Speaking of Duanmu Ci, after receiving the instructions from his master, he went to the vicinity of Ji's residence to observe Yang Hu's movements.
Yang Hu now has to run around the court, so his time in and out of Ji Mansion has naturally become much more regular.
next day
When Duanmuci discovered that Yang Hu was out, he hurriedly reported back to Confucius.
When Confucius heard the news, he hurried towards Ji's Mansion with the gifts he had prepared.
Obviously, he wanted to return the gift before Yang Hu returned home.
However, what Confucius never expected was that all of this was actually planned by Yang Hu!
Just because he had sent people to Xinglin to see Confucius many times before, but they could not do so.
Coupled with Li Ran's previous explicit refusal, how could Yang Hu not guess that Confucius was deliberately avoiding him, given his intelligence?
And the reason why he gave gifts to Confucius was precisely because he knew that as long as he gave gifts to Confucius, Confucius would definitely come to his door.
It's not that Confucius would be grateful for these gifts. In fact, it was out of respect for Zhou's rites.
However, since Confucius didn't want to see him, Yang Hu naturally expected that he would come to see him again when he was out.
Therefore, what he did today seemed to be an ordinary outing, but it was actually an illusion. What he did was to earn a visit from Confucius.
Since you won't see me when I come to my house, it's okay for us to meet by chance on the road, right?
However, it can also be seen that Yang Hu seemed to be determined to persuade Confucius to become an official.
Sure enough, Confucius didn't know that this was a trap set by Yang Hu, so he hurried over with gifts.
I heard Yang Hu shout immediately when he turned around the alley:
"Zhong Ni!"
As soon as Confucius heard Yang Hu's voice, he knew he had been tricked, but he had to smile bitterly, look back and bow to Yang Hu.
Yang Hu waved to him again:
"Zhong Ni! Come here, I have something to say to you."
Confucius sighed secretly in his heart, knowing that he could not avoid it, so he had no choice but to step forward.
Although Yang Hu is still nominally a retainer of the Ji family, he is already in charge of state affairs after all, and his status is naturally not comparable to that of Confucius.
Therefore, Confucius could not help but express this hierarchy of respect and inferiority in front of Yang Hu.
When Confucius approached, Yang Hu looked Confucius up and down, and then said:
"Zhongni, let me ask you, is it considered benevolent and righteous to hide in one's own country despite having great talents?"
Confucius was still thinking about how to answer, but Yang Hu said to himself:
"No! Also, I obviously like to do things, but I don't work when I should do things. Now I am about to lose my time. Is this wise?"
Confucius still didn't have time to speak, but Yang Hu asked himself again and answered:
"Of course not!"
Yang Hu got off the chariot and stepped forward, stroking Confucius's back and saying:
"Zhongni, the sun and the moon have passed away, and I am not with you. If you don't follow me, you will regret it in the future! The state of Lu is at the time of employing people, but a great talent like you has been reluctant to become an official. How can Zhongni But what about this?"
Confucius couldn't help but feel his heart thumping at what Yang Hu said.
In fact, Yang Hu understood him.
Yang Hu knew that he wanted to serve as an official.
He also knew that Yang Hu knew that he wanted to serve.
Yang Hu also knew that he knew that Yang Hu knew that he wanted to serve.
However, due to their different ambitions and Li Ran's warning, Confucius has been hesitant to this day.
But at this moment, Confucius also knew that he actually had no reason to refuse anymore. At the same time, he really didn't want to miss such a good opportunity again.
So, under "all kinds of helplessness", Confucius had no choice but to agree:
"Promise...I will serve!"
When Yang Hu heard this, he couldn't help laughing.
"Hahaha, this is the right thing for Zhongni! Then please come to Ji Mansion tomorrow, brother Zhongni. I will arrange for you to take an important position in the Lu State. I hope that brother Zhongni can contribute to our Lu State!"
"Zhongni, what do you think of the position of Zhongdu Zai? In fact, I have even prepared the seal for you!"
Zhongdu Zai Nai is the chief executive in charge of the public security of Zhongdu Qufu, and it is also an extremely important position. Nowadays, Yang Hu gives whatever he wants, which shows that his current status in Lu State is really extraordinary.
Confucius was naturally satisfied with the position of Zhongdu Zai, but he remembered Li Ran's words and still did not want to get too involved with Yang Hu. This mentality of "being both responsible and independent" was always a hurdle that he could not overcome. :
"Sir, it's just that there are a lot of things in Xinglin right now. This club lecture was originally proposed by your Excellency, so we can't just break up. Please give Qiu three months to wait for Qiu to decide on Xinglin." It’s up to you to become an official!”
"Besides, as the saying goes, 'Everything is done in advance, and failure in advance is ruined.' The position of Zhongdu Prime Minister is no small matter. Qiu has never been close to such a position before, so I hope you can give Qiu more time to prepare!"
Yang Hu naturally hoped that Confucius would become an official as soon as possible, but Confucius used the matter of opening a society to recruit disciples.
Just because the matter itself was brought up by Yang Hu, and it also gave Confucius great convenience. Now, if he refused Confucius's request, it would be a direct slap in his own face.
Yang Hu hesitated for a moment and said:
"Three months... is too long..."
"Sir, since Qiu has agreed to become an official, Qiu will never regret it! Moreover, Qiu will always stay in Xinglin during these days. Please don't worry, sir."
After Yang Hu heard this, he could only say:
"In that case, Yang will be waiting for good news!"
Yang Hu was in a good mood after receiving Confucius's consent, and directly took the gift that Confucius had been carrying.
"Is this a return gift?"
Confucius pursed his lips and smiled bitterly.
"This is originally for adults."
Confucius respected Zhou Li. Since he received a gift from Yang Hu, he naturally had to repay it.
However, Yang Hu also took advantage of this and intercepted Confucius halfway, thus achieving his goal.
After bidding farewell to Yang Hu, Confucius returned to Xinglin and went to the backyard to find Li Ran.
Li Ran saw Confucius coming and roughly guessed what was going on. Confucius told Yang Hu that he had been invited to serve as an official.
How could Li Ran not know what Confucius was thinking?
It's a blessing, not a curse, but it's a curse that cannot be avoided.
Li Ran could only spread his hands and joked with Confucius:
"Haha, now that the matter has come to this, there is nothing we can do about it. After three months, it seems that Brother Zhongni will have no choice but to become an official."
Confucius couldn't help but sigh:
"There is really no way to shirk it. But please rest assured, my benefactor, if Qiu Ruoguo really becomes an official, he will only advise him to do good and will never help him do evil!"
Li Ran nodded and was about to speak. At this time, Fan Li walked in. Seeing Confucius there, he first greeted him and then went straight to Li Ran:
"Sir, something happened over there in the State of Zheng. Deng Xi has been killed by Si Xie..."
Deng Xi's death can actually be said to be a certainty. Li Ran hoped that Si Zhen would take into account the role of "Bamboo Punishment" and let Deng Xi go.
However, this hope was completely disappointed.
"However, although Deng Xi was killed, the "Bamboo Punishment" was not abolished, and the crime of killing Deng Xi was also found out from the "Bamboo Punishment". Master Deng... can be said to have deserved his death. …”
Li Ran couldn't help but look dark.
"The former, because he doesn't want to run away with you, he just wants to die. And he also tried his best to ensure that the "Bamboo Punishment" will not be abolished in the Zheng Kingdom. He... can be regarded as benevolent and benevolent..."
But Confucius said at this time:
"It's just that... Si Ming's move is really strange. According to common sense, if a person can be used to develop the country, he should not be held responsible for his fault. There is a saying in "Poetry": 'A quiet girl who commits adultery will harm me. Tong Guan. Tong Guan has Wei, saying that the girl is beautiful."
(The kind-hearted girl is so beautiful. She gave me Tongguan with great affection. Look closely at the sparkling Tongguan. I love Tongguan because of the girl’s beauty.)
"Tongguan is like a bamboo torture, and the beauty is Master Deng Xi. Since he is the lover who can keep Tongguan, how can he not like Jingnu herself?"
"If Si Zhen can continue to use "Bamboo Punishment", it means that he is still satisfied with "Bamboo Punishment". But why can't he tolerate Deng Xi who compiled "Bamboo Punishment"?"
When Li Ran heard this, he also vaguely felt that Si Zhen couldn't tolerate Deng Xi, mostly because of him, Li Ran.
And combined with all the previous signs, Li Ran could roughly guess that Si Xie might have been developed into a new dark group.
When Li Ran thought of this, he couldn't help but sigh and said nothing.
He didn't want to tell his guess. After all, Confucius didn't know much about the Dark Walkers.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Confucius, he just felt that it was unnecessary to say this now.
What's more, this matter is just my own speculation.
