A young general in red robes beside Yun Tian angrily said, "How dare you drink alcohol in the army? Please give the order, Commandant, to let me carry out military law!" This man was none other than Bian Wei, who had dueled with Lü Tu at the Commandant's mansion that day.
Yun Tian glanced at him indifferently: "Do you hate him that much?"
Bian Wei was taken aback, then explained, "This humble general has no personal grudge against Lü Tu. I just can't stand him violating the discipline of my Wuchuan army!"
Yun Tian nodded without saying a word and rode his horse toward Lü Tu. Even though Bian Wei wished he could seize the opportunity to capture Lü Tu, he could only obediently follow behind Yun Tian.
However, Lu Tu and the others were eating so deliciously that the aroma wafted over from a distance, making Bian Wei and the others' stomachs ache.
Especially the large number of border infantry behind him, who usually couldn't even get enough to eat, let alone meat, they were envious and their mouths watered when they saw the soldiers huddled around Lü Tu enjoying delicious food.
Bian Wei couldn't hold back any longer. They had already entered the village and were only a hundred paces away from Lü Tu, but Lü Tu and his men didn't seem to have noticed them yet.
He shouted sternly, "The Commandant has arrived! What are you all still doing?"
His voice was extremely penetrating. When the soldiers and villagers heard it, they realized that a middle-aged man wearing a bright silver helmet had arrived with a large number of people and was staring at them with hostile eyes. They quickly got up.
Nie Yun lowered his voice to remind him, "Brother, the Commandant is here."
Lu Tu had actually discovered them long ago, and this gesture was deliberately put on display for Yun Tian's benefit. Since Xu Jing was under Yun Tian's protection, and had brought so many of his men to kill so many of them, Yun Tian had to give Lu Tu an explanation.
The next second, Lu Tu casually threw away the wine bottle in his hand and roared, "No one the hell can come! Yuan Lang killed so many of my innocent people, I will make him my sacrifice!"
As he spoke, Lü Tu picked up the knife beside him, making a move to walk towards Yuan Lang, but Nie Yun, Liu Hong, and the others quickly grabbed him: "Brother, you can't! How can we let you do this yourself? We'll go up and chop him into mincemeat!"
Yun Tian's eyelids twitched wildly as he listened from a short distance! He knew that Lü Tu was trying to bargain with him. If he wanted to kill Yuan Lang, he would have done so long ago. Why wait for him to come?
He coughed and called out loudly, "Lu Tu!"
Lu Tu then turned his head with a dazed look in his eyes, shook off the brother who was holding him, and staggered drunkenly toward Yun Tian. Even before he got close, he reeked of alcohol.
He rubbed his eyes, and when he looked closer and saw that it was Yun Tian, he burst into tears. He grabbed Yun Tian's hand and wiped his tears and snot all over his armor.
"My lord! My men have died so tragically! This morning I escorted Miss Wang to Wuchuan, and when I returned, more than half of the people had been slaughtered! I was determined to defend the border for the country, and I dared not close my eyes for a moment, but I never expected that the ones who killed my people were not those despicable Wuhuan people, but our own Huai Shuo border army!"
His incredibly vivid performance made the large group of men that Yun Tian had brought frown. Judging from the large number of corpses at the scene and the damage to the surrounding houses, they knew that what Lü Tu said was all true.
Moreover, Lu Tu did indeed make great contributions to Wuchuan, but he was stabbed in the back by Huai Shuo's people. No one would tolerate such a thing, and it instantly ignited their anger!
A black-bearded lieutenant beside Yun Tian gritted his teeth in anger: "That scoundrel Huai Shuo has repeatedly offended Wu Chuan. Does he really think Wu Chuan has no one left? To hell with him, I'll kill those bastards Huai Shuo one day!"
His words were immediately echoed by the others: "Kill the traitor Huai Shuo! Kill the traitor Huai Shuo!"
After hearing Lü Tu's words, Yun Tian breathed a sigh of relief. At least Lü Tu didn't bring up the White Lotus Sect in front of everyone present to put him in a difficult position, which at least gave him a way out. How could he not understand what Lü Tu meant?
With Xu Jing's whereabouts currently unknown, the original balance of checks and balances has been broken, and he must make a statement!
Yun Tian looked down at Lü Tu and saw that Lü Tu was crying so realistically that he had more tears than a woman. He suppressed his disgust, put on a concerned look, patted Lü Tu's shoulder, and said in a trembling voice, "You and your soldiers are all upright and honorable men of Wuchuan. Rest assured, I, the captain, can assure you that we will definitely get justice for our people!"
Upon hearing this, Nie Yun, Liu Hong, and the others took the lead in kneeling on one knee and clasping their hands in a fist salute. Then all the civilians and soldiers knelt down as well, shouting, "Thank you, Commandant, for upholding justice for us!"
Seeing that Lü Tu had subdued the captain with just a few words, Bian Wei, who was standing nearby, quickly advised, "Sir, I think that not all of the corpses of the bandits on the ground are from Huai Shuo."
Yun Tian looked at Bian Wei with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot, then slapped Bian Wei across the face with his backhand, kicked him off the horse, and scolded, "Then you go and verify the identities of all the corpses, find out their identities, and give me an explanation within a day!"
Bian Wei fell heavily off his horse. He was about to ask a question when Yun Tian's words choked him back.
Bian Wei, his face flushed, readily agreed: "This subordinate obeys!"
Seeing that he was still standing there with a resentful look on his face, Yun Tian shouted angrily, "Why aren't you getting out of here? If you delay military orders, I will punish you according to military law!"
Bian Wei then realized the seriousness of the problem. Seeing Lü Tu staring at him with contempt, he returned a vicious glare before leading a dozen soldiers to move the corpses.
Yun Tian looked at the villagers, his eyes filled with sorrow: "Please rise, everyone. The blood feud you have committed today is the feud of the entire Wuchuan army and people. This feud is irreconcilable!"
"We are mortal enemies!"
He then dismounted, grabbed Lü Tu's hand, and said, "From this day forward, I will petition the capital to report the evil deeds of Huai Shuo and his men, and I will certainly seek justice for everyone!"
"I hereby appoint Lü Tu as the Commandant of Benevolence and Bravery, granting him 800 soldiers, 500 mu of fertile land, 300 shi of military rations, and a reward of 5,000 taels of silver. I will have the official document delivered to you tomorrow!"
"From this day forward, the area under Lü Tu's jurisdiction will be exempt from three years of corvée labor and taxes!"
Everyone present, whether commoners or soldiers, cheered in unison. Putting aside everything else, the exemption from corvée labor and taxes alone was enough to excite people!
Not only them, but even Lü Tu was somewhat surprised. A three-year exemption should be the limit of Yun Tian's authority, especially the part about Lü Tu's jurisdiction. This part was very manipulable. As long as Lü Tu continued to make military achievements and bring the land in the northern border under his jurisdiction, it would mean that he would not have to pay taxes at all!
After all, Lu Tu did not expose his collusion with the White Lotus Sect. As for Xu Jing and the Huai Shuo border army, Yun Tian had to take the blame. Yun Tian had to repay this favor!
From now on, we can focus on spring planting and continue development, only needing to guard against the Wuhuan from the north.
Lu Tu feigned kneeling, shouting, "Thank you for your compassion, Commandant! This humble general thanks you on behalf of the people!"
Yun Tian quickly helped him up and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Are you satisfied now?"
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