Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 411 Zhuge Kongming, also known as Fu Long!

In mid-September, as several imperial edicts and documents were issued simultaneously from the emperor, the Secretariat, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Works, and the medical temple offices all became busy.

The originally relaxed atmosphere in Guanzhong suddenly changed and became grim. Even the thieves who were causing trouble in the mountains seemed to smell the scent of impending storm. They all lowered their tails and hid in the mountains, not daring to show their heads.

However, Liu Bei took some time out of his busy schedule to summon a man. This man was tall with regular features. Even with a black turban on his head, he still looked dignified and made people feel good about him when they met.

Liu Bei sat opposite him and looked at him carefully, his eyes showing some complicated emotions. After a long while, he spoke and said with a smile: "Kong Ming, how are your studies going recently?"

"I have been friends with you for a long time, but our fate is shallow. Now seeing you sitting in front of me is like an old friend coming back. Although I have thousands of words in my heart, I don't know how to say them."

Zhuge Liang bowed forward and said, "It has been many years since Lord Yan passed away. I am very lucky to have your Majesty care about me so much."

"Thanks to your Majesty's great blessing, Sun Taishou left behind precious letters, which enabled me to seek advice from Pang Degong, and to make friends with good teachers and helpful friends such as Xu Yuanzhi. I originally wanted to farm in a thatched cottage in Nanyang, which would be enough for me to spend my life."

"However, I am thinking of the kindness of Your Majesty in entrusting me with three books, and I can no longer stay idle in the thatched cottage. Although I am young, I know that the kindness is great and I am willing to offer my humble talents and serve you like a dog and a horse to repay the emperor."

"I am not a person who covets official positions. Moreover, there are many talented people in the world who are far better than me. I am afraid that I will hinder your majesty's prosperity. I am not saying this to seek rewards. I just want to be a minor official in the countryside of Guanzhong and work as a farmer, so that the people can live a stable life and repay the grace of heaven by fulfilling my duties."

"However, human power is limited. When it is dark and there is no light, I will take the carriage back to Nanyang and sleep in my thatched cottage again. This is the wish of Zhuge Liang, a common man. Please consider it, Your Majesty."

Zhuge Liang did not expect that the emperor would summon him alone, but considering that his brother Zhuge Jin was already highly regarded by the emperor, he was unwilling to enjoy the honor even if the emperor had left some legacy.

Before this, I followed my uncle Zhuge Xuan from Xuzhou to Shouchun in Huainan, and saw that the Yuan family was hosting a grand banquet. All the famous scholars in the hall were fat, and the horses in the stables were fat and had meat. However, the common people outside the city looked hungry, there were starving people in the wild, all businesses were in decline, and people were crying out of cold and hunger. When I arrived in Yuzhang, I saw the same scene again.

Later, I went to Jingzhou and met Liu Jingsheng in Xiangyang. I could see that the livelihood of the local people had improved slightly, but unfortunately it was only in a few counties. In Nanyang, traces of Yuan's extortion and tyranny could still be seen.

When he was young, he read Confucian classics. Whenever he saw the suffering of the people, he would understand and could write down his gains and losses. He could not understand why many officials were born as celebrities, were well-versed in Confucian books, and were good at classics, and devoted all their energy to annotating the classics.

However, they don't even have the heart to provide relief to the people's livelihood, to be a little lenient and gentle, to not avoid the powerful and wealthy, and to sympathize with the sufferings of others.

If one studies Confucianism without keeping "benevolence" in mind, what is the point of studying many classics?
Zhuge Liang asked his uncle about his doubts. Zhuge Xuan was silent for a long time and could not give a direct answer. He had to borrow the words of his teacher Confucius and replied: "A gentleman thinks of righteousness when he sees profit and gives orders when he sees danger. If he does not forget the words he has said throughout his life, he can also become an adult."

The highest state of being a human being is to think of morality before personal gain, to stand up in the face of danger, and to never forget your original intention and to persist as before even when you are in poverty.

Zhuge Xuan also told Kong Ming that it is very difficult to be consistent in what you say and what you do, and you should not be too harsh on others. Perhaps the famous scholars who engage in idle talk are also governing the people, but they just use different methods.

You can stay away from them, but don't insult the reputation of scholars. Remember, don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you.

At that time, Zhuge Liang seemed to have realized something. He thought that it was difficult for anyone in the world, including celebrities and local rulers, to have benevolence in their hearts. They could not empathize with the sufferings of the people when they saw them.

It was not until I heard about Lord Xuande in Nanyang, Jingzhou, who swept across the country and frightened the famous scholars in Xiangyang by retaking Luoyang, that I realized that even as a ruler, one can treat all people equally, reward merits and punish mistakes as the principle of governance, and govern prefectures and counties, so that the small self can also be in line with the big self.

Even if you only hear a few words, you can hear from them that the brand new, top-down and bottom-up concerted efforts are far superior to those of the princes.

His good friend Xu Yuanzhi even asserted that one can predict the end by seeing the beginning, and the one who will conquer the world in the future will definitely not be Duke Jingsheng, and Jingzhou will definitely be guarded by someone else. From then on, there will be no more talk of Liu Jingzhou becoming an official.

Now that I think about it, it is true. I wonder how Yuanzhi is doing now as a county official in Xinye, Nanyang.

Zhuge Liang couldn't help but think about it. He didn't know why he suddenly thought of Xu Yuanzhi when he met the emperor. He came back to his senses when he heard the emperor's call.

"I also know the talents of Kong Ming. Whenever I read, I can understand the big picture. How can I be a petty official?"

"Right now Luoyang is compiling the Han Chronicles. I heard that many famous scholars in Jingzhou, such as Pang Degong, are going there by horse carriage. There are also famous scholars from Jianghuai, Central Plains and Hebei provinces. Confucian scholars are all gathered here. Zhang Zigang from Jiangdong and Prince Lang of Donghai County both gave up their official positions and went to Luoyang. They also asked people to write letters one after another to participate in the compilation."

"In a few days, Master Lu will also set off for Luoyang. Since Kong Ming recognizes his lack of talent and knowledge, he will first serve as a clerk beside Master Lu. He will spend three years working as a clerk, so that he can see the general situation of the world, read a lot of books, and get to know the people and scholars. I will come back to investigate later."

Liu Bei looked at Zhuge Liang, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and said with a smile.

After all, Kong Ming is only sixteen or seventeen years old, and Zhuge Xuan has not been in good health recently. If he is busy with work at this time, it will only leave regrets.

It would be better to let them go to Luoyang together and give Zhuge Xuan a sinecure. It just so happened that Zhang Zhongjing and Hua Yuanhua were both compiling volumes on doctors, and they summarized and discussed the prescriptions they had obtained and their years of medical experience with doctors all over the world in Luoyang.

Even a famous witch in the wild land of Jiangdong heard the news from somewhere and claimed that he had a method to pray for blessings and ward off disasters, and wanted to go to Luoyang to offer his magic method.

At that time, Cao Mengde had a headache, so Cao Cao detained him in the hall and ordered him to cast a spell. As a result, after the other party sprayed water and jumped around, Cao Cao found that his headache became worse. In a rage, he ordered his men to beat him out of the mansion with sticks.

Seeing that the story of summoning the witch had become an interesting one and spread throughout Jiangdong, Cao Cao thought for a moment and then wrote a letter to Liu Bei, explaining the matter in sincere words, saying that it was not him who obstructed the writing of the Han Ji, but it was the evil villain who fabricated the story.

All the famous people in the world would like to go to Luoyang to participate in the compilation, so sending Kong Ming there for several years was a unique learning opportunity.

Liu Bei replied, "I read history books and admired the talents of Guan Zhong and Yue Yi, who were able to govern the country and defeat the enemy. Today, the world is in constant strife, with internal and external dangers, making me feel like I am on the edge of an abyss and treading on thin ice.

At this moment, I need talents like Guan and Le to share my worries. Would Kong Ming be willing to be Guan and Le?"

After saying that, Liu Bei nodded and looked at Zhuge Liang with a smile, "Now that he is not yet twenty years old, Fu Long still needs to lie dormant, so it would be good for him to go to Luoyang to calm down for a while."

(End of this chapter)