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

Many of Xun Hao's soldiers were converted from refugees. Seeing this scene, they felt the same way, and their eyes turned red. The veins on their hands gripping their weapons bulged.

Silent anger spread through the ranks.

Xun Hao's face was also very pale. His stomach churned, and he barely managed to hold it in. This was war—cold, bloody, and utterly inhuman.

"Have the scouts speed up and advance ten miles, reporting back on the enemy's situation at any time," Xun Hao ordered the guards beside him.

"Yes, Eighth Young Master!" The guard accepted the order and left.

The group traveled for about an hour when the scouts at the front rode back on horseback, looking flustered.

"Report! My lord! A large force of Yellow Turban rebels has been spotted five miles ahead! They have occupied the key passage of the canyon and are lying in ambush in the forests on both sides. It seems they intend to ambush us!"

coming!

Xun Hao's heart skipped a beat. He knew that the real test was only just beginning.

He immediately ordered: "All troops halt! Defend in place!"

The troops quickly stopped, with shield bearers in front, archers behind, and spearmen in the center, soon forming a standard defensive formation.

Xun Hao and Guo Jia, escorted by a group of personal guards, climbed to a high slope nearby and looked into the distance.

The official road ahead was sandwiched between two high mountains, forming a natural canyon with extremely treacherous terrain.

Once inside, the enemies in the mountains on both sides, positioned high above, would unleash a barrage of arrows, with unimaginable consequences.

"What a clever trap." Guo Jia frowned. "Among these Yellow Turban rebels, there must have been some left behind to cover the retreat. They set up an ambush here beforehand. If we rashly rush in, we'll be in deep trouble."

Xun Hao stared at the map, his face grave. This canyon was the shortest official road to Yangdi. Taking a detour would add at least half a day to the journey. The situation in Yangdi was constantly changing; they couldn't afford any delay.

"We can't take a detour," Xun Hao said. "We don't have time."

"If we don't take a detour, we'll have to force our way through." Guo Jia shook his head. "We only have a thousand men, and we have no idea how many the enemy has ambushed. Forcing our way through would be like throwing an egg against a rock."

"Then force them out of the mountains."

"How do you force me?" Guo Jia looked at him.

"Set the mountain on fire." Xun Hao's tone was very calm.

Guo Jia paused for a moment, then smiled wryly: "Xiao Haozi, it's spring now, and the forest is very humid. It's not that easy to start a fire. Even if it could, the wind direction wouldn't be right. We might end up getting smoked ourselves."

Xun Hao still has one last trump card.

Xun Hao closed his eyes. He didn't want Guo Jia to see what was about to happen to him.

[Last Plan]

"Brother Fengxiao," he said, his eyes clear when he opened them again, though his face was paler than before. "I have a plan."

Mountains, rivers, roads, forests... everything was reconstructed in his mind into a three-dimensional sand table, precise down to every step.

The enemy's ambush locations, troop distribution, commanders' flags, and even their hidden sentries were clearly marked.

Approximately one thousand Yellow Turban soldiers were ambushed on both sides of the canyon. Eight hundred were in the mountains on the left, and two hundred on the right. Their commander was on a high point in the mountains on the left.

Countless escape routes were generated on the sand table, only to be marked as dead ends.

"What method?" Guo Jia frowned even more as he looked at the boy's pale face. Something was very wrong with this kid; it was as if all his energy had been drained away.

Xun Hao did not answer immediately. He leaned on his personal guard's shoulder to steady his slightly weak body.

"Look here." He pointed to the back of the high mountain on the right. "Behind this mountain, there is an abandoned ancient road. This road is not recorded on the official maps because it is too rugged and difficult to travel, and no one has used it for a long time."

However, it can bypass the enemy's ambush and strike directly from their flank and rear. By going through here, we can not only avoid the ambush but also catch them off guard.

Guo Jia's gaze followed Xun Hao's finger and looked towards a steep mountain wall and dense forest.

"Ah Hao, are you sure there's a road here?" Guo Jia's tone was full of doubt. "How could an army possibly march through a place like this?"

"I'm sure." Xun Hao's tone left no room for doubt. "I once saw a fragment of the 'Yingchuan Geography Records' from a previous dynasty in the academy's library. It recorded this ancient road, which was part of the imperial road built during the Qin Dynasty but was later abandoned. I remember it very clearly; the entrance was upstream of that stream in front of us, next to a huge rock shaped like a reclining ox."

This explanation was something he had already thought of. As a "child prodigy" with a photographic memory, and a sickly boy who buried himself in old books all day, it was perfectly normal for him to see some secrets in some unknown ancient book.

Guo Jia looked at him with suspicion. He knew of Xun Hao's extensive knowledge and prodigious memory. But in this chaotic time of war, to decide the life and death of a thousand people based on an ancient book of dubious authenticity was too much of a gamble.

"Alright! I'll trust you this once!" Guo Jia made a decisive decision. "Pass on my order: the entire army turns around and advances via the right-hand path!"

Once the order was given, the entire army immediately began to move out.

They abandoned the official road and turned towards the seemingly impassable mountain forest.

Just as Xun Hao had said, upstream of the stream, they indeed found a huge rock shaped like a reclining ox.

Behind the boulder, a stone path, hidden by vines and shrubs, winds its way into the deep mountains.

found it!

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

However, this ancient road was more difficult to traverse than imagined.

The road is narrow, with the narrowest point only wide enough for one person to pass at a time.

The road surface was covered with moss and was extremely slippery.

The soldiers had to abandon their horses and all unnecessary baggage and proceed on foot.

The aftereffects of the "last plan" came crashing down like a tidal wave at this moment.

Xun Hao felt as if his body had been hollowed out. That familiar chill, seeping from the very bones, enveloped him once again.

Guo Jia had already noticed that something was wrong with him.

The little guy had been trembling slightly ever since he found the entrance to the ancient road. At first, he thought it was because of the chilly spring weather in the mountains, but now, judging from his appearance, it was clearly a relapse of his old illness.

"Hey, Hao, can you still hold on?" Guo Jia stopped and turned to look at him.

Xun Hao nodded with difficulty, but after taking only two steps, his legs gave way and he almost fell.

Guo Jia swiftly scooped him into his arms, his hands feeling the icy coldness of the jade.

"No, your body is too weak. If you are exposed to the mountain wind again, you will definitely fall seriously ill." Guo Jia frowned, feeling somewhat anxious.

This place is in the middle of nowhere; if Xun Hao falls ill, there's nowhere to even find a doctor.

Without saying a word, he took off his thick fox fur cloak and wrapped the shivering Xun Hao from head to toe, then pulled him close without further ado.

"Stay close, I'll block the wind." Guo Jia's voice was deep and powerful, brooking no refusal.