My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 128: A random move is a huge favor
Zhuge Liang used his ability in arithmetic and mathematics to discuss matters with Zheng Xuan with ease.

The final mention of "Han Shu" and Ban Gu was nothing more than a fig leaf for Zheng Xuan, allowing him to regain the upper hand over Zhuge Liang in some aspects to avoid him being embarrassed throughout the process.

Therefore, under Zhuge Liang's guidance, Zheng Xuan finally found a reasonable explanation for the falsification of "Han Shu": Zhuge Liang's algorithm was correct, and "Han Shu" did fabricate several non-existent serious disasters and astrological phenomena, but these falsities were not made up by Ban Gu himself.

When Ban Gu died, there were still eight tables and "Astronomy" left in the Book of Han, so Ban Gu's sister Ban Zhao continued to write it. However, Ban Zhao was not omniscient in the field of astronomy, and she could not write some details clearly. Later, Empress Dowager Deng asked Ma Xu, who was knowledgeable in astronomy, to help revise and improve "Astronomy".

Therefore, these fabrications should have been done by Ma Xu, not the Ban family. (I won’t go into details about how to calculate and deduce this, as it has already been calculated in “The Three Kingdoms Begins with Deceiving Liu Bei”, which I wrote a full half chapter about at the time. It would be a waste of time to write it again.)
When Zheng Xuan was induced to come to this correct conclusion, although he felt a sense of sudden enlightenment in academic matters, he also felt a little depressed afterwards - because this Ma Xu was the elder brother of his teacher Ma Rong.

In a nutshell, Zhuge Liang spent half a day discussing academic matters with him, which first subtly made Zheng Xuan realize:
This young man could completely crush him in mathematics, calendar and astronomy.

Finally, he talked to him about the origin and development of "Han Shu" to save Zheng Xuan's face and let Zheng Xuan end the day's study with the mentality of "After all, my friend Zhuge and I have our own strengths and we can learn from each other."

Then, in the process, he also cleverly reminded the other party: I can find any academic question to involve your uncle Ma Xu's academic fraud.

Although Zhuge Liang was a modest gentleman who would not threaten anyone with these things, and in such a chaotic world, no lord would care about the academic fraud decades ago. But the strength that Zhuge Liang showed was only the tip of the iceberg after all, and it had aroused enough interest and awe in Zheng Xuan, making him willing to listen to Zhuge Liang's advice and persuasion to find out the gaps.

In this way, Zhuge Liang's goal was achieved.

So, that night, everyone stayed in this mountain academy for one night. The next day, Zhuge Liang talked to Zheng Xuan about his original intention, trying to persuade Zheng Xuan to go down the mountain and not choose to live in seclusion again.

Zheng Xuan also further strengthened his mutual understanding with Zhuge Liang through observing his living habits for half a day. He found that this young man was not a dandy boy and seemed to be very adaptable to the difficult living conditions in the mountains, and this was definitely not an act.

He asked indirectly, and Zhuge Liang hinted: I also fled to Jingzhou in the past, found a place to live in seclusion in the countryside, and made a living by farming.

After hearing Zhuge Liang's story, Zheng Xuan naturally felt closer to him and was willing to listen to his advice, no longer regarding him as a vulgar person obsessed with fame and fortune. Cui Yan also gradually discovered Zhuge Liang's noble moral integrity and began to discuss the general situation of the world with him humbly.

Zhuge Liang seized the opportunity and advised frankly: "Mr. Zheng, I was very supportive of your retreat to the Buqi Mountain to teach. Qingzhou is in chaos, the Yellow Turbans are still raging, and the pirates Guan Cheng have not been pacified to this day. Hiding in the mountains can indeed help you avoid chaos and seek peace and tranquility.

But now Qing and Ji have been conquered by Yuan Shao, and the war is gradually subsiding. If you only want to study, there is no need to force yourself to live in seclusion. You must know that the great hermits live in the city, especially those who study mathematics, astronomy, and the study of things. You need to seek truth from facts and practice. Living in the wilderness in the mountains does not even have the conditions to practice.

Many of the equipment needed to study things also require the cooperation of hundreds of workers. Even if you want to calculate the height of the sky and the thickness of the earth, you can't go to the seaside to test the trees. My brother and I started two years ago because we wanted to explore the principles of nature, but we were constrained by external things, so we gradually gave up the countryside and lived in seclusion. "

Zhuge Liang's profound teachings gave Zheng Xuan a lot of inspiration from the perspective of learning. In addition, he discussed the current situation and emphasized that the north was temporarily stable, which finally made Zheng Xuan waver.

Zheng Xuan sighed and said, "What you said is indeed true, but I am an idle person by nature and I am old. I really don't want to be a secular official anymore."

Zhuge Liang: "In this case, Duke Zheng should go to a prosperous place to study, so that Yuan Shao can be assured. Otherwise, once his subordinates try to please him, they will be unable to control themselves."

Zheng Xuan was shocked and after thinking for a long time, he had to admit that what Zhuge Liang said made sense.

Yuan Shao's forces are not able to force him out of retirement now, because Yuan Tan has only occupied Qingzhou for a year and his foundation is still unstable.

But Zhuge Liang told him: "Gongsun Zan has been besieged in Yijing, and almost all the generals of the Gongsun clan in other parts of Youzhou have surrendered to Yuan Shao. Once Youzhou is completely pacified, Yuan Shao will have no enemies in the north. If Yuan Shao wants to force Duke Zheng, will Duke Zheng be able to resist?"

In this case, it would be better to take the initiative to show goodwill as soon as possible, and bargain on how to work for Yuan Shao. Anyway, Yuan Shao also knew that Zheng Xuan was old, and as long as he showed good attitude, he would definitely not embarrass him.

After Yuan Shao personally made the decision, it was difficult for his subordinates to make things more difficult for him. Some things need to be done in one go to avoid potential risks.

After listening to Zhuge Liang's analysis, Zheng Xuan finally understood the truth. He stood up and paced a few steps with a solemn expression. Then he bowed solemnly to Zhuge Liang:
"I have learned your lesson. In this case, I will go down the mountain in the next few days. Anyway, this mountain is a remote place and there is no money or property to transport. Well, Ji Gui, Yuan Shao has summoned you several times, so don't delay, otherwise it will cause trouble.

As for your other junior brothers, those who are willing to follow me to Yecheng to continue their studies can go with me. Those who don’t want to go with me can also choose their own masters and seek official positions.”

Zheng Xuan's disciple Sun Qian, who had not spoken a word today, had just been respectfully pouring tea for his master and Kong Ming. When he saw that his master had finally mentioned that he wanted to let his fellow disciples serve as officials, he quickly found an opportunity to interrupt:

"Master, I have something to say. Among all my fellow disciples, many are from the south and are going north to study. Now the north is in turmoil, while the south is relatively peaceful. General Zhengnan is a benevolent and faithful leader. If all my fellow disciples are willing to go to Guangling to join him, I will give you a little favor and I will surely allow you to be employed safely."

Zheng Xuan did not want to get too involved in these topics, nor did he want to interfere with his disciples' career ambitions. He just nodded and allowed Sun Qian to talk to those people privately one by one.

Sun Qian received the permission and hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

The group set off from Gaomi to Linzi, first to meet Yuan Tan and then to Yecheng.

On the way, Sun Qian persuaded his fellow disciples one by one, and soon he found two fellow disciples who had been willing to go south to avoid disaster in history, Cheng Bing and Liu Xi.

He expressed his willingness to take Sun Qian's boat and go south to Liu Bei to have a look. If that didn't work, he would continue south to investigate Sun Ce and Shi Xie.

In history, Cheng Bing did go all the way south and finally arrived at Sun Quan. He felt that Sun Quan was quite kind to scholars and the environment was stable, so he stayed.

Liu Xi seemed to have higher requirements, also because historically he went south earlier than Cheng Bing. When he arrived in Wu, Sun Quan had not yet come to power and Sun Ce had not yet died. Sun Ce did not pay much attention to those who studied the Five Classics but did not have the talent for quick and practical work. Therefore, Liu Xi was not satisfied with Sun Ce and went all the way to Shi Xie in Jiaozhou before settling down.

What Sun Qian did was just to persuade a group of fellow disciples to go south in advance. As for whether Liu Bei could treat them with respect and how many he could keep, that was Liu Bei's business.

……

Gaomi County is located deep in the mountains, so if you want to go to Linzi, you still have to first go down the Jiaoshui River, return to Xiami County on the coast, and then head west along the coastline.

Zhuge Liang, Zhao Yun and his party were delayed in Gaomi for only two or three days. When they returned to Xiami, it was already five days since their first landing.

Because of the itinerary, it was already evening when they arrived at Xia Mi, so everyone decided to stay in the city for one night.

Zhao Yun had sharp eyes and sharp ears and was a keen observer. When he was still two or three miles away from the city, he noticed that the security on the city walls seemed to be tighter than five days ago. His battlefield intuition made him subconsciously feel that something was wrong, so he immediately told Zhuge Liang about the situation.

Out of caution, Zhuge Liang did not rush into the city. After arriving outside the city gate, he ordered his servants to investigate.

Fortunately, Zheng Xuan's prestige in Xiami was also very high. When the county lieutenant guarding the city and a transferred Qu Junhou heard that Zheng Kangcheng had come down the mountain, they hurried over to greet him in person and explained why the search into the city was so strict:
"Please forgive me, Lord Zheng. Five days ago, pirates under Guan Cheng invaded the town at the mouth of Jiaoshui River and dozens of them were killed by our army. The leader was a cousin of Guan Cheng. It is said that when the news was reported back to Shamen Island, Guan Cheng was furious.

After we reported to the county, the county specially sent several troops to guard the surrounding counties to prevent pirates from retaliating. So the inspections have been stricter in the past few days, fearing that pirate scouts have sneaked into the city as an insider. If the situation gets more serious in a few days and it is confirmed that Guan Cheng has sent troops, I am afraid that Xia Mi and other places will have to block the city gates and prohibit entry and exit. "

Zhuge Liang was following Zheng Xuan. After hearing this explanation, he couldn't help but feel a little contemptuous, but since it had nothing to do with him, he would not show it.

As a military commander, Zhao Yun's contempt was even more obvious: It was a good thing that the pirates were willing to come to seek revenge! They usually hid on the islands, and if they wanted to be hunted down, they could still move between the islands and could not be caught. The Yuan army in Qingzhou actually didn't think of deliberately showing a flaw to lure the enemy and then annihilate them?

But since Zhuge Liang didn't say it, he didn't say it either.

The group rested in Xia Mi County that night and had a good sleep. When they got up the next day and were about to pack up and set off, they unexpectedly discovered that the city gates of Xia Mi County were actually closed.

When Cui Yan went to the county lieutenant and Qu Junhou on behalf of Zheng Xuan to find out the situation, he found that there was already some panic in the city and all kinds of news were spreading.

"Oh no! Guan Cheng actually brought pirates to Xia Mi to seek revenge! There are probably two thousand pirates!" "Guan Cheng actually dared to take the risk of sailing to the open sea! He went all the way west from Donglai, then turned southwest, and attacked Xia Mi directly! No other counties along the coast have discovered the pirates! What should we do?"

Cui Yan did not understand military affairs. After learning about the situation from the county lieutenant and Qu Junhou, he was a little panicked and immediately went back to report to Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun.

……

After hearing Cui Yan's retelling, Zhuge Liang was not panicked, but just shook his head helplessly:

"Guan Cheng has only 2,000 pirates, but he has caused such panic in Beihai County? Why didn't the Beihai Commandery concentrate its forces and set an ambush to lure the enemy into a fight? Why must each county be stationed with a troop? In this way, the pirates come and go like the wind, and their whereabouts are unpredictable. In each county, the garrison will certainly be inferior to the pirates."

Cui Yan listened to Zhuge Liang's suggestion and smiled bitterly: "Perhaps Beihai Commander Guan Tong is indeed lacking in strategy. But it may also be that Guan Cheng has many spies and there are remnants of the Yellow Turbans in every county. So Guan Tong is worried that even if he deliberately sets up false reality, it will be easy for Guan Cheng to see through it, and he will be attacked by avoiding the real and attacking the fake."

After hearing this explanation, Zhuge Liang had no better solution for the time being. Guan Cheng, a local tyrant who had followed Guan Hai to occupy the North Sea for a long time, would easily leave many spies in the local area once he retreated to the island to become a pirate.

In this way, Guan Cheng had the advantage of mobility, and he could always concentrate superior forces to attack Guan Tong's weak points. As a result, the Qingzhou pirates had a total force of only 3,000 to 4,000, but they could not be destroyed for more than a year after Yuan Tan pacified Qingzhou.

In the original history, Guan Cheng could still be arrogant for another three to five years, until Cao Cao took control of Qingzhou, when he was immediately destroyed.

However, just as Zhuge Liang was lamenting Yuan Tan's poor command of the army and strategy, Zhao Yun, who was standing by, seemed to have thought of something and took the initiative to speak:
"Sir, are you worried that we will be surrounded in Xia Mi City and delay our trip to Linzi? If the local county soldiers dare to fight, Yun is willing to lead some people and choose an opportunity at dawn when the enemy army is relaxed to break out of the city and destroy the enemy's center.

It's a pity that I don't have a name. I heard from Mr. Cui that the pirates came here to retaliate and besiege because they had many spies and knew that the Xiami garrison was insufficient. In this case, the appearance of dozens of us must not be within the pirates' intelligence, so Guan Cheng must have been careless.

I think he has only 2,000 men, but he has 400 to 500 men at each gate to surround them. He is showing too much contempt for Yuan's army! Although there are only a few soldiers in the city, with the county lieutenant's militia, the number should be more than 500, right? Isn't Guan Cheng afraid that these 500 men will go all out and attack the camp with his flag outside the north gate and kill him?"

Cui Yan didn't know Zhao Yun's martial arts, and he couldn't help but think that Zhao Yun was too arrogant when he heard what Zhao Yun said. He kindly reminded him, "Brother Zhao, do you seem to underestimate Guan Cheng? He is a fierce thief from Bohai who has been active in Beihai and Donglai for many years. He is good at using two swords and is very powerful. I have never heard of any general under Yuan Tan's command who dares to boast that he can kill Guan Cheng."

Zhao Yun snorted coldly, "On the way to Xiami that day, I killed dozens of bandits with my own hands. Guan Cheng came here to seek revenge. In fact, it was I who caused the vengeance, but he didn't know where I was."

When Zhuge Liang heard Zhao Yun's confidence, he also had an idea.

He originally did not want Zhao Yun to take action, mainly because he was worried that if Zhao Yun's strength was exposed, it would cause trouble when he went to Yecheng. If Yuan Shao took a fancy to Zhao Yun, Zhao Yun could still get away, but it would definitely be much more troublesome.

However, since he doesn't care about merit and reputation, he can negotiate a deal with Yuan Tan. For example, he can conceal Zhao Yun's merit and count it as the achievement of a general under Yuan Tan, thus giving Yuan Tan a guise.

Yuan Tan only needed to compensate Liu Bei's delegation in other ways, such as property and prisoners, which could be handed over to Zhuge Liang on the return journey, or Yuan Tan could mediate more for Liu Bei with Yuan Shao.

Just think of it as doing Yuan Tan a personal favor - when he heard that his son was able to destroy the number one pirate in Bohai and bring peace to the area, Yuan Shao would surely look up to him, right?

Of course, Zhuge Liang soon realized that the county lieutenant of Xiami County and the Marquis Qu would definitely not listen to Zhao Yun's orders. But this problem was not a big deal, because Zheng Xuan and Cui Yan were trapped in the city. Such big men were respected by Yuan Tan and Yuan Shao. If they were trapped and something went wrong, no one in the Xiami officialdom would be able to protect them.

Let Zheng Xuan mediate and persuade the garrisoned Qu Junhou to launch a counter-attack on Guan Cheng's central military camp before dawn tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. It shouldn't be a problem.

……

In the end, it was indeed through Zheng Xuan's face that pressure was applied. The local people in Xia Mi also knew Zheng Xuan's virtue and prestige, and they respected him very much.

The most crucial thing was that Cui Yan called on Qu Junhou to follow Zhao Yun to find a place, demonstrated Zhao Yun's martial arts, and indicated that Zhao Yun could lead the cavalry to charge in the early morning of tomorrow.

After seeing Zhao Yun's abilities, the Nagqu military marquis was finally relieved. Without saying a word, he went back to boost morale, gave the soldiers a generous reward that day, and let them have a good rest.

In the early morning of the next day, Guan Cheng was personally in charge of the northern section of the Xia Mi siege camp, but at this moment, he was still sleeping soundly.

For two consecutive days, Guan Cheng did not forcefully attack the city. It was still very difficult for two thousand people to attack a city guarded by five hundred regular county soldiers and hundreds of local warriors. Moreover, the pirates came from the sea, and there were no heavy siege equipment in a hurry, only a few ladders.

He just followed the principle that a thief never leaves empty-handed, and while he surrounded the county town, he went to the surrounding villages and towns and burned, killed, looted, and plundered.

His original intention was to come to Xia Mi County to seek revenge because a cousin of his was killed by an unknown enemy general, so that the people of Xia Mi County would know the consequences of offending the housekeeper.

If Yuan Jun keeps hiding his head like a turtle, he will leave after he has robbed enough. In just two days, the main force of Beihai Guantong should not have enough time to gather and rush to Xiami. He can at least plunder for another one or two days before withdrawing and returning with a full load.

Because of the rich harvest, the pirates could not help drinking when they returned to the camp at night. It was troublesome to transport the stolen good wine, and it would be bad if the wine jars were smashed by the turbulence on the sea. It was better to drink it all directly, so as not to find straw to pad the wine jars when loading.

In this atmosphere, the garrison soldiers of Xia Mi County, encouraged by repeated rewards, gathered 300 people, quietly opened the city gate in the early morning, and sneaked out to rob the camp.

The troops opened the city gate at four o'clock in the morning, and a quarter of an hour later, they heard deafening shouts of killing coming from the north of the city. Soon, the camps on the east, west and south sides of the city began to light up densely, and groups of pirates heard the noise and mobilized reinforcements to the north camp.

Zhuge Liang fanned himself with a folding fan, found a stool on the tower and waited for the news of victory. Zheng Xuan was too old to climb the city wall, so Cui Yan was the only one who stood on the tower to look out and report back to Zheng Xuan as soon as there was any news.

"Why are the shouts and cries so fierce? Shouldn't they be subdued with one strike? My dear brother Kong Ming, a team of firelight reinforcements has arrived from the left and right pirate camps! Will our army in the north camp be surrounded?" Cui Yan could only stare anxiously at the firelight several miles away and yell at Zhuge Liang from time to time.

"Zilong led his troops to raid the camp. What is there to worry about? Maybe he is not satisfied with just killing Guan Cheng and wants to expand the victory." Zhuge Liang repeatedly signaled Cui Yan to stay calm.

Cui Yan stamped his feet anxiously: "I heard you say yesterday that Zhao... Sima, under the command of the General Zhengnan, was only a military Sima, not even a captain. Even the Beihai Captain Guan Tong couldn't deal with Guan Cheng, how could he, a military Sima, deal with him?"

Zhuge Liang: "...haven't you seen his martial arts skills with your own eyes?"

Cui Yan was speechless for a moment and could only wait nervously without saying anything more.

He had indeed seen Zhao Yun's martial arts from the side yesterday when he was helping Zhao Yun to connect with the garrison commander Qu Junhou.

But he himself was not good at martial arts, nor did he understand the tricks. He just vaguely felt that "although I don't understand it, it seems very powerful."

Another half a quarter of an hour later, the sky gradually brightened and the flames in all directions gradually faded away. Cui Yan finally saw Zhao Yun leading a group of people back to the city. After confirming their identities, the gatekeeper finally opened the gate and let them return victoriously.

Zhao Yun ran up to the tower and threw a head there: "Here is Guan Cheng's head. Although we failed to kill all the pirates, they must be leaderless. This head should be worth a lot of favor to Yuan Tan."

Before Zhuge Liang could answer, Cui Yan, who was knowledgeable, was the first to show admiration: "Oh! This is a big bandit that Lord Yuan has hated for years. If Young Master Yuan can give this to his father, it will win his heart more than expelling Kong Wenju last year!"

Zhuge Liang then smiled and said, "In this case, we have done what we should do. Let's take this head to meet Yuan Xiansi."

With Zheng Xuan willing to be invited by Yuan Tan to go to Yecheng, and Guan Cheng accidentally killed by Yuan Tan, and Zhuge Liang willing to package Yuan Tan, Yuan Tan's chance of winning is bound to increase greatly.

Liu Bei has helped him so much, and coupled with Liu Bei's kindness in recommending him to be a talented person, he will definitely regard Liu Bei as his second parent. In the future, he will fully support Liu Bei in Yuan Shao's camp and may even provide more hidden conveniences.

(End of this chapter)