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

On the way, Xun You had already been informed of everything by the Xun family's servants.

After quelling the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Yuzhou, Cao Cao's fame spread far and wide, and Xun You had also studied Cao Cao in detail.

Cao Cao also received Xu Shao's evaluation in the "Monthly Appraisal": "He is a capable minister in times of peace, and a treacherous hero in times of chaos."

Xun You always felt that the world was in turmoil, and that there was an atmosphere of great chaos everywhere.

However, judging from the current state of the court, at most it will revert to a situation where eunuchs, relatives of the empress, partisans, and powerful families vie for power.

Although the court is in chaos, that should be all there is to it, and it does not pose a significant threat to him, who comes from the Xun family.

But his intuition told him that the future world would be extremely chaotic, and things would be very difficult.

As a wise man, he chose to trust his intuition.

Cao Cao also seems like a good choice, and he doesn't seem to have any other options right now.

Upon meeting Cao Cao, Xun You immediately bowed and addressed Cao Cao as his lord.

Cao Cao and the other family heads present were all shocked by Xun You's decisiveness, as was Xun Shuang, who had given prior instructions.

After the initial shock, Cao Cao quickly recovered and went forward to help Xun You up, holding Xun You's hands in his.

"With Gongda's help, Cao was like a tiger with wings, or a fish in water."

Xun You stood quietly behind Cao Cao, his eyes lowered, without saying a word.

Because of this, the atmosphere in the room was somewhat somber.

The other prominent families all condemned Xun Shuang of the Xun family for lacking martial ethics.

Your Xun family is incredibly wealthy and powerful, quite impressive indeed.

Their family doesn't have that many outstanding talents.

The Chen family has only one designated heir, Chen Qun; the Zhong family has Zhong Yao; and the Han family's heir has not yet come of age.

Wei Xue could tell what these people were thinking at a glance. In order to avoid a confrontation and to lay the groundwork for future recruitment, he stepped forward to defuse the situation.

"I wonder if the heads of the families can support a group of capable officials so that there will be enough manpower when Lord Cao goes to take up a post in the local area."

"There is nothing wrong with that."

They have plenty of ordinary talents; governing a county is definitely not a problem for them.

They also saw Cao Cao's ambition: going to govern a region was a stepping stone to the central government.

Xun Shuang, looking at Cao Cao with a meaningful gaze, suggested that Cao Cao should make up for his lack of experience at the grassroots level.

Did Cao Cao also know about that plan?!

Cao Cao was quite satisfied with winning over a group of capable officials from several families.

After bidding farewell to the heads of several families, on the way back, Cao Cao discussed the general situation of the world with Wei Xue and Xun You. No matter what he said, Xun You could offer his own insights and subtly fill in the gaps in Cao Cao's understanding.

Upon learning that Cao Cao was preparing to take up a post in Qingzhou, Xun You gave him several pieces of advice, each of which hit the nail on the head.

Cao Cao couldn't help but exclaim, "Gongda is no ordinary man! With him by my side, what worries could I possibly have about the world?"

Xun You simply smiled and didn't take it to heart.

When the group arrived at a restaurant, Xun You stopped Cao Cao from leaving Yingchuan City.

"My lord, I have several friends in Yingchuan City. One of them is named Guo Jia, courtesy name Fengxiao, and is a member of a collateral branch of the Guo family."

"Just now, the Chen, Han, and Zhong families didn't send anyone, and the country didn't dare to send out members of its own families either."

"This man is insightful and skilled in devising ingenious strategies. He always anticipates events and is never wrong. His talent surpasses mine tenfold."

"The other person's surname is Xi, given name is Zhong, courtesy name is Zhicai. He came from an ordinary poor family, but his talent was extraordinary and unmatched."

"When Zhicai looks at things, he often takes a holistic view, and his strategic planning is unmatched in the world."

"Does my lord have any interest in this?"

Cao Cao's appetite was whetted by Xun You's words; he only had two good things in his life.

He was hopelessly infatuated with a good wife.

Two outstanding talents, unable to contain their emotions.

Even though he was excited and eager to recruit the two men, Cao Cao still chose to appease Xun You first.

"Gongda's abilities are rare in the world. He appears foolish but is wise, cowardly but brave, weak but strong. He is not good at punishing or imposing labor. His wisdom is extreme, but his foolishness is beyond compare."

"No one in the world could possibly defeat you tenfold!"

Upon hearing Cao Cao's evaluation of him, Xun You's loyalty to Cao Cao soared.

What more could one ask for than to have a true friend in life?

They had only known each other for a short time, yet Cao Cao had such an accurate assessment of him. The two must have been kindred spirits, sharing the same ideals.

"They're ten times, even dozens of times, better than me!"

Xun You said firmly.

"impossible!"

Cao Cao placed his hands on Xun You's shoulders and said, "There could never be such a person in the world."

He then remembered that Wei Xue was also nearby, and added.

"Unless it's the Chungmu King from back then who is alive."

After 400 years of mythology, King Zhongwu Wei Ping has become a god and an unattainable idol in the hearts of all civil and military officials, common people and scholars throughout the Han Dynasty.

Cao Cao actually compared him to Xun You, which shows how highly he regarded him.

"What Cao Gong said is absolutely right."

With the affirmation of the Wei family's descendants, Xun You felt that his life had not been in vain.

"What virtue or ability does Xun You possess that makes him comparable to King Zhongwu?"

"My lord, please stop joking and spare me."

"Let's return to the matter of Guo Fengxiao and Xi Zhicai. Both are exceptionally talented individuals, and our lord should recruit them to his cause to greatly assist in your great undertaking!"

Cao Cao then inquired, "Where are these two men?"

"Right here."

Xun You pointed to the restaurant next to him, "It's right here in Chunxiang Restaurant."

"My lord, you may not know this, but these two have a very good relationship because they both have a deep love for wine."

"They often went together to drink and make merry in this restaurant."

"They also often put the debts on my and my uncle's tab."

"And then there's my cousin Xun Yu, whom Xu Shao once praised as having the talent of a king's advisor. He was known as the Lord of Liuxiang, and was practically a polymath."

"He is capable of governing, composing poetry, devising strategies, leading armies, managing the economy, and is proficient in agriculture. With a Han sword, he can defeat 10 strong men working together; with a bow and arrow, he can hit any target within 50 meters."

"He has already been internally designated as the next head of the Xun family."

"When the time is right, my lord can summon him to his side. He will surely be a powerful ally to my lord."

"And my cousin Xun Yue."

Xun You glanced at Wei Xue and said, "Xun Yue is a student of agricultural studies and has become a disciple of Yan Gong, a contemporary master of agricultural studies."

Cao Cao couldn't help but exclaim, "Only today do I realize the greatness of the Xun family!"

Then, led by Xun You, they entered Chunxiang Tower.

Xun You led them to a table by the window, where two young men with hazy, drunken eyes were sitting.

A man dressed in black, with a perpetually cynical smile on his lips.

The other was dressed in white, his face was also a little pale, and even though he was covered in alcohol, he could not hide the faint fragrance of books about him.

The two of them naturally saw the four people walking towards them.

To their surprise, their friend Xun You was walking behind the short man.

They were somewhat surprised and curiously guessed who this person was.

Upon seeing Cao Cao's armor, the two almost simultaneously guessed Cao Cao's identity.

Cao Cao, also known as Cao Mengde, had just entered the city.