Master Kong Zhongni

Chapter 169 The Evil is One Foot High and the Devil is One Foot High (5K6)

Zai Shili asked: "I don't know if you have come all the way from Zheng Guoyuan, what do you want to teach me?"

Fang Shengxu was spoiled by Zichan and Zitaishu in Zheng State a few years ago.

Or maybe he heard about Zaiyu's reputation for benevolence and righteousness in Tuqiu, so Zaiyu gave him face at this time, and he really accepted it.

Fang Sheng laughed slowly: "I can't talk about teaching, but when my master preached and taught me, he once taught me that 'lawless kings are not etiquette'.

The State of Lu claims to be a state of etiquette. When Han Xuanzi of the State of Jin visited your country, he even sighed that "the rites of Zhou are all in Luyi".

Everyone thinks this sentence is a compliment, but in my opinion, it is tantamount to the most vicious slander in the world.

My teachers taught me that the laws that make a society prosperous are simple and easy to follow.

The etiquette system that makes society chaotic is complicated and difficult to follow.

The music of ancient times sounds simple and not sad.

However, the music played in the temples of the princes today is grotesque and artificial.

The people in ancient times were simple and honest, but today's people are more fraudulent.

In ancient times, the punishment was very light, but the people would not violate the regulations.

Today's etiquette law stipulates various corporal punishments, even punishments such as cutting noses and limbs are used, but people still don't feel ashamed of committing crimes.

From this point of view, isn't the phrase "Zhou's rites are all in Lu" a slander against the State of Lu? "

As soon as Fang Sheng said this, many of the onlookers changed their expressions.

The word Zhou Li is very short to say, but it has a weight as heavy as Mount Tai in the hearts of Lu people.

The Rites of Zhou were made by the Duke of Zhou, who was the ancestor of the State of Lu.

At that time, Boqin, the eldest son of Duke Zhou, came to the state of Lu to replace Duke Zhou, and spent three years changing the customs of Lu.

Since then, Zhou Li has always been the pride of Lu people, and Lu has used Zhou Li for 500 years.

Back then when Boqin became a vassal, the State of Lu was just a small country with a few cities such as Qufu and an area of ​​less than a hundred miles.

However, in the past 500 years, successive Lu monarchs conquered east and west, annihilated and annexed dozens of Dongyi countries, and finally developed into a regional power with a radius of [-] miles.

And the clansmen of Duke Zhou and Boqin also followed the pace of Lu's conquest and scattered in various cities and towns of Lu. Those who were closely related became doctors, and those who were far away became local citizens.

For these people, if you don't follow Zhou etiquette in Lu State, everyone can turn a blind eye.

After all, that thing is really inconvenient, and it can't keep up with the development of the times.

But what you do is what you do, but if you want to open your mouth to criticize Zhou Li, it is no different from scolding their ancestors face to face.

Zaiyu had observed the changes in their expressions early in the morning.

Regarding Fang Sheng's behavior of jumping into it without digging a hole, Zaiyu has only one sentence: Please step up your efforts!

But the 'support' that should be given, Jae Yu is absolutely unambiguous.

Following Fang Sheng's words, he replied: "I only heard that Duke Zhou's gift is to help the world and to love the common people..."

Before Zai Yu finished speaking, Fang Sheng laughed and interrupted him: "Love? If Zhou Gong really loves, why can't he even love his younger brother?
He killed Uncle Guan and Uncle Cai because the elder brother did not love his younger brother.

Both Yao and Shun were sons of heaven, but none of their children became sons of heaven, because the father did not love his sons deeply.

Robbers and robbers break into houses and commit crimes because they are poor, yet the king still wants to bring them to justice. This is because the king has no love for the people.

So, what kind of love is there in this world? "

After listening to Fang Sheng's words, Zai Yu almost didn't bring it up.

He finally understood that Gao Chai and Shen Sui wanted to die together with him.

Really what I say, you say whatever!
As expected of an apprentice taught by Diode, everything has to be discussed under extreme conditions!
If the Duke of Zhou doesn't crusade against Uncle Guan Cai, wouldn't Great Zhou die?

Isn't Yao and Shun's Zen positions a manifestation of their love for the people instead of their sons?
If you want to talk about loving your son, why didn’t you mention Dayu who was behind Yao and Shun?
Bandits and robbers are not punished for breaking into houses. I suggest that they rob your home. I can specifically approve that robbing your home is not a crime.

I used to not believe in the virtues of Zichan and Taishu Zi, but now I do.

It is not easy for them to endure for so many years!
Although the anger in Zaiyu's heart had already risen, he knew it was not time to fill the soil.

So he immediately adjusted his mood and asked calmly.

"Since you think that there is no kindness in everything in the world, do you mean that benevolence, righteousness and morality are not worth advocating?"

Fang Sheng's eyes lit up when he heard the words, he didn't expect Jae Yu's words to feed him so comfortably.

Fang Sheng said: "My teacher said: Only when the river dries up can an empty canyon appear, and only when a hill is leveled can an abyss be filled.

And when the sage dies, the thieves who steal the country will not rise again, so the world will be peaceful.

Therefore, saints never die, but robbers never stop.

Why do you say that?
Because, when people use measuring instruments to measure grain, thieves always steal the measuring instruments.

When people use weights to weigh how much, there are always thieves who steal the weight of the scale.

And when people use the talisman as a guarantee of credit, there are always thieves who steal it along with the talisman.

Therefore, when using benevolence and righteousness to correct mistakes, then there will always be people who will steal benevolence and righteousness as well.

The little thieves who stole property were killed, while the big thieves who stole the country became princes.

This does not just explain, are those princes stealing benevolence and righteousness?
The princes stole benevolence and righteousness, and those who followed them in chaos became benevolent and righteous.

And what is the reason for this situation?

This is caused by those 'sages' who advocate benevolence, righteousness and morality! "

As soon as Fang Sheng finished speaking, he heard a loud sound, Shen Shu drew his sword out of its sheath, pointed at him with wide eyes and said.

"Zhuzi! Who are you sneaking up on here?"

Fang Sheng glanced at Shen Shun, and said with a disdainful smile: "I used to hear people say that the people of Tuqiu can speak freely, but now it seems that they are just false words.

Yao set up a drum of remonstrance by the roadside, and Shun set up a tree of slander outside to listen to the voice of the people.

In order to hear the voices of the people, Shang Tang set up an official named 'Si Zhi' around him and asked him to give feedback on the people's opinions every day.

King Wu engraved an inscription of warning on the court hall, reminding himself not to listen to one side and believe it on the other.

These four kings all have the talents of saints, and they still need such hard work.

However, Li Lu's family killed Dong Lizi who advised him, Su Sha's family killed Jiwen who advised him, Xia Jie killed Guan Longfeng who advised him, and Shang Zhou killed Bigan who advised him.

Now my virtue is not as good as Dong Lizi, Jiwen, Guan Longfeng and Bigan.

But if you want to become a monarch like Li Lu, Su Sha, Xia Jie, and Shang Zhou, I can reluctantly play the roles of the above four sages. "

After Fang Sheng said this, he stretched his neck, closed his eyes, and looked like he was about to kill.

It's not that he really begged to die, but that he expected that Zai Yu would not dare to kill him.

Before he came to Tuqiu, he had inquired about Zai Yu's political style.

He has been in charge of Tuqiu for more than half a year, and he has not used corporal punishment. Although he has been sentenced to death several times during this period, almost all of those criminals committed serious crimes that cannot be forgiven.

For other minor crimes, the punishment is basically to send them to dig coal, which is called reform through labor by local people in Tuqiu.

As for the case of being convicted because of speech, there has never been a case.

That's why Fang Sheng had the guts to brag in front of Jae Yu.

In other words, if he was really not afraid of death, why did he leave Zheng Guo?

Anyway, it's a one-time death, and if you die with Deng Xi in Zheng State, you can still have a reputation, but in Lu State, it's really a useless death.

Zai Yu had figured out Fang Sheng's psychology early in the morning, and he wanted a noble reputation, but he was also greedy for life and fear of death, and greedy for benefits.

Want to threaten me with Xia Jie and Shang Zhou?
You really don't know how to live or die!

Zai Yu pressed Shen Fang's sword-holding hand, and said, "The people of Tuqiu can naturally speak freely, but isn't it a little biased just to listen to the conversation between you and me?

Although I live in the State of Lu, I have heard Deng Xizi's remarks.

I heard that Deng Xizi advocated that the monarch should not choose talents according to his own preferences.

When governing the country and fiefdoms, one cannot easily punish or reward others, one cannot appoint others arbitrarily, one must carefully restrain one's emotions, and evaluate whether a person is worthy or not from a fair perspective.

Although I like your remarks very much, I think you are an outstanding and noble person.

But whether you are virtuous or not cannot be judged by a few simple sentences.

I also heard that Deng Xizi advocated broadly absorbing the opinions of the people. Now I summon the people of Tuqiu and listen to them about your remarks. There should be no problem, right? "

Fang Sheng was overjoyed when he heard the words, the reason why he was looking forward to Zaiyu's return so much was because he was waiting for him to grant the land.

Gao Chai and others have been delaying his treatment because of the old man.

As for the big families in the city, Fang Sheng had already taken care of it, giving money to those who should be paid, and helping those who should be helped.

The patriarch of the Sang clan assured him that he would definitely recommend him to Zaiyu.

With the support of these big families, is Fang Sheng afraid that he will not get the support of the people?

He smiled and replied: "I have been in Tuqiu for a month, you can inquire about my reputation."

"No, no, no." Zai Yu waved his hand and said, "Before granting the land, there is one more thing to do.

I remember another saying by Deng Xizi, which is called: fame cannot be foreign affairs, wisdom cannot be followed by others, and seek what is known to oneself.

The drafting of well-known laws and decrees cannot be entrusted to others, and the trial of laws cannot be obeyed by others at will. This is the so-called seeking help from oneself.

I heard Yi Sima said, some time ago, you were involved in the case of the foolish old man, right? "

When Fang Sheng heard this, the smile on his face froze suddenly, but soon returned to normal.

"There is such a thing."

Zai Yu nodded and said: "The situation of the foolish old man's case is complicated, and I was not in Tuqiu when the case happened.

And I heard Yi Sima said that after the case was over, you and Sang still felt that the punishment was not fair enough, and demanded that the fool should be charged with framing and defamation.

And the fool cried even more in court when the results came out.

Since both parties refuse to accept the result of the penalty, Zhou Li is not enough to imitate in your heart.

So I think this case should be remanded for retrial. According to Deng Xizi's instruction, I should try it myself. What do you think? "

When Fang Sheng heard this, he was obviously a little flustered. His eyes were unsteady, but his mouth was still unwilling to admit defeat.

"This... since you are willing to follow the teacher's teachings, I naturally have no objections."

Zai Yu nodded slightly, and said to Shen Jian: "Shen Sima, ring the bell in the middle hall to summon the people!"

Shen Shu bent down and clasped his fists, and shouted in full spirit: "My minister, Shen Shu, take orders!"

He walked like a dragon and a tiger, walking like the wind, and when he passed by Fang Sheng, a gust of wind blew up the corners of his clothes, and at the end he did not forget to give him a hard look.

Fang Sheng was so frightened that he couldn't help taking a step back, feeling a little absent-minded.

Taking advantage of his distraction, Zaiyu winked at Zigong.

Zigong understood, he just raised his hand and patted Shi He beside him, then quietly led the soldiers away.

Boom, boom, boom!
The sonorous bell rang, and the sound spread throughout the fields near Tuqiu.

After a while, I saw a lot of young and middle-aged men carrying Lei Lei back from outside the city, and the women who had stayed at home to work also put down their work and went out to visit.

They crowded into the open space in front of the government office in groups of three or four, and some of them would smile and salute Zaiyu who hadn't seen him for more than a month.

"The lord is back?"

"Are you in good health?"

"We have finished dredging the ditches in the suburbs."

To their words, Jae Yu responded with a smile one by one.

There were only about [-] people in Tu Qiulong, and most of them were familiar faces. Even Zai Yu was too embarrassed to ignore him even though he was kind.

But Fang Sheng glanced at these people, but the more he looked, the more frightened he became.

None of the people in front of him was known to him.

What about those members of the Sang family?

He searched for a long time, and finally found Sang Zhong, the old patriarch of the Sang family, from the end of the crowd.

And it wasn't just him, all the big clans were at the back of the crowd, as if they were going to be late for an appointment together.

A bad feeling suddenly flashed in Fang Sheng's heart, but he couldn't tell what it was exactly.

He looked back at Zai Yu who was standing on the high platform, and found that he was about to speak.

Zai Yu looked at the crowded Tuqiu people, and said in a loud voice: "A while ago, there was a horse theft case in this town, the parties involved were an old man from the north of the city and members of the Sang family, everyone must know about this matter, right? "

Tuqiu is such a big place, the case of the foolish old man has long been known to everyone.

As soon as Zaiyu opened his mouth at this time, someone in the crowd immediately shouted: "I know! That's Sang's bullying! If the foolish old man and his son are still alive, they will definitely not dare to do this!"

When Sang Zhong in the back row heard this, he was so frightened that he even threw away his walking stick, and immediately shouted: "Don't spout blood! The case has already been concluded, and the evidence is insufficient. You are not guilty, you are not guilty!"

If it had been changed before, none of the ordinary people would dare to refute when Sang Zhong spoke.

But today is not the same as in the past. I didn’t dare to argue with Sang Zhong before because everyone wanted to rent their land, which pissed them off. If you raise the rent of your land, the whole family will not be able to get rid of it.

But now in Tuqiu, there are too many ways to earn food.

Whether it's going to the mountains to find mines, or to quarry, or even directly renting public land, they can satisfy their food and clothing.

Being able to eat without relying on Sang's made the big guy a little bit more confident in speaking.

"Damn! Do you still need evidence for Sang's bad deeds? That is to say, now that the lord is here, you have restrained yourself a little. Did you commit few crimes before?"

"In the past ten years, how much food have you collected from me?"

"A while ago, you still wanted to round up the mine to prevent us from going in for quarrying. If we hadn't sued Shen Sima, what would have happened?"

The ordinary Chinese over there yelled and cursed, and the members of the Sang family also sneered back.

"Don't confuse right and wrong there. We didn't do anything wrong in the past. The land is ours, and we can collect as much as we want. If you can't plant it, then don't plant it!"

"When did we want to rent the mine? It's obviously because there are too many people in the cave, and we are helping to maintain order!"

Both sides scolded Huan, but only Sang Zhong understood that it was useless to scold them, and only by pleasing Zaiyu could he gain benefits.

He fell on the ground and petitioned: "My lord, that case was tried by Gao Sikou, and all the punishments followed the etiquette, even if you tried it again, the result would still be the same!
The reason why we want to sue the old man for framing is also to win a sigh of relief.

If you're talking about a horse, our Sang Corporation doesn't lack the money, so we can't afford it at all!

If the fool is dissatisfied, at worst, we will give him the horse. We are all neighbors, so why hurt our peace? "

Looking at the cheeky old man Sang Zhong, Zai Yu snorted coldly in his heart, "You're a good boy after taking advantage of it. You're advancing by retreating? Give the horse to the foolish old man?"

Zai Yu waved at Sang Zhong and said, "Actually, what you said is correct. If you want to judge according to Zhou etiquette,
Both you and the fool are innocent, and there is nothing wrong with Gao Sikou's sentence.

It's just that the litigator you invited told me just now that Zhou Li was unfair, so I planned to retry the case according to his opinion. "

When old man Sang heard this, his beard stood on end, and he stared at Fang Sheng with an expression that wished he could kill him.

"you……"

Before he could speak, Zaiyu said again: "But I don't follow Zhou etiquette, and I don't know what principles to follow.

But I remember Deng Xizi said that we must listen to the opinions of the people extensively, and formulate laws based on the wishes of the people.

If this is the case, then there is no need to be so troublesome.

Starting from the first row, those who feel that Sang's death is innocent, stand on the left.

Those who feel that Sang's family is innocent and foolish to death should stand on the right side. "

As soon as Zaiyu finished speaking, none of the people in Tuqiu took a step. Everyone looked at each other and didn't know what to choose.

Just when the big guy didn't know which side to stand, the few people standing in the front row suddenly stepped to the left.

Seeing someone stepping forward, those who had always had grudges with Sangshi boldly followed.

With them taking the lead, all the black people behind followed, and when Sang and other big clans started to stand in line, the left side was already crowded, while the right side was empty.

Now, even the members of the Sang family dare not take a step to the right.

"The patriarch... us?"

Sang Zhong covered his face and said tremblingly on the ground: "Master, although I am stupid, I still know that the state of Lu has always governed the country with etiquette and law. How can you say that if you don't follow the etiquette, you will not follow the law?"

Jai Yu shook his head, pointed at Fang Sheng and said, "I don't have to refuse to obey, I just think what he said makes sense."

Sang Zhong looked at Fang Sheng with fire in his eyes: "My lord, how can you listen to his slander?"

Fang Sheng was taken aback when he heard this, and accused him aloud, "Mr. Sang, you can't talk nonsense!"

Zai Yu also nodded: "How can he be an evil person? He is a student of Zheng Guo Deng Xizi. Besides, didn't you ask him to defend you earlier?"

"I……"

Sang Zhong couldn't argue, and suddenly had an idea: "Oh, I was eager to save people, didn't I get confused for a while? I believed that my grandson was innocent, but just in case, I asked him to defend.

Who knows, he didn't play a role at all, and he was talking nonsense in the court, and even his words were provided for him in advance by us! "

"Hey!" Fang Sheng said anxiously: "Old dog! You bit me? Have you forgotten who helped you win the lawsuit? Are you saying that you want me to fight to the death?"

Hearing this, Sang Zhong snorted and said: "What kind of fish is dead and the net is broken? The old man has done a good job. What evidence do you have? You can show it. I'm afraid you won't succeed?"

Hearing this, Fang Sheng was furious and said, "You! The evidence, I'll help you..."

Sang Zhong raised his eyes and raised his eyebrows, and when the wind blew, his beard fluttered, and he was upright.

"What are you? I said, if you have evidence, you can show it!
How can you not follow Zhou etiquette when doing things in our country of Lu?
An evil person like you, dare to confuse the lord and destroy the friendship between us and our neighbors for many years? !
Lord!I am old but not talented, I implore the lord to slaughter this evil person in the court, so as to rectify my morals! "

　I really like the monthly pass in your hand. I always feel that there will never be another monthly pass that I like so much in the future. It’s not that they are not as good as this one, but that my heart is different.

　　——Excerpt from "Zaiyu's Diary"

　　
　
(End of this chapter)