Reading the romance of the Three Kingdoms, of course, I can’t see the relationship between Zhugeliang and Liu Biao. I just borrow Xu Shu’s words to say that Zhugeliang’s father died early, and he followed his uncle Zhuge Xuan. Zhuge Xuan “had an old relationship with liujingsheng in Jingzhou, so he came to Xiangyang to depend on him.”. Since Zhugeliang had been called “Wolong” at that time, and Liu Biao was an old friend of his uncle, why didn’t he go out to help? It can be seen from this that Liu Biao has no capacity for capable people.
This relationship between Zhugeliang and Liu Biao can be found in the biography of Zhugeliang in the annals of the Three Kingdoms. However, he had a closer relationship with Liu Biao, which was not recorded in the annals of the Three Kingdoms and peisongzhi’s notes. Xi qiaochi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty said in the Xiangyang Qi Jiu Ji that at the end of the Han Dynasty, the surname CAI was the most prosperous. Cai Suan’s sister married Taiwei Zhang Wen, the eldest daughter married huangchengyan, the youngest daughter was Liu Biao’s stepwife, and Cai Mao was their younger brother. Huangchengyan was Zhugeliang’s father-in-law, and Liu Biao’s stepwife was Mrs. Cai, the sister of Zhugeliang’s mother-in-law, who fought against Liu Bei everywhere in the romance of the Three Kingdoms.
According to the biography of Liu Biao in the annals of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Biao and his wife loved their young son Liu Cong, and wanted to be their successor. Cai Mao and Zhang Yun also supported the party, so they sent their eldest son Liu Qi to be the Grand Marshal of Jiangxia. In the romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Biao told Liu Bei that Liu Cong was born to his stepwife Cai, which is not true. Liu Qi and Liu Cong were both born to Liu Biao’s ex-wife. The Cai family protected Liu Cong and persuaded Liu Biao to abolish the old and set up the young because Liu Cong’s wife was Cai’s niece. It is unknown whether this niece of the Cai family is the son of CAI Mao. Cao Pi said in his classical treatise that “the Cai family claims beauty in the interior, while Mao and Yun sigh virtue in the exterior, showing the natural trend of the day, while Qi and RI are sparse.” So there is the story of the “three questions plan of the prince of Jingzhou City” in the romance, which can also be seen in the biography of Zhugeliang in the annals of the Three Kingdoms: “(Liu) Qimei wants to work with (Zhugeliang) Liang to find a way to make peace with himself. Liang often refuses the frontier and fails to make plans.” Later, Liu Qi took Zhugeliang upstairs, took off the ladder, and begged, “today, you can’t go up to the sky or down to the earth. You can say it out of your mouth and into my ears.” Zhugeliang then said, “don’t you see that Shen Sheng is in danger inside, and that you are safe with your ears outside?” Hint that Liu Qi left Xiangyang.
Caishi and Caimao are Zhugeliang’s mother-in-law’s younger sister and brother. Liu Qi is worried that they will harm him, but he goes to Zhugeliang for advice. Isn’t that a silly move? Peisongzhi’s notes to the annals of the Three Kingdoms cited the old records of Xiangyang, but did not cite this one. Does peisongzhi think that this record is unreliable?