"Captain Jia, what do we do now?" asked the gatekeeper beside him.
Jia Dazhuang was extremely conflicted. He couldn't tell whether what Lü Tu said was true or false. But whether it was true or false, he would have an inescapable responsibility for the aftermath.
There's only one way to shirk responsibility right now!
He gritted his teeth and approached Lü Tu, deliberately shouting loudly, "I am the garrison commander of Wuchuan Prefecture. It is my duty to guard the city gate. If you want to lead troops in, you will have to step over my dead body!"
Upon hearing this, Nie Yun and the others, Cang Lang immediately drew his sword, while the city guards were also bewildered, wondering how Jia Dazhuang, who was usually so cautious, could be so reckless? How could he dare to confront a hundred or so people head-on?
Jia Dazhuang's heart was pounding. He kept winking at Lü Tu and said in a low voice, "Hit me! If you hit me, you can enter the city."
Lu Tu understood his thoughts perfectly well, but he couldn't do it that way. Even if he was right, it would be like forcibly breaking into the city gate, which would be tantamount to rebellion.
He said to Nie Yun and the others, "Brother Jia is right. It is his duty to guard the city gate. Everyone, hand over your swords to him to report to the authorities, and then come with me into the city to protect the Commandant."
Nie Yun and the others shouted in unison, "Yes, sir!"
Then came the sound of weapons clashing, and a hundred or so bloodstained longswords were piled up at the city gate.
Jia Dazhuang was dumbfounded and questioned Lü Tu, "How can you be so fickle?"
Lu Tu was too lazy to explain to him that he had scared him earlier only to highlight the legitimacy of his actions and to get him to help notify the other three city gates to guard them.
Since that's not working, there's no need to keep trying to scare him.
At this moment, Lü Tu and his men wanted to enter Wuchuan, and Jia Dazhuang and the others had no reason to stop them, so they could only let them swagger in.
After all, Wuchuan Prefecture had regulations that only civilians and merchants could be charged an entrance fee, while border soldiers were exempt from fees.
After the delay at the city gate, news of Lü Tu's entry into the city had already spread like wildfire and would likely reach Xu Jing soon.
Lu Tu did not go to Tie Liu Lane in the west of the city immediately, since he did not have the authority to search within the city and had to obtain the captain's permission first.
More importantly, he didn't want his people to offend anyone.
Who knows if Yan Lei is hiding anything? If he lies about the number of people, who knows how many of his own brothers will have to sacrifice themselves? It would be better to inform the captain and explain the truth about the Lotus Sect.
Even if we assume that Commandant Yun Tian has been bribed by Xu Jing, he still cannot deliberately protect the White Lotus Sect in front of the entire city. Naturally, he will still send people to suppress it, since the White Lotus Sect is an evil cult officially designated by the Emperor of the Great Yu Dynasty.
The group went straight to the Commandant's residence. Lü Tu took out a few pieces of silver and secretly slipped them to the guards: "I have important information to report to the Commandant. Please pass it on."
The guard already knew Lü Tu, and seeing that he was so cooperative, he naturally didn't hesitate at all: "Brother Lü, please wait a moment, we'll go right away."
Before long, the guard returned: "Brother Lü, the Commandant requests your presence."
Lu Tu didn't bring anyone with him. If he could still encounter danger at the Commandant's Mansion, bringing more people wouldn't make a difference.
When Lü Tu entered the training ground of the Commandant's Mansion as usual, he saw an eight-immortal table set up in the middle of the training ground. Yun Tian sat in the center, and next to him was a man dressed in white, who was none other than Xu Jing, the Holy Emperor of the White Lotus Sect!
The two chatted happily. When Lü Tu entered, he was laughing heartily. Xu Jing didn't even glance at Lü Tu from beginning to end, only focusing on drinking his wine.
Upon seeing Lü Tu arrive, Yun Tian pointed to the left and said loudly, "Lü Tu, sit down!"
Lu Tu Chongtian cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, sir!"
He sat down steadily, and only then did his eyes meet Xu Jing's. Both of them wore expressions that were neither smiling nor frowning, and neither of them spoke first.
Yun Tian gave the two men a deep look, then picked up the wine pot and poured a cup for Lü Tu, introducing him: "This young man is called Xu Jing, a merchant from the south, and his business is quite large."
"This is Lu Tu, the commander of the Wuchuan border army, who once single-handedly killed a small Wuhuan squad."
Xu Jing feigned surprise, raised his glass and stood up, saying, "Captain Lü is truly invincible and a peerless hero. In my life, I, Xu Jing, admire heroes like you the most. I toast to you!"
Lu Tu also raised his cup: "Your Excellency is so handsome and skilled in business, you must be incredibly wealthy. I truly admire you."
Their glasses met in mid-air, then they drank it all in one gulp, looked at each other, and laughed heartily.
Yun Tian naturally already knew what conflict had occurred between the two of them, but at this moment, all three of them were pretending to be ignorant.
"By the way, Lü Tu, what brings you here?"
Since Xu Jing can sit here and drink, Lu Tu has no need to file a complaint anymore.
His face darkened: "I came to the city today to buy some things, and on my way back I encountered a group of bandits and thieves, numbering as many as 300. If my men hadn't come to my aid in time, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to see the Commandant."
Yun Tian slammed his hand on the armrest, feigning anger: "Outrageous! These bandits are too arrogant. Where are they right now?"
“They have all been killed by my men.” Lu Tu said this while staring at Xu Jing. Xu Jing’s hand holding the wine cup trembled involuntarily. Although he had guessed it before, he was still shocked to hear the truth from Lu Tu.
"Brother Lü is indeed incredibly brave and unparalleled, a true blessing for the people of Wuchuan. Lord Yun is overjoyed to have such a fine general!"
Yun Tian suppressed his anger and patted Lü Tu on the shoulder with approval: "Well done! You have made a great contribution in wiping out the mountain bandits. Lü Tu, listen to my orders!"
"Here!" Lu Tu quickly stood up and clasped his hands in greeting.
"Your skill in training troops and your concern for the people have made a great contribution by killing 300 mountain bandits. You are hereby appointed as a military officer, and are authorized to lead 300 men. You are also rewarded with 1,000 taels of silver, 100 dou of grain, and 100 mu of fertile land."
Lu Tu said loudly, "Thank you, Lord Xie Yun!"
"From now on, you will be in charge of suppressing the mountain bandits around Wuchuan, especially the mountain strongholds near the official road. They must be eradicated so that Xu Jing and his caravan can be safe."
Xu Jing realized that this was a direct reference to him, and cursed Yun Tian inwardly as an old fox, but his smile became even brighter, as if he was genuinely happy for Lü Tu.
"Lord Yun, since Commandant Lü is doing this to protect the caravan, then I should pay for the supplies. What do you think?"
Yun Tian said loudly, "No, let's keep things separate."
Xu Jing cursed under his breath. Everyone knew what was going on, so why pretend? But he could only continue to plead, "This is also a contribution we merchants make to the country. Please, Lord Yun, allow this humble subject to offer his meager strength."
Yun Tian then sighed softly, "Fine, fine. Considering your loyalty to the Great Yu, I'll grant your request. I'll have someone send money and provisions to Lü Tu tomorrow."
Xu Jing cupped his hands in greeting: "I happen to have some in my warehouse, I'll have someone prepare it right away."
Yun Tian smiled and said, "You two are both young and promising talents. It would be good if you could cooperate more in the future."
Lu Tu found the meal extremely unpleasant. He disliked bureaucratic jargon the most, but now Yun Tian was openly protecting Xu Jing and even using the benefits of being a military officer as a bargaining chip, just to shut Lu Tu up.
He looked at Xu Jing deeply and said, "I have a very good memory. I will always remember the kindness you have shown me, and I will repay you many times over in the future!"
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