Are you crazy? Trying to trick him into military service? He's the number one dragon on the fro

"My lord, we were reckless just now. Please punish us!"

As soon as Qian Yu expressed his admiration, Zhang Qingshan, Wang Hengdao, and Chen Feng knelt down on one knee, bowed their heads, clasped their hands in salute, and showed their submission.

The shock they felt was beyond words; they were completely and utterly convinced of Lu Xiao's talent.

Just now, when a stray arrow was fired from the Chu army, their hearts were pounding with tension, fearing that the young marquis would be injured by a hidden arrow.

But Lu Xiao's counterattack took everyone by surprise.

Zhang Qingshan and his two companions asked themselves honestly. In that situation, they were lucky to even dodge the sneak arrows. There was no way they could spot the person who shot them while challenging the enemy general and kill them directly!

After all, the battlefield is extremely dangerous, and any unnecessary action could lead to their death.

Faced with their praise, Lu Xiao simply waved his hand dismissively:

"As I've said, the Chu army only gained some control of the Warring States period through various despicable means; their actual strength is far from great!"

"General Qian, three garrison commanders, leave any further challenges to me. You must quickly muster your troops and launch a counterattack against Chu as soon as possible to reclaim the lost territories of our Great Zhou!"

"Your humble servant obeys!"

At that moment, Qian Yu and Zhang Qingshan, among others, obeyed orders without hesitation.

While the soldiers in Ze Meng's camp were cheering and jumping for joy, Lu Xiao and Qian Yu were already walking on the camp's drill ground, having a private conversation.

Looking at the admiring gazes directed at him from all around, Lu Xiao pondered for a moment before asking:

"General Qian, the brothers don't seem to be starving or poorly dressed, and they are in high spirits. As long as they don't make any major mistakes, they are unlikely to suffer any defeats."

"But why is it that the Chu army keeps seizing our territory time and time again?"

Upon hearing this, Qian Yu said rather awkwardly:

"My lord, to be honest, before your arrival, all the soldiers in the army were eating with their own pay and even repairing weapons and armor. As a result, morale had already plummeted to its lowest point."

"If it weren't for the fact that the homes of the people of Yun County were not far behind them, the soldiers would probably have already given up."

These words shocked Lu Xiao to no end.

When he arrived, he found that the morale of the Zemeng camp was extremely low and disorganized. Although the soldiers could still maintain a basic formation and were patrolling diligently, there was no light in their eyes.

Moreover, their behavior seemed more like a long-standing habit rather than that of elite soldiers who were always on high alert.

Now, hearing Qian Yu's reasons, he was even more puzzled:

"I remember that the prefect of Yun County is named Wu Zeliang, and he seems to be the son-in-law of the Prime Minister."

"Logically speaking, since the Prime Minister is a staunch advocate of war, and his son-in-law has been able to become the governor of a border prefecture, he should share the same ideas and provide more support to the Zemeng Camp."

"Why should the soldiers have to pay for their own meals!"

"well……"

Qian Yu sighed heavily again, and after a moment of contemplation, said:

"The problem lies with that prefect!"

"Wu Zeliang, relying on being the son-in-law of the Prime Minister, seized power in the entire prefecture with an extremely forceful attitude and methods almost immediately after taking office, and then directly withheld most of the military rations allocated to our camp by the court."

"At first, he said it was for the unified distribution to all the soldiers in the county, but when we went to ask for it, he implied that we could only take the grain if we offered silver, jewelry, or calligraphy and paintings!"

Speaking of this, he was filled with rage, wishing he could immediately run to Wu Zeliang and kill him:

"At first, I honestly exchanged silver for grain, but after a few times, his appetite grew bigger and bigger, and he could never be satisfied. In a fit of anger, I directly submitted a memorial to the court."

"But before the memorial could even leave Yun County, it was intercepted by men sent by Wu Zeliang. Then, he falsely accused me, directly impeaching me, saying that I had abused my power for personal gain and deliberately lost to the State of Chu in order to swindle money and grain from the court, etc..."

Hearing these things, Lu Xiao had a general understanding of Prefect Wu Zeliang, and he was also angered.

At this moment, Qian Yu seemed to have opened a floodgate of words, continuing to accuse Wu Zeliang of his evil deeds:

"Ever since we lost more than a thousand brothers last time, I have stopped asking Wu Zeliang for a single grain of food, because even if I asked, he wouldn't give it to me."

"In this way, the brothers can only use their own money and rely on their conscience to protect the people behind them."

Seeing his indignation, Lu Xiao reached out and gently patted his shoulder, comforting him:

"Now that I'm here, I will never allow such a thing to happen again. Moreover, I will make Wu Zeliang return whatever amount of grain and provisions he took, and he will also have to compensate the brothers for their losses!"

"My lord, you mustn't!"

Upon hearing this, Qian Yu immediately became anxious:

"Apart from my Zemeng Camp, the other outposts and border defense camps in Yun County have long since become Wu Zeliang's lackeys, obeying his every command."

"You're new here, and your foundation isn't yet solid. If you confront him directly, I'm afraid..."

"rest assured."

When Lu Xiao learned that he was only worried about these situations, he immediately smiled and said there was nothing to be afraid of:

"This Marquis is the Champion Marquis appointed by His Majesty. His Excellency the Prime Minister also has the authority to act unilaterally and report later!"

"Even though Wu Zeliang is the Prime Minister's son-in-law, he has committed such heinous crimes that I will punish him severely without leniency!"

"If it weren't for his relationship with the Prime Minister, I would have already taken my spear and stabbed him to death in the county seat!"

After saying that, he gestured to Qian Yu not to take the matter to heart, assuring him that all difficulties in the Ze Meng camp would be easily resolved with him there.

After a brief chat, Lu Xiao began to learn about the camp's defenses, inquired about the surrounding terrain, and plotted in his mind which place would be suitable for a battle with the Chu army to regain the initiative.

Before I knew it, the night had deepened.

After learning about the basic situation of Zemeng Camp, Lu Xiao told Qian Yu to go back and rest, while he walked between the various barracks to check on the soldiers' condition.

Fortunately, thanks to Qian Yu's insistence, the soldiers of Ze Meng's camp did not completely lose their fighting spirit.

Including his fight with Shen Ting today, many people are still talking about it with great interest.

After he had walked around, he returned to the barracks and said to Fan Changxin, who was accompanying the army:

"Immediately send someone to transport a batch of grain over here, enough to feed all the soldiers in the entire camp for at least a month!"

"My lord, is there no grain stored in the camp?"

Fan Changxin was puzzled:

"Logically speaking, the imperial court should have sent someone to deliver the grain before we even set off."

"Could it be that leftover money...?"

"no."

Lu Xiao shook his head and briefly recounted Wu Zeliang's actions.

The latter was immediately enraged:

"How dare this treacherous villain!"

"Rest assured, my lord, I will immediately dispatch men on horseback to deliver the grain as quickly as possible..."