Rather, it was a happy scene where the monarch and his ministers knew each other.
Li Xian stood aside silently, watching the monarch and his ministers talk to each other heart to heart.
The official sighed: "Since ancient times, it has been difficult for soldiers to conquer the distance, but I tell the truth. The Hengshan construction that Xu Xi and Lu Dazhong mentioned just now seems to me that there is indeed something to be done."
"Why do you insist on refusing to go to Zhulanhui, Tiandu Mountain, and Pingxia City? It is indeed labor-intensive and time-consuming."
Zhang Yue saw that the officials still had the heart to support Hengshan's construction, but this time they chose to support him in front of the emperor.
why?
Zhang Yue speculated that it was similar to the reason why the court trusted Zeng Guofan more after Zeng Guofan had a falling out with Zuo Zongtang?
Zhang Yue has always speculated on others in this way intellectually, but emotionally he is more willing to believe in the friendship between the two of them.
"Why doesn't Zhang Qing say anything?"
Zhang Yue said solemnly: "Your Majesty has given me the kindness to know you. I should repay it with all my heart. How dare you hide it?"
Zhang Yue thought to himself, because I have traveled through time, and if I continue to build, the battle of Yongle City will be repeated. However, Zhang Yue definitely cannot tell the officials about this reason, so he must think of another excuse.
Zhang Yue remembered a passage he saw in later generations and said: "Your Majesty, I use the metaphor of the cook Ding undressing the ox. How did Zhuangzi explain why the cook Ding is good at undressing the ox?"
The official smiled and said: "Practice does not make you perfect, so you can do it with ease."
Everyone knows the story of the cook Ding undressing the cow. But everyone attributes the cook Ding's superb skills to the saying "practice makes perfect".
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, Hui Wenjun asked Cook Ding why he is so skilled, but Cook Ding said, what I like is Tao, and Tao is better than skill."
"And what is the way of the cook?"
"A bad cook uses a knife to cut the bones of cattle. He is exhausted and sweats so hard that he has to change his knife every month. But a good cook uses the knife to cut the bones and meat. Although it is much easier, it is also
Change the knife once a month.”
"But Chef Ding's knife has not become dull after nineteen years. It is still the same as the one he bought new in nineteen years. Why is this? Because there are gaps in the bones of cows, which are more than enough to accommodate the blade. This means that it can be used with ease."
"Every time the cook encounters an intersection of muscles and bones, he cuts it carefully and cuts the meat with the last knife to untie it. At this time, I hold the knife and look around. I am very satisfied, wipe the knife clean and put it away."
Neither the officials nor Li Xian understood why, there was nothing different about what Zhang Yue said.
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, the most important thing for a cook to cut off an ox is not the cook, but the blade!"
"The blade is like the body and mind of a human being. The poor cook used the blade to chop the cow bones, but even though the job was done, the blade was damaged. The better cooks tried to chop the tendons of the cow, but the blade also unknowingly fell apart.
A little bit of it is damaged. Only a good cook can use the knife for nineteen years without any damage."
After hearing Zhang Yue's words, the officials and Li Xian at the side were shocked and seemed to have some understanding.
There are too many choices in life, and we always end up wronging ourselves for some reason. It’s like doing a job that you obviously don’t like, but you have to do it because of your livelihood.
Although he is a very annoying boss, he still has to greet him with a smile every day.
This is like cutting a cow bone with a knife. In order to make a living and have enough food, you are wasting your body and mind every day.
Also, in order to please your girlfriend, you praise her wholeheartedly.
In order to flatter the leader, I say some things that are against my will.
This is like cutting a beef tendon with a knife. It seems to gain immediate benefits, but it also unknowingly consumes the body and mind.
It is said that those who exert too much force cannot go far, but Chef Ding Jie Niu tells us that not only can we not go far, we cannot even reach a higher state (with ease).
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, Zhuangzi included Cook Ding Jie Niu in the chapter on health preservation to tell the world how to use it to maintain health. Use this chapter to tell the world about the meaning of nourishing yourself. You must learn to be kind to yourself and cherish your heart like a blade.
"
"If we use this as a metaphor for governing the country, officials often say that it is not necessary to 'suffer the people'. It is as if the country cannot be governed well if the people do not endure hardship."
"I don't know why the country must be governed at the expense of the people. Does it mean that if you suffer for the people, you can really govern the country well?"
The officials were extremely ashamed when they heard this.
The officials remembered the dispute they had with Zhang Yue about benefiting the country and benefiting the people.
This is like if you suppress yourself all day long, can you really do a job you hate?
If you flatter the annoying Party A all day long, can you really serve him comfortably?
"The way to untie the ox as mentioned by Pao Ding is the way of doing nothing."
The official said: "Of course, what Lao Zhuang talks about is inaction, but except for Huang Lao in the early Han Dynasty, all dynasties have not used inaction to govern the country. Why is this?"
"It seems to me that although the principle of the way of inaction is high, it is not in line with the earth's spirit."
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, you are really wise and sage. You can draw inferences from one instance. With my humble opinion, if you do something, you will be responsible for it. If you don't do anything, you will seek the way."
"There are strong and weak people in the world. This is not the strong and weak in the numerology, but the metaphor."
"The stronger a person is, the braver he becomes the more frustrated he is. The more he fights with others, the more fierce he becomes. He likes to fight for profit. If others do not allow him to do it, he will do it. Such people can turn the tide when it falls and support the building.
Qing. Therefore, those who are physically strong are the ones who are successful."
The official nodded and said, "That's true."
"Weak people don't like to fight with others, often give in when encountering problems, and worry about gains and losses over trivial matters. Therefore, weak people tend to do nothing."
For example, in every major exam, some people can always perform 120% of their abilities, while others can only perform 80% of their abilities.
In competitive competitions or games, some people rise to the challenge and become more courageous as they fight. The stronger the enemy, the stronger they become. However, some people are afraid of failure and their momentum will be three points weaker before they meet the enemy.
In fact, it is human nature to be afraid of competition and difficulties. A strong person is like having a good blade in his hand, so what about an ox bone, it can be broken with one cut, and the more challenges he encounters, the higher he gets.
But 90% of people are weak.
Serious internal friction, wanting to win but fearing losing, worrying about gains and losses, being thin-skinned, and avoiding conflicts are all habits of all living beings.
In fact, ordinary people don't need to envy strong people. They can still succeed by treating themselves well and taking good care of their body and mind.
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, in terms of Wu Zhou's destruction of the Khitan, the Tang army was defeated in three battles and lost more than 100,000 troops in one battle. However, Empress Wu finally made a desperate move to destroy the Khitan. Is it okay for your majesty to do this?"
This is how Wu Zetian destroyed the Khitan. He fought and lost again and again, and fought and lost again and again.
After being defeated three times, even if hundreds of thousands of troops were lost at one time, they would continue to fight until the Khitan was destroyed.
"Also, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty attacked the Xiongnu, and the people went into exile. The registered population was reduced by half, and countless people died. It took several battles to succeed. I would like to ask your majesty, can you follow this example?"
What Zhang Yue meant is that we are ‘big cowards’, not Han and Tang.
Of course, in the words of the scholar-bureaucrats of the Song Dynasty, we "big cows" have institutional advantages, but we just don't have as much land as the Han and Tang Dynasties.
For heroes like Wu Zetian and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, if you don't obey, I will beat you until you obey, no matter how much or how much the price you pay.
This is the same as a strong person.
But our Song Dynasty was not good enough. After the failure of the Five-Road Expedition to Xia in history, the emperor wanted to launch a large-scale attack on the party items again. Li Shunju inspected Shaanxi and responded that he could no longer attack. If he continued to attack Guanzhong, there would be chaos.
As soon as the officials heard this, they immediately suspended it.
The institutional advantage of the Song Dynasty was its internal stability. Generally speaking, there were no rebellions by military generals, usurpation of power by civil servants, or disruptions by eunuchs and relatives like those in the Han and Tang Dynasties. The power was handed over smoothly in each generation without any trouble, but externally it was not as strong as the Han and Tang Dynasties.
.
If it were Wu Zetian and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, wouldn't they just fight against mere party items? If they lose once, then fight again and continue to fight.
If 100,000 soldiers are not enough, then 200,000. If 200,000 is not enough, then 300,000. If 300,000 is not enough, then 500,000. No matter how many people die or how much the price is paid, we must defeat you. We must not only defeat you.
If you accept it, I will beat you until you die.
Whoever dares to object, I will release Junchen and Zhang Tang will come out and bite you to death.
Obviously the Song Dynasty is not good! Cai Que, Zhang Tang, and Lai Junchen all became three good students in a comparison.
The same is true for the officials. The previous two expeditions against Xia failed, and the officials were very angry. They wanted to replace Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Heroes like Wu Zetian never tortured themselves, they only tortured others.
Internal friction is a common problem among ordinary people.
Therefore, the Song Dynasty could not experience a defeat like the Battle of Yongle City.
Once it fails, it will take several years to recover, and it may even be forced to give up its strategic goals.
When ordinary people encounter a major failure, they also think about giving up instead of persisting.
So it’s not that building Hengshan is a bad idea, but that the risks and profits of this plan are equally considerable. If you were Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Wu Zetian would do this. If it doesn’t work once, just do it again.
But you are not. Now that the great victory of Lanzhou has finally been achieved and the whole country has developed confidence in using troops abroad, there is no room for such chaos.
Faith is more precious than gold.
This is the same as ordinary people. Once they encounter setbacks and difficulties, they want to give up. Don't feel that this is embarrassing and that you are a failure. In fact, everyone is the same.
It will definitely be harder for ordinary people to succeed, but they can choose not to chop beef bones and beef tendons? Instead, they have to work hard in the direction of "being able to do it with ease".
Therefore, Chef Ding's way is not to embarrass yourself, or wrong yourself, but to gain the joy of success time and time again from solving the ox.
Stick to low goals and simple and easy things to feed your confidence and cognition.
They say persistence is more important than hard work.
But how to persevere?
It means being kind to yourself, nourishing your body and mind. Keep doing things with positive feedback, and eventually accumulate small wins into big wins.
"Your Majesty, everyone is afraid of losing and afraid of difficulties, not to mention the morale of the people and the military. I think that instead of overcoming this difficulty, I have to do something 'with ease', and this Lanhui, Tiandu Mountain line, although it is time-consuming and labor-intensive
, but it’s a sure thing.”
"On the contrary, although victory in advancing to Hengshan is not enough to defeat the party, defeat will risk all previous efforts being wasted."
Zhang Yue was also frightened as he talked about it. To be honest, he had never thought about it in such detail before.
Zhang Yue thought deeply and continued: "What I am worried about is not the present, but the future."
"The same is true for governing the world. Your Majesty will always enjoy happiness with the people, the country will make more concessions to benefit the people, and keep more wealth from the people. Not only will the country not be weak, but if the people are rich, the country will also be rich."
"Those who govern a country must not regard enriching the country and enriching the people as two different things, but as one thing."
After listening to Zhang Yue's words, the hall was extremely silent.
At this time, Li Xian spoke up: "Your Majesty, what Zhang Shiguan said is a true insight. It is a good and difficult strategy for governing the country and the people. I ask your Majesty to accept it."
After hearing the words, the official thought for a moment and then said to Zhang Yue: "I have entrusted the important affairs of the country to you, so I just let it go, so why should I say more now?"
With this sentence, Zhang Yue was like Shang Fang's sword in his hand.
