Han officials

Chapter 252 discusses why Zhuge Liang left Langya and ended up in Jingzhou.
[I originally planned to post this chapter for free, but I forgot to change the options and posted it without thinking. My mistake. However, I don't have permission to delete VIP chapters.]

I'm so sorry, please don't subscribe to this chapter.

Let me first give a brief introduction to the Zhuge clan of Langya.

According to the records in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty and the Records of the Three Kingdoms, the ancestor of the Langya Zhuge clan was Zhuge Feng, who served as the Commandant of the Capital Region during the reign of Emperor Yuan of Han in the Western Han Dynasty.

After Zhuge Feng, the Zhuge clan of Langya should not have completely declined; at least they were still part of the gentry of Xuzhou. Otherwise, Yuan Shu would not have given the Zhuge clan any face.

However, there are no specific records of this period of history of the Zhuge clan of Langya, so I personally speculate that they were mostly assistant officials in prefectures and counties, and no one of them was a high-ranking official.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the origin of the Langya Zhuge clan can be traced back to Zhuge Gui.
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Zhuge Gui, courtesy name Jungong, was a native of Yangdu, Langya. During the reign of Emperor Ling of the Eastern Han Dynasty, he entered officialdom, initially serving as the magistrate of Liangfu in Taishan Commandery. He was appreciated by Ying Shao for his "filial piety and integrity" or "outstanding talent," and was recruited from another commandery to serve as the assistant magistrate of Taishan Commandery.
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Zhuge Gui's resume shows that the Langya Zhuge clan was indeed in decline at the time, but it still had a certain foundation and was not reduced to a poor family.

Zhuge Gui had three sons and two daughters in his lifetime:

The eldest son was Zhuge Jin; the second son was Zhuge Liang; and the youngest son was Zhuge Jun.

In addition, Zhuge Gui had a younger brother, Zhuge Xuan.

Later, Zhuge Gui died of illness at Mount Tai. Zhuge Jin was fifteen years old, and Zhuge Liang was eight years old.

The death of the family's breadwinner meant that Zhuge Liang and his brothers, along with their two unmarried sisters, were all raised by their uncle, Zhuge Xuan.

According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Wu:
[Zhuge Jin once said, "Having suffered the downfall of this prefecture, I abandoned my grave and returned to the realm of sainthood."]

The phrase "the fall of this prefecture" can be roughly inferred to mean that Xuzhou was plunged into war.

Whether it was during the period when Lü Bu occupied Xuzhou or when Cao Cao conquered Xuzhou is unknown.

However, it is certain that the Zhuge clan of Langya left Xuzhou after Tao Qian's death.

It has the same meaning as "the governor died" mentioned by Chen Deng, referring to the death of Tao Qian in the first year of Xingping (194).

According to the "Biography of Zhuge Liang" in the Records of the Three Kingdoms:
[His father, Xuan, was appointed Prefect of Yuzhang by Yuan Shu, and Xuan brought Zhuge Liang and his younger brother, Jun, to their posts.]

From this, it can be inferred that when Zhuge Xuan took charge of the Zhuge family, he must have chosen to submit to Yuan Shu.

This decision is not surprising, after all, Yuan Shu was the most powerful warlord in the Central Plains at the time.

Furthermore, according to the "Biography of Yuan Shu" in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty:
[Yuan Shu killed Chen Wen, the governor of Yangzhou, and took control of the province himself, also claiming the title of Earl of Xuzhou.]

And the records in the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Wu

[When Yuan Shu was vying with Liu Bei for control of Xuzhou, he appointed Wu Jing as the Prefect of Guangling.]

At that time, Yuan Shu must have had his eye on Xuzhou. So, while proclaiming himself the Earl of Xuzhou, he also appointed his general Wu Jing (Sun Ce's maternal uncle) as the Prefect of Guangling Commandery within Xuzhou.

Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that Yuan Shu recruited famous scholars from Xuzhou and won over the local gentry.

Perhaps due to his personal talent, or perhaps due to his connections within the aristocratic families, Zhuge Xuan was later appointed by Yuan Shu as the Prefect of Yuzhang, and his juniors, including Zhuge Liang and Zhuge Jun, also went to Yuzhang Commandery.

However, later, the Chang'an court appointed Zhu Hao as the Prefect of Yuzhang to replace Zhuge Xuan. Zhuge Xuan either voluntarily relinquished his post or was forced to leave, and eventually left Yuzhang with his entire family.

Because Zhuge Xuan had a long-standing relationship with Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, he led Zhuge Liang and others to seek refuge in Jingzhou. He also arranged for Zhuge Liang's two elder sisters to marry into the powerful Kuai and Pang families of Jingzhou, respectively. Even the marriage between Zhuge Liang and the Huang family of Jiangxia was likely arranged by Zhuge Xuan.

It was only after Zhuge Xuan died of illness in Jingzhou that Zhuge Liang took over the reins of the household.

Therefore, as far as the gentry of Jingzhou were concerned, Zhuge Liang was an outsider, and they naturally suppressed and ostracized him.

Zhuge Liang continued to live a secluded life in Nanyang until he was 28 years old, which was due to both subjective choice and objective factors.

In addition, the "Annals of Emperor Xian" provides another account of Zhuge Xuan's life.

Records of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Shu, Volume 5, Biography of Zhuge Liang:
[The *Annals of Emperor Xian* states: Initially, Zhou Shu, the Prefect of Yuzhang, died of illness. Liu Biao recommended Zhuge Xuan to be the Prefect of Yuzhang, governing Nanchang. Upon hearing of Zhou Shu's death, the Han court sent Zhu Hao to replace Xuan. Hao requested troops from Liu Yao, the Governor of Yangzhou, to attack Xuan. Xuan retreated and garrisoned Xicheng, and Hao entered Nanchang. In the first month of the second year of Jian'an (200 AD), the people of Xicheng rebelled, killed Xuan, and sent his head to Yao. This account differs from the original biography.]

The claim that the residents of Xicheng rebelled, killed Zhuge Xuan, and sent his head to Liu Yao is, in my opinion, likely a rumor. The fundamental difference between these two accounts lies in whether Zhuge Xuan's position as Prefect of Yuzhang was appointed by Yuan Shu or Liu Biao.

Judging from the military actions of Yuan Shu and Liu Biao in Jian'an 2 (200 AD), Yuan Shu was expanding wildly that year, mainly within Yangzhou. Sun Ce was also rampaging through Jiangdong at this time. It can be said that Yuan Shu privately appointed governors to almost every prefecture in Yangzhou, attempting to seize control of Yangzhou using old methods.

Meanwhile, in the second year of Jian'an, Liu Biao faced the threat of Cao Cao.

In order to deal with Cao Cao's southern expedition, Liu Biao accepted Zhang Xiu and put him in charge of Nanyang.
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In March of the third year of Jian'an (198 AD), Cao Cao launched a southern campaign against Zhang Xiu, besieging Rangcheng, which was defended by Zhang Xiu. In May, Liu Biao sent troops to rescue Zhang Xiu, attempting to cut off Cao Cao's army's retreat. Cao Cao retreated to Anzhong, where Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu's armies joined forces to defend the strategic location, launching a pincer attack. Cao Cao then launched a surprise attack and decisively defeated the combined forces of Zhang and Liu.

In the same year, Zhang Xian, the governor of Changsha, harbored resentment because he was not treated with courtesy by Liu Biao. He then led the three commanderies of Changsha, Lingling, and Guiyang to rebel against Liu Biao. Liu Biao sent troops to besiege the city, but the rebellion did not end there.
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At that time, Liu Biao was in dire straits both internally and externally, and it was impossible for him to even think about expanding into Yangzhou.

Therefore, it is highly likely that Zhuge Xuan was appointed as the Prefect of Yuzhang by Yuan Shu.

However, Zhuge Xuan failed to capture Yuzhang Commandery and lost Yuan Shu's trust, which is why he sought refuge with Liu Biao.

As for why the brothers Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang later went their separate ways and served different masters, it was also because of this experience.

After all, the "Biography of Zhuge Liang" in the Book of Shu clearly records that "Zhuge Xuan was appointed as the Prefect of Yuzhang by Yuan Shu, and Xuan took Zhuge Liang and his younger brother Zhuge Jun to their posts." In other words, when Zhuge Xuan went to Yuzhang to take up his post by Yuan Shu, Zhuge Jin did not go with him. Only Zhuge Liang and Zhuge Jun went with him.

As for Zhuge Jin, he was probably kept as a hostage by Yuan Shu to ensure that Zhuge Xuan would obey orders while he was away.

Judging from Yuan Shu's past behavior, he did indeed really like using this "appointment system".

Therefore, after Yuan Shu was defeated, Zhuge Jin naturally came under Sun Ce's command.

For example, during the Battle of Lujiang, Sun Ce "acquired over 30,000 artisans, musicians, and musicians, as well as the wives and children of Shu and Xun."

In the "Biography of Zhuge Jin" in the Book of Wu in the Records of the Three Kingdoms:

Zhuge Jin once said, "Among the common people, I was blessed with good fortune."

It is evident that after Zhuge Xuan fled to Jingzhou, he was likely sidelined and neglected under Yuan Shu, and even forced into menial tasks such as playing music and drumming. He was very likely among the more than 30,000 captured soldiers, which is why he called himself a "commoner" and was eventually rescued by Sun Ce.

This also explains why, after Zhuge Jin rose to prominence in Eastern Wu, Zhuge Liang preferred to farm rather than join his brother. Personally, I think the various unforeseen events of the chaotic Three Kingdoms period led to a deep rift between the two brothers.

As for Zhuge Dan, the General Who Conquers the East of Cao Wei, no information was found that he was a descendant of Zhuge Xuan. He should be a distant relative of Zhuge Liang, such as a cousin or younger brother.

Therefore, the claim circulating online that the Zhuge family of Langya deliberately placed multiple bets seems somewhat arbitrary to me.

In chaotic times, people are scattered and displaced, just like in Taiwan today. Many times, individuals are not in control of their own lives and are pushed along by the tides of the times. Apart from powerful clans like the Yuan family of Runan that span multiple prefectures and counties, ordinary people really don't have the qualifications to plan for the world.

The reason why members of the Zhuge family held high-ranking positions in Wei, Shu, and Wu was simply because they were the ones who rose to prominence.

If they were ordinary poor people, they would likely be fighting for their own masters, and might even end up killing each other, dying in the wilderness in a muddled way.

Even after Zhuge Liang became prime minister, he still couldn't protect all his relatives.

For example, Kuai Qi, the prefect of Fangling, clearly married Zhuge Liang's elder sister, making him Zhuge Liang's brother-in-law.

However, after Liu Bei pacified Hanzhong, he ordered Meng Da to attack Fangling. Kuai Qi was killed by Meng Da's soldiers, and even Kuai Qi's family members, namely Zhuge Liang's eldest sister, may have perished in the chaos.

From this perspective, Meng Da's later death should be partly due to this reason.

Because Prime Minister Zhuge was a human being, not a god; at least he didn't consider himself a god!
This may explain why Zhuge Liang was so fond of composing the "Liangfu Yin".

After all, his father had served as the "Liangfu County Magistrate" for a considerable period of time in his early years, and Zhuge Liang may have even spent his childhood in "Liangfu County".

Wang Yanping, a professor in the History Department of Sichuan University, once commented as follows:
"The essence of Zhuge Liang's 'Liangfu Yin' lies in two aspects: the way of the scholar and the nature of the prime minister. A scholar's conduct in the world is to uphold the Way, yet he cannot be without official rank; therefore, advancing or retreating requires careful consideration and is difficult to manage appropriately. The art of control and restraint is like the 'two peaches kill three scholars' analogy. Only by being indifferent to fame and fortune can a scholar avoid disaster and preserve his integrity. As for the prime minister, he should cherish talent for the country, make full use of their abilities, be open and honest, and gather wisdom from all quarters. Therefore, Zhuge Liang 'liked to compose the 'Liangfu Yin,' lamenting the difficulty of a scholar's conduct and satirizing the lack of benevolence in the role of a prime minister. This was written by Zhuge Liang after observing the ways of the scholar and the way of governance throughout history. His ability to read history and observe the world in such a way during a chaotic era demonstrates his far-sighted vision and lofty character."

However, I think that perhaps the Prime Minister is simply reminiscing about his childhood and missing his deceased father!

Better to be a dog in times of peace than a human in times of chaos—that is true!

(End of this chapter)