The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 769: All the Birds Fly

Taiwei Mansion.

The Taiwei Mansion, which was once glamorous and bustling with people, began to decline.

The mansion was quiet, and the occasional servants who passed by had their heads lowered and sad faces.

Zhuge Dan was lying on the bed in the inner room, staring blankly ahead, his face ashen, and he said nothing.

"When the birds are gone, the bow is put away; when the rabbit dies, the dog is cooked."

Zhuge Dan murmured in a low voice.

He remembered very clearly how much respect His Majesty had shown him in the past. He treated him almost with the courtesy of an elder, and appointed him as the Grand Marshal, holding great power. He did not disappoint His Majesty's high hopes, and led the army to Shu, destroying the Shu Kingdom in one fell swoop, and achieved great success.

But now, Your Majesty has taken control of the power and there are no enemies anywhere, but he, the Grand Marshal, has fallen into such a fate.

At this moment, he finally had a deeper understanding of this sentence.

But there was nothing he could do.

His son Zhuge Liang knelt beside him and personally served him the medicine soup.

Ever since he was publicly humiliated by Cao Mao last time, Zhuge Dan's health has deteriorated.

A man who values his reputation as much as he does can tolerate everything except such humiliation.

Zhuge Liang was also shocked when he heard his father's words. He hurriedly said, "Father, don't say such things. What if His Majesty hears them?"

Zhuge Dan laughed self-deprecatingly, "So what if I heard it?"

"He's just waiting for me to die of illness."

Zhuge Liang didn't dare to say anything more.

Zhuge Dan looked at him slowly and said, "At my age, it's not a problem, but it will make things difficult for you."

"Without me here, you won't be able to protect your clan."

Zhuge Dan had a clear vision of what would happen in the future.

What a powerful family the Zhuge family of Langya was back then, with a great reputation throughout the Three Kingdoms.

The prime ministers of Shu and Wu were both from the Zhuge family.

He also held a very high official position in the State of Wei.

Alas, today, the only descendants of Zhuge Liang left are the young Zhuge Qiao and his two even younger grandsons.

Zhuge Ke's entire clan was exterminated, even his nephews were not spared.

Zhuge Dan only had his useless son Zhuge Liang left, and Zhuge Xu's two sons were even more stupid and had no special qualities except their looks.

The Zhuge clan of Langya is finished!

Zhuge Dan seemed to have already foreseen the scene of the Zhuge family moving away after his death.

The present situation of the great families in Shu and Wu is the future of these powerful families in the Central Plains.

At this moment, a servant suddenly came in to report that Zhuge Xu came to pay a visit.

Upon hearing this news, Zhuge Dan became furious.

He struggled to sit up. "He dares to come again, Liang, take my sword."

Zhuge Dan believed that the reason he had fallen to his current state was entirely because of these idiots in his own clan.

Zhuge Dan and Zhuge Xu have a distant relationship. Although they are from the same clan, there is not much family affection between them.

But they were from the same clan after all, especially after Zhuge Dan became the Grand Marshal and wrote a letter to the emperor assuming the responsibility of appeasing Zhuge Liang's descendants, he vaguely became the head of the Langya Zhuge family.

When Deng Ai broke into Chengdu, he cut off Zhuge Zhan's head and sent it to the rear army to ask for credit.

The result was that it fell into Zhuge Dan's hands.

Zhuge Dan was naturally very angry about this, but because of his special status, he could not express his other thoughts, so he sent people to retrieve the body and found a place to bury it near Zhuge Liang.

After entering Chengdu, he kept Zhuge Liang's family members by his side and wrote to the emperor, hoping to pardon their crimes.

Now Zhuge Liang's family lived in Luoyang, and Zhuge Dan sent people to look after them from time to time.

Zhuge Xu also frequently contacted Zhuge Dan, hoping to revive the glory of the Zhuge family.

Of course, he hoped to gain some benefits for himself through Zhuge Dan's official title.

In this way, the two sides established deeper exchanges.

Zhuge Dan's reputation continued to grow, and he became the head of a super family, and many people asked to see him.

But who would have thought that the secret letter between him and Zhuge Xu would appear in the hands of the emperor.

His image as the generally fair and selfless general collapsed in an instant.

The general who always had a serious face in front of everyone, claimed to be of unparalleled moral character, and was always strict with his own people, actually secretly told his clansmen how to deal with the emperor's interrogation and how to keep their wealth.

Simply put, it's like a woman who is highly respected by everyone suddenly finds out that her best friend has sent their chat history to the group.

It's like a man who is highly respected by everyone suddenly finds out that his friend has posted his browsing history in the group.

Ruined reputation!!!
Zhuge Dan's reputation, which he had built for so long, was completely ruined. He vomited blood on the spot and has been lying there ever since.

And now, the culprit who caused all this actually dared to come and see him?

Do you really think that you have never killed anyone just because you are a good student of classics?
Seeing Zhuge Dan struggling to chop someone, Zhuge Liang quickly grabbed him. "Father! Father! Don't be impulsive!"

Looking at his angry father, Zhuge Liang felt his scalp tingling. He hurriedly said, "Father, in fact, people in the world don't discuss this matter much at all."

"They don't discuss it? Don't they think about it in their hearts?!"

It is really hard to describe the grievances that Zhuge Dan felt.

He has maintained this reputation for decades and was almost dead when something like this suddenly broke out, leaving him completely humiliated. If he had known this, he might as well have died last year!
He died cleanly!

There were ministers who wanted to pay a visit to the Grand Marshal during these days, but Zhuge Dan refused to see any of them.

No matter who he looked at, he felt that the other person was thinking about his letter, and no matter who he looked at, he felt that the other person was laughing at him.

Just don't see anyone.

Zhuge Liang quickly said, "Father, there is no such thing. Among all the ministers in the world, who hasn't thought about taking care of their own relatives? Who hasn't promoted their own children?"

"This is human nature. No one would look down on my father because of this!"

In fact, this matter is very normal for many ministers. They just need to apologize to the emperor.

After all, they are all relatives, especially Zhuge Xu, who is still young. It is very normal for Zhuge Dan to teach him and help him privately.

No one would think anything of the Taiwei.

If anyone is to blame, it can only be blamed on Zhuge Dan for setting a too high a character for himself.

Over the years, he has worked hard to cultivate his own image as an upright, noble, and morally flawless official!

He took these things too seriously, which is why he is suffering so much now.

Zhuge Dan took a deep breath, "Let him in! Let him in!!"

Zhuge Liang hurried out the door. When he walked into the courtyard, Zhuge Xu was standing there with a lonely look on his face.

Zhuge Liang was very angry. Thinking of his father's appearance, he wanted to scold this ignorant cousin.

How could you do that?
You were the one who wrote to my father asking for his help, and now you're the one who handed the letter to the Emperor?
Your character is really worse than even Jia Chong's!
Zhuge Xu hurriedly bowed to greet him, his expression complicated.

Zhuge Liang suppressed the urge to reprimand and asked, "What are your instructions, Lord Zhuge?"

"I'm here to see the Grand Marshal."

"My father is seriously ill and is not accepting visitors. Please don't blame me, Lord Zhuge. Please go back."

Zhuge Liang did not want this person to meet his father.

Zhuge Xu hurriedly said, "I have come to the Grand Marshal to apologize. I have something very important to say to him. Please come in and report."

"Father hates you to the core now. He doesn't want to see you again."

"Zhong Si, this matter concerns the safety of our entire clan. Please go in and report it!"

Seeing Zhuge Xu's eagerness, Zhuge Liang hesitated for a moment, then said, "Come with me."

Zhuge Xu thanked him again and again, then followed Zhuge Liang into the house.

As soon as he walked in, Zhuge Dan shouted and threw the thing in his hand at Zhuge Xu. Zhuge Liang hurriedly blocked it for him.

Those are Zhuge Dan's shoes.

Zhuge Xu didn't waste any words and immediately knelt down in front of Zhuge Dan, crying, "Uncle!! I didn't mean it!!"

"This matter is all to blame on Zheng Chong!!!"

Zhuge Dan was about to curse, but when he heard this, he suddenly felt a little confused.

Zheng Chong?

Hasn't he been retired for many years?

Is he not dead yet?
No, what does he have to do here?
Facing Zhuge Dan's suspicious gaze, Zhuge Xu hurriedly said, "After I read the letter, I ordered my servants to destroy it. Who could have imagined that this letter would appear before Your Majesty?"

"It's not just me. This situation has occurred in many ministers' families. After investigation, it was found that most of these people were recommended by Zheng Chong in his letters!"

"Zheng Chong committed many serious mistakes, but His Majesty did not punish him. Instead, he allowed him to retire and return home. On the day he left office, the Imperial Court established the Dianshi Mansion!"

"I just realized now that Zheng Chong is the real head of the Dianshi Mansion!"

"Back when Sima Shi was still around, he'd repeatedly said someone was secretly helping His Majesty. Now it seems all those who conspired with Zheng Chong are dead, except for him, the ringleader, who's still alive. This is enough to prove that Zheng Chong is the head of the Dianshi Mansion, and that he was the one who was helping His Majesty all along!"

Upon hearing these words, Zhuge Dan trembled all over.

Zhuge Liang's face changed drastically, and he immediately said, "It's bad, our mansion is also..."

Zhuge Dan suddenly looked at him and interrupted him.

Zhuge Liang also reacted and shut his mouth.

Zhuge Dan pondered for a moment, "So, you didn't submit the letter just to curry favor?"

"How dare I? How could I have imagined that the servant who followed me around all day would actually do such a thing? Now I dare not trust anyone in the mansion anymore. I beg you, uncle, to forgive my crime!!"

"I've wanted to come and apologize for a long time, but I couldn't leave the mansion. I was only pardoned today, so the first thing I did was to visit my uncle."

As Zhuge Xu spoke, he couldn't help but shed tears.

(End of this chapter)