“Old Hu, you’re a real man! But listen to me, what I need is for you to teach more apprentices now, so that you can’t be the only one making all the ironware in the future, otherwise you’ll be exhausted and still not be able to finish.”
"Understood, sir. I'm planning to teach my brother-in-law blacksmithing recently. I'll also select ten reliable young men from the villagers, and they'll be able to forge swords for everyone soon."
After thinking for a moment, Lü Tu said, "How about this, we don't have enough refined iron right now. If we use it all to forge longswords, it won't be enough. You should forge it into spearheads instead."
Hu Delu asked the crucial question: "Can the brothers do it?"
Lu Tu laughed loudly, "Just keep fighting, you'll need at least 400 spears."
Everyone gasped in shock: "So many? Is the lord going to expand the army again? I want to join the army too!"
"And me! My mother used to be against me joining the army, but ever since Lord Lü appeared, she keeps telling me to join."
This was also the true thought of most people present. In the past, it would have taken the people of Wuchuan Prefecture to come and conscript men to join the border army.
But things are different now. After witnessing Lü Tu's bravery, they all want to join him, not for any other reason than to earn military merits to improve their own and their families' lives. If they can also get an official position, they can bring glory to their ancestors.
Lu Tu made no attempt to hide anything, and said loudly, "I will conduct another selection before the spring plowing, and will choose another 200 people from among you to join my ranks. You should seize this opportunity."
"But Lord Lü, could you perhaps give us some special training? We usually do logging work, and we don't stand a chance against the others."
Lu Tu laughed and scolded, "You're quite quick-witted, knowing to give me special treatment? Let's talk about it after you officially pass the test. But I can tell you in advance that my test doesn't care about martial arts skills; everyone has an equal chance."
Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and exclaimed with delight, "Thank you, sir! We will definitely pass this test!"
Lu Tu saw that although they were still thin, the confidence they had regained was completely different from what it had been a few months ago.
He waved his hand and said, "Alright, you guys go ahead with your work, I'm going to wander around some more."
Lu Tu's thigh wound is still painful, so he can't ride a horse yet and can only walk to the vicinity of the training ground.
As soon as they entered the training ground, they noticed something was wrong. Logically, this should be the time when Nie Yun was leading everyone in training, so why couldn't they see anyone?
Not only Nie Yun, but most of the other refugees had also disappeared. Lu Tu stopped a woman who looked hurried: "Sister-in-law, where is everyone?"
The woman, seeing it was Lü Tu, looked conflicted, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated. Lü Tu said in a deep voice, "Speak!"
“Other soldiers were trying to rob our coal mine, so Sergeant Nie led everyone over to confront them.”
Lu Tu felt a chill run down his spine: "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Squad Leader Nie said that your injury has not yet healed, and your temper is fiery. You will definitely resort to violence, which may worsen your injury, sir."
Lu Tu whistled into the distance, and soon Xiao Hei galloped over, kicking up a cloud of dust. Lu Tu mounted his horse and said to her, "What are you women doing over there? What is Nie Yun good for?"
The woman quickly explained, "The squad leader didn't let us go; we just wanted to go and show off our strength."
Lu Tu shook his head. If women were needed to bolster morale, then he might as well stop being a captain.
He said loudly to the women, "Tell all the women to go home and do what they need to do. These things will naturally be handled by the men."
"Yes, sir!"
Little Black, which was riding under Lu Tu, had also been resting for more than half a month after Lu Tu was injured. After experiencing several life-and-death battles, Little Black had gradually gotten used to the days of swords and shadows, and it had been quite bored these past few days.
Even before receiving any orders, it was already snorting impatiently. With Lu Tu's shout of "Giddy up!", Xiao Hei ran wildly towards the coal mine like a wild dog that had been released from its reins.
The violent jolting still made Lu Tu's thigh wound ache slightly. He slapped the little black horse's head and scolded, "Run more steadily!"
Xiao Hei then calmed down and maintained a steady pace, arriving at the entrance of Luzhuang Village in no time.
From a distance, Lü Tu spotted the coal mine, where both sides had gathered a large number of troops, with the other side even outnumbering his own.
Nie Yun, who was negotiating with the border troops, was already getting annoyed by their unreasonable behavior. He tried to imitate Lü Tu and said loudly to the enemy leader, "This coal mine was bestowed upon my Captain Lü by the Commandant. What right do you have to bring people to occupy it?"
"On what grounds? On the grounds that I have the documents!"
"Then give me the documents!"
"Give it to you? Can you even read? You dare to look at documents? Get the hell out of here and stop talking nonsense!"
Nie Yun was in a dilemma. On one hand, he didn't want to get into a conflict with the other party, but now the other party wasn't giving him any face at all. Why did this method work for Brother Lü before, but not for him? Did he really have to ask his elder brother to take action?
At this moment, Liu Hong stepped forward from the crowd: "Brother, what's your surname? We need to be reasonable."
"You dare call me brother? I don't want to waste any more words with you. I'm giving you the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Pack your things and get out of here with your men. This place is under the control of Lord Zhao of Huai Shuo!"
Nie Yun, Liu Yang, and the others gripped their knives tightly in anger. Although they had followed Lü Tu for quite some time, they had never been so humiliated. Just as they were about to make their move, they heard a cry of alarm from the crowd behind them: "The lord is here!"
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