My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 338 General! What do we do?
Li Xuanba was not tall.

All the generals present were much taller and larger than him.

But standing here, head bowed, looking down at the people in front of him, his figure was much taller than any of the generals.

These generals, recalling their own reactions when Li Xuanba spoke up earlier, all looked very uncomfortable.

Most of these generals had made a pact with Yuwen Shu back in Liaodong City that if anyone got into trouble, the others would have to come to their rescue.

But when Yuwen Shu actually got into trouble, they all chose to ignore the previous agreement because of yesterday's banquet. Only Li Xuanba and Tu Wanxu got up and wanted to rescue Yuwen Shu.

Now, it's no longer just Yuwen Shu's problem; it's a major issue affecting everyone.

Leading soldiers to the front lines carrying provisions—what's the difference between that and sending them to their deaths?
At this moment, Li Xuanba, who was the first to step forward, once again became the one who could save them.

But none of them dared to speak.

The generals' faces were flushed, their eyes filled with shame. They had shied away when Yuwen Shu was in trouble, but now that they were in trouble, they had to beg for help. No matter how shameless they were, they didn't dare to look Li Xuanba in the eye at this moment.

Li Xuanba calmly surveyed the crowd before him and slowly spoke, "This is a disorderly decree."

"The treacherous officials around His Majesty have instigated him to imprison the Duke of Xu and issue such absurd military orders. We cannot accept such orders."

"right!!!"

Xin Shixiong stood up. "General Li is right! These are all orders issued by treacherous officials around the emperor! How can we obey them?"

Duan Da then stood up, also expressing his resentment towards those petty people.

The generals from Guanzhong were the first to respond, while the generals from the south and the Central Plains hesitated.

They dared not disobey the imperial edict, but if they did not, this absurd military order would kill them all.

Jing Yuanheng, also a general, now had a stern face and trembling lips. He had lost the arrogance he had shown when reprimanding Li Xuanba and was too frightened to speak.

Li Xuanba looked at everyone and spoke again.

"Gentlemen, no matter where we come from or what our relationship is like, we are all soldiers of the Great Sui Dynasty, comrades who have fought side by side!"

“I don’t know what others think, but at least for me, I will not treat my fellow countrymen differently because of our hometown.”

"Even if they are complete strangers, I will definitely go to their aid if they encounter difficulties! Even if I am punished for it, I will not back down."

"Now a million troops are gathered here. They come from different places, but haven't we been working together to fight against a common enemy?! Since the start of the campaign, these treacherous people around the emperor have repeatedly misled him, causing the war to go badly."

"How many of our brothers died unjustly on the front lines? Were only the people of Guanzhong the only ones who died?! Were only the people of the South the only ones who died?! Were only the people of the Central Plains the only ones who died?!"

"Those who died were all damned Sui people!! Brothers who shared the same customs and language with us!"

"Now that the generals are all gathered here, and everyone still comes from different places, I said I wanted to go and rescue Duke Xu, not because he is from Guanzhong, but because I don't believe that a man like him would be afraid of the enemy and dare not carry out orders."

“If it weren’t Duke Xu who was captured, but General Jing! General Wei! General Cui! I would still lead men to rescue him! Because none of the generals standing here are cowards! We will carry out correct military orders without fail! We are all like that!”

"Gentlemen, the situation is extremely critical. This is not just a problem for Duke Xu, but a problem for a million-strong army!"

"If the treacherous officials around His Majesty do not restrain themselves, how many more brothers will die needlessly on the front lines?"

Li Xuanba's voice was loud and clear, strong and powerful.

The generals looked at him with increasingly different expressions.

If others said they didn't care about region, the generals might not believe it, but Li Xuanba proved it by defying the imperial edict to save Mai Tiezhang, a southern general who had nothing to do with Guanzhong.

"Generals, if we accept the imperial edict this time and go to our deaths in vain, the sycophants around the emperor will only think we are weak and easily bullied. There will be more such edicts, a second time, a third time, until we are all dead, until a general can no longer endure it!!"

"When future generations learn of our deeds, they will not admire us as a group of loyal and righteous men, nor will they erect a monument for us. Instead, they will curse us as a bunch of fools who would carry out such absurd military orders! They were sent to their deaths and dared not resist!"

Jing Yuanheng took a deep breath, his voice trembling, "General Li, what should we do?"

Duan Da said, "Why don't we pretend nothing happened, go out of the city to Liaodong, and then make our request to His Majesty once we've rejoined the main army?"

“No, we won’t leave the city.” Li Xuanba said, turning to look at Wei Xuan beside him.

"Whose army is the one that led His Majesty Minister Wei to his camp?"

Wei Xuan kept a straight face and didn't say a word.

Li Xuanba turned to look at Yang Xuanzong, who nodded and walked a few steps to Wei Xuan. He punched Wei Xuan in the stomach, and Wei Xuan groaned. Several soldiers then pinned him to the ground.

"Things have come to this point, and you still don't know how to repent?"

Li Xuanba spoke fiercely, then looked at Cui Wensheng, "General Cui, whose army is in front of the camp?"

Just as Xin Shixiong was about to answer, Li Xuanba gestured to him, and Xin Shixiong shut his mouth.

Cui Hongsheng pursed his lips and replied, "It is the Right Guard Army. Mai Tiezhang is stationed there. The Emperor's camp and city defense are the responsibility of the Right Guard Army, while the Left Guard Army is responsible for martial law within the city. The Imperial Guard Army is located in the north and south of Liuhe City, and the Martial Guard Army is located on the east and west sides."

It's clear that the emperor's most trusted troops are currently positioned closest to him.

The Tunwei were responsible for protecting the city, while the Yuwei and Wuwei were responsible for defending the four sides of Liuhe City, keeping the foreign troops, whom the emperor did not trust, away.

"it is good."

"General Duan, you will accompany General Cui to the Zuowuwei camp and lead the Zuowuwei troops into the city from the west to take over the city's defenses."

"Here!"

Duan Da received the order and walked a few steps to Cui Hongsheng's side. Cui Hongsheng looked terrified, gritted his teeth, and nodded heavily, "Yes, sir!"

The two walked out quickly.

Li Xuanba looked at Zhang Jin and said, "General, I would like to trouble you to go with General Shi Xiang to the Right Imperial Guard and lead the Right Imperial Guard into the city from the south to take over the city's defense together with the Left Martial Guard."

Zhang Jin remained silent for a long time before asking, "General, are you planning a rebellion?"

"I am not trying to rebel. I just want to get rid of those treacherous people around His Majesty. The general should know His Majesty's character. If we submit a memorial together and directly say that there are treacherous people around His Majesty, His Majesty will definitely not listen. Only by capturing the treacherous people in the city and bringing them to His Majesty will His Majesty understand our good intentions."

Zhang Jin slowly said, "The world has just been unified, and a million troops have gathered here. If anything happens, we will be the sinners of the world."

"If we remain indifferent and allow a million-strong army to perish, then we will be the true sinners."

"General Zhang, if you are unwilling, I will not force you. Just go and rest with Minister Wei."

Zhang Jin let out a heavy sigh. "I will do as you say, but you must promise that you will only target those despicable people."

"I promise."

Zhang Jin stood up, bowed to Li Xuanba along with Shi Xiang, and then left.

Li Xuanba looked at Xin Shixiong and said, "General Xin, there are only the garrison troops left in the city. I would like to trouble you to gather your trusted soldiers of the Left Garrison and assemble them in front of the tent as quickly as possible!"

"Here!!"

Xin Shixiong left quickly.

Only a few generals remained: Yu Zhongwen, Jing Yuanheng, Li Jing, Xue Shixiong, and Zhao Xiaocai.

Li Xuanba looked at them solemnly.

"General Lee."

Li Jing stood up. Li Jing was one of the warriors of Guanzhong. However, he was upright and different from the other warriors. He was similar to Wei Xuan, but he was not as pedantic as Wei Xuan. He did not want the world to be in chaos, but he also did not want the army to die in vain on the front line.

"You have the highest prestige among the armies in Liaodong City, so I will trouble you to go there and oversee things to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the unrest here to launch a mutiny. You must keep a close eye on them and never rush to send troops."

Li Jing was very satisfied with Li Xuanba's idea and quickly accepted the order.

Li Xuanba looked at the others and said, "General Yu, General Jing, you two have the highest prestige, and everyone trusts you. I would like to trouble you to write a few letters to convey His Majesty's orders to all the generals of the Twelve Guards."

(End of this chapter)