Chapter 18: Recruiting Talents, Cai Yong and Xun Yu

"Chen Gong? Quick, let him in!"

Ji Hao really felt the benefits of "fame" - before he had no fame, he and Cao Cao were struggling in Luoyang. They had to buy official positions and spend money to recruit people.

Apart from Guo Jia, the little fanboy, no one else paid attention to him.

But after the Yellow Turban Campaign was over, first Tong Yuan offered his spear skills to Zhao Zilong, and then came to Zhao Zilong for a buy one get one free deal, and now Chen Gong also came to him to ask for an official position.

Like a snowball, he could feel that his strength was growing rapidly.

"Chen Gong, I meet the general."

Chen Gong, who was only in his twenties at the time, bowed to Ji Hao and said, "I am grateful to the general for not abandoning me and accepting a humble scholar like me. I am willing to follow the general and do my best to help him!"

He was obviously very excited to see Ji Hao.

This is a real general with real power and a governor of a province. He has the opportunity to do great things in this era.

Although Chen Gong is also from a noble family, he belongs to a poor family. Although his ancestors were once wealthy, he is now not much different from ordinary people. Apart from being able to read books, he has no connections.

If he could get on Ji Hao's ship now, even if he was only a military strategist, he could display his talents.

With time, I am confident that I can at least become a county magistrate.

"Sir, I will welcome you with open arms." Ji Hao smiled and said, "I do have a big problem right now, and I'm eagerly waiting for someone to give me some advice!"

He threw the problem of Qingzhou in front of Chen Gong.

Of course, it wasn't that he was really helpless, but he wanted to test Chen Gong.

"My lord, are you worried about Qingzhou? You don't have to!" Chen Gong said, "The stubborn problem of Qingzhou is the Yellow Turban Rebellion, but you have enough troops to wipe it out. After taking Qingzhou, you can get sea salt from Donglai and sell it to feed the people of Qingzhou. Open up the Yellow River waterway and connect it with the 'Chengtian Ferry' being built in Luoyang, and use Kyoto as a transit point to send it to the western and northern states, which will be enough to make Qingzhou rich!"

Without knowing about "hybrid rice", he actually came up with a feasible solution.

If you think about it carefully, even ordinary princes without any external plug-ins can rely on this plan to develop Qingzhou and make it the foundation to support their own conquest of the world.

Ji Hao has hybrid rice, which can turn Qingzhou into a granary.

There is also a method for refining refined salt, which can refine the crude salt commonly used in this era and sell it at a higher price.

"However, no matter how good the plan is, someone has to execute it!" Thinking in his heart, Ji Hao looked at Cao Cao and Guo Jia and said, "Qingzhou has six counties. Except for the governor of Beihai who is still alive, the governors of the other five counties either fled or died in the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Now there are five vacant governor positions. Do you two have reliable talents to recommend to me?"

He just asked casually, not expecting too much.

Unexpectedly, the two men's eyes lit up when they heard this. Cao Cao was the first to say, "My teacher Cai Yong has been exiled for many years. I can write a letter to invite him to serve the Lord!"

Then Guo Jia also said: "I have a good friend named Xun Yu. You can write a letter to invite him to come!"

Ji Hao was very happy about this and immediately said, "Call them here, call them all here!"

He didn't know what Cai Yong's abilities were, but as a famous scholar of the time, his disciples must be spread all over the country. As long as he could come under his command, it would be a sign of the times.

Scholars and men of letters came to join the army one after another.

Minor officials like the county magistrate and county magistrate don’t have to worry anymore.

As for Xun Yu, he is as famous as Guo Jia and is very good at internal affairs. Having him under his command will definitely be a great help.

Some people may say that loyalty is a problem, and Xun Yu eventually turned against Cao Cao.

So the question is, was he openly opposed to Cao Cao?
Not!
It was Cao Pi and others who became too proud of themselves and broke the rules before they even ascended the throne.

If he has already ascended the throne, it is hard to say. Moreover, Ji Hao's self-proclaimed character is a descendant of the Zhou royal family, which also occupies a righteous position. He is not afraid of not being able to subdue Xun Yu!
"The more the better?" Cao Cao smiled and said, "Then I have two younger brothers in my family. No, four. My surname is Xiahou. There are two talented people in the Xiahou family who are good friends with me. I can write letters to each of them and invite them all to come!"

Finally, when the two of them sent the letter.

Not long after, two civil officials and four military officials arrived, a total of six talented people.

In addition to Cai Yong and Xun Yu mentioned above, there were also Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun, all of whom were first-rate generals. Some people might say that they were able to seize high positions because they followed Cao Cao, but don't forget that Cao was from a family of three dukes, and Xiahou was also from a noble family. However, only these four were the ones who really rose to prominence.

Is it possible that he has no real ability?
Apart from anything else, when it comes to deploying troops, the four of them are all experts.

His martial arts skills are also not weak.

He can even exchange a few moves with a peerless warrior and won’t be killed easily!
"Very good, your family generals will be under your command from now on!" Ji Hao said: "One division has 1,250 people, one general will lead two divisions, and 10,000 troops will be handed over to you!"

Then, he looked at Zhao Yun and said, "You haven't done much, so you can be my personal soldier for now. When you go to Qingzhou to fight against the Yellow Turbans and make meritorious contributions, I will make you the general of the second army!"

Hearing this, Zhao Yun immediately half-knelt down to express his gratitude.

But he was stopped by Ji Hao.

"No need to be polite, Zilong!"

Then, he conferred titles on civil officials. Cai Yong was a great Confucian scholar and had served as a high-ranking official. He was directly appointed by Ji Hao as the "Prefect of Le'an". He was the only one who was directly conferred an official title.

However, Guo Jia, Xun Yu and Chen Gong only received the position of "County Prime Minister".

They were respectively responsible for sea salt, agriculture, and water transportation.

Only those who do their job well can be promoted to become county magistrate, which can also be considered a kind of encouragement.

If you give something easily, the other party will not cherish it.

In addition, there is a vacant position of prefect with no candidate - that is a spur to everyone in the Ji camp, as long as they work hard, everyone will have a chance!

It's not a big pie.

But it is practical and leaves ordinary subordinates a chance to reach the top!

As for Zhou Cang, his martial arts skills were average, and he was not very good at arranging troops, so he was not suitable to be a military general. Therefore, Ji Hao appointed him as the "Commander of the Guards" to be responsible for his own safety.

If nothing else, at least when it comes to loyalty, this guy has no problems.

"Have the piers on both sides been built?"

Another half a month later, Ji Hao looked at the "bridge piers" that had been built on both sides of the river, tied a hemp rope with the spear in his hand, sprinted far away and threw it over with all his strength.

It was directly inserted into the opposite bridge pier.

This made Cao Hong, Cao Ren and others exclaim "divine power".

Zhao Zilong said in surprise: "This spear skill, 'One Throw of the Universe', has been used well by the lord, and it really suits him!"

It's not just about strength, it's also about the technique of exerting force and accuracy.

If it weren't for his skilled techniques and incredible supernatural powers, it would be impossible to do it.

"Build a suspension bridge to connect the two sides of the Yellow River!" After Ji Hao said this, he looked at the stone wall that had been chiseled under the bridge pier, and the ten large ships waiting on the surface of the Yellow River.

He added: "Cao Cao will lead 10,000 soldiers to stay behind and guard Chengtian Ferry. The rest of you will bring food and seeds and follow me to Qingzhou to build our base camp!"

(End of this chapter)