NOVPUBAfter wasting a great deal of time with Ju Shou, Xi Zhicai finally seized the opportunity to end the endless probing. As for what Ju Shou had said before, Xi Zhicai just took note of it. The strategic affairs of his own Yanzhou didn’t need outsiders pointing fingers and giving orders. As for the matter of Liu Bei, that was up to him to verify on his own.
After leaving Ju Shou, Xi Zhicai immediately pursued those two Spiritual Talents gathered together. Those with Spiritual Talent near the Government Office were certainly under Liu Bei, but there was another with Spiritual Talent remaining unaffiliated – a target for Xi Zhicai’s recruitment efforts.
In the face of the group of Spiritual Talents in the direction of the Government Office, Xi Zhicai couldn’t help but feel apprehensive. Spiritual Talent implied a kind of sublimation to a certain degree of intelligence, and that meant that the Civil Official Group under Liu Bei was no ordinary force.
"Liu Bei has even more top-tier civil officials than us, it seems in the future we can no longer underestimate the people of the world." As Xi Zhicai headed towards the direction of the Zhuge brothers, he captured the Spiritual Talent of one of them and started analyzing it.
When Xi Zhicai arrived at the Mi Family Restaurant and saw Zhuge Jin and the Zhuge brothers, his first impression was their youth; his second, astonishment – shocked by Zhuge Jin’s age and even more by Zhuge Liang’s.
"Heaven favors me!" The moment Xi Zhicai saw Zhuge Liang, he inwardly exclaimed in ecstasy, knowing that even a fool would understand what such ability meant at such a young age.
After witnessing Liu Bei’s extraordinarily luxurious array of civil officials, Xi Zhicai contemplated how he might fill the talent gap for Cao Cao, his surprise at finding two unattached prodigies in front of him, especially when one could even be called a heaven-sent talent.
Without a second thought, Xi Zhicai spent money everywhere to inquire about the identity of the Zhuge brothers. With a considerable amount of money thrown around, it took less than the time to drink a cup of tea for Xi Zhicai to figure out the identities of the two.
"The Zhuge Clan of Langya, Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang, the elder no more than eighteen, and the younger only twelve. Hm, heaven truly favors me!" Xi Zhicai picked up the gathered information and rapidly skimmed through it, formulating an excellent plan in his mind once he had all the details sorted out.
Xi Zhicai straightened his clothes and approached the Zhuge brothers, "May I ask if you two gentlemen are Zhuge Ziyu and Zhuge Kongming of the Zhuge Clan of Langya?" Xi Zhicai asked with a smile, greeting Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Kongming, who were eating.
"I am Zhuge Ziyu, and this is my younger brother, Zhuge Kongming. May I know the gentleman’s business?" Although Zhuge Jin felt somewhat annoyed at being disturbed during his meal, he wasn’t averse to Xi Zhicai’s boldly presumptuous act, considering the scholarly demeanor with which Xi Zhicai presented himself.
"I am Xi Zhicai, under Lord Cao, originally came to Qingzhou intending to sign an alliance with Governor Liu, only to have the unexpected pleasure of meeting two distinguished talents praised by my lord’s father." Xi Zhicai boasted without hesitation, supposing it’s quite normal for them to know each other since they are all from Langya Commandery.
"Greatly admired, greatly admired," Zhuge Jin replied, momentarily taken aback upon hearing Xi Zhicai’s name. He then quickly reacted, standing up to return the courtesy, "It is an honor to meet Strategist Xi!"
"Hahaha, there’s no need for such formalities; we can simply converse as equals. The Zhuge brothers, praised so highly by my lord’s father, must be extraordinary people. There’s no need to be concerned with such trifles, and Ziyu, you also haven’t yet had the platform to fully demonstrate your abilities, otherwise, I’m sure you’d be no less impressive than my own." Xi Zhicai said with a laugh.
"Lord Cao’s father, oh, are you referring to Hui Song, styled Jugao?" Zhuge Jin looked up, thought for a moment, and an impression of the man surfaced in his mind, just as Xi Zhicai had suspected—it was normal to know him, as they all were from Langya Commandery.
However, Xi Zhicai underestimated the range of activities of clan families from the same province. It was clear that Zhuge Xuan must have visited Cao Song before. After all, Cao Song was a former Three Duke, and it was perfectly reasonable for Zhuge Xuan, as a former two-thousand-bushel prefectural governor, to pay a visit and make connections. They were all from aristocratic families; the Zhuge Family may have declined, but the Cao Family wasn’t faring much better.
In any case, from the tone of Zhuge Jin now, it was obvious that he had interacted with Cao Song, and this made Xi Zhicai even more excited.
"Indeed, my lord’s father once said that the two of you possessed heavenly talents. I did not expect to be so fortunate as to meet you both on Mount Tai. I wonder if you would consider joining us in Yanzhou, where Lord Cao has been seeking talents like a parched man seeks a spring," Xi Zhicai was now madly planning to recruit Zhuge Liang as a strong addition to his forces.
To Xi Zhicai, as long as one had awakened their Spiritual Talent, regardless of age, a little cultivation would make them ready for use, and they were sure to be easy to handle. As for child labor, wouldn’t you be happy to sit in the position of a Prefectural Governor at twelve years old? What a jok! His peers would be green with envy, greatly satisfying the vanity of the young, and as for a child’s energy, believe it, no adult could match it...
Zhuge Jin looked surprised for a moment, then scratching his head, he said, "Lord Cao’s regard truly flatters me."
The moment Xi Zhicai heard these words, he felt his trip to Qingzhou had not been in vain. Not to mention picking up a highly intelligent Sima Lang on the way, but now he was also about to successfully scout two top-tier strategists. He was going to return fully rewarded!
[Look at that, there’s another individual with a solo Spiritual Talent out there. Must recruit, must recruit!] Xi Zhicai thought excitedly.
"However, I need to return to my clan first to get the approval of the elders before discussing anything further. But considering my uncle’s good relationship with Lord Cao, there shouldn’t be any problem," Zhuge Jin said, somewhat helplessly. n𝚘𝚟𝚙u𝚋.co𝚖
Zhuge Jin was also aware of Cao Cao’s situation, which wasn’t much different from Liu Bei’s; Cao Cao was another mighty lord. Moreover, since the other party esteemed him so highly, Zhuge Jin felt a bit smug and became much more appreciative of Cao Cao. And considering his younger brother had chosen Liu Bei, he would eventually have to choose another feudal lord to serve. Since the other party held him in such high regard, Zhuge Jin thought it wouldn’t hurt to see if Cao Cao was the right fit for him.
Seeing Zhuge Jin’s expression, Xi Zhicai knew the latter was tempted, and the words spoken were reasonable, as clan families sometimes had strict controls.
"Kongming, do you want to come to Yanzhou with us?" Xi Zhicai, not content with only recruiting Zhuge Jin, began luring Zhuge Liang as well.
Then Zhuge Liang, looking down, spoke in a child’s tone, "Okay. If my brother goes, I’ll go too. My family would not allow me to leave on my own. If you take my brother away, then I’ll have to stay at home."
A gleam passed through Zhuge Jin’s eyes, then he looked at Xi Zhicai, who wore a smile with a hint of excitement, not noticing any issue.
As for any confusion about his brother’s response, the mature Zhuge Jin did not show it; instead, he agreed, saying, "My younger brother is still young, and the family would not feel at ease without me with him. Since our parents passed early, I wouldn’t want to leave him alone at home, so I always bring him along whenever I leave."
With that, Zhuge Jin’s face softened into a tender smile as he patted Zhuge Liang on the back. Meanwhile, Zhuge Liang gazed up at his brother with wide, innocent eyes, presenting a harmonious image of deep brotherly love. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it at Qidian with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
