My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 7 My younger brother Zhuge Liang is ten times more talented than me (new book, please vote and collect)
By the time Zhuge Jin had finished giving Liu Bei advice, it was already night.

Liu Bei planned to keep him for dinner and then see him off personally.

Compared to yesterday's barbecue, tonight's food was noticeably worse.

His hometown was robbed and his military supplies were cut off. Liu Bei felt that as a military commander, he should share the joys and sorrows with his soldiers, even in private.

In the end, the kitchen only stewed three chickens. Liu, Guan and Zhang shared one, Zhuge Jin and Mi Zhu shared one, and there were plenty of pickles and rice.

After the other one was stewed, it was sent directly to Zhuge Jin's home, and Zhuge Jin did not stop it.

Nowadays, food in the whole city has been rationed and you can’t buy anything even with money.

During this chaotic time, the Zhuge family had been in exile for more than a year, and they couldn't cash in their land and estates.
The valuables that I had saved at home were gradually spent, and my mother and uncle hadn't eaten meat for several days.

While eating, Liu Bei told Zhuge Jin that they could go out earlier than originally planned tonight.

According to the latest intelligence Guan Yu had obtained, Ji Ling had completely withdrawn the patrol scouts on the east and north sides of Huaiyin, so it was very safe to leave the city in the first half of the night without encountering the enemy.

Everyone present, except Zhang Fei, could see what Ji Ling's action meant.

"He was still hoping for the best, fearing that the fleeing soldiers from Xia Pi would not be able to enter the city to report the news and disrupt our army's morale, so he created conditions for the fleeing soldiers. Unexpectedly, it just happened to make it easier for us to leave the city."

Zhuge Jin finished chewing a chicken leg, threw away the clean bone, and casually characterized Ji Ling's behavior.

Ji Ling has already made things worse several times.

After the meal, Liu Bei asked someone to bring a fragrant wood gift box, which contained ten horseshoe gold coins, some silver ingots and East China Sea pearls.

Zhuge Jin modestly declined: "I am not seeking profit, so I offer you advice..."

"I didn't say it was a thank you gift. But there are always elderly, weak women and children in your family who are unable to travel. Because of me, your trip was delayed. I should give you some money to show my appreciation."

Liu Bei insisted that it was just travel expenses and that it was for his family, so Zhuge Jin had nothing to say.

According to the filial piety standards of the Han Dynasty, Zhuge Jin could not interfere in the decision-making process and refuse the offer of money to his stepmother.

That is why there were so many people like Mengchang and Xinling in the pre-Qin and Han dynasties, who gave big gifts to the other party's parents before winning over talents.

After the meal, Liu, Guan and Zhang followed Zhuge Jin to express their gratitude and see him off.

While riding on horseback, Liu Bei also explained a few words:

"Normally, when I invited you to give me advice last night, I should have come in person to show my respect for you. But the military situation was urgent at the time, so I had to personally deploy and block the news, so I asked Gongyou to go there on my behalf, disturbing your sweet dreams. Now is a good time to apologize."

Several horses soon arrived at Zhuge's house. Song didn't expect there would be a visitor, so she came to open the door herself and was surprised.

Liu Bei was also a little surprised when he saw the young women.

He had only known Zhuge Jin for one day and didn't know whether the other party was married.

Seeing that Song was a beautiful young woman who looked no older than Zhuge Jin, Liu Bei immediately bowed:
"General Liu Bei, I am sorry for coming so suddenly and disturbing you. I have no other intention but to come and see you off. I have prepared some money to express my apology."

Song was suddenly embarrassed, but fortunately Zhuge Jin immediately explained: "This is my stepmother."

Liu Bei was shocked: "This is... Madam Tai? How rude."

Zhuge Jin: "It has been twelve years since my late mother passed away. Two years later, my late father remarried, but three years later, my late father also passed away, leaving my stepmother, Jin and my brothers to depend on each other. The person next to me is Jin's maternal uncle."

Liu Bei then realized that she was Zhuge Gui's second wife. No wonder she was so young.

He calculated in his mind that since Song got married ten years ago, she should be at least twenty-five or twenty-six years old, but she looked to be just in her early twenties.

In order to cover up the embarrassment of the mistake, Liu Bei took the gift box from Guan Yu and placed it in front of Song.

While praising Zhuge Jin in various ways, he changed the subject:

"Mr. Jun Gong and his wife must have had a profound family background in education and taught their children well, which is why Zi Yu has such great talent and insight today. If Mr. Jun Gong is still alive, he must be very pleased.

"Bei was trapped in this desperate situation, and it was only thanks to Ziyu's righteous plan, the generous display of Lu Wang's great talent, and the application of Zifang's grand strategy that he was able to survive and continue his family line."

Having said that, Liu Bei personally opened the lid of the gift box.

When Song saw the ten horseshoe gold coins and other valuables, she became even more frightened.

Her son came back in the early morning last night and did not tell her what he talked about with Liu Bei. At that time, she complained that Liu Bei was too bossy.

Unexpectedly, Liu Bei attached so much importance to her son.

"How is this possible? Isn't Ziyu only able to talk about some irrelevant principles? I have never heard that he has any brilliant ideas..." Song thought to herself doubtfully.

How could she know that her son had completely changed since yesterday, and his strategies and wisdom had increased dramatically. "This... General, you are showing too much favor to me. Please take back the gift! Jin'er is usually very self-disciplined, but in terms of intelligence, even his second brother is ten times better than him. How can he help the general? How can he deserve such a high reputation?"

When Song said this, she was almost crying in anxiety, and she grabbed the horseshoe-shaped gold box tightly and pushed it out.

If you receive a generous gift from someone, you must work hard for them. How capable is Jin'er? Can she afford it?

If one's virtue does not match his position, disaster will surely occur!

Seeing this, Liu Bei found it even more unbelievable.

He had always been a very good judge of people. When he saw Song's tearful expression, he knew that she was definitely not pretending but was really crying out of anxiety.

It is said that a son is best known by his mother. Why did Song say that Zhuge Jin's intelligence was only this high? He was obviously a rare and brilliant man!

Zhuge Jin, who was standing beside him, also saw Liu Bei's suspicion. He was afraid of being exposed, so he quickly explained:

"General, please forgive me for laughing. My mother has been a widow for many years and has rarely seen outsiders. She doesn't know the depth of the world's great scholars. Although my second brother is five years younger than me, his intelligence is ten times that of me. My mother is used to comparing me with my younger brother, so she thinks I am stupid and dull, and can't be of great use."

After hearing this explanation, Liu Bei looked at Song suspiciously again.

This time, Song Shi did not think it was inappropriate and nodded naturally: "That is possible. Since my husband passed away, I have rarely seen outsiders. Perhaps I am not very experienced.

There are three sons in the family, and the youngest son Jun'er is still young. Compared with Jin'er and Liang'er, Liang'er is indeed much smarter. But Jin'er is quite self-aware and is honest and self-disciplined..."

These words came naturally, without any hesitation or thought.

Liu Bei thought to himself, "So that's how it is." Then, a greater surprise instantly occupied his mind.

"Ten times more intelligent than Ziyu... How could such a person exist in the world? He must be better than Zhou, Kong, Lu, Zhang, Guan, Xiao, Sun, and Wu, right?"

Even though Liu Bei had seen a lot of the world, he was still shocked by this unimaginable existence and was speechless for a long time.

How could he know that what Song thought of as "Liang'er is ten times better than Jin'er" actually meant that he was ten times better than Zhuge Jin before he was possessed.

However, Liu Bei thought that this monster was ten times more powerful than the one before him, and he must have been shocked for a whole year.

After a long while, Liu Bei came back to his senses and asked anxiously in a dry voice: "Sir, how old is your brother?"

Zhuge Jin: "My brother is five years younger than me, and now he is sixteen."

Liu Bei: "I wonder where your brother is now?"

Zhuge Jin: "Since the beginning of last year, my family and I have fled south separately. My stepmother and I came to Guangling to stay temporarily, while my second and third brothers went to Yuzhang, and then we went to Xiangyang.

The general must also know that my father was once the governor of Taishan County, and Ying Shao appointed him as the county magistrate. Before Cao Song died, Cao Cao asked Ying Shao to escort his father back to Yanzhou. After Cao Song was robbed and killed by Zhang Kai, Ying Shao abandoned his post and went north to Yuan Shao out of fear of punishment.

When Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou, there was a lot of slaughter. My family has a long history with Ying Shao. If we don’t escape quickly, I’m afraid there will be no hope for our survival.”

Liu Bei had personally experienced all the past events that Zhuge Jin mentioned, and he felt a deep sense of empathy.

He was sad for a while before returning to the topic: "If that's the case, why did you and your family split up and head south in two groups?"

Zhuge Jin: "When I fled south, I was barely old enough to support my younger brother, so I had to ask my uncle to take him in. My uncle was originally a guest of Liu Jingzhou, and he was appointed as the governor of Yuzhang by his recommendation, so he took my younger brother to Chaisang to take up the post.

But later on, something unexpected happened. The imperial court, which was on its way back to the east, appointed Zhu Jun's son Zhu Hao as governor of Yuzhang. Zhu Hao then recruited the Guangling bandit Zuo Rong as his subordinate and they attacked my uncle.

My uncle lost his territory and retreated, so he had to rely on Jiangxia Huang Zu for support, and sent my second brother back to Xiangyang to be taken care of by someone close to Liu Jingzhou - I only learned about these things a few months ago."

Liu Bei listened carefully, and only then did he realize that there was such a complicated connection involved.

Of course he had heard about the evil deeds of the Guangling thief Zuo Rong a long time ago. After all, Zuo Rong took advantage of Cao Cao's invasion of Xuzhou to kill his former master, Guangling Prefect Zhao Yu, looted wealthy households in various counties, and then fled to Jiangdong.

Liu Bei was now stationed in Guangling County and was facing such a shortage of military rations. At least half of the blame was on Zuo Rong for having damaged Guangling County so badly that production had not yet been fully restored.

But no one would have thought that this guy would later go to Yuzhang and fight with Zhuge Jin's uncle Zhuge Xuan.

When Liu Bei heard that "Zhuge Liang was sent to be taken care of by someone close to Liu Biao", he immediately imagined a scenario in which "Liu Biao detained Zhuge Liang as a hostage in order to control Zhuge Xuan", which made him feel deeply regretful.

However, Liu Bei also vaguely realized an opportunity, because he, Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang might have a common enemy:

"Since Ziyu said that his second brother is ten times more intelligent than him and is being raised by Zhuge Xuan, and Zhuge Xuan is now being oppressed by Zuo Rong. If I can defeat Yuan Shu and gain a firm foothold in the future, should I develop towards Jiangdong and help Zhuge Xuan kill Zuo Rong?
Or maybe lend troops to Zi Yu and let him assist his uncle... That's it, I'm thinking too far ahead, let's just get through this hurdle first."

Liu Bei also realized that he had thought too much, so he had to put these unrealistic ideas aside for the time being. However, the idea of "rescuing Zhuge Xuan and making friends with Zhuge brothers" had become like a thorn in Liu Bei's mind, lingering in his heart.

It is not easy to find talents. How can we miss such a great talent? Of course, we must show our utmost sincerity and seek him at all costs!

This is true for Mr. Ziyu and his second brother as well.

(End of this chapter)