Chapter 208 Xun Yu’s Choice
Guo Jia did not directly mention the second gift, but said with a worried look on his face: "My lord, I have something to hide from you."

Cao Cao calmed down very quickly and said, "Military Advisor, please feel free to speak. Now, you and I are one. No matter what happens, I will take responsibility for you."

After receiving the assurance, Guo Jia was very moved and said, "I have offended the governor of Yangzhou. If he knew that I had joined you, I would be in trouble."

Guo Jia did not tell Cao Cao about Zhou Yu's threatening letter, as that would be far less thorough than saying it directly.

Cao Cao waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "I thought it was something else. Military Advisor is worrying too much."

"I heard that the governor of Yangzhou is particularly fond of holding grudges." Cao Cao said jokingly: "Now that I have fought with him, it is not an exaggeration to say that we regard each other as enemies."

"Whether you come or not, the governor of Yangzhou will definitely regard me as a thorn in his side, so what should I be afraid of?"

Guo Jia could naturally hear the self-mockery in Cao Cao's words. Obviously, he didn't really mean that, but would Jin Mao really do that?
After much thought, Guo Jia proposed a compromise suggestion: "My lord, please do not reveal my whereabouts before we get help from the Xun family."

Cao Cao didn't understand, but he still agreed.

"Now can you tell me what the second gift is?"

Seeing his master's eagerness, Guo Jia no longer hid his intentions and said, "I have a plan that can help you return to your peak, or even become stronger!"

Cao Cao's eyes lit up and he said, "I'd like to hear more about it!"

During this period, Cao Cao had been working hard to restore his strength. When he heard Guo Jia's words, how could he not help but get excited?

"Only this way, this way, this way and that way." Guo Jia said confidently, "It will be done!"

Cao Cao said solemnly, "Is it too risky? If so... will we completely fall out with the Xun family?"

Guo Jia asked in return: "My lord, do you have any other choice?"

After weighing the pros and cons, Cao Cao decided to choose Guo Jia's strategy.

...

Yingyin County, Yingchuan County, Yuzhou.

Things are different now, Yingyin County is becoming increasingly desolate.

Xun Yu looked outside the clan territory, at the desolate land with no human presence, and his urge to go to Yangzhou grew stronger.

Today, Jinmao is no longer a small Karami, but a giant. Among the various nearby forces, only Liu Yan, the governor of Yizhou, has not been dealt with by him.

It is no exaggeration to say that he was invincible under Dong Zhuo and one for one above Dong Zhuo.

In the past few months, not only Jinmao has sent several invitation letters, but Xun You has sent letters even more frequently.

On the one hand, the distance is closer, and on the other hand, Jinmao is at a crossroads in its life. Whether it will be loyal or treacherous in the future depends on the changes in the next few years.

Xun Yu didn't want Jin Mao to go further and further astray, so he wanted to bring him back to the right path.

In that case, the Han Dynasty might be able to last for another hundred or two hundred years and create new history!
Unfortunately, the relationships within the clan are complicated.

Especially recently, Xun Yu was promoted from Sikong to Sikong by his father Xun Shuang. From being summoned by Dong Zhuo to being the Lietaisi, the whole process only took ninety-three days!

As a result, more and more clan members were unwilling to leave their homeland. Most of these people were the older generation of the Xun family, or supporters of Xun Shuang.

They believed that Xun Shuang would bring new glory to the Xun family.

This delayed Xun Yu's plan to relocate the entire clan.

Originally, Xun Yu wanted to abandon this part of the clansmen and flee far away with the young and strong ones, but unexpectedly, some of them also had disagreements.

Some recent events have made these tribesmen no longer willing to trust Xun Yu, and they are clamoring to go to Jizhou to accept Han Fu's invitation and settle down there.

Xun Yu didn't say anything about this. After all, it was Guo Jia who was the instigator.
The end of leap December.

A group of uninvited guests came to Xun's house.

Cao Cao!

Cao Cao was in high spirits at this time. Since Guo Jia's strategy worked, Cao Cao immediately gained the loyalty of many nobles.

In just over ten days, the number of his soldiers returned to 5,000, and more troops were on the way.

According to conservative estimates, Cao Cao will be able to get at least 10,000 soldiers this time!
Twice as powerful as before!
This time, Guo Jia also followed Cao Cao to visit Xun.

The Xun family gave Cao Cao enough face, but the person who received him was not Xun Yu.

This would have been impossible in the past.

Obviously, Guo Jia, the traitor, knew more, and Cao Cao was more confident because of this.

Xun Yu, who had some free time, invited Guo Jia to a discussion.

In the past two years, the Xun family has been in increasingly difficult circumstances. Xun Yu can't even afford expensive sachets for himself, let alone entertaining guests. It is incomparable to the previous years.

On the other hand, Guo Jia had only followed Cao Cao for a few days, but he was dressed luxuriously and wore exquisite accessories. Ordinary people could tell how expensive they were, let alone Xun Yu who was an expert in this field.

The two men sat opposite each other. Compared to previous years, Guo Jia was more confident. Except for his appearance, Xun Yu had not changed at all and was still the elegant gentleman.

"I didn't expect Feng Xiao to abandon Yangzhou Mu and join Cao Xiaowei."

Xun Yu was very angry about what Guo Jia had done, and he rarely got straight to the point: "Are you coming to my Xun family today just to forcibly abduct me?"

Guo Jia first apologized to Xun Yu, and then said: "For my master, Guo Jia can only resort to this last resort."

Xun Yu did not accept Guo Jia's apology, turned aside and said coldly: "Since we each serve our own master, why does Feng Xiao have to persuade me?"

Even though his thoughts were exposed by Xun Yu, Guo Jia remained calm and asked, "Wen Ruo really wants to serve the cruel and merciless Yangzhou governor Jin Mao?"

"Hasn't enough people died at his hands so far?"

Xun Yu looked directly into Guo Jia's eyes and asked, "Are the people that Feng Xiao refers to the same as the people that I imagine?"

Guo Jia did not give a direct answer, "Why does Wen Ruo have to ask when he knows the answer?"

"No!" Xun Yu insisted, which was rare: "Please ask Guo Fengxiao... No! Please ask Military Advisor Guo to explain clearly!"

This is Xun Yu’s superficial attitude. Even if it means breaking off relations, he must get an answer.

Guo Jia didn't expect that Xun Yu had such a side, which completely subverted his once gentle and elegant image.

For a moment, Guo Jia didn't know how to answer.

The two are 7 years apart in age. Xun Yu is 27 years old this year and will be 28 soon, while Guo Jia will only be 21 years old next year.

Whether in terms of knowledge, family background, experience, or mentality, Guo Jia was not fully mature and was a little inferior to Xun Yu.

Xun Yu, who had the upper hand, refused to give in and said, "If you, Military Advisor Guo, don't blame me for breaking off all ties with you today if you don't give me a satisfactory answer!"

Guo Jia still did not give a direct answer, but said, "Yangzhou Mu is not a good choice, Wen Ruoke should think carefully."

"Even if it's for the sake of Xun's family."

Guo Jia stood up and bowed, saying, "I will be at Xun's today. I hope to get Wen Ruo's answer before I leave."

Xun Yu returned the greeting stiffly, which was due to his upbringing.

Not standing up to see you off shows your attitude.

Guo Jia's eyes revealed disappointment, but he became resolute when he turned and left.

Looking at Guo Jia's back, Xun Yu sighed deeply in the empty room.

The companions who once chatted and laughed with me are now strangers.

Xun Yu had a vague guess about Guo Jia's thoughts.

Just as Cao Cao recruited soldiers under the banner of the Xun family, Xun Yu understood that this must be Guo Jia's strategy.

And this visit to Xun's house is the key to implementing this plan: to kidnap Xun's house and put her on Cao Cao's chariot!
That's right! It's kidnapping!
Xun Yu did not know the specific details, but Cao Cao would definitely not use gentle means to please Xun Yu. There must be other violent means waiting.

This is Guo Jia's consistent style.

Extremely extreme!

It's like dancing on swords. If you win, you will make a fortune, but if you lose, you may lose your life.

"I didn't expect Cao Mengde to be so courageous!" Xun Yu couldn't help but be secretly shocked.

Looking at the whole world, there are very few people who dare to adopt Guo Jia's strategy.

Jinmao is definitely not one of them.

"If it weren't for..."

Xun Yu did not think further. There is no regret medicine in the world. If it were not for Jin Mao, if he had met a person like Cao Cao first, Xun Yu would definitely be tempted and want to serve. But time cannot be reversed.

Although his relationship with Jin Mao was not made public, Xun Yu knew Jin Mao's character.

It seems that you don't care on the surface, but in fact you care about the plasmolysis.

Whether for the sake of the Xun family or Cao Cao, Xun Yu did not want to and could not serve Cao Cao or anyone else.

God knows whether that farmer in Yangzhou who loves to farm will mutate into a butcher of the aristocratic class.

Xun Yu felt that there was a 99% chance that it would mutate.

By then, what a mess the world would be in.

Therefore, whether objectively or subjectively, it was impossible for Xun Yu to serve Cao Cao.

This is also what Xun Yu can't understand the most.

"Guo Fengxiao cannot be so short-sighted. I think there must be a deeper meaning behind this."

the other side.

Cao Cao accompanied Xun Yu very respectfully and chatted with him casually.

This Xun Yu is no small figure. He is the eighth of the eight dragons of the Xun family, Xun Shuang's younger brother, and one of the only two remaining respected people in the Xun family.

Normally, Xun Yu would not come out to receive guests, as he would study Confucian classics at home, so it was usually Xun Yu who received foreign guests.

Now that the Xun family has split, as one of the only remaining figures of the older generation, Xun Yu has to step forward to take charge of the situation.

In fact, Cao Cao was also very uncomfortable talking. He prided himself on his talent, but in front of a great man like Xun Yu, he found it quite difficult to deal with him.

Fortunately, Guo Jia came to the rescue in time. Cao Cao apologized to Xun Yu and came out to meet Guo Jia.

"How is it? Did Fengxiao convince Xun Yu?"

After more than ten days of getting along, Cao Cao was surprised to find that Guo Jia was very much to his liking, and he had already changed his way of addressing him to call him by his courtesy name to show his closeness.

Guo Jia shook his head.

Cao Cao sighed helplessly and said, "Then we can only use the middle strategy."

Guo Jia continued to shake his head.

Cao Cao's eyes widened and he growled, "This is a bad idea?!"

"Are you crazy?!"

After yelling, Cao Cao looked around guiltily, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't see anyone.

Guo Jia finally spoke up: "My lord, Wen Ruo is extremely intelligent. We are just showing off our skills in front of an expert and will only make him look down on us."

Guo Jia said sternly, "Since the best plan has failed, we might as well do the worst!"

"Success or failure depends on this!"

Cao Cao hesitated.

Guo Jia advised: "If you are afraid of tarnishing your reputation, leave this matter to me!"

"If anything happens, I will take full responsibility!"

"Ah, Fengxiao." Cao Cao smiled and grabbed Guo Jia's thin arm and said, "Just be at ease."

"I, Cao Cao, am not a good person, but I am not ashamed to ask my subordinates to absolve me of my crimes!"

"I'm just worried that you're scared."

Cao Cao laughed even more heartily and said, "Since you are not afraid, why should I be afraid?"

"Just do it and it's done!"

Guo Jia took two steps back, bowed deeply, and said, "It is a great honor for me to follow my lord!"

Then he stood up and said, "Leave Xun Yu to me, and I'll leave this to you, my lord!"

"It's a small matter." Cao Cao seemed to handle it easily.

Only after Guo Jia left and could no longer be seen did he let out a long breath and cursed in a low voice: "Fuck, this is so exciting!"

He calmed himself down, put on a professional smile, and greeted Xun Yu again.

the other side.

When Xun Yu saw Guo Jia coming back, he knew that the other party was going to show his hand.

But his damn family education forced Xun Yu to receive Guo Jia with standard etiquette, even though he was obviously very unwilling to do so.

Guo Jia did not appreciate it. He stood and clasped his fists towards Xun Yu and said, "I am sorry for the offense."

"Outside the gate of Xun's family, my lord has brought 800 elite cavalrymen. They can be the guards who escort Xun's family to Qiao County, or they can be the murderers who destroy Xun's family."

"Which one do you want?"

Xun Yu closed his eyes in pain and asked in a hoarse voice: "Is it worth it to do this for Cao Cao?"

Guo Jia was silent for a long time before he uttered: "A gentleman will die for his friend!"

Xun Yu shook his head, opened his eyes and asked, "The governor of Yangzhou also treated you well, why not him?"

This time, Guo Jia answered immediately: "If we have different ideals, we cannot work together!"

That’s right!

Xun Yu understood Guo Jia very well. Given Jin Mao's personality, he probably would not even adopt a strategy that Guo Jia thought was very conservative, let alone more radical conspiracies.

But this is not a reason to force Xun!

Xun Yu asked seriously, "I am willing to sacrifice my life, can you let Xun go?"

In Xun Yu's opinion, didn't Cao Cao and Guo Jia come just for him? If he died, wouldn't all the mysteries be solved?

Guo Jia was moved and said, "Wen Ruo, it shouldn't be this serious!"

"I'm not here for you."

"Then you..." In an instant, Xun Yu connected everything together and completely understood Guo Jia's plan.

"What a great move! A thousand-gold horse bone!"

Xun Yu said with emotion: "I always thought I knew you well enough, but I didn't expect Feng Xiao to still surprise me!"

Then, Xun Yu spoke and analyzed the strategies of Guo Jia and Cao Cao.

First he used Xun's reputation to recruit soldiers, then he went to Xun's house and kidnapped them onto the chariot. The key point was Xun Yu.

As long as Xun Yu went to Qiao County, Cao Cao's base, Cao Cao would gain a good reputation no matter what the final result was.

He even abducted several unsuspecting talents from the Xun family.

At that time, others had to believe it even if they didn't.

What was the point of Xun's further explanation? The matter had already been settled and there was no time to regret.

"It seems that I am too late to inform my tribe members."

Seeing Guo Jia nod, Xun Yu knew that it was impossible for the other party to leak any information at this critical juncture.

Xun Yu immediately lost his temper and asked, "Aren't you afraid that I will kill you?"

Guo Jia shook his head and said, "Then you are not Xun Wenruo, and you would have already joined the Yangzhou governor, and I would not have known you."

"Guo Fengxiao is good at understanding people's hearts." Xun Yu shook his head and laughed: "I lost this game of chess, completely lost!"

"But don't be happy too soon."

Xun Yu smiled as if he was not smiling, and then showed his signature smile and said, "If the governor of Yangzhou knew about this, I wonder how you would respond?"

Guo Jia's eyes widened and cold sweat broke out. He really hadn't thought about this aspect.

If that guy gets to know this news, he will definitely go crazy!

Just like the previous chase, no one can predict what extraordinary things Jinmao will do!
(End of this chapter)