Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 112: Jia Xu surrenders, I also have Yuan Shao's ten defeats
Guo Jia met Jia Xu's gaze, took a big sip of wine, and then slowly expounded his theory of ten defeats and ten victories.

"First! Yuan Shao is particular about complicated etiquette; Your Majesty is natural and detached, approachable, this is the victory of Taoism!"

"Second! Yuan Shao has evil intentions and is holding the emperor hostage. Your Majesty is a descendant of Emperor Gaozu and occupies the throne. It is the destiny of heaven. This is a victory of righteousness!"

"Third! Yuan Shao appears to be tolerant but is jealous inside, and he is suspicious of people he employs; Your Majesty appears to be simple and easy-going on the outside, but is smart and wise inside, and he does not doubt people he employs. This is the way to win!"

"Fourth! Yuan Shao has many plans but few decisions, and is as indecisive as a woman. Ju Su once proposed to hold the emperor hostage to control the disobedient, but was rejected by Yuan Shao, so he regretted it when he was welcomed away by Cao Cao. Your Majesty was able to adapt to the situation and escape from Cao Cao. He was imprisoned by Yuan Shao, but he was able to quickly win over the imperial guards and made me willing to die for him. This is a winning strategy!"

"Fifth! Yuan Shao made high-sounding proposals and bowed to gain reputation, and many of the boastful scholars left to join him; Your Majesty treats people with sincerity and does not like vain appearances. This is a victory of virtue!"

"Sixth! Yuan Shao's subordinates fought for power and slandered each other, causing confusion and chaos. Your Majesty appointed Liu Bei and Lu Bu to make peace between them. This is a clear victory!"

"Seventh! Yuan Shao's descendants are hostile to each other. Brothers who are not on good terms will fight against each other. Your Majesty has no descendants yet, so don't worry. This is your son's victory!"

"Eighth! Yuan Shao likes to bluff and does not know the key points of military strategy. Although he has many generals under his command, few of them can take the lead. Your Majesty's generals, such as Lu Fengxian, Guan Yu, and Zhang Yide, are all capable of fighting against thousands of people. This is a military victory!"

"Ninth! Yuan Shao is now forty-three years old, already in his forties, and is getting old and often ill. Your Majesty is still young and strong, so you have a longer life!"

Guo Jia spoke eloquently, expressing all that was in his mind.

After nine wins and nine losses, the jar of wine was already empty.

Jia Xu listened attentively. With his scheming and strategy, he had never been able to see so comprehensively.

Lu Bu, this fickle villain, actually defected to the emperor!
Seeing that Guo Jia just drank alone and stopped talking after talking about nine wins and nine losses, he became anxious and grabbed Guo Jia's sleeve and asked, "Feng Xiao, what about the last win and loss?"

"Hahaha! The final victory or defeat depends on Brother Wenhe!"

Guo Jia laughed loudly, pointed at Jia Xu, then suddenly took out a dagger from his arms and slammed it heavily on the table.

"If Brother Wenhe is willing to help Your Majesty, then Yuan Shao will lose a great talent, and Your Majesty will have an extra hand. This is human victory!"

"Yuan Shao has ten defeats, Your Majesty has ten victories!"

"Your Majesty has all the advantages of the Way, the Righteousness, the Measures, the Plans, the Virtues, the Wisdom, the Sons, the Martial Arts, the Longevity, and the People. How can you not accomplish the great cause of reviving the Han Dynasty?"

"Now that I have said this, for the sake of Yanhan, for yourself, and for the sake of your family, please make the decision, Brother Wenhe!"

Jia Xu looked at the dagger that Guo Jia slammed on the table in doubt and surprise. He knew what Guo Jia meant.

Guo Jia has already told him all the cards clearly. If he still does not agree to serve the emperor, he will die today!
In addition, even the family members could not escape the disaster.

Jia Xu broke out in a cold sweat.

He never expected that Guo Jia was so insidious that he actually found his family in secret.

For a moment, the air in the courtyard seemed to freeze.

The two looked at each other without saying a word. Only the hoarse chirping of cicadas could be heard from afar.

After a long while, Jia Xu sighed, put down the wine glass in his hand, and said helplessly: "Why is Fengxiao so bad?"

Today he just wanted to test Guo Jia and find out the emperor's trump card.

But what he didn't expect was that Guo Jia would be so determined, and actually came with the purpose of killing his entire family if he failed!

"Brother Wenhe, stop talking nonsense. Are you willing to be loyal to His Majesty?" Guo Jia stared straight at Jia Xu.

As long as Jia Xu's eyes wavered in the slightest when he answered, he would act without hesitation.

Jia Xu restrained his expression and said, "To be honest, when I first came to Yecheng, I made two plans."

"What do you mean?" Guo Jia narrowed his eyes slightly and tightened the dagger in his hand.

Jia Xu sneered, "I came to Yecheng not because I was loyal to Yuan Shao. Don't laugh at me, I have always believed in keeping a low profile. Yuan Shao has three dukes for four generations and is very powerful. If I work under him, I can live a stable and wealthy life."

"After arriving in Yecheng, I found that Yuan Shao was not a good leader... Fengxiao just mentioned the specific reason in his theory of ten wins and ten losses."

"Yuan Shao is good at making plans but lacks decision-making. He is not a wise leader. Submitting to him may ensure temporary stability, but it is definitely not a long-term solution."

Guo Jia nodded slightly and asked, "Brother Wenhe, what is your second plan..."

"That's right." Jia Xu said calmly, "Although I am a selfish person, I have read the books of sages and I also understand righteousness."

"I don't want to join Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao. If I have the chance, I would also like to follow a wise leader to accomplish great things."

"The second preparation for coming to Yecheng is that if Yuan Shao is not worthy of following, I will secretly observe the emperor. If the emperor is wise and worthy of assistance, I am willing to do my best to help the emperor rebuild the Han Dynasty."

"If neither Yuan Shao nor the emperor are worthy of following, then leave." Guo Jia felt a little relieved after hearing this, but he was still unsure of Jia Xu's true intention, so he asked, "Then in your opinion, Brother Wenhe, is His Majesty wise and worthy of your assistance?"

Jia Xu smiled and said, "Feng Xiao is a man of extraordinary intelligence, and Lu Bu is a fierce general who is unrivaled in the world. How can a monarch who can make Feng Xiao and Lu Bu loyal to him be a mediocre and incompetent person? Although I have not had much contact with Your Majesty, I can see from the two of you that Your Majesty has great potential, but now he is trapped in a shallow shoal."

"Therefore..."

As Jia Xu spoke, he suddenly stood up and bowed to Guo Jia, saying, "Let me, Jia Wenhe, win the last of these ten victories for your majesty!"

These words are very powerful!

Guo Jia stared at Jia Xu, and the latter did not flinch or avoid, but met his gaze with a calm expression on his face.

After a moment, Guo Jia let go of the dagger in his hand, stood up, bowed deeply to Jia Xu, and said apologetically: "Brother Wenhe, I was rude just now."

"If Brother Wenhe has any complaints against me, feel free to beat and scold me. I will never fight back, but I hope Brother Wenhe can do his best to assist His Majesty."

Jia Xu also breathed a sigh of relief, as his family was temporarily free of worries.

He smiled, helped Guo Jia up and said, "Such a big thing must be handled with extreme caution, how could I take it to heart?"

Guo Jia looks like a weak scholar, the kind of weak scholar who drinks all day long.

But who could have thought that such a person could be so vicious.

Jia Xu understood that if he did not make his position clear today, both he and his family members who had been hidden long ago would die.

Guo Jia knew that using family members to threaten others was not the behavior of a gentleman, so he smiled bitterly and said, "This is related to the safety of Your Majesty. If I fail to recruit Brother Wenhe today, and the news leaks out and puts Your Majesty in danger, I will never give up."

Jia Xu nodded to show that he understood.

If it were him, his actions would be even more vicious and cruel than Guo Jia's.

"When you are free, please take me to the palace to meet His Majesty. Some things are better discussed with His Majesty in person."

Guo Jia laughed, "Your Majesty would be very happy if he knew that Brother Wenhe came to surrender."

The two men looked at each other and laughed, as if they were good friends who had not seen each other for a long time, and it seemed as if the scene of fighting before had never happened at all.

Jia Xu took another jar of wine and put it on the table with a thump. "Come on, come on, Fengxiao, we won't go home until we are drunk today."

Guo Jia picked up a glass of wine, put it under his nose and took a deep sniff, his face full of intoxicated expression.

"This wine is really good. I drank it too quickly just now. Now I have to taste it carefully."

Jia Xu looked at Guo Jia, who looked like a drunkard, and found it hard to imagine that this man was so scheming and cunning.

"I will find an opportunity to ask Yuan Shao for a few more jars to give to Feng Xiao."

In the hot summer, in a small courtyard, the two most outstanding strategists in the world were drinking and talking freely.

When the two were slightly tipsy, Jia Xu said, "Feng Xiao, after listening to your theory of ten wins and ten losses, I also have my own theory of Yuan Shao's ten losses, some of which coincide with yours."

Guo Jia took a gulp of wine, burped, and said, "Brother Wenhe, what do you think? Tell me quickly."

Jia Xu sorted out his thoughts and said, "Although Yuan Shao is powerful, he is surrounded by powerful enemies outside. Cao Aman of Yanzhou, Gongsun Zan of Youzhou, and Lu Fengxian of Xuzhou are all powerful enemies. There are factional struggles inside, and they attack each other, and their affiliations are different. This is a defeat."

"Yuan Shu's claim to the throne greatly weakened the prestige of the Yuan family, which had three dukes for four generations. Yuan Shao would no longer be able to command the support of the people as before. This was his second defeat."

"The emperor is rising, though weak, in the dark. Yuan Shao is strong, but in the light. Using the dark to plan for the light, he gained the upper hand. This is the third defeat."

"Lü Bu secretly surrendered and occupied Xuzhou and Yangzhou for Your Majesty's use. It's ridiculous that Yuan Shao didn't realize it. Not only did he not set up defenses against Lü Bu, he also tried to win him over. This is the fourth defeat."

"In order to suppress Liu Bei, Yuan Shao pretended to be the emperor's edict and appointed him as the governor of Jingzhou. However, Liu Biao of Jingzhou was a talented official in the world! He was suspicious and indecisive, and could not do anything. Xu believed that with Liu Bei's ability, he would be able to seize Jingzhou from Liu Biao, the thief who guarded the city. This is the fifth defeat."

"The Yan and Han dynasties have been passed down for more than 300 years. The hearts of the people belong to the Han, and the righteousness lies with the emperor. The Yuan family has been blessed by the country for generations. If Yuan Shao has a rebellious heart, what is the difference between him and an animal? At that time, he will lose the hearts of the people, and the whole world will attack him. This is the sixth defeat."

"Yuan Shao is holding the emperor hostage to control his disobedience, and Cao Cao in the south also has a puppet emperor. The two will definitely fight. The emperor can sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, while the fisherman gains. This is the seventh defeat."

"Yuan Shao was able to make decisive decisions when the odds were against him, and his superiors and subordinates worked together. But when the odds were favorable, he was indecisive and would not listen to others' advice. This was his eighth defeat."

"Yuan Shao had many generals but few talents, many soldiers but little food. He listened to villains and alienated loyal men. This was his ninth defeat."

"Yuan Shao's sons fought against each other, and his brothers were at odds with each other. They were like fire and water. This was the tenth defeat."

(End of this chapter)