Chapter 118 All roads lead to wisdom

The conversation between Mr. Yangming and Xie Zhishan was actually a continuation of his conversation with Qiao Baiyan. Qiao Baiyan, a leading cadre at the provincial and ministerial level at the time, was appointed Minister of the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing. Before taking office, he came to chat with Mr. Yangming and asked. Mr. Yangming said: Learning is expensive! Qiao Baiyan: You are right. You see, when I was young, I learned to play chess. For three years, I forgot to eat and sleep. Mr. Yangming said: Learning is valuable! Qiao Baiyan: Xiao Wang, you are so right. You see, when I was young, I studied poetry and Fu, carefully choosing words and sentences. From Tang and Song Dynasties to Han and Wei Dynasties, I have never found a rival in the world. It shows that learning is expensive and refined.

Mr. Yangming said: learning is valuable! Qiao Baiyan: Wow, Xiao Wang, you are so right. You see, when I grew up, I learned the way of a sage, full of righteousness, and full of knowledge. That's why I was promoted to a provincial and ministerial-level leader.But this is strange, I have such a great ability, but no one admits that I have enlightened, and you can’t beat me at chess, you can’t write poems, and you are not as good as me. Why do people say that you have enlightened? Mr. Yangming said: Learning chess, poetry and Taoism are all learning.But to learn Tao is to learn the ultimate wisdom, it is the great way, and the others are all thorny paths, it is not impossible to walk, but it is too difficult to walk, and it takes a long way to go.So learning chess is called drowning, indulging in the game.Studying poetry is called secluded, specializing in babbling words, not doing business.In short, both chess and poetry are too far away from the ultimate wisdom, so you can play chess, write poetry, and enjoy yourself more than anyone else, but you just can’t touch the threshold of ultimate wisdom.

Qiao Baiyan: ...Xiao Wang, look at you, you really can't speak, no wonder you can't be an official... Putting together the conversations between Mr. Yangming, Nanjing Shangshu Qiao Baiyan, and Xie Zhishan, the leader of the thieves, that is: whether you play chess, write poems, or kill people and set fires, there are great knowledge, Taoism, and ultimate wisdom in all of them. .However, playing chess is about going far away. The reason why you have fun is that the scenery in Yuanyuan's childhood is so beautiful.Writing poetry is a path of thorns and thorns. Poetry is not only painful for you to write, but also painful for others to listen to. Why do you say you have nothing to do to write this stuff?As for being a bandit, it’s like crossing a deep ravine, but trying to reach the other shore of ultimate wisdom. It’s not that you can’t reach it, but that there are too many dangers on the way, either being swept away by the rapids, or being caught and eaten by a big crocodile , in short, the path is wrong.

Therefore, a person like Mr. Yangming who has obtained the ultimate wisdom is nothing special. It is nothing more than doing the right thing and walking the right path-and the most difficult and difficult thing in life is nothing more than this. Speaking of the correct thing, I mentioned some things in the historical records about Mr. Yangming's defeat of Xie Zhishan. Some historical books are written in black and white. One, claiming to be an engineer, and also proficient in geography, went to explore the thief's den.Xie Zhishan was overjoyed to see him, treated him as a guest of honor, and treated him warmly.So Mr. Yangming took the opportunity to go around the thief's nest, saw all the dangers clearly, and then came out with five hundred little thieves.After he came out, Mr. Yangming first distributed the five hundred little thieves everywhere, so that the news could not be communicated. In addition, he sent thousands of elite soldiers to pretend to surrender and sneak into the thief's nest. The elite soldiers took the opportunity to fire cannons, so the thief's nest was in chaos, and Mr. Yangming won a big victory.

Frankly speaking, this story is more exciting, suspenseful and readable than the official history records.However, it only took 20 days for Mr. Yangming to Pinghengshui and the Thief of Tongoka. In such a short period of time, he had to play tricks of going deep into the thief's nest, and he was obviously a little nervous about the time. What's more, Mr. Yangming is a person who has realized the ultimate wisdom. Wisdom is something that keeps you safe and away from dangerous places.Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for Mr. Yangming to play his life in the thief's den. If he encounters a thief who drinks too much, he will hug you with a knife. Who can he talk to for reasoning?

In short, wisdom is something that is easy to say and sounds simpler, but extremely difficult to do.