Lu Tu turned to look at Tuoba Yue. He understood what the other meant. The terrain in the northern desert was complex, and the Wuhuan people often lived by following the grass. Only they knew their own people best.
This reminded Lü Tu of Kublai Khan, the Yuan Dynasty emperor from his previous life. The first thing he did after ascending the throne was to lead the Han people north to suppress the Mongol nobles.
After all, in the eyes of their nomadic people, there is not much brotherly affection between brothers, only competition. It seems that they are born this way, and that is why they have developed such skills to survive well in this desert.
Seeing Lü Tu hesitate, Tuoba Yue continued, "Moreover, they are skilled at herding and raising warhorses. Without them, it would be difficult to bring all their cattle and sheep back, which would be a considerable loss."
Lu Tu gave Jie Han a deep look: "Do you want to live?"
Jie Han nodded: "I think so! Lü Tu, will you let me live?"
Lu Tu threw the sword from Tuoba Yue's waist in front of Jie Han. Jie Han looked at Lu Tu in disbelief: "Respected God of War of Wuchuan, are you going to let me, my wife, children and the elderly leave?"
Lu Tu laughed at his naiveté: "What do you think? It's impossible for you to leave and inform your Saili tribe. The only way is to come back to Wuchuan with me!"
"No! Absolutely not! If I go to Wuchuan, you'll torture me to death!"
Tuoba Yue stepped forward and kicked him to the ground, then held several knives to Jiehan's neck: "If you don't agree, your wife and children will die in front of you now. The choice is yours!"
Lü Tu did this to test whether Jie Han was a smart person. If he was smart, Lü Tu would keep him by his side. If not, there was no point in taking him back, so it was better to kill him here to avoid any complications.
Because smart people weigh the pros and cons, while fools only become slaves to their emotions.
Unfortunately, after picking up the knife from the ground with trembling hands, Jiehan pointed it at his own neck.
Upon seeing this scene, Lü Tu immediately lost interest and turned his horse around to leave. Once he left, the fate of the Wuhuan women and children present was predictable.
Suddenly, screams of a woman and a child came from behind: "Brother, why are you doing this?"
"Uncle, you used to love me the most. Didn't you say you were going to teach me riding and archery?"
Lu Tu turned around and saw Jie Han carrying a knife walking towards the women and children. With one stroke, he killed the child of his dead brother, leaving only his son, daughter and a few women behind.
Even tigers don't eat their cubs, that goes without saying. Jiehan would never kill his own child. As for the remaining women, their husbands are already dead, and their fate is no longer in their own hands. For now, they can only follow Jiehan to submit to Lü Tu and go to Wuchuan to try their luck and survive.
Upon seeing this, Lü Tu clapped his hands and said, "It seems you are indeed a smart man."
At this moment, Jiehan no longer showed the pain of losing his brothers; on the contrary, a sense of relief welled up on his face.
He knelt on one knee with his fists clasped in front of him, then ripped open his clothes, revealing a chest covered in scars and tattooed with a lifelike wolf's head.
He then cut a slit in his own chest with the knife and offered the blood-stained blade with both hands.
Tuoba Yue explained from the side: "This is the most solemn ceremony in the Wuhuan tribe. It represents his swearing allegiance to you. As long as you take that knife, it means that you are his master."
"Respected God of War of Wuchuan, by the Eternal Heaven above, please keep your promise. I am willing to pledge my life to you and never betray you!"
To be honest, Lu Tu wasn't interested in this kind of thing. After all, in the social environment he lived in in his previous life, people were good at lying through their teeth, and honesty was almost completely unreliable.
Anyone who believes that is an idiot.
Seeing that Lü Tu remained silent for a long time, Jie Han panicked. He was really afraid that Lü Tu would change his mind and kill his wife and children.
In that case, his nephew would have died in vain.
He could only try his best to say, "Lord Lü Tu, please accept my sincerest respect. Once we Wuhuan people swear allegiance, we will never betray you. Besides, my child can be held hostage in your hands until the day you truly trust me."
Jiehan's wife also knelt down in front of Lü Tu with a thud: "I can also be your slave, as long as you don't harm the child, you can torture me however you want!"
Jiehan looked at his wife with eyes full of heartache. Logically speaking, Lü Tu should have been very moved, after all, fatherly and motherly love are the purest love in the world.
But Lu Tu couldn't muster the slightest pity at this moment. In his mind, an enemy is an enemy, and even if he temporarily brought them under his control, they would never be treated with respect.
"Get up, take your cattle, sheep and horses, and come back to Wuchuan with me. Perform well, and perhaps your son will live a better life than he did in Wuhuan."
"Thank you very much, Lord Lü!"
The Jiehan family finally breathed a sigh of relief and embraced each other, weeping bitterly. But before they could exchange pleasantries, the soldiers beside them shouted, "Hurry up, or we'll kill you!"
Lu Tu naturally wouldn't care. That's how prisoners should be treated. Giving prisoners good food and drink? Sorry, Lu Tu really couldn't do that; it went against his conscience.
He rode ahead to the tent where Jiehan and the others had been. Once inside, he found nothing of value, but he did find a parchment scroll.
Upon unfolding it, he discovered it was a map. Lu Tu then compared it with the topographical maps he had drawn along the way and was surprised to find that this was actually a topographical map covering an area of 500 li, much larger than the one he had just drawn.
This is simply the biggest gain we've made since leaving the border region today.
With this topographical map, and the fact that Lu Tu can question Jie Han after returning, he will naturally be able to fill in many gaps in his knowledge of the terrain.
As Sun Tzu said, "favorable timing, advantageous terrain, and harmonious relationships are essential." Lü Tu never fights a battle he is not confident of winning, so he must have both of the latter two advantages. As for the timing, he can only do his best and leave the rest to fate.
Before long, Jiehan and the others were escorted over by Nie Yun.
Jiehan reported to Lü Tu: "Reporting to your Excellency, my family has a total of 120 cattle, 300 sheep, and 18 horses, which I am willing to offer to you!"
Lu Tu nodded in satisfaction: "Very good. As long as you keep your promise, I will also ensure the safety of your family. Let's go."
Nie Yun left all the children there, while Jie Han led a few women on horseback to drive the cattle and sheep. In this way, the group slowly headed towards the territory of Wuchuan.
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