novelAbuy Chapter 28 Mo Family
Chapter 28 Mo Family
Zhao Heng pondered the possible identity of the man in black robes, but remained expressionless. He listened to the slightly blurred sound of the flute downstairs, placed his hands on his knees, looked straight ahead, neither humble nor arrogant, and did not speak.
Wei Wuji, sitting in the main seat, sized up Zhao Heng for a while, then suddenly smiled.
"I heard," he said jokingly, "that a eunuch named Gao Qu came to your residence a couple of days ago, and you scolded him so badly that he left speechless and embarrassed?"
Zhao Heng paused for a moment, then shook his head.
"Your Majesty has misunderstood. This junior would not dare to rebuke the eunuch. He came on the king's orders, and as a subject, how could I dare to be disrespectful?"
He pondered for a moment and continued, "I only saw that the eunuch was trying to use the king's order as a pretext to overstep his authority in punishing and humiliating my mother. I couldn't bear it, so I explained the situation to him. Perhaps it was because my words were straightforward and my reasoning was simple that the eunuch realized he was in the wrong and couldn't refute me, so he left. It's not that I have any special abilities."
Mao Zedong, the man with gray hair sitting on the left, suddenly scoffed.
"It's alright." He waved his hand, the wine in his glass swirling. "It's rude for a son to scold his mother, but even if you insult his ancestors, you're still in the right."
Zhao Heng gave an awkward laugh but didn't reply.
Wei Wuji smiled and waved to Mao Gong, "Mao Gong, don't corrupt the young master. Gao Qu is, after all, the eunuch in charge of the King of Zhao; we should still give him some face."
Despite saying this, there was not much respect for Gao Qu in his tone.
"Where did I go and corrupt him?" Mao said nonchalantly. "He has his own teachers, doesn't he?"
As he spoke, he put down the ear cup, looked at Zhao Heng, and narrowed his eyes slightly:
"Wei Jia was once a strategist who navigated the states, and was even respected by Lord Chunshen of Chu. As your teacher, he holds a position but does not fulfill his duties. What use is it if he teaches you the most sophisticated strategies of diplomacy? He has not even taught you the most basic principle that a wise man does not stand under a crumbling wall."
Mao Zedong's words were loaded with meaning, but he was clearly saying that Zhao Heng's association with Ying Zheng was "standing on a crumbling wall."
Zhao Heng listened, a hint of resentment mixed with restraint on his face. He deliberately muttered under his breath, "It's probably not very polite to reprimand a teacher in front of students..."
The voice wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for everyone present to hear.
Upon hearing this, Chairman Mao was not angry at all; instead, he burst into laughter.
He waved his hand: "You can go back and repeat exactly what I said to Wei Jia, and see if he dares to come and argue with me!"
Wei Wuji smiled and shook his head, gestured for Mao Gong to stop, and then looked at Zhao Heng.
Do you know why I specifically invited you here today?
Zhao Heng could naturally guess, but he simply answered honestly, "This junior does not know."
Wei Wuji leaned back slightly, his gaze fixed on a spot outside the window, as if he were recalling something.
"When Handan was besieged, I joined forces with the Chu army to defeat the Qin army and retreat. Your father, Lord Chunping, was the first Zhao general to follow me. Later, it was also your father who mediated between Lord Pingyuan and me, allowing me to live peacefully in Zhao. The King of Zhao granted me Hao as a fief, which was also due to your father's advice."
Zhao Heng looked up at him.
Then Wei Wuji turned around and sighed softly: "Speaking of which, the reason why the Qin state forcibly took your father as a hostage back then may not have been without the fact that your father and I were too close."
Zhao Heng remained silent for a moment, then rose from his seat and bowed respectfully to Wei Wuji.
"I understand. Since Your Majesty is someone my father respects, then he is also someone I respect. I think that even if my father had known that associating with Your Majesty would arouse the Qin state's suspicion, and even force him to go to Qin as a hostage, he would never have regretted it."
Wei Wuji chuckled to himself.
He gestured for Zhao Heng to sit down, then shook his head and said, "Your father was also someone I respected. After the siege of Handan was lifted, the Qin state, still harboring wolfish ambitions, knew that your father was the crown prince of Zhao, so they forcibly took him as a hostage. However, the Qin army suffered a great defeat at that time and was unable to launch another major war for several years. Your father could have chosen not to go."
Zhao Heng listened quietly.
"But the Zhao state was severely weakened after the battles of Changping and Handan, and the Chu army's reinforcements had also come from afar, so it could not stay long. The other states were watching and the situation was delicate." Wei Wuji sighed, "So, for the sake of Zhao's stability, your father actually took the initiative to accept the mission of going to Qin as a hostage, in order to appease Qin's wolfish ambitions."
The light from outside the window shifted another half foot, illuminating half of Zhao Heng's face. The young man lowered his eyes and remained silent for a long time.
Wei Wuji's tone returned to calm: "So, after I learned that you had fallen into the water and regained consciousness, I sent someone to your residence this morning to check on you. When I learned that you were not home, I saw you passing by the music hall just now, so I invited you upstairs to see me."
Zhao Heng looked up, a slightly embarrassed smile on his face.
"I am just a child, there is really no need for Your Majesty to go to such trouble."
Wei Wuji pointed at him, his smile deepening.
"Your statement about the three parties being innocent when you scolded Gao Qu was very well said, so there's no need for you to be modest. Besides, I didn't come here today to listen to your evasive answers."
He suppressed his smile and said seriously, "Firstly, it's because of your father's old friendship. I can be considered your elder, and there are some things I can advise you on. Secondly, it's about the affairs of the six kingdoms."
Zhao Heng's face showed a look of astonishment. He blinked, appearing completely bewildered: "The affairs of the six states? Your Majesty... This junior is foolish and does not understand what Your Majesty means?"
Having explained the whole story to Zhao Heng, Wei Wuji didn't waste any more words and simply asked, "Have you been on good terms with that Qin hostage lately?"
Zhao Heng hesitated for a moment, then nodded readily: "It is true."
Ji Cheng hurriedly spoke up from behind Zhao Heng: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, but my young master's association with that Qin hostage is because..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhu Hai, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "My lord did not ask you."
Ji Cheng choked, his face turning slightly red.
Zhao Heng raised his hand and waved it gently behind him, indicating that Ji Cheng did not need to say anything more.
He looked at Wei Wuji, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Does Your Majesty consider my actions inappropriate when you ask me about this matter?"
Wei Wuji waved his hand, his expression quite tolerant: "Young friends shouldn't be concerned with so many national prejudices. I'm not here to criticize you, so you don't need to worry."
"But I want to remind you of two things."
He held up one finger: "Firstly, Qin and Zhao are mortal enemies. In the Battle of Changping, Zhao suddenly lost hundreds of thousands of orphans, who from childhood viewed Qin as their mortal foe. Now, many of these orphans have grown into teenagers and young adults, full of youthful vigor. You, as the eldest grandson of the King of Zhao, are associating with a hostage from Qin. If they find out, what will they think? What will they do?"
Zhao Heng remained silent.
"Secondly," Wei Wuji held up a second finger, "you are the eldest grandson of the King of Zhao. If Lord Chunping has not returned, you are the heir apparent. If the people of the five states see that the future heir apparent of Zhao is getting along so closely with the hostage from Qin, what will they think? Won't they think that Zhao might become pro-Qin in the future?"
Zhao Heng stood up and said solemnly, "Your Majesty..."
Wei Wuji interrupted him, saying in a friendly manner, "Your father and I are of equal generation, so there's no need for such formalities. If you don't mind, just call me 'Uncle'."
Zhao Heng readily agreed and politely changed his words, saying, "I do understand the principles you speak of, Uncle. However, I am still young and my understanding of things may be shallow, and some of my thoughts may differ from those of others."
He looked at everyone at the table, his tone growing increasingly serious.
"The Qin state massacred 450,000 of my Zhao soldiers, and the number of fatherless orphans registered in Handan alone increased by nearly 600,000 overnight. Heng himself has been without a father since childhood, and even without witnessing it firsthand, how could he not imagine the cries of those orphans and the wailing of the women?"
He paused for a moment, as if considering how to say what to say next.
"But in the Battle of Changping, although Qin won, it suffered more than half its casualties. In the homes of Qin soldiers, were there not mothers waiting for their children to return, or children who had lost their fathers? Would those Qin orphans also have the word 'hatred of Zhao' etched into their very bones? The Zhao orphans hate Qin, and the Qin orphans hate Zhao. This hatred is like weeds; once burned, it grows back even more densely after the spring rain. Generation after generation, when will it ever end?"
This time, no one interrupted him. Even the rather unruly Mr. Mao simply watched the young man with interest and listened to him speak slowly.
"Today, we, the people of Zhao, have humiliated the Qin hostage. If he were to return to Qin and come to power one day, would he hate Zhao even more? If war breaks out again, it will only result in more deaths and more orphans and widows."
Zhao Heng looked at Wei Wuji.
"The Qin hostage prince is named after Qin, but he was born and raised in Handan. He did not participate in the Battle of Changping, nor did he shed the blood of Zhao. He could even be said to be half Zhao. But we Zhao people have only humiliated and bullied him. Having suffered such treatment, will he harbor hatred towards Zhao in the future?"
Wei Wuji smiled.
"Isn't this just common sense?" he said. "He was originally from Qin."
Zhao Heng shook his head.
"That's not what I think. What Heng said today is not merely out of sympathy for a young Qin child."
"Today, we, the people of Zhao, are humiliating the Qin hostage because he is a Qin citizen. But what good will it do to humiliate him, even kill him? He is nothing more than a child abandoned in Handan by Ying Yiren, someone no one cares about, no one pities. Killing such a child, besides giving Qin an excellent pretext to launch another attack on Zhao, what benefit will it bring to our Zhao, or to the people of the six states who yearn for a respite?"
Wei Wuji did not refute further, but merely frowned slightly, stroked his short beard, and gestured for Zhao Heng to continue.
"Uncle, the world has been in turmoil for over a century, with the seven kingdoms constantly attacking each other, causing untold suffering to the people. Every major battle leaves fields barren, cities in ruins, and people displaced."
Zhao Heng said, "If there is any chance, even just a sliver of possibility, to temporarily halt the war between the nations and allow them to recuperate, even if it's only for two, three, or five years... then my Zhao state can recover a little more strength, the orphans of the Zhao family can have a little more time to grow up, the barren fields can be cultivated, and the people can weave a few more bolts of cloth and have a few more clothes..."
Finally, he looked at Wei Wuji and said earnestly, "If this insignificant possibility requires me to sacrifice a friendship, even if that friendship might invite criticism or put me in danger... then what's wrong with that?"
Upon hearing this, Wei Wuji frowned slightly and fell into deep thought.
Mao Gong and Xue Gong stopped drinking, stroked their beards, and pondered.
The shadow beneath the black-hatted man's hood shifted slightly, as if he were listening intently.
Ji Cheng and Luan Ding were deeply moved, finally understanding why the young master had made this trip. Ji Cheng kept looking at Luan Ding and blinking.
At this moment, the man in the black hat, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up.
"If Zhao can recover its strength, as Prince Heng has said, why can't Qin grow stronger?" he said. "You must know that even an orphan of the Qin family can grow up."
After a moment's thought, Zhao Heng turned to the man in the black hat and bowed.
"I only know that even without peacetime, the Qin state can still catch its breath," he said frankly. "But for my Zhao state, without this time, it would be very difficult to catch its breath."
The man in black robes remained silent for a moment.
In the shadows beneath the hood, a gaze seemed to be scrutinizing Zhao Heng.
"According to you, no matter what, Qin will be stronger than Zhao. Even if Zhao recovers its strength, it will still be defeated by Qin. What is the long-term significance of what you have done, my lord? In the end, a war is inevitable, and Qin may be even stronger by then."
Wei Wuji glanced at the man in black robes in surprise, as if he hadn't expected him to say so much today.
Zhao Heng thought about it carefully.
"When nations wage war against each other, their people are nothing more than ants being pushed along. The idea that the strong will always be strong and the weak will always be weak is probably meaningless."
"But how can these things be said to be meaningless to ordinary people? Whether they were soldiers of Qin or Zhao, they were just ordinary civilians. They only cared about whether they had land, whether their families could eat meat, and whether their children had clothes to wear."
He looked at the man in black robes and pondered, "If the country can't even provide them with this most basic life, does it really matter to them whether it's Qin or Zhao? Defeat is inevitable."
Finally, Zhao Heng slowly said, "On the contrary, if we can let them live such a life, whether they are Qin people or Zhao people, it doesn't matter to them whether it is Qin or Zhao."
After hearing this, the man in the black robe adjusted his hood slightly, and his posture seemed to become more upright than before.
Although his face was still not clearly visible, one could sense that his attitude had become more serious.
He asked no more questions.
Wei Wuji looked at Zhao Heng for a long time before smiling and saying:
"I understand your intentions. Your heart is good, but what you say is ultimately an ideal. And things in this world often don't go according to ideals. The Qin hostage is just a child, and even if he returns to Qin one day, it's uncertain whether he will be able to seize power. Even if he does seize power, facing the ruthless nature of Qin and the infighting in the court, how much can his own will change? How can a mere child possibly bring you the three to five years of peace you speak of?"
Zhao Heng simply shook his head: "A person's prejudice can perhaps change more things than we imagine. Even if there's only a sliver of a possibility, if we don't take action, then even that tiny possibility will be lost."
Mao, who had been listening attentively, suddenly raised his eyelids, smacked his lips, and muttered indistinctly, "That Wei Jia... he's actually taught someone quite well."
Lord Xue smiled and nodded.
Upon hearing this, Wei Wuji glanced at Mao Gong, then looked at Zhao Heng, and finally shook his head:
"These things might be fine for someone else, but not for you. I know your intentions, but the blood feud between Qin and Zhao cannot be erased by personal friendship. Your association with that Qin prince might be a form of protection for him, but for you, it's a monstrous threat. Take my advice, Uncle, and try to avoid seeking out that Qin prince in the future. If you need companionship or encounter difficulties, feel free to come to me anytime."
This time, Zhao Heng did not argue. He left his seat and bowed deeply to Wei Wuji once more: "Thank you for your kindness, Uncle. I will remember it."
Wei Wuji looked Zhao Heng up and down again, then chuckled, "I invited you here today to take the opportunity of being an elder to give you some advice. But seeing that you are decisive and know what you are doing, I won't say any more."
He waved his hand: "Go back. Give my regards to your mother and tell her that Wei Wuji will visit again another day."
Then he instructed the man who had led the way, "Take the young master back to his residence and explain to Madam Han that he was invited by me for a chat, hence his late return. Don't let Madam worry."
The man bowed in agreement.
Zhao Heng bowed to Wei Wuji, Mao Gong, and Xue Gong in turn. When he reached the man in black, he also bowed in return. The man in black remained silent, but this time his hood seemed to lift slightly, as if in response.
Ji Cheng and Luan Ding escorted Zhao Heng out of the room with the man who was leading the way.
Wei Wuji toyed with the wine cup in his hand, pondered for a moment, then suddenly turned to the man in the black hat and asked curiously, "Master, you rarely speak now, but what is your opinion on this young man?"
The man in the black hat raised his left hand, which had been tucked into his sleeve, and placed it on the table.
The hand was wearing a black leather glove, finely crafted and perfectly shaped. However, upon closer inspection, the outline of the glove's fingers was somewhat unusual; next to the thumb, there was a faint outline of an extra knuckle.
"Lord Xinling, are you aware that the Mohists have three major threats?"
Wei Wuji said seriously, "I would like to hear the details."
"The hungry have no food, the cold have no clothes, and the weary have no rest." The Grand Master said, "These three calamities are the greatest calamities of the world. The constant warfare between states only exacerbates these calamities."
Lord Xinling pondered this carefully.
The Grand Master continued, “Just now he asked, if the people can have enough to eat and wear, what difference does it make whether it is Qin or Zhao? No one among the feudal lords in the world can answer this question.”
Wei Wuji remained silent for a long time.
"So what the Grand Master means is..."
The Grand Master withdrew his left hand and tucked it back into his sleeve.
"Please ask Lord Xinling to deliver a complete copy of the Mozi to this boy on my behalf."
Wei Wuji was taken aback.
Mao chuckled from the side, "The Grand Master is quite generous. The classics of the Mohist school have never been easily passed on to outsiders."
"Classics stored away on high shelves are nothing but lifeless objects," the Grand Master said calmly.
Master Xue stroked his beard and nodded: "This boy is indeed a promising talent. Wei Jia has taught him well, but the art of diplomacy is ultimately a matter of power and strategy. If he can also study the Mohist philosophy of saving the world, he may truly achieve something in the future."
Wei Wuji pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded.
"Okay," he said. "I'll take care of it."