The reason why heaven and earth can last long is that they do not generate by themselves, so they can live forever. Heaven and earth without consciousness and desire can ignore the power of time. But humans can't. The harvest of death is not open to the eye because of whose status is honorable, nor does it hesitate to move forward because of who has changed the whole world, whether the change is good or bad. Because in the face of time, all good and bad are not constant and unstable.

Since there is a lot of wisdom and easy death, the face is thin. While fate is generous, it will naturally take the corresponding price. With outstanding talent and wisdom beyond all beings, Uncle Sun Ao supported the Chu State and stepped towards the peak step by step. However, years of hard work and exhaustive hard work have also left him with indelible scars.

Around 593 BC, this man, who had given everything for the state of Chu, fell ill. Fate doesn't want to give him too much time to change the world calmly and consistently. On the sickbed, Uncle Sun called his son and gave his last order as a father:

"The king of Chu has been rewarded many times, but his father has not received it, and when my life is over, the king will reward you and others, and he will refuse the fertile and rich land, but please the barren and desolate places. At the junction of Chu and Yue, there are place names, the mountains are barren, and there are many ghosts and gods to make chaos. The Chu people are afraid of ghosts and gods, and the more people are ghosts and gods. Both countries hate this place. Today's deadline is approaching, life and death are fateful, there is no need to grieve, my father has never sought personal gain in his life, so let's wait for you and seek peace for a lifetime! ”

Uncle Sun was sick and was about to die, and his son said: "The king has sealed me, and I will not accept it." Die for me, and the king will make you a seal, and you will have no profit. There is a sleeping hill between Chu and Yue; This place is not good, and the name is very bad. Jing people are afraid of ghosts, and the more people believe in Zhen. But there are long, and it is also for this. ”

- "Lü's Spring and Autumn"

Not long after that, Uncle Sun died suddenly at the age of 38.

The entire state of Chu was immersed in the pain of losing its guide, and the iron-blooded monarch who had fought with the princes of the Central Plains for many years was also grieved. At this time, he decided to treat Sun Shuao's descendants well.

So the king of Chu immediately summoned Sun Shuao's heirs, and without hesitation, he circled a very rich piece from the territory of Chu, hoping to express his respect and mourning for the deceased sage. At this time, the son of Sun Shuao remembered his father's dying will and insisted on not accepting it, but proposed that as long as the barren and ghostly mountainous land. The king of Chu was puzzled, but he did not continue to persevere. In this way, Sun Shuao's family left the center of the rich and prosperous Chu State and settled down in a desolate and barren mountain range.

Time flies, Uncle Sun Ao will die, and King Chuzhuang will not be an exception. Fate is high in the sky, mocking all living beings unscrupulously. The so-called sages and prophets do not appear often, and the so-called Ming monarchs and heroes may not necessarily be passed down from generation to generation. The killing and fighting will not disappear forever in this land, but Sun Shuao's family is in that wilderness, stretching endlessly.

In a trance, the light of wisdom can penetrate the thick years, at this time, people were surprised to find that the wealthy family of the year, with the conquest and killing, the change of dynasty, quietly dissipated like a cloud of smoke, and the seemingly unreasonable death at the beginning, but let Sun Shuao's descendants, in this troubled times, still be able to survive properly and smoothly.

What kind of power is it that makes this barren mountain and wilderness a barrier in troubled times, protecting the descendants of the sage for generations? And the prophet who guided the direction of the Chu State, what kind of wisdom and mystery was hidden in his will?

"Water is good for all things without fighting, and it is evil for everyone, so it is better than the Tao." (Lao Tzu)

This desolate and gloomy mountain range does not have such a strong barrier, and the Sun Shu Ao clan, who has withdrawn from the court, has not been able to stand out from the crowd. However, they are able to go on and on. It is precisely the abyss of people's hearts and desires that they rely on.

Another sage Zhuangzi once proposed: "If you know that you can't help it, you will inevitably have an axe." It's like the "big enough gourd" described by Taoists. Because there's nothing worth taking advantage of, it's long enough. What protects this barren mountain range may be precisely "Chu Yue's disgust or awe of ghosts and gods" and his worthless state of existence.

The king wanted more land and more land, but it was not cost-effective to constantly fight for a barren and inhospitable mountain range with limited strength. In our world, too many people are accustomed to weighing value by interests, and only the sages who can break through the truth of the world can get out of the cage of desire and live in the world with right and wrong.

The most important value of this land is to give human beings space to survive, and the benefits and materials generated here are only accessories to its fundamental value. And people who are becoming more and more "smart" are gradually seeing accessories as more important than fundamentals.

Dignity and freedom can obviously be achieved through wealth and power, and the pursuit of more wealth and greater power is certainly important enough. However, as everyone knows, in the limited resources and space, the struggle for wealth and power must be tragic and crazy. It's not that everyone is willing to wield their swords and fight with all their might, but just to fight for the space and freedom that they have established. In the process of fighting, space and freedom have become the bargaining chips and victims of chasing power and wealth.

This barren mountain does not have the "wealth and value" that everyone is chasing, so it easily dodges the deadliest butcher's knife in this life-and-death struggle. What everyone hates and despises, isn't it the end point that we once longed for when we set out? However, not everyone can see through it, and perhaps, everyone doesn't want to see through it. After all, the prosperity on the road, in addition to becoming a shackle to the end, can also bring the pleasure of the time.

Just like Sun Shuao led the Chu State and integrated into the Central Plains, he did not completely rely on sharp swords and force, but relied on self-transformation to quietly break through the lead-like barrier in people's hearts. What he left behind for future generations was a solid barrier forged by desires and interests.

All desires have their way to fulfillment, and more people choose a winding path that seems to be a shortcut, but is actually full of murderous opportunities. And in order to keep moving forward, on this road full of thorns, people kept waving their swords, cutting through thorns, and exhausting their strength. At the same time, he is constantly comforting, numb, and deceiving himself: this is to achieve that grand goal.

However, as I walked, I got farther and farther away from the end. People forget what they want to achieve in the first place. And this seemingly stupid testament pointed straight to the heart, crossed countless obstacles, and achieved the ultimate goal of Sun Shuao to shadow future generations and extend the clan in this troubled world.

The Chu people, who fear ghosts and gods, and the Yue Kingdom, who revere the gods, have not been born without strong enough monarchs, and the swords in their hands will not be dull forever. However, the king did not completely rebel against the traditions of the nation, and went to great lengths to conquer a barren mountain that the people of both countries did not like. In that war-torn era, ghosts and gods were as binding as faith for the people.

In this way, a barren mountain with nothing to produce except for the legend of ghosts and gods has become a warm haven for the Sun Shuao family in the troubled times. The people's likes and dislikes of gods and ghosts and the king's weighing of values and interests have become a strong support to ensure the final ownership of this land.

Freedom and security in troubled times, that's all. Nothing was more precious than these two in those days. The wealth and glory, glory and dreams of the world have just become obstacles on the way forward, and they have also become the most reliable garrison outside this barren mountain.

Moreover, the descendants of the courtiers who refused the king's rich reward on the spot were obviously more reassuring to the emperor than the second generation of officials who received a rich and fertile fief. Although the sinister political arena of the Chu State has gradually changed in a more stable direction due to Sun Shuao's decrees and actions, since ancient times, there has not been an emperor who really and completely trusts a courtier who is not enough to control. The wealth and power in the hands of the courtiers are not the thorns of the king's sleep, nor the life-urging butcher's knife that always hangs above his head?

Out of trust and respect for Sun Shuao, the king divided the land and delegated authority, not because of Sun Shuao's personality charm and talent to make the emperor throw himself into the land. It's just that the high-ranking King of Chu needs this talent and charm to better realize his dreams and desires. The heirs of Sun Shuao were rewarded out of emotion, but in the end, they would definitely end up in interests.

Rather than waiting for the butcher's knife that will be cut off for profit at some point, it is better to return the benefits to the monarch. Because between the king and the minister, the interests pursued and the end point they are running towards are not the same. Rather than this, why leave a restrained life on thin ice for future generations?

Just like the water conservancy project he is good at, he understands that the water drops are not worn because of strength, but because of perseverance. Constantly changing and planning oneself may not be as effective in the short term as external forces, but it can continue to move forward towards the set goal. The same is true for the goal of integrating the Chu State into the world, and the same is true for the Mianyan clan and the protection of precious freedom and dignity.

There is no wisdom more subtle than being able to determine the future, Sun Shuao has been selfless as an official all his life, and he has discussed the three benefits and three harms with the Huqiu Zhangren to stabilize the political arena, build water conservancy, reform the rule of officials, and guide the Chu State to the Central Plains, all of which are planning the future for this land that gave birth to him. It was not until his deathbed that the sage finally decided to leave a fortune for his family. So, Chu Xiang, who broke people's hearts, while abandoning the sweet cake thrown by the king, also kicked away the shackles and responsibilities that the emperor threw along with the cake.

Uncle Sun Ao knows that he doesn't want profit to be profitable. Knowing that what people do is what they like, the reason why this Taoist is unusual.

- "Lü's Spring and Autumn"

The sage closed his eyes like this, but still looked into the future.