More than 80,000 Red Turban Army soldiers said with sorrowful expressions, "We are all fully armed and armored, why is the general like this? We'll just fight them to the death, do you think we're afraid of them with so many of us?"

Upon hearing this, all 20,000 soldiers behind Lü Tu drew their weapons. In particular, the 1,200 elite cavalry at the front, with their 1,200 long-handled swords, gleamed coldly in the sunlight, seemingly causing the temperature at the rocky pass to drop slightly.

He Yong turned to look at Lü Tu with a troubled expression: "General Lü, this..."

Lu Tu knew that he had to step forward himself at this point; relying on He Yong might cause the plan he had just implemented to collapse in an instant.

Lu Tu stepped forward, ignoring the obstruction of Nie Yun, Tuoba Yue and others, and stood before the 80,000 Red Turban Army soldiers with righteous indignation.

He shouted sternly, "I am Lü Tu, the Commandant of Wuchuan, personally appointed by the Emperor of the Great Yu Dynasty. Some of you may recognize me, but many more may be cursing in their hearts, thinking, 'Who do I am? Why should I make you surrender without bloodshed?' Now listen to me, what am I, Lü Tu, anyway!"

Upon hearing this, the Red Turban Army soldiers, who were about to erupt in anger, fell silent. There were few people throughout history who dared to shout at 80,000 enemy soldiers with such imposing manner.

Lu Tu pointed his halberd at the group of people, turned his horse around, and continued to shout, "Like most of you, I was born into poverty, never having enough to eat or wear. My parents both died of starvation. Even the wife the government assigned to me had to sell her jewelry to get me food when she first arrived at my home!"

Upon hearing this, the entire audience fell even more silent. However, the Red Turban Army members no longer looked at Lü Tu with the same sharp gaze as before. Of course, many of them still felt disdain, because they believed that Lü Tu was deliberately fabricating his background to win their favor.

"But I refused to accept my fate. I joined the army. I dared to kill four Wuhuan cavalrymen by myself. That damned Captain Zhou Taishan's son tried to steal my military merit on the spot. Even under such circumstances, I still did not rebel like you, nor did I plunder the people who were weaker than myself, because I am a human being!"

These words were like a resounding slap in the face to the 80,000 Red Turban Army soldiers. They knew better than anyone what they had done along the way from Qingzhou.

He Yong and Xiang Ze were a little flustered. Lu Tu had clearly taken control of the situation, so why did he say such sarcastic things?

Sure enough, a soldier in the Red Turban Army immediately protested, "Are you saying we killed the wrong person? We can't even survive, are we supposed to rely on God's bounty if we don't rob?"

Lu Tu let out a contempt that came from the depths of his bones, and sneered, "So you're all a bunch of trash!"

"We'll fight you to the death! You've insulted us!" The Red Turban soldiers were furious when they heard this. They thought Lu Tu would persuade them, but instead they were met with extreme humiliation and a slap in the face. This left the Red Turban soldiers, who had already done wrong, with only anger to replace the condemnation of their conscience.

Lu Tu sneered, "I, Lu Tu, was also a good-for-nothing before. I had a lot of strength, but I could only watch my parents starve to death."

The Red Turban Army generals, who were about to take action, were taken aback upon hearing this, and immediately raised their hands to stop the soldiers: "Let him continue!"

"Of course I know that to survive I have to fight and struggle! But if I use the same methods that others use to oppress me to bully those weaker than me, wouldn't I be no different from those bastards? I, Lü Tu, can't do such an unjust thing! So I chose to continue serving in the army."

When these words reached the ears of the Wuchuan border troops behind them, many of them couldn't help but blush. They had certainly done their share of bullying the people in the past, but fortunately, under Lü Tu's leadership, what they were doing was at least righteous in terms of national righteousness, and that was enough!

"People can make mistakes, but they cannot refuse to correct them. Everything you have done before will be judged fairly, but if you continue to resist now, you will only make one mistake after another! Don't you think about what your family members who died from hunger and poverty would think when they see you become murderers wielding knives against your compatriots?"

“I have given you enough chances now. As long as you lay down your weapons and choose to stand on my side, on the side of all the people in the world who are just like us, this is the way to make amends for your mistakes! Do you want to go down a dark path and be forever despised by your fellow countrymen so that you can’t hold your heads up?”

After these words were spoken, all the Red Turban soldiers fell silent. They too were in pain because of what had happened before. They could only numb themselves by venting their frustrations and drinking large amounts of alcohol.

But still, in the quiet of the night, those painful feelings of guilt would surge like a tide, drowning them in a sea of ​​remorse, leaving them unable to move or breathe.

Seeing their demeanor, Lü Tu was already 70% certain of the situation. He knew where the Red Turban Army's weaknesses lay; before this, they had always believed they were the ones in the right.

This is the key point: when they believe they are on the side of justice, they will naturally regard Lü Tu and all the government troops as enemies.

There is only one way to solve this problem, and that is to shift the blame, just like the method that Lü Tu is using now.

First, give them a strong dose of medicine, making these Red Turban Army soldiers realize that what they are doing is not just. Then, shift the blame to Zhang Chengyan. This process seems simple, but if not handled properly, it could overturn the situation.

If someone else had said these words, the other party might have already taken action, so the skill level required is extremely high.

Lu Tu spoke up to the key point: "But you must understand one thing: you could have avoided harming the people in the slightest, and the people along the way would have even lined the streets to welcome you, because you and I are just like them, all sons of farmers. Instead, you are hated by the other people like this now. The instigator of all this is not you or me, but Zhang Chengyan and a group of high-ranking Red Turban generals. It was their greed that led you down the path of no return!"

These words caused an uproar in the audience!

Among all the Red Turban Army soldiers, some independent thinkers had previously resisted Zhang Chengyan and others' order to massacre the city, while most others simply followed the crowd.

Hearing what Lu Tu said, he quickly understood the crux of the matter. Rather than understanding it, it was actually human nature to subconsciously resist taking the blame upon himself.

At this moment, all the Red Turban Army soldiers' eyes turned red, and they said indignantly, "Yes! It was Zhang Chengyan who made us do this. I said from the beginning that this was not good, but he insisted on making us burn, kill, and loot!"