Chapter 5 Zi Lu

  Xī Bīn had a dreamlike feeling all the way, he often couldn't help but lean on the window and glance to the side for a long time before believing that the person sitting in the oxcart next to him was indeed the Great Sage Confucius, who had been revered and worshiped for over a thousand years. Of course, the old master wasn't old yet, he could still eat several big bowls of dry rice at one meal.

  When I first met him, I even thought of recruiting this old fellow as a younger brother. Xi Bin was actually embarrassed for a moment. However, after the two sides accompanied each other for several days and gradually became familiar with each other, the halo of sanctity on Confucius' head gradually disappeared.

  Xue Bin only then realized that at this time, Confucius was not yet the sage among sages, the perfect man among perfect men. He was just like many other scholars of the Spring and Autumn period, traveling to various countries for his own ideals and political views.

  Unlike the Confucian scholars of later generations, who acquired literary and military skills to serve the imperial family and maintain existing systems, today's intellectuals are actively exploring and creating new systems, actively participating in the process of changing the world. These explorers of human civilization are worthy of respect.

  All the way, Xi Bin deliberately had a discussion with Confucius and found that Confucius' political views did not have anything mysterious or profound, but were actually easy to understand. The so-called ritual music education, king's way of governing the country, said straightforwardly is to govern the country with virtue. His ideal political system is fundamentally based on one word "virtue".

  He advocated for establishing order in a chaotic world, and his method was to restore the Zhou system and revive the ancient rituals. Xi Bin came from the 21st century, and his vision included the development of political systems explored and attempted by China over the past two thousand years since the Spring and Autumn period. He certainly knew that such an idealized system was impossible to achieve, at least not until the 21st century.

  In the 21st century, the successful political ideology is the rule of law, while Confucius' political ideology is the rule of man. The basic condition for its realization is that those in power, at all levels, must first become moral exemplars, and then use these saintly gentlemen to govern the world, transforming it into a humane society.

  Xī Bīn was very disappointed. In another 5,000 years, would Confucius' ideal be realized? He didn't know, but at least in the next 2,000 years it was impossible. Even in those dynasties that revered Confucius as the greatest sage and teacher, it was actually just a facade, with no one truly ruling the country according to Confucian principles. In this era of great contention, his political views were not only unsuitable for those feudal lords, but also not suitable for his own future prospects. So at first he still had some ideas about recruiting followers, but gradually they faded away.

  His thoughts were all seen by Zhong You, a student of Confucius. Zhong You, also known as Zi Lu, was the man who had excelled in swordsmanship and martial arts even more than Confucius when they encountered thieves in the forest. This man was straightforward and got along well with Xi Bin, so he simply squeezed onto his carriage, drove for him, and chatted to dispel boredom.

  Look at the ox cart walking ahead, Zi Lu turned back and smiled: "Qing Ji Gongzi, are you thinking of recruiting Confucius to your side?"

  Xī Bīn's body had improved a lot, he sat in the car and smiled: "Hmm, I indeed had this thought before."

  Zi Lu burst out laughing and shook his head, saying: "Don't bother thinking about it anymore. Confucius' way is a defensive way, not suitable for you. Now that you have nowhere to return to, even if Confucius were here, he couldn't fully utilize his abilities."

  Xī Bīn let out a wry smile. Confucius was not only unable to exert his talents here, but he would not have been able to do so anywhere during his lifetime. He might be more suited to being an educator, a teacher of moral character. As for governing the country in times of turmoil... among Confucius' three thousand disciples and seventy-two sages, not one outstanding military leader or politician emerged; they were mostly just people of high moral character.

  Looking back at the founder of the Ghost Valley School, Wang Ji, he only had 500 disciples, but taught four great heavenly kings. Among the Seven Heroes of the Warring States period, his disciple Su Qin served as prime minister of six countries, and the remaining Great Qin Empire was ruled by another disciple Zhang Yi. Sun Bin and Pang Juan also became famous generals at that time.

  Confucius emphasized the importance of teaching according to one's ability, and Guiguzi also taught in accordance with his students' abilities. Guiguzi cultivated four extraordinary talents who shook the world, while Confucius nurtured some moral exemplars. It is not wrong to be a virtuous educator who guides with kindness, but when it comes to governing the country, he considered moral education and governance more important than legal institutions, which is somewhat unrealistic.

  If it weren't for the Han Dynasty elevating Confucius to the highest esteem, it would be hard to say whose thoughts and academic achievements could have shone more brilliantly...

  "What is the Master thinking of?" Zilu seeing him lost in thought, and supposing that he was still dissatisfied with his inability to secure Kongzi's services, asked.

  "Oh...... nothing." Xiban smiled and changed the subject, asking: "Zilu, I think you're not much younger than Confucius, how did you become his student?"

  Zi Lu burst out laughing and said, "Not bad, I'm only nine years younger than Master Kong. When I was young, I was hot-headed and loved to fight. Once, I met Master Kong on the road and we got into a dispute, which led to a physical altercation. Master Kong had innate strength, but his martial arts skills were far inferior to mine, so I gave him a good thrashing..."

  Xī Bīn was left speechless, but Zǐ Lù spoke with great enthusiasm: "From then on, I got to know Master Kong and gradually became aware of the depth of his learning, which far surpassed mine. So I became a disciple under Master Kong..."

  Xí Bīn listened to him finish, rubbed his sore cheeks and asked: "You just said that Kong Shifu was an official in the state of Lu, how did he become so down on his luck now? Where did this come from?"

  Zi Lu said, "Qing Kui Gongzi, you also know that the great power of our state of Lu is now in the hands of the three major families of Ji Sun, Shu Sun, and Meng Sun. Two years ago, the ruler of our state attacked the three major families but failed and was forced to flee to the state of Qi. Since then, our state has been without a ruler, and Ji Sun Yi Ru, who is the most powerful, has taken over the power of the ruler. After Ji Sun Yi Ru married the daughter of the ruler of Song and returned, he held a grand feast for his guests and even dared to watch the dance of eight rows of performers, which was against the rules of propriety. Confucius was furious and scolded Ji Sun's family in front of everyone, then angrily resigned from his official position and left for Qi."

  According to Qing's memory, Xi Bin knew about the marriage between Ji Sun and Song Ji. To mention it, this princess of Song was actually the niece of Ji Sun Yi Ru, but at that time, it wasn't considered a violation of social norms. Chu Cheng Wang had also married two daughters of Zheng Wen Gong's wife, who was his sister. This is similar to Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing dynasty marrying his own niece, which was not considered strange according to customs at that time.

  The so-called "Eight Rows Dance" refers to a large-scale dance performed by 64 people. Eight dancers are called one row, and eight rows equal 64 people. According to the Rites of Zhou, only the Son of Heaven could watch the Eight Rows Dance, while vassals could watch six rows, dukes four rows. As Ji Sun was at the level of a duke, he should have only been allowed to appreciate a dance performed by 32 people.

  Xī Bīn listened and couldn't help but laugh and cry, only now did he truly understand how much Confucius valued propriety. When the ruler of Lu was chased away by Ji Sun like a servant, he didn't even protest, yet now that Ji Sun is just having a big party at home, slightly overstepping his bounds, he's furious, it all seems rather misplaced.

  Zi Lu said: "When Confucius arrived in the state of Qi, he was initially treated with great courtesy by the ruler of Qi. However, the officials of Qi were jealous of his talents and repeatedly spoke ill of him to the ruler, so that in the end Confucius was not given any important position. The prime minister of Qi, Yan Ying, also spoke to the ruler saying: 'Confucius is skilled in rhetoric and emphasizes ritual propriety, but he does not concern himself with agriculture or practical affairs. The rituals he talks about are those which would exhaust a family's resources just for the sake of a grand funeral, bringing no benefit to the state or its people.' The ruler listened to this and became even more distant from Confucius. This is why Confucius left Lu and went to Song, but unfortunately was not given any important position there either. He had no choice but to return to Lu."

  Xie Bin listened and asked bluntly: "Then, what does Zilu think? Does Qi Xiang Yan's words make sense?"

  Zi Lu thought for a moment and then said solemnly: "Yan Yin's observation is only one aspect. But I think that Confucius indeed has some rigid constraints."

  Xī Bīn heard this and couldn't help but feel a deep respect. Confucius was good, Zǐ Lǔ was good, they were all diligent scholars seeking truth to benefit the world. Regardless of whether history proved their views correct or incorrect, at least they were sincere and practical in their pursuit of knowledge. They themselves continuously recognized, corrected and improved their own arguments and views, neither stubbornly insisting on their own opinions nor blindly worshiping authority, absolutely unlike the pedantic scholars of later generations who would become furious if someone dared to criticize the Sage.

  Zi Lu sighed, "Confucius teaches that rulers should rule and subjects should subject themselves, fathers should father and sons should son themselves. I think this is not wrong at all. If everyone in the world could follow this etiquette, who knows how many wars and disputes would be reduced? As for Gongzi, if the ruler and ministers of Wu State could uphold this etiquette, how could Gongzi Guang usurp the throne?"

  Xiban was silent for a moment, then said: "The human heart is greedy! Once the human heart has greed, it will not be able to observe the etiquette of ruler and minister, father and son. Wanting a peaceful and prosperous world that lasts forever is impossible. However, if most people can accept Confucius' idea, at least many disputes can be reduced, and wars and rebellions greatly decreased."

  Confucius peddled his political ideas to the feudal lords, but was often met with disdain. The rulers of various countries treated him with courtesy, respecting his character and vast knowledge, which made Zilu, as a student of Confucius, feel deeply grieved.

  It was unexpected that this Celebrating Anxiety gentleman would have a lot of praise for his argument, and Zilu felt a sense of knowing him after listening to it. He excitedly said: "Actually, Confucius is not a person who is rigid and does not know how to adapt. If he were such a person, he wouldn't go see the Qi ruler. According to the way of rulers and ministers, fathers and sons, Confucius should go to pay respects to the Zhou Heaven's Son."

  Kongzi's restoration of the Zhou dynasty, following the Zhou ritual, is not necessarily to obey the Zhou Tianzi. He hopes to find a ruler who can implement this idea and achieve great governance and eternal peace for all ages."

  Xí Bīn did not continue to echo, he had a limited understanding of Confucianism and was not interested in studying this subject. For him at this moment, the only royal way was that power came from the barrel of a gun, and he cared about the expansion of his strength.

  Taking advantage of the enthusiasm, Xi Bin asked solemnly: "Zi Lu is a versatile talent in both literature and martial arts, I really appreciate it. I don't know if Zi Lu is willing to come under my command and create a great career with me?"