The Three Kingdoms: Rise to Power Starting with Intercepting Liu Bei

As Qin Xuan took the lead in responding to the call of the young Emperor Liu Xie to send troops to defend the emperor, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and Cao Cao followed suit.

Cao Cao led 5,000 troops from Puyang, passing through Baima and Chaoge, to Chang'an to welcome the young emperor.

Yuan Shu, accompanied by his general Ji Ling, led 5,000 troops from Pingyu, passing through Wufang, Duyang, and Zhixian, then through the Funiu Mountains to reach Jingzhao Yin, and finally to Chang'an to welcome the young emperor.

The news of various warlords raising troops to defend the emperor quickly spread throughout the land. Li Jue and Guo Si, who were locked in a fierce and deadly battle in Chang'an, also learned of this news. The two sides immediately calmed down and sat down together again.

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In Chang'an, at Li Jue's camp, on Jia Xu's advice, Li Jue was the first to take the initiative to cease fire and summoned Guo Si to the camp to discuss countermeasures.

"Li Jue, what do you mean by this? Not only have you taken the initiative to cease hostilities, but you've also summoned me to your camp. What exactly are you trying to do? Do you intend to sue for peace?"

Guo Si, who had just sat down in the tent, downed a cup of wine on the table in one gulp and asked in a nonchalant manner.

Guo Si was a straightforward and forthright man from Liangzhou. When he saw that Li Jue had taken the initiative to withdraw his troops and invited him to the enemy camp to discuss important matters, he did not suspect any trickery and immediately led five hundred elite soldiers to the meeting.

"Hehe, let Mr. Wenhe talk to you about that!"

As Li Jue, who was sitting opposite Guo Si, clapped his hands vigorously, a man in a blue robe slowly walked into the military tent.

"Mr. Wenhe, you're the one who had Li Jue summon me. What are your instructions?"

As soon as Guo Si saw Jia Xu arrive, he immediately stood up from the low table, came to Jia Xu, and asked him in a gentle and amicable manner.

Guo Si held Jia Xu in the highest regard. If it weren't for Jia Xu's advice, they wouldn't be where they are today; they might have been dead long ago.

After Dong Zhuo was murdered by Wang Yun and Lü Bu in 192 AD, Guo Si and others had nowhere to turn. They wanted to disband their troops and return to their hometowns, but they were afraid that they would not be pardoned.

It was Jia Xu who advised them to lead their army westward to attack Chang'an and avenge Dong Zhuo.

Guo Si and others adopted the advice, allied with Zhang Ji and others, and led their army to attack Chang'an. They eventually captured Chang'an and engaged in street fighting with Lü Bu. Lü Bu was defeated and fled, and Wang Yun and others were killed. After the Liangzhou army occupied Chang'an, they took Emperor Xian of Han hostage, and Guo Si was appointed General Yanglie.

"Now you are in grave danger, yet you are completely unaware that I have come to save you!"

Jia Xu spoke slowly.

"Ah~~~, Mr. Wenhe, what makes you say that? Please tell me the truth."

Upon hearing how serious the problem was, Guo Si's heart skipped a beat. Ignoring the fact that Li Jue was right in front of him, he immediately grabbed Jia Xu's arm and pleaded with him to show him the way.

Seeing Guo Si, a grown man, gripping his arm tightly, Jia Xu, though in considerable pain, remained unfazed. He simply struggled to break free and said, feigning ease:

"Now that the young emperor has fled Chang'an and issued an edict to defend the emperor, Qin Xuan of Xuzhou and Cao Cao of Yanzhou have responded. Do you think you are more powerful than Lü Bu and can stand against them?"

"Isn't this a sign of impending doom?"

Upon hearing this, Guo Si breathed a sigh of relief, and his anxiety eased slightly.

"Sir, do not worry. I have already sent people to pursue the young emperor who has fled. As long as the young emperor is in our hands, they will not dare to make any rash moves."

Since learning that the young emperor had fled with his entourage, Guo Si had dispatched his elite cavalry to pursue him, and he believed that results would come soon. Therefore, he did not take Jia Xu's concerns to heart.

Seeing that Guo Si didn't seem to care, Jia Xu didn't bother to explain. He simply looked at Li Jue, who was standing to the side, and gestured for him to explain the seriousness of the matter to Guo Si. He then sat at the table and enjoyed his tea.

Receiving a signal from Jia Xu, Li Jue approached Guo Si, bowed, and apologized, saying earnestly:

"Brother, you're dreaming. I apologize to you, but we're really in deep trouble now. You really need to take this seriously!"

"What good will it do to just send people to capture the young emperor? The most crucial thing now is that Qin Xuan of Xuzhou has intervened. You've heard of his Great Snow Dragon Cavalry. If you really go up against him, what are your chances of winning?"

Li Jue adopted a strategy of "courtesy first, force later." He first apologized to Guo Si, speaking politely and kindly. If Guo Si insisted on not listening, then he would have to take real action, detaining Guo Si and then consolidating his troops to follow Jia Xu's orders.

Guo Si was not the kind of person who was stubborn and obstinate. Seeing Li Jue's behavior, most of his resentment dissipated, and he sat down at the table again to listen to Jia Xu's ideas.

After all, Jia Xu must have already come up with a plan to summon him to discuss these matters.

Seeing Guo Si's actions, Li Jue breathed a sigh of relief. After all, if Guo Si hadn't listened to his advice and the two sides had clashed again, things would have gotten out of control.

"Now that you're all seated, I'll get straight to the point. Send most of your forces to bring the young emperor back to Luoyang before he does, and then use him to negotiate with the feudal lords!"

"The young emperor is of little use to us now; we can only use him to buy temporary peace!"

Jia Xu's words were merely to lull Li Jue and Guo Si into a false sense of security, while he himself took the opportunity to escape. These two were incapable of shouldering great responsibilities, and he absolutely could not accompany them to their graves.

"What if we find the young emperor and they catch up with us, and we can't get back to Chang'an in time?"

Guo Si asked a very crucial question: bringing the young emperor back was no easy task. The distance from Chang'an to Luoyang was as large as half of Bingzhou, and hiding thousands of people would not be a problem at all.

It would take more than just a day or two to bring the young emperor back.

"If what you described really happens, then we'll go all the way and send someone to impersonate one of the other feudal lords to kill him!"

After pondering for a moment, Jia Xu made a ruthless killing gesture as he spoke.

Jia Xu truly lived up to his reputation as a ruthless strategist, managing to devise such a vicious plan.

"Hiss~~~~!"

Upon hearing Jia Xu's words, Li Jue and Guo Si gasped in shock. Jia Xu was truly ruthless, and a chill ran through them.

"What are you two still hesitating for? Hurry up and send out the troops, or it will be too late!"

After Jia Xu finished speaking, he looked at Li and Guo with a smile. His sinister smile sent a chill down one's spine in the slightly dark military tent.

"Okay, I'll go right now!"

Guo Si felt somewhat uncomfortable under Jia Xu's gaze. After saying a few words, he left the military tent and led his men to his own camp.

"Mr. Wenhe, I will also give orders to act as soon as possible, thank you!"

Li Jue clearly wanted to get rid of them. Although Jia Xu was their strategist, he did not hold any position in the army.

"Alright, I'll be going now. Let's get going!"

After giving his instructions, Jia Xu left the military tent to pack his things and prepare to flee. His actions just now were only to make Li and Guo aware of the seriousness of the matter and to do their best to find the young emperor.

He could then take advantage of this opportunity to slip away and go to Huayin to seek refuge with Duan Wei. As for Li and Guo, good advice was useless to those who deserved to die; once they were dead, they were dead and had no value to him.