Some of the scholars who were more stubborn, or had no old acquaintances willing to help them, saw this and simply came to ask the Zhao Family Army for assistance.
The Guardian General Pingyi thought for a moment and let them eat with the guard army, two meals a day; whatever the officers and soldiers ate, they would eat. If they camped in the open at night, he would also give them some bedding and allow them to pitch camp alongside the army.
The number of scholars coming to seek protection grew and grew, but Pingyi did not take in just anyone. If they could not explain their family background, could not recite a few pages of their genealogy, or if their clothes and ornaments still looked fairly decent, he would not help them.
Even so, the number of scholars he took in kept increasing.
