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

Chapter 212: Deceiving He Jin

"What do you mean, Brother Wentai?"

Cao Cao then looked at Sun Jian.

He is also a formidable general, with four other generals under his command. If he can be recruited, he will not lack powerful generals for a short period of time.

Sun Jian chuckled and said, "Meng Dexing has many valiant generals under his command. I won't get involved in a mere prefecture."

Cao Cao felt a pang of regret upon hearing the refusal in Sun Jian's words.

With the world in chaos in the future, he desperately needs a fierce general like Sun Jian.

Let's try to recruit Sun Jian later.

Liu Bei quickly changed the subject, "Brother Mengde, why is Brother Bojing not here?"

"Bo Jing left early this morning, and I don't know where he went."

Cao Cao explained.

Wei Xue is currently at the residence of General He Jin.

Cao Cao's positions as Governor of Qingzhou, Prefect of Donglai, and General of Valiant Might experienced setbacks.

After the Yellow Turban Rebellion was quelled, the relationship between Emperor Ling of Han and He Jin deteriorated further.

Especially when the imperial court bestowed titles and rewards upon meritorious officials, the two sides almost came to blows over the rewards bestowed upon their respective factions.

The meritorious officials of He Jin's faction included Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, who made contributions in the later years of their military service; Zhang Cheng, Heng Dian, and Wang Kuang, three of the eight commanders of the passes; and Zheng Tai and Bao Xin, staff members of the General of Chariots and Cavalry's office.

They all made great contributions in the campaign to quell the Yellow Turban Rebellion, so He Jin took the opportunity to write a memorial requesting that they be rewarded and honored, in order to expand his own power.

Emperor Ling of Han intended to depose Liu Bian as crown prince and install his son Liu Xie as emperor.

He certainly didn't want to see He Jin become too powerful, so he secretly signaled the Ten Attendants, led by Zhang Rang, to oppose He Jin's request.

The Ten Attendants argued that it was the duty of the Eight Pass Commanders to guard the Eight Passes, and that they had failed to annihilate the enemy and could only passively defend, so they wanted to strip them of their positions as Commanders.

When the Yuan brothers joined the army, the Yellow Turban Rebellion was already in decline. They only had some merit in pacifying the remaining troops, so how could they be worthy of the position of General of the Household?

Although Zheng Tai and Bao Xin fought bravely, they were merely obedient officers who followed orders. Anyone else could have achieved the same feats and was equally unworthy of the rank of general.

He Jin had approved the titles of several people he had petitioned for, but the titles and rewards for them were all granted in large numbers. Even the sons of other aristocratic families who had joined the army were implicated and their rewards were not as satisfactory as they had hoped.

The Ten Attendants quickly promoted all the generals under their command.

Out of respect for Cao Cao's grandfather, Cao Teng, the bestowal of titles and rewards upon Cao Cao was also fully agreed upon.

General He Jin, along with the aristocratic families and partisans, were unwilling to accept this, as they considered obstructing someone's future as tantamount to killing their parents.

The Ten Attendants hindered their progress, so they naturally retaliated.

They are so eager to improve.

The generals under the Ten Attendants also had significantly lower battle achievements and rewards than the Ten Attendants.

They began to criticize each other during the grand assembly, and the two sides argued fiercely.

This is why the decision on the bestowal of rewards has been delayed for so long.

Even Cao Cao was pushed forward by the Ten Attendants because of his status.

His contributions in suppressing the rebellion were second only to Huangfu Song, and even Zhu Jun could not compare to him.

The subordinates promoted by the Ten Attendants were indeed hopeless, and the Ten Attendants couldn't do anything about it.

Driven by the idea that the enemy should not be allowed to benefit, the Ten Attendants began to vigorously promote Cao Cao, the eunuch.

Even though the one whose uncle was beaten to death by Cao Cao with five-colored sticks was extremely unwilling, he couldn't withstand the fact that everyone else sided with Cao Cao, and he was outnumbered.

When He Jin and the other members of the powerful families saw that the Ten Attendants had brought out Cao Cao, they assumed that Cao Cao had already sided with the Ten Attendants.

Well done, Cao Cao! With your thick eyebrows and big eyes, you actually joined the eunuchs. No wonder you're a descendant of eunuchs.

They started criticizing Cao Cao, saying that although Cao Cao's military achievements were outstanding, his resume was a major flaw, and coupled with his young age, it was easy for him to have no more titles to bestow.

In short, they used various reasons to reduce Cao Cao's rewards.

Wei Xue also learned of this information, which is why he went to He Jin's residence to make connections.

"The lineage of Marquis Anshou is descended from Wei Bojing, who studied under the Wei school and met with the General of Chariots and Cavalry."

Upon seeing the name on the visiting card, He Jin immediately ordered a banquet to be prepared to entertain Wei Xue.

At the same time, he invited famous scholars such as Chen Lin, Kong Rong, Bian Rang, Ying Shao, Wu Fu, Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shu to accompany him.

"Young Master, please have a seat."

He Jin's fleshy face also forced out an ugly smile, making him look somewhat fierce.

Everyone else was also all smiles; being able to have dinner with Wei Xue would certainly boost their reputation.

Who wouldn't like this kind of free fame?

Especially since this man is the son of the Marquis of Anshou, if we cultivate a good relationship, he might come to us for help in the future.

They can't guarantee they'll never get a headache or fever in their entire lives.

Wei Xue sat down and glanced at everyone present, his brows furrowing involuntarily.

As the host, He Jin quickly asked.

"But the singing, dancing, and drinks are not to the young marquis's liking?"

"Guards, drag them all out and beat them to death!"

Wei Xue quickly stopped him.

"No, no."

"Bo Jing frowned just now because he noticed that the General of Chariots and Cavalry looked a little off."

He Jin's face paled, and he quickly stepped forward, "What do you mean by that, Young Marquis?"

"Please open your mouth, General, so that Bo Jing can see your tongue."

Wei Xue said anxiously.

Upon hearing this, He Jin quickly opened his mouth, stuck out his tongue, and looked comical.

"His complexion is sallow, and his tongue has a white, greasy coating."

"Please lend a hand, General."

Why did Wei Xue reach out and take the pulse? He then began to inquire about the symptoms.

Have you recently experienced a loss of appetite, bloating after meals, loose stools, fatigue, and lethargy?

He Jin thought back for a moment, his face growing even paler.

"Yes, yes, we have them all."

"Do you experience symptoms such as lethargy, fatigue, weakness in the lower back and knees, dizziness, tinnitus, sensitivity to cold, cold hands and feet, hot flashes in the palms, soles, and chest, night sweats, and difficulty falling asleep?"

"Yes, I've been feeling sleepy a lot lately, and I can't seem to muster any energy to do anything. But I can't fall asleep, and when I do manage to fall asleep, I often wake up at night and find my bed covered in sweat."

"Young Master, what illness have I contracted?"

Wei Xue did not answer, but continued to ask.

Do you experience bad breath, dry mouth, incomplete urination/defecation, feeling hot all over, yet having cold hands and feet?

He Jin was sweating profusely, "I have everything, I have everything."

Wei Xue took a few steps closer and whispered another question in He Jin's ear.

"Ahem, General of Chariots and Cavalry, have you been feeling rather weak lately?"

"Yes."

He Jin blushed, then remembered that this was a doctor, and answered awkwardly.

Wei Xue nodded, secretly thinking to himself, "A general of chariots and cavalry, yet he's so weak."

"Young Master, what's wrong with me?"

When He Jin saw that Wei Xue was not saying anything, he thought he had some terminal illness and almost burst into tears.

"Young Master, you must save me!"