Upon hearing this, Lü Tu suddenly burst out laughing.
Zhao Qingyao asked, puzzled, "What are you laughing at?"
"It seems the princess and I are on the same page. In my opinion, this mission is not even a mission, because even if the princess hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have let that Karasuma dog go!"
Zhao Qingyao's brows relaxed at this moment: "It seems you have a deep grudge against the Wuhuan people."
Lu Tu's eyes narrowed slightly, releasing a hint of killing intent: "To be honest, Princess, my mother and my elder sister died at the hands of the Wuhuan dogs. They killed the people who were gathering wild vegetables just like killing a dog, simply because they wanted to go south to plunder."
At this point, Lü Tu straightened up, his eyes filled with undisguised anger.
Zhao Qingyao stared blankly at Lü Tu for a moment before letting out a soft sigh: "Please accept my condolences. Looking across the entire Six Garrisons of the Northern Border, who doesn't have a grudge against the Wuhuan people? Of course, my initial intention in asking you to do this was solely for my own sake. Am I not a very selfish princess?"
Lu Tu gave her a deep look, then shook his head firmly and said, "No! You are first and foremost a woman, and only secondly a princess of the Great Yu Dynasty. You should be yourself."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Qingyao's pupils dilated instantly, and she took a half-step back in disbelief. These words were simply beyond her comprehension.
Putting aside whether she had ever heard of such a thing, she had never even considered it from that perspective.
It should be understood that, whether it was the Great Yu Dynasty or any previous dynasty, all women lived the same kind of life.
That is, when she grew up, her parents arranged for her to marry a stranger. She rarely had the opportunity for free love, let alone the fact that she came from an imperial family.
Being born into an imperial family, especially for a beautiful woman, is a disaster. Their fate is even worse than that of ordinary women. They are treated like caged birds and, upon reaching adulthood, are forced to marry old men, often from other ethnic groups.
"You...is this what you truly think? Can a woman really think of herself?"
Lu Tu nodded: "That's natural. There are only men and women in the world. Why can men think of ways to protect their own interests, and why can't women? In my opinion, peace cannot be achieved through marriage alliances. Even if we sacrifice you this year and send another princess next year, the final outcome will still be a tough battle!"
Zhao Qingyao was no less shocked than when she heard the news of the late emperor's death.
Her mind was buzzing, and she kept pacing around the room. The other two palace maids were even more terrified; they were so frightened that they didn't even notice the door was open.
At this moment, Zhao Qingyao looked at Lü Tu again and asked, "So you agree with my approach?"
Lu Tu laughed and said, "What is there for the princess to worry about? Even if you didn't tell me, I would still be foolish enough to go north of the Great Wall. Why should we only let the Wuhuan dogs come south to plunder? And every year after spring, we have to take advantage of their nomadic lifestyle to rest and recuperate, only to have them come back to harvest us in the fall? Are the people of our Great Yu born lowly, born to be plundered and slaughtered by them?"
Lu Tu's words were very powerful; each word was like a heavy hammer, striking Zhao Qingyao's heart.
Although she was a woman, she had served by the late emperor's side and was favored, which also allowed her to learn about many national affairs.
The more she learned, the more frustrated she became. In such a vast dynasty as the Great Yu, they couldn't find enough capable generals!
The former Eight Pillars General Song family was full of loyal and righteous men, but they chose the wrong side in the struggle for the crown prince position.
"You're right, I need you to fight your way to the Karasuma so that my marriage alliance will be forced to end!"
Lu Tu patted his chest and said, "No problem! But before that, I don't have enough manpower or money and supplies!"
Seeing that he was so frank and honest, Zhao Qingyao trusted him even more: "You don't need to worry about that. Your most important thing right now is to cure the smallpox plague. Then I will petition the Emperor to get you an official position. Then you will naturally have the strength to go north!"
"Very well! I'll take this task!" Lu Tu cupped his hands in greeting, then turned and left the room.
Lu Tu hadn't expected Zhao Qingyao to agree so readily. Just an incense stick's time ago, he had obtained 15,000 taels of silver from Yun Tian. This amount, when converted into grain, would have been enough to feed his thousands of soldiers and civilians until the autumn harvest.
However, he doesn't have much time left. Zhao Qingyao has given him only two months. During this time, he also needs to cure smallpox. It seems that he must speed up the cultivation of more cowpox and penicillin, and also increase the number of medical personnel and find more doctors who understand basic medicine.
It would be very troublesome for him to do this himself, so there are naturally better ways to do it now.
When Lü Tu arrived at the main hall, he found that Prince Duan and the other two were still there. He cupped his hands to Prince Duan and said, "Your Highness, I have another matter to discuss."
Prince Duan felt a headache coming on whenever he saw Lü Tu. A full 15,000 taels of silver had been spent by Lü Tu on those refugees. It was as painful as cutting flesh off Prince Duan's body.
But considering that Zhao Qingyao was about to be sent on a political marriage, Prince Duan had no choice but to agree with Lü Tu: "Say it, as long as it's not excessive."
"As you know, I have a large number of smallpox patients. Could you send me some imperial physicians?"
Upon hearing the words "Imperial Physician," the three people present couldn't help but gasp.
Ye Qingyu frowned: "You have quite the nerve. Do you know how many imperial physicians there are in the capital? You just ask me to send some over?"
Prince Duan also wore a bitter expression: "Do you really think the imperial physicians are just any Tom, Dick, or Harry? I don't even have an imperial physician by my side, where am I supposed to find one for you?"
Lu Tu said this on purpose, because he didn't want Prince Duan to send his spies to pretend to be experts.
As expected, Prince Duan waved his hand at Yuntian and said, "I'll leave this matter to you. Find some doctors for Lü Tu, even barefoot doctors will do."
Yun Tian quickly cupped his hands in greeting: "Your humble servant obeys!" He then instructed the people around him to carry out the order.
In this way, Lü Tu would no longer be afraid of Prince Duan sending spies. After all, Yun Tian had just escaped death, and even if he was stupid, he wouldn't dare to provoke Lü Tu again. After all, Lü Tu was currently protected by Zhao Qingyao, and even Prince Duan and Ye Qingyu had to give him face, let alone him.
Prince Duan pointed to the delicacies on the table in front of him: "In recognition of your merit in treating smallpox, I will grant you permission to sit down and eat."
Lu Tu certainly wouldn't be polite. Looking at the big fish and meat dishes on the table, it would be a lie to say he wasn't drooling.
Even though he occasionally gets to eat meat he hunts in the village, how can that simply roasted meat compare to the delicacies prepared by a professional chef?
After sitting down, Lü Tu began to eat heartily, enjoying his meal so much that Prince Duan couldn't help but swallow his saliva.
"How long has it been since you last ate, kid?"
Knowing that the more impoverished he pretended to be, Lu Tu muttered, "I haven't seen meat in half a year. It's so delicious. Thank you, Your Highness."
Seeing Lü Tu's eating habits, Ye Qingyu shook his head and smiled wryly. He elegantly raised a cup of wine and clinked it with Prince Duan's: "Your Highness, since the plague here is so severe, I will stay in Wuchuan for another two months."
"That's excellent."
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