Whether they were newly recruited soldiers or veterans, the power they unleashed at this moment was visibly strong.
Even looking at the entire Great Yu Dynasty, which army could enjoy such an honor, having the princess and prince of the dynasty accompany them to be exposed to the scorching sun?
Take the border troops of the six border towns as an example. During their daily training, let alone princesses and princes, even their own captains might not come.
Everyone tried their best to shirk responsibility and cheat, while the leaders ate meat and drank alcohol. After all, they weren't the ones doing the work; they just needed to assign training tasks.
In this atmosphere, the newly joined soldiers quickly gained a strong sense of identity and collective honor through training shoulder to shoulder, which also made them more willing to accept the village and Lü Tu.
For the next ten days, apart from making explosives and detonators, Lü Tu spent all his time here with Prince Duan and Zhao Qingyao to inspect the training.
With this in mind, Lü Tu also instructed Xiao Zhong to provide the newly recruited soldiers with three meals a day to ensure their carbohydrate intake, so that they wouldn't be worn down by the high-intensity training.
Even Zhao Qingyao and Prince Duan, who had never been interested in training soldiers, noticed the growth of these soldiers during this period.
They also clearly felt that Lü Tu was completely different from the other generals they had seen, and they gradually gained more confidence in Lü Tu, perhaps Lü Tu really could lead these scattered soldiers.
Taking back Longcheng from the 300,000 Red Turban Army soldiers would also allow us to, as Lu Tu had previously declared, kill all the traitors and save the Great Yu.
During these 10 days, Liu Hong would occasionally send people to report on the situation at Luanshigang. In recent days, they had encountered small groups of Red Turban Army troops, but each time they were killed by Liu Hong without any surprise.
This was also Lu Tu's order: these Red Turban soldiers had to be killed, and they should not be tried to win them over or persuade them to surrender.
Although it was somewhat cruel, these guys were cannon fodder in the rebel army. Even if Lü Tu didn't kill them, Zhang Chengyan would still send them to their deaths.
Most importantly, Lü Tu must provoke Zhang Chengyan by killing these patrol teams, so that he will shift some of his attention to his side.
Sure enough, late at night on the fifteenth day, Lü Tu received a report from his scouts: "General Lü, the Red Turban Army has sent a force of 3,000 men, which is heading towards Luanshigang. Captain Liu asked me if we should annihilate them all?"
After a moment's thought, Lü Tu nodded and said, "Annihilate them all!"
"clear!"
Prince Duan, who was standing to the side, broke out in a cold sweat. Several days ago, Lü Tu had stopped trying to hide his relationship with the two of them when dealing with military affairs.
Prince Duan asked in confusion, "General Lü, how many troops have you deployed at Luanshi Ridge? Do we need to transfer some more from here?"
Lu Tu was reading the military treatise that Song Yuxi had written for him, while munching on a white flour pancake in his other hand. Without looking up, he said, "That's quite a lot. It seems that Liu Hong brought 300 men."
Xiao Zhong, who was not far away, nodded and said, "Yes, he brought 300 men."
Upon hearing the number, Prince Duan and Zhao Qingyao gasped in shock, exclaiming, "Only 300 people? The Red Turban Army on the other side sent a full 3,000 men! That's ten times our number!"
But Lu Tu did not react to these words and quietly looked at the military book.
Seeing Lü Tu's confident and composed demeanor, Zhao Qingyao, though still willing to believe him, asked, "General Lü, military strategy says that if you outnumber the enemy tenfold, you can surround and attack them. In other words, you can achieve a complete victory even if you surround them. Just how much confidence do you have in your soldiers that you ordered them to annihilate the enemy's 3,000 men?"
Lu Tu snapped the book shut and calmly looked at Zhao Qingyao: "What's so strange about that? Before, I led 800 cavalrymen deep into the grasslands and dared to confront tens of thousands of Saimuhe's troops. What's wrong with them annihilating 3,000 of their 300?"
Hearing this, Zhao Qingyao and Prince Duan felt as if they were listening to a horror story. If these words had come from someone else, they would have immediately slapped that person a few times.
But since it was Lü Tu who said those words, they could only swallow back what they were about to say.
Prince Duan couldn't help but ask again, "Then how about we send them some grain?"
Lu Tu looked at Prince Duan with amusement: "I didn't expect it, Your Highness. You weren't this generous to me when I was short of food before. Why are you so lavish today?"
How could he not understand what Prince Duan was thinking? In the past, he and Prince Duan were two separate groups with conflicting interests, so Prince Duan would naturally be wary of him. But now that Prince Duan was living in his Kuishan Village, they had formed a community where everyone was in the same boat, so the situation was completely different.
Before Prince Duan could speak, Lü Tu rolled up the military manual and left the training ground, leaving Zhao Qingyao and Prince Duan with no choice but to return to their room dejectedly.
Despite what Lu Tu said, he still instructed Liu Hu to lead his men to secretly observe the battle. If they found that Liu Hong and his men were no match for the enemy, they were to blow up the tunnel at Luanshigang and block the road.
At the hour of Chou (1-3 AM) that night, Liu Hu returned with his men and quietly called out in front of Lü Tu's house, "Big Brother."
Before long, Lü Tu came out shirtless. He glanced at Liu Hu, who was covered in sweat, and personally fetched a bucket of well water, scooped out a ladleful, and handed it to him.
Liu Hu chuckled as he took the drink, downed it in one gulp, and then exclaimed, "Brother, what a resounding victory!"
Seeing his excited expression, Lü Tu smiled and patted him on the shoulder: "It's good that we won. How much did we lose?"
"No brothers died in battle, but several dozen were hit by arrows. I have sent people to bring them back and asked Physician Zhang Miao and his apprentice to treat them."
Lu Tu praised, "Well done. Did Liu Hong notice?"
"I found out, but I only found out after he finished fighting, when I led my men to replace the wounded."
"Did he give any military intelligence reports?"
"Yes! He also captured a Red Turban Army general alive. I forgot his name, but I brought him back, and he's being interrogated right now!"
Lu Tu's eyes lit up upon hearing this: "You go back to sleep first, I'll go take a look!"
Liu Hu shook his head: "I didn't do anything today, so I can't sleep at all. I'll run some errands for my brother instead."
It has to be said that Liu Hu has become Lu Tu's two most reliable legs. With Liu Hu's help, news can be transmitted very quickly.
Since that's the case, Lü Tu didn't mince words: "Go and call Xiang Ze, Feng Xiao, and Feng Lie over. They might even know each other."
"Yes, ma'am! I'll go right away!"
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