The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 130 Zhuge Liang, who devoted himself to the cause, was busy again as soon as he returned to Zhuo County (1st update)
In fact.

Shen Pei's transfer back to Ye City was indeed caused by the competition for merit among Yuan Shao's civil and military officials.

After Ju Shou was transferred to Zhuo County, Tian Feng was imprisoned by Yuan Shao for "undermining morale," leaving Shen Pei as the only remaining figurehead in the Hebei faction to wield power in the army.

Shen Pei, who relied on his large clan and strong army, was also a fierce and straightforward person. He also disliked Xu You, Feng Ji, Guo Tu and other outsiders, believing that Xu You and others had no real skills except for their eloquence.

As a result, he was attacked by Xu You, Feng Ji, and Guo Tu. Even Xun Chen, who had always kept a low profile, believed that Shen Pei's presence in the army would lead to inconsistent policies from Yuan Shao.

At that time, Yuan Shao was advancing on Guandu and winning one victory after another. He believed that whether or not Shen Pei was present would not affect the war situation, so he transferred Shen Pei away from the front line to guard Ye County.

In Yuan Shao's heart, there might also have been a desire to take the opportunity to weaken the powerful clans of Hebei, thereby supporting figures like Xu You, Feng Ji, Guo Tu, and Xun Chen to maintain a balance of power.

When facing adversity, Yuan Shen always acts recklessly when things are going well, hence this behavior of opening champagne at halftime.

But for Zhuge Liang, the more reckless Yuan Shao was, the more advantageous it would be for Liu Bei.

After carefully reviewing the intelligence compiled by Xu Shu, Zhuge Liang bid farewell to Xu Shu and went alone to find Chen Zhen.

Chen Zhen was mainly responsible for the resettlement of tens of thousands of people who followed Liu Bei north.

He once served as magistrate of Gaotang, and now, for Liu Bei's great cause, he is willing to bring his family to Zhuoxian. Zhuge Liang admires such a virtuous official.

When they found Chen Zhen, he was discussing various matters with Cao Xuan and Mi Zhu.

Upon seeing Zhuge Liang arrive in person, Chen Zhen and the other two were all surprised and hurriedly greeted him.

"It was Liang who disturbed the three of you."

Zhuge Liang gestured to Chen Zhen and the other two not to stand on ceremony, and then inquired about the resettlement of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians.

Chen Zhen dared not delay and gave Zhuge Liang a concise report on everything.

It is also mentioned that after the news of Liu Bei's victory in conquering the six counties was successively sent back to Zhuo County, the clan forces that were originally either observing or speculating also increased their cooperation in various matters such as population migration, land division, and resource allocation caused by the military-agricultural settlement.

Zhuge Liang had anticipated this outcome and did not intend to investigate it further.

The fact that Yan Rou, Wang Song, and others were able to gather troops was also closely related to the clan forces that secretly tried to please both sides in the six commanderies. Zhuge Liang could even have suggested to Liu Bei that these opportunistic clan forces be awarded as a sign of recognition and appeasement.

After learning about the resettlement of tens of thousands of people, Zhuge Liang immediately went to the Literature Museum to find Ju Shou.

"Military Advisor Zhuge has just returned to Zhuo County and comes to see me. What brings you here?" Ju Shou's tone was neither warm nor cold, seemingly polite but actually keeping people at arm's length.

Zhuge Liang disregarded Ju Shou's deliberate distancing and stated his purpose directly: "General Zuo has just pacified the six commanderies, and the people's hearts are newly won over. Moreover, there are vacancies in various official positions. Does Attendant Ju have any capable individuals to recommend?"

Ju Shou is now the literary official in Youzhou, responsible for the education and etiquette of the people. For this purpose, Liu Bei allocated two thousand volumes of books to the literary academy.

Regardless of Ju Shou's attitude towards Liu Bei, as long as he can fulfill his duties in his position, do a good job in his literary work, and attract scholars from all directions to come and stay in Zhuo County, it will be beneficial to Liu Bei.

Make bricks without straw.

No matter how much Liu Bei respected and valued talent, the prerequisite was that Zhuo County had talented people!
After all, Youzhou was not Jingzhou, and very few scholars from other prefectures and counties would choose to seek refuge in Youzhou. In terms of attracting scholars, Youzhou was far inferior to Jingzhou, which had geographical advantages. Fortunately, Liu Bei had the seven thousand volumes of books donated by Chen Deng and Zheng Xuan to attract scholars from humble backgrounds, and there were also scholars from Jizhou who came with their friends to defend Ju Shou.

Zhuge Liang came here to ask Ju Shou for a man.

"The talented man I recommended, does General Zuo dare to use him?" Ju Shou asked instead of answering, staring intently at Zhuge Liang as if trying to see through the young man who was not yet twenty years old.

Ju Shou, who was in Zhuo County, was also paying close attention to Liu Bei's campaign to pacify the six commanderies. He also knew that the person who was devising military strategies for Liu Bei was none other than Zhuge Liang.

The layman looks at the excitement and the insider looks at the doorway.

Ju Shou was an expert in this field, so he could naturally understand Zhuge Liang's strategy of pacifying the six commanderies for Liu Bei.

The more Ju Shou understood, the more shocked he became.

It was not only the brilliance of Zhuge Liang's strategy that amazed people, but also his youth. In front of Zhuge Liang, Ju Shou could only be called a genius of Hebei, not a genius of the world.

Facing Ju Shou's undisguised sharpness, Zhuge Liang seemed oblivious, remaining as gentle as a breeze: "Ju Shou is joking. The world is in chaos, and the moral order is broken. General Zuo is only concerned that capable officials cannot fully utilize their talents and ambitions. How could I presume to discourage virtuous men? For example, Qi Zhou, the chief clerk of Guangyang Commandery, and Liu Fang, the official of Yuyang Commandery, although they once aided the rebels, General Zuo valued their talents and appointed Liu Fang as the prefect of Shanggu Commandery and Qi Zhou as the prefect of Guangyang Commandery. There is also Tian Chou, the former official of Youzhou, who, out of disgust for Gongsun Zan's killing of Liu Yu, went into hiding in Xuwu Mountain. Now, he has been recommended by General Zuo to 'act as the prefect of Youbeiping Commandery and prefect of Liaoxi Commandery, overseeing the military affairs of the two eastern commanderies of Youzhou.' General Zuo has always been known for his integrity and highly values ​​talent. As long as Ju Shou dares to recommend someone, General Zuo will dare to employ them."

These words shocked Ju Shou even more.

Qi Zhou, Liu Fang, and Tian Chou were all renowned scholars in Youzhou, especially Tian Chou, whom Yuan Shao had repeatedly sent people to recruit, but he refused.

And now, all three of them have been entrusted with important responsibilities by Liu Bei!
Even Ju Shou couldn't help but sigh inwardly: General Zuo's magnanimity is far inferior to that of the Grand General.

If it were Yuan Shao, he would never have dared to appoint Qi Zhou and Liu Fang, two surrendered officials, as governors, let alone let Tian Chou directly oversee the military and political affairs of the two commanderies of You and Dong.

a long time.

Ju Shou sighed and took out a list for Zhuge Liang: "Those who are talented and can be appointed as officials are all listed here."

After a pause, Ju Shou added, "The Left General is only the Prefect of Zhuojun and has no power to appoint the Prefect and his subordinates. I think this matter should be discussed with Governor Yuan."

Ju Shou was also a conflicted person. On the one hand, he gave the list to Zhuge Liang, but on the other hand, he did not forget to point out that the governor of Youzhou was Yuan Xi, not Liu Bei.

Zhuge Liang took the list and replied, "When General Zuo met Governor Yuan today, he made it clear that the success of conquering the six commanderies was entirely due to the concerted efforts of Governor Yuan and all the generals and soldiers, and not to his own merit. General Zuo will also inform Governor Yuan about the appointment of the commandery governors and their subordinates."

Ju Shou looked at Zhuge Liang with a complicated expression, hesitant to speak, but ultimately swallowed back the words in his heart.

Watching Zhuge Liang depart, Ju Shou couldn't help but sigh: "General Zuo conquered six commanderies without claiming credit; his ambition lies not in Youzhou, but in the world. If General can completely defeat Cao Cao, there is still hope; if not, the fate of the world will be uncertain!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ju Shou shook his head again and laughed self-deprecatingly: "Who can determine the general trend? What does it have to do with me?"

After leaving the literary hall, Zhuge Liang looked back one last time, a smile playing on his lips.

　Requesting monthly votes, thank you for your support, here is the first chapter.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)