My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 120: A Competition Between Provinces and Counties

It was only natural for Liu Bei to take advantage of the poor communication between Cao Cao and Lu Bu in the negotiations to act as a peacemaker and reap some benefits.

But Zhuge Liang thought that it would be best to discuss this matter with his eldest brother. After all, there were not many opportunities for Liu Bei to send people to Xudu to ask for official positions. Some of the division of spoils and cover-ups within the camp had to be fully explained to avoid leaving any hidden dangers.

When Liu Bei heard that Zhuge Jin was willing to come, he didn't mind waiting a few more days. After all, it only took two days to sail from Wuhu to Guangling, and five days to go back and forth (it would take one more day to go upstream).

During the five-day waiting period, Zhuge Liang was not idle.

Although Liu Bei did not assign him any other tasks, some minor problems were exposed after the initial trial production of the drift net fishing boat. After returning, Zhuge Liang took the time to make some modifications and optimized the steering wheel-shaped fishing net windlass to make the windlassing action more labor-saving and reduce entanglement during operation.

In addition, now that the technology for drawing wire using high-purity soft wrought iron has been developed, Zhuge Liang has not forgotten the idea his elder brother had when he first talked to him about this technology - Zhuge Jin's original purpose in mentioning the matter of drawing wire was to try to make iron ring chain mail, but it was Zhuge Liang himself who was not doing his job properly and actually used the wire technology on the barbs of the barbed wire.

Fortunately, an extra batch of finished iron wire was produced during the trial production of the new barbed wire. Zhuge Liang was also afraid of being criticized when he saw his eldest brother again, so he decided to go all out and found a group of blacksmiths to work in parallel and use the remaining iron wire to trial-produce a few sets of soft armor to see how it goes.

Regardless of the protective effect, it is just a small-scale experiment, the materials are readily available and it doesn’t cost much.

Chain mail has never been popular in the East throughout history, so it naturally has its protective disadvantages.

But chain mail is suitable for wearing as soft armor inside. It has the lightest impact on body flexibility among all iron armors, and the protection area can be made the most comprehensive and fit the body best. As a protective gear for important civil and military officials to attend special occasions, it is definitely the most useful. Before this, leather armor could only be worn secretly in occasions such as the Hongmen Banquet.

Traditional lamellar and scale armor requires a blacksmith to make it from start to finish. Forcing multiple blacksmiths to work together to make the same set of armor will waste a lot of time on the connection. However, there is no such problem with iron ring chain mail.

Because you only need to draw the shape of each piece of "fabric" and then ask different blacksmiths to roll the wire into small iron rings and stack them to make them solid. Finally, add another row of iron rings at the joints of each piece of "fabric".

As long as there are enough people, it would be no problem to have five or even ten blacksmiths forge the same set of iron-ringed chain mail at the same time.

In just five days, Zhuge Liang made three sets of samples, which he could show off as a small achievement when his elder brother came.

……

Five days passed in a flash, and today was already the eighth of September.

Liu Bei once again came in a low-key manner to a few dozen miles west of Guangling City to personally welcome the fleet coming from upstream.

As usual, Zhuge Jin brought two to three thousand guards and thirty warships, protected by Taishi Ci, to meet with Liu Bei.

However, Taishi Ci would not stay long. At most, he would accompany everyone for a banquet and team building, and then he would lead his troops back to defend Wuhu. With Taishi Ci around, Sun Ce would not dare to make any rash moves.

"Zi Yu! I haven't seen you for ten months! You've done great things in Jiangnan!" As soon as the boat stopped, Liu Bei rushed forward and personally moved a springboard to the side of the boat. After Zhuge Jin stepped onto the step, he supported him to prevent him from falling into the water.

Zhuge Jin stood on the shore carefully, then bowed and said, "Thank you for your concern, my uncle was able to take office smoothly in Yuzhang. In the end, I have to thank you for lending me the troops and Yunchang to help me."

Liu Bei was stunned at first and felt a little disappointed when he heard Zhuge Jin's address. He remembered that Zhuge Jin called him "General" or "Lord Xuande" last year, but now he changed his address to "Envoy".

In terms of rank, the General of the Southern Expedition is of course higher than the Governor of Yangzhou. If it is the Generals of the Front, Back, Left, and Right, then it is even higher than the Governor of a Province - this is why in history when Liu Bei visited Zhuge Liang three times, he always called him "General". The General of the Left was much higher than the Governor of Yuzhou, and he had a golden seal and purple ribbon.

(Note: In the Han Dynasty, the three civil officials, the military officials of the Great Chariot Guard, and the front, back, left, and right had gold seals and purple ribbons. The nine civil officials, the governors of the states, and the four military governors and four garrisons all had silver seals and blue ribbons.)
However, Liu Bei reacted quickly. He immediately realized that Zhuge Jin's change of words was to emphasize his management authority over Yangzhou affairs.

Although the Inspector is not as good as the Governor, in such chaotic times, in those states without a Governor, whether the Inspector can take charge of the affairs of the entire state depends on whether the prefects under him support him.

For example, when Liu Biao took office seven years ago, Dong Zhuo appointed him as the governor of Jingzhou instead of the governor, but Liu Biao was still able to slowly gain power in Jingzhou with the help of Kuai Liang and Cai Mao. Even though Huang Zu was semi-independent, he nominally respected Liu Biao, so Liu Biao would not bother with Huang Zu's small piece of land.

In contrast, when Jiaozhou was first established, the court sent Zhang Jin there. Unfortunately, each of the four brothers of Shi Xie occupied a county in Jiaozhou and they all opposed Zhang Jin, so Zhang Jin could not take office.

Therefore, Zhuge Jin's address to him as Envoy was already representing the attitude of the two counties of Yuzhang and Danyang in Yangzhou towards the Governor of Yangzhou.

Liu Bei immediately adjusted his expression and, while reminiscing about the past, he pulled Zhuge Jin onto his horse and rode side by side.

Zhuge Liang, who was standing next to him, also hurried over and saluted his elder brother first. Zhuge Jin also indicated that there was no need to be polite.

Everyone was riding on their horses. Liu Bei had done his homework with Zhuge Liang in advance and knew what the primary topic of the day was, so he asked Zhuge Jin without hesitation:
"Kong Ming taught me that when we send people to Xudu to reconcile Cao and Lu, we should first report our previous achievements, and then assist with other negotiations and exert pressure from the side to maximize our benefits. I wonder how we should distribute the accumulated achievements over the past few months so as to avoid suspicion from Cao Cao as much as possible?"

Liu Bei's army and Zhuge's family had not been recognized by the court for their new achievements since Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor in June. On the one hand, their achievements were not great at the time, and some of them were only completed recently.

On the other hand, Cao Cao probably wanted to see Yuan Shu and Liu Bei continue fighting, the more brutal the better. The war was not over yet, and Cao Cao did not want to take the initiative to "settle midway."

However, Yuan Shu's main force has now turned back to fight Cao Cao to the death. Cao Cao is under increasing pressure, and it will be difficult to delay any further. If his relationship with Liu Bei becomes strained again and Lu Bu is unable to successfully cease fire, Cao Cao may really be in danger of failure.

Under such heavy pressure, officials will be more generous when paying tribute.

Zhuge Jin saw that Liu Bei valued his opinion so much, so he took the responsibility. Before they even returned home, they started making arrangements on the way:
"If we can report the actual merits of the generals, the rewards and punishments will be clearest and the people will be most convinced. However, we should hide many details about the troops of our Zhuge family if possible, so as to avoid provoking Cao Cao as little as possible.

I think it would be better to make some military merit exchanges to ensure that none of the generals suffer obvious losses. Even if there is a slight injustice, it can be made up later."

Liu Bei nodded repeatedly: "I mean the same thing. I wonder what Ziyu thinks about the specific distribution?" Zhuge Jin glanced at Zhuge Liang, who nodded slightly to him. Zhuge Jin knew that Liu Bei had consulted with him, so he opened up and said:

"It would be better to attribute the military merits of the six southern counties of Danyang County and Wuhu County, that is, the merits of destroying Zulang, to Ziyi and Aliang. In this way, Yunchang's record of fighting in Danyang can also be omitted. These battles took place in the deep mountains, and the opponents were also Shanyue. They would not communicate with Cao Cao, and Cao Cao would not know about it.

However, Yunchang played a great role. Yuzhang and Danyang almost all relied on him to borrow troops, lead troops, train troops, and reorganize and recover surrendered troops, so Yunchang must not be at a disadvantage. The subsequent decisive battle with Yuan Shu's Yangtze River navy in Chungu County, all the credit was attributed to Yunchang.

In this way, Ziyi gets some of Yunchang's merits on land, but all the merits for the naval battle go to Yunchang. Xingba's merits for the Chungu battle also go to Yunchang. I will separately report his merits for the surprise attack on Ruxukou Water Stronghold and the subsequent blockade of the Yangtze River. In short, I will find a way to compensate Xingba and not let him suffer any loss.

As for Guangling County's fight against Ji Ling and the capture of Xuyi, the envoy naturally knows more about it than I do."

Liu Bei listened very carefully, reviewing the situation in his mind as he listened. Indeed, if all the credit for the Yangtze River naval battle was attributed to Guan Yu, the memorial would look much better. Liu Bei himself had two ports, Guangling and Hailing, on the Yangtze River. Although they were a bit far from Yuan Shu's main naval base, it still made sense to say that he went 400 miles upstream to fight a naval battle.

After all, there are no obstacles on the river, and one can go downstream for a thousand miles, let alone four hundred miles.

Guan Yu's participation in the land battle of Danyang was much more sensitive, and it was likely to deepen Cao Cao's impression of the depth of Liu Bei's previous cooperation with the Zhuge family.

Liu Bei finally made the decision: "Okay, then let's write the memorial like this. After it's finished, let Changxu (Sun Shao) be the chief envoy and Xianhe be the deputy envoy to send it to Xudu. Do you think this is a good choice, Ziyu?"

Zhuge Jin: "Of course it's appropriate. I remember Aliang said that they were the ones who went to Xudu last time."

Liu Bei couldn't help but laugh: "It was the same last time, but last time Xianhe was completely hidden in the dark. At that time, Changxu pretended to be deaf and dumb and continued to be the official in the name of Zhengli brother (Liu Yao)."

Zhuge Jin drew inferences from one example and said, "We can also let Mr. Changxu act as the envoy of our Zhuge family this time, and Xianhe act as the envoy of the envoy. After Lord Zhengli passed away, wouldn't Brother Ziyi be considered as 'following Lord Zhengli on his deathbed and seeking help from our Zhuge family'? If we say that Mr. Changxu also followed him, Cao Cao wouldn't be able to say anything."

Liu Bei heard this, glanced at Taishi Ci who was accompanying Zhuge Jin to protect him, and said a few joking words to suit the situation. Taishi Ci was a little embarrassed at first, but Liu Bei immediately resolved the situation.

Liu Bei responded with high emotional intelligence and said, "Ziyi, I remember when we met in Beihai, you told me a lot of stories. You also said that you fled to Liaodong because you were employed by the Lord of the Prefecture in your hometown of Donglai and went to the capital to submit a petition.

At that time, there were many disputes between the prefectures and cities. Whenever there was a local case, the Qingzhou governor Jiao's petition was always passed to Donglai County, and the Donglai governor had to pass it to Jiao. The imperial court's Secretariat always took the first come first served approach and would not accept the same case again, so the prefecture and county petition that arrived first would gain the advantage.

You helped the Lord of Donglai Prefecture to intercept and destroy the memorial submitted by the envoy of the Qingzhou Governor and the memorial submitted to the Donglai Prefecture, and were eventually convicted and had to flee. This has inspired me, Ziyu. What do you think if we have another "competition between prefectures and counties" this time?
The governors of Danyang and Yangzhou submitted a petition for merit, each claiming credit for their own people. How will Cao Cao view us? Perhaps when he offers us an official position, he will be less wary of us because of our incompatibility, right? "

Liu Bei's original intention of saying this was to ease Taishi Ci's embarrassment, but at the same time, to make Taishi Ci feel that "my experience and lessons can actually help everyone", giving Taishi Ci a subtle sense of accomplishment.

Zhuge Jin's eyes lit up when he heard this: Wow! Liu Bei himself is using some tricks in court negotiations? And he uses them in a very good manner...

To be honest, Zhuge Jin himself did not think of this, and Zhuge Liang did not understand the twists and turns of the old officials in the officialdom and was too young to know it either.

Liu Bei actually won in this regard!

Although Liu Bei's initial motivation was out of emotional intelligence and to save face...

"Lord Xuande's emotional intelligence is really high. He gives people face silently, and he can even associate this with..." Zhuge Jin thought to himself. He hadn't seen Liu Bei for ten months, and his impression of Liu Bei's emotional intelligence had become a little vague. Now he has regained his spirit and no longer dares to underestimate him.

The two brothers praised the idea and let Liu Bei implement it himself to see how to improve it.

While they were chatting, they had already returned to the governor's residence in the city. Liu Bei had to hold a banquet to welcome Zhuge Jin.

When the prominent figures among the civil and military officials in Guangling heard that Mr. Ziyu had returned, they all came to show their support. Every one of them was proud to offer Mr. Ziyu a drink, and many of them expressed their gratitude from the bottom of their hearts.

Because the fighting in Xuyi on the northern front had stopped, Xuyi and Huaiyin were defended by Tian Yu and Chen Dao respectively. Guan, Zhang and Zhao all returned to Guangling temporarily to meet Zhuge Jin together.

Guan Yu had only just met Zhuge Jin two months ago, and Zhang Fei had not been seen since December last year, just like Liu Bei. Zhao Yun had never been seen at all.

At the table, Zhang Fei was naturally the most active in toasting. He hadn't seen Zhuge Jin for ten months, and his gratitude was quite intense. He kept saying "Please help yourself, sir. I'll drink it all" while pulling Zhuge Jin to beg:
"Sir, when you come back this time, please help me put in a few good words in front of my elder brother. Since losing Xia Pi last year, Lao Zhang has completely changed his ways. But in the past six months, he has only been assigned to defend Xuyi and repelled Ji Ling's two attacks. He has no other opportunities to make meritorious deeds.

My eldest brother must still be worried about me. Not to mention that my second brother has made many great contributions, the imperial court will definitely confer the title of general on him this time.

Even Zilong killed Liang Gang and Le Jiu, and had the merit of conquering Xuyi. My eldest brother said that when he reported to the court this time, he would also recommend Zilong as a captain, which would be the same as mine. You must give me more battles to fight next year.

I heard that we are going to attack Lujiang soon? Then we don’t need to rely on naval battles. I am good at land battles! If I continue to be a captain, I will lose face! "

Seeing Zhang Fei pestering Zhuge Jin like this, Liu Bei felt a little embarrassed and quickly scolded him, "Yide! Don't be rude to me! I have my own wisdom on how to deal with war and peace. Just follow my orders. There is no reason for me to urge you to fight!"

Zhang Fei scratched his head and said, "I'm not being rude! I'm toasting you! If you take a sip, I'll drink one pot. If you ask for help, I'll drink one pot too. How polite!"

Zhuge Jin couldn't help but be amused by Zhang Fei, and said casually: "The full-scale attack on Lujiang will definitely be next year, so we can't act rashly now. But if you want to make a small contribution, it's not impossible to make it look good when you submit it this time."

Zhuge Jin calmed Zhang Fei down, then turned to Liu Bei and said, "Sir, on the way here, I did think of some small merits that I could take advantage of Yuan Shu's misfortune, and I don't need to over-stimulate Yuan Shu, so that Yuan Shu would admit defeat. Since Yide is so eager, let him warm up."

(End of this chapter)