Xiao Zhong couldn't help but ask curiously, "Sir, what did Deng Lang say in his letter? Is he going to bring his troops back?"
"No! If he returns with his remaining troops, it's within our expectations."
Xiao Zhong exclaimed in shock, "Could it be...?"
"That's right! Deng Lang mentioned in his letter that he has returned to Huai Shuo with his men and gained Zhao Wuyou's trust. He has been promoted to a ninth-rank captain."
Xiao Zhong rubbed his hands excitedly: "That means Deng Lang can continue to act as a spy, lurking around Zhao Wuyou."
Lu Tu gazed intently at the dark wilderness: "Mr. Xiao, this is actually just the best-case scenario we've come up with."
"My lord, didn't you say that Wei Hanshan was killed by Deng Lang? Are you afraid that he's trying to use you to climb the ranks, and that his ultimate goal isn't to remain loyal to you?"
Lu Tu shook his head: "Even if Deng Lang gained Zhao Wuyou's trust as he said in his letter, it was for his ambition to climb the ranks, but he still needs me. Not for anything else, but because he needs me as his open enemy. As long as we are here, he will be able to be highly valued by Zhao Wuyou."
"Regardless of Deng Lang's motives, he did contribute to this incident, and according to your analysis, our situation will be much better afterward."
"Yes, that's why I said he is indeed a good general. But you should trust those you employ and not employ those you don't trust. What we can do now is to choose to trust him while taking all necessary precautions."
"The lord is right. At least he has bought us a lot of time, enough time to complete the fortification of the city wall."
Lu Tu straightened Xiao Zhong's cloak: "It's late and the dew is heavy. Mr. Xiao, you have a heavy burden on your shoulders. You should rest early. The village can't do without you."
Xiao Zhong nodded, somewhat moved: "Thank you for your concern, sir. I will not disturb your rest any longer. I will take my leave."
"Take care, Mr. Xiao."
Watching Xiao Zhong's figure disappear into the twilight, Lü Tu returned to the house, burned the letter in his hand, and lay back on the bed.
Song Yuxi suddenly said softly, "Husband, this move you made is very dangerous. If you're not careful, you might end up raising a tiger that will turn on you and cause a backlash."
Lu Tu hadn't expected them to hear this too, so he simply nodded and said, "It is indeed very dangerous, but I never place my hopes on others. You have to be strong yourself to succeed. As long as he can buy me enough time, everything is still under control."
Song Yuxi tucked the blanket around Lü Tu with concern: "Husband, rest, you're too tired."
Hearing Song Yuxi's tender concern, Lü Tu's doubts instantly turned into affection. He kissed her on the cheek, and they fell asleep in each other's arms, soon emitting sweet snores.
The next morning, Lu Tu got up early, ate breakfast, and went straight to the warehouse.
Upon arrival, Hu Delu was seen leading his apprentices, sorting through the spoils of war they had collected, and complaining incessantly: "These damned Huai Shuo border troops, even their ordinary soldiers use long swords made of fine iron, which are much better than those of the Wu Chuan border troops."
"Old Hu, what are you muttering about?"
Hu Delu tossed the longsword in his hand: "Look, sir, how come Huai Shuo is so rich that they equip their ordinary soldiers with such longswords? They may not be as good as ours, but looking at the entire Wuchuan border army, how many swords can you find that are better than theirs?"
Lu Tu sneered, "You don't know this, but the Huai Shuo border army is colluding with the enemy and selling out the country. They are engaged in salt and iron trade with the Wuhuan people, and the last thing they lack is money. The vast majority of the money that the Wuhuan people give them comes from plundering from the six border towns."
Upon hearing this, Hu Delu was so angry that he couldn't help but spit out: "Pah! These bastards are really worthless. In the end, it's still us border people who suffer. Giving such a good knife to these good-for-nothings is a real waste."
Lu Tu patted him on the shoulder: "Calm down. Take a look at what needs polishing and polishing, what needs recasting and recasting. You will be in charge of military preparedness from now on. Just ask Xiao Zhong how many people you need. I will give you 5 strings of cash a month from now on."
Hu Delu exclaimed with delight, "Thank you so much, sir! I will definitely do my best!"
This was already a promotion. For a blacksmith like him, it was already difficult enough to secure a stable job in the government. Moreover, Lu Tu had entrusted him with the entire military ironware business. That was a tremendous level of trust.
Liu Yang, who happened to be nearby, heard this and laughed loudly, "Congratulations, Brother Hu! The three great fortunes for men are promotion, wealth, and the death of their wives. You've won two of them in a row!"
Hu Delu chuckled and said, "My wife can't die, she's very good to me."
Lu Tu glared at Liu Yang, who then realized he had gone too far with his joke and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, Brother Hu."
"It's alright, it's alright."
"Old Hu, is the barbed wire finished?"
"It's finished. We sent someone to deliver it to Chai Yong a few days ago. It's probably already in use by now."
Lu Tu was very satisfied with his work efficiency: "Not bad, then you go ahead and get busy. Come find me if you need anything."
Just as Lü Tu was about to leave, Hu Delu grabbed him, his face flushed with embarrassment, and said, "Sir, I would like to ask you for a favor."
Seeing his hesitant manner, Lü Tu asked curiously, "Just get to the point. What kind of behavior is this, pulling and tugging like this?"
"Hey, sir, it seems my wife is pregnant. I can't leave the city every day, could you please get me some medicine to help me with the pregnancy?"
Lu Tu raised an eyebrow: "Congratulations, Lao Hu, you're going to have a big, chubby baby boy!"
Hu Delu rubbed his hands excitedly: "Thank you for your kind words, sir. I never thought that I, Old Hu, would be able to get a wife. If it weren't for you, sir, I would have been dragged south by Xu Jing that day, and it would be hard to say whether I would have lived or died."
Lu Tu nodded in agreement: "Don't worry, I'll have someone bring you the medicine to prevent miscarriage right away."
At this point, Lü Tu suddenly remembered that when he went to Wuchuan a few days ago, he had asked someone to summon Doctor Zhang Miao. Why hadn't he seen him in the past few days?
They called Liu Yang over to ask, and Liu Yang explained, "Ever since Dr. Zhang came to our village, he has been working with the refugees, providing them with free medical care."
"What about Xiang Ze?"
"He's helping with the bricklaying; I'll go get him."
"No need, I'll go find them myself."
After searching around, they finally found Xiang Ze and his son on the south side of the drill ground. Xiang Ze, who was about 1.9 meters tall, was quite conspicuous in the crowd.
From a distance, Lü Tu called him over: "Brother Xiang."
Xiang Ze turned around blankly, saw that it was Lü Tu, greeted the foreman next to him, put down his bricklayer's trowel and jogged over, wiping his sweat with the handkerchief on his shoulder and smiling, "Sir."
Looking at his strong, muscular physique, Lü Tu smiled and said, "Brother Xiang, have you been settling in well these past few days?"
Xiang Ze chuckled and said, "To be honest, it's really not easy to find such a peaceful place in the world these days. If you don't mind, sir, I would like to join the army and serve under you!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
