This is a piece of music played by a small vassal state at the junction of Wu and Chu, asking the emperor of the Great Zhou to remove the name of their vassal state, and they are willing to submit to the state of Chu and be the courtiers of the state of Chu.

The crown prince looked at it fiercely, the corners of his mouth twitched, and said: "Since they don't want to be princes, my father is not allowed to do so?" ”

"Approved?" King Zhou Jing looked at the prince with suspicious eyes, and he was very dissatisfied with this answer.

"Now that the state of Chu is strong and has become the overlord of the world, the surrounding small vassal states can't compete at all, so what can you do if you don't surrender?" Prince Ji Meng explained.

"That's just as well!" King Zhou Jing secretly glanced at the crown prince Ji Meng with his eyes, and when he saw that he had something to say, he continued to guide him to see what he had to say.

What he wants to listen to is not that the prince says "yes", but! The prince's views and understanding of the world's major events.

As the crown prince, as the prince, and as the future son of heaven, you must have your own opinions. In the future, when you encounter the same transaction, you will know how to deal with it.

When inspecting other princes, he was like this, hoping that none of his princes would be of a bad breed. It's a pity that for some reason, other princes are more "incompetent" than the crown prince Ji Meng. They either didn't dare to answer, or they deliberately talked nonsense. And only Wang Zichao answered satisfactorily to him.

He knows! Wang Zichao has a powerful think tank behind him to make up his mind.

Every time the prince Ji Chao came to see him, the thinkers had to go through some planning, and almost all the questions he wanted to ask were taken into account. And then! Teach the prince how to answer.

But! Wang Zichao is not a bad breed, and he is indeed smart, he can not only remember, but also extend. He can also draw inferences from one another, and what he says is the Tao.

If he is stupid, even if there is a think tank behind him to give him advice and ask him to "memorize the text", he may not be able to remember, let alone extend.

So! From the bottom of his heart, King Zhou Jing still likes the cleverness of the prince dynasty.

"The trend in the world is like this, the big vassal states will only get bigger and bigger, and the small vassal states can only submit or perish.

For example, if he did not submit to the Chu State, he would face the possibility of being invaded and captured by the Wu State. And when the time comes, the State of Chu will only care, and then when it is about to be conquered by the State of Wu, they will come to help you. But! There are conditions, and you have to surrender to Him.

The situation of the Fang State is the same as those small vassal states sandwiched between the Jin State and the Chu State, whether you lean towards the Jin State or the Chu State, you will not have a peaceful day. You take refuge in the Jin State, and the Chu State will come to beat you. You take refuge in the state of Chu, and the state of Jin will come to fight you.

If you want not to be beaten, you must either die in battle and destroy the country, or directly submit to a certain large vassal state and cancel the number of princes. Destroy the country! Although it was vigorous, the consequences were very tragic. Not only did his royal family not survive, but he also let his people follow the funeral.

Think about it: a small vassal state, such as the Fang State, has a total population of less than 10,000, where can it compete with the State of Wu or the State of Chu? Abolish the title of the princes, submit to the state of Wu or Chu, at least have the title of hereditary noble, and preserve the bloodline inheritance, so that their people will not suffer from war......"

Listening to what the crown prince Ji Meng said was still like that, especially when he heard Ji Meng say that the country of Fang had a population of less than 10,000, King Zhou Jing was very impressed.

The Fang Kingdom is a small vassal state, but he really didn't remember how many people he had. But the son can say it accurately, which shows that the son has not worked hard, or that he has a good memory. Otherwise! I can't remember.

Meantime! King Zhou Jing also sighed in his heart: This Ji Meng! It's instigated by bad people, or else! He doesn't lose to Shou'er.

Shou'er! It was his eldest son, the former crown prince.

"Could it be? Will the small vassal states only perish or submit? Cancel the number? The great vassal states are constantly getting stronger? King Zhou Jingwang interrupted.

It's just like modern society: the rich have capital and only get richer. The poor have no capital and no way but to work for the rich, and they are subject to the rich and have no choice but to get poorer and poorer.

"Not really! It is already impossible for the small vassal states to become strong. But! Great vassal states don't necessarily stay strong forever. Think about it: how powerful was our Great Zhou in the period of Ancestor Wen and King Wu, and for a long time later? But now? Divided among the princes, isn't it? ”

Crown Prince Ji Meng, that means that my ancestors and I are incompetent?

King Zhou Jing's face sank, and he asked in a deep voice: "Then how can the Great Zhou Dynasty regain its majesty, glorify its ancestors, recover the old rivers and mountains, and dominate the world?" ”

"Back to my father! Judging by the current situation, it will not be possible to do it in a few years! ”

"How?" Zhou Jingwang angrily slapped the bamboo slip on the desk and shouted.

"But it's not impossible! Taishi Lier told Erchen! If the Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty could order two or three of the five major princes to obey the Zhou system, conquer the rebellious ministers and thieves, revive the majesty, glorify the ancestors, recover the old rivers and mountains, and dominate the world, it would not be impossible......"

"Is this what Taishi Lier said?"

"Yes!"

"So how do you understand that? How do you do it? Zhou Jingwang asked again.

"Erchen thinks! If you want to revive the majesty of the Great Zhou Dynasty and glorify your ancestors, you must have strong military strength. Erchen thinks: The idea of the martial arts teacher is very good......"

"What did your martial arts teacher say?" King Zhou Jing moved, looking indifferent. In fact! In his heart, he wanted to know: How did this martial arts teacher teach the prince?

"The martial arts teacher said! When 'conquering it with force and subduing it with virtue', the world will be governed ......"

"How to 'conquer it by force'? Where does force come from? How to 'serve it with virtue', and what virtue to serve it? Zhou Jingwang asked.

"The martial arts teacher said that with the power of Zhou, it is impossible to conquer the five hegemons in the world. But! We can use the power of other princes to join forces to cut them down. There are only five hegemons in the world, and as long as we unite the two or three hegemons and isolate the opponent, we can recruit them. Other than that! In addition to the five hegemons, there are countless small vassal states in the world, such as the Fang Kingdom. It's also a powerful force to unite them......"

"That? What virtue is used to serve it? ”

"The martial arts teacher said! Use the 'morality' of Taishi to serve ......"

"Taishi Lier's 'morality'? What morality? Zhou Jingwang asked.

King Zhou Jing has been with Lao Tzu for so long, and he hasn't heard Lao Tzu talk about any "morality"? So? What kind of "morality" did this Lao Tzu say to the crown prince Ji Meng? He was curious!

This Lao Tzu! Still hiding it in front of me? I owe him to him sincerely!

Taishi said! Many of the rituals in the Zhou system should be abandoned, and only some basic rituals remained. Such! The people will not be bound by the ritual system, and they will be free of their hands and feet. Taishi also said! Etiquette is needed, it can restrain the behavior of the world, so that the world has a standard of behavior. But! It's too cumbersome, it's too much. Taishi also said that the world should be taught to understand life, not to respond to the world......"

"Wait! Wait a minute! Zhou Jingwang interrupted: "How does Taishi let us understand life? What is 'Applied Vision'? ”

Taishi said! Understand that the meaning of life is to teach the world, 'what do people live for' and 'what do they live for?' And also! How did people come about? It is not that man comes from his parents, but that man comes from where in heaven and earth? How? That's the only way! Only then can we understand life! ”

"That? What does it mean to be 'in the world'? ”

"Yingshi? Taishi said! It's about coping with the life you face! The way we approach the life we face before us is called 'Responding to the World'......"

(End of chapter)