This sentence is from "Xiaoya, He Cao is not yellow", which is a poem about the soldiers of the expedition lamenting how difficult life is. The verse is gist: "If you are not a rhinoceros, not a tiger, why wander in the wilderness?" ”

Zilu replied, "Is it because we are not 'benevolent' enough, so we can't expect to be supported?" Is it because we're not smart enough that people don't believe us? ”

Confucius saw that Zilu had shown signs of undetermined skepticism, so he said: "By! You must not give up on the truth you believe in and hold on to because you are in trouble. If benevolence and righteousness can be served, how could Boyi and Shuqi starve to death in Shouyang Mountain? If wise men can be trusted, how can Prince Bigan be gouged out of his heart? Even if you are as merciful as Boyi and Shuqi, you will not be able to avoid setbacks and suffering; Even if you are as wise as Prince Bigan, it will not make everyone believe in you. Let me tell you a cruel truth: the Tao cannot be magnificent, but people should be magnified. But you've reversed it. ”

Zilu was thoughtful, and Confucius asked him to find a secluded place to calm down and think about it, and then summoned Zigong.

Confucius asked the question again, and Zigong was extremely intelligent and had high emotional intelligence, and immediately replied: "The way of the master is so great that people in the world cannot understand the master's thoughts at all." In that case, is the Master considering lowering the bar? Wouldn't it be better for the world to understand the Master a little bit, so that everyone can take what they need, rather than being high and low? ”

Zigong is worthy of being a world-famous businessman, well versed in the truth that "if the goods are unsalable, the price will be reduced and the goods will be dumped", and the principles of economics are included in political science.

Compared with Zilu's skepticism, Confucius was more annoyed by Zigong's "conciliationism" and "revisionism". He criticized Zigong and said, "Give! Your vision is too narrow, and narrow-minded people can't go far! Morality is not a commodity, it cannot be bought with money; Otherwise, King Chu Ling, Duke Jin Ping, and Duke Qi Jing will become the most moral people in the world! But in fact, King Chu Ling was a reckless soldier, Jin Pinggong was a moth of the country, and Qi Jinggong was a reckless moth.

It is true that setting moral standards too high can be prohibitive, but if they are discounted, they will lead us into the limelight and make the world lose their trust in us. Do we have high standards? Of course, it is not high, because in the Western Zhou Dynasty, everyone could reach this height. Later, it was only because of the collapse of etiquette that the world degenerated to the point where it is today. It is foreseeable that now is only the beginning of the Fall, and the world in the future is unthinkable. The saying of 'injustice followed by courtesy' has been fulfilled, and the next step is 'faithfulness and coldness, and the world is in chaos'.

"If we don't advocate returning to the Western Zhou Dynasty and don't awaken the conscience of the people in the world, the world will degenerate faster; If you give a discount to the standard, the people of the world will ask for more discounts until they satisfy their depraved mentality. At that time, not only will you get nothing, but you will lose all your money; What's even more intolerable is that people will laugh at you for greedy for fame and fortune and fake money.

"A good farmer only wants to plough and not to harvest; Outstanding craftsmen pursue only craftsmanship without regard to the market. Qualified Confucian scholars can only adhere to their own ideals, enhance their self-cultivation, and carry forward noble thoughts, and it is not easy to achieve these three points. As for whether the people of the world accept it, that is not a question that we should consider. In order to flatter the powerful and cater to the public, what is the difference between ideological principles and courtiers and slaves? So you can't go far! ”

Confucius asked Zigong to find a secluded place to reflect on himself, and finally summoned his most proud student, Ziyuan (Yan Hui), to ask the question for the third time.

Ziyuan came from a poor background, but he was diligent and studious, with a noble character and a lot of knowledge. Ziyuan had many opportunities to become an official to improve his hard life, but he always chose to stay with Confucius to study his knowledge. Confucius praised him from the bottom of his heart, saying, "Be virtuous! A spoonful of food, a scoop of drink, in the alleys; People can't bear their worries, and they won't change their pleasures. Virtuous, back! ”

Ziyuan replied, "The way of the master is very great, so the world cannot accommodate it. Still, the Master is trying to push it out. What does it matter if the world does not tolerate it? Only by not tolerating can the Master's gentlemanly virtue be revealed. If we don't cultivate, that's our shame; If we are not allowed to practice the Tao, then it will be a shame for those in power! ”

Confucius smiled happily and said, "The Yan family is a gentleman!" One day when you are developed, I will go to be your room master. ”

Although Confucius was in a happy mood, he still had to spend a hungry night. In the early morning of the next day, the armament of the besieging team suddenly dispersed, and it turned out that the regular army of Chu had come to rescue Confucius.

Confucius and his entourage soon met King Chu Zhao, who was very satisfied after a long talk with him. That night, Confucius had already gone back to rest, and King Zhao of Chu told Ling Yin Zixi that he intended to reuse Confucius and intended to give him seven hundred li of land.

Zixi asked, "Is there a diplomat in the royal family who is comparable to Duanmu?" ”

King Chu Zhao said no.

Zixi asked again: "Are there any auxiliary ministers in the royal family who can compare to Yan Hui?" ”

King Chu Zhao said no.

Zixi asked again: "Are there any generals in the royal family who are comparable to Zhongyu?" ”

King Chu Zhao said that there was still none.

Zixi continued: "When the state of Chu was feuded, the radius was only fifty miles, and the title was Zinan; And Confucius must be soup and martial arts, and his words must be Zhou and call, and vigorously promote the law of the three kings (King Wen, King Wu, and King Cheng). If the king adopts his ideas, how can he enjoy thousands of miles of land and mountains in peace? Do you want to retreat to the time of the fifty-mile fief?

"In the past, King Wen was in Feng and King Wu was in Ho, the land was only 100 miles, and the soldiers were only 30,000, but in the end there was the world. Now Confucius has obtained 700 li of land without much effort, and the king has also admitted that Confucius's disciples are more talented than enough to establish a country. If Kong Qiu wants to realize his ideals, he must first attack the Chu State, so it is not a good thing for Kong Qiu to be in Chu. Although Confucius is brilliant in the world, his ideas are contrary to the monarch and the society. Otherwise, why didn't Lu, Qi, and Wei Sanjun refuse to use him? ”

King Zhao of Chu was moved, and he summoned Confucius the next day and said: "The war between Chu and Wu is getting tighter, and Bugu has no time to think about other affairs now. Master's business, let's talk about it after the war is over! ”

Confucius had already understood his intentions, so he had to leave the city father again with infinite regret and return to defend the country. After this incident, Confucius's desire to display his political ideals was completely shattered. But this defeat was not a blessing, because King Chu Zhao died only a dozen days later; If Confucius is really canonized, in that country where the king is weak and the minister is strong, he does not know what kind of danger he will encounter in the future.

Before Confucius left the border, he met a man in tattered clothes and acting like crazy. When he saw the team coming towards him, he danced and sang loudly: "Feng Xi Feng Xi, what is the decline of virtue? The past cannot be admonished, but the coming can still be chased. That's it, and now the politicians are gone! ”

The disciples were annoyed, thinking that the madman was obviously sarcastic about Confucius and rubbing salt on his wounds. Confucius hurriedly jumped out of the car and prepared to go over to ask him for advice. But the guy made a "don't come near me" gesture, turned and ran away as fast as he could.

In the autumn of the sixth year of Lu Aigong, Confucius returned to defend the country, and he was already a sixty-three-year-old man at this time.