Lü Tu led 200 soldiers and 300 Kunlun slaves pushing oxcarts, marching in a grand procession towards Huai Shuo.
This was the first time Wuchuan had sent people to Huaishuo to cause trouble. Although they had dug up a lot of clay in Huaishuo before, it was always in the border area, which was rather ambiguous, and everyone could turn a blind eye.
But things are different now. Lü Tu needs to go at least 80 kilometers deeper to reach the vicinity of Huai Shuo Town to get a lot of sulfur ore.
The reason why Lü Tu did this also illustrates the importance of sulfur ore. He was confident that as long as he could produce gunpowder, even if Zhao Wuyou sent troops to cause trouble later, Lü Tu would have a way to win with fewer troops.
After all, the difference between gunpowder falling into the hands of Lu Tu, the king of soldiers, and falling into the hands of the craftsmen in the Ministry of Works is completely different. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a "dimensional reduction attack".
At that time, not to mention homemade guns, even cannons and landmines, Lü Tu could produce them. In the era of cold weapons, no one could resist him.
Before long, Lü Tu led his group into Huai Shuo territory, but as soon as they entered, they ran into a small group of Huai Shuo border troops.
Lu Tu gestured for everyone to stop, then looked at the Huai Shuo border troops opposite him, who numbered about 50.
For a moment, both sides frowned.
Huai Shuo was wondering how he could have spotted Lü Tu, the murderous tyrant, while patrolling his own territory. Several of their captains had already been killed by Lü Tu, so it was clearly impossible for them to confront him head-on. Their first thought was to slip away and report back.
Lu Tu, on the other hand, was wondering why this 50-man force had appeared at the border so coincidentally. If it was because there was a traitor within his ranks who had leaked the information, then his operation would have to be aborted.
After all, Lu Tu only had 200 men under his command. Not to mention the Kunlun slaves, they had no fighting ability whatsoever. When they saw the Huai Shuo border army, they began to tremble with fear. Fortunately, there was an iron ram to hold them down, which prevented the Kunlun slaves from escaping.
Even if we kill these guys right now, it won't be long before our whereabouts are exposed. At that point, let alone mining sulfur, we'll have trouble even protecting ourselves, since Huai Shuo has an army of over 100,000.
Lu Tu gave Nie Yun a look, and Nie Yun was somewhat touched, thinking that his elder brother still cared about him and knew that he had to do it in times like this.
Nie Yun spurred his horse forward, leaping over the crowd, and shouted, "Who are you? Why are you on our Wuchuan territory?"
These words shocked the entire audience!
Lu Tu nodded in satisfaction, it seemed that Nie Yun had already learned three-tenths of his essence.
The 50 cavalrymen from Huai Shuofang were even more astonished. They looked at each other in disbelief, and even picked at their ears, unable to believe that such a thing as the villain accusing the enemy first could happen.
The leader of the Huai Shuo faction also stepped forward and asked loudly, "May I ask if you are Commandant Lü Tu? I am Pang Wei, a platoon leader of the Huai Shuo border army."
"Hmph! You do have some knowledge after all. My elder brother is none other than Lü Tu!"
Pang Wei was speechless, thinking to himself, "Why is Lu Tu so arrogant? The two are only 50 meters apart, and he needs someone else to relay his message just to shout?"
"Lord Lü, since the founding emperor established the Six Border Garrisons, this area has been part of Huai Shuo's territory. May I ask what brings you here today, Lord Lü?"
This was a very tactful and polite way of putting it, and even Lu Tu thought it was reasonable and well-founded.
But being rude and stirring up trouble was Lu Tu's forte. He stopped Nie Yun, who was about to spout nonsense, and said loudly, "Pang Wei, have you ever seen a group of White Lotus bandits?"
Pang Wei frowned upon hearing this: "Sir, we have not found any suspicious people along the way from Huai Shuo City. Have you gone to the wrong place?"
Lu Tu completely ignored him and said indignantly, "The White Lotus bandits broke into the village some time ago and killed hundreds of my villagers. I recently found one of their strongholds, so I led my troops here to wipe them out. You'd better cooperate."
Even though Pang Wei was somewhat worried that Lü Tu would take action directly, he couldn't back down in front of his men. Otherwise, even if he survived, he wouldn't be able to stay in the border army.
He said coldly, "Lord Lü, you should make this clear: I have told you that I have not encountered anyone from the White Lotus Sect along the way!"
Lu Tu was too lazy to waste words with him: "The extermination of the White Lotus bandits is an imperial decree personally issued by the Emperor. Do you dare to disobey the decree? I have reason to suspect that you have illicit relations with the White Lotus Sect. Guards, seize them!"
Nie Yun, Tuoba Yue, and the others, who had been on high alert and ready to attack at any moment, charged forward upon hearing Lü Tu's order.
The 200 soldiers behind him had no goodwill towards the Huai Shuo border army to begin with. Since Lu Tu's orders had been given, they only needed to obey. At this moment, they followed the enemy and fought their way through the enemy lines without fear of death.
For a moment, everyone in Huai Shuo was terrified!
Where had they ever seen such an overbearing and unreasonable person? Coming to their own territory shouting for war, and then accusing them of disobeying orders at the slightest disagreement—who could stand that?
Pang Wei waved his hand, immediately turned his horse around, and shouted, "Brothers, let's retreat!"
The two sides were not far apart, so how could they escape? In no time, they were surrounded by Nie Yun and Tuoba Yue with their men.
After effortlessly wounding several men, Pang Wei shouted, "We surrender! Spare our lives, Lord Lü!"
Since being taught a lesson by Lü Tu yesterday, Nie Yun has become more measured in his actions, knowing that Lü Tu had instructed him to capture the person, not to kill them.
At this point, they naturally tied the man up and sent him to Lü Tu.
Lu Tu then took Pang Wei to a secluded place and began questioning him: "Speak, I never see you patrolling here on ordinary days, how come it's such a coincidence that you came just as I crossed the border today."
Pang Wei, on the verge of tears, said, "Sir, I don't know either. This is just a routine inspection every seven days. I've been patrolling here for a year or two, and I've never run into you, sir."
Lu Tu glared at him coldly: "Don't try to fool me. Is there a traitor among my men? Is he contacting you in private to send you to be wary of me?"
Upon hearing this, Pang Wei was so aggrieved that he almost cried: "Sir, you think too highly of us. Although I am a nobody in the border army, I have heard that within your jurisdiction, not even a fly can get in. How could you find a traitor? We really were just passing by!"
"Are you really just passing by?" Lu Tu thought he didn't seem to be faking it.
Pang Wei nodded repeatedly: "I was just passing by. If you don't believe me, you can ask other people."
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