The next few troops were roughly the same size as the men Pang Tianlei had led. Wuchuan was a military prefecture, where all the men were soldiers in wartime and farmed in peacetime.
But after hundreds of years of warfare, everyone has developed an unspoken standard: good men don't become soldiers. Only when there is really no other way to get food on the ground will a family send their strong men to serve in the army. Therefore, the number of people in these troops is not large.
Of course, this cannot be blamed on the common people. It is mainly due to the incompetence of the high-ranking officers of the Wuchuan Border Army. For example, there is a good-for-nothing like Yun Tian, who has been in the position of captain for 30 years. Other talented people cannot rise to the top under his suppression. It would be strange if anyone would be willing to risk their lives for him.
However, when the next group was still 2 miles away from Lü Tu, they felt a huge tremor in the ground. Even people like Nie Yun and Tuoba Yue, who were used to seeing big scenes, couldn't help but become vigilant.
Pang Tianlei and the other newly joined border troops stood up, bewildered, and remained on guard.
Only Lü Tu looked at the sky full of colorful flowers, his pupils incredibly deep.
Soon, a dozen or so cavalrymen arrived carrying torches and shouted slogans: "Men should be self-reliant!"
Liu Hu shouted, "Whose subordinates are you?"
"We are subordinates of Deputy General Zhu Zhaozhou!"
When Lü Tu was in the Commandant's Office, he also saw the organization of Wuchuan. This Zhu Zhaozhou can be said to be the largest force in Wuchuan since Zhou Taishan.
Despite being only a fifth-rank deputy general, he received numerous military merits and rewards for saving Yun Tian's life on the battlefield, and his troops alone numbered as many as 30,000.
But according to rumors, this Zhu Zhaozhou was quite capable. He led his troops to guard the west side of Wuchuan, an area that the Wuhuan cavalry would choose to bypass.
Liu Hu said in a deep voice, "This old guy was putting on airs with me this afternoon, saying he wouldn't come. It seems he's come to his senses."
Lu Tu shook his head slightly: "Since you're here, you're a friend. Follow me."
After saying this, Lü Tu took the lead, and all the cavalrymen made way for him, with 800 cavalrymen following behind with torches.
Lu Tu bypassed the dozen or so cavalrymen sent by Zhu Zhaozhou and arrived in front of the main force of the enemy. He stretched out his hand and asked, "Is the person here Deputy General Zhu?"
Soon, the enemy army parted to make way, and an old man with white hair and beard rode out on horseback. His face was full of wrinkles from the years, and his skin was dark, but his body was very strong. He was clearly not a pampered good-for-nothing like Yun Tian, but a true veteran of the battlefield.
His gaze toward Lü Tu was full of scrutiny and examination. He turned his face to the side, cupped his hands in greeting to Lü Tu, and said, "Zhu Zhaozhou greets Commandant Lü!"
"Vice General Zhu, you've worked hard. How many troops did you bring this time?"
Zhu Zhaozhou announced loudly, "Besides the 3,000 men left to guard the pass on the west side, I have brought 17,000 men this time!"
A collective gasp rippled through the room as soon as these words were spoken.
It wasn't that they were making a mountain out of a molehill; it was just that Zhu Zhaozhou had brought far too many men. The entire army that had arrived earlier, even combined, probably numbered only this many.
Zhu Zhaozhou brought a force that far surpasses the troops Lü Tu brought.
Of the officers who rushed to the scene, only half were like Pang Tianlei; the other half were just there to make a show of it because of the proclamation written by Prince Duan and Zhao Qingyao.
Upon seeing Zhu Zhaozhou, many captains took the initiative to greet him: "Vice General Zhu, it's been a long time! You still look as dashing as ever!"
"General Zhu truly embodies the spirit of Longhu, showing no signs of slowing down even in his old age!"
As these flattering words were spoken, those who had previously just gone through the motions came to Zhu Zhaozhou's side, seemingly having already chosen sides.
The meaning was quite clear: Lu Tu wanted everyone to be truly loyal to him, and that meant he had to take down Zhu Zhaozhou.
Lu Tu was well aware that this was the most difficult part of the day. After all, if controlling the army of a region could be done so easily with just a tiger tally, there would be no rebellions in the world.
Zhu Zhaozhou grew increasingly arrogant after being flattered by these people. Just then, Lu Tu was looking for an opportunity to speak when he heard the sound of scattered hooves behind him: "Vice General Zhu, do you still recognize me?"
Upon hearing the voice, Zhu Zhaozhou's arrogance vanished instantly. He craned his neck to look at Zhao Qingyao, then his pupils dilated. He immediately dismounted and knelt on one knee, saying, "This humble general, Zhu Zhaozhou, greets the Second Princess!"
"Please rise, Vice General Zhu. We met once when you came to the capital to celebrate the Emperor's birthday ten years ago. Back then, your hair wasn't even white yet. I never imagined time would pass so quickly."
Having served in the military for decades, Zhu Zhaozhou was a smart man, and he immediately grasped the key point from Zhao Qingyao's words.
That is, Zhao Qingyao never addressed him as General Zhu like others did, but only as Deputy General Zhu. This was undoubtedly a reminder to Zhu Zhaozhou to recognize reality. In Wuchuan, he was just a deputy general, while the real Wuchuan Commandant was the 18-year-old young general in front of him—Lu Tu!
Zhu Zhaozhou said with emotion, "Thank you for your concern, Princess. When I heard that you were in trouble, I brought all the men I could with me to come to your aid. I hope you will not blame me!"
These words were much more humble than before. Lu Tu sighed that his new wife was indeed very useful; the identity of the late emperor's most beloved second princess was always effective.
Lu Tu, without needing Zhao Qingyao's reminder, immediately dismounted and quickly walked to Zhu Zhaozhou, helping him up: "General, please rise. I have already assessed the rebellion. I never expected that you and my wife had such a connection."
Upon hearing the word "wife," Zhu Zhaozhou's pupils widened instantly, and he looked at Zhao Qingyao curiously, asking, "Princess, is this... true?"
Not only Zhu Zhaozhou, but also other captains and border soldiers who had just surrendered, were incredulous upon hearing the news.
After all, they already knew what kind of person Lü Tu was. He was just a hunter from the bottom of society. Even though he was very good at fighting and his achievements were obvious to everyone, they never expected that he could win the princess's heart.
Lu Tu knew that after this relationship was exposed, there would still be people who would be dissatisfied with him and think that he had only gotten the position of Wuchuan Commandant because of the princess's connections. However, none of this mattered to him. As long as he could unite the Wuchuan border troops to get things done, that was enough.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Zhaozhou, who had previously been somewhat arrogant and even hostile towards Lü Tu, suddenly stood up, grabbed Lü Tu's arm, and laughed loudly, "In that case, the rest of Zhu Zhaozhou's troops will henceforth obey General Lü's orders!"
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