"Your Majesty, Guan Yu is reputed to be invincible under heaven. Whether infantry, cavalry, or naval forces, his men are all masters of their craft. Wiping them out entirely is simply unrealistic. The best outcome would be to deal the Jing Province army a crippling blow. Only by breaking Liu Bei's right- and left-hand men stationed in Jing Province can Your Majesty deploy the Central Plains troops westward or eastward without worry," Cao Xiu analyzed.
Cao Pi nodded solemnly. "Wenlie, go make preparations first. I need to think this over some more."
"Yes." Cao Xiu clasped his hands and withdrew from the palace.
As Cao Pi watched Cao Xiu's departing figure, he suddenly thought of the deeply calculating Jia Xu. Whenever it came to analyzing the grand currents of the realm, that man always had his own uniquely incisive explanations. Yet not long after Cao Pi ascended the throne as emperor, Jia Xu had become chronically ill and stopped attending court.
"Xiao Gao, take the imperial physicians and go to the Grand Commandant's residence at once. Invite Grand Commandant Jia to the palace for me." Having just finished speaking, Cao Pi added, "The Grand Commandant is advanced in years. Take my imperial carriage to fetch him."
"Yes." The palace attendant Gao Miao accepted the order and departed.
Cao Pi had paid personal visits several times before, only to be criticized afterward by clan members and court officials for diminishing the sovereign's majesty. He had not again taken the initiative to visit the Grand Commandant's residence. Worried that Jia Xu might use illness as an excuse to decline, Cao Pi had therefore sent Gao Miao with the imperial physicians.
More than an hour later, the imperial carriage stopped before Xuanshi Hall in the Southern Palace, and Gao Miao followed it down