[Note] Excerpted from the first chapter of the Biography of Zhuge Liang (by Tan Yonghua). Copyright author, pay your respects to it! Its main content is basically derived from the Zhengshi "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", etc., and asks people in civil science not to argue in vain.
Chapter 1 Crouching Dragon on Earth
First, born in a chaotic world
In the fourth year of the Eastern Han Dynasty (181 AD), Zhuge Liang was born into a family of eunuchs in Yangdu County ,琅砑郡, in present-day Yinan County, Shandong. The era of Zhuge Liang's birth was also a period of political darkness and social turmoil in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Landlords, nobles, and bureaucrats arbitrarily occupy large tracts of fertile land, have many ornate residences, cultivate thousands of slaves, enslave tens of thousands of dependent peasants, and "beautiful concubines, fill the qi room, advocate the joy of the qi, and list the deep halls" (recorded in the Book of later Han).
Just four years after Zhuge Liang's birth, the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which shook half of China, broke out. In order to pacify the Yellow Turban Army and consolidate local political power, the central government had to strengthen the administrative and military powers of the northern chiefs, expand the authority of some seriously disturbed areas to assassinate history, and enable them to grasp local military power and change their name to "Pastoral". After the expansion of the authority of these local states, an independent force was gradually formed, and the imperial court gradually lost its command and control over the local army and officials. At the end of the Han Dynasty, the situation of division of the masses finally took shape, and the Eastern Han Dynasty then reached the situation of survival in name only.
As a result, these military-wielding states formed warlords who divided each side. For example, Yuan Shu occupied part of Yangzhou (present-day lower Reaches of the Huai River and the area north of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River); Tao Qian, Liu Bei, and Lü Bu successively occupied Xuzhou (present-day northern Jiangsu and southeastern Shandong); Liu Biao occupied Jingzhou (present-day Hubei and Hunan); Liu Yan occupied Yizhou (present-day Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan); Zhang Lu occupied Hanzhong (present-day southern Shaanxi); Dong Zhuo occupied Sili (present-day central and eastern Shaanxi and western Henan); Ma Teng, Han Sui, occupied Liangzhou (present-day Gansu, Ningxia, and Huangshuiliu City in Qinghai).
These warlords were constantly waging wars of annexation over land and population. These wars have caused a large number of people to go into exile, caused a large number of idyllic desolations, and greatly damaged the social productive forces. Over the years, the densely populated and economically developed Central Plains has become hundreds of miles without fireworks, and the tragic situation described in the Seven Lamentations by Wang Cang in the Seven Lamentations when he fled from the Central Plains to Jingzhou to avoid chaos appeared.
Zhuge Liang's grandfather Zhuge Feng, who was a lieutenant colonel (capital police inspector) of the Eastern Han Dynasty, was strong and upright, dutiful and conscientious, and severely punished any powerful people who violated the law according to law and never tolerated it. For example, Xu Zhang, a foreign relative who held a high official position and was a servant, was usually a miscreant, and Zhuge Feng ordered his arrest, and Xu Zhang fled to the emperor's empress dowager in fright, asking the emperor for protection. Zhuge Feng formally impeached Xu Zhang, demanding severe punishment, and the emperor had no choice but to punish Xu Zhang. Soon, however, Zhuge Feng was relieved of his post and deposed as a Shuren. His strict personality was later inherited by Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang's father, Zhuge Jue, served as a county magistrate in Taishan County. When Zhuge Liang was nine years old, his mother Zhang Shi died, and in order to take care of his young children, his father married another wife, but three years later his father also died of illness. Due to the inability of his stepmother to raise him, the Zhuge brothers, whose parents died twice, had to rely on their uncle Zhuge Xuan for help.
Zhuge Liang's hometown belonged to Xuzhou, which was originally relatively stable, and when Dong Zhuo went against the grain in the Luoyang area, the people of the Central Plains fled eastward, most of them living in Xuzhou. However, the good times did not last long, and from the fourth year of emperor Chuping (18 AD), this place also became a battlefield for warlords to fight. Cao Cao of Yanzhou, because his father Cao Song was accidentally killed in Xuzhou, Naixing attacked Xuzhou, Xuzhou Mutaoqian bravely resisted, the whole of Xuzhou was immediately caught in the chaos of soldiers and horses, at that time the number of dead reached hundreds of thousands, Langyue County in the north of Xuzhou was also affected, and some places even "chickens and dogs are exhausted, and there are no more pedestrians in the ruins.". For the sake of the family's safety, Zhuge Liang's uncle Zhuge Xuan had to leave his hometown to temporarily avoid the war.
When Zhuge Liang was fourteen years old, Zhuge Xuan was appointed by the Yangzhou warlord Yuan Shu as the Taishou of Yuzhang Commandery (豫章郡太守) (郡治 located near present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi), so Zhuge Xuan took his young Zhuge Liang's sisters and brothers to his post to fulfill his responsibilities. However, Zhuge Jin was twenty-one years old at the time, and wanted to take on the responsibility of raising his younger siblings himself, so he decided to find another way to live, so as not to send people to the fence, and after some thought, he and his stepmother went to Jiangdong. The family has since been separated and has gone their separate ways.
This Yuzhang is a large county of Yangzhou, with jurisdiction over 21 cities and a population of 1.66 million. Nanchang is one of the largest counties in Jianghuai. Therefore, Yuzhang County has always been one of the strongholds that warlords compete for.
From the north of Xuzhou through Yuzhou, south to Yuzhang, this area is the most serious war, and several fierce battles between Cao Cao and Tao Qian are here. The land here is barren, the people's wives and children are scattered, agricultural production has been seriously damaged, and the people have been forced to take risks and embark on the road of robbing their families and houses. The young Zhuge Liang witnessed the evil consequences of the war, which had a profound impact on Zhuge Liang's outlook on life.
After Zhuge Xuan took office, he settled zhuge liang's sisters and brothers to live in the palace, and they were busy with county affairs. Just when some clues were cleared, another unfortunate accident occurred. Originally, the imperial court heard that the original junshou had died, and appointed a new Yuzhang Taishou Zhu Hao. Shortly before that, the Han Dynasty heard that The Yangzhou Assassin Shi Chen Wen was killed, and also appointed the Yangzhou New Assassin Shi Liu Sui. In fact, Liu Xuan and Zhu Hao were both sent by Cao Cao and Yuan Shao under the guise of the imperial court to compete for territory. After Zhu Hao was appointed as the Taishou of Yuzhang, he came to ask Liu Xuan for an army and prepared to forcibly drive zhuge Xuan away.
Zhuge Xuan did not know this information in advance, plus he was appointed by Yuan Shu, "the name is not right", and Yuan Shu is busy fighting with other warlords, and he can't help him. Zhuge Xuan's strength was weak and he could not resist, so he had to hurriedly evacuate with Zhuge Liang's sisters and brothers. His hometown was unwilling and impossible to go back, so Zhuge Xuan had no choice but to take Zhuge Liang's sister and brother to Xiangyang City in Jingzhou to join his old friend Liu Biao in Jingzhou.
In his early years, Liu Biao was listed as the "Eight Juns", with a high reputation, and was one of the main leaders of the Qing school. He had always been closed to himself, and he was unwilling to get involved in the war between Dong Zhuo and the anti-Dong Zhuo alliance, and the open and secret struggle between Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu's brothers, nor did he intervene, so Jingzhou was very little affected by the war at the end of the Han Dynasty, and because a large number of literati and scholars avoided Jingzhou, the literary style here was flourishing, and it was a fairly good "refuge".
Liu Biao warmly received Zhuge Xuan. Zhuge Xuan lost his official position and bent down to serve as an aide in Liu Biao's mansion, sending people to the fence, and his life depended on Liu Biao for help. As an arrogant and principled intellectual, this blow was too great for him, zhuge Xuan was anxious and hateful, and after a year, he became angry and died. Fortunately, looking at the face of his old friend, Liu Biao still undertook the needs of Zhuge Liang's family. In just one year, Zhuge Xuan befriended some literati and celebrities, and they also gave this unfortunate family a lot of spiritual and material encouragement and support.
Due to Liu Biao's matchmaking, Zhuge Liang's sister married Pang Shanmin, the son of The Famous Duke of Jingxiang, and a wish was finally concluded. Sixteen-year-old Zhuge Liang, unwilling to rely on other people's handouts to live, decided to lead his brother to live independently, he sold the property left by his uncle, exchanged it for gifts, and went directly to See Liu Biao, showing his determination to rely on himself. Liu Biao then helped them, in a place called Longzhong more than twenty miles west of Xiangyang City, settled the two brothers and let them cultivate on their own, and when it was the second year of The Han Xiandi Jian'an (197 AD), Zhuge Liang finally ended his career as a wandering teenager and began to live in seclusion in Longzhong, qing cultivating and raining, and began his youth. The literati and celebrities in this area are bound to have a major impact on him.
Second, cultivate long mu
Longzhong, in the Han Dynasty, came under the jurisdiction of Deng County, Nanyang County. There is a Wanshan Mountain in the west of Xiangyang City, and Wanshan is the boundary between Xiangyang in Nan County and Deng County in Nanyang County, and eight miles west of Xiangyang City to the boundary of Deng County. Therefore, Zhuge Liang lived in seclusion in Longzhong, and he also called himself "cultivating in Nanyang", in fact, longzhong where he was located was closer to Xiangyang.
Xiangyang spans Jingyu and controls the north and south, with an important geographical location and extremely convenient land and water transportation. From the land to the north, it can be directly reached to Luoyang, Kyoto; to the south, it can reach Guangzhou and Jiaozhou; along the Han River, it can be directly reached to Xiakou and Yangzhou; to the west, it can reach Liang and Yi'erzhou. When Liu Biao ruled Jingzhou, the society has always been relatively stable, and there are many literati and scholars from all over the world, who have brought all kinds of information and cultural achievements from all over the world. This provided Zhuge Liang, who was close at hand, with good conditions for learning knowledge, meeting celebrities, observing the national conditions, and seeking a way out of society.
Longshan Mountain is beautiful and clear, surrounded by mountains, surrounded by heavy mountains, birds and flowers, and the environment is quiet. Climbing to the north, the Han River is like a jade belt; looking at Xiangyang in the distance, the city is also vividly remembered. Because it is closer to Xiangyang and the news is more well-informed, it is extremely convenient to go out to make friends and find teachers and friends. It is precisely for these reasons that after Zhuge Liang discovered this treasure land, he decided to live here in seclusion.
They first built a few grass houses and bought a little land. While participating in labor, I read books, and sometimes I also go out to find teachers and friends. Life is a little lighter, but it's fun. In the spring, they plowed the fields; in the summer, they wore moon hoes. When Zhuge Liang "ploughed long mu", he also liked to stop the farm work in his hands, look at the white clouds, valleys, green trees and nearby fields in the distance, and remember the rural life of his childhood, especially the years when he followed his father to Taishan and Liang' father.
When Zhuge Liang cultivated the field, it was good for "Liang Father Yin", which was the first ancient song that was circulated in the qi country, Zhuge Liang's hometown. The lyrics of the song are: "Step out of the gate of Qi City, and look into the shadows." There are three graves in it, and the accumulation is similar. Ask whose tomb it is, Tian Jiang Gu Yezi. The force can drain the South Mountain, and it can also jedi. One dynasty was rumored, two peaches killed three soldiers. Who can plot for this, Xiangguo Qi Yanzi. The people of the State of Qi sympathized with the end of these three heroes who insisted on their integrity and died, so they wrote "Father Liang" to lament them, and at the same time satirized the inhumanity of killing innocents with treacherous wisdom.
Some scholars believe that Zhuge Liang's good "Liang Father Yin" is only nostalgic for his hometown, which has nothing to do with this content. Some people also believe that "Liang Father Yin" is a popular song of Qi Di, and what Zhuge Liang chanted is not the song "Two PeachEs Kill Three Soldiers". Although there is no historical data to confirm whether Zhuge Liang's favorite chant of "Liang Father Yin" is a song that satirizes Yan Zi, it is of no deep significance to record it with the personality of young Zhuge Liang and Chen Shou's emphasis.
When Zhuge Liang was "living in seclusion" in Longzhong, his mood was not calm, and he also wanted to plunge into the political trend and realize his political ambitions as soon as possible, but he was afraid of recklessly defecting to a mediocre and self-conscious warlord, and it was difficult to guarantee the realization of his political ambitions, and he would be framed. So, he kept hesitating. I did not meet the Lord, so I had to wait patiently, thick and thin. He is good for "Father Liang", and it also reflects his ideals and ambitions to assist the wise and virtuous Lords and do a career like Guan Zhong and Le Yi.
3. Cantonese celebrities
In his youth, Zhuge Liang, whether it was his external talent or his inner personality, had been basically fixed. Chen Shou wrote in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms And Zhuge Liang Biography": "Liang gong cultivated Longmu, good for Liang's father Yin, eight feet long, every time he compared himself to Guan Zhong, Le Yi, Shiren Mo Zhi Xu Ye, but Boling Cui Zhouping, Yingchuan Xu Shu Yuanzhi, and Liang were friendly, called Xinran." ”
The "eight feet" of the Three Kingdoms period, about five feet and four inches of the current city, shows that Zhuge Liang is by no means a weak scholar, on the contrary, long years of labor have made him a strong, strong, majestic and mighty Shandong Han. Chang Zi compared Guan Zhong and Le Yi, two politicians, strategists, and military experts of the Spring and Autumn Warring States, it can be seen that Zhuge Liang's ambition in his early years was to be a literary and martial all-rounder who could rule the country and be able to secure the country. Because of the war, he paid a lot of attention to war, and when he was young, he was familiar with military books and had a fairly in-depth study of military science.
Years of suffering have made Zhuge Liang serious, cautious, respectful of etiquette, thoughtful, and confident. In terms of communication, he always asks the other party, regardless of age or knowledge, to be above himself in order to motivate himself. For example, Xu Yuanzhi was fifteen or sixteen years older than Zhuge Liang, and Cui Zhouping, Shi Guangyuan, meng Gongwei, etc. were even older than Xu Yuanzhi. Even in the local famous Pang Degong family, Zhuge Liang seems to prefer to contact and interact with Pang Degong, who is at least thirty years older than himself, while Pang Tong is similar to his own age, only three years older than himself, and has much less interaction. Therefore, his peers also had very little contact with him, did not know much about him, and were even more "Mo Zhi Xuye" in his own comparison with Guan Zhong and Le Yi, thinking that he was bragging about himself.
Let's talk about the elders with whom Zhuge Liang often interacted.
Pang Degong was the leading figure among the powerful nobles, and he was a well-known celebrity in the Xiangyang area at that time, he traveled widely and was well-informed, and Liu Biao repeatedly asked him to be an official, but he was rejected. Once, Liu Biao personally went to persuade Pang Degong, saying: "If you refuse to come out and become an official, what will you leave to your descendants in the future?" Pang Degong replied: "Others may leave danger to their children and grandchildren, and I will leave peace for their children and grandchildren." It's not that there are no remnants, it's just that the things left behind are different! ”
In fact, Pang Degong did not really want to be an official, but he saw that Liu Biao was mediocre and incompetent, did not seek progress, and could not achieve great things, so he did not want to come out to assist him, so as not to lose his political footing and bring himself and his family to the disaster of killing. There were many talented people gathered around Pang Degong, who often commented on political affairs and exchanged knowledge together. Pang Degong was good at recognizing people and often commented on people, and his comments had a great influence on the local earth doctors at that time. Zhuge Liang had great respect for Pang Degong, "pretending to be a little apprentice", often visiting the door to seek advice, and each time he was "alone under the bed" and "kneeling to honor", very modest and pious. At first, in the eyes of Pang Degong, this seventeen or eighteen-year-old young man was only precocious and knew some politeness, and Pang Degong "did not stop at the beginning" (Pei Notes of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Pang Tong biography), but did not treat him as an outsider, and lent him the books in the family to read, but did not add any guidance. Later, Pang Degong, who was good at understanding people, gradually understood Zhuge Liang's personality, talents and ambitions, and felt that he had a strong enterprising spirit, great ambition, extraordinary talent, and would be able to do a career in the future. Under the arrangement of Pang Degong, his son Pang Shanmin later married Zhuge Liang's second sister. As the chief lord of Jingxiang, he married zhuge clan in other places, which shocked the natives of The Jingxiang area. This is also a manifestation of Pound's heavy Zhuge Liang. Since then, the relationship between the two families has become more unusual, and Zhuge Liang's contacts with Pang Degong have become closer.
At that time, the atmosphere of judging characters was very strong, and if he received a good evaluation from a "highly respected" celebrity, the person who was praised would immediately be "worth a hundred times", and Shilin would have a blue eye. Pang Degong was very attached to Zhuge Liang and placed great hopes on him, calling Zhuge Liang "Wolong". "Crouching Dragon" is a metaphor for Junjie who has not yet unleashed his ambitions, a dragon that lurks in Osawa, once the conditions are ripe and the time comes, it will rise to the clouds and perform extraordinary skills. The characterization and spread of this elegant name made the young Zhuge Liang a local celebrity.
Pang Degong has a very political vision, discusses changes, and points out the shortcomings of Chen Shi, which is very back.) In Zhuge Liang's growth, his role cannot be underestimated.
Pang Degong had a nephew named Pang Tong (Zi Shi Yuan), the eldest Zhuge Liang was three years old, his appearance was simple, but he was very talented, in addition to respecting him because he was a member of the Pang family, few people understood his talents, only Sima Wei, well aware of Pang Tong's extraordinary talent, praised him as "Phoenix Chick". Zhuge Liang also often interacted with him, they were relatives and like-minded friends. Later, both Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang were Liu Bei's military commanders.
Ma Liang's Ma family lives in Yicheng, not far from Xiangyang, and Ma Liang is a leading figure among the local youth. Later, Ma Chen, who was quite highly regarded by Zhuge Liang, was Ma Liang's youngest brother. In his letter to Zhuge Liang, Ma Liang once called him "Respected Brother", showing the close relationship between the Ma family and Zhuge Liang. Later, when Liu Bei established power in Jingzhou, the Ma family gave the most important support. Pang Tong, Pang Lin, Ma Chen, and Xi Zhen also followed Zhuge Liang out of the mountains and became important backbones of the Shu state, and played a great role in the development of the political, military, and diplomatic aspects of the Shu state.
There is also a famous and prestigious family in the local area that is second only to the Pang family, that is, the Huang family in The South of The Tang Dynasty. The head of the Huang family is Huang Chengyan, a famous scholar in the Jingxiang area, who is also Cai Mao's brother-in-law, so he is related to Liu Biao, who is also Cai Mao's brother-in-law. Like Pang Degong, he did not serve as an official in Liu Biao's mansion, but always retained the status of the Yehao clan. Zhuge Liang paid attention to his interaction with Huang Chengyan. Huang Chengyan also liked this young man with excellent appearance and talent, and wanted to choose him as his son-in-law. Once, Huang Chengyan said bluntly to Zhuge Liang while chatting: "I heard that you have not yet married." I have a daughter who looks ugly, with yellow hair and dark skin. Although her appearance is not good, her moral character and talent are good, I don't know what you think? Zhuge Liang gladly agreed to this family affair. Huang Chengyan was overjoyed, Zhuge Liang was tall and handsome, talented, and was valued by many predecessors, and his popularity was also very high, so many of Jingxiang's parents thought that he was the ideal son-in-law, but everyone thought that he must have a high vision and did not dare to casually mention the media to say kiss. No one could have imagined that Zhuge Liang, who was "eight feet long and had a very good appearance", would actually become the dragon-riding son-in-law of the ugly daughter of the Huang family. People at the time could not understand this family affair. Pei Songzhi,in his commentary on the Biography of Zhuge Liang of the Three Kingdoms, once recorded a slang proverb at that time: "Don't be Kong Ming choose a woman, stop Ah Cheng (referring to Huang Chengyan) ugly woman." This means that zhuge liang has such good conditions, but he picked an ugly daughter-in-law and warned people not to imitate him.
Later, many people thought that Zhuge Liang had suffered this grievance in order to curry favor with Huang Chengyan and seek Huang Chengyan's help in his career, but in fact, this was not realistic. At that time, Zhuge Liang had already gained the weight of Pang Degong and Sima Hui, and established a good reputation and contacts among celebrities, and there was no need to use marriage as a springboard to please Huang Chengyan. Moreover, judging from Zhuge Liang's future personality of "bowing down to Liu Bei's regime", Zhuge Liang was by no means a utilitarian. From the perspective of married life, Zhuge Liang and his wife after marriage always respected each other as guests, even if they were later honored as ministers, Zhuge Liang did not despise the Huang family. And the Huang family is more considerate of Zhuge Liang, raising eyebrows, handling housework in an orderly manner, so that Zhuge Liang has no worries at all, focusing on the development of learning and career, and is indeed a virtuous helper who makes her husband "put his heart down".
Let's examine the celebrities who had an influence on Zhuge Kongming and came from outside Jingxiang. Some of them are his teachers, and some are his classmates and friends. First of all, let's talk about Sima Hui, the "Mr. Water Mirror" who had the greatest influence on Kong Ming's life.
Sima Wei (司馬微), courtesy name Decao, was a native of Yingchuan (present-day Yu County, Henan), and was a well-known scholar in the Yingchuan region. Pang Tong, a famous scholar of Jingxiang, was thousands of miles away, personally visited him in Yingchuan and advised him to avoid Jingzhou, so that he could come to Jingzhou and live in the east of Xiangyang City. Sima Hui was a famous scholar of ancient texts and scriptures at the end of the Han Dynasty, and many scholars came from. "Mr. Water Mirror", good learning, high character, not Rongli, often take pleasure in hoeing vegetable garden, especially kind to students. Perhaps because of the same foreigners, Sima Hui especially liked Zhuge Liang, consulted with each other, and passed on what he had learned, which had a great impact on the development of his later career.
During this period, in addition to studying under Sima Hui and Pang Degong, Zhuge Liang also made several like-minded friends, namely Xu Shu, Shi Tao, Cui Zhouping and Meng Jian. Xu Shu (徐庶), literally Yuanzhi (字元直), whose original surname was Shan (單), was a native of Yingchuan, a young man who was good at fencing and liked to avenge people; after abandoning Wu Congwen, he studied learning and finally mastered righteousness. Xu Shu was friendly with Shi Tao (Zi Guangyuan), the same county, and during the chaos in Zhongzhou, the two went south to Jingzhou during the Chuping period (190-193 AD). Soon, he became friends with Zhuge Liang. Meng Jian, a native of Runan, Jian'an Chu (196-220 AD), began to get acquainted with Zhuge Liang, Xu Yuanzhi, Shi Guangyuan and others and traveled with them. Cui Zhouping, a Native of Boling, Cui Liezi, a Han Taiwei, and Cui Jundi, a Taishou of Xihe, were slightly older than Zhuge Liang and others, were upright, and spoke out about the transgressions of their friends. Later, when Zhuge Liang recalled their friendship, he once said: "When I interact with Cui Zhouping, I often hear well-meaning criticism; by making friends with Xu Shu, I can get a lot of inspiration and teaching." ”
Zhuge Liang often met with them. At first, the place where they met was usually the xuetang in the south of Xiangyang City; after Zhuge Liang settled in Longzhong, Longzhong Caolu became a meeting place for them. They sometimes talk freely about life ideals and talk about national events; Sometimes they also traveled together, and the places they went the most were Sima Hui and Pang Degong. In addition to "good for "Liang Father Yin", Zhuge Liang also likes to hold his knees and scream in the morning and evening.
One day, during small talk, he said to Shi Tao, Xu Shu, and Meng Gongwei: "The three of you can achieve the history of assassination and the county guard." "What about you?" The three asked rhetorically. Zhuge Liang smiled and said nothing. They get along day and night, and they know their ambitions and talents very well, but they just tacitly understand it. Kong Ming often compares himself to Guan Zhong and Le Yi. Guan Zhong assisted Duke Huan and "nine princes of the Nine Kingdoms, one Kuang Tianxia" to achieve hegemony; Le Yi was a famous general of the Yan State, who once attacked more than 70 cities in the State of Qi in one fell swoop. Xu Yuanzhi and Cui Zhouping believed that with Zhuge Liang's talents, it was only a matter of time before they could establish the feats of guan and le.
In fact, Sima Hui and Pang Degong also highly praised Zhuge Liang's talents. Once Liu Bei consulted Sima Wei on state affairs, Sima Hui said: "Ordinary Confucian laymen, they will only die reading. The one who is proficient in the current affairs of the country is Junjie. There are Wolong and Phoenix Chicks here, and they are real talents. Liu Bei asked who were Wolong and Fengyan? Sima Wei said, "Zhuge Kongming and Pang Shiyuan." ”
Zhuge Liang and these four classmates were all northerners, and they all lived in Jingzhou to escape the chaos of war. At that time, there were many literati who took refuge with them in Jingzhou, but most of these people saw that Liu Biao was short-sighted and refused to cooperate with Liu Biao, and Liu Biao also had no ambition and did not know how to appoint them. These people only regard Jingzhou as a temporary place to live, and regard the strong academic atmosphere as a favorable condition for increasing their talents and observing the current situation. Most of them have a clear understanding of reality, are not in a hurry to leave the army, and do not look forward to returning home. However, there are also some people who are deeply disappointed because they cannot get Liu Biao's reuse and are anxious to return to the north to establish meritorious deeds, such as Wang Yue and others. At this time, Zhuge Liang had been away from home for a long time, and for many years, because he had witnessed the disintegration of the imperial court and the current situation of the people running east and west between the swords and guns of the warlords, he had already made up his mind to use his talents to pacify the world. As for his hometown, he did not care about it. Therefore, when Meng Gongwei missed his hometown and wanted to return to the north to ask him for advice, Zhuge Liang said: "There are too many Zhongyuan scholars, why should we return to our hometown if we want to make meritorious achievements?" ”
Zhuge Liang's remarks were once thought to be of his own, meaning that the Central Plains were full of talents, and the northern return may not necessarily be reused. In fact, Zhuge Liang did not return to the north because the Han Room had collapsed, the power had fallen into the hands of the warlords, and he was a hero who embraced the feelings of xingwei and reviving the Han room, so he did not follow a certain warlord out of the mountains, but quietly observed the various power groups at that time, collected information from all aspects with his keen insight, comprehensively investigated, and finally determined that among the "Haojie" in the world, only Liu Bei was the master he could assist in achieving a great cause. But he will never take the initiative to defect to Liu Bei, he will wait for the price and sell. Confucius said that "a king treats his subjects with courtesy, and his subjects treat them with loyalty", and this concept is deeply rooted in the depths of his soul and affects his life.
Zhuge Liang lived in seclusion in Longzhong for a total of ten years (197-207 AD), and during the ten years, he did not stay away from the world, forget the world, and live a truly secluded life. As he grew older, more experienced, and more knowledgeable, he matured politically. Frequent social interactions and the favor of celebrities have made his social influence continue to expand. This laid the foundation for him to end his "secluded" life, step onto the political stage, display his talents, and realize his lofty political ambitions.
(The next chapter is: Three Gu Maolu)