Chapter 163 The Four Factions of Destiny

Hearing Guo Jia utter such arrogant words, Yuan Xi desperately tried to hold back his laughter, and said with a serious face, "What the gentleman says is good, everyone wants to see it."

Guo Jia looked at Yuan Xi's shameless expression and knew that he had already understood his intentions, and he was immediately annoyed.

Guo Jia's skin was still thin. Although he said that he had a new idea every day, Yuan Xi had been running around outside for these days and rarely came back. Therefore, the matter of offering ideas was intermittent and he didn't take it seriously.

Guo Jia was not short of salary here, and his concubines and fine wine were well provided for. The anger he felt when he was kidnapped had disappeared for the most part in this year.

However, he couldn't bring himself to acknowledge Yuan Xi as his lord. He finally heard that Yuan Xi was mobilizing the three cities to attack Yijing, and knew that he could no longer pretend.

This battle of Yijing was extremely crucial. Guo Jia had been advising Yuan Xi all along, and he knew that the next few months would be extremely critical.

Moreover, Guo Jia also had his own selfish motives. If the Yijing offensive was hindered, the situation in Youzhou would likely collapse completely!

If he stayed in Beixin City at that time, it might not be as safe as being by Yuan Xi's side.

If he didn't do his best to offer advice at this time, he might end up killing himself.

Yuan Xi arranged for Qu Yi and the other three generals to mobilize troops and collect money and food in the three cities respectively. The three generals accepted the order and left. Guo Jia took the opportunity to tell Yuan Xi his worries.

"Beixin City here may be more important than the young master thinks."

"Not to mention the Black Mountain Army, how to use the forces in the state that oppose Gongsun Zan is also key."

Yuan Xi listened and bowed deeply, "Please enlighten me, sir."

Only at this moment did Guo Jia feel like a true strategist.

Over the years, he had thought highly of himself. Although he didn't even care about famous and powerful families like Yuan Shao, he still yearned to be able to display his talents to the fullest.

Although he left Yuan Shao, he also harbored the idea of ​​finding a wise master in his heart, secretly dormant, hoping that one day he could meet someone who appreciated him.

As a result, one day, he was happily hugging his wife and drinking fine wine in his mansion in his hometown, when a group of soldiers rushed into his house like wolves and tigers and tied his whole family to Dongwuyang.

Later, he learned that it was because of his words of venting anger before leaving that he was remembered by this Yuan family son!

He thought he would just die, what else could he do if he fell into someone's hands?

Unexpectedly, Yuan Xi's real purpose was to recruit him. Guo Jia didn't understand. He had never met him before and his reputation was not obvious. Why would he make such a big fuss for himself and exchange Cao family children?

Moreover, what made Guo Jia even more puzzled was that Yuan Xi attached great importance to him and was even somewhat afraid of him.

Why?

Guo Jia has not found the answer until now, but he has discovered that Yuan Xi is hiding very deeply. His plans are so complex and his ideas are so unrestrained that they far exceed his imagination.

The more he understood Yuan Xi's layout, the more interested he became. He wanted to see how far Yuan Xi could go.

Guo Jia wanted to participate in it and, as a chess player, finish this chess game that included the whole world.

Yuan Xi invited Guo Jia to sit on the same seat, and the two sat facing each other.

Guo Jia wanted to open his mouth, but suddenly said unhappily, "Why don't you bring a pot of wine at this time?"

Yuan Xi smiled and called Cao Xian to bring the wine. Guo Jia knew that Yuan Xi rarely drank, so he didn't decline and poured himself a drink.

Cao Xian poured tea for Yuan Xi and then retreated.

Guo Jia shook his head, "You are really willing to let your concubine do rough work."

"After all, she was once Bian Rang's daughter."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "I think it's good, she can support herself and do what she can. There's nothing wrong with that."

"She is willing to do it. I don't look down on her because of it, but respect her even more."

"Like her and Wu Zhao, aristocratic women who have been pampered, will only understand the difficulties of the people in the world after experiencing suffering, and then they will know that doing something beneficial to others is not shameful."

Cao Xian listened outside the door, feeling moved in her heart. At first, she tried to please Yuan Xi just to give her mother and sister a good place to live.

But since coming to Beixin City, she followed Yuan Xi, Wu Zhao and others to plant in the spring and harvest in the autumn. When harvesting, she saw people all over the field cheering for Yuan Xi, and she was suddenly touched.

This was a feeling she had never thought of or experienced before.

That day, the fresh wheat rice cooked in the pot next to the wheat field was the best meal she had ever had in her life.

She still remembered what Yuan Xi said to her at that moment.

People work hard to cultivate, and finally get the rewards that match their efforts. That is the happiest thing.

If bad people want to deprive them of all this, these working people will naturally let those bad people taste what is the most simple anger.

Cao Xian also heard Yuan Xi say a word to the sky in a low voice, which she still doesn't understand.

In this era, it is such a beautiful thing that a sickle can kill bad people.

She leaned against the door, raised her head and looked up at the sky, thinking that only by walking out of the deep mansion can she see a different scenery, and only after falling into darkness can she understand the value of sunshine.

I am really grateful to the young master.

In a small house in the corner of the yard, a pregnant woman was talking to Madam Ma.

This was Zheng Shi, the wife Sun Li married last year. She became pregnant after the marriage, and she was about to give birth in October.

She said to Madam Ma, "Mother, the young master's concubines are beautiful and moving, and I heard that they are also daughters of aristocratic families."

Madam Ma, while sewing clothes with her head down, said, "You can say that in private, but in person, you must address her as 'Madam'. Do not be impolite."

Madam Zheng knew that her mother-in-law, Madam Ma, was literate and spoke elegantly, definitely not a countrywoman. She asked strangely, "My husband calls the Young Master 'Elder Brother'. Is it necessary for me to address the Young Master's concubines as if I were a slave?"

Madam Ma snorted, "It's not easy to call him 'Elder Brother'. You must understand your place and not get carried away."

"The fact that we can be protected by the Young Master is because Sun Li risked his life. His calling the Young Master that way means that he is ready to die for the Young Master at any time."

"Otherwise, we would just be ordinary slaves."

Madam Zheng seemed to understand, but not fully. "I heard that there will be a war soon. I'm very worried about my husband's departure."

Madam Ma said, "How can we live peacefully in this North New City if the Young Master doesn't lead them to victory?"

"Without the Young Master's protection, we would have been sold off like livestock long ago."

Madam Zheng's face darkened as she recalled her previous experiences, and she sighed, "I wonder when this chaotic world will end."

Madam Ma looked through the window and saw Cao Xian stretching lazily, her youthful and vibrant body curves fully exposed. She thought, 'The Young Master is finally getting the hang of it.'

Whether Sun Li can revitalize the Sun family and bring honor to his ancestors depends entirely on the Young Master's future achievements.

Like Madam Ma, many people placed their hopes on Yuan Xi, because their fates were already tightly bound to Yuan Xi, just like Guo Jia, who still kept some airs.

He took three sips in a row, feeling his thoughts flowing like a spring, and then began to speak eloquently.

"To end the chaos, we must ultimately use force, but we must also value the destiny and the people's hearts."

"The prophecy in the Young Master's name, although not as direct and obvious as Yuan Gonglu's, there are definitely more scholars who value the Young Master because of it than the Young Master imagines."

"Now, after a year of planning and layout in the three cities and even Zhuo County, rumors about the Young Master have already begun to spread, even reaching You Province and Bing Province outside of Zhuo County."

"Especially the former Taiping Dao followers who have been protected by the Young Master, under intentional or unintentional hints, have already begun to spontaneously spread rumors that the Young Master is the Taiping Zhenren (True Man of Great Peace)."

Yuan Xi smiled wryly after hearing this, "I always feel that doing this is a bit too unscrupulous."

Guo Jia sneered, "Those who achieve great things do not stick to trivial matters. Do you think the other lords in the world don't do this?"

"In my hometown of Yingchuan, and even Yu Province, do you know what Cao Mengde did?"

Yuan Xi became interested after hearing this and said, "I would like to hear the details."

Guo Jia cleared his throat, "At that time, although the Yellow Turbans had failed, the Taoism they left behind had already become the general trend."

"And within Taoism, it is divided into the Taiping Dao of the Eastern Three Zhangs and the Tianshi Dao of the Western Three Zhangs (outsiders call it the Five Pecks of Rice Dao)."

"The Eastern Three Zhangs are Zhang Jiao, Zhang Bao, and Zhang Liang, and the Western Three Zhangs are Zhang Daoling, Zhang Heng, and Zhang Lu."

"Leaving aside Zhang Lu in Hanzhong, now that Zhang Jiao and others have fallen with the Yellow Turbans, the Central Plains region is without a leader, leaving many exploitable gaps."

"There are millions of Yellow Turban followers, and it is impossible to completely eliminate them. They are hiding and urgently need someone to lead them."

"Now it seems that Cao Cao is the most likely."

"The Cao family has believed in Huang-Lao (Yellow Emperor and Lao Tzu) for generations, and I have heard that when Cao Cao was the magistrate of Dunqiu County and the Chancellor of Jinan, he destroyed licentious shrines, which was appreciated by people in Taoism."

"The most important force in Taoism is the Fangshi (alchemists), who either wander in the Imperial Academy, interfering in local affairs, or hide among the people, spreading rumors."

"Moreover, now that Cao Cao has conquered a place, he immediately recruits Fangshi, on the one hand, adopting their techniques for health preservation, and on the other hand, letting them boast that Cao Cao is destined by Heaven. In this regard, compared with the lords spreading prophecies that are beneficial to themselves, it is even more clever."

"Now there are four factions of destiny: the Son of Heaven, the Tianshi Dao, the Taiping Dao, and the Fangshi. Cao Cao has already grasped the Taiping Dao and the Fangshi. If he controls all four, no one in the world can be his enemy."

"Moreover, the Central Plains region is the origin of the legend of the Yellow Heaven and Yellow Virtue of Taoism. Cao Cao spreading this kind of rhetoric in Yan Province and Ji Province can breed a large number of spies within the enemy, which is the most difficult to guard against."

"What the Young Master is doing now is just a small trick compared to him."

Yuan Xi suddenly realized that Cao Cao welcomed the Son of Heaven, and Zhang Lu of Hanzhong directly surrendered to Cao Cao. Once these four puzzle pieces are assembled, coupled with the hard power of force, who in the world can compete with him?

In later generations, Cao Cao simultaneously grasped the righteousness of the upper and lower classes. If one did not know the mysteries and opposed him, one would step into pitfalls everywhere. In this light, the later fall of Ye City was superficially due to the betrayal of Shen Pei's nephew, Shen Rong, but there may have been other reasons.

Cao Wei therefore firmly controlled the rhetoric of the Mandate of Heaven of the Han family, and used the Yellow Virtue to achieve the replacement of Han by Wei, which was similar to Wang Mang's usurpation of Han.

In comparison, Liu Bei claiming to be emperor after Cao Pi's abdication, touting auspicious omens such as "Yellow Qi" and "Yellow Dragon", was also "Yellow Virtue", and he should have realized it, but it was too late, and it contradicted Shu Han's strategy of restoring the Han dynasty.

And Sun Wu successively establishing the era names "Huangwu" and "Huanglong" also had similar considerations, but it was just an imitation.

Yuan Xi listened to Guo Jia dissecting Cao Cao's actions clearly, and a very complex feeling arose in his heart.

Letting Cao Cao's most capable advisor deal with Cao Cao, it seems like there is a sense of guilt for being a jerk to Cao Cao?