My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 305 Revenge
Yu Shiji's face turned ashen, but he did not answer Pei Yun. He simply got up and left.

Pei Yun wasn't angry at all. He sat down cheerfully, took another sip of wine, and thought, "If he didn't have the guts, would he dare occupy such an important position? Ha, this guy will agree to my request sooner or later."
Pei Yun had just taken a sip of wine when someone suddenly sat down next to him.

Pei Yun was taken aback. She looked up and found that the person sitting next to her was Yang Xuangan, the Duke of Chu.

"Duke".

Pei Yun was not afraid even when facing the Duke. At this moment, he was favored by the Emperor and feared no one except Yuwen Shu.

"Lord Pei."

Yang Xuangan was quite polite. He said, "It's a rare opportunity for us to meet today. I'd like to have a drink with Lord Pei, what do you say?"

"Okay."

Pei Yun then drank with him. Pei Yun narrowed his eyes and looked at Yang Xuangan in front of him. He was still somewhat wary of this man. Pei Yun felt that what this man was plotting was not small. He was clearly a warrior, but he wanted to pretend to be a scholar and make friends with famous people everywhere to increase his reputation. This was not something that you dukes should do.

Yang Xuangan suddenly said, "I have something I would like to ask for your help, Lord Pei."

"Oh? What merit or ability do I have to assist the Duke in his affairs?"

"If Lord Pei cannot help, I'm afraid no one else can."

"Please speak, Duke, what is it that needs to be said?"

"His Majesty has formed a new army. Although my younger brothers are not very capable, they do have some martial arts skills. I would like to have them join the Xiaoguo Army. However, I made a mistake before and do not know how to ask His Majesty. Can you help me with this?"

Upon hearing this, Pei Yun immediately burst into laughter.

Who do you think you are? Trying to make me do things for you?

He even promoted his younger brother to join the new army?
You, a son of a noble family, want to join the new army? Isn't that just wishful thinking?

Pei Yun said nonchalantly, "Why doesn't the Duke go to someone else? I have nothing to do with the New Army. I should go to the Ministry of War or the Ministry of Personnel."

Yang Xuangan said in a low voice, "I really have no other choice but to ask for help. The commander of the new army, Li Xuanba, had a conflict with my younger brother, Yang Xuanzong, and I also had a conflict with the Duke of Tang because of some things. Duan Wenzhen of the Ministry of War is also at odds with me because of the matter of Vice Minister Husi. I really have no one to ask for help, so I can only hope that Lord Pei can help me."

Pei Yun, who had been nonchalant, suddenly realized what was happening and looked at Yang Xuangan in surprise.

Among the many warriors from Guanzhong, Yang Xuangan's family was the most special. They were not purely Hu warriors, but rather from a prestigious family. Unlike those barbarians who made up unfounded connections, their lineage could be verified.

Pei Yun finally understood why Yang Xuangan had asked her to do this task.

He wanted his younger brother Yang Xuanzong to join the Xiaoguo, but Yang Xuanzong had a previous conflict with Li Xuanba. Firstly, the emperor did like to arrange for two people who didn't get along to work together. Secondly, Pei Yun was also at odds with them. So, in a sense, letting Yang Xuanzong go in to annoy Li Xuanba or deal with him was in the common interest of both sides.

Pei Yun looked Yang Xuangan up and down and couldn't help but laugh, "The Duke is indeed different from others."

"Then what I was talking about..."

"Let's wait a bit longer, it's not the right time yet."

Xiaoguo Military Academy Grounds.

The number of soldiers in the training ground is increasing, and the expansion work is still ongoing. The originally empty camp is now divided into five parts. Four camps are built around the central army and are located in the four directions. Now there are four full-strength captains' armies, which is an army of more than 3,200 people.

Including auxiliary troops, the number of troops stationed in the area has reached a very large scale.

Recruiting is relatively easy; people are eager to join the military government, and the soldiers in the military government also hope to join the Imperial Guard. However, the subsequent organization, training, and other matters are not so easy.

The Sage gave no further orders, as if he had forgotten about Li Xuanba after he began recruiting the new army.

This made people like Yuan Li restless; if the emperor continued to ignore it, they would start sending their own family members in.
Li Xuanba hastily began studying military strategy and how to command troops, but this stuff, though seemingly easy, is incredibly difficult to learn—far more difficult than the classic texts. Li Xuanba has many military treatises, but just learning about battle formations has taken him many days, and he still hasn't grasped it. The various variations, countermeasures, applications, and deployments of different troops are all extremely complex. "Change formation!"

The captains stood at the front, rigorously training their troops.

These brave warriors come from different places, and it is not easy to bring them together in a short period of time.

Li Xuanba stood at a distance, intently watching them and recording the captains' formation changes.

“When my second brother said he would teach me military strategy, I didn’t take it seriously. Now I regret it.”

Li Xuanba couldn't help but say to Qin Qiong beside him.

Qin Qiong smiled and said, "Courage in person is not the same as leading troops into battle. Courage alone is not enough. One must also learn military strategy. In fact, I think the commander is more important than courage. Take Han Xin and Xiang Yu, for example."

"However, military strategy is very difficult to learn. I have been following the Duke of Rongguo for a long time and I only know a little bit about it. It is impossible for you, my lord, to become proficient in it quickly. You will need to study it for at least ten or eight years."

"I probably won't be able to learn it well."

Li Xuanba lacked confidence. He said, "I've been playing military strategy games with my second brother since I was little. Except for one time when I cheated and won, I always suffered a crushing defeat and never beat him."

Qin Qiong comforted him, saying, "My lord, do not worry. He is only a little older than you and is precocious. If you study diligently, you may not necessarily lose to him in the future."

Li Xuanba pondered for a moment, but did not answer.

"At the current pace, we should be able to achieve our goal within a year. However, His Majesty may not actually give us a year."

Li Xuanba said in a low voice, "I heard that His Majesty sent someone to Goryeo to ask the King of Goryeo to come and pay his respects, but the King of Goryeo refused and dared not come. His Majesty is very angry about this and has begun to send people to build warships and to carry out corvée labor to repair the land and water routes to the north."

"This time, it seems we are to accompany His Majesty on the expedition and stay by his side."

Upon hearing Li Xuanba's words, Qin Qiong remained unmoved. He said softly, "A campaign against Goguryeo is no easy task."

Li Xuanba was very surprised. You see, the men in the new army were all excited about the war, thinking it was a chance to get promoted and make a fortune. They kept praising the emperor's wisdom. Qin Qiong was the first person to tell him that the expedition was not easy.

No wonder his elder brother values ​​him so much.

Li Xuanba hasn't said anything 'treasonous' to Qin Qiong yet. Putting aside others, these soldiers are truly loyal to the sage. Most of them are, and they are grateful for the sage's kindness. They are willing to fight to the death for the sage, and the more warlike the sage is, the happier they are.

Li Xuanba increasingly felt that Qin Qiong would be a like-minded person.

Just as Li Xuanba was about to discuss this topic further with him, Yuan Li rushed into the camp with a panicked expression. He looked up, searched the surroundings, quickly locked onto Li Xuanba's direction, and then ran towards him.

"Young Master Yuan, what happened?"

Yuan Li said anxiously, "General! The Governor of Henan has impeached the New Army, saying that its soldiers went out on their own and looted nearby villages, massacred civilians, and robbed women and money. I just went to the Ministry of War to file a report, and Minister Duan told me about these things personally. He said we should investigate as soon as possible, and the Censorate and other departments will soon intervene."

"what?"

Qin Qiong looked bewildered. "Since the recruitment of soldiers, we have been training day and night in the drill ground. How could any soldier be allowed to go out on his own?"

Li Xuanba hadn't left the training ground for a long time. Hearing Yuan Li's words, he calmly asked, "Has the Prince of Qi been reinstated?"

"It seems that they only said it was the Governor of Henan, but didn't say who it was."

"That must be the King of Qi. I didn't expect him to take revenge so quickly."

Li Xuanba said sternly, "It's alright, continue training, don't worry about it!"

(End of this chapter)