My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 170 Heroes
"A true hero!"

"How magnificent!"

Li Shimin's gaze grew increasingly intense, while Yuchi Gong watched the people in front of him warily.

Yuchi Gong was not a commoner from the lower class. His family was an old Xianbei military aristocracy. His great-grandfather had served as a duke in the Northern Wei, while his grandfather and father had both held official positions in the Northern Qi. His father, Yuchi Jia, had also served as an official in the Northern Zhou after surrendering.

However, like those who gathered around Li Jiancheng, his family had fallen on hard times, making him a fallen military aristocrat.

Because of Li Xuanba's sudden rise to power, Lady Dou advised Li Yuan to let Li Jiancheng take control of the many industries in Hedong as soon as possible.

With his newfound confidence, Li Jiancheng began to make friends with talented and ambitious people to expand his reputation, which grew increasingly prominent in Hedong.

Many impoverished noblemen from Hedong came to seek refuge with him, and Yuchi Gong was one of them. He was exceptionally brave and his family ran an ironware business. Hearing that the son of the Duke was courteous to scholars and extremely friendly to impoverished nobles like them, and that he often gathered many craftsmen, Yuchi Gong brought his family's craftsmen to seek refuge with him, hoping to find a new life for himself.

However, Li Jiancheng's retainers greatly disappointed him.

The gatekeeper responsible for welcoming him actually demanded a bribe, requiring him to pay money before he could enter.

It wasn't that Yuchi Gong couldn't afford the money, but after hearing the man's words, he felt that this young master was nothing special. If everyone around him was like this, how could the master himself be any better? So he gave up the idea of ​​seeking refuge and prepared to leave.

He complained to someone along the way, mentioning Li Jiancheng's faults, which was overheard by Li Xiuning, leading to the current situation.

Now that he was blocked by the people from the Duke's mansion, Yuchi Gong's face became even more unpleasant.

Is this rumor really that different from reality?

Judging from their attitude, they don't want me to leave.

Just as he was considering whether to take the doll first and use it as a hostage to escape, the doll had already rushed in front of Yuchi Gong.

"Brave warrior, what exactly happened here? Tell me, and I will definitely get justice for you!"

Yuchi Gong said in a muffled voice, "It's just a misunderstanding. My lord, you don't need to make a decision for me. Just let me go."

"Brave warrior, what exactly is the misunderstanding? Is there anything you can't say?"

Yuchi Gong then recounted his experiences, saying, "That's how it is."

Li Shimin was furious.

"How outrageous! Such a valiant man has come to befriend us, and yet a lowly person dares to make things difficult and demand bribes?"

"Xuanba!!"

"Second brother."

"Find out who did it and send them to Father! Let Grandpa deal with them!"

"Here!"

Li Xuanba hurriedly mounted his horse, leaving many knights behind, and only took a few with him.

Yuchi Gong, however, kept his eyes fixed on Li Shimin. "My lord, now that I have said what I needed to say, may I leave?"

"Why must a brave warrior be in such a hurry to leave?"

"My elder brother is certainly unaware of this matter; it was the servants' fault. Please stay a few days, brave warrior, and when my brother returns, he will personally apologize to you."

Yuchi Gong was not interested in this.

You can tell what kind of person someone is just by looking at the people they employ. If all the people under their command are such scoundrels, what's the point of joining them? You'll definitely be ostracized. It's not a good path.

But seeing how polite the boy in front of him was, Yuchi Gong's expression softened slightly. He bowed and said earnestly, "I do not resent you, young master. It's just that things have gone wrong this time, and I've lost my composure. I just want to go home as soon as possible. I have no other thoughts. Please don't make things difficult for me, young master."

“Brave warrior, I am worried about you.”

"Since you said you came here abandoning your livelihood, how can you be at ease going back without any gain? Besides, such skill as yours is truly unheard of. It's a real pity that someone so brave and valiant is confined to his home! The court is currently seeking military prowess everywhere, and this is precisely the place for heroes to display their talents. If you miss this opportunity, will you ever have another chance to make a name for yourself?"

As Li Shimin spoke, he further analyzed for Yuchi Gong: "There are many nobles in Hedong, and heroes come to attach themselves to them. However, these nobles can only spend money to support these retainers, but they cannot give them the opportunity to display their talents!"

“But it’s different here with my elder brother. You don’t know this, but I’m currently training in the Eagle Banner Prefecture. You see, all my friends behind me are from the Eagle Banner Prefecture. If you’re willing to stay, I’ll go to the Eagle Banner General here and ask him to arrange a career for you! Isn’t that great? With your bravery, it’s not impossible for you to become a captain or general in the future!”

Yuchi Gong glanced at the knights in the distance; they were indeed dressed as members of the Eagle Banner Commandery. Yuchi Gong was somewhat tempted. He looked at Li Shimin beside him, "This job with the Eagle Banner Commandery... I'm afraid it might be a bit..."

"Getting into Yingyang Prefecture is indeed not easy."

"Once you enter Yingyang Prefecture, your whole family becomes a military household, thus avoiding corvée labor and taxes. The soldiers in Yingyang Prefecture are all from good families and were recommended by others."

"However, I will do my utmost! I will definitely find a good job for you, brave warrior! If you don't believe me, I can swear it now!"

Yuchi Gong hurriedly replied, "How dare I, how dare I?"

He looked at Li Shimin in astonishment, scrutinizing him from head to toe, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Young master, you are so extraordinary at such a young age! You are truly admirable!"

"Hahaha, Yuchi Jun is truly extraordinary! Although I am young, I'm afraid there's no one else in the whole world who can disarm me with his bare hands!"

"I was really frightened just now. You snatched my spear away. I thought I was going to die here for my sister!"

Yuchi Gong laughed heartily, but quickly realized what he had done. He looked at Li Xiuning, bowed, and said, "I did not mean to offend you. Please forgive me!"

Li Xiuning squinted, her face full of joy. "It was my men who struck first, so please don't blame them! We are also quite pleased to befriend you, brave warrior. Why don't you come with me to my residence? I'll have Erlang prepare a banquet to entertain you!"

"Thank you for your trouble!"

Li Shimin was very happy. He mounted his horse and followed Yuchi Gong back into the city. Along the way, Li Shimin told him some interesting stories from the army, and Yuchi Gong became increasingly reluctant to treat him like a child.

When the group returned to the Li residence, Li Shimin led them directly to his own courtyard.

The small courtyard was much smaller than the east courtyard, and there weren't many people, so the banquet wasn't very lavish, and the food was limited.

Yuchi Gong, however, sat quite comfortably, while Li Shimin sat beside him, talking loudly to him, and the two chatted more and more happily.

They were chatting when the door was suddenly pushed open.

Then they saw Li Xuanba stride in, and behind him, Liu Chounu and another warrior escorted a person to the center.

Li Xuanba spoke up, "Second Brother, I've found the person, but Master isn't in the manor. I don't know what to do."

Li Shimin pointed at the man and asked, "Brother Yuchi, look, is this the man?"

Yuchi Gong looked at the other person, his face darkening. "It is indeed this person."

The disciple looked extremely frightened and pleaded, "Second Master, I truly did not know this person knew you. I have followed you for many years, please forgive me! I will never dare to do it again!"

"Ha, having followed my brother for so many years, how could I dare to tarnish his reputation?!"

"Third brother, go and take him to Feng Li's place. Have Feng Li lock him up! We'll deal with him when Grandpa or my brother comes back!"

"Here."

Li Xuanba took the man away again.

Yuchi Gong spoke up at this moment, saying, "Second Young Master, perhaps we shouldn't do this. It's not appropriate for the Third Young Master to treat the young master's people this way. I really don't want to cause trouble for you gentlemen because of my own affairs."

"No problem!"

Li Shimin interrupted him and said, "You don't need to worry. We brothers are very harmonious. Besides, this is actually a good thing. How could the people around you not know how much harm such disciples can cause? Erlang has helped your elder brother. They will not blame you for this. They should be thanking you. Let's continue eating!"

Just as Li Shimin said, after Li Xuanba brought the man to Feng Li and told him the whole story, Feng Li hurriedly thanked him.

"If it weren't for you, my lord, such a villain would have almost ruined your important plans!"

"Thank you!"

The people behind Feng Li also bowed in thanks.

Li Xuanba quickly helped them up and said earnestly, "There's no need for that. I hope Lord Feng will send some trusted men to thoroughly investigate such scoundrels. My brother cherishes talented people the most. If he misses out on talent because of such people, he will certainly be unhappy."

"Here!"

(End of this chapter)