Little did you know that Huo Guang actually summed it up. He found that there was a pattern every time his prince discovered a mine. First of all, the place he chose could not be a place with abundant water and grass. Usually it was a Gobi or desert. There had to be solid soil underneath.

The place Huo Guang chose for Liu Tan last time was not bad. After all, it was a place to build a royal palace. How could he choose a desolate mountain?

The result is none.

This time is different. There is a vast Gobi desert outside Yiwulu County. We can always choose one, right?

Liu Tan really had no way to deal with them. After a careful look, he found that a long way west of Yiwulu was Puchang Lake, which was later known as Lop Nur. There was a vast Gobi desert between Yiwulu County and Puchang Lake. This side was a natural barrier and there was no need to worry about it at all.

Although the Puchang Sea is water, it is a salt marsh and there is no way to replenish the water source. To the southwest of the Puchang Sea is the former Loulan, now Shanshan. The king of Shanshan is now following Lu Xuan to fight. Strictly speaking, it can be considered a friendly country. Based on Liu Tan's understanding of Lu Xuan, he always feels that after this war, it is hard to say whether Shanshan will still be an independent country.

So he did not choose to build a city there, but chose three other places at once.

One of them is fifty miles in front of Yiwulu County, the second one is twenty miles south of Wutanzili State, and the third one is twenty miles east of Wulei City in Qiuci.

Huo Guang felt a little uneasy after seeing these three places: "Your Highness, these three cities of yours are basically in the territory of other countries!"

Liu Tan said nonchalantly, "I know, but Wu Tanzili claims to be a country, but there are only forty households and a total population of just over two hundred, which is less than the number of palace attendants. I want to build a military governor's office there. Does the King of Wu Tanzili dare to object?"

Wei Buyi laughed and said, "Of course, Wutanzili is nothing to be feared. Prime Minister Huo must be referring to Yanqi."

The place chosen by Liu Tan is right between Wutanzili and Yanqi. The geographical location is indeed very good, but it is precisely because of its good geographical location that the people of Yanqi feel a sense of crisis.

Wu Tan Zili has only more than 200 people. If the King of the Northern Territory is unhappy, he can directly send out an elite group to destroy his country. There is nothing to worry about. However, it is different for Yanqi. The total population of Yanqi is about 30,000. When Lu Xuan first succeeded to the throne, the population of Xiao Wusun was not as large as that of Yanqi.

Under such circumstances, we need to be cautious in our diplomatic relations with Yanqi.

Liu Tan said, "Ah... well, before the Wusun King sent out his troops, he widely invited everyone to join him in attacking the Xiongnu. He even invited the King of Yanqi again and again, but the King remained unmoved."

Everyone understood as soon as they heard it. Didn't they think that his prince wanted to vent the anger for the King of Wusun?

Yes, my lord, no problem, my lord.

Of course, this couldn't be said on the surface. Huo Guang expressionlessly helped Liu Tan make up an excuse: "If that's the case, then Yanqi must have surrendered to the Xiongnu long ago. Now that Yanqi is so close to Yiwulu County, we really need to be careful and vigilant."

After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but bow their heads and silently light a candle for King Yanqi.

Li Ling looked around and couldn't help asking, "Then...what about Kucha? It's too close to Wulei City."

It’s only twenty miles away from Wulei City, so we can rush there at any time.

Liu Tan nodded. "That's right, but don't worry. I'll write a letter to the King of Kucha to initiate friendly negotiations. Don't worry."

Everyone looked at each other, feeling that their prince might have some misunderstanding about the word "friendship".

Huo Guang had a bad feeling when he heard that Liu Tan was going to write a letter to the King of Kucha.

But he did not stop it. After all, Kucha was just a small country in the Western Regions, and their prince was also a vassal of the Han Dynasty. It was not beyond the rules to write a letter to the King of Kucha. The only thing he didn't know was how their prince would write the letter?

In fact, Liu Tan didn't write it himself. He had Yan Xingsheng by his side, so he just had to rewrite what he wanted to say.

Therefore, the process of writing the national letter to Yan Xingsheng was basically a journey of reshaping his three views - he finally understood what it meant to say the harshest words in the gentlest tone.

In Liu Tan's letter to the country, he stated that he established a protectorate near Qiuci not to guard against Qiuci, but to establish contact with the Wusun Kingdom. After all, the Wusun Kingdom was now a vassal state of the Han Dynasty. However, because Wusun's geographical location was still northwest of Qiuci, it was too far away from the Han Dynasty. In order to make it more convenient for the people of the Wusun King to travel with the Han Dynasty, he had no choice but to resort to this last resort.

Liu Tan even said that this was also for the good of Qiuci and other countries. If the King of Wusun did something he shouldn't have done on impulse, everyone would have a place to file a complaint with the Protectorate. Otherwise, if they wanted to file a complaint, they would have to send someone at least a thousand miles to the Northern Border Kingdom to complain. Wouldn't that be pitiful?

At the end of the letter, Liu Tan even said jokingly: This is all for your sake, are you touched?

After writing this letter, Liu Tan directly sent people to distribute them along the way. He chose three places. The farthest one was the Western Regions Protectorate near Kucha. The remaining two were the Beishan Commandery and the Quli Commandery.

Basically, you can know the attributes of these three cities as soon as you hear these three names.

The King of Kucha almost cried out when he received Liu Tan's letter: I dare not move, I dare not move.

He held the letter from the credential and said to his confidant, "I'm afraid our days will be difficult from now on."

There is the King of Wusun and the King of the Northern Territory. These two evil stars are one in the east and one in the northwest. There is also a big Wusun in the southwest.

It is said that the people in Great Wusun are basically the Wusun princess, the princess who married into the Han Dynasty and has the final say.

These three people are not easy to deal with. The range of their troops can basically cover the entire Western Regions. This... It seems that the Western Regions have almost fallen into the hands of the Han Dynasty!

The confidant consoled him, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. The Great Wusun is in the midst of civil unrest, and the Small Wusun is at war with the Xiongnu. The Northern Border Kingdom is too far away from us, and how many people can be left in a single Protectorate? They will definitely not send troops lightly."

The King of Kucha clutched his chest and said, "I hope so, I hope so."

Compared with the frowning King of Kucha, Wu Tanzili was obviously more sensible of the current situation. After receiving the letter, he immediately wrote back and expressed his gratitude honestly - there was no other way. There were only more than 200 people in total, and 57 of them were able to fight. What else could he do if he didn't know what was best for him?

In comparison, the King of Yanqi had a more headache. Whether it was Wutanzili or Kucha, these two countries only had a protectorate or a colonel's office nearby, but Yanqi... two colonel's offices and one protectorate almost surrounded him!

The General's Office of the Han Dynasty generally had a maximum of 5,000 people, while the Protectorate's Office would have more people.

Although this number is certainly not as large as that of Yanqi, the problem is that the people in these places are all elite soldiers and generals. No matter how large the number of people in Yanqi is, most of them are ordinary people. If we really talk about military strength, they are naturally not as good as the Han Dynasty.

From the Northern King's attitude towards the Cheshi Kingdom and other countries, it can be seen that he is determined to control all these countries close to the Northern King.

The King of Yanqi held the letter tightly in his hand, and finally heaved a sigh of relief. He wrote back to Liu Tan, expressing his support for this matter - he had no choice but to support it. If he supported it, the country would be destroyed in the future. If he did not support it, the country would be destroyed now!

Anyway, no one can predict what will happen in the future, so just agree to it first.

After receiving these letters, Liu Tan sneered and said to Huo Guang, "Look, Guang, I told you there wouldn't be any problems, right?"

Huo Guang shook his head helplessly, unable to bear his arrogance. Just as they had finished discussing everything they wanted to discuss, he quickly got up and left.

Liu Tan looked at the letters from the foreign countries and suddenly understood something.

Thinking back to when he was just an ordinary person before he traveled through time, he would get angry and puzzled every time he saw neighboring countries being dishonest. They had been developing their own countries well and had never bullied neighboring countries. Why were those countries more shameless than each other?

Now that he sits in this position, he knows that the relationship between countries is very complicated, especially with neighboring countries, where there are interests involved and territorial disputes.

He now has great power in his hands, so of course he wants to suppress neighboring countries in order to gain more benefits.

However, part of the letter he had sent to those kings was actually true - if these countries did not seek death, he would not easily send troops.

Although there are so many soldiers and horses in the Western Regions Protectorate and the Colonel's Office, these people can usually create some economic value there, such as farming and mining.

But once the troops are sent out, it will cost money. It's not like he has so much money that he doesn't have anywhere to spend it. As for the Western Regions, all he needs to do is to ensure that these countries behave themselves and don't commit suicide. At present, there is not much significance in actually occupying them.

It is difficult to govern a distant place. Even if the Western Regions are set up as a vassal state, if an ambitious person comes and establishes himself as a king in the Western Regions, and then accumulates strength to counterattack the Central Plains, it is better to let the Western Regions maintain the status quo. Countries can never be truly united. The more scattered they are, the more beneficial it is to the Han Dynasty.

Liu Tan called Gongshu Can over and asked, "Two Colonel Commandant Offices and one Protectorate Office, can you do it?"

Gongshu Can's heart surged with emotion, and he said excitedly: "Your Highness, rest assured, I will do my utmost to fulfill your mission!"

Liu Tan said, "By the way, the overall planning of the city and the housing are under the jurisdiction of Sikong, but the construction of roads and bridges are under the jurisdiction of Siyu, that is, Mo Shi and his men. As for the irrigation, remember to ask Sichuan. As the Winter Official, you are different from before. You should at least be fair in your dealings."

Gongshu Can's heart trembled: "Don't worry, Your Highness, I understand."

Liu Tan nodded. He said this mainly because he was worried that Gongshu Can had never held such a position before. Although he was the head of the Gongshu family, commanding family members was different from being an official. He was afraid that Gongshu Can would make things look bad due to his lack of experience and old grudges.

As soon as Gongshu Can left, the Honglu official came hurriedly over and said, "Your Highness, the Xiongnu Chanyu has sent an envoy with a letter for you."