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

On the fourth day, the prophecy on the lamp read: "Outrage from both gods and men, the precious steed has gone mad."

That night, Liu Shi's most beloved Ferghana horse suddenly went berserk in the stable, crashed through the fence, trampled and injured several grooms, and finally died from exhaustion.

No one knew that Xun You's intelligence agents had already mixed some herbs into the horse feed that could make the livestock go crazy.

On the fifth day, at dusk, a dark cloud drifted over Shanyang, and hailstones the size of beans pelted down, exactly as the prophecy on the lamp had been written. Liu Shi panicked completely. Before the sixth day had even arrived, the gates of Shanyang were wide open, and a group of Yellow Turban soldiers were preparing to sneak away under the cover of night when they were caught red-handed by Cao Hong. It turned out that Liu Shi had died of fright the previous night, and the remaining Yellow Turban soldiers were disoriented and only wanted to escape Shanyang.

The news reached Puyang overnight, and Cao Ren led 5,000 elite troops to the gates of Shanyang City.

The Yellow Turban soldiers on the city wall were already in a state of panic, and now, seeing the ferocious Cao army outside the city, they had no will to fight whatsoever.

Cao's army indeed captured Shanyang without shedding a drop of blood.

Cao Cao was overjoyed, and the news of the victory in Shanyang County quickly spread throughout Yanzhou.

Days passed, and without Guo Jia to recharge him, he used the last plan twice, leaving him barely at 50% energy. He was listless, which Xun Yu saw as a sign of lovesickness. Just when Xun Hao was about to lose patience, a fast horse finally arrived from afar, bringing Guo Jia's first letter.

The letter arrived along with an urgent military report. Xun You first presented the official document to Cao Cao, and then handed the separately sealed private letter to Xun Hao.

"Fengxiao said you should open it yourself," Xun You said with a hint of helplessness. His uncle was becoming increasingly difficult to manage, abusing his power for personal gain.

Xun Hao returned to his room, closed the door, and then carefully opened the envelope.

On the letter was Guo Jia's flamboyant and unrestrained handwriting.

"As if personally instructed:"

Seeing this letter is like seeing you in person. I've been away from home for half a month and I miss you dearly.

This journey westward has been filled with devastation. Liu Dai is incompetent; his counties are nearly deserted, and the people are displaced. Fortunately, our lord's reputation has spread far and wide, and his "Qingtian" policy has won the hearts of the people. Along the way, I have gathered many of Liu Dai's former followers. Hearing that our lord does not kill surrendered soldiers and even distributes land to them, they are all willing to join us. Now, I have more than three thousand soldiers under my command.

The other day, near Rencheng, I happened to meet Miaocai and Mr. Yuncheng. They had also gathered more than two thousand of General Bao Tao's remaining troops. Miaocai and I discussed that bringing these five thousand men back to Puyang would be a long journey and would consume a lot of provisions. It would be better to forage for food locally.

Rencheng is a well-fortified city with ample supplies, and the Yellow Turban rebels have taken up residence there—a stroke of good fortune coming to our doorstep. I have already persuaded Miaocai to join forces and besiege Rencheng.

This city is my birthday gift to my lord. I will return home when the city falls.

Don't worry about it.

Written by Fengxiao himself.

Xun Hao looked at the end of the letter, at the sentence "When the city falls, I will return home," and couldn't help but smile.

But when his gaze fell on the words "birthday gift," the smile on his face froze.

He remembered clearly that Cao Cao's birthday was in July.

It's only March now.

Cao Cao was in his study, staring intently at a map. Xun Hao's strategy had allowed him to capture Shanyang without bloodshed, and Cheng Yu had led his troops to pacify several surrounding counties, essentially pacifying the eastern part of Yanzhou. Now, his gaze was fixed on Rencheng and Jibei in western Yanzhou.

These places were all tough nuts to crack. Rencheng, in particular, was heavily fortified and had been occupied by the Yellow Turban army for a long time; a direct assault would inevitably result in heavy losses. His original plan was to first stabilize the rear, implement the "Qingtian" policy, accumulate grain and fodder, and then launch an attack after the autumn harvest.

Just then, Xun Hao walked in.

"My lord."

"Yanruo is here, please sit." Cao Cao gestured to the seat opposite him. "Does he have any new ideas?"

Xun Hao didn't stand on ceremony, "Has my lord read Fengxiao's official document?"

Cao Cao picked up the official document and scanned it quickly. When he saw that Guo Jia had gathered 5,000 troops and joined forces with Xiahou Yuan to prepare to attack Rencheng, he couldn't help but frown.

Nonsense!

Rencheng is not a city that can be attacked so easily. The five thousand men under Guo Jia's command are mostly newly recruited surrendered soldiers, whose hearts are not yet won over, and their fighting strength is questionable. Although Xiahou Yuan is brave, with only this number of troops, trying to take down Rencheng, such a tough nut to crack, is tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock.

But when his gaze continued downwards and he saw the words, "This city is my birthday gift to my lord," Cao Cao was completely stunned.

Birthday gift?

His birthday falls in the sweltering heat of July, but now it's still chilly in early spring, and there are four months to go until his birthday. Is Guo Fengxiao drunk, or has he lost his mind?

Cao Cao raised his head and looked at Xun Hao, his eyes full of questions.

Xun Hao suppressed a laugh and explained in a serious tone, "Brother Fengxiao, perhaps you mean... to offer birthday wishes to our lord four months in advance. The gift is more substantial, and the sentiment is more meaningful, making it seem more sincere."

"..." Cao Cao's lips twitched. He would never believe Xun Hao's nonsense. This was clearly Guo Jia wanting to fight but afraid that Cao Cao would disagree, so he deliberately came up with this absurd excuse to shut him up.

"Even Miao Cai is indulging in his nonsense!" Cao Cao paced back and forth in his study. It would take at least three days for the military order to be issued.

Three days is enough time for Guo Jia to create a huge mess in the sky.

However, Xiahou Yuan, who was far away in Rencheng, had already been persuaded by Guo Jia.

The Yellow Turban leader was named Xu He, a farmer with some cleverness. Seeing that Cao Cao's army was powerful, he dared not go out of the city to fight. He could only close the city gates and strengthen the defenses, while sending messengers to other Yellow Turban strongholds in the surrounding area to ask for help.

However, several days passed, and the messenger pleading for help vanished without a trace, leaving no reply. Meanwhile, the Cao army camp outside the city grew more and more bustling each day.

On the first day, Cao Cao's camp appeared to have only five or six thousand men.

The next day, the camp expanded significantly to the east, and the number of tents and cooking fires almost doubled.

On the third day, a large camp appeared to the south, with banners waving and figures bustling about. A rough estimate suggests that Cao Cao's army outside the city numbered between twenty and thirty thousand.

Xu He stood on the city wall, looking at the endless rows of tents, his legs trembling.

"What... what's going on? How come Cao Cao's reinforcements arrived so quickly?" he asked his adjutant beside him in a trembling voice.

The lieutenant was also terrified. "Commander, I'm afraid... I'm afraid Cao Cao's main force has arrived! We... we're surrounded!"

Inside the central command tent of the main camp, Guo Jia was lying lazily on a couch, playing with the double fish jade pendant that he had tricked Xun Hao out of a few years ago.

He has been away from Puyang for ten days.

I wonder how Yanruo is doing, whether she's taking her medicine on time, whether she's cold at night, and whether she's lost weight again.

That longing, like an alcoholic craving, tormented his heart and made him restless.

By the fifth day, Cao Cao's camp outside Rencheng had expanded several times over, with densely packed tents stretching from the east to the west of the city, banners fluttering, and seemingly endless.