No, it's my fault, it's me who underestimated the enemy and overestimated myself. If I had followed him out of the palace that night, none of this would have happened. Now that Kan Zhi is dead, Qi Hou is dead, and the Gao clan has no news, all the hardships we have experienced in the Qi country, and all the efforts we have made in the Qi country, have now come to naught. Swordsmen, Swordsmen, and the Darkmen who died on the way to escape, their blood and their sacrifices have been wasted. Now, will this battle take the lives of Yu An and Zhang Mengtan again? If something really happened to the two of them, how could I be worthy of Si'er and worthy of Wuxian......

Just now on the high platform, I clearly heard the word Meng Tan from Wuxian's mouth. For him, Zhang Mengtan is by no means just an ordinary adviser. They are friends, but also brothers. Yi Yu'an's skills may still have a chance to escape from Chen's hands, but Zhang Mengtan is a scribe, if Qi Hou and Lu Ji are captured, then can he escape?

"Hey, don't think too much about it, leave this matter to me!" Wuxian shook my hand and pulled a slightly bitter smile at the corner of his mouth.

"What are you going to do? How can I help you? ”

"I have to find a way to determine the situation of Meng Tan and Dong Shu first. If they escape, I will send someone to meet them in the country of Qi. If they are captured by Chen Heng, I will find a way to rescue them as soon as possible. You don't have to do anything, you just need to find a way to stay here, and once Lu Gong agrees to send troops to attack Qi, you will notify me as soon as possible, which is still beneficial to us." ”

"Okay, if you have news of the two of them, let me know sooner."

"Well, you wait for my news." Shirtless grabbed me over the shoulders and walked out of the backyard quickly.

After leaving without shirts, I sat alone on the high platform in the backyard for a long time. Everything that happened in the country of Qi flashed before my eyes one by one, and I tried to find clues to the killing of Qi Hou and Lu Ji from them, but the complicated thoughts became more and more tangled in my mind, and finally became a mess that could not be sorted out and cut constantly.

Uh, can't think about it anymore. Now it is the most important thing for me to make sure that the Lu Guild will not send troops to the Qi Kingdom. If Kong Qiu can really convince Lu Gong, then our previous efforts may not be in vain.

Leaving aside the chaos of my thoughts, I returned to the front yard of the Confucian Mansion. In the open space in front of the main house, all of Kong Qiu's disciples were gathered together, they were angry, and everyone was talking about Chen Heng's killing of the king.

I found Duanmu Ci in the crowd, so I squeezed in with great effort: "Senior brother, has the master entered the palace?" ”

After Duanmu Ci confessed to a Confucian student about thirty years old beside him, he turned to me and said, "Not yet, in order to show prudence, the master should take a bath, change his clothes, change into court clothes, and then enter the palace to face the king." ”

I looked at the closed door in front of me, and secretly said in my heart, Chen Heng's murder of the monarch has no direct stake in the Lu State, and Lu Gong is a monarch who is only willing and has no opinions, no matter how cautious Kong Qiu is, he is afraid that it will be difficult for him to follow the example of the virtuous monarch hundreds of years ago to send troops for etiquette and morality as Kong Qiu expected. In fact, if you want Lu to send troops to attack Qi, it is better to go to Ji Sunfei. First, Lu Ji is his sister, and second, the military and political power of Lu is in his hands. Thinking of this, I turned my head to Duanmu Ci beside me and said, "Senior brother, the master entered the palace this time to ask Duke Lu to send troops to rebel, right?" ”

"Well, the master has written several letters before asking the king to send troops for the matter of the Chen family's forcing the palace."

"Lu Gong didn't agree?"

Duanmu Ci shook his head and sighed lightly: "To send troops, you need to use the army in the hands of Dr. Jisun, and Dr. Jisun rejected the master's request with insufficient military resources. ”

"The lady Qi who was killed this time is the sister of Dr. Jisun, and he will definitely not sit idly by. Since Lu Guo sent troops with the army in his hands, why didn't the master go directly to Dr. Jisun today? ”

Duanmu Ci frowned when he heard this, pulled my sleeve and pulled me out from among the Confucian scholars: "Zidian, do you know why the master went to ask Lu Gong to send troops to attack Qi?" ”

"I know, because the subordinates killed the king, which is against the law of etiquette."

"Then if Doctor Ji Sun replaces the monarch's decision to send troops to attack Qi, then what is the difference between his behavior and Chen Heng?" Duanmu Ci looked at me very seriously.

Yes, Kong Qiu was so angry because Chen Heng despised the monarchy and destroyed the law of etiquette, if Ji Sun Fei came forward to send troops to attack Qi, then the rebellion itself would also violate the law of etiquette. I knew that I had said the wrong thing, so I hurriedly raised my hand and saluted: "It's Zi Dian's thoughtlessness, Senior Brother Xie's teaching." ”

"You only started today, and it is not a big mistake that you did not understand the Master's thoughts for a while. In the future, you will know more by listening and learning more. Duanmu Ci patted me on the shoulder and said softly, "Everyone will accompany the master to Miyagi later, will you come with you?" ”

"Do you all want to enter the palace?" My heart suddenly struck, I had met Lu Gong with Shi Mo in Huangchi that day, what if he recognized me?

As it turned out, my worries were clearly unfounded. The palace city of Lu State does not allow ordinary people to enter, and Duanmu Ci said that going to the palace together is just everyone sending Confucius on this journey.

After bathing and changing clothes, Kong Qiu, who was wearing a crown and wearing court clothes, got into the carriage surrounded by all the disciples. His expression was solemn, his back was erect, and if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have been able to connect him with the old man who had fallen down the stairs and was full of anger.

The chariot drove slowly towards the palace with a solemn face of Kongqiu, and more than forty Confucian scholars watched Kongqiu's back and followed closely.

People passing by on both sides of the road cast curious glances at us. Some of them stopped to watch, some exchanged ears, and a few bare-chested little pimpies thought it was interesting for so many Confucian students to march in a procession together, so they also laughed and walked on the side of the line with a swagger.

"Senior brother, you said that if Lu Guo and Qi go to war, can Lu Guo win?" I walked beside Duanmuci and asked in a whisper.

"There is a distinction between righteousness and injustice in war, and those who do righteousness will be able to win." Duanmu Ci looked at Kong Qiu on the carriage and replied in a deep voice.

Will the righteous man stand on the ground? I looked at his determined face, but there was a hint of doubt in my heart. The war between the Lu State and the Qi State has always been defeated and won less, and in addition, Lu Di has suffered natural disasters in the past two years, and there will inevitably be a shortage of armaments, grain and grass. On the other hand, on the Qi side, Chen Heng had already issued conscription orders in various places half a month ago, and now he is afraid that he has gathered troops and is ready to fight. If Lu Gong wanted to crusade against Chen Heng with the strength of a country at this time, it would be difficult to win with only one word "righteousness". Unless, Lu can get help from other countries.

"Senior brother, you said that if the Lu State sends troops to rebel, will other countries be willing to send troops to help?"

"Naturally, there will be. For example, the monarchs of various countries are mostly constrained by their subordinates, if they can kill the Chen clan of Qi State this time, they will also be deterred by the rebellious ministers and thieves in their country. ”

"But the Chu State in the south and the Qin State in the west are too far away from the Qi State, and the two countries of Wu and Yue are entangled with each other and have no time to separate, and the only ones left who have the strength to aid the Lu State are the Jin State and the Song State. However, I heard that the Song Kingdom is also at war now. ”

"Oh? You can see the situation in the world very clearly! Duanmu Ci raised his hand and stroked his long beard, and asked with a chuckle, "Zi Di, you are from Jin, according to you, will the Jin State send troops to help?" ”

I bowed my head and thought for a while and solemnly replied: "If Lu Guo is willing to form an alliance with Jin, Jin Guo will naturally not refuse. ”

Wu Xian and I had worked hard earlier to promote the alliance between Qi and Jin, and it was nothing more than to prevent Qi from intervening in the war between Jin and Wei next year. Now, if the two countries of Qi and Lu go to war, then the alliance formed between these two countries since the rebellion of the Six Secretaries of the Jin State will be broken. The Lu State will return to the embrace of the Jin State, and the Qi State, which has lost the monarch and the two phases for a while, will no longer be able to compete with the Jin State for hegemony. In the autumn of next year, if Zhao Ying can borrow the hand of Kuai Shen to bring the defense of the country into the wings of the Jin State, then the hegemony of the Jin State will be just around the corner! Therefore, as long as the Lu State is willing to form an alliance, there is absolutely no reason for the Jin State to refuse to send troops.

Duanmu Ci listened to my words but was silent for a long time, and his eyes looked at me a little more inquiring.

I was a little weak-hearted by him, so I cautiously tested: "Senior brother, am I not right? ”

Duanmu Ci shook his head and sighed lightly: "Zi Di, it's really rare for you to have such insight at a young age. It's a pity that the utilitarian heart in your heart is too heavy, and it may be difficult to comprehend the way of the master. ”

Enlightenment? Although I have followed Cai Fuzi to learn Zhou etiquette and the way of Confucius since I was a child, I have no heart to defend the Tao. Duanmu Ci said that there is a distinction between righteousness and injustice. But in my heart, there are only advantages and disadvantages in war. Kong Qiu persuaded Lu Gong to send troops for "righteousness", but I hoped that Lu Gong would send troops but only for "profit". I knew that Duanmu Ci was telling the truth, but this feeling of being uncovered and directly touching my heart made me involuntarily want to refute: "Senior brother, how do you know that I only have the word 'profit' in my heart?" ”

Duanmu Ci looked at me for a long time and pulled me back to the back of the line.

"Zi Di, do you know why I sent someone to look for you in Qin Di in the first place?" He asked.

"Senior brother wants to invite me to worship under the master's door."

"Well, your opinion on my purchase of slave gold back then made me mistakenly think that you could become the second Ziyuan. The master is old and Ziyuan is seriously ill, and the book "Spring and Autumn" needs to find someone who can understand the way of the master to continue writing. It's a pity that now it seems that you are not like Ziyuan, but you are more like me back then. ”

I looked at Duanmu Ci's frowns, and I couldn't help but smile with a look of regret: "Senior brother, Zi Huang has admired your demeanor in the Five Kingdoms since he was a child, if he can become a person like you in the future, Zi Huang is already very satisfied." ”

"No, you're only fifteen years old, and you should have higher aspirations. Zi Di, you are very smart, you can find a way to achieve your goal without much effort. Whether it is to find Doctor Jisun to send troops, or to make an alliance between the Lu State and the Jin State, what you say is the fastest way to solve the problem. However, you, like me back then, neglected many more important things in the process of achieving your goal. The battle of Ailing back then was my sin, not my work. Duanmu Ci looked at me and said earnestly.

"Senior brother, what is a higher pursuit? Isn't it enough to smell the princes like you? The master was lonely and depressed all his life. Master Yan lived in poverty, and he was decrepit before he was old. Do you want me to be like them in the future? ”

"You are still young, and when today's business is over, I will find an opportunity to lead you to have a deep conversation with Master. As long as you stay with the Master, one day you will understand what I say. ”

Stay with the Master...... No, I don't have time. Yu An and Zhang Meng talked about life and death, and after today, I am afraid that I will have to leave the Confucian Mansion and set off to return to Jin with Wuxi. In the Great Patriotic War next autumn, we can only win, not lose!

sanjiangge