Chapter 4: The People's Gratitude

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  "Zhou Ruodai represents all 30,000 elderly and young people in the city, thanking the Fourth Master for his life-saving kindness."

  ！”

  "Thank you, Fourth Master, for saving my life..."

  "The Fourth Master's residence is kind and generous..."

  "May the fourth young master have good fortune and longevity..."

  On the city wall of Guangwei, a large crowd of people knelt down in front of Cao Zhi's small body, led by Zhou Ruo, the county magistrate of Guangwei. The entire population of Guangwei City also followed suit and knelt down, with some excited old men holding their newborn grandchildren, tears streaming down their faces as they kept kowtowing to thank Cao Zhi.

  And those women with children, on the other hand, were pressing their kids to the ground and kowtowing to Cao Zhi while whispering: "Son, take a good look, that's our family's great benefactor, the fourth young master of the Cao family. If it weren't for him, our whole family would have been killed. When you grow up, be sure to serve the fourth young master well and repay his kindness in saving our lives..."

  A similar scene unfolded in various parts of Guangwei City, where the elderly were grateful to Cao Zhi, while the younger ones, although still somewhat bewildered, instinctively felt that this was a big deal and silently remembered their parents' words.

  Even if Cao Zhi had a thousand years of experience, he had never been through such a grand scene. Looking at the large crowd of people kneeling on the ground, Cao Zhi was at a loss for what to do. He could only hastily rush forward and support several elderly people over fifty years old, saying: "Please get up first, sir. I don't deserve such great courtesy."

  Those old men saw Cao Zhi come forward and support himself, becoming even more agitated, repeatedly knocking their heads and saying: "Thank you, Fourth Master, for sparing our lives..."

  This was the most difficult situation to control, Cao Zhi repeatedly used force, hoping to first lift up a few old men, but he was small and weak, and several old men were determined, for a time they couldn't be lifted. Cao Zhi had no choice but to say repeatedly: "Old gentlemen, please get up quickly, I will lose years of my life if I receive such great courtesy from you."

  Only a few elderly people and the commoners behind them seemed to be unaware, still kowtowing incessantly. Cao Zhi used all his might but couldn't get up, finally he also fell to his knees with a "thud" in front of the crowd of commoners.

  The people on the city wall saw it and exclaimed in unison: "Fourth Master, what's wrong with you? Get up quickly..."

  "Pay no attention to those miscellaneous voices," Cao Zhi shouted loudly. "My uncles, brothers and fellow men, I appreciate your kind intentions."

  But Cao Zhi is still young and does not deserve such great courtesy. All of you, please get up! If not, I, Cao Zhi, will also kneel for a long time without getting up!"

  "This......" Cao Zhi's words left the crowd at a loss for what to do.

  It was still the county magistrate of Guangwei, Zhou Ruo, who reacted the fastest. He stood up first and said to the crowd: "The fourth young master is guarding the ritual and dare not overstep, fellow villagers hurry up, don't make it difficult for the fourth young master."

  Although Zhou Ruo, the county magistrate, still had some prestige among the common people, after hearing this, several of the oldest elderly people first helped each other up and then said to Cao Zhi: "The old men have already gotten up, Fourth Master, please don't kneel again, we can't bear it."

  As soon as he saw him, he immediately went forward to support Cao Zhi and said: "Fourth Master, you see that everyone has gotten up, don't kneel again, or else the same thing will happen again."

  Cao Zhi had a good impression of the county magistrate who could die calmly, so he stood up with his support. Zhou Ruo smiled faintly at Cao Zhi and then turned to shout to the villagers who had already gotten up: "Fellow villagers, the fourth master saved 30,000 old and young people in Guangwei, we just thanked him verbally, which is not sincere enough!"

  Some young men in the crowd heard this and shouted loudly: "County Master, we are all very grateful for the fourth master's kindness. But we are all rough people, not a single big character is understood, don't know how to thank you. We all listen to County Master your words, you say what to do, if we say 'no', it's not a good man of Guangwei!"

  "We all heard what you said, elder..."

  Looking at the surging crowd of people around him, Zhou Ruo raised his hands and said: "Everyone is now surrounding the Fourth Master, it's useless, let's all go back and prepare the best food, then bring them together to entertain the Fourth Master in the government office!"

  "Good!"

  Upon hearing Zhou Ruo's order, the surrounding villagers responded with a murmur and then supported the elderly and dragged their children down from the city. Everyone's face unconsciously revealed a look of urgency, and when they passed by Cao Zhi's side, both the old and young respectfully bowed to Little Cao Zhi to thank him for saving their lives.

  After several bows, Cao Zhi also felt embarrassed and retreated to the side with Zhou Ru, avoiding the crowd. At this time, someone suddenly said behind Cao Zhi: "What the people want is always the simplest, as long as they have food to eat and a house to cover their heads, they are satisfied. Unfortunately, those in power often cannot even provide them with these simple needs. When the ruler prospers, the people suffer; when the ruler declines, the people also suffer." The Fourth Master's words fully expressed the hardships suffered by the people for thousands of years and can be considered an eternal masterpiece.

  ！”

  Cao Zhi heard the sound of someone approaching, and hastily turned his head to look. He saw that the person was slender and pale, but with eyes that shone brighter than others, and an air of laziness about him. The man was holding a wine jug and drinking from it greedily. Cao Zhi recognized him as Guo Jia, and smiled awkwardly, bowing politely to say: "Zhi has seen Master Guo."

  Guo Jia nodded slightly and stood beside Cao Zhi to drink, but his eyes fell on Zhou Ruo beside Cao Zhi. It turned out that Cao Zhi did not feel anything about Guo Jia's words, but Zhou Ruo beside him trembled all over as soon as he heard them, and the whole person was stunned in place, muttering repeatedly: "Prosperity, the people suffer; decline, the people suffer..."

  Cao Zhi heard the nearby Zhou Ruo muttering to himself, and fearing he had something on his mind, was about to speak up to rouse him. But he was quickly pressed down by the sharp-eyed and quick-handed Guo Jia, who whispered, "This county magistrate has come to a realization, Fourth Master, it's best not to disturb him."

  Cao Zhi responded with a strange gaze, sizing up Zhou Ruo from head to toe. As for Zhou Ruo, Cao Zhi understood him best as a generous and fearless man who refused to beg for mercy in the face of death. Not many people could do that. In an era where corrupt officials were rampant, Zhou Ruo had earned the respect of the common people, which showed that he was a fair and just official.

  However, if following the normal course of history, Zhou Ru should have lost his head by now, but his unexpected intervention allowed Zhou Ru to escape disaster. And now that he has heard Liu Ye's words, he is clearly a man with real skills.

  Indeed, without letting Cao Zhi wait for long, Zhou Ruo sighed and said: "In the Zhengping years, the people had to bear various corvees and pay various taxes. If it was a good harvest, they could have a warm and full life. But if there were several major disasters or minor difficulties, or if it was like the current chaos in the world, the people would be worried about not being able to survive from day to day, and could only sell their children to make ends meet. When encountering famine, they would even have to exchange their children for food. The suffering of the people is indeed not divided between prosperity and decline. In the 500-year history of the Han Dynasty, there were only a few emperors who could ensure the people's warm and full life, such as Emperor Wen, Emperor Jing, and Emperor Wu. When the dynasty prospers, the people suffer; when it declines, the people also suffer. The four gentlemen have really spoken too well, Zhou Ruo pays his respects!" After finishing speaking, Zhou Ruo walked to Cao Zhi's front and respectfully performed a big bow.

  "Not judging a person's knowledge by their age, this Zhou has a broad and correct vision." Guo Jia watched all of this with his eyes, silently nodding in approval.

  While Cao Zhi listened to Zhou Yu's words of lamentation, his eyes clearly caught the grateful glances cast by the people. The young body beneath harbored a soul that transcended eighteen centuries, and it was deeply moved by this. Recalling what he had seen and heard in his own time before crossing over, as well as in the years following his arrival at the end of the Han dynasty, Cao Zhi knew that Zhou Yu's words were not empty, and from the bottom of his heart, he couldn't help but sigh: "Indeed, when the ruler prospers, the people suffer; when the ruler is lost, the people suffer."

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