My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 202 Pei Shiju, the Traitorous Minister of the Sui Dynasty

Luoyang.

When Li Yuan arrived in Luoyang, officials were already waiting outside the gate.

The official who came out to greet them was clearly quite old, even older than Li Yuan, but he still looked energetic and had a big smile on his face. He seemed even more harmless than Li Xuanba.

Li Yuan recognized the man and quickly dismounted to meet him.

"Oh dear, how could I allow the Duke to perform the ceremony!"

The man quickly returned the greeting and began to reminisce with Li Yuan in an extremely friendly manner. Li Yuan said a few words to him and then looked at Li Xuanba beside him, "Xuanba, why don't you quickly pay your respects to Lord Pei!"

Li Xuanba hurriedly bowed and paid his respects.

The old minister standing in front of Li Xuanba was named Pei Shiju. He was known as the political survivor. He served in the Northern Qi, then the Northern Zhou, and then the Sui. Over the years, he only made friends and never offended anyone. He was valued by Emperor Wen and the current emperor.

His achievements are even more remarkable. He made a great contribution to dividing the Turks, and now he is the vanguard that the sage uses to attack the surrounding enemies.

It can be said that this was a top-level minister. However, his reputation was not so good. As a senior minister, he could not give frank advice like Gao Jiong and He Ruobi. He always showed extreme loyalty to the emperor. If the emperor wanted to expand, he would go to investigate first. If the emperor wanted to dig a canal, he would go to locate it first. No matter what the emperor wanted to do, he always followed him and was the most loyal henchman.

Judging from his appearance alone, he seemed like a kind and approachable person.

Pei Shiju looked at Li Xuanba in front of him, his expression becoming even gentler. "This is the Marquis of Bocheng whom the Emperor cannot forget. Hahaha, truly extraordinary! The Duke of Tang has a fine son!"

Pei Shiju helped Li Xuanba up and asked with a smile, "Child, this journey has been arduous. Are you feeling alright? Would you like me to take you to the manor to rest?"

Li Xuanba looked at the old man in front of him; his expression seemed genuine and sincere.

"Thank you, Lord Pei. I am fine and do not need to rest."

"That's good, that's good."

Pei Shiju then looked at Li Yuan and said, “Duke, His Majesty has been waiting for you for a long time. In my opinion, you should stop preparing and go see His Majesty directly. The war at the front is urgent and cannot be delayed. As for the child, you don’t need to worry. I will personally take him to the Imperial Academy later. What do you think?”

"How could I possibly trouble Lord Pei?"

"It's alright, it's alright. We two have to go together, and we'll need the Duke's help along the way."

Pei Shiju said with a smile.

Li Yuan understood something, and hurriedly gave Li Xuanba a few more instructions before quickly entering the city. In contrast to his urgency, Pei Shiju held Li Xuanba's hand and slowly entered the carriage.

Sitting in the car, Pei Shiju gave Li Xuanba some more fruit to eat.

"Students of the Imperial Academy usually live there. They used to be able to go out freely, but since the name was changed two years ago, they are not allowed to go out anymore. You can't get in with so many people. Just bring four people. As for the others, they can be arranged in the manor outside the city."

“Perfect timing. I have a manor in the east of the city, I’ll give it to you.”

Li Xuanba hurriedly replied, "How could I dare? My father has already arranged accommodations. I wouldn't dare trouble you, Master Pei."

"Haha, that works too."

Pei Shiju said with a smile, "The teachers at the Imperial Academy are all quite good. However, the most important thing is the library. There are many books there that you can read. As for your classmates, just ignore them. They are all good-for-nothings. Don't associate with them too much, or they will lead you astray."

Pei Shiju said a few words, seemed a little tired, and slowly closed his eyes to rest.

Li Xuanba was sitting in the carriage, feeling a bit bored, when Zhang Du rode up to the carriage.

"My lord, shall we go to the Imperial Academy together?"

Li Xuanba hurriedly lifted the carriage curtain and looked at Zhang Du.

"No need, just bring three people."

"Here."

"Then shall I arrange for the rest of them to return to their manor outside the city?" "No need to rush. First, have them go into the city to look for that Shi Shu. Shi Shu is a scoundrel."

At that moment, Pei Shiju suddenly opened his eyes in the car, his gaze unusually sharp, completely different from his amiable appearance just now. Li Xuanba was startled by this change, Zhang Du was stunned for a moment and hurriedly left, but Pei Shiju stared at Li Xuanba in front of him.

"Does Your Excellency know Shi Shu Hu Xi?"

"I don't know him. I just saw a foreign merchant named Shi Shu in Loufan before."

Pei Shiju narrowed his eyes and stared intently at Li Xuanba, "Then how did you, my lord, know the name Shi Shu Hu Xi?"

After thinking for a moment, Li Xuanba told the official from Xihe that he had encountered him on the road.

Pei Shiju found himself increasingly amused as he listened, and Li Xuanba noticed the corners of his mouth gradually curving upwards. By the time Li Xuanba finished speaking, Pei Shiju had already burst out laughing.

"Hahaha, that's it."

Pei Shiju was not sent by the emperor to escort Li Xuanba to the Imperial Academy. He was going to travel with Li Yuan and wanted to get closer to him as soon as possible. So when Li Yuan entered the palace, he volunteered to take Li Xuanba to the Imperial Academy. Originally, he just wanted to get closer to him and spend some time with him until Li Yuan finished his business and they could travel together.

But he never expected that his impromptu decision would yield such a huge result.

Others may not know who Shi Shu Hu Xi is, but Pei Shiju knows very well.

When Pei Shiju accompanied the emperor to Yulin, he discovered this Turkic man, Shi Shuhu Xi. This Turkic man was different from others and quickly aroused Pei Shiju's suspicion. This was not only because the man was proficient in multiple languages, but more importantly, this fellow understood the big picture and had a very good strategic vision.

This fellow came to pay homage to the Sage with many Turkic officials, but took the opportunity to win over the officials around the Sage. Indeed, the person who secretly reported the Yuwen family was sent by Pei Shiju.

Pei Shiju was very familiar with things beyond the Great Wall and had many friends there.

He also heard about Shi Shuhu's strategic ideas from his friends in the border region.

When Dujishi first met Shi Shuhuxi, Shi Shuhuxi gave him a grand strategic vision. Shi Shuhuxi had visited the Central Plains many times and predicted the future situation. He believed that the peace in the Central Plains would not last long and that internal strife would inevitably break out. Therefore, the Khan should have more contact with the nobles in the north, actively engage in intermarriage, and strengthen ties.

When the Central Plains are in chaos, the Khan can actively participate and rapidly expand his power through various means such as support, appeasement, and intimidation, and then contend for the Central Plains.

Regardless of whether the strategy is good or bad, the fact that someone outside the Great Wall could come up with such a grand strategy is dangerous in itself.

Therefore, Pei Shiju paid close attention to this person. He even felt that if given the chance, he would eliminate this person even at the risk of turning against the Turks!

He wasn't afraid of people like Han Xin and Wei Qing emerging from beyond the Great Wall; he was only afraid of people like Xiao He and Zhuge Liang emerging from beyond the Great Wall, even if they were just weaker versions of them.

When Pei Shiju learned that the person he was so wary of was likely in Luoyang, he was overjoyed.

Li Xuanba was completely bewildered. "Lord Pei, what exactly is going on?"

"It's alright, it's alright, it's just a small matter. You don't need to get involved in this anymore. This isn't something a little kid should be doing. Just focus on your studies. I'll send someone to handle it. Also, don't tell anyone about this yet, okay?"

Li Xuanba frowned but did not answer him.

Pei Shiju had no choice but to abandon his coaxing tone and said seriously, "Xuanba, what you're talking about is very important. That man named Shi Shuhu Xi is a very important Turk. He has come to Luoyang for something important. I want to rid the country of this traitor, so I don't want this matter to be leaked. Therefore, I want you to keep it a secret for me for the time being, is that alright?"

Li Xuanba's expression softened slightly, and he nodded, "If that's the case, I will certainly comply."

"However, Lord Pei, the bandits in Xihe County are causing harm to the area. If we don't send someone to rescue them, many innocent people may lose their lives."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of everything."

As the two were talking, the carriage stopped.

Pei Shiju took Li Xuanba's hand and stepped down from the carriage. He said, "I originally wanted to take you in, but I have to deal with that matter as soon as possible. I can't delay. I'll send someone to take you in. You can stay here for now. Your grandfather might have to leave immediately, so just focus on your studies."

"Here!"

(End of this chapter)