The Moon in the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 59 Gongshu and Mo
"It's been two hundred years. That was two hundred years ago, during the reign of King Hui of Chu. King Hui of Chu was a great ruler. He ascended the throne at a young age and experienced many hardships. He destroyed several states including Chen, Cai, and Qi. By his later years, Chu had become a great power in the world."

"After King Hui destroyed Qi, his target was the neighboring Song."

"Mozi was also from Song. When he heard that the King of Chu was going to destroy Song, he invited the ancestor Gongshuzi, who was also shocked. He traveled for ten consecutive days and nights, eating wind and drinking dew, to the capital of Chu to find the ancestor, wanting him to stop helping Chu attack Song. The ancestor and Mozi were good friends, so after hearing his advice, he was naturally willing to stop."

"But a war between two countries is no small matter. How can it be led by a craftsman? Moreover, I have already promised the king, how can I not do it? The ancestor does not want to break his promise to the King of Chu, nor does he want to be unkind and unjust."

"Mozi also knows the difficulty of the ancestor. Please ask the ancestor to introduce the King of Chu. He will go to persuade the King of Chu. If it fails, he will perform a good show with him again."

"What Mozi said about persuading the King of Chu is naturally reasonable, but the army has been assembled, siege equipment is being built, and attacking Song is the national policy. How can we give up because of the words of a lobbyist? What a loss this is. The King of Chu will naturally not give up easily."

"In a conflict between two countries, right and wrong are not that important."

"What follows is a good show performed by our ancestors Gongshuzi and Mozi, and it is also the beginning of the disaster."

"The two men untied their belts to form a fortress, and used their tokens as weapons. The Grandmaster attacked nine times, and Mozi defended nine times, but they were ultimately unsuccessful."

Ying Zheng nodded. "So it was just a play. I see. I never understood before. Could Mozi's mechanical skills really be much better than Gongshuzi's? How could he come up with a countermeasure to Gongshuzi's painstakingly designed nine siege engines in such a short time? This is unreasonable."

Gongshu Chou said, "My lord, what you said is very true. I am not boasting. After all, our ancestor has devoted his whole life to the art of mechanical devices, while Mozi's research is quite diverse. If Mozi is given enough time, I believe he can break the Gongshu mechanical device. But how can he win nine battles in such a short time?"

"Of course it's a good show. Who in the world can understand the shortcomings of his own mechanical creation better than the Grandmaster?"

"But even so, the King of Chu is still unwilling to give up. After all, deduction is just deduction. The victory or defeat on the battlefield will still be decided on the real battlefield."

"The Grandmaster and Mozi are both naturally intelligent people. They naturally knew that the King of Chu would not let this go. They also knew that the King of Chu would definitely think of killing people, so they took the initiative to propose it."

"Then Mozi used a mechanical dummy to intimidate the King of Chu, and threatened him with his three hundred disciples, which forced the King of Chu to give up attacking Song."

"The Mohist Knights are well-known all over the world. Everyone knows them. They are like madmen. Mohist Knights are truly capable and not afraid of death. They are people who take life and death lightly and sacrifice themselves for justice. The King of Chu and the nobles of Chu State do not dare to offend them completely."

Ying Zheng smiled and nodded: "That's true. No one wants to be remembered by a madman. Who would bother with a madman?"

"It's ironic that the Mohist school advocates non-aggression and universal love, but the one that the princes fear the most is the Mohist Knight. The most famous and powerful knight in the world is also an assassin."

Gongshu Chou also nodded in agreement: "Although this matter has many twists and turns and risks, the result is good after all. In the end, the King of Chu gave up attacking Song, and Mozi became famous throughout the world."

He sighed and said, "This is why the truth cannot be revealed. If the State of Chu knew the truth, they would definitely destroy all the people of Gongshujia. Until now, this matter is still a secret. Over the years, the State of Chu has become more and more powerful, and Gongshujia dare not talk about it. Only when the State of Chu is gone one day, it will be possible for it to be revealed to the world."

Ying Zheng nodded: "Indeed, Zheng understands. This finally solves the doubts in Zheng's heart."

"In Mozi, Lu Wen, Gongshuzi said to Mozi: Before I met Di, I wanted to take Song. After I met Di, it was unjust to give Song to me, but I did not do it." Mozi said: "Before Di met you, you wanted to take Song. After Di met you, it was unjust to give Song to you, but you did not do it. It was me who gave Song to you. If you work hard to be righteous, Di will give you the world." "Mozi never belittled Gongshuzi, but praised Gongshuzi's righteousness. There must be something behind it."

He exclaimed: "Gongshuzi did not hesitate to ruin his eternal reputation, but also helped his friend. He did not violate benevolence and righteousness. He is a true gentleman."

Then he asked, "Then the quarrel between the two families was probably because of this, right? Because of fame?"

Gongshu Chou praised: "You are a wise young master, and you hit the nail on the head."

"King Hui is indeed a great ruler. Although Mozi tried to stop him, he still valued his talent and was willing to give him a high position and generous salary to ask him to stay in Chu. However, they had different political views and Mozi was unwilling to stay in the court of Chu."

"But the situation with our ancestor Gongshuzi is not so good. We feel guilty towards the King of Chu, so please resign and leave."

"This matter has become a secret. The Grandmaster naturally hopes that no one knows the inside story. Mozi also knows that it is of great importance, so he never mentions it."

"After the two separated, Mozi traveled around the world to promote his ideas and recruited countless disciples all over the world. Only the two of them knew the reasons behind the duel, and his disciples were also unaware."

"There are many people in the Mohist school, and they all regard Mozi as a god. They don't know the inside story, and the inside story cannot be publicized. In their view, Mozi saved Song and forced the King of Chu to give up attacking Song by his own strength, and even defeated Gongshuzi, the best in the world in terms of tactics. This is an extremely glorious thing."

"Knights-errant are fond of fame, so such righteous deeds are naturally worth publicizing. Of course, Gongshujia became a stepping stone for the Mohist school to gain greater reputation."

"Over time, some of the disciples of the Mohist School often boasted about this matter in order to promote Mozi. Gongshujia was naturally dissatisfied, and gradually some conflicts arose. Due to the friendship between the founder and Mozi, he was able to restrain himself at the beginning, until later Gongshujia was unwilling to endure it and took ruthless action. Of course, Moxia was not a person who would suffer losses, so Mohist School also took ruthless action later."

"The incident got bigger and bigger. At first, it was just a quarrel between ordinary disciples, and then it turned into a fight. Only then did the Grandmaster and Mozi know about it."

"It was too late when we found out. Both sides were really angry and the problem was difficult to solve."

"The point is, the inside story cannot be told. If it cannot be told, it cannot be explained. If it cannot be explained, the matter cannot be resolved. Even if the ancestors of the two families repeatedly warned and dissuaded, the friction continued."

"My Gongshu School has always been united, but the Mohist School is also united."

"Until a major incident occurred. A Mo Xia from the Mohist School assassinated a son of our founder Gong Shuzi."

"The ancestor Gongshuzi was naturally filled with grief and indignation."

Ying Zheng nodded: "In this matter, the Mohists are indeed at fault. Gongshuzi voluntarily lost face and dignity for his righteous act, and his son died because of this. The price he paid is too heavy."

"But Mozi will give an explanation for this matter."

(End of this chapter)