Chapter Seventeen: A Generation of Heroes

  At that time, the governor of Chenliu was not Cao Cao, but Zhang Miao. However, due to Cao Cao's assassination of Dong Zhuo, his prestige far exceeded that of Zhang Miao.

  Arriving at the city gate, the soldiers naturally met and explained their intentions. Li Chong stood at the city gate to observe.

  The city wall of Chenliu City was over 20 feet high, and the gate was made of bluestone, about 15 feet high. Li Chong reached out to touch the gate, feeling the ancient atmosphere.

  Before long, a commotion arose inside the city. Li Chong hastily looked in to see over ten people walking towards him. The leader was about 1.7 meters tall, around thirty years old, with a beard under his chin and a pair of narrow eyes filled with smiles. Surrounded by the crowd, he exuded an air of confidence.

  "Cao Cao!" Li Zhong's heart shook, and judging from his appearance, he knew that this was the Wei Wu Emperor who shook the world.

  Seeing Li Zhong staring at him, Cao Cao hastened his pace and laughed loudly: "Is that not Pingzhou's Li Zihui? I'm late in welcoming you, please don't be offended."

  "There, Li Zhong was just a small official, but he was able to get General Cao to personally welcome him, making Li Zhong feel honored and surprised!" Li Zhong hastily walked over, saying repeatedly.

  At that time, Cao Cao's official position was Dianjun Xiaowei, and Li Zhong calling Cao Cao General was not inappropriate.

  Cao Cao took a look at the 200 soldiers brought by Li Zhong, and found that these people were standing still, their armor was neat, and they emitted a solemn and murderous aura. He couldn't help but brighten up in front of his eyes, and grasped Li Zhong's arm, saying: "Come, come, Zi Xuan has traveled far, hurry to the camp to rest, I'll have someone prepare wine and feast for you, to welcome you and wash away the dust."

  Li Chong smiled slightly and followed Cao Cao into the city. At this time, Cao Cao did not have such a big ambition yet, and he seemed very easy-going, giving people a feeling of being in a warm spring breeze.

  Cao Cao's barracks were located just north of Chenliu City, covering a large area, surrounded by wooden fences. Li Zhong could see soldiers training on the drill ground through the fence, with shouts and cries echoing incessantly.

  The time on the road was too short, and Li Chong could only see that Cao Cao's soldiers had some discipline, but before he could learn from Cao Cao's military training methods, they had already arrived outside Cao Cao's large tent.

  It has been over ten days since Cao Cao started his campaign, and he was able to train a group of scattered soldiers to such an extent. Li Zhong couldn't help but feel some admiration for Cao Cao, while at the same time increasing his vigilance against him by several degrees.

  When they arrived at the account, everyone took their seats as host and guest. Li Chong introduced Taishi Ci and Liao Hua to Cao Cao, who set up a wine table and accompanied them personally.

  Through Cao Cao's introduction, Li Zhong was shocked to find that Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Li Dian, Yue Jin and Yu Jin were all in the tent. Among the various vassals, if one were to discuss martial generals, the current Cao Cao indeed deserves to be called a mighty general like clouds.

  This is not Cao Cao overestimating Li Zhong, but rather Li Zhong arrived too quickly. Now Cao Cao has only recruited three thousand men and horses, most of whom were brought by Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren. It's already a lot for Li Zhong to bring two hundred people, let alone that Cao Cao can see at a glance that the soldiers under Li Zhong are all seasoned veterans, how can he not be envious.

  He presented wine and dishes, Cao Cao raised his cup and said: "This cup of wine will be used by Cao to welcome Zi Hui and wash away the dust. Thank you for coming to assist me, Zi Hui, in defeating the rebels, it's been a hard journey." After finishing speaking, Cao Cao drained his cup in one gulp.

  Li Zhong hastily followed with a drink and laughed: "Meng De, you're too kind. I'd say that among all the Li's in the world, I admire Cao Gong the most. He dared to assassinate Dong Zhuo in the capital, raised an army in Chenliu, and was a loyal minister of the great Han dynasty, unmatched by anyone."

  Cao Cao heard this and sighed bitterly, "I never thought that the great Han dynasty would decline to such a state. First, there were the Yellow Turbans, then Dong Zhuo's tyranny... it's really heartbreaking!"

  Li Chong looked at Cao Cao's dejected and sorrowful appearance, puzzled in his heart. Looking at Cao Cao's expression, it didn't seem like he was pretending! Could it be that this time Cao Cao rose up in arms, truly for the sake of the Great Han court?

  "But he said, 'Dong Zhuo is cruel and inhumane, privately deposing the young emperor. His wolfish ambition has already been exposed, and everyone under heaven can kill him. Li Jue's arrival this time was just to slightly exhaust his strength.'"

  After three rounds of wine, Cao Cao asked: "I don't know if you have come to assist in the execution of Dong Zhuo this time, or..."

  Cao Cao's words were ambiguous, but Li Chong knew what he meant. He smiled bitterly and said: "I'm not satisfied with Brother Meng De, I still have things to do at home. This time I came because I was moved by Meng De's righteous act of punishing Dong Zhuo. Once this matter is settled, I will have to return to my hometown. It's really difficult for me to follow you around."

  "Besides, Meng De has many brave generals under his command. I'm not worthy of his favor." Li Zhong said with a self-deprecating smile.

  As soon as the words fell, a hum was heard from inside the big account. Li Chong turned his head to look, and it was Xiahou Dun, Cao Cao's first fierce general.

  If only considering martial arts, before Xu Chu and Dian Wei defected to Cao Cao, Xiahou Dun's martial arts were absolutely the first in Cao's camp. Even in the later period, Zhang Liao and Xu Huang's martial arts were slightly inferior to Xiahou Dun. However, Xiahou Dun had a flaw in his character, which was that he was extremely arrogant, almost identical to Guan Yu.

  Li Zhong refused Cao Cao's recruitment, which made Xiahou Dun feel very unhappy and thought Li Zhong was ungrateful.

  Xiahou Dun suddenly said, "This General Taishi is under Li Ziyue's command, right? He looks like he's quite skilled in martial arts. I wonder if he'd be interested in a friendly match with me to loosen up our muscles?"

  Cao Cao's eyebrows furrowed, and he glared at Xiahou Dun, saying: "Yuan Tan, do not be impolite. Zi Huan has come from afar, naturally very tired, if you want to compete, let's talk about it tomorrow."

  Cao Cao superficially rebuked Xiahou Dun, but did not stop him from challenging Taishi Ci. His thoughts were the same as Xiahou Dun's, which was to suppress Li Chong and make him aware that there is a higher authority beyond his own, showcasing some of his own strength and making Li Chong yield. To be honest, Xiahou Dun was also a knowledgeable military strategist who highly valued the soldiers trained by Li Chong, hence he had this plan.

  "No need to wait till tomorrow, Taishi Ci has heard that General Xiahou's martial arts are extraordinary and wants to experience it for himself." Taishi Ci suddenly smiled and put down his wine cup.

  As the saying goes, a chess player meets his match and a general encounters a worthy opponent. By the time Li Chong arrived, he had already spoken countless times about the situation of Cao's camp generals, especially praising some people's martial arts skills. Several people present were within Li Chong's range of mention, and Taishi Ci was also a good fighter, how could he show weakness?

  Furthermore, Taishi Ci also understood the intention of this visit, which was to make a name for himself. Having exceptional martial arts skills was also a kind of fame, and every soldier hoped that their general would have superior martial arts skills, capable of defeating hundreds of enemies single-handedly.

  "Alright, let's see General Taishi's martial arts." Xiahou Dun pushed the wine cup away, stood up and walked out of the tent.

  Cao Cao hastily got up and called out to Xiahou Dun, whispering a few words in his ear. Xiahou Dun nodded repeatedly, casting a sidelong glance at Taishi Ci.

  Li Chong guessed that Cao Cao was hinting at something, probably just showing mercy. Seeing Cao Cao whispering to himself, Li Chong suddenly felt a bit ridiculous. Xiahou Dun was highly skilled in martial arts, but you think Taishi Ci is not even worth mentioning.