My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 85: Shrinking Version of the Battle on the Boat
"Brother, how much have you boasted for me? I will be embarrassed if I don't show some ability to show my respect for you."

After returning to the cabin and calming down a little, Zhuge Liang was still a little nervous.

Although Liu Bei had good reasons to personally go afar to welcome them - because Yuzhang and Guangling were enclaves separated by hostile princes, it was reasonable to provide escort to ensure their safety, and not just a hypocritical show of goodwill.

But no matter what, a navy of thousands of people sailing up the Yangtze River for three days to welcome them was indeed a huge event.

Fortunately, after entering the cabin, Liu Bei did not rush to ask for advice on serious matters. He had a keen eye and had seen that Zhuge Liang did not want to owe anyone a favor, so he relaxed and only chatted about some unimportant things to ease the atmosphere.

He also asked Chen Dao to get some good wine and talked about the time when Zhuge Jin helped him through a crisis, making it seem like the Zhuge family was indebted to him.

Then he talked about his former nominal uncle Song Xin, and his performance as a guest official in Yangzhou in the past few months, all of which were family matters, trying to alleviate Zhuge Liang's inner pressure a little.

Zhuge Liang finally calmed down and spoke: "I have heard a lot about your ambition to serve the country and respect for the wise from my brother. Seeing it today is better than what my brother told me. I only regret that I am young and incompetent and have misled the general."

Liu Bei responded gently: "What your brother and mother said is not false?"

Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "It's not false. When I was young, I was indeed quite quick-witted, and my mother and brother had high hopes for me. But I heard that Master Kong once said: Being smart when young doesn't necessarily mean you'll be smart when you grow up. No matter how smart a person is, it's ultimately limited by age and experience, not gifted by nature.

My elder brother often taught me that "there is a sequence in learning, and there are specializations in skills", and I always take this as a warning. In recent years, I have specialized in arithmetic and financial management, astronomy and geography, and water conservancy, which are of no great use to helping the world and the people.

As for the great strategies of the world, the art of war, the knowledge of people in governing a country, and the formulation of policies and laws, Liang really does not know much about them, and is not as good as my brother in these areas at present."

Zhuge Liang hastened to emphasize that he and his elder brother were now in a state of "specialization in their own fields". Even if his elder brother and stepmother had originally said that they were "ten times better than Jin", that was only ten times in the areas of expertise that Zhuge Liang had just mentioned.

As for other areas that he didn't dare to mention, Liu Bei should not have too high expectations and should assume that he is not as good as Zhuge Jin, or at most has a similar level.

However, after listening to these words carefully, Liu Bei was not disappointed, but became even more excited.

With his emotional intelligence, he had originally guessed that Zhuge Liang could not really be ten times more talented, and it would be good enough for him to be stronger than Zhuge Jin.

After all, his age is there. If after ten or eight years of experience, he surpasses Zhuge Jin in all aspects, even several times, it would not be surprising.

But after hearing what Zhuge Liang had just admitted, it was clear that he was confident that he was now better than his elder brother in some aspects.

Then Liu Bei must make use of his strengths and ask for more advice in these areas in the next few years.

As for other areas that he is not good at, why not just avoid them? It is not like Liu Bei is completely without help and he does not have to ask Zhuge’s family for advice on everything.

"There are differences in the order of learning, and there are specializations in skills... Well said, it really sounds like something Zi Yu would say." Liu Bei praised sincerely, and then continued with the other party's words.

"In that case, I will need your advice on arithmetic, financial management, water conservancy and other aspects in the future. However, Ziyu should not have sent you here just for the appointment between him and Chen Changwen, right? Is there anything else you can teach me?"

Seeing that the other party had adjusted his originally high expectations, Zhuge Liang completely relaxed and entered into a normal rhythm of communication.

He immediately remembered his elder brother's instructions, turned around and took out a sealed bamboo tube from the cabin, opened the seal with a knife in front of him, and handed it to Liu Bei: "This is my brother's handwriting. I have some confidential matters to discuss with the general."

Liu Bei took it, pulled out the letter written on silk cotton paper from the bamboo tube, and took a quick look at it.

Zhuge Jin's letter was of course very simple, only giving the outline of the follow-up plan. He did not mention any details that might cause Liu Bei to hesitate morally, and had to rely entirely on his brother to relay them.

Liu Bei glanced at it and was slightly surprised: "Zi Yu advised me to further befriend Liu Yao? Advised him to leave Dantu County and move to another place, and not compete with Sun Ce for a day? Why is that?"

Zhuge Liang explained, "There are some things that were not clearly stated in my brother's letter. I wonder if the general knows who Xu Shao and Xu Zijiang are?"

Liu Bei blurted out: "Xu Shao, Xu Zijiang? Who in the world doesn't know him? Isn't he the one who wrote the Yuedan Review and said that Cao Cao was 'a capable minister in a peaceful era and a treacherous hero in a chaotic era'?"

Zhuge Liang: "Xu Zijiang died in Yuzhang last year, and it can be said that he died indirectly at the hands of Zuo Rong. He was good friends with Liu Yao and Zhu Hao, and they went south together to avoid disaster. After Zhu Hao was killed by Zuo Rong, Xu Zijiang was also placed under house arrest, and then died in poverty and illness.

Before he died, he hated Zhu Hao and Liu Yao for being blind and letting the wolf into the house, drinking poison to quench thirst, which was the most unwise thing in the world. So my brother thought that Liu Yao might not have the face to stay in his position for long - this day, Yangzhou is given to the general, is the general interested? "

Liu Bei's face flushed unnaturally, and then he seemed to be overwhelmed by shame. Finally, he was torn between heaven and earth, and sighed:

"But Liu Zhengli is also a relative of the Han Dynasty. How can I bear to seize the foundation of my clan? If he was incompetent and died at the hands of Sun Ce, it was not me who destroyed him. It is understandable that I would support the Han Dynasty and attack the rebellious Sun Ce to avenge him."

Zhuge Liang had never met Liu Bei before, so he was still reserved in his words. The two were in the process of testing each other's character and tolerance. After hearing this, Zhuge Liang roughly understood the other party's standards: he was not a pedantic person, but he did have a bottom line and could not bear to directly seize the foundation of his clan. But if his clan was destroyed by foreign enemies, he could still seek revenge...

It sounds like he has been deeply influenced by the theory preached by his elder brother in Xudu last year: "Direct seizure is not advisable and will not last long, but self-defense and bounty hunting are acceptable. If Emperor Gaozu avenges Emperor Yi, then his seizure of the world will be flawless."

In this small piece of land in Yangzhou, there may be a tripartite situation of Liu, Xiang and Yi Emperor. Liu Bei is Liu, Sun Ce is Xiang, and Liu Yao is Yi Emperor.

Perhaps the whole world can be summarized by a three-party model of "original orthodox, usurper, and rebel reaper" with layers of big circles and small circles.

However, Zhuge Liang was also keenly aware that Liu Bei's application of his elder brother's theory was still a bit stiff and he couldn't do it freely.

At this time, he needed his younger brother to help explain: "The general is kind and benevolent. If Liu Yao knew about it, he would be ashamed. But my brother and I are not trying to persuade the general to seize the foundation of our clan. We predict that he will not be ashamed to serve as the governor of Yangzhou in the future. Maybe he will resign on his own when he is dying. What does this have to do with the general?

If the general does not believe it, why not go to Dantu County on your way back and meet Liu Yao and the captain of the Imperial History? This will also conceal the general's true intention of sending a navy to meet us for three hundred miles. It will not spread to Cao Cao's ears in the future, causing him to have more suspicion about the relationship between the general and our Zhuge family. "

In Liu Bei's heart, he was actually a little afraid of "overdoing things". He felt that Liu Yao's current situation might lead to his own destruction in no time. If he intervened, what would he do if the other party didn't die?
However, since the Zhuge brothers had said so much, and they had no friendship with Liu Yao, it was impossible that they were doing this for Liu Yao's good. In view of Ziyu's credit for helping him out of danger many times before, Liu Bei accepted it all with a calm mind.

"In this case, we will stop in Jiangnan on our return journey and meet Liu Zhengli in person." Liu Bei finally made the decision.

……

In the next two days, the fleet went downstream and sailed safely along the Yangtze River for more than 200 miles, turning to Dantu County, which is near Zhenjiang in later generations.

As mentioned earlier, since Danyang County was mostly occupied by Sun Ce, Liu Yao no longer had a foothold in the vicinity of Nanjing in later generations, and he only had this last Dantu County left.

Originally in history, when Dantu County could no longer hold on, Liu Yao almost took Taishi Ci and a few trusted guards and fled upstream along the Yangtze River. He wanted to contact Zu Lang in the name of Yangzhou Mu, then destroy Zuo Rong, and then occupy the six counties in the southern part of Danyang and Yuzhang as a base to fight against Sun Ce again.

However, Liu Yao did not live to see that time. According to historical records, after he defeated Zuo Rong, he became seriously ill and died of grief and anger. Therefore, the subsequent tasks were undertaken solely by Taishi Ci.

In this life, Zhuge Xuan's butterfly effect can be regarded as a preemptive move, intercepting Liu Yao's chance to make a second comeback. Zhuge family took all the credit for destroying Zuo Rong and taking Yuzhang, and also wanted to grab the plan of attacking Zu Lang and obtaining a springboard for a second counterattack against Sun Ce.

Therefore, if the Zhuge family had not invited him, when Liu Yao was defeated in Dantu this time, he would probably have died on the spot in the city and had nowhere to return to - unless he dared to sail along the coastline to join Wang Lang, who was still loyal to the governor of Yangzhou.

Zhuge Jin asked his brother to instigate this matter simply because he saw that Taishi Ci was loyal and righteous and could be used. Moreover, Liu Yao had several thousand trusted elite soldiers under Taishi Ci's command, as well as some talented teams that could be recruited. In addition, he predicted that Liu Yao would not live long, so he came to establish a good relationship with him in advance.

In this way, the day Liu Yao died was the day when Liu Yao's team completely switched their allegiance to Liu Bei.

March 5th, noon.

Nearly 10,000 naval forces, divided into more than 100 warships, came to the Yangtze River wharf outside the north gate of Dantu County. Liu Bei's welcoming Zhuge Liang this time was also another cover.

The defenders on the city wall were already very tired, having been surrounded on three sides for more than half a year. If it weren't for the fact that they could enter and exit the north via the Yangtze River, the morale of the army would have collapsed long ago.

Seeing the army coming, the gatekeeper was naturally very shocked and frightened, and immediately went to inform Taishi Ci.

Taishi Ci had been very haggard recently, but he took no pains and quickly rode his horse to the north gate and climbed up the tower to look out.

"The flag of the General who Conquers the South? Could it be Lord Xuande? Back then at Kong Beihai, he fought side by side with me to support Kong Beihai, and then supported Tao Gongzu. Didn't I expect that he would finally come to support us? Prepare a few warships, and I will go out of the water gate to meet and investigate." Taishi Ci gave orders immediately after reading it.

"Captain, you can't do that! What if that bastard Sun Ce pretends to be General Zhengnan and tricks you out of the city?" The young officer next to him was frightened and hurried to persuade him.

Taishi Ci waved his hand and said, "It doesn't matter. If the enemy dares to approach our ship, I can kill them with one arrow from my bow. It will be easy for them to escape. Prepare the boats!"

Soon after, the sluice gate at the Dantu North Water Gate was lifted, and a light ship sped out towards Liu Bei's boat.

Liu Bei was quite frank and directly bowed at the bow: "Ziyi? How are you? Although I am under the pressure of Yuan Shu and unable to rescue him, I have recently sent troops to Yunchang to pacify Yuzhang for the governor of the state, and I also want to advance to the six counties of Zulang.

Thinking that Brother Zhengli is still trapped in the small county of Dantu, I am afraid that this place is not suitable for long-term defense, so I came here specially to persuade Brother Zhengli to go to Yuzhang and make plans. Please let Ziyi pass on the message! "

Taishi Ci had not yet met Liu Bei, but after hearing Liu Bei's voice, he believed it a little and put down the bow and arrow.

When Liu Bei finished speaking and showed his face, Taishi Ci hurriedly bowed respectfully across the boat:
"Lord Xuande is a man of great righteousness, a rare example in the world. He saved Kong Beihai back then, and later saved Tao Gongzu, and now he is saving our envoy. Even Lu Zhonglian of Qi cannot compare to him! Lord Xuande, please follow me into the city, and I will introduce you to the envoy."

(End of this chapter)