Liu Zongyuan's "Snake Catcher Said" in the Tang Dynasty expounded that "harsh government is fiercer than a tiger".

But the story about "snake catching" that Guan Lin told Zuo Ci at this moment has nothing to do with "harsh government".

Guan Lin wearing a mask, his voice continued.

"The first snake catcher died in the mountains and forests because of his abruptness and recklessness, the second snake catcher fell into mental torture because of his wandering and hesitation, and he was in a panic between the village and the mountains all day long, and the third snake catcher... His approach..."

He spent a long time thinking about how to find snake dens, snake catching, detoxification and other issues, and often asked the villagers for advice, mastered a series of snake catching methods, made into many antidote potions, after a month of preparation, he finally took the tools up the mountain, seven days passed, everyone thought he had died, but he... But he returned to the village with a heavy basket on his back, he caught hundreds of spirit snakes and made a lot of money, and then... He also started a business of medicinal herbs, selling medicine to those who came to replenish snakes, and became a famous rich man. ”

Not...

When Guan Lin finished talking about this, Zuo Ci had a slight understanding, he stroked his beard lightly, and groaned in his heart.

- "Three people catch snakes, one does not think about it and acts recklessly, one thinks about it and does not move, and finally this... It's a deliberate and deliberate action! This completely different approach is destined to have completely different circumstances... Aren't all the living beings in this world all these three kinds of people? Recklessly, hesitantly, deliberately, and then put it into action!'

Zuo Ci thought of this, Guan Lin's words came out at the right time, "If it is the beginning of action, action is the completion of knowledge, thinking and action are always complementary to each other, but for all living beings in this world, people often only realize that everything should be carefully considered before making a decision is the best, and the action can be carried out smoothly after repeated consideration, thus... A kind of atmosphere of emphasizing thinking over action has been formed, and the so-called "Ji Wenzi" mentioned in the "Analects" thinks twice before acting. Zi Wenzhi said: Again, Si Ke! ’”

"In fact, if you are too cautious, if you are too cautious, if you are too sure, you will spend a lot of your world and energy in this infinite contemplation, and the more you think about it, the more you feel that you are not fully prepared, and the more you think about it, the more you feel that there is a big problem... Thinking about it, the idea that could have been tried turned into an impossible task, and it ended in nothing! Man's thoughts... There are often no boundaries and no upper limits, and the more you ponder, the easier it is to deviate from the right track and find the point... Therefore, the only four words of morality I propose this time are 'the unity of knowledge and action'! ”

This...

When Guan Lin's last sentence came out, Zuo Ci couldn't help but be stunned, and then... The four bright characters of "unity of knowledge and action" seemed to be embedded in his mind at once.

Yes, based on the last time I heard the Tao, I had in my heart about "conscience", "living in peace", and Taoism becoming the state religion, can I relieve the suffering of Li Shu in this world?

This series of questions made Zuo Ci fall into infinite thinking, but... Just as this mask Taoist "Situ Zhong" told today.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt that there was a big problem;

The more I thought about it, the more I felt that the idea that could have been tried turned into an impossible task, and it ended up in nothing.

This is... One point that he Zuo Ci often neglects - "the unity of knowledge and action"?

"Knowing and doing... The unity of knowledge and action..."

Zuo Ci muttered these four words three times, the more experienced he is, the more he can comprehend... The influence and deep meaning of the words "unity of knowledge and action".

This has surpassed "Confucianism", "Interpretation", and "Dao"...

It should be a new direction that will lead him and the world.

But...

Zuo Ci has a deep problem in his heart.

"This fellow Daoist, poor Dao heard the Tao twice, and he was quite insightful, but... There is still a saying, I don't know whether to ask or not. ”

Zuo Ci no longer concealed it, stood up as a Taoist friend, and took the initiative to talk to Guan Lin.

"It's okay for this fellow Daoist to ask!" Guan Lin stretched out his hand to Zuo Ci to signal.

Zuo Ci squinted his eyes and spoke slowly: "Two days ago, I heard a Taoist friend talk about 'To Conscience', but everyone has a conscience, and everyone is self-sufficient, which is an internal force that does not pretend to be an external force... But it is very difficult to really achieve conscience, such as Cao Cao was called a great traitor in Jingzhou, but when he was young, he was the captain of northern Luoyang to cast a five-color big stick to beat the powerful, and awarded ten sins in Dunqiu County, and returned the people to Qingtian. But in the end, this conscience is always changed and swallowed up by the outside world... This is why there are today's rumors in the world as 'blackmailing the Son of Heaven' and 'traitors and evildoers'..."

Speaking of this, Zuo Ci paused, "Then, there must be people like Cao Cao in the world, everyone has a conscience, but in order to survive in this troubled world, they must abandon their conscience... Otherwise, if you can't get a foothold, how can you talk about settling down! For example, in the Central Plains... There is a 75-year-old man who reported his county order to the county government, but he only reported it yesterday, and today... The county government then forwarded the report to the county order, and another day later... This old man was arrested by the county order and is in prison? Accrue guilt! Since ancient times, officials have protected each other, which is understandable, but this must be contrary to conscience. How? Our conscience... Can you exchange the innocence of this seventy-five-year-old man? ”

Zuo Ci is telling with a specific example, in this world, it is easy to sweep the snow in front of the door, and I want to "meddle in things" under the persuasion of conscience... Huh, how hard?

At the beginning, when he saw this incident with his own eyes, Zuo Ci was confused, and he didn't know for a while... How should he and his Taoism do it?

At this moment, he wanted to use this example to ask the "Situ Zhong" in front of him, and wanted him to guide him and answer the doubts in his heart.

This...

After hearing this incident, Guan Lin paused.

But soon, he thought of something, his eyes immediately narrowed, and he said seriously, "Clear water out of hibiscus, natural carving... Conscience comes from the heart, and the heart is reason, and if there is no selfishness, it is reasonable, and if it is not in accordance with propriety, it is selfishness..."

After such a tricky remark, Guan Lin's eyes burned at Zuo Ci, and his tone became more serious.

"As you said, this world is not beautiful, and many evil sides are corroding the conscience of all living beings in heaven and earth all the time? Can... These consciences are only corroded, not gone! Shouldn't the meaning of the existence of our Taoism be to cleanse the hearts of the people of the world and reawaken their conscience? It's hard to return the innocence of a seventy-five-year-old man... It's hard for one person, or even for one Taoist, but... What if it is for all living beings in the world? If everyone's conscience is awakened, and they no longer 'sweep the snow before their door', but stand up with righteous words, will their voices still be drowned out? ”

"Of course, it's hard! Someone needs to pick the lead, someone needs to guide, isn't it difficult? Why do you need to be Taoist? As the so-called 'unity of knowledge and action', Taoism wants to overcome the vanity and imagination of Buddhism, surpass the inheritance and etiquette of Confucianism, and become a true dynastic orthodoxy. Must bear it! This public opinion must be led by them! Only the sincerity of the world, and then the foundation of the world... Sincerely, the golden stone is open! ”

When Guan Lin said this...

For Zuo Ci, it can be described as four words - deafening!

For "to conscience", for "the unity of knowledge and action", for "living in peace", for the development and prosperity of Taoism...

It was as if he had a new understanding and cognition.

He didn't speak again, he asked another question.

Instead, he solemnly folded his hands and made the most solemn "Dao" salute to Guan Lin.

At this moment, he was completely enlightened!

It turns out that this is the so-called conscience, the so-called unity of knowledge and action, and the heartfelt and mysterious meaning of the so-called Taoist development!

…

…

Luoyang, deep in the palace.

Cao Cao sat on a brocade mat, his eyes narrowed, and his fingers gently grasped the small hammer and struck it on the chime.

Every touch between the hammer and the chime is unusually powerful, as if with unquestionable determination.

The chimes emit a deep and melodious sound, like an ancient call, echoing in every corner of the palace.

At the beginning, like a breeze in the morning light, it is soft and fresh, with the warmth and hope of the morning sun.

Gradually, the tune began to become powerful and powerful, like a war drum on the battlefield, inspiring people's fighting spirit and making people's blood boil.

The hammer in Cao Cao's fingers jumped rapidly on the chime, and his expression became more and more focused and engaged.

In this majestic tune, Cheng Yu, who had just stepped into the palace here, couldn't help but be stunned...

It was as if, through this music, he could feel Cao Cao's state of mind.

For "Xuchang", if you don't get it, you will be destroyed;

When facing Guan Yu, he vowed to win;

In the process of setting sail for the hegemony of Wei Wu, people blocked and killed, and Buddha blocked the state of mind of killing Buddha.

Finally, with a long "... 硄"The tone...

The whole piece came to an end.

Cao Cao seemed to have noticed the coming, he still turned his back to Cheng Yu, and opened his mouth to ask: "Zhongde, let's say..."

"The King..."

Cheng Yu bowed, "Ma Jun, the commander of the horses, has returned to the workshop, as if the king's words have played a role, Ma Jun said... Within a month, he was sure that the number of Dawei flying balls had doubled. ”

"Double?" Cheng Yu's words made Cao Cao open his eyes in vain, "In this way, everything is ready to burn Xuchang City into ruins, only the white phosphorus of Jingzhou is missing!" ”

Mention of white phosphorus...

Cheng Yu hurriedly reported: "The king, just now... Jiangxia Zuoci also sent a message from there, saying that..."

Cheng Yu told Cao Cao the news from Zuo Ci, including that the Sifang Mountain was tightly guarded and had no chance, including in desperation, Zuo Ci and these Taoists were ready to give up, including... When they were about to give up, they actually connected with a series of Jiangdong clans.

What surprised Cao Cao the most was that these Jiangdong clans actually showed a very strong intention of "surrendering to sincerity", and even helped Cao Cao transport the "white phosphorus" stored in Sifang Mountain to Luoyang.

As Cao Cao, who is suspicious by nature, this is too "deliberate" things... It was inevitable that the doubts in his heart would rise rapidly.

The whole incident is a bit too coincidental and too deliberate.

But the idea only existed for a few breaths.

"Haha... Hahaha..."

Cao Cao suddenly laughed heartily, as if he had suddenly figured out something.

"Why is the king laughing?" Cheng Yu was a little confused by Cao Cao's laughter, and hurriedly asked...

Cao Cao got up slowly, he turned around, and his laughter did not decrease, but in this laughter, he sighed: "Lone thought of Guo Fengxiao..."

"Bonghyo..."

"Exactly!" Cao Cao stroked his short hair while continuing to say, "In the past, I wanted to fight with Yuan Shao in a decisive battle, and there were four worries at that time, one was the Guanzhong heroes after Li Dao and Guo Yan, the second was Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu in the elbow armpits, the third was Liu Biao, who was good friends with Yuan Shao, and the last one was Sun Bofu, the little overlord of Jiangdong..."

Speaking of this, Cao Cao's eyes seemed to flash the four years of Jian'an... Wei Wu Baye is still on the way to set sail, and he Cao Cao is also upright and prime, scolding Fang Xuan's appearance.

This...

Cheng Yu raised his eyes slightly, he seemed to have anticipated what Cao Cao was going to say.

Sure enough, Cao Cao's words confirmed Cheng Yu's conjecture.

"Although the battle of Guandu was imminent at that time, the lonely Central Plains could be said to be embattled, but whether it was Guanzhong Qunxiong, Zhang Xiu, or Liu Biao, Lone was not afraid, and Lonely's most worrying was Xuzhou, that is, Sun Bofu, the little overlord of Jiangdong, led the army up, took Xuzhou directly, and broke Lone's arm... For this reason, he hesitated again and again, and he couldn't make up his mind for a long time to fight with Yuan Shao! ”

"But the situation is unpredictable, the situation is intolerable, the more Lone hesitates, the more Yuan Shao is approaching step by step, and Lone is thinking deeply... I can't help but have a headache and a splitting headache, and everyone in the world says... Lone's head wind was cured by Chen Lin's "Essay on Asking for Thieves", but I didn't know that if there was no Guo Fengxiao's heartfelt words to Lone, Lone's head wind would be better, but his heart would also be uneasy..."

Speaking of which...

Cheng Yu also recalled the scene at that time, and he sighed: "Yes, the king is most worried about Sun Ce's northward journey, but Feng Xiaohui's eyes are like torches, and he can see at a glance... Sun Ce dominated Jiangdong, made enemies with the local clans, and suppressed the slaughter... In this way, he will die at the hands of the puppet, and sure enough... At that time, Sun Ce died at the hands of Xu Gong Sanmenke, so... What the king means..."

"Haha..."Cao Cao smiled, his eyes opened, releasing a touch of seductive essence, "I heard that the current Guan Lin is promoting what kind of apportionment into acres in Jiangdong, redistributing acres of land, and letting tenant farmers return to freedom, and so on... It's all the interests of those big clans! He is better than Sun Ce in the past, and he is thinking alone, if Feng Xiaoyou is here, will he make a ghost prediction again, and this Guan Lin is bound to die at the hands of these big clans? ”

Call...

With Cao Cao's words, Cheng Yu understood.

Even though... The surrender of these big clans in Jiangdong at this time seems to be a bit of a coincidence and tacit understanding, but the king has decided to accept them.

"The King..."

Cheng Yu was about to open his mouth and continue to talk about this topic in depth.

Who would have thought that Cao Cao took the first step to speak, and his words changed, as if the topic of the "Jiangdong clan" surrendering had come to an abrupt end with him.

He asked, "How is Zihuan?" I heard that he took the road of returning from Jingzhou..."

This...

Cheng Yu paused slightly, and at the mention of Cao Pi, he suddenly choked up, and then said truthfully: "Recently, there has been information about Zihuan's son, he has arrived in Anlu City, Jiangxia, it seems... I'm also interested in the white phosphorus refined in the Guanlin Sifang Mountain, I don't understand it a little, since I've escaped, isn't it good to go back to Luoyang? Why bother... What about venturing in the Sifang Mountains? ”

Not...

Cao Pi's movements still made Cao Cao slightly surprised.

His expression became solemn, and his tone sank.

"Zihuan is adventuring in Sifang Mountain, Zhongde, you don't understand, but you understand-"

Just when Cao Cao sighed...

"The king..."Xu Chu broke into the palace and reported: "Hanzhong sent an urgent letter..."

"Hmm" Cao Cao groaned, and then caught the letterhead handed by Xu Chu, he slowly unfolded it, his eyes fixed on the words on it.

But it's okay not to read this text, but when he saw it, Cao Cao was furious, and he scolded.

"The big-eared thief... This big-eared thief deceives orphans too much! ”

Cheng Yu hurriedly asked: "King, this is..."

"Hmph..."Cao Cao let out a cold snort, and then he said with disdain and anger: "He Liu Bei actually sent a fake son Liu Feng to raid the lonely Yangping Pass, and actually broke the three military villages outside the Guyang Ping Pass overnight. ”

The urgent mail sent by Hanzhong is just one thing.

Liu Bei sent his adopted son Liu Feng to attack Yangping Pass, and Liu Feng used the "elk" to disperse several Cao camps outside Yangping Pass and inside the pass, and conquered them overnight... Take the lead.

Looking at Liu Bei's adopted son like this, Cao Cao inevitably thought of his son, Cao Pi and Yu Jiangdong, Cao Zhi did not make achievements in martial arts, and the only son who could fight was still in the north to conquer Xianbei Hulu!

Cao Cao watched Liu Bei, such a "defeated general", grow step by step to the point where he can compete with him.

He was reluctant to admit Liu Bei's ability, just as he was unwilling to admit that Liu Bei's fake son was stronger than his son... This fact.

But it's in... When Cao Cao wanted to recruit Cao Zhang.

"The king..."Cheng Yu reminded, "Count the days, three days ago... Wenhe (Jia Xu) has already arrived in Hanzhong... He went with the king's holiday, and under Xiahou Yuan, he could mobilize all the soldiers and horses... If he is here, how could Yangpingguan cause such a catastrophe? ”

Not...

When Cheng Yu's name was chanted, all of Cao Cao's anger seemed to be subdued in an instant.

His tiger eyes narrowed faintly, as if... In an instant, he thought of more and more far-reaching.

- "If Wenhe is there, this battle..."

"Hahaha..."

Cao Cao suddenly laughed again, and the laughter was refreshing.

Cheng Yu didn't understand it now, and asked again: "The king this time... And why laugh! ”

"It's too much to laugh at his big-eared thief..."Cao Cao laughed and said in a loud voice: "Jia Xu Jia Wenhe, what about this old man?" I'm afraid that this fake son of his big-eared thief will die soon! ”

Although Cao Cao's voice is not heavy, it is as sharp as a blade between the words...

It's like he has been sure that this Liu Feng will definitely die tragically under Jia Xu's conspiracy and calculation!

"Hahahaha... Hahahaha..."Cao Cao's laughter continued, and while laughing, he roared loudly, "With Xiahou Miaocai and Jia Wenhe, Hanzhong has no worries-"

…

… (End of chapter)