"Ah?" Wei Deng was surprised.

Even Li Ling asked, "Your Highness, are you saying that the Wei Duwei should go?"

Liu Tan replied, "Yes, although that place is hard, it is better than wasting time in Shuofang City."

In Shuofang City, Wei Buyi can only provide security, and he can't even train soldiers.

Although the commander of the Northern Border Kingdom is in charge of the entire Northern Border Kingdom's troops, in fact, Wei Buzhi's subordinates are the team of military marquises in Shuofang City.

The remaining troops are in the hands of various counties. Wei Buyi can only mobilize them when there is a real need to mobilize troops, and this requires Liu Tan to give him the tiger talisman.

Wei Buyi fought his way up with Liu Tan, and he had been diligent as a captain in recent years, even patrolling the streets regardless of rain or shine.

Everyone else thought that Wei Buyi was serious about his work, but only Liu Tan knew that it was because Wei Buyi had nothing else to do.

His brother could still train and practice military exercises every day, but he didn't have this opportunity.

Li Buyan could take his men out for a horse ride from time to time while guarding Shoujiang City. Liu Tan felt that he could not treat Wei Buyi so badly.

So they simply sent him to the Protectorate. Although the Protectorate was in the Western Regions, to the northwest was the Great Wusun controlled by Princess Danyang, and to the northeast was the Wusun Kingdom under the rule of Lu Xuan. It was not dangerous and there would be no shortage of supplies. Once there, Wei Buyi would be the head of a prefecture. Training soldiers or collecting intelligence would be better than wasting time in Shuofang City.

Moreover, the highest official of the Protectorate was also a captain, so his transfer was considered a lateral transfer, but it was different. If we had to make a comparison, it was like a central official becoming a frontier official.

Whether it is good or bad depends on yourself.

As for the captain of the Northern Border Kingdom, Liu Tan decided to ask his father to arrange for someone to come and live with him in his old age. The captain didn't have to be very capable, as long as he was obedient and able to manage Shuofang City. Anyway, he would not be needed in a real expedition. He had the Wei brothers, Li Buyan and Li Ling under his command. If things really didn't work out, Liu Tan could still go into battle himself. Why would he be needed?

However, there was no rush about this matter. After all, Gongshu Yi had not yet finished the blueprints for Yiwulu County. Even if he could get the blueprints, it would take until next year to start construction. It was just right to recruit soldiers next year, and then let Li Lingwei Buyi and others take the soldiers over to start construction, so that he wouldn't have to find a way to recruit workers later. The most important thing was that it was easy for ordinary people to get into trouble if they were sent there to work. In case of a surprise attack, several ordinary families would be ruined.

As for the soldiers... these are their duties. The most important thing is that the soldiers may be able to deter the surrounding people. The Northern Border Kingdom is the first vassal state in the entire Han Dynasty to have regular military uniforms.

The military uniforms designed by Liu Tan were naturally beautiful, and even Lu Xuan was envious of them.

Apart from anything else, these soldiers just need to wear neat military uniforms and practice their military posture. They don't need any other training. Just standing there will make them look different in spirit and energy, which is enough to scare those people from the Western Regions.

Liu Tan originally wanted to arrange everything before the Chinese New Year, then stop writing and do things one by one after the new year.

As a result, just as he put down his pen, the outcome of the battle between the Xiongnu and the Western Regions coalition was decided - it was not surprising that the Xiongnu won, the only thing that surprised Liu Tan was that the Xiongnu won in a miserable way!

Li Buyan only obtained rough intelligence in Shoujiang City. When Liu Tan saw this information, he was almost dying of curiosity and had no choice but to turn around and look for Lu Xuan.

At that time, Lu Xuan was playing with Gun Gun. When Liu Tan went over, he saw Lu Xuan expressionlessly pressing the head of Gun Gun, who was about to pounce with his paws raised, into the pit.

Liu Tan stood there watching Gun Gun struggling, and began to wonder if he should postpone certain things. After all, he really... couldn't beat Lu Xuan.

At this moment, Lu Xuan happened to see him standing under the eaves, dressed in spotless white clothes.

It has to be said that since Liu Tan invented the woolen lining, the amount of clothes they wear has obviously decreased a lot.

Compared to what Liu Tan had made before, woolen clothes were more popular.

The young ladies of the nobility had long been disgusted with the need to wear round and smooth clothes in winter. Even the most slender ladies could not bear the layers of clothing.

Men of letters want dignity, men of war want efficiency, and many people would rather be a little cold than give up.

But we can't always be cold. These days, if you get frozen and catch typhoid fever, it can be fatal!

As a result, when people knew about the clothes Liu Tan gave to Liu Che, Liu Ju and Chen Ajiao, Princess Dangli wrote a very impolite letter asking for a copy.

Liu Tan could only send a batch of them with a helpless smile. Some of the fine products were given to relatives and friends, and some were thrown into Chang'an to be sold.

How should I put it? This is probably the first thing that Liu Tan has been doing for so long that has become popular before he even figures out how to promote it.

For a while, the supply was simply insufficient to meet the demand. Liu Tan didn’t even know that there were so many rich people in Chang’an!

But no matter how much money he made, he had to ensure the supply of his own people first. Now Lu Xuan finally didn't have to wear a wolfskin coat all the time.

Lu Xuan released his grip on Gun Gun and turned around to be hugged by Gun Gun. He could only look down at Gun Gun helplessly and said, "Song Zha, stop acting like a spoiled child. It's no use. I really can't hold you anymore!"

Liu Tan couldn't help but laugh. It seemed that Gun Gun just didn't take Lu Xuan seriously just now, otherwise it would be impossible for him to be held down by Lu Xuan and unable to get up.

Lu Xuan looked up at Liu Tan and said aggrievedly, "Control your naughty son!"

Liu Tan walked over, pinched Gungun's ear and said, "Quickly let go."

Gungun obediently released one of its claws, and then that claw directly hugged Liu Tan's leg.

Liu Tan was stunned. This unruly son had single-handedly tied him and Lu Xuan together.

In the end, with the help of the caregiver assigned to Gungun, the two of them escaped.

After coming out, Liu Tan looked helplessly at the black claw marks on his clothes and said, "I knew I couldn't wear white clothes when I came to see Gun Gun."

Lu Xuan put his arm around his shoulders and said, "Ah Tan looks good in white."

Liu Tan tilted his head and squinted at him: "Huh? Wouldn't it look good if you wore something else?"

Lu Xuan: ...

He didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "They all look good!"

Liu Tan said, "Alright, enough of the fuss. Do you know what's going on with the Xiongnu?"

Lu Xuan was stunned for a moment: "Huh? What? What happened to the Xiongnu?"

Liu Tan folded his arms, looked him up and down, and said, "You don't know about the battle between the Xiongnu and the Western Regions coalition forces at the Xiongnu River, and their tragic victory?"

Lu Xuan was a little surprised: "Win? So quickly? But it was a ruthless victory... How ruthless was it?"

Liu Tan was furious: "I was asking you, and you asked me instead. I asked you what you were busy with recently. I thought you were busy handling state affairs remotely, but you don't look like you're paying attention at all."

Lu Xuan smiled slightly: "Nothing, it's just that I've been busy for a year and want to relax. After all, there hasn't been anything major going on recently."

Facing Liu Tan's critical gaze, Lu Xuan's voice became increasingly quiet, and he finally said, "Okay, okay, I'll go take a look."

The information he had was indeed more complete than what Liu Tan had. After opening it, he smiled and said, "It's not bad that Xuli Lake was able to achieve a tragic victory."

Liu Tan asked, "What do you mean?"

Lu Xuan said, "The child I sent there earlier has already arrived and has gained the trust of Wu Shilu's people. His appearance has served as an inspiration to them. Now everyone knows that while Wu Shilu's death is certainly related to you, the real culprit is Xulihu."

Liu Tan was slightly stunned: "What?"

Lu Xuan said, "After the child arrived there, he stumbled upon some clues. He discovered that Wu Shilu was seriously injured and indeed poisoned. However, they had found an antidote. As long as Wu Shilu could survive the healing process, he could have survived. But he still died in the end, from poisoning. This time, the poison was connected to the Xili Lake."

"No, wait a moment." Liu Tan grabbed Lu Xuan's arm and asked, "I want to ask right now, is this true or false?"

Lu Xuan asked back, "You poisoned yourself, don't you even know it?"

Liu Tan said uncertainly, "Does anyone know if Wu Shilu has any special medicine or something like that?"

Lu Xuan laughed and said, "Special medicine? In the Xiongnu climate, what are the things that the Northern Border Kingdom doesn't have? If the ingredients for your antidote can be found here, then he might have the medicine. But the question is... does he have it?"

Liu Tan: ...

This is not the case. The antidote requires some medicines grown in the Central Plains, but he is not sure whether the Huns have them.

However, Lu Xuan refused to give a direct answer, and instead asked...

Liu Tan asked, "Are you throwing mud at Xuli Lake?"

Lu Xuan immediately said, "This isn't just a smear campaign. Xulihu must have been eager for Wu Shilu's immediate demise, but he died before he could even make a move. Anyway, now that Wu Shilu's people have found evidence, they're forcing Xulihu to step down. Others who previously had an ambiguous attitude towards Xulihu are now wavering, and some are even asking him to defend himself in the name of upholding justice."

Lu Xuan couldn't help but laugh as he spoke, "What a spectacle! It's a shame... we weren't there, so we couldn't witness it."

Liu Tan shook his head: "They actually had internal strife during the war. They were able to win because of their strong foundation."

Lu Xuan leaned close to Liu Tan's ear and said, "That's because I helped Shanshan and the others. Otherwise, how could they dream of engaging in a fight with Xuli Lake?"

Liu Tan's mouth twitched after hearing this: "So you haven't been idle since you came to my place. You've been doing all these things, and you're pretending to be relaxed and not care about anything."

Lu Xuan immediately said, "Relax, really relax. I've arranged everything I can. The rest is all about doing our best and leaving the rest to fate. If it works out, great. If it doesn't..." As he spoke, he moved closer to Liu Tan, hugged him, and said, "We can't let this little thing delay us."

Liu Tan reached out and pushed his face away as it edged ever closer. "What's next...never mind. Everything else is easy to handle. Xulihu's men are a bit weakened, and the others aren't listening. They haven't split up yet, but they probably won't cause any trouble for a while. So, you should rest and recuperate for a while, right?"

Lu Xuan said calmly, "That's right. We won't fight for now. Next, we'll build a city in the chosen location. Then I can stay here with you..."

Liu Tan glanced sideways. "You're not planning on returning anytime soon? Are you abandoning state affairs?"

Lu Xuan leaned on his shoulder and whimpered, "I don't even have a palace right now. I can only ask His Royal Highness the King of the Northern Territory to take me in. Can His Royal Highness bear to see me homeless?"

Liu Tan: ...

When did this guy learn to act so well as a spoiled brat?