My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 586: Go Slowly, It's Faster

The Zhuge brothers' creative ideas clearly laid out how to solve the problem of "money shortage" that might arise in Shu due to the method of offsetting corvée labor and grain.

All three aspects of effort were taken into consideration, which can be said to be both foresighted and comprehensive and prudent in thinking about the problem - foresight was mainly provided by Zhuge Jin, while comprehensiveness and prudence were obviously contributed more by Zhuge Liang.

How many people of their time could refute what they had conspired to discuss?
Liu Bei, Pang Tong, and Lu Su pondered over it again and again, but in the end they still couldn't figure out the loophole and could only sigh in admiration.

"What Ziyu and Kongming have jointly planned is indeed ingenious and meticulous. This method can indeed be tried as soon as possible. We can choose places in Zitong and Jiangzhou to try it out first." Liu Bei finally made up his mind and decided that this matter could be tried out first.

Today's banquet was originally to set the tone, and the follow-up implementation still needed to be detailed. It was impossible for Liu Bei to handle these details personally.

After the general direction is determined, we will basically have an idea of how to deal with civil service administration and finance and taxation in the next two years.

After a few more rounds of drinking, everyone naturally moved on to the next topic.

When Zhuge Jin gave his opening remarks just now, in addition to administration and finance and taxation, he also mentioned issues such as armaments, industry and technological construction in the next few years, as well as final diplomacy and military speculation.

Armaments, industry and technology are not suitable for discussion at the wine table. Moreover, this matter can only rely on Brother Zhuge. Even if Liu Bei and Lu Su do not understand anything else, it is useless to discuss it. It is better to wait until Brother Zhuge has achieved something and then report directly.

So after some sorting out, the topic naturally turned to diplomacy and military speculation.

To put it bluntly, it is about "what attitude should be adopted towards Liu Biao and Liu Zhang in the next two years, whether it is possible to further strengthen control over them during the peaceful truce, and how to strengthen it."

Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong had been in Yizhou for the past two years and were not very familiar with the gossips of the outside world. So after talking about this matter, Guan Yu, who had been drinking and listening silently, suddenly spoke up and provided some information:
"Brother, speaking of Liu Jingzhou, I have heard some spies' reports, which were recently sent back from Xiangyang. They said that Liu Jingzhou seemed to be ill, with a carbuncle on his back."

The reason why Guan Yu was so well-informed was not because he was more strategic than anyone else present, but because he had been in charge of the defense of Jing and Yang states, and he was closer to the people and was more concerned about them.

Even Lu Su, who had been in Xuzhou before, helping Zhuge Jin in charge of the central line defense, did not know the situation in Jingzhou as well as Guan Yu.

Liu Bei and others were originally just chatting and looking for a breakthrough, but when they suddenly heard Guan Yu throw out such a big piece of news, they were naturally quite surprised, and felt mixed feelings.

Liu Bei blurted out in surprise, "Back carbuncle? Why is it a back carbuncle again? Back then, my brother Ji Yu's father... Lord Jun Lang, didn't he die of a back carbuncle..."

When Liu Bei mentioned the three words "Jun Lang Gong", he still thought and hesitated. On the one hand, it was because he was not familiar with him, and on the other hand, Liu Yan was the first among the governors of the state to "close the pass and block the road", block the angels of the court, and become a local emperor.

Liu Biao even wrote a memorial to the court to criticize Liu Yan for treason. In the year when Liu Yan died, Liu Biao sent troops to the Yangtze River Three Gorges to try to defeat Liu Zhang, who had just taken over. However, Gan Ning was still Liu Zhang's subordinate at that time and repelled Liu Biao's army in Ba County. But later, Gan Ning betrayed Liu Zhang again, fought with Liu Zhang and then ran away.

The mess here cannot be settled for the time being. But from the perspective of the court, the official evaluation is generally that "Liu Yan was indeed suspected of being disloyal in his later years, but his successor Liu Zhang was more obedient."

Liu Bei now has a good relationship with Liu Biao, so the propaganda tone of Liu Bei's camp also follows the tone of the imperial court and Liu Biao at that time: Liu Yan has problems, and Liu Zhang has slightly reformed.

But these are not important anymore. What is important is that Liu Yan died of a back carbuncle that year, and unexpectedly, Liu Bian was also diagnosed with a back carbuncle.

(Note: Liu Biao also died of a carbuncle on his back. This is not clearly recorded in the Records of the Three Kingdoms. The biography of Liu Biao in the Records of the Three Kingdoms only says that he died of illness. However, Fan Ye's Book of the Later Han Dynasty did write that Liu Biao died of a carbuncle on his back. I think it is okay to believe it.

Perhaps the ancients tended to believe that those who were "frightened to death by bad news during a serious illness" were mostly back carbuncle. Liu Yan, Liu Biao, and Cao Xiu were all originally ill, and then encountered bad news, and died of worry/shame.)
During the Han Dynasty, everyone knew how serious back carbuncle was. Basically, if you got this disease, it was just a matter of early or late, and it was definitely incurable.

According to the simple understanding of everyone in the room, the key to when this disease will end is still to look at the mood. When you are angry, when you are worried and frightened, when the pressure accumulates to the right level, it will end.

When Fan Zeng was trusted by Xiang Yu, he could delay the treatment of his back carbuncle. But when he fell into a counter-espionage plot and got angry, he could only delay it for another month or so.

After understanding these truths, Liu Bei was still sighing, wondering how Brother Jingsheng could have encountered such misfortune.

Zhuge Liang, who was calm at the side, sighed silently and commented pertinently: "My lord, you don't have to think too much. After all, Lord Jingsheng is sixty-seven years old, close to his seventies, and it is common for him to be ill." Zhuge Liang's wife Huang Yueying was related to Liu Biao and Cai Mao's family. Liu Biao was Huang Yueying's uncle, so Zhuge Liang naturally couldn't say much about this issue. He also couldn't open his mouth to directly use Liu Biao's illness to make a profit.

However, since Zhuge Liang avoided suspicion, naturally there would be other people who would fill the niche of offering advice.

Pang Tong was already impatient after hearing about Liu Biao's illness. Seeing that Zhuge Liang did not offer any advice, he quickly seized the opportunity and said, "My Lord! If Liu Jingsheng is seriously ill, we should remind Master Liu Qi to return to Xiangyang from Shangyong as soon as possible so that he can take charge of the situation.

As long as we support Master Liu Qi to take over the throne, the entire Jingbei region will be at our fingertips in the future!"

After hearing this, Liu Bei felt a little reluctant. He looked at Zhuge Liang and knew that he was embarrassed because of his wife's relatives. Liu Bei did not ask him, but asked Zhuge Jin by name: "What do you think, Ziyu?"

Zhuge Jin stroked his beard and pointed out the key point carefully: "I don't know how long Jing Shenggong's illness can last. If the back carbuncle is not threatened or provoked, it is possible that it will last for a few years.

It would be best to let Master Liu Qi return to Xiangyang as soon as possible and slowly take over the real power nearby. Moreover, Master Liu Qi took Huang Zhong and Huo Jun to pacify Shangyong the year before last, and guarded the city steadily until Xiahou Yuan was defeated, which was also a rare military achievement for the Jingzhou army.

With this achievement, the possibility of Prince Jingsheng making Liu Qi the successor to the throne has been greatly increased.

But I was afraid that if Master Liu Qi rashly took General Huang and the Shangyong garrison back to Xiangyang and stationed there for a long time, it would have the opposite effect and damage his reputation for benevolence and filial piety. If he did not bring the army back, he was afraid that Cai Mao and Zhang Yun would be close at hand and control the original garrison in Xiangyang, and if they found a chance to harm Master Liu Qi...

In short, this matter still depends on Mr. Liu Qi's own determination, how far he is willing to go, how much courage he has, and how much criticism he can bear. If he can't do these, he still has to take it step by step. If our army must come forward to put pressure on him, we must also beware of the pro-Cao faction in Jingbei who may jump to the wall in desperation. "

When Zhuge Jin said this, he also fully considered his foresight of history.

He knew that historically Liu Biao would not die until the next year. This was clearly written in the "Records of the Three Kingdoms" - in July of the 13th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao mobilized his troops to march south, but when the army was halfway there, Liu Biao died of worry and illness in August, and it was not until September that Cao's army arrived in Xiangyang.

Although it is unknown how the butterfly effect will affect Liu Biao's life span, Zhuge Jin uses common sense to speculate that the threat Liu Biao faces in this life should not be as strong as in the same period in history. Cao Cao will probably have to recuperate this year and next year and will not take the initiative to challenge again. Liu Biao's psychological pressure may not be that great.

The less psychological pressure a patient with back carbuncle has, the later he should die.

Zhuge Jin knew Liu Qi very well. Historically, Liu Qi returned to Xiangyang when Liu Biao was seriously ill, but was stopped by Cai Mao on the grounds that "leaving his post without permission to visit the patient would make Liu Biao angry." Therefore, he was not allowed to visit the patient, so he cried and left without seeing Liu Biao. This is not a slander against Liu Qi in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but a record in official history that really happened.

These things have not happened yet, so Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong only generally think that Liu Qi is cowardly, but they may not be able to predict to what extent Liu Qi is cowardly.

Only Zhuge Jin, whose understanding of Liu Qi's character was already fully supported by historical materials, was very worried that if Liu Qi returned to Xiangyang to live for a long time and Liu Biao did not die for a while, Liu Qi might be harmed by Cai Mao.

Unless Liu Qi could bring Huang Zhong, Huo Jun and other direct troops with him and station them in Xiangyang, so that Liu Qi's direct troops could overwhelm Cai Mao, then Zhuge Jin would support it. Otherwise, going back alone would be risky.

After all, Liu Bei was known for his ability to judge people. After Zhuge Jin's analysis, he combined it with his understanding of his nephew over the years and found that this seemed to be the case.

Liu Bei could not help but ponder: "What Ziyu is thinking is indeed prudent and prudent. If Qi'er is to be allowed to return to Xiangyang, it is either because Brother Jingsheng is really seriously ill or in critical condition, in which case our army will certainly help him return to Xiangyang.

Either he could bring his own soldiers and generals with him and was determined to control the military power in Xiangyang.

The worst case scenario would be that he could make up his mind, bear the infamy, and go against his father's wishes to launch a surprise attack and kill Cai Mao.

If you can't do these things, and let Qi'er live in Xiangyang permanently, that won't help him but harm him. We should wait for the right time."

Liu Bei had said this, Pang Tong could not help but feel very unwilling, and he raised some possible risks of such a decision:

"My lord has always put justice and good reputation first, and he doesn't want Master Liu Qi to bear the crime of killing his uncle behind his father's back. This is understandable. But how can a beast like Cai Mao be considered Master Liu Qi's uncle?
Taking a step back, if we think that the life span of Duke Jingsheng can be delayed, and we really wait until Duke Jingsheng is seriously ill before letting the prince return to Xiangyang, then what if Cai Mao also finds out that something is wrong by then, and becomes desperate, speeding up the death of Duke Jingsheng, so that the prince does not have time to see his father for the last time, and then falsely conveys his will?
After all, Cai Mao and the Cai siblings were by the side of Duke Jingsheng, and they were close to him. It would not be difficult for them to make a sick man in his seventies die a few months earlier or later... "Han Feizi. Bei Nei" cited many stories of concubines and their close relatives secretly murdering their masters. If that day really came, wouldn't the power of Xiangyang be usurped by Cai Mao? "

(End of this chapter)