Chapter Forty-Five, Golden War Armor

  "General, the master of the Guo family requests an audience." Xu Feng had just returned from the academy and hadn't even caught his breath when he heard a soldier outside report that the master of the Guo family was here to see him. What did he want? Hadn't they already been plundered by him and left without food?

  "Let him in." Xu Feng shouted outside the door.

  "Agreed."

  "You scoundrel, look at the good deed you've done, quickly kowtow to General Xu and admit your mistake." What made Xu Feng feel unexpected was that not only did the master of the Guo family come, but also Yangzhai Governor Guo Hong came, and Guo Tu, who had been beaten by himself during the day, also came. However, at this time, Guo Tu's body was tied up with five flowers, his hair was disheveled, and his head hair was scattered like a madman. His clothes were tattered, and he looked listless. His face was bruised, with purple and green marks all over, obviously having been beaten again after returning home.

  Guo Tu saw Xu Feng and was like a mouse seeing a cat. Thinking of the scene where Xu Feng had violently beaten him at the academy, although he had grievances in his heart, this was Xu Feng's military camp. The soldiers wearing armor, holding swords, with murderous intent on their faces made him fearful and timid. Seeing Xu Feng's face with a playful smile but a gloomy complexion, Guo Tu feared that if Xu Feng became displeased, someone would be killed. He immediately knelt down with a thud.

  "General Xu, please be magnanimous and forgive me. I was young and ignorant during the day, and often made mistakes. Please, sir, do not hold a grudge against me, a lowly person, and pardon my transgressions."

  "Haha, what's the big deal? It's just a small matter, not worth mentioning. I, Xu Feng, am not a petty person, but it's best you watch your mouth. If you continue to spout nonsense and spray rubbish everywhere without thinking, next time it won't be just a beating." Xu Feng said with a smile on his face. Guo Tu felt a chill run down his spine, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead as he hastily nodded in agreement.

  "General Xu, this old man will make sure to discipline him properly and absolutely won't let him offend the general's authority again. It's just a small token of apology." As he spoke, the master of the Guo household gestured with his hand, and someone brought in a box. Xu Feng was taken aback - could it be that they wanted to bribe him? But hadn't he already taken all their wealth for himself? Did they still have some hidden stash? It was possible, after all, who would believe that these wealthy families didn't have secret vaults and hidden rooms? However, Xu Feng wasn't going to press the issue. After all, he couldn't push things too far, he had to leave them a way out. So he hadn't intentionally used torture to extract every last bit of their wealth, and had 'overlooked' some of it.

  "What is this?" As the box opened, a flash of gold light appeared before his eyes, and Xu Feng's eyes lit up. The entire room was suddenly filled with a dazzling radiance, and inside the wooden box, instead of gold and silver treasures, there was a suit of golden armor.

  "In the past, our humble ancestors also had a military general. This set of golden armor was passed down from our ancestors. Now, the entire Guo family is composed of scholars and literati. This suit of armor has been collecting dust in our mansion, which is truly a waste of its value. General, you are not one to look down on things, so I would like to offer this set of golden armor to you. As the leader of the Yellow Turbans, yellow is a noble color that suits you well. It will surely bring you good fortune and prosperity in the future." Seeing Xu Feng's satisfaction, the Guo family members all breathed a sigh of relief. They had originally thought that Guo Tu would provoke Xu Feng, and given Xu Feng's temperament, he would definitely take revenge. But unexpectedly, Xu Feng was so magnanimous and didn't seem to mind at all.

  "Alright...since that's the case, I, Xu Feng, humbly obey. Although Xu Feng is now a leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he still doesn't have decent armor or a good sword, and even his warhorse was given to him by Zhou Cang. He isn't one for vanity, but leading troops into battle in such shabby attire just won't do. This suit of armor, crafted with gold and adorned with golden leaves, is incredibly light yet exceptionally sturdy, making it comfortable to wear and intimidating to behold - a true treasure for the battlefield. And as the leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, wearing yellow armor is only fitting."

  "By the way, I'd like to ask, is there a person named Guo Jia in your household?" The reason why Xu Feng didn't make a move on Guo's family was largely because of Guo Jia. As a Three Kingdoms enthusiast, Xu Feng had a deep affection for Guo Jia. Even if Guo Jia wouldn't have joined the Yellow Turbans and ended up on the opposing side, Xu Feng couldn't bring himself to do anything too drastic, due to his deeply rooted fondness for him.

  "Ah... Guo Jia, it seems like there's this one person, Hong Er, do you remember?" The master of the Guo household looked puzzled, seemingly a bit fuzzy in his memory, and turned around to ask Guo Hong.

  "Going back to the head of the Hui tribe, indeed there is such a person, who is just like Tuer, both are common students of Yingchuan Academy. However, his status is lowly and he moved out of the Guo residence several years ago. Now his parents have passed away and he has no connection with the Guo family anymore." Guo Hong replied in a low voice to the head of the Guo family.

  "What? Is this person in the mansion?" Xu Feng saw the two whispering and didn't know what they were saying.

  "There is indeed such a person. I don't know why General Xu asked about this person, could it be that he also offended the general?" The old man asked anxiously.

  Xu Feng shook his head, "It's convenient if it is. I have a high opinion of this person and would like to get to know him better if there's an opportunity. You can go back first, I'll visit him myself another day."

  "Very good, very good. We will definitely set up a banquet to welcome the general when the time comes." The host of the Guo family secretly remembered this in his heart and hurriedly rushed to Xu Feng with his hands clasped together in respect, respectfully leading Guo Hong and Guo Tu out.

  "Chuan Xue City."

  "Agreed."

  "What's Big Brother Peak calling me for?"

  "Tonight, we will return the money and grain taken from the Guo family, intact, to them." Xu Feng instructed.

  "What? Brother Feng, why is this? These past few days, following your instructions, half of the grain has already been distributed to the starving people in the city. What's left isn't much, do we really have to send it back?" Xue Cheng asked, puzzled.

  "Let's send him back, being both gentle and tough is the best strategy. We can't just slaughter and plunder the aristocratic families, that's not a solution. We need to find some reliable allies to help us in our conquest of this chaotic world." Xu Feng patted Xue Cheng's shoulder and advised with a smile.

  "Is it possible that the Guo family has agreed to support us?" Xue Cheng nodded and asked in surprise.

  "Not yet, but soon. The master of the Guo family is not a person who doesn't understand courtesy and retreat. You go arrange this matter, try not to make it public."

  "Don't worry, Brother Feng, I've got it covered. And there's something else..." After some thought, Xue Cheng shook his head and smiled awkwardly "Never mind, I'm off, Brother Feng."

  Xue Cheng decided to give Zhang Fei another chance, and reported everything to Xu Feng. He was also afraid that Xu Feng would be too busy, so he said half of what he wanted to say and then swallowed the rest back.

  "Report..." Just as Xue Cheng had left, a loud and clear voice came from outside the door. Xu Feng waved his hand, "Come in."

  "General, there's something I don't know if I should mention or not?" He looked up at Xu Feng with an awkward scratch of his head, looking like a shy little daughter-in-law.

  "What else can't you say in front of me?" Xu Feng joked with a smile.

  "Recently you've upgraded Hu Wei's treatment a lot, many brothers in the army are discontented and say you're being biased and unfair."

  Xu Feng's face turned cold, and he cursed, "What? A bunch of bastards! Take me to the training ground right now. It just so happens that it's time for dinner. I want to see what these people are dissatisfied with."

  "Look, we're also the Yellow Turbans, what are we eating and what are they eating?" Looking at the bowls of chicken, duck, fish, and meat in front of the Tiger Guards, those ordinary soldiers were drooling with envy, their mouths watering. Some whispered complaints to each other in twos and threes, while others simply stared blankly at the pancakes and thin porridge in front of them.

  "Commander Qiu is too biased, saying that regardless of wealth or status, we are all brothers. But can't be so biased, why do the Tiger Guards get special treatment? We all have one head and two hands, not three heads and six arms. Not only do they eat chicken, duck, fish, and meat, but their grain rations are also more generous, and the compensation for their deaths and injuries is astonishingly high. I, Hou Cheng, am not convinced. When I get the chance, I will definitely argue with Commander Qiu about this."

  "Stop nagging, eat your meal." A sturdy man beside him advised impatiently.

  "Hey, Pei Yuanshao, you can swallow it down, can you really stomach this?" Hou Cheng turned around and saw that the man opposite him had eaten all his dry rations, and suddenly muttered in surprise.