At the start of his administration, he acted decisively, executing the treacherous minister Shaozheng Mao, who had thrown the court system into chaos. He tightened the laws and discipline, sending shockwaves through all the states.
In merely three months, the State of Lu had taken on an entirely new look: its internal affairs were clear and orderly, its diplomacy appropriate, its national strength steadily rose, and the people lived and worked in peace while observing propriety. At night, doors in the streets and alleys went unbarred, and no one picked up what had been dropped on the road; cunning scoundrels and rebellious rabble fled one after another.
Through diplomatic maneuvering, he further forced the State of Qi to spit out all the lands of Lu it had swallowed years ago and return them in full.
Confucius had always advocated "honor the ducal house and curb private clans." To weaken the Three Huan Clans—the Jisun Clan, Shusun Clan, and Mengsun Clan, all descendants of Duke Huan of Lu—who held Lu's government in their grasp, and to counter the separatist power of their household retainers, he instituted "Dismantling the Three Capitals," tearing down the fortified strongholds privately built by the three clans.
This enraged the Jisun Clan, ultimately forcing him to leave Lu and embark upon his journey through the states.
He spent his life travelling in dust and wind, yet not a single ruler truly put him to use. Only a group of disciples stayed faithfully at his side, asking about rites and seeking the Dao, never abandoning him.
At the age of sixty-eight, through Ran Qiu's strenuous efforts, he was welcomed back to his homeland. Though honored as an "elder of the state," and though the ruler and the Three Huan Clans often came to seek his counsel, they remained