"My Lord, Jia is currently considering how to deal the greatest blow to Cao Cao, or whether we can kill or capture Cao Cao alive. After thinking about it, there are only two possibilities and endings.
First, my Lord can order the troops to pursue with all their might, expanding the results of the battle and obtaining a great victory.
Moreover, I see that Cao Cao will also send troops to cooperate with my Lord, so it is not certain that you will obtain a great victory.
Second, my Lord can use some strategies to control the overall situation and achieve victory by surprise. Perhaps you can threaten Cao Cao's life. "
Seeing Yang Rui ask, Guo Jia paused for a moment before speaking. It was clear that he had already considered this and had a relatively mature strategy.
Hearing this, Yang Rui immediately knew that Guo Jia had a card up his sleeve, and his heart immediately calmed.
Ji Province was vast, and it was currently winter. With Cao Cao's troops fleeing in all directions, it was not difficult for Yang Rui to achieve some results. However, directly threatening Cao Cao would not be easy.
Guo Jia's words undoubtedly gave Yang Rui a great deal of hope. It made Yang Rui feel that his chances of completely dealing with Cao Cao had greatly increased.
"Fengxiao, what do you think we should do? Let's not talk about pursuing with all our might, but what about achieving victory by surprise? "
Thus, just as Guo Jia finished speaking, Yang Rui could not help but ask him.
"My Lord, Cao Cao is fleeing in the southwest direction. The path ahead is none other than Henei Commandery and Bingzhou. Cao Cao's foundation is all in Henan's Si Li Province. I can predict that Cao Cao will not easily give up on the foundation that he has been operating for so long.
Thus, we can ignore the direction that Cao Cao is fleeing in. Everything will be based on Cao Cao's attempt to return to Henan's Si Li Province. We can set up ambushes wherever possible to kill or capture Cao Cao in one fell swoop.
However, while Cao Cao's return path is predictable, it is difficult to set up ambushes. Because the heavens are vast and the earth is vast, there are tens of thousands of paths leading to Luoyang. In addition, the Yellow River has been frozen for a long time, so there are countless possibilities for Cao Cao to cross the river. It is truly difficult to predict the path that Cao Cao will take. "
Guo Jia paused for a moment and said something after careful consideration. He analyzed Cao Cao's possible whereabouts thoroughly.
In reality, Yang Rui had already vaguely guessed that Cao Cao would still return to Luoyang Imperial City. However, just as Guo Jia analyzed, under the magnification of a hundred times, there were just too many paths that Cao Cao could choose to take. It was simply difficult to determine the path that he would take, and thus, it was simply difficult to carry out an attack on Cao Cao.
Guo Jia also analyzed this, but from his previous words, Yang Rui could clearly sense that Guo Jia should have a more mature plan.
"Milord, although capturing or killing Cao Cao right now is not a good idea, Milord has extraordinary investigative and scouting methods. Just your flying pet alone is enough to know the whereabouts of Cao Cao's forces. Not to mention, you also have the Ethereal Ninja.
Right now, my Lord can have the Imperial Kannan Guard mobilize all of the Ethereal Secret Ninjas in northern Si Li Province, including Henei Commandery, and have them scatter. Constantly pay attention to the movements of large forces, and there might be a chance of discovering Cao Cao.
Meanwhile, my Lord can arrange for a large number of troops to be stationed at the frozen front of the Yellow River, waiting for news from all sides at any time, waiting for an opportunity to move into battle.
Once Cao Cao appears, with the strength of our forces, we can make him a fish on the chopping board, at our mercy. At that time, it is not impossible for my Lord to completely eliminate the threat of Cao Cao … "
Guo Jia spoke his thoughts as they were, allowing Yang Rui's train of thought to instantly become clear.
Even though the details Guo Jia spoke of weren't all that hard to think of, when one was in the situation, it was easy to be affected by the situation before one's eyes, and thus be unable to grasp the important points.
For example, Yang Rui also thought that Cao Cao might return to Luoyang Imperial City in the end, but he used pursuit as the most important method of attack, wholeheartedly focused on pursuing and expanding the results of the battle, and didn't actually consider further ambushes.
"We have to pursue Cao Cao's remaining forces. In Fengxiao's opinion, which troops should we send to set up an ambush? And which troops should we send to continue pursuing Cao Cao? "
As Yang Rui nodded, he continued to ask Guo Jia.
"My Lord, in Jia's opinion, we shouldn't split up our forces to set up an ambush. Otherwise, we might fall into Cao Cao's trap of splitting up our forces, and cause the troops pursuing you to fall into a passive position.
Under such circumstances, even if we can still maintain our victory, the effect of the pursuit won't be outstanding, and we might even suffer losses.
In Jia's opinion, my Lord, you should send the troops guarding Hulao Pass to the frozen Yellow River to set up an ambush, while we should attack Cao Cao's fleeing forces with all our might, and expose them as soon as possible … "
Sensing that his lord, Yang Rui, didn't completely understand his intentions, he continued to explain.
"Fengxiao, are you saying … to send the troops under the command of Huang Zhong of Hulao Pass to set up an ambush?"
At this point, Yang Rui no longer had any doubts. He already understood the position Guo Jia was trying to express.
"That's right. We can send Huang Zhong and the other generals to lead the troops guarding Hulao Pass to set up an ambush."
Guo Jia said in a firm tone.
"In that case, Fengxiao's intention is to send the troops guarding Chen Liu to take over the defense of Hulao Pass?"
Yang Rui deduced.
"That's not it. My Lord, you don't need to send anyone to guard Hulao Pass. You only need to leave behind 10,000 soldiers to guard Hulao Pass. You only need to leave one general behind," Guo Jia said.
"That's right.
"The words of filial piety … What is your intention? After all, Cao Cao has stationed many troops at Shanshui City and Shanshui Pass. Once my army relaxes the defenses of Hulao Pass, they might immediately take action and take down Hulao Pass. Then, they will march straight into Chen Liu's county city … "
Yang Rui asked with some puzzlement. He really couldn't understand Guo Jia's intentions.
"My Lord, do you think that with Cao Cao outside, the troops guarding Shanshui Pass will take the initiative to attack?
This was especially so after Yuan Shao's Jiahui Alliance was defeated. With Cao Cao's personality, he must have thought of a way to inform the troops guarding Shanshui Pass and the other troops guarding Shanshui Pass of the results of the battle. He must have ordered them to hold their ground and not move out to ensure the integrity of their base.
After all, Cao Cao was a formidable person. He should have full confidence in his ability to escape.
It was precisely because of this that the troops guarding Shanshui Pass under Cao Cao's control in Li Province should be on their guard, lest they be attacked by others.
Under such circumstances, Jiacai concluded that even if my Lord completely withdraws the troops guarding Hulao Pass, the other side will most likely think that it's my Lord's plan and ignore it.
My side should be more brazen. I'll order Huang Zhong and the others to attack openly and charge toward Henei County along the icy surface of the Yellow River. There's no need to worry that Cao Cao's troops guarding Shanshui Pass will know of our whereabouts.
The 10,000 men guarding Hulao Pass should make it look like they're on guard. Similarly, there's no need to worry that Cao Cao's troops guarding Shanshui Pass will know … "
Guo Jia's final words puzzled Yang Rui even more.
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