My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 279 The Plan for the Expedition

A light drizzle was falling from the sky.

Yang Guang ordered a small table to be set up at the entrance of the palace, where some wine and water were laid out. He gazed at the light rain on the horizon, sipped his wine, and softly recited his own poems, looking every bit the scholar.

Pei Shiju sat serving him. When he heard Yang Guang recite these poems, he was deeply moved. He wiped away his tears with his sleeve and couldn't help but sing them. The poems he sang were the very ones that the emperor had just recited.

The two of them then played the roles of scholars and poets, and ruler and subject lived in harmony.

Yang Guang, having had his fill of fun, looked at Pei Shiju and said, "Lord Pei, you have made great contributions to me over the years."

Pei Shiju humbly replied, "It is all thanks to Your Majesty's kindness that I have been able to accomplish so much. I dare not take credit for it."

The emperor seemed to be in a good mood today. He had Pei Shiju come to serve him early in the morning and they were drinking and discussing poetry together. Pei Shiju had a feeling that his official position was going to be promoted today, and he might even be promoted to something like Right Grand Master of the Palace.

Pei Shiju suppressed his excitement and waited for the emperor to continue.

Yang Guang smiled and took a sip of wine. "You told me back then that as long as the Khan's decree could be delayed, those two brothers would definitely go to war with the Turks."

"You advised me not to go beyond the Great Wall and not to get involved with the Turks, but I have waited for so long and not only have I not heard any news of internal strife within the Turks, but I have also heard news of Duji contacting Gao Yuan and making frequent contacts."

"So, this matter only came to this because of my benevolence?"

Pei Shiju's secret joy vanished instantly, a chill ran down his spine, and he knelt before the sage in trepidation.

"Your Majesty! This was all my miscalculation!"

"I never imagined that Gao Yuan, that worthless scoundrel from Liaodong, would have such audacity to interfere in my family's important affairs, and even dare to exchange envoys with that Duji, colluding with each other. I deserve to die a thousand deaths! I deserve to die a thousand deaths!"

Yang Guang shook his head slightly, his eyes quite cold.

"Because you listened to slander, the Turks, who were originally close to the Sui Dynasty, colluded with Goguryeo. The Khan who was clearly supported by my family is now going to become my enemy. Pei Qing, you really deserve to die."

Pei Shiju grew increasingly frightened. This matter concerning the Turks was indeed beyond his expectations. He had thought that the two brothers were already at odds, and that if they interfered further, it would trigger internal strife within the Turks. However, he did not expect that things would backfire. Duji directly sent someone to contact the King of Goryeo, using his power to pressure his brother. The two brothers had probably reached an agreement.
He couldn't understand why Gao Yuan, that son of a bitch, wouldn't learn his lesson.

When Gao Yuan ascended the throne, he sent someone to Emperor Wen to receive the title of Duke, and then requested to be made a king.

After a few years of being well-behaved, he began to lead his men to plunder the border, which angered Emperor Wen, who dispatched a large army to punish him. Although the army suffered heavy losses for various reasons, the sheer number of troops still frightened Gao Yuan. He hurriedly wrote a letter, referring to himself as "Yuan, the dung beetle of Liaodong," and begged Emperor Wen to show mercy and not to launch another attack against him.

He'd been behaving himself for only a few years, so why did he do something so stupid again?
The Sui Dynasty was doing a good job of dividing the Turks, and then you suddenly jumped out to get involved, trying to help them stabilize their internal situation and even want to form an alliance. What are you trying to do?

Seeing the emperor's cold gaze, Pei Shiju hurriedly said, "Your Majesty! After Rangan's death, the Turks are no longer trustworthy. This Duji is cunning and knows how to gather wise men to use for his own purposes. He will surely be a great enemy of our dynasty in the future!"

"As for Gao Yuan, this traitor is fickle and treacherous. He occupied Liaodong and received great favors, yet he does not know how to repay them and even wants to cause trouble!"

"Your Majesty, I only saw that Duji harbored treacherous intentions, but I never imagined that Gao Yuan would be so shameless. I beg Your Majesty to punish him! Punish him!!"

Seeing Pei Shiju's terrified appearance, the murderous intent in Yang Guang's eyes subsided considerably.

Yang Guang glanced at Pei Shiju and continued, "You have rendered many merits in the past, but this time, if you cannot resolve this matter, I will not let you off the hook. Make preparations; I will personally go to the border and have a good talk with that Duji."

Pei Shiju quickly said, "Your Majesty, you mustn't!"

"What, you want to advise me to ignore it?" "If Your Majesty changes your mind now and goes to the border, I'm afraid the Hu chieftain will look down on you. If Your Majesty wants to make Duji sever ties with Gaoyuan, it is not difficult and you don't need to go there in person."

"In my opinion, it would be better to send envoys to Gao Yuan and Duji, and have them come to pay homage!"

Yang Guang narrowed his eyes. "Oh? Let them come?"

"What if they don't come?"

"If they don't come, then send troops to attack them! Capture them and bring them here!"

Yang Guang stared at Pei Shiju for a long time, making Pei Shiju feel uneasy. Yang Guang slowly said, "Among all the ministers, the one I trust the most is Minister Pei. I know that Minister Pei is eager to make achievements, but in governing a large country, one must not be impatient. You should keep this in mind and never make the same mistake again."

Pei Shiju was already used to this.

What a sage says and what he does are completely different things.

Moreover, the sage was not afraid of any collusion between the Turks and Goryeo. The sage had long wanted to send troops to deal with them, because a year ago, the sage had already gathered a million laborers in Hebei to build canals and dig connections. The sole purpose of building these canals was to facilitate the transport of grain and troops to Liaodong, which was intended for attacking the north.

Whether it was Goryeo or the Turks, the sage would not let them go; after dealing with one, he would deal with the next.

Moreover, the sage was exceptionally confident in himself. The number of Eagle Banner Prefectures in various places increased, grain piled up like mountains, soldiers were fierce, and generals were brave. The sage was not afraid of enemies being too strong, but only of enemies being too weak, so that he could not demonstrate his abilities.

Yang Guang gave Pei Shiju a severe dressing-down, but ultimately did not take any action against him. Instead, he ordered Pei Shiju to send someone to summon the two men to court.

When Pei Shiju came out of Yang Guang's place, his face was very ugly.

Logically speaking, he should have been aware of what had happened in the Turkic region. At the very least, the relevant memorials should have been reviewed and discussed by those five nobles before being sent to the emperor. How could he have been completely unaware of something that concerned him, only to find out from the emperor himself? He almost lost his life!
This can only mean one thing: someone is targeting him.

However, Pei Shiju didn't quite understand. He had been busy with external affairs and hadn't offended anyone, so who was targeting him?
Pei Shiju secretly noted this down, but did not rush to investigate.

Chen Leng's army had been disbanded and returned to Yingyang Prefecture. The Emperor summoned them not for any other orders or to transfer or appoint officials, but simply to reward them. The round trip was expensive, but the Sui Dynasty's treasury was full and did not care about such expenses.

Feng San, Wang Zhengzhang, and the others bid farewell to Li Xuanba with reluctance. They were not from Guanzhong, so even if a new army was formed, they could not join. However, Li Xuanba promised them that if there was an opportunity in the future, he would definitely transfer them to his side to do great things together.

Li Xuanba returned to the Right Palace and continued to be responsible for protecting the Sage.

When he returned to the Right Mansion, Sima Dekan, along with Yuan Li and others, greeted him with smiles, their attitude much more respectful than before. Sima Dekan invited Li Xuanba into his tent and even wanted him to sit in the seat of honor. After Li Xuanba politely declined, he sat down with Yuan Li and the others.

"General Li's reputation for bravery has already spread throughout the various military commands!"

"General, you are truly a hero! In this battle, you were the first to scale the walls, breach the city, slay the general, capture the king, and destroy the kingdom. You have achieved all the merits at once. This is an achievement that many generals cannot attain in their entire lives. I heard that General Chen's memorial is more than 800 words long, of which 600 words are dedicated to General Li's merits!"

Yuan Li smiled and flattered him.

When Li Xuanba left here, he was still Yuan Li's subordinate. After going out to fight a battle, he returned and became a Langjiang (a military officer), a head higher than Yuan Li. Yuan Li did not object to this. These warriors were different from scholars. They competed for military merit and ability. Li Xuanba had the ability to be the first to charge and kill enemy generals, so he deserved to be promoted and made rich!
The warriors of Guanzhong were not jealous of those who were braver than themselves; in fact, they admired such people and liked to fight alongside them. With such colleagues by their side, they could earn more military merits in future battles. They just had to follow them into battle.

"From now on, we hope General Li will take good care of us! If there is any war, please don't forget to help us out!"

(End of this chapter)