Commotion 2

On the day I took refuge with Zhuge Liang, as I watched the situation calm down with the dispersal of the gathered crowd, I thought it would start to settle down properly now.

You know, they say time heals all wounds. But this time, it seems that time was insufficient.

“Still?”

“Yes, it seems there are even more people now.”

At Jiang Wei’s words, I slapped my forehead.

Was it that people from other regions who had heard the rumors were just now arriving in Chengdu? Or had even those who were relatively passive joined in?

Either way, it was clear that this situation wouldn’t die down as easily as I had hoped.

“But within the Luanling Army, an atmosphere of trusting the general is forming. Both General Ma and General Bu feel that way. Commandant Guo still seemed uncertain though.”

Ma Dai, who had been with me the longest.

Bu Zhan, who had served as my personal guard captain.

These two were second to none in their trust in me. Their belief that there must be a reason I hadn’t confided in them about this marriage proposal was implicit.

‘Come to think of it, Jiang Wei hasn’t asked even once.’

Even my mother had broached the subject subtly.

“Boyue, aren’t you curious?”

“Pardon?”

“No? You haven’t asked.”

I thought Jiang Wei was also quite interested in me, but perhaps this time I was truly being overly self-conscious.

Feeling awkward, I was about to brush it off with a “never mind,” when Jiang Wei opened his mouth.

“Wasn’t it a ploy to sow discord?”

“Huh?”

“I heard Lu Xun was summoned to Jianye. I thought it was your deep plan to exclude Lu Xun from Jingzhou, but perhaps…”

“No! You’re right. As expected of Boyue. But don’t go around telling people, okay? You understand?”

“Of course. Don’t worry.”

Seeing Jiang Wei seem to understand without much concern, I let out a small sigh. It sounded like two sighs overlapping, but that must have been my imagination.

Anyway, since the crowd holding gatherings in front of my house or the General of the Guards’ Office wouldn’t disappear, I naturally ended up clocking in at the Chancellor’s Office.

Jiang Wei even brought work from the General of the Guards’ Office to the Chancellor’s Office and gave it to me, and the laughable situation occurred where Ma Dai and Bu Zhan would come to the Chancellor’s Office when they needed my approval for something even while they were at the General of the Guards’ Office.

Because of this, other officials also came to know that I was taking refuge in the Chancellor’s Office, but the boldness to come to the General of the Guards’ Office didn’t extend to the Chancellor’s Office.

I suppose they find Zhuge Liang more intimidating than me. I understand. With Fa Zheng dead, and Guan Yu, Father, and Pang Tong outside, there was no one who could challenge Zhuge Liang’s authority no matter how hard you looked.

Maybe I, Huang Quan, or Liu Ba might be able to rub shoulders a bit? Even that would be just being able to discuss opposition face-to-face, not really being able to stand against Zhuge Liang. Unless Liu Bei steps in, Zhuge Liang’s position is untouchable.

‘And Liu Bei has no intention of touching Zhuge Liang.’

It was the firmness of a friendship as close as fish and water.

However, there was someone who did push against even such a Zhuge Liang, and that was Dong Yun.

[This subject, Yun, humbly reports. The General of the Guards, as a military personnel, has the General of the Guards’ Office, and the Chancellor, as the prime minister leading state affairs, has the Chancellor’s Office. However, the boundary between civil and military affairs is collapsing, and this state where the General of the Guards’ Office seems subordinate to the Chancellor’s Office is by no means desirable…]

Dong Yun, in the position of Shizhong, which was like an advisor and personal secretary to the emperor, officially petitioned Liu Bei, arguing that it was not right for me to go to the Chancellor’s Office. It was an action befitting Dong Yun, who insisted on principles even to the emperor.

Zhuge Liang, as if he had been waiting for Dong Yun’s opposition, immediately refuted on the spot. To summarize Zhuge Liang’s response:

[It is appropriate to view General Zhang Ran’s marriage proposal not as a simple family matter but as a national affair. This clearly belongs to the realm of foreign affairs and thus falls under the jurisdiction of the Chancellor’s Office.]

To begin with, it was Zhuge Liang who first brought up this marriage proposal. Only four people besides me know this: Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei, Father, and Mother.

‘But really, it’s fortunate that he told Father in advance.’

As Father’s name was included in the marriage proposal, Zhuge Liang sent a message to Father almost simultaneously with Liu Bei.

If he had done this without getting Father’s permission, he probably would have rushed to Chengdu, leaving Guanzhong and everything else to Wu Yi and Pang Tong.

Even this time, although Father reluctantly agreed that it was for the great cause, it seemed he wasn’t entirely without complaints.

‘Well, hearing about a marriage proposal for his daughter from a third party without the head of the family bringing it up himself? This is intolerable.’

He tolerated it because it was Zhuge Liang, but if it had been someone else, wouldn’t he have immediately issued a stern rebuke?

Anyway, Liu Bei, knowing all the circumstances, naturally sided with Zhuge Liang. Dong Yun, seemingly understanding Zhuge Liang’s rebuttal, withdrew cleanly without continuing the argument further.

And now that Dong Yun was here, in the Chancellor’s Office.

“Is this the abacus that the General of the Guards made?”

“He says it’s called an abacus, not counting rods.”

With the abacus I had completed and brought placed between them, Zhuge Liang was explaining its usage to Dong Yun.

Not only Zhuge Liang, who grasped even the application methods after hearing the explanation just once, but Dong Yun was also certainly intelligent. Though not to the level of understanding one thing and inferring ten, he didn’t need a second explanation.

Like a machine, once a value was input, he never forgot it and could always retrieve it precisely when needed.

After listening to Zhuge Liang’s explanation to the end, Dong Yun fully absorbed it and skillfully flicked the abacus beads.

“It’s much faster than counting rods. And there’s no lack in accuracy either.”

“How much increase in efficiency do you think there would be if this were distributed to all officials?”

“First, considering the resources required to make and distribute this, and the time it takes to learn how to use it…”

Dong Yun, who had come to Zhuge Liang saying his own thoughts were short-sighted, was now discussing matters related to the distribution of the abacus with Zhuge Liang.

As I was distant from this side of things, I just stepped back and listened to their conversation.

“But you say the General of the Guards made this alone?”

Then the arrow of conversation flew to me. Though his expression was blunt, a light of admiration could be seen in Dong Yun’s eyes.

I smiled awkwardly and said:

“I happened to see merchants from Daqin once. I improved upon what they were using.”

Daqin referred to the Roman Empire.

In reality, the history of the abacus is very deep. The abacus, which started in the Mesopotamian civilization, one of the world’s four great civilizations, was later transmitted through Greece and Rome to East Asia.

The abacus I had made was the final version that had leaped over the long process of improvement at once, so its form was quite different.

“I had heard that the General of the Guards was knowledgeable about numbers, but seeing it in person, it seems the rumors underestimated you.”

“Hmm, Mingjing seems to have a talent for inventions too. The basic framework of using overlapping composite bows in the Qiang crossbow was also Mingjing’s idea.”

“Was that so?”

“The Six Flower Formation too. I think Mingjing has a talent for improving and enhancing existing things.”

No, if you praise someone like that to their face…

“Ahem, ahem. By the way, Chancellor, I heard a reply came from Lu Xun.”

“Ah, yes. It seems they don’t view it as a simple family matter either; they sent it through an official envoy.”

Lu Xun, who had been practically escorted to Jianye, sent a reply through Zhuge Jin, who was newly appointed as Wu’s Governor of Jingzhou.

Outwardly, they put forth the pretext of sending an envoy to strengthen friendship between the two countries as Zhuge Jin took office as a neighbor to Han. While that wasn’t entirely false, I think the real purpose was in sending a response to the marriage proposal.

“Then I shall take my leave now.”

As soon as the topic of the marriage proposal came up, Dong Yun immediately stood up, probably feeling it wasn’t a matter for him to be involved in. Dong Yun was a man of principle who made no exception even for himself.

“Ah, take the abacus and show it to His Majesty too. Since you’ve learned how to use it, present its advantages along with your thoughts, and it would be good to propose it as an agenda in the Shangshu Bureau.”

“I will do so.”

After carefully tucking the abacus into his chest, Dong Yun left the Chancellor’s Office.

Left alone with just Zhuge Liang and me, I spoke without reserve:

“Chancellor, about your elder brother coming to Jingzhou…”

“That’s not a suitable form of address when discussing state affairs. Call him Wu’s Left General.”

“Ah, I apologize.”

“But as you say, Wu sending their Left General is also a personnel decision considering my blood relation.”

“They must be hoping for familial affection.”

Wu will now engage in battle with Wei over Huainan.

They’ll deploy troops to our border too, but it’s inevitable that it will be thin. They’ll want to avoid a two-front war if possible.

That’s why they sent Zhuge Jin to Jingzhou. No matter how strictly the two brothers separate public and private matters, there will be a faint reluctance in people’s hearts to see brothers of the same flesh and blood fighting each other.

The reply from Lu Xun that Zhuge Liang showed me was in line with this.

The content, saying that as it’s too big a matter to easily discuss just with the intentions of two families and that we should consider it more seriously as a national affair, clearly showed the intention of buying time.

Honestly, I had been hoping that Sun Quan would purge Lu Xun out of suspicion, but it seems Sun Quan decided to use Lu Xun.

I wasn’t expecting much, but I was a bit disappointed. I knew from the knowledge of the original history that it would take more time for Sun Quan to become senile, but still, I had hoped.

Setting Lu Xun aside, the immediate concern was the now certain war between Wei and Wu.

“The war for Huainan is confirmed then.”

“And Sun Quan will hope for us to attack Wei together with them.”

For that, Sun Quan will likely send envoys to try to persuade us to attack Wei together.

“The next envoy will probably come under the pretext of your marriage.”

The Four Sages of Wu County, the de facto head of the Lu clan, and the war hero who conquered Jingnan.

If he achieves merit in this Huainan war too, there would be brakes put on Sun Quan’s unconditional support for Lu Xun.

In that sense, marriage with me, which would further elevate his position, was highly likely to be rejected by Sun Quan. Zhuge Liang’s thoughts were the same as mine.

“Rather than proceeding with the marriage right away, they’ll probably propose an engagement.”

“If that happens, wouldn’t it be a foregone conclusion that we’ll attack Wei instead of Wu?”

“Not necessarily. Because you won’t be getting engaged.”

Zhuge Liang seemed to have something else in mind. Even I hadn’t heard about his plan.

He said he would use a different method depending on what proposal their envoy brings, and he’d let me know the details then.

However, all the plans Zhuge Liang had been thinking of were ultimately scrapped. This was because what he had assumed and premised crumbled from the very foundation.

The envoy sent from Wu became a condolence delegation to express mourning, not for a joyous marriage proposal.

It wasn’t because a prominent figure in Han had died. It was because the person from the Zhang family who was the subject of the marriage proposal, me, had died.

Finally, my eldest brother, Zhang Bao, had closed his eyes.