On the third day after Liu Che left, Lu Xuan also left the Northern Border Kingdom with his men.

Before leaving, he hugged Liu Tan tightly and said, "Wait for me to come back."

Liu Tan smiled and said, "Okay, if I have better marching rations, I will send someone to deliver them to you."

Lu Xuan took a deep sniff at his scent before getting on his horse and leaving without even looking back.

He didn't dare look back, for fear that if he did, he would be unable to resist staying.

When he was young, he didn't understand those heroes who indulged in the pleasures of the world after achieving success. He felt that human ambition should be endless. How could one stop at a goal? The saying "heroes are hard to resist beautiful women" was simply because heroes in the past didn't have the opportunity to encounter such beautiful women.

However, now he finally understood why some people could not get out of their addiction. Even the most rational people could sometimes be affected by their emotions.

Liu Tan watched Lu Xuan's receding figure. Li Ling and Wei Deng looked at each other, wanting to remind Liu Tan that it was time to go back. After all, even in the summer, the temperature in the Northern Territory would drop significantly at night.

However, they knew very well that the King of the Northern Territory was already unhappy because of the Emperor's departure, and now that the King of Wusun was gone as well, His Highness must be feeling bad.

Fortunately, Liu Tan stood there for a while and probably felt a little cold, so he simply threw up his sleeves and said, "Let's go back."

Li Ling and Wei Deng immediately breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly escorted Liu Tan back.

After Liu Tan returned, he came out of his previous vacation state. It must be said that even welcoming the emperor could be considered work, but in fact, after all the itineraries were made, Liu Tan didn't need to worry about the rest. He just happily accompanied Liu Che to eat, drink and have fun.

So it feels like Liu Che has been here for four months, and Liu Tan has also been playing for four months, as if he had given himself a summer vacation. Now that the summer vacation is coming to an end, all Liu Tan needs to do is catch up on his homework, cough, and re-deal with some urgent matters.

After dealing with all the backlogs, the first thing he paid attention to was the recent production and sales of soy products.

Huo Guang didn't intervene much in the soy product business, but the Minister of Agriculture Lin Xiu paid close attention to it. He proposed at a small court meeting: "Your Highness is wise. Placing a soy product workshop in Dunhuang would kill two birds with one stone."

Liu Tan was looking at the sales of soy products at this time. What Liu Tan didn't expect was that the people who bought a large number of soy products were the Huns, accounting for at least one-third of the sales, and the rest were taken away by traveling merchants.

The so-called killing two birds with one stone means that merchants passing by can go directly to the workshop to pick up goods, which not only promotes soy products but also brings a lot of popularity to Dunhuang.

Liu Tan didn't say anything, because this was something he had not expected before. He just wanted to find an open space. He had a good impression of the Dunhuang County Magistrate and thought that he was a down-to-earth person, so he was willing to open this back door for him.

He didn't expect that it would have such an effect now.

But... the Huns bought so much, which is not a good sign.

While Liu Tan was pondering, he suddenly heard Lin Xiu say, "It's just that the soy products are in short supply right now. Your Highness, are you planning to expand your workshop?"

Liu Tan raised an eyebrow after hearing this: "Expand? How can we expand if we don't have enough manpower? Let's leave it this way for now."

Lin Xiu said anxiously, "Your Highness, the autumn harvest is approaching, and these workshops may not be able to fully consume all the soybeans. How can we survive without expansion?"

Consume all the soy?

Liu Tan lowered his eyes, not knowing whether Lin Xiu really knew nothing or was just pretending. Last year, no one in the Northern Territory knew that soy products were selling so well, so not many people planted soybeans.

Even if Liu Tan collected all these soybeans, he could consume them. Moreover, he had to keep some seeds and some reserve grain in the granary.

Strictly speaking, the soy product workshop was the personal property of the King of the Northern Territory and had nothing to do with Lin Xiu. Why was Lin Xiu so anxious...

Liu Tan looked up at him and asked, "The lack of manpower can't be solved overnight. Since Sinong said he wants to expand, why don't you tell me what you think?"

Lin Xiu glanced at Liu Tan cautiously, and seeing no sign of displeasure on his part, he boldly said, "Your Highness is short of manpower, so... if we can all work together, there shouldn't be a shortage of manpower."

Lin Xiu's words were vague, but what he actually meant was to allow others to build soy product workshops so that there would be sufficient manpower.

It sounds like a paradox. If there are not enough people, nothing will be enough. But if others just build workshops, it will be enough?

In fact, it is possible, because when calculating the labor force population, they never count the slaves in each household.

Because slaves were considered personal property and not independent labor, they were not counted.

If we allow capable people to build workshops, it will indeed help alleviate the shortage of production capacity.

But letting others build a workshop means that Liu Tan has to make all the recipes public.

Before Liu Tan could say anything, Huo Guang's face darkened as he asked, "What do you mean, Minister of Agriculture? The soy products workshop is your Highness's private property. How is this any different from asking for it?"

Lin Xiu said somewhat sheepishly, "The soybean oil formula has almost been made public. Those people will definitely take action after returning. However, everyone in the Northern Territory is concerned that Your Highness will not build it privately. I am also worried that Your Highness will end up making things easier for others."

Liu Tan played with the bamboo sword in his hand and asked with a smile, "Oh? So you just want everyone to be able to open soybean oil workshops?"

Lin Xiu immediately said, "That's right."

Everyone has seen how soybean oil is made, but they dare not interfere with other soy products. After all, the formula has not been leaked, and they cannot figure it out, so they can only start with soybean oil.

And to be honest, compared with other soy products, soybean oil seems to have a brighter future.

Too many people in the Northern Kingdom are ready to make a move.

Huo Guang's face darkened. He felt deeply that their prince was just too good-tempered, which gave these people a wrong impression. Now these people even dared to compete with the prince for profit!

He was about to reprimand these people, but before he could open his mouth, he heard His Royal Highness the King of the Northern Territory slowly say, "Okay."

Huo Guang was slightly stunned and looked up, only to see that Liu Tan had a smile on his face, but no smile in his eyes.

People who are familiar with Liu Tan know that once he makes this expression, it means someone is about to be in trouble.

Huo Guang silently closed his mouth and began to watch the performance of the King of the North.

Liu Tan smiled and said, "It's not impossible to open up, but not everyone can do it. What if everyone builds workshops and ends up with a shortage of soybeans, causing prices to rise? Wouldn't that defeat the original purpose? Those who have been to the workshops and want to open one may do so. But everyone else is forbidden from opening soybean oil workshops privately. Otherwise... don't blame me for not giving you face."

Lin Xiu's eyes lit up and he immediately said, "Your Highness is wise!"

Liu Tan smiled slightly. Those who could follow him to the soybean oil workshop were considered high-ranking officials in the Northern Territory. There were not many people who were so confused after following him for so long.

Well, Lin Xiu is one, and the rest... he wants to see how many idiots there are under his command.

After the meeting, Huo Guang deliberately left a little later. Everyone was used to him staying behind to report to the King of the Northern Territory in private.

Although they were jealous in their hearts, they did not dare to show it. To be honest, the psychological shadow left by Huo Guang on them was heavier than that left by Liu Tan.

The King of the North gave them the impression that he didn't get angry easily and turned a blind eye to some rules. However, the Prime Minister was the exact opposite of His Highness the King of the North. He couldn't make any mistakes at all, otherwise he would be punished.

The most annoying thing is that His Royal Highness the King of the North doesn’t often take charge of affairs, and most of the time they are still managed by the Prime Minister.

Huo Guang stayed and asked, "Regarding Lin Xiu...what does Your Highness think?"

Liu Tan put down the bamboo sword in his hand and said, "Wait a little longer. Once Sang Qian finds a suitable person, we can replace him."

After Sang Qian calmed down, he was indeed suitable to be the Minister of Agriculture of the Northern Border Kingdom. The main reason was that even if he himself was not capable, he could always ask his father for advice.

As for whether Sang Hongyang would smuggle some illicit goods...what are you afraid of? Do you treat Huo Guang as a dead man or as a dead man?

Moreover, Sang Qian should have been disciplined after this incident. Unless he wants to be buried in the Northern Border Kingdom, it is impossible for him to trip him up secretly.

Now that we have a promising candidate, it would not be a good idea to change him now. If we change him now, when Sang Qian returns to the central government, it would be embarrassing if the next Minister of Agriculture does not have a serious fault and is difficult to replace.

What's more, Lin Xiu is a smart and cunning person, but he can barely hold on in this position.

After hearing what Liu Tan said, Huo Guang said with some regret: "What a pity! I still have a lot of evidence of his crimes."

Liu Tan was surprised: "It's only been a few years, and there's already evidence of guilt?"

Huo Guang sneered: "What do you think of such a person who forgets his principles for the sake of profit?"

Liu Tan smiled and said, "He is indeed a villain, but villains can be very effective if used well. So even if I don't let him become the Minister of Agriculture, I won't just let him go."

Huo Guang thought for a moment and suddenly smiled and said, "Perhaps it would be appropriate to let him be a pawnshop guest."

Liu Tan nodded: "What a coincidence, I thought so too."

Huo Guang suddenly asked, "But Your Highness is being so generous. I'm afraid that this might actually drive up the price of soybeans. This..."

Liu Tan sneered, "Do they still dare to compete with me? Let them go buy from other places. Over time, the price will go up."

Huo Guang said: "No matter how high the soybean price is, there is still profit to be made from soybean oil, it's just a matter of a little more or a little less."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Liu Tan looked at Huo Guang and shook his head. "Ah Guang, you've known me for so long, don't you understand me? Am I the kind of person who would suffer a loss? I'm telling you in secret, don't let anyone know. When their first batch of oil comes out, I will reluctantly cut the price of soybean oil in half so that more people can eat it."

Huo Guang was completely shocked: "Behead? Your Highness, you can't..."

Liu Tan said magnanimously, waving his hand: "It's all right. For the sake of the people's well-being, what does it matter if I suffer a little loss?"

Huo Guang wanted to say something, but seeing Liu Tan's half-smile, he couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, is there something going on here that I'm not aware of?"

Liu Tan smiled and put his arm around Huo Guang's shoulders. He leaned over to his ear and said, "To be honest, the soybean oil formula has been innovated. The same weight of soybeans now produces much more oil than before."

Huo Guang suddenly realized and gasped, "Then... I'm afraid many people will lose everything they have, right?"

Liu Tan hung directly on him and said lazily, "That's all their own fault. They didn't take the right path but took the crooked one. Are my things so easy to steal? If you dare to steal, you must be prepared to die. Oh, by the way, you should build a few workshops later and use your people for me."

As he spoke, he pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Huo Guang, saying, "This is a new recipe. Take it and prepare it. Don't be so unsociable."

Huo Guang subconsciously said, "I am not short of money."

Liu Tan sneered: "But it's not much money, right? Otherwise, how could you not get married now? Now you have Huo Shou to support, so if it really doesn't work out, just build it for Huo Shou."

Huo Guang was about to say something, but Liu Tan pushed him out and said, "Don't talk nonsense to me. Once you build it, those people won't suspect I'm cheating them when they get their pants dropped. Go!"

After saying this, Liu Tan pushed Huo Guang out and ordered people to close the door.

Well, I learned this trick from Liu Che, and I have to say it is quite useful.

Huo Guang stood outside holding the priceless piece of paper, feeling both amused and helpless. After a while, he let out a long sigh and left.

At this time, Liu Tan did not realize that he had given Huo Guang a mountain of gold. He was thinking about a question at this moment - how to improve military rations?