Chapter 308: Attacked from all sides, Jia Xu offers advice Hearing the possibility proposed by Guo Jia, Cao Cao narrowed his eyes. Liu Bei! It's Liu Bei again! His biggest enemy now is Yuan Shao! But it seems that everything in the court is related to Liu Bei who is far away in Huainan! He was now like being held on fire, and no matter which side he turned, his back would get burned. "Then according to Fengxiao's opinion, how should I deal with this matter?" After thinking for a moment, he threw the question to Guo Jia, his most trusted advisor. When Guo Jia saw Cao Cao asking him what to do, he fell into deep thought. Because the situation Cao Cao is facing now is far more severe than the Battle of Guandu in history. In the original course, although Cao Cao faced internal and external troubles in the Battle of Guandu, it was not enough to stop his enemies. Whether it was Yuan Shu, Lu Bu or Liu Bei, they were all defeated by Cao.

Therefore, Cao Cao could withdraw from the tense situation and resolve the worries in the rear! But now, Liu Bei has deployed his troops in Shouchun, waiting there sinisterly. If they choose to confront Liu Bei first, Yuan Shao will attack them hard from behind. If he fought Yuan Shao with all his strength, Liu Bei would obviously not miss this opportunity. Now Dong Cheng plays a very crucial role in this. This person may have already contacted Liu Bei. If they touch Dong Cheng now, how can they guarantee that Liu Bei will not take action? Therefore, he needs to plan an overall strategy. We must ensure that Dong Cheng and others are eliminated, and also ensure that there will be no reaction from the other side. But the issues involved were too complicated, and even Guo Jia couldn't think of a solution. After thinking carefully for a while, he suggested to Cao Cao: "This is a matter of great importance and cannot be considered by one person alone." "Why not invite you all to come and discuss and see how to resolve this matter." This was a rare occasion when Guo Jia did not give Cao Cao a definite answer, but Cao Cao did not blame him when he saw it. Instead, he laughed and said: "Well, I think Fengxiao is overworked and has no good solution for the time being." "It won't be too late to report back once you've thought it through." "With me in the capital, I don't think they will dare to act recklessly!" When Guo Jia saw that Lao Cao refused to let everyone discuss the matter, he raised his eyebrows slightly, bowed in agreement, and left. Only after he left did the smile on Cao Cao's face fade away, and he said to those outside the mansion: "Come here, come with me and call Dong Gongren and Lou Zibo to discuss this matter." Of course, it’s not that he doesn’t want to discuss countermeasures, he just doesn’t want to discuss it with Guo Jia and others! Because Xun Yu was determined to make him respect the emperor, he even asked him to apologize to Liu Xie. But Dong Cheng's behavior now proves that Liu Xie is secretly plotting against him! In this case, Xun Yu and his nephew should be called together to discuss the matter. Once Xun Yu gets to know about this, who knows what kind of trouble he will cause!

So this time he did not plan to use the advisers from Yingchuan to plan this matter. Apart from the Yingchuan faction, Cheng Yu under his command is not in Xu County, so the only remaining ones are Dong Zhao and Lou Gui. Oh, there is another Jia Xu, Lao Cao thought, and called out: "By the way, invite Jia Wenhe to come into the mansion with me!" As soon as he gave the order, three counselors arrived one after another soon. As soon as everyone arrived, Cao Cao didn't waste any time and directly informed everyone of the information reported by Guo Jia. When Lou Gui and Dong Zhao heard this, they were both shocked, but Jia Xu remained silent. Seeing the different reactions from everyone, Lao Cao looked at Jia Xu and said: "Now our army has a strong enemy outside, and Dong Cheng is planning a rebellion. Do you have any good ideas?" Facing his gaze, Jia Xu seemed not to notice it and simply bowed his hands in response: "They are all low-ranking people. With Lord Cao here, there is no need to worry about them!" This was of course nonsense and completely unconstructive, but it also responded to Cao Cao's gaze. Dong Zhao and Lou Gui looked at each other and said to Cao Cao: "Dong Cheng now has followers all over the court, and we should deal with them as soon as possible." "Otherwise, if a war breaks out, they will cause chaos, and Cao Gong may lose sight of both sides." As the two of them talked, Cao Cao waved his hand impatiently and said: "That is why I have invited you all to come here to discuss how to respond." "Feng Xiao just told me that Dong Cheng might have already won over Liu Bei." "Yuan Shao is about to march south, and Liu Bei has already pacified Jiangdong!" "Our army is located between the two armies, and Dong Cheng is also involved in all the plots." "I want to arrest Dong Cheng and others, but I am afraid that Liu Bei will take advantage of the situation and march forward." "We don't know how many of their accomplices there are. If Liu Bei joins forces with them, how can our army stop them?" "It doesn't matter if it's difficult to stop. I'm afraid that I will fight Liu Bei here and let Yuan Shao cross the river to the south." "When we are attacked from both sides, how can our army stop the two armies from attacking us?" As soon as he finished speaking, everyone fell into deep thought. Dong Zhao thought for a moment and then said: "If that is the case, the trouble lies with the emperor, why don't you deal with you with lightning speed?" "Once they are executed, we can use this as an excuse to persuade the emperor to move the capital to Guanzhong!" "Once the emperor leaves, Liu Bei will no longer be able to fight with our army and will naturally retreat!" His idea is still the same old one. Liu Bei only wants the emperor now! As long as they act quickly and take Liu Xie away, Liu Bei's attack would be meaningless.

Although Liu Bei might still take action against them during the war. But Liu Bei would not advance until they succeeded in stopping Yuan Shao from advancing south. In this way, they can attack Yuan Shao first and then Liu Bei, thus ensuring that they are not fighting two enemies at the same time. But after listening to Xun Yu's words, Cao Cao changed his mind and shook his head: "The idea that our army will withdraw if we move the capital to Liu Bei is just something our army has anticipated!" "What should we do if Liu Bei still refuses to retreat after our army moves the capital?" "At that time, our army had to move the capital and face Liu Bei and Yuan Shao. We were definitely no match for them!" As soon as he said this, Dong Zhao stopped and said no more. Because although he inferred that Liu Bei would withdraw his troops, he was not absolutely sure about it. If Liu Bei really does not retreat as Cao Cao said, he cannot bear the responsibility! At this time, keeping silent is the best protection for yourself. But after Dong Zhao shut up, Lou Gui beside him stroked his beard and pondered: "Since this is the case, Liu Bei will have to worry about sending troops sooner or later anyway." "Why don't we take this opportunity to lure him out and defeat Liu Bei first?" "The only danger I'm worried about is Guan Yu of Runan!" "Your Excellency, why not send a fake letter to invite Guan Yu to march?" "Then use Guan Yu's fake letter to contact Dong Cheng and others to act as soon as possible." "After everyone is ready, you can lead the troops north to pretend to resist Yuan Shao." "But first we have our troops ambush Guan Yu on his way." "When Guan Yu sees the letter, he will certainly advance westward. You can quietly return and defeat him." "If we can get rid of Guan Yu, it will be like cutting off one of Liu Bei's arms." "Once Guan Yu is eliminated, you can come here under a false banner." "When Dong Cheng and others saw this, they would think that Guan Yu's troops had arrived and he was inviting his accomplices to cause chaos." "When Cao Gong returns with his troops, we can capture them all in one fell swoop." "Then we can calmly move the capital, and we won't have to worry about Liu Bei anymore!" His suggestion was naturally tougher than Dong Zhao's opinion, and he was even prepared to go to war with Liu Bei first. After listening to Lou Gui's words, Cao Cao began to think about the feasibility of this matter. Just as Lou Gui said, his greatest fear of Liu Bei was not Liu Bei, but Guan Yu, the governor of Runan appointed by Liu Bei! Because although Liu Bei was powerful, he was far away in Huainan and could not come for a while. Guan Yu was different. He had a large army and was loyal and brave. He could reach Xu County in a few days. If Guan Yu could be eliminated first, it would take some time for Liu Bei to advance with all his strength. He could use this gap to move Liu Xie to Guanzhong.

But this strategy still does not fundamentally solve the current problem. That is, what should he do if Liu Bei and Yuan Shao attack at the same time. Getting rid of Guan Yu can indeed solve the problem temporarily, but it will also create a mortal enemy with Liu Bei! If there was no such hatred, Liu Bei might have been a little afraid. Once this great hatred is added, I'm afraid Liu Bei will fight him to the death! Even though Qin Zhen is far away in Jiangdong, Liu Bei is not someone to be trifled with now! Thinking about this, he shook his head and waved his hand: "This is also not possible. Liu Bei and Guan Yu are like brothers." "If we get rid of Guan Yu, Liu Bei will be furious and advance, which will be disadvantageous to our army's current situation!" Seeing that neither of them had a good plan, Cao Cao glanced at Jia Xu and said: "When I was in Wancheng, Jia Gong's brilliant plan is still vivid in my mind." "Why is it that now that you are under my command, Lord Jia has said nothing?" "Could it be that Cao has treated Lord Jia badly, and Lord Jia is unwilling to help me?" When Jia Xu heard this, he quickly shook his head and said seriously: "No, it's not that I don't want to help, but I dare not show my ugliness with the two gentlemen here." "And I don't have any good ideas for now, so I won't say much!" When Cao Cao saw him like this, he was stunned for a moment, hesitant and uncertain! You must know that Jia Xu is extremely wise. Even with the small number of troops that Zhang Xiu had, Jia Xu was able to help him defeat him. Now that Lou Gui and Dong Zhao have both made proposals, how could Jia Xu have nothing to say? It would be fine if Jia Xu did not offer any advice, but why bother emphasizing that the two of them did not dare to make a fool of themselves here? It is obvious that it is not that there is no strategy, but that one cannot talk about it in front of others! Considering this, he waved his hand and pretended to be a little annoyed: "Forget it. Since you all don't have any good ideas, just go back and think about it first." "This matter is not urgent now, we can discuss it another day." After saying this, he asked everyone to leave. After the three of them left, he asked someone to quietly invite Jia Xu back. When Jia Xu entered the study again, he stepped forward and grabbed Jia Xu's hand and said; "I see you haven't finished talking just now, so you must have a good idea. Can you teach me?" Jia Xu looked at Lao Cao like this and couldn't help but shook his head and sighed: "I really don't have any good ideas. Xun Wenruo and others under your command are all talented people." "Since you have doubts, why don't you ask everyone to come and help you solve them?" Cao Cao sighed when he heard this and said to Jia Xu: "If they were capable of scheming, why would Cao have come to you for help, sir?" As he spoke, he told Jia Xu what had happened with Xun Yu today, and then added: "Now Xun Wenruo regards the emperor as his master, and now the emperor is plotting against me." "If he doesn't know about this, it's fine. But if he does, we'll definitely alert him!"

"The current situation is like this. If Lord Jia doesn't help me, who else can help me?" Having said this, he grabbed Jia Xu and looked earnest. When Jia Xu saw this, he knew that he probably couldn't escape today. In fact, he did have a solution, he was just hesitating whether he should tell Lao Cao. After all, he had only been under Cao Cao's command for a short time and was not considered a member of the core circle. Even Xun Yu and other core members of his circle could not gain Cao Cao’s full trust. If a minister who changed his career lately performed better than other ministers, how could Cao Cao not be wary of him? So now he just wants to protect himself and doesn't want to get involved at all. But what he didn't expect was that Cao Cao's current situation would deteriorate to this extent. There are wolves in front and tigers behind. If things are allowed to develop, the court will inevitably fall into chaos. This was obviously not in his best interest. Thinking about this, he said to Cao Cao: "If you're talking about good strategies, I really have no worries, but I do have a bad strategy!" "I think Cao Gong's current troubles are not from within, but from without." "We just need to stabilize Liu Bei and force him to ally with Cao Gong first, and then Cao Gong can fight Yuan Shao with peace of mind!" Seeing that he finally gave in, Cao Cao was overjoyed. He didn't believe that Jia Xu would come up with any bad ideas! If there was only the worst solution, how come he hit the nail on the head and pointed out his biggest concern? The only problem he faces now is that he cannot guarantee that Liu Bei will not take action against him! As long as this problem is solved, others like Liu Xie and Dong Cheng will just be minor problems. "I know that Jia Gong must have a good plan to teach me. I wonder how I can stabilize Liu Bei?" As soon as he finished speaking, Jia Xu hesitated for a moment before speaking: "It's not difficult to break this situation. We just need to take advantage of the situation and make the best use of it!" "Qin Zhen used this strategy when he served under Liu Bei." "Have you forgotten, my lord, that Liu Bei only had the state of Pei?" "Why did you abandon Liu Bei and attack Yuan Shu first?" After hearing this, Cao Cao was stunned for a moment, and suddenly recalled what happened two years ago. Why did he attack Yuan Shu first at that time, giving Liu Bei the opportunity to rise? Thinking of this, he muttered to himself: "At that time, I attacked Yuan Shu first because Yuan Shu usurped the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, so I had to attack him!" At this point, he suddenly seemed to realize something, and slapped his thigh and said: "I see! So that's how it is. Lord Jia's plan is a great one!" (End of this chapter)