My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 113 Zhai Rang
"My brother has been arrested!!"

Then they heard a sound in the distance, and many dark figures rushed towards them.

At the same time, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from the side.

The burly man roared at the top of his lungs, his voice trembling, "Go!!"

In the distance, there was a scene of devastation, with shadowy figures fleeing in all directions. Soon, the group of knights appeared beside Li Xuanba, led by Li Shimin, followed by seven or eight knights.

Li Shimin, holding a torch, looked at his two younger brothers, his expression softening slightly.

Just now, when Li Shimin went to chase the bandits in the north, he was surprised to find that these bandits ran very fast, deliberately choosing places that were difficult for knights to travel, and they did not seem flustered, as if it was planned in advance. Li Shimin immediately sensed something was wrong and led his men back.

He discovered that a large number of guards were chasing the bandits to the north and east, while the south was shrouded in darkness, so he hurriedly led his knights to provide support.

Li Shimin looked at the fleeing black figures in the distance, but had no intention of pursuing them.

They were unfamiliar with the area, and it was dark, making the pursuit extremely dangerous.

We must be more careful in the future and absolutely cannot launch such reckless attacks again.

Li Shimin dismounted and looked at the carriages again. It seemed that their purpose was just to distract the guards and then steal some things. However, Li Shimin was also suspicious. Judging from their size just now, they had a lot of people, horses, and weapons.

They don't need to take such a risk. With their size, they can roam freely in the countryside and steal anything they want without much difficulty.

With so many people in their own family, why would they risk stealing from their own home?
The thieves have been gone for a long time, but the chaos in the camp has lasted for a very long time.

Attacks like this in the middle of the night are quite dangerous. After being frightened, people will act blindly, and may even scare themselves and fight with their own family members, causing considerable chaos. Li Jiancheng led his men to calm the crowd and finally managed to restore peace to the camp.

The family members were fine; when Li Jiancheng met Madam Dou, she was not flustered at all.

Li Xiuning, holding a bow and arrow, stood beside her mother without the slightest fear.

If Madam Dou wasn't afraid, then naturally the many other women in the family had nothing to fear either.

"I'm sorry to have frightened Mother."

"No injuries or fatalities."

"He was seriously injured, but not by thieves."

"I know. Send people to treat them promptly, distribute your trusted men to various locations, light many bonfires, and don't alarm the crowd any further."

Madam Dou gave many instructions, which Li Jiancheng confirmed one by one.

Madam Dou then looked at everyone and said, "With so many guards inside and out, there's no need to worry about any thieves. Go and rest, we still have a long journey ahead tomorrow."

After leaving his mother's place, Li Jiancheng, following her instructions, distributed his men to various locations and lit many bonfires, illuminating the camp inside and out. The panicked men gradually calmed down and were no longer afraid.

It was at this time that Li Xuanba and Li Shimin arrived here with the prisoners.

The captives were not just the strong man; Li Shimin's knights also captured a thief who had accidentally fallen while trying to escape.

Li Jiancheng sat in front of the campfire, staring at the two prisoners in front of him, his face full of anger.

This thief dares to bully me!

With a cold expression, he asked, "Where are you thieves from? Where do your accomplices set up camp?"

"If you confess, I will spare your lives; otherwise..."

Hearing Li Jiancheng's threats, the burly man slowly raised his head. He was injured and his complexion was not good.

Looking at Li Jiancheng in front of him, he was not afraid, and simply replied, "There's nothing to say, I just want to die quickly."

Li Jiancheng had seen many thieves, but this was the first time he had ever seen one like him.

This man did not look like an ordinary bandit; neither his physique nor his appearance suggested he came from a humble background.

Li Shimin walked quickly to Li Jiancheng's side and whispered, "Brother, this man seems to be a bandit leader. Just now, Xuanba said that they had captured two bandits, and this man rushed over to rescue them. After he was captured, I saw that the other bandits all tried to help him, but he drove them away."

Li Shimin then spoke of other things, such as the man's agility and martial arts skills, and the size of his men. Li Jiancheng was even more astonished upon hearing this.

He looked at the burly man in front of him suspiciously. "I can tell you're no ordinary thief. What's your name? Where are you from? And why did you attack us?"

The burly man raised his head, looked at the group of teenagers in front of him, and let out a long, helpless sigh.

In the end, I was just too greedy.

He had actually fallen into the hands of these children. Thinking to himself, he slowly raised his head and said seriously, "My name is Zhai Rang, from Weicheng. I used to serve as a legal officer in the county, but I was convicted of murder and ran away, becoming a thief."

“This attack on you was my own decision. The people around me are all kind-hearted people who were coerced by me. They are not evil. You can send me to Dongjun to exchange for a reward. You don’t need to pay attention to the rest of them.”

Li Shimin was greatly surprised; it turned out that he had actually served as an official!
Li Xuanba stood at a distance, his expression unchanged. However, he thought to himself that this man was not bad. He could still plead for his accomplice at a time like this, and he didn't seem like the kind of vicious thief.

Li Jiancheng suddenly stood up.

"Your name is Zhai Rang???"

Zhai Rang was somewhat astonished. He didn't know why the person in front of him was reacting so strongly. Did this person know him?
Li Shimin also looked bewildered. "Brother...you...know him?"

Li Jiancheng hurriedly asked, "Are you all from Wagang Village?"

Zhai Rang was even more confused.

Wagang?
Zhai Rang had just been dismissed from his post and fled his hometown. Because of his great reputation, many bandits in the countryside followed him and formed a gang of outlaws. They were still hiding and wandering around in various places and did not have a fixed camp.

Nowadays, not many people dare to openly occupy a place and then openly oppose the imperial court.

At this time, there were many thieves and few rebels.

Zhai Rang shook his head, "We are all from Dongjun."

Li Jiancheng was almost certain that the Zhai Rang in front of him was the same Zhai Rang who couldn't defeat Cheng Yaojin! It seemed that Wagang Village was built by this guy.

When Li Jiancheng thought of Wagangzhai, a long list of names flashed through his mind.

He took a deep breath and looked at Zhai Rang again. "Ahem, I've heard of you before."

Li Jiancheng only said this one sentence, and then he looked at the rest of the crowd.

"Let's lock them both up first."

Li Shimin was walking with his younger brother on the road at this moment, and he was quite curious about the man. "Brother, you have actually heard of such a person? Strange, even I have never heard of him. How did you hear about him?"

Li Jiancheng also had people from humble backgrounds around him. For example, he had recruited some craftsmen, but they were all from respectable families, not from bad backgrounds. On the other hand, Li Shimin had people from chivalrous and thief backgrounds around him. He knew much more about these kinds of thieves than his elder brother.

Li Xuanba simply sighed, "With a force like ours, we can still encounter thieves on the road. If we were ordinary merchants, I'm afraid we wouldn't even be able to go out."

Li Shimin chuckled coldly, "The Central Plains are still in good shape; it's Hebei that's in serious trouble."

"The amount of corvée labor is increasing year by year, and the same is true for thieves. If the government does not change this, in a few years, thieves will not only be able to rob people on the road."

Li Shimin's words were loaded with meaning, but Li Xuanba was too sleepy to continue the conversation. He returned to his tent, where Li Yuanji was still talking, when he fell asleep.

The convoy set off again after waking up the next day.

After what happened yesterday, everyone is being extra cautious today.

Li Xuanba remained seated in the car as Sanshi recounted the events of the previous day, describing how terrifying the night before had been.

After walking quite a long way, just as everyone stopped to prepare for a meal, Li Shimin found him again.

Li Shimin gestured for Li Xuanba to follow him, and they walked to a place a little further away from the others.

Then he spoke.

"Xuanba!"

"That Zhai Rang is truly a hero!"

"Ok?"

“I’ve spoken with him and another prisoner.”

"Do you know? He killed someone because a local tyrant defied the law and even sent men to injure the officers who came to arrest him. He bribed officials to arrest those people, but when he found that the law couldn't convict him, he broke in in the middle of the night and killed the tyrant!"

"Furthermore, do you know why he's targeting us? His men advised him to rob the villagers, but he told them that they were thieves out of desperation and couldn't harm ordinary people, so they risked everything to rob wealthy families like us!"

Li Xuanba stared at his elder brother in astonishment.

Why does my brother seem so proud of himself?

(End of this chapter)