My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 231 Foolish!

In a small courtyard in the eastern part of Luoyang, several people were kneeling on the ground with their heads bowed.

One person sat in the seat of honor, looking astonished.

If Li Xuanba were here, he would recognize this person at a glance; it was Shi Shu Hu Xi, who had previously disguised himself as a foreign merchant.

Shi Shuhu looked at the warriors in front of him and asked incredulously, "Who gave you permission to assassinate Yang Wang?"

Why did you want to shoot Yang Wang?

The situation is somewhat complicated.

The incident began a few days ago when Shi Shuhu learned of some outrageous news: Yuwen Shu sent someone back to inform him that the emperor already knew about someone colluding with the Turks. However, the emperor seemed to think that the person colluding with the Turks was Yang Xuangan.

In addition, Yuwen Shu also informed the emperor of some of his thoughts. As expected, that scoundrel Pei Shiju had made his move, wanting to support the younger second prince to ascend the throne. He had even discovered Yuwen Shu's whereabouts.

As a confidant of the eldest prince, Duji, Shi Shuhu was naturally unable to sit still upon hearing this news.

If the emperor were to act according to that scoundrel Pei Shiju's ideas, preventing the Khan from coming to pay homage and then directly appointing the second prince as Khan after the Khan's death, then my lord's situation would become extremely unfavorable!

The succession system in the Turkic Khaganate was not as clearly defined as in the Central Plains. The steppe was a place where the strong preyed on the weak. The "Modu Chandra succession law" was hundreds of years ahead of the Central Plains. Of course, compared to the steppe regimes of the past, the internal system of the Turkic Khaganate was more complete and comprehensive.

However, the issue of succession has not been effectively resolved. Succession by brother and father is still being used alternately, depending on who is stronger. Fortunately, the current Khan does not have any powerful brothers, so Duji does not need to worry about his uncles. However, his younger brother, Silif, is an ambitious and aspiring man.

He was only two years younger than Duji. After they grew up, Duji clearly sensed the threat his younger brother posed, so he sent his brother away from the core to the east. Unexpectedly, his brother conquered many tribes in the east. Those newly surrendered eastern tribes only knew to wait for Lif and were unaware of Duji.

If the emperor were to support Duji, then even if Silif were unwilling, he would have no choice but to endure it. Of course, Duji would not be able to eliminate him. But if the emperor were to support Silif, then a civil war would likely break out instantly.

After thinking for a long time, Shi Shuhu finally decided to do something very dangerous to protect his own interests.

For example, the assassination of Li Xuanba.

Li Xuanba was the most beloved son of the Duke of Tang, and at present, the relationship between Yang Xuangan and Li Yuan was deteriorating. Shi Shuhu thought that if Li Xuanba were to be assassinated, Li Yuan would definitely be enraged. He only needed to guide him in secret and make him focus his attention on Yang Xuangan, which would surely cause a great deal of chaos.

Of course, this was only his first step. He had a total of six strategies, one inside the other, with the ultimate goal of gaining the emperor's approval of his lord.

But as soon as he took this first step, he received a huge 'shock'.

He heard that a thief had attempted to assassinate Yang Wang, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, at the gate of the Imperial Academy.

Shi Shuhu was immediately stunned. After confirming several times, he realized that it was the people he had sent who did it.

When these skilled fighters returned to Shi Shuhuxi, he was at a loss for words. After they returned, he pondered for a full hour, still unable to understand why they had gone to shoot Yang Wang.

Hearing Shi Shuhu's questioning, the leader said helplessly, "We've been following them for a long time, hoping to find an opportunity, but Li Xuanba has been staying in the carriage the whole time. We wanted to shoot arrows at the carriage, but there's really no suitable place to ambush him. If we act on the road, we're afraid we won't be able to escape, and it's even more difficult to enter the Imperial Academy and Li's residence."

"So we lay in wait outside the Imperial College, hoping to shoot his carriage."

"Today, we finally saw him get out of the car at the gate and talk to an old man. I felt it was a rare opportunity, so I ordered the attack. Unfortunately, the wind was strong and the distance was too far, so we missed. However, you instructed us that as long as we took action, it didn't matter whether we hit the target or not."

"Yes, I did say that. But were you shooting at Li Xuanba? Why is everyone saying Yang Wang was assassinated?"

"Couldn't you have waited until they left before making your move?"

Upon hearing Shi Shuhu's words, the leader laughed and said, "Don't worry! That's easy, we'll just assassinate Li Xuanba again!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Shuhu also laughed.

"That's clever! How come I didn't think of that?"

The leader grinned, "Bang!"

Shi Shuhu got up and kicked the warrior, who was knocked to the ground. The warrior struggled to get up and bowed his head to apologize.

"You want a second time?! What do you think this place is? Some remote border region?" "This is the capital! We could have carried out an assassination when the soldiers were off guard, but now they've all been alerted. You want a second time? You'll be arrested and beheaded the moment you step outside!"

"You lot"

Shi Shuhu was so angry he was trembling.

He sighed deeply, "Don't go out. Just stay in the manor and wait for my orders."

The men bowed and then left. Shi Shuhu wished he could kill them, but he hadn't brought many men with him this time, and these were the only ones who looked the same. If he killed them, it would make things even more inconvenient for him in the future.

Shi Shuhu sat in the courtyard, lost in thought.

All the plans he had devised over the years had collapsed, and none of his subsequent ideas were usable anymore.

Should we try a different approach?

Flattering the emperor and expressing loyalty to him is the easiest thing to do. However, Shi Shuhu Xi also knows the emperor to some extent. He will definitely accept gifts with a smile, but it is impossible to change his mind through gifts. He will probably accept the gifts, but the imperial edict will still have the second prince's name on it.

As for Yuwen Shu, it's probably not advisable for him to speak about matters within the Turkic Khaganate again.

Shi Shu Hu Xi pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered something.

His eyes lit up again.

"Are you okay?!"

How many thieves were there?

Inside the Imperial Academy, Li Xuanba was surrounded by his classmates, who were all very curious about what was happening outside and kept asking him questions.

Li Xuanba answered them one by one.

They had only been talking for a short while when Yang Wang returned in a menacing manner. Upon seeing Yang Wang's return, the crowd became even more excited and stepped forward, all expressing their willingness to help Yang Wang capture the bandits.

"Stop talking nonsense! All of you, go back to your rooms! No one is allowed to go in or out!"

Yang Wang launched into a tirade of abuse, and the students dared not say another word and left. Yang Wang, however, kept Li Xuanba behind. He looked Li Xuanba up and down to make sure he was alright. Li Xuanba saw that Yang Wang had clenched his fists and his eyes were flashing with anger.

"Master of Ceremonies, who made this?"

"This has nothing to do with you! Don't be distracted or afraid. I will catch these thieves. Under the emperor's nose, how can we allow treacherous villains to run rampant?!"

Yang Wang spoke very firmly, and Li Xuanba felt that Yang Jijiu seemed to know who those thieves were.

Yang Wang came to appease Li Xuanba. He said a few words and then left in a hurry again.

Liu Chounu and Zhang Du escorted Li Xuanba into their courtyard and closed the door. Only then did Zhang Du sigh, "I really didn't expect to encounter something like this right under the emperor's nose!"

Liu Chounu wasn't particularly surprised. He calmly said, "This isn't strange. There are countless high-ranking officials who have died mysteriously in the capital. Back in Qi, there were even bandits who dared to kidnap feudal lords in the capital."

"but."

"But what?"

"Judging from the point where the arrow landed, the position of the assassin, and the wind direction at the time, I think the person they really wanted to kill was probably the Lord. Of course, it is also possible that the thief was too nervous or his archery skills were not good enough. It is impossible to be sure."

Zhang Du frowned and said seriously, "No matter what, we have to be careful."

Li Xuanba seemed to be deep in thought.

He probably didn't have any enemies in Luoyang. The only one he could be said to have provoked was Yang Xuanzong. But even if the Yang family was arrogant, they wouldn't dare to carry out such an assassination in Luoyang, would they? He had just reprimanded Yang Xuanzong, and then he was assassinated. It seemed like someone was deliberately framing Yang Xuanzong.

If they were after the chief priest, that wouldn't make sense. Who would lay a hand on the chief priest?
(End of this chapter)