When Lü Tu and his party arrived at Kuishan Village, they immediately aroused the vigilance of Ban Wei and others who were responsible for guarding the village.
When they recognized Lu Tu, they breathed a sigh of relief and quickly came forward: "Sir, didn't you only take 50 men with you when you went out?"
Nie Yun laughed loudly from the side: "It's such a pity you didn't come along! You have no idea how mighty our elder brother was today. He cursed all the way from the South Gate to the Commandant's Mansion, and then led us into the midst of ten thousand troops, fighting our way in and out seven times!"
Upon hearing this, a collective gasp of astonishment rippled through the surrounding area.
The villagers who rushed over and the refugees from outside were all astonished when they heard this!
They had no doubt about the truth of Nie Yun's words, after all, the more than 1,000 people behind him could not be made up out of thin air!
Moreover, they also brought dozens of cartloads of grain and boxes. Judging from how deeply the wheels of the boxes were stuck in the soil, one could roughly guess that it was silver.
They walked back so casually that no one dared to have any evil intentions, and even the bandits and thieves dared not show their faces.
Lu Tu summoned Liu Yang: "According to the rules, search those 1,000 military slaves to see if they have contracted smallpox. If not, arrange for them to stay outside the city for 10 days."
Tuoba Yue stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "My lord, what about our border troops? Should we also follow this method?"
Lu Tu nodded: "That's right, this is for everyone's benefit. Please pass this message on."
"Yes, sir!"
After today's battle, Tuoba Yue has gained Lü Tu's initial appreciation, but as for trust? Lü Tu is not so easily trusting of others.
Moreover, Tuoba Yue used to be Yun Ao's bodyguard, so who knows if what he said is true or false? Before Lü Tu has thoroughly figured out Tuoba Yue's background, Lü Tu will not entrust him with any important tasks.
After the instructions were given, neither the 500 newly joined soldiers nor the 1,000 military slaves complained at all, because Lu Tu would provide them with food, even better than their previous treatment under Yun Tian, and they would be able to eat their fill!
In these chaotic times, food is more precious than silver. The phrase "enough to fill your stomach" is not just a saying; it can only be achieved by having grains of food placed in front of you.
Lu Tu handed over the silver and grain he had obtained to Liu Hu to take to the warehouse before returning home.
After disinfecting with wood ash as usual, Lü Tu stepped forward to embrace the two ladies.
It wasn't that Lü Tu was obsessed with this; it was mainly because Song Yuxi and Nangong Huiyu's bellies had grown quite large recently, and the progesterone in their bodies was making them exceptionally clingy.
Although Lu Tu had never been a father, he had studied biology, so he knew he still had to comfort the pregnant woman in this situation.
After playing with them for a while, Lü Tu then told them about what had happened that day, wanting to hear their opinions, especially Song Yuxi's.
Upon hearing this, Song Yuxi paced around the room, her hand on her waist, her brows furrowing slightly: "Husband, as you said, you killed Yun Ao in front of Yun Tian. Judging from Yun Tian's attitude afterward, even if he doesn't openly harm you, he will definitely try to trip you up behind your back."
Nangong Huiyu's eyebrows shot up: "He dares to target my husband, then I'll go and kill him!"
Lu Tu quickly pressed Nangong Huiyu down to sit, saying with heartache, "You're about to become a mother, how can you be so impulsive? I'm heartbroken if you harm the baby like this, how could you possibly kill someone?"
Nangong Huiyu was deeply moved. She hugged Lü Tu's arm and nuzzled him with her head like a kitten. If outsiders saw this, who would have thought that this was the ruthless and merciless Holy Maiden of the White Lotus Sect who commanded the world?
"What are your plans, my husband?"
Lu Tu smiled indifferently: "Actually, it's not as serious as you think. I can't touch Yun Tian now, but Yun Tian can't touch me either. I saved him in front of almost the entire city's residents and the border troops. If he wants to touch me, his control over Wuchuan will be very weak."
Song Yuxi nodded thoughtfully at him: "That's right! Even if you don't let Nie Yun kill Yun Ao, he still can't protect Yun Ao. Moreover, ever since he was almost killed after being coerced into rebellion by his own son, a seed will be planted in the hearts of the Wuchuan border army generals."
"The boss has to be insightful," Lu Tu said, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. "Besides, Zhao Wuyou from Huai Shuo is eyeing me covetously, and I'm on the front lines. He has absolutely no chance to cause me trouble right now. On the contrary, he has to treat me very well to silence the gossip."
These are all good news. Given the urgency of the situation, Lü Tu naturally wouldn't complain to them. Men have to bear the pressure themselves, and complaining to their wives wouldn't help.
Since this incident, Lu Tu has not had much time left. It's not that he's worried about Yun Tian's revenge, but this incident has given Lu Tu a wake-up call.
The whole world is about to descend into chaos! It's not just the south; even though Lu Tu isn't well-informed, he can guess that the six towns in the north might all be on the verge of falling into chaos.
This is the time to attract people and stockpile strategic materials such as grain.
Once the fighting begins in the six towns of the North, it will be a protracted and bloody war!
After dinner, Lü Tu fell into a deep sleep. The next morning, he went out to check the village entrance.
He summoned Tuoba Yue and, in front of the 500 newly arrived soldiers, instructed him: "Tuoba Yue, in recognition of your great merit yesterday, I hereby appoint you as a squad leader."
"You will be divided into five teams, managed by Nie Yun, Liu Yang, Liu Hong, Liu Hu, and Sun Meng respectively!"
"Yes, sir!"
Tuoba Yue was surprised that Lü Tu was so generous, making him a squad leader right away. You know, even though he had killed several Wuhuan cavalrymen before, he was only a squad leader under Yun Ao, which was really unfair to him.
Seeing that Lü Tu hadn't mentioned a word about his defection, Tuoba Yue was even more moved. He immediately knelt on one knee, clasped his hands, and said, "Thank you for your high regard, my lord. I will certainly not let you down!"
Even the 500 soldiers behind him were filled with confidence upon seeing this. This was a real reward, and even if it wasn't for them, it gave them hope for promotion.
Lu Tu looked at the messy pile of blue bricks not far away; these were the ones Xiao Zhong used to build the wall.
He instructed, "Starting today, someone will come and guide you in your work. After 10 days, you will begin training together."
The 500 soldiers shouted in unison, "Yes, sir!"
Xiao Zhong had already seized the 1,000 military slaves and assigned them to logging.
The construction of the city wall was not only done with blue bricks; timber was always the most important material, and there was never enough of it.
The bricklayers that Xiao Zhong had found among the refugees were teaching their apprentices how to build walls, and Lü Tu stood by and listened for a while.
Seeing that they were so extravagant as to use glutinous rice juice mixed with quicklime to make cement, he couldn't help but get furious: "Who told you to waste food like this? You can't even make cement, what kind of bricklayers are you?"
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