Chapter 88 Chapter 88 The Practical Value of "Gong"

In the early years of the Warring States Period, Jin Zhibo wanted to annex the three families of Zhao Xiangzi, Wei Huanzi, and Han Kangzi. He first used his power to force Wei Huanzi and Han Kangzi to donate their cities and lands.Then he forced Zhao Xiangzi, but Zhao Xiangzi flatly refused.Zhibo was furious, so he forced Wei Huanzi and Han Kangzi, and the three families joined forces to attack Zhao Xiangzi. In a panic, Zhao Xiangzi led a group of retainers to flee to Jinyang and defend the city.The city of Jinyang was so towering that it could not be attacked urgently, so Bo Zhi dug the Jin River and submerged Jinyang city.

Zhao Xiangzi and his family members still stick to the Jinyang city that was submerged by the flood, and it is extremely difficult to hoist the cauldron into the air to cook.Seeing that Zhao Xiangzi could no longer hold on, Uncle Zhi was very excited, and threatened Wei Huanzi and Han Kangzi who came with him, saying: "Listen to me, be honest, otherwise, I will be like drowning." Just like the old Zhao Xiangzi, I drowned both of you." Wei Huanzi and Han Kangzi felt ashamed when they heard this, but they didn't dare to say anything. On that night, Zhao Xiangzi's counselor Zhang Mengtan sneaked down to the city, found Wei Huanzi and Han Kangzi, and said to them, "Why do you submit to Zhibo? Zhao, Wei, and Han are the same. As one body, the lips are dead and the teeth are cold, if the Zhao family perishes, can your two families survive?"

Wei Huanzi and Han Kangzi were moved by Zhang Mengtan's talk, so they secretly dug the dam that night and poured Jinshui into Zhibo's camp. After a great defeat, Bo Zhi was killed. From then on, the Zhao family, Wei family and Han family divided up the Jin family. This is the history of Zhao, Wei and South Korea in the Warring States Period.This period of history is also known as the division of the Jin Dynasty among the three families. After the three families were divided into Jin Dynasty, Zhao Xiangzi was desperate to survive and was very excited. The generals and retainers who had fought to the death in Baocheng were also very excited, waiting for Zhao Xiangzi to be promoted to rank.Everyone believes that Zhang Mengtan is the number one hero who won this war.

However, when Zhao Xiangzi announced the list of Jinjue's retainers, everyone was taken aback.Gein ranked first, but he had no performance in the battle of defending the city. He had neither fought the enemy nor offered any good strategies.In fact, everyone didn't even know who this person was. In short, he was a person with extremely mediocre talents. The ministers didn't understand what was going on, so they asked Zhao Xiangzi, "What's so great about this man? Why should he be rewarded first?" Only Zhao Xiangzi replied: "This man has no merit in defending the city, and is powerless in defeating the enemy, but he has always been extremely respectful to me and never dared to disturb the etiquette of the monarch and his ministers. This is the whole reason for his promotion."

The ministers still didn't understand, and asked: "But we are also extremely respectful to the emperor, and we are not only respectful, but also desperately working hard." Zhao Xiangzi smiled and said: "You are right to work hard. But when Bo Zhibo flooded Jinyang with water and I was about to go, all of you didn't respect me as much as before, and some even gave me embarrassment. Look. Only this man, even though he is soaked in the flood, he still maintains the respect he used to have for me, who will I reward if I don't reward him?" According to the history books, after reading Zhao Xiangzi's reward and punishment plan, the famous official Zhang Mengtan left quietly without saying a word.Because he realized that Zhao Xiangzi was trying to strengthen his authority in this way, which also meant that the living space of his subordinates would be squeezed smaller and smaller.

However, Zhang Mengtan overlooked one point, that is, Zhao Xiangzi's state of mind when the city was besieged by floods.It is conceivable that when the flood flooded into Jinyang City, the city guards were terrified, because everyone felt that the end was imminent, so they showed a disrespectful attitude towards Zhao Xiangzi.But at this time, it was Zhao Xiangzi himself who felt the greatest fear. Not only was he facing the crisis of flooding and besieging the city, but he was also more likely to encounter betrayal by his subordinates.The reason why he was able to hold on in such an extremely dangerous situation without his spirit breaking down was that there was another person who still respected him and regarded him as his master.

It was this person's respect that gave Zhao Xiangzi the power, majesty and psychological support he needed most, allowing him to remain calm, continue to coordinate the overall situation, and survive the most dangerous period. This is where the value of Gong lies. A person's respect from the heart saves another person who is on the verge of despair, so the value of this person is naturally unmatched by ordinary people. This is the effect of respect on others, and when this effect is transferred to oneself, it is also incredibly powerful. Zhao Xiangzi's family should have a good understanding of the powerful spiritual power contained in the word "Gong".As early as his ancestor, Zhao Dun in the time of Jin Linggong, he was lucky enough to save his life because of the word "Gong".

Zhao Dun was originally a doctor of the state of Jin. At that time, the king of the state, Duke Jin Xiang, died, so the doctor Zhao Dun made the decision and supported Duke Ling of Jin.This Duke Ling of Jin is a typical tyrant. Once he has power, he will indulge and act recklessly.A cook annoyed Jin Linggong just because the bear paws he roasted were not thoroughly rotten, and he was chopped into pieces by random knives.After Zhao Dun knew about this, he severely reprimanded Jin Linggong in the court hall, asking him to restrain himself, to be a benevolent king, and not to pick on a tyrant to do it.

Seeing that Zhao Dun was hindering him from doing anything wrong, Jin Lingjun was furious, so he sent an assassin named Ji Ni to kill Zhao Dun silently while the night was quiet. So the assassin, Ji Mo, sneaked into Zhao Dun's house at night, only to find that the Zhao family's house was completely empty, and Zhao Dun himself was wearing an official uniform, sitting on a chair with a respectful and serious face, waiting for the morning to go to court.At that time, the more I looked at the deer, the more surprised I was, thinking that such a scholar-bureaucrat can still maintain respect for public affairs and government affairs in a dark place where there are no people. It is a blessing for Jin.If I kill such a virtuous minister, I am afraid that the torture of conscience will be beyond my ability to bear.

The assassin's conscience found that he couldn't bear to kill Zhao Dun in a state of humility, but as an assassin, it was his duty to kill Zhao Dun.If you don't kill him, it will violate the professional ethics of an assassin.In such a dilemma, the assassin Ji Ni didn't know what to do. In desperation, he jumped down from the tree and yelled: "Doctor Zhao, I am an assassin sent by the king to kill you, but you My virtuous minister, I can’t kill you. If I don’t kill you, I can’t do business with the monarch. That’s fine, I’ll just kill myself. After I die, you must be careful to protect yourself. The monarch will definitely not give up ’” As he spoke, the hoe slammed his head against the wall and died on the spot.

Zhao Dun escaped by chance, which was certainly the result of the assassin knowing right from wrong and knowing good and evil, but Zhao Dun was able to maintain his humble nature in a place where no one was there, which was the most fundamental reason that moved the assassin. Therefore, Neo Confucianists of later generations emphasized a "gentleman cautiously alone", that is to say, the more you are in a place where there is no one, the more you must pay attention to your behavior, and you must not indulge your inner desires at any time.If it is said that Zhao Dun's humility can impress a killer's heart, then your humility can also impress your superiors, your boss, and your colleagues, so that they will not even want to promote you. A good respectful heart can not only protect others and gain lifelong gratitude from others, but also protect oneself and achieve one's career in life.This is definitely a business that only makes money but does not lose. People in the officialdom must never give up such an opportunity to succeed so easily. This is our wisest choice.