Amidst the awe-inspiring gazes of everyone, Xiao Zhong stepped onto the stage. He had not found a suitable opportunity to speak about this matter before because he knew that his prestige was insufficient and that speaking out rashly would inevitably cause trouble.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be true. Even when Lü Tu stepped forward, people were still stirring up emotions, let alone him.
Now that Lu Tu has settled everything for him, Xiao Zhong waved his hand and said, "Lord Lu has made it clear enough. Just remember one thing: you are not doing things for Lord Lu, but for our common home!"
"good!"
With Lü Tu's previous establishment of authority, his mobilization ability reached its peak, and the villagers became obedient and were arranged to leave by Xiao Zhong.
Since the internal affairs were entrusted to Xiao Zhong, Lü Tu naturally wouldn't be idle.
He led Nie Yun and the others to the Gubeifeng Pass and asked Chai Yong, "How many people are needed to guard this city gate on a regular basis?"
After thinking for a moment, Chai Yong replied, "We need at least 20 people, otherwise if the Wuhuan cavalry crosses the border, we won't be able to hold them off until reinforcements arrive."
"Then I'll give you 50 men. Are you confident you can hold this place?"
Seeing Lü Tu suddenly ask this question, Chai Yong probably guessed what it was, and quickly said seriously, "Give me 50 men, and no matter how many Wuhuan cavalrymen they send, as long as they come from the Gubeifeng Pass, I can hold them off for an hour!"
"Alright! That's enough, Chai Yong, I'll obey!"
"Your humble servant is here!" Chai Yong quickly knelt down on one knee.
"You're being promoted to platoon leader, to lead 50 soldiers to guard the Gubeifeng Pass, and not yield an inch!"
Chai Yong's expression turned solemn. He knew that Lü Tu's key point was to not give an inch, and Lü Tu had previously put that into practice. A strong sense of mission welled up in his heart.
"Your subordinate obeys! We will not allow the Karasuma dogs to overstep their bounds!"
Lu Tu selected 50 men from among the soldiers and assigned 100 military slaves to Chai Yong to handle daily chores.
Everything else can be put aside for now, but there are three things we must hold onto firmly!
Those are the brick kilns, the city walls, and the Gubeifeng Pass, which are related to the lives of more than 3,000 people in the entire village.
Lu Tu helped Chai Yong up, patted him on the shoulder with respect, and then looked at the soldiers who had been guarding the area with Chai Yong for a long time. He said earnestly, "Brothers, right now we not only have to be wary of the Wuhuan dogs, but also of Huai Shuo. We must not let our guard down during this period."
"Don't worry, sir, we only close one eye when we sleep!" a younger soldier said loudly, making everyone laugh and adding a bit of relaxation to the tense atmosphere.
After giving instructions here, Lü Tu led a large group of men to the coal mine. Here were the people who gave Lü Tu the most headaches—the Kunlun slaves. These guys were simply incapable of doing delicate work. If Lü Tu let them continue to mine coal here, he would have to worry that people from Huai Shuo would come and rob them.
Nie Yun asked in confusion, "Brother, why are we so passive? There's only just been an outbreak of plague over there. They wouldn't necessarily turn hostile and attack Wuchuan, would they?"
Lu Tu shook his head: "A man who does not plan for the future will have trouble in the present. If we do not take precautions now, it will be too late when the enemy is at our gates."
Sun Kuang chimed in, "Brother, are you saying that Zhao Wuyou and his men will definitely come? If that's the case, why don't we attack them in advance? We can occupy a few of their villages as outposts, and once their army marches over, we can retreat in advance, so that we don't have to stop so much of our work."
Lu Tu gave Sun Kuang a deep look without saying a word. Only then did he understand why there were so many incompetent rulers in ancient times.
He only has this many people under his command right now, yet they can still come up with all sorts of different suggestions to distract him. The most crucial thing is that he can't get angry, since these suggestions are all based on what they believe is good for the village.
Lu Tu sighed: "How many soldiers do we have in total?"
Sun Kuang calculated: "About 850 people."
"How far is it from Kuishan Village to the Huaishuo border?"
"About 15 li."
"You mean we should scatter these 850 people in various places, and leave a portion of them to carefully wait in Huai Shuo territory? What if Zhao Wuyou actually sends people to attack? Even if it's a group of remnants of the White Lotus Sect or a peasant rebellion, you'll be sent to suppress them?"
Upon hearing Lü Tu's explanation, Sun Kuang broke out in a cold sweat. Although he had served in the Commandant's Office for several years, he had still learned the most basic military strategies, and only then did he realize that he had committed a major taboo in military strategy.
"Defense, defense, the key is in the word 'defense'! Only by uniting all our forces and forming a single point can we overcome the disadvantage of being outnumbered."
"I spoke carelessly, sir. Please forgive me!"
Lu Tu waved his hand dismissively: "Asking questions when you don't understand is a good habit. Be mindful of the occasion when you ask in the future."
These words served as a warning to Sun Kuang. In the past few days, Sun Kuang had done a lot of things and killed a lot of people, to the point that Lü Tu noticed that he was showing signs of becoming arrogant.
Taking advantage of Lü Tu's departure, Nie Yun poked Sun Kuang in the armpit and teased, "Second Brother Sun, how dare you? You dare to give your elder brother advice on military strategy and tactics?"
Sun Kuang knew he was wrong, but he still couldn't save face in front of Nie Yun, who was a few years younger than him. He snorted coldly, "Even my older brother says I have good habits."
Nie Yun chuckled: "Big brother just didn't want to embarrass you. You should learn more from him."
Having said that, he quickly rode off to catch up, and followed Lü Tu to the coal mine.
Looking at the pile of mined coal next to him, which looked like a small mountain, Lu Tu couldn't help but sigh at these black devils. The Kunlun slaves were really strong; they were born to do rough and heavy work.
Those people in North America in my previous life were too kind; they only let them grow cotton. If it were Lu Tu, they should have been made to work in coal mines. Want to play basketball? He'd have broken their legs.
It seems I'll have to find Salduoduo to buy some Kunlun slaves when I have the chance in the future; everyone who's used them says they're great.
Lu Tu asked the guards stationed there, "Who's in charge here again?"
The soldier pointed to a burly man in the distance who was vigorously whipping a Kunlun slave with a military whip and said, "Our squad leader is over there."
"Sergeant Tie, Lord Lü is calling for you!"
Hearing the shout, Tie Hang's anger had not subsided. He turned around abruptly, his body trembling. After seeing that it was Lü Tu, he forced a bright smile and hurriedly ran over. When he encountered a Kunlun slave blocking his way, he kicked him several times.
"This humble servant greets Your Excellency!"
Nie Yun frowned slightly: "This iron ram used to be tall, but it wasn't this fat. How come it's grown so big in just a few months?"
Lu Tu's eyes lit up instantly when he saw Tie Hang's muscular body. Upon closer inspection, he could see that Tie Hang was a born warrior. With enough food and drink, he had grown a lot of muscle. Moreover, through the daily beatings of the Kunlun slaves, he had also developed a body of fat and muscle!
This is a rare talent for military general!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
