My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 268 Inspection
Just as Li Yuan had predicted, the emperor indeed went out again.

The destination this time is Jiangdu Palace, which is in the south, so I guess I want to spend the winter there.

On this trip, the emperor's entourage reached an extravagant level, with a total of 23,000 people accompanying him.

As the emperor's guards, the Thousand Bull Guards are experiencing their busiest period yet.

Inside the training ground, the soldiers continued their arduous training.

Sima Dekan, with a stern face, strode into the training ground. Yuan Li hurriedly ordered the training to stop and began to form ranks.

Once all the soldiers had arrived, Sima Dekan stared at the crowd before him and said, "Prepare immediately. We will depart tomorrow to escort the Emperor to Jiangdu!"

For a moment, everyone was somewhat astonished.

After the emperor expanded the number of guards, the functions of the left and right guards changed. Generally speaking, when the emperor traveled, the left guards, whose members were sons of nobles, would send people to accompany him, while the right guards would stay behind to guard the palace. After all, the emperor would not take everyone with him and would definitely leave princes behind to handle matters. The palace could not be without guards.

But now, we're going to travel together too?

Yuan Li and the other guards hesitated, but Sima Dekan said loudly, "This is the Emperor's favor upon us. Along the way, we must obey military orders and must not be negligent. Otherwise, we will be punished according to military law!"

"Everyone, get ready!"

The soldiers dispersed, but Yuan Li and the others hurried to Sima Dekan's side. Yuan Li's eyes widened. "General, what's going on? Are the people from the Left Office going too?"

"Go, the Sage received Chen Leng before me."

This Chen Leng was a general in the Left Office, but he was not from a noble family in Guanzhong. He was a southerner. It is unknown why the emperor would appoint a general from the south to such a position.

Sima Dekan didn't like this person very much and often spoke ill of him in private.

Sima Dekan led several people back to his camp, where they all sat down.

Sima Dekan gritted his teeth and said helplessly, "Today the Emperor summoned me, and from what he said, it seems he wants to use us as military officers to fight against foreign enemies."

"To subdue foreign enemies??"

"Where did the enemy come from?"

Yuan Li looked puzzled, while Sima Dekan said seriously, "Liuqiu."

"The imperial court has sent many envoys to Ryukyu, but the first two times were ineffective. I don't think this time will be any different. The emperor probably knows that his trip to Jiangdu this time is intended to gather troops to attack Ryukyu."

Upon hearing Sima Dekan's words, Yuan Li was overjoyed and quickly said, "General, this is wonderful news!"

"Isn't this a gift of military merit from heaven?"

Sima Dekan glared at him. "How can this be considered a good thing?"

"Have you ever seen the sea? Have you ever been on a ship? How can naval warfare be the same as infantry warfare? Do you think you can be a commander?"

Yuan Li was stunned for a moment, "Chen Leng! Chen Leng is from the South! He knows naval warfare!"

Sima Dekan said helplessly, "That's exactly the point. They say we're to be appointed as military officers, but we're not really involved! Even if there are any merits, they belong to others. We're just there to protect the Sage while they're busy building their careers!"

"What about the matter of the general appointing someone as a military officer?"

“Our official rank is equivalent to Chen Leng's. If Chen Leng is the commander-in-chief, then we definitely can't go. We're just sending some people to go with him.”

Yuan Li's face turned red: "The credit belongs to him, why should we be the ones to contribute? Aren't the people in the Zuo family highly valued? Why would they need us?"

Sima Dekan said helplessly, "Forget it, what can we do when we're not good at naval warfare? There will be opportunities sooner or later. How dare we disobey the Emperor's orders?"

"Alright, let's go prepare. It might not be as I think."

The soldiers were prepared, and so was Li Xuanba. He hadn't expected that his grandfather had sent him to the Right Palace so he could stay in the palace and not have to run around with the Emperor. Yet, he still couldn't escape it; now the Right Palace was also going. As a member of the Thousand Bull Guard, he couldn't go out to say goodbye to his family. After hurried preparations, the next day, they followed the general to escort the Emperor away. The army was vast and imposing, with a large entourage.

Li Xuanba and his men, riding horses and wearing armor, followed around the sage's chariot, forming the core protective force. Li Xuanba finally understood why they always practiced carrying heavy loads while traveling in the training ground.

Because at this moment, they were already wearing armor. Among the many soldiers accompanying them, only they needed to wear armor for an extended period of time. The other soldiers usually took turns wearing armor separately, only putting on armor when encountering bandits. There was no requirement for them to wear armor continuously. Only the Thousand Bull Guards had such a requirement.

The people of the Left Mansion are highly valued, so the task of armored guarding is mostly undertaken by the Right Mansion.

Li Xuanba rode a large horse, clad in armor and fully armed, following behind the carriage as they advanced forward.

The sage travels at a very fast pace, in a great hurry, without any chance to rest.

After walking for several days, Li Xuanba felt that his legs were worn raw and in so much pain that he almost lost all feeling. Riding a horse was hard work, but riding a horse while wearing armor was even harder. Fortunately, Li Xuanba recovered very quickly. Even if he was in so much pain that he lost all feeling the day before, he could ride a horse again the next day and not fall behind.

This amazed his comrades.

The journey was peaceful and uneventful; there was no possibility of any thieves appearing. With guards leading the way, the vast army passed by without encountering a single thief, let alone any birds or beasts.

The greatest enemy is this long journey.

When Li Xuanba and his group set off, it was still autumn harvest season, but by the time they reached the vicinity of Jiangdu, it was already winter.

Although it hadn't snowed, the wind howled, and the knights were in excruciating pain. After walking this far, several of their comrades had already collapsed and never got up again.

Li Yuan's initial concerns were justified.

Along the way, Li Xuanba was unable to train as usual. He simply didn't have the time or the energy. Every day when it was time to rest, Li Xuanba would fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. The pressure on his body from traveling far exceeded the pressure of training. He also ate more, wolfing down his food every time it was mealtime, not wasting a single bite.

The army finally arrived at Jiangdu Palace. The emperor was very displeased with the speed of the march, feeling that such a rush was a waste of time. He informed his men that he was preparing to dig the canal again, this time on the southern side, so that he could travel directly from Luoyang to Jiangdu Palace and avoid the hardship of such a long journey.

Li Xuanba really couldn't see where he was suffering. The voices of musicians and women could always be heard from inside the carriage. The carriage was tall and sturdy, and it moved very steadily without any bumps.

On the day they arrived at Jiangdu Palace, the emperor granted the accompanying soldiers a few days of rest.

But the soldiers hadn't had enough rest when the emperor hastily ended their vacation, as he was about to get things done again.

The Imperial Guards stood before the hall, exhausted and no longer possessing their former imposing presence.

The ministers entered the hall one by one to report important matters to the emperor.

As Pei Yun walked toward the main hall, two people followed him, reporting something to him. As Pei Yun listened to their story, his face grew increasingly grim. Li Yuan, that treacherous villain, had only questioned him a few times, yet he dared to make a fuss about the weapons and armory, claiming that the number of items stored in the armory was problematic!

Pei Yun personally inspected all the warehouses in the country, so how could there be any problems? If there were any problems with the armory, it would mean that Li Yuan had embezzled it! This is definitely him trying to get revenge on me in private!
Pei Yun stormed into the hall, but halfway there he suddenly noticed something, stopped abruptly, and looked at the soldiers beside him.

Among the Qianniu Guards, this short-statured sergeant stood out.

Pei Yun looked at Li Xuanba, sizing him up, "Is this the Marquis of Bocheng from the Duke of Tang's mansion?"

"Heh, not bad."

Pei Yun nodded, narrowed his eyes, and strode into the hall.

After Pei Yun went inside, her expression quickly changed.

When Yang Guang saw him, his eyes showed some displeasure.

"Minister Pei, how come your report on the thorough investigation of all granaries and armories last year is different from Li Yuan's? Why are there so many missing items?"

Where did all this weaponry go?

"Is someone planning a rebellion?!"

(End of this chapter)