My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 112: Longzhong Dialogue on the Couch

Zhuge Jin announced that he would meet with Lu Su, so Lu Su had no choice but to wait.

When you come to someone else's place, it's not too much for them to kindly entertain you for a few days, right? If you are not willing to wait for even a little while, it's shameless.

However, Zhuge Jin was very busy, and had too much official business for two or three consecutive days. He had no choice but to have people serve them well and give them land and houses.

Lu Su had no choice but to follow his clansmen to survey the land and take over the manor - his uncles and brothers had long been resentful of him for selling the land in their hometown indiscriminately.

Now that they had arrived in the south of the Yangtze River, a local governor was willing to divide the land, which directly ignited the emotions of the Lu family, and they once again put pressure on Lu Su to handle the matter personally.

On the first day of July, the day after arriving in Wuhu, Lu Su and several of his main relatives were taken by the county officials of the Household Department to the remote suburbs thirty miles south of the city, where they were allocated a large piece of land by a tributary of the Jing River on the east bank.

The county official also knew that Zhuge County Prime Minister attached great importance to this family, so he did not dare to fool them. He pointed to the mountain and the stream and explained to Lu Su:
"I heard that your clan has nearly 200 family members and 300 to 400 slaves. This piece of land, just the flat area near the stream, is 3,000 steps long from east to west and 800 steps wide from north to south.

If the able-bodied males cultivate a field of 100 steps in length and width, there will be enough land for 200 to 300 able-bodied men to cultivate. If you feel that it is not enough, you can also cultivate some of the surrounding gently sloping fields, but the irrigation will be more complicated.

The county is now implementing a new policy, which gives preferential treatment to the newly arrived Huainan volunteers. For those who can reclaim wasteland on their own, no rent will be collected for the newly reclaimed land within ten years. However, if the government is required to provide iron tools and oxen, they can only enjoy no tax for five years, and the tax will be reduced by half from the sixth to the tenth year.

In addition, for sloping fields and mountain forests that are not suitable for growing grain, you can use money to replace grain. We suggest that you try growing tea, or use bamboo forests to produce bamboo shoots and provide materials. The government will provide tea seeds and teach tree planting techniques. The annual payment is only 100 coins for every 50 mu, that is, 2 coins per mu. The first ten years are also tax-free. "

Lu Su was not very concerned about money, but he still listened carefully to the county official's introduction.

It's not for that little bit of benefit, but I'm curious about what specific policies Danyang County will use to benefit the people and recruit talents. From this, I can also observe Zhuge Jin's domestic policy style.

After hearing what the county official said, Lu Su was a little skeptical at first, but he did not show it. He just asked indirectly: "The exemption from rent in these ten years is only for the reclamation of wasteland, right? For cultivated land that was once cultivated, or land that was temporarily abandoned due to the exile of the people, can we also exempt the tax for so many years if we replant it?"

The county official was very experienced in his work and answered immediately, "Of course it is only when the land is reclaimed from scratch that it can be reclaimed. However, if the cultivated land has been abandoned for many years, such as since the Zhongping period, it can barely be considered as reclaimed land."

Lu Su thought he had found a suspicious point, and pointed to the nice field in front of him: "Has this field also been abandoned since the Zhongping period? There are no trees or rocks here, only some weeds, so it must have been planted. And it is close to the stream, and it is easy to irrigate. How could no one want it?"

The county official couldn't help but laugh when he heard this: "Although this place is good, it is in the far suburbs after all, 20 or 30 miles away from the city. I don't know whether it was abandoned during the Zhongping period, but since the Shanyue rebellion, no rent has been collected here for many years.

The Han people saw that this place was close to the edge of the mountainous area, and feared that the Shanyue villages and tribes in Wanling would move down the mountain from time to time. In addition, due to the fierce battle between Sun Ce and Liu Yao, there were many killings in the northern part of Danyang, which vacated a lot of vacant fields. Many people in Wuhu moved north, so these places became empty. "

After listening to this, Lu Su thought about it. The Shanyue people in the north of Yangzhou were relatively well-behaved during the Yellow Turban Rebellion. The reason why they could not survive on a large scale was mainly because after He Jin and Tao Qian stopped recruiting soldiers from Danyang, the young and strong people in the Shanyue lost a way to find jobs, so they began to harass the local area.

Therefore, this place has been deserted for at least five or six years - the great general He Jin at that time had been using Danyang soldiers until he was killed by the Ten Eunuchs, which means it has been seven years. Tao Qian stopped recruiting Danyang soldiers even later than He Jin.

However, from what the county official just said, Lu Su was able to keenly capture another important piece of information, and this information was very unexpected to him.

He couldn't help but ask, "From what you said, the Shanyue and Han people have been wary of each other for many years. Has it been solved now? Or is it because the Lu family has powerful crossbows and arrows that they pushed us here to settle and cultivate the land?"

Upon hearing this, the county official seemed to feel a little insulted and immediately protested, "Sir, why don't you know what is good for you? The county magistrate has good intentions in settling your family members. How could he have any other thoughts?

If we say that the Shanyue people were causing harm, it might have been a bit serious two months ago, but now Zu Lang has ordered his troops to be strictly restrained and that Han and Yue should not offend each other.

There was a case half a month ago in which a few Shanyue bandits came down the mountain to kill and plunder. However, after the government sent a letter, the chief had already beheaded the bandit leader and sent him the head. The rest of the accomplices were also handed over and sent to the mines under the hard labor camp to dig copper.

In the six counties to the south, including Jingxian, there were originally 20,000 to 30,000 young and strong Shanyue people who had nothing to do for many years. Now they are all helping the prince to open mines, regulated the Jingshui River, and built roads. They all found jobs.

We also screened out more than 20,000 Han refugees who had fled and persuaded them to resettle and start working in the industry again.”

When the county official talked about this, his tone was very proud, as if he was proud to work under Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang. He had been told to be polite to Lu Su, but Lu Su actually questioned the effectiveness of the Zhuge brothers' internal political management and their ability to win over the Shanyue people, which he absolutely could not tolerate.

Lu Su was greatly shocked. He could certainly see that the county official's rude outburst came from the bottom of his heart, which showed that he truly admired his superior and was not a flatterer.

Lu Su also changed his expression and asked for advice sincerely: "I am not questioning, but I just find it incredible. The Shanyue have been causing trouble for many years. In the past, the General Zhu Jun (Zhu Jun) was a great warrior and was able to suppress them effectively, but he could not keep them at peace for long.

How could Lord Zhuge subdue the Shanyue so thoroughly in just two months? And how could they have no conflict with the Han Dynasty? I am short-sighted and cannot imagine it. "

The county official said proudly, "There are many things you can't imagine! Lord Zhuge knows the copper refining magic that can turn iron into gold, and Zhuge County Magistrate knows the immortal magic of ascending to the Yellow Mountain as if walking on flat ground. Do I have to tell you this? I only know that the Shanyue people are convinced by these two magics and their combination of kindness and power. Whether you are convinced or not is up to you."

Lu Su: “…”

……

The distribution of land and houses in just three days, as well as the exploration and travel around various places in Wuhu, opened Lu Su's eyes.

The manor house that their family was finally allocated could not have grown on the "wasteland" by itself, so it was just a private residence in the south of the city that belonged to the traitorous general Jiang Qin a month ago. After Sun Ce's civil and military officials fled, the house was left behind and was confiscated and redistributed.

Lu Su saw how the people of Wuhu lived and worked in peace and contentment, and he also took a quick trip to Wanling and Jingxian to broaden his horizons. He saw with his own eyes that the Shanyue people were indeed sincerely convinced of the Zhuge brothers - of course, throughout the whole process, there must have been someone protecting him and not letting him run away.

Throughout the whole process, Lu Su was absolutely impressed by the governance level of Zhuge's family. If he had the literary talent of Tao Yuanming, he would have to write a whole "Peach Blossom Spring".

Unfortunately, he is not good at writing and can only express his feelings with crude words.

"Brother Zhuge's talent in governing the country is truly incredible. He can be described as a capable minister in a country that governs the country and a loyal person in times of turmoil. It's a pity that he is indifferent to worldly desires and has no ambitions, so he can hardly be a wise leader. Even though Sun Ce is far inferior to him in other aspects, he is better in having great ambitions..."

After completing all the investigations, Lu Su came to this conclusion in his heart.

He has completely admitted that Brother Zhuge is much more powerful than him, but he probably won't use him or give him a good platform to realize his ambitions.

For a lord, other abilities are not the most important. The most important thing is ambition, which is the primary driving force that drives the team forward.

According to Lu Su's observation of Danyang's local governance, Zhuge Jin definitely lacked the "ruthlessness" and lacked motivation. In this respect, he was not only far inferior to Cao Cao, but also inferior to Sun Ce, the two Yuans, and Lu Bu. At best, he could only compare with Liu Biao and Liu Zhang, who were conservative people.

Lu Su is already 25 years old this year and has formed his own values. He feels that relying solely on the old methods to save the Han Dynasty is hopeless and that another way must be found.

With this thought in mind, as well as a complicated feeling of admiration, he finally waited for Zhuge Jin's personal reception early in the morning on the fourth day of July.

……

"Lu Su, a wild man from Linhuai, pays his respects to Lord Zhuge. I am deeply grateful for your care for my people."

Lu Su was led to the main hall of the prefect's mansion and paid a very formal visit. This was also the first time he saw Zhuge Jin in person.

Today's Zhuge Jin looks a little taller than his brother who is five years younger than him. However, Zhuge Liang is not yet an adult, so it is hard to say what his future will be like.

Although Zhuge Jin's appearance is slightly inferior, he has an upright and restrained aura, which makes people feel that he is a hidden talent.

Zhuge Jin nodded slightly, ordered a couch to be set up nearby, and then said, "Brother Zijing, I have long heard of your reputation for being public-spirited and righteous, so I asked to see you. You won't blame me for keeping you waiting for two more days because I am busy with work, will you?"

Lu Su: "How dare I? I am a country bumpkin. I have just witnessed the prosperity of Wuhu and Jingxian these days. It has broadened my horizons. Your ability in governing the people and the government is something I have never seen before."

Zhuge Jin carefully observed his tone and expression, and determined that he was speaking from the heart. He knew that his propaganda work had worked, so he could save a lot of roundabout ways. He had originally prepared several sets of arguments, but now he decided to skip them and directly asked:
"In that case, I wonder if Zijing is interested in serving under me? Although I, the governor of Danyang, only govern seven counties, I can recommend you to the new governor of Yangzhou in due time. Liu Gongli has just passed away, and the position of governor of Yangzhou is vacant. I believe the court will soon appoint a new governor of Yangzhou."

Seeing that the other party was so direct, Lu Su did not want to lie, so he said directly:

"Your Excellency is very magnanimous and has helped the people. I admire you very much. But in this chaotic world, wise men choose their masters not only based on their talents but also their ambitions. Your Excellency is very talented but lacks ambition. I cannot rashly entrust you with anything.

The current situation in the world seems to be that the princes are besieging Yuan Shu, the thief who usurped the Han Dynasty, but do those who are fighting against the thief really have no intention of usurping the Han Dynasty? Yuan Shu has no emperor and is self-proclaimed. This is the way to death. Although it is powerful for a while, it is not worth worrying about in the long run.

The real danger is those potential treacherous heroes who still seem to be humble but take the opportunity to expand their power under the guise of respecting the emperor. Such people are not only more dangerous than those who act recklessly and establish themselves as emperors like Yuan Shu, but also more dangerous than those who serve the emperor but do not respect him like Dong Zhuo and Jue Si.

Dong Zhuo and Jue Si, at least the world knows that they do not respect the emperor, but only treat him as a puppet. They are openly disrespectful, so the world will be wary of them, and people of integrity and ambition will not go to the Chang'an court to seek official positions.

But Cao Cao today is much more secretive than Dong Zhuo. He can not only make the emperor powerless, but also exclude Yang Feng, Han Xian and other generals who escorted the emperor back to the east from the court.

He could also use Yuan Shu's claim to the throne as an excuse to eliminate the political enemies within Xudu and frame him on the grounds that Taiwei Yang Biao was related to Yuan Shu by marriage.

If this could be accomplished, with the four generations of Yuan family having three officials and their students and former officials all over the country, wouldn't Cao Cao be able to find an excuse to frame anyone he wanted in the future? Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were brothers, and Ling Shu and General Sun were also Yuan Shu's former officials. Shouldn't we be on guard against Cao Cao taking advantage of the situation and expanding the scope of the implicate?
But Cao Cao was very respectful to the emperor on the surface. Although he was killing dissidents, he was still able to induce scholars from all over the world to seek official positions in Xudu. The one who will destroy the Han Dynasty in the future will be the Cao family. And to save the world and resist this usurpation, a heroic leader with heroic ambition is necessary. Lord Zhuge, forgive me for being blunt, you are not ambitious enough. It is better to rely on Sun Ce than on you. "

Even though Zhuge Jin had a preconceived impression of him, he still found Lu Su's words refreshing.

Zhuge Jin could not help but slightly shirk his seat in front of him, and carefully pondered, "From what Zijing said, do you think the Han Dynasty cannot be revived?"

Zhuge Jin asked this question because the two sentences Lu Su said to Sun Quan, "The Han Dynasty cannot be revived, and the thieves Cao cannot be eliminated suddenly," recorded in "The Three Kingdoms" were too famous in history, second only to the Longzhong Plan between Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei.

Zhuge Jin heard what he said just now, and it seemed that he was somewhat similar to this point of view, so he wanted to lead him to see what his true intention was. This opportunity to dissect famous historical scenes is not common.

When Lu Su heard him say this, his face changed slightly, but he did not deny it directly. Instead, he defended himself by saying, "I don't know whether the Han Dynasty can be revived, but the lineage of the puppet emperor in Xudu is definitely impossible to be revived."

Zhuge Jin's heart moved. For the purpose of testing, he pretended to steal the lines of Sun Quan in history, and then said: "Is that so... My lifelong ambition is to support the Han Dynasty. The emperor is in decline now. I want to slowly accumulate strength and wait for changes in the world. I want to have the merits of Huan and Wen, respect the king and repel the thieves. I wonder if Zijing thinks this is a good ambition?"

Lu Su sneered and shook his head: "It's difficult. If the events of Qi Huan and Jin Wen were really established, could the Han Emperor be turned back into a nominal ruler like the Zhou Emperor? If not, it would just be taking on the situation Cao Cao faced.

The reason why Emperor Gaodi wanted to honor and serve Emperor Yi but failed was because of Xiang Yu's harm. Cao Cao today is like Xiang Yu in the past. How can you be the governor of Jin? I secretly estimate that the Han Dynasty cannot be revived and Cao Cao cannot be eliminated suddenly.

If Cao Cao succeeds in usurping the Han Dynasty in the future and there is no righteous army to avenge the Han Dynasty, the world will inevitably fall into a long-term war. Cao Cao's important officials and generals will overthrow Cao and replace him, just like the princes fought against Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao ordered Duan Wei to fight against Li Jue. Anyway, the world is used to this kind of thing. Dong Zhuo can be killed, Li Jue can be killed, so can Cao Cao's descendants not be killed?
If the world is to be restored to long-term peace and stability, there must be another hero like Emperor Gaozu, who is humble and abides by his duties, never holds the emperor hostage or uses his power for his own purposes, and finally, after the traitor Cao usurps the Han Dynasty, he raises an army of righteousness, kills the usurper and avenges the late emperor.

Just like how Emperor Gaozu killed Xiang Yu to avenge Emperor Yi, only then can he truly be destined to succeed. Because the master-servant relationship has been proven throughout history, once it happens, it will happen countless times.

In the pre-Qin period, rituals and music were in disarray. Qi and Lu could disobey the emperor, and the three Huans including the Ji Sun family of Lu could disobey Lu, and Yang Hu, a retainer of the Ji Sun family, could disobey Ji Sun. The princes rebelled against the emperor, the officials rebelled against the princes, and the scholars rebelled against the officials. There were constant wars for five hundred years.

Only a founding act that does not involve a master-servant relationship, or even a founding act in which a loyal minister who never held the previous emperor hostage avenged the previous emperor, can last long, because ambitious people are common, but enemies who can kill the emperor like Xiang Yu and create an excuse for you to change the dynasty are rare. "

“Hahahahahahahaha…” After hearing this, Zhuge Jin laughed out loud, almost uncontrollably.

Today I know what Lu Su meant when he said, "The Cao thief cannot be eliminated suddenly, and the Han Dynasty cannot be restored."

In his previous life, he felt that it was abnormal to see Yi Zhongtian talking nonsense on the Hundred Schools Forum, saying things like "Lu Su was the first top strategist in the late Han Dynasty to propose an anti-Han movement", and he thought it was not normal and could not be understood in that way.

"The Han Dynasty cannot be revived" of course means that the central bloodline of Liu Xie cannot be revived. Historically, Lu Su said this to Sun Quan. It is normal that he did not consider Liu Bei.

But today, after Zhuge Jin listened carefully, he found that Lu Su's idea actually coincided with his. What Lu Su emphasized was still "revenge for the late emperor is the opportunity."

This is actually very similar to the story of "Emperor Yi, Xiang Yu, and Emperor Gaozu" that Zhuge Jin told Liu Xie before leaving Xu Du last year.

It can be seen that Lu Su is actually a seriously underestimated character. 1,300 years earlier than Liu Ji, Song Lian and Fang Xiaoru, he realized the huge difference between "actively killing people and robbing to establish a country" and "playing back, self-defense, and founding a country for revenge for the previous emperor" in terms of the legitimacy and stability of the rule after gaining the country.

The biggest advantage of founding a country to avenge the previous emperor is that no one else can imitate it. When you get ashore and look back, you can kill all the followers with the first sword.

Ambitious people are common, but people like Xiang Yu are rare.

It's a pity that Yi Zhongtian, who has only a half-baked understanding, took half of Lu Su's words out of context, but deliberately ignored the eight words "Cao Cao today is like Xiang Yu in the past" which were clearly said in Lu Su's original text, and separated them into two parts to say "The Han Dynasty cannot be revived". This is simply the level of a shocked editor.

"The undertaking of Emperor Gao" cannot be simply interpreted as "the undertaking of changing dynasties", but must be further explained as "the undertaking of using means to avenge the previous emperor and changing dynasties".

It is simply rogue to remove the restrictions on means and motives and only talk about results.

That is like only talking about "killing a person" in criminal law, without discussing whether the motive is "intentional homicide" or "legitimate defense". The spirit of "unity of subjective and objective" in criminal law is thrown directly into the trash.

……

When Lu Su saw Zhuge Jin suddenly laughing wildly, he was confused for a moment and thought that Zhuge Jin thought he was unrealistic and too arrogant.

Lu Su couldn't stand it any longer, so he finally suppressed his temper and asked, "Why are you laughing, Lord? Do you think what I said is too treasonous?"

Zhuge Jin paused for a long time, finally stopped laughing, and waved his hand calmly: "What you said did not exceed the scope of the private conversation between His Majesty and I in Lanting last year. I recalled the conversation between His Majesty and me last year and Aliang wrote it down for me. If Zijing doesn't believe it, let Aliang bring it to you for your review."

Lu Su looked stern, still a little bit unbelieving. Zhuge Jin summoned Zhuge Liang and gave him a few instructions. A few minutes later, Zhuge Liang came back with something.

It is impossible to have written it in such a short time. And whether it is written recently or old can be judged by looking at whether the ink is dry and the paper is moist.

As soon as Lu Su touched the paper of the scroll, he knew it was definitely not written in recent months. Then he unfolded it and took a closer look, and he became more and more shocked.

"Master Zhuge's views on this matter are actually better than mine? However, they have different emphases from what I said. It should be a comment before the emperor, and there are many things that cannot be said as recklessly as I do.

However, his lofty aspirations and his desire to be a model for future generations are far superior to mine!"

Lu Su was shocked beyond words, and it took him a long time to recover. He knelt down and asked sincerely, "My Lord, I have a question, and I will not be happy if I don't ask it! Since you have seen through this and know that the Xudu puppet lineage cannot be revived, why do you still go against the will of heaven and set up this ambition to support the Han Dynasty?"

Zhuge Jin stepped forward and helped him up calmly: "It's very simple. Although I am vaguely aware of this thought, 'your Majesty's lineage cannot be revived' does not mean 'the Han Dynasty cannot be revived'. Among the current royal family, there are heroes and ambitious people who are far better than Sun Ce and the two Yuans. Therefore, I still have to resolve to support the Han Dynasty."

Because Zhuge Jin's insight was far superior to his, Lu Su was now completely convinced and did not doubt him when he heard his words.

He just checked it briefly and sighed tentatively:
"Your Excellency is so far-sighted that he still thinks this man is a hero. He must have extraordinary talent and ambition. Liu Biao of Jingzhou and Liu Zhang of Yizhou are not worthy of the title of heroes with great ambitions, and Liu Yao is already dead.

Could it be that the mansion master was talking about General Liu Xuande, who was left with only Guangling County and was barely surviving? Su had indeed heard very little about the General Liu Xuande in his life. It seemed that he came from a humble background and had suddenly risen to prominence in the past one or two years.

Zhuge Jin patted the other person on the shoulder and said, "It just so happens that Aliang will be going to Guangling in a few days. You can go to Sun Ce to deliver a letter first. After getting a reply, go with Aliang to see it for yourself, and you will know.

"Whether a man is a hero or not, you can only tell from his words. You have to see it with your own eyes. In today's world, good birds choose trees to inhabit, and good ministers choose masters to serve. If you make a decision based on just seeing a mere Sun Ce, it would be like going into a mountain of treasures and returning with nothing."

Lu Su was so fascinated by Zhuge Jin's description that he immediately expressed his sincere willingness to observe it carefully.

(End of this chapter)