Chapter 28 Arrival in Luoyang

  Tomorrow covered his mouth and inferred the actual situation.

  "They were originally refugees, and after much difficulty, they finally arrived in Luoyang, thinking they could get something to eat. But instead, they were driven away. They had no money or food, and couldn't go far either. Driven by desperation, they had no choice but to rob people around here. Young master, those people are really pitiful."

  "The little girl is right." Cao Cao nodded, and didn't expect that the little servant girl beside Guo Jia would also have such thoughts. "Don't look at just over a dozen people, who knows how many widows and orphans are behind them?"

  "Ah?! Why not go help them?!" Ming'er exclaimed, coming from an official family, Ming'er was only sent out to be a servant because her father, the head of the household, suddenly passed away, leaving her mother and herself unattended. So Ming'er had a natural sympathy for people like this, even if they had just attacked them.

  "It's useless." Guo Jia shook his head, his face somewhat gloomy.

  "Yes, don't look at me as a humble military officer, but my ability is limited, and I can only help them maintain two or three meals. In the end, they will still face the same problem, it's just treating the symptoms not the root cause. When will this chaotic world come to an end?" Cao Cao also sighed in agreement.

  It's precisely because of this that Cao Cao is now directly withdrawing his troops and returning to the city. Even if he knew there were still refugees hiding nearby, what could he do? Could he possibly round up all these people and kill them? In a dilemma like this, it's better to do nothing at all. If another robbery incident breaks out somewhere else, they'll just have to come out again to clean up the mess.

  Refugees are human beings, but passersby are even more innocent. Cao Cao cannot ignore them.

  Tormented, unbearable.

  This is the sentiment shared by several people at the scene.

  "Alas, the Zhu Gate is filled with the stench of wine and meat, while the roads are littered with frozen corpses." Guo Jia sighed, disregarding the fact that he himself couldn't ride a horse, and quickly mounted one to leave.

  "This Guo Fu is indeed the same kind of person as me." Cao Cao muttered to himself, also turning his horse around, "Let's go! Everyone follow!"

  "Yes!"

  As they came, so they went; after the dust had settled, a group of people vanished into the distance.

  Dada, dada, dada.

  The sound of horseshoes is still so unbearable.

  ······

  "Haha, Filial Piety, it turns out you can't ride a horse."

  In Luoyang City, Guo Jia leaned against a tree and vomited nonstop. While others got carsick, he was "horsesick". Of course, it also had to do with seeing so many dead bodies covered in blood earlier.

  "Filial piety, I'll take you out hunting with your elder brother Cao Pi and teach you how to ride a horse at the same time," Cao Cao suggested.

  "Sitting on a horse and walking slowly is fine, but let me ride it, that's still out of the question." Guo Jia shook his head in refusal.

  "Nowadays, the world is in such chaos, if you don't learn how to ride a horse, what can you do? At critical moments, it may even save your life." Cao Cao said.

  "Thank you, Brother Meng De. However, I've already developed a psychological shadow about this kind of thing, so I'd rather not." Guo Jia insisted.

  "In that case, I won't force it either." Cao Cao led his men into the city.

  "Shall we go see the teacher directly?"

  "Of course." Guo Jia nodded.

  "All right." Cao Cao ordered the soldiers behind him, "You all go back by yourselves."

  "Yes!"

  Then Cao Cao himself led a group of people including Guo Jia to Cai Yong's residence, on the way, Guo Jia asked:

  "What kind of person is Cai Yong?"

  "I won't say much, you'll understand slowly later. But since you're here to study, I have to remind you that no matter who introduces you, no matter how talented or famous the person is, a teacher must examine them before deciding whether to accept them as a disciple." Cao Cao reminded him.

  Kuo Chia's eyelid twitched, he didn't think there would be an exam after all, and he had always thought it was a direct admission. He hastily asked:

  "I don't know what aspect is being tested?"

  If it's about examining ancient books and classics, then with Guo Jia being someone who can't even tell a story to Xiao Yueting properly, he'll probably be eliminated immediately. Unconsciously, Guo Jia became nervous.

  Cao Cao shook his head and said,

  "The teacher's questions are always random, but don't worry, with your talent, you'll definitely be fine."

  "My talent? It's precisely because of my talent that I have a big problem." Guo Jia sighed with a bitter smile.

  ······

  Tsai's residence

  Cai Yong sat high in the hall, silently looking at those letters of introduction from Guo Jia.

  "Guo Jia, Guo Fengxiao?" Cai Yong put down the letter in his hand and looked up at Guo Jia.

  "The student is here!" Guo Jia hastily stood up.

  "I don't care if you're Guan Zhong or Yue Yi, or someone else. If you want to be under my tutelage, you must respect your teacher and the Tao. You cannot rely on your talent and look down on others. I wonder if you can do that?" Cai Yong said directly. Just those two words "double non" already revealed Guo Jia's arrogance, and since he was young and impulsive, Cai Yong had to make things clear early on.

  "Of course I can, teacher!" Guo Jia replied immediately.

  "Wait, don't be too quick. Take this." Cai Yong handed an empty bamboo slip to Guo Jia, the test has begun!

  "Write whatever you like on top," said Cai Yong.

  "Write whatever you want?"

  "That's right, you write what you think is good and what you're good at." In this regard, Cai Yong was very open-minded and did not impose any restrictions on Guo Jia.

  To be honest, Guo Jia really wanted to write a math problem on it at this time. Although he himself was also a liberal arts student, in front of these ancient people, what Guo Jia was best at should be this aspect.

  However, Guo Jia also knew that if he really did that, Cai Yong might not get angry, but it would make Cai Yong feel that he couldn't teach Guo Jia at all, so he could only do his best in poetry and calligraphy.

  Well, let me think. Guo Jia rested his chin on the brush, Jian'an Seven Sons, Wang Bo, no, that's the Early Tang Four Masters. Damn it, Guo Jia couldn't recall any works of the Jian'an Seven Sons at all.

  No choice, it seems that only "three Caos" can be chosen. Cao Cao is right next to him, and Guo Jia really doesn't have the face to plagiarize other people's things, so he finally set his sights on Cao Zhi. Cao Pi? Joke, Guo Jia still doesn't know any of his works.

  A faint voice of "Amitabha" echoed in the dark corridor as Guo Jia began to write.

  Its form is like a startled swan, gentle as a swimming dragon. Glorious as the autumn chrysanthemum, flourishing as the spring pine. Like a light cloud covering the moon, like a flowing wind blowing back the snow. From afar, it shines like the sun rising over morning mist. Upon closer inspection, it is radiant like a lotus flower emerging from clear ripples.

  A moment later, Cai Yong took Guo Jia's work

  "Beautiful!" couldn't help but exclaim.

  As soon as he heard this, Guo Jia no longer hesitated and hastily stood up.

  "Disciple pays respects to master!"

  "Alright, alright, haha. But let's put the formal ceremony off until tomorrow." In ancient times, becoming a disciple was already a very formal matter, and Cai Yong wasn't running a private school. Now that he had seen Guo Jia's writing, he thought he had found a treasure, and with his heart full of joy, Cai Yong naturally wanted to be meticulous about the rituals.

  "Congratulations, Filial Piety! I knew you'd be fine." Cao Cao immediately offered his congratulations.

  "Brother Meng De is overpraising me, thanks for your kind words! Haha."

  After all the polite conversation, seeing that it was getting late, Cai Yong picked up his tea cup. Cao Cao stood up and was about to bid farewell when he heard Guo Jia suddenly speak up.

  "Teacher, I don't know where the student is staying tonight?"

  Cai Yong's eyes twitched slightly.

  "Someone come and prepare several guest rooms."

  For some reason, Cai Yong had a faint sense of regret in his heart.