Guo Jia dipped in water and explained the situation to Sun Ce while drawing on the case.

Why did Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu choose Hebei back then? Not because Hebei has geographical advantages, but because Liu Xiu has no other choice. During the reign of Emperor Gengshi, he had just killed Liu Xiu's brother Liu Xuan, and Liu Xiu Taoguang was vague to protect himself. Hebei was in turmoil, endangering the regime of the change, Liu Xiu took the opportunity to flee, knowing that Hebei was a tiger's den in Longtan. And the reason why Emperor Gengshi finally agreed to Liu Xiu to go to Hebei was precisely because Hebei was dangerous, not because Hebei was good.

Later experiences also proved that this was not a beautiful thing. Liu Xiu encountered big trouble in Hebei and was on the verge of despair several times. For this reason, he had to ally with Liu Yang, the king of Zhending, and married Liu Yang's niece Guo Shengtong, which also planted the seeds of discord between the imperial court and the Hebei family.

Liu Xiu was able to succeed in the counterattack later, not because Hebei had strength, but because the regime was in chaos by itself, and the red eyebrows and green forests were not successful, which allowed Liu Xiu to take advantage of the loophole and become the final victor. There is a lot of chance in this, and we can't simply think that Hebei has an advantage. If the regime at that time had not been in trouble, Liu Xiu would have had no chance at all.

Now that the Son of Heaven is in Chang'an, he has just killed Dong Zhuo, will he be in chaos like the original regime? It is possible, but no one can guarantee it. Even if there is a mess, those ministers in Chang'an are by no means comparable to those under Emperor Gengshi, not to mention that Yuan Shao has another strong competitor - the Sun family father and son. If Chang'an is not chaotic, they will not have a chance. If Chang'an is in chaos, Yuan Shao will have a chance, and the Sun family father and son will also have a chance.

"Then Hebei is really not enough to make things happen?" Sun Ce interrupted Guo Jia and asked a crucial question. Jizhou is a big state in the world, with a solid household registration, and a secluded and fine ride, which is all advantageous conditions. Although Yuan Shao was defeated by Guandu in history and did not succeed, Cao Cao, the winner of the Battle of Guandu, occupied Jizhou for only three points of the world.

Guo Jia is confident. "Based on the topography alone, Jizhou can dominate, but it cannot achieve the royal industry."

Sun Zhizhi thought about it and already understood what Guo Jia meant, but he still said very modestly: "I want to hear it in detail." ”

"Jizhou has a lot of hukou, but Jizhou is only a state after all, with a population of only 6 million, and it is not the strongest state. In terms of household registration, Yuzhou and Jingzhou are not weaker than Jizhou. As for Youzhou and Bingzhou, they add up to less than three million people, which is equal to one Runan County, and it is very inferior in terms of strength, not only can it not support Jizhou, but it needs Jizhou to support it. The advantages of Youzhou and Bingzhou are war horses and cavalry, which is also one of the advantages that Yuan Shao values. The advantages and disadvantages complement each other, and the benefits and disadvantages are weighed, and the help of Youzhou and Jizhou is very limited. ”

Guo Jia picked up the cup and took a sip of water, not noticing that his fingers had been washed in the cup countless times. He moistened his throat and continued: "If you use one state against the world, you can dominate one side, but it is difficult to dominate the world. Whether or not we can seize the world is the key to the Central Plains. If we can cross the big river and seize the four prefectures of Yuzhou and Qingxu, it will be possible to form an absolute superiority. Even so, if someone controls Jingzhou, the left is good and the right is good, and the victory is still between the two. Although the cavalry was profitable, they could not cross the river. The cavalry of Liangzhou is not only enough to resist the Youhe elite cavalry, but also can attack and harass the northern part of Jizhou, so that Jizhou will fall into a two-front battle in the north and south, and it will be difficult to take care of the end and the end. ”

Speaking of this, Guo Jia smiled knowingly. "According to Nanyang, the general hit by accident, or did it happen on purpose?"

Sun Ce also smiled, and the more he looked at Guo Jia, the happier he became.

Great minds think alike. Although Guo Jia is analyzing Yuan Shao's disadvantages, his vision is on the overall situation, which actually includes Lu Su's couch pair and Zhuge Liang's Longzhong pair. Zhuge Liang's Longzhong pair was based on the two states of Jingyi, with Nanyang as the bridgehead, and confronted the Central Plains regime. He didn't talk about Yangzhou, not because he didn't want to, but because it was already occupied by the Sun family at that time, and it was useless for him to think about it. The main content of Lu Su's couch is to unite Jingzhou and divide the river. It's not that he doesn't want to kill Cao Cao and dominate the world, but at that time, Cao Cao had already defeated Yuan Shao and controlled the Central Plains, and the Sun family was not strong enough to grab it.

The combination of the advantages of the two is in line with the situation that Guo Jia said.

Historically, Cao Cao took Jizhou as his base camp and led the four states of Yanyu, Qingxu and Xu. Wu Shu's final failure was due to mutual suspicion and inability to form a joint force, but instead produced unnecessary internal friction. If these two become one, the outcome is unpredictable. When Zhuge Liang was in power, he paid attention to the alliance with Eastern Wu, and he always maintained an offensive posture against Wei.

"So, if you want to suppress Yuan Shao, you must fight for the Central Plains?"

"That's true." Guo Jia said with a smile: "So, what is the general's ambition, is it to be a hegemon, or to change the dynasty?" If you are satisfied with one overlord, then don't get entangled in Yuzhou, control the entire territory of Jingzhou as soon as possible, observe the situation, and wait for the opportunity to collect Yang and benefits. If you want to achieve the royal industry, you must push the front forward to the north and south of the river and suppress Yuan Shao in Jizhou. ”

When it comes to this, Sun Ce doesn't hide it. Trust is mutual, and if he has reservations about Guo Jia, he can't expect Guo Jia to plan for him with all his might. "Fengxiao, I sit on the throne and look at the king, if the court can be supplemented, I am the Duke of Qi Huan. If the court can't be assisted, the destiny is mine, and I don't dare to shirk. However, as things stand, it seems appropriate to rush into the situation. ”

Seeing Sun Cetuo's heartfelt words, Guo Jia was in a good mood, stroking his palms and smiling, full of spirit. "The general is right, the current situation is unclear, the general can be strong, but he can't be the first in the world, and the so-called opportunity to move is also."

"So what do I do now?"

"Heavy thorn light on war."

"How?"

"Since the front cannot be advanced to the area of the big river, Yuzhou may become a battlefield at any time. Although Yuzhou has a solid household registration, there is no terrain available, and the generals can fight and defend, but they cannot rely on it as a foundation and can operate, but it is not appropriate to go all out. Jingzhou is not, Jingzhou household registration is not weaker than Yuzhou, Jizhou, but there are mountains and rivers, the general based on it as the foundation, enter can attack Wanluo, seize the Central Plains, Yang Wei Heshuo, retreat can take Yang, benefit, plant its roots, in order to wait for the change of the Central Plains. Generals should be careful and should not give others an opportunity to take advantage of them. ”

Sun Ce pondered for a moment. "Is Fengxiao talking about Liu Yan's father and son in Yizhou?"

Guo Jia laughed. "The general is worthy of being a soldier saint, and he knows the situation in the world well. That's right, Yizhou is based on the upper reaches of the river, and Jingzhou has a condescending trend. Liu Yan is also a clan, and if he occupies Yizhou, it will be like a man's back to the general. The general should prepare in advance, and as soon as he has the opportunity, he will immediately take Yizhou with lightning speed, except for the worries from now on. ”

"But now that the imperial court is still there, my father and son taking care of Jingyu have already aroused criticism, how can they get involved in Yizhou?"

"Can't be attacked, can't you defend it? If Liu Yan went down the river and attacked Jingzhou, the general had the responsibility to defend the territory, shouldn't he annihilate the enemy in the territory? Moreover, attacking Yizhou is not an overnight thing, there are many things that need to be prepared, everything is foreseen, and if you don't prepare, you can do it first. ”

Sun Ce smiled knowingly. That's right, you can't do it, you can sharpen the knife first. He leaned over and pressed Guo Jia's hand and patted it lightly.

"These things will be entrusted to Fengxiao."

"Dare to disobey."