Zheng Guo attached great importance to Hua Xi's visit and was personally received by Zichan.
This is exactly what Hua Xi hopes: after all, Zheng Fa's harshness was only due to Zichan's personal recommendation, which led to today's situation; if he wants to break the situation, it is better to start with this "initiator".
For this sudden gift, there must be an explanation that the public can understand.
Hua Xi used the excuse that compared with the chariots sent to redeem Hua Yuan this time, in addition to the chariots, these chariots were also loaded with colorful silk ribbons and weapons, which were unprecedentedly high. The specifications can be regarded as once again expressing Song's apology.
Zheng Guo was naturally willing to accept such a grand gift, and Zichan himself was also a person who was good at "collecting money for the country." As expected, after receiving the gift, he quickly reported to his superiors: Colored banners, weapons, chariots, quantity, Specifications, quality...etc. are described in detail, and the memorial inevitably includes some good words about the Song Dynasty.
Sure enough, Lord Zheng Ji Jia was very happy. He read the memorial carefully several times, and asked about Song Guohua's happiness mentioned in the memorial, and said that he was willing to receive him in person and hold a ceremony.
Hua Xi was very excited when he got such an opportunity. He quickly cleaned up and made careful preparations. Under the recommendation of Zi Chan, he was personally received by the current master of Zheng Guo.
Unlike Hua Yuan, the martial artist Hua Xi did not use many fancy words to praise Lord Zheng for his wisdom. Instead, the court presented a precious meeting gift: "Yellow Water Map"
This "Yellow Water Map", which can be called a "national treasure", draws in detail all the countries, topography, and landforms that pass through the Yellow River Basin. Its military value was self-evident during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods when various countries were competing against each other. .
When Master Zheng got such a map, he was really overjoyed. He asked someone to show it to him and look at it carefully while listening to Hua Xi's explanation and introduction.
When he saw the Song, Wei, Qi and Lu states downstream of the Yellow River, he pointed to the curve of the river that meandered into the East China Sea and asked Hua Xi: "I heard from my ancestors that the Yellow River enters the sea from the Lu state. This picture The painting is from Qi State to the sea, is it wrong?"
Hua Xi stepped forward and pointed to a dotted line on a branch on the map, and replied: "The yellow water rose and changed its course out of the embankment. Therefore, there is a new map like this. It is not a mistake!"
"Oh! In this case, the land that used to belong to the State of Qi now belongs to the State of Lu. How can the king of Lu be willing to give up?"
Master Zheng pointed in a circle with his finger at the area between the old and new river channels, and continued to ask.
"Although the king of Lu was reluctant to give up, the boundary between the two countries was bounded by the midline of the Yellow River. The agreement was signed by the ancestors and he did not dare to compete with heaven and earth, so he regretted not fighting."
When Lord Zheng heard this answer, he couldn't help but admire him and exclaimed: "This is so benevolent and righteous!"
Zichan also followed suit and praised: "We made a promise in advance, and we can keep our faith! In this way, the world can be governed!"
When Hua Xi heard that even Master Zheng was so sure, he knew what he was doing, so he quickly struck while the iron was hot and continued: "Master Zheng's benevolence and righteousness will be worthy of others!"
Lord Zheng was very proud, nodded and smiled, and said: "It is the kingly way to see the wise and think of them together!"
Hua Xi knew that it was time to enter the topic, so he continued: "May I ask the Lord: Is the way of heaven greater, or the way of humanity?"
Lord Zheng was very surprised, thought for a while, and replied: "I am the Son of Heaven, the son of God, so naturally I have a great Dao of Heaven."
"Since the way of heaven is supreme, if one violates the way of humanity because of the way of heaven, can he be exempted from his sin?"
Hua Xi mentioned the word "sin", which made Master Zheng suspicious. He knew that conditions would be imposed later, so he shook his head left and right, looked at Hua Xi's expression from left to right, and did not answer directly. , asked in reply:
"Tell me, do you want to exonerate me?"
Hua Xi was not afraid. He clasped his fists and continued: "Please forgive me, Lord Zheng. I do have a private matter to ask of you: to pour water for my nephew's son, Yang. He sent the first shilling to Huayuan's right division, and then turned against him and sent him to Zheng." The leader of the camp, because Zheng Ying's soldiers were competing for merit, was forbidden to talk about it. Zhen'er didn't have any merit at all and it was reported to the Holy Court that he didn't talk about it.
After the incident, he changed his name to "Sheng Dou'er" and worked as a small servant to collect Qiu Fu for Zheng Guo. He was not afraid of hard work and traveled as far as Rongxiang on his own horse, collecting all the money and delivering it in time. However, because the area drawn in the map was wrong, and due to the same reason as the "Huangshui Diversion" discussed today, nine out of ten households were grievances. One household anonymously submitted a "complaint", falsely accusing him of dereliction of duty and making false reports. After reporting the matter, he was dealt with according to Zheng Guo's "Book of Punishment": Shi Chang had been punished by his family; now he is pursuing Zhen'er and wants to execute his family.
I know that the Zheng State is strong and prosperous because it was led by Zichan and established the country with laws. Anyone who commits such dereliction of duty will not be exempted even if there is a general amnesty. And I complain about him, all because of the word "dao": the diversion of the Yellow River is not done by human beings, but is the "way of heaven"; the punishment for dereliction of duty is determined by human will, this is the "way of humanity".
Foreign ministers believe that people's will can change and change according to the laws of nature. This is the true "human way". If the Holy One understands that the 'way of heaven' is greater than the 'way of humanity', you can forgive my guilt! This shows that the Lord is a truly benevolent and righteous king, not a master who defies heaven and changes destiny! Please also ask Lord Zheng to show mercy and pardon the innocent nephew Sun Zer'er who is not a foreign minister! The foreign minister is here to express his gratitude to the Holy Father, and he is extremely grateful! "
Master Zheng ordered his people to put the pictures away and put them on the table of the holy case. He sat back on the throne, looked at the pictures, and then at Hua Xi who was making a grand ceremony. He turned to look at Zichan with an embarrassed look on his face and asked him softly:
"My dear, what do you think?"
Zichan saluted and replied: "The way of heaven is far away, and the way of human being is short, it is out of reach! The national laws of Zheng are not determined by one person. Once it is established, it will be implemented. The dispute between 'God's will' and 'man's will' proves that Zheng's law has I'm afraid it will make the people confused: If there is something unclear, if people can explain it to God's will with clever words, it will be easy to argue, but it will be difficult to destroy the trust! I think: Although Zheng's law is strict, the people feel at ease, even if one person is submissive , to protect the integrity of the law. Compared with the majesty of Zheng Fa's "Xing Shu", compared with the comprehensiveness of Zheng Fa, I think: the majesty is inviolable, and the comprehensiveness can be subdued."
Hearing what Zichan said, Hua Xi's face was filled with frost. He turned to Zichan and said:
"You have no heirs?"
"The nature of a villain is to be provocative and stingy, and seek fame in order to satisfy his nature. My family has children who are born in Zheng, and they abide by the laws of Zheng. Even if they are relatives of nobles and emperors, if they violate the " "Criminal Law" cannot be exempted, what about a mere petty official? He is a soldier of the Song Dynasty, and the seller is not seeking glory, but just a handful of dendrobium soup. This is already a joke, but it is actually unfaithful and unjust. He changed his name and joined the army, what he did He has also lost something, and he is also dishonest and disloyal to Lord Zheng. This person who wavers in and out of ownership is like a piece of grass on the wall. His character is woeful, and he is left in the world, not knowing who he will harm in the future? He trapped Hua Yuan in the battle, and for Provocation and bravery; breaking Zheng Zhi's "Book of Punishments", dereliction of duty, and misfortune. From my perspective, what he did was just to fulfill his temporary prosperity and show his arrogance! Whether he has heirs or not, it doesn't matter; I think the most important thing is: are the children virtuous?"
