My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 366 Invincible Li Erlang

Li Shimin arrived quickly and left just as quickly.

But as he rode away, Li Xuanba's complexion had improved considerably.

For some reason, his second brother always gave him a great sense of security. After his second brother appeared, Li Xuanba's tense nerves relaxed a lot, especially when his second brother solemnly promised to take care of the aftermath and told him not to worry. Li Xuanba believed him without a doubt.

Qin Qiong rode alongside Li Xuanba, watching the valiant young man ride away into the distance.

"General, your brother kept watch all night yesterday without closing his eyes."

Li Xuanba was stunned for a moment.

Qin Qiong said with a smile, "That saves me some trouble."

Li Xuanba laughed, "Well done, Lieutenant Qin! You always endure humiliation and hardship!"

This was the first time Qin Qiong had seen the general smile and even crack a joke since the campaign began.

The two looked at each other, then burst into laughter again.

Li Shimin led his entourage northward at breakneck speed. They seemed quite familiar with the terrain. As they sped along, they gradually moved away from the main marching roads, as well as from villages and farmland.

The scenery on both sides became increasingly desolate.

After they passed the second mountain pass, the road ahead widened, and a temporary encampment appeared before them.

Many soldiers could be seen resting here. Several soldiers standing on high ground spotted them and quickly informed the people in the camp.

When Li Shimin reined in his horse and stopped, several strong men led a large number of soldiers to greet him.

Shan Xiongxin was among these people, standing at the very front.

To his left and right stood many fierce-looking, burly men.

Everyone quickly bowed to Li Shimin.

"My lord, how is the situation on your side?"

Shan Xiongxin was the first to speak and ask.

Li Shimin laughed heartily and led them into the camp. The crowd surrounded him, showing him great respect. Li Shimin said with a smile, "You can no longer call me Marquis, you should call me Duke!"

"what??"

Shan Xiongxin's eyes widened. "The Duke???"

"I was startled too! Duke Zhao, the General of the Valiant Guard! When I first heard it, I thought it was a rumor, but after seeing his soldiers, I realized it was true!!"

Shan Xiongxin asked incredulously, "What merit could possibly warrant such a high-ranking position??"

A tall man with many scars on his face shouted, "I'm afraid he led the army alone to break through the rebels' capital and capture the rebel king alive!"

Li Shimin shook his head, "I didn't do anything special, I just saved an army of several hundred thousand. I'll tell you the details later!"

"Is there water?"

Li Shimin took the water bag from one of them, drank it all in one gulp, and then looked at the burly men around him.

While Li Xuanba was fighting in Liaodong, the situation in the country deteriorated rapidly, with rebellions breaking out everywhere. After Wang Bo shouted the "Song of Despair in Liaodong," the entire north was thrown into complete chaos.

Throughout history, there have always been rebels. Even in those well-known times of peace, there were always those who resisted. But this rebellion is quite different from the situation in the past when hundreds of people gathered together to declare themselves kings and establish their own independent territories.

The people had endured this for a long time, and once someone took the lead, rebellions broke out everywhere. Those who joined the rebellion weren't just ordinary people; they included wealthy merchants, powerful figures, local militia, and even scholars!

The rebellion was not confined to any one region; from Lianghuai to Youzhou, from Qingzhou to Guanzhong, flames of war were everywhere.

With no troops available domestically, local officials were in a state of panic and petitioned for help.

These letters seeking help reached the court, but dared not be delivered to the emperor. People like Pei Yun and Yu Shiji concealed them. Of course, this cannot be entirely blamed on them; the main reason was that the emperor disliked hearing bad news.

People like Su Wei, who frequently submitted memorials to the emperor informing him of local banditry, might end up with their deaths. It was only because Su Wei was highly respected that the emperor did not directly kill him. If someone like Yu Shiji had reported the situation, the emperor, in his rage, might not have killed the bandits, but he would certainly have killed the person who brought the news.

This created a terrible vicious cycle: thieves became increasingly rampant, and those who were originally unwilling to rebel were forced to participate due to the turmoil. Except for a few local governments, the rest of the governments could only close the city gates, hide in their offices and tremble with fear, and could not interfere in external affairs at all.

Historically, faced with such a fierce rebellion, the imperial court issued an edict requiring all people to move into the city and forbidding them from leaving, essentially leaving the area outside the city to the thieves.
Li Jiancheng quickly took action, trying every means to appease and incorporate them into his forces.

They appeased the common people who could not survive, and incorporated the rebel armies that had already risen up.

Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin divided the work.

Li Jiancheng was in charge of appeasement, while Li Shimin was in charge of incorporation.

Starting from Hedong, Li Shimin gradually incorporated small groups of rebel armies. The previous major battle with the Turkic forces was also caused by the failure to incorporate them. In this battle, Li Shimin made his subordinates completely submit.

After several unsuccessful negotiations with the Jurchen rebels, he chose to lead a small number of elite cavalry to directly attack the Jurchen rebels' central army, killing their generals in battle. He had indeed lied when he spoke with Yuwen Shu earlier, saying that he had only led less than a thousand cavalrymen to the attack. After the battle, the Jurchen rebels were utterly terrified and fled in all directions. Li Shimin pursued them relentlessly.

Then they entered Hebei and continued the recruitment work. Most of them were quite obedient. After Li Shimin expressed his intention to recruit them, they were willing to follow him. There were also those who were unwilling to obey, so Li Shimin led his troops to attack them. These cavalrymen, numbering less than a thousand, were incredibly skilled in his hands. More and more of them became fierce warriors. He carefully selected from those who were willing to be recruited and built his own elite force.

From Hedong, Hexi, and then to Hebei, Li Shimin had defeated countless rebel armies of all sizes and fought against countless enemies of different types. He became more and more ferocious in battle, and his achievements were exaggerated to the extreme. The fierce warriors he recruited all wanted to ask: Is this guy even human?
Li Shimin continued talking as he entered the main tent. He sat in the seat of honor, with his many warriors standing on either side.

Li Shimin's eyes were exceptionally bright.

"Gentlemen, if we fight our way forward, we'll be fighting our way out of the territory!"

"You can turn back now."

"Next, we have a very important task."

He looked around at the crowd and said, "Henan has several large granaries, and the grain stored there is said to be enough to feed a million-strong army for many, many years!"

"Everyone knows the current situation in the region. The people have no way to survive. From south to north, they are all starving. If we can capture the granaries, we can use that grain to relieve the disaster-stricken people in various places and help them survive. Of course, we can also gather more soldiers and accomplish great things!"

"We need to send someone to inform our elder brother, and then return as quickly as possible!"

"Seize the granary!"

The warriors were excited. They were not afraid; on the contrary, they were eager to try. Since following Li Shimin, they had been unable to feel fear. Even if Li Shimin said he would take them to attack the granary, or even if they were to fight the main force of the Twelve Guards of the Hui Army, they would not be afraid.

Changsun Wuji said, "Even if we return as quickly as possible, it will still take some time to reach Henan. By then, the enemy will likely be well-prepared. The Governor of Henan already has soldiers stationed under his command, and they have provisions and can continue to conscript. By the time we arrive, the enemy may already be ready. News travels faster through the post stations, so it would be better to let the young master make the first move."

"No."

Li Shimin shook his head. “The granary is of utmost importance. Pei Shiju will never underestimate it. At any time, there will definitely be heavy troops guarding it. Although my elder brother has brave warriors by his side and there are many elites in Wild Buffalo Mountain, it may not be easy to take it. Once we get into a stalemate, wouldn’t my father and brother be in great danger?”

"Only if I do it myself can I avoid any accidents!"

“I’m not afraid of their preparations. I’ll just tell my elder brother what I’ve said.”

"Here!!"

(End of this chapter)