My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 87 Epiphany
Li Xuanba spoke eloquently, but Li Yuan remained silent, his heart filled with complex emotions.

On the one hand, he was surprised by his son.

Li Xuanba's performance at this moment was even more surprising to Li Yuan than when he captured the bandit leader alive.

This kid has really put in the effort to learn from his books. He can come up with one principle after another and has a more mature perspective on things. However, it's not enough. He still blindly believes in the principles in the books and lacks life experience.

At this moment, Li Yuan no longer treated Li Xuanba as a child. He looked into the distance with a serious expression and said in a low voice, "Xuanba, perhaps you are right. Through persuasion, it is indeed possible to let the Emperor know about the local malpractices without offending him."

"But have you thought about it? The sage doesn't care about these things at all. All he wants is taxes and able-bodied men, and he's very impatient about it. The more the better. He doesn't care what will happen in the future."

“If the land allocation is thoroughly investigated and the bad policies are eliminated, it will be a great thing for the people, but what about for the sage?”

"We've been exempted from taxes and corvée labor for no reason. Do you think he'll let us off the hook?"

"As for your talk of winning over talented and righteous people from all over the world, you may not know that for many people of virtue and ambition, speaking out for the people is secondary; filling their stomachs and surviving are their top priorities."

"What they want most is to become officials, get rich, and have beautiful women. We should give them official positions, land, beautiful women, and money, lead them to victory in battle, and let them get more benefits. This is the way to attract virtuous and ambitious people."

"If you only talk about benevolence and morality without any real benefits, no one will follow you."

"Therefore, now is not the time to be the first in the world. We need to be patient, we need to be high-ranking officials, we need to have enough capital, we need to have a large army, and we need to be able to give others enough benefits. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Li Yuan spoke frankly, abandoning the old methods of preaching 'benevolence and morality'.

This is his way of lecturing older children.

Li Xuanba looked quite surprised. He lowered his head, as if he was savoring his father's words.

Li Yuan smiled and patted his head. "You're still young. Although you've read a lot of books, books are just books. When you grow up, you'll have been to many places and met many people, and you'll know more about things."

"Listen to me, just be patient and do some small things. These oppressive policies will be resolved one day."

"I'll send someone to talk to the village head. Forget about the policies of the imperial court. Go train your local militia and fight those bandits. Your second brother has been doing a great job lately. You don't know, do you? He's defeated more than a dozen bandit groups."

Li Yuan spoke happily, sitting in his father's lap, but Li Xuanba's eyes showed a hint of confusion.

While they were eliminating thieves, they could only watch helplessly as the oppressive government drove more people to become thieves.

Under such harsh government and such forced labor, can the bandits of the world be completely eradicated?
To cheer his son up, Li Yuan held him and performed several impressive horseback riding tricks, winning applause from the crowd.

Li Xuanba knew that his grandfather was in a good mood, so he didn't spoil his fun. He just forced a smile and cooperated with his grandfather.

But when he returned to his residence and entered his own courtyard, Li Xuanba fell into deep thought once again.

He sat in his study, his hands supporting his face, lost in thought.

Suddenly, half a pancake appeared at his lips. Li Xuanba was taken aback, then looked to the side and saw Sanshi holding out half a pancake and placing it at the corner of his mouth. "Young master seems a little unhappy? Have some pancake, one bite will cheer you up! It's so delicious."

"Where did you get this cake?"

"I hid some spares at noon."

Li Xuanba gave a wry smile, but seeing the other person's sincere expression, he still took a few bites. Sanshi asked, "How is it? Does eating make you feel better?"

"yes."

As Li Xuanba spoke, he looked at her again and asked very seriously, "Sanshi, do you believe that there are good people in the world who do not seek personal gain and take the world as their responsibility?"

San Shi looked at Li Xuanba seriously and nodded emphatically, "I believe you."

Li Xuanba was somewhat pleased. "I think so too. There are so many people in the world who study the classics, are they all only concerned with themselves? There must be some who prioritize the world."

San Shi nodded, "Yes, that is my lord."

Li Xuanba was suddenly taken aback, "Me?"

He shook his head again. "I don't count. Besides me, do you think there are any others?"

San Shi, without hesitation, shook her head, "No." Li Xuanba lowered his head, "Grandpa said that one cannot accomplish great things by merely talking about benevolence and morality."

San Shi nodded again, "Then he is right. I have seen many people like that. They talk a lot of nice things, but if you ask them for food, they will set their dogs on you. But my lord is not like that. My lord has done many things and helped many people."

"I believe that you are destined for great things."

Something flashed through Li Xuanba's mind. He seemed to be deep in thought, muttering to himself. A moment later, he suddenly picked up a pen and began to write furiously. Sanshi didn't know what was happening. She just sat to the side, curiously peeking out to watch, even though she couldn't understand what Li Xuanba was writing at all.

Li Xuanba wrote faster and faster, the worries between his brows vanished, and his brushstrokes became increasingly smooth.

He quickly filled several pages with writing, so fast that San Shi was stunned.

After finishing writing, Li Xuanba gracefully put down his pen, and a smile reappeared on his face.

"What Grandpa said is right, but not entirely right. What I said before was right, but not entirely right either."

"Take benevolence and righteousness as the foundation, do more practical things, not only benefit those benevolent and capable people, but also benefit the whole world. Only in this way can one truly gain the support of those who are virtuous."

He picked up his own article again and nodded repeatedly.

San Shi still didn't understand, but when she saw Li Xuanba laugh, she laughed along with him.

The next day, Li Xuanba drove to the farm again.

Before Li Xuanba arrived, Li Yuan had already sent someone over; this time, he sent Li Jiancheng.

After meeting his brother's men, Li Jiancheng relayed Li Yuan's message to them.

Some things are permissible, while others should not be suggested lightly. The Third Prince is still young, and we cannot cater to him or allow him to do anything inappropriate. As for Li Xuanba, Li Yuan has already personally spoken to him, and they cannot afford to make any more mistakes in the future.

Zhang Du and the others immediately understood that this meant the group leader should thoroughly investigate the land allocation matter beforehand.

They dared not refute it and quickly agreed.

When Li Xuanba arrived, they were worried that their leader would be affected and not in a good mood. However, contrary to their expectations, Li Xuanba was still all smiles and gathered everyone to discuss important matters.

Zhang Du and the others quickly told them about Li Jiancheng's visit to them.

After hearing this, Li Xuanba was not discouraged. He smiled and said, "Since my father and brothers don't allow me to handle important matters, let's do more small things. In the future, there will always be opportunities to do big things."

The group exchanged glances, their fighting spirits rising, and they all agreed.

Li Xuanba then brought up the issue of local militias.

The problem of thieves has improved a lot, but the local militia's harassment of the area has not stopped. Li Xuanba plans to have a serious talk with the local militia leaders and make them understand that it is wrong to bully the people.

The spring planting season has passed, and now we can only leave the farming and sericulture to fate.

Li Xuanba knew very well that once the farmers ran out of food, they would still take the risk.

So, let's make some preparations in Buffalo Mountain first.

A mountain range can support many people, but the number of people it can support varies greatly depending on the season. If people want to escape oppressive rule and live in the mountains, it is not enough to just rely on the mountains for sustenance; arable land also needs to be developed.

Normally, this is a very long process. Liu Xuan told Li Xuanba that it would take at least four or five years to turn wasteland into farmland.

Under the rule of the sage, he was powerless to help those people, so he gave them a place to live in the mountains, free from the harm of oppressive government, where they could live in peace.

“Zhang Tuanzuo, the weather has been nice these past few days. In a few days, we’ll take some people to the mountains for a hunt and enjoy the scenery along the way.”

Zhang Du was stunned for a moment before he realized what was happening.

"Here!"

(End of this chapter)