100 Historical Stories That Unlock Teenage Wisdom

Chapter 3 2 The Story of Guan Bao's Friendship

Chapter 12 The Story of Guan Bao's Friendship

——Hearts are for exchange

In the early Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Huan of Qi elected Bao Shuya as Prime Minister after ascending the throne, but Bao Shuya vetoed it.Duke Huan of Qi asked him the reason, and Bao Shuya said calmly, "I want to ask you a question, why are you becoming the king now?"

Duke Huan said, "Of course it is to dominate the princes."

"If you want to dominate the princes, you have an enemy who is the only one who can help you achieve this goal."

Duke Huan of Qi asked, "Who is it?"

Bao Shuya said, "It's Guan Zhong."

Duke Huan didn't believe it, because Guan Zhong shot an arrow at Duke Huan of Qi and vowed to kill Duke Huan of Qi.

Bao Shuya said: "I am inferior to Guan Zhong in five points. The first point is that I am not as generous and considerate as he is in treating the people. The second point is that he has a passion for the country, which I am not as good as him. The third point is that he can unite people's hearts. , this is very important for the king to achieve hegemony. Of course, I am not as good as him; the fourth point is that I am not as good as he can understand various etiquette norms, and he has a very good way of dealing with princes; finally, he is good at commanding , and being able to go forward to fight in person, I am ashamed of myself."

Hearing what he said, Duke Huan's doubts were also eliminated, and the revenge was put to the back of his mind. He put aside his past suspicions and decided to use Guan Zhong.

Bao Shuya went to the prison to see Guan Zhong in person, and he took off the shackles for Guan Zhong himself.Moved by their sincerity, Guan Zhong accepted the position of Xiangguo bestowed by Duke Huan of Qi.

After Guan Zhong became the Prime Minister of Qi State, he presided over the state affairs of the state, but because of his humble background, many wealthy nobles in the court looked down on him.And other meritorious ministers often ignore him, because in their view, Guan Zhong not only has not contributed to the country, but is also a sinner of the country.In order to make these people obey him and better promote their ideas, more power is needed, so he told Duke Huan of Qi this idea, and Duke Huan of Qi worshiped him as Shangqing without saying a word.

After Guan Zhong ruled the country for a period of time, the situation of the country did not change much, and Duke Huan of Qi was very anxious.Once, I couldn't help but ask him about it.

Guan Zhong said: "My lord, I wanted to tell you a long time ago that the current situation is because I don't have much money, so it's very difficult to do anything. How can the country become rich and strong like this."

When Duke Huan of Qi heard what he said, he took out a lot of money and handed over the taxes to him for use.

After a while, the country still hadn't improved much. Duke Huan asked him why, and Guan Zhong said, "I'm not your close relative, so I can't handle some noble affairs."

Duke Huan of Qi said: "It doesn't matter, I will give you a special status again." So he took the lead in calling Guan Zhong "Father Zhong".

It can be said that the reason why Guan Zhong was able to achieve such great political achievements later is inseparable from the support of Duke Huan.After Guan Zhong had these powers, he boldly carried out reforms, developed production, encouraged farming, and the country quickly achieved great development.

Guan Zhong achieved great success in the state of Qi. When people asked him what his experience was, he said: "Heaven gave birth to me, and Bao Shuya knew me."

He said to others: "When I was in the most difficult time, I did business with Bao Shuya. Every time I paid dividends, I always had to share more, but Bao Shuya never thought I was greedy for money, because he knew that my family was very poor. I I did a lot of things but failed to do them well. At this time, Bao Shuya didn’t laugh at me, but persuaded me, saying that my opportunity has not come yet, and if the opportunity comes, I will definitely do well. Encouragement is very important to me. I sometimes run away during battles. Bao Shuya does not despise me, but tells others that I have to do this because I have an old mother at home. People who know me like this really I will never forget it. Without Bao Shuya, I would not be where I am now."

Wisdom Interpretation:

In addition to bringing fun to each other's lives, friends can also bring great help to each other, and this kind of help may sometimes change your life.Of course, what we are talking about here are true friends, not the kind of wine and meat friends who are gentlemen in front of each other and villains behind their backs.True friends should be made with heart, and true friends may have different opinions, but their feelings cannot be separated, even if they "suffer" like Bao Shuya, they are willing.

(End of this chapter)