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

Xun Hao could "see" that in the distance, a well-equipped Xiliang cavalry had turned around and was rushing towards them menacingly, raising clouds of dust.

In the critical moment, Cao Hong gave his warhorse to Cao Cao, shouting, "The world can do without me, but not without you, my lord!" He then charged into the enemy ranks on foot to cover Cao Cao's retreat. Cao Cao mounted his horse with tears in his eyes, about to break through the encirclement, when Xu Rong personally led his elite cavalry in pursuit, and they were about to catch up.

Just at this critical moment, a deafening crash came from the hillside to the side. A massive boulder, pried up from above, tumbled down with terrifying force, crashing squarely into the center of Xu Rong's pursuing ranks. The boulder didn't completely block the road, but it decisively cut Xu Rong's cavalry in half. The cavalrymen at the front reined in their horses and looked back, while those at the rear, startled by the sudden turn of events, cowered and looked up at the hillside, fearing further ambushes.

Xun Yu, still uneasy, led his trusted men back and kept a safe distance behind Cao Cao's army, just in case. Seeing Cao Cao in danger, he acted decisively, employing a similar strategy to create this chaos.

It was this brief delay that bought Cao Cao a chance to survive. A support team dispatched by Guo Jia in advance took advantage of the Xiliang army's disarray, suddenly attacking from the other side to rescue the fleeing Cao Cao. They also managed to rescue Cao Hong, who was fighting to cover the rear, from the chaos of battle. Xu Rong, seeing Cao Cao escape, was unwilling to give up, but seeing the treacherous mountain path, he dared not venture any further and had no choice but to order a retreat.

In this battle, Cao Cao suffered a crushing defeat. His army, which had set out with several thousand men, was reduced to less than half by the time they returned to Suanzao, everyone wounded and morale low. Upon hearing of Cao Cao's defeat, Yuan Shao and others showed no sympathy whatsoever; instead, many gloated.

However, in stark contrast to his military defeat, Cao Cao's prestige soared to unprecedented heights. His righteous act of "pursuing the enemy for the people, though defeated, was still honorable" quickly spread throughout Luoyang, thanks to the word-of-mouth of the rescued people.

Xun Hao pondered that he could use this as a publicity point to spread Cao Cao's great deeds throughout the land and win him a good reputation.

The people that Cao Cao rescued became his new problem.

These people, young and old, formed a dense, dark mass, following behind the army, stretching as far as the eye could see. They could not return to Luoyang; their homes were now scorched earth, and Cao Cao had no territory of his own to settle them.

Tens of thousands of mouths need to eat, and countless eyes are looking at him expectantly.

Xun Hao's repeated use of the "Legacy Plan" left him feeling utterly exhausted and listless. In the carriage, he leaned on Guo Jia's shoulder, feeling the familiar yet faint "warmth" slowly flowing into his body.

It feels like the most primitive power bank in later generations—it charges slowly and doesn't last long.

He sighed silently to himself, voicing the ultimate question from a modern soul: Why can't it be five minutes of charging for two hours of use of the [Legacy]?

It takes two hours to charge and only gets you about five minutes of use. What a rip-off!

This internal monologue added a touch of helplessness to his pale face. Guo Jia looked down and saw it, thinking he was feeling unwell again, and reached out to touch his forehead. "What are you thinking about?"

Xun Hao didn't bother to open his eyes, and only vaguely replied, "I'm thinking, it seems we've offended Yuan Benchu ​​too much."

While at Suanzao, these men, working together in concert, subtly and overtly stirred up trouble for Cao Cao, exposing Yuan Shao's hypocrisy. Cao Cao was pleased, but the consequences followed. Now, Cao Cao held tens of thousands of people in his hands, yet he didn't even have a place to settle them. He couldn't possibly take them all back to his hometown of Qiao County; that place was barely enough to fill a tooth gap.

Upon hearing this, Guo Jia's eyes widened slightly. He squeezed Xun Hao's fingertips, his tone tinged with mockery: "Now you know you regret it? Who was the one stirring things up the most back then?"

As they were talking, Cao Cao lifted the curtain of the carriage and stepped inside.

"Please wait a moment, gentlemen, I will go see Brother Benchu ​​now." It turned out that Cao Cao had overheard their conversation outside the carriage.

Cao Hong spoke up from outside the carriage: "My lord! What are you going to see him for? To see his smug, petty face?"

Cao Cao waved his hand, a slight smile appearing on his face. "Not only will I go to see him, I will go to plead with him, to beg him for mercy. I will go and tell him that I have been defeated and am on my deathbed, with nowhere to turn. I beg this leader of the alliance to grant me a way to live and a place to settle down!"

Xun Hao breathed a sigh of relief.

He is a modern man at heart, and in his view, the greatest folly is to give up territory and survival for the sake of so-called face.

Cao Cao's unconventional and ruthless spirit made him feel even more certain that he had not made the wrong choice in selecting him.

Guo Jia chuckled softly from the side: "A true man can bend and stretch. Yuan Shao is, after all, the leader of the alliance. His subordinates have suffered heavy losses and brought back a bunch of burdens. Isn't it only natural for them to go to him and complain, asking for some territory to recuperate?"

Seeing their lord's eager expression, the generals exchanged glances, and finally couldn't help but reveal strange smiles.

Cao Hong looked troubled: "But where should we go to settle down?"

"There is a place that will do." Guo Jia's peach blossom eyes curved into a smile, as if someone had just delivered a pillow to someone who was sleepy. "Dongjun. The prefect Qiao Mao was just killed by Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou. Now there is no leader, and it is a land without a master."

Cao Cao's eyes lit up.

"Brother Benchu!" Cao Cao, covered in dust and with dried bloodstains on his armor, barged in.

Yuan Shao was taken aback when he saw Cao Cao's miserable appearance, then a smile appeared on his lips. He dismissed his subordinates and walked down from the main seat with feigned concern.

Cao Cao strode to the table, didn't even bow, and plopped down on the ground. He grabbed Yuan Shao's sleeve and began to recount how he had a small army, how he had been utterly defeated by Xu Rong, how his soldiers had suffered heavy casualties, and how he was being burdened by tens of thousands of civilians, on the verge of running out of food. As he spoke, he squeezed out a few tears, crying like a two-hundred-pound child. His sincerity was so genuine that even Xiahou Dun, who knew him best, would probably have believed him.

Yuan Shao was caught off guard by this sudden outburst. He wanted to reprimand him, but since the other party was in such a pitiful state, if he spoke up, it would make him, as the leader of the alliance, appear petty.

He patted Cao Cao on the shoulder to comfort him.

But when Cao Cao finally broke down in tears and revealed his true intentions, asking the alliance leader to allocate a piece of land for him to settle his soldiers and civilians, the smile on Yuan Shao's face faded.

He remained silent, and the atmosphere inside the tent became subtle again.

Before the person who was there to offer encouragement arrived, Cao Cao took his leave, giving Yuan Shao ample time to think things over.