Zhuge Ke

As soon as he heard Zhang Ran’s question, Zhuge Ke saw through what she truly wanted to ask.

‘The answer is predetermined. What Zhang Ran is asking is not how, but why.’

There are three elements of reasoning: who did it, how they did it, and why they did it.

Here, Zhang Ran’s question focused on the last why.

Like in Pang Tong’s case, the answer Zhuge Ke could provide was already set.

The west and south had been settled by Zhuge Liang’s southern campaign, and expanding further would mean going beyond the area defined as “all under heaven.” Or attacking Jiaozhou, which was Sun Quan’s sphere of influence.

He couldn’t argue for reclaiming Jingzhou in the east either, so needless to say, the option Zhuge Ke could choose was:

“It is right to attack Cao Cao and capture Luoyang.”

The northern expedition.

“Attack Wei?”

“Yes.”

The main point was from here on.

Everyone had anticipated that Zhuge Ke would suggest the northern expedition as the answer.

The key was whether Zhuge Ke could present arguments persuasive enough to convince them.

Zhuge Ke thought while relishing the attention focused on him. He had long since realized that the purpose of this gathering was to sound him out.

Announcing that they would hold the ceremony to end mourning while he was meeting his brother? Wasn’t that a signal for Zhuge Ke to come too?

‘If you so desperately want to know about this Zhuge Ke, I’ll gladly oblige.’

As far as Zhuge Ke could see, this place was not lacking for him to show off his innate talent, his heaven-sent ability.

Highly excited, Zhuge Ke momentarily forgot the warning his father had given. Forgetting the caution not to express personal opinions without his permission outside, Zhuge Ke’s tongue began to move.

“Among the Three Kingdoms, which is currently the strongest?”

“The Three Kingdoms…”

Was it an irritating word choice from Han’s standpoint, which didn’t officially recognize Wei and Wu as legitimate countries? As Zhang Ran softly murmured the words “Three Kingdoms,” Zhuge Ke hurriedly continued:

“It would be Cao Cao.”

“Cao Cao is strong, so we should attack together? Isn’t it laughable even as you say it yourself?”

It was pointing out whether they had joined hands with Wei and attacked us together knowing this.

“Of course, I too acknowledge that in comparing the strength of powers, not just simple numbers but also the momentum should be considered. And that can be said to be a measure considering long-term trends. War is extremely weighty, so we cannot help but consider the long-term changes it will bring.”

Zhuge Ke spoke at length. Though eloquent, frankly speaking, it meant we should look at the big picture.

With the success of the northern expedition, Han, having gained Guanzhong, declared the founding of a new dynasty in Chang’an and took control of the flow of the world.

If left unchecked, there was a high possibility that hegemony would have completely passed to Han, which was most justified and currently seemed most prosperous.

Especially in the case of Wu, which had the weakest justification, it wouldn’t be strange even if the powerful clans defected. So Wu had to raise an army, if only to tighten internal control.

“But now that the balance of the tripod legs that our family’s uncle spoke of has been achieved, what Han and Wu, the two places, should be wary of is naturally Cao Cao regaining his strength.”

Zhuge Ke’s argument was orthodox.

If Han had retained Jingzhou, there’s a possibility they would have been almost evenly matched with the current Wei.

However, now that Jingzhou has passed to Wu, Wei still had the strongest national power among the Three Kingdoms.

“Though Han has secured Guanzhong and Yongyang with its rising momentum, they still have the fertile Hebei and Central Plains, so time is still on their side.”

Despite having suffered the most losses among the Three Kingdoms so far, Wei still possessed the largest population.

Of course, the military losses so far have been too great, making it impossible to conduct external expeditions for a while.

Just looking at Wei’s current military stance, it had changed from maintaining hegemony through active offensives to defensively prioritizing the preservation of territory.

Wei’s change wasn’t just due to defeat. The successive deaths of prominent figures like Jia Xu, Cao Ren, and Zhang Liao, who had firmly supported Wei, also had a big impact.

Nevertheless, the underlying strength that had held hegemony remained. Talents to fill their empty positions would emerge from somewhere too.

‘But there’s bound to be a gap in between!’

The reason Sun Quan boldly raised troops and marched on Huainan was because he was convinced that now was the perfect time.

“Right now, Cao Cao is exhausted from your country’s northern expeditions, and even at this moment, he is tired from fighting us in the east. With the elders who guarded the borders dead and the pillars of the country gone, they are no different from being half-collapsed already. Before time raises them up again, now, when Cao Cao is immersed in fatigue, is when we should advance.”

Zhuge Ke’s long passionate speech ended.

Noticing that the gazes of those present towards him had changed, Zhuge Ke quietly smiled.

The strongest Wei is currently staggering, so let’s finish them off in this opportunity. It was an argument everyone could understand.

However, not everyone actually accepted Zhuge Ke’s argument.

“Han and the enemy cannot coexist. In our country’s view, Sun Quan, whom you follow, is also our enemy. Moreover, you mentioned earlier that momentum cannot be excluded, but if our country is blocked by Cao Cao and Sun Quan takes Huainan, that momentum would surely pierce the heavens.”

The one who stepped forward saying this was Dong Yun. Seeing Dong Yun, who had been pushed back by him once before Zhang Ran appeared, step forward, Zhuge Ke inadvertently snorted and said:

“If you want to put forward that Han and the enemy cannot coexist, it’s all the more right to attack Cao Cao. Cao Cao dares to usurp the title of emperor, but our lord does not.”

“Didn’t he call himself the King of Wu?”

As if wanting to repay his own bitter defeat, Ma Su provided supporting fire.

“King of Wu? Who gave him the title of King of Wu? Was it Cao Pi? Have you forgotten? Our lord is now fighting that very Cao Pi. What meaning do titles have when we’re crossing swords? Do you use the courtesy name given by your enemy?”

Zhuge Ke refuted Ma Su’s words mockingly and spoke with even more vigor:

“Even if he’s called King of Wu, how can it be compared to usurping the title of emperor? I’ve never heard of catching a small thief far away while leaving a big thief nearby.”

Ma Su tried to refute again with a flushed face, but seeing Zhang Ran’s hand go up, he swallowed his anger with effort and took a step back.

Zhang Ran calmed the heated atmosphere in the hall with the simple action of raising her hand. Like Cao Cao dominating the meeting hall in front of Fan Cheng in the distant past.

Although the scale and weight were less than then, there was something similar in the aspect of embracing the audience.

“Let’s stop here. Zhuge Ke, I’ve heard your words well.”

“It was a short-sighted view.”

Unlike when dealing with Ma Su just before, Zhuge Ke’s attitude was extremely courteous.

If he always maintained such an attitude, one might think Zhuge Jin would shed tears of joy.

Towards such a Zhuge Ke, Zhang Ran said:

“You’re like Zigong.”

Zigong. His real name was Duanmu Si, Zigong was his courtesy name.

He was one of Confucius’s favorite disciples and had excellent talents in business and politics, serving as Confucius’s problem solver.

There are many anecdotes with Confucius, but among them, the most famous would undoubtedly be the Five States Tour Discourse.

When Confucius’s home state of Lu fell into crisis with an attack from Qi, Confucius chose Zigong among his disciples to seek help.

Zigong goes to Qi and persuades the Qi minister Ran Qiu that attacking Wu, a powerful state, rather than Lu would be more beneficial.

Then he goes to Wu and makes Fu Chai, one of the protagonists of “sleeping on firewood and tasting gall,” stop attacking Lu, make peace, and attack Qi.

Next, he visits Yue and advises them to wait for Wu to fight Qi and then launch a surprise attack, while making Wu wary of Yue and inducing them to fight Jin as well.

Finally, he leaves advice to Jin that Wu will attack, so they should prepare in advance, resulting in Qi being greatly shaken, Wu being destroyed, Jin becoming strong, and Yue becoming a hegemon.

And as Zigong aimed, Lu succeeded in surviving in the midst of the great powers.

The five states surrounding Lu were played by Zigong’s three-inch tongue trying to protect Lu.

Regarding such actions of Zigong, the Records of the Grand Historian states:

“Thus, with one trip by Zigong, cracks appeared in the situation of each state, and great changes occurred in five states over ten years.”

It shows how remarkable Zigong’s diplomatic skills were and how far one could move the world with just a three-inch tongue.

Comparing someone to such a Zigong might seem like praise extolling their abilities at first glance, but it could also feel like pointing out whether they’re trying to manipulate with that three-inch tongue.

Zhuge Ke also seemed to be pondering which of the two it was, as a faint furrow appeared between his brows. However, befitting Zhuge Ke’s quick-thinking mind, he first bowed his head and struck preemptively.

“It’s too much praise. I’m worried that my words might have sounded like they were disturbing your country, but I believe the General of the Guards understood my sincerity.”

“It is praise indeed. Zigong was Confucius’s disciple and a minister of various states, so I’m speaking of the excellence of his abilities.”

“I don’t know how to respond.”

Zhuge Ke certainly had wit and talent. To the extent that he could be called the forerunner of the second generation of the Three Kingdoms.

He was clearly a talent that made one think, indeed, he’s a Zhuge.

However, when evaluating Zhuge Jin’s two sons, didn’t they say this:

The elder Zhuge Ke has good abilities but poor character, while the younger Zhuge Jiao’s talents can’t compare to his brother’s, but his character is incomparably superior.

Zhang Ran felt relief, conversely, after witnessing Zhuge Ke’s abilities.

They say people don’t change easily, don’t they?

The same was true for Zhuge Ke. Confirming that his innate nature hadn’t changed, Zhang Ran felt relieved and drew an arc on her lips.

“Let’s start the ceremony to end mourning now. Let’s sing together the elegy given by the Chancellor.”

As the final seat mourning the departure of the deceased began, naturally, the interest in Zhuge Ke also faded.

§

The banquet hall after the ceremony to end mourning had finished and the guests had left.

Only the people of the General of the Guards’ Office remained, sharing afterthoughts.

“But, about the evaluation as Zigong…”

In Ma Su’s carefully broached words, a faint displeasure and jealousy mixed.

“Is there a problem?”

“I wonder if it’s not too much. Zigong was one of the most outstanding talents among Confucius’s disciples…”

Was he unhappy about praising the opponent who had rebuked him? Ma Su didn’t hide his regretful look.

“Zigong…”

I quietly mulled over the evaluation given to Zhuge Ke.

“Confucius said to Zigong, ‘You are a vessel,’ and when Zigong asked what kind of vessel, Confucius answered, ‘A hu lian.'”

The hu lian that Confucius compared Zigong to was a precious sacrificial vessel used to offer grains to the gods. It could be seen as a metaphor praising Zigong’s outstanding talents and wealthy resources.

“But before that, Confucius said this.”

However, it wasn’t just praise.

“A gentleman is not a vessel.”

A gentleman is not a vessel.

But to Zigong, he said you are a very precious vessel, which was praising Zigong’s value but also no different from saying you are not a gentleman.

“The same is true for Zhuge Ke.”

As in the original history, Zhuge Ke’s innate arrogance and desire for self-display, which brought about his own destruction, remained unchanged.

Ma Su, hearing my explanation, finally relaxed his face.

And I too, like Ma Su, shook off my concerns about Zhuge Ke.

An enemy with clear weaknesses could no longer be an object of fear.

Rather, now I looked forward to it.

‘Authority has been given.’

Will Zhuge Ke accept the hidden meaning in the evaluation as Zigong and restrain himself?

Or will he be intoxicated by this activity and step forward even more?