My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 798: The Lord is More Open-minded Than Liu Heng

After a cup of tea, a young man who was just about thirty years old was brought to Liu Bei.

Because of Zhao Yun's previous speculations, Liu Bei had a preconceived idea before he saw the real person, and always felt that the person who came should be an extremely brave and fierce warrior.

Today, on both sides of the Yellow River, especially between Wenxian and Mengjin, the two armies each have more than 100,000 soldiers stationed along the river. Liu Bei's army had just launched an offensive to cross the river to the south, but was beaten back by Cao Cao halfway across the river. How tight should the river defense be now?
What kind of person can break out from the other side?

Especially in this life, Liu Bei lived much more smoothly than in the same period of history, with less hardships. Even Zhao Yun did not have the opportunity to go in and out of Changbanpo seven times to rescue Adou. The person on the opposite side rescued Liu Xi between the blockade of the two armies. This event can definitely "trace" the Changbanpo in the parallel time and space.

But after seeing the real person, Liu Bei found that he was actually a thin and weak scholar, and he was immediately shocked.

"Who are you? Are you a master swordsman with lightning-fast moves? If not, how could you stand out from Cao's camp and bring such an important figure as the King of Shanyang to me?"

Liu Bei was stunned for a moment, then quickly noticed that the other party's arms were drooping, as if he was used to holding a sword - of course, the other party definitely didn't have a sword in his hand at this moment, as it had been searched away by the guards before he was brought up.

Liu Bei himself was a master of swordsmanship and was very familiar with the hand-hanging posture of those who often wore swords, so he couldn't help but make such speculations.

The other party's answer immediately surprised him.

"My name is Cao Zhi. My father is the Duke of Wei who wanted to usurp the throne. That's why I was able to deceive the river patrol commander and find an excuse to steal a boat and cross the river when no one was paying attention."

"Cao Zhi?" Even though Liu Bei had been in power for a long time and had good self-control and was able to keep his composure, he still jumped when he heard the other party introduce himself.

This is not surprising, as it turned out that they did not break through by force, but relied on their identity to easily deceive the patrol commander and sneak across the Yellow River.

Liu Bei looked Cao Zhi up and down in disbelief, and couldn't help but walk closer. Finally, he walked around Cao Zhi as if he was visiting an animal.

Ma Chao next to him couldn't help but tighten his grip on the hilt of the sword, but Zhao Yun just frowned and then loosened his brows, and there was nothing else unusual.

The Zhuge brothers fell into a brief contemplation.

"Aren't you afraid that I will execute you? What kind of tricks are you playing?" Liu Bei returned to his seat and didn't want to embarrass a young man directly.

"It's not a trick. I just want to rescue King Shanyang and surrender as a last resort."

Cao Zhi was very frank. He prioritized the two purposes of his trip and stressed that surrendering was something he had to do, and the main purpose was the former.

In this way, his words sounded a little more credible, at least not as bizarre as they appeared at the beginning.

Liu Bei had also seen many storms and waves, so he could not help but believe it a little, and then he continued to ask patiently:
"Then why do you insist on saving King Shanyang?"

Cao Zhi sighed, "Before my father attempted to usurp the throne, I strongly advised him not to do so. The Grand Commandant has already led his troops to Henei, which is only separated from Luoyang by the Yellow River. Although the late emperor drowned unexpectedly, usurping the throne at this critical moment is nothing but self-deception. It will not last for a few days before the Grand Commandant puts down the rebellion. It will also only increase the casualties of the two armies and make the Cao family more sinful."

At that time, the alternative plan I proposed was to ask my father to choose the late emperor's son, King Shanyang, as the king, but my father rejected this plan.

I thought, if it was an ordinary king, young and harmless, he might not be harmed in the future. But after all, the King of Shanyang has been recommended to be the emperor. If things don't go well, he will be retaliated in the future. A real man should not cause trouble for others. I advised my father to make him the emperor. If things don't go well, then I harmed him. Naturally, I have to see it through to the end and save people from danger.

However, although the world is vast, only the Cao and Liu families remain. If the King of Shanyang escapes from my father's control, he will naturally fall into the hands of the Grand Commandant. He is the son of the previous emperor, and I don't know whether it is good or bad for him to fall into the hands of the Grand Commandant. But I have no choice but to take this gamble, betting that the Grand Commandant is magnanimous and will not let him die in vain in order to inherit the throne of the Son of Heaven - I came here today, and no outsiders know.

Outsiders only know that I escaped from Cao's camp under an excuse, but whether I arrived safely here with the general is unknown to others. If the general wants to silence us and save trouble, he can kill me and the King of Shanyang now, and after dark, tie our bodies to rocks and throw them into the Yellow River. No one in the world will know about it. At most, the four trusted civil and military officials around the general will know about it. But I believe that the general is popular, so these four people will definitely not tell anyone. "

The whole article was filled with shocking truths by Cao Zhi, without any fear at all. At the end, he even naturally pointed at the Zhuge brothers and Zhao Yun and Ma Chao.

Among the four, Ma Chao had the least tolerance and cultivation. Seeing that this thin young man, who was clearly guilty of a serious crime, dared to point fingers at those of them who were in high positions, he immediately became furious.

If Liu Bei hadn't been right in front of him, he would have used all his sword skills to kill the guy in an instant.

"My lord! This thief is too rude. He actually speculated about you in this way. I beg you to execute him!"

Liu Bei glanced at Ma Chao and said nothing, but raised his hand to stop him. Seeing this, Ma Chao immediately bowed and stood back to his original position, not daring to say anything more.

"Provocation, trying to provoke the lord to rely on his reputation for benevolence and righteousness and not dare to do that kind of thing..." This thought flashed through the minds of the Zhuge brothers at the same time, but they did not say it out loud.

Saying something like this would humiliate Liu Bei, so it would be better to remain silent and let Liu Bei make his own decision, which would not be embarrassing.

Seeing that the environment suddenly became quiet, Liu Bei subconsciously looked around at Zhuge Jin and then at Zhuge Liang.

Although the two did not speak, Liu Bei knew what they were saying.

There is no way. We have been working together for eighteen years, from the first year of Jian'an to the eighteenth year of Jian'an, and we are too familiar with each other's thinking and style.

Liu Bei received the silent spiritual support from the Zhuge brothers. He cleared his throat and commented on Cao Zhi confidently and open-mindedly:

"You, boy, you say you are fearless, but in fact you are just seeking fame and survival. This time, you seem to be fearless, but in fact, you are probably thinking, 'If I have to die anyway, I might as well gain a good reputation before I die.'

He was able to prevent others from being implicated because of his advice, and the person who was rescued was the King of Shanyang. Wouldn't he be written as a remarkable man who dared to act and take responsibility when recorded in history books of future generations?
If you can seek fame and survive at the same time, that would be even better. So you dare to bet that I will not bully the weak, and I will not think that King Shanyang is a threat - I guessed it right. "

Liu Bei's words made Cao Zhi, who had been so arrogant and fearless, calm down again.

At least the original indifference and composure had disappeared by about 70% after Liu Bei pointed it out, and was replaced by anxiety and fear of loss again.

Because Liu Bei was right. Cao Zhi came here not only because his father asked him to, but also because he wanted to come. The key reason was that he knew that "if he didn't go, he would die in the future."

Therefore, even if he speaks harsh words and tells the truth today, even if he dares to speak out, the most he will do is die a little earlier than he would have otherwise. But the good thing is that he may leave a name in history books, and when future generations mention him in the future, they will feel that he has done a great job.

It's like if a minister of the Ming Dynasty knew he had to die, but could trick himself into a beating in court before his death and guarantee that it would be recorded in history books, then he would just do it, it's a sure win anyway.

Cao Zhi hadn't figured out how to defend himself, so he gritted his teeth and decided not to argue.

"The commander is indeed a good judge of character. He has seen through my thoughts and my father's thoughts. In this case, there is nothing to say today. Anyway, I have brought the people here. I think the commander is not worried about King Shanyang anymore."

Liu Bei did not answer again, but laughed out loud, as if he was too disdainful to prove himself any further.

In the end, it was Zhuge Jin who stood up and spoke up to help Liu Bei save the situation.

Of course, he can guarantee that what he wants to say is absolutely in line with Liu Bei's needs and Liu Bei's original position.

It’s just that Liu Bei himself might not have thought as thoroughly and logically as he did, so he needed someone to help him explain it clearly.

"Cao Zijian, right? I have heard of your literary reputation. What you did today is really a case of judging others by one's own standards. The Taiwei's generosity is comparable to that of Emperor Xiaowen back then...Emperor Wen was not afraid of the people arranged by Empress Lü, so how could the Taiwei worry about the people arranged by Cao? Those incidents back then were nothing more than Zhou Bo and Chen Ping acting like villains in vain."

Liu Bei, Cao Zhi and Zhuge Liang's eyes lit up when they heard Zhuge Jin's words.

This was such a wonderful and beautiful statement, it immediately solved the problem, explained the whole truth, and ensured mutual trust between the two parties.

People without some historical knowledge may not be able to react to this sentence at first, but these people can react to it.

When the Han Dynasty exterminated the Lü clan, Zhou Bo seized the army, eliminated the wealth and salaries, and enthroned Emperor Wen - there is no need to say much about this piece of history. A few years ago, Chen Lin quoted it in the first paragraph of his anti-Cao Cao edict before the Battle of Guandu, so everyone at that time was very familiar with it.

After Zhou Bo established Liu Heng, what else did he do? He claimed that the two sons left by Emperor Hui were replaced by people sent by the Lu family. In fact, they were Lu's bloodline, and then he killed them to eliminate future troubles. (Of course, the official propaganda of the Han Dynasty always claimed that these children had no bloodline of Emperor Hui, but were purely Lu's bloodline)
Whether this was instigated by Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng, is hard to say without solid evidence. By the time of Liu Bei, there were all kinds of speculations about these historical issues, and it was impossible to completely unify people's hearts.

But what Zhuge Jin said just now was to express that none of this was important. What was important was that Liu Bei was more open-minded than Liu Heng on this point, and the important officials around Liu Bei were also more far-sighted than Zhou Bo.

When Zhuge Jin said this, it was equivalent to giving Cao Zhi a reassurance, and also showing his confidence to the people of the world: Liu Bei would certainly not deny that King Shanyang Liu Xi had the bloodline of the late emperor Liu Xie, and he would not deny this point like Liu Heng and Zhou Bo did.

But at the same time, Liu Bei would not deny that "the maternal lines of the late emperor's surviving sons were all recommended and placed by Cao Cao, so these people were the product of collusion with traitors."

This logic is actually easy to understand once you think it through.

Because all the concubines who were truly loyal to the Han Dynasty and wanted to resist the thief Cao's usurpation of the Han Dynasty were indeed killed by Cao Cao. Thirteen years ago, he killed Dong Guiren from Dong Cheng's family, and at the beginning of this year, he killed Empress Fu.

The children born to Empress Fu and Concubine Dong for Liu Xie were also killed by Cao Cao.

Cao Cao also wanted to make his daughter the queen of Liu Xie after Empress Fu's death. However, before he could do it, Liu Xie could not bear the humiliation and tried to break out and escape, but was intercepted and killed on the way.

Therefore, it is entirely possible to infer that the mothers of Liu Xie's four surviving sons were all members of Cao Cao's faction and were instructed by Cao Cao. How could they be enthroned when their maternal lines were all related to the traitors?

Therefore, Liu Bei has nothing to be afraid of!
Zhuge Jin made this statement clear, which completely removed the legal obstacles for Liu Bei to "not have to purge the previous emperor's sons, but to directly and legally succeed to the throne as the emperor of the Han Dynasty."

In this chaotic time, it is necessary for the minor clan to join the major clan to bring peace to the country. In addition, the few surviving sons of the previous emperor were born to the followers of the armed usurper and regicide thief, so it is normal that they cannot be enthroned!

The people who supported their mother's ascension to the throne were the enemies who killed their father! These people can only live in this twisted and torn pain for the rest of their lives. It's good enough for them to be supported by a rich family, and it's also for their own good.

Zhuge Jin could say this thanks to Cao Cao's "good cooperation" - one of the important reasons why Zhou Bo, Liu Zhang (Zhu Xuhou) and Liu Heng were able to do that was that when Empress Lu was alive, she killed one of Liu Ying's sons.

Empress Lü established two young emperors. The first young emperor was older and knew that his biological mother was killed by the Lü family. He wanted to take revenge on the Lü family after he took power, but was killed by Empress Lü. With this bad example, Zhou Bo could follow the trend and said, "The real flesh and blood of Emperor Hui were killed by the Lü family. The Lü family only trusted the people they had planted, so the later sons were not the offspring of Emperor Hui."

Otherwise, if Empress Lü didn't kill the first one first, it would be even more unlikely that anyone would believe Zhou Bo's words out of thin air.

What about Cao Cao today? He killed at least three sons of Liu Xie, and killed all the children of Fu Shou and Dong Guiren, without exception.

In this case, who dares to say that the son who survived in Liu Xie's harem was not born by Cao Cao's followers? Could someone who was not in the same mind with him survive?

Cao Zhi was also a smart man. After listening to Zhuge Jin's few short words, quoting from classics, comparing ancient times to modern times, and analyzing the similarities and differences, he immediately found the legal basis for Liu Bei to not have to worry about the previous emperor's sons and to be able to successfully become emperor.

Cao Zhi couldn't help but be completely impressed, and was shocked and thought to himself:
"Everyone says that Zhuge Situ has a far-sighted vision and is unparalleled in ancient and modern times. Seeing him today, I know that his reputation is well-deserved. In such a short period of time, he found a way to completely solve this deadly knot, and he said it so uprightly. Liu Bei has such a wise and talented sage to assist him. It is not unfair for my Cao family to be destroyed...

No wonder the late emperor, just because he listened to his talk about the Righteous Emperor Xiang Yu and Liu Bang 18 years ago, at the last moment of life and death, seemed to be cursed by an oracle, and willingly became the Righteous Emperor. No wonder my father, just because he listened to his talk about the Righteous Emperor Xiang Yu and Liu Bang 18 years ago, seemed to be cursed by an oracle, and willingly became the Righteous Emperor.

This person is really good at finding historical evidence to justify the legitimacy and orthodoxy of the rule of today’s people, and it is so exquisite and just right…”

Unfortunately, Cao Zhi was not a modern person. He did not know professional terms such as "grand historical narrative" and had not read Yuval Noah Harari's statement that "Homo sapiens surpassed Neanderthals because they have the ability to tell stories and unite more individuals."

Otherwise, he would definitely think that the person in the world who is best at doing this kind of thing must be Zhuge Situ in front of him.

This person can often establish the legitimacy of a dynasty's rule for hundreds of years and the official historical narrative of orthodoxy with just a few casual remarks.

(End of this chapter)