My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 49: Yuzhang Governor Zhuge Xuan (New book period, please vote, collect, and follow up)
"Is this Cao Cao... He's even darker and shorter than the one played by Bao Guoan in the TV series, but he has quite well-developed muscles."

After being pulled to Sikong Mansion by a carriage, after some twists and turns, Zhuge Jin finally saw Cao Cao in person, and he was still somewhat emotional.

He knew very well that this was the first time he had seen Cao Cao since he came to this world, and it would most likely be the last time.

Strictly speaking, Cao Cao at the moment is not a traitor to the Han Dynasty, but after he kills Zhao Yan, the counselor who wanted to help Emperor Xian of Han to rule the country, and further provokes the Yidaizhao incident, he will gradually slide into becoming a traitor to the Han Dynasty.

Zhuge Jin will assist the Han Dynasty in the future, so this is the critical moment to make every vote count. All the official positions he gets today may have to serve Liu Bei, Guan Yu and himself for a long time in the future.

Just like Liu Bei in history, before being persuaded to become King of Hanzhong and appointed himself as Grand Marshal, he had been holding the title of Left General for nearly twenty years.

……

While Zhuge Jin was paying his respects and observing secretly, Cao Cao was of course also observing him and Chen Deng.

Cao Cao had long known Chen Deng's talent and reputation. He had fought with Tao Qian for many years, and Chen Deng was Tao Qian's strategist.

So relatively speaking, Cao Cao was more curious about Zhuge Jin, who had just emerged and was only in his early twenties.

This boy was knowledgeable and clever, and could silence lunatics like Ni Heng. He could also help Kong Rong with overall planning, and it seemed that he had contributed to Liu Bei's victory in the Battle of Guangling.

This means that he had achievements in the four areas of classics, eloquence, engineering, financial and food coordination, and military strategies and tactics.

He is so knowledgeable and versatile at such a young age. Even if he is not specialized in every field yet, he will definitely not be underestimated in the future.

Cao Cao could not judge whether the other party would have the talent of one of the Three Dukes in the future based on the limited information, but at least he had the talent of one of the Nine Ministers.

"You are from the Zhuge clan of Langya... Why were you recruited by Xuande to serve him, and how long have you been serving him?" After observing for a long time, Cao Cao asked the first question condescendingly.

His original intention was to find out whether the other party was willing to abandon Liu Bei and join him, but he knew that asking directly might not get the real answer.

So it is better to try indirectly and see how the other party got together with Liu Bei.

If Zhuge Jin did not lie about these small issues, the chances of recruiting people later would be greater.

Zhuge Jin did not hesitate at all: "I have been fleeing south since the chaos in Xuzhou last year. I originally intended to go directly to Yangzhou, but I encountered Sun Ce, a general of Yuan Dynasty, who was causing chaos in Dan and Wu, and was forced to stay in Guangling.

A few months ago, I learned that my uncle was being forced to flee by the Danyang bandit Zuo Rong, so I wanted to go to visit my relatives to save them, but I was besieged by the Yuan bandits in Guangling. In order to escape, I had no choice but to take the risk to help the General Zhendong, defeat the bandits and protect myself.

Cao Cao was stunned when he heard this. He had originally planned to recruit him directly if the other party's answer was true.

But hearing that Zhuge Jin has an uncle who needs to be rescued, this matter becomes more difficult.

The Han Dynasty ruled the world with filial piety. Let's talk about Liu Yao, the governor of Yangzhou who was beaten to the point where he only had Dantu County left. He was selected as a filial and honest official because of his righteous act of saving his uncle.

If the imperial court wants to recruit people, it should wait until the person has fulfilled his filial piety and saved his relatives before forcibly recruiting them. Otherwise, it will damage the reputation of the imperial court and make more children of noble families who care about their families suspicious and afraid to come, which will backfire.

Although Cao Cao felt that Zhuge Jin was talented, he did not know him well enough and did not think it was worth ruining the reputation of the court.

He hesitated for a moment, and had to hint to Sima Lang beside him with an unwilling look.

Sima Lang understood what Sikong meant and knew that Sikong wanted to keep him, but was embarrassed to ask "How close are you to your uncle", so he needed to ask this unfilial question.

Sima Lang cleared his throat and said, "Master Zhuge, your uncle has no offspring, so you must go and rescue him yourself? As far as I know, your uncle was once an official under Yuan Shu, and was later appointed by Yuan Shu as the governor of Yuzhang. Why didn't Yuan Shu send troops across the river to protect him?"

Sima Lang asked rather implicitly, but Zhuge Jin knew what he meant and answered truthfully:

"I am the only one of my generation who has reached adulthood. I lost my mother when I was nine and my father when I was fourteen. In the five years since then, I have relied on my uncle's support and care to bring me up.

Moreover, although my uncle was once an official of Yuan Shu, he had long seen through Yuan Shu's rebellious heart and had long wanted to distance himself from him. Yuan Shu had never offered him the post of Yuzhang governor, it was Liu Jingzhou who offered it. "

Sima Lang was helpless after hearing this: This is not just an ordinary uncle, but the uncle who raised you for five years after your biological father died!

According to the Han Dynasty's filial piety standards, it is only right to protect the other person as if he were your own father.

As an aside, two years ago, Sun Ce got rid of Yuan Shu's actual control by using a similar reason of filial piety. At that time, Sun Ce took out the imperial seal and said to Yuan Shu: I cannot avenge my father, and my maternal uncle Wu Jing is forced by Liu Yao, so I beg to borrow troops to visit my relatives and save them.

It can be seen that such an excuse was really useful in the Han Dynasty.

And Cao Cao also captured an important message from Zhuge Jin's reply: Zhuge Xuan intended to escape from Yuan Shu's broken ship!

As mentioned earlier, Cao Cao, Xun Yu and others actually knew that the last recommendation for Zhuge Xuan to be the prefect of Yuzhang was submitted by Liu Biao, not Yuan Shu.

It was just because Zhuge Xuan had been an official of Yuan Shu in his early years. Even though this memorial was not written by Yuan Shu, Cao Cao still assumed that Yuan Shu and Liu Biao had another deal and pulled a fig leaf. Therefore, the court never approved this memorial.

Cao Cao thought to himself, "So it seems that what Liu Bei said about seeing many disloyal people in Yuan Shu's army during the expedition must be true.

Yuan Shu has long regarded me and Benchu as mortal enemies. Now that the emperor is in my hands, Yuan Shu is being targeted by the imperial court everywhere. With his arrogance, he will not be able to tolerate it in the long run. It is only a matter of time. Liu Bei should have seen this clearly. On the one hand, he sincerely worked for the court, and on the other hand, he also hoped to get a bigger share of the pie in the process of working together to deal with Yuan Shu.

The Zhuge family of Langya also saw that Yuan Shu would eventually be forced to become a traitor, and they wanted to protect their family interests while also breaking away from the identity of "former official of Yuan Shu". Liu Bei and the Zhuge family each had their own interests, and by chance they joined forces.

Historically, Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor four months later.

With Cao Cao's political wisdom and vision, how could he not see that Yuan Shu had the tendency to do so?

It can even be said that in the three months after Cao Cao held the emperor hostage, he constantly used the name of the court to call on various forces to make things difficult for Yuan Shu.
He was the manipulator who added fuel to the fire, hoping that Yuan Shu would rebel as soon as possible, and then he could rely on the righteousness of the world and punish the rebels with obedience to eradicate Yuan Shu completely.

Thinking of this, Cao Cao already knew how to deal with it.

He put away his dignified expression at the beginning and switched to a courteous and amiable attitude:
"It turns out that the Zhuge family has long been willing to break with the Yuan thief. They are indeed loyal and righteous people. In this case, if you want to save your uncle, the court will naturally not stop you. I just don't know where you will borrow troops and how to save your uncle. After the matter is accomplished, are you willing to serve the court?"

Zhuge Jin bowed respectfully: "Any talented and ambitious person, who doesn't want to contribute to the court, stabilize the world, and save the people? I am no exception. I am not sure if I can save my uncle this time, but everything depends on human efforts, so I can only try my best. Fortunately, in the previous battle of Guangling, I gave advice to the General Zhendong, and I have a little gratitude, so I may be able to borrow a few thousand soldiers."

Cao Cao raised his eyebrows and said, "You just said that you met and served Liu Bei only when Yuan Shu was besieging Huaiyin. What favor did you do to him that Liu Bei could borrow several thousand soldiers?"

Zhuge Jin wanted to answer truthfully, but when the words came to his lips, he changed his mind and adopted a more credit-seeking attitude, recounting his main contribution to Liu Bei's military strategy.

To be specific, he concealed the part about his luck in gaining Liu Bei's trust, and attributed all his credit to "I had made every possible effort, and this victory was destined to be mine."

In particular, when Zhuge Jin mentioned how he initially gained Liu Bei's trust, he directly said, "I predicted that after a long period of stalemate between Yuan Shu and Liu Bei, given Yuan Shu's temper, he would definitely make a move against Liu Bei's rear."

As for his contributions other than military strategy, Zhuge Jin was not stupid, so of course he kept silent about it and did not reveal a single word.

Cao Cao listened very carefully. With his intelligence, he could certainly tell that Zhuge Jin was boasting and exaggerating the role of his strategy.

But Cao Cao did not intend to expose the other party. Instead, he felt secretly relieved.

"Yes, this person is a person who is greedy for fame and fortune. In his conversation, he is afraid that others will underestimate his achievements, so he tries his best to take credit and exaggerate his own contributions.

This kind of person is associated with Liu Bei only because they have common interests. And how much benefit can Liu Bei give him? As long as he is obsessed with official positions, he can be used by me sooner or later.

Although Liu Bei knew this boy several months earlier than I did, I only need to lure him with high positions and noble titles, and there is no need to worry about not being able to control the Zhuge family in the future."

Cao Cao secretly developed a love for his talent, and since he knew that the other party had something important to do, he would not force him to stay in Xu Du immediately.

Put it in Yuzhang for a year or so, maybe it will be of greater use to the court.

Cao Cao was a man of great patience and ability to play the long game to hook big fish.

Historically, when he first captured Guan Yu, he did not immediately want Guan Yu to surrender to him, but instead listened to Xun Yu's advice, "Liu Bei treats Guan Yu with nothing but kindness, and you should show more kindness to win his heart."

Now that Zhuge Jin has been encountered by Liu Bei first, it is not a big deal.

As the saying goes, if you want to take something, you must first give it. He first offered a condition that was several times higher than Liu Bei's, to let the other party see his sincerity in caring for the world!
Thinking of this, Cao Cao finally came up with an idea for how to deal with the situation.

He asked kindly: "Since you are so filial and righteous, I will not stop you from going to Yuzhang to rescue your uncle. Yuzhang is now in chaos because of the Danyang thief Zuo Rong, who killed Zhu Hao, the county governor appointed by the court.

In this case, I will ask Your Majesty to approve Liu Biao's proposal and appoint Ling Shu as the governor of Yuzhang. I will also appoint you to a military post to fight against Zuo Rong. But I wonder how you will serve the court after you defeat the rebels?"

Zhuge Jin originally wanted to give an answer directly, but when the words came to his lips, he didn't want to appear too smart, so he asked tentatively:
"I once said that Yuan Shu would definitely be disloyal in the long run... After my uncle and I have established a firm foothold in Yuzhang, do we need to restrain Yuan Shu from the side?"

Cao Cao finally let go of his last bit of vigilance after hearing this, and laughed loudly: "Too hasty! You are so weak, how can you expect to attack Yuan Shu from both sides -

How about this, after Ling Shu officially takes office, he should first pretend to be friendly with Yuan Shu, pretending to talk about the friendship between the old officials, so that Yuan Shu will think that the land of Yuzhang has fallen into his hands, so as to make him arrogant. Once there is a change..."

Zhuge Jin then pretended to understand: "Sikong is wise! I know what to do now!"

Of course, before Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, he was coaxed and flattered, making him mistakenly believe that "I have a large piece of territory in the south that obeys my orders."

In this way, Yuan Shu will definitely make up his mind faster.

And only after he really made that treasonous decision, Yuan Shu would find out that all his reliance was an illusion.

Be it Zhuge Xuan or Sun Ce, they might pretend to be loyal to him the day before, but might break with him and denounce him as a traitor the next day!
Seeing that Zhuge Jin was so sensible, Cao Cao finally saw the rabbit and let out the eagle. He ordered Sima Lang beside him to record: Ask His Majesty to approve the memorial to recommend Zhuge Xuan as the prefect of Yuzhang tomorrow, and grant Zhuge Jin the post of lieutenant.

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(End of this chapter)