After meeting Zhao Yang, Li Ran came to another official post.
The people staying in this official post were the envoys from the State of Lu. Li Ran came here precisely to meet Confucius, whom he had not seen for a long time.
Confucius was a military officer and came to court with the Marquis of Lu to recruit him, so he attached great importance to it.
Not only did he come with Lu Housong, but he also had many of his disciples accompanying him.
Among them are familiar faces such as Zi Lu, Ran Geng, Duan Mu Ci, etc.
In addition, there were some disciples that Li Ran didn't even know. After all, after Li Ran left the state of Lu, Confucius recruited many disciples.
Confucius recommended them one by one. Most of these disciples were among the seventy-two sages. Even if Li Ran didn't know them, he had heard of some of them in the distant future.
After Confucius finished his introduction, he finally faced the disciples and said:
"Mr. Ziming is very knowledgeable and is not a teacher. If you have the opportunity, you should ask Mr. Ziming for advice in the future. You will benefit from it throughout your life!"
The disciples bowed and bowed one after another to show their respect for Li Ran.
After all, what Li Ran did in the Lu State and his actions in the Jin State to help the Zhao family to prosper the king's affairs have long been spread throughout the world. And now the reason why the Lu State can live and work in peace and contentment is also due to Li Ran's role, which has become a
Everyone knows it.
Li Ran waved his hand and said with a smile:
"You are all Zhongni's disciples. You will all have great careers in the future. There is no need to be so polite!"
Duanmu Ci still didn't change his true nature as a businessman, and rather excitedly walked up to chat with him and asked:
"Sir, I wonder if Brother Shao is in Chengzhou?"
Duanmu Ci and Fan Li had a close friendship, and it could be said that they lived and died together. Moreover, both of them were proficient in business, so they naturally had endless topics to talk about.
Li Ran smiled and said:
"Oh, he is outside, Zigong can go look for him himself!"
Duanmu said happily:
"No! Master, please go and see Brother Shaobo first!"
Confucius nodded slightly:
"Well, go ahead!"
So, Duanmuci immediately walked out of the yard.
After all the disciples had dispersed, Li Ran and Confucius went into a separate room to talk:
"Zhongni, I wonder what the situation in Lu is like now?"
When Confucius heard this question, he couldn't help frowning and frowning, with a look of helplessness on his face, and he let out a long sigh:
"Sanhuan is quite peaceful now, and everything in the Lu Kingdom is fine. But... it is far from what Qiu had in mind..."
As Confucius spoke, he made a cup of tea for Li Ran.
Li Ran raised the lamp and couldn't help but ask:
"Oh? But I don't know what Zhongni's ideal country looks like?"
Confucius sighed again and chanted:
"Weiweihu, Shun and Yu have the world, but they can't compete with it!"
Li Ran knew what Confucius meant by his words, which was that Shun and Yu were truly great! Although they dominated the world, they acted like they were not their own.
Li Ran was silent for a while, then he couldn't help but smile slightly and replied:
"Haha, Brother Zhongni's thoughts are inevitably... a bit too ideal."
Confucius said helplessly:
"Nowadays, the king only cares about ease and enjoyment all day long, and has completely forgotten the difficulties of the king in the past... Alas... it really makes people sigh like this!"
"Qiu sometimes wonders if it's because we have to shoulder too much burden for you, so that..."
As someone who had experienced it, Li Ran understood Confucius's state of mind very well, but he also felt quite helpless. He knew that the State of Lu was not the place where he could realize his ideals after all, so he said:
"The so-called family of the world, if one clan controls a state, how can one be a sage from generation to generation? It is human nature to be greedy for pleasure. Since Zhongni cares about the world, I am afraid he can only work for it."
When Confucius heard this, he couldn't help but widen his eyes. He looked quite frightened.
"How... how can this be done? If I do it for you, how will I be different from those rebellious ministers and traitors? You, your ministers, must not be in chaos!"
Confucius was dissatisfied with many things of Lu Hou Song, but he still only tried to persuade him in a friendly manner, and never expressed it in front of Lu Hou Song. He had always adhered to the way of a monarch and his ministers, and he did not dare to say anything about it.
Not the slightest bit of transcendence.
Li Ran also knew that due to the limitations of the times, it would be difficult for Confucius to get out of his own logical circle, unless he finally wakes up one day.
Therefore, Li Ran stopped persuading and had no choice but to continue asking:
"Then... if Marquis Lu cannot do what Yao and Shun did, what should Zhong Ni do?"
Confucius laughed at himself, shook his head and said:
"I don't know...but now Qiu wants to travel around the country like Mr. So. Firstly, he can spread the etiquette and justice of our Zhou state everywhere. Secondly, he can also look for confidants everywhere to promote the teaching of kingship."
Li Ran couldn't help but smile and said:
"If Zhongni wants to run away, but now that he is a highly respected minister, how can he be willing to do so?"
Confucius was categorical:
"A phoenix cannot live without a phoenix tree. How can a hill be a thing in a pond?"
Li Ran knew that Confucius never found a country that could fully accept his thoughts throughout his life.
On the contrary, it was only later, during the saint-making movement of his disciples Zigong, Zengzi and others, that Confucius gradually became a model for scholars all over the world.
Later, in order to better implement the class rule of external Confucianism and internal law, the rulers of later generations made some use of Confucius' thoughts. In some places, they even extremely misinterpreted and even refuted it.
In fact, later Confucianism cannot fully represent Confucius. It would be too lengthy to mention this point, so I will not go into details here.
And all this cannot be explained by Li Ran today.
"Haha, Zhong Ni actually doesn't know something! In fact, before I met you, I always thought you were a pedantic person. I never thought... the time I spent with you really impressed me!
"
"Especially what I did at the Jiagu Meeting, I still remember it fresh to this day!"
When Confucius heard these words, he was a little confused and couldn't understand them. However, he didn't think much about it and just smiled bitterly:
"Actually, how can I not be considered a pedantic person? It would be good if I could be as knowledgeable and experienced as my husband. But it's a pity...Qiu Shi can't do it!"
"How great! Yao is the king! How great! Only heaven is great, and only Yao rules it. How great is it, and the people cannot name it. How great is it that it has success, and it is brilliant that it has articles!"
The meaning is that Emperor Yao is so great! Only geniuses can compare with his lofty image, and only Yao is the role model for the people of the world. The people of the world don’t know how to describe their praise for Emperor Yao.
and sing praises. His achievements are so great, and the various regulations he has established are so brilliant!
Li Ran pursed his lips and was about to speak when he heard someone coming in from outside to report:
"Sir! Something bad has happened. The envoys from Wu and Chu clashed at the city gate, and they are about to fight each other!"
When Li Ran heard this, he stood up immediately:
"Quick! Prepare your horse!"
Fan Li also heard the news and didn't care to continue chatting with Duanmu Ci. He hurriedly fetched two horses and rode away with Li Ran.
When Li Ran arrived, he found that the Wu envoy and the Chu envoy had formed two teams, and they all showed their weapons and were facing each other there.
Fan Li stepped forward on horseback and shouted loudly:
"Uncle Zong is here! Don't be presumptuous!"
This shout indeed caused both teams to take a few steps back and put some distance between them. Li Ran got off his horse, walked between the two, and said loudly:
"Both sides are envoys who came to pay tribute to the Zhou royal family. As the eldest uncle, I should go to the city gate to greet them. I have never welcomed them from afar before, so please bear with me!"
At this time, a soldier in the Chu envoy shouted:
"We Chu people have an sworn hatred against Wu! How can we join the same sect with them?"
Someone on the Wu side also said:
"Bah! My defeated general still has the nerve to shout here! Since we can destroy Chu, believe it or not, we can also destroy you all here today!"
Seeing that the two sides were about to quarrel again, Li Ran shouted:
"This is at the feet of the Emperor. Who dares to make a mistake? Who is leading you?"
In this chaotic situation, I saw two people, each of them lined up the crowd and came to Li Ran.
And these two people are none other than Sun Wu and Shen Yinxu!