My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 296 You brat!

Li Yuan's thoughts seem to be similar to Yuwen Shu's.

That means you shouldn't offend a powerful heir apparent candidate.

Li Yuan often reminisced about the words of the old alchemist, and privately displayed great ambition, befriending heroes from all walks of life. He also prevented his eldest son from taking office, sending him elsewhere to continue making friends with capable people. This did not seem like something a loyal minister would do.

However, he refused to admit this. He seemed to lack the determination to rebel and always remained an observer, somewhat hesitant in his actions.

Of course, Li Jiancheng could understand his father's thoughts. At present, the Sui Dynasty was at its zenith, with a strong army and many people were hesitant and dared not make a move easily.

Li Yuan glanced at Li Jiancheng, then at Li Xuanba, so angry he didn't know what to say.

The atmosphere was somewhat silent.

Li Jiancheng slowly said, "Father, things are already like this, and cannot be changed. We might as well take advantage of the opportunity of our third brother forming a new army to better expand our strength."

"I'm still alive! It's not your place to give orders!"

Li Yuan rudely interrupted Li Jiancheng, then looked at Li Xuanba, "You have truly disappointed me this time!"

“Grandpa has always taught me to be a moral person. Yang Jian has framed people, abducted women, and tried to murder them. Does Grandpa expect me to just sit idly by?”

"It's not that I don't want you to get involved, but why didn't you come to me to resolve this? Why didn't you report it to His Majesty? Why did you have to force your way into the Prince's residence?"

"I went there to save people."

"To save three women, are you willing to put hundreds or thousands of people in danger of being killed?!"

Upon hearing Li Yuan's question, Li Jiancheng could no longer remain seated. He immediately said, "Father! Sanlang did nothing wrong in doing this! If he hadn't brought the people out and had only spoken to the Emperor without any real knowledge, could those three women have been rescued? They would probably have simply disappeared within the palace and never been found again!"

"As for what you said about putting your family in danger to save three unrelated people, that's a matter of righteousness! This isn't something done to save three people; it's something done for the greater good in one's heart, something done for the sake of the world!"

"If we choose to back down this time and continue to avoid conflict in the future, how are we any different from despicable people like Pei Shiju and Yu Shiji?!"

"How can we talk about saving the common people, or about the affairs of the world!"

"Brother is right!"

Li Xuanba echoed.

Li Yuan was even angrier. Just as he was about to explode, Madam Dou finally appeared. Madam Dou had a stern face and was extremely annoyed. She scolded Li Jiancheng and Li Xuanba, "What's all the noise about?! Are you afraid that no one can hear you? How can you be so disrespectful to your own father?!"

She scolded him for a while, then looked at Li Yuan standing to the side.

"My lord, please don't be angry. It's my fault for spoiling them too much and making them ungrateful."

Kneel down! Beg for forgiveness!

Madam Dou spoke frankly, leaving Li Jiancheng and Li Xuanba with no choice but to bow their heads and beg for forgiveness.

Li Yuan's anger had not subsided. He sat on the throne and looked at the two scoundrels in front of him. "You have never done a single proper thing, yet you talk big all day long, spouting nonsense about the greater good of the world. If you hadn't been born into a noble family, what could you two have accomplished?"

"You really think Yang Jian is someone to be bullied? Fine, fine, then don't come begging to me again!"

Li Yuan stood up and, with the help of Madam Dou, left. Madam Dou gave Li Jiancheng a look, and Li Jiancheng nodded. After they left, Li Jiancheng helped Li Xuanba up.

"Brother."

"You did a very good job."

“Your mother is also relieved. Your father is angry because he is worried that something will happen to us. Don’t take it to heart.”

Li Jiancheng gently stroked his younger brother's head, trying to comfort him. Although his brother looked tall, he was still just a child. After being scolded by his grandfather, Li Jiancheng was worried that he would waver and have different ideas.

But Li Xuanba's eyes were not confused.

"Big brother, I know everything."

"Good, I understand. Come with me, let's have a good talk about your new army." Li Jiancheng pulled Li Xuanba along and strode into the courtyard. When Li Jiancheng was reprimanded by Li Yuan earlier, he felt somewhat dissatisfied and aggrieved, but now, none of that affected him. He still looked very confident.

Just as the two were heading towards the east courtyard, Madam Dou and Li Yuan returned to their own room.

As soon as Li Yuan walked in, he began to complain, "These few good-for-nothings, whether they are truly incompetent or not, our family will be ruined by them sooner or later!"

"I've told them countless times to think things through before they act and to inform me before doing anything! But they just won't listen!"

Listening to Li Yuan's complaints, Lady Dou nodded in agreement, "These scoundrels have never learned their lesson and are too arrogant. My husband is too soft-hearted. They should be taught a lesson so they will know how to behave!"

The two complained together for a long time, and after venting their anger, Li Yuan calmed down.

"His Majesty is currently in good health, so the matter of the crown prince is not something I am worried about."

“They really underestimate Yang Jian. Yang Jian has tens of thousands of officials at his disposal. Now that Yang Jian has just been reprimanded, he probably doesn’t dare to act rashly. But once he is reinstated and begins to prepare for revenge, I’m afraid these few brats will cause a big mess.”

"Madam, what do you think?"

Madam Dou also had to consider this issue. "Yang Jian is now being punished. I think the biggest problem is not that he abducted women, but that he has too many people at his disposal."

"His Majesty will likely reduce his power, but Yang Jian is not a magnanimous person, nor is he intelligent or capable. I am not worried about Yang Jian himself; I am only worried that those with ulterior motives will seek him out and use him to their advantage, making him oppose us at all costs."

Li Yuan was stunned for a moment, "Who would do such a despicable thing?"

"Pei Yun".

Inside the east courtyard, Li Jiancheng took a sip of tea, while Li Xuanba sat in front of him, recounting the emperor's arrangements for him.

Wei Zheng and Zhang Du sat to one side, listening to Li Xuanba's words.

"Thirty thousand men? Did Yang Guang really say that?"

"It's true."

Li Jiancheng looked at Wei Zheng beside him and asked, puzzled, "What does this mean?"

"Wasn't it supposed to be the Imperial Guard? A 30,000-strong Imperial Guard?"

Wei Zheng hesitated for a long time before saying, "Perhaps Yang Guang doesn't trust the generals in the country, or perhaps it's to restrict the nobles; I don't understand his intentions."

Suddenly, Wei Zheng remembered something and asked, "Could it be that Yang Guang has decided to personally lead the expedition?"

"If he decides to lead the campaign in person, then recruiting more imperial guards to accompany him on the expedition would make sense."

"Probably."

"It seems that Yang Guang is really going to send troops to Goguryeo. Xuanba, how much time has he given you?"

"One year."

"So that means we'll be going to war next year?"

Li Jiancheng considered for a long time, "Perhaps we can gather our trusted men from various mountain strongholds and local areas to join this Imperial Guard. We have quite a few men under our command, but unfortunately many of them have not received formal training. Isn't this a great opportunity?"

"As for his Guanzhong origins, that's easy to handle. What does Lord Wei think?"

Wei Zheng nodded slightly. "If we can completely control this Imperial Guard, it will be very beneficial to us and also to our major plans. We can take action at any time. However, I'm afraid Yang Guang will not entrust the task of recruiting soldiers entirely to you, my lord. If you arbitrarily place your own people in the army, it will only arouse suspicion. There is no need to rush to recruit all the people in the local areas."

"Let's do things according to Yang Guang's requirements first. It's not too late to slowly summon them after Your Lordship's position is secure."

Zhang Du also agreed, saying, "Many of our capable people in the localities are already on official duties. If we summon them all here, it will actually be detrimental to local affairs."

"Now that things have come to this point, there's no need to rush. We already have the manpower, food, armor, and other supplies needed for a rebellion. It's excellent that Your Excellency is in command of the Imperial Guards. This army will eventually become ours, and our great cause will surely succeed!"

(End of this chapter)