At this moment, Sun Tiecheng was surprisingly a tough guy, and as always, he said defiantly, "Lu Tu, if you have the guts, then kill me. If I die at the city gate, I won't be afraid of the Commandant taking his anger out on my family if you come into the city again!"

Huh? His reaction really surprised Lü Tu. He hadn't seen such a courageous person in the border army for a long time.

He couldn't help but look at Sun Tiecheng with newfound respect and said, "Aren't you afraid of death?"

"I'm not afraid! All I know is that I must obey orders from above!"

Then Sun Tiecheng opened his eyes wide, letting the blood flow continuously from his shoulder blade, and stared at Lü Tu.

Lu Tu gave him a deep look and said, "Good, you're a man! I won't kill you today, but I hope you can use that same toughness on the Wuhuan dogs in the future. Go!"

After saying this, Lü Tu waved his hand and led everyone directly into the city, leaving Sun Tiecheng behind.

The border troops guarding the city at the front also spontaneously made way for Lü Tu, allowing him to pass through without daring to obstruct him in the slightest.

After the group left, they rushed over to Sun Tiecheng, helped him up, and advised him, "Captain Sun, don't bother with Lü Tu. Haven't you heard of his fearsome reputation?"

"I don't acknowledge any of that 'seven massacres' or 'eight massacres,' I only acknowledge the Commandant's orders!"

His trusted men sighed helplessly, “Captain Sun, you can handle others like this, but Lu Tu is no ordinary man. He’s a captain who fought his way up from the corpses of the Wuhuan people, and last time he even saved the Commandant from the midst of a massive army. We can’t be so stubborn!”

"Yes, Captain Sun, don't you think about it? Lu Tu is practically the Captain's savior. You're still using such rigid rules to restrict him. If the Captain finds out, do you think he'll praise you or punish you?"

Hearing his trusted subordinates' advice, the stubborn Sun Tiecheng finally realized this and broke out in a cold sweat: "You mean, I should have let them into the city just now?"

"Yes, Captain. Anyway, everyone in Wuchuan knows that Lü Tu is invincible. Even if the Commandant knows that you let him into the city, he won't blame you. You can put all the blame on Lü Tu."

Sun Tiecheng said in a deep voice with a dark face, "So you're saying I took that shot for nothing?"

"It wasn't a complete waste of time. It broadened everyone's horizons and showed them that Lu Tu is indeed very fierce."

Sun Tiecheng glared at him: "You're talking nonsense! Do you think you can mess with me?"

"My lord, please listen to my excuse! I'm doing this to protect you! We're all in the same boat; if you're punished, we won't escape either!"

Sun Tiecheng snorted: "Aren't you going to help me up so I can get my injuries treated?"

...

When Lü Tu entered the city, he found that the plague situation had improved significantly, and the shops on both sides of the street had reopened. Although it was not as prosperous as before, it had shown some signs of improvement, which was quite remarkable.

But why are there so many refugees outside? Could it be...?

Just as he was thinking this, he arrived at the Commandant's Mansion. Since Lü Tu had forced his way in, his first stop should be the Commandant's Mansion, otherwise he would easily be caught out.

"Greetings, Lord Lü!" The guards at the gate naturally recognized Lü Tu and bowed to him.

Lu Tu nodded: "Go quickly and report to the Commandant that I have matters to discuss with him regarding the war!"

Upon hearing the word "war," the guards dared not be negligent in the slightest and jogged into the mansion, while the guards who remained looked awkwardly at the weapons in the hands of Lü Tu and the people behind him.

He asked cautiously, "Lord Lü, why are your men carrying weapons and armor?"

Lu Tu understood that Sun Tiecheng was probably not lying or deliberately targeting him; it seemed to be Yun Tian's order. But at this point, further explanation was useless; the order was originally meant to protect against Yun Tian.

"The military situation is urgent; this is not the time to talk about this!"

The guards were speechless. Seeing Lü Tu's attitude, they had no choice but to keep quiet, since the captain was in charge of things behind them anyway.

When Lü Tu was about to enter the Commandant's residence, the guards still reminded him, "Sir, please leave your weapons outside; you really can't bring them in."

Without turning his head, Lü Tu casually tossed the golden spear over, which Nie Yun behind him caught and handed to the others for safekeeping.

Nie Yun, Tuoba Yue, and Liu Hu dismounted simultaneously, handed their weapons to the others, and followed Lü Tu into the Commandant's Mansion, thus avoiding being stopped by the guards.

Upon arriving at the drill ground inside the manor, Lü Tu saw Yun Tian drinking.

Lu Tu quickly stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "This humble general greets Commandant!"

Yun Tian didn't even lift his eyelids and said, "Sit!"

Without any hesitation, Lü Tu sat down to his left. Yun Tian poured him a full cup of wine and said, "Lü Tu, it's not that I'm targeting you, but you should know why I'm strengthening the city's defenses."

Lu Tu nodded: "I understand, better safe than sorry."

"You just said you had something to discuss about the war, but I haven't seen you set off any signal fires these past few days."

Lu Tu said solemnly, "It's not the war against the Wuhuan, but the war against Huai Shuo!"

Upon hearing the name Huai Shuo, Yun Tian frowned deeply: "What happened to Huai Shuo and the others? I heard they also had a plague outbreak there. Do they still have the energy to cause trouble in my Wuchuan?"

"Indeed! A few days ago, Wei Hanshan, the Commandant of Huai Shuo, led several thousand men to attack our Wuchuan border, but I have already killed him!"

Pfft, just as Lü Tu finished speaking, a sneer came from behind the screen not far away.

Lu Tu looked in the direction of the voice with displeasure. Even though he knew it might be one of Yun Tian's men, he still deliberately scolded, "Who dares to eavesdrop on our military secrets?"

A smile of amusement crept onto Yun Tian's lips, and soon a tall, slender man in purple robes emerged from behind the screen.

His face was displeased, as if covered with frost. Ever since he stepped out from behind the screen, his eyes had been fixed on Lü Tu as if they were carrying knives. He went straight to the table, looked Lü Tu in the eye, and said, "You are Lü Tu?"

Who are you?

The man in purple laughed instead of answering: "No wonder you have such a temper. You do have some presence, but you've been in this remote place for too long and you've forgotten the rules!"

Upon hearing his slanderous words, Nie Yun behind him immediately rebuked, "How dare you slander my master like this!"

The man in purple glanced at him sideways and said in a deep voice, "Guards, slap him!"

At his command, more than a dozen guards dressed in flying fish robes immediately stepped out from both sides, and Lu Tu couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly.

Flying fish robes? Isn't that the uniform worn by the imperial guards, also known as the Embroidered Uniform Guards? Moreover, the long swords they carry are exquisite, made of fine iron, and each hilt is beautifully carved, clearly costing a fortune.

The man in front of me could mobilize so many Imperial Guards with just one sentence. Judging from his aura, could he be a member of the royal family?

At this moment, Lü Tu stopped him, saying, "Wait!"

The man in purple looked at Lü Tu with disdain: "Do you know who I am? Just because of the words that peasant just said to me, I could kill him!"

Lu Tu stood his ground: "I know, but he's my brother, and he's doing this to protect me. If you have any trouble, come at me, Lu Tu!"