When King Cheng of Zhou ascended the throne, he was still a child. One day, he and his younger brother Shu Yu were playing under a parasol tree in the palace. A gust of autumn wind blew, and many parasol leaves fell. The playful King Cheng of Zhou picked up a parasol leaf and cut it into a "Gui"(the one held by the ministers in court) with a knife. He gave it to Shu Yu and said to him in a joking tone,"I'm going to give you a piece of land, there-you can have this first!”
Shu Yu happily took this "Gui" made of parasol leaves and showed it to the people, saying,"Big brother is going to give me a fief."
At that time, Duke Dan of Zhou had replaced the young King Cheng in charge of state affairs. When he learned of this matter, he immediately changed into his formal attire and rushed to the palace to congratulate King Cheng of Zhou.
"Uncle, why did you specially put on a gown and come to congratulate me?" Prince Zhou Cheng asked in confusion.”
Zhou Gongdan smiled and said,"I just heard that you have conferred the title of your little brother Shu Yu." How could I not come to congratulate you after such a big event?”
"Oh! That matter!" Prince Zhou Cheng couldn't help but laugh out loud."Just now, I was just playing with Shu Yu. I didn't really want to confer him the title!”
Zhou Gongdan immediately put away his smile and said seriously to Prince Cheng,""No matter who it is, you must always put 'trust' in your words. As the emperor, you can't speak casually. You treat the emperor's words as a joke, how can you be trusted? If you always ignore your faith and treat your words as jokes, do you still have the right to be the emperor of a country?”
Prince Cheng of Zhou looked at Duke Dan's expression and heard his words. He knew that the situation was serious and said,""But I've already said it. What should I do?”
Duke Dan of Zhou said,"The Son of Heaven is not joking. As long as it was said, the historian should record it truthfully and complete it according to etiquette.”
Duke Dan of Zhou had just quelled the rebellion in the Tang Kingdom and suggested that the Tang Kingdom be granted to Shu Yu. Therefore, King Cheng of Zhou gave Tang Feng to Shu Yu. Tang Dynasty was located in the east of the Yellow River and Fen River, with a radius of 100 miles, so Shu Yu was called Tang Shuyu.
After King Cheng of Zhou grew up, he remembered the teachings of Duke Dan of Zhou. He kept his word, worked hard, and loved the people. He developed the economy, expanded the territory, and became a wise ruler of the Zhou Dynasty. In 1021 B.C., King Cheng of Zhou died at the age of 35 and was buried in Biyuan (now Xianyang, Shaanxi Province, near Xi'an, the north and south banks of the Wei River, the territory is very wide).
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]