Chapter 199: Ying Zheng's Insights On this day of the Spring Equinox, Fu...
On this day of the Spring Equinox, Fu Li took Ying Zheng to the countryside to watch farmers work. This was partly because he understood the suffering of the people, and partly to enhance his reputation as a virtuous man.
From ancient times to the present day, common people have always favored kings who personally farmed and cared about their well-being. Although Ying Zheng wasn't yet king, he was already the crown prince, a prince with little influence behind him.
He urgently needed to create a reputation for himself as a wise man and attract talented people to join him.
Ying Zheng himself also realized this. At noon, he ordered the guards to go fishing and hunting, leaving only Nezha, the master, by his side.
Seeing that there were no outsiders around, he sincerely asked Fu Li: "Teacher, how can I quickly recruit talented people?"
Fu Li looked at him with relief and asked, "Once upon a time, Taigong was fishing in the Wei River. King Wen, after divinership, went to see him and asked him, 'Do you like fishing?' Do you know what Taigong said?"
Ying Zheng shook his head at first, then speculated, "Tai Gong is a great sage of the Ji Zhou Dynasty. He must be content with poverty and happiness, right?"
After Ji Zhou took over the world, he destroyed books before the Shang Dynasty, erased as much trace of Cheng Tang as possible, and re-arranged ancient legends, making all those ancient sage kings the ancestors of Ji Zhou.
Nearly eight hundred years have passed, and in today's legends, the ancient sages were indifferent to fame and fortune, willing to sacrifice their lives like a tiger, cut off their flesh to feed an eagle, eat wind and drink dew, and sleep under the sky.
Although Ying Zheng had traveled with the couple for many years and had witnessed all kinds of ugliness in the world, he still subconsciously put on a filter when talking about those ancient sages.
Nezha sneered and said sarcastically, "Why, the ancient sages don't need to eat?"
He knew Jiang Ziya, so how could he not know what kind of person he was?
Ying Zheng blushed a little, but he did not get angry. Instead, he bowed again sincerely and said, "Teacher, please teach me."
Fu Li gave Nezha a look, telling him not to discourage the boy. Then he stepped forward to help Ying Zheng to his feet and said slowly, "Tai Gong said: A gentleman is happy to achieve his ambition, while a villain is happy to do his work. I am fishing here now, and there is a similarity, except that I am not happy to fish."
Jiang Ziya was an honest man. The reason he and Shen Gongbao went to the State of Zhou was to seek fame and fortune.
Therefore, even though I know that the person before me is Jichang of the Western Zhou Dynasty, I still have to be honest: a gentleman is interested in achieving lofty ambitions, while a villain is interested in obtaining material benefits. Regardless of whether I am a gentleman or a villain, I probably don't like fishing, right?
How could Ying Zheng have seen this before? He was stunned for a moment, feeling that his filter for ancient sages was somewhat shattered.
Seeing him like this, Fu Li laughed and teased him, "Why, do you really think the ancient sages didn't need to eat? Everyone needs to eat, how can they be free from material things?"
Ying Zheng paused for a long moment, his mind coming to its senses. He nodded and said, "Tai Gong should have known that the man before him was King Wen of Zhou, yet he remained unpretentious and frankly stated that he came here for fame and fortune. He truly deserves to be a wise minister known through the ages."
"You are a teachable young man!" Fu Li touched his forehead and added, "At this time, King Wen of Zhou also asked Taigong the same question as you. I can tell you Taigong's answer, and you can ponder it slowly."
Ying Zheng said solemnly, "I am all ears."
Fu Li stood with his hands behind his back, and said word by word, "Seeking talent is like fishing. There are three powers: salary and status are controlled by power, death and status are controlled by power, and official position and status are controlled by power. Fishing is for the purpose of seeking, and the depth of emotion allows us to observe the great things."
——To win over talented people, generous salaries, rewards, and official positions are all like bait for fishing. Although fishing is a small matter, it can also reveal the big picture.
Ying Zheng lowered his head and pondered for a long time, until the guards came back with the prey and Nezha touched him lightly on the shoulder, he came back to his senses, walked forward happily, and I helped everyone to process the ingredients.
After the meat was roasted, he personally used a dagger to divide the meat into pieces of almost equal size, first giving them to the two teachers, then to the guards, and only keeping the last piece for himself.
The guards all bowed in thanks, and Ying Zheng patiently helped them up one by one, saying gratefully, "We, the master and the disciple, are traveling far away, and we all rely on your protection. I should be the one to thank you. Everyone, please don't be polite and eat as much as you want. How can you protect me if you're not full?"
Looking at the excited expressions of the guards, Fu Li knew that Ying Zheng had already mastered what he had just learned.
Such understanding made her sigh: Is he born to be an emperor?
After distributing the barbecue, Ying Zheng wrapped the remaining meat in lotus leaves and trotted over to the family that was also eating together. He bowed to the old woman who was distributing food to her children and said, "Auntie, I'm sorry to bother you."
These people did not know that he was the prince. Seeing that he was dressed in gorgeous clothes and was surrounded by guards, they thought he was the son of a noble family.
Seeing him come up to pay his respects, the old woman hurriedly asked her children to help her up and return the greeting: "Sir, you are really embarrassing me. I wonder what important matter has brought you here?"
Ying Zheng smiled and said, "I have some questions about farming. Seeing that you are so highly respected, I came to ask for your advice. I hope you will not think that I am being too presumptuous."
"No, no, sir, you are in a serious condition." The old woman offered him her small stool, but Ying Zheng firmly refused it, said "wait a moment", put the lotus leaf wrapped in meat on the ground, and ran back to get a stool.
According to Qin law, hunting is prohibited in spring.
This prohibition had no binding force on nobles who owned private forests, but ordinary people were obliged to abide by it. The old woman and her family had not eaten meat for a long time.
The aroma of the freshly roasted meat, with its grease, kept entering their noses. The two younger boys couldn't help swallowing their saliva and secretly glanced at the meat.
Ying Zheng called himself Chu Lishi, a descendant of Chu Li Ji and a member of the Qin royal family.
The old woman told him that their family was the Chen clan, with the surname Gui, and that they were descendants of Gui Man, a descendant of Shun. After the fall of the State of Chen, the family members scattered, and the ancestors of this branch of their family moved to the State of Qin.
"So you are the descendant of an ancient wise king." Ying Zheng's face showed a little more respect. He took out a dagger and cut the meat into small pieces. Starting from Chen Ai, he put a piece in each person's bowl in order of age.
Seeing that they were about to decline, Ying Zheng said with a stern face, "I still have some matters concerning farming to ask you. If you decline, I will not dare to bother you."
Having said that, Aunt Chen couldn't refuse any longer. Seeing her two grandsons looking at her eagerly, she couldn't help but sigh and accepted his kindness.
"If you don't mind, please have some simple food."
Of course Ying Zheng would not be disgusted. He acted very happy and ate a bowl of Chen family's mixed grain rice.
The two sides exchanged food, and the distance between them suddenly became much closer. As Ying Zheng ate heartily, he asked about their harvest this year, how much tax the government demanded, and whether their family, with only a few acres of land, could still afford it. And what about other families?
Aunt Chen told him everything, and her daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons added a little.
From their narration, Ying Zheng learned that the situation in Qin was not very optimistic.
Since Duke Xiaogong, the state of Qin had followed the laws of Shang Yang and implemented a system of conferring titles based on military merit. Hundreds of years later, the existing land had been almost fully conferred.
The rule at that time was that the family would be divided but the property would not be divided. No matter how many brothers and sisters there were in the family, after the family was divided, all the land would go to the eldest son (son is a neutral word), and the eldest son would also provide for his parents.
If the family is wealthy, parents will give some money to help the children buy some land. If the family is not wealthy, they can only go their own way.
The Qin State was better off, at least they still had the path of joining the army, which was finally a channel for advancement. But the gangsters of the six states in Shandong could only become bandits, right?
Oh, they don’t think of themselves as bandits, they call themselves “knights”.
In order to make a living, they would usually seek refuge with a famous nobleman and risk their lives to become his retainers, which are the so-called "knights".
Ying Zheng didn't care about the six states in Shandong, but he couldn't help but care about the people of Qin.
Today's Ying Zheng has been studying with Fu Li since he was a child, and has not yet been exposed to the Legalist idea of "ruling the world for the benefit of one person". He knows very well that the stability of the people is the foundation of the country's stability.
Since King Jie of Xia could not keep the people at peace, everyone followed King Wu of Shang to overthrow him; since King Zhou of Shang could not keep the people at peace, everyone followed King Wu of Zhou to overthrow him.
If he becomes the King of Qin in the future and cannot ensure the stability of the people of Qin, who knows if a "King Wu" will appear in Qin and overthrow him?
On the way back, Ying Zheng and Fu Li and his wife sat in the same carriage, lowering their heads and thinking for a long time.
Nezha, who usually loves to tease him, was very quiet today, not making a single sound. So much so that when Ying Zheng came to his senses, he gave him a strange look.
Nezha understood his look and immediately laughed angrily: "Hey, you kid, you really don't know how to appreciate kindness. What's that look in your eyes?"
Ying Zheng said seriously: "Zheng just feels that Teacher Yin is much more sensible today."
From the moment he opened his mouth, he was ready to strike. Before he could finish his words, he suddenly pounced to Fu Li's side and avoided Nezha's outstretched claws.
He even complained to Fuli: "Teacher, look at him, he always bullies me!"
Fu Li was speechless: "I'm not blind. Can't I see who is bullying whom?"
——If you want to make an accusation, at least do it behind my back.
Nezha was very proud, humming and laughing as he rolled up his sleeves: "Sister, help me catch him quickly, I want to teach this brat a lesson and let him know why the flowers are so red!"
"Ah, teacher, help me! I know I'm wrong!"
Fu Li: "It's no use begging me. I can't beat him now."
Neither side has the support of magic power, and Fu Li cannot match Nezha in physical strength.
"Teacher Yin, please spare my life. I know I was wrong!" Ying Zheng fully demonstrated his adaptability.
After hearing this, Fu Li came out to protect him: "Alright, alright, both of you stop making trouble. Zheng'er, tell me what you think."
Ying Zheng quickly sat up straight and said with emotion, "Teacher once said: The world does not belong to one person, but to everyone. Until today, Zhengcai has deeply understood this."
Fu Li motioned him to continue, and Ying Zheng said, "For a king to conquer the world is like chasing a wild beast. Everyone in the world wants to share the meat. Those who share the benefits of the world will gain the world, while those who monopolize the benefits of the world will lose the world.
"Qin's prosperity stems from its shared interests with the rest of the world, and from the king's willingness to share the meat of wild beasts with all the people. But now, the meat is almost gone. When there is nothing left to share, what should Qin do?"
"Good!" Fu Li clapped his hands in praise, "The fact that you can think of this makes you a qualified king."
In the past, Ying Zheng would always be very happy when she praised him, but today, he could only smile bitterly.
"But teacher, I can't think of a solution."
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