The Three Kingdoms: The entire Cao Cao camp thought I was weak and frail.

"Haha...hahahaha!"

A burst of suppressed laughter suddenly shattered the deathly silence of the study.

Cao Cao straightened up, put his hands on his hips, and laughed loudly, his laughter filled with a long-suppressed joy and ruthlessness.

"Excellent! Excellent Xun Yanruo! Excellent Xun Yanruo!"

He laughed until tears almost streamed down his face, then suddenly bent over and pressed his hands on Xun Hao's shoulders so hard that Xun Hao's body swayed slightly.

"You...you are truly a treasure bestowed upon me by heaven! Having you is more valuable than having ten thousand elite soldiers!"

"He's my darling," Guo Jia muttered to himself. Although he knew that his lord's feelings for Xun Hao were purely admiration, he couldn't help but feel a little resentful.

"My lord," Xun Hao raised his eyes, "these grains, in name, belong to the gentry of various places in Yanzhou. But in reality, they are 'ownerless property'."

"Unclaimed property?" Cao Cao pondered these four words, his eyes shining even brighter.

"The Yellow Turban Rebellion swept through Yanzhou, turning countless villages into scorched earth and displacing countless people. These powerful families, protecting themselves behind closed doors, hoarded grain and fodder, claiming it as their own property. Who can guarantee that some of it wasn't obtained through illicit means and plunder?"

Xun Hao's words were piercing to the heart.

"Our lord was appointed by the late emperor, and it is his duty to quell the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Now that the main force of the Yellow Turbans has been destroyed, it is only right to wipe out the remnants and confiscate the bandits' stolen goods. These granaries hidden in the mountains and fields, not recorded in the official register, do not belong to the Bi family, nor to the Cheng family. They belong to the Yellow Turban Army."

Even if those powerful families suffered in silence, they could only swallow their anger and resentment.

Each prefectural governor's office has their land deeds. These granary sites do not belong to the aristocratic families. Moreover, Cao Cao said they belonged to the Yellow Turban Army, and the surrendered Yellow Turban leaders said they hid them in the mountains, so they belonged to the Yellow Turban Army.

"Pass on my orders!" Cao Cao abruptly stood up, without the slightest hesitation, and shouted loudly towards the door, "Order Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Li Dian, and Yue Jin to come to the study immediately for a meeting!"

The order was given, and within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, six generals, fully armored, strode into the study.

"Come here, all of you!" Cao Cao beckoned to them.

The six people gathered around, and when they heard Xun Hao's explanation and saw the meaning of the markings on the map, each of them showed the same shock and ecstasy.

"Yuanrang!" Cao Cao pointed his finger heavily at the red dot in Dongping County. "I'm giving you three thousand soldiers. You must take Mengshan before dawn! Remember, you're going to suppress bandits. Everything in the mountains is spoils of war!"

Xiahou Dun's eyes gleamed, and he pounded his breastplate: "This subordinate obeys!"

"Miao Cai! Take three thousand men and go to Rencheng! I want you to bring back everything from that Cheng family manor within three days, not a single grain of rice missing!"

"Zixiao! Your target is the Xue family of Shanyang!"

"Zilian..."

Cao Cao issued orders one after another like a whirlwind, and the six generals accepted the orders one by one, their eyes burning with fighting spirit.

"This matter must be carried out with swift and decisive action; not a single word can be leaked!" Cao Cao's gaze swept over the crowd, his voice cold. "After each unit leaves the city, block all roads. If any member of the gentry attempts to tip off the enemy, kill them without exception!"

"Here you go!"

The six men responded in unison, their voices shaking the roof tiles.

Soon, the generals received their orders and left, and the study returned to silence.

Cao Cao stared at the empty doorway, letting out a long breath as if releasing all the pent-up emotions in his chest. He turned around, looking at Xun Hao, who was still kneeling in the same spot, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"Yanruo, once this plan is devised, there will be no room for maneuver for me and the gentry of Yanzhou."

"Does my lord desire to be a governor who is subject to others' constraints, or a powerful ruler whose words carry on the law?" Xun Hao calmly countered.

Cao Cao was taken aback, then burst into laughter again.

He walked over, personally helped Xun Hao up, and patted him on the shoulder: "You're right. How can we talk about pacifying the chaotic world when we're controlled by others?"

After saying that, he strode out of the study; he was going to personally oversee the army.

Inside the room, only Xun Hao and Guo Jia remained.

Guo Jia remained silent, watching as Xun Hao calmly offered his strategy, as Cao Cao decisively made his decision, and as a bloody storm that was about to sweep across the entire Yan Province was settled in just a few words.

"You seem... to loathe them?" Guo Jia broke the silence.

He wasn't asking about a particular family, but rather "them"—all the powerful and influential families in Yanzhou, and even the entire country.

Xun Hao gently placed the wolf-hair brush, now completely soaked in cinnabar, back on the brush holder. "Brother Fengxiao, you've misunderstood. I don't dislike them."

"Oh?" Guo Jia raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing it.

"Aristocratic families can have integrity, but they cannot have privileges. It is good to pass on virtue and establish oneself through knowledge. But once they monopolize knowledge, official positions, and land, and regard the world as their own property, they will no longer be the foundation of the country, but rather a worm clinging to the bones, which will eventually hollow out the edifice."

Upon hearing this, Guo Jia fell into deep thought.

Xun Yu and Xun You also came from the Xun clan of Yingchuan. They also disliked those greedy and unrestrained aristocratic families, but their ideas were more about restraint and education, and they never pointed directly to the foundation of their existence like Xun Hao.

"Take Kong Rong, the Chancellor of Beihai, for example," Xun Hao said with a hint of sarcasm. "Kong Wenju is a descendant of a sage, a great Confucian scholar renowned throughout the land. Yet when the Yellow Turbans crossed Qingzhou, he held a fortified city and had a fierce general like Taishi Ci under his command, but he closed his doors to protect himself and dared not fight. He allowed the bandits to ravage the people. Is this the behavior of a disciple of a sage?"

He paused, then his tone suddenly shifted, becoming sharp.

"The ancient sage traveled throughout the states, teaching without discrimination. He had three thousand disciples, seventy-two of whom were virtuous. He never inquired about their backgrounds. If he were alive today, seeing this scene, he would probably have taken off his Confucian robes and grabbed his sword. How could he be like his unworthy descendants, who only talk about etiquette and watch the people suffer?"

A flash of surprise crossed Guo Jia's eyes. He had seen too many Confucian scholars who followed the rules and regulations, and also many eccentric scholars who went against the grain, but never had anyone dared to analyze the sage in such a way.

Xun Hao continued speaking.

"Look at the Yang family of Hongnong, who held high office for four generations; and the Yuan family of Runan, whose disciples and former officials were all over the country. When Dong Zhuo was in the capital, they were not thinking about how to save the country, but about how to protect their families and how to seize power in the new chaos. To them, the common people were nothing more than crops in the fields, to be taken and exploited at will."

"The foundation upon which they depend for survival is the 'recommendation of filial and incorruptible officials.' For someone who has not been tested or trained in government affairs to govern a region based solely on their reputation is the greatest irresponsibility towards the people under their rule."

How are teachers tested?

"Exam," Xun Hao uttered.

"An exam?" Guo Jia asked, puzzled.

"That's right. Regardless of background or reputation, only talent matters. If you want to be an official, come and take the exams held by our lord. The written exam will test your knowledge of the classics, your policy essays, and your mathematics; the interview will test your eloquence, your adaptability, and your character. The capable will rise, and the mediocre will fall. In this way, our lord will obtain truly capable talents who can be of use to him, rather than a group of noble sons who only know how to talk big."