My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 288 Impossible

After Li Jiancheng finished speaking, the people in front of him stared at him in astonishment.

Neither Liu Xuan nor Li Xuanba could quite understand what Li Jiancheng meant.

"I cannot stand by and watch so many innocent people die in vain."

Liu Xuan asked suspiciously, "What about this large-scale corvée labor that you mentioned, young master? Have you heard something about it?"

Li Jiancheng nodded.

"Yang Guang is going to launch a distant expedition against Goguryeo."

Liu Xuan immediately felt relieved and said, "When Emperor Wen was in power, he once attacked the Goryeo people. At that time, he gathered an army of nearly 300,000 and indeed used a lot of laborers. Even if this is true, you don't need to worry. The number of people is 300,000, but it actually includes auxiliary soldiers who are responsible for corvée labor. It is not necessary to issue such a huge amount of corvée labor."

"Furthermore, if this is true, my lord, you should be even more patient. The climate in Goryeo is strange; even Emperor Wen could not conquer it, so how could Yang Guang succeed? If we suffer a major defeat in this battle, the generals and soldiers will surely be the first to waver. We should wait until then to take action."

"But I heard that the emperor is going to send an army of more than a million to attack Goryeo."

Liu Xuan felt helpless when he heard Li Jiancheng's words. This young master had always been like this, speaking in an exaggerated way, always saying things like he could kill a million people with a hammer or that he could uproot mountains. Did he actually believe what he said?
He shook his head. "That's impossible. I don't know who you heard it from, but that person must be trying to scare you. Three hundred thousand troops is already the limit. A million troops? That would require all the local militia in the land to be mobilized, without exception, and a large number of auxiliary troops would have to be recruited from various places. I doubt we could even muster a million troops."

"Young master, do not believe these rumors."

Li Jiancheng looked at Li Xuanba, who nodded slightly. "Brother, the expedition to Goryeo may be true, but I'm afraid it won't be as serious as you say."

"The emperor still values ​​his soldiers quite a bit, so he wouldn't forcibly summon so many people to Liaodong."

Liu Xuan nodded with satisfaction.

Li Xuanba then said, "However, just in case, we still need to set up more outposts and make thorough preparations. If things are really as you say, brother, we will send people to intercept the officials escorting the laborers along the way, occupy important roads, cut off transportation, and prevent the laborers from traveling."

Liu Xuan's expression immediately changed again.

Hearing his younger brother say that, Li Jiancheng nodded and said, "Alright, let's prepare according to your suggestion."

Yang Jian rode his horse leisurely along the road. In Yang Guang's absence, this handsome Prince of Qi seemed like a completely different person. He hung his head, looked listless, and had a fierce glint in his eyes, making him seem very unapproachable.

He was surrounded by many close associates, all riding horses and fawning over Yang Jian.

“Is it proper for me, as the King of Qi, to go and pay my respects to him without waiting for him to come and pay his respects?”

Yang Jian asked coldly.

A scholar who was with him heard Yang Jian's words and replied, "Your Highness, you have no choice but to go."

"Those five people in the court wield far too much power. If we rashly make contact with them, it could lead to disastrous consequences. Among the current nobles, the Duke of Chu and the Duke of Tang are the youngest and both are powerful. If we can gain their support, what is there to worry about in achieving great things?"

Yang Jian's complexion still showed no improvement.

He said unhappily, "After Li Jiancheng arrived in Luoyang, he met with many people, including Yang Hao, but he didn't meet with me at all."

“Your Highness, what is Yang Hao? He was only made a king because His Majesty took pity on him. Your Highness is His Majesty’s own son and holds the official position of Governor of Henan! You have more than 20,000 guests serving you, and all the officials who see you must get out of their carriages to pay their respects. Li Jiancheng did not visit you because he was afraid and dared not pay his respects.”

This scholar was named Qiao Lingze, and he was one of Yang Jian's confidants.

Since Crown Prince Yang Zhao died, Yang Jian has become the strongest contender for the position of heir apparent. The court officials all believe that Yang Jian may become the crown prince, and those who used to follow Yang Zhao have all come to join Yang Jian. Qiao Lingze was not lying just now.

Yang Jian currently has tens of thousands of people at his beck and call. Even the five most powerful officials in the court treat him with great respect, including Yuwen Shu.

This made Yang Jian arrogant and increasingly reckless, believing that he had the world in his grasp.

But this year, things took a turn for the better.

While Yang Zhao was alive, the emperor doted on Yang Jian. However, after the crown prince's death, the emperor changed his attitude and now favored Yang Zhao's son, Yang You. The boy was only seven years old, yet the emperor was already arranging for him to have attendants and helpers. This puzzled Yang Jian greatly, and he also felt a sense of crisis.

A year ago, he would never have personally visited the Duke of Tang, but now he has no choice but to go.

Seeing Yang Jian's depressed look, Qiao Lingze said again, "Your Highness need not be like this. The reason why His Majesty favors the Prince of Dai is because the Prince of Dai lost his father at a young age, not because he does not love Your Highness."

Yang Jian shook his head slightly, "If it's just for this reason, why bother helping to recruit people to work for him?"

"Father probably thinks I'm too domineering. When my brother was alive, he doted on me, but now that he's gone, he's started to favor the Prince of Dai. Just wait, if I die one day, perhaps he'll start favoring Yang Gao!"

Qiao Lingze was shocked, "Your Highness!!"

"Alright, there are no outsiders here. What can't we talk about?"

Yang Jian complained as he finally arrived at the Li residence. Qiao Ling hurriedly went over to inform him that the Prince of Qi had arrived.

The Li residence suddenly became noisy. Soon, Li Yuan led Li Jiancheng out of the main gate, ordered the road to be swept, opened the gate, and went forward to pay his respects to Yang Jian.

Yang Jian's expression changed extremely quickly. In almost an instant, he transformed into a completely different person, a warm, sunny, and handsome young man.

"Duke Tang, please don't stand on ceremony!"

"It has been so long since I was able to pay my respects to Duke Tang. I really shouldn't have come to visit so suddenly today. I hope you won't take offense."

"How dare you, how dare you!"

Li Yuan was also very polite, after all, this man was very likely to be the successor of the empire. Although the emperor had been too fond of the Prince of Dai that year, it did not directly shake Yang Jian's foundation. Yang Jian was still the powerful prince who could command tens of thousands of people.

Yang Jian chatted happily with Li Yuan, then looked at Li Jiancheng and said, "This must be the young master of the Duke of Tang? He is indeed a very handsome man!"

After Yang Jian greeted the two men, Li Yuan invited him into his residence.

After sitting down in the main hall, Yang Jian exchanged a few more pleasantries before asking, "I wonder if General Li is at home?"

"Yes, I'll send someone to fetch him right away!"

Yang Jian smiled and praised Li Xuanba again. Yang Jian and the people around him knew more information than others, especially about the Xiaoguo Guard. Everyone knew that the Sage was going to form a new army, but few knew the scale of the new army that the Sage was going to form.

Yang Jian happened to know some of the inside information.

The generals of this army will likely be appointed from the Left and Right Guard Offices. Li Xuanba, as the first Zhechong Lang General, has an unquestionable position in the new army. Judging from the emperor's attitude towards him, he may even become the first commander-in-chief of this imperial guard army.

Of course, it's hard to say. After all, Li Xuanba's background is still too illustrious. The emperor clearly doesn't want nobles with too many ties to join this new army. But no matter what, Li Xuanba is a promising talent. It's good to befriend him, even if not for his sake, but for the sake of Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng.

Li Xuanba soon arrived and joined the banquet.

“General Li, I know you are with your family and I did not want to disturb you. However, my father is urging me to arrest all those involved in the rebellion within a month. I had no choice but to come to you. Please do not blame me.”

"Don't dare."

Seeing Li Yuan's confused expression, Yang Jian smiled and explained, "His Majesty does not trust outsiders, so he specially ordered me to be the leader and your son to be the assistant, to arrest the traitor's accomplices and kill them without exception."

Li Yuan laughed.

This is a great opportunity to make a name for myself!
He looked at Li Xuanba and said, "Xuanba, if it's urgent, you should have told me sooner. How can you delay such an important matter?"

"You must diligently assist His Highness, eliminate the rebels and their henchmen, and not betray His Majesty's trust, understand?"

"Here."

(End of this chapter)