Lu Tu was unmoved by the Jiang family's overtures. If he hadn't promised Jiang Wanyu not to kill them, he would have already taken action.
"No need for such formalities, because I won't stand on ceremony with you. Men, escort the Jiang family back to their hometown in Longcheng!"
"yes!"
"I'll stay here temporarily from now on. Go tell me to bring Zhang Chengyan here!"
Soon, Zhang Chengyan was brought before Lü Tu, bound hand and foot. The moment he saw Lü Tu, he began to curse: "Lü Tu, you treacherous scoundrel, you lied to me, I'm not finished with you!"
Lu Tu calmly took a sip of tea: "The victor is king, the loser is villain. Do you dare say you didn't plot against me? It's just that you didn't manage to outmaneuver me."
Zhang Chengyan was speechless at Lü Tu's words, but still defiant, he turned his head to the side and said, "Why did you call me here? If you have the guts, kill me!"
Lu Tu frowned and said, "Aren't you afraid of death?"
"Afraid of death? Do you think you'll let me go if you're afraid of death? I've thought everything through. You can let others go, but you will never let me go."
Lu Tu nodded: "If you had been this smart earlier, you shouldn't have attacked Longcheng."
Zhang Chengyan retorted, "It's only because you possessed gunpowder that the outcome was uncertain!"
Lu Tu shook his head helplessly: "Tell me about the internal situation of your Red Turban Army, including all your secrets."
"You want me to betray my brothers?"
Before Lü Tu could speak, Xiang Ze kicked him in the stomach, causing Zhang Chengyan to roll on the ground in pain: "Bullshit! You're acting all high and mighty. Haven't you ever framed me?"
Xiang Ze was relatively familiar with him and knew that Zhang Chengyan was bluffing. He directly drew his knife and plunged it into Zhang's thigh: "Will you talk or not?"
"I'll talk!"
Zhang Chengyan then gave a detailed account of the Red Turban Army's current troop strength, internal relationships, and where the Red Turban Army scattered in other prefectures and counties planned to go next.
Lu Tu waved his hand: "Drag him away and execute him."
"Lu Tu, Xiang Ze, if you have the guts, spare my life!"
But why would Lü Tu pay him any attention? He had conspired with Xu Jing to besiege him back then. If Lü Tu let him go, what difference would that make from being a fool?
Next, Lü Tu settled down in the capital, since there was plenty of food in the capital, enough to support an army of 400,000 for a long period of time.
Moreover, Lü Tu is absolutely not going to leave the capital right now. He is waiting for the imperial edict appointing him as Grand General of the State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to spread throughout the land.
He wasn't so naive as to think that having this empty title would allow him to truly rally troops from all over the world, but just like all previous wars, he needed a legitimate reason to wage war.
A month passed in this way. During this month, Lü Tu had already dismantled the civil and military officials. These guys were all selfish and self-serving, and they shouted slogans loudly every day.
When Lü Tu's army was at the forefront, everyone praised Lü Tu highly, except for the vassal kings who came from all directions, who did not submit to Lü Tu.
This is quite normal. These guys were all strong contenders for the throne back then, and now that they have such a good opportunity, they naturally won't let it go, especially since they wanted to lead their troops into the capital, but were stopped by Lü Tu.
These vassal kings wanted to fight, but they were wary of Lü Tu's 400,000-strong army and gunpowder. During this month, they received no news from the emperor. Helpless, they had no choice but to assemble a vassal army of 600,000 men, which was stationed 100 miles away from the capital in the four directions of east, west, south and north.
If he had taken action against those vassal kings a month ago, he would have only been labeled a traitor. But now the time is ripe. The news that Lü Tu has become the Grand Marshal of the Armed Forces has spread throughout the country. So Lü Tu can just get another imperial edict and start weakening the vassal kings, thus wiping them out in one fell swoop.
That evening, after Lü Tu finished discussing with Nie Yun and the others, Sun Meng came to report: "Brother, something terrible has happened! That dog emperor actually wrote a secret edict and had a palace maid take it out of the palace and give it to a merchant caravan. Fortunately, our soldiers guarding the city caught it!"
Lu Tu frowned: "Are there any other common people who know?"
“I have locked up all the people involved and are currently subjecting them to severe torture.”
"Okay, we can't let this news get out!"
With that, Lü Tu stood up and walked out: "Prepare the horses! Let's go into the palace and see what our emperor is planning!"
Late at night, as Lu Tu's newly formed Imperial Guards swept through the city streets, everyone in the capital knew that something big was about to happen that night!
After entering the imperial city, Lü Tu took the scroll of imperial edict, which was a plea for help from the vassal kings, asking them to send their armies to the capital to rescue him. It also promised that even if he did not sit on the throne, it would be left to his many uncles and brothers of the imperial family.
With a bang, Sun Kuang kicked open the door to the emperor's bedroom, startling the palace maids who screamed.
On the spacious dragon bed, three palace maids and four concubines ran down, all wrapped in their undergarments, and were about to run out.
Lu Tu didn't let anyone stop him and walked straight towards Zhao Qihong.
Upon seeing this, Zhao Qihong shouted in a panic, "Minister Lü, what are you doing in my palace so late?"
Lu Tu stood beside the dragon bed, looking down at him, and threw the imperial edict in front of Zhao Qihong.
Then he revealed a compassionate expression: "Your Majesty, why are you plotting a rebellion?"
"I didn't, my dear minister. Please let me explain. It must be a powerful minister who is trying to sabotage our relationship as ruler and subject."
Lu Tu stared intently at him: "But the handwriting on it is your own. You have truly disappointed me. I have devoted myself to the well-being of the people and the stability of the Great Yu Dynasty, working tirelessly until my dying breath. And you actually think I want to usurp the throne!"
"Minister Lü, I didn't... I was wrong!"
Zhao Qihong stepped forward and grabbed Lü Tu's arm: "It's true, let me explain."
Lu Tu sighed softly: "There's no need anymore. You've already told me your true feelings. Even though you've treated me this way, I promised your sister. So you should still write an imperial edict to reduce the power of the princes, and I'll go and clear your way!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Qihong burst into tears, holding Lü Tu's hand and wiping away his tears. He cried as miserably as could be.
However, Lu Tu found all of this too fake, but since Lu Tu still needed his help, he naturally wouldn't expose it.
"I will write it now. I was misled before. From now on, brother-in-law and I will be of one mind. If you are willing, brother-in-law, I am willing to give you half of my empire!"
Lu Tu patted his shoulder: "Your Majesty, stop talking nonsense. You should finish writing the imperial edict and get some rest."
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