Chapter 108 The first troll in the Warring States Period
In the early morning, Zhao Kuo suddenly opened his eyes and subconsciously grabbed the knife to the side. Instead of grabbing the sword, he grabbed a soft thing.
"Your Majesty." Wei curled up next to him and looked at Zhao Kuo fearfully.
"I'm sorry, I hurt you." Zhao Kuo looked around, feeling a little disappointed. It turned out that he was no longer in the military camp. "After half a year of fighting, we finally don't have to fight anymore."
"I'm fine." Mrs. Wei quickly shook her head.
"You can rest for a while." Zhao Kuo said.
"I will serve and dress the king." Wei said shyly.
Zhao Kuo was dressed under the service of the Wei family. Because he had not yet ascended the throne, Zhao Kuo was not wearing a royal robe, but an ordinary scarlet robe.
The state of Zhao was red, and the robes of nobles were mostly red.
Wei's face was red with embarrassment, she bit her lips lightly, and with a charming look, she timidly helped Zhao Kuo tie his belt, which made Zhao Kuo very moved.
However, thinking that the Zhao Kingdom was now in chaos and that the Six Kingdoms might overwhelm it at any time, my restless heart gradually calmed down.
"You don't have to be afraid, I won't make things difficult for you." Zhao Kuo gently held Wei's waist.
"I am not afraid." Mrs. Wei quickly lowered her head and whispered.
"After I leave, remember to go to mother to say hello." Zhao Kuo warned.
"I remember it." Mrs. Wei's eyes lit up and she said happily.
After bidding farewell to the Wei family, Zhao Kuo led his guards to the front hall.
There is no special place for King Zhao to handle affairs in the State of Zhao. Under normal circumstances, the monarch handles memorials in the place where he lives, that is, in his palace.
The main hall is the place where large court meetings are held, or where King Zhao convenes his ministers for discussion.
However, the state of Zhao had undergone new changes and had many affairs. Ministers often needed to ask Zhao Kuo for instructions, so Zhao Kuo directly moved the memorials to the main hall for processing.
Looking at the piles of memorials in front of the eucalyptus, Zhao Kuo felt a headache. "It seems that it is necessary to make paper. Otherwise, the piles of bamboo slips are piled higher than the hills. Who can bear it?"
However, Zhao Kuo did not understand papermaking. He only knew that bamboo or wood was boiled into wood pulp and finally turned into paper. The specific details and steps were not known, but fortunately, he did not need to do it himself. The Shaofu also
They have a lot of craftsmen, not to mention the Mohist family.
"At least the direction is right. The rest is left to the Mohists and those craftsmen. In the past, papermaking could be invented in the Western Han Dynasty by groping randomly. Now that there is a direction and strong official support, it should not be possible.
There is a problem." Zhao Kuo thought to himself.
As soon as Zhao Kuo sat down, a guard came in and reported: "Your Majesty, there is an old man outside the palace asking to see him. He was waiting outside the palace at Mao Shi."
"Old man? What's your name?" Zhao Kuo asked strangely.
"He said his name is Xun Kuang." The guard said respectfully.
"Xun Kuang? Why does this name sound familiar? Xun Kuang, Xunzi, Ming Kuang!" Zhao Kuo repeated it several times and finally thought of who Xun Kuang was!
"Xunzi!"
"Invite him in quickly." Zhao Kuo said excitedly. He did not expect that Xunzi would come to see him.
Historically, Xunzi is the most famous Confucian scholar after Confucius and Mencius. As the saying goes, Confucius said benevolence, Mencius meant righteousness, and Xunzi meant "ritual" and "law."
There is nothing wrong with "ritual", but because of this "law", Xunzi was called a heretic by Confucianists, and was not even recognized by Confucianists for a long time.
Moreover, Xunzi was also the number one troll in the Warring States Period, trolling Mencius, trolling Zi Sizi, trolling Hui Shi, trolling Yang Zi, trolling Gongsun Long... there was no one he didn't troll.
"Is Xunzi going to serve in Zhao State?" Zhao Kuo thought in his mind.
Confucians never refuse to be an official, and even seek official positions everywhere to realize their ambitions.
Confucius traveled around the world, hoping to serve as an official in other countries. In the end, he was not reused, so he returned to write books and teach.
Mencius was the same. He traveled around the world with his disciples in his middle age, and began to lecture and write books in his later years.
Xunzi was somewhat different from the two above. He not only went to other countries, but also entered the Qin Dynasty twice, breaking the centuries-old tradition of Confucianism not entering the Qin Dynasty.
However, without exception, whether it was Confucius, Mencius or Xunzi, they all received courtesy from the monarchs of various countries when they traveled around. However... it was just courtesy, and no country chose to use them and their ideas to govern the country.
The three people are famous through the ages because of their scholarship and ideas, and none of them rely on their governance.
In history, the largest official Xunzi ever held was just the magistrate of Lanling County. Therefore, Zhao Kuo was not sure how capable Xunzi was in governing the country.
"If Xunzi asks for an official position, should I agree? No, he is Xunzi after all. Agree, what if he doesn't know how to govern? No country in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period used great Confucians to govern the country. It is impossible for all those monarchs to do so.
They are all blind." Zhao Kuo felt a little confused.
Confucianism is indeed a prominent school. Nowadays, Mohism has become weak, and only Legalism can rival Confucianism.
But after all, Confucianism has never proven its strength. Although Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty deposed hundreds of schools of thought and only respected Confucianism, the Han Dynasty did not become strong through Confucianism!
At this time, Xunzi had already arrived at the main hall under the leadership of the guards. He was about the same height as Lian Po, with tall muscles in his arms, holding up his Confucian robes. Although his hair was a little gray, his face was ruddy and his eyes were
Bright and bright.
Before Zhao Kuo started, Xunzi pointed at Zhao Kuo and said loudly: "Are you Zhao Kuo?"
Zhao Kuo was stunned, this attitude was not coming to seek an official position, it was clearly coming to criticize him!
"I am Zhao Kuo." Zhao Kuo said.
"You want to be a traitor to the country?" Xunzi asked.
When the guards heard this, they rushed up and surrounded Xunzi. Xunzi's expression changed and he looked directly at Zhao Kuo.
Zhao Kuo waved his hand and asked the guards to retreat, and then asked: "What is a national thief?"
"Those who steal the country are traitors to the country." Xunzi said.
"Those who steal the country? I have heard that Mencius said that the people are the most valuable, the country is second, and the king is the least important. I dare to ask, sir, does this country belong to him, King Dan of Zhao, or does it belong to the people of Zhao State?" Zhao Kuo asked.
"Of course it belongs to the people of Zhao State." Xunzi said.
"Then you go outside and ask the people whether I, the king, are a thief of the country." Zhao Kuo stood up, walked to Xunzi, pointed to the outside of the hall and said. "If it hadn't been for this king, Qin's army would have already reached Handan City.
If I hadn’t borrowed food from South Korea and Wei, the people of Zhao would have starved to death long ago. Go and ask those people if I am a thief!"
"Defending the home and country is your accusation as a general, not the reason for stealing the country." Xunzi said loudly, with more momentum than Zhao Kuo, and the aura exuding from his body even surpassed that of most Gangyuan-level warriors.
The level of transcendence is just a glimmer.
"Are all the Confucians in the Warring States Period so terrible?" Zhao Kuo looked at Xunzi's body and took a few steps back silently.
"I dare to ask Xunzi, in this world, there are people who are born to be princes. Standing at the top of the country and looking down at the people, everyone in the world must worship them. There are people who are born to be slaves, to be driven and beaten by others.
To be scolded or bullied?" Zhao Kuo asked.
"That's not the case. Life can be changed through hard work." Xunzi said.
"Since life is not ordained by God, then why can he, Zhao Dan, sit in this position of king, but I, Zhao Kuo, cannot? Is it Zhao Dan who is nobler than me? Is it Zhao Dan who is more benevolent and righteous than me? Is it Zhao Dan who is more righteous than me?
Wise? None! He is the grandson of King Wuling, and I am also the grandson of King Wuling. If he can inherit this world, so can I. And! I have done better than him!" Zhao Kuo said solemnly.
"Xun Kuang excuses himself." Seeing that he could not persuade Zhao Kuo, Xunzi sighed and prepared to turn around and leave.
"Wait." Zhao Kuo stopped him.
Xunzi stopped and looked at Zhao Kuo.
"I wonder if you, sir, are interested in becoming an official?" Zhao Kuo bowed and asked.
He didn't know whether Xunzi could govern a country, but history at least proved one thing: he could teach his disciples.
One Confucian taught two Legalists, and two prime ministers.
Li Si, Han Feizi, Zhang Cang, any one of them is the existence of Zhengguo.
This is rare in history.
Needless to say, Li Si and Han Feizi, Zhang Cang's talent is no less than the first two. He is a rare mathematician, politician, scientist, calendarist, musician in ancient China, and the famous "Nine Nine" in the mathematics world.
"Zhang Shu Shu" was compiled by him through additions and deletions.
Even if Xunzi didn't know how to govern the country, he would be of great help to the entire Zhao country if he just stayed in Zhao to teach.
"Are you willing to use me?" Xunzi was a little surprised.
"My heart is full of the whole world, there is no need to argue with an old man." Zhao Kuo raised his face slightly, and the morning sun shone down, making his face glow.
If your name hadn't been Xunzi, I would have ordered you to be kicked out. Zhao Kuo thought to himself.
"I'll think about it some more." Xunzi bowed, turned around and walked out of the hall.
"We must find a way to keep Xunzi here. Historically, he even liked small officials like Lanling County Magistrate. I don't believe that he doesn't want to be an official." Zhao Kuo thought in his mind.