The Three Kingdoms: The Cold Gate World

Chapter 436 Paving the way
It was freezing cold and snowing heavily.

It has been a month since Guo Jia led an army of 20 soldiers to Xuzhou. The final result of the battle outside Xuzhou declared that Guo Jia unified the south of the Yellow River, and there were thirteen states in the world. Poor Land of Four States.

In the battle to destroy Liu Bei, the Taiping Army paid a price of nearly ten thousand to annihilate the entire enemy army, while Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others will all be buried on the battlefield.

With the current trend, Guo Jia has 19 troops on the south bank of the Yellow River, plus the 30 troops of Zhang Liao in Luoyang. With the Yellow River as the boundary, nearly [-] Taiping troops are eyeing Hebei.

Hebei has already found it difficult to recruit new soldiers. The new troops recruited before were all taken by Yu Jin to Fancheng and sent to Huangquan. However, in the current situation, no matter how generous the recruitment conditions Cao Pi offered, no one would be willing to serve him. After all, what do you think? , is a dead end.

If forced conscription is required, it will stir up civil uprisings. Even if Cao Pi is teetering on the dragon chair, he will not be so stupid as to dig his own grave.

It was snowing heavily in the city, and the Taiping Army was well-prepared for this expedition according to Guo Jia's plan. The clothes, food and grass to keep out the cold were all prepared, and the whole army spent the winter in Xuzhou temporarily.

In the spacious study, Guo Jia casually flipped through the collection of books from Tao Qian to Cao Wei to Liu Bei. Xuzhou is not short of scholarly families, with a strong atmosphere of literature and ink, and there are inevitably some ancient scrolls that can arouse Guo Jia's interest.

A figure suddenly appeared outside the door, Guo Jia turned his head to look at it, and said with a smile, "Yuan Zhi, you've been away for a long time, eh? Who is this child?"

Before winter, the Taiping Army swept across Henan, and after winter, they were going to attack Hebei again. It was this winter that Xu Shu took the time to come to Xuzhou to meet Guo Jia.

Guo Jia caught sight of the half-dodged young man behind Xu Shu.

"This kid's name is Jiang Wei, and I adopted him as my foster son."

Xu Shu looked meticulous, as if he was covered with a heavy burden.

Although Guo Jia was surprised to hear Jiang Wei's name, he was more concerned about Xu Shu's preoccupied expression.

Just as he was about to ask, another person appeared behind Xu Shu: Qin Mi.

Putting away the bamboo slips and putting them back on the bookshelf, Guo Jia walked to the side table and sat down. He also put away his relaxed expression and asked, "Looking at you like this, there must be something wrong. Come in and talk about it."

Xu Shu turned around and asked Jiang Wei to stay elsewhere, then walked into the study, followed by Qin Mi, Jia Xu, Fazheng, and Pang Tong.

It can be said that the six civil servants who are Guo Jia's most important right-hand man and right-hand man, only Xi Zhicai was not present.

This posture is almost exactly the same as when Guo Jia and these people formulated the strategy to destroy Cao.

Qin Mi took out a letter from her bosom and presented it to Guo Jia. Guo Jia sighed softly. After opening it, he was not surprised that the writer of the letter was Xi Zhicai.

The five counselors in front of them stared at Guo Jia with solemn expressions, which made Guo Jia vaguely guess what they meant.

Just from Xi Zhicai's letter, Guo Jia secretly sighed: As expected.

Guo Jia showed a wry smile, and when he was about to speak, the five people in front of him bowed down in unison, with Xu Shu as the leader, and said: "My lord, I implore you to think twice. After destroying Cao, establish a country and ascend the throne!"

Among these five people, there are Guo Jia's close friends when he was young, some talents that Guo Jia wholeheartedly recruited, some like-minded people, and Guo Jiahui's insight.

Guo Jia put down Xi Zhicai's letter, sighed softly, and then said: "I once said to all the gentlemen, if you repay them with a gentleman of the country, I will treat you with a gentleman of the country. I will answer all your requests. But, I What I want, dare to ask, can you satisfy me once? Maybe I am self-willed, I am escaping, I am timid, but this is me, the biggest wish in my heart is not to be lonely, but to be at ease .”

The world is chaotic and there is no place for home. How can there be a happy land in an environment full of war?What are you talking about?But after dominating the country, it is different. Guo Jia doesn't want to be tied to the temple, and he doesn't want to continue to be so physically and mentally tense and live in conscientious work for the rest of his life.

At this moment, Guo Jia still didn't change his mind, Xu Shu struggled and was very complicated, but Pang Tong was already in tears, his ugly face was full of true feelings, and he still persuaded Guo Jia earnestly.

"My lord, you are in the prime of life, so why worry about the end of your life? When the world is first set, you still need to coordinate all directions to make the country prosperous and strong!"

Guo Jia shook his head when he heard the words, looked at Pang Tong's face full of tears, and said: "Shi Yuan, you now are not like you who recommended yourself in Lishan Mao alone back then. How can you cry like you are now?"

Hearing this, Pang Tongtong immediately wiped away his tears, but still looked at Guo Jia expectantly.

After several people puffed up their chests, Guo Jia smiled and said: "What have I done all these years? It is nothing more than recruiting talented and wise people and controlling them with Taoism. To truly benefit the common people, clarify the world, calm chaos, and bring peace to the world. It’s all about you. I have something to ask for now.”

As far as the monarch is concerned, Guo Jia cannot do everything by himself. All he needs is a helper. With helpers, he can get twice the result with half the effort, handle all aspects properly, and form a joint force.Conversely, even if Guo Jia is a god descending to earth, can he kill all the enemies by himself?Even if he really has the talents of the past and the present, can he do everyone's work?The Master works hard for others, and it is even more so for a king. Knowing people and doing well is the most important thing.

As soon as Guo Jia asked for help, the five of them were thoughtful and intelligent people, and they immediately understood.

Although it was tacit understanding, Guo Jia still opened his mouth.

"Ye'er is young. Although he has been calm since he was a child, and he has never done things too far, he still needs someone to remind him from time to time. You are all his elders, and he respects you very much. He will definitely not ignore your words. For this It's not easy peace, I hope you will continue to work hard in the future, and worry about it."

Xu Shu has known Guo Jia for nearly thirty years, and he knows Guo Jia's temperament very well. Since he can't change his mind now, there is no need to talk about it.

Immediately, Xu Shu stated: "Don't worry, my lord, we will do our best to assist the son, to ensure peace, and to benefit the common people."

The other four also expressed their opinions one by one. In this way, Guo Jia was relieved that all the mainstays in his group, from culture to military, could unanimously support Guo Ye, at least there would be no internal troubles.

"Okay, let's talk about business."

Guo Jia suddenly laughed lightly.

No one in the hall looked at each other helplessly. In their view, what was discussed just now was the most serious matter, but Guo Jia just didn't take it seriously.

"What happened to Cao Pi in Hebei?"

Guo Jia raised a smiling face, as if he had forgotten the previous things in an instant.

Fazheng immediately replied: "Cao Xiu led 12 troops to guard Huguan in Bingzhou, while Cao Pi's [-] troops in Yecheng did not move at all. It is estimated that Cao Pi is also in a dilemma at this time."

After pondering for a moment, Guo Jia said, "Cao Pi probably wants to see if I will make the same mistakes as Yuan Shao."

In the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao raised his troops to the south, crossed the Yellow River and attacked a little bit, and confronted Cao Cao at Guandu. Although Cao Pi was still a child at that time, there must have been many veterans around him who had experienced that earth-shattering reversal, so we must fight with widows. The enemy is numerous, but Cao Pi can't move first. He will see how Guo Jia will march before making a decision.

Yuan Shao Guandu's defeat, apart from his own reasons, actually made a mistake in terms of grand strategy.

At that time, Yuan Shao had many soldiers and many generals, and he was fully capable of pinching Cao Cao from at least three sides, but he wanted to concentrate his forces to fight Cao Cao in a decisive battle.

Guo Jia and Cao Pi are very similar to the strength comparison between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao back then.

It's just that it has to rise a few steps from the level of strength.

So now Cao Pi is waiting, waiting for how Guo Jia will step into Hebei.

Like Yuan Shao, he went straight to Huanglong, striving to win the first battle.Or is there another trick?
"If Cao Pi has half the courage of his father, he should gather all the soldiers and horses to prepare for a decisive battle."

Guo Jia said with a smile.

Now the Taiping army is in Luoyang on one side and Xuzhou on the other. Yanzhou, the hinterland of the Central Plains in the middle, is empty, but Cao Pi obviously will not send troops to cross the Yellow River, otherwise he will be surrounded by the Taiping Army.

On the one hand, Cao Pi was afraid that the Taiping Army would sweep Bingzhou and Qingzhou from left to right, and he was also afraid that the Taiping Army's momentum would directly break through Yecheng. Now he was in a dilemma, forming an embarrassing situation.

The [-] soldiers and horses of Cao Xiu in Bingzhou seemed to be guarding against Zhang Liao's [-] troops in Luoyang, but in fact they were more like a cocoon.

"In the spring of next year, I went north from Dongjun County to Jizhou. After entering Jizhou, Yecheng shook. Cao Pi must have thought that the Taiping Army was going to attack Yecheng directly. Naturally, Cao Xiu from Huguan led his army back to help. At that time, Wen Yuan led his army to sweep Bingzhou , Let Meng Qi, Zilong, and Xingba lead the cavalry to intercept and kill Cao Xiu halfway, then turn around and take Qingzhou, then I will see if Cao Pi can still defend Yecheng."

Guo Jia will not be as stupid as Yuan Shao, he will not use the advantage of being surrounded by two wings, and Jizhou is sandwiched between Bingzhou and Qingzhou. According to Guo Jia's current strength, even if he does not fight Cao Pi head-on, he will be able to force Cao Pi to fight within a year. into a desperate situation.

Next, Guo Jia and Xu Shu made a detailed plan for the Northern Expedition plan for the coming year.

Before leaving, Jia Xu turned to Guo Jia and asked, "Will the lord personally lead the army in the next year's battle?"

Guo Jia shook his head and said, "No, let Ye'er be in charge."

Jia Xu nodded thoughtfully and left.

The purpose of Guo Jia's doing so has been clearly revealed.

To destroy Wu, it was Guo Ye, and to destroy Cao, it was still Guo Ye.

This is Guo Jia's desire to accumulate achievements and prestige for Guo Ye and pave the way for Guo Ye to rise to the top.

Even though Mi Fang was guilty of spreading rumors in Chengdu back then, Guo Jia used him as a pawn to become the soul of Ma Chao's sword. Such a secret plan.

Ma Chao's false rebellion, and the fact that Gan Ning and Wu Yi were secretly manipulated by Guo Jia, plus the pardon of prisoners to enter the Taiping Army to die, and so on.It will also damage Guo Jia's prestige. All of this is Guo Jia's initiative to shape the situation. In this way, the impact of his curtain call will be minimized, and the people under him will face the new master with expectations.

(End of this chapter)