One day, Meng Changjun sent a notice and asked the guests in the house: "Who is familiar with accounting and financial management, can go to the snow to help me collect debts?" Feng Xuan wrote in the notice: "I can". So Meng Changjun sent Feng Xuan to collect debts. When saying goodbye, Feng Xuan asked, "What can I buy for all the debts?" Meng Changjun said, "I will buy whatever is missing at home." Feng Xuan drove a carriage to Xuecheng and sent officials to call all those who should pay their debts to check the contract. After checking the loan agreement, Feng Xuan lied about Meng Changjun's orders, gave the loan to the people and burned the loan agreement. People cheered in unison, long live.
Feng Xuan returned to the capital of Qi without stopping, and went to see Meng Changjun early in the morning. Meng Changjun was surprised that he came back so soon, so he put on his coat and hat to meet him and asked, "Have you collected all your debts?"? How did you come back so soon? " Feng Xuan replied, "All of them." Meng Changjun asked again, "What did you buy with it?" Feng Xuan said, "You said,' You can buy anything that your family lacks'. I see your house is full of treasures, good dogs and horses, barns and beautiful women in the hall. What your family lacked was righteousness, so I bought it for you. " Meng Changjun asked: "How to buy righteousness?" Feng Xuan said, "Now you only have a small snowy area, but you can't take care of the people there. On the contrary, you charge people interest by means of businessmen. I secretly dispersed your order and burned the loan contract. People cheered in unison. This is the' righteousness' I bought for you. Meng Changjun said unhappily, "Oh, forget it, sir! "
After a year, King Qi Min said to Meng Changjun, "I dare not take my former king's courtiers as my courtiers." Meng Changjun had to go back to the fief of Xuecheng to live. Going to a place one hundred miles away from Xuecheng, the people helped the old and the young, and met Meng Changjun on the road all day. Meng Changjun turned to Feng Xuan and said, "I saw the Yijing that Mr. Tian Wen bought for me today."
People's art is not as tangible as money or things, so Meng Changjun is very unhappy that Feng Xuan bought people's art. When Meng Changjun was exiled by the King of Qi and returned to Xuecheng, he realized that what he had lost in the past had been doubled today. It' s really' righteousness is more important than profit'!
Sima Guang's story of "smashing the cylinder to save people" when he was a child! It fully embodies the viewpoint that "everyone has compassion" mentioned in Mencius' "theory of good nature", which is also the concrete expression of "benevolence" advocated by Mencius!
Benevolence and righteousness is a virtue handed down from ancient times in China. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, a seemingly benevolent but actually absurd thing happened.
Song Guoben was a weak country. However, Song Xianggong, Qi Huangong, Jin Wengong, Qin Mugong and Chu Zhuangwang were also called the five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period. What happened? It turned out that the rebellion of barbarians and elegance and the struggle for the throne broke out in Qi State. There were six sons, and they were afraid that the schools of thought would contend after death, so they gave their son Zhao (later Qi Xiaogong) a crown prince. After Qi Huangong's death, three treacherous officials, Yi Ya, Vertical Diao and Fang Zi, abolished Prince Zhao, and Yi Ya and monk Sable killed the minister and usurped the throne. Childe Zhao fled to the state of Song. See qi chaos at this time, just in front, entrust childe zhao to yourself. Song Xianggong is a man who values justice more than his own life, while Song Xianggong is bent on becoming the overlord. Song's strength was not very strong, but Song Xianggong thought it was an available opportunity for Zhao Gongzi to come to him, so he wanted to seize the opportunity to seize the position of Qi leader, so he took Zhao Gongzi in. Song Xianggong played an important role in the restoration of the great country Qi and Qi. He thought it was an earth-shattering event, and it was time for him to establish his prestige and dominate the vassals. But he never imagined that Chu, who was stronger than him, came to attack him, and the two sides camped on a big river. Chu sent troops to cross the river first. At this time, a loyal minister in Song Xianggong put forward a plan. He said, "They are crossing the river, so we can shoot arrows." Unexpectedly, Song Xianggong said, "How can we do such an inhuman thing under the banner of righteousness?" After a while, Chu Bing crossed the river. The minister added, "The Chu army is not ready yet, so we can take the opportunity to attack." But Song Xianggong pointed to the word "loyalty and righteousness" and said, "How can we do such an inhuman thing under the banner of benevolence and righteousness?" While speaking, Chu Bing was killed, Guo Song was defeated and Song Xianggong almost died. But he still said, "Benevolence will always overcome unkindness."