Nanzi is still feeling sorry for Li Ran's departure.
However, Li Ran did not dare to delay for a moment. He finally left Kewei Kingdom without any danger and led the Li family and his party to Chengzhou.
Cheng Zhou Luoyi, after several partings, when he stepped into Luoyi again, he felt like he was revisiting his old place.
Speaking of which, Chengzhou Luoyi has been relatively peaceful in the past few years since the prince ran away. Under the auspices of the Zhao family of Jin State, the post-war reconstruction of Luoyi was also done quite well.
When Gong Eryue and Liguang came here for the first time, they were also full of curiosity about the prosperous Luoyi and looked around there.
Li Ran rushed to the collection room without stopping. Guancong had already received the information at this time and hurriedly came to greet him.
"My lord, I have always sent people to clean the mansion given by the emperor last time. Now that the young master has returned to Luoyi, all he needs to do is move in. Although it is not big, it can still accommodate a family. ”
Li Ran nodded and said:
"Ziyu, I haven't seen you for a long time, but I keep asking you to stare at this place. It's really hard on you!"
Guan Cong bowed and smiled slightly:
"Young Master, I have said something serious. I have enjoyed two things the most in my life. One is to spy on the world's secrets, and the second thing is to collect the world's classics. But the job of Luoyi's collection room is second to none. It’s perfect for a villain!”
Li Ran also knew that Guan Cong could be described as a dancer on the tip of a knife back then, and his favorite thing was to play with people's hearts through applause.
In addition, he is indeed extremely interested in collecting classics. Otherwise, he would not have emptied almost all of Chu's classics.
As a result, Li Ran and his party settled down in Taishi Mansion and listened to Guan Cong's report.
Nowadays, although the prestige of the Zhou Dynasty is not as good as before, it can be regarded as a blessing in disguise. On the contrary, it has become more and more stable, and King Zhou has completely secured his throne.
Dan Qi and Liu Di were originally domineering for a while because they were attached to Fan Yang of Jin. But now, with the death of Fan Yang, and the fact that Guan Cong has been stumbling upon them in the dark, the Shan and Liu families are gradually losing control of the situation. From this, the so-called "Shan family takes Zhou" business , also fell into a trough.
Li Ran listened to Guan Cong's report and nodded happily:
"Haha, it's not bad that the Zhou royal family can no longer frighten the world for a long time. Now, I only hope that the Zhou royal family can avoid chaos, which will be considered good luck."
"By the way, Ziyu, I have to go see my mentor, and Lao Ziyu will make arrangements for me!"
When Guan Cong heard the words, he just raised his hands and said:
"promise!"
Later, Li Ran ordered people to prepare gifts, then called Fan Li, and they got on the carriage to visit Master Chang Hong.
Chang Hong has now retired and rarely interferes with government affairs.
Usually I just enjoy myself in the mansion, where I enjoy my old age peacefully.
Chang Hong was very excited when he heard that Li Ran was coming to visit him, and went out to greet Li Ran tremblingly.
As soon as the master and apprentice met, Chang Hong held Li Ran's wrist tightly with both hands and said:
"You've worked hard these years!"
Li Ran wanted to kneel down, but Chang Hong grabbed his arms.
Li Ran was not allowed to bow down, so he had to lower his head and said:
"My disciple is unfilial and has never come to visit my mentor all these years!"
Chang Hong waved his hand, took Li Ran's hand and walked into the pavilion.
The two sat down, and Chang Hong said:
"My disciple is also aware of most of what I have done over the years. Since the Duke of Lu was declared Duke, the disharmony between the emperor and his ministers has been a centuries-old problem. Now it has finally been eliminated. Although the disadvantages have not been completely eliminated, it has been achieved. It’s not easy! Well done, disciple!”
When Li Ran heard this, he said humbly:
"My disciple has not done enough, and... the Lu State has limited national power after all. Even if it corrects the situation, it will not help the whole world."
After hearing this, Chang Hong said helplessly:
"Hey... the king's way has been gone for a long time, so how can manpower do anything about it? What my disciple and Kong Zhongni have done is good enough in the Lu country..."
Afterwards, Li Ran and Chang Hong had a long talk and analyzed the recent general trend of the world.
I heard Chang Hong say again:
"Speaking of today's big countries, the prestige of the Chu State has disappeared. Now, except for Wu and Yue in the south, the Central Plains is only dominated by the Jin State and the Qi State."
"It's just...these two big countries are as different as before. I'm afraid it's hard to call them uncles!"
Li Ran said:
"The State of Qin, under the lobbying of Shen Baoxu, is now preparing to conquer the Qinling Mountains and send troops out of Wuguan to help the State of Chu recover! And the struggle between Wu and Yue for supremacy is also in full swing. Therefore, at this moment, I am afraid that there will also be great dangers under the southern sky. It’s hard to tell who is the best! Therefore, the competition for the title of uncle in the world is probably between Jin and Qi!"
Hearing what Li Ran said, Chang Hong couldn't help stroking his beard and asked:
"Oh? Then... which one do you think you are more optimistic about now?"
Li Ran continued to reply:
"My disciple has also been to the Qi State before and found that although the Qi State has the aura of dominance, in fact, there may be some troubles in the interior of the Qi State! Now, the overt and covert fight between Prince Tu and Tian Qi is probably... We must fight to the death!"
"As for the Jin Kingdom, I'm afraid it's not much better! Now the fight between the six ministers has gradually become an open fight! I'm afraid that we will face a military disaster in the near future!"
"However, if you want to talk about the general trend of the world, whose family will fall into it? My disciple thinks that the Zhao family of Jin may be more overbearing! The current head of the family, Zhao Yang, is quite talented. And even more valuable Yes, although this person has become a high minister in the Jin Kingdom, he is still upright, good at justice but evil at the same time. If this person can revive the imperial court in the future, it will be a blessing to the world!"
After hearing this, Chang Hong replied approvingly:
"Oh? My disciple said that, but he still thinks highly of Jin?"
Unexpectedly, Li Ran sighed:
"Actually... my disciple is not optimistic about the Jin Kingdom! As the master said just now, the royal way has been gone for a long time... my disciple is just purely optimistic about the Zhao family, not the Jin Kingdom itself..."
Chang Hong couldn't help but be surprised when he heard this.
It's no wonder, after all, in Chang Hong's mind, the minister of a country also represents the country. Is there any reason to contrast "Qing" and "Guo"?
"My disciple's words... I am a bit confused as a teacher."
Li Ran bowed again and said:
"Master, please forgive me for my disciple's betrayal... However, this is what my disciple thinks now."
"In fact... since the Zhou Dynasty became dark and weak, the decline of power has become an irreversible trend. In the past, although there were Qi Huan and Jin Wen who respected the king based on the way of the uncle. But in fact, the king's way did not exist and the hegemony flourished. It started at this time.”
"But now that the hegemony has fallen, it is because God has abandoned Zhou Chang and wants to choose another way."
"Therefore, my disciple thinks that now that the great road has been hidden, most people in the world have their own families. Therefore, now we can only use etiquette and justice as disciplines to uphold the rule of kings and ministers, to respect fathers and sons, to harmonize brothers, to harmonize husbands and wives, and to live in harmony with each other. Establish a system to establish the fields, use the wise and courageous to know, and use merit as your own. Only in this way can the world be restored to great governance!"
"Since the power of these big clans cannot be taken away, it is better to follow the trend, build their foundation with etiquette and law, benefit the world, and maintain their own way! In short...the world is our home, and we can be well-off!"
Chang Hong couldn't help but feel shocked when he heard Li Ran's words:
"Well-off...?"
Chang Hong couldn't help but fell into deep thought for a while. After a long time, he finally said:
"Ran'er's remarks can be described as shocking... But if this is true, wouldn't these ministers be more confident? By then, will they really be able to check and balance them based on ritual and music?"
"As the saying goes, 'the world is a commonwealth for the great road'. The world has its own king. The superior can choose the virtuous and capable, and the subordinate can make the people trustworthy and harmonious. Make people not only kiss their relatives, make people not only have children, but also make the elderly It will end in something, the strong will be useful, and the young will grow; so that the weak, widowed, lonely, alone, and disabled people will be supported. Men will have a share, and women will have a return. Let the goods and profits be abandoned on the ground, and there is no need to hide them in your own home! "
"This is 'the world is for the common good', this is the real era of great governance!"
"If... it is true as Ran'er said, everyone in the world is selfish, where is the king? Who can correct the justice of the world?"
When Li Ran heard this question, he bowed again and said:
"Actually, my former disciple thought so too. However, after wandering for half his life, he realized that it is difficult to find a wise king who can rectify the world. Instead... instead, he is a wise man like Dr. Zichan and Kong Zhongni. It’s easy to get a doctor!”
"So, my disciple thinks that it may not be undesirable to rectify the world with the way of ministers."
"The key point lies in the people!"
(End of chapter)
