My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 34 Chen Deng: Lord Xuande is so kind that I cannot repay him (new book, please vote, collect, and follow up)
After Chen Deng and Jian Yong saw Liu Bei's secret letter, they hurried to the outside of Xia Pi City to meet Zhuge Jin.

When the few people met for the first time, their first impression was a little uncomfortable, as they seemed to be not used to each other's appearance.

Chen Deng is a middle-aged man in his early thirties with fair skin and no beard. The apple muscles on his cheeks are slightly protruding, making him look very weak.

Jian Yong is a fat man with short untidy beard and a broad jaw. At first glance, he gives people the feeling of Bai Jinhan's boss in "Kuaishou".

Zhuge Jin is over eight feet tall and has an imposing bearing, but his face, which is slightly longer than those of Wang Leehom and Takeshi Kaneshiro, can also be regarded as "an extraordinary person with a strange appearance."

In his letter, Liu Bei briefly mentioned that this person had made many contributions to him, and Chen Deng did not dare to underestimate his talents.

Jian Yong quickly adjusted his attitude and bowed:

"My lord was able to turn defeat into victory in Huaiyin and capture Guangling, all thanks to your brilliant plan. I am ashamed that I was unable to share the joys and sorrows with you all."

He was Liu Bei's childhood friend, and of course he felt guilty for not being able to share the hardest days with him.

Fortunately, Zhuge Jin also knew the situation and advised: "Xianhe, you don't have to do this. Aren't you captured? Before I came, Lord Xuande said: For those who are trapped in Xiapi, it is he who is wronged by you, not you who are wronged by him.

Lu Bu has the nature of a wolf. Even Yide cannot resist the enemy, so how can we expect civil officials to be willing to break and not bend? They should be prudent and protect themselves. "

Jian Yong was quite moved and added an explanation:
"Although I was captured, Lü Bu's guard was not too strict, so I should have tried to escape as soon as possible. But I misjudged it for a moment, fearing that my lord would be in danger again, and that I would be in danger again if I went, so I wanted to wait and see for a while. I didn't expect that you would be the one who turned the tide."

This also explains why Jian Yong did not return to Liu Bei immediately - it was because he knew Liu Bei too well and estimated that his entire army would be wiped out again this time.

He didn't want to suffer twice, and he was confident in Liu Bei's ability to escape, so he wanted to wait until Liu Bei settled down before surrendering.

Historically, there was nothing wrong with his choice - it was just that Zhuge Jin showed up unexpectedly and changed his fate.

The situation where their team was originally wiped out was turned around into a "pentakill and double dragon capture".

This caused Jian Yong, who had to return to the fountain early to hang up and wait for his teammates to revive, to become very embarrassed.

Now that they had finally talked it out, Zhuge Jin comforted him and told him not to think too much about it, saying that Lord Xuande was not that kind of person and would not care about it.

For Liu Bei, as long as his subordinates did not surrender and were just hanging out in the fountain because of fear, it was not a big deal and could be forgiven.

Even if he really voted, as long as it was a special case like Huang Quan, he might be forgiven.

Jian Yong and Chen Deng were finally filled with inexplicable gratitude and felt more and more guilty.

Jian Yong immediately stated that he had now returned to the team.

As for Chen Deng, although he failed to return to Liu Bei in history, it cannot be said that they broke off their friendship - many people in later generations confused the cause and effect, and because Chen Deng changed masters several times, they described him as "a pure local interest holder in Xuzhou, he would do things for whoever could take over."

But Zhuge Jin felt that this view was slightly unfair.

Chen Deng's loyalty to Liu Bei and later to Cao Cao should have been sincere.

He was loyal to Liu Bei at the beginning, of course, because Liu Bei saved Xuzhou and Emperor Xian had not yet returned to the east.

The reason why Cao Cao was accepted later was that he was no longer the Cao Cao of three years ago. He represented the emperor and the court, and Cao Cao's rule was more orthodox than Lu Bu's.

Only to Lu Bu, Chen Deng could not be said to be truly loyal from beginning to end, but that was also okay.

When Lu Bu entered Xuzhou, he had no moral principles at all. He was not invited by the governor to protect the territory and the people, nor was he representing the emperor to patrol the territory. It was pure armed robbery.

It can only be said that many people in later generations underestimated the role of the "righteousness of the court" in the first four years of Jian'an (196-199).

Before the Yidaizhao incident, "obeying the call of the court" was not a bad thing, and Liu Bei, Chen Deng, and Sun Ce all listened to it. Many of their actions, which were regarded as "betrayal" by later generations, were not really considered as such at all - how could obeying the court be considered betrayal?
Even the question of "whether Cao Cao can be regarded as a traitor to the Han Dynasty" should be viewed in two parts.

When Cao Cao first held Emperor Xian hostage, the most he could say was that he was authoritarian, brutal, and killed officials to block the flow of opinions. It was only after the key historical node of the Secret Edict that the truth was revealed.

……

Zhuge Jin fully expressed Liu Bei's goodwill towards Jian Yong and Chen Deng.

Seeing that Chen Dengguo was a little ashamed, he seemed to be wavering and trying to make up his mind.

Zhuge Jin was ready to give it a try and took out one of the conditions he had discussed with Liu Bei before to completely take down Chen Deng:

"Brother Yuanlong, you are from Huaipu County, right? Huaipu is still in the hands of Lord Xuande. Your elders and fellow villagers are still the people under the rule of Lord Xuande. Why don't you abandon darkness and join the light and report to the court together?" The Huaipu County mentioned by Zhuge Jin must be familiar to those who are familiar with the war history a while ago - Huaipu is on the bank of the Huai River, in the lower reaches of Huaiyin and the upper reaches of Haixi.

When he and Zhang Fei were on their way to break out to Haixi, they were discovered by Lei Bo's troops of Yuan's army. He then ordered Shi Ren to take the abandoned boats and retreat to Huaipu.

Therefore, another butterfly effect of Zhuge Jin helping Liu Bei to defend and take Guangling was also revealed.

Even if Chen Deng was really a "pure local interest seeker", Liu Bei at least controlled the entire county of Xuzhou and several counties, and his foothold was very firm, including Chen Deng's hometown.

In this case, the probability of bringing Chen Deng back is greatly increased.

This is completely different from Liu Bei, who lost all of Xuzhou's territory and became homeless in the same period of history.

Chen Deng was indeed quite interested, but he thought carefully and raised a few difficulties after thinking about it:

"Lord Xuande is benevolent and righteous, and he benefits the people. How could I not know that? I am willing to serve him. But at present, my father and I have both been officially appointed by the court, and we also need to serve in Xiapi.

If I rashly abandon my official position and follow Lord Xuande, although it would be in accordance with my personal morality, I would be branded as disloyal to the court. Moreover, my father is old, and I am afraid that I would cause trouble if I defected privately. "

Chen Deng's original position in Xuzhou was "Captain of Agriculture". A few months ago, when Cao Cao sent people to Xuzhou to convey his imperial decree to confer the title of General Zhendong on Liu Bei, he also posthumously recognized the positions of several senior officials in Xuzhou, so they were now considered officials of the court.

Fortunately, Zhuge Jin was well prepared:

"Lord Xuande has known you for several years, how could he not know your difficulties? Therefore, he had already thought of it. In order to protect Brother Yuanlong and your father, he would not let you abandon Lu Bu and run away.

On the contrary, he hoped that Brother Yuanlong would take the initiative to ask Lü Bu to let you go as an envoy to the court, and ask for merit and an official position for Lü Bu. As long as Lü Bu sent you to Xuchang, the court would naturally give you another official position, and you could get away with a clear conscience.

Here is a memorial that Lord Xuande requested for my brother, and also for Lü Bu. After we finish our business in Xiapi and reconcile with Lü Bu, we can go to Xuchang together. Lord Xuande recommended that my brother be appointed as the governor of Guangling, and Lü Bu as the governor of Xuzhou.

Zhuge Jin had Liu Bei write this way, of course, for a reason. Chen Deng was from Huaipu County, and in the original history, Cao Cao later appointed Chen Deng as the governor of Guangling, with the purpose of letting Chen Deng help him deal with Lu Bu as an insider, and later let Chen Deng guard against Sun Ce.

Since Cao Cao would have been inclined to confer such a title, it would have been better for Liu Bei to do him this favor.

And now in this time and space, Liu Bei has actually controlled Guangling County, and this is a favor that only Liu Bei can do.

If Cao Cao had appointed someone else randomly, he probably would not have been able to take office and would have been obstructed by various unexpected events along the way.

Chen Deng was shocked when he heard this, and even cried: "Lord Xuande only has Guangling County left, but he wants to recommend me as the governor of Guangling? This..."

"Why? Are you worried that Lord Xuande will be homeless? Don't worry, he is the General who Guards the East, and the General who Guards the East naturally has his own headquarters, and there is no saying that it cannot be set up in Guangling County.

Lord Xuande thought that none of his staff had the talent to govern a local area, so would it not be appropriate to ask Brother Yuanlong to govern a county?" Zhuge Jin analyzed as a matter of course.

If he could get all his family members back, achieve a year or two of peace on the northern front, and reap some other benefits, how could Liu Bei be reluctant to give up the civil servant title of a prefect?

Anyway, the territory of Guangling still belonged to Liu Bei, he just delegated the administrative power to the prefect.

Chen Deng was finally completely shocked.

He only felt his lips were a little chapped and his throat was a little sticky. After thinking for a long time, he asked the last point that he felt was risky:
"Lord Xuande is so magnanimous that I feel ashamed. But it is still very difficult to deceive Lu Bu in this matter - whether the memorial is approved by the court is the power of Cao Cao. To be promoted, one must have merit.

It is impossible to appoint Lü Bu as the governor of Xuzhou or even the governor of a prefecture just because of his success in the surprise attack on Xiapi? Where would the dignity of the court be in that case?
Wouldn't it be the case that 'only the strongest soldiers and horses can rule the prefectures and counties in the world', and there would be no justice or orthodoxy? Even for this reason alone, Cao Cao would not approve the petition.

Although Lü Bu is a fool, Chen Gong beside him must have seen that this bargaining chip is difficult to cash in. Even if I pretend to consider Lü Bu, I can't convince Lü Bu that he can get the real grant from the court."

As Chen Deng spoke, he pondered over and over again. He felt that this kind of persuasion had exceeded the limits of human intelligence, and even if Zhang Yi and Su Qin were reborn, it would be useless.

Such conditions are simply lies. Who would believe that you can fulfill them?
However, just when Chen Deng thought it was absolutely impossible, Zhuge Jin spoke again:
"How is it impossible? Isn't it a great achievement for the court that Lu Bu captured Xiapi? The key lies in how you describe it... Just like this..."

Zhuge Jin whispered a few words in his ear, and Chen Deng's pupils shrank instantly. He took a step back in horror, staring at him with a look of as if he had seen a ghost.

After a long time, Chen Dengcai almost suffocated to death because "breathing is controlled by the pectoral muscles, which are skeletal muscles and governed by the brain and sympathetic nerves."

To put it bluntly, he was so shocked that he forgot to breathe.

Chen Deng took a few deep breaths, exhaled a long sigh, and sighed helplessly: "Today I know why you were able to turn the tide and come back to life during the Battle of Guangling. I am no match for you."

(End of this chapter)