Liu Tan felt his head hurt just hearing the words "Chang'an" and "800-li express." He calmed himself and asked, "What's going on? Why is Prince Guangchuan joining in on the fun? Wait... who is Prince Guangchuan?"

It was the first time that he realized the difficulties of having a large family and a big business. Suddenly, a King Guangchuan appeared, and he couldn't even remember who he was.

After all, they usually kept to themselves and had little interaction with each other, and one rarely heard news about them in Chang'an. As long as these princes did not seek death, Liu Che would not even look at them.

Huo Guang was much more capable than Liu Tan, the half-baked prince, and quickly said, "Prince Guangchuan should be the eldest son of Prince Guangchuan Hui Liu Yue, whose biological mother was Lady Wang, the sister of Empress Xiaojing."

Liu Tan switched between relatives for a long time before saying, "So... now this Prince Guangchuan is considered my cousin?"

Huo Guang nodded and frowned, saying, "Prince Guangchuan usually keeps quiet, so why did he suddenly rebel?"

Liu Tan said, "First, you have to ask how he knew the news so early. If he hadn't known the news long ago, the timing wouldn't have been so coincidental. I just received the news, and he got it before me. Unless the person who sent him the news and the person who sent me the news came out together."

Huo Guang's expression changed: "There is a traitor in Chang'an."

"A traitor may not be a traitor, but there must be someone with ill intentions. Okay, there's no need to speculate why Prince Guangchuan rebelled. The result is that he did rebel. Chang'an should have reacted, but now Chang'an is only supported by my mother. I have to rush back as soon as possible."

As soon as Liu Tan finished speaking, Miao Rui and Bi Gao hurried over and said, "Your Highness, everything is ready."

Liu Tan nodded and said, "Let's go, set off immediately."

Huo Guang cried out in disbelief, "What? But it's almost dark."

Liu Tan said, "We can't afford to delay. It's still early before dark. We just finished lunch, so there's still time."

Huo Guang quickly said, "But it will take some time to prepare for the trip."

"No need. The elite regiment has already been assembled. I can just saddle up and leave. Do I need to prepare all the unnecessary things like usual at this time? I'm going back to the capital, not to the wilderness. This is enough."

Huo Guang pursed his lips. He knew that Liu Tan was right. At this time, they should not dwell on those details. However... he knew how hard it was to travel on horseback, not to mention that Liu Tan's riding skills were just average. It would be very difficult for him to travel this way. The thought of it made him feel distressed.

Huo Guang could only suppress his heartache and said, "When we get to Chang'an, we'll first take down the rebels and then stabilize the government. You don't need to do anything. Just being there is enough. Find the whereabouts of His Majesty as soon as possible. If you really can't find him..."

Liu Tan's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, and he interrupted sharply, "What are you talking about! How can we not find him? We will definitely find him! No matter what Liu Fuling is thinking, even if he really wants to rebel, he won't let himself be implicated. This time is just an accident. Maybe... maybe there is news about the emperor by now, or by the time I arrive in Chang'an, the news that the emperor is safe and sound will have been passed back."

Huo Guang looked at him quietly, his eyes slightly red, and said with a choked voice: "I also hope that Your Majesty is safe and sound, but... Your Highness... this is not the time to be emotional."

When Liu Che disappeared, Huo Guang was shocked no less than Liu Tan. For Huo Guang, Liu Che was both his king and his father, so emotionally he naturally could not accept it. However, he was much more mature than Liu Tan after all, and knew that some things could not be changed by human will.

That's the ocean. If you get lost at sea, how can you find yourself?

Liu Tan looked at Huo Guang, tears welling in his eyes, but they didn't fall. He raised his head slightly and said, "Don't worry, Chang'an won't be in chaos. I know what's going on."

After saying that, he turned around and went back to his bedroom to change into a black suit, equipped with a sword, bow and arrow, and crossbow. When he walked out, he saw Lu Xuan standing outside holding a cloak and waiting for him.

Lu Xuan came over and personally put the cloak on him, then helped him put on the hood, covering half of his face. He then said, "Be careful on your journey. I'll have Aga Mu and his men follow in secret."

Just as Liu Tan was about to say something, he covered Liu Tan's mouth and said, "Don't worry, they will stop and return to Shuofang City when they are about to leave the Northern Border. Don't let me worry."

Liu Tan's eyes flickered slightly, and he nodded vigorously. Lu Xuan walked out with him and said, "If necessary, you can ask them to do something. However, don't let them do it in public, otherwise someone will accuse you of colluding with the Xiongnu."

Not everyone can tell the difference in appearance between the Wusun and the Xiongnu. In fact, the Wusun and the Xiongnu are basically the same race and there is not much difference between them.

Liu Tan listened, and when he walked to the square, the elite regiment had already assembled, lined up neatly in black clothes, and even the war horses were standing quietly beside them wearing the latest harnesses.

He gave Lu Xuan a final hug and said, "I'm leaving now. Take care."

Lu Xuan responded but said nothing more.

Liu Tan turned to Huo Guang and the others, bowed, and said, "I'll leave everything in your hands here."

Huo Guang and others also saluted him. Liu Tan turned around and walked to his horse, mounted it nimbly, and then raised his arm, and the elite group behind him mounted their horses in unison.

There were clearly nearly a thousand people, but it turned out to be like just one person.

Even though Huo Guang and others had already witnessed the strength of the elite regiment in this area, they still couldn't help but feel excited at this moment.

At least with such an army, they don't have to worry about Liu Tan getting into danger.

Liu Tan led his men and hurried northward. He had originally told Huo Guang and Lu Xuan that he would rush to the next post station to rest as soon as possible. However, when he actually arrived at the next post station, he just asked someone to pack some food and water, and even changed a horse, and then continued on his way.

Changing the horse but not the person is usually what expedited couriers would do, and Liu Tan also experienced it this time.

There was no way out. When he arrived at the post station to rest, he heard that the general was assassinated by a knight on the street on his way back from the palace. Now Chang'an was in chaos. The queen wanted to mobilize troops but was obstructed in every possible way. She could mobilize troops but not food.

Seeing that Prince Guangchuan was about to attack the city, the Queen and Lady Wei spent all their money to buy food and fodder to mobilize troops for defense.

When Liu Tan received the news, he was furious. He knew it was the Prime Minister's doing, forcing his mother to use her private money to buy food and fodder. He went back and skinned Liu Quma alive!

The situation was so critical that Liu Tan had no time to rest and could only continue on his journey because he had changed his plan.

Although Chang'an is in crisis now, the palace should still be stable. It is normal that Chen Ajiao cannot control Chang'an, but it is impossible for her to fail to control the palace.

Therefore, he needs to capture Prince Guangchuan first, which is equivalent to solving the crisis, and there is no need to worry too much.

Well, if you can catch them, catch them. If you can’t catch them, just kill them.

Liu Tan took a look at the map and studied the location of Guangchuan.

He had to be thankful that the roads in that era were not so developed and there was only one official road that could accommodate the army. Otherwise, he would have to judge which side Liu Qi would take, which was really embarrassing for him.

Wei Buyi stood beside him and said worriedly, "Your Highness, how about I take 500 men with me and you take 500 men back to Chang'an?"

He knew that Lu Xuan's men had been protecting him secretly. Those people were scattered everywhere, but if you counted carefully, there were at least five or six hundred of them. As long as those people escorted Liu Tan to Chang'an, Liu Tan's safety should be no problem.

Liu Tan sneered, "Do you know how many people Prince Guangchuan brought with him? He brought 6,000 men, and you only brought 500 men and you still want to stop him?"

Wei Buyi said seriously, "If they set an ambush, it's not impossible."

The quality of the soldiers in the elite regiment is so good that they are not comparable to ordinary soldiers at all, so even if there is a huge difference in numbers, Wei Buzhi is not worried.

Liu Tan shook his head. "No, you have no right to arrest him with only my warrant. I have the Crown Prince's order and the Empress's decree, so it's just a reluctant effort. I must go."

Seeing this, Wei Buyi was in no position to persuade him any further, so he could only say, "Then Your Highness... the number of people is still a bit too different. We need to make a long-term plan."

Liu Tan glanced at the map with some annoyance and said, "What's going on? I've already told those people how to draw maps. Why haven't they replaced all the maps yet? Who can understand this broken map?"

Wei Buyi smiled bitterly after hearing this. They used to be able to understand these maps, but they didn't expect that they were now spoiled by the new maps made by His Royal Highness the King of the Northern Territory. None of them were even used to looking at these maps.

He took a deep breath and said, "Your Highness, let me do it."

Liu Tan nodded. The reason he brought Wei Buyi out was because Wei Buyi was more experienced than him in this area. The only thing he could do was probably think about how to trick the other party.

He originally wanted to ask someone to prepare some quicklime, but when he thought that those soldiers were also Han people, he felt hesitant to do it.

This kind of kindness is not towards rebels, but towards the people.

Most of the people were ignorant. They were subjects of King Guangchuan, so naturally they had to listen to King Guangchuan. If they listened, they would have a chance to survive, but if they didn't, they might die on the spot.

Therefore, throughout the dynasties, the way to deal with rebels was generally to capture the leaders and main participants and punish them severely. Ordinary soldiers were left to do what they were supposed to do in the end. At most, they were punished to do labor. Except for the killings caused by resistance during the capture process, they generally would not kill anyone.

Liu Tan could be cruel to the Huns, but it was difficult for him to be so cruel to his own people. Killing people would not go smoothly. Using quicklime and water would cause too much pain, and he did not have time to get quicklime. He could only use bows and arrows and gunpowder to ambush and attack.

Otherwise, if one thousand people were to face six thousand, there would definitely be casualties even if they could win.

Liu Tan feels sad if one person dies at his hands, let alone so many deaths.

He let Wei Buzhi choose the ambush location, and after arriving there, he waited for two days before the army of King Guangchuan arrived.

Liu Tan stood at a distance, looking at those people and frowning. He said, "No, it looks like there are only about 500 people at most. How could there be 6,000 people? Where did the rest go?"