In the "Table of Teachers", Zhuge Liang wrote
"The first lord is not despicable, but the three are in the grass"
Therefore, when people talk about Zhuge Liang, who has not yet come out of the mountain, they usually think that he is just a "poor student" with no background, no connections, and cultivating the countryside.
In fact, Zhuge Liang is not a poor student, this is just his self-humility. Zhuge Liang had a deep background and circle of contacts in Jingzhou, and was related to the Jingzhou Wang clan, and Liu Biao, the mu of Jingzhou, was even his uncle.
From Xuzhou to Jingzhou.
Zhuge Liang was a native of Langya, Xuzhou (now Linyi, Shandong Province), whose family was a local noble family and had produced many high-ranking officials, his father Zhuge Jue had served as a county magistrate in Taishan County, and his mother was Zhang. There are five brothers and sisters in the family, Zhuge Liang is the fourth oldest, there are two older sisters, older brother Zhuge Jin and younger brother Zhuge Jun.
Although he was born into the Wang clan, Zhuge Liang's early life was relatively miserable, he lost his mother at the age of three and his father at the age of eight. His elder brother Zhuge Jin was forced to make a living and went south to Jiangdong to earn a living, separated from his brothers and sisters. Zhuge Liang and his sister and brother followed their uncle Zhuge Xuan to Yuzhang and left their hometown.
However, Zhuge Xuan did not go well in Yuzhang. In 195, he was defeated by Zhu Hao, because Zhuge Xuan and Liu Biao had an old relationship, so he took his nephews and nieces to Liu Biao and lived in Jingzhou. In 197, Zhuge Xuan died of illness, and Zhuge Liang and his brothers and sisters worked hard to cultivate Longzhong, when he was only 16 years old.
Marriage to the Jingzhou Wang clan.
His brother Zhuge Jin was not around, and the burden of the family naturally fell on Zhuge Liang. Since the two sisters have reached marriageable age, it has become a top priority to find a mother-in-law for them. If you can find a Jingzhou wang family and a large household, it can not only reduce Zhuge Liang's burden, but also have great benefits for Zhuge Liang's future.
And Zhuge Liang's two sisters are married well.
The eldest sister married Ku Qi. The Ku clan was a member of the Jingzhou Wang clan, and Qu Liang and Ku Yue were brothers of the same clan as Qu Qi, who were important subordinates of Liu Biao, who made great contributions to Liu Biao's domination of Jingzhou and had a strong influence in Jingzhou. Ku Yue submitted to Cao Cao and was promoted to Guanglu Xun. He went to Fangling Taishou , but was killed by Meng Da in 219.
The second sister married Pang Shanmin. Although Pang Shanmin was not famous, his father Pang Degong was a famous hermit and critic of jingxiang, and was quite famous in Jingzhou. Character appraisal is a unique political custom of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and if unpublished people can know the positive evaluation of famous critics, it will have a beneficial impact on their careers. Cao Cao was given Xu Shao because of this
"The powerful subject of the son ruling the world, the adulterous male of the chaotic world"
The evaluation was overjoyed.
Similarly, if anyone can get the praise of Pang Degong, then he will inevitably become a "hot" figure in the circle of Wei jingzhou scholars. Zhuge Liang, with this layer of in-law relationship, won the high praise of Pang Degong and was called by Pang Degong
"Wolong"
, so it is well-known in Jingzhou.
In addition, Pang Degong also referred to his nephew Pang as a collective
"Phoenix Chicks"
Therefore, Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong are old acquaintances.
Under the care of the two older sisters, Zhuge Liang and his younger brother Zhuge Jun's life was actually not bad. Zhuge Liang sang "Liang Fu Yin" every day, read the countryside, traveled from time to time to socialize, made friends, and this day was also a good day.
He is close to Jingzhou Mu Liu Cousin.
The two sisters got married, and in the blink of an eye, Zhuge Liang also reached the age of talking about marriage. Zhuge Liang was a standard Shandong Han, and history recorded him
"Eight feet long, very good looking"
In addition to its frequent work in the field, it must be very long. It is also known as "Wolong" by Pang Degong, which can be called both talent and appearance.
Such Zhuge Liang certainly did not worry about finding a good wife, and his family background was at least similar to that of his two brothers-in-law. It is true that Zhuge Liang and Liu Biao climbed up to the same page.
Zhuge Liang's wife is Huang, and folklore is Huang Yueying. Huang's father, Huang Chengyan, married the eldest daughter of the famous Jingzhou scholar Cai Xie, and Cai Xie's second daughter married Liu Biao, the mu of Jingzhou. According to the northerners, Huang Chengyan and Liu Biao are in a conjoined relationship, Liu Biao is Huang's uncle, and now that Zhuge Liang has married Huang, Liu Biao has naturally become Zhuge Liang's uncle.
After seeing this relationship, we can understand why Zhuge Liang, who is both talented and beautiful, wants to marry the "ugly girl Ah Huang". Because Zhuge Liang's wife caused quite a stir at that time, people ridiculed Zhuge Liang for marrying an ugly wife, and also made up a smooth sarcastic remark
"Mo Zuo Kong Ming chooses a woman, just get a cheng ugly woman"
。
Did Zhuge Liang really suffer losses? Obviously not, and climbing up with Jingzhou Mu Liu Biao will certainly be of great benefit to his career.
However, it is very strange that Zhuge Liang did not work under Liu Biao, but continued to cultivate the mountains and wilderness.
According to common sense, Zhuge Liang will definitely come out of this regard, find an official and a half-post under Liu Biao, and give full play to his outstanding talents. However, Zhuge Liang did not do this, and after marrying his wife, he still cultivated the mountains and wilderness as before, and his life did not change in the slightest. Why?
It wasn't that Zhuge Liang didn't want to be out of the way, though he was
"Don't seek to reach the princes"
, but always
"Self-comparison Guan Zhong, Le Yi",
It can be seen that becoming an official is his stated goal. And he did not do things under Liu Biao's hands because in Zhuge Liang's view, Liu Biao was not the Lord, and his talents could not be fully utilized here in Liu Biao.
Zhuge Liang said to Liu Bei in "Longzhong Pair"
Jingzhou is bounded by Han and Chu in the north, the South China Sea in the east, Wuhui in the east, And tumba in the west, and Shu, which is a country with martial arts, and its lord cannot defend it. ”
In Zhuge Liang's eyes, Liu Biao had no ability to guard the land of Jingzhou. This is not without reason.
At this time, Liu Biao was more than 60 years old, and he was already an elderly person at that time. At this age, Liu Biao has lost the determination to win the world, and there are many mentalities of getting by and getting by, and the atmosphere up and down Jingzhou is the same. Even Liu Bei, who had been on horseback for many years, was able to spend 6 years in Jingzhou without incident
"Reinvigorated hips"
, which made him cry and lament that he could not see any hope for the future. Therefore, Zhuge Liang's departure from Jingzhou at this time will certainly not be reused, and his talents and ambitions cannot be brought into play.
Secondly, Liu Biao has revealed the intention of abolishing Chang Li and becoming young, and after his death, there will be civil unrest in Jingzhou. After Liu Biao took charge of Jingzhou, in order to win over the Jingzhou scholars, he married Cai Shi, the eldest daughter of Cai Shi, and reused Cai Mao's younger brother Cai Mao, and married cai's niece for his younger son Liu Zhen, who covered the sky with one hand in Jingzhou. Liu Qi, the eldest son of Liu Biao, was thus ostracized, and Liu Chun's succession to Liu Biao's throne was the trend of the times, and Jingzhou was bound to split.
In the chaotic era of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was not a wise move to abolish Chang Li and be young, and it would inevitably lead to the overthrow, and Yuan Shao was the best example. If Zhuge Liang is out of Jingzhou at this time, he will inevitably choose to take sides. For the sake of justice, Zhuge Liang should side with Liu Qi, but this is not good for Zhuge Liang, and he is powerless to change the political pattern of Jingzhou. For personal gain, Zhuge Liang and Cai Shi's relationship was closer, and it was natural for him to support Liu Chun, but this violated Zhuge Liang's principles, so Zhuge Liang was caught in a dilemma and difficult to choose.
Third, Cao Cao would soon send an army to the south, Liu Chun was powerless to resist and would inevitably surrender to Cao Cao, and Zhuge Liang did not want to defect to Cao Cao. Zhuge Liang was a native of Xuzhou, and Cao Cao had slaughtered the city in 194 during his conquest of Tao Qian, leaving no chickens and dogs where he passed. Although Zhuge Liang had left his hometown at this time, when he heard the news, he must have a grudge against Cao Cao. At the same time, Zhuge Liang's ambition was to support the imperial court and revive the Han Dynasty. However, Cao Cao "blackmailed the Son of Heaven and ordered the princes", which was the goal of Han Zhuge Liang's "revenge on thieves". He and Cao Cao were two people.
Zhuge Liang predicted that Liu Chun would inevitably surrender in the face of Cao Cao's southern expedition, and the Jingzhou courtiers would also be attached. If Zhuge Liang came out of Liu Biao, it was inevitable that he would have this fate. Although he can abandon his official position, he will make the lord bend his knees and be a thief, which is ultimately a stain on his career.
Therefore, even though Liu Biao was Zhuge Liang's uncle, but he was not the Lord, Zhuge Liang still chose to continue to cultivate the countryside and hide in the grass.
And he chose Liu Bei, but he was moved by Liu Bei's sincerity.
Zhuge Liang was not completely in hiding, but was waiting for the Ming Lord, otherwise he would not have had to make friends with scholars everywhere and expand his popularity. And Liu Bei is not getting by in Jingzhou, and has been recruiting talents to achieve great things. It can be seen that the needs of the two are completely compatible, and the only thing missing is mutual understanding.
Under the recommendation of Xu Shu and others, Liu Bei knew that there was such a number one person as Zhuge Liang, so he tried to visit this Mr. Wolong, and there was an allusion to "Three Gu Maolu". The plot of Sangu Maolu is not necessarily like in the novel, because "three" can be represented many times in ancient Chinese, and the famous "Longzhong pair" is not necessarily proposed by Zhuge Liang at one time.
I think it is likely that in the many interviews between the two men, Zhuge Liang impressed Liu Bei with his talent, especially Zhuge Liang's exquisite analysis of the current situation put forward a strategic concept for Liu Bei, which made him firm in his confidence to continue to persist. Liu Bei, on the other hand, impressed Zhuge Liang with sincerity, especially Liu Bei's ability to go to see Zhuge Liang many times, which showed his sincere intention of seeking talent. Coupled with the fact that he always insisted on resisting Cao Cao, was tenacious and unyielding, and took Kuang Fu Han Room as his responsibility, this was completely consistent with Zhuge Liang's ambition.
More importantly, what Liu Bei lacks now is a talent like Zhuge Liang, and Zhuge Liang's talent will inevitably be fully displayed here in Liu Bei. So he finally abandoned his uncle Liu Biao and chose to follow Liu Bei.