My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 68 Becoming a big deal

The Zheng family of Xingyang has many branches.

Zheng Faxian's branch of the family had long since declined, but if we trace their lineage back, it's not like they haven't produced some capable individuals.

For example, during the previous dynasty, there was a Minister of Agriculture named Zheng Daoying.

None of Zheng Daoying's descendants were accomplished, which resulted in Zheng Faxian's branch of the family not being prominent. However, Zheng Daoying had a granddaughter who was also a cousin of Zheng Faxian, and she married a man who was somewhat famous.

That man was called Yang Su. He was somewhat capable, but he only assisted Emperor Wen in establishing the country and became the Duke of Chu in the Sui Dynasty.

Logically speaking, with such a person in the family, Zheng Faxian's whole family should have prospered. Unfortunately, Zheng Qiye, who married Yang Su, had a proud and domineering personality and did not get along well with Yang Su. Yang Su disliked his wife's family, let alone promoted or gave them important positions.

Zheng Qiye died because of the Cat Ghost incident, and this branch of the family completely lost its backing.

Two years ago, Yang Su also died of illness. His eldest son, Yang Xuangan, took his place. He was the eldest son of Zheng Qiye's principal wife. After succeeding to the throne, he sent people to contact his maternal clan again.

Unfortunately, there were very few people left from his maternal clan, and most of them were useless. Only Zheng Faxian, with whom he could barely maintain a connection, remained. He secretly contacted Zheng Faxian, without making their relationship public.

The former Duke Yang Su was a man of both literary and military talent. His achievements and influence were at their peak in the Sui Dynasty. He was the one who put the current emperor on the throne. Although his private morality was really bad, he carried out a lot of illegal activities such as forced labor and large-scale construction projects. However, his influence was real.

His son, Yang Xuangan, has now inherited his father's political legacy. He enjoys making friends with talented people and promoting his cronies. He has gathered many people around him, and his students and former officials are all over the country. He holds great power.

He himself had very distinctive features. He was tall, had a big beard, and looked like Guan Yu. He was also brave in battle, always leading from the front, and was known as the Xiang Yu of his time.

The dark-faced warrior sitting in front of Zheng Faxian is one of Yang Xuangan's guests.

This man was named Li Mi.

He was born into a military family and was known for his righteousness. In his youth, he generously helped his relatives and friends and took in his retainers, earning the respect of many. Later, he studied at the Imperial Academy and demonstrated great talent, excelling in both literature and martial arts.

After growing up, he served as a guard in the palace. However, the emperor felt that this dark-faced young man's demeanor was not right and he did not seem like a good person, so he ordered him to be dismissed.

Li Mi went home and began to study diligently. Yang Su, knowing about his situation, took him in and introduced him to Yang Xuangan. From then on, he became one of Yang Xuangan's most important guests.

At this moment, Li Mi, seeing Zheng Faxian's furious outburst, quickly tried to appease him, saying, "Lord Zheng, please don't be angry."

“I do not mean to make things difficult for Duke Zheng; he has already helped us a great deal.”

"Our lord is quite impatient this time."

"When the Duke of Tang went to the capital earlier, the lord sent someone to meet him."

"Many people have already agreed to join the uprising, but most of them are young men, and the most important ones are difficult to approach and deal with. With the return of the Duke of Tang, I think there is an opportunity to win him over."

"But the Duke of Tang refused the invitation, citing the excuse that his child had fallen off his horse and that he needed to return early, and thus did not meet with his lord."

"The lord was very displeased with this, feeling that Tang Guogong loved to make friends with people, but deliberately avoided making friends with him."

"The Duke of Tang has some reputation in the army and many friends. He is stationed in Xingyang, which is not far from the three major granaries. He can guard the river and enter Luoyang. Although the lord is not afraid of him, he is worried that he will cause trouble. It would be best to let our people be stationed in Xingyang."

"Therefore, the lord asked Zhao Yuanshu to submit a memorial to the emperor, impeaching the Duke of Tang and the Zheng family. However, the emperor did not transfer Li Yuan away. Instead, he sent Zhao Yuanshu to investigate. My original idea was to collect evidence of the Duke of Tang's crimes so that he could be transferred to another place."

"But the Duke of Tang is quite cautious, and he has many capable men under his command, so this method won't work."

Zheng Faxian stood there stunned for a long time before asking, "Why are you telling me all this?"

Li Mi said solemnly, "Before I set off, my lord instructed me that you are his elder, and that you are an upright person who cannot bear to see the people of the world suffer. He told me not to hide anything from you and to tell you the truth!"

"Lord Zheng, there are wicked villains wreaking havoc on the world, and the people are suffering terribly!"

"I am but a young man of limited talent and learning, yet I can spare no effort for the sake of the world's affairs. It is only because I have no help that I cannot accomplish it. I only ask that Lord Zheng can assist me!"

Li Mi's face was sincere, his eyes were earnest, and what he said didn't seem like a lie at all.

Zheng Faxian's face flushed red, and even the old scholar's eyes blazed with fury. He seemed to see the image of 'starving people everywhere, nine out of ten houses empty' before he spoke again. "What do you want me to do?"

He said the same thing again, but this time, his tone was different.

Li Mi was quite satisfied with his transformation.

He narrowed his eyes, a hint of cunning appearing on his dark face. "Since we can't find a way to demote the Duke of Tang, then we'll promote him."

"Anyway, our goal is simply to get him out of our heartland and go somewhere further away so he won't bother us."

Zheng Faxian pondered for a moment, then shook his head again.

"That's difficult too."

"Yang Guang is a vengeful person. If Zhao Yuanshu speaks ill of Li Yuan to him, he will probably hold a grudge for a long time. Promote someone he hates? How easy is that? Demotion is probably simpler."

"No. Lord Zheng, if you want to demote the Duke of Tang, you have to deal with the Duke of Tang. But if you want to promote the Duke of Tang, you only need to deal with the Sage. In the current situation, it is easier to deal with the Sage."

"What kind of logic is that? Do you think Yang Guang is easier to deal with than Li Yuan?"

"At present, that's the case. The sage has many trusted confidants around him, and he is still willing to listen to these people."

Zheng Faxian understood.

Li Mi then said, "Lord Zheng, I need some evidence of crimes against the Zheng family, concrete evidence, preferably written documents. Let's first help the Duke of Tang gain some merit, and then we'll work things out."

"You don't need to worry about harming the clan. The evidence I need is not serious, just a minor matter to appease the Sage. Even if the Sage punishes them, when they achieve great things in the future, the Zheng family, as the maternal clan, will naturally not be treated unfairly."

"I understand, I will get it done as soon as possible."

Li House.

Li Xuanba gently knocked on the courtyard door.

A moment later, a beautiful woman opened the door; it was Chen Shanyi, Li Yuanji's wet nurse.

Upon seeing Li Xuanba, Chen Shanyi quickly bowed. Li Xuanba returned the bow and asked, "Is Fourth Brother here?"

"Yes, yes, I'll bring him out right away."

Chen Shanyi hurriedly ran back, and a moment later, she saw her holding Li Yuanji's hand and walking towards them. Li Yuanji looked unwilling and very resistant, and was dragged by Chen Shanyi to Li Xuanba's front.

Li Yuanji has been feeling quite frustrated these past few days. If he goes to his second brother's place, his second brother is too busy to pay attention to him. If he goes to his third brother's place, his third brother keeps trying to get him to study!
He could only stay in his room, sulking, and wouldn't go out.

Upon seeing his third son arrive, he was very displeased. "I already told you, I'm not going to study with you! I finally managed to escape from the Zheng family's school, how come you're clinging to me again? I'm not going! I'm not going!"

Li Xuanba laughed and said with a regretful expression, "It's a pity. I heard that the city gates are no longer under martial law. I was thinking of taking you out for a walk. Since you don't want to go, then forget it."

Li Yuanji's eyes lit up, and he quickly stepped forward, grabbing his third brother's hand. "Brother? You really want to take me out to play??"

Having been deceived so many times, he quickly became wary again, wondering, "Could it be that they're trying to scam me like Li Shimin did?"

"No, go change your clothes."

Li Yuanji was overjoyed. He told Xuanba to wait for him and then rushed into the house.

Chen Shanyi was very happy. She quickly said to Li Xuanba, "Yuanji has nowhere to go these past few days and has been throwing tantrums all day. Fortunately, there is Sanlangjun here. Yuanji is still young and doesn't know much about manners. And the mistress is also... Sigh, please ask Sanlangjun to take good care of him."

Chen Shanyi's attitude was quite humble, and among the many wet nurses in the ward, she had the lowest status.

(End of this chapter)