At first, Guo Jia went north to see Yuan Shao, who was very respectful to him. After a period of time, Guo Jia gradually realized that Yuan Shao was just an impostor, so he commented on Yuan Shao's advisers Xin and Guo Tu: "A wise man should choose his own leaders carefully in order to preserve himself and establish his own achievements. Yuan Shao just imitated the appearance of Corporal Duke Li Xian, but he didn't know the method of employing people. Do things inefficiently. I plan all the time, but I have no determination to practice. It is impossible to pacify the world with him and collude with Wang Ba. " So Guo Jia left Yuan Shao.
Yu Xun recommended Guo Jia to Cao Cao. After Cao Cao summoned Guo Jia to talk with him about world affairs, Cao Cao said happily, "It must be Guo Jia who can help me make contributions." Guo Jia also said happily, "Cao Cao really deserves my help! 」
/kloc-in 0/95, after Cao Cao defeated Lu Bu in Xuzhou, Lu Bu retreated to the city. At that time, Cao Jun was exhausted, and Cao Cao had to withdraw his troops to recuperate. Guo Jia and Xun You said to Cao Cao together, "Lu Bu is brave and foolhardy. At this time, he lost all three wars and lost his spirit. The combat effectiveness of the army depends on the general. If the commander loses his sense of fighting, then his army must have no idea of fighting bravely. Clever as Chen Gong is, he can't make up his mind. While lyu3 bu4' s morale has not recovered and Chen Gong hasn't made any countermeasures, we can definitely solve lyu3 bu4 completely. So Cao Cao diverted water to flood the city, and sure enough, he captured Lu Bu alive.
Sun Ce trekked thousands of miles, laid the foundation of Jiangdong, and wanted to take advantage of the confrontation between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao in Guandu to lead an army to attack Xudu. When Cao Cao's camp heard this rumor, everyone was very worried. However, Guo Jia was not afraid at all. He said to everyone, "Sun Ce has just pacified Jiangdong, but the people have not surrendered to Qixin. During the war, he killed all the powerful men who had been in power for a long time, and all of them had loyal subordinates working hard. However, Sun Ce acted rashly and did not take special precautions against assassins. Although there are many soldiers in the Ministry, he is so frivolous, just like walking alone. If an assassin is used, a soldier can get rid of him. In my opinion, he must die at the hands of ordinary people. " Sure enough, Sun Ce was killed by Xu Gonggong before he went north.
Note: 196, when Sun Ce was appointed as the magistrate of Huiji County, he appointed Yu Fan as a meritorious Cao. Sun Ce likes going out hunting very much. Yu Fan dissuaded him and said, "You like to travel light, and it is often too late for your men to be alert. Soldiers often feel hard. As a commander, it is not easy to establish authority if he is not steady enough. So once the legendary "dragon" becomes an ordinary fish, any fisherman can catch it. White snake indulged himself and was killed by Liu Bang in the wild. Please pay more attention to your behavior. " Although Sun Ce agrees with Yu Fan, he can't change bad habits. One day in 200 AD, Sun Ce went out hunting and chasing wild animals. He rides a horse so fast that his followers can't catch up with him. Just as Sun Ce was chasing his prey, he suddenly met Xu Gong (a former satrap of Wu Jun who was killed by Sun Ce), and they shot Sun Ce in the cheek with an arrow. The entourage who came from behind immediately killed all three of them, but Sun Ce also died of his injuries.
Shortly after the battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao died of shame and indignation. After that, Cao Cao defeated Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang in succession in Liyang. At that time, most of the generals suggested that Cao Cao muster and pursue. Guo Jia advised Cao Cao: "Yuan Shao loves these two sons, so there is no clear designated heir. However, Guo Tu, Ji Feng and other advisers had their own masters, so the two dynasties were bound to compete for inheritance rights, but they could not be unified. If we attack them eagerly, they will unite against us. If we change our defense strategy and divert their attention, they will start fighting for inheritance. Now it is better to point the finger at Jingzhou, conquer Liu Biao and wait for the transformation of Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang. When their internal discord, attack them again, we will certainly be able to break it. "Cao Cao appreciated Guo Jia's opinion very much. Therefore, they began to prepare for the southern expedition. When the army arrived in Xiping, Yuan Tan and Yuan Shangcai really began to compete for Jizhou. Yuan Tan was defeated by Yuan Shang and retreated to the "Plain". Yuan Tan sent Xin Pi as an envoy to ask Cao Cao to surrender, and Cao Cao sent troops to rescue Yuan Tan and capture Yecheng (beheaded Shen Pei). Later, he defeated Yuan Tan (because Yuan Tan betrayed Cao Cao), thus pacifying Jizhou. Guo Jia was awarded the title of "Yang Cong Hou Ting" for his work.
Cao Cao planned to attack Yuan Shang and Wuhuan. At that time, many subordinates were afraid that Liu Biao would send Liu Bei to attack Xudu. Guo Jia analyzed the situation to Cao Cao and said, "Although you are a hero in the world, Wu Huan will definitely not defend the border with the advantage of being far away from the Central Plains. If we take them by surprise, they will be intimidated and destroyed by us. Besides, Yuan Shao was generous to the people and friendly to people and foreigners, while Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi were still alive. At present, the people in four counties (Yuan Shao's old place: "Hebei, Qinghai, Youhe and Uighur") have surrendered only for fear of our military situation, and we have not yet shown mercy to the people. If we don't attack Yuan Shang and conquer Liu Biao now, Yuan Shang will use Wu Huan to win over the old men who once served Yuan Shao. As long as Yuan Shang and Wuhuan attack, the people of the four States will take the opportunity to respond, and we are afraid of losing Qinghai and Hebei. Liu Biao is alone and can only sit there and talk. He also knows that his talent can't control Liu Bei: if he gives Liu Bei heavy troops, he is afraid that Liu Bei will be the main enemy; Without giving Liu Bei the military power, Liu Bei could not be well used by Liu Biao. So even if we attack Yuan Shang with all our strength, we don't have to worry about Liu Biao. " Cao Cao followed Guo Jia's advice.
When he arrived in Yixian, Guo Jia suggested that Cao Cao should say, "The soldiers are very expensive! Now, we suddenly attacked Yuan Shang from a distance. If we had too much luggage, we wouldn't walk so fast and it would be difficult to seize the opportunity. And Yuan Shang will definitely strengthen the defense when he gets the news of our surprise attack. Why don't we leave the trenches and go into battle lightly and surprise us? " Cao Cao accepted Guo Jia's proposal! Wu Huan suddenly heard the news of Cao Cao's invasion and was greatly alarmed. He fought Cao Cao hastily and was beaten out of the water by Cao Cao. Leaders and important cadres were killed, and Yuan Shang and Yuan went to Liaodong. Later, Cao Cao sighed, "Only filial piety can fully understand my thoughts. 」
After Cao Cao conquered Wuhuan, he returned to the army from Liucheng. At this time, Guo Jia was seriously ill and died soon at the age of 38. So Cao Cao said to Xun You and others, "Among the counselors, you are all about my age, only Guo Jia is the youngest. Originally, I was going to entrust my heir to Guo Jia after the world was settled, but he died young. What a move! Therefore, Guo Jia's achievements are described in the above table: "Guo Jia went through customs with the army for eleven years. Every time an important military meeting is held, while other advisers are still thinking about the strategy to deal with the enemy, Guo Jia has already made a decision. I can pacify the north, and the credit for planning is the first in Guo Jia. It's a pity that he died young, and the big thing is undecided. We really can't forget Guo Jia's contribution. Later, when Battle of Red Cliffs failed, Cao Cao lamented, "If Guo Jia were still alive, I wouldn't have suffered such a great failure. 」