Zhuge Liang moved out the bamboo chairs and tables in the room and asked Huang Chengyan and the book boy to sit down. He rummaged through the sealed cabinet for a while before finding a few cups.
He looked apologetic and said to Huang Chengyan: "Today is really unlucky. I was about to leave, but I put everything away."
Huang Chengyan saw the furniture piled neatly in the thatched cottage and said, "My little friend, are you going on a long trip?"
"Why did you leave without saying goodbye?"
Zhuge Liang smiled bitterly and said: "Liang thought that my father-in-law had left long ago. After all, there is a war a hundred miles away, and it will affect us here at any time."
Huang Chengyan laughed, "My little friend, you look down on me. Even if I leave, I still have to tell you."
Zhuge Liang heard this and quickly bowed to apologize.
Huang Chengyan added: "Didn't my friend say that day that both Huang Zu and Zhang Xiu can guard one side?"
"Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Is it because you think the two of you can't hold on anymore?"
Zhuge Liang shook his head and said: "That's not true. Although Jingzhou is encountering two strong enemies this time, both have their weaknesses. It is unlikely that they will invade Jingzhou."
"Oh?" Huang Chengyan glanced at the book boy, "The dog girl said the same thing. Let me hear your reason. Is it the same as the dog girl?"
Zhuge Liang was stunned, thinking that a woman who had not yet left the imperial court could have such knowledge?
Isn't it Huang Chengyan who is bragging for his daughter?
A few days ago, Huang Chengyan met Zhuge Liang through Xu Shu and others. After coming several times and having in-depth talks with Zhuge Liang, he was amazed by his talent and immediately proposed to betroth his daughter to Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang was a little hesitant, because Huang Chengyan said that his daughter had a yellow head and a black face. After hearing this, Zhuge Liang thought, how could he say that about his daughter? Isn't this self-effacing?
Because fair and dark skin, red lips, white teeth, bright eyes and slender waist are the aesthetics of the world. And Huang Chengyan himself has a good appearance and is married to the eldest daughter of the Cai family. Logically speaking, the daughter he gives birth to should not be inferior. .
But if it is true as Huang Chengyan said, his daughter's ugly appearance does not seem to be a big problem. After all, in Zhuge Liang's view, it is impossible for women in the world, whether they are beautiful or ugly, to understand his own thoughts. So what's the point? What's the difference?
Therefore, Huang Chengyan's last sentence, saying that his daughter and Zhuge Liang are a good match, in Zhuge Liang's view, is even more unreliable than the previous sentence, which is yellow-headed and black-faced.
But Huang Chengyan's other identity is that he is related to Liu Biao, which is more sensitive.
The four friends often teased Zhuge Liang about this matter, saying that if he married Huang Chengyan's daughter, he would be able to rise to the top in one fell swoop and his official career would be smooth sailing.
Zhuge Liang was an extremely proud man, and he felt a little uncomfortable when he heard this. If Huang Chengyan's daughter was good-looking and he married her, he would not be criticized.
But if the other party is really ugly, then when people in the world hear that he married her, they will definitely think that he is a person who is interested in fame and fortune. When he thinks of this, Zhuge Liang's thoughts dim.
So when Zhuge Liang saw that Huang Chengyan hadn't come in the past few days, he knew that the other person might just have something to do, but he still chose to leave for a while, which was equivalent to rejecting the matter.
This was obviously an escape, so when Huang Chengyan mentioned his daughter again and his words were full of hints, Zhuge Liang simply pretended not to understand and explained: "Yuan Shu attacks Zhang Xiu and Sun Ce attacks Huang Zu. The situation is very dangerous."
"However, Yuan Shu's troops were exhausted and lacked food, and were at the end of their war effort. However, the Liangzhou army led by Zhang Xiu had gone through hundreds of battles and had recuperated their strength over the past year. They also defended the city. The two fought against each other, even though Yuan Shu's troops were ten times stronger. It is also difficult to capture Zhangxiu."
"And the same is true for the Jiangxia Waterway."
"Sun Ce is a fierce tiger in the east of the Yangtze River, but his naval force is his strength, but his land force is inferior."
"Now one of his armies is attacking Xiakou by water, and another army is attacking Xisai by land. The two armies need to advance together and encroach step by step. It will take a long time to fully control the Jiangxia defense line."
"But now Sun Ce is pursuing a quick victory. As long as one of the two groups suffers a setback, it will be difficult for the other group to respond. I heard that although Huang Zu suffered a small defeat at Xiakou, it only slightly damaged his morale."
"Not to mention the Xisai side. Although Sun Ce personally led the troops to defeat Liu Xun and Liu Ye, Xisai is backed by the Dabie Mountains and the road is difficult to walk. For the Jiangdong soldiers, both morale and combat effectiveness are unsustainable."
"Moreover, the subsequent food and grass supplies will be even more difficult to deliver, and I am afraid that he will not be able to continue westward. According to Liang's speculation, Sun Ce will return to Lujiang soon to collect food."
"But now Sun Ce may have realized the need to establish a route from Wankou to Xisai. Previously, he may have thought that he could penetrate Xiakou by water alone, so he gave Wancheng to the fierce tiger."
"But now it seems that Wankou is very important for attacking Jiangxia by land. Sun Ce must be very regretful about abandoning Wankou earlier."
"If he and Xiu Hu get into trouble because of this, I'm afraid the world situation will undergo many changes."
Huang Chengyan listened and said with a smile: "What my little friend said is that Guo's idea is similar to that of Dog Girl."
"My little friend, I don't want to hear how I judged that Yuan Shu and Sun Ce were invincible this time?"
Zhuge Liang became curious and said, "I would like to hear the details."
Huang Chengyan said with a smile: "My little girl actually has no ability as a little friend. She understands the world situation and the decisions of all parties so well. She just made a guess based on a little knowledge."
"It is based on the most crucial figure in the world's crusade against Yuan Shu."
Zhuge Liang blinked, "Is this the fierce tiger you are referring to?"
Huang Chengyan slapped his thigh, "That's right!"
"My little girl said that the adviser behind the fierce tiger, or herself, had already planned most of the situation, including Yuan Shu and Sun Ce's attack on Jingzhou, long before the war started!"
"Take the attack on Hefei along the Yangtze River as an example. It only needs to occupy Ruxukou where the Yangtze River enters Chaohu Lake. Why waste so much effort and time on attacking Wankou, which is hundreds of miles upstream?"
"And if Wancheng doesn't attack Jingzhou, it won't actually mean much to Xiuhu, unless he also has the same idea!"
"After thinking about it, I think that Fierce Tiger has a character trait, which is that this person seems to draw allies to help him in every battle, but he will never leave the most critical and important locations in the hands of his allies."
"Wancheng is like this to Sun Ce, and Hefei is like this to Liu Bei."
After Zhuge Liang heard this, his eyes flashed, "The girl's words are indeed unique. According to this view, wouldn't Fierce Tiger be a selfish person?"
After hearing this, the scholar behind Huang Chengyan subconsciously opened his mouth, but after he woke up, he quickly held it back.
Huang Chengyan chuckled and said: "My little girl doesn't think so. In today's world, we only look at the results and not the process. After all, the only ones who can make a final conclusion are the parties involved."
Zhuge Liang listened and nodded slightly, "It is indeed true. Although the name of the fierce tiger has a fierce character, I heard that the people live and work in peace and contentment, not much worse than the prosperous people in Jingzhou. Maybe there is something that Liang did not see? "
Huang Chengyan added: "As for Yuan Shu's journey, it is even simpler."
"It's obvious that he wants to occupy the magpie's nest, but not to mention that Zhang Xiu is not a fuel-efficient lamp. If the fierce tiger also has plans for Jingzhou, he will never let Yuan Shu successfully occupy Jingzhou."
"If Fierce Tiger had planned ahead, he would have mobilized his naval forces to attack Shouchun and drive Yuan Shu's army to the junction of Yangzhou and Jiangxia in Yuzhou, so that they would not be able to see each other and would collapse without a fight."
Zhuge Liang listened and sighed: "The girl is really talented. She focused on the key point of the fierce tiger and derived her best approach based on her plans and actions. This is similar to the method of finding the main star in stargazing. Different approaches but similar results.”
"The so-called general trend of the world is mostly the result of the struggle between several key figures, mixed with accidental or inevitable factors, and finally formed."
"From this point of view, Fierce Tiger already has the ability to influence the general trend of the world. Every move of this kind of character can change the stars."
"My young lady is in a deep boudoir, but she can understand people's hearts. She can tell the autumn from a leaf. She is indeed smart. She is ashamed to be bright."
Although the book boy behind Huang Chengyan knew that Zhuge Liang was being modest, he still couldn't help but lower his head with a look of joy on his face.
Zhuge Liang sighed again: "But what the girl expected was what Liang was worried about, so he left Nanyang early."
"If Yuan Shu's 100,000 troops were defeated, most of them would roar and gather in the mountains and forests, turning into bandits. By then, the mountains and fields of Nanyang would be filled with bandits and bandits, and there would be no peace."
"That's why Liang is preparing to leave. He also advises my father-in-law that Nanyang cannot stay any longer. It could be three months later or one month sooner. There will be chaos here."
Huang Chengyan nodded and said: "That's true, but little friend, I've come here again and again, don't you still understand what I mean?"
Zhuge Liang smiled bitterly and said: "Although Liang is not talented, he is still responsible."
"It's just that now that my father and brother are gone, and Liang is doing well, he is afraid that the world will criticize Liang for clinging to the powerful, so it is really hard to decide whether to marry Mr. Huang."
"So Liang thought about traveling in Jingzhou for a few years before making a decision."
After hearing this, Huang Chengyan stroked his beard and said: "Since my decision has been made, my friend, he asked me to summon three friends tomorrow to see him off together. Otherwise, it would not be etiquette to leave without saying goodbye."
After hearing this, Zhuge Liang had no choice but to agree and send Huang Chengyan out. He saw Huang Chengyan riding a donkey and taking the book boy down the mountain.
Huang Chengyan rode on the donkey, and the book boy followed behind. The two of them were speechless all the way until halfway up the mountain, when Huang Chengyan couldn't help but said: "What do you think?"
The scholar said: "What else can you think? I have nothing to do."
"It doesn't matter if the other person is ugly. What my daughter likes is his talent, but he still looks so good-looking. How can my daughter change his mind?"
This book boy is Huang Chengyan's daughter Huang Yueying. Her facial features are dignified and beautiful, and there is a heroic spirit between her eyebrows. After her hair is tied up, she can't tell whether she is male or female. The only flaw is that compared to the gentry women who pay attention to skin whiteness, her face does have some... black.
Huang Chengyan said depressedly: "Other girls stay at home, but you are better off. But you have been running around outside since you were a child, and you got so tanned. Isn't this your own fault?"
Huang Yueying pouted, "How can you blame me entirely? It wasn't my father who took me all over the mountain in the first place?"
"I don't care, my father has to find a way for his daughter!"
Huang Chengyan was speechless, "You saw it just now, I almost made you kneel down, your face was almost gone!"
The father and daughter were noisy all the way and gradually went down the mountain.
(End of chapter)
