Liu Tan took a deep breath as he looked at the letter in his hand. Originally, Liu Che had come in May and he would have had time to prepare, but now it had been brought forward to mid-April, so there was only one month left at most.

He couldn't help but secretly wrote a letter to Liu Ju, wanting to ask what had happened.

The Summer Solstice is a big festival. In the past, Liu Che would stay in Chang'an during the Summer Solstice and the Winter Solstice. Why did he come here this time without even caring about the Summer Solstice?

Although the weather was indeed a bit hot by the summer solstice and it was a bit uncomfortable to travel, he still made his annual eastern tour after the summer solstice.

Liu Ju replied quickly. He didn't know why Liu Che suddenly changed his mind. He just heard that the emperor and the empress had a quarrel, and Liu Che was about to come over early.

Liu Tan looked at the letter and thought that if it were an ordinary family, he could understand that the man was upset after quarreling with his wife and wanted to get some quiet time.

But in the case of Liu Che, even if he didn't want to stay in the Weiyang Palace, he could go to places like Jianzhang Palace and there was no need to hide so far away.

He thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure it out, so he gave up guessing. Don't try to guess what the emperor is thinking. Just do what he originally wanted to do.

He said helplessly to Li Ling: "Get ready and leave for Guan City tomorrow."

Li Ling was a little surprised: "Sir, don't you want to stay here for two more days?"

"The Emperor has changed his mind and will come in mid-April. We need to hurry up. I still have to go back and make arrangements for the welcoming ceremony."

The only advantage this time was that there was no need to rush to build a temporary palace for Liu Che, and since it was summer, the Changshou Palace was lush and green, and there was no need to spend money to maintain the landscape.

Li Ling was also a little nervous after hearing this: "Your Majesty has arrived early? Then I will go and tell them to pack up immediately."

Liu Tan looked at the plan in his hand, thought about it and decided to finish it first. The only thing that gave him a headache now was that it seemed that none of his subordinates were particularly good at this area.

Among the people who passed the exam before, Xiao Cheng did have some talent in this area, but he was young after all and did not dare to entrust such a big thing to others.

Liu Tan wondered if he could take advantage of Liu Che's visit to ask him for a few people, so that he wouldn't have to go to see people.

In fact, Liu Tan was not very good at physiognomy. He did not have enough social experience to support this matter. Huo Guang and Jiang Chong both "walked into the trap", Li Buyan was his adopted brother, and Wei Buyi was also a coincidence. None of them were people he chose.

Even Zhu Shanfu and the others were not chosen by him, but were chosen for him by Liu Che.

The ones he chose were all in the academy. I heard that there were some rumors because Xu Lin was disabled.

Those students didn't say anything too extreme, they just thought that Xu Lin was blind, so how could he teach them?

But in Liu Tan's opinion, this is unqualified.

No matter what the people around him think, generally no one would easily hurt others. Saying such words openly would embarrass the other person and also show that one lacks self-cultivation.

These students... Liu Tan estimated that there would not be many left in the end.

Forget it. Liu Che will send someone to take care of the shop sooner or later anyway, so he just left it to his father.

As a father, shouldn’t you help your son when he starts his business?

After thinking about it this way, Liu Tan felt more justified.

He glanced over the plan again. So far, it looked fine. Of course, it wasn't perfect, but if it was, why would anyone else be needed? He could roll up his sleeves and get started!

Liu Tan put the plan aside and prepared to set off tomorrow. At the same time, he wrote a letter to Huo Guang, telling him that the emperor had a seizure and wanted to come early, and mentioned the incident of the silver medal.

Of course, what he told Huo Guang was to find someone to receive those merchants.

Merchants had a low status in those days. Not to mention meeting Huo Guang, even Huo Guang's subordinates Xiao Cheng and Yan Xingsheng were not worthy of seeing him. Although Liu Tan did not mean to look down on merchants, if he looked up to them too much, he would be looking down on his own officials. Anyway, he was at ease to leave this matter to Huo Guang.

His most important task now was to take a stroll around Guan City, then hurry back to claim the land, and after finishing it, go directly back to Shuofang City. With this calculation, the time was quite tight.

Liu Tan once thought about not going to Guan City, but since he was already here, he felt a little reluctant not to go. After all, with the current traffic conditions, he would not like to go out even if the road was repaired. It would be too much suffering.

The next morning, Liu Tan set off directly for Guan City.

Although Tongda City and Guan City seem very close on the map, they actually spent a day camping outdoors.

When we arrived at Guan City, the person in charge of Guan City came to greet us from afar.

This man was sent by Liu Che. His name was Zhou Huang, and he seemed to be the brother of one of Liu Che's concubines.

However, there were so many fake relatives like this that Liu Tan couldn't remember them all. He was just a little more polite to them because of their identities.

Zhou Huang, a man of little ability, was somewhat uneasy after being thrown into Guan City. Upon seeing Liu Tan, he cautiously asked, "Your Highness, do you really have to go?"

Liu Tan asked, "Why? Didn't they say it was already built?"

Zhou Huang forced a smile and said, "It's mainly because the Huns often come here, and I'm worried about the safety."

Liu Tan knew what he was worried about at a glance, but it was not surprising. For those who had never seen the Huns, the Huns were synonymous with barbarism. They belittled and hated the Huns, but they were also afraid of them.

He asked, "How many guards are there in Guan City now?"

Zhou Huang said, "A total of one thousand people."

Liu Tan's brows relaxed. "A thousand people is not a small number. This customs market was initiated by the Xiongnu. They shouldn't do anything."

Zhou Huang whispered, "Your Highness, every Xiongnu is a strong and elite soldier. Even businessmen are difficult to deal with one by one. If they act impulsively, even merchants in Guanshi can form an army."

Liu Tan looked at Zhou Huang and asked, "What do you want to say?"

Zhou Huang rubbed his hands together. "I heard that your elite regiment will come to protect our merchants. When will they arrive?"

Liu Tan immediately understood what he was planning and couldn't help but laugh: "I can only send one or two hundred people at most, no more."

Who will take over this Guan City if so many soldiers are sent here?

And it's not good for his people to have too much contact with the Huns.

Zhou Huang whispered, "Two hundred people will be enough. As long as your people come here early, it will be fine."

Liu Tan's mouth twitched. "You have nearly a thousand men under you. Why are you staring at my two hundred?"

Zhou Huang smiled bitterly: "I have quite a few subordinates, but I don't know anything."

"Those soldiers have their own officers in charge, so you don't have to worry too much."

Zhou Huang looked around and whispered, "Your Highness, you may not know that the captains and generals who came this time all have similar backgrounds to me."

Liu Tan was stunned for a moment before hearing Zhou Huang continue, "Your Highness is certainly aware of my background, and there's no need to be shy about it. It's Your Majesty's grace that has granted me this position, given my abilities. But... this time, Your Majesty's grace is a bit excessive."

Zhou Huang didn't distrust his soldiers; he distrusted his colleagues. So what if the Northern King only had two hundred men? Back then, the Northern King had driven Wu Shilu away with only a few hundred men!

This thigh must be hugged!

Liu Tan couldn't help but laugh after hearing this: "It just so happens that Father came before the market opens. I'll take a look and mention it then."

Zhou Huang was immediately overjoyed: "Thank you, Your Highness. Please come this way."

Guan City was still very empty at this time, but this time Liu Tan's shop was at the forefront - his shop had been renovated!

Liu Tan was a little surprised because he hadn't given any instructions before.

Zhou Huang followed him and, observing his expression, said, "Since the market is about to open, and your Highness's shop has been quiet, I took the initiative to send someone to Tongda City to take a look. Then, I simply tidied it up according to your Highness's preferences."

Liu Tan took a look at him and finally understood why Emperor Wu of Han treated him differently among so many fake relatives. This kind of insight was truly rare.

He praised Zhou Huang a few words, and just as he was about to say something else, he heard some noise not far away, and most importantly, he heard the Hun language.

Since it concerned the Huns, Liu Tan immediately sent someone to take a look.

Li Ling volunteered, "Your Highness, I will go. I have been studying the Xiongnu language with Marquis Wu of Wei for a while now, so I would like to see the results."

Liu Tan's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself, "I hope you won't be abducted by the Huns to be their son-in-law."

However, Li Ling's reasons were reasonable, and he couldn't stop him, so he let him go.

Not long after, Li Ling came over with a Xiongnu man, looking serious, and said, "Your Highness, this man said that their master wants to see you."

Before Liu Tan could say anything, Zhou Huang sneered, "Can anyone see His Royal Highness the King of the Northern Territory?"

The Hun man glanced at Zhou Huang, and Zhou Huang suddenly felt an overwhelming pressure coming, and sweat began to appear on his forehead.

The Hun smiled contemptuously and turned to look at Liu Tan.

Liu Tan had just been observing this person. Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes and said, "I remember you."

Li Ling immediately translated it into Xiongnu language, and the Xiongnu man was a little surprised.

Liu Tan said, "The last time the Left Grand Commandant went on a diplomatic mission to Shuofang, you were with him, right? I remember there was a very capable translator with him."

The Xiongnu man stared at Liu Tan for a long moment, then grinned and said something. Li Ling hesitated and said, "He said that Your Highness has an extraordinary memory, even remembering a small figure like him."

Liu Tanxin said that those who could be sent as envoys to the Han Dynasty were people of some status, and this person should have been the one protecting the safety of the Left Grand Commandant. This was a potential enemy of the Han Dynasty, so of course he had to pay more attention to him.

Liu Tan said, "Go back. I'm not interested in meeting your master, no matter who he is."

The Xiongnu said something else, and Li Ling said, "He said that Your Highness will meet him after seeing his master's token."

Liu Tan turned his head to look at the Hun, and then saw the man take something out of his arms and hold it in front of Liu Tan with both hands.