My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 136 Replacement

On a small road outside Jingle City, a carriage was slowly traveling towards the city.

The carriage was quite simple, yet it was followed by knights both in front and behind.

Ordinary thieves wouldn't dare to mess with them.

The carriage traveled a little further, and on the left side of the road, a large number of people began to work, which made the knights turn their heads.

Liu Xuan sat in the car, watching the situation outside.

Liu Xuan finally finished his work and arrived in Loufan County.

He glanced at the situation outside and roughly guessed what was going on. The group of people outside the city didn't seem to be performing corvée labor. They were chatting and laughing, so it seemed they were being recruited. The Duke of Tang really had some capable people around him. He had found a different way to help the people. But wouldn't this anger the emperor?

As Liu Xuan continued forward, he was lost in thought. Soon after, he appeared in front of the Li family mansion.

Liu Xuan still holds a high position in the Li family. The servants at the door hurriedly reported this, and a moment later, Li Xuanba rushed out to greet him.

"Master!!"

Li Xuanba was overjoyed and bowed to Liu Xuanxing in greeting.

A smile appeared on Liu Xuan's face. He helped his disciple up, looked him up and down, and then reached out to squeeze Li Xuanba's arm.

"Haha, not bad, you've been practicing quite diligently."

Liu Xuan was even happier to find that his disciple had grown even stronger since he left.

At this moment, both master and disciple had a lot to tell each other, but now was not the time to talk. Li Xuanba led his master inside, while Liu Xuan still had to pay his respects to Li Yuan.

Walking down the street, Li Xuanba talked about some of his recent breakthroughs.

Li Xuanba never stopped his training plan. Even when he was traveling, he would get off the vehicle and run or lift something. After arriving in Loufan, he stayed at home and spent his days either reading or exercising without missing a single day.

His training has also made great progress, whether in running distance, speed, or the weight he can lift.

Of course, he also kept up with the classics, reading quite a few books in his spare time.

Liu Xuan smiled and stroked his beard.

In terms of talent in classical studies alone, Li Xuanba was not the strongest person Liu Xuan had ever met. If Liu Xuan did not consider himself, he had an old friend whose talent far surpassed that of Li Xuanba. However, Li Xuanba was the most persevering person Liu Xuan had ever met.

Even when I'm not around, he will obediently follow my instructions and won't slack off.

Such a child is destined for great things.

Listening to his disciple's 'bragging', Liu Xuan followed him into the main hall.

"Oh! Mr. Liu is here!"

Li Yuan hurriedly went out to greet him. He walked a few steps to Liu Xuan, took his hand, and said helplessly, "I was just resting when I heard that Lord Liu had returned, so I quickly changed my clothes and came out. I apologize for my disheveled appearance."

Liu Xuan quickly said he dared not.

Li Yuan pulled the other man into the house and made him sit down next to him. Seeing Li Xuanba standing opposite him with a blank expression, Li Yuan said, "What are you still standing there for? When Master is here, shouldn't a disciple stand aside and serve him?"

Li Xuanba was stunned for a moment, then walked to his teacher's side, but he was still a little at a loss, not knowing what to do.

Li Yuan said with a wry smile, "My child is still young."

"No problem, no problem."

Liu Xuan smiled calmly, "I know Sanlang best; he just doesn't understand these things."

“He’s grown up now, he can’t always be so clueless.”

"It's no harm in not understanding. Sanlang's sincere heart is enough. If he wants to understand in the future, he will naturally understand."

After exchanging a few words, Li Yuan asked Liu Xuan about his family, and Liu Xuan answered him one by one.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Li Yuan finally brought up the current situation in the city.

He began by recounting his arrival, then moved on to Li Xuanba and Li Jiancheng's proposals, discussing private mines, recruitment, and other matters. Liu Xuan grew increasingly astonished as he listened. He wasn't surprised by Li Xuanba's proposal; his disciple was simple-minded and not particularly cunning. When he considered this matter, he probably hadn't thought of anything else but reducing the emperor's suspicions and facilitating the relief of the people.

Li Jiancheng, however, surprised him somewhat. This man usually seemed frivolous and immature, but unexpectedly, he could be quite clever at times.

After Li Yuan finished speaking, he asked, "What does Lord Liu think of the pros and cons of this matter?"

Liu Xuan pondered for a long time before replying, "The Duke did the right thing this time. I had wanted to advise the Duke on something before, but I was afraid that the Duke would not listen, so I did not say anything."

"The Duke has too many friends, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but the Sage will surely be wary of the Duke because of this."

"The Duke's friends are not divided by rank. There are powerful families like the Zheng family, as well as some down-on-their-luck old soldiers. Wherever the Duke takes office, he always manages to become friends with the local people."

"But has the Duke ever considered that these friends of yours might one day implicate you? If something happens to you, will they be able to help you? I think that you don't need too many friends. Just those who can truly help you and are of one mind with you are enough. As for the rest, I'm afraid they will bring far more disaster than help."

"The current situation is becoming increasingly chaotic. Do you know who the new governor of Xingyang is?"

"I heard it's Yang Qing."

"It was him. After his arrival, he was eager to wipe out the bandits and did many things."

"Suppress the bandits??"

Li Yuan was taken aback; he really didn't know about this.

He immediately became interested, "Suppress bandits?? What bandits are there in Xingyang?"

"Ahem, it's Qingzao Village."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan's expression changed, but then, remembering something, he chuckled again, "He's going to attack Qingzao Village? He's a newcomer; he might not even be able to muster enough local militia. Heh, tell me more about it!"

Li Xuanba also pricked up his ears to listen. Liu Xuan calmly said, "I heard this later, I don't know if it's true or not, but now south of the river, the infamous Qingzao Village is widely known, and many people are talking about them."

"It is said that the prefect sent a captain to suppress the bandits. The local militia hastily assembled, but were attacked by the bandits as soon as they reached the foot of the mountain and were almost wiped out. They then sent out a second time, but were attacked by the bandits again and were almost wiped out. Only the captain and a few militia leaders escaped, and the rest were captured."

"Because of this incident, the captain was imprisoned, but it seems the prefect hasn't sent anyone else to suppress the bandits."

Upon hearing these words, Li Yuan couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Send Zhao Puti to fight the bandits? What can that idiot do?"

Li Yuan was very disdainful. He said, "This fool has no ability. He was just a brigade commander back then. When the rebels attacked, he wanted to run away, but his men wouldn't let him and forced him to stay on the battlefield at knifepoint. As a result, reinforcements arrived in time and defeated the rebels. This fellow actually got promoted because of this and went around telling people that he had done a great service in suppressing the rebels."

“If that were the case, it would be fine. But this fellow is also one who loves to kill innocent people and claim credit for them. When I first took office as governor, I sent him to suppress bandits. He went and killed some savages and told me that they were the heads of bandits. I wanted to punish him at the time, but Wang Zanwu persuaded me to stop. After that, I never paid any attention to him.”

"Sending this fellow to fight bandits is a joke!"

"However, those thieves are becoming increasingly brazen; they even dare to attack the local militia."

Liu Xuan said, "After this incident, the prefect seemed to be a different person. He never mentioned the thieves again. Instead, he began to send people to rectify officialdom, punish officials with bad reputations, and return some of the farmland that had been seized to the villagers. The people all began to praise him."

"Oh?"

Li Yuan was somewhat surprised, and then said, "His father must have left him some talented people."

"But why did Liu Jun bring him up?"

"Duke, our initial suspicions may be true. Someone did indeed want to drive us out and bring in their own people. On the way here, I met an old friend and chatted with him for a bit. This new prefect seems to have been recommended by a duke."

"We don't know how many people are connected to him yet. If the Duke's friends are among them, it might cause you a lot of trouble in the future."

"Therefore, I think the Duke did the right thing this time."

"This is also a good opportunity for us!"

"Chance?"

"Does Your Excellency not wish to enter the imperial court and take charge of important state affairs?"

(End of this chapter)