Old Wu can no longer remember when Shao Xi's transformation began.
He only remembered that when he first brought Shao Xi into the Central Plains, Shao Xi was still a high-spirited young man with a mind full of chivalry and righteousness. He had to take care of other things and stand up for others when they were bullied.
If not, I wouldn't have met Ding Yu'an, Zhang Huanzhi, or even the ragged Chu Yunhe. When I was in Wanxian, I was just passing by, but I had to mind my own business, otherwise I wouldn't have had the experience of Qingshan County later.
All these actions prove that although Shao Xi was smart and full of weird ideas, his heart was always pure.
But I don't know since when, Lao Wu found that this child began to become a little cold-blooded and ruthless, and began to use any means to achieve his goals.
If he had to find a starting point for this kind of change, the only thing Old Wu could think of was the death of Ye Ziyuan from Qingshan County. It seems that after that incident, Shao Xi no longer acted purely based on his own will, but began to weigh the pros and cons and began to use various means to achieve his goals.
First, he entered Bailu Academy and used Bai Dinggong's relationship to submit the two account books of Qingshan County to the Ministry of Justice. Then he ran to Xiao Changyi to file a complaint. In this process, everything Shao Xi did had a clear purpose. , that is to seek justice for Ye Ziyuan.
From that time on, Shao Xi began to only pursue results, regardless of the means used in the process.
Perhaps it was the incident in Qingshan County that made him understand that it is impossible to make this world clean with clean means. In this case, as long as the goal is clean, you don't have to worry about whether the means are dirty in the process of achieving it.
People often have their hands and feet bound by morality, but facts have proven that the people who suffer in this world are all reasonable people, while those who do not follow morality, or even have no bottom line in human nature, live a prosperous life. If this is the case, then use their own methods to deal with them, and let them also bear the pain they inflict on others. Evil people should have their own evil retribution.
Shao Xi's change was both gratifying and worrying for Lao Wu.
What is gratifying is that this child has completely mastered the way of life in this world, can solve anything with ease, and has the ability to control the development of the situation.
The worry is that he is afraid that he will go to the other extreme. Taking unconventional means to achieve a so-called correct goal is not wrong, but it is definitely not the right way.
The biggest difference between good and evil is not only the goal to be achieved, but also the means used to measure good and evil. Unscrupulous means to achieve the goal will make people gradually lose themselves, and ultimately they will not be able to distinguish what is good. , what is evil, it is very likely that we will eventually slide towards evil unconsciously.
The reason why it is said that the right path in the world is subject to vicissitudes of life is precisely because the right path is a difficult road paved with thorns and must be constrained by human nature and morality.
In order to achieve the same goal, it is much more difficult to follow the right path. It must be bound by various rules and cannot break through the bottom line of human nature.
Because of this, many people are dismissive of it, thinking it is pedantic and inflexible, but they forget that justice is justice precisely because the right means are adopted to achieve the right goal.
If you use evil means, no matter how just your goal is, you have crossed the boundary of human nature and morality, and it is no longer justice.
As Shao Xi said just now, it is impossible for him and Zhao Hongjin to be friends. Since it is impossible to be friends, there is no burden in his heart when dealing with the other party. In fact, this is a very dangerous idea.
Because Lao Wu has clearly seen that Zhao Hongjin has become a friend to Shao Xi. Otherwise, he would not trust Shao Xi so much when they first met. At this time, Shao Xi took advantage of his trust and used He felt Zhao Hongjin’s kindness towards him.
Although there is no real trust between two countries, trust between people should not be used as a bargaining chip to obtain benefits.
As a minister of Jingyuan Kingdom, it is not wrong for Shao Xi to seek benefits for the Jingyuan Empire, but it is wrong to take advantage of Zhao Hongjin's trust and goodwill towards him. That's why Old Wu is worried. He is afraid that Shao Xi will step by step in the future. Fall into evil ways.
In every evil person's opinion, his purpose is just, and the reason why he is evil is precisely because he uses evil means.
"Master, since you know that you have changed, with your wisdom, I think you should also know very well what kind of person you should become. There are too many truths that I can't explain, old man, you are a smart person My child, you should know very well what can and cannot be done. Although there is no absolute right and wrong, right and wrong in this world, I hope that the young master can have a scale in his heart, a scale that can always weigh his conscience. .”
Shao Xi saw that Old Wu said these words to him so seriously, and he also understood in his heart that Old Wu was afraid that he would lose himself by wallowing in the arena and the court, and become an unscrupulous, cold-blooded person.
"Lao Wu, don't worry! I understand the difference between humans and animals. Human beings have moral and human bottom lines. They cannot release their most primitive animal nature in order to achieve their goals. The reason why humans are human is that they know how to restrain themselves. Desires and behaviors, otherwise they will be just like animals. I will find a good balance between doing things and being a person, and will not let myself degenerate into a sanctimonious hypocrite who talks about benevolence and morality, but acts dirty and despicable."
Hearing that Shao Xi had such a clear understanding of how to behave and do things, Lao Wu also felt much more at ease.
When the owner of the village gave this child to him, he hoped that he could cultivate him into a person who has the world in his mind and the common people in his heart. If I accidentally lead this child astray, I will be too embarrassed to face the owner of the village in the future.
"It's good that you know. From now on, remember that everything must be done in moderation. Extraordinary measures should be used for extraordinary things, but you must not lose your true nature as a human being just because you are greedy for shortcuts. Old man, I have found so many saints and sages over the years. I read this book to you in the hope that you will become a virtuous person, not a robber."
Growing up, it was rare for Lao Wu to talk to Shao Xi so solemnly and seriously about how to be a human being.
Shao Xi also understood that Lao Wu had spent half his life on him over the years, just to cultivate himself into a man who could stand upright in the world, so at this time, he took every word that Lao Wu said seriously. Keep it in mind.
This is the advice of an elder and the advice of a relative. Every word and sentence points out the direction for your life.
"I understand! I will master the scale of doing things, and I will stick to the principles of life. I will never violate my conscience or lose my bottom line as a human being. I will not let you down."
"Okay, let's stop talking here! As long as you understand the truth, I'm too lazy to talk nonsense anymore. It's so damn tiring to talk so seriously."
Shao Xi suddenly had a black streak, and along with it, a crow flew over his head with a row of ellipses. This old guy is really hard to change, and he has never been able to say a few serious words in his entire life.
Old Wu drank some wine by himself again, while Shao Xi lay on the window of the carriage, looking at the scenery along the way.
The streets of Yongchuan City are filled with pedestrians and cars and horses. Although it is not as lively as Daliang City, it is still a prosperous scene.
Looking at the people walking on the street talking and laughing, the children laughing and playing, and the vendors selling goods along the street, Shao Xi felt that everything in front of him was no different from the Central Plains, or even the grasslands.
People are living in this world in their own way. Just because of a river or a mountain, the same people are divided into different worlds. In these different worlds, people are fighting each other with swords. Some want to forcefully enter other people's worlds, while others want to keep the world that originally belongs to them.
Think about it carefully, why bother?
Originally, we all lived in the same world, so why must they be so clearly distinguished? Aren’t all living beings in this world the same?
Why do some people want to divide the world into several pieces, or even dozens or hundreds of pieces? Then they say that this world belongs to them, and even all living beings belong to them. Why do they? Do you think you can take people's lives and plunder people's wealth just because you have the ability to do so?
As stated in "Six Taoist Proverbs", "Every bustle in the world is for benefit, and the bustle in the world is for benefit."
What are you doing now? Isn't it just helping some people to take this world as their own? Did you do it right or wrong?
If I hadn't done these things today, wouldn't all this have happened? If the person who currently controls the world no longer controls the world, won't there be a second or third person to control the world? Obviously the answer is no.
If the world loses control, it will definitely fall into chaos, and the people of the world will only suffer more suffering.
Since this world must be controlled by someone, the only thing I can do is to help that person who is good at controlling the world and can keep the people of the world in mind to manage the world well and let the people of this world live a better life.
Shao Xi is not a saint and cannot treat everyone in the world as equal. Equality is just a slogan, or it can only be relative.
Everyone in this world has different abilities and needs. Equality can only be equality in personality, but it cannot achieve absolute equality in wealth and status. Rights represent obligations. If you cannot fulfill your obligations, you are not qualified to talk about enjoying rights. This is equality.
God is fair, and if you gain something, you will lose it. If you only focus on the lost part, shouting that God is unfair, but never reflect on yourself to see what you have done? What did you pay for? What did you get? That is greed and ignorance.
Your efforts may not always be rewarded, but if you don’t want to pay and only think about getting something for nothing, retribution will come sooner or later.
