In mid-June, Lin Quan was summoned by the sage again, this time the sage summoned him and asked Lin Quan, "I summoned you today to ask you one thing, Lin Quan, this virtuous monarch of the past dynasties, the first to recommend Song Wen, I want to know Song Wen, how to control the world." ”

Lin Quan thought for a while, and said to the sage, "Song Wen and other ministers have four theories, one is about taking guards, two is about monarchs and ministers, three is about political style, and four is about choosing officials. ”

Lin Quan then began to debate one by one, first of all, to take the defense, the Qi Dynasty unified the world for only forty years, after the death of Emperor Qi Wen, five years to lose the country, the Song Dynasty to take the country fast, is unprecedented.

At that time, the officials of the Song Dynasty discussed whether it was difficult to take the world or defend the world.

One of them believes that it is naturally difficult to fight the world, and as long as the world is defeated, it is very simple to defend the world. At that time, the Song Dynasty could conquer the country with thousands of men and horses, and now there are millions of halberds and thousands of generals, and there is nothing that can not be dealt with.

The other faction believes that the establishment of this new dynasty must be due to the decline of the previous dynasty, the king is dim and the ministers are dark, and the people hope that a new son of heaven will appear, which is an opportunity given by God, and there is no difficulty.

But if you get the world, if you are arrogant and arrogant, and the people want to live in peace, but the court does not repair the servitude, the people are poor, and they have to build extravagantly, then the country will decline, and when the world is in chaos, the country will be lost. Therefore, it is more difficult to keep a job.

Lin Quan's answer, of course, was targeted, although the Yu Dynasty was not as profitable as the Song Dynasty, it was relatively simple.

At this time, the sage said, "In the past, Emperor Gao set the world, prepared for hardship, and met a sound of death, so it was difficult to start a business, and I was safe in the world, and when I was worried about the end of arrogance, I would practice the place of danger and death, and I knew the difficulty of keeping it." The difficulty of grass creation, the three emperors of Gao, Wen and Ren have passed. The difficulty of defending the city should be cautious to the ministers. ”

Lin Quan shouted long live, and the sage continued, "The way of reversity, I don't know about it, the way of obedience, Lin Aiqing said it for me." ”

Lin Quan told the sage that emperors since ancient times have succeeded because of fear and failed because of arrogance. Whether you can start and finish well depends on whether you can be worried or proud. The fear of being prepared for danger in times of peace is the end of governing the world, and arrogance is the source of chaos.

"Trembling, walking on thin ice." When the sage said this, he said to Lin Quan, "As long as I am able and admonished, I can naturally keep this ancestral inheritance." ”

When Lin Quan heard this, he told the sage that when the emperor was in danger, he would definitely appoint virtuous ministers and accept advice, but when it came to peace, he would definitely be lax and lazy, so that virtuous ministers could only worry all day long, and could not meet them, and after a long time, it would lead to death.

Therefore, since ancient times, emperors have rarely been prepared for danger in times of peace, so in their later years, they often regret it.

Lin Quan felt that he hoped that the saint would not be relieved because of the destruction of the ghost mansion, and he should be prepared for danger in times of peace, abstain from luxury and frugality.

The sage thought for a while, and said to Lin Quan, "I understand, this governing the country is the same as recuperating from the disease, the more the patient feels better, the more he must take care of it, if he does not maintain his health well, he will definitely aggravate the condition, and even lose his life." When governing the country, if the world is a little stable, we must be cautious, if we are arrogant and indulgent, we will be defeated. ”

When Lin Quan heard the sage's words, he thought that there was still something wrong with this, the sage only thought that when the illness was better, he needed to be cautious, and he didn't understand, he had to be cautious all the time, but it was not convenient for him to advise, so he had to say that it was exactly the reason.

This fundamental question is about the king himself, but it is not enough to be prepared for danger in times of peace, Lin Quan continued, to govern the country with virtue.

Lin Quan said that there were different opinions among Emperor Wen of the Song Dynasty at that time, and some people thought that after the chaos, moral education would not work, because after three generations, the people's hearts were not ancient, and even Cao Za was domineering, and he could not let the world return to ancient times, so how could it be a pure royal road?

And some people say that the five emperors and three kings, the emperor who walks the emperor's way is the emperor, and the king who walks the king's road is the king. If Emperor Wen of Song is willing to follow the royal road, then he can succeed, Lin Quan finally said, "Emperor Wen of Song walked the royal road, and then he was peaceful in China, and he was served in Yuanrong." ”

The sage said to Lin Quan, "I look at the emperors of the past dynasties, those who rule with benevolence and righteousness, the extension of the country, and those who use the law and employ people, although they save the disadvantages for a while, they are also promoted by defeat. I want to rule with benevolence, righteousness and integrity, hoping to turn Chen Wei into shallowness. ”

Lin Quan saw that the saint was willing to do benevolence and righteousness, so he shouted three times.

After this first question was finished, Lin Quan continued to talk about the second question, the relationship between the monarch and the minister.

This Lin Quan had said to the Six Princes that this time he would give up some harsh words, and he praised the saint first.

He said that if Ming Jun was in power, then it would be enough to see a hundred officials, and he could kill one person and persuade a hundred people. Naturally, the ministers feared the might of the saints and did their best. If the tyrant is on top, it will be considered a good policy, but if the tyrant does not listen, then it is useless.

Therefore, Lin Quan said that the saint is the key to the world, and the chaos is in the saint.

Although Lin Quan is a sycophant, it is also a kind of exhortation, hoping that the saint can understand his responsibility and not think that if the people are in power, he can rule the world.

Lin Quan further said that if the world is to be stable, first of all, the saint must first be sincere and righteous.

After hearing this, the sage said to Lin Quan, "The ancients, the speaker, the cardinal of the gentleman." If an ordinary person has something bad to say, then others will write it down and look for the right opportunity to humiliate him. As the Lord of all vehicles, it is natural that words should not be lost. ”

Lin Quan was stunned for a moment, thinking that he originally wanted to tell the sage to be honest and upright, how could this sage think of the Taoist feminine and self-defensive technique. Lin Quan was naturally not good at admonishing, so he had to say to the sage, "The sage is wise, the sage should think more, if this is the case, whether it is beneficial to the people." If it is not profitable, then you should not say much. ”

Lin Quan thought for a moment and continued, "If the saint doesn't say anything right, it will affect the saint's virtue for thousands of years, not only to the detriment of the people. ”

In order to lead the saint to the topic, Lin Quan continued, the ancients said that the king is a vessel, the people are water, and Fang Yuan is not in water. There is no difference between the people of this king and the people of a tyrant.

Emperor Wei Ai led the world to violence, so the people were violent. Emperor Gao led the world to be benevolent, so the people of the world were benevolent.

Lin Quan's last addition, the heart of a deep saint, the saint asked Lin Quan to hand a cup of tea, after Lin Quan thanked him, and then Lin Quan said, in addition to words, do you have any hobbies, such as delicious food, which not only hinders political affairs, but also disturbs the people.

Lin Quan is feeling that this Yu Dynasty governs the country with nobles, between these nobles, arrogant and indulgent, not to mention thrifty, let them waste a little less can not be obtained, although Lin Quan himself enjoys these very much, but he understands in his heart that this is not good for the country, and he must advise.

The sage was noncommittal, and at this time Lin Quan continued, this king will also be at fault, and the king should face his own mistakes and make improvements.

The sage smiled and said, "This is Emperor Wen of Song's Three Mirrors Technique, I rule the world, and I always remind myself." ”

Lin Quan didn't say much about this topic, and when Lin Quan was about to continue, the sage asked, "Lin Quan, Lin Quan, this theory is about the monarch and the minister, and you are just talking about the monarch, and you don't know where the minister is." ”

Lin Quan began to explain that the turbidity of this flowing water, at the source of the water, the king is the source of the world, and the officials and the people are all water, if the king is cunning and wants to follow the straight path and the right way, then it is as if the source is turbid, and it is impossible to hope that the water is clear.

Therefore, before talking about the relationship between monarchs and ministers, we must get to the bottom of it.

When Lin Quan said this, he said to the sage, "May the sage make the minister a good minister, and not a loyal minister." ”

"Haha, Lin Quan, what is the difference between this loyal minister and a good minister?"

"A good minister can be famous, and a monarch can be famous. Descendants will be passed down from generation to generation, and the blessings will be boundless. And the loyal ministers are swords and axes, the king is notorious, and the family and country are mourned, which is unique. ”

After hearing this, the sage smiled and said, "I also want your descendants to be prosperous and rich from generation to generation, but Lin Quan, now that you are not married, how can I reward your descendants?" ”

Lin Quan did not continue the topic, but told the sage that although the monarchs and ministers were up and down, their purpose was the same, that is, for the justice of the world. Only when monarchs and ministers work together can they become the way of governance. If the saint thinks that he is higher than the top, insults his subordinates, thinks that the officials are no more than domestic slaves, and the people are no more than domestic animals, then the world will be in chaos.

If the officials think that they are inferior, they can only flatter, and everything is said to be beautiful, and chaos is not far away.

Lin Quan took this as an opportunity to criticize the self-defense of those obedient ministers, he thought that those people seemed to be loyal, but they were actually harming the lord, and the real way of ministers was to be upright and ask for the people's lives.

Next, Lin Quan said the six righteous and six evil, and after listening to it, the sage said to Lin Quan; "I think that you are a good minister, a good minister, and I have benefited a lot from your conversation today."

When the sage said this, he said to Lin Quan; "Lin Quan, those officials should listen to your comments, they slander and seek fame, and they have nothing to do, they seem to be saving the world, but they actually want to mess with the country."

The sage criticized the speech official, Lin Quan was silent on the side, and he did not have a good impression of the speech official, but it was necessary for the speech official to be established, otherwise, it would be flattering to be above the court.

The sage asked Lin Quan to take a sip of tea first, and then said to the people, "Call the princes." ”

The eunuch went to invite the prince, and after the sage asked them to sit down in turn, he said to them, "I am now talking to Master Lin about the way to govern the world, and I have benefited a lot. Now you also listen carefully, if you inherit the unification in the future, and those who inherit the grace of the domain, you must think about what Master Lin said. ”

Lin Quan didn't even dare to say it, the sage told Lin Quan not to be rigid and to continue.

Lin Quan looked at the princes, there was some pressure in his heart, he knew that he had to be cautious about what he said now, and the prince would be among them in the future, if he was wrong, he would be a sinner for the ages.

。