noffsinger Chapter 398 Zhuge Liang Expelled from the Zhuge Family? Zhuge Dan: I'm Here!
Chapter 398 Zhuge Liang Expelled from the Zhuge Family? Zhuge Dan: I'm Here!
Zhuge Jin left Liu Biao's residence in a daze and dejected state.
After Kuai Yue proposed surrendering, Cai Mao's attitude gradually became ambiguous.
As a result, Liu Biao also became hesitant.
There's nothing we can do about it; it's just human nature.
Liu Biao was old, very, very old.
He couldn't act rashly just for the sake of his own courage; he had to think about his two sons, Liu Qi and Liu Cong.
Jingzhou, especially its northern part, would certainly not be able to withstand Cao Cao's relentless bombardment.
The Xiangyang of the late Han Dynasty was different from the Xiangyang of the Song Dynasty.
The city of Xiangyang in the Song Dynasty was moved south, making it more than ten times more difficult to attack than the present-day Xiangyang!
The Mongols spent six years besieging Xiangyang, lost a Khan, and gained nothing.
The current Liu Biao clearly lacks the courage that the Song Dynasty's Xiangyang garrison had when fighting against the Mongol soldiers.
Is it really wise to be an enemy of Cao Cao's army?
However, Liu Biao treated Zhuge Jin with the same kindness and amiability as before.
Not only were plenty of food provided for Zhuge Jin, but also a carriage and a boat were prepared for him to return to Jiangdong.
Before returning to Jiangdong, Zhuge Jin hoped to meet Zhuge Qi, Zhuge Liang, and Zhuge Jun, and Liu Biao readily agreed.
……
After visiting Zhuge Qi and Zhuge Jun in Xiangyang City, Zhuge Jin went straight to Shuijing Academy.
After paying his respects to Sima Hui, Zhuge Jin met his second brother, Zhuge Liang.
To briefly describe Zhuge Liang's height, he was a tall man, not thin at all, and even had some muscles.
It's impossible for someone to be fair-skinned and beardless.
However, Zhuge Liang was dressed very neatly, with a refined and scholarly air, and he also had a white feather fan hanging at his waist.
Zhou Yu also had a fan, which can be considered a common feature between the two.
However, Zhou Yu always had a sword clipped to his side next to his fan, which is a distinguishing feature.
"Brother."
"It's been a long time. What brings you here today?"
Zhuge Liang expressed his suspicions about Zhuge Jin's arrival.
With his intelligence, he naturally knew that Zhuge Jin would not easily travel all the way from Jiangdong.
After all, Sun Quan and Liu Biao were enemies, and they didn't even send envoys to each other on ordinary days. The arrival of his elder brother Zhuge Jin must have been on Sun Quan's orders.
Upon hearing this, Zhuge Jin did not directly answer Zhuge Liang's question, but instead smiled and asked:
"Kongming, what is your opinion on Cao Cao's next military action after unifying the north?"
Between Zhuge Jin, Zhuge Qi, and Zhuge Jun, they did not discuss official matters, but only showed concern for each other as elder brothers.
But for Zhuge Liang, it served as a test.
"Brother, Cao Cao will definitely march south to attack Jingzhou within a year or two or three years!"
"Let Liang guess."
"Brother, you've come today on Sun Quan's orders to forge an alliance with your uncle, haven't you?"
Zhuge Jin clapped his hands and said:
"As expected of Kongming, even though he was in Xiangyang, he had a clear understanding of the situation and the general trend of the world."
Zhuge Liang looked modest and shook his feather fan.
"Brother, I was merely offering a humble suggestion."
"But Liang has something to tell his elder brother."
"My maternal uncle was both the governor of Jingzhou and the father of my two cousins."
"Furthermore, my uncle is old, and Cai Mao, Kuai Yue and others are terrified of Cao."
"It will probably not be easy to convince my uncle to resist Cao."
Zhuge Liang offered his own assessment.
Upon hearing this, Zhuge Jin buried his face in his hands in sorrow.
Zhuge Liang's guess was absolutely correct; this was indeed the case. Liu Biao refused to unite with Sun Quan to resist Cao Cao!
Seeing his elder brother's sad expression, Zhuge Liang comforted him:
“Brother, although my uncle-in-law has no intention of resisting Cao, things are not without hope.”
"Now, under my maternal uncle's command, my maternal uncle and Kuai Yue are gradually leaning towards surrendering to Cao Cao." (My maternal uncle refers to Cai Mao)
"But neither Huang Zu nor Liu Bei had any interest in joining Cao Cao."
"Please return to Jiangdong first, brother, and report the truth to General Sun."
"Liang will also be in Xiangyang, keeping an eye out for his elder brother."
"Very well, Kongming, then I will prepare to return to Jiangdong."
"Please take good care of your sister and Ah Jun as well."
Thinking of Zhuge Liang growing up into a strong and upright man, Zhuge Jin felt quite gratified.
"Don't worry, brother. With Liang here, everything will be fine."
The two Zhuge brothers bid each other farewell.
And at the same time
Xuzhou
Langya County
Zhuge Sheng, the then head of the Zhuge family, had some ulterior motives after hearing that Cao Cao had pacified Liaodong and reorganized Liaozhou.
Since abandoning Zhuge Xuan and the four Zhuge siblings, the Zhuge family of Langya has remained largely inactive for many years.
It's not that there's no one in the clan, it's that they dare not place bets recklessly!
Initially, Tao Qian occupied Xuzhou.
The Zhuge family knew perfectly well how mature and experienced they were.
Later, Xuzhou became Liu Bei's possession, but before he could even enjoy it, it fell into Cao Cao's hands.
The speed of the updates and replacements left the Zhuge family speechless.
The Zhuge family is different from the three ultimate families: the Yuzhou family, the Nanyang family, and the Jizhou family.
Others dared to bet on multiple fronts, but the Zhuge family at that time did not.
Making the wrong investment can lead to the decline of a family, or even a fall from a prestigious family to a poor one!
As for later generations saying that the Zhuge family had people holding high positions in the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu, and Wu, they were hedging their bets on all three fronts.
The main reason is that Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang, who have almost been expelled from the Zhuge family of Langya, are very capable!
Originally, even the Zhuge family themselves didn't expect the two of them to be so amazing.
Now, Cao Cao has already occupied eight northern provinces, and with the addition of the newly established Liao Province, he now controls nine provinces.
The Zhuge family inevitably became anxious.
If you can't eat meat, you should at least drink some soup, right?
Hurry up and send your family members to Cao Cao to serve as officials!
Zhuge Sheng carefully selected his own son, Zhuge Dan, from within his family.
Well, as the head of the family, he inevitably has some ulterior motives.
Zhuge Dan bid farewell to his father, Zhuge Sheng, and followed the route of Chen Deng, who also came from a prominent family in Xuzhou, heading to Xuchang with the intention of taking up an official post.
……
"This humble one, Zhuge Dan, greets Uncle Yuanlong."
Zhuge Dan first went to Pengcheng to meet Chen Deng.
Since he was going to join Cao Cao's camp through Chen Deng's connections, he definitely had to maintain that relationship.
Chen Deng sized up the young Zhuge Dan and smiled:
"Yes, very energetic."
"After arriving in Xuchang, take this letter to the Imperial Guard's office for a visit."
"Remember, you must say it's a letter from my own hand; otherwise, you'll most likely never get to see the Commandant of the Guards."
Chen Deng handed the prepared letter to Zhuge Dan.
As Su Yu's sworn brother, Chen Deng has shown Su Yu a lot of filial piety over the years.
During festivals and holidays, large quantities of Xuzhou specialties were sent to Su Yu's residence.
Specialty products, of course, can't just be simple specialty products.
Lady Gan, originally Liu Bei's wife, known as the "White Jade Beauty," was also collected by Chen Deng and sent to Su Yu.
Therefore, although Chen Deng and Su Yu, these two sworn brothers, rarely saw each other, their relationship was still quite good.
"Yes! I will heed Uncle Yuanlong's teachings."
Zhuge Dan was very obedient; he knew the principle that listening to advice leads to a full stomach.
Chen Deng nodded with considerable appreciation.
Over the years, most of the "talented individuals" who were ignorant of their own limitations, arrogant and conceited, and opposed his sworn brother, have been sent to the Ministry of Personnel.
Zhuge Dan is a very good kid; it seems he has no chance of getting into the Minister's mansion.
……