The Great Wei Empire in the Warring States Period

Anyi city is crowded with people, and the shops on both sides of the road are greeting customers. I am walking on the streets of Anyi and looking around. Suddenly, a smell of wine comes to my nose. When I smell the aroma of wine, I am already intoxicated. Amid the aroma of wine, he followed the aroma of wine to a restaurant.

Seeing the words"Jiuxianlou" written on it, after arriving, a maid came over and saluted and asked:"Sir, what kind of wine do you want to drink? We have Qin wine, Zhao wine, and Chu wine here. I don't know, sir." Which one do you want to drink?"

When he heard that there was Qin wine, he immediately said:"Bring me a pot of Qin wine and a bowl of mutton!" After hearing this, the maid said:"Okay sir, please take this seat. , we will bring you the wine and mutton you asked for later!"

Zhiman sat on the table. There was a plate of sunflower seeds on the table, so he picked up a piece of sunflower seeds and dipped it in a little sauce to eat it. , after eating a few slices, they made a toothpaste first, and finally the maid brought the mutton and wine. When he was done, he wrapped a piece of sunflower sprouts around a piece of mutton, swallowed them together, took another sip of wine, and said happily:"Oh! It's delicious! This mutton must be paired with Qin wine to make it delicious!"

At this time, a man A middle-aged man in his fifties came in and sat down, and said to the maid:"Bring me a pot of Wei wine and a plate of roasted fish!"

After a while, the middle-aged man's wine and fish arrived. , the middle-aged man took a sip and looked very happy.

Daoman saw his scholar-like dress, so he walked over and asked,"I am Daoman. Do you want to be an official here in Wei State?" The middle-aged man smiled and said,"That's right, but I'm here. I came to be the prime minister. It was the Marquis of Wei who personally invited me to come to the Kingdom of Wei to be the prime minister!"

After hearing this, I felt very funny. The Marquis of Wei personally invited you to be the prime minister? What ability do you have to make the Marquis of Wei invite you to come to Wei as the prime minister? This is the first time I have heard of it. Dao Man chuckled and said,"Sir, you are exaggerating a bit, aren't you? The Marquis of Wei personally invited you here, how is that possible? Even if Wei wants to change its prime minister, it won't be your turn!" the middle-aged man said with a smile. :"I am Hui Shi. I once came to the Kingdom of Wei and discussed state affairs with the Marquis of Wei. I personally told the Marquis of Wei about my theory of governing the country. The Marquis of Wei admired my talent very much. It was just because of my uncle. Your Majesty has not passed away yet, so he did not let me become the prime minister. Now that Gongshu Cuo has passed away, the Marquis of Wei sent someone to ask me to come to Wei as the prime minister!" When he arrived, he heard that it was the world-famous Huizi, and he hurriedly bowed and said:"I have met you, sir. I don't know how rude Mr. Huizi is. Please forgive me, sir!"

Hui Shi smiled and said,"Those who don't know are not guilty. Since we are so destined, let's cook and eat together!" He quickly raised his hands and said:"I am flattered by sharing the same case with you! Thank you sir!"

When he was done, he asked again:"I have heard that my husband and Zhuangzi discussed Taoism together. When we debated together, we always seemed to be tied with Mr. Zhuangzi.! I wonder what you think about the governance of the country and the general trend of the world?"

Hui Shi put down his wine glass and said:"The governance of a country depends on the people, and the prosperity of the people depends on the farmers. If the people are prosperous, the country will be strong, and if the country is strong, the army will be prosperous. The country is like a chessboard. If you make a wrong move, , everything is lost, governing a big country is like cooking a small one and must not be sloppy. If a country wants to be strong, one is internal governance, and the other is military preparedness. Internal governance determines the prosperity of military preparedness. If internal governance is only strong and military preparedness is strong, the country will only be strong temporarily. Only when internal governance develops together with armaments will a country be strong, but the foundation of armaments is internal governance. Just like the current Qin State, no matter how brave the poor people are and have no money to forge weapons, how can they strengthen the army? Therefore, internal governance is a Arms are the foundation of a country and are the strong shield that ensures the long-lasting strength of this country!"

Hui Shi picked up the wine glass again and took a sip, then continued:"Now I see that the world has been divided into two factions, one is the Hezong faction headed by Wei Guo, The other faction is Lian Heng, headed by the State of Qi! However, Lian Heng of the State of Qi has some problems, and He Zhong of the State of Wei is very clever in uniting the three Jin states, then the Chu state in the south, and the Yan state in the north. This world will definitely be destroyed. Captured by Wei!"

Zhiman was a little confused because he didn't understand the meaning of combining vertical and horizontal lines, so he asked:"Sir, what is combining vertical and horizontal lines?"

Hui Shi smiled and said,"Have you ever played chess? Those flag boards Is it one horizontal and one vertical? When several countries unite, they belong to one vertical, that is united vertically. When countries unite like a horizontal line, that is united horizontally! Uniting vertically and connecting horizontally is an important factor in truly conquering the world. The key!"

Although he understood the meaning of combining vertical and horizontal lines, he didn't understand why uniting vertical lines and horizontal lines was the key to conquering the world, so he asked again:"Sir, why uniting vertical lines and connecting horizontal lines is the key to conquering the world? ?"

Hui Shi just smiled and said nothing. Seeing that he wanted to know the answer so much, he said:"There are specialties in martial arts. I saw that you have several sword wounds on your right hand, so I knew that you should be a martial arts practitioner. You have the appearance of a general. Did you study the art of war before? Since you are studying the art of war, you should concentrate on the art of war. Don't learn too much. Learning too much will cause confusion and will be detrimental to your own development!" To Man heard Hui After Shi's words, he also knew that Huisi didn't want to answer him anymore, so he raised his hands and said:"Listen to your words, sir!" The

Wei Dynasty Hall saw that the prime minister's seat was empty. It turned out that just a few days ago, the prime minister's uncle Cuo has passed away, and now everyone is discussing who will be the prime minister! Marquis Wei looked at the chattering ministers below, as well as some people who were eager to take the position of prime minister.

I saw a few people staring at the crown and seal on the Prime Minister's throne, wanting to rush over and take it in their hands! A minister stood up and said:"Your Majesty, I think that the prime minister of Wei State should be a descendant of the clan. After all, it is a bit uneasy for an outsider to hold the position of prime minister. What if the other party is a spy from another country?" What should I do? I recommend Wei Zhen to be the prime minister! When Wei Zhen served as the governor of Hanoi County, the people were prosperous and the whole county was healthy. New water conservancy projects encouraged the reclamation of wasteland. He was also familiar with Confucianism. I think this person can take on the important task!"

Then! As soon as the ministers finished speaking, Wu Tong stood up and said:"Your Majesty, I believe that the position of prime minister of a country should be filled by the most virtuous people in the world. This position of prime minister is not only the position of hundreds of officials in the entire court, but also the position of our country, Wei." If you want to be strong, the prime minister must have someone who can take on a big job! Although Wei Zong made great achievements in governing Hanoi County, his vision is not long-term. I think that no one in the Wei Dynasty can take on the position of prime minister. , we should issue a recruitment order to the world to select talents to take up the position of prime minister!"

Wei Hou glanced at the minister, then at Wu Tong, and then said:"I have found a person who can take up the position of prime minister. He is also a great sage in the world. I think there will be no objections to him assuming the position of prime minister!"

Pang Juan stood up and asked:"Your Majesty, which great sage did you invite? The great sage in the world. , but there are only a few people, how can it be so easy for those great sages to invite us to be the prime minister of Wei!"

Pang Juan expressed doubts about this, because during his tenure as general, he had never seen the Marquis of Wei go there in person. I have never seen any great sage. Even when Mencius came to visit the State of Wei and wanted to tell the Marquis of Wei about his theory of governing the country, the Marquis of Wei avoided him! Where did the Marquis of Wei know the great sage? He even doubted whether Marquis Wei had just invited someone over.

The Marquis of Wei coughed a few times and said to the ministers:"Now I have decided that Mr. Hui Shi will be the prime minister of our country of Wei! He will lead our country of Wei to become stronger!" When all the ministers heard the word Huizi, they They were all surprised that the Marquis of Wei actually invited Huizi here. You know, Huizi and Zhuangzi are world-famous sages!

As soon as the Marquis of Wei finished speaking, Hui Shi slowly walked into the Wei court. All the ministers stared at Hui Shi. Some looked at him with respect, while others looked at him with envy? Some people's eyes were filled with jealousy. After Hui Shi stopped, he saluted the Marquis of Wei above him and said,"Hui Shi, I have met the Marquis of Wei!" The Marquis of Wei said respectfully:"I have never forgotten my promise to you. When Gu succeeded to the throne, Mr. Huizi came to Wei to teach me. Mr. Huizi's teachings were really unfathomable. I have always admired him very much. Now I ask him to be the prime minister of Wei. I wonder if he is willing?"

Hui Shi said with his hand in hand:" I would like to thank you for your trust in me, and I will use my lifelong learning to make our country of Wei strong!" The Marquis of Wei smiled and said to the ministers:"Everyone, do you have any objections?"

The ministers below all found it a bit incredible. When did the Marquis of Wei and Huizi know each other? This is different from the Wei Hou they usually see! The important minister below quickly said:"I have no objections!"

Wei Hou laughed and said:"Since you all have no objections, Mr. Huizi, the prime minister's seal and crown will be handed over to you!"

Hui Shi stepped forward to take it. Seal and crown, the Marquis of Wei personally put the crown on Hui Shi’s head! After Huizi became prime minister, he said to the Marquis of Wei:"Above, the strength of a country cannot be separated from the assistance of talents. I recommend a person to serve as Sikong. This person is extremely good at water conservancy projects and development. This person's appointment as Sikong will definitely make our country Wei stronger!"

Wei Hou asked:"I wonder who sir is talking about? Hui

Shi replied:"This man is none other than Bai Gui, a businessman from Luoyi. Your Majesty, you may not think that this man is an ordinary businessman, but he once drew a water conservancy map. I also heard that our Wei State is going to move its capital." When we get to Daliang, there are serious floods in the Daliang area. If this person is in charge, there will be no more floods in Daliang! Without even thinking about it, Marquis Wei said,"Okay, then let Bai Gui serve as Sikong!""

What the Marquis of Wei said shocked all the ministers. What happened? Why did the Marquis of Wei agree so quickly and easily? In the past, in order to recommend a talent, I had to waste a lot of talk. Unexpectedly, when Huizi said this, The Marquis of Wei agreed! Could it be that the Marquis of Wei had changed his character?

In order to verify whether the Marquis of Wei had changed his character, the general Pang Juan stood up and said:"Your Majesty, I recommend a person to serve as the commander of the East County. This person's name is Zhang Xun. I am your lieutenant general. This person is careful in using troops and is familiar with my methods of using troops. I recommend this person to be the commander-in-chief of Dongjun!"

Marquis Wei looked at Pang Juan and said without a trace of a smile on his face:"General, you need to know the captain of a county, but it is very important. If you choose the wrong one, the military defense of the county will be invalid! I hope the general will observe this person again, and if he is really talented, then agree to let him serve as the captain of Dongjun!"

Pang Juan was speechless. Why did he agree as soon as Huizi said it? And when he wanted to recommend someone, the Marquis of Wei didn't believe it? Then, the Marquis of Wei said:"Okay, since the position of prime minister of Wei State has already been taken. Let’s have a party tonight!"——Your Majesty, Your Majesty!

After the court meeting, Wei Shen was drinking with Pang Juan and Wu Tong in Wei Shen's mansion. Pang Juan said to Wei Shen:"Your Highness, why did Mr. Huizi recommend one person and Wei Marquis agreed? I recommended one person. What happened to Wei Marquis?" Don't you agree?"

Wei Shen said with a smile:"General Pang, you said a world-famous sage and a victorious general, who do you believe more?"

Pang Juan still didn't understand. , Wu Tong on the side explained:"Brother Pang Juan, what His Highness the Crown Prince means is that everyone will believe the words of the Great Sage! And for a general who has won every battle, why should I believe that you have the ability to discern people? What? Because your Majesty’s thinking is that you are only good at fighting and not good at anything else, so he doesn’t believe you! And what a great sage says is true. Do you believe it or not? Because of us People's talents are not recognized by everyone in the world, but Mr. Huizi's talents are recognized by everyone in the world!" Pang Juan nodded after hearing this and said,"Isn't this the reason for fame!"

Wu Tong said with a smile:"A A person's reputation is indeed very important. During the period of Wei Wenhou, Duan Qianmu relied on his reputation to prevent Qin from attacking Wei. After Duan Qianmu died, Wei Wenhou appointed Wu Qi as his general, but Qin attacked Wei for seventy years. The rest of the time, Wu Qi also defeated Qin more than seventy times, but Qin fought again and again. Finally, after the Battle of Yin and Jin, the Qin army did not dare to fight for another seventy years. Which of the two is stronger? This is also what Wei Houxin said The reason for Huizi!" Pang Juan understood after listening to Wu Tong's explanation, and he admired Huizi in his heart!

Pang Juan said:"It is indeed very powerful. To defeat the enemy without fighting is the highest point in the art of war! I also admit that Huizi is very powerful!"