A (def not) cheaper, (not so) better, faster (better siam) Boss
VS
A (truly) cheaper, (indeed) better, (double confirmed) faster Boss
[绍既并河朔，天下畏其强。太祖方东忧吕布，南拒张绣，而绣败太祖军于宛。]
《三国志：荀彧传》
[Shao managed to unify the entire land north of the (Yellow) River, hence invoking fear and awe from all over. Taizu on the other hand, had to stay wary against Lu Bu towards the east, while at the same time having to defend against Zhang Xiu at the south as Xiu's forces managed to defeat his army at the territory of Wan.]
《Record of the Three Kingdoms: Account of Xun Yu》
VS
[初，北见袁绍，谓绍谋臣辛评、郭图曰：“夫智者审于量主，故百举百全而功名可立也。袁公徒欲效周公之下士，而未知用人之机。多端寡要，好谋无决，欲与共济天下大难，定霸王之业，难矣！” 于是遂去之。]
《三国志：郭嘉传》
[At the beginning upon meeting Yuan Shao up north, Guo Jia told his advisors Xin Ping, Guo Tu:
"Any man of wisdom will always able to gauge the the ability of his lord, hence a lifetime of merit and fame due to his master's imminent fortune. Duke Yuan desires to follow the footsteps of Duke Zhou of the past in accepting men of capabilities, but not knowing the way to utilize any available talent. Blessed with many options yet only able to use a mere fraction of such; preferring counsel yet never decisive. With such failings, how can one like him shoulder the task to aid the country with those around him? It is truly difficult for such a person to have a lasting legacy!"
Hence, his decision to leave promptly.]
《Record of the Three Kingdoms: Account of Guo Jia》
Analysis: Now why is it that Guo Jia could see through the facade created by superficial circumstances? In his account, it's been clearly stated that he was granted an audience with Yuan Shao. In fact, it's very likely that he knew Guo Tu and Xin Ping right from the beginning, hence Yuan Shao's knowledge of his existence. You see, a lot of historical buffs actually stated N ages ago that Guo Jia's acumen in analysis is something truly unrivaled. And I agree with these wannabes (which in turn made me part of the big family as well ofc!).
You see, there will always be more than one area to observe when it comes to any given situation. But if you are to observe a human being, the need to micromanage the details is extremely important. You need to take notice and remember that person's demeanor, his body language, tone, and the most important of all, his reaction to any given situation. It's just like me telling an employee "Hey, please finish *insert any number of* PowerPoint slides, *insert any number of* Word documents, and *insert any number of* Excel database files. Sounds absurd? Well, it's just a half-assed parallel, but I believe you all get the gist. When you observe a person, what do you look for? Mere preferences or qualities separating the exceptional from the rest?
Simply put, Guo Jia wasn't really impressed with what he's seeing in Yuan Shao. And as the Battle of Guandu would end up justifying his views. In fact, a particular snippet from Xun Yu's account can gives us a decent hint on why Guo Jia was being so cocksure.
[戏志才、郭嘉等有负俗之讥]
《三国志：荀彧传》
[Xi Zhicai and Guo Jia had a repute amounting to ridicule as deviants.]
Simply put, one can only imagine the kind of attitude Yuan Shao was dishing out to Guo Jia and while we can never call Guo Jia a jerk, we must always remember the dangers of political correctness. An appropriate dosage will always be needed, but not truly so in terms of a lethal overdose. In fact come to think of it... all these do sound quite a wee bit familiar to us, no?
So how did Guo Jia manage to meet Cao Cao?
Now it's been clearly stated that Guo Jia had an elitist attitude in choosing his friends. To him, numbers mean nothing. To him, quality is everything. And guess what? Xun Yu is one of them. Actually come to think of it...
[年二十七，辟司徒府。]
《三国志：郭嘉传》
[At the age of twenty seven, he was treated with respect at the Office of the Chief Minister of Masses.]
《Record of the Three Kingdoms: Account of Guo Jia》
The ranks/status of the Chief Minister of Masses is truly one powerful post. Back during Chinese feudal era, there was such a things called the Three Dukes, namely the Chief Minister of Masses, Chief Minister of Works, and the Grand Commandant. The Grand Commandant is in charge of the military (think MINDEF for all we S'poreans), while the Chief Minister of Works is basically in charge of working infrastructural works (think MND+MEWR) while lastly, Chief Minister of Masses is in charge of land usage and the society at large (think MND+MCYS+MOM). Simply put, Guo Jia's situation is just like having some unknown local talent being treated with the highest respect by the likes of Minister Khaw Boon Wan+Minister Tan Chuan Jin+Minister Chan Chun Sing.
Sounds crazy? Well, I'm just quoting a parallel. Relax, man! I'm not insulting the Government, okay!
Which now comes to his meeting with Cao Cao...
(or rather I'll leave it for the next part. I think I might have raised enough hell to shock the entire SG cyberspace alrdy)......
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| Remember kids, the concept of hyperbole exists for a very good reason. |
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