My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 107 Justified

"My lord!"

When Li Xuanba reappeared at the farm, everyone bowed and greeted him with solemn expressions.

This edict was no small matter. After Li Xuanba accepted the edict, his status changed. In the past, the people of Xingyang did not dare to underestimate him, mainly because he had a father who was a duke. However, despite having a father who was a duke, in terms of status, Li Xuanba was just a commoner.

Without any official position or post, this so-called 'group leader' is more like a grassroots organization, completely unacceptable. When Li Xuanba went to government offices and other places, if others bowed to him, they would be ridiculed for currying favor with nobles. But now, that's not the case. In the entire Xingyang, apart from Li Yuan, who has a higher rank than him, everyone else really has to bow to him. If they don't, they will be punished.

According to the Sui Dynasty's system, a marquis was equivalent to a third-rank official, which was already a very, very high rank.

Previously, the Zheng family members could still make sarcastic remarks to them, but now, if they dare to make sarcastic remarks, it would be illegal and they could be arrested and punished.

To be granted a marquisate for military merit at such a young age is simply unheard of.

However, during the reign of the sage, so many unheard-of things have happened that people's ability to accept them has improved considerably.

Li Xuanba was just not used to it.

The moment he woke up today, everyone's attitude towards him changed. Even the old people in the mansion hurriedly bowed and greeted him with serious expressions, as if they were seeing their father. It was no longer the same attitude they had towards their child in the past.

Even the person in charge of the farm who used to complain to Li Xuanba about the local militia would now be going out with Zhang Du and greeting Li Xuanba with utmost respect.

Even his trusted confidants looked very serious today, unlike before when they would chat and laugh together.

Li Xuanba was not happy about this; he only felt that his relationship with everyone had become much more distant after being granted a title.

"Please stop calling me that. It sounds much better to call me 'Group Leader'."

Zhang Du said earnestly, "My lord, etiquette must not be disregarded. If you address me casually, I fear it will bring trouble upon you."

Zhang Du's words were also correct. When the Sui Dynasty established the various ranks, it set up a relatively strict system with strict standards for all aspects, including clothing, titles, and utensils. Overstepping these standards was not allowed, nor was it permitted to disobey them.

Li Xuanba didn't say anything more and asked everyone to sit down.

After his trusted confidants were seated, he finally spoke, saying, "As you all know, my father will soon be heading to Loufan, and I will be going with him."

As soon as Li Xuanba spoke, everyone looked up at him.

Zhang Du and the others were somewhat worried.

They couldn't be considered Li Xuanba's retainers. Liu Xuan had summoned them and established an employment relationship with Li Xuanba. Li Xuanba gave them money and food, and they served as local soldiers to help protect the farm.

But now that Li Xuanba is leaving, the farm belongs to the Prefect of Xingyang and will no longer be the property of the Li family, so the previous employment relationship will naturally be terminated.

They didn't know if Li Xuanba would still be willing to take them along.

In the past, Li Xuanba only held the title of the son of a duke, but he had no right to inherit the throne. Therefore, those who were famous and capable would go to serve Li Jiancheng. But now it's different. The Third Prince has become a marquis.

A marquis of the third rank is enough to attract many people to befriend him and seek refuge with him.

To have already earned a marquisate at such a young age, who knows how high he will rise after he comes of age? This is because the emperor has drastically reduced the number of noble titles, resulting in a large number of impoverished nobles in the Central Plains, Guanzhong, and Taiyuan.

These people are often those whose ancestors were meritorious, but who themselves lost their titles and need to rely on capable people to revive their families.

They came from distinguished backgrounds; some were skilled in horsemanship and archery, and knew how to command troops; others were well-versed in the classics and had some reputations, but no one promoted them, and they could not become high-ranking officials.

In the eyes of these people, someone like Li Xuanba, who comes from a top-tier background and holds a noble title, is incredibly alluring.

The imperial examination system was newly established in the Sui Dynasty, but it was not the mainstream system for selecting officials. The current imperial examination system was small in scale and was only a minor channel. The real main system was still the recommendation system of the past.

Prefectures and local governments still recommended talented individuals to the imperial court, nobles could obtain official positions based on their family background, and the Ministry of Personnel would select and grant official titles to those with a good reputation. Even under the imperial examination system, participation required a recommendation.

This is why Li Jiancheng was able to gather a large number of people around him. It was not only because Li Jiancheng himself was outstanding, but also because he could appoint people to official positions in the future. For example, Li Yuan had a quota for recommending people. Local powerful families dared not offend him for the same reason.

In other words, Li Xuanba will not lack manpower in the future. As long as he expresses any desire to have someone help him, he will not need to hire anyone. There will be plenty of people to do his work.

Zhang Du and the others simply lacked the confidence to compete with those important figures for the position of following the Lord.

When they heard about this yesterday, everyone was very happy, but they also considered this aspect. At that time, someone pulled Zhang Du to conspire, thinking that they could go to Master Liu and ask him to say a few words on their behalf, so that Lord Junhou could continue to lead them.

Zhang Du did not agree. Li Xuanba had been extremely kind to them. In recent days, they had received many rewards and earned more money than they had in the past few years. Whenever the young master's men humiliated them, the lord would immediately step in to arrest and punish them.

If Your Majesty is willing to take them along, they will continue to serve you. But if Your Majesty has other ideas, why be ungrateful and make things difficult for Your Majesty?

Everyone felt uneasy and clenched their fists.

Li Xuanba stared at them and slowly spoke, "I just want to ask one question: are you all willing to come with me?"

Zhang Du was taken aback. He looked at his fellow disciples around him, who were also clearly surprised.

Zhang Du hesitated for a moment, but still said, "My lord, you are now a marquis, and I'm afraid you will not have to worry about finding someone to serve you in the future. There will be plenty of young men of noble birth who will follow you. We are of humble origin and our talents are not outstanding."

Li Xuanba shook his head slightly. "My elder brother is surrounded by such people, all of them arrogant and incompetent, rude to others. As for their talents, they are not much better than others, and their morals are mostly despicable. I am not willing to let such people work for me. If you are willing to continue to follow me, I will certainly not treat you unfairly."

Zhang Du's lips trembled for a moment, "Since Your Excellency values ​​us so highly, how dare we not serve you?"

"I am willing to serve you faithfully, without any disloyalty!!"

Zhang Du led the way in bowing, and the rest of the group followed suit.

From that moment on, Li Xuanba's relationship with them changed from an employer-employee relationship to a master-servant relationship.

Li Xuanba was quite pleased and quickly told them to get up.

But when he thought about what had happened here after he left, Li Xuanba couldn't laugh anymore.

He sighed deeply, "I thought that Xingyang would at least remain the same as it is now before the autumn harvest. But now that we're all leaving, I'm afraid Xingyang will revert to its former state."

Zhang Du and the others have also devoted a great deal of effort to this place in recent days. They know better than Li Xuanba what will happen after they leave.

Everything will return to normal, or even be worse than before.

But they had no other way to deal with it.

Just as everyone was feeling heartbroken, Zhang Du suddenly spoke up, "My lord! I have an idea!"

"Oh?"

All eyes immediately turned to Zhang Du, who said in a low voice, "Before we leave, Your Majesty, you can find a reliable official in the area to continue maintaining order after we're gone."

"Those like the city's chief administrators or prefectural magistrates are out of the question. If the new prefect finds out they still have dealings with you, he'll be displeased. But we don't need to find someone so high-ranking. We'll just find someone lower-ranking, someone who can be useful in the countryside outside the city!"

"The governor wouldn't care about the situation in the countryside."

"Do you still remember that Tianxiangzheng? He was from the same hometown as you, and he respected you greatly. I think you could let him choose one of your sons to send to you as a servant. He would definitely be willing. And since he has climbed up to you, I'm afraid no one in this countryside would dare to offend him."

"At that time, it would be perfectly justified for him to stay here, take over the affairs of the local militia, suppress bandits, and govern the people!"

(End of this chapter)