Zhuge Jin (174–241), courtesy name Ziyu, was a native of Yangdu, Langya (present-day Yinan, Shandong). As a major vassal of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Jin was the brother of Zhuge Liang, the chancellor of the Shu Han Dynasty, and the father of Taifu Zhuge Ke. When Zhuge Jin was young, he toured Luoyang and read the Book of Poetry, the Book of Shang, and the Spring and Autumn of the Zuo Dynasty. Zhuge Jin's birth mother died early, and he was praised by the people for all the etiquette during the period of filial piety, serving his stepmother respectfully and cautiously.
In the fifth year of Jian'an (200), Zhuge Jin avoided chaos in Jiangdong because of the war in the Central Plains. Sun Quan's sister-in-law Qu Ahongzhi met Zhuge Jin, was amazed by his talent, and recommended him to Sun Quan. Since then, Zhuge Jin, like Lu Su and others, has become a close confidant of Sun Quan. Correspondingly, Zhuge Jin's younger brother Zhuge Liang remained in Jingzhou. Around 207 AD, after Liu Beisan took care of Maolu, Zhuge Liang officially came out of the mountains. So, the question is, after Zhuge Jin served Sun Quan, why did Zhuge Liang not defect to Eastern Wu, but instead chose Liu Bei?
One
First of all, in the author's opinion, the reason why Zhuge Liang did not choose to serve Sun Quan is mainly divided into the following points. As far as the first point is concerned, it is because eastern Wu is full of talents, and Zhuge Liang is not a person who is willing to submit to others. In 200 AD, Sun Ce was attacked by assassins while hunting in Dantu, and soon after, Sun Ce died of illness and Sun Quan began to take charge of Jiangdong. After Sun Quan ascended the throne, he not only had Zhou Yu, Zhang Zhao, Cheng Pu and other old ministers left by Sun Jian and Sun Ce, but he also recruited Zhuge Jin, Lu Su, Lu Xun, Lü Dai, Bu Qi and other talents.
Therefore, even if Zhuge Liang received Zhuge Jin's recommendation and came to Eastern Wu, it would be difficult for him to become Sun Quan's right hand man. In the second year of Jian'an (197), Zhuge Xuan died, Zhuge Liang lived in seclusion in Longzhong, usually liked to recite "Liang Fu Yin", and often compared himself to Guan Zhong and Le Yi, when people were dismissive of him, only his friends Xu Shu and Cui Zhouping believed in his talents.
When he lived in seclusion in Jingzhou, Zhuge Liang aspired to become a figure like Guan Zhong and Le Yi. Therefore, he hoped that the strength of the auxiliary lord could not be strong, but this lord must give him a big stage to fully display his talents. Compared with Sun Quan, who owned a party foundation, Liu Bei, who had almost no foothold, could undoubtedly give it a go and let Zhuge Liang control the direction of progress.
Two
As far as the second reason is concerned, Jingzhou and Jiangdong have been at war for a long time, and the relationship between the two sides is relatively tense. As early as 192 AD, Sun Quan's father Sun Jian led an army to attack Jingzhou, and as a result, Liu Biao sent Huang Zu to meet the enemy, who successfully shot Sun Jian. Because of the revenge of killing his father, after Sun Ce pacified Jiangdong, he led an army to attack Jingzhou. By 200 AD, Sun Quan was in charge of Jiangdong, and he also fought liu biao in Jingzhou many times.
For Zhuge Liang, his father-in-law Huang Chengyan and Liu Biao were in a consort relationship. As for Zhuge Liang's eldest sister, she was married to a local scholar in Jingzhou, Pu Qi. From this point of view, Zhuge Liang and Liu Biao also have a certain in-law relationship. On this basis, if Zhuge Liang left Jingzhou and went to Jiangdong to join Sun Quan, the latter would most likely suspect Zhuge Liang's motives. Coupled with the tension between Jingzhou and Jiangdong, Sun Quan would not be assured of appointing Zhuge Liang. For Zhuge Liang, who is brilliant in wisdom, he will naturally anticipate this. Therefore, he has no intention of serving Sun Quan.
Three
For the third reason, Zhuge Liang was loyal to the Han Dynasty, which was more in line with Zhuge Liang's ambitions than Sun Quan, who had divided Jiangdong and assisted Liu Bei, a descendant of the Han Dynasty. Zhuge Liang was born in the fourth year (181) of the Han Ling Emperor Guanghe in a family of officials in Yangdu County, Langya County, Zhuge Shi was a noble family of Langya, the ancestor Zhuge Feng had served as a lieutenant during the Reign of Emperor Yuan of the Western Han Dynasty, and Zhuge Liang's father Zhuge Jue had served as a Taishan Commandery in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.
For this reason, Zhuge Liang's feelings for the Han Dynasty were relatively deep. Of course, after coming to Jingzhou, he found that Liu Biao, a descendant of the Han Dynasty, did not have the ideal of supporting the Han Room at all, so he did not consider assisting Liu Biao. As for Sun Quan, the prince, he not only had nothing to do with the Han Room, but also did not show a move to revive the Han Room.
In the twelfth year of Jian'an (207), Zhuge Liang was again recommended by Xu Shu, and Liu Bei hoped that Xu Shu would lead Xu Shu to meet him, but Xu Shu suggested: "This person can go to see him, but he cannot be bent here." Generals should condescend to visit each other. Liu Bei personally went to visit and went many times before he saw Zhuge Liang. For Liu Bei, he not only had the goal of Supporting the Han Room, but also impressed Zhuge Liang with the sincerity of the Three Gu Maolu.
Four
Finally, Zhuge Liang then told Liu Beichen about the plan of dividing the world into three parts, which was called "Longzhong Pair" in later generations. After hearing this, Liu Bei praised zhuge liang and invited zhuge liang to come out of the mountain to help, so Zhuge Liang went out of the mountain and entered the curtain. Liu Bei often talked with him, and his relationship became increasingly close. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and others were greatly displeased, and Liu Bei explained to them: "I have Kong Ming, just like a fish gets water, I hope you will not say it again." Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and others stopped complaining. Zhuge Liang's "Longzhong Pair" was the basic national policy of Liu Bei and Shu Han in the following decades, when Zhuge Liang was 27 years old.
In 208, Zhuge Liang personally came to Jiangdong and persuaded Sun Quan to resist Cao Cao together. After the Battle of Chibi, Zhuge Liang assisted Liu Bei in capturing four counties south of Jingzhou. In 211 AD, Liu Bei entered Yizhou. In 213, Zhuge Liang and others traveled to Yizhou to support Liu Bei and help him defeat Liu Bei. In 217, Liu Bei launched the Battle of Hanzhong, and Zhuge Liang sat in Chengdu and was responsible for transporting grain and grass and other materials. In 219, Liu Bei repelled Cao Cao and captured the land of Hanzhong.
In 221, Liu Bei ascended the throne as empress dowager and made Zhuge Liang a chancellor. By this time, Zhuge Liang had been able to compare with Guan Zhong and Le Yi. In other words, Zhuge Liang chose to follow the weak Liu Bei and eventually obtained a rich reward.