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

These people, barely clothed and starving under the cold blades and brutal whips of the Xiliang soldiers, toiled day and night. Any slackening was met with beatings and kicks, or even death on the spot. For a time, outside Luoyang, cries of despair and complaints filled the air.

Road construction required money, an astronomical sum. The national treasury was quickly depleted. Thus, Li Ru's wicked scheme came in handy once again.

"Prime Minister, I have heard that Zhang Wen, the Minister of Works, is immensely wealthy, his riches rivaling those of a nation. In his younger days, he secretly colluded with the Ten Attendants, harboring treacherous intentions. Perhaps..."

Dong Zhuo understood immediately.

Thus, the charge of "colluding with the Ten Attendants to plot a rebellion" was pinned on Zhang Wen, the former Minister of Works. The Xiliang soldiers stormed into Zhang's residence like wolves, arresting everyone regardless of age or gender. Zhang Wen's vast wealth was seized by Dong Zhuo overnight.

The Ten Attendants were all dead, but no one expected that Dong Zhuo would use their names in this way.

Following this precedent, the generals of the Western Liang army learned from it. They began to fabricate various charges and wantonly confiscate the property of court officials. For a time, everyone in Luoyang lived in fear, and the air was thick with tension. Those high-ranking officials who were once high and mighty now walked on thin ice, fearing that one day they would be accused of "colluding with the Ten Attendants" and end up with their families destroyed.

If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too. The generals feasted, and the Xiliang soldiers below naturally had to share. They roamed Luoyang in groups of three or five, plundering in the streets, harassing women, and committing all sorts of atrocities. The people of Luoyang went from initial fear to numbness, and finally to a burning rage within them.

On this day, Guo Jia and Xun Hao sat in a private room on the second floor of a teahouse, by the window, with a clear view of the street below.

"Tsk, it's unbearable to look at." Guo Jia shook his head, poured himself a cup of tea, and said, "In broad daylight, under the clear sky, what's the difference between this and a bandit's den?"

Downstairs, several Xiliang soldiers were surrounding a pancake vendor. They robbed him of all the pancakes, but that wasn't enough. One of the soldiers even grabbed the vendor's daughter, who was only about ten years old. The girl screamed in terror, and the vendor knelt on the ground, desperately kowtowing and begging for mercy.

The surrounding people dared not speak out in anger and all avoided the area, fearing that they would get into trouble.

Guo Jia's face darkened. He slammed his teacup down on the table and got up to go downstairs.

"Filial piety."

A cold hand tugged at his sleeve.

Xun Hao appeared behind him at some point, looking at him calmly.

"Where are you going?"

"Go down and teach those bastards a lesson!" Guo Jia said, suppressing his anger. "I may not be a chivalrous person, but I can't stand such vile behavior!"

"If you get off, neither of us will be able to leave."

Guo Jia stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Xun Hao. He knew that what Xun Hao said was true.

Guo Fengxiao did have some martial arts skills, but he was no match for these ferocious Xiliang soldiers. Impulsiveness wouldn't solve anything; it would only get them into trouble.

But watching the girl being dragged away only fueled the burning anger within him, a fire that resided in the very bones of a scholar.

In that moment of stalemate, something unexpected happened on the street below.

A figure emerged from the crowd. He was not tall, even somewhat thin, but his steps were steady and his gaze sharp. He wore a worn-out official robe, and judging by his rank, he seemed to be just an insignificant minor official.

Without saying a word, he stepped forward and kicked the Xiliang soldier who was holding the girl right in the waist.

Caught off guard, the soldier let out a strange cry and was kicked sideways, knocking over two of his comrades.

"Let her go!"

The man's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an air of authority that came from someone who had long held a position of power.

The previously noisy street fell silent for a moment because of this sudden scene.

The Xiliang soldier, who had been kicked over, grumbled as he got up, humiliated. He drew his ring-pommel sword and charged forward. "You dog, you're asking for it!"

The man's eyes turned cold. Facing the incoming blade, he neither dodged nor evaded. He simply sidestepped, his movements as swift as a shadow, and with his right hand, he seized the soldier's wrist holding the knife and twisted it forcefully.

"Snap!"

A sickening cracking sound rang out.

Before the soldier could even scream, the man's knee had already slammed into his abdomen. The soldier instantly collapsed to the ground, hunched over, like a boiled shrimp.

The remaining Xiliang soldiers were stunned. They were used to bullying the common people and had never seen such a skilled official before.

"Attack him together! Kill him!"

One of them reacted, roared, and several ring-pommel swords slashed at the man from different directions at the same time.

Guo Jia's heart was in his throat.

The man showed no fear. He seized the ring-pommel sword from the soldier on the ground and, instead of retreating, advanced. With a flash of light, he parried three incoming swords at an extremely precise angle.

The clang of metal against metal was deafening. He didn't use brute force, but skillful technique; each parry struck precisely where his opponent was most vulnerable, leaving the Xiliang soldiers' hands numb.

The whole process happened in the blink of an eye.

The once arrogant Xiliang soldiers were now either with broken wrists or their weapons out of their hands, retreating in a sorry state, looking at this ruthless star with suspicion and uncertainty.

The man pointed the knife at them and said coldly, "Get lost!"

"stop!"

A sharp shout came from the street corner.

A patrol of Xiliang soldiers, about twenty men, led by a constable, quickly surrounded the scene. The constable looked at his comrades rolling on the ground, his face ashen.

"How dare you! To attack and kill a government soldier in the street!" Du Bo gripped the hilt of his sword, his eyes fixed fiercely on the man. "Take him down!"

More than twenty soldiers drew their swords in unison, the gleaming blades flashing coldly in the sunlight, and surrounded the man and the father and daughter.

The man remained unfazed, simply shielding the terrified father and daughter behind him, his hand tightly gripping the stolen knife, his eyes sharp as a hawk's.

He was a formidable fighter, but not a god. He had no chance against more than twenty well-trained soldiers.

Inside the private room, Guo Jia's hand was already on the sword at his waist.

"Ah Hao, I can't ignore this this time," he said in a low voice.

"I didn't say you can't interfere."

The two walked outside the encirclement. Guo Jia was about to speak when Xun Hao preemptively bowed slightly to Na Dubo.

"Sir, please wait."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear and cold, yet it made Uncle Du turn his gaze towards him.

When the Earl of the Capital saw Xun Hao's appearance clearly, his expression changed. The young man before him was dressed in a plain white scholar's robe, with a handsome face and an elegant demeanor; it was clear at a glance that he came from an extraordinary background. Especially since behind him was another young man, equally charismatic and with an impressive presence.

"Who are you? How dare you meddle in the affairs of my Xiliang army?" Although Du Bo was somewhat wary, his tone remained firm.

"My name is Xun Hao, a native of Yingchuan." Xun Hao was neither humble nor arrogant; at this point, he could only invoke the name of the Xun family.