My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 88 Everyone has their own use, even a piece of toilet paper
After Liu Bei had won over Taishi Ci a little, he asked him to set off first and move his troops to Poyang County to prepare for the subsequent attack on Zulang.

However, considering that the troops just withdrawn from Dantu needed to be repaired, and Guan Yu's newly recruited troops in Yuzhang had not been trained,
Moreover, Zhuge Jin also needs time to find a better excuse to go to war with Zu Lang, so all in all, it is unlikely that they will fight again within more than a month.

Zhuge Jin made excuses not for Zu Lang, but for the court in Xudu. If the excuses were not good enough to fully show that Zu Lang was a traitor, then the merit of destroying Zu Lang would not be enough for Liu Bei to be officially promoted to the governor of Yangzhou by the court.

Fortunately, the beginning of March is not suitable for military deployment, as the busy spring farming season has not yet passed. Waiting for another month, when the spring and summer are relatively slack seasons, will not disrupt production. When Zu Lang is almost done, Liu Yao's usefulness will have ended, and he can go with peace of mind.

As for Yuan Shu's claim to the throne, it was obviously controlled by the Zhuge family and was delayed - historically, Yuan Shu was about to claim the throne at this time. But the defeat by Liu Bei last year more or less affected Yuan Shu's confidence.

However, these two "good news" - Lü Bu's alliance with Yuan and Cao Cao's defeat by Zhang Xiu and the death of his eldest son and Dian Wei - are no different from the original time and space and are the good news that Yuan Shu should have reaped.

Therefore, the current situation is that there is one more negative factor, while the positive factor remains the same. Yuan Shu has to wait for a little more good news before he can accumulate enough "arrogance" to suppress the internal opposition to his enthronement.

The Zhuge family holds these two favorable factors that contribute to Yuan Shu's arrogance in their hands. If they keep it to themselves for the time being, they can cool down Yuan Shu a little bit, and then add these last two pieces of firewood to the fire when the most favorable time comes.

……

Let's put aside the preparations made by Yuzhang Zhuge Jin, Guan Yu, and Taishi Ci for now, as it will take more than a month before the real fighting begins anyway.

Back in Guangling County, after Liu Bei brought Zhuge Liang back to Guangling City, he immediately couldn't wait to start a lot of work.

Chen Qun and Mi Zhu had been waiting impatiently. Before Zhuge Jin left last year, he had made many promises to them and they were just waiting for them to deliver on their promises.

So when Zhuge Liang arrived, these two people begged Liu Bei to borrow him.

Liu Bei also knew that those matters were urgent, so he did not stop them. He just asked Mi Zhu and Chen Qun not to tire Zhuge Liang out, and to let Zhuge Liang come back to rest on time every day after dark. He himself might even take time to visit him at night to ask for advice, or even invite him to dinner or something like that.

According to Liu Bei's original temper, he would definitely invite people to drink during the night visit. But Zhuge Liang said that before this trip, his elder brother had taken care of him, saying that before he reached the age of twenty, he was not allowed to drink unless it was a ceremonial occasion, so as not to harm his health.

Liu Bei still strictly abided by the family precepts given by Zhuge Jin. If he didn't allow A Liang to drink, then he wouldn't drink.

After Zhuge Liang was temporarily loaned out, Liu Bei was alone for a few days and had no energy to deal with other things. He always felt like he had lost something.

When he was at a loss, he realized that he couldn't waste time, so he sorted out his strengths and picked something meaningful to do.

After Liu Yao was settled, he was followed by not only Taishi Ci, but also several military Simas, Qu Junhou, and a bunch of other talents.

Those military talents followed Taishi Ci to Poyang, but the civil talents remained in Guangling.

Liu Bei decided to use his personal charm to get acquainted with this group of civil servants and see if he could pick out some useful people.

On the third day after returning to Guangling, Liu Bei hosted a banquet for the group of civil officials under Liu Yao, and rewarded each of them with some silk and money. At the banquet, he was very courteous and polite, and personally drank with each of them, chatting with them and observing their character and talents.

In just the time it takes to eat a meal, Liu Bei discovered that the two most promising civil servants under Liu Yao were named Sun Shao and Shi Yi.

Both of them were from Beihai County and had worked under Kong Rong.

Three years ago, when Liu Yao went south from Huaipu to take over as the governor of Yangzhou, he recruited his fellow villager Taishi Ci from Kong Rong. It was at that time that Sun Shao and Shi Yi followed Taishi Ci south to seek official positions.

Shi Yi was a civil official with a penchant for military strategy. Although he was a civilian when he first entered the government, he was now serving under Liu Yao and was nominally a captain.

Liu Bei talked to him several times and asked other colleagues indirectly about it. He learned that Shi Yi was good at analyzing military intelligence and could see information that others could not notice from the subtle details. He also gave Liu Yao advice many times. Unfortunately, Liu Yao's decision-making was not good, and he failed repeatedly in the confrontation with Sun Ce.

But Liu Bei obviously would not rely on "historical achievements" to identify talents. He knew very well that sometimes defeat was due to the commander's poor decision-making and could not be blamed on his intelligence analysis staff.

Shi Yi has some abilities, but he couldn't display them under Liu Yao. But under a "wise leader" like him, he might be able to stand out.

In addition to Shi Yi, another important talent, Sun Shao, had a higher status. He was originally Kong Rong's Gongcao. When he first came, he served as Liu Yao's chief clerk. Later, he became the deputy governor of Yangzhou, specifically responsible for Liu Yao's foreign affairs. His status was relatively noble.

Every time Liu Yao wanted to send someone to the imperial court to ask for an official position or other resources, he would ask Sun Shao to do the job.

Sun Shao did a good job in this regard. On the one hand, he was well versed in etiquette, and on the other hand, he knew how to deal with officials in the capital. He was always able to obtain the official positions and titles that Liu Yao wanted from the court.

Liu Bei is not a time traveler, so he doesn't know either -

In the original history, after Sun Quan was named King of Wu of Great Wei, the first prime minister of Wu appointed was Sun Shao.

Of course, Sun Quan only used Sun Shao's title as "the top civil servant under Liu Yao, the former governor of Yangzhou" to show that his Sun family's occupation of Jiangdong was fully accepted and supported by the forces appointed by the original Han Dynasty. Even Sun Shao represented the other "old ministers of Liu Yao" in recognizing their master.

However, Sun Quan could not really trust and use Sun Shao. He just used him as a mascot, just like Liu Bei used Xu Jing as a mascot. Sun Shao did not work for many years. After only two or three years, Sun Quan replaced him with Gu Yong as the second prime minister. Gu Yong was the person Sun Quan truly trusted.

However, Liu Bei did not need to know these events. He discovered the usefulness of Sun Shao simply by relying on his ability to identify and employ people.

He was keenly aware that letting Sun Shao go to Xuchang to do the work would definitely be more powerful than Jian Yong.

Jian Yong was only good at speaking, and as he was Liu Bei's childhood friend and fellow villager, he was easy to trust. However, Jian Yong was not very good at dealing with those corrupt court officials, how to please them, or how to observe the etiquette and laws of the upper class. To put it bluntly, Jian Yong was too unsophisticated.

Sun Qian was much better than Jian Yong in this respect. After all, he had learned etiquette from big men like Zheng Xuan.

But even Sun Qian was slightly inferior to Sun Shao in this respect.

Therefore, Liu Bei immediately had a plan in mind: in the future, when there are foreign affairs, anyone who goes to Xudu to run affairs for the court will be mainly led by Sun Shao, and at most Jian Yong will accompany him to keep an eye on him, but Sun Shao still has to rely on him to show up in public.

When sending envoys to other princes, both sides should discuss diplomatic relations on an equal footing, and Jian Yong and Sun Qian should go. Especially for princes who are not very polite and are also relatively rustic, such as Lu Bu, Jian Yong is very suitable. If it is a prince like Liu Biao who has a very elegant name, Sun Qian should go first, and the two of them should be used together, one vulgar and one elegant.

After figuring out how to employ people, Liu Bei immediately realized that there seemed to be something that he could ask Sun Shao for help with.

So, at this banquet, Liu Bei found an opportunity to pull Sun Shao aside and privately instructed him:

"Brother Changxu, Brother Zhengli has not had any contact with the imperial envoys for more than half a year since he was besieged in Dantu, right? The situation of the bandits in Yangzhou has changed, and the imperial court is unaware of the latest situation. I am afraid that it will easily chill the hearts of the soldiers who are suppressing the bandits.

Now that Brother Zhengli has escaped from the predicament and is recuperating in Hailing and ruling Poyang from afar, should he submit a petition to the court, explaining why he was able to gain a foothold in Poyang and how he will counterattack Zu Lang, and requesting a reward from the court for helping him capture Yuzhang?"

Sun Shao had been doing this all his life, so of course he was very sensitive to this. Liu Bei had just started it, but he knew how Liu Bei was going to do it.

However, Sun Shao was also a wise man. In history, after Liu Yao died of illness, he even surrendered to Sun Ce, not to mention Liu Bei now? Liu Bei should be the legal successor of Liu Yao's resources.

Moreover, Liu Yao was so ill that Sun Shao knew that he would not be able to leave Hailing County alive. Given his physical condition, he might die on the long journey.

So Sun Shao pulled himself together, eager to prove his worth to his new master, and took the initiative to help Liu Bei perfect a few details:

"Sir, I think we should not mention the fact that Lord Zhengli was recuperating in Hailing County in this memorial, but just say that he has personally arrived in Yuzhang County and has received the direct support of the Zhuge family...

What do you think? Less trouble is worse than more trouble. Writing it this way will also avoid difficulties for the court. As for the wording of the seal, it is naturally in the tone and style of the Yangzhou governor. "

What Sun Shao said, with Liu Bei's emotional intelligence, he had actually thought of it a long time ago, but he just didn't have the courage to say it out loud.

Since Sun Shao took the initiative to request this, Liu Bei just went along with it.

So a few days later, a memorial written in the name of Liu Yao and seemingly written by Liu Yao himself in Poyang County, Yuzhang Prefecture, was sent to Xu Du by his deputy Sun Shao.

Due to time constraints and a lack of information, the Xudu court did not know that Liu Yao had been controlled by Liu Bei and was recuperating in Hailing County until long after receiving the memorial.

Therefore, Cao Cao and Xun Yu really thought that this memorial was written by Liu Yao himself when he moved to Yuzhang County and tried to continue to resist Sun Ce. The purpose was also to commend the Zhuge family for taking back Yuzhang County from Zuo Rong and establishing a new base for the great cause of suppressing the bandits in Yangzhou, so as to win over the Zhuge family to better contribute to the suppression of the bandits.

Cao Cao and Xun Yu were deceived, and it really can't be blamed on their IQ. It was really that Liu Bei's move was too deceptive.

Everyone knows that Sun Shao was Liu Yao's special envoy and the deputy governor of Yangzhou, and the court officials have become familiar with him in recent years.

How could it not be Liu Yao's intention for Sun Shao to come and present a memorial? Who could have thought that Liu Yao's top civil servant would also defect to Liu Bei?
After receiving the memorial, Cao Cao's first reaction was actually great joy, because he discovered that the Zhuge family really loved "climbing high branches" and were obsessed with fame, wealth and power.

Just last year, the Zhuge family was trying to climb the high branch of the Yangzhou governor and gain official advancement for their family.

After actually occupying Yuzhang County this year and gaining real territory, he actually looked down on high-ranking officials at the level of Governor and instead wanted to climb up the high-ranking position of Governor.

Thus, the image of the Zhuge uncle and nephew who "jumped over the line to curry favor with the big boss in officialdom" instantly appeared on the paper.

Cao Cao really hoped that the Zhuge family would be such power-obsessed and greedy people.

It’s good to like to curry favor with big bosses over your level!
Because the greatest leader of the Han Dynasty was none other than General Cao Sikong, the General of Chariots and Cavalry.

If one wants to become a high-ranking official, being the governor of Yangzhou is not enough, then one has to come and serve him directly.

In order to encourage the Zhuge family to continue to climb up the social ladder, Cao Cao waved his pen and asked Xun Yu to reward the Zhuge family with the highest reward for their actual contribution in pacifying Yuzhang County and destroying the rebel Zuo Rong.

Zhuge Xuan, the governor of Yuzhang, could not be given any additional title for the time being, so he was given an additional marquisate, Marquis of Kaiyangting. Kaiyang County was the seat of Langya County, and this title also gave Zhuge Xuan a status in a county in his hometown of Langya.

Zhuge Jin, the captain of the Suppressing Bandits, was promoted to the rank of General of the Pingyue Army for his contribution in destroying Zuo Rong, and was directly appointed as the prefect of Danyang and the Marquis of Duting (he had no fiefdom and a fief of 200 households, which was the lowest rank of marquis, only higher than the Marquis of Guannei with 100 households).

He was ordered to continue to follow Liu Yao's orders and attack Zulang's territory in the six counties south of Danyang from Yuzhang, so as to further deal with Sun Ce in the future.

Even Zhuge Jin's younger brother, Zhuge Liang, who was only seventeen years old, nominally gained a lot of auxiliary merit in the suppression of Zuo Rong's rebellion, and finally got an official position and could officially serve the court.

Zhuge Liang was appointed as the magistrate of Danyang County, with a salary of 600 stones, but no other military position or title.

Because Guan Yu wanted to hide his achievements and prevent Cao Cao from fully seeing the collusion between Liu Bei and the Zhuge family, Liu Yao did not mention Guan Yu at all in his memorial, and Chen Dao would not mention him either.

The only military officer mentioned was Gan Ning, a newcomer who had no color of Liu Bei's camp. The memorial also mentioned that this person was a righteous man recruited by Zhuge's family from Jingzhou and had led troops in Yizhou.

The final result was that Gan Ning was officially appointed as the commander of Yuzhang County by the court, but he had no other civil position or title.

This official position was actually the same as what Zhuge Jin had promised him privately, and there was no promotion. But considering that this time it was a direct imperial decree, the value of the title was very different from that of private granting or self-promotion.

I think when Gan Ning received the imperial edict, he would definitely be more grateful to the Zhuge family - he had led troops for several years since he was with Liu Yan, but he had never been officially appointed by the imperial court. This alone was enough to prove that following the Zhuge family was definitely the right choice, and success was just around the corner.

……

Sun Shao worked in Xudu for a long time, and it took him a month and a half to return to Guangling, including the travel back and forth.

When Liu Bei received the imperial edict brought back by Sun Shao, he sincerely admired that he had used this talent in the right place.

As expected, even if a person only knows the court etiquette and the eating, drinking, gift-giving and socializing among officials, it is still useful and can work wonders if used in the right place.

(End of this chapter)