My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 39 Zhuge Liang Obtains Zhuge Secret Scroll
When Liu Bei heard that Zhuge Jin had come up with a trick to deceive Lu Bu, his worries were finally relieved.

The drift net can currently allow Liu Bei's army to catch hundreds of more stones of fish every day, and its subsequent potential should not be underestimated. If it is only exchanged for 20,000 stones of grain at one time, it would be a waste of resources.

And Liu Bei also discovered a new flaw - Tzuyu was able to come up with some new techniques just to cast smoke bombs...

He couldn't help but ask curiously: "I wonder how effective this new method that I 'randomly thought of' is. Can it fool Lu Bu? Will it let him take advantage of me too much?"

Zhuge Jin didn't want to be remembered, so he casually explained: "I named this method 'longline fishing'. It is nothing more than adding more hooks to the fishing line, adding weights and floats to make it easier to sink to the bottom. Although it is not as efficient as casting a net, it is better at catching big fish that sink to the bottom."

There is no doubt that Zhuge Jin’s ability to think of longline fishing immediately was also the result of path dependence formed by playing "Age of Empires".

The previous drift net was a technology of the era 3 in the game, while longline fishing was only of the era 2. In other words, it should have been available during the Northern and Southern Dynasties in history. The improvement was relatively small, so it was just right for a one-time deal.

Moreover, Zhuge Jin only had an idea before, and it was something he hastily made, so there was still a lot of room for improvement and enhancement.

In fact, if Lu Bu knew this, he probably would not have provided the 20,000 shi of military rations.

But who made Zhuge Jin sell one thousand stones of fresh sea bass at one time?

This physical evidence was enough to make Lu Bu's side believe that "Liu Bei's army had mastered a super efficient perch catching technology."

This little trick is exactly the same as the one used by the United States in the 80s during its honeymoon period to persuade us to give up developing our own fighter jets.

When negotiating, they first use the F16 as a false demonstration. After you take the bait, they actually sell you garbage that is far inferior to the F16.

However, the tricks themselves are neither despicable nor noble, it all depends on who uses them.

If Zhuge Jin used it, then it would be perfectly reasonable - the grain traded this time was originally left in the warehouse of Xia Pi by Liu Bei for use in the Battle of Guangling.

Now Lu Bu was just returning some of the food he had snatched from Liu Bei.

Precisely because this was windfall in Lu Bu's "psychological account", he was not so reluctant or cautious about spending it.

……

After explaining all the conditions agreed upon with Lu Bu, Zhuge Jin planned to return directly to Xia Pi.

But Liu Bei was unwilling to let them go, so he ordered the women to be escorted back to the city first, and then asked people to take out the wine and meat that the army had brought with them, and sat on the ground by the Si River, setting out the wine and leaving.

The soldiers built a few makeshift stoves and set up pots. Zhuge Jin also took out the longline fishing tools he had kept as a spare sample, described their use in detail, and asked someone to use them to bait the fish.

After we’ve finished eating and drinking, we’ll collect the rope and cook some fish soup to sober you up. Whatever you catch will be yours.

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei pulled Zhuge Jin to toast continuously. Liu Bei also took a curious look at the operation next to him from time to time, and said with a smile that he would popularize it after returning to improve the people's livelihood in Guangling.

Zhuge Jin said not to have too high expectations, as this thing still needs to be improved and adjusted. Liu Bei didn't care, saying that no matter how small a mosquito is, it is still meat, so he improved it in practice.

After drinking a few glasses of wine, Zhuge Jin took advantage of his free time to discuss some personal matters.

He returned to the car and took out a package, which he handed to Liu Bei: "The people I sent to Yuzhang and Xiangyang, have not yet reported back? There are some manuscripts in this package, which are my thoughts written in my spare time recently.

When the messenger comes back, take these with you the next time you go. Calculating the date, I should still be in Xuchang by then. If my second brother has other difficulties, maybe I need my uncle to go there in person. Then please send someone to take care of my family."

Zhuge Jin made these instructions because he did not want to delay Zhuge Liang's training. During this period, he was still collecting "training secret scrolls" for his brother, hoping to deliver them to him as soon as possible.

Secondly, he also thought that Zhuge Liang might still be a hostage held by Liu Biao, and if he really wanted to rescue him, he would have to ask his uncle Song Xin to go there in person. Zhuge Liang might not be able to fully trust the messengers just by their words.

Zhuge Jin knew very well that although in the original history, Zhuge Liang was not treated as a hostage. But now Zhuge Xuan was still alive, with Liu Biao's "doubt his intentions, secretly control him" strategy of employing people, it was hard to say.

Moreover, Zhuge Liang had not yet married Liu Biao's brother-in-law Huang Chengyan. Without this kinship, the trust between the two sides would be further weakened.

Liu Bei didn't understand why Zhuge Jin thought the problem was so complicated.

But he knew that since the master was worried that there would be no one to take care of the family after Song Xin was sent to Xiangyang in the future, he would of course take charge and say that this was not a problem.

Liu Bei patted his chest and promised: "I will ask Madam Gan to send ten maids to serve at the mansion when I go back today. If Song Xin has to travel far in the future, I will ask Madam Gan to come to Song's house every day to chat and relieve his boredom, and to find out if there is any shortage of expenses and fill the gap immediately."

Having said this, Zhuge Jin no longer had any doubts. He had some wine and meat, drank some mandarin fish hangover soup that he had just caught with the longline, and then stood up to say goodbye.

He went back to meet up with Jian Yong and Chen Deng, and prepared to embark on the journey to Xuchang.

This trip will involve at least another half month of hard work and travel, so there is no need to go into details for now.

Liu, Guan and Zhang looked at Zhuge Jin's carriage going away and bowed solemnly.

Then, Zhang Fei, who was picking his teeth with a willow branch, was the first to come to his senses: "This longline fishing method is indeed useful. Although it is not as fast as scooping nets, it can catch mandarin fish."

Sishui is far away from the Yangtze and Huaihe River migratory area, and its aquatic species are closer to those of Anhui in later generations, with more mandarin fish than perch. Just now, I hooked a series of hooks and finally got seven or eight mandarin fish. These bottom-sinking fish could not be caught by the Han people with nets, so they could only be caught with fishing. Liu Bei also liked food, and although he felt that his third brother's digression ruined the atmosphere of the farewell, he had to admit:
"That's true. Ziyu's idea for improving people's livelihood, in his opinion, is nothing more than increasing production and saving countless lives. But the improvement in quality is actually greater. The fish we catch are all precious and good. In the future, the civil and military officials in Guangling will have a good time."

……

Zhuge Jin set out on the journey to Xuchang in mid-September, having to cross four counties, and would not arrive in Yingchuan until at least early October.

There was Chen Dao with 300 Bai Li soldiers as guards, and Jian Yong and Chen Deng were also accompanying him, plus Lu Bu also sent dozens of cavalry to protect Chen Deng - as an aside, the guards sent by Lu Bu were actually bribed and selected by Chen Deng himself.

This means that there was no trusted spies of Lu Bu in this team. At most, there were only "spies that Lu Bu thought were his own spies, but were actually made to think by Chen Deng to be his spies." Lu Bu was eventually sold out by Chen Deng, which was purely what he deserved.

With such a guard lineup, there were naturally few villains seeking death along the way. If he occasionally encountered a fool, Chen Dao would give him a wave of experience and just treat it as a piece of equipment from killing monsters.

There was nothing worth describing along the way, it was quite boring.

At the same time, 500 miles south of Zhuge Jin's team,
However, there was another team of people sent by him who were also heading west and would arrive at their destination earlier than him.

……

On the third day of October, in a village thirty miles west of Xiangyang City.

In a thatched cottage shaded by a bamboo forest, a sixteen-year-old youth, seven feet five or six inches tall, with a handsome face and bright eyes, was fiddling with freshly dried rice ears in the yard, thinking something in his mind.

"The local farmers all said that when the rice is heading, it needs to be irrigated adequately to be full. But why did it rain heavily when it was heading this year, and there were so many empty husks in the end? Is it that we can only use water from the ground and not water from the sky?"

He did not know the concept of male and female pollination in later botany, so he could not understand the harm of heavy rain during the pollination season.

But due to his extremely high IQ, after only two years of observing and trying farming, the boy began to try to analyze the principles that his predecessors could not explain, hoping to find the answers himself.

Even if you don’t know the principle, at least do more control experiments and summarize the rules yourself!
Just as he was deep in thought, a group of uninvited guests came outside the bamboo fence in the yard.

The leader knocked lightly on the wooden door and asked respectfully and loudly, "Excuse me, is Mr. Zhuge here? I came from Guangling and have a letter from your brother!"

Of course, the young man was Zhuge Liang. He was absorbed in thinking and wanted to turn a deaf ear and pretend that he was not at home.

But when he heard the words "Guangling" and "your brother", he was immediately startled and quickly put away his lazy and self-satisfied nature. He brushed off his clothes and tried his best to straighten out the wrinkles.

He was about to open the door when a boy of about twelve or thirteen, who had nothing to do, ran over and opened the door faster than him.

The boy ran while shouting, "Is this the letter from my elder brother and mother? Show it to me, I am 'Mr. Zhuge'!"

Zhuge Liang was angry and amused. He chased after him and scolded him harshly: "Third brother, don't be rude! Don't treat the guests with contempt! When did you become a teacher?"

The boy was Zhuge Jun.

"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" says that he was much younger than his second brother, and when Liu Bei visited him three times at his thatched cottage, he saw a "boy about fifteen or sixteen years old". This is pure nonsense.

The three Zhuge brothers were all born to the same mother, Zhang. Zhuge Liang lost his mother at the age of four and his father at the age of nine. If Zhuge Jun was that young, wouldn't he have jumped out of a crack in a rock? Or he must have been born to the Song family.

Zhuge Jun is only thirteen years old now, and is at the age of being playful. When he sees someone looking for "Mr. Zhuge", he can't help but come over and pretend to be an adult.

Zhuge Liang took some time to explain things to the messenger and expressed his gratitude before asking about the man's identity and his brother's recent situation.

The visitor did not dare to be arrogant, and said respectfully as a subordinate: "My name is Tang Guang, and I was originally a merchant under the command of Lord Mi of Xuzhou. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to help Mr. Ziyu with a few errands. Mr. Ziyu appreciated me and asked me to come to Jingxiang to inquire about the news of relatives and friends.

Here is Mr. Ziyu's letter from home. Two months ago, Mr. Ziyu was trapped in the city by Yuan Shu's troops attacking Huaiyin. In order to escape, he helped General Zhendong Liu Gong to devise a strategy to repel the enemy. As a result, he was appreciated by General Zhendong and treated as a teacher.

Mr. Ziyu also asked me to bring 20 ingots of horse hoof gold and hundreds of pieces of colorful silk with me on board to support my farming and study expenses. Mr. Ziyu also said that if he was not doing well in Xiangyang, he would sooner or later try to borrow troops from the General Zhendong and cross the river to help his uncle. At that time, you can go with us and enjoy peace together. "

As he spoke, he presented the gifts and letters from home one by one.

When Zhuge Liang saw the heavy plate of horseshoe gold, he was shocked: in order to prevent his stepmother and uncle from escaping, his elder brother had to set up a household on his own and struggle to support the family.

I haven't seen you for two years, and you've become so successful? How much credit did you have for General Zhendong to be able to give away dozens of horseshoe gold ingots at once? And this is definitely not all, it's just the money given to me...

Fortunately, Zhuge Liang was not a greedy person. The horse hoof gold only surprised him for a moment, and he quickly turned his attention to the letter from home.

The war has been going on for three months, and a letter from home is worth ten thousand pieces of gold. I haven't seen my relatives who fled the war for two years, so a letter from home is of course more important than a thousand pieces of gold.

But after just one glance, Zhuge Liang began to doubt his life more and more.

He pointed at the huge package, and after unwrapping it, dozens of scrolls were revealed:
"Is this a letter from home? What on earth did big brother go through that required him to write so many letters?"

(End of this chapter)