Upon hearing Lü Tu's loud shout, all the soldiers present were startled and immediately became solemn and serious.
"Hundreds of thousands of troops have arrived at the rocky pass to the south. Tell me, are you afraid?"
"We are not afraid!" the more than 20,000 soldiers present shouted in unison.
Lu Tu smiled wickedly: "No! I know many of you are afraid, including myself!"
These words shocked everyone present. Everyone, including Xiao Zhong and Liu Hu, looked at Lü Tu in disbelief.
Even Zhao Qingyao and the others in the distance were shocked; they couldn't believe that Lü Tu would say such a thing.
"How could my husband make such a mistake? This kind of rally should be used to boost the morale of the soldiers."
Zhao Qingyao seemed very puzzled by what Lü Tu had said, but the others had completely different expressions.
At this moment, Song Yuxi smiled confidently and said, "You don't know your husband well enough. How could he not know such taboos? He just wants to do better. If you don't believe me, let's keep watching."
Immediately afterward, Lu Tu laughed loudly: "Because we are human beings, not stones. We are all born of parents. How can we not be afraid when facing an army of hundreds of thousands? Not to mention anything else, just having hundreds of thousands of pigs left there for us to slaughter would exhaust us to death!"
Hearing this, everyone present, who had been tense, gradually relaxed a little.
Zhao Qingyao was, after all, a princess raised in the palace. Her political acumen and overall perspective were impeccable. Hearing these words, she immediately understood their meaning.
He exclaimed in shock, "Your words, sir, may seem like a joke or self-deprecation, but in reality, they have made all the soldiers present lose their fear of the overwhelming number of enemies."
Song Yuxi nodded: "Yes, after all, everyone knows the number of people on the other side. It's an army of hundreds of thousands. I've never even seen so many people before. If we don't dispel the fear in the soldiers' hearts in advance, and they retreat when they get to the battlefield, that will have endless consequences!"
Hearing Song Yuxi's explanation, Wang Miaoling and the others smiled with relief. They were genuinely proud of Lü Tu, and their eyes were filled with admiration as they looked at the confident young man standing on the platform.
Lu Tu keenly observed the expressions on the faces of the soldiers present and continued to shout, "But we can't retreat! Behind us are our families, our land, our wives, children, and the lives of our entire families! When these Red Turban rebels came all the way from Qingzhou, they looted every village and town along the way. Do you want to watch your homes be ravaged by them?"
Upon hearing this, all the soldiers erupted in unprecedented rage, shouting in unison, "Kill these bastards!"
"That's right! If these bastards dare to come, we'll fight them and never let our families be slaughtered!"
In an instant, the entire training ground erupted into chaos, with everyone venting their anger indignantly.
Lu Tu watched them quietly without stopping them, because fear's greatest enemy is anger.
This is etched into the deepest part of human genes; only anger can drive these soldiers, who have only recently joined, to follow Lü Tu in a desperate battle to achieve victory against overwhelming odds!
Lu Tu raised his hand to quiet everyone down, and continued, "Listen to me, everyone. No matter how many of them come, they are nothing but a rabble. Whether they number 4,000 or 400,000, it's all the same to me. They are nothing special."
These words seemed to give all the soldiers a shot of adrenaline, after all, Lü Tu's achievements were undeniable.
If anyone dares to say that he is the most capable fighter among the six border towns, then it is naturally Lü Tu, the youngest Wuchuan Commandant, a fact that everyone can see.
So when Lü Tu said these words, a glimmer of hope ignited in the eyes of all the soldiers, and their resolve grew stronger and stronger.
Lu Tu held the halberd in his hand, then raised it high and said, "Men, bring wine!"
This order surprised even Xiao Zhong, who was in charge of logistics. His pupils contracted, and he wanted to go forward and say something to Lü Tu, but then he thought better of it and quickly ordered someone to go to the warehouse to get the wine.
In an instant, everyone in the village stopped what they were doing and began to help carry the wine and move the dry food.
Even Song Yuxi couldn't quite understand this scene: "My father once said that, except after a great victory, drinking is strictly forbidden in the army, but my husband..."
Zhao Qingyao shook her head as well: "No war in history has ever been fought like this. Perhaps my husband is a chosen one of heaven, and he has his own methods?"
Song Yuxi nodded: "Sisters, we must still believe in our husbands, they will surely return victorious!"
As she spoke, Song Yuxi took out a wine bowl from her home, filled it to the brim, and raised it to Lu Tu from a distance.
Lu Tu had actually noticed them long ago, but now was not the time for romantic chatter. He waited until the villagers had poured wine for all the soldiers.
Then he raised the wine bowl high in his hand: "Brothers, let's offer this first bowl to our parents!"
All the soldiers raised their bowls in different directions, knelt down with a thud, kowtowed three times solemnly, and shouted, "Father and Mother, your unfilial children!"
Including Lü Tu, he also kowtowed in the direction of his family's ancestral graves before drinking the wine in his bowl in one gulp.
The peasant women waiting nearby quickly stepped forward with their wine jugs to help fill the jugs.
Lu Tu raised the second bowl and said, "This second bowl is for my wife!"
Upon hearing this, everyone, including soldiers and civilians, was stunned. Traditionally, toasts were only offered to ancestors, heaven and earth, and parents. Who would offer a toast to their own wife? Basically, the men on the border were all chauvinistic. Apart from the nuptial wine they drank on their wedding day, they had never toasted their wives.
"If we die, we will still have to rely on them to raise our children and pass on our bloodline."
Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes welled up with tears, especially the wives, who covered their mouths and noses to avoid crying too uncomfortably.
Some of them were already over 40, while others were newlyweds. They had never seen anything like this before, especially what Lu Tu said, which put their contributions in the open and made everyone remember their sacrifices.
Even these rough men in the army were moved to tears, gazing lovingly at their wives across the distance.
Yes, what is the purpose of war? In the end, it's all about survival, and procreation is the ultimate goal for everyone present.
Lu Tu also raised the wine bowl in his hand, faced his wives, and bowed deeply.
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