After hearing this, Liu Tan looked at Huo Guang expressionlessly: "It's not too late for you to say you were joking with me."

Huo Guang smiled bitterly: "How dare I play such a joke on Your Highness?"

Liu Tan closed his eyes. He had been thinking that he would finally have an explanation when he returned this time, but he got such a big surprise as soon as he came back.

Li Guangli was sent by Emperor Wu of Han. How could he explain this to Emperor Wu of Han?

No matter how polite Liu Tan was, he wanted to swear at this moment.

He walked inside with a dark face and said, "Call Jiang Chong over here!"

Huo Guang knew Liu Tan was on the verge of exploding, but he remained calm and asked, "Then... should we report the victory first?"

Liu Tan was stunned for a moment, then he remembered that he had won the battle, and it was a great victory. Regardless of the number of people, the meaning of destroying a country was different, so he needed to announce it to the capital, one to boost morale and the other to prevent his achievements from being concealed.

Even though the Han Dynasty has basically no place to mobilize troops now, no one dares to suppress his achievements and not report them, but this has become a rule, so it still has to be done.

Liu Tan remained silent. In addition to reporting to the capital, he also had to write letters, including but not limited to letters to Liu Che, Chen Ajiao, and Liu Ju.

He was a little troubled. How could he explain this? Madam Li was still quite favored now, but her brother came to see him and was gone.

Liu Tan really felt that he was going to die.

But it was pointless to hide such a thing, so Liu Tan simply said, "Wait two days. I have too much to write to my father."

He hadn't written many letters since he started to deal with the robbery of the country. Even if he wrote, it was just to report that he was safe. On the one hand, he didn't want to make the people in Beijing worry, and on the other hand, he was afraid that his letters would be stolen. What if he wrote too much and leaked secrets?

This means that Liu Tan now needs to describe the matter in detail.

Seeing that Liu Tan was trying to conceal the fact that Li Guangli had died suddenly, Huo Guang reminded him, "Your Highness, it would have been better if you had spoken up earlier. With your prestige as a victor, no one would have held you against Li Guangli."

Let’s not talk about Liu Che for now. The bigwigs in the court would not make things difficult for Liu Tan just because of a waste.

Liu Tan's attack greatly extended the power of the Han Dynasty, laying a good foundation. It would save a lot of trouble even if they really had to confront the Huns in the future.

The best thing is that it is basically impossible for Liu Tan to lead troops again, and he will not have any competitive relationship with the military generals in the court. He is still a prince, and who would have the time to cause trouble for him because of a relative?

Liu Tan thought about it and thought, "The news of victory should be able to alleviate some of the anger caused by Li Guangli's death. Yes, this is directed at Liu Che."

As he walked away he said, "I know."

But before that, he still had to meet Jiang Chong. Of course, he was suspicious of Jiang Chong. Others might not dare to take action against relatives, but Jiang Chong... he even dared to take action against the crown prince of Zhao, and succeeded. What was Li Guangli in his eyes?

What's more, before Liu Tan left, he asked him to keep an eye on Li Guangli. Isn't it normal for Li Guangli to look for him when something happens?

Because the matter was urgent, Liu Tan just washed his face hurriedly and summoned Jiang Chong.

Jiang Chong was also nervous. As soon as he saw Liu Tan, he knew that the other party had not had time to deal with him. This was simply unbelievable for the Fifth Prince who loved cleanliness.

This also indirectly shows that this matter is indeed very serious, so he must deal with it well. If he fails to deal with it well, he will probably have to go with Li Guangli.

When Liu Tan saw Jiang Chong, his expression was very calm, even with a slight smile on his face. He did not look suspicious of anyone at all, and he also expressed his condolences to Jiang Chong for his hard work.

Jiang Chong was also calm, and there was no sign of guilt on his face, which made Liu Tan wonder whether Li Guangli really died of natural causes.

After all, he had been tormented enough before. If this was really the case... Liu Tan couldn't help but feel a chill on his back. This... was really his responsibility.

Jiang Chong saluted Liu Tan, assuring him that he was well, and then he said, "Your Highness summoned me to ask about General Li."

Liu Tan leaned back wearily. "Your Excellency, please don't overthink it. I just want to understand. After all, General Li can't die in such an unclear way. If it were someone else, perhaps it would be okay, but this person... If we don't handle this well, I'm afraid both you and I will suffer."

Jiang Chong's face was solemn: "I know that even if Your Highness does not summon me, I will come to Your Highness to report this matter."

Liu Tan caught on to something and immediately asked, "It seems there's a reason for this. I only heard the captain say it was a sudden death. What was the cause? An acute illness?"

Jiang Chong shook his head. "Sudden death is just a theory the captain and I discussed. The truth is... he died from a gold mine collapse and being struck by falling metal and rocks."

Liu Tan was stunned when he heard this: "A gold mine collapsed? How could a good gold mine collapse? No, why did Li Guangli go to the gold mine?"

Jiang Chong said, "Let me start from the beginning. Before Your Highness left, he told me to keep a close eye on General Li, and I did just that. After Your Highness left, General Li replaced all the guards at the gold mine with his own men. This caused a big stir, and it was the captain himself who intervened. However, Li Guangli didn't even give the captain any respect, saying only that Your Highness had personally asked him to stay here, so he had to do his best to live up to Your Highness's trust."

When Liu Tan heard this, he burst out laughing: "Then he really is serious."

Li Guangli didn't even give face to Huo Guang. Is it possible that all he had in his mind was tofu?

Jiang Chong continued, "Because he had moved His Highness out, the captain was busy at the time and didn't argue with him much. He warned him to keep his word and then left it alone. For the past two days, Li Guangli has indeed been very diligent, patrolling the mining area every day."

Liu Tan raised an eyebrow after hearing this: "Every day? He goes there in person?"

After seeing Jiang Chong nod, Liu Tan sneered, "It's like a weasel paying a New Year's visit to a chicken. He has no good intentions. The mining area is full of dust and dirt. How could he be worth going there in person?"

Jiang Chong was stunned when he heard the first half of his sentence. He turned it over in his mind three times but couldn't find where he had heard it before. However, the second half of the sentence hit the mark exactly.

So he quickly said, "That's right. I was also quite surprised, so I bribed someone close to him to keep an eye on him."

Liu Tan raised an eyebrow. "You bribed the people around him? Is that so easy?"

Jiang Chong's eyes held a hint of disdain. "Your Highness, there's no need to overestimate those people. They're profit-driven villains who will do anything for money. As long as the money's in hand, what's the big deal about turning against us?"

Liu Tan thought to himself, don’t talk about others, you are the same kind of people as them, just more cruel and ruthless than them.

Jiang Chong didn't know what Liu Tan was thinking, so he continued, "Later, this person actually brought back some information. Li Guangli's inspection of the mines was just to find out which hole produced the most ore, so that he could conceal his mistake and embezzle the gold!"

Liu Tan was not surprised after hearing this. He knew the truth about this matter, and he was using the gold mine to shut Li Guangli up. Otherwise, Li Guangli, this fool, would not understand. When he returned to the capital to complain, what else would Liu Che not understand?

On the contrary, Li Guangli got the benefit. If Liu Tan coaxed him a little more, Li Guangli might forget about this matter.

Yes, from beginning to end, Liu Tan never thought about really killing Li Guangli. He is not a pervert who thinks about killing someone every day.

That's a person. No matter how annoying you are, he has lived in front of you, able to talk and laugh. Killing him at will is too much psychological pressure.

Jiang Chong took one look at Liu Tan's expression and said, "I...didn't take it seriously at first. Your Highness must have had his reasons for letting him go. But Li Guangli should never have been so greedy, actually wanting to monopolize the entire cave!"

Liu Tan was instantly shocked. "What did you say? He wants to monopolize the gold mine produced in a cave?"

Jiang Chong nodded heavily: "That's right, otherwise I wouldn't have come directly to your door."

Liu Tan frowned. "What is he thinking? The gold mine has a fixed daily output. One missing hole is obvious. Even if he can bribe the clerk, the total amount is there."

Jiang Chong said, "Li Guangli naturally thought of this. After he took control of the gold mine, he began to force the miners to work day and night. Then the output was no different from before, and no one could tell that he had embezzled a lot of gold."

Liu Tan was almost laughing with anger: "He's quite clever. He thinks that no one knows how much gold there is anyway."

It has to be said that Li Guangli's move is hard to guard against. After all, if the people inside cannot tip off the information, who knows how much has been produced?

At this time, Liu Tan's inner anger had begun to rise. He knew how Li Guangli forced people to work. But you have to know that only a few of these miners were experienced workers sent by Liu Che, and most of the rest were ordinary soldiers who learned temporarily.

After all, the location of this gold mine needed to be concealed. Liu Tan hadn't even told Lu Xuan, and sending too many people over would easily attract attention.

These soldiers are stationed at Yumen Pass all year round. Regardless of whether they have killed the enemy or not, in Liu Tan's view, they have made contributions to the Han Dynasty. Therefore, Liu Tan does not want to treat these people unfairly even if he has to cut his own food, clothing and other expenses.

As a result, Li Guangli turned around and treated these soldiers in the same way.

Liu Tan was furious, but still a little confused: "How do you know all this? And how did he die?"

Huo Guang may not know these things, because Liu Tan has never stopped exchanging letters with Huo Guang to reassure him. If Huo Guang knew, he would definitely tell him from the beginning.

Jiang Chong whispered, "I didn't know at first, but later someone died and Li Guangli couldn't hide it any longer. Plus, I had an insider, so he came to me."

After hearing this, Liu Tan had a bad feeling. "Did someone die? How did they die? Did they have a conflict with the miners?"

This was the only possibility Liu Tan could think of. After all, people were forced to mine day and night. They might be able to withstand it at first, but even gods couldn't stand it over time. When people were pushed to the extreme and were about to be exhausted to death, they would definitely explode in order to survive.

But... none of Li Guangli's men are good at fighting. If all those soldiers gather together... even Li Guangli can't handle it, right?

Jiang Chong said, "No, it was a cave that collapsed due to improper mining methods. There were at least twenty miners inside at the time, and they were all buried."

Liu Tan stood up suddenly upon hearing this. "What did you say? The mining method is wrong? Where are the craftsmen sent by the Emperor? Didn't they notice it?"

Jiang Chong said, "Of course they discovered it, but... they could only report it. Li Guangli didn't take it seriously and continued to let the miners mine. He even forced the miners to speed up mining because there was a problem with the hole and it was about to be unworkable. Several people died of exhaustion in the process, but Li Guangli kept it all a secret... Your Highness...?"

As Jiang Chong spoke, his face became full of panic. The expression on his prince's face... looked like he wanted to eat someone.