Zhao Defang's road to the virtuous king

Xiaogong just came here not long ago, offending the prince would be terrible, he was so frightened that he hurriedly knelt down, "Prince, please forgive me! The villain knows his mistake!"

"Get up." Defang looked at Xiao Gong, "You are right, this Qi Xuan King is really stupid, hehehe"

Xiaogong looked up at Defang who was smiling, and immediately lost his fear, he stood up and cupped his hands, "The villain disturbed the lord, please punish the lord."

"You're not wrong, why does the lonely king punish you?" Defang smiled, "Besides, exchanging sheep for cattle is the same as killing. What King Xuan of Qi said is really funny, don't you think?"

Although Defang seldom meets these people, everyone knows that the prince has a good temper. Seeing Defang's smile at this moment, they were relieved, so they all laughed, "What the prince said is true."

Defang continued to fiddle with the spatula in his hand. He was not very used to holding such things in his hands. The dishes were fried in a mess, but he did not stop talking. He kept his head away from the pot and frowned and continued to preach, "Later, King Xuan of Qi said that there was indeed For such a thing, Mencius said, Your Majesty, you can dominate the world if you have a heart of kindness, but the people really think that you are too stingy when they hear about it, and it is not out of kindness. King Xuan of Qi said, although our country is not Big, but I’m not so stingy to the point of being reluctant to part with cattle. Mencius replied, Your Majesty, don’t blame the people, they only know that you exchanged small sheep for expensive cattle, how can you know the heart of the King, let alone, Your Majesty If you think cows are pitiful, isn’t that the same for sheep? King Xuan of Qi said with a smile, yes, I didn’t even think of it, but I didn’t mean to use sheep instead of cows because of money, but the people think so, and there are indeed them Mencius then said, Your Majesty’s heart of not being able to bear to see the death of a cow is a kind heart, but only because you see the cow but not the sheep. In fact, the gentleman is the same, seeing the birds and beasts alive, I can't bear to see them die, and I can't bear to eat their meat when I hear their wailing. Therefore, a gentleman always stays away from the cook."

Everyone understood after hearing this, Defang looked at the little worker just now and asked, "Tell me, what does it mean for a gentleman to stay away from the kitchen?"

Xiaogong hurriedly bowed and cupped his hands and replied, "My lord is saying that a gentleman must have the virtue of living a good life and not killing people. Only a true benevolent heart can be called a gentleman."

"Well said!" Defang nodded, "It seems that you have read some books."

"Yes, my lord, the little one has been studying for a few years."

"Then how did you become a kitchen boy?"

"The villain's father is..." Xiaogong looked at the deputy steward of the dining room, and Defang understood it at a glance, so he looked at the deputy steward of the dining room and asked, "Is he your son?"