This article is based on Luo Guanzhong's novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms and has nothing to do with the history of zhengshi.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and the warlords in various places specialized in their own strongholds, and all of them did not want to take advantage of the opportunity to develop and grow, and to share a piece of the pie in the chaotic world, and the key factor in the development and growth of the world was to have talent.
Looking at the three kingdoms, each overlord had his own chief strategist, such as Dong Zhuo had Li Ru, Lü Bu had Chen Gong, and only Cao Cao had no chief strategist. why? Because there are too many strategists, Xun Yu, Xun You, Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Cheng Yu, etc., are all S-level, if it is the chief, it is difficult to discuss a result. Yuan Shao's advisers were also many, but Tian Feng and Frustrated Zhi were able to get their hands on it, and most of the rest were Lu Lu's generation. Therefore, cao cao's camp did not have a chief strategist, but if we talk about Cao Cao's favorite strategist, there is no doubt that it is Guo Jia.
Among the many strategists in the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Guo Jia was a magical being, he had a super high IQ and counted every strategy, and no one could play tricks in front of him. In addition, Guo Jia's most powerful ability lies in his grasp of human psychology, which is simply to the point of being fascinated. Let's look at a few examples.
In the eleventh episode of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou in order to avenge his father's revenge, and Tao Qian could not help asking Liu Bei to help him retreat from the enemy, and Liu Bei wrote a letter of persuasion to Cao Cao, asking Cao Cao to retire. Cao Cao was furious and wanted to kill him, but was stopped by Guo Jia. Guo Jia said: "Liu Beiyuan came to the rescue, first salute and then soldiers." The lord should answer it with good words, so as to be slow and prepared; then he will attack the city with his troops, and the city may be destroyed. "What do you mean?" Didn't Liu Bei come to please peace? permit! After you are accurate, take advantage of your letting down your guard, shoot down, and play a routine.
Cao Cao listened, this trick was good, and gladly obeyed. Unfortunately, due to unexpected circumstances, this plan failed, and Lü Bu stole Cao Cao's hometown of Yanzhou, forcing Cao Cao to return to defense, and Xuzhou escaped the disaster. But this only example, it can be seen that Guo Jia is not a good man and a woman, as long as he can win, any trick can be used, you think I talk about credit, sorry, I do the opposite, otherwise why say that the soldiers are not tired of cheating?
On the twenty-fourth occasion, when the edict occurred, Cao Cao discovered that the edict had Liu Bei's signature on it and wanted to send troops to suppress Liu Bei. Everyone said that once the army was sent to Xuzhou, Yuan Shao would take advantage of the void to enter, and Xuchang would be difficult to protect. Cao Cao was indecisive and asked Guo Jia. Guo Jia said: "Yuan Shao was late and suspicious, and his advisers were jealous of each other, and they were not worried enough. Liu Beixin reorganized his army, the hearts of the people were not convinced, and The Prime Minister led the troops to the East, and the First World War could be determined. The consequences were as expected, Yuan Shao refused to send troops because of Xiao'er's illness, and Liu Bei collapsed as soon as he touched it.
On the twenty-ninth occasion, on the eve of the Battle of Guandu, everyone was worried that Sun Ce would attack Xuchang while Yuan Cao was holding on to each other, but Only Guo Jia predicted that Sun Ce's death was coming: "Sun Ce was light and unprepared, impatient and less strategic, and he was the brave ear of Pifu, and he would die at the hands of villains one day." This statement not only sounds illogical, but even a little whimsical, but the result is as expected, Sun Ce was killed by Xu Gongmenke. This is discussed in Mr. Ma Boyong's "Romance of Supporting Roles in the Three Kingdoms", and he suspects that Sun Ce's death was planned by Guo Jia, not an accident. But whether it is accidental or artificial, Guo Jia's evaluation of Sun Ce is very accurate, and he is very good at tailoring a set of coping strategies for specific personality characteristics, which is invincible.
The next thirty-second time, after Yuan Shao's death, Cao Cao attacked the Yuan brothers and could not go down for a long time. Guo Jia persuaded Cao Cao to collect troops, saying: "The Yuan clan abolished the long and young, and the brothers had the same power, each of them built a party, and those who were anxious to save each other and those who were slow were in contention." It is better to raise an army south to Jingzhou and requisition Liu Biao, in order to wait for the change of the Yuan brothers; it will become and then attack, but it can be decided in one fell swoop. Sure enough, after Cao Cao collected his troops, Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang began to fight among themselves, and finally both were defeated and injured.
The thirty-third time, Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang were far away from Wuhuan, the road was difficult, the generals advised Cao Cao to be poor and Kou Mo to chase, and the army was far away from the Central Plains, Liu Biao might take advantage of the void to attack Xuchang, which was the idea of ordinary people. It was Guo Jiali who advised Cao Cao to cut the grass and remove the roots, not to be afraid of thousands of miles, as for Liu Biao and Liu Bei, Guo Jia had already seen them thoroughly, and read the original text: "What the princes said is wrong. Although the lord is mighty and mighty, the man of the desert will not be equipped with equipment, and if he is unprepared, he will be able to break it if he strikes it. And Yuan Shao and Wu Huan have grace, while the Shang and Xi brothers still exist and must not be removed. Liu Biao sat and talked to the guest ear, knowing that his own talent was not enough to defend Liu Bei, and if he was responsible, he might not be able to control it, and if he was light, he would not be able to use it. Although the virtual country is on an expedition, there is no worry about the public. ”
Also on the thirty-third occasion, Cao Cao's expedition to Wuhuan won, and Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang fled to Liaodong, at this time Guo Jia was dead, but he still expected the fate of Eryuan, and he left Cao Cao with the last strategy: "Now that Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang are going to surrender to Liaodong, Ming Gong must not add troops." Gongsun Kangjiu feared the annexation of the Yuan clan, and the second Yuan would be suspicious. If they attack with their troops, they will meet the enemy with all their might, and they will not be able to rush down; if they are slow, Gongsun Kang and Yuan Shi will draw their own plans, and their momentum will also be the same. ”
How confident is the phrase "it is powerful"! Guo Jia's pre-material people, Liu Bei, Yuan Shao, Sun Ce, Liu Biao, Yuan Tan, Yuan Shang, Gongsun Kang and others in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, even Guo Jia's own lord Cao Cao, were all in Guo Jia's material, and their personality characteristics and character defects had long been mastered by Guo Jia. Knowing oneself and knowing the other is invincible, Guo Jia can be described as the top psychology master in the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
It was precisely because Guo Jia had a deep enough grasp of the psychology of the crowd that he knew that only Cao Cao was the right lord for him. The two were like-minded and had the same temperament, and Cao Cao said, "He who makes a lonely person a great cause will be the same." Guo Jia said, "(Cao Cao) True Lord also." Cao Cao did not listen to Guo Jia's opinion only once, and the result was a lifelong disaster. On the twenty-first occasion, Liu Bei asked for orders to stop Yuan Shu, and Cao Cao agreed. After Guo Jia heard this, he urged: "One day to indulge the enemy, the plague of all the worlds", although Cao Cao sent Xu Chu back to recall Liu Bei, but did not take it seriously, the result was that Liu Bei fished into the sea, the bird went to Qingxiao, and became Cao Cao's fierce enemy for world domination.
After the defeat at the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao remembered Guo Jia and couldn't help but cry in the sky, and when everyone asked why, Cao Cao said, "I cry Guo Feng Xiao'er!" If filial piety is there, I will never make such a big mistake! ”