When Li Ran heard Confucius ask this, he couldn't help but sigh:
"Zhao Yang is a man of great bravery and righteousness. He has a heroic spirit. He has helped me many times before. In terms of friendship, it is understandable that I should help him."
"In recent years, Jin's reputation has long been lost due to Fan Yang's troubles. Zhao Yang is now determined to restore order to the world, which is a good thing. It's just..."
As Li Ran spoke, he lowered his head again and said worriedly:
"It's just that his purpose is unclear. If he only thinks about the Zhao family, then once he gains power, he will be nothing more than the next Fan Yang. This is definitely not a good thing for the world, and it is not good for maintaining the world. It doesn’t help matters at all!”
Confucius stroked his beard:
"Qiu has heard of Zhao Yang before. As my benefactor said, he is also very righteous. However, my benefactor has assisted many people before, but the results were mostly unsatisfactory... …This is definitely not due to the benefactor’s lack of ability, but in fact there are other reasons.”
"In addition, the people my benefactor has always assisted are princes, but now he has to assist the ministers of a country... Isn't it unworthy of his reputation as a gentleman?"
After hearing this, Li Ran smiled bitterly and said:
"The people I assist, King Chu Ling, Wang Zichao, and Duke Zhao of Lu, are either headstrong, nepotistic, or submissive. It is inevitable that their monarchy will no longer exist. Even though I have the will and strength to do so, But in the end, it was hard to achieve..."
"However, in the past, I once lived in the state of Zheng to worship the clan, and I once committed myself to Zichan. In my opinion, Dr. Zichan is truly worthy of being the 'legacy of ancient times'! It can be said that under Dr. Zichan's rule, Although the state of Zheng is not perfect, it is the most saint-like I have ever seen."
"So, since the state of Zheng can be prospered by its officials, why can't the world do the same?"
"It's just a pity that Dr. Zichan lives in the state of Zheng. It is actually a small country and is of no importance in the world. In my early years, I wanted to assist Dr. Zichan in revitalizing the state of Zheng. However, fate played a trick on me, and I had no choice but to go. He returned to the State of Chu. When he returned to the State of Zheng again, Dr. Zichan was already in his old age. As a result, the rule of the sage was unsustainable, and he regretted it for the rest of his life!"
"But now the Zhao family of the Jin State is completely different. After all, the Jin State is the country of Zongbo. And the Zhao family is now not only a member of the Chinese army, but also a prominent person. If... Zhao Yang really has the intention to respect Wang Xing Ritual can calm down the chaos in the world and bring the world back on track, so why not?"
As Confucius listened, he stroked his beard and thought deeply. After Li Ran finished speaking, he thought for a moment:
"Well...what my benefactor said is not unreasonable. And if Zhao Yang can restore the power of the Jin Kingdom, then the world will indeed have hope!"
Later, Confucius continued to ask:
"Then...is my benefactor planning to assist Zhao Yang?"
Unexpectedly, Li Ran shook his head.
Seeing this, Confucius was a little confused and couldn't help asking anxiously:
"Could it be that my benefactor is still worried about the affairs of the State of Lu?"
Unexpectedly, Li Ran shook his head again and said:
"Now, the affairs of the Three Capitals have been completed, and the affairs of the Lu State, as well as the family affairs of the Three Huans, are all being taken care of by Zhongni and his disciples. It can be said to be as peaceful as Mount Tai. What can I have to worry about?"
"It's just that I still can't understand what Zhao Yang's character is like. It's not difficult to help Zhao Yang achieve success for a while, but it's difficult to know the person! If the entrustment is not done to someone, won't it be in vain in the end? Or even , then not only will it fail to bring benefits to the world, but it will also bring greater disasters, then my sin will be great!"
Seeing Li Ran being so entangled, Confucius fell into deep thought. After thinking about it carefully, he continued to ask:
"As my benefactor said just now, the State of Lu is actually not big enough. No matter how it develops, its size is only the same as that of Zheng. It is indeed unable to affect the general trend of the world... If my benefactor wanted to restore the order of the world, Jin would indeed It’s a good choice. It’s just that we don’t understand Zhao Yang’s nature yet… In this case, why don’t I go back to the Zhou Dynasty and conduct an investigation on Zhao Yang first!”
"If Zhao Yang is serious, he will definitely go to the Zhou Dynasty to ask Mr. Zhou to come out. Why don't Mr. take this opportunity to test him?"
When Li Ran heard this, he couldn't help but look up at Kong Qiu.
His suggestion was indeed a good one. After all, Li Ran was now the Taishi of the Zhou Dynasty. After all, he actually stayed in Lu State for the reason of collecting folk songs.
And for today's Emperor Zhou, because he is indifferent to the royal family's collection, he also doesn't care about Li Ran outside.
But Li Ran said it was indeed time to go back.
What's more, now that the Ji clan has established a firm foothold in the Lu country, and the fall of the three capitals has been completed, it is indeed unnecessary for him to stay here.
Therefore, when Li Ran heard this, his eyes lit up, and he immediately nodded and said:
"Well, what Zhong Ni said is very true...it seems...it's time to return to the Zhou royal family."
Immediately, Confucius added:
"The Kingdom of Jin is closer to the Zhou royal family. If Zhao Yang wanted to go to the Kingdom of Lu to invite his benefactor, the journey would be long and inconvenient. However, if he wanted to go to Luoyi, it would be extremely convenient. The benefactor returned to Luoyi , I guess Zhao Yang is bound to come!"
After Confucius finished speaking, he sighed again and seemed slightly disappointed:
"Hey... if my benefactor returns to Luoyi this time, actually... Qiu will be reluctant to leave. What's more, although the situation of our Lu country is safe for the time being, there is no guarantee that it will be so stable in the future... I only hope that if we What happened to the Lu State again? I hope my benefactor can come to help Qiu again!"
Li Ran smiled and said:
"It's natural, Zhongni just don't worry. The patients of Lu are only Qi and Wu. Now that Lu's power has grown, even Qi no longer dares to underestimate it. And Wu has just destroyed Chu. , the Chu State will also regain its kingdom in the future, and there is also the Yue State to restrain it from behind, so it is impossible for the Wu State to withdraw from the Central Plains and compete in the Central Plains in a short period of time!"
"As for the rest, as long as Zhongni is here, the State of Lu can rest easy! In that case... I will be preparing to leave for Chengzhou in the next few days!"
When Confucius heard this, he sighed:
"Hey...it's just this farewell, but I don't know when I can see my benefactor again..."
In fact, although Li Ran has experienced too many separations, life and death, he still retains a sense of sadness in his heart when facing separation.
However, he was unwilling to reveal it:
"Haha, why is Zhongni so sad? Zhongni and I are both still young, and we will eventually meet again!"
Unexpectedly, Confucius sighed and said:
"Hey... the world is unpredictable, who can tell clearly? In Qiu Zhi's life, he was so angry that he forgot to eat, and he was happy to forget his worries, but he didn't know that old age was coming..."
After hearing this, Li Ran burst out laughing:
"Haha, I, Li Ran, have never said anything about my age. How could Zhong Ni sigh like this? This is really inappropriate?!"
Immediately, Confucius also laughed.
…
After bidding farewell to Confucius, Li Ran and Fan Li left Confucius' mansion and headed back.
Fan Li learned that Li Ran was planning to return to Chengzhou, but he was not surprised by this and only said:
"When do you plan to leave, sir?"
Li Ran replied:
"The sooner the better, young uncle, let's start cleaning up after we go back. As for those servants from the Lu Kingdom, they have been with us for a while. If there is anyone who is willing to come with us, we will take them away together. If there are those who do not want to leave the Lu Kingdom, , the young uncle will give them more money and silk, and their hard work will not be in vain."
