Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 966 Visit to Zhuge Liang
On the city wall of Shenyang City, Cheng Liang slowly climbed the stairs, with his hands behind his back, his head held high, and looking very high-spirited.

He came to the top of the city wall and paced around. Suddenly he saw Liu Zheng standing not far away, so he hurried forward to greet him.

"Zheng'er, what are you doing here?"

Liu Zheng turned around and saw Cheng Liang, and hurriedly bowed and said, "Nephew greets Third Uncle."

"Hey, come on, you are the prince and I am the subject, what's the point of you bowing to me? Stand up."

Cheng Liang said this, but he had no intention of returning the greeting to Liu Zheng. Instead, he looked in the direction where Liu Zheng had just stopped to watch.

"What are you looking at?"

Liu Zheng frowned, looking worried: "Uncle, I'm wondering, those more than 10,000 Cao army surrendered soldiers, they were also born by their parents, since they have surrendered, but they were still killed alive, is this..."

Cheng Liang's face suddenly fell when he heard this: "What? Are you going to teach Third Uncle a lesson?"

"Ah... No, no, nephew doesn't dare." Seeing that he was a little angry, Liu Zheng hurriedly explained: "It's just that my father has always advocated governing the country with benevolence and justice. There are established rules for treating surrendered soldiers. Except for those who are extremely evil, they are often not killed. On the one hand, it is intended to encourage the enemy to surrender without a fight, and on the other hand, it can also replenish our army's manpower..."

"Okay, okay, stop talking." Cheng Liang interrupted him directly.

"These Cao soldiers are extremely evil. I don't know how many of our brothers have been killed. Moreover, most of them are local people in Yuzhou. We are in Yuzhou. If we spare their lives, they will secretly rebel and attack us from both inside and outside. How will our army respond? Humph... Brother, you are right to talk about benevolence and righteousness, but you are not such a soft-hearted person."

"This... is what my third uncle taught me." Although Liu Zheng said this, he still couldn't hide the worry and sadness in his expression.

Cheng Liang looked at his expression, stepped forward, patted his shoulder, and said to comfort him: "Don't worry, although my elder brother scolded me, his words were just a little harsh. He didn't punish me or deprive me of my military power, nor did he scold you. Instead, he asked me to take good care of you and let you experience more. From this, it can be seen that my elder brother acquiesced to this matter, but he had to scold me because of the gossip of the ministers in the court and the subjects of the world."

After hearing what he said, Liu Zheng's expression eased a little. Cheng Liang grinned when he saw that his persuasion was effective.

"Hey, kid, your father and us uncles have worked so hard to build this kingdom, and it will eventually be handed over to you, right? As the heir to the Han Dynasty, you can't act like a woman like this, that won't do."

Liu Zheng suddenly looked a little nervous: "Uncle San, what nonsense are you talking about? Father is at the peak of his career, and I have never thought about whether to succeed to the throne or not."

"Hey, whether you want it or not is one thing, but the fact is that it is so. You, just follow Third Uncle. Although our army was defeated by Cao's army this time, we are still superior in terms of strength. After the food and grass are re-raised, there will inevitably be another big battle. You have practiced martial arts well in recent years. When the time comes, follow Third Uncle, make achievements and establish a reputation. If you want to inherit the throne, you must have prestige in the army."

He sounded happy when he spoke, but Liu Zheng looked into the distance again.

"But... nephew always feels that something is wrong, but he can't tell what it is. I often think that the power of the imperial court is obviously much better than that of Cao Cao, but the repeated collection of taxes has always had little effect. After several years, how much money and food have been spent, how many soldiers have been killed and injured, and only half of Yuzhou has been recovered. What is the problem here? Nephew is puzzled."

Cheng Liang spread his hands and said, "Don't ask me about this kind of thing. I don't know. But it's not something I should worry about. Big brother and several military advisors will think about this kind of thing. We just need to follow their orders. Why bother with this? Let's go. Third uncle just found a few jars of fine wine in the backyard of the county government. Let's go and drink with him."

He reached out and pulled Liu Zheng over, and was about to walk down the city wall, but Liu Zheng shook his head and pulled his hand away.

"I'm not in the mood, let's drink another day. I've heard that Henan, Yan, Xu and other places are rich places in the Central Plains, and they are full of talented people. I want to travel around, firstly to experience the customs and habits of the Han people, and secondly, to see if I can find some experts to help me solve the doubts in my heart."

"What? You want to go out?" Cheng Liang immediately shook his head like a rattle: "No, no, absolutely not. If my brother knew that I let you run away, he would have to reward me with a hundred military sticks. You kid, don't even think about going anywhere, just stay here."

After saying that, he dragged Liu Zheng down from the city wall.

In the evening, Liu Zheng walked out of the lobby of the county government in a stealthy manner. He looked around and made sure that no one was around. Then he stood up straight and walked out with a swagger.

"Greetings, the eldest prince." The guards standing outside the palace saluted hurriedly. Liu Zheng saluted them with a smile on his face, then stepped on his Wuyuntuxue bicycle and looked back towards the county government.

"Hey, Third Uncle, Third Uncle, I can even sneak out of the Imperial Palace, let alone your Shenyang City. Who told you to be a drunkard? You can't even walk when you see the good wine. You don't even need me to persuade you to drink, you get drunk by yourself."

Then, his expression became a little serious, and he looked up at the sky: "I will never be willing to give up this doubt until I get to the bottom of it and find out the truth."

He muttered to himself, then patted his horse and ran towards the city gate. He was the eldest prince, and in the battle a few days ago, he was very brave, which made the soldiers in the army admire him very much, so many people respected him very much. Liu Zheng only said that he had urgent military affairs and had to go to his fourth uncle Zhang Yong to discuss. The soldiers guarding the city did not doubt it at all, so they opened the city gate and let him out.

Early the next morning, Cheng Liang's angry roar was heard in the county government.

"Waste... all of you are waste! Hurry up, go out and find him. No matter what, you must find the eldest prince. Otherwise, you will be punished by military law! Get out now..."

In the Luoyang Imperial Palace, Liu He gave a bitter smile as he looked at the letter that had just been delivered by carrier pigeon.

"This brat is really not a quiet person."

Qian Li asked tentatively: "Is it the eldest prince who..."

"Who else could it be? You've given my third brother a hard time."

"The eldest prince is traveling alone. The world is not yet unified, Cao is eyeing us covetously, and the Sun and Liu families are also planning to rebel. Your Majesty, why don't you order someone to bring him back to prevent him from encountering any unexpected danger?"

Although Qian Li's suggestion was pertinent, Liu He did not listen to it.

"What future can a man of such rank and noble character have if he hides in the palace? He has been like this since he was young, so let him be. Gaining more knowledge is his gain, and suffering a great loss may not be a bad thing."

Seeing that even his own father said so, Qian Li pursed his lips and stopped talking.

At this time, Xun Yu walked in from outside: "Your Majesty, something happened in Qingzhou again..."

The horse Wuyuntashuexue that Liu Zheng was riding was a fine horse trained by Zhao Kui and Mo Da themselves at the Shuofang Ranch. The mother of this horse was a tall horse from Liangzhou, and its father was Liu He's mount - Baiyu Qianlizhui.

This horse has excellent leg strength and four powerful hooves. When running, it is slightly better than Baiyu Qianlizhui, Chiyan Jueying, Chitu and other good horses, but its endurance is slightly inferior. However, the most special thing about Wuyun Treading Snow is that there is a small tuft of white hair on each of its four hooves, which makes it look like it is running on the clouds, hence the name. Perhaps it is really helped by this small tuft of white hair that Wuyun Treading Snow can not only run fast on flat ground, but also run as fast as walking on flat ground even in mountains, swamps and other terrains, without any influence.

With the help of such a divine horse, Liu Zheng chose to travel through some remote mountain paths and swamps, avoiding the sight of both the imperial court and Cao Cao's troops.

A few days later, he came to a rural place. Looking up, he saw smoke rising from the distance and farmers working in the fields.

"Wow... I'm a little hungry. It's a good opportunity for me to go to the village ahead and ask for some food."

Liu Zheng was born in Langdiao County. When he was a child, Liu He was defending Yanmen Pass, and he had a hard time. Therefore, he didn't think it was shameful for a prince to beg for food in a country village.

He was walking among the fields when he heard a song.

"The sky is like a round canopy, the land is like a chessboard; the people of the world are divided into black and white, fighting for honor and disgrace: the honored are at peace, the disgraced are bound to be mediocre. There are many disputes in the world, but there is only one hero. When the sea is peaceful and calm, the people will be content..."

The song was far from beautiful, but these few words attracted Liu Zheng's attention.

"This song is quite poetic. The person who wrote it has the world in his heart and is also concerned about the common people. He is truly extraordinary. Could it be that there is a noble person living in seclusion in this countryside? I must find out more about it, maybe it can help me solve my puzzle."

Liu Zheng was slightly excited. He followed the sound and soon found a farmer walking on the ridge of a field carrying two loads of firewood.

"Uncle..." Liu Zheng chased after him, stopped the farmer, and bowed to him.

The farmer looked at him in surprise: "Sir, why are you stopping me?"

Seeing that he was a little nervous, Liu Zheng hurriedly explained, "Don't be afraid, uncle. I came from Luoyang and want to travel around the world and visit famous teachers to learn. I just heard the song you sang, the lyrics are elegant, and I came to ask, who wrote it?"

The uncle let down his guard when he heard it: "Oh, so it's about this matter. Speaking of this matter, it is a blessing for us Yangdu people."

The farmer's face lit up with excitement, but his words still surprised Liu Zheng.

"Yangdu? Has this place reached the territory of Xuzhou?" he said to himself.

The farmer didn't hear what he said, but started talking to himself: "Our Yangdu has produced a genius of all ages. This man is very smart and knowledgeable. This song of mine was taught to us by him. Speaking of this genius, he is really amazing. He knows astronomy and geography. Our fellow villagers say that he is the reincarnation of Jiang Taigong..."

When Liu Zheng heard that it was a young man, his interest instantly waned. "How much knowledge can a young man have, no matter how educated he is? It seems that I am happy for nothing."

Although he thought so, he did not say it out loud. The farmer was still spitting and praising the young genius.

"The most important thing is that this man was born into a prominent family, but he never looked down on ordinary people like us. He often came to various villages in person to teach the children in our village to read and write, and discussed farming, weather, and hydrology with us rough people. Wow, over the years, even those of us who have been farming for a lifetime know more about this yellow land than he does."

"Oh? Is there really such a genius?" Liu Zheng's interest was piqued again.

"How can I deceive you?" The farmer thought Liu was questioning him and immediately felt unhappy.

"I'm not bragging to you. A few years ago, he took a solar term map he drew and went to the countryside several times to consult the old farmers. He asked them everything about the sky, the ground, the water, and the mountains. He learned everything clearly. Now, the God of our sky can tell when it will rain, when it will be windy, when it will be foggy, where the fish will jump, where the birds will fly low, where the insects will go out, which stars will not shine, and which clouds will not float. He can tell the weather for the next few days just by taking a look. Hey, isn't he a god?"

The farmer spoke with great enthusiasm, gesticulating with joy, and almost praised the man as a god. Liu Zheng couldn't help but become extremely curious.

"May I ask what that person's name is and where he lives? I would like to pay him a visit."

The farmer looked very proud: "Hehe, judging from your attire, you must be a rich kid from the capital. You want to come to our little place to study. You really came to the right place."

He looked so excited, as if the young genius was his own son, and his face was full of pride.

The farmer pointed to the east and said, "Look, go east for more than ten miles and you will reach Yangdu County. There is a house in the east of the city called Zhuge Mansion. The young man is the son of the Zhuge family, named Zhuge Liang. His name is well-known in Yangdu County. When you get to the city, just ask anyone and you will find out."

"Zhuge family? I seem to have heard father mention it..."

Liu Zheng vaguely remembered this family. Then, he bowed respectfully to the farmer again: "Thank you for your advice."

After saying this, he mounted his horse and rode away.

It was only a dozen miles, but for Wuyun Taxue, it was a blink of an eye.

Langya County, originally Langya Kingdom, was the fief of Liu Jing, the eleventh son of Emperor Guangwu. It was passed down until the fifth year of Guanghe, sixteen years ago, when it was abolished and changed to Langya County.

Yangdu County is just an ordinary small county in the county. The city is not big and the prosperity of the streets is far from comparable to that of Pei County.

Liu Zheng went straight to the east gate of the city, got off his horse, and led the horse into the city.

After asking for directions several times, he soon found the location of "Zhuge Mansion".

"Wow, it's a rather large mansion. It seems that the Zhuge family is a big family in this area, and definitely not just an ordinary one."

He walked forward, and the guard outside the mansion called out to him, "Who are you?"

Liu Zheng clasped his fists and said, "I am Liu... Liu Zhi, a traveling scholar. I passed by your place and heard about the talent of your son Zhuge Liang, so I came here to visit you."

(End of this chapter)