"What a fine rhapsody! Truly extraordinary! Who wrote it?"
Lu Kang sat beside Cao Mao, marveling over the work in his hands.
Cao Mao smiled and said, "A lad at the Imperial Academy wrote it. He is only fifteen or sixteen by nominal reckoning. This rhapsody is admittedly a little immature..."
Lu Kang was astonished. "So young?"
He looked again at the rhapsody in his hands and said with feeling, "When this boy grows up, will he not be another Zhang Maoxian?"
"I think that, in literature alone, this lad could surpass Zhang Maoxian and stand comparison with King Chen Si."
"I had not expected Your Majesty to think so highly of him."
To people of this time, Cao Zhi held the status of an unparalleled idol, without precedent or successor.
Understanding dawned on Lu Kang. "Your Majesty mentioned a promising youngster whom I could teach. Could this be the child?"
Cao Mao laughed heartily. "Of course not! The child I meant is a Di. He has come to Luoyang with his elder brother to take the assessment!"
"I see that he wishes to learn. Why not keep him beside you, Lord Lu, and teach him the many principles of deploying troops and governing the realm?"
"Oh?"
"What is so special about this boy that Your Majesty values him so highly?"
"The lad is clever, brave, and powerfully built. He has a steady temperament, with firmness tempered by restraint, and often upholds justice and fights injustice for people in various places... With careful teaching, such a man could accomplish great deeds."
Lu Kang nodded thoughtfully. "Then I can certainly make time to meet him."
Only then did Cao Mao ask, "Lord Lu, I wish to follow Sun Quan's example and send men overseas to have the people there come and