My younger brother Zhuge Liang
Chapter 178 Don’t call it unforeseen
Chapter 178 Don’t call it unforeseen
After Bu Zhi and Lu Yi had a preliminary agreement, it was just past noon. Lu Yi simply invited him to stay for a meal, and then Bu Zhi left in a hurry.
Of course, he would not be so stupid as to stay in Huating that night. Wouldn't that make him uncomfortable? What if Sun Ce had many eyes and ears?
Huating Town is approximately located in the southern part of Kunshan County in later generations, and is about sixty miles away from the Suzhou city where Wu County is located.
Bu Zhi and several prominent officials all had horses, and the ordinary guards also rode horses that had just been bought from the Lu family, which could gallop all the way. They ran for a whole afternoon and arrived at Wu County after nightfall.
The city gates were already closed at that time, and Bu Zhi shouted loudly under the city, revealing his identity, saying that he was sent by the General of Chariots and Cavalry and the Governor of Yangzhou to inspect the work of Wujun and meet General Sun.
The gatekeeper did not dare to believe it, so he did not open the gate and asked Bu Zhi to produce the evidence. Bu Zhi then produced a talisman and had someone use a hanging basket to hoist it up to the top of the city wall for inspection.
The seal used on the talisman was also the seal of the governor of Yangzhou, so there would be no problem. After the gatekeeper saw it, he asked someone to use a hanging basket to lower the wine and meat and asked them to wait for a while. He should be going to pass the message.
Bu Zhi didn't care. He sat on the ground outside the city gate, drinking and eating meat. When he was full, he asked someone to hang a tent to keep out the cold, and then he took a nap in the tent, acting like a famous scholar.
Anyway, Bu Zhi didn't care whether he entered the city tonight or not. All he wanted was to make a big fuss and let people know that he arrived in Wu County on the same day he landed, so as to prevent Sun Ce from thinking too much.
The more he acted like a Shangguan envoy, the less wary Sun Ce would be.
After waiting for more than half an hour, when Bu Zhi fell asleep in the tent, the city gate suddenly opened and a scholar on horseback in his thirties came out. He walked straight to Bu Zhi's tent, dismounted and saluted.
Bu Zhi approached the other party with a sleepy look on his face. The man bowed and said, "I am Qin Song, the chief clerk of the General Suppressing Rebellion. I am honored to meet the envoy. The envoy arrived in the middle of the night. My general was drunk from the banquet and was unable to meet him. I am afraid that this would be impolite. Zhang Changshi is old and easily tired, and has also gone to bed. I will take care of the matter. Please do not think I am being too slow."
Qin Song also gave Bu Zhi enough face. Bu Zhi looked to be in his early twenties, about ten years younger than him. He had to call him "envoy" all the time to explain why Sun Ce and Zhang Zhao could not come to see him tonight.
Bu Zhi, of course, decided to stop while he was ahead and immediately put on a friendly look: "So it's Qin Zhubu, I've heard of you for a long time. Two years ago, when I was studying in Haiyan County, I heard of Qin Zhubu's great name. Under the command of the General Suppressing the Rebellion, he is second only to the two Zhangs in terms of trust. The fact that the General Suppressing the Rebellion asked Qin Zhubu to contact me shows that he values and treats me with courtesy."
Bu Zhi's words were quite humble, but Qin Song felt uncomfortable listening to them.
So this is a villager who was still farming two years ago?
How come he has become a secretary in the General of Chariots and Cavalry's Mansion?
When he thought about how he had served Sun Ce for three or four years, and how even four years ago, before he entered the government, he was at least a famous scholar in Guangling, and his starting point must have been much higher than Bu Zhi in front of him, but now he was only the chief clerk of the General's Mansion...
Alas, the fate of people really depends too much on luck. Some things do not depend on hard work but on luck!
Qin Song, feeling depressed, led Bu Zhi and his reins into the city and sent him to the posthouse to rest first.
Along the way, the two inevitably talked about their hometowns and resumes. Qin Song actually wanted to find some psychological comfort to explain "why Bu Zhi was promoted so quickly" and prove that "it's not that I didn't work hard, but that he got lucky."
So Qin Song first asked about the other party's hometown. Bu Zhi said that he was from Guangling. Three years ago, Guangling encountered the rebellion of Zuo Rong, so he crossed the river to Haiyan County to grow melons to avoid disaster.
Hearing this answer, Qin Song did not find any psychological comfort at all, but became even more depressed: "What a coincidence, the envoy is also from Guangling? He also crossed the river to escape the disaster of war?
I am also from Guangling! I also encountered Cao Cao... Cao Sikong attacked Tao Gong, and fled to Xuzhou to avoid disaster! I crossed the river a year earlier than the envoy! But... why did the envoy return to Guangling later? "
Qin Song just felt that he could not understand the way this world worked. It was obvious that I was the one who crossed the river first to seek a future, and I was more famous in my hometown. Moreover, the other party did not find a future after crossing the river, and was reduced to growing melons. How come I was the one who surpassed him later?
The more ahead you were originally, the more depressed you feel now that you are behind.
Fortunately, Bu Zhi did not torture him and quickly gave the key answer: "I am ashamed to say that my knowledge and character are not worthy of this position, but when I was in Guangling, I studied with General Fubo, the governor of Danyang, and the princes for half a year.
General Fubo is a man of great talent. When General Chariot and Cavalry was cornered by the traitor Yuan, he used a clever strategy to restore the cause of the rebellion. I was recommended by General Fubo, so I am just a figurehead."
Bu Zhi knew very well that the more his advancement appeared to be due to nepotism and schoolmate relationships, the safer he would be when carrying out his mission under Sun Ce, because no one would detain a person without real talent and knowledge and offend Liu Bei for nothing.
Now Sun Ce relied on speculation to join the court, squeezing Liu Bei out of the legal basis to use troops against him. But if Sun Ce made a mistake, offended the envoy, and gave Liu Bei an excuse to declare his power, the situation would be completely different.
If there was a top sage like Zhuge Jin to be sent as an envoy to Sun Ce, then Sun Ce might still be able to fight to the death to capture Zhuge Jin and weaken Liu Bei. Because Sun Ce knew the value of Zhuge Jin, it was worth it to turn against Liu Bei and fight to the death.
But the person who came this time was just a relative, so there was absolutely no need to do that.
The original intention of Bu Zhi in saying these words was just to reduce his own threat and make the other party not take him seriously.
Unexpectedly, it had a different effect on the ears of Qin Song, a fellow native of Guangling. When he thought about the huge difference in fate and circumstances, Qin Song was almost angry to death.
Qin Song had a grim face almost the entire time. He arranged everything for Bu Zhi and his party in the posthouse. After saying goodbye and leaving, he started cursing his bad luck as soon as he walked out the door.
"Why didn't I meet Zhuge Jin and study with him for a year or two when I was in Guangling? I should have delayed crossing the river for another year! Such a mediocre person was ruined just because he was in the same class with Zhuge Jin. God is really blind!"
……
Qin Song was so angry at Bu Zhi's bad luck that he was depressed all night. The next day, when Sun Ce and Zhang Zhao asked him about the reception, Qin Song naturally had nothing good to say.
Bu Zhi was directly described as "a frivolous man in his early twenties who had gained a high position by relying on his classmate relationship with Zhuge Jin. "
Qin Song even added: "I privately asked the servants in the delegation, and heard that Bu Zhi's cousin was quite pretty, but he was so shameless that he gave his cousin to Zhuge Jin as a slave in exchange for such an official position."
After hearing this, Sun Ce and Zhang Zhao naturally took it even less seriously.
Especially for a powerful person like Sun Ce, he looked down on Bu Zhi: "Everyone in the world says that Liu Bei is respectful to the virtuous and humble, and appoints people based on their merits. Now it seems that he is indeed able to be humble, but whether he can recognize people and know their merits is not necessarily true. It seems that he can appoint people who have no talent and no virtue based on their personal connections."
Zhang Zhao was much older than Sun Ce. He knew Liu Bei's reputation and advised him, "General, don't be careless. Liu Bei is known for his courtesy and respect for the wise and humble. It is unlikely that this is false.
Perhaps Bu Zhi was a special case, because Zhuge Jin's talent was rare in the world. In order to win over Zhuge Jin, Liu Bei made an exception and used all the old friends and relatives around Zhuge Jin. Perhaps in Liu Bei's view, even if he used dozens of noble but powerless positions to exchange for the loyalty of the Zhuge brothers, it would be enough. "Sun Ce still trusted Zhang Zhao very much. He touched his goatee and felt that this was possible. He couldn't help but sighed:
"If it's for a great sage like Brother Zhuge, it's not surprising. If it were me, I could get any of Brother Zhuge to work for me, even if it was to promise a few governors, what's wrong with that!"
Although he sighed a lot, after that, Sun Ce became more and more contemptuous of Bu Zhi's abilities.
Moreover, he had a lot of important things to do in the past few days, such as arranging ships and making logistical preparations for crossing the sea to pursue Wang Lang. He was unwilling to have his plans disrupted by Bu Zhi, an uninvited guest.
Sun Ce asked Qin Song to continue to treat him with good food and drink so that he could find out Bu Zhi's background.
Qin Song had nothing to do, so he checked Bu Zhi's itinerary after landing. He did find that Bu Zhi seemed to have visited Lu's house after landing in Huating Town. But Qin Song also quickly found out the purpose of his visit - Bu Zhi did not stay at Lu's house for long, and when he left, he had more than a dozen horses for his servants to ride, so he must have just bought horses.
When Bu Zhi and his entourage came, they also checked the number of ships and personnel, and how many people stayed at the seaside pier in Huating, and reported them to Sun Ce. Each of these reports lowered Sun Ce's vigilance.
It was not until the third day that Sun Ce finally found time to meet Bu Zhi in the Wujun prefect's mansion. At this moment, his inner guard had dropped to the lowest level, and he felt that Bu Zhi was just a mouthpiece.
……
"Bu Zhi, an attendant of the General of Chariots and Cavalry's office, greets the General who Suppresses Rebellion." After Bu Zhi met Sun Ce, he did not humble himself at all, and did not act as if he was saying "I am a superior."
Sun Ce did not receive the other party's heavenly bow, but only received the equivalent time bow. Naturally, he felt unhappy and asked casually: "Are you Zhuge Jin's classmate? This book is worth reading."
Fortunately, Bu Zhi was also very aware of the rhythm and did not mind it. Instead, he showed an expression that said, "I am proud to be Tzuyu's classmate":
"So the general who is fighting against treason even knows this? I am really honored that the general is so attentive to my personal resume. Yes, it is the honor of my life to be able to study with Brother Ziyu."
This really made Sun Ce a little confused: Is there really such a shameless person in this world? Others said that he was just a vase, that he had no real ability and relied on his classmates, and he just admitted it openly? He was not ashamed but proud of it?
Sun Ce couldn't help but laugh: "You are a straightforward person. I didn't expect you to be so self-aware. Tell me, why did Liu Bei...Liu Yangzhou send you here? Is it to persuade me not to fight Wang Lang?"
Bu Zhi: "General, your view is very correct. Although the general has the imperial edict to attack Wang Fujun of Kuaiji, the general of the chariot and cavalry thinks that this is a different time. When Cao Sikong asked the court to issue the edict, Wang Fujun still occupied Shanyin and Juzhang. It is understandable that the general said that he colluded with the remnants of Yan Baihu.
But now Wang Fujun has been beaten by the general and has fled to central Fujian. Even if the remnants of Yan Baihu had colluded with him in the past, it is impossible for them to do so now. Can these Shanyue people from western Zhejiang still follow him across the sea to central Fujian?
The original intention and root of the general's attack on Wang Fujun was "It is better to remove the firewood than to stir the water to stop it from boiling. Although it is painful to burst the carbuncle, it is better than to let the poison grow." Yan Baihu and the remnants of the Shanyue bandits are like the rotten flesh of the carbuncle on the human body, which must be scraped off to keep the body safe.
Wang Fujun fled to Fujian after his defeat, just like a warrior with a broken arm, the carbuncle left behind also remained on the diseased broken arm. The general did not scrape the rotten flesh on the carbuncle stump, but chased after Wang Fujun who had recovered and was taking care of his health. Doesn't this seem to be against the way of a Han minister?
If you really want to obey the imperial will and eliminate the evil and filth of the people of Wuhui and the Shanyue, shouldn't you start with the Shanyue in western Zhejiang?"
Although Bu Zhi's words were crude and simple, their logic was sound. They immediately shook the legal basis for Sun Ce to pursue Wang Lang - when Wang Lang was in Shanyin, you said he colluded with the remnants of Yan Baihu to attack him, and the court also issued an imperial decree, which was not a problem.
But now that he has fled to Fujian, how can he still collude with the remnants of Yan Baihu? Is your original intention to strike Wang Lang or the remnants of the Shanyue rebels? Even if Wang Lang colluded with the local Shanyue after arriving in Fujian, he was still the Shanyue of Fujian, not the same group as the remnants of Yan Baihu.
During the Han Dynasty, it was not the case that anyone who was a Shanyue tribe should be killed. Only those Shanyue tribes who had raised their flags and rebelled against the rule of the Han Dynasty should be killed.
When Sun Ce was asked this question, he was actually at a loss for words. He had never really thought about the timeliness of the imperial edict to hunt down Wang Lang.
However, Sun Ce felt that he had offended Wang Lang so badly, how could he let him go and give him a chance to revive in the future? Wang Lang was the governor of Kuaiji, after all, and if he didn't kill him, Sun Ce felt that he would not be at ease occupying most of Kuaiji County.
Kuaiji County was a large county, equivalent to the part south of Zhejiang in later generations (the latter Zhejiang refers to that river), plus the entire Fujian, with a total of twenty counties.
Sun Ce has now occupied 18 of the counties, which means he has taken 90% of Kuaiji, that is, the entire southern Zhejiang area.
Wang Lang only had two counties, Dongye County (Fuzhou) and Houguan County (Quanzhou), which was the entire territory of Fujian. However, in terms of population size, cultivated land, and number of counties, Fujian at that time only accounted for one-tenth of southern Zhejiang.
Taking over Fujian had absolutely no economic significance for Sun Ce, and he couldn't recruit any soldiers. He just felt guilty and wanted to wipe out the enemy completely.
Bu Zhi's words really hit the nail on the head for Sun Ce.
Sun Ce was angry, but he couldn't help pretending to be tough and testing the waters: "What if I insist on eradicating the chariot and cavalry? What about the general? Is he going to disobey my order and stand up for Wang Lang?"
Bu Zhi: "The General of Chariots and Cavalry has always been kind and benevolent, and values peace. Apart from dealing with traitors like Yuan Shu, who had to be dealt with with thunder and lightning, the General of Chariots and Cavalry has never waged war against Han officials.
The General of Chariots and Cavalry destroyed Zuo Rong because he was a bandit from Danyang, and destroyed Zu Lang because he was also a bandit from Danyang. He destroyed Yuan Shu to suppress his rebellion, and attacked Huang Zu in accordance with the emperor's order to settle accounts with the traitors who killed the angels of the court.
Therefore, even if you, General Suppressing Rebellion, do something perverse, General Chariot and Cavalry will first use courtesy and then force, and report your inappropriate behavior to the court. However, your willful behavior will inevitably be condemned by the world, so I hope the general will take care of himself.
Since ancient times, righteous armies have been invincible. Using force blindly is not a long-term solution! General, aren't you afraid that the people of Wu will be suspicious? "
Bu Zhi pressed forward step by step, and his words seemed pedantic, but they were all helping Liu Bei to occupy the moral high ground. What he said today, as well as Sun Ce's reply, would be kept on file in the future, even if Sun Ce didn't want to keep it on file, and he would force Sun Ce to reply in writing.
For this kind of negotiation mission, Sun Ce could not just say a few words verbally as in the TV series, but had to respond in writing and state his reasons. These would become claims and excuses when war broke out in the future, and could also be written into the manifesto to increase the charges against the other side.
Don't underestimate this kind of literary drama. If you can enumerate the crimes of the enemy like Chen Lin's edict to Yuzhou, it will be of great benefit in winning over and forcing the enemy to land during the war.
Sun Ce also vaguely understood this truth and could not help but look to Zhang Zhao for help. He also did not want to get himself into an unjust quagmire just to take over Wang Lang's last two counties.
After all, Liu Bei is stronger than him. If Liu Bei is allowed to take up too much of the righteous cause, things will be bad in the future.
(End of this chapter)
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