The word "execution" made everyone present shrink back in fear, and they all looked over in shock. They also hated Zhao You and his group. If it weren't for them, their hard work over the past few days wouldn't have been reduced to ashes.
But is it really necessary to kill someone just for this? This is incomprehensible to many villagers, since the water just flows out.
In their minds, this was equivalent to a natural disaster, since the land nearby didn't need to be cultivated anyway.
Liu Hong asked, "Sir, who should we execute?"
"Kill all three of them!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao You burst into tears and repeatedly kowtowed to Lü Tu, begging, "My lord, spare my life! Give me a chance to atone for my sins!"
Seeing that Lü Tu remained unmoved, he turned to the villagers who were working hard to dig sand and shouted, "Everyone, please help me plead for mercy. I, Zhao You, do like to drink, but I never slack off when I work, sob sob sob."
The other two also burst into tears. Looking at their fellow workers who had been working together that morning, the villagers also felt a pang of pity.
Even they didn't realize that if it were a few months ago, they would have been eager for these three bastards to be killed, but now that everyone has enough to eat, they actually felt sympathy for them.
A villager timidly spoke up: "Sir, please spare their lives for the sake of us being from the same village."
"Yes, sir, let's give them a chance to make amends. Everyone's having a hard time."
Zhao You kowtowed repeatedly: "My lord, if I ever drink another drop of wine in my life, I'm a son of a bitch. I'll do whatever you tell me to do, please spare my life!"
The three men kowtowed repeatedly, pleading with Lü Tu.
Xiao Zhong watched the scene unfold quietly. He didn't say anything to disrupt Lü Tu's thoughts. He knew that Lü Tu was also in a state of confusion, but no matter what Lü Tu decided, he would help clean up the mess as soon as possible. That was what he should do.
After a long silence, Lü Tu finally spoke: "Really, you'd do anything I ask?"
"Yes, yes! As long as you spare our lives, sir!"
"Alright! Since you caused this mess, you should clean it up. The sand over there is already packed, and I'll send someone to carry it over. The three of you are responsible for jumping into the embankment and blocking it with sandbags!"
"Huh?" Not only were the three of them dumbfounded, but the other villagers were also dumbfounded.
Don't be fooled by how slowly the lake water is spreading around us now; the current at the embankment is unusually rapid and is widening. How can three people possibly hold it off?
"Liu Hong, execute him!"
Without a word, Liu Hong raised his sword to strike, but Zhao You exclaimed in surprise, "Go!"
Before they could even hesitate, Lü Tu kicked them in the butt: "If you're any men, show me what's what!"
"Dad!" At this moment, two boys, who looked somewhat similar to Zhao You, ran over from a distance and hugged his legs.
Lu Tu was too lazy to look at them anymore, and quickly directed the others to move the sandbags over to block the dike.
Hearing his two sons call out to him, Zhao You felt an unprecedented surge of courage. He glanced back at the floodwaters that had breached the dam because of him, unwilling to be a coward in front of his sons.
With gritted teeth, he pushed the two boys away: "Remember this, if your father dies there today, you two brothers will have to use wooden ladles to scoop the water back into the lake for me, even if it's just to scoop it up, understand?"
"Father, don't go!"
Zhao You raised his hand as if to hit them, which frightened the two boys so much that they quickly covered their heads. But this time he couldn't bring himself to do it. He said in a deep voice, "It's all my fault. I won't hit you anymore. Remember my words. Even if I die, we can't let others clean up our messes. We can't let anyone look down on us!"
After saying that, Zhao You ignored his two sons' shouts and resolutely rushed towards the breach in the dike. He snatched the sandbag from the shoulder of the man in front and jumped into the breach. The other two farmers who caused the accident followed behind Zhao You.
They originally planned to throw the sandbags at the bottom and stomp them down, but they underestimated the force of the water flow. Not only were the sandbags swept away, but the three of them were also swept back more than ten meters.
His entire body was covered in large wounds from sharp stones on the ground, mixed with silt from the lake, making him a pitiful sight.
Lu Tu knew that things wouldn't work this way, and a scene from his past life suddenly flashed into his mind.
Perhaps, at this moment, we can only emulate the great martyrs!
Lu Tu shouted to Liu Hong and the surrounding soldiers, "Everyone, follow me, take off your armor, and form a human wall by joining hands!"
Before anyone could react, Lü Tu took off his shirt, exposing his skin to the biting wind of early spring.
With Lü Tu taking the lead, all the soldiers instantly became resolute, and began to remove their armor and upper garments in unison. Then, each of them stood hand in hand ten meters away from the embankment.
Lu Tu then turned to the villagers who were already terrified: "Don't just stand there! When we block the dike with our bodies, throw sandbags into the dike!"
Upon hearing this, the villagers finally understood what Lü Tu meant, and everyone was shocked by Lü Tu's actions.
A dignified and courageous captain, actually intending to use his own body to block the dam? If he had just given the order, wouldn't all of us have had to go?
Before they could react, they heard someone among the soldiers sing the stirring song that Lü Tu had taught them that day: "Proudly facing ten thousand waves, hot blood like the red sun..."
Even Lü Tu couldn't help but look over out of curiosity. He saw Zhao You resolutely pull Liu Hong, who was in the very center of the human wall, away. Liu Hong's face was covered in blood, and he was singing off-key. Then, Zhao You resolutely took the first step and rushed towards the embankment.
"Stand tall and proud, let us all be pillars of society, true heroes..."
Everyone joined Zhao You in shouting and singing, their eyes resolute, a fearless belief surging within them, as the icy lake water lashed against them relentlessly.
At this moment, the villagers quickly followed, standing on both sides of the dike, ready to throw the sandbags down as soon as the wall of sandbags approached.
Eight meters, seven meters, five meters—even when they formed a human wall, the water at the embankment kept rising, washing everyone off balance, especially Zhao You in the very middle.
The murky lake water obscured his view, but he had only one thought: his two sons were watching him from behind. As their father, even if he died here today, he would never be a coward!
As the human wall advanced, the current was too strong, and Zhao You was swept away. The mud mixed with the water clung to his hands, reducing friction and making it impossible for the people on both sides to hold him back. Zhao You was instantly swept away.
"Father!" Zhao You's two sons, with tears in their eyes, stepped forward to help Zhao You up, and then, ignoring Zhao You's attempts to stop them, pushed him forward from behind.
Seeing this, the other villagers could no longer hold back. Except for those carrying sandbags, they all spontaneously formed a human wall to hold back those in front.
Taking advantage of a brief lull, Lü Tu pulled the person behind him to his position, then jumped to Zhao You's side, grabbed his hand tightly, and steadied him.
He roared, "Brothers, charge!"
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