My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 25 My Second Brother is Invincible

When Li Shimin left, everyone in the Zheng family was somewhat reluctant to part with him.

They originally came only for Li Xuanba, but after getting to know him, they found Li Shimin to be quite good as well, and decided to invite him to the next banquet as well.

After seeing Li Erlang off, Zheng Yuanrui sat down next to Li Xuanba with a smile, only then revealing his true purpose.

"Sanlang, we've been old friends for a while now. The teacher praised your lectures on the classics, but we didn't quite understand some of what you said later. Since we're all here today, and the study of classics is all about debate to improve, why don't we have a discussion?"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent and then looked at Li Xuanba seriously.

This time, they all spoke up, acknowledging the importance of communication, and no longer had the idea of ​​keeping things to themselves as they had last time.

They probably realized that what they wanted to keep to themselves was nothing to Li Xuanba, so they might as well ask him a few more questions and learn from him.

Li Xuanba has never been one to keep secrets.

Besides, judging from my second brother's strange behavior just now, he probably made some kind of deal with Zheng Yuanrui and the others. Well, let's have a deal then.

Li Xuanba began discussing scriptures with everyone. Except for Li Yuanji, everyone was exceptionally attentive. Li Yuanji ignored them, focusing only on eating and drinking. The food here was really good, delicious!
Time flew by. Li Xuanba first shared some of his learning experiences, and then he was surrounded by people asking him questions. Almost everyone had their own questions. These people were not only his classmates who were still learning, but also some of the older students who had completed their studies and chosen a subject. However, no matter who it was, Li Xuanba could give them a few pointers.

Li Xuanba didn't quite understand either. Why ask me when there was already a teacher available?

Perhaps it's because Master Zheng is strict? Maybe she's afraid of being scolded by him?
This banquet could barely be considered a debate.

As time passed, people's attention gradually shifted from the classics back to other things.

Zheng Yuanrui was quite happy. This time, he had come forward with Li Xuanba to answer everyone's questions, which was a great honor for him in front of his clansmen. With such a prodigy in classical studies by his side, he could accomplish many things in the future.

He looked at the rest of his clansmen again, and sure enough, even those few who didn't get along with him usually nodded and smiled in acknowledgment.

Yes, Li Erlang is right. We must constantly enhance our prestige in order to gain the respect of the rest of our clan and make a name for ourselves in the future.

When he looked at the man beside him again, his eyes gleamed.

"Sanlang, from now on we should grow even closer. If you need anything in Xingyang, you can always come to me."

Li Xuanba simply smiled.

Just as his second brother had told him, these people were not to be offended, but they also could not be trusted too much.

The matter was settled, and it was time for him to leave. If he didn't leave soon, Li Xuanba looked to the side.

Li Yuanji had completely blended in with the group. Although he was still young, he listened intently to their vulgar remarks, occasionally chiming in, which made them laugh. They thought that Li Yuanji's fourth son was actually quite good and could be a friend!

Li Xuanba dared not stay any longer; if he did, the boy would be completely led astray by these people.

Therefore, despite Li Yuanji's reluctance, Li Xuanba still pulled him aside to say goodbye to Zheng Yuanrui and prepare to return home.

This time, Zheng Yuanrui personally escorted him to the door.

They came as three brothers, but left as only two.

Li Yuanji still had some lingering thoughts about it. He remarked, "In the past, I only thought the Zheng family were evil and looked down on people. Today, I realize that they are quite interesting and not all of them are bad. I can get to know them better in the future."

He laughed when he heard this, finally he didn't have to play with only his second and third brothers anymore, and he could make new friends.

Li Xuanba rubbed his forehead, unsure of what to say.

The sky was pitch black, and a cold wind was blowing.

Li Xuanba moved a small chair and sat down at the entrance of the courtyard, quietly waiting for someone.

Liu Chounu stood not far away, silent, occasionally glancing up at the sky.

After waiting for a long time, finally, footsteps could be heard in the distance.

Liu Chounu looked in that direction first, and the next moment, Li Shimin ran out of the shadows, panting. Li Xuanba quickly got up and said, "Second Brother."

Li Shimin waved at him, "Is there any water?"

"Give me some water."

Li Xuanba hurriedly entered the room, and a moment later, he took out a bowl of water, which Li Shimin took directly and drank in one gulp.

After finishing his water, he wiped his mouth with a nonchalant air and let out a satisfied sigh. "I knew you weren't asleep yet. Come on, let's go inside and talk!"

The two brothers went into the study and sat down.

Li Shimin looked quite excited.

"Thanks to you, my matter is half done."

"Oh?"

“That Zheng Xuanfan, his elder brother raised many horses in the south of the city. I talked to him a lot, and he lent me three horses.”

“I still have some money on hand, and I sent my servants to the city to buy horses. There’s a foreign merchant I’ve dealt with before, and he’s willing to sell me two horses. With the ones from my servants, I now have ten horses!”

"I plan to temporarily send the horses to the South Courtyard. Coincidentally, I know the person who guards the South Courtyard now. He doesn't want to stay there, so I made an agreement with him: he'll watch over these things for me, and I'll help him get transferred out of there."

"Next is the bow and arrow. These things aren't hard to find. I plan to go to the training ground tomorrow. The soldiers there who are in charge of teaching me archery are very close to me. If they refuse to lend them, we can buy them from hunters. Hmm, now the problem is manpower."

Li Shimin analyzed everything and realized that he wasn't a naive young man at all; he wasn't joking around, he was serious.

Li Xuanba listened very attentively.

Li Shimin then brought up the part about insufficient preparation.

"I don't trust those wandering knights in the city, but I'm afraid my own servants might alarm you, brother. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Second Brother knows the most people. If you can't find anyone, how am I supposed to?"

Li Shimin nodded. "That's true. Are we really limited to going to those wandering knights?"

"These people are no good; they're all greedy and greedy."

Li Xuanba suddenly said, "That's right, my master might be able to help."

"Hmm? Master?"

"Yes, Master Liu, he once told me that he had many disciples all over the country. He was skilled in martial arts, and his disciples were probably all excellent horsemen and archers!"

Li Shimin's eyes lit up, but then he frowned.

"Second brother, what's wrong now?"

Li Shimin slowly said, "Sanlang, you are still young and do not understand. There is no reason to ask for something without giving something in return. You give something and then ask for something in return. What can your master's disciples, or your master himself, give them?"

"Money."

"Ok??"

"Master Liu once said that many of his disciples came from poor backgrounds, were not satisfied with the jobs they found, and did not live a good life."

Li Shimin paused for a moment, then stroked his chin again. “We can give it a try. Tomorrow, you talk to that Master Liu. I will also come to see you. If it works out, then my troops will be complete. It’s time to go and scout out the news outside the city.”

Li Xuanba simply looked at his second brother without saying a word.

Li Shimin glanced at him. "What are you looking at?"

"Second brother, you're amazing!"

"Oh? Hahaha~~"

These words probably struck a chord with the second brother. He was overjoyed, but still humbly shook his head, "It's nothing, nothing at all. The matter hasn't even been accomplished yet. If we can really get out of the city, defeat one or two bandit groups, and deliver the prisoners and the captured swords to our elder brother, that would be truly impressive!"

"Third brother, if I can get my matter settled, then I can definitely get yours settled too."

"After I got back, I thought about it for a long time. There are only two ways to handle your matter!"

"Firstly, we can try to provide relief to the people in the city, at least to save some children who have no food. It would be best to get people involved in this together; more people means more work and less trouble for ourselves."

"Secondly, there are the farms outside the city. Many public fields outside the city are listed but unoccupied. There's only a roster, but the land is actually empty. The reason the officials have to conscript people for service is because the roster is inaccurate. If we could make the deceased become those people on the roster, perhaps we could save some of them."

(End of this chapter)