"Please forgive us, sir. We never intended to betray you or abandon our home."
Lu Tu did not reply. This time he was really angry. In the past, when these villagers were afraid of the Wuhuan cavalry, Lu Tu would not say much.
But this time, they showed such fear and lack of confidence just in the face of the refugee crisis brought by the smallpox epidemic. What's the point of all this?
No one had ever seen Lü Tu so angry. Even when faced with the betrayal and embezzlement of Zhao Lao Er's family, Lü Tu only targeted that family.
Facing thousands of villagers, many of whom grew up with Lü Tu in the same village, Lü Tu still showed no intention of letting them go.
In the vast training ground, no one dared to cough; all they could hear was the howling north wind.
Lu Tu shouted angrily, "I don't even know what to say to you! Are you all so spineless? Huai Shuo has repeatedly violated the interests of our village before. Now, Huai Shuo hasn't even attacked yet, you've already been scared out of your wits just because you heard about the smallpox outbreak. If Huai Shuo really sends troops to attack, wouldn't you cut off my head and offer it to them?"
Upon hearing this, everyone present leaned down even lower.
The seriousness of these words far exceeded anything before. Everyone knew that, given Lü Tu's temperament, if anyone dared to utter a single word at this moment, they would suffer even more than Sun Lao Er's family!
Lu Tu finally understood that it was useless to use love and benefits to influence these ignorant people; when necessary, the law and an iron fist had to be used!
At this moment, Lü Tu felt somewhat regretful, realizing that his political skills were still too superficial and there was much to learn. Fortunately, no major mistakes had occurred, and there was still a chance to make changes.
"I gave you all a chance. Anyone who wanted to leave could leave at any time. I'll give you the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. But if you give up this opportunity, you won't have a choice in the future!"
As Lu Tu finished speaking, the more than one hundred soldiers present slammed their spears to the ground in unison, producing a dull thud that was awe-inspiring.
No one dared to make the slightest movement, for fear of being misunderstood by Lü Tu.
After an incense stick had burned for a while, Lü Tu said loudly, "Since none of you are willing to leave, then I will assume that you are determined to live and die with the village, is that right?"
"right!"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Only then did everyone feel the dark clouds overhead dissipate, and they quickly nodded in agreement.
"Good! Starting today, I will promulgate new rules for our village. In the event of war, everyone must obey orders. Anyone who dares to incite others and oppose me will be expelled from the village at best, and executed without mercy at worst!"
"Yes, sir! We'll do as you say!"
Lu Tu snorted coldly. They've had too many good days. Now they dare to push their luck and take advantage of him. This warning is definitely not enough.
Lu Tu then pointed to a few more people who had been stirring up trouble earlier: "You, you, and you, all of you step forward!"
The faces of those who were called out immediately turned pale. They knew perfectly well what they had done. If the soldiers hadn't pointed their spears at them, they would never have stepped forward. Stepping forward now would undoubtedly confirm their charge of incitement.
The group looked at Lü Tu with a pained expression: "Sir, we were wrong. We shouldn't have questioned your abilities just now."
Lu Tu shook his head: "Of course you can question me, but you shouldn't be pushing everyone into a fire pit! Knowing that life outside is even harder, you still insist on encouraging everyone to flee. What are you up to?"
Upon hearing this, the group immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly.
The other villagers at the scene instantly glared angrily at the group.
Lu Tu had shifted the blame for his conflict with the villagers onto these individuals with a single sentence.
What he wants is for everyone in the village to willingly follow his orders, so he's not foolish enough to stand against the villagers.
"You damned bastard! I knew you were usually so quiet, but today you're talking more than me. Turns out you were up to no good and wanted us to die out there!"
"That's right! He always shirks his duties and tries to get us all to betray Lord Lü and go out to our deaths so he can get a bigger share of the grain!"
"Lord Lü, kill these bastards!"
"We were all united, but these few rotten rats ruined the whole thing!"
Seeing that the group had already provoked the anger of the crowd, Lu Tu waited until the accusations had subsided before loudly proclaiming, "You lot, get out of the village right now!"
After hearing that Lu Tu would not kill them, the group kowtowed several times before jogging back to their rooms to pack their belongings.
Lu Tu gave Sun Meng a wink, and Sun Meng immediately understood and nodded quietly. He then retreated behind the group and followed with a few soldiers, preparing to see them off on their final journey.
After all, these people have lived in the village for many days and are familiar with the village's daily food distribution system and infrastructure layout.
Letting them out like this could easily lead to resentment, and if they were to leak this information to others, it's hard to imagine the uproar it would cause.
Not to mention that other forces will target Lü Tu, the refugees and displaced people fleeing the famine will find it hard to resist such temptation, and there will inevitably be a continuous stream of displaced people coming.
In the past, Lu Tu would have accepted anyone who came, but now it was a critical time, with smallpox still raging, so he could not take in more people of unknown origin.
After the villagers calmed down, someone timidly asked, "Sir, what should we do to deal with this crisis?"
Lu Tu nodded and said, "Good question. That's why I'm telling you the truth today, because I've found a way to deal with it!"
Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Lü Tu had a solution, they were no longer worried. Lü Tu had previously come up with many ideas that seemed ingenious to them, and each one turned out to be very useful in hindsight.
"Sir, please speak freely. We have plenty of strength. As long as you give the order, we'll roll up our sleeves and get to work!"
"Yes! Even though I'm a woman, I'll never hold anyone back. We'll do all the dirty and hard work!"
Lu Tu nodded: "This method really requires everyone to unite. Starting today, everyone except the cooks must help build the city walls and protect our village before the refugees from Huai Shuo arrive!"
"Clap clap!" Loud applause rang out in the room. Even the slowest minds knew that this was the best solution at the moment.
"Sir, we agree!"
Lu Tu laughed loudly, "Alright! Since you agree, let's get started now! Xiao Zhong, you assign the tasks!"
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