When Prince Duan saw that these guys had surrendered to Lü Tu instead of him, he was naturally somewhat dissatisfied, but given the current situation, he was in a stronger position than they were, so he naturally wouldn't show it.
But how could Lü Tu do something that would give others grounds for criticism? Doing it in private wouldn't be a problem, since Lü Tu has never taken Prince Duan seriously. But things are different now; countless eyes are watching him.
Especially for the people of Wuchuan, if Lü Tu is going to take on this position, he must do so in a way that is legitimate and proper.
Lu Tu rebuked, "Nonsense! His Highness Prince Duan is here, representing His Majesty. You are not admitting your mistakes, but harming me!"
Upon hearing this, the thousands of soldiers present trembled with fear. Clearly, they did not have such high political awareness and were completely unaware of this.
Only after being reminded by Lü Tu did they realize that ignoring imperial authority was a grave taboo. They quickly kowtowed to Prince Duan and Zhao Qingyao, saying, "Please forgive our sins, Your Highness. It was all Qi Hong's doing, and it has nothing to do with us common soldiers!"
Prince Duan, whose anger had been suppressed for a long time, finally got his satisfaction and shouted sternly, "Then what are you still kneeling for? Get up now and go tie up Qi Hong and drag him out!"
"Yes, sir!"
Lu Tu remained silent, watching Prince Duan show off. After all, he represented imperial power at this moment, a rare moment of glory in his life. Given Prince Duan's character, he would boast about this feat of subduing the enemy without a fight for who knows how long.
A large number of soldiers, armed with swords and spears, charged into the commander's mansion in the opposite direction, and soon shouts of battle and the sounds of clashing weapons could be heard from inside.
Nie Yun and Tuoba Yue wanted to volunteer for the battle, but as soon as they bowed, Lü Tu glared at them and shook his head slightly, signaling them not to act rashly.
At this point, we don't know the enemy's strength or weakness, so there's no need to risk our lives. If we lead our men into the Commandant's Mansion, wouldn't we lose the advantage of our own cavalry?
Especially if things get chaotic, our composite bows, detonators, and explosives will be less effective.
Lu Tu simply ordered Nie Yun to lead men to aim at the entrance of the Commandant's Mansion, so that if any soldiers defected, they could be killed as well.
The battle lasted for the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn. Soon, a familiar face of a soldier ran out and knelt down in front of Lü Tu with a thud. Suddenly remembering something, he turned to Prince Duan and said, "Your Highness, General Lü, the traitor Qi Hong has been captured, and his confidants in the Commandant's mansion have also been killed by us!"
Prince Duan said loudly, "Good! Bring out the traitor!"
Soon, Qi Hong, covered in blood, was pushed out in a scuffle. When he saw Lu Tu and the others, who were unharmed, his eyes turned red with anger.
"Lu Tu, you have some impressive skills! You tricked all my men into running away without losing a single soldier!"
Upon hearing that it had nothing to do with him again, Prince Duan became furious: "Guards, slap him!"
Immediately, someone stepped forward, took off their straw sandals, and slapped Qi Hong's mouth more than a dozen times, knocking out half of Qi Hong's teeth before stopping.
Prince Duan snorted coldly: "Let's see if you still dare to rebel. Who exactly is supporting you in doing this?"
Qi Hong glared venomously at Prince Duan: "You piece of trash, I have nothing to do with you!"
Prince Duan said sternly, "How dare you! Men, continue!"
Zhao Qingyao coughed lightly, pulling Prince Duan back from his rage, and then whispered in his ear, "Listen more, observe more, and speak less."
Prince Duan said in a low voice, "I understand, Second Sister."
Zhao Qingyao turned to look at Lü Tu: "Husband, what do you say?"
Upon hearing this, all the border soldiers, including Qi Hong, were dumbfounded!
"This... Lu Tu, how dare you rape the princess?" Qi Hong roared in fury.
Upon hearing this, the 800 elite cavalrymen behind Lü Tu unanimously drew their long swords, and a surge of killing intent filled the entire street, instantly soaking the backs of all the soldiers opposite them.
Lu Tu scoffed, "The princess and I are in love and have a proper marital relationship. What right do you, a piece of trash, have to interfere?"
Qi Hong laughed heartily: "I didn't expect Lu Tu to be living off a woman at such a young age. Now I understand where I went wrong. It turns out I didn't have a good wife."
Zhao Qingyao realized she had misspoke and quickly grabbed Lü Tu's hand, then said preemptively, "I, Zhao Qingyao, the Second Princess of the Dynasty, voluntarily married Lü Tu. Now I want to clarify in front of the people that my husband is a first-rate hero of our time. He is not my consort. From now on, everyone only needs to call me Madam Lü!"
These words shocked the entire audience!
The people in the distance were dumbfounded. They thought they would finally get to know the royal family, but they never expected to witness such a scene.
"My goodness, she's a princess! She could enjoy endless wealth and luxury for the rest of her life, yet she still chose to marry Lü Tu and become his wife. What does that mean?"
"That just shows how mighty and powerful our General Lü is, even the princess is captivated by him!"
"Indeed, this humble subject congratulates General Lü and Madam Lü!"
Qi Hong's eyelids twitched violently. His sarcastic words just now actually contained some bitterness and jealousy. After all, who wouldn't want to start a business with their wife?
But Qi Hong couldn't do it, while Lü Tu did! Not only that, he also married the most elegant and noble woman in the world—a princess!
At this moment, Qi Hong's jealousy towards Lü Tu had reached its peak. He had completely lost his mind and angrily cursed, "Lü Tu, I just can't accept you! How come you, a dog of a hunter, can win every battle and achieve great feats? And even marry a princess?"
Lu Tu sneered: "You have Yun Tian's military seal, right? Hand it over, and I'll spare your family."
Qi Hong stubbornly retorted, "You're fucking dreaming! Do you think I don't know your ways? You think you'd let my family go?"
Lu Tu waved his hand: "Since you won't hand it over voluntarily, then I'll search for it myself."
Nie Yun understood and dismounted, coming to Qi Hong's side. Seeing Qi Hong struggling and refusing to cooperate, he punched him in the abdomen, causing him to vomit a mouthful of blood.
They quickly found an official seal and a tiger tally on Qi Hong's person, which Nie Yun excitedly handed over: "Big Brother!"
Lu Tu took it and handed it to Zhao Qingyao for inspection. Zhao Qingyao nodded: "Husband, it's true. I saw it with Yun Tian before, but I don't know why it's in his hands."
Lu Tu tucked it into his arms: "Guards, throw Qi Hong and his entire family into the death row!"
Qi Hong was stunned: "Lu Tu, you son of a bitch, didn't you just say you would spare my whole family's lives?"
Lu Tu calmly nodded: "I told you that I would spare your whole family if you handed it over voluntarily, but did you hand it over voluntarily? You still had to have my men search you."
Qi Hong was completely enraged, jumping up and down in frustration: "You've tied my hands up, how am I supposed to give it to you? Damn it..."
He was knocked unconscious by a soldier who punched him in the back of the neck halfway through his sentence.
At this moment, Lü Tu held up the tiger tally in his hand: "Wuchuan border troops, listen to my command!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
