empathy.

I have to say that Qu Yuan really can't think of a reason to refuse.

"Clever and smart!"

Xiang Yu gave Meng Zhong a look for the time being.

Although he could also see that Qu Yuan was still hesitating, it was undeniable that this Doctor Qu had already wavered, as long as he added another fire, he might not have a chance to turn him Yeyi - no, it should be said that this matter was already secure.

Of course, Meng Zhong could notice the look that Xiang Yu gave him, but he didn't respond, and continued to persuade Qu Yuandao: "Doctor Qu wants to save the Chu State, but there is no need to stay in the Chu State, the ancients are cloudy, if you are poor, you will think about change, and change will make sense, and now, Dr. Qu is in the State of Chu, and he thinks that he has come to an end, and the King of Chu refuses to reuse, and there are many traitors in the temple who slander in front of the King of Chu all the time, hindering Dr. Qu from returning to the temple. Flexible', if you don't change, you will die, and if you change, you will be accessible, since the road of Chu has entered a dead end, why not try another way? Why hit your head against a wall on a dead road and break your head? ”

Speaking of this, he glanced at Qu Yuan, and saw that the latter had a contemplative look on his face, and did not immediately refute it, he took the opportunity to say again: "I, Yeyi, have absorbed many Chu people today, and I am lacking an official who is trusted by everyone to govern, if Dr. Qu is willing to submit to my Yeyi, whether it is for Yeyi or for those Chu people, it is a great blessing, isn't this better than Dr. Qu being exiled to Jiangnan?" ”

"This ......"

After being silent for a long time, Qu Yuan hesitated and said, "Please let me be...... Think about it. ”

"It doesn't matter."

Meng Zhong smiled and said, "Doctor Qu thinks about it carefully. ”

After the feast, after Qu Yuan temporarily went to the house in the county government to rest, Xiang Yi smiled and said to Meng Zhong: "It is worthy of Ah Zhong!" Why can't I think of this solution? ”

Meng Zhong chuckled and said: "Read more books, Mencius said very clearly, a gentleman can be bullied, if you come forward as Ye Yi Yi Cheng to implore Doctor Qu to give in to my Ye Yi, of course he will refuse, but if you persuade from the perspective of benefiting the Chu State, he will be shaken...... Got it? ”

"Understood." Xiang Yu nodded, and then said predictably: "Tomorrow, I will send Qu Yuan outside the city, let him get along with those Chu people, and wait for them to get along with each other for a month or two, I will see if Qu Yuan is willing to leave?" …… If he wants to leave, I will ask those Chu people to come forward and stay. ”

"......" Meng Zhong opened his mouth and said with a strange expression: "Ah Yan, how can it be all a conspiracy to say from your mouth?" ”

Xiang Yu said indifferently: "Whether it's a conspiracy or a conspiracy, as long as you can achieve your goal, it's a good strategy!" ”

Meng Zhong shook his head, but he didn't know how to refute Xiang Yi, so he had to go with him.

Because of Qu Yuan's relationship, Meng Zhong decided to temporarily live in Yeyi that day, instead of returning to Fangcheng or Wuyangyi.

Early the next morning, shortly after Meng Zhong got up, he saw Qu Yuan.

Seeing Qu Yuan's tired face, Meng Zhong asked, "Didn't Doctor Qu sleep well last night?" ”

Qu Yuan nodded and said truthfully: "Yesterday, I listened to Fang Chengling's words, and I thought hard all night, so that I couldn't sleep at night......"

Indeed, after listening to Meng Zhong's words yesterday, Qu Yuan thought about it for a long time, but instead of picking out anything wrong with Meng Zhong's words, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this statement was quite reasonable.

Especially the sentence "If you are poor, you will think about change, and if you change, you will understand".

Hearing this, Meng Zhong smiled and asked, "What about ...... Did Dr. Qu make a wise decision? ”

I saw Qu Yuan smile bitterly, bowed to Meng Zhong, and said cryptically: "If Fang Cheng's order is not abandoned, I hope to stay in Yeyi for a while." ”

Staying for a period of time means that Qu Yuan has not completely decided to stay in Yeyi for a long time, but he is no longer excluded from staying here.

As a direct minister who was loyal to the state of Chu, this was already a very remarkable change.

For the rest, Meng Zhong had decided to hand it over to Xiang Yu - after all, Xiang Yu had already thought of a way to deal with this Qu Yuan yesterday.

Thinking of this, Meng Zhong immediately replied: "Doctor Qu is serious, my brothers and I are all young and vigorous, and we lack experience in governing the country and the people, so we will have to ask Dr. Qu for advice in the future." ”

"Don't dare, don't dare." Qu Yuan said humbly.

As Meng Zhong guessed, Qu Yuan has indeed not decided whether to become a career in Yeyi, but it cannot be denied that he has already had the idea of "flexibility".

It's just that he doesn't know if Meng Zhong can help him.

It is undeniable that Meng Zhong's group of people is very talented, he defeated the army of Qin at a young age, served as the commander of Fangcheng, and got Yeyi and Wuyang as food, but in terms of the current status of Meng Zhong and others in Wei, they still can't help Qu Yuan, which is why Qu Yuan is still hesitating.

Removing this layer, Qu Yuan actually did not exclude being in Yeyi, after all, he had a great impression of Meng Zhong, because Meng Zhong pointed him out, which made him feel like Pan Ran had awakened and opened the clouds and mist to see the sky.

Therefore, he finally made the decision to see if Meng Zhong had the potential to "cooperate" with him.

Yes, it is cooperation with each other, even if Qu Yuan is an official under Meng Zhong in the future, the two are not loyal and loyal, just like Meng Zhong has no loyalty to the king of Wei - he is also a "minister of the state", not a minister of the king, since he is an official in the Wei state, he will perform his duties to help the Wei state resist the Qin state, but this does not mean that he can have some loyalty to the Wei royal family.

And this is precisely one of the reasons why Qu Yuan was moved by Meng Zhong's words: the two are the same kind of people.

In late November, Meng Zhong and Qu Yuan followed Xiang Yi to participate in the reconstruction of Yeyi.

As the Fang Cheng Order, Meng Zhong has given full authority to Xiang Yi for the construction of Yeyi, so naturally he will not interfere anymore, and his stay in Yeyi is nothing more than to contact Qu Yuan for a relationship.

During this period, Meng Zhong also explained several of the latter's questions to Qu Yuan.

For example, why did the Wei State suddenly deploy heavy troops in the area of Fangcheng, and whether this was an action against the Chu State.

In this regard, Meng Zhong told Qu Yuan unreservedly - in fact, this is not a secret, the reason why Wei State deployed heavy troops in Fangcheng is nothing more than that he Meng Zhong wants his team.

Unexpectedly, this incident alarmed Qu Yuan, making Qu Yuan mistakenly think that Wei would have some big action against Chu.

In order to entrap Qu Yuan, and also to dispel the worries in the former's heart, Meng Zhong chuckled and explained: "The Wei State just lost 100,000 troops in Yique some time ago, and there is a huge threat from the Qin State, how can it be possible to invade the Chu State? No, even when he went to the Chu realm to absorb the displaced people, he asked the soldiers to put away their banners and dare not approach the city, sneaking like thieves, for fear of causing misunderstanding in the Chu country......"

Hearing this analogy, Qu Yuan couldn't help but chuckle.

In addition to chuckling, he couldn't help but sigh secretly: since he was demoted to the rank of doctor Sanlu, he doesn't know how long it has been since he laughed.

He was in the Chu country, he felt a lot of pressure all day long, but now in Yeyi, he felt very relaxed, and the vigorous Zhongxing atmosphere in this city deeply attracted him.

And just when Meng Zhong and Qu Yuan were inspecting the fields outside Yeyi City and chatting in detail, several cavalry galloped in front.

After approaching Meng Zhong, the cavalry led by him turned over and dismounted, and reported with his fists in his fists: "Qi Cheng Order, the Korean Great Sima Storm Kite has arrived in Fangcheng, and I implore to meet with Cheng Ling, saying that I want to have a good meal with Cheng Ling." ”

"Storm kite?"

Meng Zhong and Qu Yuan were both slightly stunned.

Meng Zhong was surprised that the violent kite would come here, and Qu Cheng was surprised by Meng Zhong's connections.

『…… It seems that this Fang Cheng Order is not simple."

Qu Yuan thought secretly.