The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

But how could Zhou Yu be here with Xun Zhen, and sit with Xi Zhicai and others, even though his seat was at the back, he seemed to be an official in Xun Zhen's mansion? He is now indeed set up by Xun Zhen.

And the reason why he was set up by Xun Zhen was because he took the initiative to write to Xun Zhen.

Sun Ce came to Xu County from Pingyu, and on the day he met Xun Zhen, Zhou Yu wrote a letter to Xun Zhen under the lamp.

Then he said that Xun Zhen had sent someone to recruit Zhou Yu before, although he was not found the first time, but he was found later, but Zhou Yu was not willing to answer at that time? Why are you taking the initiative to vote now?

If we want to talk about the reason, it is the combination of several reasons to make it happen.

For one thing, Xun Zhen’s status at that time was obviously incomparable to what it is now. At that time Xun Zhen only occupied Xuzhou and other places. He knew each other, so he did not answer Xun Zhen's call at that time.

Now that's not the case. One of the other things is the territory and righteousness.

From the perspective of the site, Xunzhen has not only occupied three states, but Sun Ce's Yuzhou is actually four states. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Yuzhou is Xunzhen's territory sooner or later, and Xunzhen is from Yingchuan. His family is a famous noble family in Yingchuan. Whether Sun Ce likes it or not, his influence in Yuzhou will sooner or later. Nong County is a solid place in the world, Xunzhen has accounted for as many as five or six percent, and the strategic environment for the layout is very good.

From a moral point of view, when King Qin fought, he was moved at home and abroad, and Liu Xiehe's court was moved to Xu County by Xun Zhen. He is currently in power in the court. In terms of righteousness, no one can compare to the princes of the four quarters, even the disciples of Yuan Shao. Not as good as that.

The combination of territory and righteousness, as long as Xun Zhen does not lose his head, the prospect of him assisting the Han Dynasty and rebuilding the country is more obvious.

If it is said that the territory and the righteousness are hardware, the software on Xunzhen's side is also quite good.

Otherwise, the second one is the software on Xun Zhen's side.

For one thing, Xun Zhen served as a military commander, with a large number of advisers, and many talented people; the generals were like rain, and there were many fierce people.

The other one is also more important, although many people from Yuzhou and Xuzhou, or their villagers, old acquaintances, or scholars from the Xuzhou land that he first acquired, are a bit similar to Yuan Shao in this point. However, Xunzhen and Yuan Shao's style of conduct is different. He is trustworthy and good-hearted. The scholars under his account of different origins are not hostile to each other like Yuan Shao's side, and they can generally work together.

There is another third, the third, is a person, Zhou Yu's follow-up father Zhou Zhong.

Because of the first and second reasons, Zhou Yu changed his previous intentions and had the idea of ​​​​attaching Xun Zhen. With this idea in mind, Zhou Yu and the county magistrate who came to the court to participate in the next year's Zhengdan court meeting came to Xu County. , when he arrived in Xu County, he first went to pay homage to his second son, Zhou Zhong.

There are two types of gentry, one is the local gentry, and the other is the "central gentry". The local nobility were only famous in the prefectures and prefectures; the "central nobility" were the ministers of many generations, and their influence had reached the middle of the dynasty, and they were well-known all over the world.

The Lujiang Zhou clan is one of the few "central gentry" in Yangzhou.

Zhou Yu's descendant, Zhou Jing, also known as Zhou Zhong's father, was a high-ranking lieutenant in the court; when Li Jue and Guo Si were in chaos in Chang'an, Zhou Zhong was also worshipped as a high-ranking lieutenant on behalf of Huangfu Song, and was recorded as a minister. Compared with the fourth and third princes of the Yuan and Yang clans, the Zhou family is also two generations of ministers.

Zhou Zhong and Zhou Yu have not seen each other for several years.

After meeting, the uncle and nephew discussed some family affairs. Zhou Yu reminisced about Zhou Zhong's sons who were killed by Dong Zhuo, and comforted Zhou Zhong in the pain of losing his son. Because Zhou Yu's great ancestor and Zhou Zhong's great-grandfather Zhou Rong's "Ming Jing" was used and promoted by Situ Yuan An, and Zhou's descendants did not lose the classics. , where the legacy of Wu and Yue still exists, the Zhou clan in Lujiang is also a strong man in Yangzhou, with a wealthy family and thousands of followers. Zhou Zhong’s eldest son Zhou Hui, who was a Luoyang decree, later abandoned his office and returned home. He and his brothers They are all good guests, and they have raised groups of swordsmen and chivalrous warriors. They are heroic in the Jianghuai River and Huaihe River. There are more than 100 chariots in and out. When Dong Zhuo heard about it, Dong Zhuo hated it, so he ordered the soldiers to rob and kill Zhou Hui's brothers.

Later, the two talked about the DPRK-China affair.

Speaking of Xun Zhen, Zhou Zhong admired Xun Zhen quite a bit, and told Zhou Yu in detail what he knew about Xun Zhen's deeds.

For example, King Xun Zhenqin "personally led his troops, climbed mountains and ridges, and attacked Hongnong County by surprise" on his way, "with a dignified teacher, defeated Li Jue and Guo Si at Hongmen Pavilion"; After welcoming Liu Xie and the imperial court to Xuxian, he showed the modest retreat style of "respecting all the dukes" and his "loyalty" to Liu Xie; another example is Xun Zhen's long-term vision of resolutely promoting the field in Xuxian.

etc.

Whether it was military or political, Zhou Zhong recognized Xun Zhen's abilities in both aspects.

He sincerely said to Zhou Yu: "I only knew the name of the chariots before, but I never met them. Since the meeting in Chang'an, I knew that there were no virtuous men under the reputation. However, those who assisted the imperial court and revived the Han Dynasty in the future were not chariots, no chariots. others!"

Indeed, there is no one else to choose from. Now, among the feudal lords in the sea, the only one who has the ability to "assist the imperial court and reinvigorate the Han Dynasty", apart from Xun Zhen, is the most likely only Yuan Shao. However, Yuan Shao's "no subject" to the Han family has long been obvious. Xinghan room, obviously a fool's dream. The rest of the lords, such as Yuan Shu and his like, are on the verge of death, and Liu Zhang and his like are still in a difficult situation; if Liu Biao and his like have some talents, they are at most the heroes of the same place, compared to Xun Zhen's heroic talents, which are not far away. Taking the lead is far inferior.

Another example is Sun Ce, Liu He from Youzhou, and Cao Cao from Taiyuan. Needless to say about these.

The situation of Liu He and others is similar to that of Liu Zhang. It is difficult for them to stabilize Youzhou.

Although Cao Cao had shown good vision and ability in the matters such as negotiating Dong and fighting against the Yellow Turbans in Yanzhou, he lost Yanzhou and is currently confined to Taiyuan, with the border of the Hu people to the north and the remote Liangzhou to the west. On the south side of the area that could be attacked, Xun Zhen blocked the exit. Basically, there was no room for development, and there were high-ranking officials around him competing for profit, so it was difficult for him to succeed.

Then there is Sun Ce.

For Sun Ce, Zhou Yu actually has a natural sense of closeness.

Zhou Yu and Sun Ce are both from Yangzhou, and Lujiang County and Wu County are not far apart. They are still the same age. Both were born in Xiping for four years. Very handsome, Sun Ce is called "Sun Lang" by his generals and soldiers, and Zhou Yu is called "Zhou Lang" by Lujiang scholars, but aside from the emotional closeness, it is difficult for Sun Ce to achieve anything today. Opportunity.

Sun Ce's territory is now Yuzhou. As mentioned above, Xunzhen's influence in Yuzhou has already surpassed that of Sun Ce. So with the passage of time, it can be predicted that in the near future, the people of Yuzhou will definitely only rely on Xunzhen, but not Sun Ce. If you don't listen to Sun Ce anymore, then, what should Sun Ce do and where should he go? Sun Ce will face the same predicament as Cao Cao, he has nowhere to develop.

The south of Yuzhou is Yanzhou, the east is Xuzhou, both sides are Xunzhen's territory, the west of Henan Yin is also occupied by Xunzhen, and it can only develop to the south, but to the south, can he develop successfully? To the south were Liu Biao and Yuan Shu. Indeed, Xun Zhen was going to use troops against Yuan Shu, but after defeating Yuan Shu, Xun Zhen would not be able to give Sun Ce the Nanyang County that had been defeated.

The only way out is in Yangzhou.

Yangzhou is now torn apart, if someone can unite Yangzhou, relying on the dangers of the big river, and the fierceness of Danyang and Lujiang, it is indeed possible to make one side of the cause. However, the road from Runan to Yangzhou is now blocked by Jiujiang and Fuling; If you enter Yangzhou from Jiangxia, Jiangxia has Huang Zu and Lu Bu, just like it is impossible to give Nanyang to Sun Ce, even if Xun Zhen will use troops against Lu Bu in the future, it is impossible to give Jiangxia to Sun Ce after winning, then Yangzhou, Sun Ce also cannot conspire. At least I can think about it.

In this way, Sun Ce can't help.

——Speaking of Yangzhou, let’s mention Liu Yao. Zhou Yu went to meet Liu Yao, the prefect of Yangzhou in Danyang County. After seeing him, he exclaimed and said something that was the exact opposite of Zhou Zhongshi's evaluation of Xun Zhen. !" Although Liu Yao and his late brother Liu Dai were both called "two dragons", Liu Dai was stabbed to death by the Yellow Turban Army, which is enough to show that his name is not worthy of the name of the dragon; .

Since he had already agreed with Xun Zhen on purpose, and received a compliment from Zhou Zhong, who already knew Xun Zhen well, Zhou Yu made up his mind and took the initiative to send Xun Zhen such a book.

…

After Zhou Yu's letter was delivered to Xun Zhen's mansion, Xun Zhen didn't see it that day.

Although the Zhou family in Lujiang is a prominent family in Yangzhou, compared with many famous families at home and abroad, it is a step behind; Zhou Yu’s second son Zhou Zhong is now one of the nine ministers in the court, after all Zhou Zhong is Zhou Yu’s second son’s father, and Zhou Yu’s His father Zhou Yi was only an official to Luoyang. Zhou Yu was still young and had no special reputation. Therefore, Zhuge Jin, who was in charge of the private affairs of Xun Zhenhou's mansion, first read his letter, although he remembered Xun Zhen. Someone had been sent to summon this Zhou Yu, but he still placed his incoming book at the back of the many incoming books that were to be presented to Xun Zhen.

On the one hand, the next year's Zhengdan was approaching, and a large number of officials and scholars came from all over the country, and there were too many of them who wrote letters to Xun Zhen in order to be summoned by Xun Zhen. It was Xun You, Xun Cheng and other civil and military officials in other places under Xun Zhen's account. When Zhengdan was approaching, they also sent letters to Xunzhen and sent Zhengdan gifts. In addition, Xunzhen's old past in Yingchuan earlier, There is also the daily communication between the ministers in the DPRK and Xun Zhen, so Zhuge Jin recently received more than 100 submissions every day.

Judging from where Zhuge Jin put Zhou Yu's letter in the book, when Xun Zhen saw Zhou Yu's letter, I'm afraid it won't be eight or nine days, but it will be four or five days later. Since the day Zhuge Jin and others came to Xuxian from Changyi, Xun Zhen began to allow Zhuge Liang to help Zhuge Jin handle the daily affairs of the Hou residence, and Zhuge Liang was able to see Zhou Yu's letter.

After reading it, Zhuge Liang greatly admired it and suggested to his brother Zhuge Jin that Zhou Yu's book should be put on the top so that Xun Zhen could see it earlier. He also gave another reason, and said to Zhuge Jin: "Now that you know that the lord and lord have sent people to summon Zhou Gongjin twice, now he submits a letter to ask for an invitation.

Zhuge Jin knew that although his younger brother was younger than him, his abilities were already beyond him in all aspects, so he listened to Zhuge Liang's suggestion and changed Zhou Yu's submission to the top. s position.

Xun Zhennai saw Zhou Yu's submission the next day.

During the day, Xun Zhen was working in the shogunate, and he would only read such private books when he got home at night.

It was almost late at night when I saw Zhou Yu's submission, but after seeing that Zhou Yu was written in the name of the person who made this submission, Xun Zhen didn't even read the content of the submission, so she immediately He called Zhuge Jin and told him to go to Zhou Yu's accommodation to see if Zhou Yu had slept. If not, bring him to meet him in the mansion.

It's not that Xun Zhen couldn't hold his breath, Zhengdan was coming, and he was busy during the day, dealing with military and political affairs, and arranging all the details of Zhengdan's congratulations. The family members had a lot of entertainment with each other, and it was decided for several nights in a row. Tomorrow night, Xun Zhen would go to Chen Ji’s house to congratulate Chen Ji in advance for the New Year. Later, he would go to Zhao Wen’s house. He invited the clansmen of Xu County to gather for a banquet, which means that if Zhou Yu is not summoned tonight, there may be no time to summon Zhou Yu until Zhengdan.

There was a curfew at night, and no one was allowed to go out on the streets. Zhuge Jin received the order first, then Xun Zhen's warrant, and then went out overnight and rushed to the post house where Zhou Yu lived.

-But Zhou Yu's second son, Zhou Zhong, is a lieutenant of the court, so he must have a mansion in Xu County. Why didn't Zhou Yu live in Zhou Zhong's house, but in a post house? This is because Zhou Yu is young, with a light-hearted side, living with his friends, everyone is young, speaking freely, and doing everything happily; another, Zhou Yu is arrogant, and he does not want to rely on Zhou Zhong to do it. He gained fame by himself, so he did not go to Zhou Zhong's house.

When they arrived at the post house, Zhou Yu had already fallen asleep.

Xun Zhen explained, "If you don't sleep, bring me here." How could Zhuge Jin not know what to do? He woke Zhou Yu and told him Xun Zhen summoned him. The front foot only sees the submission, and the back foot is immediately summoned in the night. How important is this? Zhou Yu was overjoyed, washed his face casually, put on his clothes, and followed Zhuge Jin to Xun Zhen's mansion.

It was almost midnight when Xun Zhen and Zhou Yu met.

However, after a long conversation, the more they talked, the more they entered Hong Kong. Xun Zhen liked Zhou Yu's handsomeness, and his conversation was superb. Zhou Yu respected Xun Zhen and Yan Ran. It was unfathomable and unknowingly. Xun Zhen must be worth it, so she had to suspend the conversation with Zhou Yu, but instead of letting Zhou Yu go, she smiled and said to Zhou Yu: "Gong Jin, I have a handsome young man here, who is right against you." Zhuge Liang called and ordered the two of them to meet again, and told them to continue talking.

When he arrived at the General's Mansion that day, Xun Zhen immediately issued a letter of expulsion and appointed Zhou Yu as the general counselor of the military mansion.

Among the officials in the military mansion, Zhonglang is the only one with a long history and a high status. It was the post previously held by Guo Jia and Xu Zhuo, and he immediately appointed Zhou Yu to this post. Needless to say.

He just said that when the hall heard Zhou Yu's words, Xun Zhen looked at him with admiration, stroked his beard and asked with a smile, "Gong Jin, what do you say?"