Around November of the eighth year of the reign of King Wei of Wei, the Song State participated in the partition of the Qi State and stopped at Jucheng.

Of course, this is the consideration of Meng Zhong, who is currently the Grand Sima of the Song State, and he believes that instead of blindly continuing to annex the land of the Qi State, it is better to digest the land that has been captured, after all, the Song State has captured one-fifth of the land of the Qi State so far, which is equivalent to increasing the area of the Song State by more than a quarter, which is enough for the Song State to digest for several years.

Think about it carefully, how much land has Song Wangyan conquered in these years of foreign expansion? It's less than half of this time, and this time the Song State almost effortlessly obtained more than twice the amount of land equivalent to the Song Wangyan's foreign expansion in several years, so what is there to be dissatisfied with?

But not everyone of the generals of the Song State was as rational as Meng Zhong, such as Dai Busheng, who repeatedly persuaded Meng Zhong to lead them to continue the Northern Expedition, at least to capture Jucheng.

Why does Dai Busheng attach so much importance to Jucheng?

It turned out that at this time, the field of King Qi had fled from Linzi to Jucheng because of the crusade of the Five Nations Alliance, and he didn't know whether he felt that Jucheng could resist the armies of Yan and Song, or was ready to continue to flee.

And Dai Busheng's idea was to seize the fields of the King of Qi and make him pay for the wars imposed on the Song State over the years.

Faced with Dai Busheng's persuasion, Meng Zhong asked him, "What are you going to do if you seize the field of King Qi?" ”

"Kill him, of course." Dai Busheng said without hesitation.

Hearing this, Meng Zhong smiled slightly, and suddenly asked, "Do you know King Chu Huai?" ”

Dai Busheng's eyes widened: "Of course I know." ”

Meng Zhong nodded and said: "King Chu Huai was originally a faint monarch, but he was first deceived by Zhang Yi, the envoy of the Qin State, and severed diplomatic relations with the Qi State with the so-called 'Six Hundred Miles of Commerce', and also sent people to openly humiliate the King of Qi several times, completely severing the friendship with the Qi State. Subsequently, he launched the Battle of the Allure to fight against the Qin State, killing countless Chu people, causing the Chu people to hate King Chu Huai to the bone. However, because King Huai of Chu later refused to cede the territory of Chu when he went to Qin to seek peace, so he died in other countries, and the Chu people forgot their hatred for King Huai of Chu and hated Qin instead. …… Today, the land of the King of Qi is hated by the Qi people internally and disliked by all countries externally, but if this faint monarch falls into the hands of my Song State and my Song Kingdom kills him, do you think there will be a story similar to King Chu Huai again? ”

"This ......," Dai Busheng hesitated.

Smiling, Meng Zhong said again: "So, let the King of Qi Tian live, if he lives, the Qi people will only continue to hate him, and the responsibility for the broken country will be attributed to this faint monarch, but if this faint monarch dies in the hands of my Song State, the Qi people may turn this hatred to my Song State, and then resist the rule of my Song State over Langya County." ”

Dai Busheng suddenly realized, so he no longer mentioned continuing to attack Jucheng, and the army of the Song State stopped in the area of Jucheng and did not continue to the north.

A few days later, Dai Wu, the crown prince of the Song Kingdom, came from Pengcheng to Yancheng.

The sudden arrival of the crown prince Dai Wu made Meng Zhong feel a little puzzled, and mistakenly thought that Dai Wu was also not satisfied with the land of Qi that he had conquered now, so he explained the reason to Dai Wu.

Unexpectedly, Dai Wu said with a smile: "Dai Wu is not here for this matter. ”

Not for this?

Why is that?

Meng Zhong was surprised.

So Dai Wu said to Meng Zhong: "Dai Wu wants to go to Zou to see Mencius, and I hope that Qing can go with Dai Wu." ”

I see.

Meng Zhong suddenly realized that the emotional prince Dai Wu wanted him to introduce him on his behalf - although with the identity and fame of the crown prince Dai Wu, he would definitely be warmly received by Mencius's master and apprentice, but if Dai Wu had Meng Zhong in his team, I believe the atmosphere would be more harmonious.

Nodding, Meng Zhong said to Dai Wu: "Originally, I also planned to visit Mencius in winter, and since the prince is interested, I am naturally willing to walk with the prince. But before that, the prince should come forward to reward the soldiers in the army and recognize them for their merits. ”

"That's nature." Prince Dai Wu nodded repeatedly.

As a result, the crown prince Dai Wu came forward to reward the three armies, and tens of thousands of Song ** teams celebrated in Yancheng to celebrate a major victory.

In addition to the army, Meng Zhong handed over the affairs of General Zhong to Dai Busheng, and took the crown prince Dai Wu to embark on a journey to the Zou State.

From Yancheng to Zou, it is only necessary to go west through the land of Lu - to be precise, it is necessary to pass through Fei first, and then through Lu, Fei is a vassal state of Lu, and its monarch is one of the three Huan of Lu that year, Ji.

When passing through Feiyi, the monarch of Fei State warmly received Dai Wu, the crown prince of Song State, and Sima Mengzhong, the Grand Monarch of Song State, and the monarch of Fei State also vaguely pointed out that a few days ago, King Qi Tiandi sent envoys to Lu and Fei to beg the two countries to accept them, but neither Lu nor Fei accepted them.

Fei Guo was so anxious to show his heart, of course Dai Wu and Meng Zhong understood the truth, no, Meng Zhong didn't say anything else, he raised the wine bottle on the spot and said with a smile: "May the relations between Lu Fei and my Song Kingdom last forever." ”

This sentence seemed to reassure the monarchs and ministers of the Fei Kingdom, and they raised their wine bottles to cater to them: "May the relations between the three countries last forever." ”

The next day, the crown prince Dai Wu personally bid farewell to the monarch of Fei, indicating that the purpose of this trip was to visit Mencius, and it was a pity that he could not stay in Feiguo for a long time, so the monarch of Fei personally took a dozen chariots to send Dai Wu and Meng Zhong and his party to the border.

Leaving the country of Fei, and then passing through the southern region of the state of Lu, they arrived at the state of Zou, the monarch of the state of Zou had already received the news, and also came to greet him in person, and the palace of Dai Wu and Meng Zhong was to set up a banquet to entertain him, and to show his heart - it turned out that the king of Qi also sent people to plead with the state of Zou to be contained, but the monarch of the state of Zou also did not agree to this matter.

Knowing that Dai Wu and Meng Zhong were going to visit Mencius, the monarch of Zou State, out of good intentions, wanted to send someone to tell Mencius and his disciples, but this matter was politely rejected by Dai Wu and Meng Zhong.

In the face of a contemporary sage like Mencius, how dare Dai Wu put on a show?

As for Meng Zhong, needless to say, how can there be any reason for the teacher to wait for the disciple in advance?

However, many of the courtiers of Zou had Confucian disciples, and these Confucian disciples still sent the matter to Mencius's residence one step ahead of schedule.

Due to a delay of several days in Fei and Zou, Dai Wu and Meng Zhong arrived at Mencius's residence on November 14.

At this time, the snow was falling heavily, and the weather was already very cold.

But when Dai Wu and Meng Zhong came to Mencius's residence, the Confucian disciples had already prepared hot wine to entertain Dai Wu and Meng Zhong.

In particular, Meng Zhong, as the 'junior disciple' of Confucianism, was surrounded by all the senior brothers, and they asked him about the great battles he had experienced over the years, especially the fact that Meng Zhong forced the Qin State to submit to the Wei State in Xihe County, which really made the Confucian disciples proud.

Who says that contemporary Confucian disciples are not successful? Our Confucianism has Tian Zhang in front of us, and Meng Zhong in the back, all of them are famous generals who can shake the Central Plains by stomping their feet.

After a few pleasantries, Meng Zhong asked the senior brothers, "I don't know how the teacher's physical condition is?" ”

Gongsun Chou shook his head and said, "It's not optimistic. ”

As he spoke, he explained to Meng Zhong Mencius's current situation.

The main reason for Mencius's physical condition is that he is too old, and his energy has gradually declined in all aspects, especially in the cold winter, because of his weak body, he has a headache and brain fever at every turn, which makes the disciples tremble.

A few days ago, Mencius explained the Confucian scriptures to his disciples when it was not snowing, and after finishing the lecture, he fell ill again, so frightened that the disciples gathered around the sickbed all day long, and they didn't even dare to breathe.

Hearing this, Meng Zhong felt very uncomfortable, and said ashamedly: "Master Meng has helped me a lot, but I am really ashamed that I failed to fulfill my duties as a disciple. ”

Gongsun Chou and others persuaded one after another.

They all know that it's not that Meng Zhong disrespects the teacher, it's just that this little junior brother has been too busy in recent years, aiding the Song Dynasty, the Qin Dynasty, and the Qi Dynasty, and it doesn't stop for a few days all year round. [Author: Hmm, that's it. 】

After receiving the understanding of the senior brothers, Meng Zhong arched his hand and said, "I want to see the master, I don't know if it is convenient?" ”

Gongsun Chou thought for a while and said, "I'll take you to try it, the master is not in good spirits, don't speak loudly." ”

Meng Zhong nodded.

A moment later, Gongsun Chou and his Confucian disciples led Meng Zhong to Mencius's residence, where Meng Zhong saw Mencius lying on the bed with his eyes half-open.

Seeing this scene, Meng Zhong frowned.

You must know that Mencius was very fond of him, and if he knew that he had come to visit, he would definitely open his eyes and talk to him at this moment, but at this moment Mencius's eyes were half-open, which showed that the old man was currently in a state of drowsiness and lack of energy.

The fact that an eighty-year-old man in his twilight is in this state is not a good sign.

Meng Zhong and Gongsun Chou glanced at each other, and the two exchanged some words silently, and immediately, Gongsun Chou gently walked to Mencius's bed and said in a low voice: "Master, Meng Zhong has come to visit you. ”

After four or five breaths, Mencius's eyes gradually opened, and he looked at Meng Zhong standing on the side of the bed with a slight loss of focus, and then his eyes gradually became focused.

"Ah Zhong...... Ahem, cough, come, help the old man. ”

At Mencius's suggestion, Meng Zhong hurriedly stepped forward and supported Mencius with Gongsun Chou, so that Mencius could sit on the bed.

At this time, Mencius patted the edge of the bed, motioned for Meng Zhong to sit down, and immediately patted Meng Zhong's shoulder and said with a smile: "Your business in Xihe, old man...... Ahem, the old man heard about it, excellent, very good! Nowadays, it is very rare to be able to make the Qin State compromise and submit, and among them, ...... There you ...... Ahem, ahem. ”

As he spoke, he asked in confusion, "Speaking of which, why did you come to Zou Kingdom?" ”

Meng Zhong then explained softly: "If you return to your master, I am now serving as the Great Sima of the Song State and helping the Song State crusade against the Qi State......"

"Da Sima?" Mencius asked in confusion, "Aren't you an official in the Wei Kingdom?" How did he become the Great Sima of the Song Kingdom? ”

Meng Zhong explained: "Because he learned that the king of Song and the crown prince were at odds, the disciples immediately rushed to the Song kingdom after the battle of Xihe ended......"

However, the more Mencius listened, the more confused his face became: "The king of Song and the crown prince are not in harmony? ”

Seeing this, Meng Zhong asked curiously: "Master doesn't know what happened in the Song Kingdom recently."

Mencius shook his head and turned his head to look at Gongsun Chou and the other disciples.

Gongsun Chou explained: "The teacher has been in poor health recently, so the disciples and others dare not distract the teacher. ”

Thinking that Mencius was also aware of his physical condition, he did not blame Gongsun Chou and other disciples, turned his head to Meng Zhong and said, "Ah Zhong, then you can talk about it." ”

"No."

Meng Zhong responded, and then told Mencius about the civil strife in the Song Kingdom, including the five kingdoms.

When he spoke of beating the Song Wangyan with hatred, using 'force' to 'submit' the Song Wangyan and 'banishing' him to the Wei state, Mencius, Gongsun Chou and others all showed strange expressions.

You must know that although with the efforts of Hui An, Song Wang Yan acquiesced to the implementation of Mencius's benevolent government in the Song State, but this monarch is still an out-and-out tyrant in nature, and few people in the entire Song State dare to disobey this monarch, but Meng Zhong is good, and actually said something to throw Song Wang Yan to the ground, and 'repeat it several times', so that Song Wang Yan 'can't stand', which is simply ......

"Ahem." After coughing lightly, Mencius said in a low voice: "Ah Zhong, although you are kind, but there is a difference between the monarch and the minister, like this 'martial advice', which is not in accordance with the rules. …… Although the king of Song is rumored to be a tyrant, seeing if he can forgive your behavior this time, it can be seen that he is not ignorant, but you must also abide by the courtesy of being a minister. …… Now the king of Song went to Wei in order to avoid suspicion, with his good strength, I think he will not return to Song for the rest of his life, and when he returns to Wei in the future, he should take proper care of ......"

From the side, Gongsun Chou and others also nodded again and again.

beat a tyrant like Song Wangyan, not only did he not die, but he was able to persuade Song Wangyan and force Song Wangyan to give in...... To tell the truth, even if these senior brothers were listening, they all pinched a cold sweat for Meng Zhong at that time.

Subsequently, when Meng Zhong said that the Five Kingdoms were invaded by Qi, the Qi Kingdom was broken, and the fields of the King of Qi fled from Linzi to Jucheng, Mencius sighed with emotion: "This is the end of not cultivating benevolence." ”

On the side, Gongsun Chou and other disciples also nodded in agreement, sighing.

The State of Qi, the original State of Qi, how strong it was, during the reign of King Qi Wei, even the State of Qin did not dare to compete with it; During the reign of King Xuan of Qi, the countries of the Central Plains, which originally fell to Qin, were forced to consider falling to Qi because of the strength of Qi.

It's a pity that the monarch of this generation is the king of Qi......

"What are you going to do with Qi Kingdom?" Mencius asked Meng Zhongdao.

In front of this teacher, of course, Meng Zhong would not hide it, and said truthfully: "The three kingdoms of Wei, Yan, and Song plan to divide the Qi State, the Wei State will take the Dongjun, and the Song State will take Langxie, respectively, occupy one-fifth of the territory of the Qi State, and the remaining three, and the Yan State will try to annex it. ”

Hearing this, Le Zheng, who was beside him, asked in surprise: "Why can Yan Guo take three out of five?" ”

Meng Zhong explained: "Because the five kingdoms attacked Qin this time, it was proposed by Qin, and Qin hoped that Wei would put more energy on Qi's side, and hoped that Wei would fall into the quagmire of Qi and buy time for Qin." I thought about it and thought that the main threat to Wei was still Qin, and therefore Wei should not spend too much energy in the east. …… The Qi people in Shandong are relatively close to Linzi, and I think it is difficult to make them willingly submit to the Wei state in a short period of time, but Dongjun is far away from Linzi, and the Qi people there should be able to accept the governance of the Wei state......"

"Very wise judgment." Mencius nodded and praised from the bottom of his heart: "Not everyone can exercise restraint in the face of greed...... That's why you told Song Guo to stop in Jucheng, right? ”

Meng Zhong smiled and said, "There is also the trouble of King Qi's field, which is difficult to deal with...... Catch him, killing it is easy to arouse the anger of the Qi people, and letting it go cannot be accepted by the Song people, so instead of being in a dilemma, simply stop at Jucheng, anyway, the land occupied by the Song State this time is enough for the Song State to digest for several years. ”

"Wise." Mencius nodded, and then, he frowned and asked, "Then the rest of the three points are all in the earth...... As far as the old man knows, Le Yi of Yan Kingdom is your confidant, can he tell you, in what way will Qi land be annexed? ”

Of course, Meng Zhong understood Mencius's worries, and Zhengse said: "Master, please rest assured, Le Yi has discussed this matter with me, and I told him about the conversation between Master and King Xuan of Qi, and warned him that the Yan State is weak and the Qi State is strong, if the Yan State wants to swallow the strong with the weak, then it must pay attention to the hearts of the Qi people, if all the Qi people can accept the rule of the Yan State, then the Yan State can occupy this land for a long time; On the contrary, where did Yan come from and where will he eventually go back, just like King Qi Xuan back then. ”

"Good!" Mencius nodded with great satisfaction.

In contemporary times, because of the prevalence of Legalist thought, in fact, Confucian disciples have gradually declined, and there are few people like Tian Zhang, not to mention Meng Zhong, a half disciple who he forcibly broke from Zhuangzi's mouth, with Meng Zhong's current status and reputation, he can still implement his Meng Ke's benevolence and benevolence thoughts, which is really the greatest comfort for an old man who has not been able to let his ideas be sincerely adopted by the monarchs of various countries in his life.

Subsequently, Meng Zhong told Mencius about the intention of the crown prince Dai Wu: "This time the prince Dai Wu came to visit the teacher in order to welcome Confucianism into the Song Dynasty and get the help of Confucian disciples......

"Good, good, good." Mencius said three good words in a row.

In fact, the Song State itself promoted Confucianism, but this is only the credit of Hui An, Song Wangyan himself is not very interested in Confucianism, but now the prince of the Song State, Dai Wu, is greatly influenced by Confucianism, Meng Zhong has no doubt, as long as Mencius nods, I believe that there will be a large number of Confucians to the Song State as officials in the future.

It is actually difficult to evaluate the pros and cons of this matter for the Song State, but it is certain that under the current situation that the Song State has annexed one-fifth of the land of the Qi State, these Confucian disciples will definitely be able to promote the development of the Song State when they go to the Song State to become officials.

As for whether Mencius will agree, is this still useful?

Throughout his life, Mencius hoped that the countries of the Central Plains would sincerely adopt his ideas and ideas, so how could he retreat from the invitation of the crown prince Dai Wu?

It's a pity that according to Mencius's physical condition, when Confucianism prevailed in the Song Kingdom, this old man was afraid that he would not be able to see it.

No, after chatting with Meng Zhong for an hour, Mencius's energy gradually became unsupportable.

Seeing this, Gongsun Chou appropriately persuaded him: "Ah Zhong, anyway, you have to stay here for a few more days, why don't you stop here today, let the master rest first." ”

Meng Zhong nodded, ready to leave with the senior brothers.

At this moment, I saw a Confucian disciple walk into the house, holding a bamboo slip and saying, "A post guard has sent a letter, which is sent by Mengyi. ”

Before the rest of the room could react, Mencius, who was about to fall asleep sitting on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes, as if he had recovered his vitality, and said, "Take it and let the old man take a look." ”

After a while, Mencius read the contents of the letter, laughed and said, "I estimate that it will only be a few days, haha, sure enough, this old ......"

Suddenly, he saw Meng Zhong standing next to the door, his voice stopped abruptly, and he said to Meng Zhong with a smile: "Ah Zhong, you go and rest first." ”

“……”

Meng Zhong exchanged a look with Gongsun Chou, Le Zheng and others, and the latter signaled with his eyes that he should not participate.

After walking out of the house, Meng Zhongshang could still hear Mencius's angry voice coming from inside the house.

"In terms of argumentation, the old man is not weaker than others in his life, if he can't say 'Zhuang Shatian' speechlessly, the old man can't be blind when he dies! …… The old man forced this tone just to defend him and he was speechless! ”

Zhuang Batian? Won't mean ......

The corners of Meng Zhong's eyes twitched a few times.

What perseverance, these two ......

How many years has this been......