The neatly bundled honeycomb coal was placed on the catapult, which made Li Buyan and Wei Buyi both wonder what the honeycomb coal could be used for.

Wei Buyi quickly found his place and whispered, "Your Highness, there aren't many plants here, and...it's summer now."

Wei Buzhi's meaning was very clear. There are few plants in the Gobi Desert, and there is a lot of water in the plants in summer, so even if honeycomb coal is used, it may not be ignited.

Liu Tan took a deep breath and said, "You don't understand."

Neither Li Buyan nor Wei Buyi dared to refute. Anyway, they really didn't understand how their prince did things sometimes.

But out of trust in Liu Tan, they decided to wait.

However, after waiting for a long time, nothing happened. The atmosphere, already tinged with a touch of tragedy and grandeur due to Liu Tan's words, was filled with the expectation that once His Royal Highness the King of the Northern Territory had finished speaking, they would draw their swords and shout, "Charge!"

Then they rushed out and fought the Huns to the death.

As a result, everyone's fighting spirit was aroused, but they just waited there for a long time, and now everyone was a little at a loss.

Li Buyan asked quietly, "Your Highness, what should we do now?"

Liu Tan frowned slightly. "What's going on? Why is there no news now? The Xiongnu can't possibly bypass the mine."

The coal mine covers a large area, and the Huns would have to go around it for a long way. How could it be so easy as to march straight in?

After a while, Liu Tan's ears moved and he suddenly asked, "Did you hear any footsteps?"

Li Buyan and Wei Buyi moved their ears and heard the chaotic footsteps. They immediately determined that these were not the Huns.

Wei Buyi immediately ordered: "Come here, go ahead and investigate."

Then the scout brought back the disheveled Wei Deng and the Hun captives behind him.

Liu Tan was surprised when he saw Wei Deng. Not only him, but everyone was surprised. However, after seeing the Hun captives following him obediently, everyone was stunned.

What is going on?

Wei Deng was brought to Liu Tan. This was the first time he looked at Wei Deng carefully, and then he found that Wei Deng was two years older than him, but because his eyes and face were round, he added a bit of childishness and looked like a boy of fourteen or fifteen years old.

Wei Deng was also very excited after seeing his brother, but he still remembered to greet Liu Tan.

Liu Tan asked, "How's the situation at the mine?"

Now is not the time to reminisce, let’s wait until it’s over.

Wei Deng said with a vicious look on his face: "Don't worry, Your Highness, I have set up an ambush in the mines and will definitely not let them have an easy time!"

Liu Tan raised his eyebrows. Setting an ambush in the mine?

This is definitely not something Weiden can do alone, so those prisoners...

Before he could speak, Wei Buyi asked, "Have these prisoners been following you?"

Wei Deng puffed out his chest proudly after hearing this: "Yes, we also killed many Huns!"

Liu Tan suddenly realized: "Were you the ones who were intercepting the Huns just now?"

Wei Deng nodded excitedly, but soon became depressed again: "Unfortunately, we are too few in number and cannot stop the Huns. We can only retreat first."

Liu Tan asked, "How many Xiongnu are there?"

Wei Deng's face was solemn: "Your Highness, the Xiongnu vanguard has about 2,000 soldiers, but I heard that there are more troops heading here, and Wu Shilu is right behind them."

Li Buyan gasped, "Wu Shilu is really here? No, who told you that?"

Wei Deng pointed behind him: "They."

Everyone was stunned. The Xiongnu captives shrank back a little when they were looked at by everyone, but they still stayed there obediently.

Liu Tan had no idea why these people were providing information, nor where they got it from, but he still said, "I'll find a way to eliminate the Xiongnu vanguard. You two should each lead your troops to prepare for an encirclement. I don't ask for a large number of kills or prisoners, just show your strength and drive them away."

Li Buyan and Wei Buyi were both a little hesitant: "But His Highness's people..."

Liu Tan said calmly: "If you are worried about me, I will stop the Xiongnu there."

Li Buyan and Wei Buyi's expressions suddenly became firm.

Wei Deng, standing by, seemed eager to try but didn't dare to speak. Liu Tan didn't ignore him either. He turned to Wei Deng and asked, "Can you still fight?"

Wei Deng's eyes lit up: "Sure!"

Liu Tan nodded. "Okay then. Take your team and roam around to see where help is needed. Be flexible and maneuverable."

Weiden was stunned for a moment: "My team?"

Liu Tan pointed at the prisoners and said, "Aren't these the ones?"

Li Buyan was immediately surprised: "Your Highness, these..."

Liu Tan waved his hand: "I don't care what happened in the past. Now that they have helped to protect the big man, I will put aside my suspicion for the time being. You should also. But Wei Deng, you have to keep an eye on them. If you find that something is wrong, don't show any mercy, understand?"

Weiden nodded vigorously.

Wei Buyi, standing by, remained silent. This matter was somewhat dangerous, but where in the military was there no danger? If Wei Deng seized this opportunity, he would be promoted at the speed of light.

What's more, His Highness did not assign him any important tasks. If he encountered danger, he could just protect himself first without having to think about the mission.

After Liu Tan gave his orders, he waited quietly. Li Buyan and Wei Buyi were also waiting to see how Liu Tan would kill the Huns' vanguard.

Liu Tan waited for a long time until the smoke finally rose. He said, "Light it up!"

The catapult started moving quickly, and the honeycomb coal on it immediately turned into a blazing fireball after being ignited. As the catapult started, a huge fireball was thrown towards the mine.

Li Buyan suddenly realized, "So, Your Highness wants to use coal to stop them. But... coal burns a little slowly, so they might not take it seriously."

The mine was so large that just a few fireballs could not ignite the entire mine at once, and the Huns could still get around it.

Liu Tan curled the corners of his lips, and that smile actually seemed a bit neurotic under the firelight: "They'd better not take it to heart. Just wait."

Wei Buyi asked, "Your Highness, shall we set off now?"

Liu Tan narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Wait a little longer."

What are you waiting for?

Before the question was even uttered, everyone heard a huge explosion coming from the mine.

The explosion scared everyone's horses. Fortunately, the military horses were relatively docile, otherwise their team would have been in chaos at this time.

As the first explosion resounded through the sky, followed by several consecutive explosions, everyone felt as if the earth was shaking.

Liu Tan held the reins tightly and waited until the explosion gradually faded away. Then he raised his chin and said, "Go."