Soon, after Lu Tu arrived at the training ground with Zhao Qingyao and Prince Duan, Liu Hu and Tie Hang arrived with 3,000 Shence Army slaves.
These guys had already been divided into several groups by Nie Yuntuoba Yue and others, but in the end they still felt uneasy keeping them by their side, so they simply handed them all over to Tie Hang and let them go to dig coal.
These guys had long lost their previous arrogance. After working in the coal mine with the Kunlun slaves for several days, their edges had been completely worn down, and they followed Liu Hu with droopy heads and downcast eyes.
Liu Hu shouted, "All of you, stand up straight! The general has something to say!"
This magnificent roar startled all the military slaves present. Lu Tu nodded to Liu Hu with satisfaction. He had seen the boy's recent growth. Sure enough, men mature a lot after starting a family, and they also become more responsible and dependable.
Lu Tu said loudly, "You've surrendered some time ago, have you thought it through?"
As Lu Tu questioned him, the scene fell silent. No one dared to answer, and everyone just stared at each other in bewilderment.
But could all 3,000 men be cowards? A few raised their hands and said, "General, I have something to ask you!"
Lu Tu nodded. It seemed that the management methods taught to them had been implemented layer by layer. Even though these guys had only been here for a few days, they had already learned the rules.
"explain!"
"What does the General want us to consider?"
Lu Tu did not respond, but instead looked intently at Prince Duan and gestured for him to speak.
Even if Prince Duan was incompetent, he was still a prince of royal lineage. After coughing twice, he stepped forward and stood in front of everyone, shouting sternly, "Logically speaking, you have already participated in the rebellion. According to the laws of our Great Yu, your entire family should be executed!"
As Prince Duan finished speaking, a commotion broke out at the scene. These surrendered soldiers, even though they had been reduced to the lowest rank of military slaves, believed that it was better to live a miserable life than to die. How could they not be excited when they heard these words?
"Your Highness Prince Duan, we have already surrendered. Furthermore, we were indeed deceived by Ye Qingyu before. Please, Your Highness and Princess, see the truth!"
As they spoke, a large number of people knelt down, kowtowing and pleading, "Your Highness, please investigate this matter thoroughly!"
Immediately afterward, Prince Duan waved his hand to interrupt everyone's cries and shouts, then changed the subject: "However! After General Lü pleaded with me, and considering your many years of service to the country, I have spared you from the death penalty!"
Upon hearing this, everyone kowtowed to Lü Tu in unison, their eyes reddening as they wept, "Thank you so much, General Lü, for your great kindness!"
Lu Tu raised an eyebrow, looking at Prince Duan with some disbelief, thinking to himself, "When did this kid become so eloquent? He even knows how to do the work for Lu Tu?"
Seeing that his words had indeed had an effect, Prince Duan gave Zhao Qingyao a thumbs-up from inside his wide robe sleeves.
Lu Tu glanced over and saw Zhao Qingyao, who had been silent the whole time. Seeing her arrogant expression, he realized what had happened. It seemed that the two of them had been whispering about these things on the way here.
This result clearly achieved Lu Tu's expected goal. Immediately afterwards, Zhao Qingyao stepped forward and said, "All soldiers, listen to my command!"
"Yes, sir!" The 3,000 slave soldiers bowed down once again.
"I, Zhao Qingyao, as the second princess of the Dayu Dynasty, command you to abandon the darkness and join General Lü Tu's forces from this moment on, to quell the rebellion for His Majesty the Emperor, and you will be exempt from all your crimes!"
"Yes, sir!" Upon hearing this, all the soldiers' previous reluctance vanished.
After all, the Second Princess and Prince Duan have both stood up to support Lü Tu. Lü Tu is no longer just a deputy general in a small border town, but an envoy representing the imperial power to eliminate the rebellion, and he is on the side of righteousness!
With their identities as a guarantee, everyone bowed to Lü Tu and said, "Greetings, General Lü! We are willing to swear allegiance to the Emperor and to General Lü!"
Zhao Qingyao looked at Lü Tu triumphantly, her expression saying nothing.
Seeing that the effect had far exceeded his expectations, but was still a little short, Lü Tu raised an eyebrow at Prince Duan, who naturally understood what Lü Tu wanted to say.
He had already played the villain once, so even though he didn't want to, he had to force himself to continue: "But as you've all seen, Wuchuan has been almost completely ravaged by the bandits, and we don't have much military rations left. Furthermore, Longcheng in the south is under siege by the Red Turban Army. Therefore, from today onwards, you will receive only one meal a day without pay..."
Before he could finish speaking, all the slave soldiers shuddered. They couldn't even get enough to eat, yet they wanted to make people into soldiers? What kind of bizarre logic was that?
But when they thought about how they were military slaves and could only drink a bowl of thin porridge every day, they accepted it.
Seeing everyone's reaction, Prince Duan nodded in satisfaction: "But you don't need to worry. I will have someone record these military pay details. After you quell the rebellion for the Emperor, the court will provide you with additional military pay!"
"Thank you, Prince Duan; thank you, Princess; thank you, Lord Lü; we are willing!"
Lu Tu hadn't been this relaxed in a long time. It seemed that Prince Duan and Zhao Qingyao were truly remarkable in this regard. As expected of royal children who had been pampered since childhood, their imposing presence was simply innate.
But that's normal, because someone who grows up receiving compliments from everyone is a completely different person from someone who grows up under oppression.
At this moment, Lü Tu stepped forward with feigned respect, cupped his hands to Zhao Qingyao and Prince Duan, and said, "This humble general obeys the order. Thank you, Princess and Your Highness Prince Duan!"
Then, with great reluctance, Prince Duan took out an official seal from his robes and handed it to Lü Tu: "Lü Tu, special times call for special measures. I hereby appoint you as the Commandant of Wuchuan, to govern the entire territory of Wuchuan!"
Lu Tu glanced at the seal bearing the name of Qingfeng Yayuan and naturally understood that it was definitely not a legitimate item, but whether the seal was legitimate or not was no longer important at the moment.
As long as the title of Prince Duan is granted to Lü Tu, it has credibility!
As for the real seal of the Wuchuan Commandant, it is naturally with that old bastard Yun Tian, but Yun Tian has already disappeared.
Lu Tu knelt on one knee, accepted the seal, and said loudly, "Thank you for your trust, Your Highness!"
Prince Duan helped Lü Tu up with a friendly expression: "General Lü, there's no need for such formalities between us. I will have to rely on you from now on."
"Your Highness is too kind!"
Then Lü Tu stood up on the high platform, held the seal of Qingfeng Yayuan in his hand, raised it high above his head, and shouted: "Kill the rebels and save the Great Yu!"
The 3,000 military slaves who had just pledged allegiance were all a little dizzy when they heard such a big slogan.
But Lu Tu had more men on the scene, such as Nie Yun and Liu Hu, who immediately shouted angrily, "Kill the rebels and save the Great Yu!"
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