People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 473: Destiny in the North
The wooden door of the thatched cottage was slowly pushed open, and Liu Bei walked out. Guan Yu and Xu Shu, who were waiting in the yard, looked at him immediately, and then they were stunned. They saw obvious helplessness and disappointment on Liu Bei's face.

Judging from the appearance, the result of this conversation doesn't seem to be very pleasant.

Xu Shu and Guan Yu looked at each other, then went forward together. Looking through the door, they could see Zhuge Liang fanning himself and drinking tea slowly, with a calm and composed expression.

Guan Yu frowned: "Brother, how is it?"

Xu Shu also looked puzzled: "Your Majesty?"

Liu Bei stopped, looked at the two of them, then looked back into the house, shook his head, and walked forward.

Guan Yu and Xu Shu had no choice but to follow.

After they walked a little further away, Liu Bei sighed and spoke: "I have already extended an invitation to this Sleeping Dragon. If he is willing, he can occupy a high position in my Han Kingdom and enjoy a salary."

Hearing this, Xu Shu was even more confused: "Then how did he respond?"

Liu Bei looked at Xu Shu and smiled bitterly, "He said that the answer in the room was already his answer. Since he had the answer, he himself was useless and there was no need to live in Han State and eat the salary for nothing. Whether this strategy is right or wrong, whether it is useful or not, all depends on Han State's own choice."

The courtyard was silent. This result made Guan Yu and Xu Shu speechless.

After a while, Guan Yu looked at Xu Shu and said, "Didn't Yuan Zhi say that as long as Your Majesty is willing to go in person and make clear his ambitions, then he will definitely be willing to follow?"

Xu Shu suddenly felt embarrassed, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say.

He could only say that he did think so.

Based on his understanding of Zhuge Liang, he should not refuse such an opportunity to display his talents. After all, what scholars learn throughout their lives is mostly to pursue their careers, and Zhuge Liang is no exception.

Although the Shu Han's platform is not so stable, there is no other good place to go in the world.

He looked at the figure in the room in confusion, and thought to himself, are you really willing to live in seclusion in the mountains for the rest of your life?
Seeing Xu Shu's awkward look of being speechless, Liu Bei finally smoothed things over for him.

"There is no need to question Yunchang. Yuanzhi only meant well. I can't blame him. I am just not worthy of him."

Guan Yu and Xu Shu could clearly hear the resentment in Liu Bei's words.

This trip did make Liu Bei very disappointed and angry. The disappointment was not that this "Wolong" rejected him, but that his hope of finding a great talent to reverse the situation for Shu Kingdom was dashed. Facts proved that this "Wolong" was simply incapable of doing such a thing.

Of course, despite his disappointment, Liu Bei was still willing to humble himself and attract talents, even though this guy's assertion that Shu Kingdom would only last for ten years at most made him uncomfortable.

But even though he was so sincere, Zhuge Liang still rejected him, which made Liu Bei a little unhappy. Of course, he would not get angry about it and just pretended that he had never been there.

Liu Bei could have ignored it, but Xu Shu was unwilling to let it go. He then asked Zhuge Liang what strategy he had offered.

Although Liu Bei had no intention of staying, he still patiently recounted the conversation in the room.

After saying this, Xu Shu fell silent.

He suddenly realized why Zhuge Liang refused to serve in Shu Han. This conversation was enough to show Zhuge Liang's pessimistic attitude towards the future of Han and Wu.

However, he still couldn't understand. In his opinion, Zhuge Liang was never the kind of person who succumbed to fate. Instead, he was more willing to fight against fate. Even if there was only a little hope, he would never give up. But Xu Shu didn't think about one thing. Maybe in Zhuge Liang's eyes, this was actually a hopeless situation.

"My lord, please wait here for a moment. I will talk to him in person!"

Xu Shu immediately asked Liu Bei for instructions. The current situation in the world was precarious, and this situation had made him feel powerless. If there was anyone who could hope to turn the situation around, the only person he could think of was Zhuge Liang.

Even though Zhuge Liang had clearly refused, he still wanted to make a final effort.

Liu Bei was actually disappointed with Zhuge Liang, but seeing Xu Shu's earnest look, he sighed and agreed.

Xu Shu said no more and immediately turned around and walked into the house. When he entered the house, he saw that Zhuge Liang had already brewed new tea, obviously expecting Xu Shu to come again.

"Yuanzhi, please sit down. We haven't seen each other for a long time. Today is a good time to reminisce about the past." Zhuge Liang smiled slightly and gestured to Xu Shu to sit down.

Xu Shu frowned. Although he was a little anxious, he still sat down. "My master is waiting outside, so there is not much time for me to reminisce. I just want to ask, Kong Ming, why did you refuse my master's request?"

Zhuge Liang remained calm and said with a smile: "Why did Yuanzhi think I would agree?"

Xu Shu said solemnly: "Because my lord has the ambition to support the country, because my lord has the virtue of benevolence and love for the people, because there are evil bandits in the north who are endangering the world, aren't these enough to move Brother Kong Ming?"

Zhuge Liang remained calm when he heard this, and just shook his head: "Yuanzhi, the Han emperor has surrendered, and the country has long since perished."

Xu Shu disagreed: "My lord is the descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan. Even if the previous emperor is gone, my lord can still follow the law and support the country. As long as my lord is here, the Han Dynasty will not perish."

Zhuge Liang smiled helplessly. There was no need to argue about such a legal issue. It was just a matter of each person sticking to his own opinion.

After all, this is just an excuse. If I am willing to serve as an official, then Shu Han will naturally be legal in my eyes.

Since Xu Shu insisted on asking the truth, Zhuge Liang told him directly: "Yuanzhi, it is impossible to do it."

Xu Shu was stunned at first, then he replied in a deep voice: "Why not? Now that Wu and Han have formed an alliance and cooperated, as long as we are diligent in training troops and good at governing the people, we can always save the situation little by little. It's just that my talent is shallow and not enough to cope with the difficulties. Only Brother Kong Ming can take on this important task."

Zhuge Liang drank the tea, looked at Xu Shu, and sighed: "Yuanzhi, why do you have to deceive yourself? Do you really think there is still hope?"

Xu Shu froze for a moment, his mouth slightly open.

When he was suddenly asked this question, he suddenly realized that he seemed not to have thought about this question seriously, but then he examined his heart.

The answer he came to in his heart made him silent.

Even he himself couldn't say anything that showed there was still a glimmer of hope.

But he was still unwilling: "Life is difficult, but we have to do it. If Brother Kong Ming is willing to come out, I will not force the result, but just do my best and leave it to fate."

"Leave it to fate?" Zhuge Liang heard this and sighed helplessly: "Yuanzhi, but fate lies in the north."

(End of this chapter)