Seeing this, Yun Tian was about to speak up to stop him, but he was too late. Nie Yun, who was standing to the side, had long been dissatisfied with Yun Ao, that bastard, and had ridiculed him in the village before.
With their old and new grudges combined, Nie Yun slashed Yun Ao's neck with a single stroke.
Yun Ao desperately clutched his neck and retreated, opening his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but no sound came out. Blood flowed continuously down his neck, staining his chest crimson.
Yun Tian was furious! His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Lü Tu, but he couldn't utter a single word.
Putting aside the fact that Lü Tu did indeed come to rescue him, he currently has no soldiers at his disposal, and the murderous aura emanating from Lü Tu's men around him has not yet dissipated. Breaking off relations with Lü Tu at this time would be extremely disadvantageous for him.
"Big brother!" Nie Yun called out softly.
Lu Tu understood Nie Yun's meaning, of course. The next second, Yun Tian, who was still furious, knelt down with a thud and shouted, "Yun Tian thanks Commandant Lu for saving my life. Please accept my bow!"
His voice was so loud that it could be heard outside. At this moment, as Yun Tian's supporter, Bian Wei was overjoyed and exclaimed from behind, "Commander, you're alright! We've been waiting for you!"
Nie Yun was holding a knife right behind Yun Tian, intending to kill him from behind, but Lu Tu stopped him with a look. Killing Yun Tian now would probably make him a traitor like Yun Ao.
The main reason why Lü Tu did not kill Yun Tian was that he was far from having enough control over Wuchuan at the moment, and the Wuchuan border troops could not be brought under his command. On the contrary, they would become extremely chaotic.
Even Huai Shuo Fang, who has a grudge against him, will take advantage of the situation. Moreover, his territory is adjacent to Huai Shuo Fang. When Zhao Wuyou no longer fears Yun Tian, he will naturally take over the scattered Wu Chuan.
Judging from Zhao Wuyou's repeated targeting of Lü Tu, he will absolutely not let Lü Tu go.
At this moment, Bian Wei and the others rushed over and saw Lü Tu helping Yun Tian up: "Commander, there's no need for this. Eliminating the rebels and rescuing you is my duty."
Yun Tian said in a deep voice, "I dare not deny the life-saving grace. In that case, Lu Tu, obey my command!"
Lu Tu cupped his hands and said, "Your subordinate is here!"
"You have rendered meritorious service in rescuing and eliminating the rebels. Therefore, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Senior Seventh Grade, Commandant of the Imperial Guard! You shall command 500 soldiers whom you may choose at will, and be rewarded with 7,000 taels of silver, 10,000 catties of grain, an additional 300 mu of fertile land, 100 sets of armor, and 50 warhorses!"
Fertile land is the most useless thing. In Wuchuan, there is no such thing as fertile land. It is all wasteland waiting to be cultivated, and anyone can farm it.
"Thank you, sir! I will certainly guard the border well and not let any thieves into my Great Yu territory!"
Yun Tian's reward this time is different from the previous ones. The previous ones only allowed him to lead a certain number of soldiers, but this time he allows Lü Tu to choose at will. In other words, leading 500 soldiers is a real reward.
Not to mention the other rewards, the most surprising for Lü Tu was the 100 sets of armor and 50 warhorses.
It should be noted that even after accumulating so many warhorses over a long period, Lü Tu only had about 60 warhorses under his command. This time, he took 50 men with him. Once he had enough warhorses, Lü Tu could build his own cavalry force.
Moreover, the cavalry training has shown initial results in this battle between the two armies, breaking up the rebel army's formation in one go, which greatly boosted Lü Tu's confidence.
He naturally understood Yun Tian's intention in doing this: to get rid of the current unfavorable situation for Yun Tian, to prevent Lü Tu from attacking him, and to allow him to return to Wuchuan City in peace.
Even if Yun Tian harbored deep resentment, after saying these words in front of so many border soldiers and civilians, he dared not target Lü Tu too harshly.
Lu Tu only needs a year or two at most. Once he has enough people and food, it will be time for Lu Tu to expand on a large scale. At that time, he will not only govern his fiefdom, but he will even dare to covet Wuchuan!
Congratulations, brother!
"Congratulations, Lord Lü, on your promotion to the seventh-rank Yihui Xiaowei!"
Lu Tu wasn't particularly pleased with these empty titles. In his view, having enough troops and supplies under his command was what mattered most. As for the difference between the ninth and seventh ranks? It didn't offer any real benefit.
The news quickly spread throughout the refugees and rebel ranks. When Yun Tian rode up to the rebels, all the rebels lowered their heads in shame wherever his gaze swept over them.
Yun Tian snorted coldly: "According to the border army's laws, rebels are to be executed without mercy. Men, execute them on the spot!"
At this moment, the rebels were completely desperate. The reason they were willing to surrender earlier was entirely because of Lu Tu. They never expected that Yun Tian would kill them as soon as he was rescued.
All the rebels kept kowtowing and begging for mercy: "Lord Yun, we were misled by Yun Ao and Zhou Taishan to do this. Please, have mercy on us!"
Lu Tu thought to himself, "These rebels are really brainless. Why bring up Yun Ao at a time like this? Isn't that just slapping Yun Tian in the face in public?"
Yun Tian shouted angrily, "Go to hell! You almost killed me, and you think you can let me off? Kill Bian Wei right now!"
"Yes, sir!" Bian Wei stepped forward, leading the soldiers who had been guarding the city, and walked over with long swords in his hands.
By this time, the rebels had already thrown away their weapons. Now they had no confidence to resist and looked at Lü Tu with despair.
"Lord Lü, please save us!"
"Yes, Lord Lü, you just promised us that if we surrendered, you would keep us alive!"
"Lord Lü, a gentleman's word is his bond, you cannot break your promise!"
Lu Tu had wanted to plead for them, but he couldn't speak up first. He was waiting for this opportunity. It seemed that these rebels weren't completely stupid.
Upon hearing this, Yun Tian looked over and asked, "Did you promise them?"
Lu Tu nodded and clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "Commander, if I hadn't agreed to their request earlier, we would have fought to the bitter end, and I would have missed the chance to rescue you."
Yun Tian understood the reasoning behind it and knew that he had to save face for Lü Tu at this time. However, the resentment he felt from the pain of losing his son kept bottled up inside him, making him want to vent.
On this vast wilderness, apart from the occasional snort of warhorses, there was not a sound at all.
Everyone waited anxiously for Yun Tian's decision; the lives of these thousands of rebels rested on his shoulders.
After pondering for a moment, Yun Tian waved his hand and said, "Since Commandant Lü promised you, and considering that you are not completely unrepentant, then spare your lives and demote all of you to military slaves!"
Having narrowly escaped death, the rebels no longer cared about being military slaves. As long as they could live, that was enough. After all, they had already become rebels and kidnapped Yun Tian. For them, the best outcome was simply to see the sun rise tomorrow.
"Thank you for your kindness, Commandant!"
Lu Tu spoke up at the opportune moment: "My lord, I have a favor to ask."
"Please feel free to speak."
"My lord, as you know, the land under my jurisdiction is a necessary route for the Wuhuan people to invade. After several invasions, my manpower is far from sufficient. Therefore, I would like to ask you to hand over these military slaves to me so that they can be used to supplement the labor service!"
Upon hearing this, Yun Tian's eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a fierce glint.
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