My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 126 What is that?!

On this day, Li Xuanba had just finished exercising and was telling Sanshi a story in the courtyard when Zhang Du and the others rushed over.

Li Xuanba quickly got up, invited everyone to sit down, and asked Duan Niang to bring some food.

Everyone sat down, and Li Xuanba greeted them with a smile, asking about their daily lives.

After they arrived in Loufan with Li Xuanba, they stayed in the city temporarily. Li Jiancheng arranged for them to live in two different places. Some of them stayed in the mansion, while most of them were arranged to live in a large courtyard in the city, which was not too far from the mansion, about a mile away.

Zhang Du then moved out.

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Du began to report on various matters.

Since Li Xuanba was unable to leave his home, he arranged some tasks for Zhang Du and the others.

Zhang Du said earnestly, "My lord, we have investigated thoroughly. The previous corvée labor dragged on for a long time, affecting the spring planting. As a result, they had no grain and could not afford to pay taxes. As a result, they had to impose corvée labor again, and the people in the city could no longer bear it."

"In addition, some powerful families outside have also done nothing good."

“This place is different from Xingyang. There are no local powerful clans here. Those wealthy families all live outside. They are all outsiders. They came here because of the horse farm and the mine.”

"The horse farms are a bit better, but the mines need manpower, so they try every means to force the people in the city to become tenants and slaves to work for them. I heard that the officials are all acting under their orders, deliberately provoking the people to make them fight back."

"The goal is to capture them, turn them into prisoners and government slaves, and then we can legitimately take them to work in the mines."

"However, they didn't have any evidence."

Li Xuanba had previously sent Zhang Du and others to investigate the situation in the area.

Zhang Du and his group, relying on the governor's mansion behind them, managed to gather a lot of useful information. Loufan was different from Xingyang; there were no local powerful clans here, or rather, no powerful clans like the Zheng family that could control everything. Many of the local strongmen were outsiders.

By acquiring ownership of mineral resources from the government and then establishing a presence there, they did not hesitate to harm the local people in order to increase their profits.

Li Xuanba's expression was quite grim. He asked seriously, "Among these mines, are there any that were secretly mined like the Zheng family's?"

Zhang Du answered decisively, "There definitely is."

"However, we are not very familiar with this place, so I'm afraid we will have difficulty finding their location."

Li Xuanba looked at everyone and said, "I have a way to save the people of the whole county, but we need to find evidence of those people's crimes first."

“Zhang Tuanzuo, we are not familiar with this place, so it won’t be easy to find you. But if a local can help us, it might be easier.”

Zhang Du lowered his head, looking troubled.

Private mines like these must be very well hidden and cannot be discovered by the government. If even the local government cannot find them, it will be even more difficult for outsiders to find them.

However, since Li Xuanba had spoken, Zhang Du no longer hesitated and said, "I will take men to various places to investigate."

"Okay, be careful not to get caught. You can use another name, such as buying a mine."

Zhang Du's eyes lit up, as if he had an idea. He nodded, "I understand!"

Zhang Du and the others got up and left.

Li Xuanba sat there, lost in thought.

If Master Liu were here, that would be wonderful. I don't know if my idea is even mature enough. I wonder what's wrong with the people of Qingzao Village these days.

Chai Shao was true to his word; he had promised Li Shimin that he would take him to Yingyang Prefecture, and today he indeed paid him another visit.

Li Shimin was quite pleased. He led the man to his courtyard, took out the fine tea he had stolen from his father, and entertained this distinguished guest. He then changed into military attire, took out his beloved bow and arrows, and showed them to Chai Shao.

Chai Shao nodded repeatedly.

Just as Li Shimin was preparing to leave with him, someone suddenly arrived.

"Erlang, are you home?"

"I brought you new clothes~~"

Then we saw Li Xiuning dressed in women's clothing, with a friendly smile on her face, carrying a new set of clothes in her hands, walking in through the courtyard gate.

After she entered the courtyard, she seemed to realize there was a guest. She was quite surprised and turned her head away shyly, not daring to look at the other person. "I didn't know you had a guest here, so I'll go back first. This is a dress I made myself. You can try it on." Li Xiuning gently put down the dress and left briskly.

Li Shimin stood there, dumbfounded.

The person who just came in, if I'm not mistaken, is that my older sister?
When did you start wearing women's clothes?

Isn't this the dress my mother made for me?
Chai Shao watched the girl reappear and then leave in a hurry, and felt a sense of loss.

He looked at Li Shimin beside him and said sincerely, "You have a good older sister who even makes clothes for you by hand. That's wonderful."

"What kind of clothes can she make?!"

Chai Shao frowned. "How can you say that? Your sister is so good to you, yet you don't appreciate it and speak ill of her like that. This is not the behavior of a true man!"

Li Shimin remained silent for a moment, then suddenly forced a smile.

"Yes, yes, it's my fault. My older sister is the most virtuous and skillful person."

Chai Shao then laughed and patted Li Shimin on the shoulder.

"Even parents and siblings should know how to be grateful."

"Let's go! Don't waste any more time!"

Chai Shao and Li Shimin mounted their horses. When Lady Dou learned that Chai Shao was taking Li Shimin out, she did not stop them. She simply sent someone to tell Chai Shao that her son was unruly and that if he did anything disrespectful, she hoped he would be lenient with him.

As soon as the two went out, a knight followed behind them.

These men were true knights, unlike the petty skirmishes Li Shimin had previously engaged in. They exuded a fierce and valiant aura, which Li Shimin greatly admired!

The name "Yingyang Prefecture" was just a name; in reality, it was a large military camp. Their stronghold was not close to the city. Chai Shao was initially worried that Li Shimin would not be able to keep up, but when he discovered that the boy was quite good at riding a horse, he galloped at full speed.

The group walked along the path, kicking up clouds of dust.

Li Shimin finally experienced what it was like to lead cavalry on a long march.

They galloped westward for more than half an hour before their horses grew tired and began to slow down.

At the end of the path, there was a small checkpoint guarded by several strong men. When they saw that it was Chai Shao coming, their expressions changed, and they smiled and let him pass.

Yingyang Mansion is located here. After the checkpoint, you can see the open-air training ground surrounded by high walls. From a distance, Li Shimin could hear the sounds of fighting coming from inside, which were truly exhilarating.

When they entered the drill ground, many soldiers were already training.

Holding long spears, they galloped swiftly across the training ground, with many wooden dummies placed along the way. The knights performed various difficult maneuvers on horseback, attacking the wooden dummies. It was as if they were showing off their skills. They galloped without stopping, and the wooden dummies fell one after another, with someone rushing to place new ones.

Li Shimin was filled with curiosity about everything here.

He took a deep breath; the training ground was filled with the smell of sweat, blood, and weapons.

Chai Shao stood to the side and began to explain, "We have four training grounds like this, not just one. Each place has a lot of training equipment. If you like, you can try it out with them."

Li Shimin was overjoyed and asked, "Is it true?"

"Of course!"

Chai Shao pointed into the distance, called over a man, and gave him a few instructions. The man quickly led Li Shimin to the center of the training ground. A moment later, Li Shimin also picked up his weapon, mounted his horse, and joined the knights in a charge.

Chai Shao stood at a distance, laughing heartily.

At first, Li Shimin was quite awkward and made frequent mistakes, almost falling off his horse several times. Chai Shao was afraid to let him continue. But soon, Li Shimin made progress. He gradually imitated the way the knights in front and behind him moved more and more accurately and his movements became more and more precise.

Li Shimin suddenly rose from his warhorse and stabbed a wooden dummy to the ground with his spear.

He raised his weapon high and cheered wildly, and the knights in front and behind him echoed his shouts.

Meanwhile, Chai Shao, standing some distance away, stared wide-eyed, utterly dumbfounded.

what? ?

(End of this chapter)