生平

英才卓越

諸葛恪少有才思，辯論應機，莫與為對。及長，英才卓越、超逾倫匹，令孫權大為欣賞。222年，諸葛恪弱冠，拜為騎都尉，與顧譚、張休等隨侍太子孫登講論道藝，為太子賓友。後來又從中庶子轉任左輔都尉。

一次，孫權見到諸葛恪，問他：「你的父親（諸葛瑾）和你的叔父（諸葛亮）誰比較優秀？」諸葛恪應聲回答：「我的父親比較優秀。」孫權問他原因，諸葛恪說：「我父親知道侍奉誰為君主才對，而叔父不知，所以我父親比較優秀。」孫權聽罷大笑，便命諸葛恪依次給大家斟酒。

諸葛恪斟到張昭面前，張昭已幾分酒意，不肯再喝，對諸葛恪說：「這樣的勸酒，恐怕不符合尊敬老人的禮節。」孫權說：「你能否讓張公理屈詞窮，喝下這杯酒？」於是諸葛恪反駁張昭：「呂尚年九十，依然高舉白旄、手持兵器、指揮部隊作戰，還沒有告老退休。如今軍隊上的事，將軍您跟在後邊；聚會飲宴的事，將軍您總被請到前面，這還不夠尊敬老人？」張昭無話可說，只好飲酒。

後來蜀漢有使者到來，群臣集會。孫權對蜀漢使者說：「這個諸葛恪很喜歡騎馬，回去告訴諸葛丞相，為他的侄子選一匹好馬送來。」諸葛恪當即跪在孫權面前拜謝，孫權感到奇怪，問他：「馬還沒有到為何就當面稱謝呢？」諸葛恪說：「蜀漢就好像陛下在外面的馬廄，如今有了旨意，好馬就一定能送到，我如何敢不謝呢？」

才略博達

諸葛恪多次要求自己領兵平定丹陽山上的山越人；認為丹陽山勢險峻、民風果敢剛勁，以前雖也在那裡徵發過兵眾，但征的不過是邊緣縣分的平民，很少有深遠腹地的人。他想去把那裡的兵員全部調發出來，並說，只要三年，就可徵得甲士四萬人。朝中官員議論紛紛，都認為丹陽地勢險阻，地形四通八達，那裡的百姓自製兵器，崇尚習武，出山就為強盜，朝廷出兵征討就躲回山中不見蹤影，自漢朝以來就無法管制，皆認為不太可能，連父親諸葛瑾亦認為不會成功，更說：「諸葛恪若不能令我家大為興盛，便會讓我家血流遍地。」

嘉禾三年（234年）八月，孫權提拔諸葛恪為撫越將軍，領丹陽太守。諸葛恪上任後，實行堅壁清野政策，成功逼山越人向朝廷投降；諸葛恪下令不得對投降的山越人懷疑或拘禁。臼陽長胡伉拘禁投降的惡霸周遺，諸葛恪以違令為由將胡伉處死，其餘未投降的山越人見此，確認朝廷並無加害意圖，相繼出降。孫權為嘉狀諸葛恪平定山越的功績，拜諸葛恪為威北將軍，封都鄉候。諸葛恪出兵襲擊舒縣，後來更計劃攻擊壽春，但因孫權認為不會成功受阻。

驕吝不至

赤烏六年（243年），魏將司馬懿欲攻諸葛恪，孫權想發兵接應，可望氣者說不利於出兵，於是讓諸葛恪移守柴桑（今江西九江市）。

赤烏八年（245年），諸葛恪得知丞相陸遜猜疑自己，便寫信給他（諸葛恪與陸遜書），講述不能聽信讒言而責備，應該互相配合，以大局為重。諸葛恪因為知道陸遜對此而有意見，故此稱讚他所說的道理。不久，陸遜去世，諸葛恪升為大將軍、假節，駐武昌，並代替陸遜領荊州事。

專權自度

後來孫權不適，見太子孫亮年幼，便命令諸葛恪兼任太子太傅，中書令孫弘兼任太子少傅。神鳳元年（252年），孫權病危，與眾人議論託孤後事，當時朝臣們都意在諸葛恪，孫峻亦認為諸葛恪的大器可以輔政，可輔助大事。但孫權嫌諸葛恪剛愎自用，不過孫峻認定當時朝中大臣都無人能與諸葛恪相比，孫權在其一直堅持之下，還是選擇諸葛恪，於是召集諸葛恪、孫弘、太常滕胤、蕩魏將軍呂據以及侍中孫峻處理身後事。第二天，孫權去世。孫弘平時與諸葛恪不和，害怕以後受制於他，便封鎖孫權去世的消息，想矯詔除掉他。諸葛恪聞知，誅殺孫弘，發佈孫權死訊，為之治喪。孫亮即位後，拜諸葛恪為太傅。諸葛恪為收取民心，廣施德政，取消監視官民情事的制度、罷免耳目之官、免掉拖欠的賦稅、取消關稅。每一舉措，都儘量給百姓實惠，民眾無不高興。諸葛恪每次外出，都有很多人引頸相望，想一睹其風採。

東興之戰

建興元年（252年）十月，曹魏大將軍司馬師欲因孫權病亡乘機攻吳。諸葛恪命人修築大堤，在兩山之間築城兩座，以防魏軍。同年十二月，司馬師命司馬昭為監軍，派王昶、毌丘儉誘敵，並各攻打攻南郡、武昌，胡遵、諸葛誕率步騎七萬，架浮橋攻東興（今安徽巢縣東南），欲毀壞大堤。諸葛恪親率領四萬援軍到東興。並命冠軍將軍丁奉與呂據、留贊、唐諮等作前鋒。丁奉親率三千人，兩日到達東興並佔據徐塘。因天降大雪，胡遵等人喝酒而毫無戒備。丁奉率本部人馬輕裝突襲魏軍營壘，呂據等部也相繼到達。吳鎮南將軍朱異，督水軍攻浮橋，魏軍不敵，見狀便驚恐慌而逃。因爭渡浮橋令其超載斷裂，落水者更互相踐踏，死者計有萬人。魏將韓綜、桓嘉先後遇溺，毌丘儉、王昶等見東興兵敗燒營而逃，諸葛恪於是取得東興之戰的勝利，繳獲大批物資。諸葛恪亦因功封陽都侯，加揚、荊州二州州牧，督中外諸軍事。據《建康實錄》，諸葛恪還因此功加丞相，後來張悌也曾對諸葛靚說「且我作兒童時，便為卿家丞相所拔」。但《三國志·齊王紀》《張嶷傳》等仍稱之為吳太傅。

剛愎自用

東興大勝後，諸葛恪開始輕敵。上一戰役十二月才結束，他已打算明年（253年）春季出兵伐魏。諸葛恪派遣司馬李衡為使赴蜀游說姜維共同出兵北伐。姜維見過來使後欣然接受諸葛恪的提議。然而，吳眾大臣認為士兵剛戰爭結束不久而身體勞損，一起勸諫諸葛恪，但不受。中散大夫蔣延固執爭論，被強扶離開。諸葛恪於是譔寫論諭：天下沒有兩個太陽，地上也沒有兩個皇帝。用戰國、曹操等趁勢做大，不禍及自己，但禍及後人的故事，來作為進攻魏國的原因。與其一直友好的丹陽太守聶友，也寫信勸諫道：「大行皇帝本有打算遏制東關之計，計卻沒有實行。現在你輔助大業，完成先帝之志，敵人遠方來送死，將士有賴憑借威德，獻身捨命，一旦有不同的戰功，豈非神靈社稷的保佑！現在讓兵養精蓄銳，觀察對方的間隙而動。今天乘著獲勝此勢，而打算大舉出兵，天時不允許。而打算有此意，我自己的心不安。」諸葛恪看後便回信：「足下雖然有箇中道理，然而未見大局的變數。這你應當知道這個道理。你若思考所說的言論，便可以開啓悟性。」於是諸葛恪違背眾人的意願，強引二十萬兵馬進發合肥，百姓騷動，漸失民心。

合肥新城之戰

攻魏途中，諸葛恪打算在淮南炫耀軍力，驅掠百姓。而眾將領為難地說：「現今引軍深入，戰場上的百姓一定會遠逃，恐怕士兵過度追趕疲勞，而成效少，不如只圍新城。新城被圍，必有人救，我們只要擊敗救兵便大獲全勝。」諸葛恪聽從此計，下令圍攻合肥新城。新城將失守，曹魏守將張特便以曹魏國法為理由，告知諸葛恪，能堅守一百天後就算投降也不會禍及家人，請求已圍攻新城九十多日的東吳軍再等幾天，更送上官印當作誠意。諸葛恪信以為真停止攻城。張特趁機修復圍牆繼續抵禦，對吳軍說：「我只有戰鬥而死了！」諸葛恪大怒，猛烈進攻，但不能破。盛夏暑熱吳軍爆發疾病，很多將士病倒，將領報告諸葛恪，諸葛恪認為是詐報，打算斬殺詐報者，士兵不敢說。後來曹魏知吳軍疲憊而陸續趕至，諸葛恪才於七月撤軍。撤退路上，吳兵因傷病潰不成軍，遭文欽追擊而大敗，被斬萬餘人。但諸葛恪對於當前劣勢仍然安然自若，更想在尋陽屯田，只因朝廷屢詔諸葛恪回軍，才逼他撤返建業，怨聲載道。

步朝伏刺

諸葛恪回朝召中書令孫嘿叱責他屢寫詔命、召他回軍。孫嘿不安，回家不出。諸葛恪又將他出征以後選曹所選任的官員都罷免重選，常責備官員，意圖重新立威。另改親信為自近衞，下令整兵，打算出兵青、徐地區。

孫峻見諸葛恪民心漸失，中傷諸葛恪打算發動政變。晉見吳主當天早上，諸葛恪煩躁不安，zh-tw:盥洗;zh-cn:洗漱的水與衣服都感覺有臭味，深感惆悵不悅。整裝完畢離開時，狗咬他的衣服，諸葛恪說：「狗不想我去嗎？」諸葛恪坐回座位，過一會兒又起來要走出門，但狗又咬他的衣服。諸葛恪令隨從把狗趕走，於是登車走。

孫亮與孫峻伏兵設宴。散騎常侍張約及朱恩私下給寫字條警告。諸葛恪門前看到滕胤藉口腹疼，但滕胤不知情勸諸葛恪參加，諸葛恪於是帶劍入席，劍履上殿。最終孫峻伺機命令伏兵殺死諸葛恪並梟首示眾，誅滅其三族，時年五十一歲。

早有童謠：「諸葛恪，蘆葦單衣篾鉤落，於何相求成子閤。」成子閤反語是石子岡，石子岡是埋葬死人的地方，鉤落就是皮帶的飾物，民間稱為「鉤絡帶」。諸葛恪果然被葦席裹身，竹篾當鉤鉤在腰間，拋屍在石子岡。臨淮人臧均上表，稱孫峻誅殺諸葛恪是超越西漢劉章、劉興居誅諸呂之事的義舉，諸葛恪之死大快人心、諸葛恪父子懸首示眾遭人唾罵，但請求如項羽、韓信故事收葬諸葛恪。孫亮、孫峻聽從，吩咐下屬找諸葛恪屍體安葬。

吳景帝孫休誅滅孫峻的權力繼承人孫綝後，為被孫峻、孫綝加害的諸葛恪等人平反、改葬和祭奠。朝臣建議為諸葛恪立碑紀念功勳，博士盛衝不同意，認為諸葛恪勞而無功是無能，身為託孤大臣被豎子所殺是無智。孫休同意不立碑。

人物

• 諸葛恪身長七尺六寸（吳一尺為24厘米），鬚眉少，折頞廣額，大口高聲。

• 諸葛恪年輕的時候就很有名氣，才思敏捷，辯論起來隨機應變，沒有人能在口舌之爭上贏他。也因此有相當多有趣的逸聞，經常和孫權一唱一和，孫權亦稱其為「藍田生玉」

• 另一方面，諸葛恪做事急躁且好大喜功，對同僚剛愎自矜，以至于父親、張承、陸遜等人都認為他無法擔下國事重任。孫權也因此不欲任用他為輔佐大臣。

軼事

父親諸葛瑾的臉型長，一次孫權大會群臣，就命人拖了一隻驢子進來，並寫上「諸葛子瑜」（其表字），和諸葛瑾開個玩笑。諸葛恪見此立刻要求在題字上加兩字，變成「諸葛子瑜之驢」。孫權於是將驢子賜給諸葛恪。

又一次孫權與蜀漢使者費禕吃喝時拿著麥餅，便作《麥賦》喝彩，而諸葛恪也作《磨賦》助興。

家庭

父親

• 諸葛瑾

兄弟

• 諸葛喬，二弟，過繼給叔父諸葛亮，年少時同諸葛恪出名，當時的人認為諸葛恪雖然在才能上超越諸葛喬，反而在品性上不及諸葛喬。

• 諸葛融，三弟

堂兄弟

• 諸葛瞻

姊妹

• 諸葛氏，嫁張承

子女

• 諸葛綽，諸葛恪長子，騎都尉，因與魯王孫霸交往，被諸葛恪以毒酒殺害。

• 諸葛竦，長水校尉，諸葛恪被殺後被孫峻手下劉承追殺，於白都被殺。

• 諸葛建，步兵校尉，諸葛恪死後與母親向魏國逃走，中途被逮捕，被誅殺。

評價

• 陳壽：諸葛恪才氣幹略，邦人所稱，然驕且吝，周公無觀，況在於恪？矜己陵人，能無敗乎！若躬行所與陸遜及弟融之書，則悔吝不至，何尤禍之有哉？

• 胡綜：英才卓越，超逾倫匹，則諸葛恪。

• 孫登：諸葛恪才略博達，器任佐時。

• 孫休：盛夏出軍，士卒傷損，無尺寸之功，不可謂能；受託孤之任，死於豎子之手，不可謂智。

• 孫權：藍田生玉，真不虛也。

• 諸葛亮：恪性疏，今使典主糧谷，糧穀軍之要最，僕雖在遠，竊用不安。

• 諸葛瑾：恪不大興吾家，將大赤吾族也。也另外提到「...恪父瑾常以為戚，曰：「非保家之主也。」」

• 陸遜：今觀君氣陵其上，意蔑乎下，非安德之基也。

• 張承：終敗諸葛氏者，元遜也。

• 張嶷：離少主，履敵庭，恐非良計長算之術也。

• 張緝：光祿大夫張緝言於師曰：「恪雖克捷，見誅不久。」師曰：「何故？」緝曰：「威震其主，功蓋一國，求不得死乎！」

• 鄧艾：新秉國政，而內無其主，不念撫恤上下以立根基，競于外事，虐用其民，番國之眾，頓于堅城，死者數萬，載禍而歸，此恪獲罪之時也。

• 孫盛：恪與胤親厚，約等疏，非常大事，勢應示胤，共謀安危。然恪性強梁，加素侮峻，自不信，故入，豈胤微勸，便為之冒禍乎？

• 臧均：恪素性剛愎，矜己陵人，不能敬守神器，穆靜邦內，興功暴師，未期三出，虛耗士民，空竭府藏，專擅國憲，廢易由意，假刑劫眾，大小屏息。

• 《江表傳》：恪少有才名，發藻岐嶷，辯論應機，莫與為對。

動漫

• 《火鳳燎原》（陳某）、火鳳燎原外傳小說《伯符》（王貽興）: 尚未登場，僅於外傳小說中交代孫權死後曾調停大臣之間爭執。

Early life and career

In 221, when the Wu emperor Sun Quan designated his son Sun Deng as crown prince, he set up a staff for the crown prince composed of the sons of key officials in his government or other well-known younger members of the administration. The four most prominent ones were Zhuge Ke (Zhuge Jin's son), Zhang Xiu (Zhang Zhao's son), Gu Tan (Gu Yong's grandson) and Chen Biao (Chen Wu's son). Sun Deng treated the four of them as his close friends and they served as his advisers. When he ordered his secretary Hu Zong (胡綜) to write a commentary on his advisers in 229, Hu Zong wrote that Zhuge Ke was the most skilful and intelligent of his generation. While this might have been true, Zhuge Ke was also known for being reckless – a negative trait that his father Zhuge Jin repeatedly chided him for. On one occasion, Zhuge Jin observed, "This child will either bring great honour to my household or destroy it."

Pacifying the Shanyue

Around 234, Zhuge Ke submitted a plan to Sun Quan to suppress the indigenous Shanyue tribes and recruit about 40,000 locals to serve as soldiers in Danyang Commandery (丹陽郡; around present-day Xuancheng, Anhui). Most of Sun Quan's senior officials, including Zhuge Ke's father Zhuge Jin, considered the plan reckless and costly. However, after Zhuge Ke insisted that his plan would be successful, Sun Quan appointed him as the Administrator (太守) of Danyang Commandery and General Who Pacifies the Yue (撫越將軍), effectively giving him full authority to implement his plan. Once Zhuge Ke arrived in Danyang Commandery, he requested the Administrators of the four neighbouring commanderies to seal their borders and refrain from using military force against the Shanyue. When it was the harvesting season, he gave orders to quickly harvest the grain and stockpile them far away from the Shanyue. The Shanyue, deprived of food supplies, had no choice but to surrender to Zhuge Ke, who treated them kindly and earned their respect. By 237, Danyang Commandery was completely under the Wu government's control and had become a highly productive commandery for manpower and supplies. Zhuge Ke was also able to easily fulfil his quota of conscripting 40,000 local men to serve as soldiers. Sun Quan was so impressed with Zhuge Ke that he promoted him to General Who Awes the North (威北將軍) and awarded him the title of a Marquis of a Chief District (都鄉侯).

Planned attack on Shouchun

In 243, Zhuge Ke planned to launch a major attack on Shouchun (壽春; around present-day Shou County, Anhui), a strategic location in Eastern Wu's rival state, Cao Wei. After he positioned his forces in preparation for the attack, the Wei general Sima Yi showed up with his troops to defend Shouchun and counterattack Zhuge Ke. Instead of allowing Zhuge Ke to engage Sima Yi, Sun Quan ordered him to retreat back to Wu. Despite his withdrawal, Zhuge Ke became famous among the Wu people for willing to stand up to Sima Yi, who had a huge reputation in Wei. The Wu general Lu Xun was concerned about Zhuge Ke's recklessness so he wrote a letter to him, urging him to be more cautious in the future. Zhuge Ke decided to defer to Lu Xun, who was much more senior than him, so he wrote back and apologised for his attitude. After Lu Xun's death in 245, Sun Quan appointed Zhuge Ke as General-in-Chief (大將軍) and ordered him to assume Lu Xun's role at Wuchang (武昌; present-day Ezhou, Hubei) to supervise military affairs in Jing Province.

Appointment as regent

In 251, when Sun Quan became critically ill, he sought a regent for his young son and heir apparent, Sun Liang. One of his close aides, Sun Jun, recommended Zhuge Ke. Although Sun Quan had second thoughts about Zhuge Ke, particularly his arrogance, he eventually heeded Sun Jun's advice and recalled Zhuge Ke back from Wuchang to the Wu imperial capital, Jianye. Before Zhuge Ke left Wuchang, the senior Wu general Lü Dai told him, "What you will be doing is a difficult task. Before you do anything, you should reconsider ten times." Zhuge Ke responded in a disrespectful manner: "When Ji Wenzi (季文子) reconsidered thrice before acting, Confucius told him, 'Only reconsider twice.' You, Sir, are telling me to reconsider ten times. Are you not saying that I am stupid?" Lü Dai did not respond. Historians interpreted this incident as a sign of Zhuge Ke's growing arrogance and recklessness. Indeed, Zhuge Ke became more arrogant after his appointment as regent, and especially after a dying Sun Quan instructed his subjects to let Zhuge Ke review all important policy decisions first.

As regent to Sun Liang

Sun Quan died in 252 and was succeeded by Sun Liang, who became the second emperor of Eastern Wu. After his coronation, Sun Liang appointed Zhuge Ke as Grand Tutor (太傅). During his short tenure as regent, Zhuge Ke relaxed some of the strict laws enacted in Sun Quan's reign and reduced tax rates. The people of Wu were very pleased with him; wherever he went, there were massive crowds jostling to get a better view of him.

Battle of Dongxing

In late 252, Zhuge Ke gave orders to rebuild the dam at Dongxing (東興; in present-day Chaohu, Anhui), which was constructed earlier in 230 but had been destroyed in 241. His plan was to create a reservoir near the Chao Lake and use it as a defensive structure against potential invasions from Wei, as well as to construct two castles nearby to serve as forward attack mechanisms for Wu ships. In response, the Wei regent Sima Shi sent three separate forces to attack Wu, with the main one focusing on the Dongxing dam. Zhuge Ke, along with the veteran Wu general Ding Feng and others, caught the enemy off guard by pretending to lower their guard, and inflicted a devastating defeat on them and forced them to withdraw from Dongxing.

Battle of Hefei

In 253, Zhuge Ke prepared for another invasion of Wei and said that he wanted to take advantage of Sima Shi's "youth and inexperience" (even though Sima Shi was 45 years old then). Despite strong opposition from some Wu officials, Zhuge Ke rallied an army from among all able-bodied men in Wu for the invasion. He also coordinated the invasion with Jiang Wei, a general from Wu's ally state Shu Han. (At the time, Jiang Wei was also actively launching a series of campaigns against Wei at Wei's western border.)

However, Zhuge Ke's strategy turned out to be flawed when he switched his target from Shouchun (壽春; around present-day Shou County, Anhui) to Hefei, even though Hefei's defences were much stronger and built to withstand enemy attacks. After a long siege, the Wu forces failed to breach Hefei's walls. When a plague broke out in the Wu army, Zhuge Ke ignored it and continued to press on the siege. He only withdrew after hearing that Wei reinforcements had arrived. Instead of returning to the Wu imperial capital Jianye to apologise for his mistakes, he stayed away from Jianye for some time and refused to take responsibility for the Wu defeat.

Downfall, death and posthumous rehabilitation

When Zhuge Ke returned to Jianye later in 253, he attempted to wipe out all dissent against him by punishing those who disagreed with him. He also made plans for another invasion of Wei, despite much resentment from the people over the heavy losses incurred from the previous campaign.

Sun Jun, a Wu general distantly related to the Wu emperor Sun Liang, decided to launch a coup d'état against Zhuge Ke to oust him from power. He lied to Sun Liang that Zhuge Ke was secretly plotting to usurp the throne and then set up a trap for Zhuge Ke. (The extent of Sun Liang's involvement in the coup d'état is unclear. However, historians traditionally consider him to have understood and approved Sun Jun's actions even though he was only about 10 years old then.) Zhuge Ke met his end at the hands of Sun Jun's assassins when he unsuspectingly attended a banquet hosted by Sun Liang in the imperial palace. After Zhuge Ke's death, Sun Jun used the opportunity to send his troops to capture and execute Zhuge Ke's family members.

Sun Jun became the new Wu regent after Zhuge Ke's death and he monopolised state power until his death in 256, after which his cousin Sun Chen succeeded him and continued to rule as regent. In 258, Sun Chen deposed Sun Liang and replaced him with his brother Sun Xiu as the new Wu emperor. Sun Xiu staged a coup against Sun Chen shortly after his accession to the throne and succeeded in eliminating him. Sun Xiu posthumously rehabilitated Zhuge Ke and ordered him to be reburied with full honours. However, he refused to have a monument built to commemorate Zhuge Ke when someone suggested doing so, because he felt that Zhuge Ke's recklessness and the losses he caused to Wu made him unworthy of such commemoration.

Anecdotes and legends

An anecdote goes that sometime in Zhuge Ke's childhood or adolescence, he attended a banquet hosted by the Wu emperor Sun Quan. Among the Wu officials, there was a joke that Zhuge Jin (Zhuge Ke's father) had a very long face. Sun Quan played along by ordering a donkey to be brought to the banquet, bearing a sign which said "Zhuge Ziyu". ("Ziyu" was Zhuge Jin's courtesy name.) He then turned to Zhuge Ke and asked him to add any two characters to the sign. Zhuge Ke added zhi lü (之驢; "the donkey of") and requested the donkey as a gift for his father. Sun Quan was impressed with the young Zhuge Ke's wit.

In another anecdote, also in a banquet setting, Sun Quan once asked Zhuge Ke whether he thought that his father Zhuge Jin was better compared to his uncle Zhuge Liang, the Imperial Chancellor of Wu's ally state Shu Han. When Zhuge Ke said his father was better, Sun Quan asked him why and he replied, "My father chose the right Emperor to serve while my uncle didn't. Therefore, my father is better than my uncle." Impressed by the subtle flattery, Sun Quan instructed Zhuge Ke to serve wine to the other guests present at the banquet. (It was an honour for junior officials to serve wine to senior officials at the time.) When Zhuge Ke came to Zhang Zhao, the latter refused to drink and said, "This isn't the proper form for a ceremony to pay respect to an elder." After learning of Zhang Zhao's refusal, Sun Quan told Zhuge Ke, "Get Zhang Zhao to drink for me." Zhuge Ke then returned to Zhang Zhao and said, "Long ago, the great strategist Jiang Ziya, at the age of 90, went to battle holding a signal flag and carrying a battleaxe; he never considered himself old. In days of trial by arms, you are always in the rear; in days of feasting, you are always in the front. What do you mean when you say this is not a proper ceremony to pay respect to an elder?" At a loss for words, Zhang Zhao consented and accepted the wine offered by Zhuge Ke. After this incident, Sun Quan regarded Zhuge Ke even more highly and consequently appointed him as a close aide to his then-heir apparent, Sun Deng.

On another occasion, an ambassador from Wu's ally state, Shu, showed up with a gift of horses for Sun Quan. Knowing that Zhuge Ke was a good rider, Sun Quan summoned him with the intention of giving him one of the horses. When Zhuge Ke arrived, he immediately knelt down and thanked Sun Quan for the gift. Sun Quan was surprised at how Zhuge Ke already knew why he was summoned there, so he asked him. Zhuge Ke replied, "Shu is only capable of serving as Your Majesty's stable. That is why I am certain that the ambassador came here to offer a tribute of fine steeds." Sun Quan was impressed.

Physical Appearance

In the Record of Wu, Chinese author Zhang Bo notes that Zhuge Ke was a loud spoken man and was about 182–184 cm tall, and that he had a crooked nose, wide forehead, large mouth, with little facial hair and eyebrows.