Prince Duan and Zhao Qingyao exchanged a glance, both seeing the surprise in each other's eyes. Then they shook their heads at Lü Tu and said, "I don't know, you didn't have someone report to us immediately."

Lu Tu scanned the room but didn't find Ye Qingyu. He immediately understood what was going on. Since Ye Qingyu dared to cause trouble in such a big matter, then Lu Tu shouldn't blame him for kicking her while she was down.

"I did say that I asked General Ye to pass on the message. Didn't he tell you two?"

Zhao Qingyao's expression changed instantly. How could someone as shrewd as her not have figured out the key point?

After a moment of silence, he nodded: "Alright, we understand. Do you have anything else?"

Lu Tu was stunned, clearly not expecting Zhao Qingyao to have this attitude. He had wanted to take the opportunity to put Ye Qingyu down a few more times.

"That's all. I just wanted to ask Your Highness, did you like the soap that was sent last time? Should I have someone send some more?"

Zhao Qingyao knew perfectly well that Lü Tu wanted to speak with her alone, but she waved her hand and said directly, "No need, I don't really like that thing, and there's no need to send it to me in the future. If there's nothing else, Commander Lü, you may leave now!"

Even though Lu Tu had a thousand questions in his mind, he had no choice but to take his leave: "Then I will take my leave."

After leaving the Commandant's residence, Lü Tu led his men straight to the village without stopping. Once they were out of the city, Liu Hong asked, "Brother, what happened? Has something changed about yesterday?"

Lu Tu nodded: "Ye Qingyu has disappeared. I don't know what he's doing, but he will definitely not let us go."

"So what do we do next?"

Lu Tu shook his head: "Let's go back to the village first."

Even Lü Tu could no longer grasp the current situation, since his greatest reliance in Wuchuan City was Zhao Qingyao.

However, Zhao Qingyao's ambiguous attitude at the moment made it impossible for Lü Tu to grasp the next step of the plan. He needed to go back to Xiao Zhong immediately to discuss it.

Not long after returning to the village, Lü Tu found Xiao Zhong without stopping and summoned him to Xiao Zhong's home.

Xiao Zhong knew something was wrong as soon as he saw Lü Tu's expression, but he knew he couldn't panic at this time. He poured Lü Tu a cup of tea and asked, "My lord, has something happened in Wuchuan?"

Lu Tu then recounted what had happened at the Commandant's Mansion that day. Xiao Zhong nodded after listening, "It seems that the Second Princess is already weighing the pros and cons."

“That’s right. She previously sent me to cause trouble in Wuhuan and sow discord between the two countries so that she wouldn’t have to go through with the marriage alliance. But now that Zhao Wuyou’s collusion with Wuhuan is confirmed, if she sends me to provoke Wuhuan again, it won’t just be a matter of the two countries becoming hostile, but rather Wuhuan being able to successfully cross the Great Wall and launch a large-scale southward invasion!”

Xiao Zhong was a smart man, and upon hearing this, he immediately thought of the subsequent situation: "In that case, the Second Princess's worries are not unreasonable. But in this case, the Second Princess will have to go to Wuhuan for a marriage alliance, and then we will lose our greatest support!"

Lu Tu raised his cup and drank the tea in one gulp: "This is exactly what I'm worried about. I also suspect that Ye Qingyu probably skipped over Zhao Qingyao and Prince Duan and directly reported the news of Zhao Wuyou's collusion with the Wuhuan people to the court. The court will most likely reward him by sending him to lead troops to suppress the rebellion."

"If the suppression goes smoothly, Ye Qingyu can legitimately build his own power in Huai Shuo, and his family's status as four generations of high-ranking officials will be even more secure. Given his relationship with us, a major battle is inevitable at that time."

"But if the suppression doesn't go smoothly, it will be even more of a headache. Zhao Wuyou's mind is already twisted because of the eunuch incident. If pushed too far, he might actually surrender to the Wuhuan. At that time, without the natural barrier of the Great Wall, the difficulty of defending the six northern garrisons will increase exponentially!"

Xiao Zhong took a deep breath. He saw that Lu Tu's analysis was meticulous and logical, and he had thought of all the disadvantages, but he had never thought that it might also bring new opportunities.

"Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise. My lord, have you ever considered that behind this great crisis lies a great opportunity?"

Upon hearing this, Lü Tu's expression shifted, and his previously jumbled thoughts were instantly cleared. His eyes regained their brightness: "Mr. Xiao, you're right. There is indeed room for maneuver. Thank you for reminding me!"

Xiao Zhong stroked his goatee and shook his head slightly: "My lord, you don't need to be modest. In fact, with your vision and knowledge, you can only understand things after calming down. But with all the burdens on your shoulders, sometimes an outsider can see things more clearly. I just helped you sort out the details."

Lu Tu got up and paced around the room for a moment before saying, "I thought Zhao Qingyao was struggling with whether to continue the plan, but now it seems that she is thinking about choosing between me and Ye Qingyu. This act of colluding with the enemy and betraying the country will definitely be dealt with. The key question is who Wuchuan will send then."

Xiao Zhong nodded upon hearing this: "That's right! Since we all know that Ye Qingyu wants to spare the princess and Prince Duan, then they also know Ye Qingyu's thoughts, especially Prince Duan. His fiefdom, Longcheng, is closest to the Six Towns. If he doesn't want to be controlled by others, he certainly won't let Ye Qingyu have his way."

Green glanced back, and the two smiled at each other: "Then what we need to do next is wait for good news. Let them handle this headache. In any case, we won't be the most passive party."

“I am currently a sixth-rank Zhaowu Colonel. In theory, I can only lead a maximum of 800 soldiers. However, the Wuhuan warhorses I seized from Pangjia Village, combined with our original ones, have more than doubled. It seems that it is time to build my armored cavalry.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhong laughed loudly: "Congratulations, my lord! You have taken another crucial step towards achieving your goal!"

Lu Tu cupped his hands to Xiao Zhong and said, "I hope Mr. Xiao will continue to assist me in the future. The situation will only become more difficult in the future, but with Mr. Xiao and all the brothers here, I believe we will overcome the difficulties!"

"I firmly believe it!"

Without further hesitation, Lu Tu left Xiao Zhong's house and personally went to the high-speed rail furnace to check on the progress. He called over Xiao Er, Hu Delu's personal apprentice, and said, "Come and rest for a while!"

Chen Xiaoer nodded sheepishly and stood awkwardly next to Lü Tu.

Lu Tu sat down casually on a rock: "Come sit down. How much of the iron ore we got is left?"

Chen Xiaoer pulled out a well-worn book from his pocket and quickly flipped through it: "Reporting to my lord, we have already smelted 5,800 jin of iron. The remaining iron ore can be smelted to produce another 32,000 jin, enough to forge tens of thousands of steel knives or spears!"

Lu Tu nodded: "What if we forge iron armor? How many sets could we make?"