Chapter 133 Langya Zhuge
In the capital of Langyayang, the Zhuge family.
The Zhuge family is inherited from Zhuge Feng, who served as Sili Xiaowei during the Western Han Dynasty. He was known for his strict law enforcement and upright temperament.
Zhuge Feng was smart since he was a child and read scriptures and history. When he grew up, he had a upright character and was not afraid of powerful people.
Although he offended Emperor Yuan's favored ministers and was framed and dismissed from office, Zhuge's reputation has spread throughout the world.
Later, the Zhuge family has been settling in Langya, first in various counties and then in Yangdu, for hundreds of years.
During this period, the Zhuge family also produced high-ranking officials with a rank higher than that of Qianshi, inherited the family line, and became a famous noble family in Xuzhou.
Zhuge Gui, the father of Zhuge Liang, once served as the magistrate of Taishan County in Yanzhou, with a rank of 600 stones. He was a high-ranking official at the county level. Unfortunately, he died of illness early and failed to leave much political legacy.
That year, Zhuge Jin was fifteen years old and Zhuge Liang was eight years old.
According to the tradition of the Han Dynasty, when Zhuge Jin became an adult, he became independent and supported his stepmother.
Because Zhuge Liang and Zhuge Jun were underage, they were adopted by their father Zhuge Xuan together with their two sisters. They were raised under his knees and treated as their own children.
Zhuge Xuan was born in the Zhuge family of Langya. He was a famous scholar in Xuzhou and had great reputation. He had frequent contacts with Liu Biao, Yuan Shu, and other descendants of aristocratic families active in the capital.
And Zhuge Xuan is very important, not only because he is the father of the Zhuge brothers, who brought them to Jingzhou and had the kindness to raise them.
More importantly, Zhuge Xuan represents the reconciliation between the two major groups, Yuan Shu and Liu Biao.
Historically, there are divergent records about Zhuge Xuan.
It is recorded in the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms that Zhuge Xuan was recommended by Liu Biao and appointed as the governor of Yuzhang to govern Nanchang. Pei Songzhi's supplementary information showed that Zhuge Xuan was appointed as the prefect of Yuzhang by Yuan Shu.
The endings are also completely different. The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms records that he died of illness after being driven away by Zhu Hao, while Pei Songzhi records that he was killed by the Yuzhang people and offered to Liu Yao.
In fact, if you sort it out carefully, is it possible that these two records are both true, but in different chronological order, and they are actually talking about the same thing.
Due to the Incident in Xuzhou, Zhuge Xuan took Zhuge Liang and other juniors south to seek refuge with his old friend Liu Biao. When passing by Yangzhou, he was discovered by Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu, who was extremely flexible in diplomatic methods, saw the useable value in Zhuge Xuan.
As I said before, Yuan Shu was actually very worried at this time. Not only was he caught in the east-west attack of Liu Yao and Liu Biao, but he also had old enemies such as Guo Gong and Cao Cao in the north. In addition, he had ambitions for Xuzhou. It also aroused Liu Bei's fear and hostility, and he was besieged on all sides.
Therefore, it is obvious that Yuan Shu is eager to change his situation.
Cao Cao in the north is temporarily held back by Lu Bu, so there is no need to worry about it. Liu Yao is fighting fiercely with Yuan Shu in Yangzhou. Unless Yuan Shu gives up Yangzhou, it will be difficult to compromise.
Liu Bei's Xuzhou is the direction of Yuan Shu's development, and it is impossible to turn enemies into friends.
After thinking about it, only Jingzhou Liu Biao is the best direction for Yuan Shu to reach a contract.
And once he breaks off with Liu Biao, Yuan Shu will have no worries and can deal with Liu Yao with all his strength, and then go north to fight for Xuzhou.
This also explains why Yuan Shu broke his promise to Sun Ce on the Lujiang issue and became fat.
The location of Lujiang River is extremely important. It is adjacent to the Yangtze River and is the first line of defense on the river with Liu Biao.
And Sun Ce, Liu Biao, and Huang Zu had a grudge against killing their father.
If Sun Ce is placed in Lujiang, how can Yuan Shu adjust the relationship with Liu Biao?
Thank God for not expanding the scale of the war, let alone negotiating a peace.
Therefore, Yuan Shu would rather renege on his promise than let Sun Ce serve as the governor of Lujiang. Liu Xun, who was finally selected, was also a noble son. He had an old relationship with Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, Liu Biao, Huang Zu and others, and they were all good friends in the past.
Such a person staying on the front line can obviously immediately ease the relationship between the two parties.
After Zhuge Xuan arrived, Yuan Shu realized his value very keenly.
If Zhuge Xuan, who is a close friend of Liu Biao, can serve as the governor of Yuzhang, he will create a firewall with Liu Xun of Lujiang, completely separating Yuan Shu's headquarters and Liu Biao's headquarters, allowing the two sides to reach an agreement The realistic basis of the contract.
This is exactly what happened. When Yuan Shu used the talisman of Ma Rixi in his hand, after the death of Zhou Shu, the prefect of Yuzhang, he immediately reported to Zhuge Xuan, the prefect of Yuzhang.
The word "Department" here means agency, a temporary official position, which is a temporary replacement.
The symbol of Ma Rixi played a role in making the people of Yuzhang accept Zhuge Xuan.
Soon, Liu Biao's response came.
In the early days, Zhou Shu, the governor of Yuzhang, died of illness. Liu Biao appointed Zhuge Xuan as the governor of Yuzhang and governed Nanchang.
Liu Biao not only agreed with Yuan Shu's opinion, but also formally declared Zhuge Xuan as the prefect of Yuzhang, without the signature.
Zhuge Xuan's appointment as the governor of Yuzhang was probably the result of the concerted efforts of Yuan Shu and Liu Biao. In fact, after Zhuge Xuan took office as the governor of Yuzhang, Liu Biao and Yuan Shu indeed stopped fighting and negotiated peace. They were no longer hostile to each other and went about their own affairs. .
If this continues, Zhuge Xuan may be able to manage a world in Yuzhang, and he may even evolve into a small warlord.
Unfortunately, Li Jue and Guo Si hated Yuan Shu deeply at this time and refused to recognize Yuan Shu and Liu Biao's performance. Instead, they directly appointed Zhu Hao, the son of Zhu Jun, a famous general in the late Han Dynasty, as Yuzhang. Prefect.
With the official endorsement from the court, Zhu Hao directly drove Zhuge Xuan's family from Nanchang to Xicheng.
Later, whether Zhuge Xuan died in Xicheng, was killed by the people of Jiangxi, offered his head to Liu Yao, or fled back to Jingzhou and died of illness in Xiangyang, it no longer mattered.
At this time, a young man with a narrow and slender face walked out of the Zhuge clan.
Seeing his fourteen-year-old brother standing outside, the young man slowly shook his head.
This young man with a long and narrow face is none other than Zhuge Jin, the eldest son of Zhuge Gui, who is twenty-one years old. The fourteen-year-old boy opposite him will be famous all over the world in the future, and his reputation will be engraved on the backbone of the entire Chinese nation. Above him were Prime Minister Ji Han and Zhuge Liang, the Marquis of Wuxiang.
"Brother, are you still not allowed to obey your father?"
Zhuge Liang is tall, resolute in appearance, with bright eyes and high spirits.
His elder brother Zhuge Jin, on the other hand, has a deep expression and is calm and resolute.
"My father has long wanted to go south to Jingzhou. Last year, there was a war first, and after winter, the road to the south was delayed until now. Now that Langya has been leveled, the road south is clear, and my father has left Liu Shi You are more than a year old, so you naturally want to return as soon as possible. "
The Liu Shijun mentioned by Zhuge Jin is not Liu Bei, but Liu Jingsheng, one of the Eight Horsemen of Jingzhou.
Zhuge Xuan is an old friend and official of Liu Jingsheng. He was an old subordinate of Liu Biao when he was in Jingzhou, and he later went to Hajj on Liu Biao's order.
After learning that his brother Zhuge Gui had died, he hurriedly asked for leave from Liu Biao. After getting Liu Biao's support, he first entered the court, then detoured to Mount Tai, picked up Zhuge Jin, Zhuge Liang and others who had followed their father to Mount Tai, and returned to Yangdu.
After returning to Yangdu, Cao Cao immediately ushered in two expeditions to Xuzhou.
The war is chaotic, and there are bandits and soldiers everywhere. Even if Zhuge Xuan is protected by his own soldiers, he does not dare to go south at this time.
Having no choice but to stay in Yangdu, waiting for the opportunity to go south.
Now that the war has finally calmed down, Zhuge Xuan naturally does not want to wait any longer, and is ready to set off with Zhuge Liang and others. Since Zhuge Jin had established his own business, Zhuge Xuan could only persuade him to go south together instead of forcefully taking him with him.
"Brother, in recent days, it seems that someone is targeting me, the Zhuge family, and spreading the news that I, the Zhuge family, will go south with a large amount of wealth."
Zhuge Liang's height was now close to Zhuge Jin's, exceeding the average for this era.
At this time, his face was full of worry, and he persuaded Zhuge Jin: "This matter has to be guarded against. Now bandits are rampant and soldiers are gathering. If the news of the property attracts their attention, then Going out on the road at this time is no different than walking through the busy city with money."
"If this rumor is really deliberately done, I am afraid that the other party will have other tricks. My Zhuge family is in danger of being overthrown."
Not only did Zhuge Jin not scold his brother for worrying about things, but he also nodded worriedly: "My brother's words are very reasonable, and I have been worried about them recently. I have heard some rumors, but I can't find out where they come from, or if someone is really targeting my family. It's just that I, the Zhuge family, have always been kind to people in Yangdu, and my elders are quite prestigious as officials. I have never made any enemies. I really can't think of who it is. You want to frame my family."
Zhuge Liang shook his head and sighed: "But my uncle refused to believe it,"
He was very worried. By releasing such information, the other party obviously had ill intentions towards the Zhuge family and wanted to use the power of bandits and soldiers to do evil things.
But even though he saw this, he couldn't warn his father, even if he invited his brother, this made him feel powerless.
Zhuge Liang couldn't understand especially Cong's father's insistence on going to Jingzhou to join Liu Biao.
In his opinion, Liu Bei's uprising troops went south and rushed hundreds of miles to rescue Xuzhou and force Cao Cao to retreat. This was a great act of kindness and righteousness.
It should be noted that Liu Bei's move will not do any good, but will instead deplete his own troops. After all, before he came, even Liu Bei himself could not imagine that he would one day take Xuzhou.
Therefore, Zhuge Liang and his brother Zhuge Jin both had a high opinion of Liu Bei. On the contrary, Zhuge Xuan did not like Liu Bei very much. In his opinion, riding into Jingzhou alone with the help of Cai and Kuai, Liu Biao, who killed the leader of the clan robbers, incorporated the clan robbers, stabilized the place, and drove Yuan Shu northward, was a true hero.
Zhuge Jin saw his brother's worries. After thinking for a while, he comforted him: "Second brother, don't panic. I heard that Chen Yuanlong is about to go north to take over the post of prefect. With his ability, he should be able to calm down the situation along the way. The bandits are rebelling against the enemy."
Zhuge Liang nodded helplessly. He tried his best to persuade, but Zhuge Xuan refused to listen.
What is even worse is that Zhuge Xuan went south to Jingzhou this time to avoid the war in the Central Plains.
Therefore, he sold off his land, shops, mansions and other real estate on a large scale in exchange for property, which he planned to take to Jingzhou to buy property.
So this time I went south, I really had a lot of wealth with me, and I couldn’t hide it even if I wanted to.
In this way, there are not a few bandits and soldiers coveting the Zhuge family's motorcade. If there are people scurrying around in the middle, even if there are more than a hundred clan soldiers accompanying them, they may not be able to protect them thoroughly.
According to Zhuge Xuan’s idea, we can set off in early April.
The reason why it has been delayed until now is because Zhuge Liang secretly planned to let the four brothers and sisters take turns pretending to be sick to delay time.
But now this little trick has been noticed by his uncle and it is difficult to use it again.
Although he was very opposed to not working hard and relying on external affairs, but in the current situation, Zhuge Liang could only hope that it would be as his brother said.
*************
The worry of Brother Zhuge is not known to a certain person. He is currently on the school grounds, following Teacher Gongma Taishi Ci learned archery.
When Liu Feng was in Zhuozhou, he did learn economics from his clan. Although his grades were not very good, he was able to pass it by relying on his gift of photographic memory.
As for martial arts, Liu Feng can only be regarded as a trial scholar.
Except for a little bit of riding skills, he knows nothing about it, but his physical fitness is good enough, and he has also trained with Xu Sheng's troops, so he has some foundation.
“The mind is thin and the mind can move at will.”
Taishici picked up his bow and shot out an arrow, hitting the target.
"Master, please see, the arrow I shot just now seems easy, but it is actually the result of many times of hard work, and the basis is the eight words I just mentioned."
Later, Taishi Ci guided Liu Feng's stance and asked him to put on a light bow and practice bowing.
“When drawing the bow, you must use your waist to exert force, and avoid using your arms.”
Tai Shici continued to point out: “If you use your arms to exert force, you will be exhausted after shooting only a few arrows, and your shoulders will even be sore. It's unbearable. But you can exert strength from your waist, but you can maintain sufficient strength and a steady stream of strength."
"In addition, people should stand upright, straighten their chest and back, cross the bow string over the nose, and use the force from the waist to draw the bow. , and then put it down gently."
After some explanation and guidance from Tai Shici, Liu Feng was able to hit the target of twenty steps in just ten days.
Taishi Ci was also very hard during this period. He had to go to the school field to train soldiers in the morning, and in the afternoon he came to teach Liu Feng riding and archery. He was very busy.
The more than 400 Qingzhou warriors he brought were all assigned to Taishi Ci's command by Liu Bei. At the same time, he also transferred Taishan Army and Danyang Army to gather 1,000 men and horses for Taishi Ci. Long and short weapons and other ordnance supplies.
The most precious thing is the two hundred sets of leather armor, which greatly enhances the combat power of Taishi Ci's troops.
After Liu Feng's request, Taishi Ci specially selected forty warriors who were good at shooting and riding and assigned them to him.
Liu Feng used forty Qingzhou heroes as his disciples, plus Niu Erleng, Wang Gui and other Danyang elites, as well as some warriors selected from Chang Xijiang's soldiers, to make up a total of 200 people. It is a separate department, and its name is Rushanying, which means immovable as a mountain.
Although there are only 200 people in this Tunrushhan camp, it is equipped with a full 200 sets of armor, half of which are iron armor, which is equivalent to one set of iron armor for each heavy infantryman.
In order to get so many armors, Liu Feng not only worked hard, but also secretly stole more than a dozen sets of armors seized from Chang Xi and failed to return them. He also collected several sets accumulated by the Xu Sheng family. As well as several sets brought by Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin.
Because Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin were in charge of the navy and fought on the water, they generally did not wear iron armor, but used leather armor with better defense.
Therefore, after seeing that Liu Feng was interested in buying it, the two of them discussed it and simply gave the four or five sets of armor to Liu Feng.
The final bulk was the seventy-eight sets shipped by the Mi family. Without this large amount of iron armor, Liu Feng would probably have to use leather armor to make up for it.
In addition to armor, Rushan Camp is also equipped with twelve war horses, plus sixty strong bows and crossbows, long and short weapons, and armor-breaking small melon hammers. It can be said that it is armed to the teeth.
The selected soldiers are all brave, experienced, and loyal veterans. They can be said to be the most powerful and valuable unit in Liu Feng's hands.
As for the position of this other Sima, Liu Feng thought over and over again and decided to let Pan Zhang take charge personally.
However, before issuing the order, Liu Feng called Pan Zhang for a good talk, and repeatedly emphasized the importance of military discipline. It was strictly forbidden to rob the people and kill good people for merit.
Pan Zhang naturally followed everything. He was promoted by Liu Feng himself. Liu Feng was his lord. How could he not listen to Liu Feng's advice?
Liu Feng naturally took great care of Taishi Ci, Zhou Tai, Jiang Qin and others.
Not only did he spend his own money to buy them leather armor and clothing, he also directly gave them a large amount of goods to help them settle down.
There are indeed many places to spend money. Although Taishi Ci is a powerful man in Qingzhou, Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin are bandits on the river, they all have a lot of money and savings.
However, the financial support from the young master was different after all, and the relationship between them and Liu Feng suddenly became much closer.
Just when Taishi Ci had tutored Liu Feng for a long time, the sun was setting and he was preparing to take a rest.
Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin appeared outside the school with an old water bandit brother.
"Youping, Gongyi, why are you here free?"
Liu Feng was very happy to see Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin.
Although Tai Shici had just arrived in Tancheng, he got acquainted with Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin because of Liu Feng's relationship, and the relationship was pretty good.
Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin had smiles on their faces. There was a hint of excitement in their expressions. They stepped forward and clasped their fists and said, "Young Master, Captain, Tai was chatting with his old brother during his break today. I got it. A piece of news that I feel may be useful to Young Master and Ming Gong, so I came here to report it.”
"Oh."
Liu Feng was immediately interested after hearing this. Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin have calm and resolute personalities and do not like to be frivolous.
The words coming out of their mouths must have some basis.
Looking at the two water bandits behind Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin, they were also looking at him curiously. After meeting Liu Feng's eyes, he first smiled in a flattering manner, then lowered his head.
"Let's go, it's getting late, and this is not the place to talk. You guys go back with me and have dinner together."
Liu Feng greeted Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin, and together with Tai Shici, he took the three of them back to their residence and had a meal together.
Liu Feng's food was naturally much better than the soldiers' meal. Because of the arrival of Zhou Tai, Jiang Qin and others, he specifically asked the kitchen to add more meat and wine.
Liu Feng usually doesn't drink much, but warriors such as Taishi Ci, Zhou Tai, and Jiang Qin are all drunkards.
God knows how Tai Shici could maintain his shooting skills if he was so good at drinking.
After dinner, Liu Feng drove away his servants and started talking.
Taishi Ci wanted to leave, but Liu Feng persuaded him to stay.
"You and I are master and apprentice respectively, and we have the same affection as uncle and nephew. Why should we meet outsiders? Besides, my father regards the teacher as a sibling. Since he is a sibling, he has nothing to say."
Liu Feng's words made Taishi as kind as a spring breeze. He only felt that he could be favored by Liu Bei and his son for two generations. It was really a worthwhile trip and he voted for his lord.
Seeing that there were no outsiders, Liu Feng invited Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin to explain the situation.
The Prime Minister appeared on the stage with tears streaming down his face. He was very nervous about the Prime Minister’s first appearance and hoped to get everyone’s approval. If there are any shortcomings, I would like to apologize in advance. I can only say that I have tried my best.
The road is long and far away. I would like to ask Mr. Rong to outline it slowly and try his best to create a prime minister who is close to history and has flesh and blood. Thank you for your support.
The Battle of Guangling is about to begin. All actors, please come on stage.
(End of this chapter)