Chapter 981: Even after Liu Bei visited him three times, he couldn’t even invite Kong Ming.
As the coalition of princes disbands, the princes who are closer will return to their territory first, while the princes who are far away will naturally be slower.
As the governor of Pingyuan, Liu Bei was also one of the princes who were far away, such as the princes of Yan and Hezhou, who had already returned to their territories, but he had just reached Julu County in Jizhou and had not yet reached the border of Qingzhou.
When Liu Bei arrived and marched to Guangzong County, he accidentally heard from the local people that the great talents of Zongheng Guigu Sect were in the county.
Liu Bei, who was passionate about talents, immediately ordered a halt to the march and personally took Guan and Zhang to visit.
Liu Bei's move shocked the Julu County magistrate. He was afraid that Liu Bei would order an attack on the city, so he quickly wrote to Chen Youliang asking for help.
After the Ming army retreated, half of Julu County was occupied by Yuan Shao, the remaining half was divided between Han Fu, Chen Youliang, and Zhang Shicheng, and Guangzong County was occupied by Chen Youliang.
In order not to irritate the other three princes, Chen Youliang did not deploy too many troops in Guangzong County, and the nearly a thousand county soldiers in the city alone could not resist Liu Bei's army.
When Chen Youliang learned about it, he took it very seriously and personally led thousands of troops straight to Guangzong, but Liu Bei had no idea about it.
The Guigu disciple Liu Bei wanted to visit was naturally Zhuge Liang and his group who were heading north. After they arrived at Julu, they prepared to enter Taihang, but they did not expect to be accidentally involved in a major local case.
Although this major case was bizarre and tortuous, it could not trouble Zhuge Liang, whose intelligence was already over 100, and it took only three days to successfully solve the case. This also made Zhuge Liang famous in Guangzong, and even attracted Liu Bei, who led the army back to the plains. .
Of course Zhuge Liang knew Liu Bei's intentions, and although he felt an inexplicable affinity for Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang was not prepared to see Liu Bei and simply stayed behind closed doors on the grounds that he was out.
What Zhuge Liang didn't expect was that his intention was clearly expressed, but Liu Bei seemed to have ignored it and even ignored the army. He came to visit three times in a row just to see Zhuge Liang.
To be honest, Zhuge Liang was very moved by Liu Bei's eagerness for talents.
Although Liu Bei's strength among the princes was not strong, he was still the leader of the princes. It was already very difficult for a commoner to achieve this level.
I was moved, but it was absolutely impossible for Zhuge Liang to defect to Liu Bei.
Regardless of the fact that Zhuge Liang was completely disappointed with the Han Dynasty, even if the Han Dynasty could be saved, Zhuge Liang would never choose Liu Bei.
In Zhuge Liang's view, compared to other princes, Liu Bei had two fatal weaknesses.
First, Liu Bei’s own abilities are insufficient;
Compared with Qin Hao, Li Shimin and others, Liu Bei's ability is still too mediocre. Although as a monarch, you only need to be able to employ people, but you are not on the same starting line as others, so how can you compare with others?
Second, Liu Bei's background is too poor.
Although Liu Bei was born into a peasant family, he did not have any support from any forces behind him. Even the rising Liu Xiu had better background than Liu Bei, so why should you compete with the major princes?
Zhuge Liang expected that even if the two fierce generals Guan and Zhang came to help, Liu Bei would still be unable to escape the fate of being annexed. This Qingzhou rebellion might be the end of Liu Bei's power.
Although Zhuge Liang would not seek refuge with Liu Bei, he still decided to meet Liu Bei and give him some advice, thus repaying his "three visits".
Liu Bei was naturally overjoyed when he learned that Zhuge Liang was willing to meet him, thinking that his persistence had impressed this great talent.
The two chatted for an afternoon, and Liu Bei was impressed by Zhuge Liang's talent and learning. However, Zhuge Liang never agreed to become an official, which also made Liu Bei disappointed.
Liu Bei also saw from the conversation that Zhuge Liang really didn't think highly of him, but Liu Bei was really unwilling to give up like this. After all, he was the top talent in the world.
So Liu Bei planned to let Guan and Zhang tie Zhuge Liang back by force first, and then slowly calm down.
Zhuge Liang's refusal of Liu Bei's recruitment also made Guan Yu and Zhang Fei very dissatisfied, so they agreed without thinking.
Guan and Zhang were already world-famous warriors. If they went to kidnap a scholar together, it would be impossible for them to lose, but this time they really hit the wall.
Seeing Guan Zhang return without success and being beaten with a bruised nose and face, Liu Bei couldn't help but take a breath and said in disbelief: "How could someone in this small Guangzong City hurt these two worthy brothers?"
"Brother, you don't know. The strength of the person who hurt me and my second brother is simply unfathomable. Even if my second brother and I joined forces, we still couldn't test his depth."
"Who is this person that can have such strength?"
"It's Zhuge Liang's guard."
As he said this, Zhang Fei felt severe pain in his face again. He immediately covered his face and grimaced in pain. When Liu Bei heard this, he was even more shocked.
Being able to defeat the combined forces of Guan and Zhang without harming his life, this kind of strength is probably enough to rank in the top three of the generals list, but why are you willing to be Zhuge Liang's bodyguard?
Liu Bei was puzzled by this, and in the end he could only attribute it to the fact that the strategists were unfathomable, and even masters of this level could only serve as guards.
Guan Yu's situation was better than Zhang Fei's, but he said with a solemn face: "Brother, the mysterious masters around Zhuge Liang always give me a familiar feeling, as if I have known him before."
"oh?"
Liu Bei's eyes lit up and he said hurriedly: "Second brother, what did you remember?"
Of course Liu Bei also wanted to recruit the top three generals on the general list, but after Guan Yu thought for a long time, he still shook his head helplessly and said: "I can't remember, maybe it's my imagination."
Liu Bei suddenly looked disappointed, but after remembering what Zhuge Liang said, he couldn't help showing a strange look in his eyes.
"Lord Xuande, the Qingxu Prefecture is in chaos now. If you want to revitalize the Han Dynasty, you must use the Qingxu Prefecture as a stepping stone, otherwise everything will be just empty talk..."
At this thought, Liu Bei couldn't help but show a firm look in his eyes, and then he sighed sadly.
"Both Yuan Shao and Huang Chao are not fuel-efficient. If Mr. Kong Ming has your help, I may still be able to control the two states. Otherwise, it will be difficult to reach the sky."
"Brother, Zhuge Liang has left Guangzong, but Chen Youliang has arrived with his army. Our army really cannot stay here for long." Guan Yu said with a serious face.
Liu Bei's face suddenly darkened, and then he ordered in a deep voice: "Leave camp immediately and return to the plains."
"promise."
Ten miles outside Guangzong City, on a small road leading to Taihang, a carriage was driving smoothly, and Zhuge Liang and others were in the carriage.
"Brother Kong Ming, why do you want to give Liu Bei advice? Look at that guy opening and closing his mouth for the sake of the world. He is a hypocrite who is hypocritical."
Huang Rong looked angry and kept scolding Liu Bei, while Zhuge Liang could only comfort him with a wry smile.
"I showed Duke Xuande a clear path, but I'm afraid he still won't be able to survive. Today's troubled times are even worse than those in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Even the princes cannot survive alone."
.. m.
