Chapter 16 Zhuge Liang failed to recommend himself to Liu Bei

"Three Kingdoms" and "Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage" written by it can be said to be the key section of Zhuge Liang's decision to leave the mountain.It is said that Liu Bei and Liu Xuande valued Zhuge Liang's talent too much, and again and again, no matter whether he was rejected by the door, or was ridiculed by the little book boy, and regardless of the wind, snow and cold weather, he insisted on seeing Zhuge Liang, and he would never give up unless he was invited. However, in the works of historians earlier than these two books, there is a completely different theory called "Mao Sui recommends himself".

According to the records in "Wei Lue", after Cao Cao unified northern China, Jingzhou became the target of public criticism, directly facing military threats from Cao Cao and Sun Quan, and Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou, lacked countermeasures.Liu Bei, who was driven out of the Central Plains by Cao Cao, was stationed in Fancheng at this time, which attracted Zhuge Liang's attention. At this time, Zhuge Liang had been bored in Longzhong for almost 10 years, and he had learned all his skills, and he had completed the "Eight Arrays". Seeing that he was already a man who was 30 years old, it was time to display his skills.Under the advice of his teachers and friends, Zhuge Liang decided to go to Fancheng to meet Liu Bei in person.

When Zhuge Liang saw Liu Bei, Liu Bei was receiving guests.Liu Bei saw that Zhuge Liang was very young and had never met him before, so he didn't pay attention to Zhuge Liang and left him alone.When the meeting was over and only Zhuge Liang was left, Liu Bei still ignored him.It happened that someone sent a quack oxtail, and Liu Bei just used it to weave ornaments.Seeing this scene, Zhuge Liang couldn't help saying seriously: "I thought the general must have great ambitions, but I didn't expect that he only knows how to weave." Then he focused Liu Bei's attention on himself.After some conversation, Liu Bei found that the young man in front of him was indeed different and a rare talent, so he kept Zhuge Liang for his own use.This is the earliest version of "self-recommendation".

The book "Wei Lue" and Sima Biao of the Western Jin Dynasty later mentioned a story similar to this general content in his book "Kyushu Spring and Autumn". Here, let's fully restore the self-recommendation—— At that time, Sima Hui, Zhuge Liang's teacher, analyzed the general situation of the world: Now that Cao Cao has pacified the Central Plains by coercing the emperor to order the princes, he is bound to take Jingzhou as his next attack target.As for Jiangdong Sun Quan, who had recharged his energy and recharged his batteries in the past few years, with a strong army and a strong horse, he also turned his attention to the eight counties of Jingxiang.It can be said that Jingzhou is directly threatened by Cao Cao and Sun Quan.Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou, lacked countermeasures. The war in Jingzhou was imminent, and the stability of Jingzhou was about to end.

Sima Hui said that when Liu Xuande came to Jingzhou at this time, he must have a conspiracy.Both Liu Xuande and Liu Jingsheng are noble men, Liu Xuande has no place to stand at the moment, he is counting on Liu Jingsheng to give him a place to stay, and at the same time, he is also waiting for changes. Zhuge Liang asked: "Compared with Liu Biao, in terms of talents and learning, is Liu Bei superior to Liu Biao, or is it evenly matched?" Sima Hui said with a smile: "Liu Biao was also the "eight handsome" talent in Luoyang back then, and his talent and learning were superior to Liu Bei's. Now he is the lord of the eight counties, and his power is not comparable to that of Liu Bei. However, Liu Biao did not study military affairs. Relying on the Cai family to support the situation in Jingzhou, and his son Liu Cong is inferior, he is bound to achieve nothing, fearing that the party will be scattered and suffer from it."

"What about Liu Bei?" Zhuge Liang urged the teacher to continue. "Liu Bei seems mediocre, with little talent and learning. It is said that before he became famous, he was just a weaver of mats and shoes. However, all heroes in the world admire him. Liu Bei is born with a temperament of being a leader. He is a person with little ability. , is to be able to convince capable people, willing to obey his orders, be driven by him, and go all out for him. It is said that several generals under him, such as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, all have undue courage , can be described as a hero in the world, loyal to Liu Bei, and obedient to his words."

"Liu Bei has such a hero to assist him, so he should be able to achieve great things, but these years, Liu Bei has been running around the world, fighting here and there, why didn't he achieve much, and became the overlord of one party?" "This is the crux of the problem, that is, there is no one around him who can give him good advice and dispatch the talents of generals. If Liu Bei's own knowledge and ability allow him to directly command the three armies and dispatch thousands of troops, Even if he is not useless, at least it is not his strong point. But he is good at meeting people, and he is good at employing people. He has the demeanor of being suspicious and unusable. If you are willing to assist Liu Bei, you may be able to get a chance to use what you have learned all your life , an opportunity to command thousands of troops and create great achievements for thousands of years, why don't you give it a try?"

Although Zhuge Liang had heard about Liu Bei, he never paid attention to him.After all, I have no chance to contact him, and I don't know how much potential this person has.Zhuge Liang wanted to meet this person in person, but he still believed in the old saying that seeing is believing and hearing is believing.Just like Liu Biao, the public has a good reputation, but it makes him feel that he is not suitable for him, and he is not someone he can rely on.He wanted to see Liu Bei's attitude towards him as a young man, and to see whether Liu Bei really had the temperament of a leader as people said, or was he a charlatan with a false name and the name of the emperor's uncle.

Sima Hui said: "If you plan to meet Liu Xuande, then there is no time to delay. As far as I know, Liu Bei is currently stationed in Fancheng. The whereabouts of the army are confusing. They are in Fancheng today, and they may be transferred tomorrow." Zhuge Liang said to the teacher: "I will go to Fancheng tonight." Liu Bei has a habit, no matter where he is stationed, he always visits local celebrities, appeases local merchants and people, and receives visits from people from all walks of life.Now in Fancheng, after the settlement of the people, it is unavoidable that the pommel horse is exhausted, and the body is a little tired. I wanted to rest in the dormitory for a while, and I didn't want to have any guests, so I tried my best to receive them.

The guest's ancestors were from Zhuozhou, Hebei Province, and he made a living by selling livestock. He often traveled between Liangzhou, the Central Plains and even beyond the Great Wall, and claimed to be from the same hometown as Liu Bei. Liu Bei left his hometown for a long time, and wanted to know something about his hometown.When the two of them were talking, they suddenly reported that there was a visitor. Liu Bei said casually: "One is not too many, and two are not too many. All visitors are welcome to come to the guest room!" guest. The visitor was a young man, tall and well-mannered, and he bowed deeply when entering the door.Liu Bei hurriedly returned the salute with his hand, and looked up and down at the visitor. This person was more than eight feet tall, with thick eyebrows, bright eyes, a straight nose and a straight mouth, and a dignified appearance. Although he looked old, he was not more than 30 years old, but he just couldn't remember this. Who is the person's last name... I couldn't help asking: "Forgive Liu Bei's blind eyes, where did you have any contact with Liu Bei?"

"Your Majesty and the General are strangers, and today is our first visit. Please forgive me for being an uninvited guest." "Oh, please sit down for a moment, I have guests in my room..." Zhuge Liang quickly said: "No rush, I can wait here." Liu Bei nodded to Kong Ming, thinking: What can this young man do with me?Don't you want to see Liu Bei with his ears hanging down his shoulders and his hands over his knees?In the past few days, many boring people have come to see Liu Bei's face.Thinking of this, he stopped saying anything, turned around and went back to the inner room, and continued to chat with the Zhuozhou fellow. Zhuge Liang arrived in Fancheng at dawn.He asked passers-by about Liu Xuande's team and learned that they were still stationed in Fancheng.So he stopped at a small shop by the side of the road, ate something, took a rest, and watched the sun rise three poles, then found Liu Bei's camp. Zhuge Liang's first impression of Liu Bei was good, he was modest, but he did not lose the demeanor of the emperor's uncle.Since there are already guests in the hall, it is reasonable to wait for a while, Zhuge Liang has no complaints, sitting in a corner of the living room, meditating on how to talk to Liu Bei. Although Liu Bei didn't mind a young man's abrupt visit, he didn't pay much attention to the visitor. He guessed that this young man, judging by his prudent words and deeds, must have something to ask of me, right?Or else you want to come to my account and seek a job. The folks in Zhuozhou saw that it was getting late, so they got up and said goodbye, but Liu Bei didn't keep them, and sent them outside the gate.Turning around and returning to the room, he picked up Ke Song and played with his Liangzhou yak tail.The arrival of the fellow reminded him of the days in his hometown, and he couldn't help weaving the oxtail in his hand like a reed mat, completely forgetting the young people who were still waiting in the living room. Seeing this scene, Zhuge Liang, who was left out in the cold, couldn't help saying: "I thought the general was a man with great ambitions, but I didn't expect that he only knew how to weave." After that, he got up and left.Only then did Liu Bei realize that he had treated the young guest slowly, and quickly put down the yak tail in his hand, stood up to persuade him to stay, and asked Zhuge Liang if he was looking for something. "I'm here for the safety of Jingzhou." When Liu Bei heard this, he said in a big tone, but said in his mouth: "Oh, why don't you go to Jingzhou Mu Liu Jingsheng? I'm just a soldier under Jingzhou Mu." At this time, Zhuge Liang had already given up the remarks he had prepared when he came here, and he said casually: "I originally wanted to talk to the general about the strategy of governing the country. Now I don't want to talk about anything else." Liu Bei thought to himself, today's young people are arrogant, ambitious and talented, and they want to talk to me about military strategy at such a young age. How about a few words? In order to show his magnanimity, Liu Bei persuaded Kong Ming to sit down, thinking: "I might as well test him and let him know what is the strategy of governing the army and the country." So, he said to Zhuge Liang with the attitude of treating a friend: "Liu Bei You think there is nothing wrong with governing the country and the army, but there are only two things, one is to educate the people with virtue, and the other is to govern according to the law, and the punishment is clear. Do you think I am right?" Zhuge Liang came prepared, and without hesitation, he replied casually: "The general is right, but the two cannot be used in isolation. Generally speaking, those who rule the country purely by virtue cannot make the society orderly. They only use punishment without teaching, which is called abuse; only Confucianism and Legalism Unity, courtesy first and soldiers later, teaching with virtue and severe punishment with punishment, only then can there be discipline from top to bottom and order from left to right.” Zhuge Liang saw that Liu Bei was listening, so he continued to preach: "Ming Jun governs his principles and disciplines. There should be a sequence in politics. The principles should be governed first, and then the disciplines should be governed. Discipline is followed, and punishment is followed by order.” When Liu Bei heard this, he became interested, and said to himself: This young man still has something in his stomach, it seems that he came prepared.Just continue to ask: "What do you think should be the main way to govern?" Zhuge Liang replied: "I think that the way of governing is to learn more. It is to listen and observe, to adopt the words of the people, and to seek advice from the magicians. It is the eyes of the things, and the ears of the people. Wisdom, to hear a lot is a god... If complaints are not heard, the vain will not be extended; if goodness is not accepted, the loyal will not be trusted, and the wicked will tolerate their treachery..." Although Zhuge Liang answered Liu Bei's question, he could see from Liu Bei's eyes that Liu Bei was absent-minded, so he stopped talking.He didn't intend to delay here any longer, so he got up and said goodbye.At this time Liu Bei felt that this young man really had a little talent and learning, so he wanted to keep him. He was hesitating, seeing that Zhuge Liang had made up his mind to go, so he gave up. At this point in the story, Mao Sui's self-recommendation seems to be true, but Zhuge Liang's self-recommendation failed this time.