Chapter 2714: The Way of Heaven and Humanity and the Way of the World
Normally, with a general like Lu Bu stationed in the Western Region, the horse thieves should have disappeared, otherwise if they were caught by Lu Bu, it would be like chopping melons and vegetables. But the problem is that Lu Bu doesn't take care of things anymore and has got into the horns of Buddhism.
, resulting in the number of horse thieves gradually increasing again.
Just like the Big Apple, which is known as the city of freedom and light, isn't it also an underground gang where thieves and thieves run rampant?
Order does not mean the absence of chaos.
The presence of light does not mean the absence of darkness.
Having money can make a millstone go round, and having money can make a millstone go round.
Especially in places where there is no faith, money is even more powerful and has no scruples.
In a desolate rocky mountain in the Western Region, there is a grotto. Inside and outside the grotto, there are tough men in twos and threes, laughing and joking. On one side of the grotto, there are stacks of large and small jars, and from time to time someone pours sour vinegar out of the jar.
The water sometimes even spilled onto the ground and no one cared.
There is no water source here.
The nearest water source is also ten miles away, so normally no one would come here. The good thing is that no one would think that there would be people in a place without water source, so you only need to clean up the traces, and the strong winds in the Western Region will soon disappear.
The remaining imprints will be buried, and naturally no soldiers will follow the imprints to trace them here.
The disadvantage is that if you want to survive here, you need to store some water for daily use. Those jars are used to store water. But if you store ordinary water, it will probably smell bad in no more than three to five days, so just
It can store wine, or sour vinegar water that cannot be considered wine.
These drinks are all sold from the market twenty miles away.
The water source point ten miles away is their outpost.
And in the small market twenty miles away, they also have their spies.
They are the largest and most ferocious group of horse thieves in the Western Region, killing people, robbing goods, and doing all kinds of evil.
It's just that they usually don't take action very often, but once they do, the caravan will be littered with corpses.
Many pony thieves claim to be their subordinates, but in fact their subordinates are never recruited among the horse thieves, but among the Qiang people, because they are the remnants of the White Horse Qiang, the remnants of the Tsing Yi Qiang, and the mercenaries of Kushan
, is a descendant of the Ma family.
"This world has always been like this. The strong devour the weak. In the jungle, on the grassland, among tigers, leopards, cattle and sheep, and between people..." Matthew said slowly, "I
I didn’t quite understand it at first, but now I understand...』
The small grotto where the two of them were in was not big, but it was neatly tidied up. It was obviously used as a residence for Matthew and Pound.
"At the beginning, I was full of anger, but now, I am no longer angry." Matthew was sitting on a rock, holding a wine bag in his hand, his face looked a little alcoholic, and he had obviously drank.
A lot, but not drunk yet. "When I realized this, I suddenly felt very interesting."
Pound sat on one side, silent.
"You should ask me why it's interesting?" Matthew shook the wine bag and drank a few gulps.
Pang De raised his eyebrows, "Do you need it?"
"Yeah." Matthew nodded seriously.
So Pound asked seriously: "Master, please tell me why it is interesting."
"Okay," Matthew raised his head, "Yin and Yang are in opposition to everything in the world. There is the sun in the daytime, and the moon in the night. The yin and the sky wax and wane, this is the way of heaven. When people live, they must eat and drink, this is also the way of heaven. So we want
Live like the sun and the moon rising and setting every day. There are no reasons, no excuses, no cover-ups, it’s just the way of heaven, it’s just natural.”
Perhaps it’s because Buddhism in the Western Regions has a stronger atmosphere, and even Matthew and Matthew seemed to be practicing Zen.
"The way of heaven is ruthless. I remember reading a book before. I forgot what it was about, but it seemed to say something like this. The way of heaven treats a grass, a tree, a horse, and a person equally.
People, to the way of heaven, are all the same, just like stones, rivers, sun, moon and stars. Do you understand? They are the same!"
Pang De nodded, "Same."
Matthew tilted his neck and looked at Pound, then shook his head, "It's different... No, it's not that it's different, it's that you're different. No, it's that what you said is the same but it's different... Well... forget it!"
』
"..." Pang De looked at Matthew and said after a moment, "Young Master, drink this last bag of wine and then go to bed."
"I am the young master!" Matthew stared at Pang De, and after a while he curled his lips, "Okay, listen to you... we are all the same... so, there is no young master..."
"You are the young master." Pound said, "But this is the last bag."
"The last bag... Well, okay, but you have to listen to me..." Matthew looked at Pound, "I think I have figured out a great truth... I have to say it, otherwise
I might forget about it later..."
Pang De nodded, "Please speak, young master. Do you need me to write it down?"
"Yes, yes! Write it down!" Matthew laughed, "Go get a pen!"
Pound said: "We have no pens. Only swords and guns."
"Uh..." Matthew was stunned for a moment, "Then use a wooden stick or something to write it, and just write it here!"
Matthew tapped the sandy ground on the side of the stone.
Pound nodded, took out the knife from his boot, squatted on the ground, "You say it, I'll write it."
"Okay!" Matthew coughed twice, cleared his throat, and then pondered for a while, "Uh... where did I just say it?"
"Same? Or different?" Pound wasn't sure either.
"Same! Yes, same!" Matthew slapped his leg, "Yes! Same! The way of heaven! Do you know why it is said to be the emperor, but not the way of heaven? Because the emperor can be different, but the way of heaven
It can only be the same!』
Pang De raised his eyebrows, "I don't understand."
"Intentional!" Ma Xiu jumped off the stone, walked back and forth twice, and stood still, "I heard before... The Han Dynasty first used Huang Lao to govern the country, but later Emperor Xiaowu changed it to some kind of emperor...
...It probably means something like this, and here is the key, the way of heaven! Huang Lao’s way of heaven is the same all over the world! Do you understand? Stones are the same as grass and trees, mountains and rivers are the same, cattle and sheep are the same as people, and this emperor is also the same as
We are the same!"
Matthew shouted, waving his arms, "Same! Do you understand?! If we talk about heaven, they are all the same! The same! Equal! Stones, trees, cattle and sheep, us, the emperor, etc., are all the same.
of!"
Pound listened and wrote, but stopped halfway through writing.
"Write it down!" Matthew stared, "Didn't you say you wanted to write it down?"
Pound was silent, and then continued writing.
Ma Xiucai nodded with satisfaction, continued to circle around, and said: "The Emperor of the Han Dynasty was afraid that we would understand the true meaning of the way of heaven, so he did not dare to use Huang Lao, but used those acid scholars to cover up this for the emperor."
The truth! Yes! That’s it! And we must announce this truth to the world! Let everyone in the world know that the emperor is no big deal, he is just like ordinary people! Like stones, cows and horses! This is the way of heaven! The way of heaven!
Haha, hahahaha..."
"The way of heaven! I understand the way of heaven!" Matthew excitedly raised the wine bag to drink, and then danced around, "I understand! Hahaha, the way of heaven! It's the same! Haha! Ahaha..."
Pound lowered his head and looked at the words he had written on the ground. He was silent for a long time. After a while, he suddenly felt that the surrounding area had become quiet. When he turned around, he found that Matthew was lying directly on the ground, asleep.
Pound stood up, looked back and forth between Matthew and the words on the ground a few times, then turned around and left the small grotto and walked outside, "It's getting late. Those who should sleep, go to sleep. Who can
If he makes any noise again, give him ten lashes to wake him up! Who is on duty today? Come here! Follow me and go on patrol!"
When the horse thieves who were making a fuss outside saw Pound speaking, they all ducked back into the cave with their necks hunched, just like insects on the sand returning to their nests, and they suddenly became quiet.
The wind blew through the grotto, carving the surface of the grotto into all kinds of strange shapes.
Pang De led people to inspect the grotto, and then asked the people on duty to keep watch. He himself returned to the small grotto, looking at Matthew who was snoring in his sleep, and at the people on the ground.
Character.
Is there any essential difference between the wind in the Western Regions and the wind in the Central Plains of Han Dynasty?
Are there any fundamental differences between the stones from the Western Regions and the stones from the Central Plains of Han Dynasty?
What is the difference between the sun, moon and stars thousands of years ago and the sun, moon and stars now?
Pound thought about it, but he couldn't find the answer.
it's dark.
Then it dawned.
Just like it has been for thousands of years, not more than a minute, not less than a second, not increased or decreased according to anyone's will.
Matthew woke up and saw Pound beside him, "Ah? Lingming, didn't you rest?"
Pang De nodded, "I'll squint for a while. I'll just make up for it later when I'm tired."
After a pause, Pound asked: "Young Master, do you remember what you said last night?"
Matthew patted his head, "What did I say? I... I really want to remember that I said a lot of things, but what exactly did I say..."
Pang De gestured, "Over there. You asked me to write it down, saying you would forget it."
"Huh?" Matthew took a few steps forward and stood in front of the words. After a moment, his eyes widened and he looked back at Pound, pointing to the words on the ground, "This... this... this is
I said?"
Pang De nodded, "I will remember what you said."
"Ah, ha, haha..." Matthew stretched out his foot and quickly smeared the words on the ground, "I...how could I say such a thing..."
Matthew turned his head and smiled dryly, "This... Ling Ming..."
Pang De waved his hand and said, "I know... no one is coming here."
"That's not what I meant..." Matthew was silent for a while, "No, I did think so, but... I can't say..."
Just when Matthew didn't know what to say, someone outside the small grotto shouted: "Boss! Someone is coming, like Er Mazi!"
Er Mazi is the spy arranged by Ma Xiu and others.
The people from Kushan are coming.
There is a small water pond on the west side of a small village twenty miles away from the grotto.
Matthew met with the Kushan people.
"My friends..." the Kushan man said with a strange accent, "you have disappointed me..."
Matthew folded his hands on his chest and said coldly: "So you are here to accuse me?"
"No, not all." The Kushan people said some confusing words, "My friend, I have a good news for you..."
"Good news?" Matthew asked.
"Yes, good news." The Kushan man whispered, "My great general sent a monk... It is said that he successfully made the terrible, cruel butcher put down his knife..."
"Butcher? Oh...what? That's impossible." Matthew said, "You must be kidding."
The Kushan man spread his hands and said, "I don't like to joke, and I never joke. This thing is true, but the specific amount of letting go... is not easy to understand, so I need my friends to help confirm...
』
"That's confirmation, forget it, don't worry about it." Ma Xiu said in a deep voice, "You mean, Lu Fengxian put down his sword and learned Buddhism to stop killing people?"
"Yes, my monk, he can't lie, that's what he said. That is a terrible and cruel butcher. If he can put down the knife, wouldn't it be good news?" The Kushan man said with a smile, "But
The butcher may also pick up the knife again... This is very bad, very bad... So I need to make sure... My friend, I think you can definitely help me with this..."
"So you want us to confirm whether that guy really put down his knife? Do you think we are fools or lunatics? That's Lu Fengxian!" Matthew stared and said, "If he really put down his knife, then it's okay. If he didn't, it's okay."
Come down, we are the ones who will die!』
The memory of Lu Bu leading less than 3,000 men through the entire Western Region, driving countless barbarian tribes everywhere like cattle and sheep, and then completely destroying the power of the Kushan people in the Western Region in one fell swoop, is still a memory.
It remains in the nightmares of many people.
Now it is said that Lu Bu put down his sword and stopped fighting. He believed in Buddha and started chanting sutras and stopped fighting. Who would believe it?
The Kushan man said with a smile: "I will give you money. A lot of money. My friend, you can make an offer."
"Maybe a lot of people will die!" Matthew said.
The Kushan man nodded, "Yes, so I can give you a big price. But, my friend, the action must be big! Big! Do you understand? Otherwise we won't be able to determine whether the sword has been put down..."
Matthew glared at the Kushan people and nodded after a while, "Then how much money can you offer..."
Ma Xiu instigated the Lushui Tribe and the Baima Tribe back then, and now he can also instigate other tribes. As long as there is enough money, enough slaves can be recruited here in the Western Regions.
The Kushan people and Matthew discussed for a while, and after agreeing on the price, the Kushan people left first.
Pang De came over and stared at the Kushan people's retreating smoke, "What are they doing here?"
"They paid for our lives and asked us to do something to see if Lu Fengxian really put down his sword." Matthew said.
Pang De shouted, "Are they stupid? Why?"
"It's said that some eminent monk went to teach Buddhism to Lu Fengxian..." Ma Xiu sneered and said, "You said you can put it down when you put down the knife? Maybe Lu Fengxian was slashing with the knife while reciting Buddhism... Unless Lu Fengxian
We have really become idiots... No matter what, Guishang will give us the money and we will find someone, as long as Lu Feng doesn't find us first."
After working as horse thieves in the Western Regions for so long, money is their lifeline. If they have money, they have men and horses, but if they don't have money, they have nothing.
Pang De frowned, "Young Master, this matter is very dangerous. What if, I mean what if..."
Matthew sighed, "I know, but the Kushan people are our main source of money... If we refuse, will those Kushan bastards sell us back? Anyway, the Kushan people just want to mess things up."
Da, I want to see if Lu Fengxian really put down the sword, so Lingming, what do you think will happen if we say we won’t do this? Now the Kushan people will give us at least 30% first... and then depending on the subsequent situation
, give it to us again... As long as they can still use us, we only have to worry about one aspect..."
"This is only temporary," Pound said.
Matthew smiled, his smile was sad, "Who is not temporarily?"
Pound was silent.
"Okay, help me think of a way," Matthew said, "Anyway, the Kushan people's money has arrived, we will deduct half of it first, and then use the rest to recruit people... But it will be very troublesome. If these people know that they are going to deal with it,
Lu Fengxian, I'm afraid he won't even come... If we hide it first, well, that won't work, because we might get backlash at some point..."
Everyone likes money, but if you have money but no life to spend it, it is meaningless.
At the same time, horse thieves also need to be credible, unless they can silence them. But now that the Kushan people want to do something big, it will obviously involve a lot of people, and it is impossible to say that they will all be silenced, so using deception and deception is equivalent to destroying
Matthew has built a reputation over the years.
A horse thief without a reputation will really lose all protective colors. Rabbits also know how not to eat grass beside their nests, let alone humans. If there is no credibility and reputation to cover up, let alone the surrounding barbarian tribes.
According to the news, even Matthew's own men may not be able to contain him.
So both of them were a little worried.
After a while, Pound suddenly thought of something, but his expression was a little hesitant.
When Ma Xiu saw it, he asked: "Ling Ming, what countermeasures do you have? Tell me quickly and listen!"
Pang De nodded, and then said slowly: "I just thought of what you said yesterday..."
"Those? Oh..." Matthew waved his hand and said, "Those are just drinking words..."
"No, young master, what I mean is," Pang De said hesitantly, "the Kushan people don't want to make it bigger...and we can't be exposed...then I wonder if we can...after all, here in the Western Regions
, there are too many injustices, and there are too many defeated people..."
During the three to four hundred years of the Han Dynasty, various countries in the Western Regions fought endlessly. Even if Lu Bu did not come here, many tribes in the Western Regions were still defeated, countries were destroyed, and the original princes and nobles became slaves...
"Ah ha!" Matthew exclaimed, "This method... is really... let me think about it..."
The two stood in silence for a while.
The wind blew loudly, raising dust.
"It seems... I can give it a try..."
"We can't all look for horse thieves."
"Yes, in addition to horse thieves, we also need to find ordinary people."
