Chapter 459

Chapter 459

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Extra Chapter 8 (3)

In an unfamiliar place where one could face a crisis at any moment, what is it like to suddenly hear your name called out?

If Zhuge Liang hadn’t been deep in thought and walking slowly, his first reaction would have been to pretend he didn’t hear the voice and keep walking, hoping to shake off the person behind him.

But he couldn’t.

He turned to look at Guo Jia, silently relieved that the person who came to find him was Qiao Yan, whose name was engraved on the Xuanyuan Pavilion.

“May I ask what brings you to seek me out, Guo Yanzhou?”

Guo Jia’s gaze momentarily fell on Zhuge Liang’s quickening steps, further confirming that he hadn’t made a wrong judgment. He replied, “I happen to have a couple of things I’d like to consult with you, Kongming. Would you care to join me upstairs?”

Guo Jia’s seat at the tavern’s public area hadn’t been cleared yet, and now they moved into a private room.

Zhuge Liang, with a guarded heart, had just sat down when Guo Jia got straight to the point: “What are your thoughts on Lord Liu Xuande?”

Zhuge Liang’s expression changed slightly.

What a question!

This didn’t seem like a topic that would directly reveal one’s origins. At least… if he weren’t an unexpected visitor, it would be nothing more than casual conversation. With Guo Jia’s skills, there were at least a hundred ways to steer the conversation back on track if he didn’t get the answer he wanted.

But this was the perfect question to use to recognize someone in a similar situation as Zhuge Liang.

This world truly embodied the phrase “mixed emotions” for Zhuge Liang.

In his timeline, after Liu Bei invited him out of Longzhong in the 12th year of Jian’an, he was appointed as a Middle General in the military after pacifying the four southern counties of Jing in the 13th year of Jian’an, managing counties and raising military funds, followed by years of efforts to enter Shu.

In the 19th year of Jian’an, Liu Bei officially took control of Yizhou, with Zhuge Liang stationed in Chengdu to provide military support, much like in the Hanzhong campaign of the 23rd year of Jian’an, where Liu Bei personally went north to confront Xiahou Yuan at Yangping Pass, while Zhuge Liang held the rear.

Yet, at the same time as Cao Cao’s arrival, Zhuge Liang inexplicably found himself in the body of Zhuge Kongming in this world.

To his dismay, in this world without the tripartite division of Cao, Liu, and Sun, Liu Bei had already been sentenced to death for conspiring with Wang Yun to imprison Liu Yu and assassinate Qiao Yan before the era name Yuanshao even appeared.

It had been eleven and a half years since then!

For Zhuge Liang, who had already pledged loyalty to Liu Bei and made it his mission to restore the Han, this news was truly a bolt from the blue.

But as he went through the documents and maps in the Imperial Secretariat and saw the prosperous atmosphere on the streets of Luoyang, he couldn’t easily make a rash judgment about the palace coup.

The imperial examination system and various measures to enlighten the people were evident in every corner of Luoyang, clearly not limited to Luoyang but spread across the land as a net to capture talent.

The efficient operation of the Three Departments and Six Ministries and the astonishingly high crop yields made him doubt whether he was dreaming as he read through his own documents.

New crops brought back via the Silk Road and overseas voyages were absorbed and utilized in the Central Plains, creating even more possibilities.

When he reached the top of the Xuanyuan Pavilion and saw the scenes of people risking their lives to cross snow-capped mountains and oceans recorded on the People’s Heroes Monument, he felt a sense of popular support that was no less than the centripetal force of the Han, presented in the most straightforward manner.

In this world, his friends—Cui Zhouping, Xu Yuanzhi, Pang Shiyuan—were all shining in their respective positions. Even his wife, Huang Yueying, was valued by His Majesty for her talent in mechanical inventions, succeeding Ma Jun as the Minister of Works after he moved to the Academy of Sciences, standing proudly in the court with a status equivalent to the former Nine Ministers, and respected and admired by those who survived thanks to cotton cloth and clothing.

Was the existence of the Han in this era really something that needed continued attention?

At least for the people of Da Yong who could now feed themselves, it certainly wasn’t.

The transition of power also gave the Han its final dignity, concluding with the proper arrangements for Liu Yu and Liu Xie.

What surprised Zhuge Liang even more was that before he left home, the document on his desk was a decision just proposed and approved by the Central Secretariat and the Chancellery to issue paper currency on a small scale.

This was vastly different from the situation with Dong Zhuo’s small coins in another world or Wang Mang’s gold-inlaid knife coins. It wasn’t an official attempt to replace copper coins with this currency to concentrate more resources in their hands without sufficient resources to issue copper coins.

Instead, as crop yields increased and productivity improved, the currency transactions in the market could no longer meet the needs of large transactions. Rather than restricting such trade, it was better to complete the transaction with a “token.”

The proposal of this item required the Da Yong court to have absolute credibility and the strong economic power to support its operation.

This was also a scene that would never appear in a time of war!

On one hand, he worried that if he couldn’t return to his original world, Yizhou would fall into chaos in his absence. On the other hand, he couldn’t help but observe every detail of this world to understand how it had evolved to this point.

To say it was a mix of joy and sorrow was no exaggeration.

Of course, he also had to face the problem of being discovered as an outsider in this world.

Fortunately, Huang Yueying was working overtime due to the arrival of a new batch of cotton from the Western Regions, or else Zhuge Liang wouldn’t dare imagine if he would have been discovered immediately. But he didn’t expect that he wasn’t the only one with such an experience and coincidentally ran into someone else on the street.

He had never met Guo Jia before, so when he could look at Guo Jia with a completely outsider’s perspective, it wasn’t hard to see the similar sense of incongruity in the other’s expression.

He replied, “No need to beat around the bush. Tell me, what should we do now?”

This kind of completely supernatural event… how to put it, for people of the late Han where summoning spirits was considered the pinnacle of supernatural beliefs, it was something they couldn’t even imagine.

Relying solely on human strength, it was probably impossible to return them to their original world.








Perhaps someone would say, since it’s still oneself, being transported to a more developed and peaceful era doesn’t really matter.

But Zhuge Liang feels he doesn’t have the right to take over this world’s version of his life, monopolizing all his efforts. This would be irresponsible to the people of his original world and unfair to those connected to him in this world.

So, what they should do now is ensure they aren’t discovered as anomalies and find a way to return everything to its original course.

Coincidentally, Guo Jia thinks the same.

Slapping the documents he carried onto the dining table, he said, “I’m quite open-minded. Though I died without seeing the world’s wars settled, I’ve said my piece and drunk my fill. Now, suddenly, this healthy and successful me is possessed by a wandering ghost. It’s just not right.”

“Please, Kongming, help me review this memorial to the Son of Heaven. Let’s deal with this immediate confusion first, then figure out which expert to consult for a solution.”

Zhuge Liang wanted to tell Guo Jia that there might be no such expert.

From the materials he’s seen, Buddhist missionaries like Ze Rong have already been exposed as frauds, their graves overgrown. The city of Fulusha, a center of Buddhism, even mistook the Da Yong soldiers as divine retribution when its walls were blown open by explosives.

The ghostly and Taishi Paths preached by Zhang Lu of Hanzhong have become tools for the Da Yong Emperor to assimilate the people of Yizhou.

As for Zuo Ci and Yu Ji, fellow Taoist practitioners, they’ve been sent to the Western Regions to spread their teachings under the Emperor’s orders.

With all these sects subdued, the people of Da Yong now believe more in their own hands to change the future and trust their Emperor to lead them to prosperity.

If that’s the case, they might need to seek Qiao Yan for a solution.

However, what they most need to do is delay revealing their identities in front of Qiao Yan.

This is really… a big trouble.

Seeing the unfamiliar industries listed in Guo Jia’s document, Zhuge Liang felt even more overwhelmed.

With the structure of the three departments and six ministries, Zhuge Liang’s current position is more about practical operations, with the Secretariat and Chancellery controlling the direction, making the chance of problems minimal.

Plus, with his experience in economic governance, participating in discussions about paper currency issuance, as long as he doesn’t cite his historical experience as examples, it’s generally not easy to expose himself.

If all else fails, he still has Xun Yu as his superior.

But Guo Jia’s situation is entirely different!

And don’t think he didn’t notice, this guy opposite him could “dig” out his kind from the crowd and would definitely drag him down when his own identity is about to be exposed.

“I’ll go back and find some materials.”

Fortunately, the Department of State Affairs has the most comprehensive practical materials.

He can also use the excuse of ensuring no one is muddling through to delve into these materials again.

But keeping them in a tavern isn’t safe.

Guo Jia’s eyes lit up, replying, “I’ll find an inn in the city to stay. If I stay at the residence, Xi Zhicai might come looking, and being provoked by this early retiree, I might also want to resign. Better stay outside for now. Find a way to send the materials to me.”

This reason… if the Emperor finds out, it might just barely pass.

Zhuge Liang never thought he’d have to sneak around and flip through materials like this.

He also used his learning and memory skills to dissect this Yanzhou development document.

But by dawn, he had to admit that this last-minute effort gave him a deeper understanding of the era by viewing the world through the lens of one region.

Guo Jia, who managed to sleep a bit before dawn, also adapted to many new terms of this place, mustered his spirits, changed into his official robe, and entered the Luoyang palace holding the document he had memorized from start to finish.

Thinking today wasn’t a court meeting but a one-on-one meeting, Guo Jia felt immense pressure.

But considering there were no anomalies in Yanzhou, this quarterly report was more of a formality, and he had prepared all he could, it should…

It shouldn’t go wrong.

But just as he thought this, he saw a small figure also heading towards Lantai.

Noticing him, the small figure suddenly turned and walked towards him.

As they got closer, Guo Jia realized it was an exceptionally beautiful little girl in royal attire.

She walked with a stride trying to mimic a big shot’s demeanor, looking a bit too cute.

This…

After a quick search through the news he’d heard, Guo Jia immediately confirmed her identity.

She was the only daughter of the Da Yong Emperor!

As she approached, he promptly bowed to her.

He wasn’t mistaken, but this future Emperor Yong Taizong, at the tender age of five, looked up at Guo Jia for a while and suddenly blurted out, “Governor Guo, you’re acting strange today.”

At this, Guo Jia’s mind instantly sounded the alarm.

Children’s intuition is always sharp, and the only royal second generation allowed to wander into the front court area at this age undoubtedly has keen intelligence.

Guo Jia had thought about how to answer Qiao Yan’s questions but never expected to be stopped by this little princess before even meeting the Emperor who unified the world, and to be told he was acting strange.

He suspected he might have some little secret with her, like promising to bring her a gift from Yanzhou, but never expected—

The next moment, Qiao Huan blurted out, “From what I’ve seen since last year, you always come right on time for your reports, but why are you so early today?”

Guo Jia: “…”

Oh no, I’ve slipped up.

Author’s note:

Guo Jia: Refuses to become a workaholic, can’t follow Jia Xu’s example.

Time-traveling Guo Jia: Better to deal with things early.

Huai Xu: A punctuality fanatic won’t turn into a diligent worker (certain)

See you at 9 PM.