Chapter 14 Zhuge Liang's Three Principles of Making Friends

For Zhuge Liang, Xiangyang is an important milestone in his life.From Xiangyang, he took up the post of Chief of Staff of Liu Bei Group, and obtained the title of "Wolong" from Xiangyang, which can "safety the world".Another point that is often overlooked is that he took away a large number of talents from Xiangyang. These people, as friends of Zhuge Liang when he was young, will become important leaders of Shu in the future.For example, Pang Tong, who is from Xiangyang, was recommended by Zhuge Liang and served as the deputy chief of staff of the three armies under Liu Bei's jurisdiction.Brothers Ma Liang and Ma Su were also from Xiangyang, as well as Xiang Lang and his nephews Xiang Chong and Xiang Chong, all of whom were officials in Shu Han.

Zhuge Liang paid attention to two points when making friends in Xiangyang, one is to make friends widely, and the other is to make friends selectively.Canton means extensive contacts.As long as there is an opportunity to contact the eight major families in Xiangyang, they should contact as much as possible.Among the teachers and students of Xiangyang Jingsheng College, as long as they have topics of common interest, they should contact as much as possible, so as to understand each other's point of view, understand each other's knowledge and talents, and see if they can become further friends.

As for the three teachings and nine streams of society, if possible, try to get in touch with and understand as much as possible.It is also necessary to have a drink with these friends, chat a little, play the piano and play chess, arrange a dragon gate, and kill some time.For example, when studying meteorology, he got a lot of inspiration from the experience of farmers and the proverbs of the villagers. Many of Wollongong's neighbors have become friends of Zhuge Liang's nature.After Zhuge Liang made extensive friends, he was able to learn a lot of information quickly and mastered many sources of information.This created favorable conditions for him to expand his activity space in Xiangyang.

Later, Zhuge Liang said in his writings that the very important point of making friends is to "brainstorm ideas".It is said that the formation of this idiom comes from Zhuge Liang's quotations.But to "brainstorm", you must have the conditions of "collection" and "broadness".How to achieve this condition?Just make friends. Regarding the issue of making friends, Zhuge Liang mentioned it in his article "Lunjiao" written after he became famous.He said: "It is difficult to go far between powerful people, but the friendship between scholars can never increase in temperature, change in cold and never decline in all seasons." It can be seen that he is deeply touched by the gains and losses in making friends.

The so-called "things of a feather flock together and people are divided into groups" refers to a group of friends who share common interests, common views, and a common language.The friendship between gentlemen is as light as water, which refers to the communication and contact between people without serious conflicts. Making friends is general contact and making.Even if it is a friend, it is a friend in the general sense.Another kind of friend is a friend who chooses and focuses on making friends. This kind of friend is not only like-minded, but also has a topic to discuss in a certain field, has a point of view to discuss, and may inspire and teach oneself. friend.This kind of friend is a friend who can talk.

After a period of communication, friends who confirm that they can help themselves, can learn from each other's strengths, and can trust each other can be called close friends and iron buddies. Someone may ask: Does Zhuge Liang have any close friends in Xiangyang, and who are they? Zhuge Liang consciously focused on making friends in Xiangyang, or in other words, there were very few close friends who had selective and frequent contacts.When Zhuge Liang chooses best friends, his scope is very narrow. His criteria are: first, friends who share a common language; second, friends who can exchange knowledge with each other; third, friends who can learn from each other and help each other.

That's how you make friends, right?It should also be divided into two parts.Such a group of friends is of great help to the deepening and expansion of Zhuge Liang's research topics and his knowledge.The so-called "brainstorming" refers to brainstorming and sharing within this range.But another result is that Zhuge Liang’s few friends, the so-called close friends who have a good relationship with him, basically none of them have been in the same boat with him through thick and thin, or have not become like-minded friends.This question confuses many people. Zhuge Liang mentioned in "Yu Qun Xia Jiao" that he had 4 close friends in Xiangyang: "In the past, I made friends with Zhouping, and I often heard about gains and losses; later, I made friends with Yuanzhi, and I often saw enlightenment. The former counselor Yu Youzai, every word is exhausted, Later, when he was engaged in Weidu, he had several remonstrances and dissuasions, and he got along well with the four sons from the beginning to the end, which is enough to show that he has no doubts about outspoken words."

From this, we should be able to see that these should be Zhuge Liang's best buddies back then. Let’s talk about Cui Zhouping first.This is Zhuge Liang's friend in the narrow sense that he first made in Xiangyang.Zhuge Liang said that through his association with Cui Zhouping, he has benefited a lot and "heard of gains and losses repeatedly".However, Cui Zhouping was the only one among Zhuge Liang's friends who studied the way of governing the country back then who did not embark on an official career, and he is also an old friend Zhuge Liang still misses after many years.

Why does Zhuge Liang have such a deep friendship with Cui Zhouping? "Cui Family Genealogy" contains an article: "Zhouping, the son of Taiwei Lie, is also the younger brother of Jun." That is to say, Cui Zhouping's father, Cui Lie, was once an official to Taiwei, and Taiwei was quite the position of commander-in-chief of the Eastern Han Dynasty.Needless to say, Cui Zhouping is the son of a high-ranking cadre.So, why didn't Cui Zhouping get an official position, and why didn't he become an official all his life? Cui Zhouping did not follow his father's official career because he was disgusted with officialdom and believed that living in officialdom for a lifetime was far less comfortable than living in seclusion in the mountains.People living in official families have become numb to the benefits of being an official and cannot feel any benefits. On the contrary, they are very clear about the filth and filth of officialdom.No wonder what Zhuge Liang got from Cui Zhouping's communication was "repeated gains and losses".

When Liu Xuande visited the thatched cottage three times, he once met Cui Zhouping on the road.Cui Zhouping has a dignified appearance, handsome appearance, wearing a kerchief on his head, and a soap cloth robe. He came from a remote mountain road.Facing Liu Bei who mistakenly thought he was Zhuge Liang, he introduced himself: "I am a friend of Kong Ming, and Cui Zhouping of Boling." From his clothing and hobbies, it can be seen that Cui Zhouping and Zhuge Liang have a lot in common. When Liu Bei saw that he had met an expert outside the world, how could he let it go easily? "I'm begging to sit on the spot and ask for advice." Cui Zhouping was not polite, and he talked about Liu Bei's policy of peace and stability: "The public mainly focuses on calming chaos. Although it is a benevolent heart, since ancient times, chaos has been ruled. Since the great ancestor The Snake Rebellion, and the Wudao Qin Dynasty, came from chaos to rule; the two hundred years of mourning and peace, peace for a long time, Wang Mang usurped rebellion, and from rule to chaos; From chaos to governance; for two hundred years now, the people have been in peace for a long time, so fighting has occurred again and again; this is the time when the governance is turning into chaos, and it cannot be decided suddenly. The general wants Kong Ming to mediate the world and mend the universe, but it may not be easy. , It's just a waste of time and effort. Don't you hear that "those who follow the sky will be free, those who go against the sky will be tired" and "the place where the number is, you can take it if you don't understand it"?"

Probably disillusioned.When Liu Bei invited Cui Zhouping to Xinye, he said, "Foolishness is quite happy to be idle, and I don't want to be famous for a long time." Cui Zhouping does not appreciate the scenery of the political world, but yearns for the mountains and forests of Taoism, yearning for the unity of heaven, earth and man, willing to integrate himself Nature. Later, even after Zhuge Liang came out to assist Liu Bei, Xu Shu, Shi Guangyuan, and Meng Gongwei joined Cao Cao, he still lived in tranquility and recluse, and refused to show his face, so there was no trace of him in the historical records, and he did not know where he ended up.Zhuge Liang admired him for his lofty insight and honest and upright character. After many years, he often talked about it and never forgot it. Among the four gentlemen that Zhuge Liang made friends with in Xiangyang, except for Cui Zhouping, the other three entered the political circle, but none of them worked with Zhuge Liang, nor did they become allies with Zhuge Liang, but defected to the account of Cao Cao who was fighting against Zhuge Liang. It can be said that everyone has his own ambitions and cannot be forced.Classmates and schoolmates are not necessarily like-minded people. Let's just say Shi Guangyuan, whose name is Tao and whose name is Guangyuan.According to "Wei Lue", in the thirteenth year of Jian'an, after Cao Cao occupied Jingzhou, he and Xu Shu came to the north together, "to Huangchu Middle School, Taoli Shi County Guard, Diannong School Captain".Zhuge Liang had a good vision. When he was in Longzhong, he predicted that Shi Guangyuan would be an official to the county guard, that is, the prefect.At the same time, it also shows that in the management of cadres in Wei State at that time, it was still used according to its ability; in the examination of cadres' morality and ability, it was fair, and there were probably not many people who ran or bought officials. The article "Wei Lue" specifically mentioned: "In Taihe, Zhuge Liang came out of Longyou. Hearing that Yuanzhi and Guangyuan officials were like this, he sighed and said: 'Wei Shu is so evil! Why are the two of them useless?'" True I don’t know what Zhuge Liang is thinking, you set a future for others before you came out of the mountain, why do you lament that they are not promoted and reused now? He didn't want to think about it, did the Minister of the Ministry of Officials of the Wei State eat dry food?It must be written clearly in the file that he was once an iron buddy with the prime minister of Shu.Can people be reused on this one?Not to mention being implicated by Zhuge Liang, he also knew that Shi Guangyuan's talents should be inferior to Zhuge Liang's. If Shi Guangyuan and Zhuge Liang were allowed to fight against each other, Wei Guo would not be defeated. Look at Meng Gongwei again, whose name is Jian and whose courtesy name is Gongwei.According to the records of "Three Kingdoms": "After Hui died, Meng Jian in Runan was the governor of Liangzhou. Later, when he left Qishan, he answered Sima Xuan's letter and made Du Zixu express his intention to Gongwei." This shows that Zhuge Liang was afraid that the generals of Wei State would not know that Meng Gongwei and himself were once close friends.From the point of view of being an official, Meng Gongwei did a good job as the governor of Liangzhou, and he had a bit of word of mouth, so he was promoted to General Zhengdong, which is probably a provincial military cadre.His official career is stronger than that of Xu Shu and Shi Guangyuan. Finally, let me talk about Xu Shu and Xu Yuanzhi.Among the four young friends, Zhuge Liang especially valued Xu Shu and spoke highly of him.After he became famous, he mentioned Xu Shu many times, and when talking about making friends, he said, "I will pay Yuanzhi later, and I will see enlightenment frequently." It can be seen that Xu Yuanzhi helped Zhuge Liang the most. Xu Shu is a heroic man, the most buddy among the four, and he recommended Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei as a paving stone for Zhuge Liang to come out of the mountains.Did such a good cadre with both ability and political integrity surrender just because his mother became Cao Cao's hostage?Let's take a look at Xu Shu's resume. Xu Shu was born in the Jianning period of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty (168-172 A.D.).Xu Shu practiced martial arts since he was a child. He liked fighting against injustice, hated evil as much as his enemy, and acted chivalrously. Therefore, he was known as a "young chivalrous man". During the Chuping period of Emperor Xiandi of the Han Dynasty (190-193 A.D.), the warlords in the Central Plains fought in chaos, and the world was in chaos.Xu Shu and his fellow villager Shi Tao moved their family south to Xiangyang to avoid the war.Xu Shu got acquainted with Cui Zhouping, Meng Gongwei, Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong and others who lived here, and became close friends.During the communication with Zhuge Liang, Xu Shu was impressed by Zhuge Liang's profound knowledge and clear insights. In order to attract the attention of the society, Zhuge Liang not only hugged his knees and shouted loudly, but also boasted of himself as Guan Zhong and Le Yi.But Xu Shu said to the world: "I don't think Zhuge Liang is arrogant, but a little humble. In terms of Zhuge Liang's talents and abilities, he is not inferior to Guan and Le at all." After Xu Shu succeeded in his studies, he also faced the problem of choosing a work unit.Because he lives in Xiangyang, the capital of Jingzhou, his preferred workplace is naturally the highest authority in Jingzhou.Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou, also heard about Xu Shu, and wrote to Xu Shu specifically, expressing his willingness to hire Xu Shu as an official.Xu Shu observed in the Jingzhou government compound for a few days and felt that Liu Biao was not his ideal leader, so he left a letter of resignation and left. Where did Xu Shu go?He went to Sima Hui's Shuijing Villa and asked Sima Hui to recommend him a good leader.At Sima Hui's suggestion, he went to Xinye and defected to Liu Bei.Liu Bei was overjoyed by Xu Shu's outstanding military talent, and praised him for his talent as Wang Zuo.Xu Shu tried his best to be modest, and after Cao Cao had kidnapped his mother and had to go to Cao Ying, he recommended Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei. .Mr. Luo Guanzhong gave a very wonderful description of this paragraph. According to "Wei Lue", Xu Shu was still alive during the Taihe period (the year of Wei Mingdi Cao Rui, 227-233 AD), and died of illness a few years later, as evidenced by a stele in Pengcheng.