Here is Mr. Yi Zhongtian’s explanation of why Zhuge Liang chose Liu Bei. I believe it will be helpful to you.

Among the many heroes at that time, why did Zhuge Liang fall in love with Liu Bei at first sight? We are going to talk a little bit about what kind of person Zhuge Liang was, especially what he was like in his youth. From Chen Shou's "Three Kingdoms" we know that Zhuge Liang was a young genius. Chen Shou's "Three Kingdoms" has such a description of Zhuge Liang. Chen Shou compiled an anthology for Zhuge Liang before writing "Three Kingdoms". He compiled Zhuge Liang's When the collected works were submitted to the emperor, he wrote an essay called "On the Collection of Zhuge Liang". In this essay, Chen Shou described Zhuge Liang like this:

"Liang rarely has the talent to escape the crowd. The weapon of Yingba is eight feet long and has a very majestic appearance. "

Zhuge Liang is a young genius and a handsome guy. He is 1.84 meters tall and has a very majestic appearance, not only his height. Gao, people at that time thought he was special. We don't know much about his life experience. We only know that he was an orphan and grew up with his uncle Zhuge Xuan. After Zhuge Xuan came to Jingzhou, Zhuge Liang also came to Jingzhou and lived in Longzhong. After Zhuge Liang arrived in Longzhong, he lived a life of farming and studying. The so-called farming and studying life meant farming the land and studying at the same time. Later, Zhuge Liang described it like this in his "Shi Shi Biao":

"I am a commoner, and I am a commoner. Farming in Nanyang means surviving in troubled times, not seeking to be heard and reached by the princes. "

So this sentence, "To save one's life and not seeking to be heard and reached" may be a bit cliché. Then what are you going to do in the end if you don't seek to be heard and reached? Woolen cloth? "Plowing in Nanyang" seems to be true, but there are two possibilities for this matter. One is to make a living by farming, but according to Zhuge Liang's family background, he is not an ordinary farmer, so he still Another possibility is that participating in agricultural production was also an elegant thing at that time. Later we looked at Ji Kang. Ji Kang was a blacksmith. Do you think he was a blacksmith? He is not, in today's terms, just playing cool. Of course, we can’t figure out whether Zhuge Liang is making a living or enjoying his time, but I can be sure of one thing. No matter what the reason is, Zhuge Liang must be very serious when farming, because Zhuge Liang has a great advantage. What I admire very much about him is his meticulousness in doing things. This is worth learning from us. Moreover, after he became the prime minister, he had to do everything personally. I suspect this was a habit he had developed when he was farming in Longzhong. But on the other hand, Zhuge Liang was very sloppy in his reading. The saying in "Three Kingdoms" is "Look at the outline", which means that Zhuge Liang's friends were very serious in their reading and scrutinized every word. Zhuge Liang took it and took a look at it, and looked at the outline. It is equivalent to what Tao Yuanming later said, "If you are good at reading, you don't want to understand." This is actually about being able to read. Looking at it roughly means being able to grasp the essence. Not asking for a deep explanation means being good at grasping the key points. This is called being able to read. And in my opinion, as long as a person is not a scholar, reading should be like what Zhuge Liang and Tao Yuanming said. Look at the outlines like that, don't ask for deep explanations, don't chew on words, don't dig into those very small and very small problems, this is just like a person who wants to win the world will not care about the gains and losses of a city or a pool. Zhuge Liang is such a generous person.

In addition to farming and reading, Zhuge Liang also had two hobbies, one was hugging his knees and roaring, and the other was singing for Liang’s father. What is "Changxiao"? I guess the long roar is a kind of guidance technique, which means that one breath is lifted up from the Dantian and sent out from the throat; what about "Liang Fu Yin"? Liang Fuyin was originally a kind of funeral song, and the songs sung at funerals were relatively sad. Then we can imagine that when Zhuge Liang was in Longzhong, an eight-foot-tall young man in his twenties was sitting on a stone among the mountains and forests, holding his knees with both hands, looking at the mountains and forests, and shouted Chang Xiao, what kind of state is that? I think Zhuge Liang's screams and his songs reflect his broad compassion for life and society, his generosity and sadness. It reflects Zhuge Liang's deep concern for worldly affairs and life.

This is a typical national scholar, and an unparalleled national scholar. What are the characteristics of a national scholar? When I talked about "Persons of the Han Dynasty", I said: Zhuge Liang is a person who takes the world as his own responsibility, a man who has ideals, ambitions, and ambitions.

*Zhuge Liang is an unparalleled scholar. When he lived in seclusion in Longzhong, he read, made friends, and watched the changes in the world. After ten years of hard work, Zhuge Liang has become a young talent with lofty ambitions, profound knowledge, and unique insights. In Zhuge Liang's hugging his knees and shouting, Mr. Yi Zhongtian read Zhuge Liang's compassion for heaven and mankind. Zhuge Liang, who is full of knowledge, will not stay in Longzhong at ease. He must find a place for himself. But can great things be accomplished with just passion? Compared with Guan Zhong and Le Yi, does Zhuge Liang have the ability and conditions to achieve his career?

Zhuge Liang was also capable, and his subsequent ability to rule the world was a manifestation of his ability. So does he have the conditions? have.

First, Zhuge Liang has a good background. Zhuge Liang's ancestors were officials, and his grandfather was very successful in the officialdom. His father and uncle also served as local officials, so he came from an official family and was the son of an official. He knew something about officialdom. Officialdom He also has some connections there.

Second, Zhuge Liang has a network of connections. Zhuge Liang's mother-in-law is the daughter of Cai Xi, the largest wealthy family in the Xiangyang area. Cai Xi has two daughters and one son. One of these two daughters is married to Zhuge Liang's father-in-law, and the other is married to Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou. His son is named Cai Hao, and he is also the daughter of Cai Xi. A person of temporary power. In other words, the highest chief executive in Jingzhou is the uncle of Zhuge Liang's wife, and the important officials in Jingzhou are the uncles of Zhuge Liang's wife, so this network of relationships is amazing. There is another story about this incident. Zhuge Liang’s father-in-law was named Huang Chengyan. This man admired Zhuge Liang very much. One day he went to Zhuge Liang and said to him, son, I have a daughter who is very ugly, but very talented. You Willing to marry her? Zhuge Liang said yes, and Huang Chengyan immediately went home and loaded his daughter into the car and sent it to Zhuge Liang's home. There are different opinions on this matter. One theory is that Huang Chengyan’s daughter is not ugly. Huang Chengyan said that there is an ugly daughter in the family. For Chinese people, for example, if their son is called Quanzi, his daughter is called Ugly Girl. You can’t take it seriously. I have a dog in my family, and I say your son is a dog. You can’t take it seriously. Another way of saying it is to test Zhuge Liang to see whether you value talents and virtues or appearance. After Zhuge Liang has withstood the test, he values ??virtues and talents, and whether he should marry A beautiful girl went back. But I think Huang Chengyan’s daughter is probably ugly. Why? This is what Huang Chengyan said. He said: "An ugly girl with a yellow head and a black head is a good match." It was 12 words. If it was a modest poem, he would not be so specific. A yellow-haired girl with a dark face, he would not Being so specific is one piece of evidence; the second piece of evidence is that at that time, this matter was spread as a joke in Jingzhou and Xiangyang areas. In the end, the common people made up two proverbs, which are called "Don't be like Kong Ming when choosing a wife, she will be Acheng Chou." "Female", he said that you should not imitate Zhuge Liang when choosing a wife. He married back the ugly girl in Huang Acheng's family who couldn't get married, so she seemed to be an ugly girl.

So if Huang Chengyan’s daughter is really ugly, then there is a problem. What is the problem? Why is Zhuge Liang willing? As we have said before, Zhuge Liang is a handsome man who is eight feet tall, very handsome, talented and handsome. Why would he marry an ugly girl? There are also various explanations. The first explanation is that Zhuge Liang has a high integrity, values ??virtue and talent rather than appearance, and does not judge people by appearance. This is one explanation; the second explanation, on the contrary, says that Zhuge Liang values ????Huang Chengyan's network because Huang Chengyan In our northern dialect, Liu Biao, the chief executive of the Jingzhou region, is called Dan'er Tiao. He is the brother-in-law. If you want to enter politics, it is extremely beneficial for you to have such a relationship. So which reason is it? We can't invite Mr. Zhuge to ask questions now, and there are no clear records in history. I don't dare to go against the ancients and jump to conclusions. I ask the viewers in front of the TV to judge for themselves.

The third condition is that Zhuge Liang has a small circle, which we might as well call the Jingxiang Scholars Group.

There were many celebrities gathered in the Xiangyang area of ????Jingzhou at that time. The older ones included Sima Hui and Pang Degong, and the younger ones included Zhuge Liang, Xu Shu, Shi Tao, and Meng Jian. They were all chosen at the time and were talented people. These people often communicated together. They were all very optimistic about Zhuge Liang and even gave him a nickname, Mr. Wolong. When they felt the time was right, they would launch Zhuge Liang grandly. We know that Liu Bei knew Zhuge Liang, and it was the Jingxiang scholar group who introduced him to Liu Bei. Xu Shu, Sima Hui, Pang Degong, etc. all did publicity and promotion work, so Zhuge Liang's conditions for entering politics were very good.

So we have another question. Since he has such good conditions for politics, why doesn't he come out?

* During the Three Kingdoms period, the Zhuge family was full of talents, and the most dazzling star among them was Zhuge Liang. From this point of view, Zhuge Liang not only has lofty ambitions, but also has the background and network to achieve great things. However, one thing is puzzling. Since Zhuge Liang is so qualified and capable, why does he remain hidden? What is Zhuge Liang waiting for?

This requires clarifying Zhuge Liang’s ambitions. It is said that when Zhuge Liang was chatting with several of his young friends Shi Tao, Xu Shu, and Meng Jian, he said something like this: If you guys join politics, At least you can be a county chief, that is, an official at the county level. What about you, everyone says? Zhuge Liang smiled and said nothing. He just smiled and did not answer. In fact, the answer was already available. What did "Three Kingdoms" say about him? "Every time I compare myself to Guan Zhong and Le Yi", who is Guan Zhong and his name and prime minister, and who is Le Yi and his famous general. Zhuge Liang's goal is very clear. Therefore, his ambition is very big. With such a big ambition, he must choose a good boss for himself. Because we know that in such a turbulent era, an ambitious and accomplished person can have three choices. The first is to conquer the country by himself like Cao Cao; the second is to help others to conquer the country like Zhou Yu; the third is to conquer the country for others like Zhou Yu. Just like those hermits, I stay at home without anyone’s help. Zhuge Liang obviously chose to be a wise prime minister, a famous general, and a minister who can rule the world, so he must choose a good boss for himself.

So Zhuge Liang looked around, there were so many companies, so many enterprises, so many bosses, which one to choose? The most convenient one is Liu Biao. He is also recruiting talents for Cao Cao and Sun Quan. Liu Bei has not yet become successful at this time. He decided not to choose them. Why? Liu Biao was too bad, Cao Cao was too strong, and Sun Quan had too little space. We will talk about Liu Biao's job later. One thing to mention here is that when the Central Plains was in turmoil, many talents from the Central Plains fled to Jingzhou, and Liu Biao could not use any of them. Zhuge Liang, a man who did not know how to employ people, quickly passed him; As for Cao Cao, Cao Cao is too strong. There are many talents under Cao Cao, and he is a first-class talent. Where will Zhuge Liang be placed after he passes? What about Sun Quan? Zhao and Zhou Yu had an extraordinary relationship with the Sun family. It was called ascending to the imperial court to worship their mother. That is, both Zhang Zhao and Zhou Yu enjoyed the treatment of ascending to the imperial court to worship their mother. What does it mean to ascend to the imperial court and worship their mother? That is, when they arrived at Sun Quan or Sun Ce, Sun Ce to be precise, they went to Sun Ce's house and asked them to go to the back hall to meet Sun Ce's mother and marry her godson. Therefore, if Zhuge Liang arrived in Jiangdong, his status would definitely be lower than Zhang Zhao and Zhou Yu, and even under Lu Su. However, this is what Zhuge Liang does not want.

Because Zhuge Liang’s goal is very clear. When I go to this boss, the first thing I want is to be used by him, the second thing is to reuse, and the third thing is to use it exclusively. He is very clear about this. So Sun Quan's place is obviously too small. So what is the best choice for him? He is a hero who is not yet ready to achieve hegemony or emperorship in the future. It is best to be able to achieve emperorship, that is, to be an emperor in the future. If he takes a step back and cannot achieve hegemony or hegemony, he can dominate one side, but it is not possible now. He is a candidate emperor. In other words, this person must have ambitions and conditions, but his ambitions are not obvious or even unclear. His conditions are not mature yet and are still lacking, so I, Zhuge Liang, need to help him.

Liu Bei is a blessed man. Among the three giants of the Three Kingdoms, he and Sun Quan are both blessed. The most fortunate person was Sun Quan. He took over a ready-made business at the age of eighteen. His father Sun Jian and his brother Sun Ce had already helped him conquer the world, leaving behind a group of loyal people to assist him. Zhang Zhao and Zhou Yu are both very loyal, and during the whole process of fighting among the heroes, Sun Quan basically does not need to be on the front line in person. Naturally, there are people to help him fight, and he is the best luck. Liu Bei is also considered a lucky person. Why is he said to be lucky? He got Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as soon as he came out of the mountain. We know that no matter ancient wars or modern enterprises, the most important thing is talents, and talents are rare. Why are talents so rare? Because for a best talent, we require him to be both loyal and capable. But what is the problem that bosses face? The loyal ones are incompetent, the capable ones are disloyal, and it is difficult to find someone who is both loyal and capable. Liu Bei came two as soon as he debuted. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are really loyal and capable. Do you think they are blessings?

But his fate was very bumpy, and his road was very tortuous. After struggling for so many years, he still had no base, no team of his own, still couldn't achieve success, and still had to rely on others. It is said that one time he and Liu Biao were drinking together, and then he went to the toilet in the middle. When he came back, he burst into tears. Liu Biao said, "Why are you crying?" Liu Bei said, when I went to the toilet just now, I looked down and found that both of my thighs had grown fat. I have been riding horses and fighting for a long time. I can only have muscles on my legs, not fat. It reminds me that I have accomplished nothing at such an old age, so I feel sad. Indeed, in the twelfth year of Jian'an, Liu Bei was forty-six years old. You have to know that the ancients were different from us now. We are now 46 years old, which is called the right year. The ancients would call me old man when they were thirty-six years old. Liu Bei felt that he was really I can't see the bright future, but I can't finish the twists and turns of the road.

We know that the reason why Liu Bei failed to achieve success after struggling for so long is two reasons. First, let’s talk about it. He has heroic ambition, heroic spirit, heroic soul, and heroic righteousness, but what is missing? The place of hero means that he lacks a place to use himself. This is what he lacks. Article 1. Second, he has the qualities of an emperor, the ambition of an emperor, the skills of an emperor, and the blessings of an emperor. Why didn't he become an emperor? He lacked a way to succeed. He has not found the correct political line for his development for so many years, and these two things began to appear at this time, because Zhuge Liang came, it was Zhuge Liang who gave him a place to use, and it was Zhuge Liang who pointed out the way to success. Therefore, it is Liu Bei's great fortune that Zhuge Liang came to Liu Bei's side, and it is Cao Cao's great misfortune. Of course, we cannot exaggerate the role of an individual. The subsequent development of the situation was also caused by many reasons. It was not caused by Zhuge Liang alone. However, it is undeniable that in that era, the emergence of such a figure did have immeasurable significance.

This was Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang at that time. In other words, what did Liu Bei look like? Like a developing private enterprise, it has some funds, some experience, and some products, but it cannot find its main product and marketing route. It lacks a CEO. Zhuge Liang is like a capable professional manager. He is the general manager for others. He has no industry of his own and he does not open a company. He needs to find a good company. So when these two people met later, they really hit it off, like a fish in water. This made their relationship between a monarch and a minister a good story that has been passed down through the ages. But there is a problem here, which is who of the two is looking for whom? According to "Three Kingdoms" and "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Liu Bei visited the thatched cottage three times, but according to "Wei Lue" and "Jiuzhou Spring and Autumn", it was Zhuge Liang who took the initiative. Then we have to ask: Did Liu Bei visit the thatched cottage three times, or did Zhuge Liang come to recommend himself? ? If Liu Bei visited the thatched cottage three times, did Liu Bei go there three times before meeting him, or did he go there three times and meet him three times?