My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 3: The emperor is like an adulterer, and the world is like women and children

The words are divided into two parts.

As for Zhuge Jin, after leaving the General Zhendong's Mansion, he immediately rode his horse back home.

After turning the last corner, I saw Song and Song Xin looking out the door with concern from a distance.

Zhuge Jin hurriedly whipped his horse, dismounted in front of the door, and shared the good news that "Liu Bei agreed to send troops to escort them" with his family, asking them to rest early so that they could have enough energy to continue their journey.

Song looked concerned: "How can you rest now? You haven't had dinner yet, right? Eat something first and then go to sleep."

Zhuge Jin: "I ate it while you were discussing military affairs with me. Mother, don't worry."

After being persuaded by him, Song had no choice but to go to bed.

When Song Xin heard that his nephew was so capable that Liu Bei valued him so much, he couldn't help feeling proud and insisted on helping Zhuge Jin with some of the daily chores.

Zhuge Jin couldn't bear to refuse the other party's kindness, so he asked him to spread paper and grind ink, and then boil a bucket of bath water. After doing this, Song Xin went to rest with peace of mind.

The social status of the Song family was far lower than that of the Zhuge family, otherwise the Song family would not have remarried Zhuge Gui, who was 20 years younger than her.

Moreover, when Cao Cao massacred Xuzhou, the rest of the Song family was wiped out, leaving only Song Xin to seek refuge with his widow. He also knew his situation. As the servants gradually dispersed during the escape, daily household chores had to be managed by him as the housekeeper.

……

After sending his family to rest, Zhuge Jin soaked in the bathtub and felt his tense nerves relax a little, the blood circulation in his head quickened, and even his intelligence was temporarily boosted.

It has only been a few hours since he traveled through time, and he has been pushed forward by life-and-death crises. Now he can finally take a long-term view and sort out the current situation.

He taught mathematics in his previous life, so when doing things, he likes to be meticulous, draw quadrant diagrams, and classify and check all possibilities before making a decision.

Of course, he also has a good knowledge of history and politics. After all, he has been in an educational institution for many years, and he has a wide range of interests, and he is influenced by it every day.

There is a famous saying in their line of work, "Poor math means being stupid, poor English means being lazy." As long as a math teacher has broad interests and is not lazy, he or she will generally be good at the liberal arts.

At this moment, he couldn't help but pick up the hairpin and wooden tablet, casually drew a cross quadrant diagram, and began to think in the bathtub. "Liu Bei agreed to send troops to escort us out of the city. Our safety is finally guaranteed, but where should I go?
I will definitely not go to Wujun. Although Sun Quan in history valued me, the internal strife in the Sun family was too intense, and in the end Ke'er was also involved in the internal strife and the whole family was wiped out. It is impossible for me to get promoted by building good personal relationships with the leaders like Zhuge Jin in history.

As for Cao Cao's hatred for my mother and uncle, he didn't even need to be considered. It seems that all my ways to stay calm are blocked, and I must do something big. "

Zhuge Jin thought about it and crossed out the two quadrants under "lying down", namely "surrendering to Cao" and "surrendering to other separatists". The other two quadrants belonged to "doing something big", including assisting the Han Dynasty and usurping the Han Dynasty.

Then he continued to think: "If I give up this chance to escape and continue to assist Liu Bei, with Liu Bei's strength, even if he escapes this disaster, can he fight his way out of the gap between Cao, Yuan, and Lu Bu later?
I can come up with brilliant plans now because I know history. Once Liu Bei's rise to power changes completely, the effectiveness of my prophecy will be greatly reduced.

In history, Liu Bei wasted many years until he met Zhuge Liang. If he had not gone to Jingzhou in this life, would he have met Zhuge Liang?

Thinking of this, Zhuge Jin suddenly realized a blind spot—he is now Zhuge Liang’s elder brother!
In this case, I can first escape from Huaiyin City, find a way to meet up with my second brother in Jingzhou, and then make a long-term plan!
Brothers working together can accomplish anything. This is the greatest golden finger for me to travel back to the end of the Han Dynasty!
At that time, no matter whether history changes or not, if it does not change, I will rely on my own prophets; if it changes, I will rely on my second brother's real talents and knowledge to help me with advice, and that is called being invincible.

If Liu Bei really wanted to invite him, he had to invite his second brother as well.

That's it.

After figuring this out, Zhuge Jin finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then he realized that the bath water had become a little cold.

As he wiped and changed his clothes, he couldn't help but continue to imagine:
"If I can meet up with my second brother, and my uncle Zhuge Xuan seems to have the title of Yuzhang County Governor recommended by Liu Biao, is it possible for the Zhuge family to directly join the fight for hegemony?"

After all, he was an open-minded educator in his previous life. He did not worship any ancient empire, nor was he a fan of any earthling.

Therefore, when this thought flashed through his mind, Zhuge Jin did not think it was a big rebellion. Instead, he calmly considered it comprehensively and carefully from the perspective of personal interests and national justice.

Then he quickly realized that it was already the Jian'an period and it was too late to start from scratch.

On the other hand, even if it was not too late, he had to consider the far-reaching consequences of usurping the Han Dynasty.

When he was studying history in his previous life, he had thought about a question: Why did the Wei, Jin, Six Dynasties, Five Dynasties and Song Dynasty change dynasties so quickly and were there so many local separatist regimes?
Later, he came up with an insight: whether the source of a regime's legitimacy is scarce enough and whether it came to power legitimately is very important for long-term stability.

If a regime has conquered other ethnic groups, resisted foreign enemies, or rescued the main ethnic group with cultural advantages during the process of its establishment.

Then it would be easier for people all over the world to tolerate its rule, and they would not have to worry too much and persecute loyal people and weaken their own military power.

If one just relies on the power of the fist to change the emperor's surname arbitrarily without any other merit, then the scarcity of the legitimacy of rule will be ruined, and it will become "the monks can touch it but I can't" and "the emperor has the strongest army and horses to rule".

Cao Pi and Zhu Wen never figured out this problem, and for hundreds of years thereafter, the trend of usurpation, separatism and civil war intensified.

So, it’s not that dynasties cannot be changed.

Instead, a change of dynasty must wait for a suitable opportunity and reason, making it difficult for future generations to imitate, so as to ensure the maximization of national interests and the long-term stability of the regime.

Otherwise, if he fails to control the situation and attempts to usurp the throne by force, he will end up becoming the second emperor and killing his entire family. It would be better not to take the throne.

Zhuge Jin is now standing at the starting point of "China's first period of serial usurpation", and he does not want to open Pandora's box with his own hands.

I believe that in history, his second brother Zhuge Liang's life choice, in addition to "a scholar will die for his confidant", should have also thought of this level. After all, Zhuge Liang's IQ is there, it is hard to imagine that Zhuge Liang's pursuit was purely for "pacifying Han and reviving Liu."

Of course, there is one point that must be made clear. As a person who has received modern education, Zhuge Jin's inner fear is only directed at the chain reaction brought about by the usurpation of power by warlords and powerful officials, but he does not mind peasant uprisings.

Because he knew that peasant uprisings would not lead to a breakdown of trust and social organization.

The peasants did not receive any salary from the imperial court and had no obligation of loyalty. If they really couldn't survive, they would just do something to earn a living. It was just a pure reshuffle of interests, and their life and death depended on their own abilities.

……

Just when Zhuge Jin was about to figure this out, there was a loud thunder outside the house, followed by a sudden downpour, interrupting his thoughts.

He quickly put on his clothes and walked to the eaves, looked up at the lightning, and suddenly an idea came to his mind:
Before I traveled through time, I wrote a poem out of anger and was struck by lightning. Since this is the case, and I still have some undecided feelings, I will write another poem, just as a way of asking for divination and seeking peace of mind.

"Well, if God does not want me to rebuild Yanhan, when this poem is written, please send down thunder to help me return to the modern era. If there is no thunder to send down, then it is God's will that I help Han."

Zhuge Jin thought silently in his heart, and then wrote:

“The emperor is like an adulterer, and the world is like women and children.

The Qin and Sui dynasties had no compassion and only cared about humiliating others.

He was killed in retaliation and then began to sympathize with the suffering of the people.

At the beginning of the Han and Tang Dynasties, people were cautious and would only enter after discussing feelings.

After living together for six or seven generations, they became tired of each other and began to insult each other.

The world cannot bear the cruelty, and mistresses kill their husbands.

If one's husband can be killed, then there is no right to have an affair with him.

Wei, Jin, Song, Qi, Liang, Zhao, Guo, Liu, Shi, Zhu.

Two, three, four, five marriages, all of them are possible.

Only if we encounter foreign enemies, we will be able to destroy the world and rebuild it.

The ethnic groups are reintegrated, but the innocent hearts remain the same.

Therefore, only during the Han, Tang and Ming dynasties did it occasionally receive long-term favor. "

As the writing progressed, the ink gradually ran out and the strokes were covered with white, as if lamenting the sufferings of division and civil war that had accumulated over thousands of years in later generations.

Zhuge Jin still forced himself to write, and finished it in one go. After finishing, he threw the manuscript onto the oil lamp, burned it to offer sacrifice to the heavens, and closed his eyes to rest.

After a while, the rumbling sound came from far away.

"Could it be that the thunder from the sky really came?" Zhuge Jin suddenly opened his eyes, wanting to confirm.

But the next second, the voice stopped at the gate of the courtyard, and was replaced by someone knocking on the door and shouting: "Mr. Zi Yu! The lord has an important matter to ask you, and I beg you to come to my house to talk." Zhuge Jin was stunned, and then he smiled, realizing that he had mistaken the horse's hooves for thunder.

It seems that God is also begging him to rebuild Yanhan.

He went to open the door himself. Sun Qian outside the door hurriedly bowed and apologized, "I am sorry for disturbing your sweet dream! Please get in the car quickly!"

Before Zhuge Jin could speak, Song in the inner room was woken up and sent Song Xin out to inquire.

Zhuge Jin brushed off his clothes and said calmly, "Don't worry, mother. It must be that the envoy has good intentions. If you want to arrange more guards tomorrow, I will be back soon."

As Sun Qian listened to him trying to cover up, he felt that this gentleman was calm and extraordinary. After the carriage had gone a hundred steps, Sun Qian bowed and sighed:
"To be honest, I came to disturb you in the middle of the night because something really happened in Xuzhou. Cao Bao colluded with Lu Bu and seized Xiapi! You are really a genius, sir!"

Zhuge Jin was certainly not surprised, but he felt a sense of helplessness and fate: "Is it really like this? Why is it tonight?"

I have already reminded Liu Bei, but unfortunately it is too late.

To be honest, this was undoubtedly a major blow to Liu Bei, but it was an opportunity for Zhuge Jin.

Because he could obviously rely on this divine prophecy to immediately gain Liu Bei's full trust and get a stage to display his talents and be obeyed by the emperor.

It is just like at the end of the Qin Dynasty, when Song Yi was on his way to Qi, he accurately predicted that Xiang Liang would be defeated, and because of this he was named the general and the champion of the ministers by King Huai Xiong Xin.

I just don't know if I have the hard power to seize this opportunity and prove myself thoroughly. In history, although Song Yi came to power as predicted by God, he might not have the ability to defeat Zhang Han and Wang Li, so he was eventually killed by Xiang Yu.

Sun Qian, who was standing by, admired Zhuge Jin even more when he saw that he just sighed silently but his expression remained calm.

What a calmness! Not only did he foresee that Zhang Fei would abandon Pi, but he was not surprised at all when he heard the news.

In contrast, when he and Mi Zhu first heard the bad news, it was like a bolt from the blue and they were speechless for a long time.

This is the difference! It is indeed the style of a great sage!

Now we can only hope that you can come up with a brilliant plan to help our lord turn the danger into safety.

……

The carriage sped all the way and soon arrived at the Zhendong Shogun's headquarters.

Zhuge Jin, led by Sun Qian who was holding an umbrella for him, went straight into the inner courtyard, where he saw Liu, Guan, and Zhang in the hall with solemn expressions, looking at each other in silence.

When Liu Bei saw him coming, he was the first to go out of the house to greet him. He bowed deeply and sighed in the courtyard despite the rain:

"I cannot distinguish between the wise and the foolish. I was suspicious of your concerns just now, but I didn't expect it to come true so soon. To be honest, Xia Pi has been lost, my family is trapped, and my support and food are cut off. I wonder if you have a good plan to solve this desperate situation?"

Even though Zhuge Jin was mentally prepared, Liu Bei's courteous attitude still surprised him.

After all, Liu Bei held the high position of General of Four Garrisons. Even though he was in trouble, he could bow down to a commoner in the rain. This is something that not ordinary people can do.

But Zhuge Jin was not sure of breaking the impasse. In history, Liu Bei was completely defeated in this battle. It was too difficult.

Zhuge Jin had to make some ugly remarks clear first, so he stepped forward, bowed in return, and laid his cards on the table sincerely:

"I am a layman. Although I have read a little about the art of war, I have never been in a battle. How dare I take on such an important trust from the general? There must be many counselors in the general's court. Why don't we work together to find a way to save the situation?"

Liu Bei found it inconvenient to talk in the rain, so he pulled Zhuge Jin back to the hall, patted him on the back of his hand, and said:

"Gongyou and Zizhong both advised me to take the opportunity to fight while the morale of the army is still strong. However, Yuan Shu's army is several times stronger than ours. I originally planned to rely on the strong city to tire out the enemy, but now I am forced to fight quickly. I am afraid that the chances of winning are not great. If you have another good plan to survive this disaster, I will definitely not forget your kindness."

Zhuge Jin listened carefully and noticed that his previous reminder had worked. In history, Liu Bei was so panicked after hearing that Xia Pi had been stolen that he failed to block the news. When he wanted to fight to the death, he had already lost his will to fight.

Now, although the fact that Xia Pi was stolen remains unchanged, Liu Bei at least thought of blocking the news as soon as possible.

The troops in Huaiyin City are still unaware of the situation, but at least their morale is intact, so there is still a glimmer of hope.

Sun Qian and Mi Zhu's idea of "taking advantage of the time difference while the army's morale is still there and attacking quickly" can be considered a correct military strategy.

As long as this strategy is implemented, even if the war is not won in the end, the blame cannot be placed on the counselors. The only thing to blame is the generals' poor command of the troops or the fact that the troops are too weak.

If you have to use surprising tactics and take risks, then if you win, everything will be fine. If you lose, all the blame will easily be put on the counselor.

Zhuge Jin knew how badly Liu Bei was beaten by Yuan Shu in this battle in history, and that his entire army was almost wiped out.

It was only thanks to Mi Zhu's sponsorship of two thousand servants and one hundred million coins in military expenses that Liu Bei was able to barely regroup and form his army.

Although he intended to assist Han with all his heart, the timing of his entry now was extremely unlucky. It could even be said that he had picked up an extremely hot potato right at the start.

Even if he used all his strength to plan, he might only be able to turn a disastrous defeat into a minor one. To completely turn the tables would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

There is Yuan Shu in the west, Lu Bu in the north, Sun Ce in the south, and only the sea in the east. Surrounded by powerful enemies and with no food supplies, how desperate is this? ? ?

If he failed to turn the tables in the end, would Liu Bei still remember his kindness? Would he know his contributions? Would it even affect Liu Bei's impression of Zhuge Liang in the future?
Zhuge Jin, who has been in the workplace for more than a decade, has seen too many leaders who take credit for others' work and then shirk their responsibilities. He can't help but worry about these issues of taking the blame.

After all, it is difficult to explain the cause and effect of many things. Winning or losing a battle is the result of the complex and combined effects of many factors.

Even if we win, there are some losers in the team who are just trying to curry favor with others. Even if we lose, there are some wise and resourceful people in the team who really contribute. We cannot judge a person's hero by his success or failure.

Seeing that he was silent, Liu Bei did not urge him, thinking that he was carefully thinking about countermeasures. After all, Zhuge Jin had no obligation to help him, and his willingness to come was already a great favor.

Guan Yu, who was standing aside, had never had any in-depth communication with Zhuge Jin before, and Zhang Fei had never even met him.

They also didn't know Zhuge Jin's intelligence, and they couldn't help getting anxious when they saw him being silent.

Especially Guan Yu, he thought Zhuge Jin was still angry because of the little conflict in the morning.

After all, they were at the north city gate at that time, and Guan Yu almost pulled him off his horse in a moment of desperation.

Seeing his elder brother so humble and anxious, Guan Yu gritted his teeth, stepped forward and bowed fiercely, almost more than ninety degrees, and said in a loud voice:

"Mr. Ziyu! I hope you will forgive me for any offense I have caused you before! As long as you can help me out today, I will definitely help you if you need anything in the future!"

Zhang Fei, who had caused the trouble, was even more out of temper at this moment. Seeing that his second brother, who was always quite arrogant in front of the literati, had expressed his opinion, he said nothing and knelt down directly to beg: "Please teach me, sir!"

Zhuge Jin was shocked and did not bother to think about it anymore. He immediately helped Guan Yu and then pulled up Zhang Fei, saying sincerely:

"It's not that I don't want to help, but the situation is so dangerous that there is no sure-win strategy. If we want to turn the tide of the war, we must take risks. And I have only just met the general, and I don't know much about the enemy's and our own military strength, so I dare not speak rashly."

Having said that, with Liu Bei's emotional intelligence, he finally realized Zhuge Jin's concerns.

He quickly took Zhuge Jin's hand and shook it vigorously a few times, and said sincerely: "Sir, I know everything you are worried about. If you need to know anything, just ask, I will tell you everything I know.

And you don't have to worry about the outcome of this battle. As long as the strategy makes sense and I decide to adopt it, I will naturally bear all the responsibility. How could I implicate others?

Victory and defeat are common in the military. If we can win this battle, it is naturally because of your good planning. If we lose, it is only because of the incompetence and lack of strength of the reserve troops, not because of your bad strategy. "

Liu Bei's tone was very sincere.

It's like Zhang Wuji, who has just learned Tai Chi for half an hour, says to his opponent, "I may not be able to defeat you in one move with this set of boxing techniques, but that's because I'm not skilled enough, not because this martial art is bad."

Zhuge Jin was finally slightly moved and felt that he had somewhat integrated into ancient society.

In the 21st century, where the law is based on detailed analysis and clear rights and responsibilities, it is simply unimaginable to take on so much, with all the credit going to the person who made the suggestion and all the responsibility going to one's boss. Even if there is, it will be quickly emptied by employees who calculate the details of the KPI.

But in an era when the ancient customs of trust and loyalty still exist, all this does not seem so unreal.

In this case, Zhuge Jin decided to give it a try and say whatever he wanted.

(End of this chapter)