My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 235 How to solve this?

"It's him! It's definitely him!"

"I knew long ago that Yang Xuangan was no good person!"

Yuwen Shu made a solemn vow.

Yuwen Shu usually had a good relationship with Yang Xuangan, but at the moment, Yuwen Shu had no choice. It was Yang Xuangan who was actually in contact with the Turks, and judging from the emperor's behavior, he must be very angry about this matter. If Yang Xuangan was not convicted, then it would be Yuwen Shu who would be in trouble.

Therefore, Yuwen Shu disregarded any personal relationship and could only do his best to push Yang Xuangan to the brink of death.

Upon hearing even Yuwen Shu say this, Yang Guang's expression immediately turned cold.

Normally, the news that Yang Guang heard was mostly about how Yang Xuangan had contacted many people in private and had connections with them. But when Yang Xuangan got into trouble, Yang Guang realized that these people all wished Yang Xuangan dead!
Is the information you've been hearing wrong?
This reminded Yang Guang of the prophecy.

Is the pillar of the Yang family about to fall, and a new rebel about to emerge?
Yang? Li?
Yang Xuangan? Li Yuan??
The emperor silently continued on his journey. The people accompanying him had already noticed something was wrong. The emperor's mood had become increasingly irritable lately. He had lost the joy of his previous victories and had become much colder towards his ministers, no longer allowing them to rest.

The favored ministers who had been summoned several times before could only follow behind him now, unable to see him even once.

Many ministers realized that something was probably wrong in the country.

The ministers also had their own informants, and they quickly learned of Yang Wang's assassination attempt, as well as some of the impeachment proceedings, all of which surprised them.

Li Yuan rode his horse in the entourage, with Pei Shiju beside him, smiling as he gazed into the distance.

Li Yuan's expression was rather unpleasant.

Recently, nursery rhymes have suddenly appeared in various places. The content of these nursery rhymes is very unfriendly to those surnamed Li. In the past, when Li Yuan was just a local governor, he was not afraid. After all, there are so many people surnamed Li in the court, and it is unlikely that he, a local governor, would be the one to be afraid.

But now, Li Yuan's status has skyrocketed, and he has become a powerful minister in the court, which has suddenly become somewhat dangerous.

Previously, when he accompanied the emperor, the emperor would meet with him from time to time to ask him about things, but after the nursery rhyme appeared, he was never summoned by the emperor.

He felt increasingly uneasy.

Looking at Pei Shiju beside him, he finally couldn't help but ask, "Did Lord Pei go to pay his respects to His Majesty?"

"No, His Majesty does not wish to summon his ministers."

"Previously, His Majesty would summon all the wise men every day, but now even Lord Pei cannot be seen. What has happened?"

"Haha, it's nothing, it's nothing."

Pei Shiju smiled and said, then looked at Li Yuan, "Duke, there's no need to worry. The country is strong and the people are at peace. The world is well-governed and the nation is powerful. The Emperor would never punish a minister because of some nursery rhyme."

Li Yuan was horrified.

Pei Shiju's words were loaded with meaning. If the world is at peace, why wouldn't he handle this? What if something unexpected happens, like bandits or a rebellion?
So I'll be the first one arrested and executed?

Pei Shiju's words of comfort had the opposite effect, making Li Yuan even more uneasy.

What exactly is going on?

Was it done by Yang Xuangan?
But is he really capable of doing so many things?
Li Yuan dared not hesitate and sent someone to Luoyang to deliver the message.

Just as Li Yuan continued his journey with trepidation, the emperor finally slowed down, and their entourage was getting closer and closer to Daxing.

Outside Luoyang city.

A horse-drawn carriage was slowly traveling along the official road, heading towards Luoyang.

On the roadside, Li Xuanba was dressed in simple military uniform, with Zhang Du and Liu Chounu standing on either side.

The driver saw them and stopped the carriage about fifty paces away. The driver said a few words to the carriage behind him, and then a man quickly stepped down from the carriage. That man was Wei Zheng.

Wei Zheng had already changed out of his Taoist attire. For Wei Zheng, being a Taoist was merely an identity he needed when traveling to various places. Due to the special nature of his profession, he could travel to many places without encountering too much trouble.

Now that I've found a place where I can do great things, I no longer need to pretend to be a Taoist priest.

Wei Zheng glanced at Li Xuanba and the others.

Li Xuanba also saw this Gao Xian, who had amazed his elder brother.

This person is indeed not very old, dressed as a Confucian scholar, but has an extraordinary demeanor and is not an ordinary person.

Wei Zheng strode towards Li Xuanba and bowed to him in greeting.

"Wei Zheng pays his respects to Your Excellency." "Lord Wei."

Li Xuanba greeted him with a smile. Wei Zheng only learned of his lord's identity when they were almost in Luoyang; he was the son of the current Duke of Tang.

When he got off the carriage, the driver told him that the person who came to greet him was the Marquis of Bocheng.

After the two met, Li Xuanba invited him into the carriage and then led him towards Luoyang.

Walking along the road, Li Xuanba said earnestly, "A major event has recently occurred in Luoyang, making it extremely difficult to enter or leave."

"Did the young master send the lord to greet me?"

Hearing Wei Zheng's words, Li Xuanba did not refute them, but nodded with a smile, "That's right."

Wei Zheng smiled and said, "It is truly a great trouble for you, my lord."

He looked at the little baby in front of him and thought it was quite cute. Young Master Jiancheng had his younger brother come out to greet him, probably to show how much he valued him.

Just as Wei Zheng was deep in thought, Li Xuanba suddenly spoke up and said, "Your strategy for governing the mountain stronghold is really well written. It has ten strategies and covers all aspects. If we follow this strategy, we will surely succeed."

Wei Zheng was taken aback. "Your Excellency has also read the strategy?"

A cold snort suddenly came from outside the carriage.

Li Xuanba hurriedly explained, "These mountain strongholds are under my jurisdiction, so Zhai Jun's letter was delivered to me first."

Wei Zheng was taken aback. He looked at Li Xuanba in front of him and asked, "How old is Your Excellency this year?"

"eleven."

Wei Zheng was amazed. At his age, he was able to assist his elder brother and shoulder such an important task. It was truly remarkable.

Intending to test him, he asked, "Now that you have seen my strategy, does Your Excellency have any questions?"

"some."

"In his strategy, Lord Wei mentioned that to achieve great things, we need to increase our influence, let more people know about us, and attract more heroes to join us. But he also said that we must not arouse the hostility of the court and should act cautiously. Isn't this contradictory?"

Wei Zheng laughed and said, "The imperial court is the imperial court, and the local area is the local area."

"Your Excellency may not know this, but there are many things happening in the local areas, but the imperial court knows very little about them. Bandits are rampant in the local areas, and officials are afraid and dare not report to the emperor. The Eagle Banner Prefecture only listens to the imperial court, and the local areas have no power to mobilize resources. Therefore, my proposal is not contradictory."

"What I mean by being cautious and not arousing the vigilance of the court is that we must not plunder anything related to the court. Soldiers can openly cultivate farmland at the foot of the mountain and gather heroes, but they must not plunder granaries or the grain transport."

"Because the former cannot be made known to the imperial court."

"I understand."

Li Xuanba bowed his head in greeting.

The guards at the city gate were indeed very strict. Even Li Xuanba's car was checked. After registering, the two entered the city without any problems.

The two chatted all the way until they finally arrived at the gate of the Li residence.

Li Xuanba led Wei Zheng into the mansion, with Zhang Du following not far behind, his gaze towards Wei Zheng somewhat displeased.

When they arrived at the East Courtyard, Steward Liu stopped them.

"My lord, the young master has something very important to discuss. Please wait a moment."

The two waited for a long time before Li Jiancheng came out to greet them. When Li Jiancheng came out, his expression was obviously a little off, but he still managed a smile, met with Wei Zheng, and led the two of them into the main hall.

The three took their seats, and Li Jiancheng looked at the famous minister beside him with great enthusiasm.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Wei Zheng said, "It is truly astonishing that you, my lord, are able to share such important matters with the young master at such a young age."

Li Jiancheng laughed loudly, "I only learned about this mountain stronghold incident recently. It was all done by him alone! How can we underestimate him?!"

Upon learning the details, Wei Zheng was even more surprised.

Li Jiancheng also spoke of his arrangements, saying, "Right now, what Sanlang is doing is the most important thing. So please stay by Sanlang's side and help him manage the local affairs, is that alright?"

(End of this chapter)