My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 167 Liu Bei Receives the Imperial Order
At the end of October, the land of Yanyu was still shrouded in a bloody and murderous atmosphere.

At the same time, the two ruined territories of Jiujiang County and Lujiang County have regained a glimmer of life after being occupied by Liu Bei's army for one and a half months and three months respectively.

Although the people still looked pale and had no food to eat, at least they were not starving to death, and they were able to settle down and work hard on the farm.

In the newly occupied areas south of Hefei, winter wheat has been planted under the leadership of Zhuge Liang. What follows is a long winter of idle time. There is no need to take care of it, just irrigate and water it before it freezes.

The growth rate is slow in winter, and the ancients did not apply much fertilizer to wheat, so there was no insect pest. At most, they would pull out weeds that competed for fertilizer.

The people in Huainan originally did not grow wheat much, they only grew rice, so they did not have much agricultural experience in this area.

Fortunately, Zhuge Liang had conducted pilot projects in Sheyang and Haixi last year, and had accumulated a number of "agricultural technicians" who knew about rice-wheat rotation, and now he brought some of them to Lujiang for guidance. In addition, a large number of refugees from Chen and Qiao fled from the north this year, and the people in Huaibei originally grew wheat.

After the war, the farmland in Lujiang was slightly deserted, and the outsiders were able to get enough unowned land to cultivate.

When Zhuge Liang was coordinating the situation, he tried his best to match the refugees from Huaibei with the locals, and persuaded the refugees from Huaibei to teach the locals how to grow wheat. In the spring of the following year, he asked the locals to teach the refugees from Huaibei how to grow rice, so that they could complement each other's strengths and show their respective strengths.

Of course, the refugees in Huaibei would not take the initiative to do this, but the government would provide them with initial resettlement and relief. After eating the life-saving food donated by the government, they would of course listen to the government's arrangements and help the locals farm.

The locals originally had xenophobic sentiments and thought that "while our neighbors are fleeing and dying in the war, we may be able to invade their unowned land after we settle down in the future. Once the refugees are resettled, we will not be able to invade them."

But now, outsiders are allowed to help plant a season of wheat, and the locals get some free labor for free, so they are not so xenophobic. If there are occasional civil conflicts, the government can control them.

Zhuge Liang made it look easy and put all his energy into it. In addition, Xu Miao, Jiang Ji, Hu Zhi and other military officials and accountants he brought with him had gained a lot of experience after more than a year of training and were very dedicated in their work.

Finally, the winter agricultural promotion and population integration work in this one and a half counties was initially put on the right track.

I hope there will be a good harvest in midsummer next year.

……

The work of planting winter wheat was completely completed, and Zhuge Liang finally had some free time.

In the second half of November, or even the entire twelfth lunar month, he would probably take some time to further study, and work with Huang Yueying on some innovations in craftsmanship, while weighing the pros and cons.

At the turn of spring and summer next year, after teaching the people of Huainan how to grow seedlings, transplant rice seedlings, and rotate crops, Zhuge Liang will no longer be personally responsible for the promotion of military farming technology. He can let ordinary agricultural officials take charge of the subsequent daily work. After all, the beginning is the hardest.

However, with the winter off, although Zhuge Liang wanted to take some time to tinker with his wife on some small mechanical issues,
For example, we can improve the long-handled wheat-cutting sickle that my elder brother taught us, so that the people in Huainan can harvest winter wheat in midsummer next year. We can also further optimize the curved plow that was put into a small-scale pilot this year, and the irrigation wheelbarrow.

However, Huang Yueying's attitude was somewhat evasive, and she often said that she was busy with other things. In the end, she only took over the job of one curved plow, and left the other two to Zhuge Liang to worry about.

Although Zhuge Liang felt strange, he did not think much about it. He thought that his wife's health was not as good as his, and she might be tired. Even if it was something he was interested in, he should take care of his energy.

Little did people know that Huang Yueying had just discovered in the past few months that there seemed to be something wrong with her health, so she was secretly seeking medical treatment and secretly observing alternative plans.

Zhuge Liang was certainly not a lustful person, and his morals were definitely better than those of his elder brother who traveled through time (the ancient Zhuge Jin before traveling through time was also very "simple and self-disciplined", but since he had a modern soul, he must enjoy himself), but the historical Zhuge Liang also took concubines in order to solve the problem of heirs.

After all, Huang Yueying was born with congenital deficiencies, yellow hair, and stunted development, so she could not give birth in history. The original Zhuge Liang confirmed this very late, otherwise he would not have had Zhuge Zhan, his only son, at the age of 46.

However, due to some coincidences, Huang Yueying discovered in advance that she had health problems - mainly because she was discovered by her elder sister-in-law Zhuge Zhi during her daily interactions with her, and was carefully observed by Zhuge Zhi.

Zhuge Zhi herself found out that she was pregnant in the summer of that year, shortly after her husband Zhao Yun went to attack Ji Ling. She was already more than two months pregnant when she found out, so there was no problem with the timing. She got pregnant the month before Zhao Yun went to the battle.

Zhao Yun and Zhuge Zhi had only been married for two or three months at that time, which was really fast. Zhao Yun fought outside for five months, and after the battle in September, he took his wife to Shouchun and found that she was already six months pregnant.

Zhao Yun was surprised how fast it could happen. Could it be that even the women in the Zhuge family were particularly good in some aspects?

Later, Zhao Yun learned from private questioning that it was Zhuge Zhi who had read the secret scroll left to her by her stepmother, which contained the physiological algorithm for the cycle of menstrual blood and the essence of two and five, and the wonderful combination and condensation, as well as some other medical knowledge in the boudoir.

In fact, of course, these things were secretly written by Zhuge Jin and given to his younger brother and sister in the name of his stepmother. In any case, Zhuge Zhi would not confront Song about such an embarrassing issue.

The contents of the secret scroll are nothing more than some modern scientific knowledge about the "safe period/ovulation period". Zhuge Jin's original intention was to prevent his sister from accidentally getting pregnant and hurting her body, which was a good intention.

But Zhuge Zhi was almost twenty-two, which was considered late for marriage in ancient times. She also wanted to have a child as a backup as soon as possible after getting married, and then make long-term plans, so she did the opposite when calculating the date.

Zhao Yun listened to his wife's explanation and was secretly surprised that such a thing could be controlled by calculating the date. He naturally kept silent about it to the outside world, as there was nothing to publicize about such a private matter.

After Zhuge Zhi became pregnant, she became more and more convinced of the contents of the secret scroll. She was obsessed with learning relevant medical knowledge and also found opportunities to communicate with Huang Yueying, who was in Huaiyin at the time.

As a result, after she secretly taught Huang Yueying the trick, several months passed and Huang Yueying did not show any signs of movement. Zhuge Zhi did not think much about it at first, thinking that this might be normal for a weak girl.

But later, she got some medical books related to women through other channels, and while practicing self-diagnosis, she also diagnosed Huang Yueying, only to find that there was something wrong with Huang Yueying's health.

When Huang Yueying first learned the news, she was of course extremely depressed, and she also sought further consultation and confirmation through other channels.

But she also knew that Aliang was sincere to her, and that was enough. She couldn't let Aliang die without an offspring. Knowing it earlier would allow her to take precautions and get treatment earlier.

She also thought about helping Aliang take a concubine, but then she remembered that Aliang's elder brother hadn't even married yet, so maybe this matter shouldn't be publicized, otherwise it would not be good for filial piety and brotherhood. It would be better to observe secretly first, but not rush into it.

However, it was just a coincidence that at this critical moment, Wuhu sent a letter from the Zhuge family, which was sent to Zhuge Liang in Hefei.

It mentioned that Zhuge Jin had already arranged a marriage in Wuhu and had completed the betrothal. There was nothing worth mentioning about the woman's side. She was from the Zhen family, who had moved to Guangling a year ago, and the ceremony would be held in early February of the following year. In those days, there was no emotional basis for marriage. It was not modern society, so it was good enough to be well-matched. It was normal for the woman to be of a lower status. In Liu Bei's jurisdiction, there was no family with a daughter of marriageable age, and the status was similar to that of Zhuge's family, so he could only look for someone lower down.

Zhuge Liang was naturally happy to see that his elder brother had finally found a marriage. Moreover, the period around the New Year happened to be the slack season for farming, so Zhuge Liang prepared to pack up, return to Wuhu during the New Year, and return to Hefei to manage agricultural affairs during the spring plowing next year.

He also told Huang Yueying about his decision as soon as possible, and wanted to take Huang Yueying back to Wuhu during the New Year.

But Huang Yueying thought that her illness had not been cured yet, and she was a little embarrassed to see other people from the Zhuge family. But she was unwilling to tell the truth to her husband, so she had to follow him first.

"Forget it. Anyway, I'll just follow the decoction prescription Sister Zhi gave me for a few months... Anyway, I'll take medicine in Hefei and I'll take medicine in Wuhu, so there's no difference.

After Aliang's elder brother got married, it was no longer a question of filial piety for Aliang to consider taking a concubine. He should just take it one step at a time and hope it doesn't come to that.

If it is really irreparable, the concubine I choose myself will at least be more harmonious, so there won’t be competition for favors and cause unrest in the family, and the child can be raised by me in the future...” Huang Yueying thought so and agreed to her husband’s request.

……

In the following days, Zhuge Liang and Huang Yueying gradually became idle in Hefei. Apart from occasionally tinkering with the further improvement of the curved plow, there was nothing else to do.

Daily agricultural supervision, inspections, and checking for omissions were all done by Xu Miao and Jiang Ji. Zhuge Liang should also combine work and rest, protect his health, ride a horse and shoot arrows every day, and spend more time with his wife.

However, as early November was coming to an end, a new development changed Zhuge Liang's plan, forcing him to decide to go south to Wuhu to see his brother and sister slightly earlier.

It turned out that on the ninth day of November, the imperial edict in which Cao Cao, in the name of the emperor, conferred official titles on Liu Bei and others and made promises, was finally delivered by the messenger to Liu Bei's jurisdiction, passing through Hefei County.

When the angels enter the country, the responsible officials along the way must of course receive and escort them.

Moreover, the envoy who came to announce the decree this time was of a very formal and high standard. It was Pei Mao, the Minister of Imperial Households, who came in person to announce the decree.

So three days ago, at the previous stop in Shouchun, Zhao Yun sent people to entertain them with good food and drink for a whole day, and then sent cavalry guards to escort them out of the country with courtesy, not daring to make any mistakes at all.

Now that he was in Hefei, Zhuge Liang would not be impolite. Although the imperial edict was not for him, when he invited Pei Mao to dinner, he could not help but ask in a roundabout way what the edict was about.

Pei Mao was about 40 years old. He was born in the Pei family of Wenxi County, Hedong Prefecture, and was appointed as the Minister of Public Security. As early as five years ago during the rebellion of Li Jue and Guo Si, when he was only the Imperial Censor, he dared to advise Liu Xie to lighten the sentence and grant amnesty on the grounds of meteorological disasters, and took the opportunity to release a group of officials who were framed and imprisoned by Li Jue.

After Liu Xie returned to the east, he had been serving as the Minister of Imperial Households, which was considered a very high-ranking envoy. Last winter, Cao Cao sent Pei Mao to Chang'an with the imperial edict to convey the imperial edict to Zhong Yao and Duan Wei, urging them to attack and kill Li Jue.

In April of this year, after Li Jue's head was presented by Duan Wei, Zhong Yao and Duan Wei were both conferred the title of marquis. Pei Mao was also conferred the title of marquis for his meritorious service in keeping the imperial seal and urging the troops to do their duty.

Zhuge Liang was still young, so he was naturally very careful in his words when entertaining Pei Mao.

Pei Mao, seeing his extraordinary magnanimity, thought that this young man was worthy of cultivation, so he revealed a little in advance within the scope of his authority, saying that Cao Gong hoped that Liu Bei would not take action against Sun Ce, and if necessary, Liu Bei needed to eliminate Huang Zu.

With Zhuge Liang's intelligence, he certainly figured out what was going on as soon as he heard it, and thought to himself:

"Cao Cao is worried that after the lord has eliminated Sun Ce, he will eliminate the hidden danger behind him. It seems that Cao Cao's vigilance against the lord is second only to Yuan Shao, or even to Lu Bu...

Hmm? A few days ago, I heard from the scouts in Shouchun that Cao Cao has already started a war with Lu Bu, right? I wonder what Cao Cao will demand of the relationship between the lord and Lu Bu..."

Thinking of this, Zhuge Liang cautiously asked Pei Mao: "Mr. Pei, I heard that the Minister of Works had a conflict with the Right General between Qiao and Liang recently. I wonder if the court has any request for Liu Yangzhou's cooperation?"

Pei Mao glanced at Zhuge Liang with a little vigilance: "The decree was already prepared a few days before I left the capital, so it was not mentioned in the decree. But before leaving, Xun Lingjun privately told me to tell Liu Yangzhou that the matter of Xuzhou should be left to the court to deal with, and it is best not to act rashly. This is the intention of the Minister of Works."

Zhuge Liang frowned slightly, knowing that Cao Cao was very confident of killing Lu Bu and would not give his lord a chance to profit from it.

But the reward given by the court is very high, and the lord may not be able to refuse this extra request.

This requires us to consider how to attack Xuzhou without bloodshed without violating the imperial will.

If Lu Bu can no longer hold on when we go to war against Huang Zu next year, my lord should make preparations in advance, at least let Chen Deng betray Lu Bu and surrender.

Zhuge Liang felt that he should personally escort Pei Mao to Wuhu, so that he could also plead his case to Liu Bei in person.

Although the eldest brother should also want this, the specific operation may not be the same as what Zhuge Liang thought. With one more person to work together, the benefits can always be maximized.

After figuring out all these twists and turns, Zhuge Liang suggested: "Thank you, Mr. Pei, for clearing up my doubts. Mr. Pei is an important official of the court and a senior scholar. I will personally lead the troops to escort Mr. Pei to Wuhu."

Pei Mao's expression remained calm: "Will it not interfere with my nephew's official duties?"

Zhuge Liang: "I am here to encourage farmers temporarily. It is almost midwinter and I have nothing to do. It is no problem."

Pei Mao did not insist and stayed in Hefei for another night. The next day, he changed to water transportation and boarded the large warship prepared by Zhuge Liang. He sailed comfortably downstream without having to travel by car or dock for supplies.

Zhuge Liang took another boat, and naturally took Huang Yueying with him. In just two days, they crossed Chaohu Lake, another day passed Juchao and Ruxu, and out of the Yangtze River, and in another two days they arrived at Wuhu.

Liu Bei received the news in advance and personally brought Zhuge Jin and a group of civil and military officials in Wuhu to the dock on the Yangtze River east of the city to meet Pei Mao, the Minister of the Court, and receive the imperial edict of reward.

(End of this chapter)