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

The culvert was pitch black, and a stench of silt and decay hit you, making you want to vomit.

The ground was slippery with wet stone slabs, making each step extremely difficult.

Xun Hao's body was already weakened, and this damp and cold air further aggravated his condition, causing a feeling of weakness and soreness throughout his body.

Half of his body weight was resting on Guo Jia's arm.

Guo Jia noticed his condition, but said nothing. He simply tightened his grip on the boy's arm and used his body heat to gradually dispel the chill that had invaded the boy's body.

The warmth traveled along the skin that touched him, filling the emptiness in Xun Hao's body and easing his tense nerves.

"It seems like something's blocking the way ahead." The guard at the front spoke in a low voice, tinged with tension.

The line stopped.

Guo Jia brought the tinderbox closer, and in the dim light, he saw that the passage ahead was mostly blocked by collapsed earth and rocks, leaving only a narrow gap that could only allow one person to crawl through.

"I'll go take a look first," a guard volunteered.

"No need," Xun Hao said, his voice not loud but exceptionally clear. "Take another thirty steps forward, and there's a raised dragon head stone carving on the left side of the stone wall. Press it down, and another backup passage will open up next to it."

Everyone stopped moving.

Guo Jia held up the tinderbox and looked at Xun Hao's face, which was flickering in and out of the light.

This kid... he's practically a living encyclopedia of the Yingchuan Secret Passage. The guard followed instructions and, sure enough, found a protruding stone carving on the cold stone wall. He pressed it down hard, and with a dull creak, the stone wall beside him slowly caved in, revealing an equally dark opening.

The awe and respect for this Eighth Prince in everyone's hearts deepened even further.

After passing through the backup passage, a faint light finally appeared ahead, and a breath of fresh air rushed in.

We've arrived at the export point.

Guo Jia was the first to emerge from the cave. Outside lay a desolate garden, overgrown with weeds taller than a person. After confirming that no one was around, he turned back and pulled Xun Hao out.

Fifty elite soldiers filed out silently and quickly disappeared into the garden.

In the distance, shouts of battle and the clanging of metal could be faintly heard, and the air within Yangdi City was filled with the scorching smell of blood and fire.

"Who goes there!"

Several patrolmen wielding long spears emerged from behind the bushes and cautiously surrounded them.

"We're on the same side!" The head guard beside Guo Jia flashed the Xun family's waist badge. "We've come to your aid on the orders of Lord Xun Kun!"

When the patrolmen saw the waist tag and looked at their well-equipped gear, the hostility on their faces faded and was replaced by a look of joy.

"Great! You've finally arrived! Quickly, Xun Shuang is holding a meeting in the front hall; I'll take you there!"

The front hall of the Xun family ancestral home has now become a temporary command post.

The hall was packed with people, all of them with bloodstained armor and solemn expressions. In the very center, an elderly man with half-white hair and beard, a gaunt face, but a ramrod straight back, was pointing at a huge city defense map and solemnly outlining the defenses.

He was Xun Shuang, one of the Eight Dragons of the Xun Clan and a renowned Confucian scholar.

"Young master, we've arrived." The patrolman stopped at the door.

Xun Hao straightened his wrinkled clothes and stepped into the hall.

Xun Shuang was looking at the map when he heard the noise and turned around. When he saw who it was, his deeply lined face showed astonishment.

"Ah Hao?"

What's he doing here? Shouldn't he be recuperating in Yingchuan?

"Uncle." Xun Hao bowed slightly, performing a standard clan salute.

"How did you get in? Bo Cai's army has besieged the city, and there's no way to get in."

"We took a shortcut," Guo Jia said casually, turning his gaze to Xun Hao, signaling him to speak.

Xun Hao steadied himself, the chill within him dissipating considerably, and his thoughts clearing. He stepped forward and briefly recounted the situation outside to Xun Shuang and the elders of the clan, explaining how they discovered the ambush, how they circled behind enemy lines, and how they used a feint to temporarily scare away the Yellow Turban army attacking the city.

His narration was calm and restrained, without the slightest exaggeration, but the danger and cunning it contained left everyone present terrified.

Xun Shuang listened in silence for a long time. He re-examined his youngest nephew.

In his memory, Ah Hao was still that quiet child who would sit in the corner of the study, holding a book and reading it all day long.

When did he grow to this level? His insight and decisiveness are simply unlike those of a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy.

"What's the situation inside the city?" Guo Jia interrupted everyone's thoughts.

Mentioning the city, the hope that had just been ignited dimmed again.

Xun Shuang sighed and led them to the city defense map. "The city has three thousand garrison troops, plus the household guards and protectors gathered by various families, making a total of no more than five thousand. Arrows and rolling stones are relatively plentiful, and tung oil is being collected. However, the situation is not optimistic."

"Then we can't let them attack the city," Xun Hao's voice rang out.

One hot-tempered uncle couldn't help but speak up: "Easy for you to say! We'd like to, but what can we use to stop them from attacking? Are we supposed to open the city gates and fight them to the death?"

Xun Hao ignored his roar and simply looked at Guo Jia.

Guo Jia understood, stepped forward, pointed to the exit of the underground ditch, and lazily said, "Who said we were going to attack head-on?"

He traced a clean arc on the map with his fingertip, from the exit of the culvert, around the flank of the Yellow Turban Army camp, then drew a circle back to the foot of the city wall.

"We can use this underground channel to send the city's elite troops out of the city in batches. During the day, they can lie in ambush in the mountains and forests, waiting for the right moment to strike. Nighttime is when they will make their move."

"Harassment?" Xun Shuang immediately understood.

"It's more than just harassment." Guo Jia's lips curled into a very faint smile. "We have hidden channels and forest trails known only to the locals. These are our hiding places. We can use them to send out small elite forces to constantly harass their camps. Tonight we'll burn a bunch of their tents, tomorrow morning we'll scare off a herd of warhorses. Hit and run, never lingering. Let them be unable to catch us, unable to defend against us, and can only watch helplessly as we come and go as we please."

"Bo Cai might not care about one or two losses. But what about ten or eight times? When his soldiers can't even get a good night's sleep, when they hold their rice bowls and have to worry about arrows shooting from who knows where, when they chase the enemy but can't even catch a glimpse of them... their spirits will collapse before their bodies."

After Xun Hao finished speaking, the hall fell silent. Everyone was stunned by his bold and unconventional tactical plan.

This isn't military strategy; it's clearly... a rogue's tactic.