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

Outside the city, in the central command tent of the Yellow Turban Army.

Qu Shuai Bo Cai was discussing the plan to attack the city with several deputy generals.

Bo was a burly man with a full beard, who looked quite imposing.

He was originally a junior officer in the Eastern Han Dynasty's border army, but he was forced to become an outlaw after offending his superior.

After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he raised an army and, with his ruthlessness and the little knowledge he had learned in the army, managed to conquer a considerable territory and gather tens of thousands of followers.

"General, our scouts report that there are fewer than two thousand soldiers defending Yingchuan City, and Prefect Guo Xun is a cowardly and useless man. In my humble opinion, we only need to send ten thousand troops; one charge and we can take the city!" a lieutenant said confidently.

Bo Cai nodded; he had the same idea.

Just then, the deafening sound of drums came from the city wall.

"Hmm?" Bo Cai frowned. "What's going on in the city?"

Soon, a scout reported: "Report! General, there are... there are suddenly many more soldiers on the city wall! Banners are waving, drums are beating loudly, and judging from their appearance, there are at least... tens of thousands!"

"What? Tens of thousands of people?" Bo Cai was taken aback. He personally stepped out of the tent and looked towards the city wall.

Sure enough, on the distant city wall, there was a dense crowd of people, stretching as far as the eye could see. Countless banners fluttered in the wind, and the overwhelming momentum made his heart skip a beat.

"The intelligence is wrong?" Bo Cai's face instantly darkened. "Wasn't it said that the garrison was less than two thousand? Where did these tens of thousands of people come from?"

His lieutenants looked at each other in disbelief.

"General, could this...could this be a feint by the enemy?" a shrewd lieutenant whispered. "I've heard that there are many powerful families in Yingchuan, especially the Xun family, whose disciples and former officials are scattered throughout the land. Could it be that they've summoned reinforcements from somewhere?"

Upon hearing this, Bo Cai's expression turned even more unpleasant.

He had naturally heard of the renowned Xun family of Yingchuan. This family was famous for its wisdom and cunning, and their forte was these kinds of intrigues and schemes.

If there are indeed tens of thousands of garrison troops in the city, plus Xun's strategists in charge, then this nut to crack will be difficult to crack.

He was naturally suspicious, preferring to believe something was true rather than not.

"Pass on my orders!" Bo Cai hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose the safer option. "Postpone the attack today! The entire army will set up camp and send out scouts to ascertain the city's strength and weaknesses!"

It wasn't until evening that Bo Cai started cooking, and everyone knew that the day had passed safely.

On the city tower, Prefect Guo Xun looked at the Yellow Turban army outside the city, now silent and subdued, and the heart that had been in his throat finally settled back into his stomach.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and his gaze toward Guo Jia changed, from disdain and suspicion to warmth and reliance.

"Mr. Guo, you are truly a divine being! With just a few drumbeats, you scared away the enemy army!" Guo Xun was so excited that he was almost incoherent, grabbing Guo Jia's sleeve tightly. "With such a brilliant plan, sir, the defense of Yingchuan is just around the corner! Just around the corner!"

Guo Jia calmly pulled his sleeve out of his hand, his face still showing that lazy expression, as if he had just done something insignificant.

"Your Excellency is too kind," he yawned. "This is just a temporary measure; it may fool them for a while, but it won't fool them forever. Bo Cai is inherently suspicious; having suffered a loss today, he will surely send someone to investigate tomorrow. The real battle is yet to come."

After descending the city wall, Xun Yu walked to his side, looking at the endless camps outside the city, his worry did not lessen in the slightest: "Fengxiao, you just said that you wanted to delay until the imperial reinforcements arrived. But now the eight provinces are engulfed in flames of war, and the imperial court is too busy to take care of itself. Who knows when the reinforcements will arrive?"

"Who said we should wait for the imperial court's reinforcements?" Guo Jia raised his flirtatious eyes, a sly smile on his face. "I said we should wait for reinforcements, just to give Prefect Guo something to look forward to, so he won't be the first to surrender."

"Then what is your real plan?" Xun Yu pressed.

Guo Jia did not answer immediately; he turned to look at Xun Hao, who had been standing quietly to the side.

The boy was looking up at him, his clean eyes filled with focus and trust, as if he would believe whatever the boy said unconditionally.

Being looked at like that, Guo Jia's mood inexplicably improved, and his mischievous side resurfaced.

"Ah Hao, what do you think we should do next?"

Xun Hao was taken aback by the sudden question. He knew, of course, about the Battle of Yingchuan in history, in which the government troops led by Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun were the ones who ultimately relieved the siege.

But now, Guo Jia clearly has no intention of following that old path.

He certainly wanted to hear such a brilliant idea, so he shook his head, moved closer to Guo Jia, and whispered, "I will believe whatever Brother Fengxiao says. But... but I'm a little scared."

As he spoke, his hand unconsciously gripped the hem of Guo Jia's clothes.

This wasn't entirely an act; the oppressive feeling emanating from the massive army of 50,000 outside the city was real. More importantly, although his internal energy levels remained stable due to his proximity to Guo Jia, this feeling of being on the brink of death made him instinctively crave more warmth and security.

Guo Jia felt his clothes being gently tugged, and looking down, he saw the boy's pale face and tightly pursed lips. That look of dependence mixed with a little fear greatly satisfied the vanity in Guo Jia's heart.

"What's there to be afraid of?" He reached out and habitually ruffled Xun Hao's soft hair, his tone filled with a tenderness he himself didn't realize. "With you, Brother Fengxiao, here, the sky won't fall down."

After calming Xun Hao down, he turned to Xun Yu and said, "Bo Cai's army's rations won't last more than ten days. He wants a quick victory, but we won't let him have his way. We'll launch a night attack."

"A night raid?" Xun Yu frowned. "Fengxiao, this is too risky. Our forces are already at a significant disadvantage. If we launch a night raid and get bogged down, we might not even be able to get back to the city."

"Brother Wenruo, don't be in such a hurry." Guo Jia waved his hand, his lazy demeanor returning. He pulled Xun Hao to the edge of the city wall and pointed to the endless Yellow Turban army camps below.

"Look at them. The tents are set up haphazardly, the patrolling sentries are listless, and even the chevaux-de-frise and trenches are dug perfunctorily. This is no army coming to attack the city; it's clearly a bunch of headless flies."

Xun Hao looked in the direction Guo Jia pointed and couldn't help but admire his keen eye. The Yellow Turban army's camp was indeed completely disorganized, with sparse clusters of trees and scattered fires, clearly a result of a lack of unified command.

They were more like a collection of numerous small groups than a disciplined army.