Lu Tu dismounted and helped Chai Yong up: "I will not look down on anyone who is capable. As long as you work for me, as long as I, Lu Tu, have food to eat, you will have food to eat too."
"All personnel, listen to my command!"
Everyone's expression tightened upon hearing this.
"Chai Yong has rendered meritorious service in resisting the Wuhuan and has been promoted to platoon leader. In addition, 300 military slaves have rendered meritorious service in defending the city today and have all been freed from slavery and restored to civilian status!"
The crowd shouted in unison, "Thank you, Lord Xie!"
The most agitated were the 300 military slaves, whose lives no longer belonged to themselves from the day they were demoted to military slaves.
They had been completely desperate, and when they learned that they were to be sent to Lu Tu's jurisdiction, they only hoped that they could have some easy work so that they wouldn't have to work so hard every day.
Unexpectedly, Lu Tu did not treat them like cattle or horses, nor did he make them cannon fodder when the Wuhuan attacked. Moreover, he kept his word and promised to free them from slavery as long as they participated in the battle and did not retreat!
This means that they will still have the chance to see their families one day and live like real people again!
Lu Tu continued, "You will split into four teams and join Liu Yang, Nie Yun, Liu Hong, and Chai Yong's teams respectively. There will be monthly assessments, and those who excel will be rewarded with silver!"
"Thank you, sir!"
By this time, Banwei had finished cleaning up the battlefield with his men, piling up the heads of the Wuhuan cavalrymen. Most of them were charred, but the Wuhuan outlines could still be barely discerned.
This was Ban Wei's first time participating in a battle, and he was very excited. His hands were trembling slightly, a sign of adrenaline secretion.
"My lord, we killed a total of 134 Wuhuan cavalrymen and captured 38 surviving warhorses. Most of the warhorses are either dead or about to die."
Lu Tu nodded in satisfaction, pointing to the pile of Wuhuan heads: "See? The Wuhuan dogs are nothing special! They've brought us military merits again."
Hearing this, everyone grinned. Among the six towns in the north, only Lü Tu could describe the bloodthirsty and ruthless Wuhuan cavalry as innocent as little white rabbits.
Lu Tu waved his hand and said, "38 horses it is. Train the warhorses well, and kill the dead ones to eat them. It'll be a good treat for everyone!"
"Okay! Thank you, sir!"
Upon hearing that there would be meat to eat, everyone was extremely excited. Even though they had no shortage of food, their stomachs were dry, and their demand for staple foods increased dramatically every day.
In particular, many of the Wuhuan warhorses had been burned, and in addition to the smell of blood, there was also a faint aroma of barbecued meat in the air, making everyone swallow their saliva.
Lu Tu ordered the people to drag their warhorses back to the village for slaughter, and the extra horses were smoked to make smoked horse meat for easy storage.
He then ordered the more than 500 soldiers present to help restore the barbican to its original state. After replenishing the logs and arrows on both sides of the mountain peak, he left 30 men there to guard against the Wuhuan people returning.
Only then did he lead everyone back to Kuishan Village. As soon as they arrived, they saw Song Yuxi and Nangong Huiyu looking at them with concern.
Lu Tu was used to this; it was the same every time he fought a battle. However, being cared for was always a good thing, and it gave Lu Tu some comfort in his bloodthirsty heart, preventing him from sinking into depravity in the killing.
"My lord, is everything alright?"
"It's alright, I didn't lift a finger this time."
"That's wonderful. It seems everyone is growing up very quickly." Song Yuxi was genuinely happy.
Liu Hong stepped forward and cupped his hands, saying, "This humble servant greets the princess. Princess, please take good care of your health. With this humble servant here, I will try my best to prevent Lord Lü from charging ahead."
As a retainer of the Song family, it was understandable for him to say such things. Lu Tu actually appreciated this kind of loyalty even more. After all, when a tree falls, monkeys scatter. It's already good enough if they don't kick you when your building is about to collapse. It's really rare to find someone who still remembers you.
They had won another great victory, and the village was filled with joy. The stewing of horse meat was also a lively affair.
This made the refugees still outside the village very envious. Of course, Lu Tu would not give them horse meat. Such a top delicacy was something that few people would be willing to eat, let alone in times of chaos, even in times of prosperity. Moreover, there had been a riot not long ago, and Lu Tu did not trust them.
The refugees could only watch longingly as they smelled the aroma of meat and swallowed their saliva, but there was nothing they could do since they weren't from the village.
The group of refugees who had fled earlier had not even traveled five miles in the direction of Wuchuan when they were robbed by another group of refugees!
Everyone was struggling to survive, and among the refugees were quite a few well-dressed wealthy people who stood out conspicuously on the official road.
The refugees were already starving, so it would be a miracle if they weren't robbed!
In a short time, the refugees who were worried that Lu Tu would implicate them were completely looted, causing them to fall from their wealthy status to become vagrants, and they were also severely beaten.
Among the wealthy households robbed was Peng Wannian, who had been the most vocal in the earlier riots. Suddenly, he had a brilliant idea and suggested to Huang Dahu, a respected figure among the refugees, "Brave Huang, I just escaped from Lü Tu's place. He's under attack by the Wuhuan people right now. Why don't we go and rob them of their grain? They have stored up pits and grains full of food, enough to feed all of us for several months!"
Huang Dahu slapped Peng Wannian across the face and cursed, "Do you think I'm stupid? The Wuhuan people are here, why would you go and die?"
Peng Wannian touched his swollen face, cursing all the women in Huang Dahu's family viciously in his heart, but put on a fawning smile: "No, Warrior Huang, look, the smoke signals in the direction of Kuishan Village have been extinguished. Perhaps Lu Tu has already driven the Wuhuan people away?"
Huang Dahu pondered for a moment and nodded with some interest, but Huang Dashan stepped forward to remind him: "Dahu, don't listen to him. If it's really as he says, Lü Tu can drive away the Wuhuan people. We old, weak, sick and disabled people will just be sending ourselves to our deaths if we go there."
Huang Dahu reacted and slapped Peng Wannian hard across the other side of his face.
"You fucking want to hurt me?"
Peng Wannian is almost 40 years old and has been doing business in Wuchuan City all his life. No matter what, other people have always treated him with utmost respect. He has never been bullied like this before.
She burst into tears: "Hero Huang, I thought the Wuhuan people were easy to deal with! Even if Lu Tu drives them away, they will surely be severely weakened..."
The other refugees who escaped also chimed in: "Yes, when we left, we saw that their situation was very critical, and Lu Tu had previously contracted smallpox!"
Huang Dahu's eyes lit up upon hearing this: "Everyone, come with me! Let's go to Kuishan Village and borrow some grain from Lord Lü Tu!"
The thousands of refugees' eyes lit up at the prospect of food; at a time like this, they didn't care about anything else and just followed along.
They soon approached Kuishan Village. Huang Dahu sniffed, "What the hell is that smell? It smells so good!"
Peng Wannian explained, "This tastes like stewed horse meat!"
Huang Dahu and the others slapped their thighs: "Damn it, we don't even have grass or tree roots to eat, and they're so extravagantly eating horse meat? Brothers, follow me and charge in to rob the rich and powerful of their horse meat!"
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