Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Be cautious in words and deeds, mature and low-key

Lao Tzu said: "If a great success is lacking, its use will be detrimental. If a great surplus is rushed, its use will be endless. Great straightness will be bent. Great ingenuity will be clumsy. Great debate will be dull." Depression leads to prosperity. Hollowness leads to newness. Less leads to gain. Much leads to confusion." One of the obvious meanings contained in it is that one should learn to be modest and prudent.The humble and prudent leader is able to live in the world and achieve his purpose. For leaders, one must learn to be humble.Those who are often not humble are weak, and the strong are often humble.

Yan Ying was the prime minister of Qi Jinggong during the Warring States Period. He was not very tall, but he was very talented and famous among princes.One day Yan Ying went out in a carriage driven by his coachman.The coachman's wife was very virtuous. When the driver passed the door of her house, she peeked through the crack of the door and saw her husband waving his whip, showing a complacent look.That night she asked her husband, "Yan Ying was less than six feet tall, became the prime minister of Qi, and was famous all over the world, but he was so humble; while you are eight feet tall and much more majestic than him, But he only became his driver, and he was proud of himself. I'm really ashamed of you."

Some leaders like to take other people's achievements on their own heads and become proud, which should not happen.There is such a story: On the way, the wheels creaked and complained.Exhausted, the horse said in amazement, "My friend, what is the matter with you?" and the wheel said, "Didn't you see that I was pulling a cart full of things? Oh! It's been a hard time... ..." The horse turned to look at the wheel in doubt and said: "My friend, it seems that I am pulling this cart, not you! Why do you keep complaining?" In real life, some people are full of complaints. Brag about your achievements everywhere.In fact, his so-called credit belongs to others.

"Shangshu·Da Yumo" said that "fullness suffers losses, and modesty benefits", which has been regarded as a wise saying by people.Peaches and plums, the next from Seikei.A humble leader will ultimately be recognized by everyone. For leaders, humility is a rare and valuable personality cultivation.But the premise of humility is that you must have worked hard for the society, and this kind of labor may have been recognized by the society, and may not be understood and accepted by the society and the masses.If you want to be a humble person, you often need not only an open mind, but also a kind of courage.Zang Kejia commented on Mr. Lu Xun, who "bows his head and is willing to be a willing ox", he said that as long as the spring breeze blows, there are green weeds everywhere.A leader who regards modesty and prudence as an important personality cultivation will be full of vitality and creativity.

For leaders, humility is a down-to-earth learning style.As we all know, along with the pace of knowledge economy comes a revolution of learning.Faced with the new ideas and new knowledge coming to us, should leaders turn a blind eye and stand still, or should they concentrate on examining and dare to learn?The development of the Internet greatly expands the channels of learning, and also makes the selection of learning content and the in-depth learning experience very complicated and difficult. Therefore, every leader needs to learn in a down-to-earth manner. For leaders, humility is a virtue, and leaders who understand humility must understand the true source of success.Success does not fall from the sky, but the result of objective environment, help from others and self-effort.A humble leader is one who treats others with humility and considers their interests rather than their own.

For leaders, humility is a necessary philosophy of Siyuan Gratitude.Only by seriously thinking about the source can we be more grateful.Modesty is a necessary concept implemented in the process of Siyuan Thanksgiving.To evaluate the reasons for your own development in two, you need to have a humble attitude, so that you will not rest on the credits of the past.More importantly, humility helps people find their way and be proactive.Because the trend of progress of the times is mighty, but individuals in it are often like sailing against the current, if they do not advance, they will retreat.This is the law of the evolution of human history. In the midst of prosperity and prosperity, recession will come quietly.

A leader who is successful as a person may not be successful in doing things; and a leader who is successful in doing things may not be able to be a person. Leaders have the principles of being a human being, and the principles of doing things when doing things. Being a human being and doing things must be separated.There are strategies for being a human being, and strategies for doing things in doing things. You must pay attention to strategies in both being a human being and doing things.No matter how many principles there are in being a person and doing things, they all follow a basic principle, which is low-key.Both Hua Shi and Shao Zhengmao are people who cannot keep a low profile, so they can only end up being killed in the end.

Because of Jiang Taigong's high merits, the king of Zhou entrusted Qi to Jiang Taigong.There was a man named Hua Shi in the state of Qi who was very noble. He did not submit to the emperor, nor did he associate with the princes. Everyone thought that Hua Shi was a worthy man.So Jiang Taigong asked someone to call him to serve the country. He went three times, but Hua Shi refused, so Jiang Taigong asked someone to kill him.Zhou Gong asked Jiang Taigong: "This man is an outstanding figure in your country of Qi. Why did you kill him?" Jiang Taigong said: "This man does not submit to the emperor, does not associate with princes, how can I expect him to submit to me? , and have friendly relations with me? It is definitely impossible. This kind of person is a person who can give up, and he is also a person who gives up on himself. If you don’t kill this kind of person, but indulge him, then the people of the whole country will follow him. will know who the king is?"

Shaozheng Mao and Confucius were people of the same age, and Confucius' disciples were full of three times and three empty, and Shaozheng Mao was trying to confuse them.After Confucius became the chief commander, he immediately executed Shaozhengmao.Zigong said to Confucius: "Shaozhengmao is a very famous person in the state of Lu, but you killed him. Don't you think there is something wrong with it?" A gentleman is about to kill him, but Shaozheng Mao has all five evils at the same time, he is the villain of villains, so he has to be killed." The main reason why Huashi and Shaozhengmao were killed was that they were high-profile people, but they did not bow their heads to the regime.The killing of these two men by Jiang Taigong and Confucius did not conceal their brilliance, but made their image more prominent. Later generations praised them for their courage in doing things.However, Hua Shi and Shao Zhengmao were gradually forgotten, and almost no one sympathized with them.

Leaders must not be too high-profile, whether it is being a person or doing things.If you are a high-profile person and have a good personal relationship with others, maybe others will indulge you for a while, but you already have unhappiness in your heart, which will lead to disaster sooner or later.If you are a high-profile person, like to be unconventional, and claim to not be in the same boat as others, then you will definitely not be able to get along with others for a long time, and your life will be unhappy. It's hard to find friends when you're high-profile.While most people like to be friends with people who are smarter and better than themselves, people don't like to befriend people who appear to be smarter and better than themselves.This is not a contradiction.To be smarter and better than oneself is to be convinced; but to appear smarter and better than oneself is not to be convinced.As a philosopher said, if you want to have more friends, act as stupid as possible; if you want to have enemies, act as smart as possible.High-profile people are people who act smarter than others, and it is difficult to make many friends.

Being a low-key person and doing things in a low-key manner can ensure the leader's own safety and protect his own interests.And you don't need to spend too much time and energy on power struggles.Low-key people also give others the impression of being honest and reliable, and some good opportunities will naturally come to them. The noisy cicada crows incessantly in summer, making people feel very annoying; while the rooster that announces the dawn only crows a few times in the early morning, and people praise the rooster for its diligence.From this we can see that being respected does not lie in how much you speak, but in whether you say the key words at the critical moment. High-profile leaders always like to swear when things are not done, saying that they are omnipotent. I am familiar with this and I am proficient in that. There must be no problem.But in the end things don't get done, and high-profile leaders are often ridiculed.And a low-key leader does things low-key from the beginning. If things don't get done, no one will say anything about him, because he didn't promise anything at the beginning.If things are done well, everyone will feel that the leader is more credible and stable.And even if the high-profile leader gets things done, everyone thinks that the leader has so many relationships, and it should be done, and they won't give the high-profile leader too much praise and recognition. Those powerful and loyal ministers who were killed in history were not too high-profile, but because of their illustrious military exploits, no matter what they said or did, they were very eye-catching, so they unconsciously became high-profile people, even Some people make their subordinates only know themselves, but not the king; they only respect themselves, but not the king.The king naturally wanted to kill this man, just like Jiang Taigong killed Hua Shi. Therefore, the leader should not deliberately be high-profile, as it is easy to cause disaster; and once he becomes a very high-profile person under the great attention of others, he must learn to withdraw from the public eye in a timely manner, and do not post any comments at this time, because It is already very high-profile, and posting comments will attract more people's attention, and prosperity will inevitably decline.When Fan Li was worshiped as a general by the King of Yue, he thought that he was in such a high position, and it was easy to be popular, so he left without saying goodbye after the King of Yue returned to the country. Many leaders think that they are not high-profile and will not cause disasters, but whether they are high-profile or not is not a subjective performance of the individual, but the impression others have of you.If a leader is too low-key, the result is that others pay more attention to the results and bring disaster.Lu Buwei is a very typical example.After he was deposed by Qin Wang Yingzheng, he recuperated at home. He originally wanted to take care of his life, but envoys from various countries came to visit him in an endless stream and invited him to come out of the mountain.Although he refused, King Qin Yingzheng always had a heart disease when he knew it. This heart disease can only be cured by killing Lu Buwei, so he gave Lu Buwei death.Perhaps Lu Buwei would feel that he was very wronged, and that he was dismissed from home without complaint, which is already very low-key.Those princes and envoys came to him on their own initiative, and he refused them one by one. He never thought of doing anything wrong to Qin Wang Yingzheng and Qin State, so why did he kill him?In fact, he didn't know that Qin Wang Yingzheng was afraid in his heart, fearing that this important minister would rebel against him one day.Instead of continuing to worry, it is better to kill him.In short, you should keep a low profile when you are a person and do things. If you find that you have become very high-profile, no matter how you become it, you must retire in time, otherwise you will bring disaster to yourself. Lv Sengzhen, styled Yuanyu, was born in Fan County, Donggan County (now north of Jining City, Shandong Province), and his family lived in Guangling (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province). From the Southern Qi Dynasty, Lu Sengzhen followed Xiao Yan.When Xiao Yan was the governor of Yuzhou, he was in charge of Dianzhuan.When Xiao Yan was the leader of the army, he made up the master's book.In the second year of Jianwu (495), Xiao Yan led his division to assist Yiyang in resisting the Northern Wei Dynasty, and Lu Sengzhen went with the army.Later, Xiao Yan served as governor of Yongzhou, and Lu Sengzhen joined the army as a soldier under Xiao Yan, and was regarded as a confidant.After Xiao Yan raised his army, Lu Sengzhen was appointed as the forward general, who defeated Xiao Qi's army and made great contributions to Xiao Yan. Lu Sengzhen made great contributions to Xiao Yan, and was reused by Xiao Yanen, and the preferential treatment she received was unmatched by anyone.But he never took credit for his pride and indulged in pampering, but was more cautious.During the palace confinement, he dared not undress even in midsummer.Every time I accompany Xiao Yan, I always hold my breath and whisper, and don't eat the fruits on the table casually.Once, when he was drunk, he took an orange from the table. Xiao Yan said with a smile, "Qing has really made great progress." Taking an orange is considered a great improvement, which shows how cautious Lu Sengzhen is. degree. Because Lu Sengzhen had been away from home for a long time, she asked Xiao Yan to let him return to his hometown to worship the tombs of his ancestors.In order to make him return to his hometown, Xiao Yan not only allowed him to resign, but also granted him the title of envoy Chijie, general of Pingbei, and governor of Nanyanzhou, that is, the highest executive in charge of the state where his hometown is located. However, after Lu Sengzhen took office, she treated her with peace of mind, did not care about her relatives, and did not act arrogantly at all.Lu Sengzhen's nephew is an onion seller.When he heard that his uncle had become a high-ranking official, he stopped selling green onions and went to Lu Sengzhen to ask for an official.Lu Sengzhen said to him: "I am greatly favored by the country. I haven't done anything in return. How dare I use public affairs for personal gain. You all have your own things to do, so how can you ask for another job? Go back to Congshi to do it for you." Let's do it!" Lu Sengzhen's old house is in the north of the city, and the front is blocked by the postal governor's office.The villagers all persuaded Lu Sengzhen to move the Duyou Mansion and expand the old house.Lu Sengzhen said: "The governor's office has been in Beidi since my house was built. How can he let him move in order to expand my house?"Lu Sengzhen has an elder sister who is married to a local man surnamed Yu, and her family is in the west of the city.Her house is low and facing the street, and the neighbors are full of shops and stalls for business. At first glance, it looks like a place where low-class people live.But Lu Sengzhen often visited her sister's house, and she didn't feel ashamed to go in and out of such places. A gentleman stands in the world, he cannot be moved by poverty, he cannot be subdued by might, and he cannot be promiscuous by wealth.This is the code of conduct for a man in a feudal society.However, this is not something very people can do.There are still some people who are noble but forget the humble, and when they are successful, they will be rampant, act recklessly, and eventually lose their reputation.Lu Sengzhen can be described as a wise man who knows the way of standing. He does not pretend to be high in merit, and is not arrogant in his status, which makes the emperor trust him even more.Lu Sengzhen died of illness at the age of 58. Emperor Wu of Liang Xiao Yan issued an edict saying: "The great cause was established at the beginning, Mao Xun was promoted, and he lived in the imperial guards, and he was sincere day and night. , Grieving in my arms. It is appropriate to add Youdian, and to be favored by Long, you can give it to General Hushi, Kaifu Yitong Sansi, Changshi, Advocate, and Hou Ruru." Not only that, Lu Sengzhen was also posthumously named Zhongjing Hou.Lu Sengzhen's good death is inseparable from his prudence. To stand up cautiously is to have a full understanding of the value of standing up.If you have credit, don’t talk about it often; if you have favor, be careful not to make it public; if you have power, be careful not to abuse it; if you have friends who are high-ranking officials, be careful not to follow others;Aspirations should be lofty and things should be cautious. This is the principle of life instructed by history. In the early years of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, Chao Cuo proposed to cut down the feudal vassals, causing Wu, Chu and other seven countries, which had long plotted against the law, to rebel together.At the time of the crisis, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty conferred on Zhou Yafu the post of Taiwei and asked him to command the army to suppress the rebellion.Zhou Yafu neither declined nor gave way, but just accepted the task without any other words.Although Emperor Han Jing felt happy, he also felt that Zhou Yafu was a little arrogant, and he might not respect or look down on his young emperor. After Zhou Yafu dispatched troops, he made many conspiracies. In just three months, Wu Wang Liu Bi was killed, and the rebellion between Wu and Chu was put down.Wu and Chu were the main forces of the rebel army, and the other five countries also retreated steadily. It didn't take long for the rebellious vassals to commit suicide or put them to death. The rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms was quickly put down.In suppressing the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion, Zhou Yafu made great contributions and won unanimous praise from the people, and Emperor Han Jing also reused him. In the seventh year of the Yuan Dynasty (150 BC) of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, Zhou Yafu was promoted to the prime minister, and the prime minister was the head of the civil servants. However, because he offended someone, some people looked for opportunities to retaliate. The first person to trouble Zhou Yafu was Liang Wang Liu Wu.Both Liu Wu and Han Jingdi were born to Empress Dowager Dou. Empress Dowager Dou loved her youngest son Liu Wu very much and "rewarded him beyond measure", but he hated Zhou Yafu.At that time, Zhou Yafu presided over the suppression of the rebellion and led the army to the Henan area.The allied forces of Wu and Chu were attacking Liang with all their strength. Zhou Yafu and others analyzed the situation and believed that the allied forces of Wu and Chu were in full swing, and it would be difficult for the Han army to compete with each other. They decided to hand over Liang to the allied forces of Wu and Chu and let them attack.King Liang asked Emperor Han Jing for help, and Emperor Han Jing also ordered Zhou Yafu to help Liang, but Zhou Yafu gave him a "not following the edict", but sent cavalry to cut off the grain road of the Wu and Chu coalition forces.The allied forces of Wu and Chu were unable to attack for a long time, lost all their energy, and were cut off their food and grass, so they were forced to find the main force of the Han army for a decisive battle. Zhou Yafu only knew how to seek the country, but not his own life. Although he succeeded in countering the rebellion, he had a grudge with Liang Guo, which eventually made Liang Wang resentful.Therefore, whenever King Liang entered the court, he often talked about Zhou Yafu with his mother, Queen Mother Dou, and tried his best to slander and frame him.Over time, lies became truths, not to mention that what King Liang said was not lies, but his understanding of the facts was unrealistic.Empress Dowager Dou listened to King Liang's slander, and often spoke ill of Zhou Yafu to Emperor Han Jing. In the fourth year of the Yuan Dynasty (153 BC), Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty established his eldest son Liu Rong as the crown prince. However, because his mother Li Ji gradually fell out of favor, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty wanted to abolish the crown prince and appointed Liu Che, the son of the king and empress, as the crown prince.Zhou Yafu was straightforward and didn't know the art of persuasion, so he had a dispute with Emperor Han Jing.Later, Emperor Han Jing said that the abolition of the crown prince was a family matter and no outsiders were needed to intervene, so Zhou Yafu had no choice but to give up.Zhou Yafu's remonstrance not only failed to persuade Emperor Han Jing, but despised the emperor, so the emperor was deeply angry. In the third year of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty (147 BC), Queen Wang asked to make her elder brother Wang Xin a Marquis, but Zhou Yafu categorically rejected it. And Hou, the whole world will attack him." That's all, he also said bluntly: "Although Wang Xin is the queen's elder brother, he has no merit. If he is made a Marquis, it will be a violation of Gaozu's statute." This naturally made Emperor Han Jing very angry, but Zhou Yafu held it for a reason and his words were convincing, so it was inconvenient for Emperor Han Jing to get angry and could only "be silent and frustrated".But since then, the conflict between him and Emperor Jing has deepened, and Wang Xin has been offended. Liang Wang and Wang Xin had a close relationship, and they both hated Zhou Yafu very much. Therefore, the two joined hands to attack Zhou Yafu from inside and outside, and framed Zhou Yafu together.Later, due to other things, Emperor Han Jing had some doubts about him.Once, Emperor Jing specially summoned Zhou Yafu to "test" to see if he was a contented person. One day, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty specially gave food to Zhou Yafu.Zhou Yafu went into the palace and saw Emperor Han Jing sitting there alone. Emperor Han Jing said a few words to him casually and ordered the banquet to be set up.Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty asked Zhou Yafu to have dinner together, but there was no one else at the banquet, only one monarch and one minister, Zhou Yafu felt a little confused.When he arrived at the table, he found that there was only a wine glass in front of him, no chopsticks, and the dishes were just a big piece of meat, so he couldn't eat.Zhou Yafu felt that Emperor Han Jing was teasing him, and couldn't help but want to get angry.Turning around and seeing the chairman, he said to him: "Please bring a pair of chopsticks!" The chairman had already been ordered by Emperor Han Jing to pretend to be deaf and dumb, and stood still.Zhou Yafu was about to say more, when Emperor Han Jing suddenly interjected: "Isn't this satisfying the king's will?" Zhou Yafu was ashamed and hated when he heard it, and was forced to sit up and kneel, took off his hat and apologized.Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty only said the word "qi", and Zhou Yafu got up and left without speaking again. A few days later, an envoy suddenly arrived and asked him to enter the court register.The book is to question face to face, clarify the facts, and verify wrong crimes.As soon as Zhou Yafu heard it, he knew that the end had come, but he didn't know what crime he had committed.When Zhou Yafu arrived at Tingwei's mansion, Tingwei handed him a letter. After Zhou Yafu read it, he had no clue. It turned out that Zhou Yafu was old and wanted to prepare funeral utensils, so he let his son do it.Zhou Yafu's son bought 500 sets of armor and shields, which were originally used for mourning. Out of greed for cheap, he bought a lot of wood used by the court.He asked the helper to go back without giving money, which made the helper write a letter and frame him with a grudge. Emperor Han Jing was very angry when he read the book, so he took the opportunity to find fault and sent someone to interrogate him.Zhou Yafu didn't know these things at all, so he couldn't answer them.The officer thought that he was stubborn and refused to accept, so he reported to Emperor Jing. Emperor Jing scolded angrily: "Why should I ask him to answer!" He handed him over to Dali Temple for interrogation.When Zhou Yafu was imprisoned, his son asked why, and when he found out what was going on, he hurriedly reported to his father.After Zhou Yafu heard this, he didn't say anything, but heaved a long sigh. The following question and answer is famous through the ages. During the interrogation in Dali Temple, he asked, "Why do you want to rebel?" Zhou Yafu said, "All the things my son bought were for the funeral, so how can you talk about rebellion?" The presiding judge said, "You just don't want to Conspiracy on the ground, and I also want to rebel underground after death!" This is really a ground-breaking verdict, Zhou Yafu fully understands it when he hears it, and has nothing to say.After being imprisoned, he did not eat for five days and died of a hunger strike. In dealing with people, you must be cautious in your words and deeds, and you must not offend too many people.Otherwise, it is easy for others to remember their mistakes, and these people will not speak up for you at critical moments, but will take advantage of the fire, add insult to injury, and push you to a desperate situation.