My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 163 Those who do not attack show others how to attack, and those who attack show others how not to attack
After listening to Zhuge Jin's mature and prudent words and thinking about them carefully, Liu Bei finally believed that what Zhuge Jin said was true.

There's no way, people with the surname Zhuge are just so cautious.

There is no such thing as a divine prophet in the world. What we have is to pay attention at all times and not miss any possible opportunities that do not require any investment. The more we pay attention, the more we can catch a few.

On the way back to the base from the post house, Liu Bei carefully thought about how to respond to Huang Zu's killing of Ni Heng and the possible follow-up, but found that it was too brain-consuming.

So after just thinking about it for the time it took to ride across two blocks, he gave up and decided to just listen to the answer:

"Zi Yu, do you think we need to express our opinion to the court about Huang Zu's killing of Ni Heng? Will the court let our army attack Huang Zu? Or will it ask Brother Jing Sheng to clean up the mess on his own?"

Zhuge Jin was very careful when riding a horse and always held the reins with both hands. Even when asked questions about strategy, he still used 80% of his brain attention to control the horse and only used the remaining 20% to deal with Liu Bei.

This riding posture made an old hand like Liu Bei very unhappy, and he felt it necessary to find an opportunity to personally train Zi Yu in horsemanship and swordsmanship.

I heard that Tzuyu has been doing the same thing as Kong Ming recently, occasionally shooting arrows, riding horses and practicing swordplay to keep fit, but she is really bad at it.

Liu Bei didn't pay attention to such trivial matters at first, after all, he was still at war and didn't have the time to think about these things. But now it seems that improving Yu's riding skills will help him chat with him while riding, so that he can save more brainpower to think about important things.

Zhuge Jin carefully controlled the reins and thought for a long time before he slowly said:
"I think it's best for us to pretend we don't know about Ni Heng's matter for now. How to deal with the murdered angel is a matter for the court, and as a minister, I shouldn't interfere.

Moreover, just now we were still regretting that Cao Cao issued an edict in the name of the emperor, allowing Sun Ce to attack Wang Lang under the pretext of harbouring the Shanyue rebels, and we felt that Zhou Yu had stolen our strategy.

Now this retribution came too quickly. If Cao Cao did not allow our army to attack Huang Zu in the name of sheltering the traitor Yuan, where would the dignity and credibility of the court be? He could not adopt different attitudes towards two cases of the same nature in just one or two months, right?
Moreover, the latter case is much more serious than the former. In the case of Wang Lang, at least he only took in the rebels, not killed the angel. Therefore, we don't need to express our views. Cao Cao will ask us to attack Huang Zu even if it is to maintain the consistency of his political orders.

What's more, since Cao Cao wanted to use other southern princes to contain his lord, he would certainly not be bothered by having too many princes who had friction with his lord. Instead, he would think that the more the better.

In my opinion, you can submit a letter to the court in Xudu, not mentioning Huang Zu at all, pretending to be ignorant for the time being. Instead, you can talk about the battle between Sun Ce and Wang Lang, saying, "As the governor of Yangzhou, I have heard about the people's sentiments in various places in Yangzhou. I know that when Sun Ce was chasing the remnants of the Shanyue, he was rough and violent, and hurt more innocent Han people than the Shanyue barbarians. Please investigate and let Sun and Wang resolve the above dispute peacefully."

In this way, Cao Cao will think that his master is obsessed with suppressing Sun Ce to avoid being attacked from both sides, and he has no time to care about other things. Cao Cao is always trying to go against his master, so he will try to reverse his master's hostility at all costs. "

Liu Bei nodded frequently as he listened. In fact, he had vaguely thought of this truth at the beginning, but he always felt that he couldn't grasp the outline vaguely.

After hearing Zhuge Jin's summary, it finally became clear: To put it bluntly, if something must be done and cannot be avoided, then in front of Cao Cao, you must try your best to act as if you are unwilling to do it, so that at least when you do it in the end, you can squeeze more benefits from Cao Cao.

Of course, if it were another prince, he might choose to directly disobey the order to maximize his own interests.

But Liu Bei is not that kind of person. For the time being, he cannot get some bonuses that can only be obtained by disobeying the order.

"In that case, this memorial to the court is almost the same as the letter of peace persuasion written to Sun Ce, except that the wording and attitude need to be adjusted. In that case, let Gongyou start writing it as well and send it out in the next few days." After Liu Bei sorted out his thoughts, he finally made the decision.

……

Later that day, Sun Qian quickly wrote all the letters and memorials that Liu Bei needed according to Zhuge Jin's guidance.

The letters to Sun Ce and Wang Lang would be temporarily taken back to Wuhu by Liu Bei himself, and then handed over to Bu Zhi to go to Wuhui.

As for the memorial to be sent to Xu Du, Sun Qian had to make another trip. He could first pass through Anfeng in Runan, meet Cao Cao, and then go through the procedures.

The deputy envoys and officials left behind after Ni Heng was killed should have continued their journey northward to report to the court within a day or two.

But in order to ensure that they would arrive in time with Sun Qian, Liu Bei ordered people to entertain them warmly for a few more days and give them gifts and treats to calm them down.

In this way, Cao Cao would meet Sun Qian first and then meet the imperial envoy, making it easier for him to misjudge Liu Bei's thoughts.

After arranging all this, Liu Bei felt that there was nothing else to do in Juchao, so he planned to continue his journey south to Wuhu. He was originally on his way back south when these two unexpected incidents interrupted his journey.

He also told Zhuge Jin to go back and pack up, and that he would leave within a day or two, giving Zhuge Jin a vacation.

……

Zhuge Jin returned to his temporary residence in Juchao County and fell asleep directly on the couch, not even bothering to wash up.

After handling so much official business in one day, I was extremely tired. The physical exercise was not very intense, but the key was to use my brain.

Just as I leaned over, Daqiao and Xiaoqiao heard the noise and came over, one to rub my shoulders and the other to make tea.

Zhuge Jin didn't want to get up, so Daqiao simply soaked a linen towel in hot water, wrung it dry, and applied hot compress to Zhuge Jin's face, shoulders and neck.

Zhuge Jin thought of today's case and suddenly felt a little guilty. After hesitating for a few seconds, he said in a calm tone: "You may have to be slaves for the rest of your life, and you will never be able to wash away this guilt."

Daqiao's slender hands trembled slightly as she applied the hot towel, but her tone was very steady: "I am a criminal relative. We already knew this a long time ago. Why do you have to remind me again and again, General?"

Zhuge Jin: "It is natural for the state law to be like this. However, if it had been given time, it might have been possible to reverse the situation. But now a major event has occurred that will be recorded in history, so we cannot cause discussion."

Zhuge Jin was very sensible and would not mention Huang Zu's case to women, as they might not understand it even if he did.

He helped Liu Bei attack Huang Zu on the charge of harboring traitors, and this incident will surely be recorded in history eventually.

As for why Huang Zu shot and killed the angel, what was the conflict like in the beginning, and why did Huang Zu feel that the angel was taking sides? Even if these are not recorded in the official history, they will definitely be recorded in unofficial historical notes such as the "Jiang Biao Zhuan" in the future.

Zhuge Jin couldn't do something that would slap himself in the face. He just lured Huang Zu to death with the attitude of "I will be impartial and will never take in criminal relatives like Huang Zu did", but then he turned around and went back on his word.

A man without faith cannot stand.

However, in this chaotic era, the integration of Wang Lang, Huang Zu and other forces would have resulted in the death and injury of tens of thousands of people. If letting the two women be slaves for life could save hundreds of lives in the integration process and reduce the resistance of Huang Zu's subordinates because of cowardice, then strictly speaking, it would be the right way. Daqiao didn't know what General Fubo was thinking, but she knew that the general was thinking about the serious matter of tens of thousands of lives, so she was stunned and didn't say anything.

……

After packing up the next day, Liu Bei and Zhuge Jin continued their journey south from Juchao. In two or three days, they passed Ruxu, then went down the Yangtze River and returned to Wuhu County at the end of September.

The governor of Yangzhou finally returned to his temporary seat.

After returning to Wuhu, Liu Bei summoned Bu Zhi as planned and had an in-depth and detailed conversation with him to observe Bu Zhi's ambitions and wishes.

Bu Zhi had been working as a grassroots official for most of the past two years, and had not had a deep conversation with Liu Bei in person for more than a year. Being valued again also made Bu Zhi quite excited and he wanted to make achievements.

After a deep conversation, Liu Bei was also surprised at Bu Zhi's growth. He seemed completely different from the 19-year-old young man he first met two years ago.

Liu Bei thought to himself, "Strange, isn't Zishan a classmate of Ziyu? I heard that they had been studying together for a year or two before Ziyu came to surrender.

Why didn't I see Zishan's knowledge and ability improve when we were classmates, but now we are in different places and he only asks Ziyu for advice occasionally, he has improved faster? "

Liu Bei was very clear about Bu Zhi's level when he was first invited. At that time, he only felt that he was not much different from Zhuge Jin in terms of knowledge of classics, but was far behind in other aspects.

Could it be that after he started working as an official, he realized that the Thirteen Classics had little practical value and that he had to learn real skills to solve practical problems, and then he was forced to ask Ziyu for advice, and only then did he make progress?
Liu Bei couldn't think of any other reason, so he could only make it up. Once he figured it out, he felt that this setting was quite reasonable.

Liu Bei was quite satisfied with Bu Zhi's latest performance. Before officially handing him the task, he decided to examine one more question, so he asked, "Because none of the famous generals in my Yangzhou army can personally go out to fight against Sun Ce, the selection of the generals who will accompany you this time has not been finalized. Do you have a good solution?"

Bu Zhi thought for a moment and said, "In the lord's army, only General Guan, Gan, and the Grand Historian are good at naval warfare. But these three generals are of noble status and have a good reputation. The rest of the generals, even those with low positions but outstanding talents, are often not good at naval warfare.

Wang Lang fled to Dongye, and the generals needed must be skilled in mountain warfare or sea interception. My lord, there is no one who can do this. In my opinion, it is better to select one or two of Zu Lang's men from the Danyang troops. As for naval warfare talents, perhaps they can be found in Wujun. "

Liu Bei was shocked when he heard this: "Looking for him in Wujun? Wujun is under the rule of Sun Ce. How can our army find someone to deal with Sun Ce in Sun Ce's rule?"

When this question was asked, Bu Zhi perked up and prepared a long speech: "My lord, you don't know! Although Sun Ce occupied Danyang, Wujun, and Kuaiji, he was brutal and murderous wherever he went and offended many people.

I went south to Haiyan County, Wujun, a year earlier than Brother Ziyu to investigate the local customs and practices. At that time, I was just paving the way for Brother Ziyu and Brother Mancai. If Brother Ziyu had not encountered the siege of Ji Ling in Huaiyin and surrendered to the lord, he would have gone south to Wujun to farm and live in seclusion.

When I was farming and growing melons in Wu County, I did not forget to make friends with local young scholars. Although I was not favored by the wealthy families in Wu County, I knew a lot about their grievances. Now that I have been sent by my lord, I can mediate the grievances between Sun and Wang as the envoy of Yangzhou. I will surely be able to induce some Wu County people who dared to think but not to do to join me, and go to Wang Lang to help my lord to contain Sun Ce and build achievements!
It's just... maybe you need to promise me some official positions, but you don't need to grant them formally. Just allow me to promise them privately first. After the matter is done, when our army officially goes to war with the Sun family, I will grant and fulfill these official positions. In this way, I will be sure to find talented people for you!"

Liu Bei then became serious and looked Bu Zhi up and down. It seemed that he really knew too little about Bu Zhi's year of traveling in Wujun. Did he still have some useful connections? Would he find some unreliable people?

However, thinking of Zhuge Jin's recommendation, Liu Bei decided to take a gamble and trust his man.

Liu Bei gritted his teeth and said, "Zishan, you are still young after all. It is not easy to give you a high position when you go to Sun Ce's place this time. The positions of Zhizhong, Gongcao, and Beijia in the General's Office and the Governor's Office are all filled.

I will appoint you as a Zhonglang in the Zuojiangjun Mansion. During your mission, if you meet a truly useful talent who can restrain Sun Ce with his military strategy, you can grant him a military post below the rank of Sima in another department, but you must not appoint too many, otherwise it will inevitably lead to indiscretion. In addition, you will not bring many Danyang guards with you."

Liu Bei's promise was very bold. If he had not trusted Zhuge Jin's recommendation, he would never have delegated power to this extent. After all, he had no idea who Bu Zhi might be able to win over to rebel against Sun.

Bu Zhi also knew that he could not abuse Liu Bei's trust, so he quickly stated that he would never allow more than one or two Simas to be sent out, and even if he allowed low-level officers like Qu Junhou to be sent out, the number would not exceed five.

After hearing this number, Liu Bei realized that Bu Zhi was acting in a measured way.

……

Liu Bei instructed Bu Zhi to prepare for the mission to Sun Ce and Wang Lang. It would also take at least half a month to reach Sun Ce in Wujun, and another half a month to reach Wang Lang.

If Bu Zhi had stayed in Wujun longer, there might have been more variables.

On the other hand, Zhuge Jin had nothing to do during this period of time.

After returning to Wuhu, he had a rare opportunity to settle his family and take care of the servants whom he had not dared to take care of due to the long journey.

Then he should deal with his personal affairs, find someone to arrange a marriage for him, and try to get the marriage done this winter or after the Chinese New Year next year. Zhuge Jin had no other important matters to attend to for the time being, so he put them aside.

As time came to October of the third year of Jian'an, Cao Cao, who was leading troops in Anfeng and Liaoxian of Runan County, finally received two reports from the south.

The first letter was sent by Sun Qian at the request of Liu Bei, condemning Sun Ce for his rough style and harm to the people when solving the problem of Wang Lang in Kuaiji, and asking the court to reconsider the order to attack Sun Ce.

When Cao Cao saw this, his inner reaction was actually one of pride.

"My dear brother Xuande, there are times when you are afraid of being attacked from all sides. You are worried that Sun Ce will respect the imperial court in the future and attack you if there is any change. Naturally, I cannot let you have your way. Wang Lang has committed a crime by colluding with Shanyue and still wants to serve you. Naturally, I would rather let Sun Ce destroy him!"

Cao Cao had such a plan in his mind. Although he had no grudge against Wang Lang, as long as Wang Lang could not help him contain Liu Bei, he would rather sacrifice an innocent Wang Lang. Cao Cao was the best at playing the balance between the princes.

He casually wrote a reply and had it sent to Xudu together with Liu Bei's memorial, asking Xun Yu to go through the process in the name of the emperor.

However, just two days after Cao Cao's reply, Ni Heng's deputy envoy and subordinates returned and brought the news of Ni Heng's death to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was just as shocked as Liu Bei. And Cao Cao soon realized that he couldn't play double standards in this matter and had to treat everyone equally.

"It seems that we can only sacrifice Huang Zu to give Xuande a chance to expand? Or should we issue an order to Liu Biao first and let him clean up his mess on his own?"

(End of this chapter)