This was a clear demonstration that politics could be a noble and beautiful art benefiting all. Then one of the neighbouring kings somehow bribed the king of Lu, whom Confucius worked for, and suggested that Confucius should be sent for a holiday for one year. So he went for a holiday. He was not assassinated nor did he die in ignominy. But he never returned to rule again, though he wanted to.
Government is to be conducted through the ruler's moral example.
The difference between the mature man, whom Confucius calls a superior man and an immature man, whom he calls an inferior man, is that for the former the rule is moral principle. One of the conclusions is that we need to mature spiritually to produce such people as Confucius and then we need to allow them to show us what the art of government is about. Confucius' teaching has survived over two millennia and is still inspiring people. It does not really matter that Confucius was Chinese and his teaching may be more resonant with the Chinese psyche than the Western one. What matters is that he is a shining example of a philosopher who built his philosophy on spiritual principles and yet was capable of applying this philosophy to practical and political affairs with such a success that he can truly be called a philosopher king.