A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

"Commander Cao defeated Zhang Mancheng and Bo Cai, the two greatest Yellow Turban generals in Yu Province. His name is known throughout the land, and the elders and folks of the village sing his praises. It is only a matter of time before he is ennobled and appointed as a general."

The old man complimented.

"Then let's take the old man's good wishes as a sign."

Cao Cao stroked his beard and turned his gaze to the burly men behind him.

He was over eight feet tall, with a waist ten spans in circumference, and a majestic appearance.

He stood there like a wall, his arms were thicker than Cao Cao's waist.

"May I ask who this valiant warrior is?"

The old man was quite proud when he talked about his grandson.

"This is my unworthy grandson, Xu Chu, Xu Zhongkang."

"It was precisely because Zhongkang possessed some brute strength that our Xu Family Village was able to survive the attack of these moth bandits."

"But Xu Zhongkang, who dragged an ox by its tail for over a hundred paces?!"

Cao Cao recalled this legend from his hometown. He had always thought it was just a rumor, but looking at Xu Chu's model, it might actually be true.

"Exactly."

The old man's proud mustache stood up.

"Would Zhongkang be willing to join the army?"

"The Yellow Turban Rebellion has not yet been quelled in various regions, and we need brave warriors like Zhongkang."

Cao Cao smiled broadly, looking at Xu Chu with increasing satisfaction.

Xu Chu smiled憨厚ly, scratched his head, and looked at his grandfather.

"Old Master Xu, how about I recommend Zhongkang for the position of captain? Once he has rendered meritorious service, I will then petition the court for him to be rewarded."

At this time, the credibility of the Han Dynasty had not yet collapsed, and the title of general was still highly valuable.

Even a minor general title is an extremely high honor, and a slightly better general title can be comparable to being enfeoffed as a marquis.

He was granted titles and honors.

Even outstanding figures like Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were merely captains when Liu Hong established the Western Garden Army.

Emperor Ling of Han dispatched three generals to quell the Yellow Turban Rebellion: Lu Zhi, Huangfu Song, and Zhu Jun. However, they were only at the rank of Zhonglang General, without even the title of general.

At that time, becoming a captain was already a great honor for these ordinary people, a blessing from their ancestors.

Old Master Xu tugged at his grandson, "Hurry up and thank General Cao."

Xu Chu scratched the back of his head again. "Is there enough food?"

Cao Cao laughed heartily, "Of course I'll take care of it, and there will be plenty!"

He then ordered someone to bring over the military rations, took out the meat from them, and handed it to Xu Chu.

Xu Chu took a roast chicken, broke off half of it, and put it in his mouth, crunching away as he spat out a string of bones.

He put another half in, bit into it, then spat out a string of bones, and the whole roast chicken was gone.

Cao Cao quickly handed him another one, and Xu Chu ate six or seven in this way before finally letting out a satisfied burp.

"You're a good person, I'm willing to follow you."

"Okay, okay."

"From now on, you will be my personal guard commander, and my safety is in your hands."

Cao Cao was overjoyed. With that wall standing next to him, his sense of security was off the charts!

Seeing that Xu Chu had such a good opportunity, Old Master Xu thought of the young people in his village.

He hurriedly invited Cao Cao into the village, saying he wanted to thank Cao Cao. Then he summoned all the young men in the village and selected 300 of the strongest and healthiest young men from among them.

When Cao Cao saw that these men were all burly and strong, he immediately took them all into his army and placed them under Xu Chu's command.

After Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan eliminated this group of bandits, Cao Cao sent them to clear out all the bandits around Xujia Village to ensure the safety of Xujia Village.

Then he led Xu Chu and many able-bodied men, and left with the army.

After leaving, Cao Cao headed to his hometown and dispatched the Xiahou brothers to wipe out the bandits in the entire Qiao County.

After the bandits in Qiao County were wiped out, Cao Cao, on Wei Xue's advice, went to Yingchuan, one of the places where the Yellow Turban Rebellion had been most rampant not long ago.

Although Zhang Mancheng and Bo Cai were quelled, a large number of Yellow Turban rebels scattered and fled, becoming bandits.

The allied forces formed by the major clans were also taken away by Huangfu Song, so the entire Yingchuan remained in utter chaos.

Cao Cao still ordered Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan to lead troops to quell the local bandits.

He personally led Wei Xue to visit the renowned Yingchuan Academy.

Although the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in various parts of Yingchuan, after the city of Yingchuan was pacified, the aristocratic families still mobilized some troops to defend it again.

With this army here, even if we can't recover lost territory, we can still ensure the safety of the city.

Therefore, the city has partially recovered its prosperity, and scholars and intellectuals can be seen discussing current affairs everywhere.

When Cao Cao entered Yingchuan Academy, he received an extremely warm welcome.

In the eyes of the major families in Yingchuan, Cao Cao was a highly sought-after figure.

Having gained the approval of the Wei family lineage and made meritorious contributions during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, his future looked bright.

In particular, those who came to visit included the direct descendants of the Wei family, the heads of the four major families of Xun, Zhong, Chen, and Han, as well as the heads of families such as the Guo family, all of whom were present in person to express their regard.

After some conversation, these families finally learned Cao Cao's purpose.

That's because they're here to recruit talent.

The heads of these families began to have doubts in their hearts, but on the surface they continued to flatter Cao Cao with smiles.

Although Cao Cao's future looked bright, the future is ultimately just the future, and there are too many variables in between.

It's fine for them to befriend each other and invest, but it would be somewhat abrupt to send their most outstanding disciple there.

The current Han Dynasty is a dual monarchy, emphasizing both loyalty and filial piety.

Filial piety goes without saying, and loyalty naturally represents loyalty to the ruler.

However, many ministers never even see the emperor in their entire lives, and talking about loyalty to the emperor in words is too far-fetched.

Therefore, scholars and officials changed the word "ruler" in "loyal to the emperor" to "one's recommender." If someone recommended you, you would naturally feel grateful and regard them as your benefactor.

The other party will naturally protect you, promote you, and treat you as one of their factions.

And you must also offer your loyalty.

Once someone betrays their patron, they will be seen as ungrateful and repaying kindness with enmity.

You will be scorned by the entire Shihlin community, and no one will promote you or be close to you anymore.

If these family heads sent their most outstanding heirs to serve under Cao Cao, they would be bound to him and it would be difficult for them to separate in the future.

However, if you send gifts to those who are less qualified and have little ability, it's not about making friends, but about offending them.

The head of the Xun family spoke first, because it was the least stressful thing for him.

Thanks to the family traditions and the family precepts left by Xunzi, the Xun family has produced many outstanding individuals in every generation.

Every generation will have many geniuses buried, and even a powerful family like the Xun family cannot take care of everyone's political resources.

Sending a genius to Cao Cao's command would both foster goodwill with Cao Cao and provide a future for this talented disciple.

A win-win situation, killing two birds with one stone.

The next head of the Xun family has almost been decided, with Xun Yu being the most outstanding among them.

Under the arrangement of Xun Shuang, the head of the Xun family, Xun You soon arrived here and met Cao Cao.