Three Kingdoms: I choose Xiao Qiao and Da Qiao, why are you crying, Diao Chan?

Chapter 287: Genius Strategist! (Thanks to Yuyu and Quanzhen Longmen Xinhe for their two monthly tickets~)
When Sun Ce heard Yang Hong asking him to plunder the villagers' tung oil, he instinctively frowned.

Under Lu Bu's influence, he had not robbed the people for a long time.

Even the civilians in the enemy's territory are innocent.

When they conquer Henan County in the future, these people will also be their own people...

Seeing Sun Ce's expression, Yang Hong saw his worry, so he changed his words:
“If the general feels that forcing them directly is not appropriate, he can offer them a large sum of money and promise to send the money to them after they capture the city.

"This way, the villagers will have no reason to refuse."

Sun Ce hesitated for a moment before accepting his opinion:

“In this case, I will personally lead the army to this village after dark.

"You and Generals He Man, Huang Shao and others will guard the camp."

He was afraid that if he didn't go in person, he would have unnecessary conflicts with the villagers.

Yang Hong bowed immediately and nodded his head like a chick pecking at rice.

He was obviously happy that his plan was adopted.

When he was under Yuan Shu, he was always suppressed by Yan Xiang and had no chance to offer any advice.

Now that he is under Lu Bu's command, he finally has the opportunity to display his talents.

That night.

It was already dark, and in order not to expose his strategic intentions, Sun Ce gave Jia Xu the possibility to guess their plan.

So, under the cover of night, he led two thousand cavalrymen and quietly left the camp.

When they arrived at Tong Village according to the map route provided by Yang Hong, they saw a dense tung tree forest outside the village.

The trunk is thick and tall, and the leaves are bigger than a human face.

The tung oil that Yang Hong mentioned comes from the fruits of these tung trees!
However, tung trees usually bear fruit in summer. If you want tung oil now, you can only go to the village to ask for it.

Just when Sun Ce led his soldiers to the entrance of the village, two groups of people suddenly rushed out from the tung woods on both sides!

Holding a torch in his left hand and various farm tools in his right hand, he sandwiched Sun Ce and dozens of soldiers in front of him!

Looking at the villagers who suddenly appeared, Sun Ce's expression changed slightly.

Obviously, no one expected that this group of villagers would ambush here in advance!
Fortunately, they were just villagers. If they were enemy troops, he would be in trouble right now!
Seeing that the villagers did not attack rashly, Sun Ce immediately restrained his soldiers from acting rashly.

Then he bowed to the villagers and said:
"My fellow villagers! We have no ill intentions in coming here. We just heard that your village sells tung oil, so we came to buy tung oil from you!"

The villagers looked at each other, and the hostility in their eyes eased slightly.

But at this moment, a very young voice suddenly asked:
"General, you came here to buy tung oil. Could it be that you want to use the tung oil to burn the towers and thus capture Xinzheng City?"

Hearing the voice that revealed his own strategy, Sun Ce opened his mouth wide with astonishment on his face!

He immediately dismounted, clasped his hands in the direction of the voice, and asked very respectfully:
"Your Excellency is a genius! Could you please come out and see me?"

Seeing Sun Ce dismount and salute, the people in front of Sun Ce immediately made way for him.

A handsome young man dressed in blue Confucian robes, with an unrestrained temperament and bookish air, walked out of the crowd and returned a salute to Sun Ce.

Seeing that this person had an extraordinary appearance, Sun Ce knew that he was definitely not a simple person, so he quickly clasped his fists and asked:

"May I know your name, sir?"

The young man responded dully:

"Shouldn't you tell your own name before asking someone else's name?"

Sun Ce was slightly surprised, but then smiled at the young man:
“Sir, you already know our army’s plan, and you also know that our army will arrive at your village at this moment.

"Don't you know my name?"

A smile suddenly appeared on the young man's face, and he said happily:

"General Sun is indeed a renowned top general!

"It is my honor to meet a young talent like the general. My surname is Guo, my given name is Jia, and my courtesy name is Fengxiao. I have been waiting for you, the little overlord, for a long time!"

Hearing the name "Guo Jia", Sun Ce's eyes suddenly lit up after a moment of hesitation:

"Could it be Guo Fengxiao who once lived in Yangdi County, Yingchuan?!"

A hint of surprise appeared in Guo Jia's eyes.

He lived in hiding for many years, although he once went north to find Yuan Shao.

But seeing that Yuan Shao was indecisive and lacked leadership skills, he left him again and returned to his hometown to continue living in anonymity.

Later, when he learned that there would be a war in Yingchuan, he moved to Tong Village.

Logically speaking, I should be unknown everywhere, and only a very small number of talented friends know me.

Why did I seem to have heard of Sun Ce, even though I had never met him before?

Guo Jia nodded slightly:

"My former residence is Yingchuan Yangdi. I wonder how the general knew about this?"

Sun Ce was even more surprised when he heard this!

When the lord arrived in Yingchuan before, he felt sad that Chen Qun and Zhong Yao were recruited away by Liu Bei and the court.

But then another name was mentioned.

He also said that he had not heard of this person joining any faction, but he was not in Yingchuan either...

And this name is exactly the Guo Jia in front of him, Guo Fengxiao!
The top strategist who is known as a "genius" by Lu Bu!

Sun Ce immediately replied:

"My master told me. He has always been eager for you!"

"Your master?"

Guo Jia narrowed his eyes unkindly:

"Is that Lü Fengxian, who was promoted to Duke of Chu but went to war with the imperial court?"

Seeing Guo Jia's disdainful face, Sun Ce awkwardly explained for Lu Bu:
"With your talent, you should be able to see that this is a trap set by the court, right?"

Guo Jia waved his hands irritably, his eyes full of disdain for Lu Bu:

"Whether it was a trap set by the imperial court or not, Lü Bu openly confronted the imperial army, which was already a heinous crime!
"Except that Lu Bu's reputation in his own territory is slightly better.

"In the eyes of people from other places, Lu Bu is an unforgivable traitor, even worse than Dong Zhuo back then!
"You are a peerless hero, and your father was the first person to defeat Dong Zhuo!
"Now the general is working for a traitor, which is really unworthy of your majesty.

"Will you join me in joining the imperial court, supporting the Han Dynasty, and continuing the Han Dynasty?"

Guo Jia's words left Sun Ce speechless.

It is undeniable that he heard many people in Yingchuan County questioning Lu Bu.

Not to mention the territories of other hostile forces.

But this did not change his loyalty to Lu Bu.

Ever since he and Zhou Yu determined that he was not fit to be emperor, he had given up on becoming a local lord.

Now commanding thousands of troops under Lu Bu's command, this is exactly the life he wants.

As for the imperial court... for him, Sun Ce, overthrowing the imperial court is much more interesting than helping the imperial court!
Thinking of this, Sun Ce directly rejected Guo Jia:
"Sir, your aspirations are contrary to mine, and I find it difficult to obey your orders.

"But I still hope you can sell the tung oil to us, and I am willing to give you a chance to live!"

Listening to Sun Ce's threatening words in a gentle voice, Guo Jia laughed out loud:

"That Lord Chu can make a hero like General Sun willing to serve him...

"I am looking forward to the day when I can meet him!"

(End of this chapter)