Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 496 Example
"Prime Minister, how long have you had these symptoms?" Fa Xiu, who had been quiet all along, suddenly spoke up.

"Pfft..." The women almost burst out laughing.

Zhuge Liang frowned and said, "How can you talk like that, little monk? I'm not sick."

"Why would someone who isn't sick think they're not a good person?" the little monk said innocently. "That's a classic case of 'knowledge-based ignorance.'"

“You definitely didn’t read my article carefully,” Zhuge Liang said in a deep voice.

"After reading your article, I think you're a good person even more." The little monk replied earnestly, "Bad people never think they're wrong."

"Hehe, when did the standard for a good person become so low?" Zhuge Liang was amused by him.

"Prime Minister, you may not know this, but since the Wei and Jin dynasties, the world has been going downhill and morality has declined. Nowadays, people who don't do bad things are considered good people." Chen Lingzhi continued, "Even so, good people are still extremely rare, and the world is full of hypocrites."

"I do know something about it," Zhuge Liang sighed. "The struggle for supremacy in the Three Kingdoms exhausted the heroic spirit of China, leading to the decline of the Han dynasty's culture and traditions. This is what I blame most."

"What are you talking about?" Chen Lingzhi couldn't help but smile bitterly. "It was more than thirty years after your death that the Sima family usurped the throne, and another forty years later that the Five Barbarian Invasions began. Even from the establishment of the Jin Dynasty, it took two whole generations, long before the country had had time to recuperate and rebuild."

“Exactly, there’s also the ‘Reign of Taikang’ in between,” Su Xiaoxiao chimed in.

"How many households in the country recovered during the so-called 'Reign of Taikang'?" Zhuge Liang asked.

“Three million seven hundred thousand households…” Chen Lingzhi said weakly.

"Before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Han Dynasty had a population of 16 million households," Zhuge Liang said in a deep voice. "Can you still say we bear no responsibility?"

"..." Everyone was speechless for a moment. To think that they could out-argue Prime Minister Zhuge, who was not only able to debate with a group of scholars but also skilled in governing the country, was simply a pipe dream.

"If you don't want to kill me, then please leave," Zhuge Liang said, dismissing the guests.

“The Prime Minister is being stubborn. One can only live in the present and plan for one’s lifetime.” Chen Lingzhi could only bite the bullet and continue to persuade him: “No one can predict what will happen decades from now, and no one should be responsible for what will happen generations from now.”

“Exactly. If anyone should be held responsible, it should be Sima Yi, who broke the oath at Luoshui, or Sima Zhao, who murdered the emperor in the street. It's not your place, an old man who's never left Sichuan in his entire life.” Su Xiaoxiao agreed, “From a historical perspective, the losers aren't that important, you know?”

"You..." Zhuge Liang's face twitched; no one had ever spoken to him like that before.

"What do you mean, 'I'? You can't even stand a few honest words? Didn't you conclude that you care too much about fame? Haven't you learned your lesson yet?" Su Xiaoxiao retorted sharply.

The young monk was dumbfounded, thinking to himself, how could they be so disrespectful to Zhuge Liang?
He didn't think his words were any more offensive than that.

But to be fair, these sharp words actually seemed to have some effect. The tight wrinkles on Zhuge Liang's face relaxed a bit, and he chuckled self-deprecatingly, "You're right. I guess I took myself too seriously."

“That’s not quite right,” Su Xiaoxiao said, then changed the subject. “From a civilizational perspective, the prime minister is more important than all the emperors and generals combined.”

"So am I important or not?" Zhuge Liang was amused. "Important. Especially in this era of Chinese decline, moral decay, confusion, and unbridled behavior, it can be said that no one is more important than the Prime Minister," Chen Lingzhi said seriously.

"Yes." Everyone nodded in unison.

Even Ayao, who is usually quiet, said softly, "To save Ayuan, I would kill gods and Buddhas if they get in my way, but if you stand in my way, I can't bear to kill you."

"Oh, why is that?" Zhuge Liang asked, puzzled. "What could you possibly be reluctant to do for a 'loser' like me?"

"Because you possess virtues that our generation lacks," Ayao said earnestly.

"Didn't I say it already? My whole life has been misled by empty fame. For the sake of my own reputation, I have harmed the common people, failed the trust placed in me, and misled the world!" Zhuge Liang said in a deep voice.

"None of that matters now. What matters is that after the death of the late emperor, you effectively hold the power of the Shu Han emperor. You can depose Huo Guang and install him on the throne immediately if you wish. You can also usurp the throne from the Sima family. If it were Shi Hu's doing, you would only need to give him a hint."

"But under such power, you still adhered to the duties of a subject, never overstepping the bounds. This is cruel to yourself—you built an impenetrable wall around yourself within your reach." Chen Lingzhi said with admiration.
"To do what one knows to be impossible is the mark of a true warrior; to refrain from doing what one knows to be possible is the mark of a true gentleman. You have shown future generations through your actions what a loyal minister is, what a wise minister is, and what an upright person is!"

"This is especially true for us, the descendants born in a dark age. When we were born, the land had already been submerged, the Central Plains had been ravaged by bloodshed for centuries, and the Southern Dynasties had long been morally corrupt, shameless and numb to the extreme!"

"Without you, without the glory of the Shu Han dynasty, all we would know is the absurdity of the Jin and Three Dynasties, and the madness of the Five Barbarian Invasions. We would think that history should be so dark and sordid, that the country should be like this, with rulers not acting like rulers, ministers not acting like ministers, people not acting like people, and ghosts not acting like ghosts. We would think that disloyalty, filial impiety, inhumanity, and injustice are the norm!"

"Therefore, you are a mirror, reflecting our shortcomings and preventing us from becoming accustomed to our ugliness. You are a beacon, illuminating our civilization and showing us where we should go!" Chen Lingzhi continued, speaking in a deep voice:

"Therefore, Prime Minister, please do not deny yourself. What you upheld during your lifetime is our most precious treasure!"

"..." Zhuge Liang listened, bowing his head for a long while, his shoulders twitching slightly, before he gradually burst into laughter. His laughter grew louder and louder, eventually echoing throughout the entire Baidi City.

"Hahaha, I never thought that my three-hundred-year-old knot in my heart could be untied by a few young girls in just a few words!"

“I’m not a little girl…” Fa Xiu muttered softly.

"I didn't say anything about you." Zhuge Liang was quite vengeful, clearly not forgetting Fa Xiu's comment that he was sick.

“Oh…” Fa Xiu lowered her head, looking aggrieved.

"Did you all come up with these ideas yourselves?" Zhuge Liang asked the three girls again.

"No," Su Xiaoxiao shook her head and said, "It's my silly younger brother who really admires you. He tells us stories about the Ji Han Dynasty all the time."

"Great Han it is, not Shu Han!" Zhuge Liang was somewhat displeased, but then sighed and said, "Alright, it is indeed Shu Han."

“That’s exactly what I was saying.” Chen Lingzhi’s eyes suddenly lit up. “He always said that the world won’t stay like this forever, that China will break free from the mire and shine brightly again. And that the people of China will surely rediscover their virtues, because we have a prime minister like him as an example!”

(End of this chapter)