Chapter 78

Is Xun suggested to Cao De to recommend talents, mentioning Yi and Wang Xiu, and then just as he mentioned half of Taishi Ci's name, he suddenly stopped. Cao De couldn't help but ask, "I have also heard of Taishi Ziyi's name. If Hongfu stops speaking, could it be that this person is hard to recruit?"

Is Xun thought to himself that whether or not they could be recruited was up to Cao De, but whether they would come was up to them. He couldn't guarantee that. If it were an SLG game, as long as the "compatibility" wasn't too bad, and you sent the right person to recruit them, they would definitely come. But in real society, things were much more complicated. In his memory, Wang Xiu eventually followed Cao Cao, but that was after the Battle of Guandu. At this point, Yuan Shao was clearly more prominent than Cao Cao, and Yuan Tan was more prominent than Cao De. If Cao De acted too late, he would definitely suffer. Even if he acted first, it was uncertain whether he would succeed.

Yi and Taishi Ci, in the original history, both followed the Sun family, partly out of necessity—once they had fled to Jiangdong, who else could they follow besides the Sun family? But now, with the appearance of this small butterfly, and because of this small butterfly, Cao De had survived and even become the Governor of Jiyin. If he could intercept these two before they crossed the Yangtze River, there would be a chance to bring them under his command. Of course, hope is one thing, but the probability of success is unknown.

But why did Is Xun stop halfway when mentioning Taishi Ci? He then explained to Cao De, "Ziyi is both literate and martial, not just a talent for a hundred li. He can be a great general. Bringing him to Jiyin might be a waste..." If Wang Xiu and Yi came, you could treat them as subordinates, guests, or even county magistrates, and that wouldn't be a waste of their talents. But Taishi Ci is different. He has the potential to be a famous general in Jiangdong. Coming to a small place like Jiyin would be a waste of his talent.

"Ah, I see," Cao De said, not getting angry but instead leaning in with a smile, "I will immediately send people to invite these three. Taishi Ziyi is still a commoner. Coming to me as a subordinate or a county magistrate is just the first step. If his abilities are as strong as you say, won't I recommend him to my brother? Talents are never too many. I am short of people, and my brother isn't full of people either. There's room for Taishi Ziyi."

Fine, do as you please. Is Xun thought for a moment and then recommended Lu Hong to Cao De, saying that Cheng Li was like a phoenix, and being a county magistrate was a bit of a waste. Lu Hong was like a goose, and being a census officer was even more of a waste. Cao De immediately took out pen and ink and wrote down all these names.

Is Xun stayed in Dingtao for three days, then temporarily bid farewell to Cao De and returned to Juancheng. He first entered the city to see Cao Cao—Cao Cao had just defeated the Yuan Shu army that had invaded Chenliu, and without even washing off the dust of battle, he praised Is Xun greatly. Cao Cao said that making Hongfu a temporary assistant was a waste of talent, and he should temporarily serve as the magistrate of Chengyang. Regarding the recommendation for filial piety and integrity, don't worry. I have already recommended my brother Cao De this year. Next year, I will have Cao De recommend you, and then everyone will be happy.

In the Han Dynasty, being recommended for filial piety and integrity was the proper path to becoming an official, similar to passing the imperial examinations in later times. According to the original rules, the governors and administrators of each commandery and kingdom had to select one "filial and upright" scholar each year from their jurisdiction, while the inspectors did not have this authority. This meant that Is Xun would have to ask the Administrator of Beihai, Kong Rong, to recommend him, and Cao De would have to ask the Administrator of his hometown, the State of Pei in Yuzhou. However, in recent years, the mobility of scholars and commoners had increased, and the governors and administrators often had no one to recommend, while the truly talented were far from their hometowns. Additionally, as the power of the inspectors expanded, they became local military and political leaders, so it was common for inspectors to recommend scholars for filial piety and integrity, and for governors and administrators to recommend people from outside their jurisdiction. Therefore, Cao Cao could recommend his brother Cao De, but if Cao De, who was not a filial and upright scholar himself, recommended Is Xun, it might not sound good and could affect public opinion. So Cao Cao asked Is Xun to wait another year.

In theory, being recommended for filial piety and integrity required sending the person to the capital by official carriage for verification and formal approval by the court. But in this era, what was the court? Among the warlords in Guandong, the more cautious, like Tao Qian, still occasionally sent tributes to Chang'an, pretending to submit to central leadership. The more daring, like Yuan Shao, did not recognize Emperor Xian (who was given the posthumous name after his death) as the legitimate ruler, calling him a false emperor installed by Dong Zhuo. Yuan Shao had even tried to support the Governor of Youzhou, Liu Yu, as a "true emperor" under his control, but this failed due to widespread opposition and Liu Yu's own reluctance.

Therefore, Cao Cao recommending his brother as a filial and upright scholar only required writing a formal recommendation and filing it in his own archives. Next year, when Cao De recommends Is Xun, the same process can be followed. As long as the relevant documents are in the archives of Jiyin, the procedures will be complete, and it doesn't matter whether the court in Chang'an knows about it.

Is Xun was not in a hurry. After all, he was only twenty-one years old in appearance. During the reign of Emperor Shun of Han, it was stipulated that scholars had to be forty years old to be recommended for filial piety and integrity, but this rule was never followed. For example, Cao Cao was recommended at the age of twenty. However, since his background was not high, he could not compare with Cao Cao, the son of a high-ranking official. Being recommended for filial piety and integrity before the age of thirty would be more than satisfactory.

On the way back, Is Xun's mood was quite relaxed and pleasant. The region of Yanzhou had suffered from wars, and when he went south in the spring, he saw towns in ruins and fields left fallow, a desolate scene. "The villages are now empty" was a line from a poem that reflected his feelings, though not as deeply as Wu Zhi's "graves connected by ridges, bones floating like water chestnuts." But this time, as he returned to Juancheng, he saw that Cao Cao had already started the system of military farming. After the seeds were sown, the fields were green with sprouting crops, and he often saw groups of strong young men digging ditches to divert water, or elderly, weak, and women weeding and removing pests in the fields.

Is Xun couldn't help but feel a deep sense of emotion—agriculture in the Central Plains was clearly more advanced than in the border regions. When he was young, farming was completely extensive. They plowed the land in spring, sowed seeds, harvested in autumn, and dried the grain, with nothing to do in between. His family and the neighboring Wangs seemed to have no idea about weeding or fertilizing. Between spring and autumn, they might only set up some fences to prevent rabbits from eating the crops or, if it was very dry, carry water from nearby wells to irrigate the fields. The rest of the time was spent sitting in the fields, waiting for the crops to grow on their own—Is Xun felt that more than half of his life before the age of thirteen was wasted.

Agriculture in the Central Plains was clearly more advanced, as he had observed when he followed Chen Deng in Xu Province to encourage farming. Although books like "Fang Sheng's Book" were unknown to most farmers and even many local officials, at least the farmers knew how to dig ditches for irrigation, how to use manure for fertilization, and how to weed and catch pests. It wasn't intensive farming, but at least it wasn't a case of planting one seed and only getting a few grains in return...

After leaving Cao Cao, he also visited Chen Gong, Xun Yu, Xi Xian, and Ren Jun. With Chen Gong, it was just a casual greeting. He had a long conversation with Xun Yu, who said that if the weather was good this year and there was an average harvest in the fall, the accumulated grain and fodder would be enough for two or three major battles