Chapter 62 The Way of Benevolence and Righteousness
Zhengyi, inside the Jishi Villa.
After Li Ran explained himself, Zichan no longer doubted him.
It's no wonder, after all, during the meeting in Pingqiu, he had already seen in Jiangcheng how much Yang Yangui valued this person.
They even cooperated with him and imprisoned Ji Sunsu in Jin State. Forcibly, Ji family lost face in front of Lu State and other princely states.
Therefore, if Yang Tongue really wants something from Li Ran, it is natural for Li Ran to give him advice.
But he thought this way because he understood the merits of it, but Ji Xian obviously didn't think the same way.
He looked sideways at Li Ran, with a hint of fear and vigilance hidden in his brows.
"But... Zi Ming, the food of Zheng State is now ready for use. If Qi State arrives earlier than us, I am afraid that in the future, people will laugh at me. Zheng State is hypocritical."
The grain transport caravan of the State of Qi has already entered the State of Lu, and will arrive in the State of Wei in at least ten days. The grain transport caravan of the State of Zheng has just been ready to go, so in terms of time, it is already a bit late.
What Zichan is worried about is that Zheng and Wei are inseparable, while Qi and Wei are thousands of miles apart. Food from Qi can be transported to Wei, and you from Zheng have just arrived. You are not being hypocritical.
What is it again?
You must know that the drought in Weiguo has been going on for some time, and it is by no means sudden. Now Zhengguo's actions are really too slow.
After Zichan finished speaking, he and Jixian looked at Li Ran. However, they saw that Li Ran looked confident and smiled without saying a word.
"Why is Mr. Ziming laughing?"
After hearing Zichan's question, Li Ran spoke:
"Haha, I don't agree with what the doctor said."
Li Ran looked straight, shook his head and remonstrated.
"Oh? But why?"
When Zichan heard this, he couldn't help but look troubled and asked with suspicion.
Li Ran was quite confident and continued to talk:
"Does the doctor know that there is a saying in the 'Bi Gua' in the Book of Changes: If there is Fu Bi, there is no blame. If there is Fu and the fou is full, it will be auspicious." Can the doctor understand its meaning?"
After Zichan heard this, he and Jixian looked at each other in confusion, but they were completely puzzled by what he meant. He only heard Li Ran continue to speak:
"The meaning of this line means that as long as you have a sincere heart and stick to the right path, you will not make mistakes in making friends from all walks of life. A sincere person is like a vat full of wine, and your sincerity will naturally eventually
Attracting more people to interact with you is auspicious."
Li Ran is worthy of being the history collector of Luoyi. He has the Book of Changes at his fingertips. He can easily cite scriptures and scriptures, which is unconvincing.
Just listen to Li Ran continue to explain:
"Nowadays, there is a severe drought in the Wei State, and everyone is suffering. The country is no longer able to provide relief. Therefore, it seeks help from the princes. Therefore, whether it is the State of Jin, the State of Qi, or the State of Zheng, as long as the food relief is done out of sincerity, then it will be
They are all benevolent and righteous actions. How can we sing for the first and not be ashamed of the latter?"
"Furthermore, the food raised by the doctor was definitely not the work of one person. It was the work of all the people in Zheng State. It was definitely not delayed by the doctor intentionally. The country of Wei is in a great crisis, how can it be tolerated?
Zheng Guo is so kind but still ridicules Zheng Guo? Villains whisper, a gentleman walks alone, Zheng Guo acts aboveboard, why worry about being laughed at by others?"
Li Ran corrected Zichan here, that is, the relief for the drought in Weiguo was not just to gain a false reputation, nor to show off his great achievements. It was to truly help the ordinary people of Weiguo.
If it is just for fame and reputation, or if it has other motives, then it can be said that his heart is not right. If his heart is not right, it will be difficult to achieve anything.
"Hmph! That means I am not acting openly and aboveboard enough, and am adding insult to injury to the people of Weiguo?"
At this time, Ji Xian, who had never spoken a word, suddenly sneered and said.
Li Ran said that the actions of Qi and Zheng in transporting grain to provide disaster relief were all actions of benevolence and righteousness. Therefore, there is no need to worry about being ridiculed by others.
But what the sacrificial family planned was to transport grain to Weiguo and sell it to make money. In comparison, wouldn't it be unjust?
Isn’t this behavior just what a villain does?
Zichan didn't expect Ji Xian to say this in front of Li Ran. He immediately smiled and said thoughtfully:
"Zi Ming certainly didn't mean this, why would he say this when he was offering sacrifices to me?"
"What Ziming said is indeed reasonable. Although the people of Wei are not from Zheng, they are still under the rule of the same king. Even if the grain carts of Zheng arrive later, it does not matter. The wishes of Zheng are shared by the world.
Since you are upright, why should you be afraid of what villains say?"
Zichan naturally knew about Jishi's plan to transport grain to the Wei Kingdom for sale, so he entrusted Jishi to transport the grain prepared by the Zheng Kingdom's court to Weiguo.
In his opinion, the Ji clan is, after all, a home of merchants, and everything must be done for the benefit of the people. Although this trip to transport grain to the Zheng State for sale may seem greedy for money, it is actually a way to help the victims of the Weiguo disaster.
What kind of people do what kind of things? As the saying goes, if there is no profit, you can't afford it. If you only let the Ji clan send food to Weiguo for free, it would be a bit too demanding.
In fact, although Zichan said in his words that Zheng and Wei were under the same kingship, and the people of Wei were also the people of Zheng. But in fact, in Zichan's mind, or in his subconscious, he still classified them as foreign countries. This concept has become deeply ingrained after being continuously strengthened over the past hundred years.
That's why he felt that it was okay for Ji Clan to go to Weiguo to sell food.
"I was born as a merchant, and everyone in the world puts profit first in everything. Now that there is a severe drought in the country of Wei, I transport grain and sell it to meet their urgent needs. Compared with the princes who send grain for disaster relief, I feel ashamed. However, I did not
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this.”
"I just heard what you said, and it seems that you are opposed to my going to Weiguo to sell food. Please tell me, what is wrong with my trip to Weiguo?"
Ji Xian had already suspected that Li Ran's purpose in coming to Zheng was impure. In addition, he didn't quite believe what Li Ran had just said, so his suspicion of Li Ran was even more intense at this moment.
He always felt that what Li Ran said just now was clearly a hidden secret, deliberately sarcastic and sarcastic in front of Zichan.
"Since the old sect leader mentioned this matter, I forgive him for having the audacity to speak nonsense."
Zichan originally thought that Li Ran would go down the slope along the steps he had just given, but who knew that instead of going down the steps, Li Ran took the initiative to cause trouble. Hearing the sound, he couldn't help but be startled, and his eyebrows suddenly gathered together.
What he didn't expect was that Li Ran was really dissatisfied with Ji's plan to sell grain.
"Humph!"
"Then I want to see what you can come up with today!"
Ji Xian didn't take it seriously. He had already planned it and was not afraid at all. At this moment, his face was full of disdain, and the anger gradually surged in his eyebrows.
When Li Ran saw this, his expression was calm and unfazed.
Just listen to him:
"I dare to ask, what is the benefit of offering sacrifices to the old sect leader?"
"What are you talking about? I have been in business all my life, how can I still not know how to profit?"
"Ah, yes, it is true that the younger generation is rude. However, I think that this 'profit' must be divided into visible benefits and invisible benefits. Visible benefits are real objects. For people, acres of land, homes
This is what it means. As far as a country is concerned, its territory, riches, and people are what it is."
"And this invisible benefit is just a matter of meaning. Losing the invisible meaning and gaining tangible benefits is a waste that outweighs the gain for the family."
"Weiguo is currently suffering from a severe disaster, with people dying of hunger all over the land. It's terrible. In many places, people have even exchanged their children for food. The people of Weiguo hope day and night that the princes of various countries can lend a helping hand to help them tide over the difficulties."
"I would also like to ask the old patriarch to think about it. Regardless of whether the Qi State will import grain into the Wei State, even if the grain of Dr. Zichan arrives at the Wei State, then the Wei State will treat the sacrifice family's grain.
What is your attitude?"
"The name of 'taking advantage of the fire' will probably come true. By then, although selling grain can make a profit, it will undermine the sacrifice of the clan and even the great interests of the Zheng State. We must guard against such dangers!"
"Besides, I would like to ask the old sect leader to take a step back and think about it, what if..."