My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 362 Major Events
Yang Xuanzong hurriedly pulled his younger brother aside.

"What important matter are you talking about?"

Yang Xuanting looked around, then said in a low voice, "Naturally, it's the big thing we've been plotting in the past!"

"My brother is far away in the borderlands and is unaware of the situation at home. The country is now completely in ruins. Beyond the Guanzhong Plain, bandits roam everywhere. Our soldiers are all fighting in the field, and only a few local militia remain. These militia are no match for the bandits. Rebellions are becoming increasingly serious in various places, and many officials have fled their offices. Orders from the imperial court are almost unable to leave Luoyang!"

Yang Xuanzong had indeed heard that a large number of rebels had emerged in the rear after the expedition began, but he did not know that the situation had deteriorated to this extent. He asked incredulously, "Has it reached the point where officials are fleeing and the imperial court is unable to suppress them?"

"Brother, things are far more serious than you can imagine!"

"My elder brother has already summoned all the brothers, wanting to inquire about the situation on your end, before planning something big."

"That's not necessary."

Yang Xuanzong said very calmly.

Yang Xuan was taken aback for a moment, "Huh?"

“The important matter has been accomplished, brother, you don’t need to do anything more.”

Yang Xuan looked completely bewildered. He couldn't understand what his second brother meant. What did he mean by "the important matter has been accomplished"?

Isn't our big plan to start an army?

Looking at his silly-looking third brother, Yang Xuanzong instructed, "You can stay by my side for now. When we get back, I'll tell my eldest brother in person that I haven't been idle these past few days. You'll come back with me."

Yang Xuan hesitated for a moment before saying, "But what about my elder brother?"

"You don't need to worry about these important matters!"

"Here."

Yang Xuanzong ordered his younger brother to rest, while he himself quickly mounted his horse and headed towards Li Xuanba's location.

Yang Xuanzong was now in charge of leading the way, while Li Xuanba and Yuwen Shu were positioned at the rear of the army.

When Yang Xuan rode his horse all the way to the rear, Yuwen Shu had already gone to rest, leaving only Li Xuanba, who was also preparing to rest.

"General."

Yang Xuanzong hurriedly bowed and paid his respects.

Li Xuanba gestured for him to sit down next to him and handed him a piece of roasted meat. Yang Xuanzong took the meat and said, "My younger brother Xuanting was brought here by the soldiers just now. He came to find me on my elder brother's orders."

"What brings the Duke of Chu to see you?"

Yang Xuanzong hesitated for a moment, but then said decisively, "General, you don't know this, but my family has long been dissatisfied with the emperor's many actions! My grandfather was loyal to the Sui Dynasty. Without my grandfather, the emperor would not have been able to ascend the throne. But after he ascended the throne, he did not want to repay my grandfather, but instead tried to murder him."

"Some people said that something bad might happen in Sui, so the emperor changed my father's title to Duke of Chu, hoping he would go and ward off the disaster!"

"Later, my grandfather fell ill, and the emperor came to see him several times, asking the doctor how many days he had left to live."

"Grandpa was furious and refused to take his medicine anymore. He told us: 'I do not want to live a wretched life!'"

He then died of illness.

"After my grandfather passed away, the emperor's fear of my family did not diminish. My uncle was ordered to be exiled to death simply because he was performing a sacrifice for my grandfather. The emperor said he was wasting time and that he valued his elder brother more than himself. My elder brother pleaded with him to be allowed to return, but my uncle also passed away a few months after returning to Luoyang."

"His hatred for us has reached this level!"

As Yang Xuanzong spoke, his tone grew increasingly heavy, his eyes fierce. Yang Su and Yang Yue weren't exactly good people, but for Yang Guang, without their help, he might not have been able to ascend the throne. Yang Su had single-handedly supported him, winning over many ministers, while Yang Yue had even directly strangled Yang Yong to death.
However, after the emperor ascended the throne, he was very wary of these two extremely talented and ruthless brothers, but he couldn't take direct action against them, so he tried every means to get rid of them.

As a result, the Yang family members were extremely dissatisfied with the emperor, and their thoughts of rebellion became increasingly intense.

In the past, Yang Xuanzong would never have told Li Xuanba these things, but now he had nothing to worry about. He only had the idea of ​​raising an army, while the general was someone who put it into practice and succeeded.

Li Xuanba listened attentively to his story, and only after he finished did he ask, "Did the Duke of Chu send someone to find you because he wanted to start a rebellion together?"

Yang Xuanzong was slightly embarrassed. "That's roughly the idea. However, General, you don't need to worry. After we get back, I can persuade him not to act rashly."

Li Xuanba remained silent for a moment. Yang Xuanzong thought that Li Xuanba did not believe him, so he said seriously, "General, I can swear that everything I said is true!"

"If my elder brother knew that the tyrannical emperor had been brought under control, he would certainly no longer have any thoughts of raising an army. He would be a great help to us! Many veteran officials and generals in the court are very close to my family, and my family's sons are spread throughout various military commands."

Li Xuanba said, "I know you're not lying, but what we're doing now is extremely dangerous, so we must be very careful. I'm leaving the matter of the Duke of Chu to you. I hope you can persuade him as soon as possible. With the Duke of Chu's talent, he will surely be able to govern the country well."

Yang Xuanzong was quite happy, and he believed it without a doubt. He said a few more words to Li Xuanba, then smiled and got up to take his leave.

Li Xuanba remained seated, watching Yang Xuanzong leave.

Li Xuanba frowned. Unlike Yang Xuanzong, he was not optimistic about the situation on the Duke of Chu's side. Yang Xuanzong was simple-minded and reckless, and there were many things he could not see through.

Li Xuanba had always thought that Yang Xuangan was the same kind of person as him, both of them wanting to overthrow the emperor for the greater good of the world.

When I told my second brother about this, he told me very clearly that Yang Xuangan was not one of us.

The second brother once cited examples: Zhao Yuanshu, who claimed that enough grain could be collected within ten days, leading to looting and plundering by government troops and causing widespread suffering, was one of Yang Xuangan's own people. Hu Sizheng, who constantly controlled Duan Wenzhen, caused chaos on the front lines, and killed many soldiers, was also one of Yang Xuangan's own people.
Why did Yang Xuangan promote these people and let them make so many crazy suggestions? Second Brother thought it was all to weaken the emperor's power and make everyone listen to him.

In other words, Yang Xuangan might have preferred to see a major defeat at the front, the more devastating the defeat, the more deaths, the more miserable the people, and the more ruthless the emperor, the better, because only in this way would the emperor lose the support of the people and the army, and only then could he achieve great things.

However, Li Xuanba clearly did not think that way. Even if a major defeat at the front would be beneficial to future plans, he absolutely could not stand by and watch hundreds of thousands of people die needlessly on the front lines! Even though he wanted to beat Yang Guang, that beast, to death, he had to endure it for the sake of more lives.

This is where the two sides differ most.

Those who sacrifice themselves for great causes are highly respectable, while those who hide behind others and let them sacrifice themselves for great causes are shameful.

Li Xuanba is no longer the simple-minded little boy he once was. After experiencing these major events, Li Xuanba has developed his own ideas.

He felt that if Yang Xuangan knew what was happening at the front, he would feel regret. If he knew that the emperor had been taken hostage, he probably wouldn't stand on his side. From beginning to end, his goal was not to save the country and the people, but to do something great.

However, he couldn't tell Yang Xuanzong about this. He used to dislike Yang Xuanzong, but now that they were both in the military and had gone on expeditions together, their friendship had deepened. He could only hope that Yang Xuangan would realize his mistake in time, listen to his brother, and stop as soon as possible.

If this fellow truly doesn't know when to back down and insists on acting recklessly, wanting to kill even more people for his grand dream, then Li Xuanba can only feel sorry for Yang Xuanzong.

The campfire crackled and popped in front of me, and countless images appeared in the flames before quickly fading away.

Li Xuanba stared intently at the campfire, somewhat lost in thought.

It was a bit cold outside, and he really wanted to go home.

He had never thought about home, about his family, so much.

He touched the jade pendant that was pressed tightly against his chest, then took out his golden mace and began to vigorously and repeatedly rub it.

"Xuanba!!!"

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from afar.

(End of this chapter)