Plan to cut off the nine states

Xu Chu replied "I don't know", and everyone thought he was admitting defeat, but Kou Daogu thought he could continue the debate.

Yan Wei, who was delivering the message, blushed, bowed deeply, and said: "My disciple is short-sighted and failed to understand the deep meaning of the teacher. I am ashamed, ashamed."

"You didn't understand, that's right. But Xu Chu's answer may just be a coincidence. I want to ask a second question."

"Disciple is willing to go and deliver the message."

"You may not be suitable. Do you understand the general situation of the world and the movements of the heroes?"

"Uh... I know a little bit."

"It's not enough to know a little bit. You have to be someone who is familiar with the situation and understands the direction." Kou Daogu looked at the prince of Jibei.

Zhang Shiyu was both angry and embarrassed. With his status, how could he be a messenger? But he couldn't admit that he didn't understand the situation in all directions, so he forced a smile and said, "It's just a message, is it necessary to go through so much trouble?"

"Xu Chu suddenly abdicated when the situation was good. After I heard about this, I thought of coming to the Valley of Repentance. Whether Xu Chu did this to steal the reputation or for some other hidden reasons, it is very important. So someone has to explain the general situation of the world to him and see how he responds."

Zhang Shiyu himself also wanted to find out the real thoughts of his brother-in-law. He looked at the scholars watching and the followers in the distance. He could ask someone else to pass the message. He was also familiar with the general situation of the world and might be able to explain it more clearly than him. After thinking about it, he decided to go by himself.

"I'll go. Does Mr. Kou have any instructions?" Since Zhang Shiyu was going, he had to show that he was willing, and his tone became respectful again.

Kou Daogu shook his head, "Whatever the prince says is fine."

"Okay, please wait for Mr. Kou and the others."

The prince of Jibei was willing to be driven, leaving everyone behind. Even if they had doubts and dissatisfaction, they did not dare to speak at this time. They looked around and refused to look at Guan Daogu.

Yan Wei sincerely respected Kou Daogu. Although they were called brothers, he actually recognized him as his master. Seeing that the situation was a bit awkward, he spoke to resolve it and also wanted to promote the new master.

"Sir, I have doubts. Can I ask?"

"Ask."

"Sir, you asked, 'Can the truth be seen? Can it be known?' Xu Chu replied, 'I don't know'. I think Xu Chu admitted defeat. Why do you think the debate can continue?"

Even when facing admirers, Kou Daogu would sneer, "For example, if you use bait to catch fish, can the bait be bigger than the fish?"

"Of course not. The bait is less than one tenth or one part of the fish. The bait is much smaller than the fish. This is the law of nature. If the bait is too big, the fish will find it difficult to swallow it. Even if you are lucky enough to catch a small fish with a big bait, it is not worth the loss."

"Then is the text the bait? Is it the fish?"

Yan Wei is a smart man. He immediately bowed and said, "The disciple seems to have realized something."

"Withdraw."

Yan Wei walked away and stood under a tree to ponder.

Others still didn't quite understand, but they were too embarrassed to ask.

Yu Zhan, a disciple of Fan Sect, had argued with Xu Chu and was defeated. He was not convinced and was very concerned about this confrontation. He stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Brother Kou, can you explain it more clearly?"

Kou Daogu sighed lightly, as if he was a little impatient, but still said, "If you explain it more clearly, I will be Fan Bi."

Kou Daogu despised the master so much that all the disciples of Fan Sect were angry, but they dared not refute him easily, fearing that they would be humiliated.

Yu Zhan said, "It is a blessing to be taught by Mr. Fan again."

"I will try to be straightforward: Fan Bi discussed the Tao, the words came out of his mouth, and the words fell on the paper. You asked with your own ears and saw with your own eyes. Are those words the Tao?"

"Is it...right? Without the words left by the master, how can we open our minds?"

Kou Daogu leaned over and picked up a stone, handed it to Yu Zhan, "Take it."

Yu Zhan was stunned, slowly reached out and took the stone, not understanding its meaning.

"I give, you receive. Is there a time when I give and you can't receive it?"

"This... No, it's too simple."

"Can everyone understand Fan Bi's words on Taoism?"

"It depends on the level of understanding. Senior Brother Kou thinks that our understanding is low, and there are people who are even lower than us..."

"Then Fan Bi's words are not as good as this stone. Everyone can receive the stone, but not everyone can receive the words."

An Zhongqian couldn't help but interrupt: "What if this person is blind and can't see the stone? What if he has no hands and can't receive the stone?"

"Hey." Kou Daogu refused to answer such a simple question.

Yu Zhan answered for him: "Senior Brother An is thinking wrong. Senior Brother Kou means that the stone is real and the words are virtual, which has nothing to do with eyes and hands."

Yu Zhan flipped his hand and threw away the stone.

"Don't make random analogies if it's irrelevant." An Zhongqian muttered.

Yu Zhan continued, "Words are bait, and the truth is fish. Even if you speak in a flowery way and write in a thrilling way, it is just to fish. If you stick to words, you stick to small baits and forget big fish."

Kou Daogu nodded slightly, then shook his head, "You have been in Fan's house for too long. You may have some small enlightenment occasionally, but it is difficult to achieve great enlightenment."

Yu Zhan is known for his strong temper, but at this time he did not have any temper at all, and bowed his hands and stepped back obediently.

An old gentleman couldn't stand it anymore and said, "No matter what, fishing always requires bait, which just shows that writing cannot be abolished."

Kou Daogu sneered, "Of course writing cannot be abolished. Without writing, you will be confused for life, and you won't even have a little enlightenment. This is exactly what made Fan Bi confused in his later years. He taught you a little enlightenment, and you were very good at it, but he wanted to achieve great enlightenment, but he couldn't find the right method."

Kou Daogu was in his thirties and looked younger. The old gentleman was a little embarrassed to be called "you all", "It sounds nice, but what exactly are the great way, great doubt, and great enlightenment you are talking about? Tell me, and let everyone discuss it."

Kou Daogu turned his head away again and refused to answer.

Yan Wei came from under the tree and said, "Mr. Shen still doesn't understand? You should understand the Tao through Tao, not through words. Mr. Shen hopes to 'say it out', which is inferior. Mr. Xu said 'I don't know', but he has seen the way."

Mr. Shen also sneered, but the power was much smaller, more like a bluffing retreat, rather than a direct attack, "According to his analogy, is he trying to catch fish with fish?"

"Words have an end, and analogies are only temporary conveniences. They should not be exhausted and should be stopped at the right time." Yan Wei replied.

Mr. Shen laughed a few times and turned to his companions, "Mr. Kou means: he understands, but others don't. If you ask, you are not qualified to understand. If you want to understand as well as him, you have to be mysterious like him. No wonder Mr. Fan doesn't want to recognize him as his apprentice. One is pragmatic and the other is idealistic, which goes against each other."

Only two people perfunctorily agreed, while others were thinking, and they might not completely agree with Kou Daogu's statement, and they had some ideas in their hearts.

On the other side, Zhang Shiyu's task was relatively simple, and he didn't have to talk about any great principles. He didn't even have to prepare specially, so it was very easy.

At the door of Xu Chu's residence, Zhang Shiyu stopped and was surprised to see his sister Zhang Shiqing walking with a group of women.

"Why are you here? Don't you want to see him?"

Zhang Shiqing and her more than ten companions have been completely conquered by Feng Ju Niang.

Feng Ju Niang only learned the art of debate for less than a month, just to relieve boredom. She was a weak woman with no one to rely on, and she was dealing with the leaders of the Jiangshi Army and their wives. Although she had a bad reputation, she had always lived a good life, and she could win the favor of Niu Tiannu, not by being sarcastic, but by being able to please people, no matter whether the other party was a man or a woman.

Debate to establish authority, please to win people, Feng Ju Niang naturally combined these two moves into one move.

In her description, Xu Chu was the world's first-class amorous man, who was obsessed with Princess Fangde. He married the daughter of the King of the World because of the situation, not voluntarily, and the only thing he cared about was his original wife.

When Xu Chu became king, he defeated all the soldiers in succession, but he retreated when facing the Jingzhou army, because his father-in-law, the King of Jibei, was in the enemy's army. He was afraid of hurting his father-in-law and had no face to see his wife.

In order to return to his wife, Xu Chu retreated his troops, abdicated, and withdrew his people - letting the Golden Saint go far away to Qinzhou was considered as withdrawing people.

There were many flaws in Feng Ju Niang's words, but the listeners didn't care. They were all moved, and several people even shed tears.

Feng Ju Niang not only praised Xu Chu, but also cited her own experience as evidence, and lamented how rare it was to have a loving person.

For these girls, Feng Ju Niang's experience was rich enough to form a world of its own, and every part of it could surprise them and open their eyes.

Feng Ji Niang observed the girls' expressions and quickly saw the status of the girls. She also guessed who was engaged and whether they were satisfied with their future husbands. She took advantage of the situation and finally the girls rushed to tell her their secrets and asked her for advice.

Zhang Shiqing was already married, but she still dressed like an unmarried woman. The other girls were all engaged in the Eastern Capital. Their fiancés either did not come to Yecheng, or fled and their lives were unknown, or they had already joined the army and were about to go to war. Two of them were unlucky. Their wedding dates were set, but their fiancés died on the battlefield.

Everyone had a lot of grievances to pour out, and they wanted to get comfort and encouragement, and they wanted to vent them out. In their eyes, Feng Ji Niang, who met them for the first time, was more considerate than their mother and sister. Many things that could not be said at home could be poured out at this time.

Kou Daogu won the respect of scholars one by one in front of the grave, and Feng Ji Niang also won the favor of twelve noble ladies in the tent at the same time.

Zhang Shiqing was still a little confused and asked, "Does he... really care about me that much?"

"Why did Master Xu abdicate only when facing the King of Jibei? The world is so big, why did he only come to Yecheng for refuge? If he came, why didn't he want to enter the city? There can only be one explanation for all these things."

"But... he seemed reluctant to marry me before."

"Master Xu is cold on the outside but warm on the inside, and things are often like this. You only know the value of something when you lose it. The farther away from the princess, the more Master Xu misses the princess, and the deeper his feelings are."

Zhang Shiqing felt a little guilty, "But I have divorced him..."

Feng Ju Niang smiled and said, "The most loving couples will occasionally quarrel. The princess divorced her husband, which was nothing more than a joke. Will Master Xu take it seriously?"

"I never had a good face for him."

"But you have never forgotten him in your heart?"

"No?" Zhang Shiqing himself was not sure.

"Otherwise, why did the princess come to the Valley of Repentance?"

"I came to ask for punishment. It's fine that he married another wife outside, but he even brought... Sister Ju back. I didn't know what kind of person Sister Ju was. I believed the rumors and thought you were... a vixen. He used you to humiliate our family, so I..."

"It was a misunderstanding. If I could move Mr. Xu, I would never follow him to Yecheng, but persuade him to live in seclusion somewhere else. To be honest, Mr. Xu's deep love did move me, but unfortunately, I couldn't make Mr. Xu look at me with favor even if I used all my skills. I can face the princess calmly today because nothing happened. I admire Mr. Xu's character, and I envy the princess for marrying a good husband."

Zhang Shiqing was confused. The "Mr. Xu" described by Feng Ju Niang did not seem to be the same person as the "Lou Chu" in her memory, but he was so real and credible that she couldn't help but doubt it.

Feng Ju Niang felt that it was almost time, and advised: "Since the princess is here, she should go and see Mr. Xu to comfort him and save his life."

The ladies persuaded Zhang Shiqing, who could not refuse, and half-heartedly went out of the tent and came to Xu Chu's residence, where he met his brother outside the door.

"Why are you here?" Zhang Shiyu asked.

"I came... to see my husband." Zhang Shiqing replied confidently.

Zhang Shiyu was completely confused and felt that there was something weird about this place, and everyone's behavior became weird.

Feng Ju Niang secretly "instructed" Xu Chu in the room not to reveal too obvious flaws.