Cao Cao turned his head to look at Xi Zhicai.
Xi Zhicai immediately pretended not to see it.
He looked around but did not take the initiative to speak.
Guo Jia, on the other hand, looked at Cao Cao with a smile.
"Zhicai!" Cao Cao said in a sad tone.
His gaze also swept over Guo Jia, who did not speak.
Xi Zhicai heard his name.
He sighed.
He said, "My lord, you are making things difficult for me."
Cao Cao could not do anything. He looked at Xi Zhicai anxiously.
"Forget it." Xi Zhicai sighed again with a sad expression.
His gaze fell on Guo Jia beside him. At this moment, Guo Jia still looked like a gentleman.
He was not deceived by Cao Cao's acting at all.
Xi Zhicai looked at him for a while.
He moved closer to him and whispered, "Do you have an idea?"
Cao Cao immediately looked at Guo Jia.
Guo Jia shot a warning look at Xi Zicai, who was trying to divert the trouble.
This guy was not willing to make a move, so he wanted to drag others into the water. He did not know who spoiled him. Just as he was about to refuse, he met Cao Cao's eager gaze.
Guo Jia paused and helplessly gave up on the warning.
Guo Jia said helplessly, "I did think of it."
Cao Cao's eyes lit up. "What is it?"
Xi Zhicai also looked at Guo Jia.
He was just a little unhappy when he saw that Guo Jia did not care, so he diverted the trouble.
He did not expect that the other party would actually think of a way.
"Lü Bu has a strong personality. This time, Yuan Shao set up a trap for him, so he will definitely bear a grudge in his heart.
He will only wait for revenge in the future. Our forces are too weak compared to Yuan Shao and Lü Bu.
It is not appropriate to get involved. "Guo Jia laid out the matter clearly and explained it to Cao Cao.
The key was to explain clearly why they could not be enemies with Lü Bu.
Guo Jia's meaning was very clear. He did not want to get involved.
Yuan Shao wanted to waste their soldiers to delay Lü Bu.
It would be best if he waited for Lü Bu to get impatient and leave. Most of their soldiers would be dead, and he would be able to reap the benefits.
Were things really as simple as Yuan Shao thought?
Guo Jia had his reservations about this. He had seen Lü Bu before. If he was just an irascible person like the one above, he wouldn't be so terrifying when leading troops.
Cao Cao nodded in agreement. Only those who had interacted with Lü Bu would understand how terrifying that man was.
That man was like a peerless treasure that had been carefully crafted. The man who had taught him seemed to understand what his weaknesses were and began to make up for them in a simple and crude manner. Vision, martial prowess, scheming, personality, ambition. He had everything that a successful leader should have. More importantly, he had a background that could satisfy his ambitions.
The more Cao Cao thought about it, the more frightened he became. Of course, he did not understand the good intentions that Xie Lige had for Lü Bu. He only praised Lü Bu's terror. Even he did not want to be enemies with that man.
"But if we don't do anything, Yuan Shao will also hold a grudge."
Cao Cao raised another problem. They were currently in a disadvantageous position. As Cao Cao's guide, if Cao Cao did not do anything, Yuan Shao would definitely be angry.
Guo Jia said, "Don't be impatient."
"We can pretend to do something." Guo Jia said to Cao Cao in an almost inaudible voice.
When Cao Cao heard this, he immediately raised his head and looked in surprise at Guo Jia, who was still smiling.
Guo Jia reminded him, "Milord, don't forget that we recruited a group of people before we came here. Those people are still very useful!"
At the end of the day, the alliance had a good reputation among the common people under the banner of cleaning up the emperor. Everyone was very supportive of it. Many strong men had also pledged their allegiance to Cao Cao.
"But …" Cao Cao was a little hesitant. Many of those people were envious of him and wanted to take them in. He was also a little reluctant to let them go to the battlefield.
When Xi Zhicai heard Guo Jia's meaning, he immediately understood. However, he thought deeper. When he saw that Cao Cao was still hesitating, he advised, "We will only be able to see those people's abilities when they go to the battlefield."
Whether it was a mule or a horse, it would come for a ride.
If they went to the battlefield and gained merit, how could Cao Cao not reward them?
When Cao Cao heard this, he immediately relaxed. This was indeed the case.
"Since that is the case, we will do as Mister says."
Cao Cao made the decision and looked at the door with a determined gaze. When he was about to call the soldiers, Guo Jia stopped him.
"There is no hurry. Why don't we go back first and talk about it?" Guo Jia said with a smile.
When he said this, Cao Cao looked around. Looking at the decorations, they were still in the palace, which was the palace where Yuan Shao had summoned them. They actually discussed it directly in the palace. Cao Cao was a little surprised for a moment. At the same time, he was glad that Guo Jia was reliable. Some of the important information was said in an almost inaudible voice.
Back to the camp.
Xi Zhicai looked at Guo Jia and said with certainty, "You did it on purpose?"
Cao Cao immediately looked at Guo Jia.
Guo Jia did not care about the two's gazes. He calmly tidied his robe and said, "There is no one outside."
Xi Zhicai frowned and said, "What are you going to do?"
"Nothing." Guo Jia said with a smile, "I just want to leave a way out."
At the same time, that night, someone passed the conversation in the palace to Lü Bu who was outside. The conversation between Cao Cao and the other two was written on a bamboo slip and presented to Lü Bu. Lü Bu looked at it and tapped his finger on the table thoughtfully.
Xie Lige was resting with his eyes closed. When he heard the tapping sound, he opened his eyes.
"Did you wake up?" Lü Bu saw that his father was awake and immediately stopped tapping. His tone was much softer.
"Nothing."
Xie Lige shook his head. He stood up and walked behind Lü Bu. When he saw the contents of the bamboo slip, he could not help but praise, "Guo Jia is a good person."
Lü Bu said, "He knows that my people are outside."
"Haha!" Xie Lige laughed and said, "He is giving you a letter of surrender. Do you want to accept it?"
"That depends on the meaning of his letter of surrender." Lü Bu played with a white jade lion paperweight. His tone was emotionless.
Xie Lige smiled and said, "Are you still angry?"
He had taught and raised this child since he was young. When he was young, his temper was easily exposed and he had been taught a lesson by him. After that, Jia Xu also put in a lot of effort and successfully twisted this child's temper back. The angrier he was, the more difficult it was to understand his emotions.
"Hmph!"
Lü Bu snorted. He was already an adult and was sulking like a large dog. It was rare for him to show his displeasure in front of his father.
"That's enough!"
Xie Lige could not do anything about his son's coquettish behavior. He could only comfort him and said, "This time I will definitely help you vent your anger!"
"That's a promise?" Lü Bu immediately said.
"A promise cannot be taken back!" Xie Lige was somewhat helpless.
Lü Bu was finally satisfied.
Now that he was in a good mood, he saw that the content of Cao Cao and the others' conversation was much more pleasing to the eye. He knew that they were not willing to be enemies with him. Lü Bu thought for a moment and called someone over.
That night, Yuan Shao's people came to visit Cao Cao's tent.
Cao Cao and Xi Zhicai looked at each other in surprise. They saw Guo Jia say with a satisfied expression, "This matter is done. Lü Bu should already know about our conversation. It seems that Milord has gained a lot of points for bringing General Dong back."
Cao Cao heard this and was immediately stunned.
Xi Zhicai was also stunned. After a while, he reacted and looked at Guo Jia anxiously, "This person is Lü Bu's subordinate?"
Cao Cao's eyes widened. His heart was filled with shock!
The minister outside the tent could be said to be one of the more outstanding subordinates of Yuan Shao. In the past, even Cao Cao was jealous of him. However, he did not expect to be rejected by the latter countless times. Cao Cao praised the latter's loyalty more than once. He did not expect to be slapped in the face this time. It was not that Yuan Shao did not have someone to rely on. It was just that the person he relied on was not him.
Xi Zhicai immediately sympathized with Cao Cao.
Cao Cao was depressed at this moment. He really thought highly of this person.
Xi Zhicai looked at Guo Jia and asked, "How did you know that he is Lü Bu's subordinate?"
"When Mr. Jia Xu was in Liangzhou, he had a classmate and a good friend. When he was young, his family was poor and he was in great trouble. Fortunately, he was rescued and escaped the disaster. This person is one of his students." Guo Jia said with a smile.
"You concluded that he is Lü Bu's subordinate based on this?" Xi Zhicai frowned.
Guo Jia shook his head and said, "What if I said that this person had met Lü Bu once?"
"In that case, it is reasonable."
Xi Zhicai reacted and said with certainty. Anyone who had met Lü Bu would know how terrifying he was. If he had not relied on Cao Cao, Xi Zhicai was not sure if he would have gone to Lü Bu for his lord. Back then, this person had met Lü Bu once. It was not difficult for him to figure out the relationship between Liangzhou and Liangzhou.
"It seems that Yuan Shao has thoroughly investigated the background of his subordinates."
In their view, this background was indeed very clean. If Guo Jia had not provided them with clues, they might not have been able to figure it out, much less Yuan Shao.
"No matter what, let's go out and take a look." Cao Cao heard his two strategists' words and said straightforwardly.
After saying this, he went out to welcome the official. The official entered the tent. Throughout the entire process, he was neither servile nor overbearing. Without revealing anything, he said that he had been sent by Yuan Shao. The entire time, he was smiling and unhurried.
If Cao Cao had not been reminded by Guo Jia, he would have believed that this official was loyal to Yuan Shao.
During the conversation, Cao Cao smiled and continued to talk to the official. Because he did not understand the official's meaning, he tried to sound him out. Unexpectedly, the official did not take the bait and remained calm and composed.
Even when he was about to leave, he appeared to be speaking up for Yuan Shao.
Cao Cao sent the official off. When he returned, he saw Guo Jia playing with the brocade pouch he had taken from the official's chair.
Cao Cao praised, "This person is truly cautious."
He was completely slippery. First, he had used Yuan Shao's banner to enter Cao Cao's tent. Throughout the entire process, he had not said a single word. Only when he was about to leave did he reveal a hint of his intentions. However, there was no evidence that this hint had been left behind by the official. Even if he fell out with Cao Cao one day, he would not have to worry about getting into trouble.
"Poison Warrior Jia Xu's teachings are truly frightening!" Xi Zhicai sighed.