My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 287 Don't Be Hasty
Li Xuanba sat comfortably in the courtyard, where Duan Niang brought him a lot of fruit.

In the past, it was always Liu Chounu who told Li Xuanba stories about military affairs, but this time, it was Li Xuanba's turn to tell Liu Chounu about the war. He talked about the Battle of Ryukyu.

Liu Chounu said with a smile, "Your Excellency is fortunate. This expedition is indeed dangerous, but it is dangerous because we have to travel by sea. The climate and terrain there are special. But from what Your Excellency said, the army of Ryukyu is not considered strong."

"For your first battle, my lord, it is most appropriate to fight against such an enemy. When I first went into battle, I fought against the elite troops of Qi. After that battle, most of my comrades died. As for sieges, let alone them, even if we charged up the city walls, we were still driven back by the Qi people!"

"To breach the city, they would stop at nothing."

As the two were talking, a familiar voice called out from outside, "Xuanba!!"

Li Xuanba quickly got up and looked towards the door.

The next moment, Liu Xuan hurried through the door and looked up at his disciple.

"Master!!"

Li Xuanba said excitedly. He was about to bow when Liu Xuan rushed to his side, grabbed his hand, and then looked at Liu Chounu beside him, "Stand here!! Don't let anyone in!!"

Liu Chounu was shocked to see Liu Xuan pulling Li Xuanba toward the study. Li Xuanba did not resist and was dragged into the study by Liu Xuan, completely bewildered.

After Liu Xuan, Wei Zheng and Zhang Du walked in. Zhang Du was still talking, watching Li Xuanba being dragged inside, looking helpless.

He looked at Wei Zheng beside him, "Lord Wei, my teacher must be trying to persuade you, my lord."

“Your Excellency is resolute and has your own ideas. You will not be easily persuaded. If you cannot persuade the young master, I am afraid that it will be difficult for Lord Liu as well.”

The two were talking outside, while Liu Xuan had already closed the study door. He looked anxiously at Li Xuanba in front of him.

"Master, what exactly happened?"

"Xuanba! Your elder brother is rebelling!"

Liu Xuan said seriously.

Li Xuanba was stunned for a moment, then gripped the golden mace at his waist. "Now?"

"you!"

Liu Xuan knew that his men were all rebels, but he did not expect them to be so audacious. He had no choice but to gesture for Li Xuanba to sit down. The two sat facing each other, and Liu Xuan said softly, "I went to Wild Buffalo Mountain."

“You brothers have indeed accomplished great things. The results you have achieved in such a short period of time are truly astonishing.”

"However, your older brother is a bit too impatient."

"He has been waiting for you to come back. He wants to start planning the uprising after you return, to gather the soldiers of Wild Buffalo Mountain, and to attack Luoyang. Then you will act as an inside agent to break through the city and capture the king!"

"This is simply impossible. I don't want to see you all go to your deaths. Xuanba, you must not agree to the young master's request."

Li Xuanba frowned and pondered for a moment.

"Master, are you sure this is my eldest brother's idea?"

"How could I dare to speak carelessly about such an important matter?"

"He won't listen to me. That old geezer Liu Zhuo is already this old, and instead of trying to persuade the young master, he's even giving him advice, saying he wants to accomplish great things!"

Liu Xuan was so angry that he started cursing at his senior brother.

He said worriedly, "You must persuade the young master not to underestimate the sage. Yang Guang is indeed not a good person! But he is not a fool. He has caused trouble for many people, but there are many people willing to follow him!"

"These frequent corvée labors are a hardship for farmers, merchants, and artisans, but these sixteen soldiers are different. Their families can be exempted from corvée labor and they can even receive many rewards. In recent years, the emperor has attached great importance to his generals and soldiers, rewarding and promoting them many times!"

"These soldiers of the military government are all willing to fight to the death for the emperor. The combined forces of the twelve guards, including the auxiliary troops, probably number over 600,000!"

"Those elite troops who have been training year-round, more than 100,000 can be gathered in Henan alone!"

"These are not just local militia; they are all skilled and experienced soldiers from the prefecture. The commanders in various regions are all knowledgeable about military affairs, and there are countless fierce generals among them. If they want to do anything big now, they will just be throwing their lives away."

Li Xuanba did not interrupt his master and patiently listened to Liu Xuan finish speaking before saying, "Master, I know all of this, you don't need to worry."

Liu Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, Wei Zheng's voice came from outside the door again. "My lord! The young master has arrived!"

Li Xuanba followed Liu Xuan out, only to see Li Jiancheng standing in the courtyard, with Wei Zheng and Zhang Du standing behind him, their heads bowed.

"Brother!"

Li Jiancheng nodded, and Wei Zheng and Zhang Du finally had the opportunity to formally pay their respects to Li Xuanba.

"Greetings, Your Excellency!"

"Commander."

Zhang Du was the most excited. He looked at Li Xuanba, who had changed so much, and his eyes even turned a little red.

"Your Excellency has been gone for a long time, and all the brothers miss you dearly."

"Is everyone okay?"

"All is well, all is well, my lord. We have been following your orders without any negligence, and there have been many achievements in various places in recent days."

The two began to chat amiably. Li Jiancheng gestured for Liu Chounu to close the door, then slowly walked to Liu Xuan's side.
"Our mountain strongholds are now scattered throughout Hedong and many parts of the Central Plains, with two more in Hebei. Each stronghold has changed a lot. We have three county magistrates and a large number of township officials! Young Master, you have had many weapons made and have purchased minerals in Hedong for mining, smelting, and manufacturing of various tools and weapons."

"Heroes from all over have come to join us, and we have reclaimed and restored a lot of farmland. Many places are now self-sufficient and have the resources to support other regions. The young master has also sent some scholars to continue our education. We have attracted a great many farmers, merchants, and artisans!"

"The Second Prince sent many people to help train the army, and we have defeated many bandits in Hedong!"

Zhang Du proudly spoke of the local achievements.

Wei Zheng added his comments from the side.

Li Xuanba listened intently, while Li Jiancheng looked at Liu Xuan beside him and said, "Lord Liu, you've already seen it and heard it, so why are you still hesitating?"

"Because I have seen more and heard more than you, young master."

Liu Xuan simply replied with this sentence.

Li Jiancheng then said nothing more.

Liu Chounu laid out several mats in the courtyard, and everyone sat down. Li Jiancheng sat in the seat of honor, and the others sat on either side.

San Shi brought over some food, and Zhang Du was still very excited, wishing he could drag Li Xuanba over to see it right away.

Li Jiancheng finally looked at his younger brother.

“Xuanba, you came from Jiangdu, so you should have seen the newly issued corvée labor.”

“He sits on top, and with one order, countless innocent people will die. I feel the time is ripe, and there is no need to endure any longer. Wild Buffalo Mountain is not far from Luoyang, and I have sent people to check the surrounding large granaries. The defenses are not too strict, and there are not many soldiers left to guard them.”

"My idea is that if things go smoothly, we will take Luoyang. If the chances are too low, we will take the surrounding granaries, open them to distribute grain, and summon people from all over the world to punish the tyrannical emperor. The people will surely follow us. I have many ideas, but I still want to ask for your opinion first."

Liu Xuan looked at his disciple nervously.

Li Jiancheng wields considerable power, but the local power is primarily led by Li Xuanba, whose opinions are of paramount importance and cannot be matched by anyone else.

Li Xuanba said seriously, "I know what you mean, brother, and I sympathize with the laborers who died because of forced labor. But I don't agree with raising an army now. Compared with Yang Guang, our strength is too weak. Brother, you don't know that the soldiers of the local military garrisons have been trained for many years and are strong and brave. A hundred or so men can defeat thousands or even tens of thousands of local soldiers in one fell swoop."

"Even if we can gather hundreds of thousands of people to follow us, we are afraid that they will not be a match for these garrison soldiers. In the end, not only will we fail to save the people, but we will also have hundreds of thousands of people slaughtered."

"I think we should continue along the original path and develop our stronghold. Our power is growing rapidly, and sooner or later we will be able to confront Yang Guang head-on."

"you do not know!"

Li Jiancheng suddenly became somewhat irritable.

Li Xuanba was very confused, "Brother?"

Li Jiancheng, with a stern face, said in a low voice, "Soon, there will be an even larger-scale corvée labor service. This time, the scale of corvée labor will exceed all previous consolidations. Laborers from all over the country will be mobilized, and countless people will die."

(End of this chapter)