To Four Thousand Years Later

Three days after the envoy left, the queen of Sheba in the south finally arrived.

The people of Jerusalem cheered and surrounded the road. Looking at the Queen's motorcade in amazement.

They have never seen such a magical creature as an "elephant" in their life. Some people hid on the side in fear, and some curious children came forward to see it, making exclamation sounds.

The Queen of Sheba sat on the back of the second elephant. A small delicate wooden pavilion placed her in it like a cage, and she wore a transparent gauze to hide her face in it.

People marveled at the Queen's beauty and elegance, and marveled at the gold and jewels on the elephant's back. Those dark-skinned servants lowered their heads respectfully, and walked neatly on both sides of the convoy, and the accompanying musicians played big music.

After all the convoy entered the city of Jerusalem, the priests near the city gate began to blow the horns anointed with holy oil.

A deep and melodious voice came from the city gate, and the other priests sounded the horns solemnly after hearing it.

From low to high, from near to far

The sound of the horn was so loud that it could reach beyond the three mountains.

And all the city residents fell silent when they heard the sound of the horn. In an instant, only the sound of trumpets was left in the whole of Jerusalem, so it looked holy and clear.

When the trumpets died down, all the people sang loudly at the same time: "Holy, holy, holy! Wise Solomon—"

The booming sound resounded throughout the city, from every part of Jerusalem.

All the people put their right hands on their hearts and sang in unison: "May your glory reach to the sky, and may my song reach the Supreme."

"We praise your wisdom and mercy, and may your golden crown live forever—"

It was a song of praise to King Solomon. Every morning and evening, when the priest's trumpets sounded throughout the city, everyone had to sing in unison. Only on Sundays when there is no work to do, there is no need to sing.

Today, in order to welcome the Queen of Sheba, the singing time is several hours later than usual. But it also means that you don't need to work, and you can come and watch the queen from the south.

But after singing the song, they all turned around and left the street one after another.

"…interesting."

The Queen of Sheba smiled lightly, watching the scene in front of her with her chin propped on her hands.

She could naturally see that these townspeople respected and praised their King Solomon from the bottom of their hearts, not because of the control of the demon **** or the terrifying oppression.

This made her very curious.

After the crowd of people gradually dispersed, many soldiers in white tunics trotted over and stood on both sides of the road.

Each of them was separated by a distance of one cubit, looking at each other on both sides of the road, and circled a wide passage with their bodies. Even without the messenger who has been there once to lead the way, the convoy knows which direction to go.

Until the palace of King Solomon, the queen slowly got off the elephant with the help of her servants. The elephants and servants laden with jewels were taken to the apse by Marshal Benaiah, and only the queen and heralds entered Solomon's palace.

Sitting on the seat was the King Solomon whom the messenger had seen last time. He was no different from what he had seen a few days ago, still majestic but lenient.

It's just that behind King Solomon, there is an extra beautiful virgin. She was wearing a white robe and stood with her hands behind her back. In front of her was a small long table with a roll of papyrus spread out on it.

This time, the messenger did not feel the feeling of being watched by some golden pupil. But the awe in his heart didn't lessen in the slightest.

"I salute you, wise king Solomon."

The queen knelt down gracefully, and said softly to Solomon: "I am the king from the southern kingdom of Sheba. I heard that you have outstanding wisdom, and I am here to ask you for advice... I hope you can clarify my doubts."

"welcome."

Solomon smiled gently, got up from his seat and walked down slowly, stretching out his hand to pull the queen up.

He looked up at the top of the Queen's head, and chuckled softly: "Is it right here?"

"I have a lot of questions."

The Queen of Sheba looked at Baimon behind Solomon, and raised the corner of her mouth, "You told my envoy that a king must have five qualities...wisdom, benevolence, justice, integrity, and a heart for the world. What's the specific explanation?"

— This is to test me.

Solomon raised his eyebrows, realizing that the visitor was not kind.

If you really came all the way to ask for wisdom, you would never ask a question directly when you first met. It's impolite and inappropriate.

Combined with her name, Solomon roughly understood what was going on.

But Solomon didn't panic at all. He just said plainly: "Kings should not despise wisdom, because only fools despise wisdom and instruction, just as fire avoids water, and sky avoids earth."

"A fool loves foolishness, and a scorner loves scorn. They hate knowledge and seek ease, and they end up in trouble. What a fool does is right in his own eyes; but a wise man listens to advice .”

"Wisdom calls their names in the streets and alleys on weekdays, but they don't come forward. Only when disaster strikes them, they will panic and call for wisdom, and they will not get what they ask for."

Solomon looked at the queen and said calmly, "A lamb cannot be king of wolves, and a dove cannot subdue an eagle. If the king is not full of wisdom, the wise will leave his kingdom... This is one of them."

"And the king must cultivate benevolence. Punishment is prepared for those who have made mistakes. If they execute people who are not wrong, what should be used to execute people who have made mistakes? The people will say, 'I will be punished for speaking insulting words. Hit the back with a wooden stick, and if he touches the king's seat with his hand, he should hit it with an iron rod'. Then what about the thief should be reconciled? What about the robber or murderer? If the thief or robber should be Beheaded, why didn't he kill?"

Solomon turned and sat back on his seat, looked at the Queen of Sheba and continued: "Severe punishments increase the viciousness of people, and their ferocity is better than that of hungry wolves. Only benevolence and righteousness can win the hearts of the people. This is the second."

"But those who steal, tell lies, and practice scheming, their hearts are not just. They are not as wise as others, and they are not as hardworking as others. If they do not work the same but want to get the same wages, this shows that their hearts are not fair. Just, and misfortune will arise from this."

"Those who are lazy will suffer hunger, and those who are angry will be punished. Their hearts are bad, let them suffer, but if they are spiritual, they will eventually reflect, and wisdom will be obtained from it. If you give alms to a lazy person, he will You will suffer hunger again; if you save a man who knows no mistakes, you will save him again. He who cannot bear to beat his son with a rod hates him; he who loves his son should discipline him, and this is the third."

"The mouth of the king must also speak upright words. If the king has a wise heart, walks in the way of goodness, and judges right and wrong with justice, people will look up to you and learn from you. They will regard you as an idol on the earth, and regard the king as What is good is beautiful, and what is hated by kings is evil. Just as I welcome you, they also love you. This is the fourth."

Speaking of this, Solomon paused, and said in a low voice: "And you have the world in your heart... You must not ask for it, and you can't ask for it."

"Then why?"

The Queen of Sheba gazes at Solomon with joy shining in her eyes.

"You have never seen the world, so what kind of world is in your heart?"

Solomon smiled helplessly, and shook his head: "You only care about the world you see at best, and that's not the world of the world."

Baimon, who was recording rapidly behind him, raised his head upon hearing this, and looked deeply at Solomon's back.