Upon hearing this, everyone stared at Lü Tu in astonishment.
Yun Tian exclaimed in shock, "What? That's 180,000 jin of iron ore! You actually want it all?"
Lu Tu nodded and said, "That's right! Isn't this the entire Wuchuan warehouse? You're just piling it up anyway, you might as well give it to me."
"Even if you add 3,000 soldiers now, you'll only have less than 4,000 men in total. Do you really want that much iron ore? You should know that this is iron ore that we've already partially smelted, not the kind with lots of impurities!"
Lu Tu sneered: "Never mind me. I'll just ask you one question: in the entire Wuchuan region, besides me, where else has been fighting in recent months?"
Upon hearing this, everyone present fell silent. Yun Tian hesitated for a long time before finally hanging his head in dejection.
Lu Tu was telling the truth. Not to mention the last few months, for the entire past year, apart from the occasional raids by small Wuhuan detachments in winter, there had been no battles fought anywhere.
On the contrary, the area under Lü Tu's jurisdiction was like a magnet, with all the disputes originating there, which created a strange phenomenon.
The border troops in other parts of Wuchuan were eager to graze their horses in peace, while the soldiers under Lü Tu had long-term battles to fight and military merits to earn.
Ye Qingyu cupped his hands to Prince Duan and said, "Your Highness, ironware should not be smelted privately. Giving Lü Tu some to use is already an act of mercy. Now you want to give him a whole 180,000 catties of refined iron ore. What if he uses this ironware to rebel?"
Lu Tu flew into a rage, pointed at Ye Qingyu and shouted, "You motherfucker, you're talking nonsense! Even if you rebel, I won't rebel! Since that's the case, I don't want that batch of iron ore. Today, I'm going to kill you first, you bastard who slandered me! Men, take Ye Qingyu's head!"
These words instantly reignited the tense atmosphere, which had just eased. All the Shence Army soldiers quickly drew their swords again to bolster their morale.
Nie Yun, Liu Hong, and the others immediately raised their Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) and shouted, "Kill!"
The will of the 800 iron-blooded cavalrymen who had just come down from the Wuhuan battlefield soared to the sky!
This made Sam, who was lying on the ground, tremble. It was as if he remembered that night a few days ago, the night that changed the fate of his entire tribe. He looked at Lü Tu and that group of cavalrymen who were even more ferocious than the Tianwuwan people with fear in his eyes.
Ye Qingyu was the most frightened. He never dreamed that Lü Tu would be so ruthless, decisive, and audacious.
With just a single sentence, Lü Tu was willing to give up everything and directly bring men to kill Ye Qingyu, a second-rank official from a family of four generations of dukes. Moreover, the way Nie Yun and the others looked at him, Ye Qingyu knew that this was no joke!
A flicker of panic crossed his eyes, and he quickly raised his hand, shouting, "Deputy General Lü, wait! Let me explain!"
Lu Tu waved his hand: "Explain your ass! You dare to accuse me of rebellion today, and you dare to actually rebel tomorrow! As a lowly soldier of the Great Yu Dynasty's border army, how can I tolerate such a petty scoundrel as you? Men, kill him!"
"kill!"
In an instant, 800 cavalrymen moved out, raising a large amount of dust in front of the Commandant's Mansion. The Shence Army soldiers were closest to them, and in just one encounter, most of them were killed or wounded on the spot!
At this moment, Zhao Qingyao no longer cared about her noble status and stepped forward to grab Lü Tu's hand: "Deputy General Lü, don't kill him, I'll give you anything, but keeping Ye Qingyu alive will be of great use!"
Lu Tu sneered inwardly. Just now, when Ye Qingyu was forcing me, you were pretending nothing was wrong. Anyway, since I won't get any benefits, none of you will have an easy time!
Seeing Zhao Qingyao and Prince Duan's anxious expressions and their constant assurances, even Ye Qingyu was so frightened that he dropped his armor and ran towards him without even picking up his helmet, which had fallen off as a second-rank Right Protector.
Lu Tu smiled contemptuously, then took out a horn from his pocket and blew a desolate and heroic sound. The 800 cavalrymen who were just charging and fighting stopped instantly!
This scene truly astonished everyone present. Obedience to orders is a level that many generals aspire to achieve. Not to mention the current Great Yu Dynasty, there are very few who can reach this level throughout history.
After all, being a general isn't just about leading troops into battle; it's also about knowing how to train them! If you don't train your own troops, no one will give them to you for free.
Even if the emperor sends you troops, if you don't cultivate trusted confidants within that army, would you dare lead them into battle? You'd probably die without even knowing how.
As if frozen in place, the 800 cavalrymen retreated in unison. In just this one round of fighting, the Shence Army, which had numbered in the hundreds, was reduced to less than half its original size, leaving behind only a scene of severed limbs and a nauseating stench of blood.
At this moment, Ye Qingyu was almost scared out of his wits. In fact, it was not his fault. As a young master from a family that had been noble for four generations, even if he joined the army, he could not actually go into battle.
It's normal for Ye Qingyu to be frightened when he saw 800 fierce cavalry charging towards him.
However, Lu Tu found this utterly ridiculous, and he made no attempt to hide the contempt in his eyes for Ye Qingyu: "General Ye, weren't you just about to slander me? Why are you so flustered?"
Regardless of the circumstances, although Ye Qingyu had never fought on the battlefield, he was very confident in his individual combat skills. Seeing that Lü Tu was making things difficult for him again and again, after weighing the pros and cons, he cupped his hands to Lü Tu and said, "Deputy General Lü, my wording just now was not precise enough. Please don't take it to heart!"
Seeing his bowed head, Lü Tu knew that what Zhao Qingyao said was true. Ye Qingyu was indeed still very useful and needed to bring down Zhao Wuyou.
"Do you still have any objections to my receiving 180,000 units of refined iron ore?"
"No! Vice General Lü is dedicated to the country and its people, guarding the borders of our Great Yu. It is only right that we use these fine iron ore to forge more ironware!"
Lu Tu immediately lost interest. Compared to Ye Qingyu's arrogant demeanor, Lu Tu felt a sense of accomplishment.
The more the two got to know each other, the less confident the young man became. He was completely terrified by the charge of 800 cavalrymen. It was likely that even if they let him go now, he wouldn't dare to stay in Wuchuan and would head straight for the capital.
Lu Tu waved his hand listlessly: "In that case, General Ye, please ask your fierce generals to help us move some iron ore. After all, you know that my brothers have just returned from the northern grasslands, exhausted and in poor formation."
Hearing this, the soldiers of the Shence Army were so aggrieved that they almost cried!
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