Three Kingdoms: I switched to Liu Bei, why are you crying, Cao Cao?

Chapter 66: Guo Jia offers advice, the Five Families attack Yuan

A snake swallows an elephant, also known as "巴蛇吞象", comes from the "Classic of Mountains and Seas: Hai Nei Nan Jing", which says: "巴蛇 eats elephants, and their bones come out after three years."

It generally means that people are insatiable and greedy.

In Cao Cao's opinion, if Liu Bei really had this plan, it would be wishful thinking!

It should be noted that Yuan Shu was powerful, occupied rich lands throughout the world, and had a large number of troops.

In comparison, even if Liu Bei occupied Pei State, he was just a small snake, and it was completely unrealistic for him to swallow Yuan Shu.

So Cao Cao thought about it, then frowned and said:
"How dare Liu Bei's army have such a wish?"

Xun Yu also said in a deep voice:

"Feng Xiao's words are indeed somewhat shocking. Although Yuan Shu has proclaimed himself emperor and is surrounded by enemies, our army is still wary of his power. Liu Bei's army is insufficient, how can he swallow such a huge force!"

Seeing the two of them like this, Guo Jia said seriously:

"I dare to say this, it is not groundless."

"Although Yuan Shu is powerful now, he may not be incapable of making plans!"

"Just as Brother Wen Ruo said, Yuan Shu is now surrounded by enemies on all sides."

"First of all, our army respects the emperor. Yuan Shu is a usurper, and our army must take action against him!"

"Secondly, Sun Ce is gaining power in Jiangdong and has long been unwilling to be outdone. There will definitely be a battle between him and Yuan Shu."

"Again, Lü Bu and Yuan Shu are now enemies, and they are like fire and water, so we cannot tolerate each other!"

"There is also a man named Chen Yu in Haixi who also has a grudge against Yuan Shu."

"Although Liu Bei's army is powerless, we do have strength."

"I think that although Yuan Shu is powerful, he will be hard to stop the attacks from all sides!"

"In other words, Liu Bei doesn't need to defeat Yuan Shu. He just needs to think about how to seize Yuan Shu's foundation from the chaos!"

When Cao Cao heard this, he narrowed his eyes and said:

"Feng Xiao, are you saying that Liu Bei wants to defeat Yuan Shu not by his own strength, but by borrowing our strength?"

"exactly!"

Guo Jia nodded and said to Cao Cao:
"Liu Beijun not only thinks so, but also does so!"

"The reason why I can deduce the other party's purpose is to start from the battle when Liu Bei tried to seize Pei State!"

"May I ask, lord, can you tell what the enemy's purpose is in this battle to seize Pei State?"

When Lao Cao heard this, he blurted out:
"Since we want to seize Pei State, then our goal must be above Pei State!"

But as soon as he said it, he regretted it. Seizing Pei State was an obvious goal, but the other party's operation was far from that simple.

After thinking for a while, he suddenly looked up and said:
"The enemy's goal is Lu Bu?"

"Just as the Lord said!"

Seeing that Lao Cao had come to his senses, Guo Jia nodded and said:
"To be precise, the enemy's goal is to use Lu Bu to block them and seize the opportunity to seize Pei State!"

"Pei State is just a place he wants to take, and Lu Bu is the key to his plan!"

"But what good can Liu Bei's army gain from doing this?"

Xun Yu asked again:
"This is a superfluous move. It will provoke both Yuan Shu and Lu Bu. What's the benefit?"

"Brother Wenruo is wrong. The enemy army is doing this, which is a great benefit!"

Guo Jia shook his head and explained;

"First, if Liu Bei had not done this, he would have been hated by Yuan Shu if he had taken Pei State."

"But now Lu Bu is standing in front of us, Yuan Shu will definitely vent his anger on Lu Bu!"

"Liu Bei can take this opportunity to slowly develop his own strength later on!"

"Secondly, this move seems to be against both Yuan Shu and Lu Bu, but in fact it allows Liu Bei's army to take the initiative and sit back and watch the two families fight. If Lu Bu gains, then they will take the advantage; if Yuan Shu gains, then they will attack Yuan Shu!"

"It's also because Chen Gong is a good strategist that he saw that the enemy had some plan, otherwise Lu Bu would have to face threats from both families now!"

"Thirdly, this move not only gave Liu Bei a base, but also allowed him to withdraw from the situation."

"Right now, Yuan Shu has to face our army, Sun Ce, Lu Bu, and Chen Yu. He won't pay attention to Liu Bei's wealth!"

"It can be said that this incident alone gave Liu Bei the power to seize Yuan Shu, but Yuan Shu was not alert."

"If Yuan Shu wants to attack now, he will attack us. Liu Bei can benefit from it."

"Similarly, if we attack Yuan Shu, Liu Bei can also support us from the side and let us block Yuan Shu's troops for him. He will gain benefits from it and continue to strengthen his own strength."

Having said that, he looked at Xun Yu:
"This move will allow Liu Bei to stay behind, while we work in the front and he can make plans in the back. How can this be considered unprofitable?"

Xun Yu was speechless when he heard this, but he didn't think too deeply about it.

When Lao Cao heard this, he frowned and said:

"What a jerk Liu Xuande! I respected him because of his kindness, but I never thought he would do such a despicable thing!"

In his opinion, Liu Bei's move was extremely insidious. He hid himself in other people's homes to make a profit, which was completely different from his former demeanor!

But when Guo Jia heard this, he said seriously:

"My lord, you must know that Liu Bei is a man of kindness and righteousness on the outside, but a tyrant at heart!"

"He treats people with kindness and justice because there are no people under his command who are good at plotting and scheming. This person is definitely not willing to do so!"

"Now that we have received advice from our advisers, we will naturally let them do what they want in order to achieve great things. There is no point in criticizing them!"

"The key point at the moment is that the enemy's plan is powerful and it is an open conspiracy. Our army should find a way to deal with it."

"Otherwise, once Liu Bei succeeds in rising, he will be a far greater threat than Yuan Shu!"

In his opinion, the current situation is not bad for them.

Because Qin Zhen's strategy was not a simple conspiracy, but was in line with the general trend.

Faced with this situation, Liu Bei's rise is a foregone conclusion!

What they need to do is to find a way to suppress Liu Bei's development speed as soon as possible!

In his sight, he saw Lao Cao's face was uncertain. He was silent for a long time before narrowing his eyes and saying:

"I want to send troops to Pei State. What do you two think?"

He thought that the most direct way to solve the problem of Liu Bei was to send troops to Pei State and defeat Liu Bei first!

But as soon as he said this, Xun Yu bowed and said:
"My lord, this is absolutely not allowed!"

"In today's world, Yuan Shu is a traitor to the country, and Liu Bei has not rebelled. How can our army attack him?"

"If we suddenly attack Liu Bei, our army will lose hope in the world!"

Guo Jia also shook his head and said:
"If we can attack Liu Bei, why would I bother to persuade the Lord to take it seriously!" "Now Liu Bei is the Lord's cousin, the governor of Yuzhou, and the General Zhendong. Even if he seizes Peiguo, Runan and other places, it is reasonable!"

"Plus, now that Yuan Shu has declared himself emperor, Liu Bei is doing this to fight against the enemy for the country."

"If you attack Liu Bei, how will people in the world view our army?"

"It is because we cannot defeat Liu Bei that we are talking about curbing his power!"

As he spoke, he secretly sighed again in his heart, this is the power of this plan.

Even if you knew that Liu Bei's army had such a plan, you would not be able to touch Liu Bei's army.

Since Cao is carrying the banner of the world, his first enemy must be Yuan Shu!

If we don't attack Yuan Shu first, our politics will be incorrect!

Once it is incorrect, Cao Cao’s legitimate status as the leader will be damaged!
What people in the world think is secondary. You can't justify it to the court, not to mention that Yuan Shao in the north has long wanted to establish a new emperor.

We can make a fuss about this incident and put Lao Cao in the middle of a group attack.

Moreover, even if you attack Liu Bei now, you may not be able to defeat him. At worst, he will just move to another place and start his army again.

Just as those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes, Liu Bei’s army is not afraid of being beaten at all!
Facing the two people's continuous dissuasion, Lao Cao felt very uncomfortable:
"If so, how should our army deal with it?"

"Liu Bei is now behind Yuan Shu. Once our army moves, Yuan Shu will definitely prioritize our army. Liu Bei can make plans accordingly."

"If our army does not move, Liu Bei can borrow the power of others to grow stronger. What should we do in this situation?"

For a moment, he suddenly missed the time before welcoming the emperor.

At that time, you can beat anyone you want.

Now he is tied up and can't even defeat Liu Bei. He feels really aggrieved.

However, Lao Cao's words obviously aroused Guo Jia's desire to win. When he heard it, he said:
"My lord, I do not agree with what you said. Now that Liu Bei is gaining momentum, there is nothing we can do to stop him!"

"But our army may not be unstoppable!"

Hearing Guo Jia's words, Lao Cao's eyes suddenly lit up and said:

"Does Fengxiao have a way to deal with this?"

Xun Yu also looked at Guo Jia, wanting to see how Guo Jia was going to wrestle with Qin Zhen.

Facing the two people's gazes, Guo Jia pondered for a while, sorted out his thoughts and said:
"If we want to counter Liu Bei's plan, our army must focus on the enemy's weaknesses!"

"In my opinion, although Liu Bei's army's strategy is good, it has a major limitation, that is, Liu Bei's army is not strong enough!"

He stepped out with his hands behind his back, analyzing the situation for the two of them:
"I think the enemy is planning this to continuously use the power of our three families to erode Yuan Shu's foundation."

"But Liu Bei's army only has over 10,000 soldiers. Even though he has the land of Pei, it is still not enough to swallow Yuan Shu's army."

"They need time to continuously grow their strength!"

"Then let's start from now on and not give Liu Bei enough time to grow stronger!"

At this point, Guo Jia turned around and said to Cao Cao:
"So our army must defeat Yuan Shu with lightning speed!"

"And seize most of Yuan Shu's land."

"In this case, even if Liu Bei could profit from it and gain some land, he wouldn't be able to keep it!"

"When that happens, without Yuan Shu, the traitor, to hold us back, our army can take advantage of the opportunity to attack Liu Bei."

"Acting this way may help Liu Bei solve his problem!"

After hearing what Guo Jia said, Cao Cao couldn't help but nodded secretly.

What Guo Jia said made sense. Even if Liu Bei had plans, his strength was a fatal flaw.

As long as they fought faster, Liu Bei would not be their match even if he gained the land.

And without Yuan Shu, he could also take advantage of the situation to attack Liu Bei!

At that time, facing the absolute crushing strength, Liu Bei would most likely have no way to deal with it!

Thinking of this, he stroked his beard and smiled:

"Feng Xiao, this is a good idea. This will put Liu Bei's plan in vain!"

Xun Yu, who was listening to this, stroked his beard and frowned, saying:
"But Yuan Shu is so powerful and has so many soldiers and horses. How can we defeat him?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Guo Jia smiled confidently and said:

"If we want to target others, our army may not be able to do it, but targeting Yuan Shu is easy!"

"Yuan Shu is surrounded by enemies on all sides. He can maintain his power because it is difficult for all parties to coordinate. Therefore, my lord can submit a memorial to the emperor and ask him to order Liu Bei, Lu Bu, Sun Ce, Chen Yu and others to attack Yuan Shu together!"

"We can let these four families attack Jiujiang, and our army will march out from Xuchang to attack Runan!"

"In this way, Yuan Shu will be caught in a situation where he can't take care of both ends. Even if he has a large number of troops, it will be difficult for him to defeat our five armies."

"And if our army carries out this plan, Liu Bei must also mobilize his troops in the name of benevolence and righteousness!"

"If he wants to borrow the power of others when he goes south, there are only two ways. One is to take Huainan with those three families, and the other is to take Runan with our army."

"If he takes Huainan, he must first plot against the three families. Even if he can take Huainan, Yuan Shu will return to contain Huainan when he sees that Huainan has been broken. Our army can take advantage of the situation to defeat him."

"If he attempts to seize Runan, our army can hold its ground for now."

"He has only 30,000 soldiers and can mobilize at most 20,000 soldiers. If our army does not move, he cannot move either!"

"Our army can wait for the situation to change. If there is an opportunity to defeat Yuan Shu, we will defeat him in one fell swoop!"

"Even if Liu Bei's army can gain some small benefits from this, it won't be a big deal!"

Having said this, Guo Jia raised his head and turned around and said:

"With this plan, we can defeat Yuan Shu first, then attack Liu Bei and eliminate the threat from the enemy!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lao Cao laughed and stood up and said:

"Feng Xiao is truly my amazing assistant. With this plan, I have nothing to worry about!"

What he feared most was that Guo Jia would be unable to deal with Qin Zhen.

But now it seems that Guo Jia may not be unable to compete with him.

Now he has soldiers, the emperor, and advisers. What can you, Liu Bei, use to play with me?

No matter how capable Qin Zhen is, he may not be able to change this gap in strength.

Therefore, all the melancholy in Lao Cao's heart was swept away at once.

When Xun Yu saw this, he bowed to Cao Cao and said:
"Sikong, Fengxiao's plan is good. Our army can act according to it!"

Seeing Xun Yu also expressed his agreement, Lao Cao no longer hesitated and immediately made the decision:
"Let's follow this plan. If you draft the memorial, I will submit a letter to the emperor today to attack Yuan Shu!"

(End of this chapter)