My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 77 There really is one (Please subscribe after the book is released)
Liu Chounu was driving the carriage ahead.

Many knights stood at the front and back of the carriage, cautiously observing their surroundings.

Li Xuanba and Li Shimin sat inside the carriage, and Li Shimin sighed deeply.

"What a pity, right now Grandpa should be launching a fierce attack on that thief's lair, shouldn't he?"

"Won't the troops I finally managed to gather be stolen again?"

He didn't really want to leave, but given Li Yuan's angry expression, he didn't dare to argue and could only obediently get into the carriage, letting Liu Chounu take the two of them away.

Li Xuanba, however, had a furrowed brow at this moment.

“Brother, those people don’t look like thieves.”

"They were too clean, and the one in charge was obviously from a wealthy family."

"And that dark-faced man, and the men with him, were all tall and strong, some even carrying crossbows."

"I don't quite understand."

Li Shimin pondered for a moment, “Indeed. I was in a hurry to save you just now, so they escaped. However, I shot a few dead. Perhaps Father can find their bodies and identify who they are.”

"Brother, those thieves just now, could they be from the Zheng family?"

Li Xuanba suddenly spoke up and asked.

Li Shimin asked, puzzled, "Why do you say that?"

"In Xingyang, I really can't think of anyone else who could hide so many people and possess such martial prowess. Besides, I heard my elder brother say that the Zheng family is eager to expand their power and has secret businesses and shady dealings in many places."

"Could these be the private soldiers the Zheng family has hidden away?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin pondered for a moment, "If Zheng Jiazang's private army is like this, then how can they possibly grow their power? This group is utterly vulnerable; I don't even know if they can defend against thieves."

"It seems we can only find out the truth when Grandpa comes back."

Li Shimin still felt it was a pity, but when he thought of his command today, his little face was full of smiles.

"Xuanba, I feel like I'm pretty powerful."

"My second brother has always been very capable."

"Haha, that's true, but the feeling of commanding you in battle today was truly wonderful, even more so than when my grandparents praised me! I've made up my mind! I want to become a general in the future and assist my elder brother in expanding our territory!"

He quickly grabbed his younger brother's hand, "I underestimated you in the past and failed to discover your talent! You little rascal, you really have the makings of a fierce general! From now on, you will be my vanguard general! I need a good man like you. I will be Han Xin, and you will be Xiang Yu. I will command, and you will charge into battle!"

Li Xuanba spoke up, "I don't like war. I still believe that peace should be valued above all else, and if possible, we should try to persuade the other side through reason."

"Then you're not going to be a general anymore?"

"I'll take it on. If we can't convince the others, I'll go with my second brother and confront them."

"Okay! It's a deal!"

Li Shimin now had an inexplicable urge to share; he couldn't wait to return to his residence so he could tell everyone about his performance that day. Why was the carriage moving so slowly?

When the two of them returned to the Li residence, Li Jiancheng was standing at the door waiting for them.

He looked restless, pacing back and forth; clearly, he had been waiting there for a long time.

When the carriage stopped, Li Shimin and Li Xuanba got out of the carriage at the same time. Li Jiancheng, like Li Yuan, rushed to Li Xuanba to check if he was injured, and then asked Liu Chounu what had happened.

Li Shimin was not surprised at all; he could even guess that his elder brother would soon lose his temper with him.

"Second!"

Li Jiancheng shouted something.

Sure enough.

Li Shimin lowered his head, prepared to defend himself after being reprimanded.

"well done."

"Ok?"

Li Shimin looked up in surprise. Li Jiancheng's eyes showed some approval. He patted his younger brother on the shoulder and said, "As an elder brother, it is only natural to protect your younger brother. You did a good job."

"When Father comes back, I'll say a few words to him and make sure he doesn't punish you too much."

Li Shimin's eyes lit up immediately.

"Thank you so much, brother! It's all I should do!"

Li Jiancheng nodded with a smile, then asked, "Well, well, there's something I'm really curious about. What's the deal with your knights?"

"Big brother, let me explain!!"

"Big brother! Big brother! Don't do it!!" Soon, the second brother was already lying on the bed, while the third and fourth brothers knelt beside him, looking at them expectantly. Seeing their appearance, Li Shimin was furious. "You two are sitting like you're in mourning! Sit apart!"

The two were obedient and kept some distance between them.

"I just don't understand. We always get into trouble together, but I'm always the only one who gets beaten up! Does being the second child in the family mean I have to be humiliated like this? Why wasn't I born a few years later?"

"The whole family is also suffering."

Li Yuanji showed him his bright red right hand, which had been beaten by his elder brother with a small ruler.

Li Xuanba said, "Brother has hit me this hard. When Grandpa comes back, he won't hit me again. Brother hit me less hard than Grandpa."

"That's true."

Li Shimin nodded.

Li Yuanji hurriedly asked, "I heard that you two fought a battle with thieves? Is that true?"

Li Shimin's backside immediately stopped hurting. He had been waiting for someone to ask him questions. He cleared his throat and began to talk about the battle. He described a simple skirmish as if it were a battle between hundreds of thousands of troops, talking about killing generals and capturing flags, besieging points and attacking reinforcements. Li Yuanji was completely dumbfounded.

Li Yuanji looked at his two older brothers with a different kind of admiration.

Li Xuanba did not disturb his elder brother's enjoyment, but he was still thinking about what had happened that day.

He still had no clue.

Who exactly is that dark-faced man?
Zheng Mansion.

The mansion was unusually quiet, and there seemed to be far fewer servants.

Zheng Jibo sat in his study, calmly sipping tea, a book in front of him, which he was reading with great interest.

"Boom."

The study door was kicked open, and Zheng Qilin stumbled into the room. He was bound and disheveled, and his voice was hoarse from crying.

Li Yuan followed closely behind and strode into the study.

Seeing Zheng Jibo reading, he sat down opposite him with a smile and looked down to flip through his book.

"Lord Zheng is really not flustered at all, and he even has the mind to read a book?"

Zheng Jibo was somewhat surprised. He looked at Li Yuan, then at Zheng Qilin beside him, and asked, "Duke, what's going on?"

Li Yuan waved his hand and said, "Alright, stop pretending."

"Tell me, what's going on?"

Zheng Jibo looked bewildered. "I really don't know what the Duke wants to ask."

Who do you think did it?

Li Yuan frowned. "Within Xingyang, is there anyone who dares to oppose your family?"

"This is clearly aimed at you. They deliberately lured my son there so I could discover your family's copper mine. I had no idea your family had such a lucrative business hidden away."

"Who does Zheng Gong think it is?"

Zheng Jibo squinted. "Wasn't it you?"

"No."

"Ah."

Zheng Jibo scoffed, "If you say it's not, then it's not."

Li Yuan looked at his expression and laughed. "No wonder you didn't make a move. You were determined to pretend you didn't know anything. Did you think I did it?"

Li Yuan shook his head slightly. "If it were me, I wouldn't have done so little. Of course, I don't blame you for thinking that way. The Guanlong warriors who appeared out of nowhere and carried crossbows, and who were able to find the secrets of the Zheng family, ultimately benefited me."

“Some people in the court spoke ill of our two families, and then this happened.”

"Zheng Jibo, who on earth have you offended? They've even dared to cause trouble on your land?"

Zheng Jibo took another sip of tea and said softly, "It's been a long time since I've been to the capital. Of the two of us, you're the one who's been to the imperial court."

Li Yuan was smiling and about to strike up a conversation when he suddenly remembered something. In that instant, his expression changed drastically, and he stood up abruptly.

Zheng Jibo sensed something was amiss and looked at Li Yuan with suspicion.

If we're talking about offending someone during Li Yuan's trip to the capital, there really was one person he offended.

Duke Yang Xuangan of Chu sent someone to invite Li Yuan to a private banquet a few days later, hoping to exchange pleasantries and have a chat in person. Li Yuan originally intended to go, but suddenly a knight from his hometown came to report that Li Jiancheng and Li Xuanba had fallen off their horses. Li Yuan was anxious, and considering the Emperor's recent harsh actions and increasingly suspicious nature, he politely declined Yang Xuangan's offer.

(End of this chapter)