The videos I watched became popular in ancient times

Zhuge Ke was the eldest son of Zhuge Jin, the great general of the State of Wu. He was famous for his talent and eloquence at a young age, and the King of Wu, Sun Quan, admired him very much.

After Zhuge Ke came of age, he was appointed Commandant of Cavalry, and accompanied Crown Prince Sun Deng in discussing Taoism and art with Gu Tan, Zhang Xiu and others, and became friends with them.

Soon, Zhuge Ke was promoted from Zhongshuzi to Zuofuduwei.

Sun Quan convened court officials several times and deliberately made things difficult for Zhuge Ke in public, but he resolved the issue with wit.

Zhuge Ke was quick-witted and Sun Quan thought he was unusual, so he planned to appoint him as a military governor, in charge of the army's financial and food allocation, to test his ability to handle government affairs.

However, the paperwork for allocating money and grain was complicated and was not Zhuge Ke's forte, so he was appointed to lead the troops instead.

"In the third year of Jiahe in the Eastern Wu Dynasty, Zhuge Ke requested to lead troops to pacify Danyang."

"Zhuge Ke believed that the mountain roads in Danyang were difficult and the Shanyue people were fierce and brave. Although Wu State sent troops to encircle and suppress them many times, they only captured some civilians in marginal areas. The rest of the mountain people hid in the deep mountains and forests and could not be captured."

"Zhuge Ke requested to go to Danyang to govern, and lure the Shanyue people to surrender. In three years, he could get 40,000 soldiers."

"Sun Quan then appointed Zhuge Ke as General of Fuyue and concurrently governor of Danyang, and also gave him a cavalry guard of honor of 300 men."

"After the ceremony of enthroning officials, Sun Quan also asked Zhuge Ke to arrange the guard of honor, beat drums and blow trumpets, and march back home in formation."

"After Zhuge Ke took office, he wrote to the governors of the four neighboring counties, asking them to protect the borders and the people and to restrain the army."

"Zhuge Ke ordered his generals to divide their troops to defend the strategic areas and only repair the fortifications, and not to engage in battle with the Shanyue people."

"When the crops were about to ripen, they would let their soldiers harvest them first, leaving no seeds behind."

"The Shanyue people had eaten up their old grains and could not collect new grains. They were starving and distressed, so they gradually came out of the mountains and surrendered."

"Zhuge Ke told his subordinates that the surrendered mountain people should be educated and relocated to other counties, and should not be suspected or arrested at will."

"Hu Kang, the county magistrate of Baiyang County, captured Zhou Yi, a mountain dweller. Zhou Yi was a vicious criminal who had no choice but to surrender. However, he was plotting rebellion. Hu Kang tied him up and sent him to the county government."

"Zhuge Ke believed that Hu Kang had disobeyed orders, so he beheaded him in public and reported the matter to the court."

"When the villagers heard that Hu Kang was executed for arresting people, they knew that the government just wanted them to leave the mountains, so they brought their old and young out of the mountains and surrendered."

"Three years later, the Shanyue population was exactly as Zhuge Ke had expected. Zhuge Ke moved the old and weak to the plains and recruited the able-bodied men as soldiers, gaining 40,000 men. He took 10,000 for himself and distributed the remaining 30,000 to his generals."

"In the sixth year of Jiahe in the Eastern Wu Dynasty, Sun Quan commended his contributions and promoted Zhuge Ke to General Weibei, named him Marquis of Duxiang, and stationed his troops at Lujiang Wankou."

"In the first month of the sixth year of Chiwu in the Eastern Wu Dynasty, Zhuge Ke attacked Shu County in the Wei Kingdom with a light force and captured the local people and returned;"

"In November of the same year, Zhuge Ke sent scouts to explore the road again, intending to seize Shouchun of Wei, but Sun Quan did not agree."

"Wei State's Sima Yi led his troops to attack Zhuge Ke, and Sun Quan transferred Zhuge Ke to Chaisang to garrison."

"Lu Xun, the prime minister of the Eastern Wu, had always had a low opinion of Zhuge Ke. Zhuge Ke knew that Lu Xun had listened to slander and was suspicious of him, so he wrote a letter to explain to Lu Xun that when appointing talents, one should not demand perfection and should put the overall situation first."

"Soon after Lu Xun died, in September of the ninth year of Chiwu in the Eastern Wu Dynasty, Zhuge Ke was promoted to general, commander of the left corps, and given the title of imperial governor. He replaced Lu Xun to guard Wuchang and command the military and political affairs of Jingzhou."

"In November of the first year of the Taiyuan reign of the Eastern Wu, Sun Quan had been ill for a long time and his crown prince Sun Liang was still young, so he summoned General Zhuge Ke to the court to assist in the administration and concurrently serve as the crown prince's tutor, and the Minister of the Central Secretariat Sun Hong concurrently served as the junior tutor."

"Sun Quan issued an edict to officials at all levels, stating that in addition to the power of life and death, Zhuge Ke would be in charge of all military and political affairs both inside and outside the country."

"In addition, Sun Quan specially built a mansion for Zhuge Ke and arranged guards to protect him."

"In February of the first year of the Shenfeng reign of the Eastern Wu, Sun Quan was critically ill. He summoned Zhuge Ke, Sun Hong, Minister of Rites Teng Yin, General Lü Ju, and Palace Attendant Sun Jun to the court and entrusted them with his affairs."

"In April of the same year, Sun Quan died of illness. Sun Hong and Zhuge Ke had always been at odds, and Sun Hong was worried about being suppressed, so he blocked the news of Sun Quan's death and planned to forge an imperial edict to kill Zhuge Ke."

Li Bai: Sun Jun told Zhuge Ke about this matter, and Zhuge Ke invited Sun Hong to come and discuss important matters, and then executed him.

Sun Liang succeeded to the throne and Zhuge Ke was promoted to Grand Tutor. Zhuge Ke adopted a series of policies to recuperate, abolished secret wiretapping, cut military and political redundancies, and reduced taxes. Each of these measures benefited the people and made them happy.

Every time Zhuge Ke went out, the people would look at him eagerly, wanting to catch a glimpse of him.

After Zhuge Ke came to power, he intended to suppress the Sun Wu royal family. He did not want the Sun kings to live in the military stronghold on the Yangtze River, so he moved Sun Fen, King of Qi, to Yuzhang and Sun Xiu, King of Langya, to Danyang.

Sun Fen was unwilling to move and violated the law many times. Zhuge Ke wrote a letter to persuade him about the Han royal family's conspiracy to usurp the throne. Sun Fen was frightened after receiving the letter, so he moved to Yuzhang.

In October of the first year of Jianxing in the Eastern Wu Dynasty, Zhuge Ke recruited civilians to rebuild the abandoned Dongxing Dam, connecting the mountains on both ends and building a city on each side.

After the levee was completed, Zhuge Ke sent his generals Quan Duan and Liu Lue to guard the two cities with a thousand men each. He led his army back to the capital Jianye.

Wei believed that Wu's army had entered its territory and was ashamed to be humiliated. In December of the same year, Wei ordered its generals Hu Zun and Zhuge Dan to lead 70,000 troops to attack Dongxing, intending to besiege the two cities and destroy the levee that blocked the lake water.

Zhuge Ke personally led an army of 40,000 and rushed day and night to rescue Dongxing.

Wei general Hu Zun and others ordered the soldiers to build a pontoon bridge to cross the lake, stationed the troops on the embankment, and divided the troops to attack the two cities.

The city was built in a high and dangerous place, and it was difficult to capture it in a hurry. Zhuge Ke sent generals Liu Zan, Lu Ju, Tang Zi, and Ding Feng as the vanguard troops.

It was cold and snowing at the time, and the generals of the Wei army were having a party and drinking. Seeing that Liu Zan and his men were few in number, they took off their armor and drank, then wore only helmets, carried swords and shields, and frolicked on the embankment without deploying their troops to meet the enemy.

Liu Zan and others led their troops ashore, shouting and fighting desperately.

The Wei army was frightened and fled in all directions. They tried to cross the pontoon bridge, but the bridge broke and the ropes snapped. The Wei army fell into the water one after another and trampled on each other, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths.

Zhuge Ke defeated the Wei army in one battle, killed Wei generals Han Zong and Huan Jia, seized countless food and supplies from the Wei army, and returned in triumph.

In February of the second year of Jianxing in the Eastern Wu Dynasty, Zhuge Ke was promoted to Marquis of Yangdu for his military achievements, and concurrently served as the governor of Jingzhou and Yangzhou, supervising various military affairs inside and outside the court. He was rewarded with 100 kilograms of gold, 200 horses, and 10,000 pieces of silk and linen.

After the great victory at Dongxing, Zhuge Ke's reputation grew, so he began to underestimate the enemy, which led to his defeat.

In March of the second year of Jianxing in the Eastern Wu Dynasty, Zhuge Ke wanted to raise an army to attack Wei.

The ministers all believed that the country's strength was insufficient and the soldiers were exhausted, so it was not appropriate to raise an army.

Zhuge Ke ignored the advice and went to war against public opinion, recruiting 200,000 soldiers from various states and counties, causing unrest among the people. Zhuge Ke thus lost the support of the people.

In April of the same year, Zhuge Ke led a large army to attack Huainan and plundered the local people. Some of his generals suggested that the army should go deep into the enemy's territory.
The people will inevitably flee to avoid the war. It is better to just besiege Xincheng. The Wei soldiers will come to rescue, and then we can besiege the city and attack the reinforcements.

Zhuge Ke followed this advice and turned back to retreat from the siege of Xincheng.

Wei general Zhang Te held fast to the city, and Zhuge Ke attacked Xincheng for months but could not win. Wu's soldiers were exhausted, and the hot weather and unclean drinking water caused more than half of them to fall ill.

Zhuge Ke knew that his siege of Xincheng was a mistake, but he was ashamed of not being able to take the city, and his anger was evident on his face.

General Zhu Yi made a few comments, and Zhuge Ke became furious and deprived him of his military power.
Commandant Cai Lin presented his military strategies many times, but Zhuge Ke did not adopt them, so Cai Lin rode his horse to defect to the State of Wei.

"When the Wei State learned that the Wu soldiers were tired and sick, they sent troops to rescue Xincheng."

"In July of the same year, Zhuge Ke had no choice but to retreat. During the retreat, countless soldiers fell ill and died. The whole army was heartbroken and morale was low, but Zhuge Ke remained calm."

"Zhuge Ke concealed his defeat and deliberately delayed his return, planning to station troops in Xunyang until the imperial edicts summoning him to the court arrived one after another, and then he slowly returned to the court."

"After the defeat at Xincheng, Zhuge Ke lost the support of the people. From ministers to common people, everyone was disappointed in him and resentful of him."

"In August of the same year, Zhuge Ke led his army back to Jianye."

"When he returned to his residence, he summoned the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Sun Hei, and blamed him for issuing several imperial edicts to urge him to withdraw his troops. Sun Hei left in fear and soon resigned from his post on the grounds of illness."

"After Zhuge Ke returned to the capital, he seized power, appointed and dismissed officials at will, reprimanded ministers, and replaced the palace guards with people close to him."

"Soon after, he ordered his army to get ready to attack Qingzhou and Xuzhou of Wei."

"Sun Jun wanted to compete with Zhuge Ke for power. Because the people had a lot of resentment towards Zhuge Ke and the officials also hated him, Sun Jun slandered Zhuge Ke to Sun Liang, the ruler of Wu, and falsely accused him of treason."

"In October of the second year of Jianxing in the Eastern Wu Dynasty, Sun Jun and Sun Liang conspired to host a banquet for Zhuge Ke."

"The next day, Zhuge Ke came to the court to pay homage to the emperor, and his carriage stopped at the palace gate."

"Sun Jun has already set up an ambush with his soldiers. Zhang Yue and Zhu En, the imperial attendants, noticed something was wrong and secretly told Zhuge Ke to be on guard."

"Zhuge Ke wanted to go home on the pretext of illness, but before he even walked out of the palace gate, he ran into Minister of Rites Teng Yin."

"Teng Yin and Zhuge Ke have a very good personal relationship. He didn't know Sun Jun's plan, so he advised Zhuge Ke to enter the palace."

"After hesitating for a while, Zhuge Ke entered the palace with his sword and boots, greeted Wu Lord Sun Liang, and turned around to sit down."

"Sun Liang ordered someone to pour the wine, but Zhuge Ke suspected it was poisonous and didn't dare drink it."

"Sun Jun persuaded him to drink the wine he brought, and Zhuge Ke finally felt relieved."

"After several rounds of drinking, Sun Liang found an excuse to go back to the inner hall."

"Sun Jun suddenly stood up and announced that he had ordered the execution of Zhuge Ke. Zhuge Ke was shocked and before he could draw his sword, he was slashed by Sun Jun. The ambushed soldiers rushed forward and killed Zhuge Ke on the spot."

"After Zhuge Ke died, his body was wrapped in a reed mat and thrown on Shizigang. Zang Jun, a native of Linhuai, submitted a petition to bury Zhuge Ke. Sun Liang and Sun Jun granted permission, and his former subordinates found Zhuge Ke's body and buried him."

"Zhuge Ke was executed, and his three clans were exterminated. His eldest son Zhuge Chuo died early, and his second son Zhuge Song, third son Zhuge Jian, and nephew Zhang Zhen were all killed."

"His younger brother Zhuge Rong was appointed as the governor of public security. Sun Jun ordered his generals Sun Yi, Quan Xi and others to lead troops to attack Zhuge Rong," and Zhuge Rong was forced to commit suicide.

"Zhuge Ke is the uncle of the deposed Crown Prince Sun and Concubine Zhang. Concubine Zhang once sent the eunuch Zhang Qian to the capital to pay a special visit to Zhuge Ke."

"Zhuge Ke intended to move the capital and renovate the old palace in Wuchang."

"It is rumored among the people that Zhuge Ke wants to depose and invite Sun He to Wuchang to be the emperor."

"After Zhuge Ke died, Sun He was sentenced to death and Concubine Zhang committed suicide."

"In December of the first year of Yong'an, Wu Lord Sun Xiu vindicated Zhuge Ke, saying that Zhuge Ke and others were innocent and were wrongly killed by the brothers Sun Jun and Sun Chen. He ordered that they be reburied as soon as possible and that memorial services be held for them separately."

"All those who were exiled because of their involvement in the Zhuge Ke incident will be recalled."

Su Shi: Zhuge Ke had just taken charge of the government, and there was no wise ruler to rely on.

He was also inconsiderate of his subjects, and was aggressive and did not care for the common people. He mobilized all his national strength to attack Wei.

Trapped in a strong city, with tens of thousands of deaths, yet returning home in disaster, this is why Zhuge Ke was about to be convicted.

In the past, Wu Zixu, Wu Qi, Shang Yang and Yue Yi were all trusted and valued by wise rulers, but their careers failed when their rulers died.

What’s more, Zhuge Ke’s talents were not as good as those of these four wise men, and he did not take into account major concerns, so his downfall was imminent.

Zhuge Ke led an army in the middle of summer, but his soldiers were injured and he did not achieve any success. He cannot be said to be a wise man.

He was entrusted with the important task of taking care of the emperor's son, but died at the hands of a villain. We cannot say that he was wise.

Zhuge Ke's talents and strategies were praised by the people, but he was proud and stingy. Even Zhou Gongdan could not do that, let alone Zhuge Ke.

Those who are arrogant and use their power to bully others will inevitably fail.

If he had done as he wrote in the letter to Lu Xun and his brother Zhuge Rong, he would not have regretted it and would not have brought disaster upon himself.

Zhuge Ke first conquered the Shanyue and then built Dongxing. His achievements cannot be concealed.

But he wanted to conquer the world by relying on these two achievements, which led to his death, the destruction of his clan, and humiliation of his country. How could he not fail?

The plan for the world has its own form and is not decided by events. Zhuge Ke's wisdom is narrow and he is not capable of understanding this principle. He should consider the present and plan for the long term. This is the general trend.

The comments of people at that time only slandered his failure but failed to learn lessons from it.

He thought he was talented enough to attack Wei, but I wonder how he compared to his uncle Zhuge Liang.

Zhuge Liang's repeated attacks on Wei ultimately failed. Zhuge Ke did not have the talent of Kong Ming, and using the whole country's strength to attack Wei would not only fail to make Eastern Wu strong, but would only lead to the destruction of himself and his family.

He was unable to predict Zhang Te's conspiracy externally and Sun Jun's treacherous scheme internally. He was also stubborn, arrogant, and killed people indiscriminately.
Although he was smarter than his father Zhuge Jin, he eventually brought disaster upon himself because of his arrogance, which is a pity.

Zhuge Ke presided over the state affairs. He first invaded the border of Wei to provoke the enemy, and won the battle of Dongxing by chance.
Not only did he fail to maintain his victory, but he went against popular opinion and launched a massive attack on Wei, which resulted in complete defeat.

Zhuge Ke failed and died, and the Sun family's foundation also declined.

Zhuge Ke came from a northern aristocratic family and was arrogant because of his talent. After Sun Quan's death, he was appointed regent, but Zhuge Ke lacked reputation in both politics and military, so the people of Jiangdong and the Sun Wu clan did not recognize him.

After Zhuge Ke came to power, he deliberately suppressed people from Jiangdong and the royal family of Sun Wu, such as killing Sun Hong, suppressing Zhu Yi, and forcing the kings of Dongwu to relocate.
In order to gain fame, Zhuge Ke planned to move the capital to Wuchang and was determined to lead the entire country's army to attack Cao Wei in the north. However, he was stubborn and had limited strategies.
After the failure of the Northern Expedition, he abused his power and was attacked by the Sun Wu clan and the Jiangdong forces, and was eventually killed. (End of this chapter)