When Liu Tan received this news, he couldn't help but feel confused. He suspected that the news from Chang'an was not timely enough because of the city closure. Otherwise, why would Wei Buyi suddenly go south?

Is he going to stop King Liu Kunchi of Zhongshan?

And if there hadn't been a major problem, Wei Buyi would not have taken people away like that.

Liu Tan continued to send scouts to chase Wei Buzhi, and at the same time felt that he should teach Wei Buzhi a lesson when he came back. Although it is said that a general is not subject to the orders of the king when he is away from home, the problem is that you should at least explain the reasons for leaving clearly!

Although the battle went smoothly, it lasted for two days. After all, this was not a sneak attack, and it was not easy to capture the opponent's main general.

Moreover, compared with Liu Zhaoping, the commanders of the remaining two troops were obviously more powerful. Not only did they fight on equal terms with the fledgling Wei Kang, but they also managed to organize an effective resistance after the elite regiment charged.

Based on this point alone, Liu Tan knew that the other party's level was quite good.

As for Wei Kang, although his level may be average, he leads a lot of people. There are a total of 10,000 people in the team, and Liu Tan directly gave Wei Kang 7,000 people.

The enemy's number of people is not as large as his. When the combat effectiveness of the soldiers on both sides is similar and the abilities of the generals are also similar, the number of people is the decisive factor.

After the smoke cleared, Liu Tan stood on the city wall, looking down at the blood-stained ground below. His face showed no joy of victory. Instead, he remained silent for a moment before saying, "Send someone to clean up the battlefield."

After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked towards the palace. Along the way, the people who had been hiding at home and daring not to go out for the past few days came out of their homes and rushed into the streets after hearing the news of victory.

Liu Tan couldn't help but look terrified when he saw so many people - please don't throw things again?

But how could the people of Chang'an let him go? The King of the Northern Territory had rarely returned to Chang'an since he was enfeoffed. It was rare for him to come back and win a battle to save Chang'an. Damn him!

So when Liu Tan returned to the palace, the first thing he had to do was to take a bath and wash off all the messy perfume and powder on his body - it was popular among the young ladies in Chang'an to put perfume powder in sachets, and throwing this over was simply an excellent blinding weapon.

Although perfume powder is indeed fragrant, when so many perfume powders are mixed together, the fragrance is so strong that it is a bit unbearable and even a bit smelly.

After Liu Tan finished washing up, he ran to Chen Ajiao to tell her the good news.

Chen Ajiao naturally knew about this a long time ago, so she didn't pay any attention to the war. Instead, she looked at Liu Tan and said with a smile: "Oh, my Tan is so popular with young ladies. I wonder if he has taken a fancy to any young lady?"

Liu Tan's face turned green, and he hurriedly said, "Mother, I still need to go and tell His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I'll come back and chat with you later."

Chen Ajiao couldn't help laughing out loud as she watched her son fleeing.

Liu Tan went all the way to the Prince's Palace. At this time, the Prince had felt a little better, at least he could sit up, but he still couldn't get out of bed.

However, after hearing the news of victory, he was overjoyed. What made him happiest was probably that Wei Kang had proved his ability to some extent this time.

Although Wei Buyi and Wei Deng are both good people, they are now in the Northern Border Kingdom. Even the prince's cousin cannot provide him with any help.

As for Wei Kang, as a noble lord, he must stay in Chang'an.

If Wei Kang had the ability of Wei Qing, no, he didn't even need to have Wei Qing's ability, as long as he had half of Wei Qing's ability, Liu Ju would have a great helper.

He shook Liu Tan's hand and said with a smile, "I knew that it would be no problem if my brother took action."

Liu Tan smiled and did not take credit for it: "It's just that the soldiers were willing to sacrifice their lives."

Although Liu Ju was happy, he was always sensitive to Liu Tan's emotions. He carefully looked at Liu Tan's face and asked, "Are you unhappy?"

Liu Tan raised his eyebrows: "Your Highness, what are you talking about? How can I not be happy after winning the battle?"

Liu Ju said firmly, "You're just unhappy? Are you scared of seeing dead people? Do you want to sleep here with me tonight?"

Liu Tan sighed, "My Royal Highness, this isn't the first time I've encountered this kind of situation. I've killed people myself, so why should I be afraid?"

Liu Ju touched his head and asked softly, "What happened then?"

Liu Tan turned and looked at him: "Your tone seems to be the same when you coaxed my nephew before."

Liu Ju laughed and said, "You are no less troublesome than him!"

The nephew Liu Tan was referring to was naturally Liu Ju's son. Although Liu Ju didn't yet have a crown princess, it was impossible for the crown prince to remain away from women. Having a son after being exposed to women was a normal thing.

Liu Tan was fortunate enough to see Liu Ju taking his son out to play. At that time, Liu Ju didn't know what he did to make his son cry. Liu Ju's expression and tone at that time were exactly the same as now.

Liu Tan shook his head helplessly. Liu Ju said sternly, "No kidding. If you have any questions, just tell me. Although I may not be able to enlighten you as well as your father, it's better than you dwelling on it alone."

Liu Ju knew very well how terrible it was for a smart person to get stuck in a dead end. He couldn't let his brother's thoughts go astray, otherwise he would be punished when his father came back.

Liu Tan was silent for a long moment, then he said bewilderedly, "Tell me... what's the point of this? Didn't these people think they couldn't succeed before they rebelled? I didn't feel anything when we were fighting the Xiongnu, but now... I feel bad for the soldiers who died on the battlefield."

Liu Ju finally understood his concern and could only say, "I can't answer that. Perhaps they want to make a big profit with a small investment. Another part of their intention may be related to the Enfeoffment Order."

Liu Tan turned to look at Liu Ju: "Enfeoffment Order? How many years has it been in effect?"

"How many years can it take?" Liu Qi said, "Only a few decades. Most of the princes are dissatisfied with this decree, but they can do nothing about it. Now that they have found an opportunity, naturally..."

Liu Tan said, "That's not true. This time, except for Prince Guangchuan, everyone else is a marquis. If there were no Enfeoffment Order, these people might not be able to become marquises. The Enfeoffment Order has helped them."

Liu Ju nodded: "So, the King of Zhongshan is here, isn't he?"

Liu Tan's face turned grim. "Your Highness, are you saying that the King of Zhongshan is also a rebel? Then why did he come here only now? If his men were to join those four rebels, Chang'an would be in real trouble. Even I wouldn't be able to take them down so easily. Now that they're separated like this, can his men still take Chang'an in one go?"

Liu Ju half-closed his eyes and said, "Have you forgotten what banner he came under? Once the banner of supporting the king is raised, he can attack or defend. Even if we suspect he has rebellious intentions, the most we can do is reprimand him. He can still defend himself by saying that he was too worried about the situation in Chang'an. In the end, we must let him return to Zhongshan State unscathed."

Liu Tan frowned. "No, even if that's the case, those rebels are all his uncles. How could they willingly serve as his vanguard? And give him the opportunity to advance and retreat?"

Liu said, "So there must be a thread connecting these people. It made these nobles willingly act as the stone that the King of Zhongshan threw to test the waters."

"Liu Qumao?" Liu Tan asked in surprise, "How did he do that?"

Liu Ju shook his head: "If we knew, would we still be helpless against him like we are now?"

Seeing a hint of fatigue on Liu Ju's face, Liu Tan quickly said, "You should get some rest. Liu Qumao is hiding deep, so let him hide. We've destroyed all his pawns one by one, so he can only hide like this. Don't worry too much. I shouldn't be bothering you."

Liu Ju closed his eyes and smiled, "Liu Qumao is a shrewd and calculating person. If we don't seize the opportunity to destroy him this time, the next time we destroy him might be you or me. Don't take it lightly."

Liu Tan's expression suddenly became serious: "Don't worry, Your Highness, I understand."

After Liu Tan came out of the Prince's Palace, he began to call everyone together to discuss matters.

Of course, this time he really had something to discuss. After all, the rebels were defeated and Chang'an was temporarily safe. Although the previous city-wide blockade seemed stable, the losses caused were still huge. What needed to be done now was to quickly get everyone's lives back on track.

In fact, compared to things like fighting wars and cleaning up battlefields, these chores are the most trivial.

Liu Tan used to be particularly annoyed by this kind of thing and basically left it to Huo Guang to do.

However, now even if he doesn't speak, he has to sit here like a puppet, so he has to agree with me.

However, taking advantage of this opportunity, Liu Tan also observed everyone.

The one among the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers he was most familiar with was Liu Qumao, well, this was his mortal enemy, and the other was Sang Hongyang, after all, his son was still a hostage in his hands, and he was not very familiar with the rest.

Shangguan Jie's current official position is not as high as these two people, but he can analyze some things from the discussions.

It has to be said that Liu Qumao was quite capable of becoming the prime minister. Even though he had colluded with the Huns and became a county governor, this only gave him a starting point. Not every county governor could climb to the position of prime minister.

At least in terms of general affairs, Liu Qumao's level is probably something Liu Tan can never catch up with even if he flatters him.

However, Liu Qumao was no match for Sang Hongyang. On the surface, Sang Hongyang was very respectful to Liu Qumao, but in fact, he basically refuted half of Liu Qumao's proposals and left Liu Qumao speechless. Even the atmosphere of the entire meeting was very warm, but it was not just superficial warmth.

At least Liu Tan could see that Liu Qumao was not really angry with Sang Hongyang.

Liu Tan couldn't help but sigh that Old Sang was really good at dealing with people.

In comparison, he does seem a bit more sharp.

However, he couldn't learn from Sang Hongyang even if he was asked to. It had nothing to do with his age; it was just his nature.

After the discussion was almost over, Liu Tan suddenly spoke up, "Some time ago, the King of Japan received news that King Liu Kunchi of Zhongshan was coming with his troops to support him. Everyone knows about this, right?"

Everyone nodded and looked at Liu Tan, not knowing what he meant. Liu Tan then said, "Now that the rebellion has been quelled, the King of Zhongshan's trip would be in vain. Before he arrives, have Wei Kang lead his men to greet the King of Zhongshan and escort him back."

The Imperial Censor glanced at Liu Tan and thought to himself, you are not going to send people to escort the King of Zhongshan, but you are worried that he will rebel too, right?