Wandering the Heavens

Chapter 386 New 3 Kingdoms 26

Zhang Zhao did not expect Zhuge Liang to be so good at talking nonsense. Considering those noble families in Jingzhou who were ruthless and ruthless, Liu Bei had no foundation at all and could not stand. The fact that he could survive in the governor's mansion for more than half a year was all thanks to the good deeds of his ancestors.

But Zhuge Liang said that Liu Bei couldn't bear to seize the foundation of his fellow clan. What a lie!

"Why do I feel like you are bragging? Sir, you compare yourself to Guan Zhong and Yue Yi. Guan Zhong assisted Duke Huan of Qi to become a hegemon and supported the world, while Yue Yi supported the weak State of Yan and conquered more than 70 cities of Qi. They are well-deserved talents who can help the world."

Zhang Zhao first talked about the deeds of Guan Zhong and Yue Yi, and then talked about Zhuge Liang's assistance to Liu Bei.

"When you were in thatched cottage, you had already looked at the whole world. Now that you have come out to assist Liu Xuande, you should promote benefits for the people, eliminate harm, and wipe out the rebels. However, when Liu Xuande was without you, although he was displaced everywhere, he was able to establish his own territory for a short time."

"Now that he has the support of the Master, everyone feels that Liu Xuande is like a tiger with wings, and his career is about to take off. He is about to revive the Han Dynasty and quell the unrest. The ministers and hermits loyal to the Han Dynasty all think that it is time for the clouds to clear and the moon to appear to save the world and the people."

"I never expected that once you served Liu Xuande, you would abandon the city and flee to Jiangxia when Cao's army came, without even a place to stay. How come your situation is worse than when Liu Xuande fought on his own? I'm a bit blunt, please don't mind."

After hearing what Zhang Zhao said, all the counselors looked up at Zhuge Liang, wondering how he would respond.

After hearing this, Zhuge Liang raised his feather fan to hide his smile for a while before he responded.

"How can ordinary birds understand the realm of the great roc soaring thousands of miles? To treat a serious illness, first give him porridge, then take mild medicine, and wait until his internal organs are in harmony and his body is getting better, then give him meat and strong medicine to treat the disease. If you don't wait until his body is on the right track and give him a lot of strong medicine in the hope of recovering overnight, it will actually leave a greater hidden danger."

"My master Liu Xuande was a vassal of Runan before he surrendered to Liu Biao. He only had a few hundred soldiers and his generals were Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. In this situation, he was just like a dying patient. Xinye is a small place with few people. It's just a temporary shelter. How could he hold on to it forever!"

"As for Liu Cong's surrender, my master really didn't know about it. He couldn't bear to rob his fellow clan of their inheritance. This is true benevolence and righteousness. Victory and defeat when outnumbered is common in the military. Emperor Gaozu lost to Xiang Yu several times, but succeeded in the Battle of Gaixia. Wasn't this because he listened to Han Xin's good advice? Han Xin assisted Emperor Gaozu but never won consecutive victories."

"The safety of the country requires people with real talents and real work to plan. Not people who just talk nonsense but have no ability. When such people start talking, no one can catch up with them. But when they actually do things, they have no ideas at all and can only be laughed at by the world."

After all this chat, Zhang Zhao and others did not dare to answer. Whoever refuted at this time would be the one with only a mouth but no brain.

But the deadlock still needed someone to break it. Yu Fan stroked his beard and bowed to ask.

"Cao Cao now has hundreds of thousands of soldiers and thousands of generals stationed there. He is sweeping across Jingzhou like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves and swallowing up Jiangxia. What do you think of this situation, sir?"

Zhuge Liang glanced at Yu Fan and said, waving his feather fan, "Since Cao Cao was defeated at Guandu, he has taken over the remaining troops in Yan, Qing, and Yu. Now he has gathered the motley crowd in Jingzhou. Although he has many soldiers and generals, there is nothing to be afraid of."

Yu Fan sneered, "The army fled Xinye in a panic and was helpless in Xiakou. They were just asking others for help. And you still have the nerve to say you're not afraid!"

Zhuge Liang still used the rhetoric of "You don't understand the power of my lord Liu Xuande". After a quarrel, no matter it was the situation in the world or personal problems, Zhuge Liang took advantage of the fact that Jiangdong had money and soldiers but no backbone and attacked them to death. During the quarrel, Xue Cong even gave his head and said that the Han Dynasty was about to be finished and someone else should be the emperor.

When the quarrel had almost ended, Huang Gai arrived late and took everyone to the hall to discuss matters. On the way, he met his brother Zhuge Jin. The two brothers exchanged pleasantries and said that they would visit his home after the business was finished.

Before the group reached the patio, they saw a man standing at the door of the hall. He looked like a human being. He walked towards Zhuge Liang and his group with hurried steps.

"Mr. Kong Ming, Lu Zijing has told me about your talents many times. I am fortunate to meet you today. I hope you can teach me something!"

"Mr. Kong Ming, this is my master's younger brother, Sun Zhongmou. He has been selected as a filial and honest official and is now assisting my master in handling Jiangdong affairs."

Lu Su didn't expect Sun Quan to be so blatant. His brother was watching in the house, so he couldn't wait to win people's hearts.

"Zhuge Liang greets Sun Xiaolian. I am a person of limited talent and knowledge, and dare not show my ugliness to you." Zhuge Liang did not understand the meaning and could only respond with a salute.

Sun Ce was in the room watching his brother being so enthusiastic towards Zhuge Liang, and when he heard how Lu Su had praised Zhuge Liang to him many times, he felt increasingly cold in his heart.

In fact, his body was in a half-dead state after the injury, which caused his character to gradually become sinister and vicious, which was inconsistent with the style of the little bully in the past.

He was the one who laid the foundation for Jiangdong, but his younger brother is increasingly having his own ideas.

Sun Quan personally took Zhuge Liang's hand and walked to Sun Ce to introduce him: "Brother, this is Mr. Zhuge Kongming, the younger brother of Zhuge Ziyu."

"Ahem, Mr. Kongming has come from afar, so I cannot stand up to greet him. I hope you can forgive me. Brother, please arrange for Mr. Kongming to sit down, and we can start discussing matters once all the counselors and generals are present!" Sun Ce coughed a few times and responded indifferently.

Sun Quan was a little surprised. Logically speaking, Kong Ming was so famous, and the elder brother who always liked to recruit talents should be happy. Why was he so cold today?

"Thank you, General Sun!"

Zhuge Liang bowed and followed Lu Su to his seat. Soon everyone was present. The counselors and generals sat on both sides, with Zhou Yu and Sun Quan on the left and right. After everyone was seated, Sun Ce began to ask questions.

"Ahem, Mr. Kong Ming has been in contact with Cao's army in Xinye recently, so he must know the strengths and weaknesses of Cao's army!"

Zhuge Liang sighed, "Cao's army is powerful, with a total of more than 500,000 cavalry, infantry and navy."

Sun Quan opened his eyes wide when he heard this: "This is fake, right?"

Zhuge Liang's face turned even uglier. "This is true. Cao Cao recruited more than 300,000 soldiers from Yanzhou, Qingzhou, and Yuzhou. After entering Jingzhou, he received another 200,000 troops from the Cai family."

Lu Su, who was standing nearby, heard Zhuge Liang's nonsense and his face fell as he tried to seduce him, but Zhuge Liang pretended not to see anything.

"Ahem, what generals are under Cao Cao's command?" Sun Ce asked.

"Cao Cao has many generals under his command. The famous ones include Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Cao Chun, his eldest son Cao Ang, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Dian Wei, and Xu Chu. His counselors include Guo Jia, Xun Yu, Xun You, Liu Ye, Cheng Yu, Man Chong, Mao Jie, and many more. As for those whose names cannot be counted, there are even more." Zhuge Liang did not hesitate to give a rough estimate of Cao Cao's family background.

All the counselors took a deep breath after hearing this. How could they fight against the opponent's lineup? It would be better to surrender. Anyway, it was just that Sun couldn't be the county magistrate. After all, she was still the county magistrate's wife.

"Now that Cao Cao has taken Jingzhou, does he have any other plans?" Sun Ce asked again.

"Cao's army set up camp along the river, naturally to plot against Jiangdong." Zhuge Liang said while waving his feather fan.