Guo Jia (170-207), whose name is Fengxiao, was a native of Yangzhai (now Yuzhou, Henan). At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao was a famous strategist.

Guo Jia was originally a subordinate of Yuan Shao, and later switched to Cao Cao, and made meritorious contributions to Cao Cao's unification of northern China. He died of illness during Cao Cao's expedition to Karasuma at the age of thirty-eight. He is called the Marquis.

The history books call him "a genius and a strategist, a strange man of the world". Cao Cao praised him for seeing people and being his "Qizuo".

Guo Jia was born in Yingchuan, he had a vision when he was a teenager, and when he saw that the world would be in chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty, he lived in seclusion after the weak crown (twenty years old), secretly befriended Yingjie, and did not associate with the world, so not too many people knew about him.

When he was 21 years old, Guo Jia traveled north to see Yuan Shao, and said to Yuan Shao's advisers Xin Ping and Guo Tu: "A wise man can measure his master prudently and thoughtfully, so that he can make meritorious contributions and fame." Yuan Gong only wanted to emulate Zhou Gong's Corporal Lixian, but he didn't know the truth of using talents. Thinking a lot and lacking the essentials, like to plan but not decisive, it is really difficult to save the country from danger with him and build the great cause of being the king and hegemonic! So he left Yuan Shao from then on. In this way, Guo Jia has been idle for six years.

In the first year of Jian'an (196), one of Cao Cao's most important strategists, Xi Zhicai, died. In addition to being sad, Cao Cao wrote to Xun Yu and asked him to recommend a strategist who could replace Xi Zhicai. So, Xun Yu recommended his friend Guo Jia to Cao Cao. Cao Cao summoned Guo Jia to discuss major events in the world, and after the discussion, Cao Cao said: "The person who can help me achieve great things is him!" After Guo Jia left the camp, he was also overjoyed and said, "This is my real master!" ”

From then on, Guo Jia became Cao Cao's staff and military officer-the military advisor sacrificial wine, giving advice and serving Cao Cao's Quartet campaign loyally.

At that time, the princes from all walks of life were divided into a corner and fought for the world. In this case, Guo Jia's accurate judgment of the psychological state of each opponent often became the key to Cao Cao's victory.

In the second year of Jian'an (197), Cao Cao begged Zhang Xiu for a new defeat, and Yuan Shao wrote a letter to humiliate. When Cao Cao was worried that he did not have the ability to compete with Yuan Shao, Guo Jia put forward the famous "ten wins and ten defeats" theory. He cited ten reasons in a row to prove that "the public has ten victories, and the Shao has ten defeats." Guo Jia's analysis was very convincing, which not only boosted the morale of Cao's soldiers, but also helped Cao Cao formulate long-term and short-term combat goals. At the same time, Guo Jia also officially established his core position in Cao Cao's military intelligence regiment.

In the third year of Jian'an (198), Liu Bei was broken by Lu Bu and attached to Cao Cao. The strategist Cheng Yu suggested to Cao Cao that he kill Liu Bei to prevent future troubles, and Cao Cao asked Guo Jia what his opinion was, and Guo Jia thought: "Indeed. However, Cao Gong raised his sword to rebel against the army, eradicate violence for the people, and introduced integrity to recruit heroes and heroes, but I am afraid it has not yet been achieved. Now Liu Bei has a reputation as a hero, and he took refuge in us at the end of his rope and we killed him, which is the notoriety of killing the Magi. Then the wise men and soldiers will doubt themselves, and they want to choose who to choose as the master again, so who does Cao Gong want to settle the world with? Therefore, the choice to get rid of one person and endanger the prestige and safety of the four seas cannot be unnoticed! Cao Cao also felt this, so he did not kill Liu Bei. However, Guo Jia also believes that Liu Bei has tens of thousands of enemies Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to follow, and Liu Bei is popular and will not be underwhelmed. Therefore, he admonished Cao Cao: "The ancients said: 'If you indulge your enemies for one day, you will become a disaster for several generations.'" It is advisable to establish a proper position earlier. It means that Liu Bei is under house arrest, but Cao Cao did not accept Liu Bei's scheme, in order to make him convince himself, he became closer to Liu Bei.

In September of the same year, Cao Cao sent troops to attack Lü Bu, who was in Xuzhou. Cao's army first broke through Pengcheng, then defeated Lü Bu, and finally besieged Xiapi. Lu Bu couldn't hold on. The battle lasted for more than half a year, and Cao Cao saw that the soldiers were tired and prepared to give up. At this time, Guo Jia saw an opportunity to win. He used Xiang Yu as an example to advise Cao Cao, and put forward the view that "if those who have courage and no strategy are exhausted, they will soon be defeated", and persuaded Cao Cao to attack urgently. Cao Cao followed Guo Jia's strategy, attacking the city on the one hand, and breaking the embankment to cover Pi on the other, and sure enough, he conquered Xiapi in the same month and captured Lü Bu.

In the fourth year of Jian'an (199), Liu Bei took the opportunity of Yuan Shu to surrender to Yuan Shao and took the initiative to ask Cao Cao to intercept the attack. At this time, it happened that Guo Jia and Cheng Yu were not around, and Cao Cao agreed to Liu Bei's request. When Guo Jia and Cheng Yu came back, they dissuaded Cao Cao together after learning about it: "Let Liu Bei go, there will be variables!" But at this time, Liu Bei had left, and seized Xiapi and raised troops against Cao Cao, who regretted not listening to Guo Jia.

In the fifth year of Jian'an (200 years), Cao Cao, in order to avoid being attacked by the enemy in the future against Yuan Shao, decided to first eliminate Liu Bei, who had not established a firm foothold in Xuzhou. At that time, all the generals were afraid that Yuan Shao would take the opportunity to attack Xudu, and when the time came, he would not be able to fight and retreat and lose his stronghold. Cao Cao was also suspicious, so he asked Guo Jia for advice, and Guo Jia analyzed: "Yuan Shao has always been indecisive and will not react quickly. Liu Bei's hearts have not returned, his foothold is not stable, and if he attacks quickly, he will definitely be defeated. And then return to the division to deal with Yuan Shao, this is the best opportunity to change the abdomen and back to the enemy, and it must not be lost. So, Cao Cao raised his army to the east, defeated Liu Bei, captured Liu Bei's wife, captured Guan Yu, and then defeated the East China Sea pirates who were united with Liu Bei. The situation was as Guo Jia expected, and before Yuan Shao could react, Liu Bei had been defeated.

Just when Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were holding each other's official crossing, another disturbing news reached Cao Ying: Jiangdong Haojie Sun Ce was preparing to send troops to attack Cao Cao's base in Xudu. Cao Cao, who was already at a disadvantage in the standoff with Yuan Shao, could no longer draw troops to defend Xu Du. And once Xu Du is lost, Cao Cao's camp will immediately fall apart. This was the most popular period in Cao Ying, and many people began to secretly flatter Yuan Shao, preparing to leave a way back for themselves.

At that time, Cao Junzhong and Yuan Shao had many private correspondence, and after the battle of Guandu, a lot of bamboo slips of collaborating with the enemy were found in Yuan's camp. At this critical juncture, Guo Jia predicted: "Sun Ce has just annexed Jiangdong, and all he has killed are heroes, and he is a person who can make people serve death." But Sun Ce is a rash and unguarded person, although he has millions of people, it is no different from him coming to the Central Plains alone. If an Assassin were to ambush him, he would be a one-man enemy. In my opinion, Sun Ce must have died at the hands of the Assassins. Sun Ce arrived at the riverside, but before he crossed the river, he was killed by the enemy Xu Gong's disciples. This may be a coincidence, but it does add to Guo Jia's clever calculation.

In the seventh year of Jian'an (202), Yuan Shao, who returned from a defeat in the Battle of Guandu, died of illness, and Cao Cao attacked his two sons and won successive battles. The generals of the Cao army all wanted to take advantage of the victory to break through the second Yuan, but at this time, Guo Jia, who had previously advocated the northward advance, overrode public opinion, entered the strange strategy alone, and suggested retreating. He analyzed the contradictions between the two Yuan brothers for Cao Cao, and said: "Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang have always been disobedient to each other, and there are conspirators like Guo Tu and Feng Ji to mix in the middle, and they will inevitably turn against each other. It is better to march south to Liu Biao first, wait for it to change, become it and then attack it, and it can be determined in one fell swoop. ”

Guo Jia suggested that Cao Cao pretend to attack Liu Biao in the south and "wait for his changes". Sure enough, as soon as Cao Jun returned to Xuchang, the news of Yuan Jun's change had already come. Cao Cao took the opportunity to return to the army and went north, defeated Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, and the two Yuan died and fled. Because of Guo Jia's clever plan, winning this battle was both easy and smooth.

In the ninth year of Jian'an (204), Guo Jia was named the Marquis of Weiyang Pavilion.

In the tenth year of Jian'an (205), Guo Jia suggested that Cao Cao recruit more famous people from the four prefectures of Qing, Hebei, You, and You, to subjugate the people's hearts and completely consolidate control and resistance. Cao Cao adopted his opinion, and even reused Chen Lin, who had slandered him, and it really had the effect of a thousand gold bones.

In the twelfth year of Jian'an (207), Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi fled to Wuhuan, which is now Jinzhou, Liaoning. Cao Jun's generals all said, "Yuan Shang is like a lost dog, and the Hu people outside the gate will not support them." If he does another expedition, Liu Bei will inevitably provoke Liu Biao to attack Xuchang, what if there are any variables? At this time, Liu Bei had accumulated considerable strength by Liu Biao's side in Jingzhou after several years of recuperation. With Cao Cao's understanding of Liu Bei, he had reason to worry that when he was on a lonely expedition, Liu Bei would attack behind his back.

At this time, Guo Jia put forward an opinion that was different from others: "Ming Gong, although you can go on an expedition with confidence, it doesn't hurt to leave an empty Xu Du, I expect that Liu Bei will not be able to cause you trouble." It's not that Liu Bei doesn't want to add, but someone will stop him instead of you, and this person is Liu Biao. In the midst of the uproar of everyone, Guo Jia analyzed in detail the feasibility and significance of the Battle of Ping Wuhuan: "The Hu people are proud of their remoteness, and now they must be defenseless, and if they suddenly attack, they will definitely be able to wipe them out." Yuan Shao is kind to the Hu people, if Yuan Shang is still alive, they will definitely help, sooner or later it will be a hidden danger. Now the influence of the Yuan family is still very great, and at this time in the southern expedition, if the Hu people have action, our rear will be unstable. But Liu Biao is a politician who only knows how to sit and talk, and he knows that his ability is not enough to control Liu Bei, so he will inevitably be wary of Liu Bei. Although it is now a virtual country expedition, once and for all, there will be no more troubles. ”

Guo Jia's point of view hit the nail on the head, and Cao Cao immediately entered Liucheng after hearing this. When Cao Cao's army arrived in Yicheng, Guo Jia felt that the speed of advance was still too slow, and he said: "The soldiers are fast. Now that the potential expedition has too much baggage and is moving slowly, it is inevitable to be on guard if the other party is aware of it. It is better to leave the baggage, advance quickly with light troops, and attack them unprepared. Later, this battle became a classic example of "noble soldiers and swift soldiers, and surprise soldiers to win" in the history of Chinese warfare. After Cao Cao set up some illusions of withdrawal, he secretly led a group of lightly armed elite soldiers, and suddenly appeared behind Wuhuan under the leadership of the guide Tian Chou. Wuhuan leader Badun and Yuan Shang, Yuan Xi led the army to rush to the battle, this battle, Badun was beheaded, the Cao army captured more than 200,000 people, and the desperate Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi defected to Gongsun Kang in Liaodong.

The march was in extremely bad condition, with 200 miles of dry and waterless along the way. When the grain ran out, the soldiers of the Cao army had to kill thousands of horses to satisfy their hunger before they reached their destination with difficulty. In the autumn of the same year, Sun Kang, the Taishou Gong of Liaodong, came to surrender with Yuan Shang's head. According to Guo Jia's strategy, Cao Cao finally completely pacified the north and unified the entire area north of the Yellow River Valley. On the way back from Liucheng, Guo Jia died of illness because of the unaccustomed water and soil, the harsh climate, and the overwork of the day and night.

Among Cao Cao's many strategists, only Guo Jia knew Cao Cao best, and the two had a close relationship, like friends. According to the car, the two people are in the same car, and they sit in the same seat. In Cao's tent, which is strict with the army, Guo Jia has a lot of unconventional behavior, but in the eyes of Cao Cao, who prefers him, "This is an extraordinary person, and it is not appropriate to detain him with common sense." Cao Cao had a discipline inspection official named Chen Qun, who once played a copy of Guo Jia's behavior because he was not disciplined enough. However, Cao Cao praised Chen Qun for his meritorious reporting, but on the other hand, he ignored Guo Jia. Not only that, Cao Cao also secretly applauded Guo Jiayi's old style of life. In his long career, Cao Cao always took Guo Jia with him so that he could learn from each other at any time and act at the opportunity. Whenever there is a major military event, Guo Jia's strategy has never miscalculated. Cao Cao placed infinite hopes on the young Guo Jia, and planned to entrust Guo Jia with the important affairs of governing the country behind him after pacifying the world.