As the sun set, King Wei was handling political affairs in the palace. Wei Guofu slowly walked into the palace. Seeing that King Wei was very worried about dealing with these political affairs, he must have encountered some difficulty. He stood in front of King Wei and said, "Your Majesty." King Wei raised his head and said, "Fu Chong, why are you here?" He put down the bamboo slips in his hands. Wei Guofu Chong sat aside and said: "I have been here for a long time. Your Majesty must have encountered some difficulty." King Wei said with some embarrassment: "After the failure of the Zhongshan Kingdom, this battle has defeated Chong." My heart is broken, but these nobles are not enterprising, and their lives are even more luxurious. These nobles are trying their best to extort money from the people. It seems that there is no talent left to govern Wei State, and I don’t know what to do?" Fu Chong of the State of Wei looked at the King of Wei who was sitting in front of several cases and said: "Your Majesty wants to change the country of Wei." The King of Wei sighed and said: "This is just an idea of Zhong Chong. Fu Chong! Wu Chong did it intentionally. We are powerless!" Wei Guofu Chong said: "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry about this matter." The King of Wei looked at Wei Guofu Chong and said, "Is there anything you can do about it?" Wei Guofu Chong presented the slips and put them aside on the table. , said: "I have the book "Dharma Sutra" here, I hope it can be of help to the king." King Wei then picked up the slips beside the cases and looked at them. Wei Guofu couldn't bear to disturb the king of Wei. He stood up and stood in front of him and saluted and said, "I, my concubine, have resigned." King Wei looked at Fu Chong as if he had something to say, but he stopped talking and said, "Please step back first." Wei Guofu Chong then left the palace of the King of Wei. . The King of Wei looked at the departing figure of Wei Guofu, then picked up the "Dharma Sutra" and began to read it.
Until late at night, the temple insects entered the Wei palace. He stood in front of King Wei and said, "Your Majesty, it's late at night, it's time to rest." King Wei stood up, stretched, yawned, and said with a smile, "Widow Chong is really sleepy." Temple Chong stood with a bow. Behind King Wei, he said, "I wonder which concubine's palace your Majesty will rest in tonight?" King Wei said casually, "Young lady of the State of Wei, please."
Temple Chong withdrew and went to Wei Guofu Chong's palace, announcing: "Tonight the king will go to Wei Guofu Chong's palace to sleep." Wei Guofu Chong stepped forward and saluted, saying: "The Ai family knows." Wei Guofu Chong called in a maid, He said: "Go and prepare the pastries that your Majesty loves most, and prepare a pot of walnut wine that your Majesty loves to drink." The maid stepped forward and saluted, "I will prepare it now." Then she exited the palace of Wei Guofu Chong.
The king of Wei sat in front of several cases and looked at this letter and couldn't put it down. He stood up and looked at the slips placed on the desks. He picked up the slips again, looked at Si Chong standing next to him, and said, "Let's go." King Wei walked out of the Wei Palace accompanied by Si Chong and said to Si Chong. Go to the harem.
Standing on the high pavilion, the sweet sound of the piano reached the ears of King Wei. The king of Wei asked the temple insect next to him, "Which insect played this?" The temple insect said: "Your Majesty, this sound comes from the palace of Concubine Qin." King Wei walked across the covered bridge with light steps. , couldn't help but walked towards Qin Nu's bedroom. Temple Chong followed closely behind King Wei and said, "Your Majesty, where is the palace of Fu Chong of Wei State?" King Wei said, "I know it, why do you need to remind me." King Wei turned around and walked towards Fu Chong's palace of Wei State. Go, take a few steps forward, stop again, call Si Chong and say: "Go and inform Concubine Qin that Widow Chong will not come tonight." Si Chong said: "Okay, I will go now."
Si Chong entered Qin Nu's bedroom, bowed and stood at the palace door, and said, "My Lady, the king will not come tonight." Qin Nu stood up and looked at Si Chong and asked, "Why is this, Your Majesty?" Si Chong replied. He said: "Your Majesty and Wei Guofu Chong have important matters to discuss, and they went to Wei Guofu Chong's palace." Qin Nu said a little disappointed: "I understand." Then she entered the curtain.
The king of Wei entered the palace of Fu Chong, the king of Wei. Wei Guofu Chong had already prepared cakes and walnut wine, because these were King Wei's favorites. Fu Chong of the state of Wei stepped forward and saluted, saying: "Your Majesty." The King of Wei stood in front of Fu Chong of the state of Wei and said, "Fuchong, there is no need to be so polite. Get up." The king of Wei sat in front of several tables, and Fu Chong sat On the side, he poured wine for the king of Wei. The king of Wei looked at Fu Chong and said, "Fuchong! I have already read this letter. It touches the key point of my country, Wei. I wonder who wrote it?" Fu Chong, the king of Wei, said, "If your Majesty wants to see this Chong, tomorrow Just summon this insect in the court hall, it is Zi Sang, the disciple of Xiao Yi." King Wei thought for a while and said: "Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi." Then he looked at Wei Guofu Chong and said, "You said it It must be Little Ant, a sage from the State of Zhao. I once heard that Little Ant had left Zhao State for Luoyi, the capital of Zhou. I have been thinking about it! If Little Ant comes to our Kingdom of Wei, I will definitely receive him warmly." Wei Guofu While Chong was pouring wine for King Wei, he said: "Zisang has been following Xiao Yi for many years, and he has the talent to assist the country. I have read the "Dharma Sutra" written by him, and may have been taught by Xiao Yi." King Wei sighed. He said: "Yes! If Widow Chong gets this worm, our Kingdom of Wei will definitely prosper." The King of Wei drank the wine and became a little drunk. He said: "O Chong! You see that Widow Chong is a little drunk, so he still went to bed. Let's go." The King of Wei entered the curtain tent with the support of Wei Guofu Chong.
The next day in the court hall, King Wei summoned Zi Sang. Zisang entered the palace of the King of Wei, kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty." The King of Wei sat in the court hall and said, "Sir, please get down." Then the monks brought some tables and cushions. The King of Wei said: "Sir, please take a seat." Zisang sat in front of the King of Wei, right in the middle of the ministers on the left and right. King Wei said: "Sir, you have to thank Wu Chong's husband! It was Fu Chong who recommended you to Wu Chong." Fu Chong, who was sitting next to him, just smiled slightly at Zi Sang. Zi Sang stood up and bowed and said, "Husband Chong." Fu Chong smiled and said, "Sir, don't you forget the kindness of recommending me?" Zi Sang bowed again and said, "Zi Sang dare not forget, and he also dare not forget husband. The kindness of Chong and King to Zi Sang."
The King of Wei looked at Zi Sang and said, "Sir, since the disastrous defeat in the conquest of Zhongshan Kingdom, the morale of the army and the people of Wei State has been weakened, and we are no longer able to fight." Zi Sang said, "Your Majesty, you can calm down the people's morale and encourage the military morale to strengthen yourself." The King of Wei asked again: "How can we make our country strong?" Zi Sang looked at King Wei and said: "Our country of Wei is adjacent to Qin in the west and loses Hexi. It is adjacent to Qi in the east across the Huai River and Ying River, and to South Korea in the southwest. Intersecting borders, there is a chasm bordering the Chu State in the south, and the Zhao State in the north. Anyi, the first capital of the Wei State, was captured by the Zhao State, and the army approached Ye City, and failed to attack the Zhongshan State. The Wei State was worried. Zisang was the king. There are two suggestions. The first is to unite all countries to fight against Qin, but it is not a long-term solution, because the kings of various countries are short-sighted and cannot conspire with them; the second is to change." King Wei asked again: "How to change?" Sang replied: "There are four changes. The first is to abolish the hereditary system, select officials based on ability, cancel the hereditary salary enjoyed by the old nobles, and use it to recruit talents and develop..." Before Zi Sang could finish his words, the court came. Officials above the hall object, how will they make a living if their salaries are cancelled? A high-ranking official stood up and said: "Your Majesty, this method is inappropriate. If we follow this method, it will cause great chaos in our country of Wei." Zisang faced the King of Wei and said: "If mediocre officials and ignorant officials occupy the court, it will lead to chaos." How can we talk about strengthening the country if we exclude talented ministers and cannot use them seriously?" King Wei said: "Let me finish what you have to say first." He glanced sideways at the old prime minister sitting aside, who was still calm and composed. Sitting in the court hall without saying a word. The senior official looked at the old prime minister sitting behind him, returned to his original position and sat down boredly. Zisang continued: "Abolish the well-field system, adopt the policy of using the land to its best advantage, encourage people to reclaim wasteland, and allow land sales. At the same time, we will evaluate all the land in the country, estimate the yield of the land, and formulate reasonable tax policies. The land was allocated to the common people for farming according to the barrenness of the land, and high-ranking officials and nobles were prohibited from enclosing the land to build private houses; the third was the decree. Regarding the decree of the Wei State, officials were either mediocre or promoted, and were rewarded according to military merit; fourth, the establishment of military soldiers, for The assessment of the army rewards generals or soldiers who excel in combat, and rearranges them according to the combat characteristics of different soldiers, which can encourage the advantages of the army in combat, and morale will naturally improve. Why is our Wei State not strong?" said the old prime minister. At that time, he stood up and said: "The law is the law of the ancestors and cannot be changed. Although the law of sir is said to strengthen the country, it actually disrupts our ancestral system. How can the chaos of the Wei State enrich the country and strengthen the army? This is inappropriate. Please make a clear decision, your Majesty." Others The officials all agreed with Lao Xiangguo's statement and cheered together, saying: "Old Xiangguo said it well." Lao Xiangguo looked at the officials behind him and stepped back. Zi Sang faced the old prime minister and said: "If the prime minister follows the laws of his ancestors, can he make our country Wei strong? We can't attack the princes." The old prime minister replied: "There are two great countries in the west, Qin and Zhao and Chu. How can we make Wei strong by peeking at its territory?" Zi Sang said: "Old Xiangguo said it well! There is Qin in the west, and there are two great powers, Zhao and Chu. Looking around, there is also Yan in the north. We, the State of Wei, are watching with eager eyes. How can the State of Wei be strong? Xia Jie was debauched, tyrannical and unethical, so he was destroyed in a flood. The same was true for Shang Zhou, King Wu destroyed them. That was because they followed the laws of their ancestors and did not update their political laws. They took it upon themselves. It’s just destruction. If our Wei State does not think about its changes, the Xia and Shang dynasties will be the evidence of our Wei State.” These officials could not sit still, stood up and accused Zi Sang, saying: “Your Majesty, he is deceiving the public with his evil words and deceiving the king. Heart. Your Majesty, please drive this arrogant person out of the court." The ministers rushed forward and said: "Your Majesty, please drive him out of the court." King Wei stood up angrily and said: "Disband the court." Take Wei Guofu Chong out of the court together.
Entering the harem, the King of Wei was anxious in front of Fu Chong of Wei State, then turned to face Fu Chong and said: "Fu Chong! You have seen it. If you continue to change like this, my Wei State will be in chaos sooner or later. "Fu Chong of the State of Wei stood aside and said: "Your Majesty, you should summon your husband to the palace immediately at this time." King Wei then sat down and said: "Yes, yes, Fu Chong is right." Then he looked at the palace door. Outside, he said: "Chuan Zisang immediately went to the palace to see Widow Chong."
Zisang went into the palace to pay homage to King Wei and said, "Your Majesty." At this time, King Wei was so angry that he didn't bother to say a word. Fu Chong stepped forward to help Zi Sang up and said, "Sir, please get up." He glanced sideways at King Wei who was sitting behind him. Zi Sang looked at Fu Chong in front of him, nodded and understood what Fu Chong meant. Fu Chong shyly retreated to the side of King Wei. Zi Sang stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty is being restrained by ministers, which is not good for Your Majesty." King Wei looked at Zi Sang with doubts on his face and asked, "What do you mean, sir?" Zi Sang said, "Sir, you taught me something. Zi Sang, a king must be strong and decisive. Only in this way can he control the ministers instead of being restrained by them. Your Majesty, you can open the history books and take a look. Throughout history, ministers or scholar-bureaucrats who killed kings are everywhere." Only then did the King of Wei think. He woke up and said: "Sir, if you want to change, just go ahead and change." Fu Chong stood aside and said: "Your Majesty, you have no real power. There is pressure from the prime minister. It is difficult for the decrees issued by you to be passed in Wei."
