My Father in Law is Lu Bu

Chapter 721

“Hahaha!” Cao Cao was laughing happily in his camp. This made the guards puzzled as Cao Cao was normally unhappy due to the fact that they were still unable to capture Youzhou. Without capturing Youzhou, Hebei cannot be pacified. The consumption of food was also high.

“Is the Lord in?” Guo Jia walked into the camp and asked a soldier.

“Sir! The Lord is reading inside!” The guard replied. “Should I notify him of your arrival?”

“I understand. No need for that, I am going in.” Guo Jia nodded and entered. He was the only person alive who can simply visit Cao Cao without notifying Cao Cao.

“Milord. What event has made you so happy?” Guo Jia asked the moment he entered the tent.

“Fengxiao! You are here!” Cao Cao's smile deepened to see Guo Jia. “Come! Come and drink a cup with me!” Cao Cao said in a good mood.

“Milord. Did you gain something from reading?” Guo Jia asked. Cao Cao have always been an avid reader. If Cao Cao became pleased from reading, it may be because he gained some sort of inspiration from it.

“No, no! It is Shucang!” Cao Cao replied.

“The Little Lord?” Guo Jia remembered Cao Cao's twenty fifth son, Cao Chong, who can be said to be a genius.

Guo Jia did not care at all if Cao Chong was simply intelligent. However, Cao Chong was not only intelligent but compassionate. He even managed to use his wits to get his father to pardon the mistakes of hardworking officials. This caused Guo Jia to have a good impression of Cao Chong.

If someone conquered the world with military force, it was necessary for there to be a gentle Emperor. Someone had to show the world reason and humanity to bring peace. Cao Chong would become such a person.

Originally, there would be Cao Ang who was also kind. Unfortunately, Cao Ang died too early. On the other hand, Guo Jia did not like Cao Pi. Cao Pi was too small minded and did not have the magnanimity of an Emperor.

“That's right!” Cao Cao nodded. “Fengxiao. Once we return, I will have Shucang worship you as his teacher!” Cao Cao said to Guo Jia.

“Worship me as his teacher?” Guo Jia's eyes grew wide. “Milord. Are you sure you want to do this?” Guo Jia asked while looking at Cao Cao's eyes. He was hoping to obtain his answer from this.

“Yes.” Cao Cao nodded.

“What about the Second Lord?” Guo Jia asked. Cao Pi had already grown up. This was not a problem in the past but with Cao Ang's death, Cao Pi was next in line. Cao Pi may have issues with this arrangement.

“Don't worry, Fengxiao. With me here, he would be at ease.” Cao Cao replied.

“I can only hope so.” Guo Jia sighed. Cao Pi was someone who terrified Guo Jia. Guo Jia did not believe that Cao Pi would relent at all. This is because Guo Ji was Cao Cao's most trusted subordinate. Handing Cao Chong over to Guo Jia was the same as choosing Cao Chong to be his heir.

“This must be the books the Little Lord sent over.” Guo Jia looked at the book in Cao Cao's hands. Cao Cao also handed over the book to Guo Jia. Guo Jia then saw why Cao Cao was so happy. This book was not the Analects of Confucius or any of the famous books. The book was called Mengde's New Book. ɌÀɴ𝘖ᛒÈS

This was result of Cao Cao's many years of hard work. There were thirteen chapters, all of which was about military strategy. Cao Cao had summarized the major and minor battles he had fought over the years including the strategies used and the things to look out for when marching or fighting. Guo Jia had read some of it before and even gave suggestions. The contents used to be seperate but now they were all compiled into a book.

Guo Jia flipped through the pages and saw Qiao Xuan's quote on it about how reading broadens the mind and enriches the world.

Guo Jia smiled bitterly as he figured out what this was about.

“Shucang is really filial. He even managed to find Lord Qiao to make this book for me. What a filial son!” Cao Cao said proudly. Publishing your own books is not right according to the style of the ancient Chinese people. This is because humility was valued highly. Because of this, it was better for someone else to publish books. Mengde's New Book already existed for a long time but it was not published. Cao Chong's actions allowed the book to be published while allowing Cao Cao to remain humble.

Cao Cao also had a good relationship with Qiao Xuan. Qiao Xuan was one of the few people that Cao Cao admired when he was younger. Despite their age gap, the two of them were quite close. If Cao Cao was younger, Qiao Xuan may have even considered marrying his daughters to Cao Cao.

“Milord. Have you noticed that the handwriting in these books are all the same?” Guo Jia took several copies of Mengde's New Book and showed it to Cao Cao.

“Hm?” Cao Cao was shocked. He was so pleased of his son's actions that he really did not notice the handwriting. Taking another look, he realized that the characters in every copy were exactly the same. Cao Cao knew that he himself could not write like this.

“Is there really someone so skilled that they could write multiple copies without any variation at all?” Cao Cao found it odd. Even the minor mistakes that were common in that era were copied exactly. This made the situation even weirder.

“This is not handwritten. It is more likely that this is branded!” Cao Cao was puzzled. The only way to have the same handwriting is to have the words branded. It was like how their slaves were branded with exactly the same character.

“That's right Milord. These books are branded.” Guo Jia said to Cao Cao.

“These words?” Cao Cao was puzzled again. Printing already existed in that era. However, they engraved characters on blocks of wood, apply ink and then place paper or cloth over it. That was the extent of the printing technology.

This printing technology was convenient but expensive. Mengde's New Book had tens of thousands of characters. How many blocks of wood would they need? It was expensive.

“Milord. These books are from Yangzhou!” Guo Jia said to Cao Cao.

“Yangzhou?” Yes, the books were indeed from Yangzhou. Not only was Liu Mang selling books. He started a business of publishing books for others. It was a way for authors to publish a book without embarassing themselves. Yangzhou will print as many books as the author wants as long as the author has the money. Of course, the price of printing books was not cheap. It was half a gold per book. Cao Chong made a thousand books for his father. This cost his five hundred gold. It may be a huge investment but it did manage to please Cao Cao.

“Milord. I came here to talk about Yangzhou.” Guo Jia said and handed over a letter in his hand to Cao Cao. This was a letter sent by Xun Yu and Xun You. It details the recent actions of Yangzhou.

“Analects of Confucius, Zuo Zhuan… All of these are fifty coins a copy?” Cao Cao was shocked. Due to the transportation fee, the price of the books were raised to fifty coins at Yanzhou and Zhili. This price was too cheap. Cao Cao did not dare to believe Guo Jia. At that price, Cao Cao would want to buy a thousand eight hundred copies for himself. After all, he was someone who likes to read.

“Milord. The things written in the letter is true.” Guo Jia said to Cao Cao.

“This is a good thing!” Cao Cao really planned to buy over a thousand books to keep at home for the children to read. “Lord Qiao is now famous across the land!” Cao Cao said with a smile. Qiao Xuan's quote can be found on every book. With this, Qiao Xuan would become a role model worshipped by every scholar.

“It is not just Lord Qiao!” Guo Jia also admired Qiao Xuan very much since Qiao Xuan was a scholar who could bring peace.

“Huh?” Cao Cao was confused.

“Milord. Read this letter.” Guo Jia said and handed over another letter to Cao Cao. Cao Cao read it and his eyes grew wide.

“Yangzhou's exam?”

“Yes. This exam will be held annually. The top ranked candidates will all be appointed as officials. Women and those under eighteen cannot participate but everyone else can.” Guo Jia replied.

“The common people and nobles both? There is no discrimination? Cao Cao asked.

“Yes.”

Cao Cao became excited. “This is a good thing! Fengxiao, if you haven't met me, you could have participated in the exam yourself!” Cao Cao laughed.

“Milord. It would be great if it was that simple.” Guo Jia rolled his eyes. “Milord. Does the world belong to the nobles or the poor?” He asked.

“It belongs to the nobles.” Cao Cao muttered. This answer made sense since the nobles controlled eighty percent of the wealth despite their small numbers. Meanwhile, the poor only controlled twenty percent of the wealth.

However, you could also say that the world belonged to the poor people because of their vast numbers.

“Milord. The King of Shu is really good at scheming!” Guo Jia stated.

“Hm?”

“Milord. Selling the books at fifty coins at Yanzhou. Will you buy it if it was you?” Guo Jia asked.

“Of course I would!” Cao Cao nodded. He wanted to buy thousands.

“Milord. You can buy many books but the common people can only afford about three. They can buy more if they lived more frugally.” Guo Jia added. “The books that used to be unattainable is now within reach.” Guo Jia sighed. In the past, he had to borrow books if he wanted to read and it was not easy to borrow books. The books also had to be returned on time or people would not lend it to you. It is because Guo Jia worked hard when he was younger that he had his current talent.

If books were more accessible, there would be more educated and talented people.

“This is also a good thing!” Cao Cao still did not understand the issue. The ancient people had the ideal of helping others. When people's lives were better, they have abundance. With abundance, Cao Cao would also have more talented subordinates.

“Milord. Would you still want talents if they were commoners?” Guo Jia asked.

“Of course I want them! Fengxiao. You do have someone to recommend?” Cao Cao was the person who want such people the most. Even Guo Jia was from a poor family. Yet Guo Jia's knowledge was not inferior to the nobles.

This was one of the reasons Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao. Cao Cao respected people with talent while Yuan Shao only respected only nobles with talent. Yuan Shao had disdain for people of low status. That is how Guo Jia who originally served Yuan Shao ended up with Cao Cao.

“What if there were a hundred of them?” Guo Jia asked again.

Cao Cao thought for a moment. It may be difficult to accept them all if there were a hundred talented people from poor families. However, it was still possible. “Yes.”

“What if there are thousands of them?” Guo Jia asked again.

Cao Cao's expression finally changed. Does Cao Cao want those talents? Even if each of them only had a hundredth of Guo Jia talent, a thousand of them would make them worth ten Guo Jia. Of course Cao Cao wants them. But wanting them and being able to have them were different matters entirely.

Cao Cao could easily put ten people from poor families at various positions without trouble. It would be difficult to do the same for a hundred people but it was still possible. He could give the nobles some extra benefits on the side. But if there were a thousand people, the nobles would definitely get offended. The poor people would steal the jobs of the nobles. Cao Cao did not dare to do such a thing.

“Milord. Books are cheap now. The people will become educated and talents will emerge. They cannot become officials in Yanzhou and Zhili so where will they go?” Guo Jia asked.

Cao Cao was silent. Anyone could tell that they would go to Yangzhou. After taking Yangzhou's exam, they would become officials in Yangzhou. This was the opportunity that Liu Mang has given them.

Cao Cao would not have known about Guo Jia if it was not because of Xun Yu and Xun You introducing Guo Jia. How many more talented people are buried in the crowd?

“Can't we do the same as Yangzhou and hold exams?” Cao Cao had the idea of copying Liu Mang. If they also hold exams, then the talents would be split equally.

“Milord. Do you think we can?” Guo Jia shook his head bitterly. This officialdom is a large cake to the nobles. They have already allocated how big of a slice each of them receives. How could they allow Cao Cao to touch this cake? Sure there are people like Guo Jia getting hired. However, this was only a few of them. If Cao Cao allows this exam to recruit poor scholars, it would be like smashing the entire cake. It would also set a precedent and the advantage the nobles used to have would be gone forever. The nobles would definitely not allow this to happen.

Cao Cao hesitated. This was a big problem. He did not fear the nobles individually but even he would have to give up if it involved the entire noble society. Cao Cao now envied Liu Mang for being able to implement this system. One of the reasons Liu Mang could do this is because the nobles were entirely absent in the territories Liu Mang controlled. Even the ones that were there had already been subdued.

On the other hand, Cao Cao was different. His own family, the Cao Family, and the Xiahou Family were also nobles. Then there were the Xun Family, Sima Family, Ma Family and other powerful families who all contributed to his rise in power. Cao Cao only achieves his current position due to their support and Cao Cao would have to continue relying on them in the future. He cannot antagonize them.

Cao Cao then suggested restricting the circulation of books. If books do not entter Yanzhou and Zhili, then the talents from his territory would not go to Liu Mang.

Guo Jia objected while reminding Cao Cao of the First Emperor of Qin.

This was a legendary ruler who conquered six states with brilliant strategy. Yet even he was unable to prevent the spread of books. The burning of books and killing scholars was meant to destroy the philosophical treatise of Hundred Schools of Thought in favor of Legalism. Yet, Confucianism, one of the affected philosophies ended up growing stronger instead of getting wiped out.

Besides, even if Cao Cao wanted to stop it, the other warlords would still hand over their talents to Liu Mang.

“Then what can I do about this?” Cao Cao asked bitterly. It was as though he had no choice but to let this happen.

“Milord. Since the King of Shu has made up his mind to win the hearts of the poor, we should capture the hearts of the other party.” Guo Jia said to Cao Cao. The other party meant the nobles.

“Are you saying…!” Cao Cao's eyes glinted. Liu Mang's actions may have won the hearts of the common people but it also offended the nobles. They would want to destroy the King of Shu. The one who can help them accomplish this would be Cao Cao.

So if Liu Mang receives the favor of the common people, then Cao Cao would gain the support of the nobles.

Cao Cao's eyes glinted. For thousands of years, the nobles were the ones that commanded the world. It goes without saying that Cao Cao expected to win this.

“Milord. This is why we should help spread books even further. We should tell the nobles about how much the King of Shu cares for the people.”

As long as they help spread the word, they could make Liu Mang the enemy of every noble.

“Let's do this.” Cao Cao said with a hint of regret. When it comes to the poor commoners and the nobles, the nobles were ultimately more helpful.

After thinking of a strategy for Cao Cao, Guo Jia began coughing wildly. He had been so busy trying to think of a strategy that he forgot about the cold weather. His coughing made Cao Cao feel very distressed.

Cao Cao tried to comfort Guo Jia and immediately called a doctor.

“Milord. I am fine. I just need to rest for a while.” Guo Jia waved his hand.

“Quickly sit down and have some hot water. I'll get someone to escort you back to rest.” Cao Cao said with concern.

“Sorry for troubling you Milord.”

“Why should you be worried about troubling me?” Cao Cao said angrily.

“Haha.” Guo Jia laughed and looked at the handkerchief he coughed on. It had traces of blood on it. He then gave a forced smile.

“This is all my fault. If it was not because I could not pacify Hebei in such a long time, you would not be in such a cold place.” Cao Cao felt guilty. “Zhongkang. Go and send Fengxiao back!” Cao Cao ordered Xu Zhu who was waiting outside.

“Understood!” Xu Zhu nodded and then turned to Guo Jia. “Military Advisor. After you!”

“Alright.” Guo Jia did not refuse and walked back to his camp.

“Zhongkang. What do you think of the Lord?” Guo Jia asked Xu Zhu when he was sitting in the carriage.

“The Lord is a good person.” Xu Zhu was not good with words. Saying that someone is a good person was already highest praise he could give.

“What do you think if the Lord rules this world?” Guo Jia asked.

“The common people would be able to live in peace and the land would be prosperous.” Xu Zhu smiled honestly. He was not just Cao Cao's personal guard but also the head of the Xu Family. Under Cao Cao's rule, Yanzhou turned from a war torn ruins into a thriving granary. Though the war still left people hungry, they now had something to strive for. Once the war is over, the people would be able to eat their fill.

“Eat their fill?” Guo Jia had a look of determination as he hid the blood stained handkerchief into his sleeves.

The snow got heavier. In Youzhou, the Yuan brothers complained about the heavy snow. Their mood was affected by the bad weather. However, the snow was actually good for them since it meant that Cao Cao's siege would become less efficient. It was easier to defend Youzhou with the heavy snow.

Cao Cao frowned as he looked at the thick layer of frost on the city wall. The war was becoming more difficult to fight. Fortunately, his granary could still support the war.

Cao Cao looked at the stream of supplies being brought to camp and smiled bitterly. These provisions were not brought from Yanzhou but was from the nobles in Jizhou. Cao Cao did not force them to hand it over. They gave it to him willingly.

This support was the result of Cao Cao telling the Emperor to write an edict to praise Lord Qiao as the Second Sage and also to praise the King of Shu for cherishing talented people. It was good fortune for the rest of the world but Liu Mang become the noble's public enemy for touching their cake.

These nobles did not care whether it was Cao Cao or the Yuan Brothers come to power. Both sides would still make them officials. However, the King of Shu would prefer to make commoners officials. This meant that the King of Shu was taking away their benefits. Because of this, the nobles decided to help Cao Cao. The faster Cao Cao defeats the Yuan brothers, the faster he can deal with Liu Mang.

Seeing the supplies brought, Cao Cao's mood improved. He intended to use superior numbers to kill the Yuan Brothers. However, that good mood did not last long. He received news that his most trusted subordinate, Guo Jia, had collapsed.

“Fengxiao! Where is he?” Cao Cao rushed into the camp. Though they were supposed to go on siege, Cao Cao had ordered for the troops to withdraw.

“Milord. The Military Advisor is inside.” One guard said and showed the way. Cao Cao then entered Guo Jia's tent.

“Doctor. How is he?” Cao Cao asked in a panic.

“Milord. The Military Advisor has caught a cold.” The doctor replied.

“A cold?” It was just a regular cold that could be cured by drinking ginger tea or by taking medicine. The problem is that Guo Jia had several other diseases. The cold made his cough even worse.

“If something happens to Fengxiao, you will have to pay with your life!” Cao Cao had already lost his mind.

“Milord. Look at this.” Xu Zhu pointed at Guo Jia's clothes. There was a partially hidden handkerchief with blood on it.

“Milord. This is not an illness the Military Advisor received outside. It is something he received inside the palace.” The doctor replied calmly. He knew that Cao Cao was murderous but Cao Cao would not kill the innocent without reason. In other words, as long as the doctor can prove that he was unrelated to Guo Jia's current situation, Cao Cao would not kill him.

“Inside the palace?”

“Yes. I took a look and found that the Military Advisor has been ill for a long time. The cold made it worse.”

“Are you saying that Fengxiao already had symptoms of illness?”

The doctor nodded.

“Hmm?” At that moment, Guo Jia woke up.

“Milord. The Military Advisor has woken up.” Someone noticed Guo Jia's reaction and quickly told Cao Cao.

“Fengxiao! Fengxiao! Are you alright?” Cao Cao rushed to Guo Jia's side and asked with concern.

“Milord? Where am I?” Guo Jia looked at the people around him. Almost all the other military and civil officials had come to pay him a visit. Guo Jia then remembered that he fainted. Even in the past, he was fairly frail and fell sick easily. After falling sick many times, even he became a medical expert who could tell his body's own condition.

“Milord. Help me up.” Guo Jia struggled to get up. “I am fine, Milord. There is nothing to worry about.” Guo Jia said and started coughing again. This time, he was unable to hide the fact that he was coughing out blood.

“Milord. The Military Advisor is already ill and this cold place will just make it worse.” The doctor advised.

“Fengxiao. I order you to return to Yanzhou and recuperate immediately.” Cao Cao said angrily.

“Milord. I already said I am alright.” Guo Jia protested but how can you consider someone who was coughing out blood to be ‘alright'.

“No. You must return to Yanzhou no matter what!” Cao Cao glared.

“It is no use.” Guo Jia knew he could not persuade Cao Cao and could only smile bitterly. He knew he could no longer hide this. “Milord. Do you think I can still recover if I return to Yanzhou?” Guo Jia stretched out his hand and showed all the blood hidden in his palm.

“Fengxiao!” Cao Cao's eyes widened. “No!” Cao Cao seemed to have thought of something.

“Milord. Let me stay. I still have enough energy left to help you.” Guo Jia looked at Cao Cao calmly and said. Guo Jia had been forced back to Yanzhou by Cao Cao but he still came back and refused to leave even after getting scolded. This was not because Guo Jia did not care about his body but because he knew he was dying. Guo Jia had already consulted the imperial physician in Xudou. The imperial physician said that Guo Jia would not be able to recover at all. Since this was the case, Guo Jia decided to help Cao Cao while he still had the strength.

“No! No!” Cao Cao shook his head. “You can definitely be cured!” Cao Cao was hysterical. He remembered a talent named Xi Zhicai. That man helped Cao Cao pacify Yanzhou and half of Zhili. Unfortunately, he left Cao Cao early. “No. I cannot allow you to leave me. Fengxiao. Are you going to leave me like Zhongcai?” Cao Cao began to cry.

“Milord. Mengde. Cao Cao.” Guo Jia suddenly shouted. “You have to face reality. You are a hero! You are the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty. Show us your prestige instead of cry! Everyone will die sooner or later! It is already an honor for me to know you! Why are you crying when I, the dying person, is not crying?” Guo Jia said and laughed with ease.

“Tell me he can be saved!” Cao Cao turned to the doctor.

The doctor sighed. His experience told him that Guo Jia could not be saved and would not live for long.

“No! I am the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty! I say he can be saved so he must be saved! Who dares to disobey me?” Cao Cao was being unreasonable. “Tell me he can be saved!”

“I… I…” The doctor panicked when he saw Cao Cao's murderous glare.

“Milord. Calm down.” Cheng Yu who usually quarelled with Guo Jia held onto Cao Cao.

“Calm down? How can I calm down? I only want Fengxiao to be cured!” Cao Cao shouted loudly.

“Milord. We have already tried our best.” The military doctors all knelt down and begged.

“Milord. Even if you kill them, it is impossible to save the Military Advisor.” Cheng Yu said to Cao Cao.

“It is impossible? What do you mean it is impossible? I am Cao Mengde! Nothing is impossible for me! Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao said it was impossible for me to triumph against them but I proved them wrong! They all said that I, Cao Mengde, will not have much success but now I am the Prime Minister! Nothing is impossible!” Cao Cao said arrogantly.

“Let me tell you! If Fengxiao dies, then you all also don't need to live anymore! Is it possible now?” Cao Cao coldly said to the trembling doctors.

Guo Jia did not stop Cao Cao since he knew that this was borne out of Cao Cao's concern for him.

“It is possible!” The doctors quickly replied with fear.

“Then tell me how to save Fengxiao!” Cao Cao roared.

“Yangzhou!”

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