Chapter 42: The Zhuge clan with many talents

Zhuge Liang's face showed a gloomy look. Since Lu Meng's sneak attack on Jingzhou, in just over a year, Zhu Ran, Lu Meng, Jiang Qin, and Gan Ning in Jiangdong all died at the hands of the Han army. If Zhou Yu was included, the results achieved by the soldiers in Jiangdong would be no worse than Cao Wei.

Because of this, the two sides have deep grudges. If they have a national hatred with Cao Wei, then they have a lot of family relationships with Jiangdong.

Zhuge Liang had contact with Sun Quan, so Zhuge Liang could feel that Sun Quan was not the kind of person with a very strong aura, at least far worse than Cao Cao and Liu Bei, and the opposition of those ministers in Jiangdong was also an insurmountable level.

Even Wu resisted Cao was a strategy that Zhuge Liang set in Longzhong, so Zhuge Liang naturally hoped to continue to implement it. Of course, another reason was that the Cao family was too powerful. If they did not unite with Eastern Wu, Shu Han would have to be more stable. Although it was not easy for Wei to find a bargain in Yongzhou, it was also difficult to eat a piece of meat from Wei.

"Hey... Shi Yuan, you also know that the faster the united Eastern Wu, the better. If you form an alliance with Eastern Wu as soon as possible, you can put some pressure on the Cao family as soon as possible." Zhuge Liang said.

"Kong Ming, this alliance with Jiangdong is not difficult, it is not easy. Let's do this. Let me explore our Majesty's words first. As for Jiangdong, you have to rely on Kong Ming."

"Well, that's fine, I'll write a letter to my brother to see the situation in Jiangdong."

"Your Majesty, this is the news from Yecheng." Jian Yong held a thin document in his hand.

"Is there any special situation?" Adou did not look up, but continued to review the memorials in front of him.

"Your Majesty, Mr. Qiu has heard that Cao Rui has already worshipped Guo as his mother. And I heard that Cao Pi has not been in good health recently. He has not had a morning court in the past month."

"Oh?" Adou raised his head and suddenly asked, "What's going on with my little friend Wang Xiaohu?"

"It's still the same, following Hua Tuo to do chores."

"Are you still doing chores?" Adou nodded thoughtfully and said, "I always feel that this is a bit weird in China."

"weird?"

"Hua Tuo is a miracle doctor of the world. If he can't even cure him, this person will probably be unsuccessful. Judging from the information from Yecheng, Cao Pi's illness is getting worse day by day, so I feel strange. For such a long time, with Hua Tuo's medical skills, the disease can at least not deepen. On the contrary, Cao Pi is getting worse day by day."

"Your Majesty, what is your consciousness?"

"I think it's very likely that the person who made Cao Pi sick is Hua Tuo!"

"What? Your Majesty, your consciousness is that Hua Tuo poisons..."

"Well, keep a close eye on Wang Xiaohu, maybe the truth of the matter will be on him." Adou sighed slightly.

Yecheng.

There are several places in Yecheng that are strictly guarded and outsiders are not allowed to enter. Hua Tuo's residence is one of them.

Hua Tuo knew the inside story of Cao Cao's death, so Cao Pi had long wanted to get rid of Hua Tuo, but now Cao Pi cannot do without Hua Tuo, because only Hua Tuo can make the dragon and tiger pill, so Cao Pi could only patiently and save Hua Tuo's life.

However, Hua Tuo's daily life was strictly monitored. In order to prevent Hua Tuo from leaking information, Hua Tuo was absolutely not allowed to contact outsiders. Hua Tuo's residence was even more strictly guarded, and Hua Tuo had no chance to leave on weekdays.

Hua Tuo Mansion.

Wang Xiaohu stood beside Hua Tuo with a worried look on his face: "Teacher, Your Majesty ate a total of twelve dragon and tiger pills yesterday."

"Yeah, I know, my teacher." Hua Tuo did not react much.

"Teacher, haven't you said before that if you eat too much of this Dragon and Tiger Pill, you may not be alive for a long time. Why don't we reduce the amount slightly!"

"No, to this extent, reducing the amount will be harmful to the body and die faster. Now I have added some things to calm the mind and calm the mind to temporarily neutralize the medicinal properties of the Dragon and Tiger Pill."

Hua Tuo said here and sighed slightly: "But this is not a long-term method after all. I guess, even if it is like this, it will only last for three more months."

After Hua Tuo finished speaking, he took out a brocade cover booklet from his arms and handed it to Wang Xiaohu. He also said, "Xiaohu, this is a personal letter to the teacher and some of his experiences in practicing medicine for the teacher for half of his life. All of them are there. Now I will hand it to you. After a later time, you will take this thing, the farther you go, the better! I have prepared a way to escape for you."

"Teacher, what is your consciousness? What are you going to use?"

"Yes, only the 'City Drunk' can help you escape smoothly. Moreover, this 'City Drunk' will be even better when it comes to fog. There are often fogs in Yecheng at night these days, which is the best chance for you to escape."

"What? No, I can't leave you alone in Teacher! Let's go together!"

"Silly kid, the teacher is old and can't walk anymore. Besides, if both of you and my master and disciple are gone, Cao Pi will definitely send troops to chase him. How far can we go? It's better to stay for the teacher and delay some time..."

Mancheng Zui is a kind of drug invented by Hua Tuo when he was studying Mafei San. He can be drunk when he smells it and can spread with the air. As long as the dosage is sufficient, the powder will be enough to spread throughout the entire city. Therefore, it is called Mancheng Zui, and its power is comparable to that of a large-scale biochemical weapon in later generations.

Hua Tuo calculated that a big city like Yecheng would require at least a thousand pounds of drunkenness in the city to make the whole city dizzy. This kind of drunkenness in the city is very complicated to create, and the materials are very difficult to find, and several of the medicines are rare in the world.

Fortunately, the Wei country has a strong foundation, and Hua Tuo finally collected all the medicines and refined a thousand kilograms of Manchengzhu. Moreover, due to insufficient materials, the efficacy of the medicine was greatly reduced. But Hua Tuo also knew that now Manchengzhuzhu can only refine so much. If you want to refine some more, you have a prescription and no raw materials.

As Hua Tuo expected, it was indeed foggy that night.

Hua Tuo also took advantage of this time to release the whole city of drunkenness. Soon, the whole city of drunkenness filled Yecheng with the air, covering the entire Yecheng.

Depending on the distance, the efficacy of the medicine is different. People who are closer to Hua Tuo Mansion are more severely eroded by the medicine force and will probably sleep for one or two hours, while those who are far away will be confused for half an hour, which is good. However, this is enough for Wang Xiaohu to escape from Yecheng.

Chang'an.

In the court, Zhuge Liang proposed to join forces with Sun Quan in Jiangdong to fight against Cao Pi again.

The ministers in the court immediately started a fierce discussion.

Now that Sun Quan has become emperor, the first thing to allied with Sun Quan is to recognize the legitimacy of Sun Quan's throne. In the eyes of many ministers loyal to the Han Dynasty, Sun Quan is a rebel thief, and it is impossible to recognize the legitimacy of the rebel thief.

Others expressed their agreement. Cao Wei was powerful, and everyone knew that even if they could stop Wei State by relying on the territory of the two states of Shu Han, they could only be said to be barely forced.

In later generations, the Xianbei people established the Northern Wei, and later the Northern Wei split into the Eastern Wei and Western Wei, and later it was divided into Northern Qi and Northern Zhou. The situation at that time was similar to that now. Northern Qi occupied Guandong, Northern Zhou occupied Guanzhong, and Southern Dynasties were peaceful south of the Yangtze River, just like Wei, Shu and Wu in the Three Kingdoms. The final outcome was that the Northern Zhou occupied Guanzhong destroyed the Northern Qi in the east and unified the north. Later, Yang Jian, the powerful minister of the Northern Zhou usurped the throne, established the Great Sui, destroyed the Southern Chen, and unified the world.

However, at that time, the demise of Northern Qi was more due to the Northern Qi itself. At that time, several generations of foolish emperors had produced many stupid emperors, with heavy taxes and frequent corvee labor, which caused the treasury to be empty, and the Northern Zhou Dynasty took advantage of the situation and entered.

But at that time, the population of Northern Zhou was overwhelming from Northern Qi. The Northern Zhou emperor managed to recuperate for several generations. Before the Northern Zhou unified the north, there were nearly five million households and 30 million people. However, there were only three million households and more than 20 million people at that time, and there was a gap in population.

However, now, Hebei, Sili and other places have been cultivated for more than ten years and have gradually recovered their vitality. Yongzhou has just experienced a disaster and lost population, so the Shu Han is still far less powerful than the Wei State.

Besides, when there is a problem within the Wei State itself, it will take power to the Sima family. Cao Pi is not dead yet, and Sima Shi and Sima Zhao are still half-aged children. It has been too long until everyone knows Sima Zhao’s intentions!

A Dou couldn't wait, and some of the older ministers in the court could not wait. The reputation of the founding heroes is not ordinary tempting. Older people live one day less. If they can't wait for the day when A Dou decides to dominate the world, wouldn't it be a big loss if their names are missing on the list of founding heroes?

In the end, after many days of discussion, Adou decided to join Sun Quan, and all this mainly depends on whether Sun Quan is willing or not.

Next is to discuss the candidates for the mission to Jiangdong.

In the past, Sun Qian was the one who went to Jiangdong, Chen Zhen and Yi Ji, but now Sun Qian died of illness, Yi Ji and Chen Zhen both became Shangshu, so it is definitely impossible for him to go to Jiangdong again.

At this time, Pang Tong proposed that the Changshui Chief Zhuge Jun be sent to Jiangdong.

Zhuge Jun is Zhuge Liang's younger brother and Zhuge Jin's younger brother. First, he sent Zhuge Jun to Jiangdong. The soldiers of Jiangdong would not make things difficult for Zhuge Jun due to Zhuge Jin's face. At the same time, Zhuge Jin also needed to facilitate the alliance with Jiangdong. It was most appropriate to send Zhuge Jun to go.

Since Zhuge Jun served in Shu Han, he has not done much, so he can only be considered a matter of perfunctory. Compared with his two brothers, Zhuge Jun is far inferior. However, this does not mean that Zhuge Jun has no talent. If Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang are both talents of prime ministers who govern the world, then Zhuge Jun is still more than enough to govern a state.

However, Zhuge Liang has a good reputation. Zhuge Liang is afraid that others will say that he is nepotism, so he has never promoted Zhuge Jun too much. Moreover, Zhuge Liang is very strict with his younger brother. For ordinary officials, Zhuge Jun can do 100% of his work, but he still doesn't get Zhuge Liang's praise.

If Pang Tong hadn't proposed it today, Zhuge Liang would probably have never mentioned his younger brother.

Zhuge Liang also understood that no one was more suitable to go to Jiangdong than his own brother. However, in order to avoid suspicion, Zhuge Liang did not say a word. He did not express support or objection.

Finally, Adou made a decision to go to Jiangdong by himself.

Jingzhou.

After being anxious with Sima Yi for so long, Lu Xun gradually realized that the gap in national strength could not be smoothed out in a short time.

Although Jiangdong occupied a large sphere of influence and territory, its population was good. From the south of Kuaiji and Jingzhou south of the Yangtze River, there were no people living there. Without a population, there would be no productivity and no source of troops. On the other hand, Cao Wei occupied the vast Central Plains, and even Youzhou and Bingzhou in the north were not much worse than those in Jiangdong.

At this time, Lu Xun finally understood how correct Zhou Yu’s choice was back then.

Thinking about Zhou Yu, who racked his brains for Jingzhou, made all kinds of wisdom and kept making trouble for Liu Bei. However, on the contrary, Zhou Yu never broke up with Liu Bei, and the two sides still maintained an alliance. Because at that time, Zhou Yu understood that Cao Cao was a giant, and even if he occupied Jingzhou alone, he would not be Cao Cao's opponent.

Zhuge Liang seemed to understand this. The two sides kept fighting wits in secret, but they still maintained an alliance and maintained a tacit understanding between allies and opponents.

Thinking of this, Lu Xun shook his head helplessly. Zhou Yu is worthy of being one of the best geniuses in the world. He may not be worse than Zhou Yu in war, but in this overall situation, he is far inferior to Zhou Yu, and even cannot compare with Lu Su.

At this moment, Lu Xun suddenly thought of Lu Meng.

When he attacked Jingzhou, Sun Quan was only in his thirties and was somewhat indecisive. If Lu Meng had not patted his chest and said that he could take down Jingzhou, Sun Quan would not have agreed to attack Jingzhou. As a result, Jingzhou had been captured, but half of the Jiangdong general died, and even Lu Meng himself had a different body and head.

After careful calculation, Lu Meng and other soldiers died because they wanted to kill Guan Yu. Guan Yu was indeed defeated by Maicheng, but he finally escaped. If Lu Meng had not wanted Guan Yu's life that day, he might not have been trapped.

Now that I slowly recalled the situation that day, Lu Xun understood that it was okay to seize Jingzhou. After all, the two sides had agreed that Jingzhou was borrowed by Liu Bei, and Liu Bei was at most a loss to be taken back by Jiangdong, but Guan Yu was absolutely unable to kill him. In a sense, Guan Yu was no longer just a military general, but a symbol, a symbol of the face of Shu Han.

"Sir, should you treat each other with admiration?" Lu Xun shook his head mockingly and sighed slightly: "Brother Zijing, although Amon is no longer Amon on the day of Wuxia, Amon is still Amon, how can he replace Zhou Gongjin!"

"The General, there is a man who claims to be an envoy from Chang'an, named Zhuge Jun, who asked to see the General." The voice of the junior school interrupted Lu Xun's contemplation.

"Zhuge Jun? It sounds very familiar. By the way, isn't Brother Ziyu's youngest brother named Zhuge Jun?" Lu Xun immediately recalled that the third brother of the Zhuge family was named Zhuge Jun.

"What are Zhuge Jun here for? Could it be that he is here to visit relatives?" Lu Xun smiled slightly, and then said, "Go and invite Mr. Zhuge in, well... This Mr. Zhuge is the younger brother of General Zhuge Jin. You can't neglect you when you go there."

Lu Xun personally sent someone to escort Zhuge Jun from the Yangtze River to Huainan to meet Sun Quan. At this time, Zhuge Jin was also in Shouchun.

With Zhuge Jin here, Zhuge Jun's journey was much smoother, and he entered Shouchun City safely and did not suffer from difficulties from the ministers of Jiangdong.

When Zhuge Liang went to Jiangdong, he used to fight against many scholars. At that time, Zhuge Jin had just become a small official, so the Confucian scholars in Jiangdong would make things difficult for Zhuge Liang. Now Zhuge Jin is a general, with one person above ten thousand people. Even if someone wants to make things difficult for Zhuge Jun, if another person wants to fight against many scholars, he has to consider Zhuge Jin's face.

Similarly, Sun Quan did not give Zhuge Jun any advice for Zhuge Jin's sake, but only received Zhuge Jun according to the general etiquette of receiving foreign envoys. When Zhuge Jun saw Sun Quan, he directly explained his idea of ​​hoping to form an alliance with Jiangdong.

Like Shu, the ministers of the Eastern Wu in Shouchun also had a fierce discussion. Those who supported and opposed each other refused to give in. The two sides fought for more than ten days, but there was no result in any discussion.

Shouchun, in the palace.

Sun Quan stood beside the small pond, looking at the fish swimming in the water.

A piece of fish food fell, and the small fish immediately rushed over, stirring the calm water surface.

Sun Quan smiled slightly, and his originally tense heart suddenly relaxed a little. Then Sun Quan took the teacup from the eunuch, took a sip of the tea, closed his eyes, savored the fragrance of the tea, and enjoyed this rare leisure.

In the distance, a young man in his twenties came over. Sun Quan looked up and saw that it was Zhuge Ke.

"Haha, Yuan Xun is here, come here!" Sun Quan called Zhuge Ke closer.
To be continued...