Chapter 7: Li Huai De = Li Huai De?

  "Rumble, rumble!" A loud rumbling sound came from afar, accompanied by ten burly men guarding the carriage, and a coachman driving the horse-drawn vehicle. Coughing sounds occasionally came from inside the carriage. "Master, I've heard that Lord Cao is a just and righteous man, so I've traveled thousands of miles to come and assist him. Unfortunately, I caught a chill on the way and am feeling unwell," Xu Chu explained with a bow.

  At this time, Li Yu was secretly scolding the ancient carriage in his heart. Why is it so bumpy? Because the wheels were made of wood and didn't have rubber tires; Before leaving, Li Yu had arranged everything properly, including his mother Cao Shi, and the Han men of the Xu family also knew their heavy responsibilities, without too much sentimentality, these people followed Li Yu out to fight with determination.

  "Halt!" The carriage stopped, and Cao Zhang could wait no longer. He saw a hand lift the curtain of the carriage door, and Xu Chu hastily stepped forward to assist.

  He was seven feet eight inches tall, with a unique and handsome appearance, clear eyes and bright eyes. He was a good-looking man! This made Cao Cao somewhat self-deprecating, because he looked relatively dull. Such an excellent appearance can naturally win people's favor, although Li Yu looks very young;

  "It turned out to be a teacher of teaching materials!" The crowd who felt cheated couldn't help but complain!

  "Wow, so young! Are you sure he's really your teacher?" Cao Ren couldn't help but say to Xu Chu, "You're being rude!" Before Xu Chu could get angry, Xiahou Dun had already scolded Cao Ren. Xiahou Dun was a diligent learner and respected his teachers. Although he was in the military, he would personally welcome his teachers to give lectures. At 14 years old, he had killed someone who insulted his teacher, earning him a reputation for bravery in his hometown.

  Because he didn't read much himself, he was very respectful of those literati, and Li Yu had a good face, looking like a refined and elegant scholar.

  "Cough, cough! Li Yu and Li Huai-de of Qiao County pay their respects to Duke Cao!", Li Yu performed a slight bow. Who is this Cao Cao? Although many people curse him, in history he is considered one of the most talented rulers of his generation, a "wise ruler" in the hearts of scholars from humble backgrounds!

  It is little known that Liu Bei also claimed to be open-minded in his use of people, but this was false. For example, Zhao Yun, the lonely long spear worshiped by people, the most perfect warrior in history, due to his poor birth, did not truly receive Liu Bei's trust and was only given the opportunity to show himself after Liu Bei's death when Zhuge Liang came to power.

  Knowing the subtlety and seeing the depth, this is also one of the reasons why Li Yu could not choose to surrender to Liu Bei.

  "What's wrong with Lǐ?" "Alright!" Let's forgive this curious baby-like Cao Ren. Seeing Xiahou Dun and Xu Chu glare at him, he could only shut his mouth in embarrassment;

  After being helped down from the horse carriage by Xu Chu, Li Yu immediately spotted who Cao Cao was. His bright and piercing little eyes, his sparse whiskers, and his short stature had already given him away. Overall, he looked pretty good, with an air of authority that matched Li Yu's imagination.

  Li Yu looked around at the people again, Cao Cao's left hand was a burly man who should be Xiahou Dun, his right hand was a slightly thin one who should be Xiahou Yuan, the steady one should be Li Dian! The slightly Confucius-like one should be Cao Ren, and the short and sturdy one is Yu Jin? And that one should be Cao Hong! Li Yu secretly guessed.

  "It's cold outside, sir is not feeling well, hurry and help him inside!" Cao Cao quickly helped Li Yu towards the interior, indeed a generation of heroes, his tactics for winning people over were quite skilled.

  They arrived at Cao Cao's "Gathering Hall" and sat down facing each other, introducing themselves before the conversation began.

  The census taker has also arrived!

  However, Li Yu spoke first: "Today the Han dynasty has no master, Dong Zhuo holds all the power, and the people are suffering. My father died early, leaving behind my mother and me as orphans who barely survived the Yellow Turban Rebellion. We were living a peaceful life in Xuchang's Xu family village, teaching and passing our days with my elderly mother. Who would have thought that now it is even more chaotic than during the Yellow Turban Rebellion? I've figured it out - in such a chaotic world, only the strong can survive. Of course, I am not one of them, so I can only rely on those who are."

  "Haha! Well said, sir!" Cao Cao laughed and just the other day he had killed Lü Bu's family. He once told Chen Gong that in a chaotic world, only the strong are qualified to talk about benevolence and righteousness, while the weak can only be abandoned. Li Yu's words were different from his, but they shared similar meanings, which made him feel quite pleased!

  "In a chaotic world! Heroes rise together, who with ability does not want to stand out? Sir comes to join, I am delighted beyond measure!", Cao Cao's speech has its own characteristics, no matter what time he speaks, it is always rhythmic and pleasant to listen to.

  "I don't know who you have learned from, sir, but can you surpass anyone in any position?" Cao Cao asked with great interest.

  About this, Li Yu was well-prepared: "Never having paid homage to a master, just a rustic village husband with one name, knowing some literature and recognizing some characters, can still manage accounts, of course also can come up with some bad ideas!", he didn't want to blow himself up too high, or else he would die quickly.

  "Cut!" Xiahou Dun sneered: "Big brother, I think he's just here to cause trouble, get him out of here! What can a young whelp like him do?", Xiahou Dun felt that he had been played. The great scholar who was well-versed in poetry and literature suddenly became a rustic country bumpkin, which made him very angry. Seeing Cao Ren's ambiguous smile only added fuel to the fire, and he immediately retorted;

  "Haha!", Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Li Dian and others burst out laughing together. Only Cao Cao did not smile. He always felt that the person in front of him was not simple. A person who was so respected by those soldiers from the Xuhou army, how could he be a rustic villager? There must be something extraordinary about him.

  He intercepted Xuchu beside him and Li Yu asked with a smile: "I wonder who this general is?"

  "I! Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan's brother, what's going on? What's the matter?"

  "What a joke!", Li Yu's face suddenly turned from a smile to anger, after all, he would have to go to war with these Cao nobles sooner or later, and he couldn't be looked down upon by them from the start, otherwise his future days would be difficult.

  "How do you know we have talent? If your words today were to scare me away, who's to say it wouldn't be a loss for Lord Cao? The ancients knew that 'a thousand pieces of gold can buy a horse's bones', even if I don't have great talent, you still can't speak like this. General Cao's grand undertaking has just begun, surely he needs to recruit some people? Taking me in isn't just about showing those truly talented commoner scholars what it means? Idiot! You almost ruined Lord Cao's great affair!"

  "Ah! You dare scold me!", "Clang!" Xiahou Dun drew his sword and suddenly rose, wanting to hurt someone, he had a violent temper and couldn't bear being provoked;

  "Huh? Xiahou Dun, you dare to insult my teacher!" Xu Chu was furious. In ancient times, there were three venerable titles: "Jun" (ruler), "Fu" (father), and "Shi" (teacher). Insulting Xu Chu's teacher was equivalent to insulting him. Therefore, he bellowed and drew his sword: "Quickly apologize to my teacher! Otherwise, I won't spare you!"

  "Rubbish! Apologize to the lord at once!" Cao Cao had grown up with Xiahou Dun and others as his juniors, so when Xiahou Dun saw that he was truly angry, he didn't dare to be slow and immediately kowtowed: "I was momentarily enraged, I hope the lord will forgive my crime!"

  The sedan chair was carried by many people, and Li Yu was also an old hand, so he wouldn't take it too seriously. He smiled and helped Xiahoudun up: "General Yuan Rang is brave and fierce, and can be the general of ten thousand people!"

  "Oh? Lord Cao actually knows how to identify people?" Cao Cao was very interested, he himself thought that Xiahou Dun could become a general who could command tens of thousands of troops, but couldn't go further, which had a lot to do with his personality; in the Han dynasty there were many people who knew how to identify others.

  For example, Xu Zhao of "Yue Dan Ping" glanced at Cao Cao and said: You are a capable minister in peaceful times and a hero in troubled times! And his words also came true, Cao Cao was indeed not an ordinary person, and he rose to prominence with the changing winds and clouds.

  "Haha! I dare not say I understand, just a little knowledge!", He was still very confident about this, at least he had read history and knew the talents and abilities of each person in the Three Kingdoms; The more humble Li Yu appeared, the more Cao Cao felt that he was hiding his true self.

  "What will these few brothers of mine achieve in the future?" This is a test!

  "Tell me first! Tell me first!" Cao Ren asked eagerly. Among these brothers, Cao Ren was a bit younger, and had been taken care of since childhood. At home, Cao Cao had almost raised him with his own hands, and he also held this clever and studious little brother in high regard;

  Coughing twice, Li Yu tightened his throat. He didn't directly answer Cao Ren's question, but instead started talking from the word "general": "Based on a general's ability, moral character and personality, generals can be divided into different types. I think they can be roughly divided into five categories: The first type is called 'upper general', who can gain the favor of heaven, earth and people, and use troops firmly with momentum, is an often victorious general, huh! Boss has this potential!"

  Flattering is also a skill, but Old Cao indeed has this potential;

  " 'General' who doesn't know the way of heaven, doesn't know the advantage of terrain, but has the heart of men, has momentum, is a general who wins more and loses less; several generals are of this type."

  "Down will", no firm proposition, self-doubting, "stay then fear, go then hesitate", often defeated.

  "There are Confucian generals, martial generals, and great generals. The Confucian general is one who decides victory in the temple hall. The martial general is one who breaks through battles for a thousand miles. The great general is one who deeply understands heaven and earth, and has both literary and military talents. This classification is based not only on the general's ability, but also on their personality."