Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 444 Zhuge Liang's Strongest Form ~ Hindsight is always 20/20!
“Good tea~”

Setting down his teacup, Prime Minister Zhuge exclaimed, "The aroma is rich and the color is dazzling."

"I never imagined that the act of drinking tea, when taken to its simplest form, would be so different."

The waiter came over again with a tray and placed a variety of snacks on the table.

Common dried dates, raisins, and candied fruits are nothing unusual.

However, the appearance of the melon seeds caused Prime Minister Zhuge to show a strange expression.

Despite his vast knowledge and talent, he had never seen such a thing before.

"Prime Minister, this will suffice."

Yang Yi picked up a melon seed, pretending not to know how to peel it.

"The first time I came here, I didn't know anything about it and made some funny mistakes."

Prime Minister Zhuge's gaze swept around the surroundings once more.

"The design here is ingenious and unprecedented."

"Then they combined the small table with the chair to create these large tables for people to sit around."

"I have never seen any food or drink like this before."

"You two are unwilling to say much, but I imagine that something strange will happen soon."

Ma Su and Yang Yi exchanged a glance and praised Prime Minister Zhuge.

"Nothing can be hidden from the Prime Minister."

"This place truly has its magical aspects."

"If it were merely these instruments for food, I would not dare trouble the Prime Minister to take time out of his busy schedule to come here."

"The owner of this place comes out to tell stories every day at the end of Shen Shi (3-5 PM)."

Ma Su gestured to the platform not far away, saying, "Tell the story right there."

Prime Minister Zhuge first carefully considered the time. It was not far from the end of Shen Shi (3-5 PM), which was the time for a meal.

He then looked at the platform and examined it carefully.

The platform is about ten feet square and about three inches above the ground.

On top was a wooden shelf, about half a person's height, but its purpose was unclear.

"As a child, I often said it was just a story~"

"Judging from the surroundings, the storyteller must have been standing behind that shelf?"

"Moreover, the story told by this person must be of great concern."

Indeed, there was a great concern involved; otherwise, the busy Prime Minister Zhuge would not have been troubled to make this trip in person.

Seeing that the Prime Minister had almost figured out the truth of the matter.

The two exchanged a glance, and Yang Yi spoke first.

"Prime Minister, the story this man is telling is about matters of the world!"

“We have thoroughly investigated and found out that, according to the people who came to this tavern, this person came to the platform to speak three days ago during the meal.”

"He said it was just a joke and there was no need to take it personally."

"But the moment he opens his mouth, it's all about the moth thief!"

Prime Minister Zhuge's face showed a look of reminiscence.

"The Moth Thieves? That's a story from over forty years ago~"

The so-called "moth bandits" were actually the Yellow Turban Army.

Because the Yellow Turban rebels wore yellow cloth on their heads, the imperial court disparagingly referred to them as "moth thieves."

Shu Han is the name used in history books; they always referred to themselves as the Great Han.

Since they inherited the legitimacy of the Han Dynasty, they naturally had no goodwill towards the Yellow Turban Army.

"Yes~"

Ma Su then added, "This man described the Moth Rebellion in great detail."

"And~"

At this point, Ma Su paused slightly, his expression somewhat strange, "He also mentioned the story of the late emperor, Zhuangmou Marquis, and Huan Marquis."

"There was something...something..." in his words.

He was momentarily at a loss for words, when Yang Yi chimed in, "That's a bit of an overstatement."

"This person said that the late emperor, Marquis Zhuangmou, and Marquis Huan swore brotherhood in the Peach Garden, and from then on, they stayed together for life, sharing life and death."

"Haha~" Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Zhuge smiled and said, "The former lord slept in the same bed with the two of them, and their affection was like that of brothers. It is not an exaggeration."

"Hearing this, I feel somewhat regretful."

"It's such a pity I couldn't have come sooner to hear the story!"

Ma Su and Yang Yi were also laughing.

Before they could even speak, that person claimed the late emperor came from a humble background, weaving mats and selling shoes.
But it is indeed the truth, and I don't know whether I should react or not.

Prime Minister Zhuge remained silent, sitting quietly drinking tea and waiting.

He is extremely busy, and if today's events hadn't been so strange, he would never have wasted his time here.

Before long, the sound of horses' hooves could be heard outside.

A group of people escorted two young men into the tavern.

The two looked around and were surprised to see Prime Minister Zhuge. They hurriedly came over to pay their respects.

"Anguo, Zichang, you've arrived."

"Sit down and let's talk."

Ma Su and Yang Yi gave up their seats, and the two young men bowed and sat down somewhat awkwardly.

"Prime Minister."

"We heard that someone mentioned my late father, so we came to see for ourselves."

These two young men were Guan Xing, the son of Guan Yu, and Zhang Bao, the son of Zhang Fei.

Without a doubt, they were Chengdu's top nobles.

But in front of Prime Minister Zhuge, he was as quiet as a chick.

There was no way around it; even the emperor addressed the prime minister as "Father Prime Minister," so they were naturally very obedient in front of him.

People in the Han Dynasty greatly respected their ancestors, so if they heard someone was telling their father's story, they would definitely come to listen.

If it's praise, that's naturally a good thing.

If it's meant to belittle someone, then they should be taught a good lesson!
"Wait a moment."

Prime Minister Zhuge picked up his teacup. "They should be here soon."

At this point, his curiosity had reached its peak.

After checking the inventory list, Lin Dao set off for Jianxing Time and Space.

I glanced at the time; it was time to continue the storytelling.

"If Zhuge Liang still hasn't come in three more days, then we'll have no choice but to go and find him."

Put on your headphones and connect to your phone.

After setting up the audiobook version of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Lin Dao took a breath and stepped forward into the hall.

A glance around revealed that more than a dozen tables were already full of people.

In an era lacking entertainment options, Lin Dao's storytelling was very appealing. Although he only performed for three days, he attracted a large audience.

Moreover, ordinary people are naturally busy and busy all day long in order to make a living.

Those who have the time and money to come here to listen to storytelling must be people of some status and wealth.

Lin Dao's intention was to use these people to relay the message to Prime Minister Zhuge.

As long as Prime Minister Zhuge comes to listen to his storytelling, he will surely evolve into Zhuge Liang's strongest form.

Hindsight is 20/20!
Arrive at the podium and place your phone on it.

Lin Dao's gaze swept across the audience once more.

A table in the corner caught his eye.

There sat a middle-aged man with a thin face, dressed in a scholar's robe and wearing a turban.

Those eyes were very bright!
Nodding, Lin Dao began, "Everyone~"

"My surname is Lin, my given name is Dao, and my courtesy name is Zihou."

"Feeling the chaos and the many heroes in the world, I have specially created a story to tell you all."

Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

I am not responsible for the stories I tell.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms didn't exist in this era, so Lin Dao said it was his own creation, which is undoubtedly beyond dispute.

Moreover, even the authors work for him, so borrowing his work is not a big deal.

Although it only lasted three days, there were already regular customers in the audience.

They jokingly urged him on, saying they just wanted to hear the story.

"Yesterday we talked about deposing the Han emperor and Chenliu ascending the throne, and how Cao Cao, the traitor who plotted against Dong Zhuo, offered a knife."

"Today, let's continue."

He picked up a bottle of Wahaha from the podium, opened it, and took a couple of sips.

He immediately pressed the start button for the audiobook app on his phone.

"Speaking of Cao Mengde, after returning to his hometown of Chenliu, he sold his family property and recruited righteous soldiers."

"Issuing a forged imperial edict to rally heroes across the land to jointly punish the traitor Dong Zhuo!"

"The various towns and lords responded enthusiastically!"

"The first commander is Yuan Shu, the General of the Later Han Dynasty and the Prefect of Nanyang."

"The second town is under the jurisdiction of Han Fu, the governor of Ji Province."

"The Third Town~~~"

"The fourteenth commander is Gongsun Zan, the Prefect of Beiping."

"It is said that Gongsun Zan led his troops south to meet with the various warlords, passing through Pingyuan County in Dezhou. As he was traveling, he saw a yellow flag and several riders coming to greet him from among the mulberry trees. Zan looked and saw that it was Liu Bei!"

The fact that he addressed the late emperor by his given name caused many people in the audience to frown slightly.

Gongsun Zan strongly urged Liu Bei to march south to attack Dong Zhuo and restore the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bei agreed and, along with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, accompanied Gongsun Zan.

"This leads to the eighteenth warlord, Liu Bei, the Imperial Uncle of the Han Dynasty~"

Ma Su lowered his voice, "Back when we were fighting Dong Zhuo, there weren't this many people at the Suanzao Alliance."

"Many feudal lords merely echoed each other from afar, waving flags and shouting slogans."

He didn't mention that Liu Bei hadn't gone at all back then.

Prime Minister Zhuge smiled, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

Although there are quite a few discrepancies, it is still very interesting overall.

Moreover, the story clearly shows greater admiration for the late emperor.

"Sun Jian, the Prefect of Changsha, has been ordered to lead the vanguard in attacking Sishui Pass."

"Dong Zhuo's general Hua Xiong was stationed inside the pass, fighting against the troops of Bao Xin, the Chancellor of Jibei, who were recklessly advancing in order to gain merit."

His younger brother, Bao Zhong, was killed by Hua Xiong.

Sun Jian's troops collapsed because Yuan Shu cut off their supplies.

"Heroes flocked to the pass, vowing to break through and slay Hua Xiong!"

Ma Su laughed again, showing off his knowledge, "When we attacked Taigu, it was clearly Sun Jian and Yuan Shu who fought; none of the others participated. As for Bao Zhong, I've never even heard of him!"

Prime Minister Zhuge's smile faded slightly as he softly gave instructions.

"Listen and do not speak."

Lin Dao had already mentioned that Hua Xiong had killed Yu She and Pan Feng in succession, and all the heroes had lost their composure.

"Alliance leader Yuan Shao was furious and said: 'If my generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou were here, what would I have to fear from Hua Xiong!'"

At this moment, a man emerged from the tent. He was nine feet tall, with a two-foot-long beard, phoenix eyes, silkworm eyebrows, a face like a red date, and a voice like a giant bell.

"This man shouted, 'This humble general is willing to go and cut off Hua Xiong's head and present it to your command!'"

Zhuge Liang remained expressionless, but he already knew in his heart who was being referred to.

Guan Xing, on the other hand, had bloodshot eyes, clenched his hands tightly, and was on the verge of sobbing.

Yuan Shao asked who this person was.

"Gongsun Zan stepped forward to introduce him, saying he was a descendant of Liu Bei, Guan Yu."

"Waaaaah~" Guan Xing could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

Many people looked over, and Lin Dao also glanced at them while taking a drink of water.

Yuan Shao asked Guan Yu what his position was, and Guan Yu replied that he was a horse archer.

Yuan Shao was furious: "How dare a mere archer speak such nonsense! Throw him out!"

At this point, Cao Cao hurriedly stepped in to offer some advice.

"They also brought wine to send Guan Yu off on his journey."

The expressions on Guan Xing and the others' faces were quite interesting.

Cao Cao was their greatest enemy, and he was always referred to as the traitor Cao.

But this traitor Cao Cao so highly praises Guan Yu in the story, which left everyone at a loss for how to react.

If you scold them, they're speaking up for Guan Yu.

If you're going to praise him, that's Cao Cao!
Left with no other choice, I could only remain silent and continue listening.

Guan Yu said: "Warm the wine for me, and before it cools, I will surely slay Hua Xiong!"

Having said that, he turned and left the tent.

"In no time, the feudal lords heard a great drumbeat and shouts outside, as if the sky were collapsing and the earth was crumbling."

Just as they were about to send someone to investigate, they saw that Guan Yu had already ridden back and thrown Hua Xiong's head to the ground.

He drank the wine in one gulp, and it was still warm.

"His first feat shook heaven and earth, the drums at the gate resounded loudly. Guan Yu paused his cup to display his bravery, and while the wine was still warm, he slew Hua Xiong!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Guan Xing slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

"it is good!!!"

(End of this chapter)