My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 180 Horse Robbery
The ground was completely covered in snow.

The wind and snow were extremely strong, and the entire Loufan County fell into complete silence. Li Xuanba also stayed in his small courtyard and no longer frequently went to Dade Farm.

Li Xuanba sat in his study, listening to the howling wind outside.

San Shi sat to the side, wearing thick clothes, looking at the wind and snow outside, with a hint of lingering fear on his face.

"If it weren't for your kindness in taking me in, I'm afraid I wouldn't have made it through this heavy snowstorm."

Li Xuanba glanced at her, smiled, but then looked outside again.

Li Xuanba's eyes were full of worry.

After Zhang Du cleared the road for the first time, Li Xuanba sent a large batch of supplies to Qingzao Village. The climate there was quite different from Loufan, but it must have been quite cold at the moment, and food was scarce.
This should be the biggest test that Qingzao Village has encountered since its establishment, and Li Xuanba doesn't know if they can withstand it.

The Qingzao Village of Chenghou Mountain dared not call itself Qingzao Village anymore, so it was called Chenghou Village. Before the heavy snow arrived, the number of people in the village reached more than 400, and the situation there was even worse than that of Qingzao Village.

This heavy snow will surely freeze many people to death.

San Shi could also see that Li Xuanba was not in a good mood and wanted to comfort him, but she was not good with words and did not know what to say to make her husband happy.

"Boom, boom, boom."

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Li Xuanba quickly got up. When Sanshi opened the door, Zhang Du braved the wind and snow and crawled into the house. He was covered in snow, but fortunately he was dressed warmly enough. His face was red from the cold, and he was breathing out thick fog. After entering the house, he bowed and greeted them.

"My lord!"

"Commander Zhang? What brings you here at this time?"

Li Xuanba was quite surprised. Zhang Du grinned and excitedly pulled out a letter from his pocket, handing it to Li Xuanba.

Nowadays, everyone in the farm calls him Chief Secretary in private, but Lord Junhou still calls him Assistant Commander. Zhang Du did not remind Lord Junhou, and this way of addressing him is quite affectionate.

Li Xuanba took the letter in a daze.

"This is a letter sent from Zhang Xiangzheng's side."

Li Xuanba looked down and read it. Sure enough, it was written by Zhang Sengyuan. In the letter, Zhang Sengyuan explained the recent situation in the village and told Li Xuanba not to worry, as they had made ample preparations and nothing would happen.
Zhang Du said, "It seems that Zhang Xiangzheng knows of the Lord's benevolence and has been uneasy since winter began, so he sent someone to deliver a letter to inform him of the situation."

"Please sit down first. Sanshi, go and get two bowls of hot tea and some cakes."

Li Xuanba spoke up, and Zhang Du sat down with him.

"My lord, we were worried that Yang Qing would make a move at this time. Since Yang Qing has not chosen to do so, and the stronghold has made sufficient preparations, there is nothing to worry about for the time being. As for Cheng Hou's stronghold, you don't need to worry too much either. It's very close to us, and I have sent people to keep an eye on it."

After calming Li Xuanba down, Zhang Du continued, "Although the restaurants along the way can't compare to the post stations, the speed at which news travels is getting faster and faster. However, the expenses are also increasing. My lord, we'll have to find a way to increase our income after spring."

"Yes, Old Master Qu told me about this."

"Let's discuss this again when the weather gets a little warmer."

After discussing for a while, Li Xuanba suddenly asked, "What about my second brother?"

After reaching an agreement with his second brother, Li Xuanba sent a total of twenty men to Li Shimin's side. These twenty men were all carefully selected by Li Xuanba and were people he could trust.

Li Shimin naturally kept his word. After these people arrived at his side, he taught them some military knowledge as agreed.

But Li Xuanba had no idea why his second brother was borrowing so many people from him, nor did he know what he wanted to do with them.

Zhang Du simply shook his head at that moment.

"They're still the same as before, staying in Yingyang Prefecture without making any moves."

"Is Your Excellency somewhat worried?"

"My second brother has always been courageous, but I'm a little worried about him."

"No problem!"

Zhang Du shook his head and said seriously, "With this heavy snow, even wild beasts dare not go out. No matter how many ideas you have, Second Young Master, I'm afraid you can't go out. You'll have to wait until the weather warms up. You don't need to worry, My Lord."

Loufan County, Wushankou.

On the white, desolate ground, almost nothing could be seen. This place was the border between Loufan, Mayi, Yulin, and other places. In the past, there were local militia stationed here, and a small stockade was set up on high ground. However, after winter came, the local militia withdrew first, and there was not even a trace of them on this road.

The wind and snow howled past.

At that very moment, many warriors were hiding behind a huge rock.

These warriors were all wrapped up tightly, even their heads were covered, and their faces were obscured, with only their eyes showing.

There were more than thirty of them, fully armed, standing close together, quietly waiting for something.

The person standing at the very front was noticeably smaller than the others.

If Li Xuanba were still here, even if the other person's face was covered, he would recognize the short man's identity: Li Shimin.

Li Shimin secretly observed the distance, then looked at the crowd behind him.

"Gentlemen, please be patient! We should be arriving soon!"

"Once this matter is accomplished, I will reward you handsomely!"

Everyone nodded and gripped their weapons tightly once more.

Li Shimin glanced back at the group. He had originally intended to borrow some thieves from his third brother, since he couldn't ask his friends for help and didn't have enough followers. Thieves would be a better option. However, his third brother sent his guests over instead.

Li Shimin also saw how the third son's retainers treated him, so he did not hesitate and brought them to do great things.

They waited a few more moments, and suddenly, some faint noises came from afar.

Li Shimin took the lead in lowering his body, and the others quickly followed suit.

They saw several suspicious figures appearing on the road in the distance, cautiously observing their surroundings as they slowly moved forward. Li Shimin narrowed his eyes and signaled everyone to retreat a bit and hide themselves.

The group circled around a few times before continuing on their way.

Only after they left did more people appear.

Then they saw more than forty people on the road. Because of the heavy snow, the road was difficult to travel, so they could only lead their horses and pass quickly. Li Shimin stared at them intently, his eyes almost spitting fire!
"superior!!!"

Li Shimin roared and raised his bow to shoot.

"Pfft~"

The leader was shot dead and fell into the snow. The others were terrified and quickly drew their weapons. Li Shimin began to give orders, and then they saw several people suddenly emerge from the stone forest opposite. They stood on high ground and kept shooting at the pedestrians below.

These men were surrounded by enemies on all sides and were in a panic. Li Shimin kept closing in, and the warriors he brought with him rushed forward and fought with them.

The two sides had only just clashed when deserters appeared among the group. They fled quickly, but some were unwilling to leave and, as if possessed, fought against Li Shimin's warriors. Li Shimin held an absolute advantage in both numbers and quality. Before long, the pedestrians were either running away or dead.

"Quick! Quick, stop these horses! Horses!"

Li Shimin called out.

He personally stepped forward and grabbed the large, jet-black horse in front of him. The horse was somewhat restless, and Li Shimin's eyes burned with fervor.

These people were not horse merchants; they were criminals who colluded with the Turks.

They usually set off after autumn to secretly trade with the Turks, exchanging goods that were normally prohibited from being sold for large quantities of Turkic horses, fine knives, and so on. They dared not travel during other seasons for fear of being caught, and could only sneak back in the dead of winter when the local militia dared not come out.

The warriors were catching horses in the snow, but Li Shimin dared not hesitate.

"If we can't catch them, forget about them and let's retreat!!"

The group quickly fled the area with their spoils.

Not long after they left, a large group of people appeared here, including several of the 'horse merchants' who had just escaped. Among them were several masked warriors who looked around and shouted angrily.

And what they used was Turkic.

(End of this chapter)