The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

now.

Cao Cao was caught in a dilemma, lacking both funds and provisions.

Even Xun You and Guo Jia couldn't come up with a solution to this perilous situation, and generals like Cao Ren were dejected. If it weren't for Cao Ren and other generals insisting on urging Cao Cao to fight Liu Bei, Cao Cao wouldn't have ended up in such a predicament.

Like Guan Yu during the flooding of the seven armies, Cao Cao firmly believed that his rear was secure and wanted to further expand his military achievements. However, he did not expect that his rear would be stolen by the insignificant Sun Quan.

After glancing at the civil and military officials with their varied expressions, Cao Cao reassured them with kind words and then kept Jia Xu behind.

After joining Cao Cao's forces, Jia Xu rarely offered any strategies, and even when he did, they were always conventional and unremarkable.

It wasn't that Jia Xu lacked more formidable wisdom, but rather that he had a clear understanding of his status as a surrendered general and was unwilling to reveal his talents too openly.

However, Cao Cao was well aware of Jia Xu's abilities: this nearly sixty-year-old man was ruthless and full of vicious schemes. His past move of "Wenhe Chaos" directly ruined the futures of Wang Yun and Lü Bu, turning Liu Xie into a puppet of powerful ministers.

It can also be said that without Jia Xu's treacherous scheme, there would have been no subsequent event where Cao Cao held the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords.

Cao Cao is now facing a crisis no less severe than that faced by Li Jue and Guo Si when Dong Zhuo had just died and they were desperate. At this critical moment, seeking advice from Jia Xu is of paramount importance.

"Wenhe, I share your glory and your loss. In this time of crisis, I hope you will not hold back your talents." Cao's narrow eyes stared sharply at Jia Xu, his right hand stroking the hilt of his sword.

Just now, among the civil and military officials in the tent, even Xun You and Guo Jia had furrowed brows, but Jia Xu remained calm and composed, neither arrogant nor impatient.

When Cao Cao left him alone, Jia Xu had already figured out Cao Cao's intentions, and Jia Xu did indeed have a plan to help Cao Cao out of his predicament.

"Although I have a plan, it is quite vicious. It will kill eight hundred enemies but also lose a thousand of our own. I doubt that the Minister of Works would dare to use it." Jia Xu did not hide anything and frankly admitted it.

Cao Cao narrowed his eyes slightly: "Wenhe, please speak freely. At this critical moment, as long as we can preserve our military strength, I dare to use even the most vicious schemes."

Jia Xu then raised his head, met Cao Cao's gaze, and said sternly, "What you are worried about is the lack of provisions. Since the Sima family of Hanoi dared to rebel against the Minister of Works, it is only reasonable for the Minister of Works to slaughter the Sima family and plunder their provisions."

Once faced with a life-or-death situation, Jia Xu would not care about the lives of others. With this plan, the Sima clan of Hanoi became the first piece that Jia Xu had to abandon.

Thinking that the Sima brothers dared to betray him, Cao Cao's anger flared up, and he immediately replied, "This plan can be used! You can tell me the follow-up plan."

Obtaining only provisions would not help Cao Cao escape his predicament; a more far-reaching plan was needed. Cao Cao believed that Jia Xu could solve both the provision problem and the escape problem.

really.

Jia Xu's next sentence directly revealed the core of the strategy: "Openly surrender to Sun Quan, secretly seize Hanzhong."

Cao Cao was greatly alarmed upon hearing this: "You want me to surrender to that brat Sun Quan?"

Seeing Cao Cao's astonishment and barely concealed anger, Jia Xu promptly added, "Sun Quan has only managed to capture Xuchang by chance, and his foundation is unstable. If you, my lord, were to attack Xuchang hastily, it would only cause Sun Quan to fight desperately out of fear. If Sun Quan sees that he cannot resist, he will surely try to win over Liu Bei with a high position. If that happens, even if you manage to escape, you will become a bandit."

"However, if you, my lord, feign surrender to Sun Quan, even if Sun Quan doesn't believe you, he wouldn't dare to exterminate you. Otherwise, once Liu Bei and Liu Biao join forces to advance on Xuchang, Sun Quan would have no choice but to flee back to Jiangdong. Sun Quan has just assumed power and will certainly not want to relinquish it to anyone else. If he wants to deal with both Liu Biao and Liu Bei at the same time, he will have no choice but to join forces with you, my lord. If you, my lord, want to form an equal alliance, Sun Quan will certainly not dare to agree for the sake of his own reputation and righteousness. If you, my lord, feign surrender, Sun Quan can use the excuse that the war has been going on for a long time and the people's hearts are set on settling down. He can openly declare that he will only punish the ringleaders and let your civil and military officials go, but in reality, he can secretly leave you alive to restrain Liu Bei and Liu Biao." "Taking advantage of this opportunity, Your Excellency should swiftly attack Ma Chao and march west into Guanzhong, then south to Hanzhong. Hanzhong is isolated; if news of Your Excellency's sudden arrival reaches Zhang Lu, he will surely be caught off guard. We can then launch a swift attack on Hanzhong and seize its resources for our own use. The generals of Guanzhong are aiding Liu Bei because of the Shu brocade. If Your Excellency obtains the Shu brocade, you can use it to divide and win over the generals of Guanzhong. When the time is right, we can then use the military might of Hanzhong and Guanzhong to launch a counterattack on Xuchang. How can Sun Quan, who has offended Liu Bei, withstand Your Excellency's military might?"

Finally, Jia Xu offered some wise advice: "A true man can bend and stretch; you must not let a momentary humiliation ruin your great cause."

As Jia Xu's plan unfolded, Cao Cao's shock and anger gradually turned into seriousness.

Given the current situation, even if they forcibly cross the river back to Xuchang, they will inevitably suffer heavy losses. Moreover, Sun Quan has detained the families of Cao Cao's civil and military officials, so when they actually attack Xuchang, the civil and military officials may not be willing to give their all.

Jia Xu's strategy was to preserve Cao Cao's 20,000 elite infantry and cavalry, re-establish his base by attacking Ma Chao and Zhang Lu in the west, and then explain the advantages and disadvantages to Sun Quan in order to protect the families of his civil and military officials.

In this way, one can win even in the face of danger.

Only Cao Cao could employ such a strategy.

To achieve the ultimate goal, the Sima clan must first be slaughtered, and their money and grain plundered for military use.

If it were Liu Bei, he certainly wouldn't dare to act like that. Slaughtering and plundering the people under his rule would make it difficult to win their hearts in the future.

This is also why Jia Xu said, "Kill eight hundred enemies, but lose a thousand of your own." He was telling Cao Cao to abandon long-term interests and focus on the present, and to consider long-term interests only after overcoming the immediate difficulties.

Just like when he advised Li Jue and Guo Si to launch a surprise attack on Xuchang, he should seize the emperor first and then consider the matter of gratitude and loyalty. Unfortunately, Li Jue and Guo Si were ultimately just military men who could not be brought to the table. After obtaining the emperor, they became even more arrogant and domineering than Dong Zhuo, which prevented Jia Xu's subsequent plans from progressing.

Cao Cao was not Liu Bei, nor was he like Li Jue or Guo Si. He had done his fair share of things like massacring cities and robbing civilians, and his generals and soldiers often used this method to amass wealth.

It can also be said that although Jia Xu's strategies were ruthless, they were well-suited to the style of Cao Cao and most of his generals and soldiers, and could also boost morale through slaughter and plunder.

Cao Cao's decision was also very decisive.

He hesitated for only a moment before agreeing to Jia Xu's wicked plan.

Subsequently, Cao Cao summoned Xun You and instructed him to secretly cross the river to Hangu Pass to find Zhong Yao, and then join forces with Zhong Yao to feign surrender to Sun Quan.

The reason Xun You was sent was because Cao Cao did not want Xun You to participate in the slaughter and plunder, in order to protect Xun You's reputation.

In terms of personnel management, Cao Cao was quite shrewd. He allowed people like Jia Xu, Cheng Yu, and Guo Jia to do the dirty work, but he wanted to maintain the high reputation of Xun Yu and Xun You among the scholars.

If Xun Yu and Xun You were also cruel and unrestrained, they would not have been able to win over scholars from all walks of life for Cao Cao.

After arranging everything, Cao Cao ordered Xiahou Yuan to use the pretext of revenge to slaughter and plunder the Hanoi gentry who were related to the Sima clan along the way. As for whether these Hanoi gentry were really related to the Sima clan, it all depended on Xiahou Yuan's word.

The most tragic fate befell the Sima clan itself. Not only were they slaughtered by Xiahou Yuan, but hundreds of members of the entire clan were also piled up outside Wen County by Xiahou Yuan in the form of a fortified pavilion.

Meanwhile, in Wen County, Sima Lang, still reeling from the grief of Sima Yi's severed arm, fainted on the spot upon hearing the shocking news that his entire clan had been slaughtered by Xiahou Yuan and imprisoned outside the city. (End of Chapter)