Jiang Chong immediately said, "Yes!"

Huo Guang asked, "Aren't we all implicated?"

Liu Tan was stunned for a moment. He found that he was still a little uncomfortable with the collective responsibility system of Han Dynasty law.

But in this case, collective punishment is sometimes also for the purpose of deterrence.

He thought for a moment and said, "If any other relatives of the Yi clan are involved in the case, handle it in the same way."

Jiang Chong was shocked when he heard this. This punishment was indeed severe.

The three Yi tribes were already very powerful, and according to past experience, most of the kidnapping and selling of people was done by one family, and it was rare for the family to be unaware of it.

If the person can really be traced, it will basically be equivalent to exterminating the entire clan.

Liu Tan may also realize that the punishment is too severe. It’s not that he thinks it’s inappropriate, but that it’s inappropriate in terms of the law.

You must know that treason is punishable by the death of nine generations of the family, and the punishment for kidnapping and selling people is definitely not comparable to treason. If this news reaches Chang'an, if someone says that he equates the kidnapped people with the emperor, although it will not have much impact on him, it will be troublesome.

Liu Tan then looked at Jiang Chong and added, "Depending on the degree of violation, you can handle it yourself. After all, you are the Chief Justice."

The matter was basically settled here. Liu Tan looked at Huo Guang and asked, "How is Ah Shou?"

A hint of helplessness flashed across Huo Guang's brows: "This child is angry with me."

Liu Tan laughed: "Why? He also knows that he was reckless?"

Huo Guang said angrily, "He doesn't think he's reckless. He just thinks his skills aren't good enough, and he wants His Highness to rescue him."

Liu Tan didn't know what to say. He coughed lightly and said, "It's okay. I'm not much better than him. I just... have better luck."

If the first blow caught the opponent off guard, then the second blow was really just luck. Who could have thought that the thief would come forward and seek death?

Huo Guang looked at Liu Tan with complicated eyes. It was impossible not to believe in things like luck.

He shook his head and said, "It's good to let him reflect on himself for a few days. It's better to understand now than to suffer in the future."

Huo Guang had his own way of education. Liu Tan did not interfere too much and directly announced the adjournment of the meeting.

After everyone left, Lu Xuan hurriedly took Liu Tan to apply medicine.

It must be said that Lu Xuan's proper handling of the situation yesterday saved Liu Tan some suffering. Although it was very painful at the time, it is much better now.

After all, he is young and in good physical condition, so this injury won't cause him to develop other problems.

Liu Tan gritted his teeth and let Lu Xuan apply the medicine for him. He was just about to pull Lu Xuan to catch up on some sleep.

His sleep quality last night was average, not to mention Lu Xuan. He had originally wanted Lu Xuan to catch up on some sleep during the grand court meeting, but he didn't expect Lu Xuan to get so angry that he went to cause trouble for the two thieves.

Liu Tan touched Lu Xuan's now slightly darkened eyes with a look of deep concern and said, "Leave this matter to Jiang Chong. Why go there yourself? Jiang Chong is also an old hand, he will definitely not miss any clues."

Lu Xuan held his hand, kissed his fingertips, and said, "I'm worried that Jiang Tingwei might be soft-hearted."

Liu Tan laughed after hearing this: "Jiang Chong is soft-hearted? Even if Prime Minister Huo is soft-hearted, he can't be soft-hearted."

If we had to say who among them hated the Huns the most, it would definitely be Jiang Chong.

Others also hated the Huns, but it was not so obvious. Huo Guang and others had a more long-standing understanding that the Huns were enemies, and that they were on the side of the Han Dynasty and the Northern Border Kingdom. Naturally, they were very disgusted with the invaders.

Liu Tan's situation was more complicated. On the one hand, he hated the Huns' constant invasions, but on the other hand, he felt that it was unrealistic to destroy the Huns. It would be better to think about how to assimilate them into a nation of the Han people.

Only Jiang Chong almost died here because of the attack of the Huns, and his face was ruined, which almost ended his official career.

However, even if Liu Tan is willing to put aside their past grudges and use him, this is how Jiang Chong's life will be. Even if he is moved, the most he can do is to take turns among the nine ministers. As for the prime minister... Liu Tan has never considered him.

Jiang Chong hated the Huns to death. After knowing that these people were colluding with the Huns and providing them with ironware, which was equivalent to providing weapons in disguise, how could he be soft-hearted?

Lu Xuan's lips curled up into a cold smile: "Those people under him are no good. When I came out, they were actually vomiting in there."

Liu Tan was originally wondering why those people vomited, but he soon realized that Lu Xuan was probably talking about those people seeing the thieves after being tortured.

He was silent for a moment. He had originally wanted to ask Lu Xuan what he had done, but now that he thought about it, for the sake of his physical and mental health, he decided not to ask.

Anyway, as long as he knew that those two people were not having a good time, he would be happy.

"Let's not talk about this. It's not even the end of the Lunar New Year yet. It's not worth getting yourself hurt over these scumbags. Let's go and catch up on some sleep."

Liu Tan suddenly felt the benefits of a slow pace of life.

At least there wasn't so much work, so he could drag Lu Xuan along to catch up on some sleep or do something else openly.

Just as he was thinking this, he heard Bigao say, "Your Highness, Gongshu Yi requests an audience."

Liu Tan was stunned for a moment: "What's the matter? If it's not important, let him go back first."

The biggest one in the world is the suspended sleeping one!

Bi Gao said, "Gongshu Yi brought a man with him, saying he was his father and had come to see him."

Liu Tan: ...

I still have to meet the head of the Gongshu family.

He sighed, touched Lu Xuan's face and said, "Go to sleep first. I'll come find you after I finish my work."

Lu Xuan leaned over, kissed him, and said, "Okay."

Because his sweet nap was interrupted, Liu Tan's expression was a little dull when he met Gongshu and his son.

He sat in the main seat and looked at Gongshu Yi's father, the current head of the Gongshu family.

He was a middle-aged man in his forties, with rough and slightly dark skin and a very ordinary appearance. Well, he was really ordinary, the kind that you couldn't find him in a crowd of people.

He originally thought that the head of the Gongshu family should be a man of extraordinary bearing, but after seeing the real person, he found that this person looked like the kind of technical geek in later generations who was busy inventing things.

He seemed a little dull, because he was nervous again. He saluted very stiffly and said, "I, Gongshu Can, pay my respects to His Majesty the King of the Northern Territory."

The corners of Liu Tan's mouth twitched, because he knew from the beginning that the head of the Gongshu family was not young. In order not to be looked down upon by the other party, he specially changed into a low-key and luxurious set of clothes. From the dark patterns to the accessories, they were not so conspicuous, but when put together, they could create a sense of nobility. In addition, Liu Tan raised his chin slightly, showing a noble look, which at least made the other party more cautious in terms of identity and money.

Unexpectedly, all these preparations were useless. The other party didn't even dare to raise his head at this time, and seemed to be almost dying of nervousness.

Gongshu Yi on the side was also a little nervous. He had told his father a long time ago that His Royal Highness the King of the Northern Territory had a good temper and would not make things difficult for others, but his father did not seem to take it to heart.

Liu Tan went over this person's name in his mind, Gongshu Can, um, Gongshu Can, it seems that he was quite miserable.

He thought about this and said, "Sit down."

Gongshu Can took his seat cautiously and did not dare to look at Liu Tan even once, which made Liu Tan feel like he was some kind of monster.

Liu Tan thought for a moment, realizing that exchanging pleasantries with the tech geek would only create awkwardness for both parties. So, he got straight to the point and said, "I'm sure Gongshu Yi has already told you all about my plans for you."

Gongshu Can was stunned for a moment. He was originally trying to organize his words on how to have a chat with the King of the Northern Territory first. After all, it seemed that the nobles liked to go around in circles before getting to the point.

In the past, he was not good at this, so he suffered a lot. Now he finally got an opportunity. Before coming here, he made a lot of preparations along the way, striving to make the King of the North satisfied with him.

Unexpectedly, this person did not follow the usual path and simply skipped the greetings.

Gongshu Can glanced at Liu Tan quickly and cautiously, not daring to look at him any longer. He only knew that the other party had a good appearance and a perfect smile on his face, which made people feel close to him.

Of course he would feel close to him, after all, Liu Tan was also a tech geek in his previous life.

Gongshu Can said nervously, "Yes, yes."

Liu Tan said, "Because it was close to the New Year, this matter was delayed. Today is the first day of reporting, so your subordinates have not yet been assigned. If you don't mind, you can move into the house that has been prepared for you and wait patiently."

Gongshu Can immediately said, "I...I can live with Yi'er."

Liu Tan said with a smile, "Don't worry, all officials in the Northern Territory will be given houses. There are still vacancies now, so you're lucky to have come in time. When there are more people in the future, there may not be more available."

Gongshu Can felt relieved after hearing this. He originally thought that he would have to rent a house. As for buying a house... the Gongshu family's money would be spent on important things. Even though the housing prices in the Northern Border Kingdom were not high nowadays, he was reluctant to buy one.

It’s good to be given a house. Gongshu Can feels that it’s worth it to come here just for this house.

Gongshu Can was obviously very happy to get the house and was very grateful to Liu Tan. He talked more afterwards.

Liu Tan spoke to him briefly before mentioning the moldboard plow. "Since you're here, I happened to give Gongshu Yi a task a couple of days ago, so I'll give it to you. Remember, this is important. The blueprints must not be leaked. If they fall into the hands of others, you and your son will be held accountable. Do you understand?"

Gongshu Can immediately said, "Don't worry, Your Highness!"

Liu Tan was actually not very reassured. In his opinion, Gongshu Yi's mechanical skills were just barely usable and not flexible enough. Of course, this might also be related to the fact that their knowledge system was not comprehensive and they could not apply what they had learned to other situations.

Gongshu Can doesn't look like a technical expert now.

Liu Tan had doubts in his heart but did not show them.

He soon discovered, fortunately he did not show it, that Gongshu Can's ability was really not comparable to that of his son.

Perhaps because this was the first task Liu Tan assigned to Gongshu Can, he mistakenly thought it was a test of him. After three days of unremitting efforts, Gongshu Can basically made a model of the moldboard plow.

Not only that, he also made a detailed design of the plow body surface of the moldboard plow and wrote down his own experience.

When Liu Tan saw the moldboard plow model, he was a little surprised: "So fast?"

Gongshu Can said somewhat embarrassedly, "It's just a sample. Your Highness, do you think it's like this?"

Liu Tanxin said, "How would I know? I only know the theoretical knowledge, but the practical operation is a mess."

But he didn't show it, and said calmly: "Let's try it."

Although it is a sample, it also has the function of plowing the land. The only drawback is that the moldboard plow of this sample is made entirely of wood.

Liu Tan watched the prototype moving across the dirt plate pretending to be a field. He looked down and saw that there were indeed furrows on it. He thought for a moment and asked, "We only have one moldboard plow now. Can we make several more side by side so that several rows of land can be cultivated at the same time?"

Gongshu Can was stunned: "Farming at the same time?"