My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 308: Want to morally blackmail the Zhuge brothers? Is it possible?
Xin Pi was questioned by Zhuge Jin, so he did not dare to be arrogant. He immediately stepped forward humbly and explained his purpose:

"How dare I ask you for guidance in person, Lord Zhuge? But since my lord, Lord Yuan of Qingzhou, is being forced by Cao Cao, I have no choice but to ask General Chariot and Cavalry and Lord Zhuge for help.

The General of Chariots and the General-in-Chief followed the secret edict of the Emperor and worked hard to suppress the rebellion. The General-in-Chief fought in Hebei, and the General of Chariots and Cavalry fought in Jiangnan. However, Guandu was destroyed and Cangting was defeated. Now the great cause of serving the king is in danger, and the General of Chariots and Cavalry has pacified the Sun thief in Jiangdong, and the war has ceased. Why not withdraw troops to the north to attack the Cao thief, save the people from danger, and rectify the world?

Zhuge Jin was a man who would not release his eagle until he saw the rabbit, but he still spoke very righteously. Seeing Xin Pixian's high-profile attitude, he certainly had a plan to deal with it, so he said without any mistakes:

"It is my duty to serve the king and suppress the rebellion. However, my military rank is only General Fubo, and I am trusted by the General of Chariots and Cavalry. I am also in charge of the Yangzhou Mufu, so I really do not have the power to mobilize troops. In the end, how to send troops, how many troops to send, and where to attack Cao Cao are all decided by the General of Chariots and Cavalry himself. I really cannot interfere.

In addition, although Wu County was completely pacified in March, the county magistrate of Kuaiji County, which is separated from the south by a river, was not in office until this month. How can we say that the war is over? After the war, the soldiers are exhausted and must rest before fighting again. This is also the right way of military tactics and cannot be violated. "

The Taimo County mentioned by Zhuge Jin was roughly located between Quzhou and Lishui in later times. It was the deepest county in the mountainous area of southern Zhejiang during the Han Dynasty. It is not surprising that it took Zhuge Jin four months to completely control this place after pacifying northern Zhejiang.

Moreover, the Shanyue problem in the western part of Wujun and most of Kuaiji has not yet been completely resolved.

At present, all we can say is that no Shanyue dares to openly raise their flags against Liu Bei, but small-scale looting and destruction will still occur from time to time.

Xin Pi also knew that what Zhuge Jin said was true. He just acted in a high-profile manner because he felt that Liu Bei was known for his benevolence and righteousness, and he wanted to try moral blackmail on Liu Bei's camp.

After hearing Zhuge Jin's pragmatic and flawless answer, Xin Pi knew clearly:
Moral blackmail is not so easy to use. Even if Liu Bei himself fell for it, he would have a way out with the help of his Zhuge brothers who would help him find excuses.

It seems that it is impossible to expect aid by flattering others without paying any actual benefits.

Now that Yuan Tan needed help, Xin Pi could only go along with what the other party said, taking care of his face while testing the other party's asking price:
"Then I wonder how long Envoy Zhuge thinks it will take for the army to rest after defeating Sun before marching north? Is there any other way to speed up preparations for war?"

His words "Is there any other way to speed up preparations for war" clearly indicated that Zhuge Jin had made an offer, such as asking for money and food as a thank you, or ceding land before he was willing to send out the troops.

We are all smart people, and we can definitely understand what is said to this extent. If it is more blatant, it will not look good on both sides.

Of course Zhuge Jin understood, but he was not in a hurry to make an offer, so he pretended to ignore the second half of the question and only answered the first half, which was "How long does it usually take to rest before sending troops?"

Zhuge Jin considered and said, "I heard that after the Battle of Guandu, the general took four months to recuperate and reorganize his troops to prepare for the attack on Dong'e. The battle of the chariot and cavalry general to destroy Sun was even wider, with a pursuit of thousands of miles and deep into the hot and dangerous mountains. After the war was completely over, he must have rested for four months..."

Xin Pi became anxious when he heard the time. If he waited another four months, it was unknown whether Yuan Shao would be alive by then, and Yuan Tan would probably have to give up many of the small counties in Bohai County that were not strategically located, and by then only Nanpi would be left.

He quickly complained: "I think this comparison...maybe not appropriate? The general had to rest for four months after the Battle of Guandu because most of his troops were lost and he needed to recruit new soldiers and regroup. The general of the chariot and cavalry was pacifying Wu and the progress was smooth. I have not heard of heavy casualties. He could have quickly transferred the victorious troops to the north.

Moreover, the Sun rebels who surrendered when we pacified Jiangdong can be used to fight against Cao rebels after a little rectification. Four months is too slow! I beg you to explain the whole story. My lord will surely reward the friendly army generously! "

A generous reward? How to repay generously? Why don't you tell me for yourself?

Zhuge Jin felt a little disappointed with his friend.

Liu Bei was a benevolent and righteous ruler, so how could he take the initiative to offer a price? Of course, the other party had to offer it voluntarily.

In later generations, many so-called "rights defenders", whether they were asking for hush money, breakup money, or some other gray-area fees, were all charged with extortion and put in jail because they took the initiative to offer an offer.

Although there was no relevant law in the Han Dynasty, the principle is the same. If you take the initiative to ask for a low price, it will not only be detrimental to maximizing your interests, but also easily make the other party resentful, affecting the smoothness of subsequent cooperation.

As a veteran villain who has made it in modern society, you still need to have solid basic skills.

In order to hint Xin Pi to take the initiative to make an offer, Zhuge Jin had to persuade him: "What Zuo Zhi said is not without reason. In the battle of Jiangdong, our army, as the victorious party, did not suffer as much as the general did at Guandu.

The time required for post-war reorganization should indeed be shorter - the general took four months, so under normal circumstances, it should take us at least three months, right?
It's a pity that you came at the wrong time. I believe you have seen along the way that from Dantu to Qiantang, we have carried out large-scale construction this year, expanded the canal, dredged and managed the salt lake, which consumed a lot of manpower.

At first we had not expected that we would have the opportunity to launch a northern expedition this year while Cao Cao was weak. We wanted to wait for the general to recover his strength and contact us before planning a joint attack from the north and the south. That’s why we used the people’s strength to rebuild Jiangnan and restore people’s livelihood.

The burden of corvée labor this year is already very heavy. If the people are asked to transport military rations and support the war, it will probably arouse public resentment. The General of Chariots and Cavalry has just occupied Jiangdong, and he has to take the people's hearts into consideration. "Xin Pi was speechless for a while, and even wondered if Zhuge Jin knew he was coming in advance, so he hid from Moling to Qiantang in advance, just to let him come all the way along the Jiangnan Canal, to witness Zhuge Jin's large-scale construction in Jiangnan this year, and to find a sufficient and reasonable reason for Liu Bei's "inability to fully support Yuan Shao" so that he could move freely.

Thinking of this, Xin Pi could not help but complain in frustration: "The General of Chariots and Cavalry and the General-in-Chief have both received the imperial edict to suppress the rebellion. In the past one or two years...Excuse me for being blunt, but we really shouldn't waste the people's energy on these long-term plans that will only see benefits after a long time. It's not too late to concentrate the people's energy to wipe out Cao's bandits in one go, and then slowly rest with the people and restore their livelihood.

Your foresight is well known to the world. Why didn't you persuade the General of Chariots and Cavalry to consider the overall situation, contact the General, and work together before starting the construction project? "

Zhuge Jin sneered in his heart: wipe out Cao immediately? To help Yuan Shao? If the north and south attack Cao now, the world will belong to Yuan Shao. If he finds an excuse to go to war with his former allies, the people of the Han Dynasty will be more confused, and the idea of "the emperor is the one with the strongest soldiers and horses" will become more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. It will be more difficult to bring them back at that time.

But he would not say this out loud. He would only say, "Who is really ignoring the overall situation? My master has sent my younger brother to contact Master Yuan, and he has also informed your army of the strange movements of Cao's army on the southern front, and also attached an analysis. Isn't that enough?
Why didn't the general contact the general before the battle of Dong'e-Cangting? Our army originally estimated that the general suffered a disastrous defeat last winter and might need to rest and recuperate this year, restoring the people's strength, and it would take at least a whole year to reorganize the army.

Therefore, we mistakenly thought that the general would not take any action this year, so we took advantage of every opportunity to mobilize the people of Jiangdong to restore production and build water conservancy projects.

Unexpectedly, the general rushed forward rashly, thinking that he had seized the opportunity of Cao's empty front on the northern line, and acted alone without consulting his allies, leading to another defeat. However, our side repeatedly warned us, and whenever there was a situation, we would share what we had with each other. Is there another party in the world that is so sincere to its allies?
Is it us who don't want to act in unison with the general, or is it that the general is unwilling to act in unison with us? Or is it that the general just wants to take advantage of the possibility that Cao Cao will go south to make trouble for us, so he doesn't want to inform our army in advance?"

Xin Pi was left speechless by Zhuge Jin's repeated rebuttals.

Indeed, although Liu Bei's camp did not reinforce Yuan Shao or attack Cao Cao from both sides, their superficial efforts were truly flawless, and no one in the world could condemn Liu Bei on the basis of righteousness and morality.

Yuan Shao did not contact his allies and took the initiative to launch the Battle of Dong'a. He just wanted to use Liu Bei and make some money. But in the end, he failed to gain anything and ended up hitting a wall.

Zhuge Jin sent Zhuge Jun to warn Yuan Shao before he was attacked. This move allowed Liu Bei to stand on the moral high ground after Yuan Shao's disastrous defeat at Cangting.

With the Zhuge brothers around, any attempt at moral kidnapping is doomed to fail. And even after it fails, the Zhuge brothers can continue to let Liu Bei stand on the moral high ground and point fingers.

I want both face and benefits.

After Xin Pi thought about it for a while, he felt more and more frightened.

Could it be that sending Zhuge Jun to warn the eldest son was also part of Zhuge Jin's plan?
If this is true, it is too scary. How deep and far-reaching is Zhuge Jin's plan? How long in advance did he start to deduce it?

In the end, Xinpi was inclined to think that this might just be a coincidence, because he believed that it was impossible for mortal intelligence to do such a thing.

Zhuge Jin saw that he didn't seem to have figured out how to make an offer today, so he was not in a hurry to reach a consensus with the other party immediately.

The other party may not be fully prepared mentally, or may not have sufficient authorization. In that case, treat him to good food and drinks first, and let him think it over slowly.

Anyway, it is Yuan Tan who should be anxious, not Liu Bei.

"George, let me tell you this. You must be tired after coming all the way here. Why don't you go back to the city and rest for a day? We'll discuss it tomorrow. Anyway, you're going to Wuchang in the end, so you can follow me back to Moling first. You can think about it slowly on the way."

Anyway, if the price is to be offered, it will not come from Zhuge Jin's mouth. If the other party is not sensible, he can ask Bu Zhi to choose him in Qiantang, and ask Lu Su to choose him after returning to Moling. Even if the other party does not agree, it is not the intention of Liu Bei or Zhuge Jin. It can be said that it is Bu Zhi or Lu Su's own decision.

Well, Lu Su seems to be a loyal and honest elder, so he may not be suitable to play the villain. Let Bu Zhi do the dirty work.

Xin Pi was manipulated by the enemy and was completely unable to resist.

Watching Zhuge Jin mount his horse and ride away, he had no choice but to follow him. In the end, he just reminded Zhuge Jin in a friendly way that he forgot to take his fishing rod.

Zhuge Jin smiled calmly: "Leave it there. This fishing rod has been lying there for many days. There will be no fish. I am just using this to test the results of the water control. If there are live fish in the West Lake one day, it means that the salt and alkali treatment in Qiantang County has been completed."

Xin Pi was stunned, thinking that you are really doing flood control, and you are not just doing it for show to avoid supporting Yuan.

(End of this chapter)