My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 185 Resourcefulness
When Li Shimin arrived at Dade Farm with his men, Li Xuanba had been waiting for him for a long time.

As soon as he dismounted, Li Xuanba pulled him directly into the house.

Li Shimin tried to pull him in, but found that his younger brother was holding him tightly. So Li Shimin let him pull him into the house. Li Xuanba closed the door and looked at Li Shimin anxiously, "Second brother, it seems we have caused a great disaster!"

He hurriedly informed Li Shimin of what Qu Qiusheng had learned.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin not only showed no concern, but instead laughed.

"interesting."

"These merchants lost their goods, and they still dare to inquire around? Aren't they afraid at all?"

"Second Brother! Are you sure that's a smuggling dealer? Don't let them kidnap an innocent person!"

Li Shimin had already sat down and glared at his younger brother. "Would your family, being good people, brave the wind and snow to make a deal?"

"Your family is so kind that they can get a dozen or so fine horses? A wealthy merchant from Mayi? Ha, can a merchant from Mayi be more powerful than your grandfather?"

"He bought it from the horse market in Mayi! If Mayi produced such a fine horse, would he even have the chance to buy and sell it? Ridiculous!"

"Besides, look at these horses, do they have any sales stamps from the horse market? Not a single one!"

After Li Shimin's explanation, Li Xuanba understood many things and slowly sat down.

"So what exactly happened?"

“Sanlang, these people are definitely not good people. That Liu fellow is no good either. He can’t possibly be the owner of those horses. If he were the owner, he should be the Duke.”

"The place that can produce so many good horses is still Wushankou."

Li Shimin looked at his third son with a deep gaze and asked, "Do you think it could be a Turk?"

"what?"

Li Xuanba was even more bewildered, "Turks?"

"In the entire north, besides my grandfather, I really can't think of anyone else who could produce so many fine horses. I've been thinking about this ever since I came back last time. I even wanted to send people to scout around, but the roads were all covered in snow and not easy to travel. Now this person has jumped out again, saying he's looking for this black horse."

"So many horses were lost, yet you only care about this one. This one is indeed magnificent, but it can't be said to be more important than all the others combined." Just now you said that the man surnamed Liu said this horse already had an owner. Leading so many good horses through the wind and snow, instead of heading directly to Hebei, you're going through Wushankou. Are you heading towards Daxing? Luoyang?

"With such a standard, who but a sage could be worthy of it?"

“But if it is for the emperor, there is no need to take a shortcut or avoid people. There should be guards protecting him along the way.”

"Is it some important figure in China who has dealings with the Turks?"

Li Xuanba just stared blankly at his second brother.

Li Shimin continued to ponder.

"Dark Horse. Dark Horse"

"Wuzhui. Yang Xuangan?"

Hearing Li Shimin talking to himself, Li Xuanba was dumbfounded. "Second Brother??"

Li Shimin then came to his senses. He smiled and looked at Li Xuanba, then suddenly grabbed his hand, "Sanlang!"

"I need to borrow some more manpower from you!"

"What does my elder brother intend to do?"

"Lend it to me first, I have a wonderful use for it!"

Inside the Wu residence.

Liu Shanbo was getting restless; it had been nine days already.

After waiting for nine days without receiving any news, Liu Shanbo grew increasingly anxious. The three counties in Loufan were not far from each other, and the news had already spread. Despite Old Man Wu's repeated attempts to comfort him, he could no longer sit still.

“Nephew, don’t worry. If Ma really is in Loufan, there will definitely be news.”

As he spoke, Old Wu added, "But I'm afraid you'll take the wrong path."

"What does Uncle Zhong mean by this?"

"The Five Passes connect to Mayi, Loufan, and even Yulin. The people from Loufan might not necessarily commit their crimes within Loufan's territory, and the people from Mayi probably wouldn't only operate within Mayi. Sometimes, to clear their names, they commit crimes elsewhere and then return."

"But those raiders went to Loufan!"

Old Wu didn't say anything more. Liu Shanbo frowned, and began to feel a little unsure. Could it really be the work of another county?
Just as Liu Shanbo was about to send people to scout other areas, a man rushed in. "Master! Someone threw this into the courtyard! It had a letter tied to it! When we went out to check, the person had already escaped!"

Old Wu was surprised and took off the letter, then looked down to read it.

After glancing at it a few times, he quickly looked at Liu Shanbo and said, "This is for you."

Liu Shanbo reached out and snatched the letter, then picked it up and began to read it.

The letter was very simple, and the handwriting was ugly. It only said that he had found the black horse, but did not want to show it in public. He hoped to meet Liu Shanbo in private and gave him a place to meet, asking him to bring as few people as possible.

Liu Shanbo frowned, somewhat hesitant.

Old Wu, standing nearby, said, "Nephew, if this person really found the black horse, he should find a reliable person to bring it directly to us. With my guarantee, he won't steal it, and the reward will be substantial. But judging from the letter, the other party doesn't dare to show his face. In the past few days, many people have heard about your search for the horse. This might be the work of thieves. Don't rush to respond."

Compared to Old Man Wu, Liu Shanbo clearly had more ideas.

They didn't just rob one horse that time, they robbed more than a dozen!
This person dared not come openly, and it's hard to say whether it was because of the other horses.

Whether it's true or false, Liu Shanbo is unwilling to give up.

He quickly stood up and bowed to Old Man Wu, saying, "My family is in imminent danger, so regardless of whether it's true or not, I have no choice but to agree."

"Well... I'll send some people over to help you."

"No need! He told me not to bring anyone with me, otherwise he might not dare to see me again."

"I'll go there myself!"

"But this."

"Uncle, please don't make things difficult for me anymore. I have no choice but to go!"

"Okay, fine."

Liu Shanbo breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "I finally heard the news today. It's not time to meet with them yet. Uncle, would you mind if I stayed for a meal? After I've eaten and drunk my fill, I'll head over to take care of this important matter!"

Old Master Wu naturally wouldn't refuse and hurriedly ordered someone to make arrangements, while Liu Shanbo had already handed the letter to his personal servant standing to the side.

The servant remained silent the entire time. After receiving the letter, he took a few steps back and waited until Liu Shanbo was chatting and laughing with others before disappearing from everyone's sight.

Liu Shanbo ate his meal with a smile on his face.

If you don't want to engage in fair and square transactions, that's all the better.

If the other party comes openly, even out of respect for Lao Wu as the middleman, Liu Shanbo wouldn't dare to take action against them. He would have to pay a heavy price and wait for his younger brother to gain power before seeking revenge.

But now, it's not that complicated anymore.

The other party wants to do a private deal with me? Ha, I couldn't be happier to do a private deal with him!
Liu Shanbo did not come to Loufan alone this time.

Whether those people are real or fake, he will not let them go.

Liu Shanbo had a hearty meal at Old Man Wu's place, and then left in a hurry.

Old Master Wu was still a little worried about him and advised him several times to be careful.

After leaving this place, Liu Shanbo hurried towards the destination indicated in the letter.

The place the thief mentioned in the letter was outside the city, quite far from the city walls, and even somewhat close to Chenghou Mountain.

Liu Shanbo hurried over there at a leisurely pace.

Meanwhile, another group of people had already set off for their destination ahead of time, led by the Turkic Yabghu.

Liu Shanbo originally intended for him to wait for news from him in Mayi, but Ye Hu disagreed. So Liu Shanbo had him pretend to be a Hu merchant and run into Loufan with him. However, they did not enter the city and waited outside for news from Liu Shanbo.

After Liu Shanbo saw the letter, he had his servant pass the message on to them.

While Liu Shanbo was eating and resting, Ye Hu had already learned the location from the servants and went ahead.

They looked menacing, and the one in the lead was furious.

He was determined to catch that thief and tear him to pieces!

If the BMW I want is there, I'll just snatch it. If it's not there, I'll capture them alive and force them to tell me where it is. I have all sorts of cruel ways to make them talk!
Ye Hu sneered and sped up again, rushing towards his destination.

(End of this chapter)