In the second year of Xingping under the Han, Cao Cao attacked Tao Qian, plunging Xu Province into chaos. The Zhuge clan fled as one to Jingzhou.
Living under someone else’s roof, no one understood better than Zhuge Xun how to keep his head down.
He composed a poem to declare his resolve: “I, Xun, am but a commoner, tilling the fields in Xiangyang. In these troubled times, I seek only to get by; may no warlord hear of me...”
Before he could protect himself, he farmed and stockpiled grain while raising his younger brothers. When Liu Biao offered him an official post, he politely declined; when the Cai clan exempted his fields from taxes, he gratefully accepted their kindness.
Once he could protect himself, he forged weapons and armor and built siege engines. When Liu Biao recommended him for office, he replied, “It would be rude to refuse such a kind offer.” When the Cai clan offered him a daughter in marriage, he said, “Marquis Cai truly understands me!”
At the time, Liu Bei was down on his luck in Nanyang, holed up in Xinye...
Zhuge Xun: “Brother Xuande, care to try farming?”
At the time, the Sun clan dominated Jiangdong, holding the southeast in their grasp...
Zhuge Xun: “The lands of Suzhou and Huzhou could feed all under heaven. How can we let petty men scrape by there? Third Brother, help me!”
At the time, Wei under Cao Cao had been granted greater honors and arrogantly claimed the Mandate of Heaven...
Zhuge Xun recited with practiced ease: “Now that the south has been pacified and we have sufficient arms and armor, we must encourage and lead our armies to campaign north and pacify the Central Plain. We must do all we can, however limited our abilities, to drive out the treacherous and restore the Han, returning the capital to its former seat!”
