My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 210 Extraordinary
Wild Buffalo Mountain, West Ear Ridge.

On the winding mountain path, only one scholar could be seen, holding a cane and moving slowly forward.

The scholar looked around, walking at a moderate pace. His clothes were quite worn and patched, and his skin was rather dark.

If Yang Xuangan were here, he would immediately recognize this man's true identity as Li Mi, who claimed to have gone to Nanjun.

Li Mi's appearance is quite suitable for playing a poor scholar, at least much more so than the old farmer he played before.

He walked cautiously, and after walking for an unknown amount of time, his legs ached. He found a clean spot, took out some food from his pocket, and ate it on the spot, while looking around.

"Where did this young man come from?"

Startled by the sound, the scholar nearly dropped the dry bread in his hand. He looked up in astonishment and saw several soldiers standing on a high place, staring coldly at him. At that moment, the scholar was even more bewildered.

Li Mi didn't even bother to pretend this time; he was genuinely stunned.

The people standing on top were wearing military armor and carrying military weapons, and two of them were carrying shields. They looked exactly like soldiers from the Eagle Banner.

Is it possible that soldiers from Eagle Banner Prefecture would appear here?

Li Mi quickly bowed to them, saying, "Greetings, Generals!"

"General?"

Upon hearing Li Mi's words, the soldiers exchanged glances and then laughed.

One of them said, "Don't address me that way."

He stared at Li Mi, "Who are you? What brings you up the mountain? Have you committed any offenses?"

Li Mi was taken aback. He was unsure of the identities of the people in front of him. Where did these soldiers come from?

Li Mi hesitated for a moment, then quickly took out his travel document from his robes. "I have a travel document, I have a travel document. My name is Liu Zhiyuan, from Luoyang. I am on my way to Guancheng to visit relatives."

One of the soldiers stepped down, approached Li Mi, picked up the document, and began to examine it carefully.

After reading it, he nodded and looked up at the man standing on the high place. "Squad leader! It's true."

After saying this, the soldier returned the pass to Li Mi, while the sergeant was very serious at this moment. "If you want to go to Guancheng, you can take the official road, not the mountain road. There are many bandits on the mountain road. How can a scholar like you escape? Hurry down the mountain and take the official road!"

Li Mi breathed a sigh of relief, thanked the soldiers in front of him repeatedly, and then quickly fled.

The soldiers watched as Li Mi walked down the mountain path and slowly disappeared from their respective locations.

Li Mi quickened his pace, striding forward, his forehead covered in sweat, his heart trembling.

Simply because the Sui Dynasty has absolutely no merit!

In Yingyang Mansion, there are fire chiefs and squad leaders, but no other kind of chiefs!
But that group of people just now, in terms of equipment, demeanor, and positioning, looked like a regular armed legion.

This can only mean one thing: these soldiers are the damn soldiers of Qingzao Village!

Li Mi recalled their equipment, their appearance, and how they had even searched his place, warning him to be wary of bandits. He found it all absurd!

Is this still a thief?
No wonder the prefect of Xingyang Prefecture seemed to have forgotten about this band of thieves and had no intention of suppressing them. If the local militia were to be mobilized to attack such armed bandits, it's hard to say who would be attacking whom. It has already come to the point where the Eagle Banner Prefecture has to be dispatched to defeat them!
This place isn't far from Luoyang!

Li Mi felt increasingly frightened as he thought about it.

He himself didn't know how long he had walked. Finally, when he saw the official road gradually appearing in the distance, his legs went weak and he almost fell to the ground.

Li Mi was already somewhat disappointed in Yang Xuangan.

Especially during the clash between Yang Xuangan and Li Yuan, Li Mi clearly saw things he hadn't noticed before. The Duke of Tang was decisive, knowing when to act and when to restrain himself; he readily gave away so many fine horses, simply to make a good impression on the Emperor. But what about the Duke of Chu? He had so many estates and farmlands, and Li Mi had only asked him to send some to avoid punishment, yet the Duke blamed Li Mi for his plan failing. If Li Mi's plan had truly failed, the Duke of Chu would have been arrested by the Emperor long ago.

Yang Xuangan sometimes really overestimated himself. He seemed to think that just because he was Yang Su's son, he could act recklessly. But he didn't think about the fate of those virtuous ministers who were on par with Yang Su. The emperor dared to kill those people, so why wouldn't he dare to touch the son of a virtuous minister?
Moreover, he was too concerned about those false personas, hesitated at crucial moments, and even missed this great opportunity to supervise the delivery of supplies.

Li Mi is really worried now.

Yang Xuangan followed his brother's strategy without consulting him beforehand, spreading rumors in Luoyang in an attempt to get others to take action against Li Yuan first. However, the nobles in Luoyang were not fools, and none of them would act according to his ideas.
Li Mi guessed that the emperor might have already investigated the origin of the rumors, but was just not in a hurry to take action.

Li Mi was too afraid to stay in Luoyang. If the Emperor were to take action against Yang Xuangan, then none of those who had close ties with Yang Xuangan would be able to escape.

Because of the previous situation in the mountain stronghold, he was extremely curious about Qingzao Village and decided to come and explore the situation there again.

If he were to be wanted because of Yang Xuangan's affair, this place might actually be a good place for him to escape the pursuit and achieve great things.

But he didn't expect that before he could find out anything, he was almost scared to death by those soldiers.

Li Mi sat by the official road, catching his breath for a long time, until his mood gradually calmed down.

Just how large has Qingzao Village reached?
Where did they get their armor and weapons? And judging from those soldiers, they were clearly well-trained in the military. They even seemed to hold official military ranks. Were they preparing to rebel?
Li Mi waited there. Soon, another group of people arrived from the mountain path, led by a merchant. They also seemed quite flustered, hurrying down the mountain. Upon seeing Li Mi waiting there, the 'merchant' hastily stepped forward and bowed, 'Master.'

Li Mi had his men disguised as merchants and follow behind him. Judging from their appearance, they had obviously encountered a checkpoint by 'government soldiers'.

"You guys encountered it too?"

"Yes, patriarch, why are there soldiers from the Eagle Banner Manor here?"

"Ha, what Eagle Banner? Those are just soldiers from Qingzao Village!"

Li Mi's confidants were all dumbfounded. They did not believe Li Mi's statement at all, but because of Li Mi's status, they dared not speak out.

Li Mi's eyes, however, were incredibly complex.

"Just as I suspected. The Duke of Tang had long ago prepared for a rebellion."

"Let's hide in Guancheng for now. If things change, we'll go and seek refuge with someone who can truly accomplish great things."

Imperial College.

“Xuanba, if you want a good manor, I have many good ones in the southern suburbs. Why do you need one in the mountains?”

Li Xuanba was sitting in the courtyard with several classmates, listening to their stories.

Yuwen Rutong, the son of the current Minister of Works, sat to the side. He was quite surprised when he heard that Li Xuanba wanted to buy his manor on Mangshan Mountain. It wasn't that he was unwilling to sell, but he was curious as to why Li Xuanba wanted to buy the property in the mountains.

Li Xuanba sent people to investigate and found that the largest manor in the mountains belonged to this young master Yuwen. His father, Yuwen Kai, was the emperor's favorite minister. He was in charge of almost all of the emperor's major projects, from the Great Wall to canals to palaces. He himself was also very talented in construction.

The grand estate in the mountains was designed by this man. It boasts an excellent location, a vast area, and is outstanding in every way. Originally intended as a place for rest and escaping the summer heat, it has unfortunately become unused since the Emperor ascended the throne. Li Xuanba wants to buy it.
After some time, he was even able to secretly meet with key members from Qingzao Village under the pretext of visiting his own estate.

This manor might become his next stronghold, allowing him to control all the mountain strongholds.
“Brother, I have loved hunting and peace and quiet since I was a child, so I wish to buy it. If you find it difficult, I will not force you.”

"No problem, we haven't been to this manor even once since it was built! Grandpa's always on the go. Oh well, I'll talk to Mother, I don't think she'll refuse. Just prepare the money!"

"Thank you, brother!"

"No need to be polite. For the next exam, you'll have to let me sit closer."

"That's natural!"

(End of this chapter)