In the era of heroes in the Three Kingdoms, there is a figure known as a "ghost talent", whose resourcefulness and talent are breathtaking. He is Guo Jia, whose name is Fengxiao, born in Yingchuan, and is an important advisor under Cao Cao. The seven major prophecies of his life, none of which were miscalculated, were praised by later generations as "Guo Jia is not dead, and Wolong is not out". So, who is more powerful Guo Jia or Zhuge Liang? Is Zhuge Liang really because of Guo Jia to live in seclusion in Longzhong?
Let's follow the chronological order to understand the legendary life of Guo Jia, a ghost genius of the Three Kingdoms, in one breath.
Born in 170 AD, Guo Jia spent his childhood and adolescence in Yingchuan. He was brilliant from an early age and showed extraordinary talent and intelligence. However, in the turbulent era at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the world was in turmoil, and Guo Jia knew that the troubled times were coming, so he chose to live in seclusion at the age of 20, secretly befriending the heroes and heroes of the world, and not interacting with the world.
At that time, Yuan Shao was famous and had a bright future, and was known as the fourth and third princes. The first thing Guo Jia took a fancy to was Yuan Shao, who he thought had the potential to dominate the world. However, when he met Yuan Shao in person, he found that Yuan Shao would only imitate Corporal Lixian of Duke Zhou, but he did not know how to really use talents. Yuan Shao is thoughtful and lacks the essentials, likes to plan but is not decisive, and is not a hero who can dominate the world. So, Guo Jia left Yuan Shao and went into hiding again.
This time, he chose to wait, and that wait was six years. It was not until 196 A.D. that one of Cao Cao's most important strategists, Xi Zhi, died, and Cao Cao wrote to Xun Yu in his heart, asking him to recommend a strategist who could succeed Xi Zhicai. Xun Yu recommended his friend Guo Jia to Cao Cao. Cao Cao and Guo Jia hit it off at first sight, discussed major events in the world together, and talked about everything. From then on, Guo Jia began his career of giving advice and serving Cao Cao loyally.
Faced with the situation of various princes separating and competing for hegemony at that time, Guo Jia made an accurate judgment of the psychological state of each enemy, which became the key to Cao Cao's victory. A year later, Cao Cao's conquest of Zhang Xiu failed, and Yuan Shao wrote a letter to humiliate him. Just when Cao Cao was worried that he did not have enough strength to compete with Yuan Shao, Guo Jia put forward the famous "Ten Victories and Ten Defeats", citing ten reasons in a row to prove that Cao Cao had ten victories and Yuan Shao had ten defeats. It was Guo Jia's persuasive analysis that boosted the morale of Cao's officers and soldiers, and also formulated Cao Cao's long-term and short-term combat goals. Guo Jia has since established himself as the core of Cao Cao's military think tank.
In 198 AD, Liu Bei was defeated by Lü Bu and thus attached to Cao Cao. The strategist Cheng Yu suggested to Cao Cao that he kill Liu Bei in order to prevent future troubles. Guo Jia believes that if Cao Cao wants to achieve hegemony, he cannot jeopardize the prestige of the four seas by killing one person. It is not wise to jeopardize the prestige of the four seas in order to get rid of one person. So, he suggested that Cao Cao put Liu Bei under house arrest, but Cao Cao did not accept Liu Bei's plan to put Liu Bei under house arrest, in order to convince Liu Bei of his heart, he became closer to Liu Bei, which led to the formation of the Three Kingdoms in the future.
When Cao Cao sent troops to attack Lü Bu, who was in Xuzhou, Lü Bu was besieged in Xiapi and could not hold out. The battle lasted for more than half a year, and Cao Cao saw that the soldiers in the army were exhausted, so he had the idea of retiring. At this time, Guo Jia saw the opportunity to win, and he used Xiang Yu as an example to exhort Cao Cao to put forward the idea that those who have courage and no strategy, if they are exhausted, they will soon be defeated. As a result, Cao Cao launched a rapid attack, attacking the city on one side, and breaking the embankment on the other, flooding Xiapi. Sure enough, it didn't take long for Cao Cao to conquer Xiapi and capture and kill Lu Bu.
In 199 AD, Liu Bei took advantage of Yuan Shu's northward surrender to Yuan Shao and took the initiative to ask Cao Cao to intercept the attack. At this time, it happened that Guo Jia and Cheng Yu were not by Cao Cao's side. After Liu Bei's flickering, Cao Cao agreed to his request. By the time Guo Jia and Cheng Yu returned, it was too late. At this time, Liu Bei had already captured Xiapi and raised troops to start fighting against Cao Cao, who was full of regret.
One
A year later, in order to avoid being attacked by enemies in the future against Yuan Shao, Cao Cao decided to first eliminate Liu Bei, who had not gained a firm foothold in Xuzhou. At that time, all the generals under Cao Cao were afraid that Yuan Shao would take the opportunity to attack Xuchang, and when the time came, he would not be able to fight, and if he retreated, there would be no way to retreat. Just when Cao Cao hesitated, Guo Jia analyzed that Yuan Shao had always been indecisive and would not react quickly. Liu Bei's hearts have not returned, his foothold is not stable, and if he attacks quickly at this time, Liu Bei will be defeated, and then return to the division to deal with Yuan Shao. This is the best opportunity to change the enemy of our fathers, and we must not lose it. So, Cao Cao led his army to the east, broke Liu Bei, captured Liu Bei's wife, and captured Guan Yu alive. The development of things, as Guo Jia expected, Yuan Shao really didn't react, and Liu Bei had already been defeated. This allowed Cao Cao to go all out to start a decisive battle with Yuan Shao.
Just as Cao Cao was full of confidence and fought a decisive battle with Yuan Shao in Guandu, another disturbing news reached Cao Cao's camp. Jiangdong Haojie Sun Ce prepared to send troops to attack Cao Cao's base Xudu. Cao Cao was already at a disadvantage in the confrontation with Yuan Shao, and if Sun Ce chose to attack at this time, it would be impossible for him to draw up his forces to defend Xu Du. If all of them were lost, Cao Cao's power would fall apart completely. Many people began to secretly flatter Yuan Shao at this time, preparing to leave a way back for themselves. At this critical juncture, Guo Jia once again predicted that Sun Ce had just annexed Jiangdong, and all the people he killed were heroes and heroes, and Sun Ce was a rash and unguarded person, and if there was an assassin ambush, he would not escape death. As Guo Jia expected, Sun Ce was killed by the enemy Xu Gong's disciples before he crossed the river. Although this is just a coincidence, it does add a strong touch to Guo Jia's miraculous calculations.
In 202 AD, Yuan Shao, who had failed in the Battle of Guandu, died of illness, and Cao Cao took the opportunity to wave his troops north and connect with the battle. But just when victory was in sight, Guo Jia, who had previously ordered to go north, tried his best to discourage public opinion, and suggested that Cao Cao withdraw at this time. He predicted that the two Yuan brothers would inevitably turn against each other in the future, so it was better to go south to Liu Biao first, wait for his changes, and then go north in one fell swoop, and the world could be decided. Sure enough, as soon as Cao Cao returned to Xuchang, the news of the change in reinforcements had already arrived. Cao Cao took the opportunity to return to the army and went north, defeating Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang. Because of Guo Jia's clever plan, Cao Cao won this battle easily and smoothly.
In 205 AD, Guo Jia suggested that Cao Cao recruit more quiet and quiet soldiers to regain the hearts of the people. But just when Cao Cao was about to dominate Hebei, Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi fled into Wuhuan. At this time, after several years of recuperation, Liu Bei accumulated considerable strength by Liu Biao's side in Jingzhou. Cao Cao was afraid that Liu Bei would suddenly attack behind his back when he was on his expedition to Wuhuan. At this time, Guo Jia put forward a different opinion from others, he thought that Cao Cao could rest assured that the expedition would come to stop Liu Bei at that time. Cao Cao followed Guo Jia's advice and immediately marched to Liucheng, killed Wuhuan Shan Yu Dun in the Battle of White Wolf Mountain, and captured more than 200,000 prisoners. According to Guo Jia's strategy, Cao Cao finally completely pacified the north and unified the entire area north of the Yellow River Valley. However, the conditions of the march were extremely bad, and there were dry and waterless sections of the road for 200 miles. On the way back from Liucheng, Guo Jia fell ill and died because of the unaccustomed water and soil, the harsh climate, coupled with the rapid travel day and night and overwork.
Among Cao Cao's many advisors, only Guo Jia knew Cao Cao best, and the two had the closest relationship, like friends. Travel in the same car, sit in the same seat. In his perennial career, Cao Cao always took Guo Jia with him. Whenever there is a major military event, Guo Jia's strategy has never miscalculated, and Cao Cao has placed infinite hopes on the young Guo Jia.
Thus, Guo Jia was a military strategist, a man who helped Cao Cao in his war, while Zhuge Liang was a statesman. His real contribution was to assist Liu Chan in governing Shu after Liu Bei's death. Both of them were among the best geniuses of their time, each with their own strengths.
Although Guo Jia's life was short, his resourcefulness and talent were impressive. His legendary story has also become a topic of conversation for future generations.