My older brother said I'm invincible.

What is Chapter 43 called?
Feng Li had several knights prepare a carriage to take the surviving women from the village to the farm, while the rest of the group continued towards Buffalo Mountain.

Everyone lowered their heads and remained silent.

When they first set off, they were all laughing and excited. But after what had just happened, everyone felt heavy-hearted and disappointed. No one spoke, and the scene remained quiet.

Li Xuanba was the first to break the silence.

"With such rampant thieves outside, aren't the soldiers doing anything about it?"

Feng Li, who was standing to the side, paused for a moment and slowly said, "Most of the Eagle Banner Prefectures are located in Guanzhong and Henan. There are fewer in other places. Moreover, local officials cannot mobilize the military prefectures at all, not even the Duke of Tang. Only the Emperor can. Even if bandits attack a city, they can only take action if the Emperor gives the order."

"What about the local areas?"

Feng Li replied, "Just like you, my lord."

Li Xuanba understood somewhat, "Are all the localities gathering their own troops to resist the bandits?"

"The government, as well as local strongmen and some well-known clans, would organize local militia, provide them with weapons, and call them village soldiers. Generally, the scale was not large, not exceeding a hundred people. Normally, when encountering bandits, these village soldiers would be sent to fight. If a large number of bandits were encountered and could threaten the city, the local officials could petition the imperial court to conscript able-bodied men to expand the scale and temporarily resist, and then wait for the imperial court to order the Eagle Wing Prefecture to attack."

Li Xuanba frowned. "If we hand everything over to the Eagle Banner Prefecture, what if the Eagle Banner Prefecture goes out to fight and bandits rise up again? Won't the local area be powerless to fight back?"

Feng Li shook his head. "Young master, there's no need to worry. Yingyang Prefecture has plenty of troops; it's impossible for them all to be deployed to fight outside."

"I see."

Li Xuanba didn't ask any more questions, but Feng Li was more curious about Liu Chounu. He couldn't help but ask, "Old man, I've heard that the real elites in Yingyang Prefecture train in completely different ways than elsewhere, and they even train with real swords. Is that true?"

When Feng Li asked this question, many people around him looked at Liu Chounu.

When the old man set off with everyone earlier, no one thought he was anything special. But in the battle just now, he killed half of the thieves by himself. His fighting power was truly terrifying.

Liu Chounu shook his head, "I don't understand Yingyang Mansion."

"Eagle Feather Mansion is the former military mansion of the General of the Cavalry."

"Oh, the military government."

Liu Chounu laughed, a flood of memories flashing in his eyes. "I don't know how they train elsewhere, but the training of our Wuchuan people is truly grueling. There are a few old guys specifically in charge of training, all of them old Wuchuan natives who fought alongside Emperor Wu in the Battle of Jinyang!"

Liu Chounu was usually lonely and few people were willing to listen to him. Now that such a large group of people were listening, he was happy and talked about his youth in great detail.

The heavy atmosphere was broken, and everyone listened with great interest as he recounted his amusing stories from his youth and the fierce-looking bandits he had encountered.

"Old man, are those Eastern bandits really that strong? According to you, aren't they even stronger than the current Eagle Banner Prefecture?"

"Hey, let me put it this way, if just one of those old Qi Hu from the East comes out, those bandits from before won't be enough for him to kill. He's as fierce as a demon. If you cut off their hands, they'll still pounce on you and bite you. Isn't that terrifying? The first time I saw the East bandits, I was so scared I almost peed my pants."

"Hahaha~~"

Liu Chounu then said with considerable pride, "However, in the end, no matter how strong they are, they are still no match for us."

Li Xuanba simply listened quietly.

After walking for a long time, the guide pointed to the distance and told everyone that that was their destination. There was a village there called Meng Village, which was the closest village to Buffalo Mountain. The village had many hunters and was larger than Tao Village. Ordinary thieves would not dare to provoke them.

Further along from Mengcun, you enter the Wild Buffalo Mountain.

The group of people walked towards Meng Village in a grand procession. As soon as they reached the village entrance, some children spotted them. The children quickly stood up, their faces filled with fear, and stared at the group of outsiders.

"Thief!! Thief is here!"

A child started shouting.

Feng Li quickly shouted, "We are local militia! Not thieves!"

Upon hearing this, the children were even more frightened than before, and they turned and ran away.

"The local militia are here!!!"

Li Xuanba looked puzzled. Why did they seem more afraid of the local militia?
The entire village erupted into chaos. A moment later, a group of strong young men rushed out of the village, all carrying bows and arrows and dressed as hunters. The leader glanced at the group before him, his face immediately falling. He gestured to the hunters to put down their weapons, and then he strode to the group and knelt down before Feng Li.

"Sir! I beg you! Please have mercy! There's really nothing left in the village!"

"We're willing to offer some furs, just please spare us; the village truly has no food left."

The man kept kowtowing, and Feng Li quickly jumped down, saying, "We are not robbers!"

“I know Junzi isn’t a thief. He’s been leading the local militia to protect us, and we’re incredibly grateful. But we were just protected by the militia two days ago, and the village really has no food left.”

Feng Li was so angry that he couldn't speak.

At this moment, Li Xuanba ordered Liu Chounu to ride forward, and he looked at the man in front of him.

"Please don't worry, I am Li Xuanba, the third son of the city's prefect. We are by no means the kind of villains who rob and plunder. We have come here to ask for a guide into Wild Buffalo Mountain. We have no intention of causing you any fear. We will leave now."

After Li Xuanba finished speaking, the man looked astonished.

Although the society of today is not like the Han Dynasty, where prefectures were the state and prefects were the rulers, the title of prefect still held great prestige, especially for the local people. Even county magistrates were figures of legend, let alone prefects.

"Wait, my lord! Wait, my lord!"

The man quickly spoke up, looking at the child in front of him again. In this area, no one would dare to impersonate the prefect's child. Looking at the people around him, indeed, whether it was their clothes or the horses they rode, they were quite different from the village soldiers of the past.

"Is the young master truly the son of the prefect?"

Zhang Du snorted, "How could this be fake? Welcoming such a virtuous and distinguished guest is your good fortune, how dare you kick him out?"

The man was overjoyed. "Oh my, you really are a benefactor! I was blind to your greatness! What a sin! What a sin!"

"Guards! This is the prefect's son, a noble person from heaven! Quickly, kneel and pay your respects!"

Li Xuanba quickly declined, and only then did the man invite everyone into the village.

The group arrived at the largest courtyard in the village. The children and women were nowhere to be seen, except for a few men who gathered in the distance, curiously watching these important figures.

Zhang Du patted the man on the shoulder, "How can we entertain such an important guest empty-handed? Go and prepare some food."

The man quickly made some meat porridge, but there wasn't much meat, and there probably weren't enough bowls. He had to find some from all over to make sure everyone could have a meal.

This was their most valuable possession.

Li Xuanba looked at the meat porridge with curiosity. There were many things in it that he had never seen before. After taking a few bites, his eyes lit up. The taste was really good.

The man stood not far away, not daring to say anything.

After Li Xuanba finished eating, Zhang Du asked with a smile, "Young master, was the food to your liking?"

"good."

Zhang Du cleared his throat and said seriously, "My lord, I have heard that the Book of Rites says: 'It is impolite to give without receiving, and it is also impolite to receive without giving in return.'"

Li Xuanba was taken aback, and said with a wry smile, "I felt that my senior brother's words were inappropriate just now, as if he had other intentions. I see."

He subconsciously took out some money, then shook his head. "Money is useless, brother. You should give them more food. They were just robbed, and they must be in dire need of food right now."

Zhang Du smiled and agreed, then looked at the man and said, "A benefactor is about to bestow a reward; aren't you going to express your gratitude?"

The man was stunned. He only realized what was happening when Zhang Du spoke, and quickly thanked him.

Everyone in the village began carrying grain, beaming with joy. The man who had been somewhat bewildered stood beside Li Xuanba, rather reserved.

Li Xuanba said earnestly, "Our local militia is here to protect the people and eliminate thieves. We will never harm the innocent. We are usually stationed at the large farm in Dongqingkou, which is the magistrate's public field. You can tell the people in other villages that if there are thieves or local militia causing trouble, they can come to us, and we will definitely do our best to help them."

The man suddenly knelt down in front of Li Xuanba.

"My lord is so kind and righteous!!"

"It doesn't have to be this way."

Li Xuanba helped him up. The man said a few more words, then asked in confusion, "Young master, you said you were going to Wild Buffalo Mountain? Why do you want to go to Wild Buffalo Mountain?"

"We have business to attend to there, what's wrong with that?"

"The bison there are very fierce; you'd better not go, my lord."

"I'm not afraid of bison. If you can find me a guide, I'm willing to pay a hefty sum and guarantee his safety; I will never let a bison harm him."

"Uh, sir, please wait a moment, I'll go look for it!"

Li Xuanba and the others continued to wait in the courtyard, but the man quickly left.

After leaving, the man walked a few steps south and then rushed into a small courtyard. He cautiously closed the door. Inside the courtyard stood seven or eight people, all armed, hiding there with extremely tense expressions.

"How is it? Haven't the militia left yet?"

The man scratched his head and pondered for a moment, "This time the local militia is different from before."

"how?"

"They are good local soldiers."

"Huh? There are good local soldiers? You haven't been fooled, have you?"

"The one leading the group, he said, is the third son of the prefect's family. He's still a child, thin and small, doesn't seem like a bad person. I think his name is Li Xuan."

As the man was speaking, the expressions of the people in front of him changed drastically.

"Could it be Li Xuanba?"

(End of this chapter)