Chapter 573: Heaven Leaves a Way Out

Guo Jia began to reverse-engineer all the calculations, starting with Zhang Fei's personality, Guan Yu's attitude towards Zhang Fei, Guan Yu's temperament, the confidence built from consecutive victories, and the situation after the arrival of the third internal energy master, Xu Chu.

"So, this is how it is..." Guo Jia suddenly knocked over the water bowl. Chen Chi's words had completely clarified the current situation. Guo Jia trusted Guan Yu's judgment, and since Guo Jia didn't interfere with military command, it made sense that Guan Yu would take all the commanding generals with him to ensure victory.

As long as they won, everything would be fine. Guo Jia and Guan Yu's first judgment was naturally victory. This created a blind spot—Guan Yu would leave Guo Jia in the rear as usual, with someone protecting him for safety. Everything seemed fine on the surface, but there was a huge hidden danger: there was no one left who could rescue Guan Yu.

"So ruthless!" Guo Jia's face darkened. Given this deduction, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Xu Chu couldn't possibly defeat Lu Bu. Only by forcing him to send reinforcements could Chen Gong's plan succeed. Although this deduction seemed unbelievable, after eliminating all other possibilities, this became the only one left!

"Strategist Guo, what’s wrong?" Chen Chi asked, puzzled as he watched Guo Jia's face turn pale after just one statement. He immediately sensed that something was very wrong.

"Bring me the map," Guo Jia ordered, taking a deep breath. The ability to remain calm under pressure is a fundamental quality of a strategist. Even if Chen Gong’s schemes had been revealed, or if he knew nothing and faced the possibility of Guan Yu’s defeat, a strategist should always maintain composure.

Chen Chi, though confused, didn’t hesitate. He quickly brought the map. Guo Jia examined it and immediately identified a spot that wasn’t ideal for an ambush but was the only feasible one.

Guo Jia’s face twitched slightly. The only possible ambush point for Chen Gong would be that stretch of floodplain resembling a reed field.

"Fortunately, luck is still on our side," Guo Jia laughed. Though he couldn’t command troops, he knew how to start a fire. Burning down a reed field was something he could manage!

But Guo Jia’s expression turned troubled. No matter how brilliant his strategies were, one fact remained unchanged—he couldn’t lead troops.

"Strategist Guo, though I may not fully understand what you’re contemplating, your troubled expression tells me that the situation is tricky. If that’s the case, why not speak your thoughts aloud? Although I may not be able to assist you directly, perhaps I can provide some insight," Chen Chi offered, noticing Guo Jia’s distress.

Guo Jia glanced at Chen Chi, sighed, and then explained the entire situation, including his analysis.

"Strategist Guo, are you concerned about the lack of someone capable of commanding the troops?" Chen Chi asked with a frown.

"Exactly. Chen Gong’s only possible ambush point is here." Guo Jia pointed to the reed field on the map. "If General Guan begins to falter, he will undoubtedly send someone to request reinforcements. In that scenario, even if there’s no capable commander, I’ll have no choice but to deploy troops."

Guo Jia didn’t finish his thought, but Chen Chi understood. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei’s statuses were too important. Even knowing it was a trap, Guo Jia would have to jump in.

"If Strategist Guo needs a commander, I could recommend someone. They may not be able to lead tens of thousands, but they can manage a whole army," Chen Chi suggested after some thought.

"Is there really such a person in our ranks? Speak quickly!" Guo Jia exclaimed with joy. With just one capable commander, he was confident he could turn the tables on Chen Gong and win this battle.

"The person you seek is closer than you think," Chen Chi said confidently.

Guo Jia paused, picking up the bowl that had held spring water. After some careful thought, he asked, "Chen Chi, how confident are you?"

"Though I haven’t commanded troops before, based on the military formations General Guan demonstrated recently, I may not be as skilled, but I’m not far behind," Chen Chi said proudly.

Guo Jia’s headache worsened, but at that moment, a messenger urgently called from outside. Guo Jia sighed deeply. "Chen Chi, you will command the troops. We are marching out."

"Report, Strategist Guo..." Zhou Cang shouted as he rushed in.

"I know, I know. No need to say it. General Guan, General Zhang, and General Xu have all been defeated, right? We’ll move out immediately," Guo Jia interrupted, waving his hand with a gloomy expression.

"Strategist, you’ve hit the nail on the head..." Zhou Cang was dumbfounded by Guo Jia’s prediction.

"Lead five hundred elite guards to protect Chen Chi and me. Also, on the way, tell me exactly how ferocious Lu Bu is," Guo Jia ordered helplessly, then turned to Chen Chi, who took a deep breath and composed himself.

Soon, Chen Chi gathered all the remaining soldiers in the camp and quickly organized them. After a few adjustments, Chen Chi felt confident. Leading troops seemed quite simple...

Although Guo Jia wasn’t skilled in commanding troops, he watched as Chen Chi familiarized himself with Guan Yu’s military signals, made a few adjustments to the formations, and raised the soldiers’ morale with copper coins. After observing Chen Chi change the formations again, Guo Jia was completely reassured—Chen Chi was indeed capable.

Determined, Guo Jia thought, "I’ve been in this game for years, and this is the first time someone has outmaneuvered me on the battlefield. If it weren’t for the good fortune of having Chen Chi to lead the troops, I’d be in serious trouble!"

"That’s everything," Zhou Cang grumbled, recounting what he had witnessed to Guo Jia.

"Understood," Guo Jia nodded. Now he knew exactly what kind of monster he was dealing with.

"Chen Chi, do you know battle formations?" Guo Jia suddenly asked.

"I do, the Grip Formation from Xuanxiang's tactics," Chen Chi replied.

"My luck just keeps getting better!" Guo Jia laughed heartily. If Chen Chi had known any other formation, Guo Jia wouldn’t have been so elated. But the Grip Formation was the precursor to the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation and even the Eight Arrays Diagram!

"You don’t need to make any complex changes. Just focus on maximizing the cloud energy. Forget about boosting our troops’ combat effectiveness;

just increase the volume of cloud energy!" Guo Jia laughed. "Lu Bu may be strong, but let’s see how many he can kill with his internal energy sealed by an overwhelming cloud of energy!"