Please invite Zhuge Liang down from the altar (Commentary on "The Collected Works of Zhuge Liang")

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Chapter 3: Critiquing Yang Yang's Advice to Zhuge Liang
Yang Yang was a subordinate of Zhuge Liang, and there is a passage about him in The Collected Works of Zhuge Liang. Yang Yang said, "Governance has its proper structure, and the higher and lower should not interfere with each other. Let me use a household as an analogy for Your Excellency. Suppose there is a person who assigns his servants to farm, maids to cook, chickens to crow at dawn, dogs to bark at thieves, oxen to carry heavy loads, and horses to travel long distances. Private affairs are not neglected, and all needs are met. He can relax, lie back, and enjoy food and drink. Suddenly, he decides to personally take on all these tasks himself, refusing to entrust them to others, exhausting his physical strength on trivial matters, and becoming weary both in body and mind, ultimately achieving nothing. Is it because his wisdom is inferior to that of his servants, chickens, and dogs? It is because he has lost the way of a master of the household. Therefore, the ancients called those who sat and deliberated on policies the 'Three Dukes,' and those who acted and implemented policies were the scholars and officials. For example, Bing Ji was not concerned about a man dying on the roadside but worried about a cow panting. Chen Ping refused to know the details of grain and money matters, saying they had their own responsible persons. He truly understood the proper division of roles. Now, Your Excellency governs, yet you personally examine accounts and records, sweating all day—does this not tire you?"
According to Romance of the Three Kingdoms, "Zhuge Liang cried and said, 'I know this, but I accepted the heavy responsibility of caring for the young Emperor. I only fear that others may not be as dedicated as I am!'"
Critique: Look! Is Zhuge Liang not a great talent? Can he not accomplish great things? By this time, Zhuge Liang was already at Zhaozhuang Yuan, facing Sima Yi in battle, yet he still personally handled these trivial matters. Did he still have the energy to devise strategies to defeat the enemy? He did not even trust his subordinates to do their jobs—could he trust anyone else? Could he rely on anyone to help him? Is Zhuge Liang's heart too narrow? Where is his "wisdom"? It is people like this who are in command of the army and face a powerful enemy in the mountains and rivers—what else can be expected of him to achieve victory?
"Zhuge Liang cried," why did Zhuge Liang cry? People cry when their hearts are wounded, but who wounded Zhuge Liang's heart? What could have wounded his heart? No one wounded Zhuge Liang's heart—except perhaps Zhuge Liang himself. He placed himself in the midst of these trivial matters, sweating all day, weary both in body and mind, truly derailing the great cause! By the time he reached Zhaozhuang Yuan, was it not too late to regret? How could he not be heartbroken? How could he not shed tears? It seemed he had already realized that Zhaozhuang Yuan might be his end! No hope, no light—his life of military campaigns was about to end in failure! The merciless reality, the merciless Zhaozhuang Yuan, was right before his eyes—how could he not be heartbroken? How could he not shed tears? Yet he was forced to listen to a subordinate, a mere servant, listing these things to him, teaching him. He had been stubborn and self-willed his entire life, yet who dared to say such things to him? "How could he not know?" But knowing and being unable to act led to this day! How could he not be heartbroken? How could he not shed tears?
"Real men do not shed tears lightly." Had Zhuge Liang, who often compared himself to Guan Zhong and Yue Yi, ever seen Guan Zhong or Yue Yi cry? Had he ever seen Sima Yi cry? Yet Zhuge Liang sent a woman's headdress and plain clothes to Sima Yi, comparing him to a woman, and had he ever seen Sima Yi cry? When Zhuge Liang wrote the Memorial of the Master Leaving the Capital, he cried while reading it; when he executed Ma Su, he cried thinking of the late Emperor; when he received the "care of the child" in Baidicheng, he cried; when he feigned a eulogy for Zhou Yu, he truly cried; when Zhao Yun died, he cried; when Zhang Bao died, he cried; and even in the grand tent at Zhaozhuang Yuan, he cried before his subordinates. Was Zhuge Liang truly a woman?
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