Yun Tian and Xu Jing naturally understood the implication in Lü Tu's words, but they didn't take it to heart. In Yun Tian's view, Lü Tu was the best candidate to check and balance Xu Jing, which was also one of the reasons why he promoted Lü Tu again.
Xu Jing naturally began to regard Lü Tu as his greatest rival. This man, with only a bunch of useless soldiers, was able to wipe out 300 of his White Lotus Sect's trained assassins, making him an absolute formidable opponent.
For the rest of the time, the three of them clinked glasses, chatted and laughed, like close friends who hadn't seen each other for many years.
This meal was actually extremely hypocritical. When Lü Tu took his leave, Xu Jing had already sent someone to deliver money, grain, and silver, and Yun Tian had also delivered the land deed.
In any case, many villages around Wuchuan had been invaded by the Wuhuan people, and large areas of fertile land were left uncultivated. Therefore, Luzhuang Village and Daozhuang Village, south of Songshan Village, were granted to Lü Tu.
This allocation method is quite intriguing, as it brings the entire southern foothills of Aiying Mountain under Lü Tu's jurisdiction.
The northern foothills of Aiying Mountain lie beyond the Great Wall, leading directly into the depths of the desert.
This reward, though seemingly generous, was in fact extremely malicious. It was clearly intended to exploit the bravery of Lü Tu and his men to plug this loophole.
When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Although Lü Tu understood Yun Tian's thoughts, he could only accept them.
Serving as a soldier under someone like Yun Tian offered no future and contradicted his beliefs, undoubtedly intensifying his desire to rebel, though the time was not yet ripe.
Of course, accepting this vast land was not entirely a disadvantage for Lü Tu.
Between Luzhuang Village and Daozhuang Village, there is a small lake. Most of the people in both villages have fled to other places, but a large amount of fertile land has been left behind, which is a good place to grow sweet potatoes.
Most importantly, there is an open-pit coal mine in Daozhuang Village, which Yuntian deliberately gave to Lü Tu to shut him up.
Since Lü Tu has taken over this place, the military slaves that were originally excavated here should naturally belong to Lü Tu as well.
Even if these excavated coal mines were ultimately handed over to Wuchuan Prefecture, Lü Tu would still manage to cut off a portion of the spoils.
After leaving the Commandant's residence, Nie Yun whispered, "Brother, what's next..."
"Go home!" Lu Tu gave the order, and no one dared to question it. They pushed the supplies prepared by Xu Jing and headed back.
Upon arriving at the south gate, Jia Dazhuang looked at Lü Tu in surprise: "You...you're actually alright?"
Lu Tu glanced at him: "What do you think I should do? Go in standing and come out lying down?"
Then he pulled out the token of the military officer from his pocket. Jia Dazhuang was dumbfounded. Forcibly breaking through the city gate was a big deal. Not only did Lü Tu come out unharmed, but he was also promoted from captain to military officer!
Leading the city guards, he quickly bowed and clasped his hands in greeting: "Greetings, Commandant!"
Nie Yun and the others had just learned that Lü Tu had been promoted, and they were overjoyed, so they shouted in unison, "Congratulations, Big Brother!"
Lu Tu nodded and said to Jia Dazhuang, "The Commandant's reward is too much. I will requisition these horses from your city gate."
An ordinary horse would cost 35 taels of silver, let alone these well-trained warhorses, which would be worth at least 50 taels of silver each. But how could Jia Dazhuang dare to say a word against it? He could only swallow his pride and say, "That's how it should be."
Lu Tu has now figured it out. Since the entire Wuchuan border army system is rotten to the core, it's better to put the money into his own pocket than to let others embezzle it.
With a wave of his hand, Chai Yong and the others immediately stepped forward to lead away the horses, retrieved the weapons they had previously stored there, and swaggered back along the official road.
Halfway there, Nie Yun finally couldn't help but step forward and whisper, "Brother, I'm sorry! I was wrong."
"Where did we go wrong?"
"The mistake was carelessness and oversight. Knowing there was danger, they failed to thoroughly investigate along the way."
Lu Tu shook his head: "That's not the point. You rely too much on my decisions, which has caused you to gradually lose the habit of analyzing things on your own. This is not good. I can't always consider everything."
Nie Yun was startled. That's right! Since joining Lü Tu's command, every decision Lü Tu made had achieved good results. Unconsciously, he had come to believe that as long as he did what Lü Tu instructed, everything would be foolproof.
He looked surprised and ashamed, and said, "Brother, I know what to do!"
Lu Tu became interested: "Tell me about it."
“Strengthen the daily training of new recruits, and select outstanding individuals from the refugee population who are willing to join the army to fill the vacancies. I will pay the pensions for the fallen brothers.”
Lu Tu, mounted on his horse, patted Nie Yun on the shoulder and said, "Never get carried away when things are going well, because our enemies will be even stronger in the future."
Upon hearing this, Nie Yun replied with high spirits, "Yes, sir! No matter how many enemies there are, Nie Yun will definitely protect Big Brother!"
"It's good that you have the intention. This time your merits and demerits cancel each other out, so I won't reward you. You don't need to pay any compensation either. Keep it to get married."
"Thank you so much, brother!"
Back in the village, Lü Tu went straight to the drill ground. Nangong Huiyu had already given the wounded garlic extract to take, and the villagers had bandaged their wounds.
Upon seeing Lü Tu return, the wounded soldiers anxiously asked, "Sir, are those bandits dead?"
Upon hearing this, Lü Tu felt a chill run down his spine. He had previously boasted that he would kill all of these people, but now he had broken his promise. This was the first time he had said something but failed to do it.
Nie Yun knew Lü Tu's predicament and wanted to step forward and admit his mistake, but Lü Tu stopped him.
Approaching the wounded, he said, "Those thieves are still alive for now, protected by their superiors, but I have already found their leader. I, Lü Tu, swear to slaughter those thieves without leaving a single one alive, to atone for the souls of my fallen brothers!"
The wounded soldiers quickly comforted him, saying, "Sir, don't blame yourself. The situation in Wuchuan is complicated. I used to work in the city, so I understand your predicament!"
"Yes, sir. In fact, we have won a battle this time. 200 men fought 300 men, and we only lost a few."
Lu Tu publicly declared: "We will give all the brothers who sacrificed their lives a proper burial, and those with families will receive a pension of 50 taels of silver."
"Your Excellency is righteous!"
Lu Tu didn't want to stay here any longer. He felt extremely frustrated and upset. He left Nie Yun and Liu Yang to arrange for Hu Delu to stay. As for Luzhuang Village and Daozhuang Village, he could take over them in a couple of days.
Seeing Lü Tu leave quickly, Nangong Huiyu knew something must have happened, so she hurried after him.
After returning home, Lu Tu, for the first time ever, opened the Daughter's Red wine that Ye Xing'er had sent and drank it in large gulps.
Seeing this, Song Yuxi didn't say much. She quickly cut some cooked mutton and brought it over to have with her drinks. The two women obediently served her, staring at each other.
After Lü Tu had drunk five bowls of wine, he told them about the day's events. Finally, he looked at Nangong Huiyu and said, "The people who attacked me today were the 300 elite warriors from Xujing."
Upon hearing this, Nangong Huiyu's eyebrows furrowed, and a murderous intent surged across her face: "I'll go kill him!"
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