Zhuge Xuan arrived at his hometown in Langya on the day of the beginning of spring. At that time www.biquge.info, I had already heard that Cao Cao in the east was faintly showing signs of instability. Considering the hateful relationship between Xuzhou and Cao Cao, he was smart enough to naturally understand what was going to happen next, and he was anxious in his heart.

"The transfer of the family is going to be fast." Zhuge Xuan thought so.

It is clear that Tao Qian of Xuzhou was no match for Cao Cao. Although the focus of Xuzhou is on the Xiabil area in the south, Langya County in the north is also a strategic location. With Cao Cao's intelligence, he would inevitably think of cutting off foreign aid from Xuzhou. Then it is very important to capture the two counties of Langya and Dongguan. After all, this is the junction of Xuzhou and Qingzhou, and once he can help Tao Qian's Gongsun Zhan go south, then he will first pass through these two places. Moreover, these two places are still a rare hilly area in Xuzhou, which is the gateway to Xuzhou.

"Therefore, Cao Cao will definitely come to attack Langya. And our yang capital is located on the edge of Langya. Although it is not clear when Cao Cao's army will attack, it is a fact that the war will spread here during the attack. 'The city gate is on fire, and the fish in the pond are affected,' so we have to plan as soon as possible. As soon as he returned to his hometown, Zhuge Xuan immediately went to see his beautiful sister-in-law and explained such a dangerous situation to her.

Although when the family elder meeting was actually held, a female family like sister-in-law Xiang could not participate in it, as the surviving person of the eldest brother Jue, Zhuge Xuan felt that it was necessary for him to inform her of these things.

The sister-in-law who was born in Jiangdong is soft and weak, and has a pitiful demeanor. At this moment, she opened her mouth softly and handed over everything to Zhuge Xuan: "Uncle, everything can be done by yourself, don't ask me about this woman." ”

"Understood." Zhuge Xuan took such an entrustment, and always felt that the burden on his shoulders was heavier. Although he himself was unwilling to take on such a burden, but in the absence of someone who could speak in the entire family, Zhuge Xuan, who was still famous, became the backbone of the family. If you don't look for him, who will you go to?

Zhuge Xuan understood this, but although he understood that he had to move the family out of Langya, he didn't have any idea where to move. On the second day after returning home, after he worshiped his brother's spiritual position, he faced the people in the family who gathered in the hall, and told everyone the hesitation in his heart very clearly:

"When, where, and what will happen to people is completely unpredictable. Faced with such a situation, I know that my family must move out, but I really can't tell you where you want to move, and I can't give you a guide at will. ”

"Then do you want to invite Mr. Zijiang to come over and have a look?" A month later, Gan Hai, the housekeeper of the Zhuge family, suggested to his second master.

In his opinion, since he can't decide what to do, why don't you ask Xu Shao, a viewer, to take a look. Since people have such praise, his ability should naturally not be too bad.

After all, it's easy to fool one or two people, but it's hard to fool many people. And for such a thing, the housekeeper Gan Hai still has his own way. He had already received a more affirmative reply through Hai Bo, the secretary next to Xu Shao: "If the Langya Zhuge family invites me, I will still go." Therefore, Gan Hai was very enthusiastic.

"Are you kidding?" Zhuge Xuan glared at his housekeeper, but there was an expression on his face that seemed to be smiling: "I don't want to rely too much on others, especially in such a big event." Fate is said to have the idea of heaven, that is, the existence of the so-called luck, but after all, it only has a slight impact on fate. The main fate, no matter who you are, has to rely on yourself to control it. Go and ask Xu Shao, it's better for all of us to get together and think about it ourselves. Moreover, Mr. Zijiang is not so easy to invite, and I don't want to go to Guangling to invite him. ”

At that time, Xu Shao was traveling around Guangling.

"No, I don't. We can invite him to Yangdu. I've asked someone to do it beforehand...... The other party said that if it was you, then he would come. Gan Hai's old face was full of a look of pity. He is about forty years old, and he is still in the prime of life, but the excessive wrinkles on his face make him look much older than usual. He is an honest man, and he can't hide things in his heart and face.

Zhuge Xuan turned his head to look at Gan Hai's face full of pity, and felt a little unbearable in his heart. Gan Hai is loyal enough, and he bothered to worry about most of the affairs of the Zhuge family, which made Zhuge Xuan very moved.

"Since the matter has been negotiated, let's give you a face, please Xu Shao to come here." Zhuge Xuan opened his mouth and almost wanted to say this, but in the end there was no sound.

First, Zhuge Xuan didn't like Xu Shao, thinking that he was a person who could only say things that catered to him; Second, Zhuge Xuan clearly understands that the current situation at home is not optimistic.

Although the Zhuge family is famous, in Zhuge Xuan's generation, there are no high-ranking officials. Originally, Zhuge Xuan and his elder brother, one was a 600-stone Taishan Juncheng and the other was a 400-stone squire, and their income was not very high, and it was already difficult to pay for such a large family. Later, Zhuge Xuan resigned and returned to his hometown, and after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he entered the account of Liu Biao in Jingzhou, so that he had no relationship with Yangdu. Although there are still some fields available for use in Yangdu's hometown, in this troubled era, Qingzhou and the northern part of Xuzhou have repeatedly encountered things like bandit wars, and there are no fields available in Yangdu.

"Alas...... Our family's money and food are not in good condition and we can't pay for that much. Please let this matter of Xu Shao stop. Zhuge Xuan decided to come down like this. Considering the problem of his own property, there is really no need for him to spend such a huge amount of travel expenses for the sake of Gan Hai's face. He counted the situation in his home and found that the current asset situation was worse than expected.

"Oh!" Gan Hai retreated in a huff, still feeling a little pity in his heart. Although he also understands the situation at home. Seeing Gan Hai leaving, Zhuge Xuan couldn't help but sigh. Although he rejected Xu Shaolai's suggestion, he still didn't consider where the family would go.

"What to do?" He was distressed and fell into deep thought. Suddenly, a light flashed in his mind, and his eyes suddenly brightened - he thought of his nephew: "Ah Liang is young, but he is very intelligent, so he must have his own opinions on such matters." "It's possible, after all, I met such a child named Li Sheng in that tavern called Surabaya Ju, and many of his opinions even I admire very much.

"Our family's Ah Liang shouldn't be worse than him, right?" Zhuge Xuan himself has no children, so he treats his brother's children as his own. No one thinks he's bad for his children, and his nephew named Ah Liang is really good.

So, Zhuge Xuan ordered people to call his six nephews and nieces, including five from his eldest brother's side and one from his sister-in-law's side. The current sister-in-law is not his eldest brother's first match, she is also a widow with a son of her own. Although this child has nothing to do with their Zhuge family itself, since his mother has become the head mother of the Zhuge family, Zhuge Xuan naturally has to regard him as his nephew. After all, she is also married to her eldest brother Ming Media, and she is a wife, not a concubine.

The children came, and he looked at their still childish faces and smiled slightly. Finally, he locked his eyes on the second boy standing side by side. "How? Ah Liang, what are your plans for where you want to go? Zhuge Xuan asked him.

Ah Liang shook his head gently.

"So, do you think we're going to invite Mr. Zijiang to come and listen to his opinion?" Zhuge Xuan asked again. If he didn't even think of anything for his second nephew, then he was so confused that he really had to ask someone else to ask.

"No, I want to hear your opinion, uncle." This time, Zhuge Liang's answer was very clear.

"Listen to me? But I don't know what to do! Zhuge Xuan smiled bitterly.

"I wonder if I can ask my uncle to take care of us?" Zhuge Liang had such a plan in his heart to go to Jingzhou to seek refuge with his uncle.

"Huh? Take care of you? However, Uncle Wei is not rich. Zhuge Xuan frowned. He was struggling with the idea.

"I'm not going to let my uncle take care of all of us." Zhuge Liang said with a wink.

"Then ...... are you going to do," Zhuge Xuan groaned.

"Can I ask my uncle to take care of the three and eldest sisters below 'Zhixue'?" Zhuge Liang said his plan. As if he was afraid that Zhuge Xuan would not agree, he looked straight at his uncle.

"You guy." Zhuge Xuan glared at Zhuge Liang back.

To be honest, Zhuge Xuan was afraid that his family would propose to go to Jingzhou with him. Although it is also very easy to support his eldest brother's widow with his current long history and the care of his lord Liu Biao, he is also very willing to take care of his eldest brother's children, but if there is a beautiful sister-in-law who is a widow in it, then the problem in the middle is big. As early as when he hadn't returned to Yangdu, Jingzhou's wife asked him quite worriedly: "You won't bring your sister-in-law to Jingzhou, right?" ”

What kind of heart did his wife say such a thing, Zhuge Xuan knew it. Although it is a common thing for a man to have three wives and four concubines in these years, few families are very harmonious. Even if there are more concubines in the harem there, bloody things often happen, let alone other people's families? The wife's appearance is not as good as that of the sister-in-law, and if she comes with her, of course the wife's heart will be unbalanced. Women are suspicious, and even if there is nothing going on, most of them will doubt it because of the jealousy in their hearts. Such things are naturally troublesome for men, but if they really like their wives, of course they will avoid such things. Trying to have as little contact as possible with beautiful women is one of them.

Looking at his wife's worried face, Zhuge Xuan smiled bitterly, but also told her very clearly: "No." ”

But if you don't bring your sister-in-law, how will you settle the eldest brother's bereaved family? This is where Zhuge Xuan has a headache. At this moment, when he heard his nephew Zhuge Liang divide it like this, his eyes suddenly lit up, and his heart was quite moved: "If the two sides are divided in this way, then the eldest son Jin and the eldest sister-in-law's son Zhang Yi need to find another way out, and he only needs to take care of Yan, Ling, Liang, and Jun." Without a sister-in-law caught in it, and only going back with a few imps, the wife should be happy. He clearly understands that he and his wife, who have no biological children, like children very much in their hearts.

"Well...... "Although Zhuge Xuan is very willing in his heart, as the elder of the children, he still has to be necessary to be reserved. In such a situation, he could only groan, and then asked the eldest son who was standing on the side: "You are the eldest son in the family, and now you are the head of the family." Do you have any plans for this? ”

"As an heir, I want to stay at home for the time being." Zhuge Jin was also a smart man, and he could immediately see from his uncle's face that his uncle was approving his brother's proposal. He himself thought that such a proposal was good, so he said as his uncle meant.

"But is it getting worse and worse? Cao Cao's army will come soon, and the fierceness of the revenge war will turn this place into a place of war. Zhuge Ge said with an unchanged expression, his tone was very light, as if he was saying something irrelevant.

Hearing what his uncle said, Zhuge Jin lowered his head, he was half helpless, half said in a low voice: "Filial piety comes first." When my father's grave is not dry and my filial piety has not yet been completed for three years, how can I leave Yangdu? Although there is a possibility of war, there is no way to do it. I'll think about the future. I have also been in touch with my classmates who used to study in Luoyang, and I want to take a closer look before deciding where to go. Originally, it was my responsibility as the eldest son to take care of my younger siblings. It's just that I'm worried that I haven't been called yet, and that the decision I made was too hasty, and I might hurt them at a young age. So, I thought it would be better to give them to my uncle. ”

Even the eldest son said so, and the matter was over. Zhuge Xuan stared at Zhuge Jin's long face and his body that was more than eight feet tall, and nodded with a smile: "Then it's troublesome for you." In Yangdu, you still need to take care of yourself. If you really can't do it, you can go to Jingzhou to find me after three years of filial piety. ”

"Hmm!" Zhuge nodded solemnly. Keeping filial piety for his father for three years is something he must do. Although his real mourning time may not really be as long as three years, as a person at that time, such a strict observance of filial piety was also a way to gain fame.

At that time, the selection of talents was called "raising filial piety and honesty", that is, selecting the so-called filial piety and honest people. It is impossible to see whether you are truly honest or not before you become a leader, but filial piety can be seen in daily behavior. Zhuge did this, and he also paved the way for his future career.

And so it was decided. On the one hand, Zhuge Xuan asked Gan Hai to officially return to Xu Shao's recruitment, and on the other hand, he asked people to contact the Xuzhou Carrier Group, which is responsible for the consignment of goods in Jianghuai. If you want to go to Jingzhou, of course, people go low-key, but you still have to bring things. Although Yangdu's hometown did not give up, it also needed to prepare some other things, and there were always some important things that needed to be sent to Jingzhou. Therefore, it is necessary to be associated with this line of work.

From the south of the Huai River to the Yangtze River, most of them are waterways, and the person responsible for transporting the goods is also the Shuifu Group. They deliver the materials entrusted by the customer to a distant place and deliver them to the designated person correctly. If it doesn't arrive, then you won't be able to do business next time. Therefore, the most important thing in this business is credit.

When it comes to integrity, they rely on faith to connect. They are both believers in the Futu religion, and although they are still a minority in the entire population, they have a deep connection with each other. As long as it is a matter of trustworthiness, there is absolutely no problem between them. For the sake of the word "integrity", they can even spare their own lives. At that time, they had deservedly become the main force in the transportation industry. Even the **** on the side of the waterway did not dare to offend them easily. Therefore, it is of course safest to entrust them with the delivery of goods.

Ten days later, Zhuge Xuan received a reward from these people: "The goods have been loaded on the ship, and they can arrive in Xiangyang in about two months." ”

Such a positive news made Zhuge Xuan really relieved, and after receiving that the housekeeper Gan Hai had already rejected the invitation to Xu Shao's side, he finally planned to leave with his nephews and nieces.

However, at this time, news came from the east: "Cao Cao of Yanzhou sent troops to Xuzhou, saying that he wanted to avenge his father." - The flames of war began to burn.

"It looks like I can't go anywhere. This revenge war is together, and Xuzhou is afraid that it will be ruined. For this news, Zhuge Xuan was worried, and he thought of the child he met in the Xiaqiu Surabaya Ju Tavern: "I hope he will be fine, right?" ”

"Uncle, what are you doing with a sad face?" Looking at Zhuge Xuan's changed face, Zhuge Liang asked curiously. He has the best relationship with his second uncle. Every time his second uncle came back, he revolved around the second uncle. He always had a lot of questions to ask his second uncle.

"I'm worried about ......," Zhuge Xuan opened his mouth in a deep voice.

"Worried about what?" Zhuge Liang was puzzled.

"I'm worried about a kid named Li Sheng. He's about your age and as smart as you. He is now in Xiaqiu, Xuzhou, and I fear that he will be drawn into the flames of war. After all, the direction of Cao Cao's main attack was in the south. Zhuge Xuan was distressed: "If he dies in the war, then there will be one less talent in this world." He sighed, but never said how he really felt. In fact, in just a few days with Li Sheng, Zhuge Xuan already regarded him as his own son. In his eyes, there is no difference between Li Sheng's importance and Ah Liang in front of him.

"Is he really as smart as I am?" Fourteen-year-old Zhuge Liang suddenly heard this, and his eyes suddenly brightened. He knew that his uncle was not very praised, and he was the eldest brother who performed very well in front of ordinary people, and he also received a "rigorous and self-disciplined" comment in his uncle's mouth, and he never said that he was smart. Now to say that there is a boy about the same age as himself who generally belongs to the category of "smart", which is not only a compliment to himself, but also shows that the person is not ordinary outstanding, but very good.

"yes!" Zhuge Xuan nodded clearly: "If you meet him in the future, I think you will also sympathize with him." I don't know if it's because the world has been chaotic, but recently, the world's talents have really come out one by one. For example, those under Cao Cao, if they were in the Taiping world, I am afraid that they would not be famous in the world when they were young. An era is about to fall, and in the midst of all the chaos, everyone is looking for the protagonist of the next era. It is precisely because of this that Xu Shao's guy attracts attention. ”

"Uncle doesn't seem to like Xu Shao?" Zhuge Liang said in a word, he paused, and said: "I don't seem to like Cao Cao either." ”

"As far as I think, Cao Cao is a calm guy on the outside, but very arrogant on the inside. This kind of person is much more intense than ordinary people in terms of joy and anger, and he often uses some more extreme means to express his inner feelings. This becomes a strong charm in the eyes of some people, and it is very attractive. But I don't appreciate such a strong position, I don't dare to understand Cao Cao's arrogance in his heart, even if I had the opportunity to associate with him when I was in Luoyang before, I also tried to avoid him. Maybe it's the so-called personality mismatch. Regarding his nephew's inquiry, Zhuge Xuan gave a detailed answer: "As for Xu Shao's guy, I hated him after I knew about him and Cao Cao." ”

"What's the matter?" Zhuge Liang hurriedly asked. As a child, his curiosity is very important.

At the beginning, Cao Cao went to Yingchuan to ask Xu Shao for comments. Because Cao Cao came uninvited, Xu Shao was very unhappy, but he couldn't just drive him away. So he gave him the comment of 'ruling the world and being a traitor in troubled times'. That's not a good word. Although the world has not changed greatly at that time, everyone can see that the future will be a chaotic era. The so-called 'ruling the world' is just casually talking, and 'traitor in troubled times' is his real evaluation of Cao Cao. However, whether Cao Cao was a 'traitor in troubled times', how could he see it at that time? . It is said that Cao Cao jumped up with joy when he heard it, which shows that this comment is very to his taste. Xu Shao's eyes were very poisonous, he must have seen Cao Cao's personality before he would say such a thing. I hate Xu Shao because of this - he simply looks at people talking about people, and watching ghosts talk nonsense. Inviting him here would cost him a lot of money and only a few words of flattery. It doesn't matter to us. Zhuge Xuan explained slowly.

"I see!" Zhuge Liang nodded lightly, but didn't say anything more. Although he was still young, he understood from the book and from the previous questions and answers with his uncle and father: "The opinions of others can only be used as a reference for you, and the real opinions can only be obtained by thinking about them in your own heart." ".

"There are thousands of answers to the same question in the eyes of thousands of people, but what is my own answer?" Sometimes, after putting down the scroll, he also has such confusion. However, this confusion is short-lived after all: "Anyway, I am still very young, and I can't get an answer today, and I may not be able to get an answer tomorrow, so why should I care about a moment?" "He's always very open-minded to explain himself.

It's just a small thing. Regarding the things that his uncle still has concerns in his heart, only Zhuge Liang knows about it at home, and Ah Liang, who is quite smart, naturally will not spread this matter everywhere with a big tongue. Therefore, this incident did not cause much trouble at home.

Regarding the news of Cao Cao's attack on Xuzhou, the housekeeper Gan Hai was responsible for sending the latest information every day. In this troubled world, almost every big family has its own set of intelligence gathering methods, and they either use their family property as an intelligence point or use their personal friends to obtain all kinds of information. When this information is collected and summarized into a relatively clear organization, the whereabouts of these families can be decided.

"Cao Cao Liankepengcheng, Suiling, Tujiao, Fuyang, and Xiaqiu counties banned the slaughter of their people, and then destroyed their bodies and abandoned them in the Sui River, so that the river water was cut off." Zhuge Xuan told the news to the family members with great sadness. He saw the news of the slaughter of Xiaqiu City in the battle report, and he was in a very bad mood. When reading this battle report to everyone, he did not hide his indignation against Cao Cao in his heart: "This behavior is really bad, it can be compared with Dong Zhuo back then." The five large counties, plus the immigrants and the surrounding villages, are only afraid that there are hundreds of thousands of people. He killed them all like this? His Cao Cao's father is really valuable. ”

"Alas...... Uncle, what do you think we are going to do now? Hearing the news of the slaughter of the city, even Zhuge Jin, who has always been calm, couldn't help but feel a little furious in his heart: "Yang Du will definitely not be able to take it down." Although Langya is guarded by Taishan's General Zang Ba to the west, resisting Cao Cao's forbidden, God knows how long it can be defended under such a corrupt situation! We're going to get out of here anyway. ”

"Yes." Zhuge Xuan nodded affirmatively, "So I plan to leave for Jingzhou in the next few days." Although the current war is still going on, Tao Qian's side is also supported by Tian Xu, Liu Bei and Kong Rong, and now the battle line between the two sides is generally maintained in the area of Yancheng. As long as we are careful, we will not run into a slaughtering team from behind Cao Cao's army. ”

"Then we ...... here" Zhuge Jin was a little embarrassed: "I still have to keep filial piety for my father for three years." ”

"Filial piety to one's father and one's devotion to one's mother are equally important. Sister-in-law is afraid that she can't stand the climate in Xuzhou. Zhuge Xuan said.

"I understand, I'll take my mother to Koto." Zhuge Jin quickly understood the advice his uncle gave him, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"As for the house. What is here in Yangdu is still sold to those who don't believe in evil. He's in a better situation than we are, and he has connections to Cao Cao's side, so I think they might be able to survive this incident. This is Zhuge Xuan's last plan, "As long as even the house is dealt with, then Yang will have nothing to be nostalgic for." However, as a scholar, he had to be a homeless person in order to survive, which really made him feel the ruthlessness of the world.

"Ladies and gentlemen, time is running out for us. We need to prepare as early as possible. If it's too late, God knows what will happen. In the end, Zhuge Xuan took special care of everyone and urged, making everyone feel a trace of oppression from the coming crisis. So, everyone was busy getting ready.

At this time, fourteen-year-old Zhuge Liang came to his uncle's side, gently took his uncle's hand, and whispered: "Uncle, will we pass through Xiaqiu when we go to Jingzhou this time?" ”

"Probably. But the rest is hard to say. Zhuge Xuan said faintly, as soon as he heard the term Xia Qiu, his face couldn't help but show a little gloomy.

"If you can, I hope my uncle can stay around Xia Qiu for a while and look for what you said about Li Sheng. Although Xiaqiu City was destroyed, if Li Sheng was really as smart as you said, then he would definitely be able to escape in advance. I hope that my uncle will find him and fulfill your prayers—I don't want you to have regrets, uncle. Zhuge Liang's vaguely childish face had the seriousness of an adult, and he was very serious about talking to his uncle about it.

"But it's dangerous to stay in the same place for a long time." Zhuge Xuan was a little worried about this.

"But that isn't a big risk. I heard my uncle say that there was not much food in Yanzhou last year, so presumably Cao Cao would eventually retreat because of the exhaustion of food. Zhuge Liang said very calmly.

"Yes." Zhuge Xuan nodded approvingly, then looked carefully at Zhuge Liang's calm expression, and suddenly said, "You and Li Sheng are really very similar." Especially when you speak seriously. ”

"Well, this one!" Zhuge Liang is also a little shy about this. He is relatively thin-skinned and can't bear the constant praise of others.