My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 26 Major Events
It was pitch black. Zheng Yuanrui hummed a tune as he staggered home.

Supported by two plump maids, Zheng Yuanrui smiled happily and whispered lewd words to the two maids on either side, making them gasp and moan. Seeing their embarrassment, Zheng Yuanrui burst into laughter again.

Zheng Yuanrui lost his mother at a young age, and his father and brothers were not in Xingyang. His branch of the family held a very high position and was of a high seniority among his peers in the clan. Therefore, he lived a very carefree life.

He spent his days eating, drinking, and having fun. Only when his father and brothers from afar wrote to inquire about his studies would he remember his serious matters and study for a little while, but he would forget about it again after a few days.

Just as he kicked open the courtyard gate, preparing to study the classics with his two maids, he looked up and saw a man standing in the courtyard, staring intently at him. This man was Zheng Jibo, who had recently returned to his hometown of Xingyang.

Zheng Yuanrui was instantly sobered up by the shock.

"Big, big, big man"

Zheng Jibo had a very close relationship with his father and brothers, and he always addressed them as "adult" since childhood.

He abruptly shoved the maidservant in his arms and yelled, "Who let you into my backyard?"

"roll!"

The maid didn't dare to speak and turned to leave.

Zheng Jibo simply looked at the guy calmly, his eyes showing a hint of disappointment.

The Zheng family's current generation is truly beyond saving.

There wasn't a single person with talent in classical studies or any other area; on the contrary, there were plenty of people like Zheng Yuanrui who just loafed around doing nothing.

Zheng Yuanrui quickly forced a smile, "When did you arrive, sir? Why didn't you say anything? I went to debate with the crowd today."

“I know what you did today. Come with me.”

Zheng Jibo led the boy into the study, had someone fetch water, and let Zheng Yuanrui wash his face to clear his head.

Looking at the listless boy in front of him, Zheng Jibo was somewhat angry. "When will you ever learn to study hard?"

Zheng Yuanrui sat down cautiously in front of him, saying, "I will certainly not dare to be negligent in the future."

Zheng Jibo simply looked at him and gently shook his head.

Is there any future?

After the new emperor ascended the throne, many people thought that a unified and peaceful era was about to arrive. Generally speaking, after each period of division ends, the first generation recuperates, and by the second or third generation, a prosperous era of revival will emerge.

But the sage, having just ascended the throne, may not have been able to change the minds of the people all by himself.

Old guys like Zheng Jibo, in particular, have an exceptionally keen sense of smell.

The Sui Dynasty is currently at its peak, yet they seem to see signs of impending chaos throughout the land!

Since ascending the throne, the sage has never had a moment's rest. Palaces, canals, cities, wars, and corvée labor have become heavier year by year, and the number of people participating in corvée labor has increased year by year. This year, he has even started to make women perform corvée labor. Even those emperors in ancient times who were known for their tyranny have never been heard of making women serve in the same way!
In the past, men went to perform corvée labor while women stayed home to take care of the children. Now, men and women go to perform corvée labor together, leaving children and the elderly at home to die.

According to reliable sources, after someone reminded the sage of this matter, the sage could not bear it, after all, the sage was kind-hearted.

He is considering whether to change the age limit for military service.

In this way, children and the elderly can also go to perform corvée labor with their family members, instead of waiting to die at home, and the whole family can be reunited!
Everyone who hears this will have to say, "What a damn righteous person!"

In Zheng Jibo's view, if the sage could discover the problem in time and make adjustments, there would still be hope. But if things continued like this, well, I'm afraid the Sui Dynasty wouldn't be able to withstand it.

As a result, many insightful people have already begun preparations.

The Zheng family had made some preparations, more or less.

Zheng Jibo cleared his throat. "I heard that Li Erlang borrowed a horse from you? What does he want to do?"

"what?"

Zheng Yuanrui didn't know why his busy elder was concerned about such trivial matters, but he still told him the truth: "I heard that he wanted to protect the farm, as there are many thieves outside the city."

"Him??" Zheng Jibo laughed. "So he's been scrambling to find horses, and he's also trying to find bows and arrows. Has he managed to find any armor?"

"I don't know about that. I heard from their fourth son that Li Erlang and Li Sanlang are planning something big."

Zheng Jibo narrowed his eyes. His family had a good relationship with the Li family. However, there were many things to consider between families, not just personal feelings. After Li Yuan arrived in Xingyang, he caused them a lot of trouble, trying to raise prices and take a big bite out of them.

This is how local officials and powerful local families usually interact: they cooperate and share the people's wealth, it just depends on who gets more and who gets less. The Zheng family's power is not something that ordinary officials really care about, but a duke is different; this is not something that can be dealt with by splitting the profits 30/70.

Li Yuan is a cunning fellow, not easy to negotiate with, but now is a good opportunity. He's not here, only his few foolish sons are around. If they can't deal with him, can't they deal with his sons? If we can leave some leverage over him, wouldn't we gain the upper hand?

However, we can't offend him too much, after all, he's a duke, and the emperor's cousin.

"Yuanrui, come closer, I have something to tell you."

Li Xuanba got up early, feeling refreshed all over.

He was very happy.

Another day without illness.

After years of suffering from illness, Li Xuanba was easily satisfied. As long as he woke up without any pain, it was the happiest day of his life, and nothing could spoil his good mood.

Duan Niang quickly came in. She was also very happy. Now she fully supported Li Xuanba's martial arts training. As long as he could get better, he could practice with a hammer or even a hoe!
After eating and drinking his fill, Li Xuanba waited outside for his teacher to arrive.

Liu Xuan arrived very early as well.

Unlike the previous days, Liu Xuan's face was full of smiles. He was very proud of himself, holding a yellowed book in his hand, and swaggered into the courtyard.

He found it!

He finally found it!
After searching for so many days, Liu Xuan finally found a martial arts book, "Military Techniques"!
This is a book from the Han Dynasty, containing detailed records of various martial arts, from hand and foot training, weapon handling, and military equipment knowledge. It includes methods for building physical strength, various sword techniques, archery skills, and even hammer techniques!

Liu Xuan was overjoyed and couldn't wait to showcase his academic research.

Liu Xuan did not rush to let Li Xuanba start training. He sat in the superior position with his head slightly tilted back. His posture was quite peculiar. Even if he did nothing, just sitting there made him look like a great scholar.

"Xuanba, I'm going to annotate this book, 'Military Techniques,' so you can use it to train from now on."

Liu Xuan had practically worn out the book in his hand, and the contents proved that he hadn't taught it wrong.

The book begins by emphasizing the importance of physical exercise. Before mastering techniques, one must first train the body. The most common exercise method described is running, including weighted running used by Liu Xuan, sprint running, and many other running methods that Liu Xuan had never even heard of.

Aside from running, there are also long passages about building strength, including weightlifting, pulling, wrestling, throwing, and so on.

Of course, there were also training methods that Liu Xuan hadn't thought of, including dodging, playing football, jumping, and so on.

Liu Xuan was completely calm now. He might not be good at other things, but he was very good at research and summarizing. He had thoroughly studied this book and even planned to design the most perfect training program for Li Xuanba based on his situation!
Liu Xuan became more and more excited and happier as he spoke.

Of course, the boasting only got bigger and bigger.

"I have practiced martial arts all my life and have taught countless disciples, numbering in the hundreds and thousands."

"I have summarized my experiences over the years and annotated this book. Once this book is completed, future military drills will be inseparable from it."

Li Xuanba was naturally very happy, but Liu Xuan's words also reminded him of his brother's instructions from yesterday.

He hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Master, there is something I would like to ask for your help with."

"Hmm, Xuanba, you should handle the small things yourself. You can't rely on your teacher for everything."

"After all, I am renowned throughout the land. If I always help you with trivial matters, what will the world say about me?"

"Master, don't worry! This is a big deal!!"

"."

(End of this chapter)