Liu Tan pulled his hand away from Huo Guang, feeling that Huo Guang was about to condemn him at any moment, but... it was not his fault.

Maybe this Gobi desert is rich in minerals?

If it is not an absolute climate problem, there will generally not be sparse vegetation. Scarce vegetation means that there are rocks underground that are not suitable for plant growth, and there is a high probability of minerals.

After Liu Tan figured this out, he explained it to Huo Guang.

Huo Guang looked at him coldly and said, "Some of the places we selected earlier are also in the Gobi Desert."

Liu Tan was at a loss for words. "Why don't you bring me all the rocks you've collected so I can take a look. What if there's something you don't recognize? Look, nobody recognizes coal, right?"

Li Buyan, who was standing by, suddenly asked, "Then how did His Highness know him?"

Liu Tan: ...

Why is this brat bringing up such a topic? Is that something he can talk about? If he does, he'll probably be subjected to witch doctor shaming again!

Seeing the fierce look in Liu Tan's eyes, Li Buyan couldn't help but take two steps back and hide behind Wei Buyi.

Wei Buyi was also very tired. Is no one paying attention to the agate in my hand? This is agate!

At that time, agate was also a very precious gem and was loved by the nobles. In fact, in later generations, good quality agate was also very precious.

Huo Guang looked at Liu Tan and smiled slightly. Although Liu Tan didn't say anything, Huo Guang had some idea in his mind.

The prince had told him about Liu Tan's tricks, but both he and the prince felt that this was just a way for Liu Tan to cover up.

After all, the Crown Prince had suddenly mentioned, "Before he returned to the palace, I sent people to collect information on him. Although he's not well-known, he's not much better than Liu Fuling. Do you think it's possible for a person to suddenly change his temperament?"

From that time on, both Huo Guang and the crown prince believed that Liu Tan might have been enlightened by some immortal.

It's even more possible that he is some kind of immortal who has come down to earth to experience tribulations. This excuse was originally given by Liu Tan to the Emperor, but if he had not experienced it himself, how could he know about this matter?

If this is true, it is normal for Liu Tan to know things that ordinary people don’t know.

Huo Guang didn't want to put Liu Tan in a difficult position because of this matter, so he simply asked, "What's the quality of the agate? Is it easy to collect?"

Wei Buyi nodded frantically: "The quality is very good, and there are many agates on the surface!"

Huo Guang couldn't help but glance at Liu Tan again. Liu Tan felt a chill on his back, and his hair stood on end. He couldn't help but move to the side and asked, "Where exactly is it?"

As he spoke, he had the map brought over. Wei Buyi looked at the map carefully and then pointed in the middle.

Liu Tan was speechless for a moment. Well, it was exactly in the middle of the place he had chosen before.

What kind of industrial zone is this?

He looked down at the blueprint in his hand. Just now he was discussing it with Huo Guang happily, but in the blink of an eye... It couldn't be more sad.

Huo Guang almost laughed out loud when he saw Liu Tan's aggrieved expression.

In fact, he did let out a very short laugh. Liu Tan, who was standing next to him, heard it clearly and couldn't help but glance at Huo Guang.

Huo Guang quickly restrained his expression and said, "This map is not useless. Your Highness can just choose another place."

Liu Tan thought about it and agreed. He had originally wanted to stick to the principle of proximity, but now it seemed that the minerals in that place were densely distributed. Of course, this density was based on the map. In reality, the minerals were also very far apart. Nature wasn't that unpredictable. Here was a coal mine, and a few steps away was agate, and over there was a gold mine.

There are still many unowned lands in Shuofang, so it is not difficult to find them nearby.

Liu Tan instructed Wei Buyi to find someone to mine while preparing to choose a new location.

But when he was looking at the map, for some reason, the people around him looked at him with shining eyes, especially when he was about to click, they were even more focused.

But he soon understood what these people meant, and instantly wanted to throw the pen in his hand away - were these guys waiting for him to order the ore?

To be honest, Liu Tan himself was a little confused. Was it because there were so many mines in this Gobi Desert, or was he really that smart?

Could it be that the golden finger brought by time travel has finally appeared? This shouldn't be the case, right?

Liu Tan hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Huo Guang and said, "Prime Minister Huo, please help me choose a place."

Huo Guang glanced at him and said, "Your Highness, please make your own choice."

There is a mine wherever you choose. Will there be a jade mine next?

Liu Tan took a deep breath and said, "I'll choose after you pick a place! Forget it, let's each pick one and see where we can use it!"

He just didn't believe it. If the mineral distribution was really so dense, then among so many people there would definitely be one person who could be chosen, and then his myth of pointing out where the mine was would be broken.

To be honest, this golden finger sounds good, but it is also quite stressful and doesn't seem very secure. What if Liu Che and Chen Ajiao detain him when he returns to Chang'an?

The reasons are all ready. Where can we find such a useful little mineral-hunting expert?

Liu Tan couldn't help but shudder. After everyone had chosen their spots, he finally pointed to one and said seriously, "Don't tell anyone about this outside. If I find out, I'll... punish you by making you copy the Analects! Copy it a hundred times!"

Except for Huo Guang, everyone here couldn't help but tremble. This punishment was even more unbearable for them than a fine.

Huo Guang, however, also sided with Liu Tan. He looked around and said, "Although Your Highness is lenient, that's no reason for you to act so recklessly. Think about it, would you dare to make up stories under the command of other princes? If I hear it, even if Your Highness doesn't punish me, I will still do it."

It has to be said that Huo Guang seemed to be more authoritative than Liu Tan. Just now, these people were just a little more obedient after listening to Liu Tan's words, but after hearing what Huo Guang said, they were as cowardly as quails, nodding frantically, promising that he would not say anything nonsense, and then scattered like birds and beasts.

Liu Tan looked at the backs of these guys and couldn't help but turn his head to look at Huo Guang: "You didn't even say you were going to punish them, so why are they so scared?"

Huo Guang chuckled, thinking, "You mean a punishment? But it's just copying the Analects. What kind of punishment is that?" It's not painful at all. Besides, he felt that with Liu Tan's temper, he might not really do anything to them even if they couldn't finish copying.

But Huo Guang was really capable of taking ruthless action.

He has a gentlemanly face and ruthless methods.

Huo Guang didn't say anything. He didn't think that Liu Tan was doing a bad thing. On the contrary, if the King of the Northern Territory was a cruel person, Huo Guang would never let him take power.

Liu Tan didn't care whether Huo Guang replied or not, he just said: "I see that there are not many minerals in the Gobi Desert. Why not send someone to go around and check it out?"

Huo Guang asked, "Every profession has its own specialty. Who should we let go?"

Liu Tan said without hesitation: "Why not form a professional team and include everyone who knows about minerals? Isn't that enough?"

Of course, even if we do this, we may not be able to find all of them, because there are still many minerals that people of this era are not aware of.

Unfortunately, Liu Tan didn't dare to say that he knew it. He could only remember the relevant information when he needed it. It would be difficult for him to think about it when he didn't need it.

However, even so, it is not easy to form a team.

Huo Guang said mercilessly, "Your Highness, there are almost no people left for you to take in, and you still want to send people out?"

Liu Tan was used to being short of people, so he just said, "Don't worry, by next summer at the latest, even if there aren't any capable people, we can always find some helpers to help you and share the work."

Huo Guang's face was expressionless. "That's not what I said. Considering the current situation in the Northern Territory, it's okay for me to work harder. What I meant was that you don't want to impose too much labor service. We don't have enough laborers right now!"

Liu Tan was shocked for a moment: "What?"

Huo Guang said, "Yes, look at how many mines there are in total. Even your guards have been sent out to maintain order in the mining area. If this continues, not only will there not be enough laborers, but even guards!"

After hearing this, Liu Tan couldn't help but scratch his head and said, "Well... conscription won't work. I... can post a notice to hire people to come down to the mines. Even if there are only a few people, giving them a monthly salary and three meals a day will definitely attract them, right?"

Huo Guang was silent for a moment. He really wanted to say that there was no need for that, as long as three meals a day were provided, many people would come. However, his prince always had strange insistence on this matter, and since it didn't affect anything anyway, he didn't say anything.

"Your Highness, the problem of laborers is easy to solve, but what about guards? I'm afraid you'll need to petition His Majesty for this."

Princes are not allowed to recruit private soldiers at will. Those things are strictly regulated. Even if Liu Tan lets his slaves do the same thing, it will be regarded as private soldiers. If they are discovered and reported, it may be regarded as treason.

In fact, many princes had used many reasons to apply for an increase in their private troops, but since Liu Che began to take away the power of the princes, he had never agreed to any application from the princes.

Liu Tan scratched his head and said, "Okay, I'll go write a letter to my father."

Speaking of this, he couldn't help feeling a little guilty. He hadn't written to Liu Che for a long time, and wondered if Liu Che was scolding him again.

As I was thinking about it, I couldn't help but sneeze twice.

Oh no, this is really a scolding. Liu Tan turned around and went back to write a letter to Liu Che.

In fact, Liu Che was indeed scolding him, but he was also thinking about him, and there were more people like him than just Liu Che.

As soon as Liu Tan's letter reached Liu Che, Lu Xuan brought the King of Dayuan and the heavenly horse to Chang'an.

On his first day in Chang'an, Lu Xuan wanted to visit Liu Tan. However, just as he was about to ask the postmaster about the Fifth Prince, he heard him say with a smile, "Kunmi hasn't been here for a while, so he might not know. The Fifth Prince was named King of the Northern Territory three months ago and has already been enfeoffed."

Lu Xuan's expression instantly cracked.