Hayabusa flapped its wings desperately, as if it was about to fly away from the sea of ​​misery. Its wings contracted weakly, towards the turquoise earth through which Yingshui flowed, and fell vertically like a falling meteor. It landed in Chen Hou's palace courtyard, and his legs twitched a few times before dying.

People from Chen Guo’s palace came to hear the news and found that Hayabusa had an arrow stuck in it. It was a very strange arrow: the arrowhead was made of stone, and the arrow was one foot eight inches long, and it seemed that it had been stuck on Hayabusa’s body. a long time. For a while, this incident was rumored to be an anecdote in Chen Duwanqiu, and even reached Chen Houyue's ears.

"According to the palace people, this bird flew slowly in the air and sang sadly. It flew slowly because of the pain of the old sore; its song was also sad because it had been separated from the birds for a long time, and it flew all the way to Chen State and brought it with it. The arrow, so the sore is still alive, no wonder it fell, but where did this arrow that we have never seen before come from? The widow is deeply puzzled."

Chen Houyue is the son of Chen Huaigong. It has been seven years since he inherited the position of Chenhou. His face is fair. interest. As soon as he asked a question in the palace hall of the Chen State, the officials of the Chen State all looked at each other, and no one could answer.

Finally, at the back of the hall, a thick voice rang out.

"Your Majesty, Confucius, who lives in a minister's family, is a resident of the State of Lu. He may be able to tell the truth."

So Chen Hou met Confucius for the first time, who had been in Chen State for nearly half a month.

"This should be a scorpion stone arrow." Confucius lived in Sadako's house in Sicheng. After resting for a few days, the exhaustion from Zheng Guo's long way had been swept away. After taking the arrow and looking at it for a while, he gave the answer.

"Yaki Ishiya? Where did it come from?"

Confucius said: "The place where the falcon flew is very far, and it is called Sushen. It is thousands of miles north of Yan State and Lonely Bamboo. This is the arrow of the Sushen tribe. Once upon a time when King Wu of Zhou attacked and destroyed the merchants in Dayi, he sent Duke Zhao to expedition to the north. , opened up the road with the various barbarian tribes in the north, so that they feared the mighty virtue of the Zhou Dynasty, so they each sent the local specialties there as tribute. The arrowhead was made, and the arrow is one foot eight inches long. These things are recorded in the classics. Later, in order to show the virtues of Yu Shun, King Wu gave the arrows that Sushen paid tribute to his eldest daughter, Da Ji, who also betrothed Da Ji to Duke Hu, a descendant of Yu Shun, enfeoffed Duke Hu in Wanqiu and established the state of Chen. If Chen Jun sent someone to the treasury to search for it according to the catalogue, he might still be able to find old things."

Chen Hou tried to send someone to look for it in the old warehouse. He really got this kind of arrow, exactly as Confucius said. Chen Hou was overjoyed for a while, surprised Confucius as a god, and began to invite him into the palace to chat.

After gradually getting acquainted with Chenhou, Confucius took the opportunity to say to him: "In those days, when King Wu of Zhou gave treasures and jades to princes of the same surname, it was to promote and deepen kinship; Don't forget your obligations. If today the son is being oppressed by Jin Qing and needs the support of the princes, after Chen Nai's second king, he was also a big country in the Central Plains, why don't you send someone to see the emperor? Restoring his post?"

Speaking of this, the atmosphere suddenly cooled down, and Chen Houyue looked at Confucius as if he were demented.

Wanqiu is the capital of the ancient Paoxi clan, and it is called the Ruins of Dahao. At the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, after Shun was enthroned, Duke Hu was filled here and became the state of Chen. In the early years of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Chen Guoyuan, Cai, and Zheng were the same as the middle states of Yuzhou, and they were the right-hand men of Zhou Tianzi. Later, due to the rise of Chu, Qi, Jin, and Qin, they fought in the Central Plains, and Chen Guo lived in the four war areas. Japan is not in the atmosphere of war, and the national situation is weakening day by day. In addition, the monarchs and ministers of the Chen State were reckless, and two civil strife and massacres occurred in succession for the throne.

Unlike Zhu Xia, Chu State has its own set of feudal system, Chen, Cai, Xu, Sui and other vassals have been included in it, which is equivalent to the county magistrates enfeoffed by Chu. A little more independence.

Today, although the state of Chu was destroyed by the state of Wu and declined for a time, with the help of worthy officials such as Ling Yin Zixi, Sima Ziqi, and Duke Ye, the state of Chu began to revive day by day. They began to avenge their old grudges at the Battle of Poying ten years ago. The year before last, they attacked and destroyed the kingdom of Dun, which tried to take refuge with the Wu people, and last year, they attacked and destroyed the kingdom of Hu, which had once invaded the territory of the state of Chu. Because Chen State was closer to Chu State, and the previous generation Chen Huaigong was summoned by Wu Wang Helu to Gusu and died there, so Chen State was afraid of Wu State's barbarism and wanted to stay under Chu State's wings. .

Therefore, King Chen Guoguo often went to Chu, and in Yingdu respectfully called him the "King of Chu". If they disagreed, Chen Guoyi was made a county.

In short, since it fell under the control of the state of Chu a hundred years ago, the state of Chen has never seen Zhou Tianzi even once, and when King Zhuang of Chu asked for the crown, he went to the royal family of Zhou as a charioteer for a walk.

At this juncture, Confucius came to suggest that Chen Guo go to the court to meet Zhou Tianzi? Chen Houyue only felt that he was afraid that he wanted to restore the Zhou ceremony, and the king of Zhou was going crazy.

Chen Hou was also a frivolous person, so he took this incident as a joke and told his courtiers. The ruler of Chen State, Gongsun Tuo, scoffed at it and said: "Since King Ping moved eastward, the State of Lu has paid tribute to the Emperor Zhou seven times, among which Lu has paid tribute to the emperor of Zhou. The monarch personally went there 3 times. At the same time, the State of Lu had 11 times to the Marquis of Qi and 20 times to the Hou of Jin. Even Confucius's hometown, Lu State, did this. Why did he say that Chen State was not? Such a pedantic person, his The words are not enough for you to listen to."

So the days of Confucius and his apprentices in Chen State began to become sad again. Confucius saw that his ideas were useless, so he could only sigh: "It's better to leave." In March, they packed their bags and set out on the road again, ready to go. Cai Guo, further south, went for a walk.

After King Wu of Zhou defeated Shang and built Zhou, he named the same mother and younger brother in Cai, called Cai Shudu. King Wu died early. After Zhou Gong regent, Cai Shu and Guan Shu participated in Wu Geng's rebellion and were annihilated. Uncle Guan was killed and Uncle Cai was exiled. Because Uncle Cai's son was of good character, Duke Zhou persuaded King Cheng of Zhou to restore the state of Cai, and his capital was moved to Shangcai today. South end.

In the early years of the Spring and Autumn Period, Cai Guoguo was still strong, and he and Lu, Song and others sent troops to attack Zheng. Until King Wen of Chu took advantage of the contradiction between the state of Cai and the state of Xi, he sent troops to capture Marquis Cai Ai, and brought the state of Cai into the control of the state of Chu. From then on, the state of Cai suffered greatly and became a vassal of the state of Chu for nearly two hundred years. melted. (531 BC) King Ling of Chu once destroyed Cai. Three years later, the Marquis of Cai Ping restored his kingdom and moved the capital to Lüting, calling it "Xin Cai".

More than ten years ago, because of the greed of the Chu State, Yin Zichang imprisoned Cai Hou, and after Cai Hou was released, Shen Meiyu went to Hanshui and vowed to retaliate against the Chu State! So he rebelled against Chu together with Tang State, lured Master Wu into Yingdu, and almost overthrew the State of Chu.

Today, the state of Cai is between the resurgent state of Chu and the state of Wu, which is still strong in the past, and the situation is quite sensitive. Seeing the gradual revival of the state of Chu, he continuously subdued the state of Chen, destroyed the two states of Dun and Hu, cut off the road from Cai to Wu state, and surrounded the state of Cai. Cai Houshen immediately panicked, worrying about the retaliation of the Chu army all day long, but now that he has a big hatred with the state of Chu, he can no longer end it, so he spreads labor and guards the border, and controls the border very closely.

At this time, Confucius chose to go south to Cai, which is really not wise, but he looked at the world, and there was nowhere to stay:

The hometown of Lu State did not go, because Zhao Wuxi usurped power there, and now a son was installed as a general; Wei State also could not go, his old friends Kong Yu, Jun Boyu, etc. either worked for the Zhao family, or went directly. In the eyes of Confucius, in the eyes of Qi State, Chen and Bao Er's actions, and Zhao Wuxi's act of holding the Marquis of Jin could not be traced; Song State, the great Wunan who held the theory of ghosts and gods Zi did not welcome Confucius; Taoqiu of the Cao State, also known as the "Republic", became a country without a ruler and no father, Confucius was also a little disappointed with Zigong, and only pointed to him and scolded him. ".

For a time, Confucius could only express the emotion of "what country in the world cannot understand Zhao". In addition, Zheng and Chen did not like to see him, so it goes without saying that Confucius looked around, but only Qin and Chu were able to go there.

But what he wanted to go more was Yanling of Wu State. Yanling Jizi has a long life. This 80-year-old old man lives a gentle and quiet life in the chaotic and savage state of Wu. Confucius yearns for it and always wants to visit, but to Yanling, Cai State is the only way to go.

However, what the master and apprentice group of more than 100 did not expect was that when they were just approaching a field on the border of Chen Cai, they encountered more than a thousand Cai soldiers rushing up, without saying hello, they were surrounded!

"We are wanderers in the country of Lu, and we have no other intentions when we pass through your country!"

The lacquer carving's exhausting appeal seemed to have no effect. The soldiers of the Cai country did not say a word, and surrounded Confucius and his disciples. The spears and arrows were aimed at them, and they wanted to kill them all here. stance!

Confucius asked his disciples to be behind the car, and he stepped forward like a female beast protecting the young, raising his jacket and reporting to his family: "Confucius from Lu is here, and I also invite the doctor of your country to come and speak."

I don't know if the Cai people are located in the south and can't understand Kong Qiu's elegant words with a slight Ludi accent.

"Master, if you can't agree, rush out!" Zilu shouted loudly.

Confucius was very worried. Looking at Cai Ren who didn't listen to his explanation, he didn't know why he was embarrassing himself, so he could only nod his head and instructed: "Don't kill people."

"I was killed in Kuangdi, surrounded by people from Kuang, and now I am killed here. Is it my fate? In order not to let the master die, Gongliangru would rather fight and die!" Facing such a critical situation, the brave Zilu He and Gongliangru drew swords from the left and the right, and fought very bravely.

Cai's army was known for being fragile and indifferent, so two warriors, Zilu and Gongliangru, were able to keep them from approaching. Confucius and the others fought and retreated, and retreated to a small hill. At this time, it was already dark, and Cai Ren did not catch up, but watched from a distance nearby, as if he was a little undecided.

Confucius asked his disciple Yan and the others to negotiate with him. At this time, someone from the state of Cai who could talk to him finally stood up and said to them coldly across the distance: "A few days ago, someone came to station in Shenyi. The doctor reported that a team of more than 100 people will pass through the state of Cai, and there are spies sent by the state of Chu and Chen, and they plan to cooperate with each other and defeat the state of Cai! That’s why Dr. Shen Yi sent us to intercept it.”

Confucius and his disciples were in an uproar, Confucius also looked left and right, raised his defenseless arms, smiled and said to the official Cai Renluo: "The gentleman has nothing to contend with, but the affairs of Zudou have been heard before, and the affairs of the military have not yet been learned. , and will not intervene in the struggles of other countries, presumably your country has misunderstood."

But that Cai Li couldn't make the decision either, he said impatiently: "Don't misunderstand the decision of your own doctor and the monarch, everyone is waiting here, until we report to the doctor, and the doctor will report to the lord, then we can decide whether you are waiting. Catch is release!"

They didn't say any more, and firmly guarded the road near the hill. It seemed that they planned to trap Confucius and his party of more than 100 people here before the boss's order was issued again.

It was March, the spring of the southern country, and in a sea of ​​green grass, the hill was like an island.

Confucius and his party had been trapped in the gap between Chen and Cai for seven days!

The Cai people blocked the road around the hill, making it impossible to pass. On the third day, Confucius and his disciples ran out of dry food and cut off the food. The disciples in the entourage were exhausted and too hungry to stand up.

It was a barren knoll, and unless they were willing to munch on grass roots like cows, they could hardly find any food. They've tried eating ants, but these small, yellow things are too small to be nutritious and leave your mouth sour.

Some disciples found a bush with green hard fruits hanging on its curved branches. Min Sun and the others glanced at them hesitantly, but in the end they couldn't help but plucked one from one of them and bit it. The pulp is sour and chewy, followed by a familiar bitterness, which is very unpalatable. But just chewing it made their stomachs growl, and then a large number of disciples rushed to hear the news, picked the berries with their hands, and stuffed them into their mouths.

However, after the night fell, their stomachs began to twitch, the pain made it impossible to sleep, and many disciples had been retching and diarrhea.

"It would be nice if my son was late"

Everyone couldn't help but miss Fan Xulai, who could easily identify all kinds of wild vegetables~lightnovelpub.net~ The next day, they excreted a brown liquid, and it smelled extremely bad. The disciples of Confucius squatted everywhere on the field. Yes, there was mourning everywhere, the stench filled the sky, and the elegance of "Gentleman Confucianism" disappeared.

The more they pulled, the more thirsty they felt, but fortunately there was no problem with drinking, and there was a murky stream in the besieged area, although the water also made stomach cramps. Their bellies seemed to be crawling with venomous snakes, twisting and biting their stomachs, but it was more bearable than thirst, and they had nothing to drink but **** the morning dew that shone on the tall grass.

At this difficult time, a thought flashed in the minds of the disciples who regard the Master as a model for the first time: "Is there something wrong with the Master's theory? Otherwise, why would we be reduced to this point!?"

But even under such circumstances, Confucius continued to teach and read, to play and sing, and to teach poetry, rites and music without interruption.

Amid the feeble response from the crowd, a disciple finally arose in anger and questioned him.

"Isn't the Master trying to teach us the way of being a gentleman? Does a gentleman also have such difficult and unlucky times?" (To be continued.)