Chapter 10 Cleverness is mistaken by cleverness

In 552 B.C., Shuqi, a great official of the State of Zhu, defected to the State of Lu because he offended the monarch, and presented Qidi and Luqiu under his name to Duke Xiang of Lu as a meeting gift. In China's traditional political context, "people from afar come to obey" is a great joy.The so-called people from afar come to serve, that is, people from outside the ruled area come here admiringly, pay homage to the ruler, and cry out to be ruled.This is an affirmation of the personality charm of the ruler, and it is an affirmation of his political achievements.Therefore, the rulers of all dynasties welcomed people from afar. Eat full first, eat well.

Not only did Shuqi "come to serve", but he also brought land. It goes without saying that Duke Xiang of Lu was delighted, and Ji Sunsu, a powerful minister of the State of Lu, was even more encouraged and decided to reward Shuqi well.Of course, since it is a reward, "dry goods" such as gold and silver treasures are inevitable.With a swipe of his pen, Ji Sunsu rewarded Shu Qi with a large sum of money.Not only his concubine, but even his secretary, bodyguard, coachman, cook and others are rewarded heavily, without missing a single one.After the reward, Ji Sunsu was still not satisfied, and always felt that something was missing.He racked his brains and thought hard, and finally came up with the idea - Shuqi should be given a Lu country wife.

This woman was quickly selected, and she was Lu Xianggong's aunt.This year was the twenty-fourth year of Duke Lu Xiang's accession to the throne. According to common sense, his aunt is unlikely to be a young girl.In fact, not only was she not a young girl, but she even married once, but because her husband died early and was a widow at the time, she belonged to the idle resources of the Duke of Lu.Ji Sunsu's arrangement not only made the concubine who came from afar feel the enthusiasm of the people of Lu, but also helped a poor woman meet her physical needs. It was low-carbon and economical. It was the best of both worlds and was well received by the government and the public.

Among the sycophants, there was one person who disapproved of Ji Sunsu's actions. This person is Zang Sunhe, who served as the Sikou of the State of Lu at that time, that is, the chief judicial officer. According to "Zuo Zhuan", shortly after Shuqi came to the State of Lu, the public security situation in the State of Lu deteriorated, and the sense of security of the people dropped sharply.As the person in power, Ji Sunsu was very unhappy, so he approached Zang Sunhe and said, "The thieves are rampant in the country now. As a bandit, it is your duty to catch the thieves. Why don't you take care of these thieves?"

"Where can I control it? There is nothing I can do." Zang Sunhe said nonchalantly. "What is this? You are too irresponsible!" "You invited the thieves from outside to the country, and you gave them great courtesy. How can you prohibit the thieves in the country?" Zang Sunhe said, "The concubine stole the city in the country, but you married the daughter of the Ji family to He was a wife, and he was given land, and his followers were rewarded. If you use the aunt of the king and the land of the country to show respect to the thief, it is encouraging people to become thieves. How do you ask me to stop it?" After finishing speaking, he will Spreading his hands, his eyes were fixed on Ji Sunsu.

Ji Sunsu blushed and was speechless. Here it is necessary to briefly review Zangsun's history in the state of Lu. The Zangsun family is a branch of the Duke of Lu. Its ancestor, the son kou, was a worthy minister in the time of Duke Yin of Lu, and he is famous for his outspokenness.The son Zang is named Zi Zang, which is the Zang Xibo we mentioned earlier.In 718 B.C., Duke Yin of Lu wanted to see the masses fishing, but was strongly opposed and severely criticized by Zang Xibo, which was recorded in the history books. In the era of Duke Huan of Lu, Zang Aibo (Zang Sunda), the son of Zang Xibo, worked in the palace. He once seriously criticized the "Gao Dading" that Duke Huan of Lu accepted for bribery from the State of Lu. Important political articles on the Internet, included in.

Zang Aibo's son Zang Wenzhong (that is, Zang Sunchen) lived from Lu Zhuanggong to Lu Wengong. He was a figure highly respected by Confucius. Of course, Confucius also criticized Zang Wenzhong.It is recorded in: "Zang Wenzhong lives in Cai, and the mountain festival algae (zhuo), how does he know it?" It means that Zang Wenzhong raised a big tortoise. The brackets of the house where the tortoise is hidden are carved into the shape of a mountain. Hua Hua, how can he be considered wise to do such a thing? Cai Guo is rich in big tortoises, so Cai became the abbreviation of big tortoises.The stigma of the house is engraved as a bucket arch, which is shaped like a mountain and is called a mountain festival.The short columns supporting the two beams above the main beam are called 梲, and the algae inscriptions carved on the 梲 are called 梲梲.According to Zhou etiquette, the algae on the mountain festival was the decoration of the great temple of Zhou Tianzi, and Zang Wenzhong used it to decorate the house for hiding turtles, which is naturally a big "indecent".

With the wisdom of Zang Wenzhong, the reason why Zang Wenzhong did such indecent behavior is that after three generations of development, the Zang family has become a famous family in Lu State.Just from Zang Sunchen's "Sun" character, it can be seen that his status in Lu State is extraordinary-"Sun" is the honorific title of Lu State nobles. In the history of Lu State, there are only "Sanhuan", Zang, and Qi The descendants of the five major families of the (hou) family are honored as "grandchildren". Zang Sunchen's son, Zang Sunxu, held the position of minister in the era of Lu Wengong, Lu Xuangong, and Lu Chenggong for 30 years, which laid the foundation for Zang's influence on the political situation of Lu State.

Zang Sunhe is the son of Zang Sunxu. In addition to the powerful family, Zang Sunhe also maintained a good personal relationship with Ji Sunsu, which is also an important reason why he dared to confront Ji Sunsu face to face. However, the irony is that Zang Sunhe encountered the Waterloo of his life in 522 BC precisely because of his deep personal relationship with Jisunsu. Ji Sunsu's first wife was barren.According to the rules of the State of Lu at that time, if there was no son-in-law in a family, the eldest son of the concubine, that is, the oldest son born to many concubine wives, should inherit the family business.

The eldest son of Ji Sunsu's concubine was named Mi, and his style was Gong鉏. One day, Ji Sunsu's retainer Shen Feng came over and discussed with him: "I plan to choose a talented person from Mi and He to inherit the family business. Who do you think is more suitable?" He is Ji Sunsu's other son, styled Mourning Son, much younger than Gong Biao, and was favored by Ji Sunsu since childhood.For a long time, Ji Sunsu had been planning to make Mourning Son his successor.But obviously, his idea is "indecent". If he pushes it forward recklessly, he will definitely be opposed by everyone, and it will also arouse resentment from the public, and even lead to a family struggle.

He hoped that Shenfeng could understand his intentions and follow his meaning and say, "Mourning sons are more talented."In this case, "talented" replaced "elderly" and became the legal basis for his mourning son to be his heir.Moreover, from another point of view, he is only the maker of the rules of the game, but the judicial power is handed over to Shenfeng, which can better reflect his fairness, justice and openness.Even if the public has opinions, he can shift the responsibility to Shenfeng.To put it bluntly, since ancient times, haven’t subordinates been blamed for leaders? To make a digression, this method of selecting people is similar to promoting cadres now.Who the top leader wants to promote is generally not stated explicitly, but a special political code is used to ask the organizational department to take opinions.The organization department understands it by heart, and through public elections, referrals and other forms, it will accurately find out the top leaders' favorite characters. However, in the spring of 550 BC, when Minister Shenfeng heard Secretary Ji Sunsu’s political code words, his reaction was beyond Secretary Ji’s expectations: "This question, let me go back and think about it." Without waiting for Ji Sunsu to speak again, Shen Feng quickly withdrew. After returning home, Shenfeng immediately ordered his family to pack up and prepare for moving.When Ji Sunsu asked about Shen Feng again the next day, Shen Feng spread his hands and said, "If you ask again, I will have to hitch a carriage and leave the country of Lu with my family and go far away! " Shenfeng's attitude is very clear, whoever you love, anyway, I will not go into this muddy water, let alone blame you.Faced with such unenlightened subordinates, Ji Sunsu felt very helpless, so he had to let Shen Feng go and consult with his old friend Zang Sunhe instead. Hearing Ji Sunsu finish the story with a long and short sigh, Zang Sunhe smiled: "This matter is not difficult at all-you buy me a drink, and I will make a mourning son for you, how about it?" "It's that simple?" Ji Sunsu couldn't believe his ears. "It's that simple." Zang Sunhe showed an inscrutable smile.Since ancient times, the people of Zang Sun's family have been famous in the state of Lu for their resourcefulness and good judgment.Seeing Zang Sunhe's confident look, Ji Sunsu thought to himself, maybe this guy really has a way, let's just listen to it. A few days later, a grand banquet was held at Ji's house.Ji Sunsu invited many officials from the imperial court to be guests, but Zang Sunhe was the only guest of honor. Obviously, this banquet was specially prepared for Zang Sunhe. Although the Zang family has a noble status in the state of Lu, it is still a heavyweight behind the "Sanhuan" who holds great power.According to common sense, it is normal for Ji Sunsu to invite Zang Sunhe to have a light meal and a glass of wine.To invite Zang Sunhe to a solemn banquet like this, and to invite almost all the officials of the imperial court to accompany him, it must not be just for eating. Sure enough, after Ji Sunsu toasted the guests as the host, Zang Sunhe made an unusual move. He ordered people to spread double mats on the north side of the hall, put new wine utensils and wash them. Zhou Li made strict regulations on all aspects of noble life.For example, the mats to sit on are "three-tiered for the public, and heavier for the doctor", that is, the monarch sits on the triple-tiered mat, and the high-ranking official sits on the double-tiered mat.When everyone saw the double-layer mat, they knew that it was prepared for people of the Qing doctor level.So a question arises: the double-layered mats, but they sit north and south, occupying the most honorable position. Is there any more noble Qing Dafu than Zang Sunhe who is going to visit? If there is, it can only be the other two of the "Three Huans"-Zhongsunsu of the Meng family or Shusun Bao of the Shusun family. Everyone knows that the relationship between Zang Sunhe and Zhong Sunsu has always been bad. If it wasn't for Ji Sunsu's support for Zang Sunhe, Zhong Sunsu might have done something to him long ago.Could it be that Ji Sunsu specially arranged this banquet to reconcile the relationship between the two? While everyone was guessing, Mourning son, the youngest son of the Ji family, walked in.Everyone didn't pay much attention at first.Then something unbelievable happened, Zang Sunhe stood up quickly, walked down the steps quickly to Mourning Son, welcomed him respectfully to the newly placed mat and sat down. According to the etiquette at that time, when the guest of honor stood up, the other guests also stood up.In the whole room, except for Jisunsu, all the people were led by Zang Sunhe to welcome Mourning Son's arrival.Seeing this situation, everyone understood in their hearts: apart from the heirs of the Ji family, who else can enjoy such honor?Zang Sunhe is announcing that the mourning son is the heir of the Ji family! Ji Sunsu saw it in his eyes, was delighted, and secretly gave Zang Sunhe a wink of approval.A matter that was repeatedly entangled was solved by Zang Sunhe lightly, and the wisdom of Zang Sunhe's family really lived up to its reputation. The banquet continued.When it came to the part of the "tour", Zang Sunhe ordered people to invite Gong Biao over. "Travel" is travel remuneration.In this link, the host sends the guests to toast each other, the guests thank each other, and the host pays another respect. After Gong Biao came in, he was arranged by Zang Sunhe to sit among the officials.Now that Mourning Son has been confirmed as the heir, Gong Ji is just an ordinary concubine of the Ji family, with the same status and status as a doctor, and it is reasonable to be listed with all the doctors. Ji Sunsu's expression changed drastically.Why?I didn't get through with the public about this matter beforehand!In case the male would tear his face and make a fuss at the banquet, wouldn't it be self-defeating and ruin a good thing? Fortunately, Gong Biao accepted Zang Sunhe's arrangement calmly.Ji Sunsu breathed a sigh of relief. Soon after, Ji Sunsu appointed Gong Fu as "Ma Zheng", that is, the Sima of the Ji family, in charge of the family's military affairs.At first, the public did not want to accept it, but someone advised him, "Don't do this. There is no way for happiness or misfortune, and people call them in. As a son, you should worry about being unfilial, and you should not worry that you have no status. As long as you If you obey your father's order, things will naturally develop in a good direction. Even if you lose your status, you can make up for it in terms of wealth. On the contrary, if you don't obey your father's arrangement, disaster will come soon, and you will not be able to avoid it! "The public listened to the advice, and sooner or later he went to Ji Sunsu to say hello, and Ma Zheng's work was also done in an orderly and effective manner.Ji Sunsu was overjoyed, and brought the ancestral wine vessels to Gong Biao's house to drink, and kept them all.As a result, the public made a fortune and became rich.Later, Ji Sunsu arranged for Gong Biao to serve as Zuo Zai (official name) of Duke Xiang of Lu. All that Ji Sunsu did was to comfort the public, of course.On the surface, Gong Biao also accepted his father's comfort, but in fact, he has always had a grudge about losing the inheritance right of the Ji family, and he has a grudge against Zang Sunhe even more. The opportunity for revenge is not long in coming. In the autumn of the same year, Zhongsun Su of the Meng family became seriously ill. Zhong Sunsu's eldest son was named Zhi. According to the custom at that time, the heir of the Qing doctor's family was called "Ruzi", so he was also called Ruzizhi. Ruzizhi had a younger brother named Jie, who was born in Zhongsunsu's concubine.Encouraged by what happened to Ji's family and supported by his retainer Feng Dian, Jie also planned to learn from Mourning Son and seize the inheritance rights of Meng's family. Feng Dian ran to Gong Biao and said, "If you help Jie become the heir of the Meng family, I will make Jie hate Zang Sunhe and avenge you." Gong Fei agreed to Feng Dian's request. One day, the father and son accompanied Ji Sunsu to dinner, and the father and son talked about Zhong Sunsu's illness. "Mengsun's family is probably going to die soon," said Gong Ji. "If we take the opportunity to intervene in the politics of the Meng family, abolish the rank of Ruzi, and make Jie the heir of the Meng family, then our Ji family will be more powerful than Zang. Shi's." Ji Sunsu froze for a moment. The logic of the public is that the Ji family abandoned the elders and established the young, and Zang Sunhe played a key role, which also made Zang Sunhe famous; now that the Meng family has established a rank as the heir, if Ji Sunsu can abolish him and change Li Jie is undoubtedly more powerful than Zang Sunhe. There is nothing wrong with this logic itself. It is indeed more difficult to change things that have been concluded than to promote things that have not yet been finalized.The problem is that it is Ji Sunsu's own wish that the Ji family abandon the elders and establish the younger ones. He has always kept this matter secret and is unwilling to mention it to others.Now, in front of him, the public is slapping him in the face by using this incident as an argument. Ji Sunsu categorically rejected Gong Lu's suggestion.A look of disappointment flashed across Gong's face, but it was only fleeting. In August of the same year, Zhong Sun died quickly. Gong Fei was the first to come to Mengsun's house, and accompanied Jie to stand by the door to receive condolences from other guests. The Zhou etiquette stipulates that "the concubine will not be mourned in the funeral of a doctor." After the death of a doctor, the concubine is not eligible to accept condolences, because that is the privilege of the child.Gong Biao's move was almost a copy of the tricks that Zang Sunhe had done to him, and it was more direct and brutal than Zang Sunhe's. Seeing Gong Biao's confident appearance, the people of the Meng family naturally thought that Ji Sunsu was the mastermind of this matter, and Feng Dian was fanning the flames internally, intimidating and luring them, and no one dared to come out to express their opposition.Seeing that the situation was not right, Ru Zizhi fled to the country of Zhu overnight in order to avoid the disaster of killing himself. After Ji Sunsu came, he cried in front of Zhongsun Suling, and then asked, "Why didn't I see Ru Zizhi?" No one else dared to answer, but at this time, Gong Fei stood up and said, "There is Jie here. " Ji Sunsu was furious: "What are you doing? Don't you know that Ru Zizhi is the eldest son of the Meng family?" As soon as this remark came out, the whole mourning hall fell silent, and Jie turned pale with fright.You must know that if Ji Sunsu disagrees with this matter, not only will Jie not be able to accomplish anything with the support of the public alone, but he will definitely be charged with one of the following crimes and fall into a situation beyond redemption. "What's the difference between being old and not being old?" Gong Yu retorted, "The talents of Jie far exceed those of rank! Besides, this is also Mr. Zhongsun's will." At that time, Ji Sunsu discussed with Shen Feng about the matter of mourning his son. Wasn't it just an excuse to choose talented people?Gong Lu's words hit Ji Sunsu's weakness hard.Ji Sunsu stared at Gong Biao for a long time, his eyes finally softened, and he left Meng's house in silence. Among the many people who mourned Zhong Sunsu, Zang Sunhe cried the most sadly and shed the most tears.After he came out, his coachman asked incomprehension: "Zhong Sunsu hates you, you are so sad, if Ji Sunsu died, why don't you cry to death?" "Ah." Zang Sunhe sighed, "Ji Sunsu treats me very well, like a painless disease; Zhong Sunsu treats me badly, but like a medicine stone that cures a disease. Painless diseases are invisible, medicine stones Although it is bitter, it can keep me alive! The death of Zhong Sunsu puts me in danger too!" What Zang Sunhe said was a bit mysterious.Judging from the actual situation at the time, he probably saw the male 鉏 standing next to Jie (now he should be called Zhongsun Jie) accepting everyone's condolences, and he has realized that there is a kind of agreement between the two that is not good for him. Only then will there be such a statement. Sure enough, after the condolences were over, Zhongsunjie closed the door and sent someone to complain to Jisunsu, saying: "The Zangsun family is going to make trouble, so I won't let me hold a funeral for my father." Of course Ji Sunsu didn't believe it.Even if he used his toes, he still wanted to know that this was the revenge of Gong Biao against Zang Sunhe, so he was noncommittal. However, when Zang Sunhe heard the news, his reaction was violent.He immediately stepped up his guard, always on guard against the Mengsun family's plot. In October of the same year, Zhongsunjie built the mausoleum for his father, dug the tomb passage, and asked Zangsunhe to borrow manpower.Zang Sunhe thought this was a great opportunity to clear up the misunderstanding between the two parties. He not only sent some people to help him, but also went to the construction site to inspect it himself. Because of the rumors he had heard before, and because he was restless, Zang Sunhe always brought a group of heavily armed guards with him when he went out. enemy. It turns out that, at any time, being overwrought is a man's worst enemy.Zang Sunhe took these extraordinary measures to guard against the Meng family. After being told by Zhongsun Jie to Ji Sunsu, it became an ironclad proof that Zang Sunhe wanted to commit rebellion. Ji sunsu became angry and gave the order to attack the Zang family. On the seventeenth day of the tenth month, Zang Sunhe cut down the bolt of Lumen and fled to the country of Zhu. Lumen is the southeast gate of Qufu.Zang Sunhe had to cut off the gate bolt to get out of the city, which shows that the situation at that time was already very critical.If you hesitate a little, you may be caught. In retrospect, Zang Sunhe himself was not actually the son of the Zang Sun family.Zang Sunhe's father, Zang Sunxu, married a wife in Zhuguo and gave birth to Zang Jia and Zang Wei.Later, this wife died, and Zang Sunxu married her niece as his successor, and Zang Sunhe was born. Because Zang Sunhe grew up in the palace since he was a child, he was deeply loved by Mu Jiang, the wife of Lu Xuangong, so he was established as the heir of Zang Sun's family, and the original sons Zang Jia and Zang Wei were moved to the Zhu foreign public house instead. to live. After Zang Sunhe fled to the country of Zhu, he sent a letter and a big tortoise to Zang Jia, saying: "He is not talented, so he can't worship the ancestral temple. However, He's crime will not destroy the clan. Please send this big tortoise Give it to those in power, and ask you to be the patriarch of the Zangsun family." Zang Jia's answer was very humane: "This is family misfortune, not your fault, and I will follow this arrangement." He accepted the big turtle and sent Zang Wei to Qufu to handle the matter.Unexpectedly, Zang Wei was very unkind, and changed his statement as soon as he arrived in Qufu, asking Ji Sunsu to make himself the patriarch of the Zang family. At the same time, Zang Sunhe wrote a letter to Ji Sunsu, to the effect that I, Zang Sunhe, had no intention of making trouble, but fell into his trap because of my confusion. If you can forgive me and keep Zang Sunhe The incense of the Sun family, I am willing to dedicate Fangcheng (the territory of Zang Sun's family) to the public, and go away by myself. With this guarantee from Zang Sunhe, and the acceptance of the big tortoise sent by the Zang family, Ji Sunsu agreed to Zang Wei's request and made him the patriarch of the Zang family.Zang Sunhe sacrificed Fangcheng as promised, and then fled to Qi State. According to the rules at that time, if a senior official fled abroad, the person in power should swear an oath with the senior officials in the court to state the crimes of the escapee to show justice, and at the same time condemn the escapee.On the way Zang Sunhe was fleeing, some of his subordinates asked him: "Will Ji Sunhe make an oath for us?" Zang Sunhe sneered: "I'm afraid he won't be able to come up with a reason." The implication is that if it is Ji Sunsu's own wish to abandon the elders and establish the younger ones, I forgive him for not daring to speak nonsense. Sure enough, when Ji Sunsu brought the historian to discuss convicting Zang Sunhe, he encountered difficulties.The historian said: "How about writing 'Like Dongmen Sui, who disobeyed the king's order, killed the son-in-law and established the son-in-law'?" Ji Sunsu's face became ugly, thinking that wouldn't it poke my weakness?He repeatedly waved his hands and said, "Don't write like that!" The historian said again: "Then how about writing 'abandoning ethics and overthrowing the office like Shu Sun Qiaoru'?" Ji Sunsu still shook his head and said, "Zang Sunhe's crime hasn't reached that point yet." Everyone scratched their heads and couldn't think of a suitable crime for Zang Sunhe.At this time, a young man named Mengjiao from the Meng family stood up and said, "Why don't you write about the fact that he cut off the bolt of the Lumen door?" Ji Sunsu's eyes lit up, yes, this matter is obvious to all, and it is conclusive.So Zang Sunhe's problem was defined in this way: "Zang Sunhe violated the law of the country and cut off the door bolt!" Interestingly, when Zang Sunhe heard such a conclusion in Qi State, he was shocked and said: "Lu State still has talents! Who else can come up with such a good idea, except Mengjiao!" After Zang Sunhe fled to Qi State, he was valued by Duke Zhuang of Qi. The latter planned to distribute Zang Sunhe's land so that he could serve Qi State wholeheartedly. Duke Zhuang of Qi knew very well that if he mastered Zang Sunhe, he would have the key to control the state of Lu, and paying a few cities for this was insignificant. When Zang Sunhe heard the news, he immediately ran to the palace to meet Duke Zhuang of Qi.At that time, Duke Zhuang of Qi had just returned from the crusade against Jin, and he was still immersed in the joy of defeating Jin, so he boasted to Zang Sunhe about his military exploits. "Your combat exploits are indeed remarkable!" Zang Sunhe said, "But in the eyes of my subordinates, you look like a mouse." You can imagine Qi Zhuanggong's astonished expression at that time. "You know, this mouse sleeps during the day and moves out at night. It dare not make a nest in the ancestral temple because it is afraid of people. You take advantage of the civil strife in Jin and attack it. When the internal strife is settled, you will inevitably Go serve it, what is it if it's not a mouse?" Zang Sunhe said calmly. "People from Lu!" Qi Zhuanggong's eyes were about to burst into flames, "How dare you humiliate me!" "Don't dare, I'm just telling the truth." Duke Zhuang of Qi put his hand on the hilt of his sword and tried to pull it out several times, but he finally held back and left the table angrily.Needless to say, the land that was originally planned to be granted to Zang Sunhe was in vain. Later generations believed that Zang Sunhe intentionally provoked Duke Zhuang of Qi not for any noble purpose (such as unwillingness to serve the country of Qi), but simply because he felt that Duke Zhuang of Qi’s regime was not strong and did not want to accept Duke Zhuang of Qi’s favor. So as to avoid being involved in the political disputes of Qi State. Confucius spoke highly of Zang Sunhe's move, but at the same time he said: "It's hard to be a smart person! With Zang Sunhe's wisdom, there is a reason why he is not tolerated by the State of Lu, because his What you did was neither ethical nor forgiving." The so-called forgiveness means to consider other people's feelings before acting, to do what you don't want, and not to do to others.