Volume 1 The Wind Rises Chapter 3 The world is bustling for profit
Hearing this, Liu Jizu was already stunned, and he tried his best to search through the film in the memory of his previous life for any clues about these three organizations. The answer was no, and he began to get confused. Liu Jizu has been asking all kinds of news everywhere since he could speak, trying to figure out what era he is in, but he is only three years old, he doesn't want to look too special, he doesn't dare to ask many questions, and he is surrounded by Zhuang families, so he doesn't have much knowledge.
He inquired for a long time, but he didn't get any useful news, but he never doubted the fact that he had traveled back in time to an ancient dynasty. However, after listening to what Mr. Tian just said was very different from what he had learned in his previous life, he did not know why, could it be that history had changed?
Faced with this precarious situation, the three organizations had to make adjustments again, and they held a third meeting in Zhurongfeng, Hengshan. They agreed that they would no longer compete in the form of intervening in the world's disputes, nor would they directly send disciples to support the nations, and promised the countries not to participate in politics, not to interfere in royal power, and not to harass the people.
Disciples who have been sent in the past can voluntarily choose to come back or leave, and all those who choose to leave will not be pursued by the organization, but they have nothing to do with the organization from now on. They also adjusted the purpose of the organization to strengthen the force to protect themselves, and agreed to hold a meeting every 20 years in the future to compete in the form of martial arts, and whichever disciple cultivated by the family can win the competition, then the family will be honored for the next 20 years.
They took the initiative to spread the news to the various countries, which on the one hand appreciated the contributions of the three organizations, and on the other hand, they were afraid of their strength. After the three organizations duly demonstrated their determination, strength and sincerity, the countries lifted the ban one after another. But they are not completely reassured, but they are watched, and as long as they keep their promises, they are left to their knees.
As a result, a special existence emerged that was neither different from the people, nor bound by the control of the court and the law. The three organizations borrowed Zhuangzi's saying that 'it is better to forget each other in the rivers and lakes', and called this special existence "rivers and lakes", taking the meaning that it is not bound by the royal law and is free and free. Therefore, this alliance is called the 'Jianghu Alliance', and the three organizations have also become Jianghu sects, which are respected as the 'Three Ancestral Gates' by the younger generations of the rivers and lakes. And 'not to participate in politics, not to interfere with the royal power, not to disturb the people' has also become the rule of the rivers and lakes.
After the alliance of rivers and lakes, wars in various countries became more frequent, and the people were struggling to make a living, but also because of the cruel competition, in order to survive and become strong, all countries attached great importance to cultivating all kinds of talents. Therefore, the knowledgeable and capable taxis rose up in response to the situation and began to appear on a large scale, and the ruling circles of various countries also began to raise soldiers.
The more representative ones are Meng Weijun Tianwen of Qi State, Pingyuan Jun Zhao Sheng of Zhao State, Chunshenjun Huang Xie of Chu State, and Xinling Jun Wei Wuji of Wei State. They raised thousands of taxis and were known as the 'Four Princes of the Warring States'. The ruling circles of various countries represented by the four princes relied on these scholars to maintain and consolidate their power internally, to compete for power and profit, and to fight against enemy countries externally.
During this period, the scholars showed extraordinary wisdom, ability, and courage. For example, Hou Ying and Zhu Hai who helped Xinling Jun steal talismans to save Zhao, Mao Sui who helped Pingyuan Jun persuade King Chu, and Feng Tan who built three caves for Meng Weijun. There were also many warriors, strategists, assassins, and even roosters, dogs, and thieves, all of whom greatly enriched the Chinese civilization, causing the first great explosion, development, and dissemination of knowledge in the Chinese civilization.
Among these scholars, the outstanding representatives were revered by later generations as the 'Hundred Schools of Thought'. Some of them regard the world as their own responsibility, and some of them freely display their talents and ambitions, each of them puts forward ideas for solving social problems, and criticizes each other for the sake of 'contending'. The more prominent ones are Confucianism, Mo, Taoism, and Law, and the rest are soldiers, names, yin and yang, vertical and horizontal, miscellaneous, agriculture, novels, etc. There are also excellent craftsmen like Gongchuan Class and excellent doctors like Bian Que, who are all bright stars of Chinese civilization.
Among them, the Confucian representatives are Confucius, who seeks benevolence, Mencius, who takes righteousness, and Xunzi, who advocates benevolence, loyalty, and self-improvement, and are the representatives of the scribes.
The Mohists were represented by Mozi, who advocated love, equality, non-aggression, etc., and were representatives of samurai and industrialists.
Taoist representatives include Lao Tzu, Yang Zhu and Zhuangzi, who advocate non-action, self-esteem and leisure, and are the representatives of hermits.
The representatives of the Legalists can be traced back to Guan Zhong of Xiangqi, Zi Shovel of the Casting of the Punishment Ding, Li Kui, Wu Qi and Shang Ying who changed the law, but the one who gathered the greatest achievements was Han Feizi, who advocated the legal system, centralization and system, and was the representative of the strategists.
In the end, the Legalist ideas prevailed, and the Qin king was victorious, and finally helped Qin annex the six kingdoms, unify the world, and establish the first centralized Chinese empire. King Yingzheng of Qin called himself the first emperor, he set up three princes and nine secretaries in the center to manage the country, abolished the division of feudal counties in the locality, required the whole country to write the same text, the same track of the car, unified weights and measures, and at the same time built the gallop road, built the spiritual canal, attacked the Xiongnu, and conquered Baiyue. He and the Qin Empire he founded had a profound impact on Chinese civilization and laid the foundation for the unification of China, so some people call it the 'Emperor of the Ages'.
However, the great achievements of the first emperor were built on the great suffering of the people, he sought longevity in his later years, connected the Great Wall, built palaces, built mausoleums, worked the people and lost money, severely punished the law, harshly abused the people, and laid the groundwork for the demise of the Qin Empire. Just as the rebellious Chen Sheng said, "The world has suffered for a long time!" In addition, there are some policies to suppress thinking, which have caused a certain amount of damage to Chinese civilization. All of this shook the foundation of the Qin Dynasty's rule, so that the inheritance that the First Emperor thought could be passed on to the next generation eventually died.
The Qin also changed the social structure, and the nobility of the Zhou Dynasty consisted of four classes: the Son of Heaven, the princes, the doctors, and the scholars, as well as the commoners and slaves. By the time of the Qin Dynasty, the nobility was left with only the royal family represented by the Son of Heaven. Because there was no separation, the princes and doctors were gone, and the rest of the people were all commoners and slaves in the eyes of the royal family, and they were all registered with the people, and the taxis without the title of nobility stayed and became the first class among the people of the household. That is, taxis, farmers, industrialists, and merchants, and this situation continues to this day.
After Ying Zheng eliminated the Six Kingdoms, his attitude towards the rivers and lakes also changed, and he did not allow people or organizations that were not under his control to exist, so he relied on powerful force to suppress the Three Ancestors. The Three Ancestors were forced to move the mountain gate and go underground, and they broke the rules of the rivers and lakes and began to support anti-Qin forces, and they played a huge role in the process of destroying Qin.
After the establishment of the Han Dynasty, Sanzumen and Liu Bang, the Taizu of the Han Dynasty, reached a new agreement, promising to abide by the rules of the rivers and lakes, and Liu Bang promised to continue to maintain the independent status of the rivers and lakes. During this period, there were still many forces and capable people who were independent of the Three Ancestors, and they saw that the rivers and lakes created by the Three Ancestors were at ease, happy and hateful, and did not obey the king's law.
As a result, new Jianghu sects have sprung up everywhere since then. But when there are too many sects, there are mixed good and bad, and even the bad sheep break the rules of the rivers and lakes. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, this situation became more and more serious, and some people in the rivers and lakes began to collude with the government, take over lawsuits, mediate disputes, make friends with powerful people, and obtain benefits from them, which had a huge impact.
And Emperor Wu wanted to strengthen the centralization of power and expand the territory, so he took the opportunity to deal with those black sheep and implemented a series of measures to suppress the Jianghu sect. Many sects, including the Three Ancestral Sects, were forced to go underground. It wasn't until more than a hundred years later, after they helped Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu defeat Wang Mang, that they returned to their old ways.
After experiencing this series of changes, the Three Ancestors Sect was a little disheartened with the imperial power, no longer trusted the emperor's promises, and was also suspicious of other Jianghu sects. So at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the fourth meeting was carried out in Chaoyang Peak of Huashan, and they decided to return to seclusion together, and they would no longer compete in the future.
Since then, the Three Ancestors Gate has faded out of people's sight and slowly become a legend. But the retreat is not dissolution and disappearance, it is just a different way of existing. In order to ensure their own safety and survival and development, they also sent their descendants to build the 'Three Sects' in other places nearby, instead of the ancestral sects, they walked the rivers and lakes, searched for disciples, collected resources, and accumulated wealth.
Among them, Xuanyuan Cave is pro-Confucian, they absorb Confucianism, build Lezhi Academy in Zhongnan Mountain, and also use the advantage of being good at training beasts to build a psychic hall in the courtyard as an auxiliary.
Jiuli Island respected Mo, they learned Mojia thought, built Zhige City in Wuyi Mountain, and took advantage of being good at making weapons to build Tianji Pavilion in the city as an auxiliary.
Shennong Valley Chongdao, they borrowed Taoist thoughts, built Wuwei Valley in Wudang Mountain, and also used the advantage of being good at medicine to build a hundred herb garden in the valley as an auxiliary.
At this time, the rivers and lakes were no longer what they were when they were first established, and there were dozens of well-known sects, and there were many more small-scale, unknown or hidden sects. In order to obtain more resources and benefits, the people in the rivers and lakes are no longer separated from the court and the people, but have established an inextricable connection with the two.
As the representatives of the ancestral sect, although the three sects are low-key and cautious, they cannot be left alone. In order for them to survive and develop in such an environment, they must also conform to the trend, which has formed the current situation and pattern of rivers and lakes.
The subsequent dynasties had various relationships with the Jianghu sect, and the imperial court held a default state to the Jianghu. After nearly a thousand years of development, the rivers and lakes have become more and more powerful, and the light and dark sides have slowly formed. On the surface, they abide by the rules of the rivers and lakes, and they still 'do not participate in politics, do not interfere with the royal power, and do not intrude on the people', and the government does not care about the disputes between the people in the rivers and lakes.
But secretly, for the sake of their own interests, they befriended the government, cultivated power, bullied the weak, exploited the people, and even interfered with the royal power, which can be said to do everything. Of course, there are also some ministers or emperors who think they are eloquent and strategic, and they once wanted to completely eliminate these rivers and lakes, but the result is that 'the rivers and lakes are still there, and the dynasty has changed.' ’
I am telling you this, I don't mean anything else, I want you to understand the current way of the world, and don't be like those rotten Confucians, who only know how to read dead books and read dead books. Troubled times are coming, and it will be difficult for such people to survive in the future world, do you understand?"