As it happened, Zhong Hui liked Jiang Wei, but he was not nearly so fond of Zhuge Zhan.
That was mainly because Zhuge Zhan had risen through the ranks even faster than he had.
Both came from great clans, both had fathers who had held offices on the level of a chancellor, both had lost their fathers young, and both had been clever since childhood and highly regarded by many.
They were so similar that there was a faint sense of "Shiji in Wei, Siyuan in Shu."
Well, Wu Kingdom actually had a "Youjie" who was much like them, too.
But Zhong Hui himself was probably somewhat displeased at being compared with the other man. If anyone wanted to make comparisons, they ought to compare him with Jiang Wei and Deng Ai. What was there to compare with these young fellows?
At Zhong Hui's words, Cao Mao sank into thought.
He had actually never considered this approach.
Though there was the precedent of Zhao Kuo, given Liu Shan's fondness for Zhuge Zhan and the partiality the people of Shu Kingdom showed him, it might really work!
As for Zhuge Zhan, it was not that he was a mediocrity, but he truly did not possess the great abilities the Shu people expected of him. Besides, he was young.
Send him to fight Deng Ai and the others? Even Jiang Wei did not dare claim he could reliably defeat Deng Ai. What made Zhuge Zhan qualified??
This really did bear some resemblance to the Battle of Changping.
Cao Mao laughed. "You have a very low opinion of this Zhuge Zhan, Shiji."
"He has a fine exterior and nothing more, boasting grandly without a single achievement to his name."
Zhong Hui spoke very calmly.
It was the same principle as ever: you could