"My lord!" Only then did Nie Yun and the others realize that Lu Tu wasn't just in a bloodthirsty frenzy, but actually wanted them to be punished!
This completely overturned everyone's understanding. None of them expected that a dignified and brave captain would actually voluntarily accept whipping for the sake of his subordinates!
What's more, Liu Yang and Xiao Zhong, upon hearing these words, burst into tears, both staring in disbelief at Lü Tu's imposing figure.
He murmured, "Brother...why are you doing this? We made a mistake, and we should bear the consequences ourselves."
Lu Tu's body was covered with numerous scars on his muscular physique, which resembled intertwined dragons. He waved his hand and said, "My mind is made up. Tiger, make your move!"
Liu Hu gritted his teeth and said, "Brother, I'm sorry!"
After saying that, the military whip woven from vines lashed out and struck Lü Tu on the back with a sharp crack.
A gasp erupted from the thousand people in the audience as a dark red welt appeared on Lü Tu's back!
Two lashes, three lashes, four lashes... Each lash that landed on Lü Tu's back made him tremble with pain, and it seemed to strike the hearts of everyone present as well.
Everyone stared at Lü Tu with bared teeth. The timid ones even cried and covered their faces with their hands, too afraid to look. But just hearing that voice made them tremble.
After the 20 lashes were finished, Liu Hu stopped, wiped the tears from his face, and pleaded, "Brother, 20 lashes are enough, please stop."
Liu Yang and Xiao Zhong even came to Lü Tu's side, wanting to share some of the lashes with him, but Lü Tu held them tightly: "Stand still!"
Everyone present knelt down, weeping and pleading, "My lord, please, don't punish yourselves anymore!"
Lu Tu gritted his teeth and shouted, "Tiger, continue!"
Snap!
At this moment, Nangong Huiyu was really anxious. She shouted, "Husband, I will take the punishment for you from now on!"
Lu Tu looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Nangong Huiyu had come closer, her eyes already filled with tears, while Song Yuxi stood firmly beside her, this time not stopping her.
"Listen to me, go back, I'm fine!"
"I don't!"
At this moment, Liu Hu finally seized the opportunity, threw away the whip, sat on the ground and broke down in tears: "Brother, I can't do it, your back... it's all rotten!"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked up and saw that Lu Tu's back was covered with bloodstains, with not a single unscathed spot.
Even the newly arrived refugees were deeply moved by Lü Tu's profound sense of righteousness. They had never seen such a righteous person before. Although Lü Tu was in a sorry state, in their eyes, he was a true hero!
Thousands of people shouted in unison, "My lord, please stop! Don't make the two ladies worry!"
Looking at Song Yuxi and Nangong Huiyu, who were already crying their eyes out, Lü Tu sighed softly, "Since that's the case, let's end it here for today!"
Liu Yang, Xiao Zhong, Nie Yun, Liu Hong, and others quickly stepped forward, lifted the injured Lü Tu, and hurried home.
Seeing this, the other people quickly followed, and even after witnessing Lü Tu enter his home, they were unwilling to leave.
Once home, Nangong Huiyu started boiling water, while Song Yuxi took out strong liquor and, imitating Lü Tu's previous actions, treated his wounds.
Lu Tu knew his own situation. Although his injuries seemed serious, they were all superficial wounds and would heal in ten days at most.
After Song Yuxi treated his wounds, Nangong Huiyu brought boiled cotton gauze and bandaged Lü Tu's wounds.
Supported by two men, Lü Tu came outside and said to the crowd, "Please go back, everyone."
"My lord, you are the best official I have ever seen in the world!"
"Lord Lü, you must take good care of yourself. You don't need to worry about us these days. Just rest at home."
"Don't worry, sir. From now on, if anyone dares to slack off while working, I'll be the first to teach him a lesson!"
After everyone left, Lü Tu told Liu Yang, Nie Yun, and the others to leave as well. Only Xiao Zhong slipped back a quarter of an hour later and stood quietly outside the door.
Nangong Huiyu sighed: "Junior brother, you should go back."
"I want to talk to an adult."
"Come again tomorrow, junior brother. My husband is already asleep."
"Then I'll wait here for you to wake up. I can't sleep if I don't talk to you."
Lu Tu heard it clearly from inside: "Mr. Xiao, please come in."
After entering the room, Xiao Zhong knelt down on the ground with a thud: "My lord, Xiao Zhong is completely convinced. You are the wise ruler I am willing to give my life to follow!"
Lu Tu asked in surprise, "You seem to have said this before."
Xiao Zhong didn't feel embarrassed at all: "It's alright. I just want you to know that my life belongs to you from now on! You can take it away whenever you want, just say the word!"
Lu Tu smiled bitterly: "What would I do with your life? You still need to manage the village while I'm recovering, so as not to delay the progress."
"Understood!"
Previously, Xiao Zhong referred to himself as "this humble one" or "Xiao Zhong," but now he has become "subordinate."
Lu Tu nodded after hearing this, it seemed that his self-inflicted injury tactic had been somewhat effective. He said to Xiao Zhong, "Old Xiao, go back and don't keep me from resting."
Hearing that Lü Tu's form of address had changed, Xiao Zhong finally felt relieved. He kowtowed to Lü Tu and then left with a sense of ease.
The impact of Zhao Kang's incident is actually far greater than it appears on the surface. If Lu Tu hadn't used this self-inflicted injury ruse, it would have inevitably sown a seed of mutual exclusion in everyone's hearts.
And once this seed is planted, it may sprout at some point in the future.
Lu Tu wanted a united front among the people under his jurisdiction, so he had to use the most effective methods to eliminate these barriers and make everyone understand that they would not be ostracized by Lu Tu later. Otherwise, how would he gather other refugees in the future?
Nangong Huiyu's fingertips tenderly traced Lü Tu's back, hot tears falling as she said, "Husband, why are you so foolish?"
Song Yuxi used her whistle to feed water to Lü Tu, who was lying down: "Husband's self-inflicted injury trick was really quite painful, it really scared my sister and me."
Lu Tu held their hands and comforted them, "You two close the door!"
After the door closed, Lü Tu sat up in bed, startling Nangong Huiyu: "Husband, you were so weak just now... how did you recover so quickly?"
Lu Tu laughed and said, "It's just a flesh wound. Do you really think I'm so weak?"
Nangong Huiyu burst into laughter through her tears, saying, "So it was all an act, my husband. You're so mean! I thought you were really that bad." As she spoke, she gently patted Lü Tu's arm.
But the slap still touched the wound, causing Lü Tu to grimace in pain.
"I'm sorry, my husband."
Lu Tu stroked Nangong Huiyu's face: "How could I be so stupid as to seriously injure myself? If the Wuhuan people take the opportunity to come, how am I supposed to deal with them? That military whip was actually something I had prepared long ago; it looks very rough."
Nangong Huiyu immediately followed up: "Actually, they're all fake? But those wounds..."
"It actually hurts a lot, Xiaoyu, blow on it for me."
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