Chapter 5 Section five

As mentioned above, on the day Confucius and his party arrived in the suburbs of Neghan, Zilu reported to the checkpoint, but was summoned by the local official Ye Gong and asked about Confucius. The next day, the checkpoint informed that after Ye Gong summoned Zilu, the envoys of King Zhao arrived and ordered Ye Gong to lead a dozen riders to the front line at dawn.Ye Gong left a message to Confucius saying: "The date of return has not yet been set, and I am sorry that it will not be long. I will ask for your advice after replying. Really." The state of Chu is now engaged in a life-and-death struggle between the state of Chen and the state of Wu, the old enemy, to decide the outcome. As a senior official of the state of Chu, Ye Gong may go to the battlefield at any time, and discuss the war with the frontline troops distributed in the state of Chen More frequent and close.Therefore, we are not surprised at Ye Gong's sudden departure.

About half a month later, Ye Gong returned to the letter, and Confucius met him.During this period, Confucius went to Chenghan City several times, visited the commercial street and the market, learned about the situation from the survivors of the Cai Kingdom, and took a closer look at the villages, residential areas and other places. However, in front of me, a native of Cai, Confucius never said a word about his feelings about the negative letter, which is exactly what he was careful about.Negative letters can be praised or criticized, but it is always a sad place. Confucius has accurately seen through the heart of me, a subjugated people.

Nevertheless, what Confucius thought of the new city rising up the upper reaches of the Huai River became a major concern of his disciples. After Ye Gong came back from the front line, he often summoned Confucius.Confucius did not act alone every time. He always took Zilu, Zigong, Yanhui or one or two of them to visit Ye Mansion, but he specially invited me to go with him every time.Probably because I am a survivor of the Cai Kingdom, he may have other considerations for me. His attitude towards me is: If you want to live here, you can stay here, and if you want to work here, you can also.

When Confucius met Ye Gong for the first time, Zi Lu, Zi Gong, Yan Hui and I were all present.Ye Gong first introduced himself: "My surname is Shen, my first name is Zhuliang, and my surname is Zigao. Now I am called Ye Gong, and Ye is the name of the place. I am the governor of Ye's place. This is my official job, and now I also serve as the governor of the place responsible for the letter." He then laughed and said that some of the gossip that has been circulating about him in the streets lately needs to be cleared up: "I have been fond of dragons since I was a child. I was so fascinated by them that I was infatuated with them. I still have them today. That's why the roof of my mansion is also decorated with dragon carvings. The furniture and utensils used in daily life are mostly carved with dragon patterns."

He asked his attendants to bring some utensils with dragon patterns for us to see, and then said: "But those people in the market are talking nonsense. I, Ye Gong, portrayed dragons on various utensils. I kept saying dragons and dragons. I seemed to like them very much. The real dragon knew it and admired his sincerity. Putting his head in, Ye Gong was so frightened that his face turned ashen, he couldn't make a sound, he collapsed on the ground, and passed out." Confucius couldn't help laughing, and we laughed too.Ye Gong also laughed, and said: "Okay, let's stop here. An official will be talked about by people, whether it is true or false, and it will be amazing, and it will be difficult to have a good relationship with the common people. What are your thoughts on the crux of politics and the true meaning of politics?"

Confucius sat down again, thought for a while, and replied: "Pleasuring those who are near, and coming to those who are far away. It is necessary to make people near the place happy, and make people far away admire them. If this kind of politics can be realized, wouldn't it be the most ideal?!" Confucius spoke in a gentle manner and with a sincere attitude. We feel that this is the most suitable suggestion for Ye Gong. Ye Gong lowered his head, pondered for a moment, and said affectionately: "Those who are near are happy, and those who are far away come. It is a great fortune to be able to hear such an excellent six-character theory of governing the country, and I am extremely terrified."

This six-character theory of governing the country is Confucius' praise of Ye Gong's politics after he visited the city of Neghan several times. Of course, Ye Gong would not be ignorant of Confucius' intentions and expectations, but he was already satisfied. I don’t remember whether it was the fourth or fifth time I visited Ye’s mansion. Confucius and Ye Gong had an interesting conversation. I can’t remember how the topic came about.At that time, Ye Gong said: "There is such a simple and honest man in my jurisdiction. His father stole other people's sheep. He couldn't understand it and felt that he couldn't bear it, so he ran to the village to report."

Listening to Ye Gong's tone, he neither praised nor criticized this upright young man, but he seemed to have a good impression or a love for him. Confucius said: "Oh, he is very upright. He is indeed a simple and straightforward person. But integrity is upright. If it involves the issue of ethics between father and son, it is difficult to say." Confucius paused for a moment, then continued: "In my hometown, it's common for fathers and sons to shield each other. It's not okay to conceal guilt and shield people, but if you regard this as a natural manifestation of father-son affection, you should also be an upright person."

Ye Gong seemed to understand the meaning of Confucius' words, and said: "If the rule of law is not fully implemented in a special town like Neghan, various problems will inevitably occur." Confucius said: "In short, the people are difficult to manage. But you must be very lucky to have a local official who cares about the people and makes decisions for the people like you." Ye Gong replied with a serious expression: "However, I will fundamentally reconsider this kind of governance. What conclusion will I draw?" Zilu, Zigong, Yan Hui and I all listened in silence, and there was no room for us to interrupt.Although the two men respect each other, they both insist on their own opinions and will not budge an inch.

I can't remember how many times, the topic talked about the ruler of Chu State.King Zhao of Chu was known for his intelligence and wisdom. Now he has a large number of soldiers and strong strength, and he seems to be the overlord of the Central Plains. Therefore, his anecdotes are rich and vivid. That day, a few guests came from Ying, the capital of the country, and some of Ye Gong's subordinates were also present, so a table was set up for a feast, and one of the guests started talking: "A few years ago, King Zhao fell ill. People around King Zhao tried divination and God's will, saying that they had offended the God of the Yellow River. So the doctors discussed building altars in the suburbs for sacrifices to appease the anger of the gods. After hearing this, King Zhao said,' During the Xia, Yin, and Zhou dynasties, the princes of the Central Plains were ordered by the emperor to offer sacrifices to appease the hearts of the gods of mountains and rivers in their fiefs. In addition, there is no river to be worshiped by the Chu State. Although lack of virtue and health, this is by no means punished by the river god of other countries—the Yellow River.' Therefore, he did not agree to hold the ritual of exorcism. "

After hearing this, Confucius said: "This is very good. People must first cultivate themselves, and then they must naturally live in accordance with the way of heaven. In troubled times, a ruler should not do things that endanger the country. This is a matter of course!" Then, another guest told about the bold and unrestrained character of King Chu Zhao. "At the beginning of this year, when King Zhao had not personally conquered Chen Guocheng's father and was still in the palace city of Ying, the capital of the country, for three consecutive days, red and red clouds were like a flock of birds floating around the sun, which made people frightened. Everyone thought it was The ominous omen made King Zhao feel uneasy, so he sent someone to question the officials in charge of the gods in the Zhou Dynasty. The answer he got was that King Zhao was about to face a catastrophe. King Zhao looked around and said: "If I have no major faults, I will not be punished by heaven. If there are faults that are not tolerated by heaven and earth, I have to be punished by heaven. How can I let my ministers suffer on my behalf?!" He therefore forbade all sacrifices and prayers." This story moved us deeply. Both Zilu and Zigong expressed their hope to pay homage to King Zhao as soon as possible, while Yan Hui hoped to hear King Zhao's voice, even from a distance. Confucius remained silent. If he had entered Chen State to wait for the opportunity to meet King Chu Zhao, it would have been almost four years before he knew it.When he heard these two stories, he must have had a lot of thoughts and deep emotions. Now, Confucius is already in the state of Chu under the rule of King Zhao, and he is living under the disciple of Ye Gong, a high-ranking official of the state of Chu. In this way, the time to meet King Zhao is probably just around the corner.Even a lowly person like me looks forward to this day coming as soon as possible. After we entered the negative letter, under Ye Gong's care and arrangement, our life was basically stable and ready.At this time, we found that almost every day we could hear people talking about the place name of the Chu army base, Chengfu, which is located in the territory of Chen State. Now, both Chu and Wu have put their main force into the main battlefield of Chen State. The two armies are confronting each other, their swords are on the verge of breaking out, and there will be a fierce battle. Chengfu is the largest military stronghold of the Chu State in this battle. Once the battle begins, King Zhao will personally lead the main force to set up camp there and dispatch troops.It was the place where life and death were fought, and the people of Chu State talked about Chengfu every day. However, Confucius, Zilu, Yan Hui, and I have never heard of the place name Chengfu even though we lived in Chen Guo for three years, but Zigong, who has a special sensitivity and talent for military affairs, knows the place of Chengfu and told us , Chu and Chen have reached an understanding that Chengfu will be used as Chu's barracks in Chen's territory.In fact, this is not the case at all. To put it bluntly, the father of the city is a military city buried in the state of Chen by the state of Chu, and it is a small territory of the state of Chu. From this point of view, it is no wonder that officials, soldiers and civilians in Chu State talk about "father of the city" and "father of the city" every day.On the long front, there are many military strongholds scattered. These strongholds are sometimes lost and sometimes regained, and they often change hands.But Chengfu seems to be different from these strongholds. Chengfu has become a holy place that can never be lost, can only be won and cannot be defeated. It can be said that the people of Chu have already engraved this point in their hearts. Among the three hired workers who have been following us from Chen Guo, one is from Chengfu, but judging from his age, he was born in Chengfu.From this hired worker, I learned a lot about Chengfu, an ancient village in the Chen Kingdom. He said in a stern tone: "Although we have gained many benefits from the Chu State in this way, to be honest, the Chu State does not keep its word. "They annexed a good little country Xu Guo for no reason, and forced all the people of Xu country to move to our Chen country. They took a fancy to Chengfu, a village with an ancient history, and they didn't even say hello, so they were arrogant and unreasonable. They drove away all the residents near the father of the city, and let people from the state of Xu live in. In this way, the state of Chu insisted on inserting a state of Xu in the state of Chen. This kind of rampant and domineering behavior that did not take Xu and Chen into their eyes at all was simply deceitful. Too many people. "My grandparents have been farming in the city for generations. In my grandfather's generation, the people of Chu State confiscated our house, and my grandfather's family was kicked out of the house empty-handed. "Xu Guo moved to Chengfu in the first year of Chen Hui (533 BC). This year is the thirteenth year of Chen Mingong (489 BC), which should be 45 years ago. He didn't say anything, because the opponent was the state of Chu, so he had to accept it and swallow his anger. "The matter is not over yet. Twenty years later, during the last generation of King Ping, the State of Chu drove all the residents of the State of Xu out of the Chengfu area. With such a large-scale military base today, the state of Chu is very cunning by adopting this two-step method to seize other people's things as its own. "It has been forty-five years since Chengfu became a town of Xu people. The locals call this town 'Chengfu', and they call it 'Yi' or 'Yiyi', which refers to the town in their own country. The meaning of towns and towns for foreigners. In the past, it was the "Yi" where the Xu people lived, and now it is the "Yi" where the Chu army stationed. That place is still commonly known as "Yi" or "Yiyi", which is both easy to understand and appropriate. Now only Chu State uses the original title of 'City Father'." The hired worker from the state of Chen told us about the history of the father of the city. We can hear that he is very disgusted with the state of Chu. Does this mean that he supports the state of Wu, which is in a decisive battle with the state of Chu?Nor is it.He also seems to have new and old grudges against Wu Guo. "Who wins and who loses, I don't care. I just hope that they will decide the outcome as soon as possible, and withdraw from our Chen country one day soon. It is simply unreasonable to set up a battlefield on other people's land!" Listening to what he said, I also feel that the state of Chu is indeed deceiving people too much. I am afraid there is nothing more irritating than this.Now I can only pray that Mingong and Sicheng Sadako will be spared from disaster and save their lives during the war. One late night in mid-August, Ye Gong wanted to summon Confucius, so Zilu, Zigong, Yan Hui, and I hugged Confucius and rushed across the quiet streets to Yeguan.On the road, sometimes we meet the oncoming army. At this time, we always avoid the roadside and let them pass first. The stars are twinkling and the night is very beautiful. When I arrived at Ye's mansion, I saw Ye Gong was all dressed up.He said to Confucius: "The military order is like a mountain. We can't wait until dawn. We have to go out tonight. In the middle of the night, please come to me. Please forgive me. "Now Wu's army is gathering in the Daming area on the Yingshui River in the south of the capital of Chen. The distance between Daming and my city father, who is deployed by King Zhao, is only two days away. Therefore, whether you like it or not, The confrontation between the two armies is imminent, and that is what happened in the past few days. "I was ordered to strengthen the rear. Regardless of the rear of the front line, as a soldier, you may die on the battlefield at any time. Therefore, before the expedition, regardless of the night, I specially sent envoys to invite you to say goodbye to you. "The negative letter area is now the rear, but there is no guarantee that it will not become the front line. Please pay attention to discuss with the checkpoint at any time, and then take necessary actions. You can live here as long as you like, and leave whenever you want Walk." Confucius bowed his head in thanks and said: "I am very grateful for your kindness and concern. I came from a long distance to meet King Zhao, and I received a lot of care from you in this letter. I want to continue to bother you in the future so that I can wait for the opportunity to meet King Zhao and ask him for advice. Views on governance. "However, your country is now in an extraordinary period, and the whole country has been engaged in the battle against Wu. With the development of the war situation, we may even leave without saying goodbye. If there is such an unavoidable situation, please do not hesitate. understanding." Then, Confucius raised his head, looked directly at Ye Gong, and continued: "I sincerely wish you a successful start and success!" Then, he bowed his head deeply and left the table to say goodbye.We also bid farewell to Ye Bull. From the second day onwards, the usually quiet environment became noisy and chaotic, and there were Chu farmers who seemed to have taken refuge from other places everywhere. Troops, large and small, moved frequently and came and went in a hurry. I don’t know where they came and went. Where to go, the atmosphere in the whole town suddenly became tense. Sometimes cavalrymen, fully stretched across their horses, passed in and out of the checkpoint. About ten days after Ye Gong set off for the expedition, at midnight one day, Ye Gong sent someone to let us go to the mansion.It appears that he has returned from the front. We leaned close together and rushed to Ye Mansion anxiously.It was a dark night, not a single star could be seen. As soon as you enter the gate, you can see several bonfires burning in the square on the right.There seemed to be ambushes hidden in the dark place where the firelight could not shine. We were led to wait by a campfire in the square on the left.There is no one else in this square except us. After a while, Ye Gong, who was in military uniform, came out.He stood before us and said: "On the twelfth, King Zhao personally set off from Chengfu. On the thirteenth and fourteenth, he fought against Wu's army in the Daming area, winning one and losing one. On the morning of the sixteenth, King Zhao led the The troops left the front line and returned to Chengfu, where they fell ill and died that night." Confucius bowed his head, unable to speak a word.Ye Gong continued: "After King Zhao, he has decided to support King Hui. But now the funeral is secret, the body is transported from Chengfu to the capital of the country, and it is on the way now, and it will pass through the negative letter in a while. "I will pick up the driver here and escort the body to Ying, then publish the obituary and hold the funeral in the capital." Having said that, Ye Gong breathed a sigh of relief: "You have worked so hard to come all the way to bear the letter, and have been waiting for the opportunity to meet King Zhao. Unfortunately, you finally failed to get your wish. I think King Zhao himself is very regretful. After a while, King Zhao's body will pass by here. Please say goodbye to him. .” After Ye Gong finished speaking, he left immediately.Soon, a familiar checkpoint official took us to the side of the road quite far from Ye Mansion, where several groups of people had already gathered, and most of them were silently waiting for King Zhao's coffin. After a while, about a hundred cavalry marched slowly, followed by infantry escorting King Zhao's coffin. We kept our heads down and bid farewell to him silently.The cavalry is still in the back, I think it may be the cavalry led by Ye Gong. That night, it was late at night when we returned to our residence. We sat on the porch tightly around Confucius, looking up at the night sky.Zilu, Zigong, and Yanhui all felt that they must talk to Confucius tonight anyway, even me. It can be said that due to the death of King Zhao, we lost the biggest reason to continue to stay in the negative letter, but after leaving Chu, no one has such confidence and certainty in front of Confucius about where to go and where to go. Later we chatted together and found out that that night, everyone wanted to know what Confucius was thinking, so they gathered in the corridor by coincidence—this explanation is probably the most reasonable. After Confucius sat down in the corridor, he said: "Now, I have an idea in my heart that has matured. After saying goodbye to King Zhao's coffin, I came back here. On the way, I had an idea and thought about it. Now it is fully mature. I will tell you my idea." He looked up at the vast night sky, as if looking for the most appropriate language, and said: "Return! Return! The boy of our party is crazy, brilliantly done, I don't know why it was cut. " Confucius repeated it in a slow tone, and then chanted in colloquial language himself: "Go back, oh, now it's time to go back My township party, the young people I stayed in Lu full of ideals, ambitious They can weave wonderful patterns but don't know how to cut it" Then he said, "They all need me, they all wait for me. Go back, oh, now it's time to go back. I'm going to choose the way forward for them." None of the disciples said a word, they listened all the time, because they didn't know what to say, so they had to keep silent.At this time, Confucius said to Zi Gong: "Leave the negative letter as soon as possible and return to Chen country. If there is no danger, enter the capital of Chen country, meet a few people you must meet, and then go to Wei country. It is estimated that you will get the end of the year when you enter Wei country, but try to try to be as early as possible. All in all, now Immediately start preparing to leave the negative letter." Zilu, Zigong, and Yanhui remained silent, they were at a loss for this sudden and unbelievable decision.When they reacted, they found that Confucius was no longer there, and went back to the house.At this moment, Zilu said in a loud voice: "Return! Return! Heh, no one can compare to Confucius with such vigor!" Immediately afterwards, Zigong said loudly: "Return! Return! Oh, so smart and wise, so strong, no one can compare with Confucius!" Yan Hui also said loudly: "Return! Return! Oh, so simple and straightforward! Late at night today, Confucius was walking on the lifeless streets of Chenghan, and suddenly thought of going back to the country of Lu to meet his disciples." I didn't speak, but if I were asked to speak, I would say: "Tonight, Confucius expressed what Zilu, Zigong, and Yanhui most wanted to say but could not express." Return!Return! —Confucius must have said it for these three people.King Zhao's sudden death may have had some impact on Confucius' mood, but no one knows. Before Confucius visited the countries in the Central Plains, he wanted to meet the king of Jin. When he arrived at the Yellow River, he heard the news of the coup d'état in Jin, so he gave up crossing the river.At that time, he once sighed: "The water is so beautiful, so full of water! If you can't help it, you will live your life!" When Zigong told me this sentence, I was deeply moved.Today, three years later, Confucius has been waiting to have an audience with King Zhao, but in the end he failed to do so. I am afraid that this is also "predestined". In mid-October, after the funeral of King Zhao, Ye Gong returned from the capital. On the same day, Confucius led his disciples to bid farewell to Ye Gong in Ye Mansion, and then went straight to Chen State. We took the original road back to Xincai. From Xincai, we did not follow the road going up the Rushui River, but headed east and went north along the plateau.There isn't a single decent road, but rugged trails meander from village to village, so detours are unavoidable at times.There was a hireling who knew the terrain like the back of his hand, and it was up to him to show us the way. This area presents a leisurely and peaceful pastoral scenery, without any trace of war, which makes us feel that this is not Chu. Confucius learned about local history, customs and customs in several villages, collected folk songs and folk songs, and some even wanted to live for two or three days to collect folk songs.At times like this, Zilu always danced and sang, "Give it back! Be it it!" In a village, Zilu met an elderly hermit.That day, he went alone to work in a place that would take half a day's journey, and stayed at the hermit's house at night.The hermit entertained him for supper and introduced him to his two sons.When the two chatted, Zilu felt that the old man looked like a real hermit. The old hermit said that we "do not work in the four limbs and do not distinguish the five grains".We often say this now too.Indeed, it is fair and right for others to criticize us for not moving our limbs and planting grains.This is where we fall short. At the end of October, we arrived at the outskirts of the capital of Chen Guo. The head of the government and dignitaries moved to nowhere. The whole country was in chaos and paralyzed. Confucius wanted to go to the city to see what Chen Guoguo had become, but Zilu sang "Return! Return!" again, dispelling his idea. Later I heard that the armies of Chu and Wu in the city were engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat that day. If Confucius and his party entered the city, they might be involved in the brutal fight. "Return! Return!" This sonorous rhythm guides us all the way to Weiguo. Completely unexpected, the dilapidated and desolate countryside on the vast plain south of the Yellow River is appalling.There was no one in the village, and the villagers did not take refuge in other places temporarily, but abandoned their homes and ran away.There must be some reason for them to abandon their homeland, but there is no one in the village, so it is impossible to inquire. At the beginning of December, three or four days before arriving at the capital of Weiguo, Confucius stayed in a small village by the Yellow River, waiting for Zigong.This time, under the leadership of the old man in the village, he watched the relics of the battle between Jin and Chu. "Return! Return!" Zilu anxiously wanted to enter the capital of Weiguo as soon as possible, but Confucius delayed in every possible way on the grounds of waiting for Zigong. It seemed that this ancient battlefield had a strong charm that attracted him. Once, we accompanied Confucius to the ancient battlefield beside the Yellow River. Although the dam blocked the view and we could not see the river, we felt that the vast ocean was rushing day and night mightily. After living in a small village by the Yellow River for a few days, Confucius, Zilu, Zigong, and Yan Hui, teachers and students, rushed to the capital of Weiguo after three or four years. I was the only one who came to Weiguo for the first time.Now for me, wherever Confucius goes, I follow. We are walking on the vast fields on the banks of the Yellow River, and we will arrive at the capital of Weiguo tomorrow.At this moment, I feel strongly that this year—the six years of Duke Ai of Lu—is really a long year. Let's stop here this time.How the relationship between me and the teachers and students of Confucius came into being is not enough to express the meaning. You may have many things you don’t understand, and I will add it later. I also want to point out that Confucius visited the countries of the Central Plains for four years, and at the end he spent his thoughts on the ancient battlefield of the Yellow River, lingering and forgetting to return.Speaking of which, this was more than forty years ago.Recently, due to a small accident, I knew a person who studied the history of Chu State, and then I knew what happened in the decisive battle between Chu and Jin and the Yellow River. In the twelfth year of Duke Xuan of Lu (597 BC), King Zhuang of Chu defeated the Jin army on the bank of the Yellow River. The Jin army threw away their helmets and armor, and retreated overnight. The Chu army won a complete victory.That night, a Chu general said to King Zhuang of Chu: "We should build camps here, and bury the corpses of the Jin army, so as to show our descendants to generations to come with their outstanding martial arts." Zhuang Wang replied: "The word 'Wu' means 'stop fighting'. As a general, I have created mountains of corpses and bloody seas. I have never done anything that can truly embody the spirit of the word 'Wu'." So, the next day, after offering sacrifices to the God of the Yellow River who had been desecrated by the flames of war, King Zhuang of Chu withdrew his troops from the battlefield and returned to Chu. Of course, Confucius would not be ignorant of the history of King Zhuang of Chu. When he stood on the ancient battlefield, he must have wanted to tell everyone this historical fact, but he finally didn’t tell it. Let us understand and think for ourselves.