After comforting Zhuge Heng and finally waiting for him to regain his composure, Liu Cheng naturally asked how many troops Yangwu still had, how much in supplies, how much territory it controlled, and who was in charge.
Zhuge Heng could answer none of these questions. He merely looked back at a young man behind him.
Liu Cheng understood and asked who the man was. Only then did he learn that this man was also surnamed Zhuge, but was not from the Zhuge clan south of the Yangtze. He came from the clan's original home in Langya... in other words, its northern branch. When Xun Xian had been managing Qing-Xu, he had recruited this Zhuge You from Langya to serve as a general, bringing two thousand of his own men.
When Zhuge Heng had been driven here, he knew he had offended the Regent. With little choice, he had lowered himself to approach Zhuge You, asking the latter to escort him with his troops.
Zhuge You had been doing perfectly well as a general with the Northern Command. Why should he leave his home in Langya to serve as this fellow's bodyguard? Yet he also knew he needed this southern kinsman to raise his family's standing, so he sent another younger clansman with a hundred or so men to meet Zhuge Heng at Matou City.
As it happened, this man was also called Zhuge Heng.
There was no need to explain what followed, given the sort of man Zhuge Heng was... never mind Zhuge Heng-even Xie Shang would have called for Yuan Hong if asked about the Western Command's specific circumstances.
And so Liu Cheng turned to question Zhuge Heng... Liu Acheng dearly wished he could rename this man Zhuge Beiyue, and the other Zhuge Heng, Zhuge Nanyue. What sort of