Chapter 129 Time flies like water
With this announcement, the Confucian, Mohist, Taoist and Buddhist disciples who were already in Luo State were naturally excited. The other writers scattered in various countries also rushed to Luo State with their books.
Anyone with a slightly longer-term vision can see that Luo Guo's move will greatly improve the social and historical status of those who study there.
Over the past thousands of years, no matter how talented you were, if you were not appreciated by the nobles, you would eventually become lost in the crowd and your name would not be recorded in history.
Only a few sages like Confucius and Mozi, who had many disciples and followers, could leave behind countless anecdotes and stories, but this kind of private writing is inherently inferior.
Therefore, scholars in various countries were tirelessly seeking to become officials and make real contributions.
However, most people ignore the importance of establishing a reputation and only see it as a stepping stone to rising to a higher social class.
The theories of the Hundred Schools of Thought encompass the universe and embrace all things. Those profound principles are only on the surface. If a group of people could be organized to conduct in-depth research, they would surely be able to continuously innovate. However, it is a pity that the children of the Hundred Schools of Thought only use them as tools to enter officialdom.
Now the royal family of Luo State wants to tell the scholars of the world that even if they fail to become kings, princes, generals or ministers, as long as they write books, they can still be respected by the world for thousands of years.
The nobles of various countries were not surprised by Luo State's actions, as Luo State had always attached great importance to these classics.
In the past few hundred years, many times when those small countries were destroyed, these countries would deliberately preserve historical materials and take them to Luo State to exchange for gold, silver, cloth, grain and other practical items.
Most people don’t understand why Luo State wanted to preserve the history of those long-extinct vassal states, which were not their own country’s history books.
In order to prevent the people of a fallen country from having any thoughts of restoring their country, shouldn't such useless and bulky things be burned directly?
So most people just glanced over the matter and started thinking about increasing the country's land and population.
Looking up at the stars and maintaining civilization are not among the goals of these rulers. Their only goal is to maintain their own rule.
Yingdu.
Although it had suffered a great defeat before, it has now gradually recovered from the defeat. The Chu State has rich experience in defeat and will not be completely discouraged by this defeat.
Sima Xiang Yin died in battle. He was the highest-ranking noble of the Chu State who died on the battlefield, which made all the nobles of the Chu State feel grieved.
When Xiang Yin's body was sent back to the State of Chu, there was not even a piece of intact flesh on his body. His blood-soaked armor was riddled with holes from swords, guns and arrows. He had more than ten wounds all over his body and eventually bled to death. No one could imagine how much pain he suffered before his death.
Outside the city of Yingdu, the King of Chu held his blood-soaked robe and cried bitterly, and everyone followed suit and shed tears.
The Xiang family suffered heavy losses, and the faces of the clan members were filled with sorrow, but they still remembered Xiang Yin's instructions, and dozens of people knelt down in unison at the gate of Yingdu.
Xiang Zhang, Xiang Yin's son, stepped forward and held his hand, crying, "Your Majesty, the Chu army of 300,000 was defeated by the Wei army of 30,000. Does this mean that the Chu people are cowardly?
My father has made so many contributions and won so many battles. How could he lose to a kid from Wei?
The reason why Chu failed was because Wei carried out reforms to strengthen its army. Wei's soldiers were powerful and their orders were as strong as a mountain. Unlike our army, which was hindered by each other and could not exert its full strength, this was the real reason.
Your Majesty, I heard that there was a man in the State of Song who raised sheep. Because his sheep pen was broken, a wolf took away his sheep. He thought the sheep were already lost and it was too late to repair the sheep pen, so he left the hole there, and as a result, he lost his sheep again.
The reason why Chu failed this time was that Wei carried out reforms while Chu did not, and the losses were already irreversible.
But if Chu remains unchanged, how can it stabilize its country when Qi, Qin, Zhao, Wei, Han and Wu all carry out reforms?
I kowtow and ask Your Majesty to reform the country, prosper the Chu State, and avenge the Chu people who died at the hands of the Wei people!"
The Xiang clan members cried out in sorrow, "Your Majesty, please change the law!"
The King of Chu helped Xiang Zhang up from the ground and said sadly: "Mr. Xiang, I will definitely strengthen the State of Chu and avenge Sima."
The Chu nobles looked at Xiang Yin's body on the ground, then at the grief-stricken King of Chu and Xiang family. They found no reason to refute and all shut their mouths.
Just as Xiang Yin had expected, he used his own life to temporarily buy the King of Chu an excellent excuse to carry out reforms.
What’s even more interesting is that the death of Wei Houqing caused many talented people in Wei to leave the country, because the country no longer needed so many talents.
The old and new nobles of Wei reached an exchange of interests. Those who were unwilling to exchange were either killed in the political turmoil or left Wei with the benefits.
Anyway, the disciples of the Legalists are full of talent and can display their knowledge anywhere.
Reform has never been achieved by one person sitting in the palace and proposing a few strategies. The most important thing is a political group that can implement them to the letter.
Legalist reforms were usually carried out by a Legalist leader who designed the top-level structure in the palace, and then a large number of Legalist disciples who were familiar with the law served as middle-level bureaucrats to ultimately implement these policies.
Although the strength of Wei State did not suffer particularly severe damage, after all, the most elite Wei Wuzu were still there, but with a cowardly and young monarch, Wei State would not be able to do anything in a short period of time.
Marquis Cheng of Han and Marquis Yong of Zhao could finally breathe a sigh of relief, no longer having to live in constant fear of being stabbed in the back by Marquis Qing of Wei. At the same time, the two countries began to recruit talents from Wei.
The world once again returned to a state of balance.
War is like the tide, it will never disappear, but will only accumulate strength silently, and then at the right time, it will create a tsunami and destroy everything.
The King of Chu had already decided to reform and then destroy Wu. Nothing would be able to shake his strategy. The struggle between Qin and Chu over the Shu Plain became increasingly fierce.
Luoyi.
This city in the center of the world has experienced eight hundred years of ups and downs, and is still firmly in the hands of the Zhou royal family.
The Zhou emperor sat here and watched the rise and fall of the princes. In the past, when the State of Wei was arrogant and the six states attacked the State of Chu, he did not say a word.
Wei Houqing was killed in the royal capital by Han Houcheng and Zhao Houyong. They showed him such disrespect for his face, but he still said nothing.
Now he is dying.
During his reign, due to the abundant royal funds, a lot of repairs were made to the palace, restoring its former grandeur. The interior decoration of the palace was completely redecorated, and curtains made of precious cloth and silk slowly fell from the roof, dividing the spacious hall into empty spaces.
He was now lying behind dozens of layers of curtains, his face was sallow and he did not have a trace of the majesty of an emperor. A row of people were kneeling beside the bed. They were all relatives of the royal family, and there were seven princes alone.
"I am going to collapse."
The emperor's face was relatively calm, and he said with some emotion: "The Zhou Dynasty has been in existence for eight hundred years, far exceeding the six hundred years of the Shang Dynasty.
I have read the history books and found that every time a royal family declined, it was because the emperor was warlike or there was internal strife within the royal family. So I have just been enjoying myself these years and not getting involved in the affairs of the world.
Thanks to the gift of land after the war between the various states, the royal capital now covers thousands of miles of land. This is the richest and most powerful time for the royal family in the past three hundred years.
When I die, you must continue what I did and do not provoke the princes at will. The destiny of Zhou is unstable and no matter what you do, you may encounter unexpected events.
If any of the princes threaten the royal capital, and you feel that you cannot resist, then give the land of the royal capital to Luo State. This is the last thing I can tell you."
These words were from the heart of Emperor Zhou. He felt that the Mandate of Heaven for the Zhou State was about to disappear. Instead of making trouble, it would be better to drag it out like this. One day at a time was better than another. Anyway, the royal capital was still very prosperous, and the vassal states would not have nothing to do and attack him.
Even if he really comes, there is still the last resort of asking Luo Guo for help.
It's a pity that his son didn't think so. The royal family now had considerable strength. Most of Zheng and part of Song, although their population had dropped sharply due to being one of the main battlefields, were at least stronger than Han.
South Korea can dominate among the nations, and the royal family has the title of emperor, so why can't it do the same?
If they could annex Han and Wei, the royal family would be able to achieve the hegemony of the former Jin State and completely restore the glorious era of eight hundred years ago.
The princes promised the emperor, "Father, we will obey your orders and protect our ancestors' country."
The emperor's ministers also promised the emperor that they would assist the prince well and would never let the Zhou Dynasty fall.
It sounded sincere, but the emperor heard a perfunctory tone in it.
He knew what his son and close ministers were thinking at a glance, and a hint of coldness appeared in his eyes, but after thinking about his own body, he gave up the worry.
He was a very pessimistic person, and couldn't help thinking: "At the end of a dynasty, there are always kings like Xia Jie and Shang Zhou. Will Bang Zhou be an exception?
If the royal family really produces a few more unfilial descendants, it would probably mean that God wants to destroy the Zhou Dynasty. What’s the point of my teachings now?
I just hope that King Su can still protect Bangzhou."
In the State of Luo, the royal family of Luo began to compile classics that they had never seen before. There were so many wise men in the world, and their thoughts could not be encompassed by a single academy.
If Luo State had not wanted to build statues for the wise men, many of them would probably never have come to Luo State in their lifetime.
Time flies like flowing water, and the situation in the world also changes like flowing water. The strength of nations changes constantly with the rise and fall of wars.
But the only thing that remains unchanged is the general trend. Countries occupying advantageous terrains gradually begin to have more weight, while countries located in areas surrounded by wars inevitably begin to decline.
Thanks for the reward from the leader of the alliance. I will finish writing it in two days when I am in a better state. I have been writing about Mohism and Yang Zhu these two days and I am exhausted. I have to slow down. This is probably the last chapter of the transition. I will start telling the story and advancing the plot tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)
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