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

Chapter 148 Zhuge Liang's Debate with Tian Feng: His Erudition and Character Win Over the Arrogant Genius (3rd Update)
"At the beginning of the year, an old friend from Jingzhou wrote to me, saying that he had met a man of extraordinary talent in Jingzhou. This man often compared himself to Guan Zhong and Yue Yi, only regretting that he had not met Duke Huan or King Zhao. He also said that after returning to Langya to pay respects to his ancestors, the man had been staying there for a long time and had not returned. Therefore, he asked me to inquire about him. Could the Mr. Zhuge I met today be that man?"

Tian Feng's smile was gentle, but his gaze was extremely sharp, a stark contrast to his demeanor when he remonstrated with Yuan Shao, displaying the demeanor of a renowned scholar.

Huh?
Zhuge Liang was slightly surprised upon hearing this.

Few people in Jingzhou knew that Zhuge Liang had returned to Langya to pay respects to his ancestors, and even fewer were able to become old friends with Tian Feng.

Subconsciously, Zhuge Liang guessed who had written to Tian Feng and asked, "Is Mr. Tian's old friend Cui Jun and Cui Zhouping, the former Tiger-General of the Central Army?"

Tian Feng nodded slightly: "Zhou Ping is a very upright man. Even though his father tarnished his reputation by buying an official position, he still dared to denounce him as a 'money-grubbing' man. When Dong Zhuo wreaked havoc on the court, Zhou Ping also raised an army to rebel against Dong. Later, disgusted by the warlords' struggle for power and their cowardice, he angrily went south. I heard that Mr. Zhuge was only a little over ten years old at the time, yet he was able to become friends with Zhou Ping. It is truly amazing."

Zhuge Liang, holding a fan, bowed and said, "When I first met Zhou Ping, we hit it off immediately and respected each other highly, thus becoming close friends. I never expected that I would be able to meet my old friend Zhou Ping in a foreign land today. It is truly a fortunate thing."

A hint of surprise flashed across Tian Feng's eyes.

Even an ordinary young man, if he were to meet someone like Cui Jun, would inevitably address him respectfully as "General Cui," "Prefect Cui," or at least "Brother Zhouping."

Zhuge Liang, however, directly addressed him as "Zhouping"!
How can people who are not deeply in love address each other by their courtesy names?

Who is Cui Jun?

His father was the Grand Commandant, his elder brother was the Imperial Advisor, and he himself served as the General of the Tiger Guard and the Governor of Xihe. He also played a role in the campaign against Dong Zhuo.
When he was traveling south to Jingzhou, he met a young man. After their first conversation, they became close friends and addressed each other by their courtesy names.

If Zhuge Liang had not already possessed extraordinary talent at that time, how could Cui Jun have humbled himself to befriend him?

Tian Feng then recalled that Ju Shou had said in his letter: "After General Liu Bei pacified the six counties, Military Advisor Zhuge Liang was promoted to Military Advisor General for his merits. This person may be the one who was 'strategizing and adapting' for General Liu Bei."

The so-called strategy, power, combination, and change, as the name suggests, is: strategy (planning), power (flexible adjustment), combination (adapting to reality), and change (responding to change).

In other words, based on the overall plan, strategies should be flexibly adjusted according to the actual situation to dynamically respond to changes in the situation.

A young scholar could rise from a lieutenant general to a general during a campaign; without such strategic planning and adaptability, how could he have achieved this?

What shocked Ju Shou and Tian Feng even more was that Zhuge Liang was not yet twenty years old!

Thinking of this, Tian Feng abandoned any thoughts of disdain.

Subsequently, whether it was astronomy and geography, the three religions and nine schools of thought, the way of Yao and Shun, the virtues of Confucius and Yan Hui, or strategies and plans, whenever Tian Feng started to speak, Zhuge Liang could always respond calmly, and his words often contained remarkable insights.

The deeper the conversation went, the greater Tian Feng's surprise became!

What Tian Feng didn't know was that the person before him was not only the young prodigy who had impressed Cui Jun back then, but also a master who had experienced many vicissitudes and battles.

Military and political affairs are integrated; the Ten Sages of the Martial Temple!

A scholar who understands all schools of thought; a warrior who governs the nation! This is the kind of person Tian Feng wanted to test.

If even the most brilliant hindsight expert could stump someone like Tian Feng, then he could easily be admitted to the Temple of Martial Arts.

"I am no match for Mr. Zhuge's erudition!"

After talking for an unknown amount of time, Tian Feng's desire to stump his opponent gradually faded, and he conceded defeat.

If Guan Yu subdued Yan Liang and Wen Chou with his martial prowess and courage, then Zhuge Liang earned Tian Feng's sincere admiration with his knowledge and virtue.

After a long conversation, Zhuge Liang's virtues and talents were fully revealed to Tian Feng.

"Mr. Tian is too modest!" Zhuge Liang returned the greeting with his fan and said gently, "With Mr. Tian's strategies, even if Zhang Liang and Chen Ping were to be resurrected, they might not be able to match him."

Tian Feng shook his head sadly, a bitter feeling rising in his heart: "Mr. Zhuge, you flatter me. Zhang Liang and Chen Ping either assisted Emperor Gaozu in establishing the dynasty with their brilliant strategies and retired after achieving success, or served three emperors and held the reins of power. I am merely a man of meager talent. If it weren't for General Zuo's rescue yesterday, I would probably be a pile of bones by now. How dare I compare myself to the sages of the past?"

Seeing Tian Feng's low spirits, Zhuge Liang gently waved his feather fan and spoke tentatively: "I have long heard that a wise ruler values ​​recognizing and employing capable people, and a virtuous minister values ​​choosing the right lord to serve. A wise ruler with loyal and virtuous ministers can achieve the greatness of the Five Hegemons; a virtuous minister serving a mediocre lord may suffer the calamity of having his nest destroyed. Mr. Tian is loyal, upright, and resolute, only thinking of being loyal and disregarding his own safety, which I deeply admire. However, a minister of a feudal lord is not a minister of the emperor. As the Book of Poetry says, 'I will leave you and go to that happy land.' Whether he chooses another wise lord or remains blindly loyal to the death, both are within the bounds of a minister's duty."

Tian Feng, being so astute, immediately grasped the implied meaning and replied with a smile, "Since I have received the great general's favor, how can I easily abandon it? It would not be the act of a gentleman to betray his old master in order to seek a new one."

Zhuge Liang's question was intended to test the waters.

Seeing that Tian Feng had clearly stated his allegiance to Yuan Shao without showing the slightest anger, one could tell that he was sticking to his bottom line: as long as Yuan Shao was alive, Tian Feng would never help Liu Bei at the expense of Yuan Shao.

Zhuge Liang then smiled and said, "I understand Mr. Tian's intentions. Please rest assured, Mr. Tian, ​​although the Left General has lofty ambitions, his aim is to support the Han Dynasty, 'serve the country above and bring peace to the people below,' and he has absolutely no intention of harming the General's life."

Tian Feng suddenly fell silent for a moment, then looked at Zhuge Liang with a hint of inquiry: "Does Master Zhuge really believe that the Han Dynasty is still worth saving?"

Zhuge Liang replied decisively: "Of course!"

Tian Feng couldn't help but chuckle, his words tinged with sarcasm: "I once served as the Imperial Censor in Luoyang, where I witnessed either eunuchs wielding power or powerful relatives of the empress dowager causing chaos in the government. The emperor, secluded in the palace, only knows how to play power games and has no concern for the people. What is the point of supporting such a Han dynasty? Although the current emperor may have some intelligence, he has been embroiled in power struggles since childhood, making him cold-hearted and lacking in the talent to govern the country. Assisting such an emperor may not be as good as assisting the Grand General."

Zhuge Liang's expression turned solemn, and his voice deepened: "I deeply agree with what Mr. Tian has said. In the past, during the reigns of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling, the Han dynasty declined, eunuchs caused chaos, the country was in turmoil, and the land was in peril. After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Dong Zhuo, Li Jue, and Wang Si rose up one after another, kidnapping the Han emperor and cruelly killing the people. Because corrupt officials held high positions in the court, and beasts feasted on the throne, wolves and dogs held power, and sycophants seized control of the government. As a result, the state was reduced to ruins, and the people suffered terribly."

There was a pause.

Zhuge Liang's tone suddenly turned soaring, each word ringing out: "But since we know the Mandate of Heaven and are committed to the affairs of the time, how can we abandon our grand ambition of pacifying the Han Dynasty, restoring the Liu family, assisting the emperor, and bringing prosperity to the people just because the emperor is cold-hearted and incompetent?"

Tian Feng's gaze sharpened again as he looked directly at Zhuge Liang and asked, "When you mention 'Your Majesty' and 'Liu,' are you referring to the current emperor?"

Zhuge Liang gently waved his feather fan and chuckled, saying, "The 'ruler' I speak of refers to the way of the Han dynasty and its people; 'Liu' refers to the foundation laid by Emperor Gaozu and the trust placed in him by the people. Although the current emperor holds the throne, he is trapped in the shackles of powerful ministers and has failed to fulfill his responsibilities as a ruler. What we, the patriots, seek is not to serve one person alone, but to restore the Han dynasty, restore glory to the world, and bring peace to the people. If Heaven's mandate is in our favor, a wise ruler will naturally follow it. How can we be bound by the circumstances of the moment?"

　The third update is here! I love Zhuge Liang the most; this one took a while to edit. Please vote with monthly tickets!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)