At this moment, Jiang Lingfeng, severely injured, cried out in pain, "Lu Tu, you really want to rebel against the imperial court!"
Lu Tu roared angrily, "Bullshit! You think you're qualified to represent the imperial court? You're nothing but a lackey of the Red Turban Army! Men, light the signal fire!"
Upon hearing this, the crowd, who were already prepared, immediately began to light beacon fires.
Smoke signals are mostly found in border areas, and the Shence Army naturally knew this. Once they started sending out smoke signals, it meant that the other side was beginning to send out reinforcements, so they all became more cautious and began to be on guard. However, they dared not go forward directly, since Jiang Lingfeng was their supreme commander, who was currently being captured by Lü Tu on the battlefield.
This was an utter disgrace for the Shence Army, which was engaged in battle. Historically, when two armies were at war, if the commander was captured in a duel or killed in battle, it would be a great blow to the morale of one's own side.
Not to mention that the enemy's numbers far exceeded those of the Shence Army, which made them even more terrified.
One by one, they roared at Lü Tu with bluster but no courage: "Lü Tu, I advise you not to act rashly. Do you really think our Shence Army is easy to bully? We have a full 100,000 men! You'd better release Lord Jiang right now!"
Lu Tu clamped his legs around the horse's belly, bent down, lifted Jiang Lingfeng up, threw him into the pile of soldiers behind him, and immediately tied him up.
Then, facing 100,000 Shence Army soldiers, he put his hand to his ear and laughed loudly, "Trying to scare me, Lü Tu? My 250,000 soldiers are so numerous that I can't hear what you're saying!"
Hearing Lü Tu so brazenly reveal their numbers made the Shence Army even more uncertain, because they also had spies among them, and this number was almost identical to the number observed by their spies.
In other words, they are at a disadvantage in terms of timing, location, and popular support. Is there any point in fighting this battle?
Lu Tu continued, "I'm giving you a chance now. If you're willing to abandon darkness and embrace the light, put down all your weapons, then kneel on the ground with your hands behind your heads. Otherwise..."
"What else can we do! Lü Tu, do you even know what you're doing? We have an imperial decree!"
The man who was speaking had just taken out a roll of white silk when a sharp arrow pierced his throat, abruptly ending his words.
Lu Tu said coldly, "Stop bragging to me. You bunch of Red Turban Army scum dare to forge an imperial edict? Men, kill them!"
Having said that, Lü Tu had no intention of giving them another chance, after all, Lü Tu had already gathered more than 200,000 soldiers without shedding a drop of blood.
If no battles are fought, it will be impossible to quickly win over the soldiers who have been gathered together.
After all, the way for men to grow their friendship is either by fighting together or by playing games together, and fighting bravely together is the best way to quickly make their soldiers loyal and strengthen their combat effectiveness and morale.
The Shence Army was burdened with heavy responsibilities, and they never expected that Lü Tu would actually take direct action against them. After all, Lü Tu had only captured Jiang Lingfeng, and according to common sense, his next step should have been to use the emperor to command the feudal lords.
The generals of the Shence Army, who had taken Jiang Lingfeng hostage and forced the 100,000 soldiers present to surrender on the spot, were actually waiting for Lü Tu's next move.
But they never expected that Lü Tu wouldn't play those games with them. He didn't even bother to talk about recruiting them or asking them to surrender. Instead, he was ready to fight and kill them. Moreover, Lü Tu charged forward first, wielding his halberd.
In an instant, the entire army of 250,000, except for the few thousand elite cavalry led by Nie Yun and Tuoba Yue who were still hidden on both sides, was as if they had been injected with chicken blood.
Especially when they saw Lü Tu charging ahead, this general who treated them like his own sons and loved them like his own children was now charging at the front line, how could they not charge?
All the soldiers reacted as if they had seen their father's killer. They didn't care who the other party was, and even if the other party produced a real imperial edict, they wouldn't care at this moment!
After all, no matter how powerful the emperor is, he is still far away. Lu Tu treated them very well, providing them with medical care and wound treatment, as well as enough food and military pay. If they didn't fight hard at this time, could they still be considered human?
For a time, some of the infantrymen were so fast that they seemed to be catching up with Lü Tu, which surprised Lü Tu. He didn't expect that these newly joined soldiers would have such a strong sense of cohesion and integrate into the group so quickly.
Moreover, Lu Tu was still on both sides at a distance when he saw Nie Yun and Tuoba Yue's elite cavalry charging towards him. In this battle, Lu Tu couldn't even imagine how he would lose.
Lu Tu charged in, wielding his halberd with impenetrable skill, leaving corpses strewn everywhere he went. His bravery greatly inspired the soldiers. With the tide turning against each other, how could the Shence Army possibly have the confidence to fight back?
Especially with Jiang Lingfeng captured, they were unable to mount an effective attack and could only fight and retreat.
However, the two cavalry squads that suddenly charged out from the left and right sides completely extinguished their remaining hopes on the spot.
These two cavalry units were armed to the teeth; even their warhorses were covered in iron armor, making them impenetrable to ordinary arrows.
In an instant, under the flanking attacks of these two iron cavalry forces, the 100,000-strong Shence Army formation collapsed on the spot, and all the Shence Army soldiers completely lost their fighting spirit at this moment.
Everyone abandoned their armor and weapons, only thinking about escaping this hellish scene as quickly as possible.
Lu Tu did not immediately order his men to stop, nor did he ask the Shence Army to surrender.
Firstly, these are all elite government troops, and they are not from humble backgrounds. If Lü Tu tries to recruit them into his ranks using ordinary methods, it will easily lead to trouble.
Secondly, Lu Tu's soldiers needed a great victory to boost their morale; after all, there is no war without bloodshed.
Lu Tu wanted to use the lives of the Shence Army to evolve his own army!
Because their greatest possibility in the future is not to fight Zhang Chengyan's Red Turban Army, but the government troops that are all over the country. Only by completely overcoming their fear of the government troops can they have the confidence to fight in the future.
And today is the source of our confidence and self-assurance!
After half an hour of fighting, or rather, a one-sided massacre, Lu Tu estimated that almost half of the 100,000 Shence Army soldiers had died.
The remaining men also discarded their weapons and knelt on the ground, not daring to overstep their bounds. They let the rapid hoofbeats and the crisp clash of weapons ring in their ears, each sound making their mental defenses even more vulnerable!
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